beef tenderloin in balsamic vinegar

i have become a fan of balsamic vinegar. it's amazing how it adds so much flavor.
this dish is so easy to make...it takes less than 30 minutes...it's a food to go meal. also you can just prepare this a day earlier and when you need it..just a quick stir fry and viola~a perfect meal with rice...hmm i love quick to go meals~i have this thing of conjuring last to minute dishes with whatever i crave for at the moment~that is, hopefully i have the ingredients in our pantry..^^

150 gms. thinly sliced beef (freeze to cut easily)
6 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
5 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. black pepper, ground
2 pcs. bay leaves
1 clove garlic ( i simply love garlic!)
3 tbsp. olive oil.



1. Marinate the thinly sliced beef in balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, honey and black pepper. Leave up to 2 hrs. or overnight.
2. Heat pan with olive oil. Saute garlic and add the marinated sliced beef.
3. Stir fry the beef for 3 minutes and then add the marinade.
4. Cook for another 10 minutes or until the beef has become tender and the marinade reduced into a syrupy sauce.
5. Serve hot with rice.

Baked prawns aloha!

i've mentioned that i really love prawns, shrimps and anything alike...well, i made two kinds of prawn dish for lunch, the one i posted earlier was my mom's way while this one is the way i like my prawns to be...what can i say i love to spice it up with life...and my dish~~i made a different variation this time with the doenjang (korean soy bean paste) and gochujang ( korean red pepper paste) it adds a richer flavor...i named it baked prawns aloha because of the pineapple crushed that i used to sauteed the prawns...the pineapple flavor really gets into the prawns for a bit of sweeter taste!!! spicy and sweet just the way i like it!!!


Ingredients:
300 gms. prawns
1 yellow onion, minced
1/2 clove garlic, minced
234 g pineapple crushed
2 tbsp. gochujang ( red pepper paste)
1 tsp. doenjang ( soy bean paste)
salt to taste

Preheat oven for 250 degrees.

1. Saute onions and garlic with olive oil and butter.
2. Add the prawns. Season with salt,turning each side until reddish in color.
3. Blend in the crushed pineapples. Cook over low fire for 5 minutes.
4. Add the gochujang and doenjang. Mix well. Cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Transfer to a baking dish and baked for 15-20 minutes. Depends on how large the prawns are.

sauteed prawns in garlic and onions~~

this is a very simple and easy to make dish. you don't need to prepare a lot of ingredients just onions and garlic. and best of all you can really concentrate on the taste of the prawns~so good!!!
my mom loves it this way...



Ingredients:

200 gms prawns or shrimps
1 big size yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat pan with olive oil and butter.
2. Saute onions and garlic.
3. Add the prawns. Turn each side until reddish in color.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Cook for 10 minutes.

kaldereta

this is really really good! we had this for dinner last night. i have been making this dish for quite some time being my dad's favorite dish but this time it got even better with the addition of balsamic vinegar. kaldereta is a Filipino term for goat meat stew. i think this meal is of Spanish origin having a tomato-based sauce...enjoy!

Ingredients:

600 gms. goat meat
3 pcs. lemon
2 onions, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 pcs bay leaves
3 pcs. star anise
5 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
2 pcs whole pickles, sliced into cubes
3 cups soda (7-up)
1/4 cup rice wine
1 pc. red bell pepper
1 cup pineapple chunks
250 gms. tomato sauce
carrots and potatoes, cubed
salt and pepper to taste



