Chicken Veggie Omelette

Hello friends! Here's a quick breakfast dish I prepared earlier. Rummaging through my refrigerator I realized I didn't have much except for leftover Costco rotisserie chicken, spinach, cheese and our frig staples - milk, eggs, onions, tomatoes. Been trying my best to stick to oatmeal most of the week but I felt like having a treat and cooked something savory for a change. I partnered sliced fresh fruit for a healthy side (strawberries and mango).

eggs, chopped onions and tomatoes, diced chicken breast, salt, pepper, paprika, milk, cheese and spinach

Here I just eyeballed the ingredients, you can make your own adjustments if you wish to try this recipe.

Oven Chuck Roast

 

Ingredients:

3.5 lbs. Beef chuck roast
seasoning (salt, pepper and Italian herbs)
5 large cloves garlic, minced
1 white onion, chopped
baby carrots
1 large Yukon potato, chopped
ground black pepper
1.5 cup beef broth
1/2 - 3/4 cup red wine, Merlot







 

 

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Season the meat with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning and let sit  - I let mine sit overnight. When ready heat skillet to seer both sides of the beef in canola or olive oil  till well caramelized and  develops a  toasted brown crust. Remove from the heat, set aside and ready the aromatic ingredients.

 

 

 

Sauté garlic and carrots with a dash of salt, stir and let cook for a few minutes then add the onions. Cover and let simmer till onions become translucent then add red wine, let alcohol evaporate then add the beef broth and bring to a boil. Let simmer for a few minutes on low-medium heat.

  

 

 

I just placed the meat in a Pyrex dish since I do not have a Dutch oven. Anyhow at this point remove the veggies from the heat and pour over the roast including the liquid.

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, when ready place meat inside and let roast for 2 hours. Add in the potatoes and continue to roast covered for another 30 minutes. This totals 2.5 hours where every 30 minutes I suggest basting the meat with the liquid. When cooking time is up, turn OFF the heat and let it sit covered with foil in the oven for half an hour.  

 

OPTIONAL: blender veggies and basting liquid to serve as gravy over the roast

 

 

 

Slice the roast thinly or however you like. Pour the liquid over the meat to retain moisture and arrange the veggies around it.  

PLATE. SERVE. ENJOY!

 

 

 

 

Quick Veggie Side Dish ~ Chunky Tomato Tuscan Kale



Only takes around 20 minutes to cook (^_^)b

Tonight I thought to have Kale prepared differently. Most people prefer this in green juice or salads but ever since I had this at work I made it a mission to decipher and deconstruct this dish. This is what I came up with --- a dish that literally has 5 ingredients, minus the water and seasoning.

Ingredients:

1 bag (10 oz.)  Kale, rinse thoroughly
2 tsp minced garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup diced tomato with basil, garlic and oregano (canned) - I used the Del Monte brand
1 Knorr chicken cube, divide in half
2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet heat oil on medium heat, sauté garlic and onions, season with salt and pepper, cover and cook till translucent. Add in the kale, increase heat to high and cook till leaves wilt down 50 %. Then add chicken cubes and water to bring to a boil. Pour in the tomatoes, let boil for a minute then lower heat to simmer for 15 minutes or till kale stalks are tender to your liking. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Plate, Serve and Enjoy!

Kitchen Confidentials - Salmon Sinigang

In most Filipino kitchens rarely would they run low on onions, garlic, tomatoes or ginger; toyo (soy sauce) and/or patis (fish sauce) - good God I think we have bags of these that would last us the whole month. Not to mention some sort of "sour soup"  (Sinigang) base powder. 

This morning I did an inventory check of the pantry and saw that I was still good with the "usual suspects", the only thing I had to do was find out from my tribe which kind of Sinigang they wanted - beef, pork or fish.

Since it's been a while this is what they requested...

The usual suspects:

1 large onion, sliced
1/2 cup sliced ginger
3 medium tomatoes, chopped into 8 piece wedges each
Tamarind soup base
patis
salt (if needed)


Accessories:


Tamarind leaves, 1 pack (1/2 lb.) 227 g
Okra, 12 pieces
Petchay, 1 bag - cleaned and trimmed of white stalk, green leafy part only
*optional: Banana pepper for spice


The Culprit:

3.5 - 4 lbs. Salmon head + cheeks

F.O.B. Fridays ~ Korean Inspired BBQ Chicken Drumsticks

It's been a while since I've done F.O.B. posts so here's a dish I prepared for my family yesterday... yup marinade and all!

Refer to my previous post for the marinade recipe:
http://cathyelpedes.blogspot.com/2014/08/korean-inspired-bbq-marinade.html

Ingredients:

2.5 lbs chicken drumsticks
BBQ marinade

• pour bbq marinade in aluminum tray and arrange chicken pieces in it, allow to sit at least 4 hours. For more flavor and best results let marinate overnight.

