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Meowie’s Juicy chicken Boi guhr..with a slab of bacon

Conveniently serves 4

Meowie’s note: sorry about the photo, I could not find the set of this chicken burger and this is the only thing I found! so pardon me with this one..=(

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb of ground chicken

2 tbsps diced red pepper

2 tbsps diced green onion

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp crushed garlic

2 tsp. ketchup

2 tsp butter or margerine

2 tsp worchestershire sauce

TOPPINGS:

sliced tomatoes

slabs of cooked bacon

Provolone Cheese

Sliced fresh onions

3 tsbps mayo mixed with 3 tbsps of ketchup

PROCEDURES:

1) Mix all ingredients, form into patties .While preheating the grilled pan.

2) Grill 5-7 minutes on each side. Serve on a bun of your choice with the toppings as per mentioned. Of course you can have your favorite french fries on the side..heee…

bon apetit!

xx

Meowie’s Buttered Shrimp with Chives

Conveniently serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb of Cleaned and deveined medium shrimps

1/2 cup of chopped chives

a slice of lemon or lime

1/2 cup of sprite

salt and pepper for seasoning

2 tbsps. butter

2 tbsps. olive oil

PROCEDURES:

1)  Prepare the following on a bowl: Shrimps, squeezed lemon, sprite and salt and pepper.

2) Preheat the pan with butter and olive oil, saute the shrimps till it turns pink, do not over cook the shrimp, it will turn rubbery when you take a bite on it.

3) Take the shrimp out of the pan, sprinkle the chopped chives on top of the shrimp and voila you got yourself a very simple, very easy yummy dish!

Meowie’s Chocolate-Pecan Cupcakes

Ingredients

1/2 c. light margerine
1 c. sugar
2 lg.eggs
2 T. cocoa
1 c. all purpose flour
2 T. vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans

Procedures:

1) Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Blend in cocoa. Stir in flour and lastly put the pecans in.

2) Pour into lined muffin pan, can make into 2 pans (2 dozens cupcakes) Bake on 325 degrees for 30 – 35 min. Can substitute items for lower cals.

Enjoy!

xx

Broiled Lobster and Pan seared Filet Mignon

Broiled Lobster Tails

Meowie’s note: I got this recipe from this site. Followed it and it is very tasteful!

Since broiler temperatures vary dramatically, the distance from the broiler AND cooking times will need to adjusted for your stove.

1. Lay your lobster tail on a cutting board, with the underside (the soft shell side) facing up.
2. With kitchen scissors cut a slit in the soft shell lengthwise down the center, leaving the hard shell on the backside of the lobster intact. Be careful not to cut into the lobster meat.
3. Preheat broiler.
4. Place the lobster tail on a baking sheet with the hard shell facing down. Lightly baste with butter.
5. Place 4-5 inches beneath the broiler. Watching carefully. Broil for 5-10 minutes, or until the shell is red and the meat is white.

Tip on how to cook lobster tail: When broiling lobster tails you may want to leave your oven door open slightly to help prevent the lobster tails from baking.

Boiled Lobster Tails

1. Put enough water into a large pot to completely submerge your lobster tail.
2. For each quart of water add 1 teaspoon of salt.
3. Bring the water to a boil.
4. Place the lobster tail in the pot and return the water to a full boil.
5. Boil for approximately 1 minute to 1-1/2 minutes per ounce and then remove the tail from the water. See below…
6. Serve hot with melted, or clarified butter, and lemon wedges.

Weight 4 ounces, boil 4-6 minutes
Weight 5 ounces, boil 5-7 minutes
Weight 6 ounces, boil 6-9 minutes
Weight 7 ounces, boil 7-10 minutes

If boiling several lobster tails at once, add additional cooking time, dependent on the size of the tail.

FOR THE FILET MIGNON

Conveniently serves 2

Ingredients:

2 (4 to 6 ounces) 1-inch thick filet mignon steaks

Olive oil

Salt and Peppper (after cooking)

1/2 cup cabernet wine (can substitute any dry red wine of your choice)

1 to 2 tablespoons butter

Bring steaks to room temperature before cooking. Coat steaks lightly with olive oil.