1. Wash the goat meat thoroughly with water. Drain. Squeeze in 3 pcs. lemon, blend well with the goat meat. Disregard the lemon seeds and set aside for 15 minutes.
2. Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil. Add in the goatmeat. Stir-fry for 5 minutes.
3. Add 5 tbsp. worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, whole pickles, star anise, bay leaves and rice wine. Mix well and simmer for 5 minutes before adding the soda. Cook over low fire for 30 minutes.
4. Add the tomato sauce and pineapples. Simmer for another 30 minutes or until the meat is tender.
5. In another pan, deep fry the potatoes and carrots. Drain in paper towel.
6. Add in fried potaotes and carrots together with the red bell pepper to the meat mixture.
7. Blend well to coat the veges with the sauce.
~~~SERVE HOT!~~~

kimchi chigae!!!

i just love traditional korean foods!!! although i'm not korean but this stew, i would say is my ultimate favorite among their dishes...whenever i go to a korean restaurant i never miss out this stew. kimchi chigae is a mainstay in all of korean household. i was so happy when a friend introduce me to this site:maangchi.com , it shows how to make superb korean foods ( gomowoyo ejangnim!)~ here's my own version of kimchi chigae, i hope you'll love it the way i do...

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. olive oil
200 gms. pork belly, sliced thin
3 cups pork stock
1 medium size onion
1/2 clove garlic, chopped
3 tbsp. red pepper flakes (or you can add more if you want it really spicy!)
1 tbsp gochujang ( red pepper paste)
6 tbsp. anchovy sauce
1 cup kimchi
1 pack soft tofu
sesame oil



1. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil. Add the sliced pork belly and fish sauce.
2. Stir in the red pepper flakes and gochujang.
3. Blend in the kimchi.
4. Add the pork stock. Let it boil for 5-10 minutes or until bubbly.
5. Add the soft tofu. Drizzle with sesame oil.

Best served with japanese rice..or any sticky rice~masisseoyo!!!...really delicious!!!

homestyle meatloaf with a twist~

this is a classic meatloaf recipe but it just gets better with the addition of the cream of mushroom soup which made it tastier and oh so yummy!!!
i found it is best to saute the vegetables first before mixing with all of the other ingredients to bring out the flavor.

500 gms ground pork
500 gms ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 med size carrot, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
2 med size onions, chopped
3 eggs
4 slices of fresly grated bread (or 1 cup of breadcrumbs)
1/2 tbsp prepared horseradish ( you can omit this if not available)
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
3 tbsp. sweet blend ketchup
1 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
4 tbsp. chopped parsley
1tbsp. liquid seasoning
3 tbsp. sweet pickle relish
1/2 cup paramesan cheese (or you can just use plain cheese)
salt and pepper to taste

Basting sauce: balsamic vinegar and sweet style ketchup

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Heat pan with olive oil. Saute onions, carrots & zucchini. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine together the rest of the ingredients. Mix well to blend.
In a baking pan form the mixture into a meatloaf and spread with the basting sauce.
Bake in the oven for an hour and 30 minutes.
Let the meatloaf rest in the pan for 15 minutes then pour out the drippings into a bowl to make a gravy.
Serve with gravy on the side.

Gravy Sauce:
In a saucepan, heat pan drippings until bubbly. Using a whire whisk, blend in 4tbsp all purpose flour and mix well until smooth. Ass in beef cube dissolved in warm water, 2 tbsp liquid seasoning and 1/4 cup red wine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chopseuy, anyone?

chopseuy is a filipino term for stir-fried vegetables, popularly derived from chinese cuisine.
i could eat this dish everyday!!!it's healthy and so easy to prepare~ you can just mix any veges that you want and compliment it with pork, beef and any seafood~or you can have them all at once in the same dish!

Ingredients:

100 gms. pork
100 gms. shrimp, deveined
100 gms pork liver
5 tbsp. fish sauce
half a clove of garlic, chopped
1 medium size onions, chopped
mixed veges of potato, carrots, beans, sayote or vegetable pear, yam bean, cabbage or chinese pechay
1 green bell pepper
1 cup button mushrooms
1 cup young corn
5 pcs. squidd roll, sliced
5 pcs. tempura or shrimp roll, sliced
2 cups stock
salt, sugar and pepper to taste
sesame oil


