Party food

Next month will be my son's birthday and as early as possible i want to prepare and plan for his birthday party. Last year he turned seven years old but he got sick at the time of his birthday (he had mumps) that's why we were not able to give him birthday party. This time my son requested to celebrate his birthday in school since it falls on Monday. And so we agreed anyway it's just a simple party with his 18 classmates only as guests.

For the party food i want to make it something different so i'm trying to search some recipes online. I was intrigued when I came across Mexican recipes especially this recipe called Beef Carnitas Empanadas. Carnitas is a Mexican dish of braised pork that's cooked until very tender and shredded or torn into small bits. This beef version features carnitas as filling for empanadas, but you can also use it in tacos, enchiladas, or burritos. Empanadas are Mexican-style pastries filled with meat, vegetables, or even dessert. I might consider this recipe in my list, the empanada in the picture looks yummy :)

image from myrecipes.com

Chicken inasal restyled

Filipinos love barbecue. Where there is smoke and the rich aroma of meat cooking on a grill is where you'll find barbecue addicts. This explains the success of many barbecue business ventures in the country.

A recipe from a food magazine caught my attention. It's a restyled recipe of chicken inasal. The large cuts of meat were reduced to smaller portions using boneless and skinless chicken breasts that were cubed. The skewers used were smaller too. The original marinade recipe was followed but the resulting dish took on a healthier and more refined look and taste.

The ingredients are as follows:

3 pcs. boneless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes
4 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp. minced ginger
1/4 tsp. cracked black peppercorns
juice from 1 lemon or 1 lime or 2 calamansi
1/4 cup vinegar (palm, cane or white vinegar)
1 tsp. annatto water (1/2 tsp annatto seeds dissolved in 1 tbsp water, discard seeds)
1/4 tsp. rock salt
6-8 pcs. skewers (6-inch)
sinamak vinegar

Procedure:

1. In a bowl, combine chicken, garlic, ginger, pepper, lemon juice, vinegar, annatto water and salt. Cover and marinate for an hour.
2. Remove the chicken from the marinade. Thread 3 to 4 pieces of chicken in each skewer. Boil the marinade to make it safe for basting the chicken during the cooking.
3. Grill skewered chicken over hot coals until both sides are cooked, basting occasionally with the marinade. Serve with sukang sinamak or any vinegar-based sauce.

If you're not familiar with sukang sinamak, here's how to prepare this infused vinegar:

3 cups vinegar (preferably palm but cane or any white will do)
2 heads peeled garlic
3 inches peeled ginger, cut into 1/4 inch strips
1/2 cup red and green bird's eye chilis (siling labuyo)

In a clean long neck bottle, pour in the vinegar then add the garlic, ginger and chilis. Cover and let stand overnight before using to allow the infusion of flavors. Reserve for future use. Add more vinegar to the bottle as the vinegar is used up.

(image from google)

Menudo ala Beefies Lots a Cheese

Every morning hubby and I always ask each other "what's our ulam for today?" Instead of answering the question we always end up staring at each other kasi we can't think of anything new! haha.. The reason is we can only cook sinigang, nilaga, prito and instant noodles! hehe and besides the kids only want hotdogs.. hotdogs.. and more hotdogs!

I'm glad i found this recipe Menudo ala beefies lots a cheese! Menudo is one of the most versatile ulam recipes known to us Filipinos. It's perfect for any time of the day and it's easy to cook. But my kids doesn't really like Menudo with just meats alone. With this discovery, this time i'm sure my kids will gonna like it because of the new Purefood's Beefies Lots A Cheese cheesedog added in the recipe. I thought of sharing this and if you're interested here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

16 pcs Beefie Lots A Cheese Cheesedog
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup calamansi juice
1/3 cup Star margarine
1 tbsp garlic
1 cup onions
1 cup green bell peppers
1 cup tomato sauce
2 cups water
2 pcs bayleaf
1 tsp balck pepper
1 cup potatoes
1 cup carrots
salt to taste

Procedure:

In a saucepan, melt Star margarine. Saute garlic and onions. Add in the bell peppers. Mix well. Pour tomato sauce, soy sauce, calamansi juice and water. Let simmer then add bay leaf, pepper, potatoes and carrots. Mix well. Let simmer 10 minutes more or until potatoes are tender. Add in the sliced hotdogs and continue to cook for another 3 to 5 minutes.

That's it! It's very simple and easy. If your kids are like mine i suggest you try this they will surely love this new Menudo recipe.

Easy to prepare snacks

With school opening, it's back to the kitchen for mom to cook up new dishes for breakfast or afternoon snacks. I have found a new recipe that is easy to prepare for your kids' snacks and baon. Here are the ingredients and cooking procedure:

Crepes:
1 c water
1 egg
1 tbsp oil
1 c Pancake mix

Chicken Filling:
1/3 c butter
1/2 c cubed cooked chicken
c cubed ham
1/3 c cream of mushroom soup diluted in 1 c water
1 c sliced button mushrooms
1/2 c diced red and green bell pepper
1/2 c peas
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp marjoram
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare crepes:
In a bowl, combine the water, egg and oil with a fork. Add pancake mix. Beat until smooth. heat a nonstick pan and brush with a little oil. Pour a scant 1/4 cup of the batter into the hot pan. Tilt to the pan from side to side to cover the entire surface. Cook until done then transfer to a plate. Do the same for all the batter. Set aside.

Prepare chicken filling:
In a saucepan, heat the butter the saute the onions until tender. Add the chicken and ham. Stir in the diluted soup. bring to a boil then add the remaining ingredients. Season to taste. Simmer for a few more minutes.

Place a crepe on a plate. Put 1-2 tbsp of filling then roll up the crepe. Do the same for all crepes. Happy cooking!