 
 
• preheat oven to 375° then when ready place the chicken in the oven and let cook for 50 minutes.
• set a separate timer to go off after the first 25 minutes and baste the chicken pieces with its own juice and some of the marinade.
• continue to cook for the remainder of the time.
• when time is up, turn off the oven, remove the chicken and place on counter top covered with a sheet of aluminum foil to tent for 10-15 minutes. 

Cover with foil for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Plate, serve... Enjoy!! 

Pork Nilaga

This dish is near and dear to me as it was the first I've ever cooked without my mom's guidance or her telling me what to do next. In my sophomore year in college I dared to cook this for my housemates and I'm pretty sure it wasn't as awesome at the time, but since then and several pots later... this is how I cook pork Nilaga for my family now ---

Ingredients:
5 garlic cloves
1 medium onion, cut into quarters
1 pork cube
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp whole pepper corn
1/4 cup patis (fish sauce)
2 tsp sugar
2 yellow potatoes, cut into quarters
1 pack (approx. 2.75 lbs) pork shoulder country style ribs
1 small cabbage head, roughly chopped
10 cups water, for soup

 

Load pork into an 8 Quart pot or any large pot you have, cover in water, set heat on high and bring to a boil.

When it starts to boil, the fat and protein will surface to the top, skim off as much as you can and toss. Adjust heat to low, add in the garlic, onion, whole pepper corn, pork cube and patis. Cover and let this simmer for about 35 minutes or till meat is tender.

Then add the chopped potatoes, bump up the heat to medium-low, add salt and sugar, let boil and simmer for 8-10 minutes slightly covered.

Turn off the heat, add in the cabbage, mix well and set aside from heat.

one of my "go to" comfort meals rain or shine!

F.O.B. Fridays ~ Beef Bulalo

I started something new some time ago on my Instagram account, as my schedule permits, Fridays I feature "Fresh Off the Burner" {hence F.O.B. not fresh off the boat okay LOL} dishes I just cook, it is real time food served and photographed as soon as it's cooked! Unfortunately I haven't posted the previous dishes on my blog so this is the first. Hope ya'll LIKE!

Ingredients:

1 pack beef shank (approx. 3 lbs)

half  medium onion

8-10 garlic cloves, slice 5 pieces into halves

1/4 cup fish sauce (patis) I used the Vietnamese brand  Nuoc Mam Nhi Phu Quoc "Flying Lion"

1 tsp pimienta negra entera

1 tsp Kosher salt

1 beef cube
 *optional - veggies of choice. I used baby bok choy and chopped green onions to top.

• in a 5 qt. pot place beef shank in, cover with water and bring to a boil on high heat, then simmer for 30 minutes. This helps eliminate the grayish protein that floats to the top. Skim this. When done, remove & rinse meat and the pot, then redo this process.
• filling the pot again with water covering the meat and bringing to a boil on high heat. Once it starts boiling, lower heat to low or low-med (depending on your stove top), place in the onion, garlic cloves, beef cubes, patis, whole pepper corn and salt. Continue to simmer for 2.5 - 30 hours. You can fish out the garlic cloves if you prefer towards the second hour, otherwise just keep it in the broth. The onion prevents the soup from getting murky after prolong boiling.
• add in your vegetables, garnish, serve and Enjoy! 

Seasoning... forgot to include the Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Simple, Easy and Delicious!

Homemade Taro Pearl Smoothie

Spring is here and don't we all love us some pearl shakes or smoothies? I always go to our local Vietnamese Sandwich shop that serves up some really good pearl drinks, Lee's Sandwiches. My fave is Taro! One day while getting some groceries at Seafood City (Filipino/Asian grocer), I was going down the aisle that had all the jarred sweets, beans, Nata preserves and ingredients for Halohalo and I realized that I could make a spin-off of Halohalo that is pretty much similar to the ever popular pearl drinks but use our very own Filipino ingredients! 

Here's what I got:

2.5 - 3 heaping tsp of purple yam (taro) jam, Pamana brand
tapioca pearls (desired amount), Pamana brand
1/3 - 1/2 cup evaporated milk, Carnation
1 tsp sugar (or completely omit)
1.5 - 2 cups crushed ice

BLEND it like Beckham!!...pour into a tall or wide glass and ENJOY!

**Make sure to purchase the wider straws for pearl drinks, I laughed at myself when I realized I pulled out the wrong straw!

Kare Kare / Oxtail & Pork Spare Ribs in Peanutbutter Stew

This is a dish I could never grow tired of and here I combined both meats - beef and pork for that extra special taste for my family!

Just remember to cook the oxtail ahead of time till tender via a pressure cooker or if you're like me, I simmered the meat over low heat for 2-3 hrs to retain it's natural flavor. Also steam of cook slightly the vegetables for less time consumption at the stove top.

This is Capampangan cooking at home.

Ingredients:
pack of beef oxtail
pack of pork spareribs
canola cooking oil
garlic
onion
fish sauce
water
beef cubes
sugar
ground Annatto, diluted in water
Veggies: eggplant, bak choy sum, baby bak choy, green beans
stock, made from boiling the oxtail and ribs a second time
Bagoong (shrimp paste)