Saute onions and garlic over medium fire. Stir fry the pork and cook for 4 minutes. Add the fish sauce. Blend well. Add the pork liver, shrimp, squidd roll, tempura. Cook for another 4 minutes. Blend in the mushroom and young corn. Add in the rest of the veges except for the cabbage or chinese pechay. Pour in the stock. Season with salt, sugar and pepper. Cook over medium fire for 7-10 minutes. Add in the cabbage or chinese pechay. Stir well to blend in the flavors. Drizzle with sesame oil.

my Lasagna~

i have always loved lasagna...it's one of my signature dish when i was young~~it's rich and creamy, my family and friends simply love it...i have seen and read a lot of lasagna recipes~all of which are ozzing with yumminess!!! here's my own version of this superbly great indulgence...enjoy!

Ingredients:

Lasagna
400 gms ground pork
400 gms ground beef
5 slices ham or you can just have hotdogs instead
1 medium sized yellow onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp olive oil
500 gms italian spaghetti sauce
1 tsp dried rosemary leaves
salt, sugar and pepper to taste
2 cups paramesan cheese
2 cups of mozarella cheese
parsley, chopped
Bechamel Sauce (recipe follows)




Cook lasagna as per package instruction.

Preheat oven 375 degrees. In a skillet, heat butter and olive oil. Saute onions and garlic. Add the ground beef and cook for 5 minutes. Add the ground pork and mix to blend in with the ground beef. Once the meat is brown enough, blend in the cubed ham. Stir and add the dried rosemary. Season with salt, sugar and pepper. Adjust seasoning according to your taste. Add in the italian tomato sauce. Stir and cook over low fire for 10 minutes.


Bechamel Sauce

4 cups of milk (scalded, warm over low heat but not to a boil)
4 tbsp. flour
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
dash of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Over low fire whisk the butter and flour. Slowly blend in the scalded milk until sauce becomes creamy. Season with salt and pepper. Add a dash of nutmeg.

Layer a 9x13 inch baking pan ( or just whatever is available) with the meat mixture just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Lay the lasagna noodles in the pan. Spread the tomato-meat mixture on the noodles, then spoon some of the bechamel sauce over the entire layer, sprinkle with mozarrela and paramesan cheese. Repeat the layering and finish with a layer of the lasagna noodle, bechamel sauce, paramesan and mozarella cheese..garnish with parsley~
Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

WeLcOmE!!!

I'm so excited to be finally making this blog (my first ever post..YEY!!!). i have never been a follower to any since i often thought that it's too impersonal to be sharing your thoughts to people you don't know until i discovered food blogging~i am just so amazed of how creative, wonderful and informative it can be. it just totally gets into me~and what more than my passion for cooking!!! looking back at all of the dishes that i made~it made me realize that if there's one thing that i am so passionate about... it's cooking pasta~it's simple, versatile and you can just do about anything with it!!!so let me start with my first welcoming post with an egg noodle dish i made for lunch...

i am fortunate to be living in a place near the sea as we get to have fresh sea foods all the time. what more than having it delivered right at your doorstep. so this morning, some lady vendor who drops by at our place brought me some prawns and shrimps ( i bought it at a very reasonable cost, lucky me!). i was contemplating of what dish i can make out of it...looking at the pantry i saw this Asian egg noodle that's been there for some time...so with a quick thought i decided to make an egg noodle stir fry complimented with the shrimp...it's quick, so easy and has a superbly delicious Asian flavor...

STIR FRY SHANGHAI NOODLE

1 medium size yellow onions
1/2 cloves of garlic
200 gms. pork soaked in 3 tbsp of fish sauce
200 gms shrimp, divined
1 medium sized carrots
5 pcs. beans
1/2 cup stock
sesame oil
olive oil
kosher salt
black pepper
sugar
250 gms. egg noodles (cooked for 3 mins in boiling water with salt)


Heat pan and add the olive oil. Saute onions and garlic for 1 minute. Add the marinated sliced pork. Toss until half done, add the shrimp. Add in the sliced carrots and beans. Blend well with the other ingredients. Add the half cup of broth. Season with salt, sugar and pepper. Toss in the noodles. Drizzle with a tablespoon of sesame oil. Serve hot.

~~the egg noodle that i used is very thin so i cooked it for just 3 minutes, depends on what type of noodle that you use, cooking time varies.~~