Maggi Magic Meals' Bicol Express

Have you seen the commercial where the wife comes home and whips up Bicol Express for dinner without changing out of her pretty dress?  It's been airing a lot lately and that catchy jingle has been stuck in my head as if urging me to just cook it already!  Maggi Magic Meals' Bicol Express Recipe Solutions has been sitting in our pantry for several weeks but it was just recently that we had pork belly (liempo) and baguio beans at the same time.

Chopsuey

Another chopsuey version minus the meat.

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

One way to trick picky veggie eaters to get more servings of vegetables is to mix in some meat with the vegetables.  In this case bacon made asparagus more appealing.

Carmencita Spanish Paella Fish and Seafood Flavor

My first try at Paella turned out ok but sure could use a lot of improvement.

Fish Fillet, Tofu and Eggplants

Fish, tofu and eggplants in a rich flavorful sauce thats mostly salty and a bit sweet.

Veggie Noodle Soup

It was a rainy and cold day today, the type of weather that makes you want to snuggle and hide under the covers.  I was craving for warm soup to soothe the chills.

I found a pack of instant rice noodles in our pantry and rummaged through the kitchen for other ingredients that I could throw into a boiling pot of soup stock.

Pork Chopsuey

Instead of cooking vegetables and then a meat dish, I decided to add pork pieces to my vegetable dish.  One pot meals mean less stuff to wash too.

Sayote with Chicharon

I don't like eating soft pork fat but I love chicharon haha.  It's been a habit to trim off the fat from raw pork cubes or raw pork chops and reserve it for vegetables.  Cooking it this way somehow lessens the guilt from eating so much fat.  I just used sayotes this time instead of a whole bunch of different veggies.  

Chicken and Veggie Stew

A super yummy chicken dish that I'm sure to repeat over and over again. Good with rice and bread.  I can chug down that creamy buttery sauce as if it were soup.  This tastes a lot like Chicken ala King, most probably because they have a lot of similar ingredients.

Eggplants in Pizza Sauce

I know I have to work on my food styling skills.  This may look like an ugly blob but it tasted surprisingly good for an experimental dish.  Even good enough for my mother in law to tell other people about it!

Beef Steak with Eggplants

Here's another great way to prepare beef steak.  Throw in lots of eggplants which soak up the sauce.  My mother in law used to prepare eggplants beef steak style so I decided to put the two things together.

I used the same recipe for the Beef Steak with Potato Wedges but skipped the parts for the potatoes.  I cut the eggplants into rounds and let them simmer in the sauce together with the onions.

Norbest Turkey with Tender Timer

After more than 20 years in Chicago, my husband's grandparents came home to Manila.  So for the past few years that we've been celebrating Christmas and New Years with them, we've always had turkey.

Cajun Chicken Leg Quarters

I test drove the roasting pan we purchased at Gourdo's by baking some chicken leg quarters and veggies.

Pork Kare Kare

A great way to enjoy kare kare minus the oxtail (my least favorite part of this dish).  I can eat rice with sauce and just bagoong (shrimp paste).    

Veggies with Crispy Pork

Here's a not so healthy vegetable dish that uses simple ingredients.

Stovetop Chicken Pastel

I have always thought of Chicken Pastel as a party dish.  Something that's served only on special occasions.  After cooking this twice in my lifetime, I realized that a budget conscious family may find this a bit pricey for an ordinary meal.  This won't be in our weekly menu but we could splurge every couple months or so.  Who knows, I may even try to make the pie crust someday.

Tofu and Veggies in Oyster Sauce

The expiry on the tofu I fried was coming up so we had to finish them before they spoiled.  

Beef and Veggies in Mushroom Sauce

A semi successful experiment.  I had no idea what to cook one night.  So I just mixed in some ingredients together.  

Beef Steak with Potato Wedges

My husband and mom in law both exclaimed "wow" when they saw our dinner tonight.

The Filipino steak was on sale on our last grocery run, a sign that we cook some beef steak which we have not had in months.  My first time to prepare it with potato wedges.