Do not salt your steaks just before cooking. Salt bring moisture (water) to the surface of the steak, and the water sits on the surface as you cook the steak. Thus, you are again basically steaming the steak. I know that a lot of people do salt their steaks before cooking, but trust me and don’t salt – the result will be juicy, delicious steaks to serve your family and guests! Salt after the steak is cooked to your liking, has rested the required time, and just before serving.

Using the Pan-Searing or Sear-Roasting techniques (see below techniques), proceed to cook your steak to your desired doneness. Use a meat thermometer to test for doneness:

Rare – 120 degrees F
Medium Rare – 125 degrees F
Medium – 130 degrees F

Add the wine to the pan and bring to a boil, scraping any pieces of steak off the bottom of the pan and stirring them into the emerging sauce. Let the liquid boil until reduced to approximately 1/3 cup. Remove pan from heat. Add the butter and mix it in by swirling the pan. Pour the sauce over the steaks just before serving.

Bon Apetit!

xx

Meowie’s Homey Beef Noodle Soup

Conveniently serves 2-4

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb of lean beef chucks

1 lb of pork cut into cubes

4 tbsps. garlic, roasted

medium sized Onion, chopped

1/2 a cup of chopped scallions (green onions)

2 tbsps. Fresh ginger root

1 small stalk of lemon grass cut into half

Beef Broth

Beef Powdered Bouillon

salt and pepper to taste

Olive Oil

1/2 tbsps. of fish sauce

Butter or lard or margerine

Chinese ramen noodles (cooked)

PROCEDURES:

1) On a large deep pot, over  medium hight heat brown the meat and pork and once they are golden brown remove from heat.  Add 2 tbsps. of butter, saute` onions, and chopped ginger roots.  Return the meat back to the sauteed onions and ginger, add the beef broth to cover the meat. Let it simmer for 2o mins or till the beef and pork are tender.

2) Add the powdered beef bouillon, roasted garlic, scallions and lemon grass. Let it simmer for another 10 more minutes.

3) Remove from heat, in a bowl serve on top of cooked chinese ramen noodles and you can add more scallions,roasted garlic and fish sauce for more flavour and texture.

Bon apetit!

xx

Meowie’s Pork Chops with Country Gravy

Conveniently serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

4 medium sized pieces of Boneless center-cut loin pork chops

2 tsps. of Paprika

a pinch of salt and pepper

1/4 cup of flour with 3 tbsps. of  cornstarch for dredging

2 tbsps. Olive oil and 1 tbsp.butter for sauteing

pork bouillon, crushed

1 1/2 cup of low-fat milk or heavy cream

PROCEDURES:

1)  Mix flour with cornstarch with salt, pepper and paprika.  Dredge pork chops in the flour/cornstarch mixture and shake off excess.

2) Melt the butter over olive oil on medium   high heat and brown the pork chops for 2 minutes on each side.  Reduce the heat and cook for 10 minutes or until done, turning once and then you can remove the chops from the pan.

3) Combine flour mixture and pork bouillon with the low-fat milk or heavy cream using a whisk until blended or the consistency is silky smooth.

4) Add the mixture to the skillet on medium high heat. Bring to a boil, scraping the pan.  Reduce the heat and let it simmer until slightly thickened. Stir constantly DO NOT GO AWAY and leave the pan! lol.  Serve over the pork chops, with some yellow rice for side dish.

Bon apetit!

xx

Meowie’s Portobello Mushroom with Basil thin crust pizza

Conveniently serves 6 slices (medium size)

INGREDIENTS:

Basic Pizza Dough

(Note: enough dough for 2 large pizzas but I divided the dough in four and freeze the smaller balls for other use! e.g. empanadas, calzones, etc heee)

2 1/4 cup of all purpose flour (more, if needed)

1 tbsp active dry yeast

1 tsp salt

1 cup very warm water

1 tsp sugar

1 tbs olive oil, divided

a can of non-stick oil

PROCEDURE:

1) In a large bowl, combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast and salt.  Stir until ingredients are well mixed. Set aside.

2) In a smaller bowl, combine water, sugar and 2 teaspoons of olive oil. And then slowly add water mixture to the flour mixture.  If there is a need to add more flour  you can add at least 1 tablespoon at a time if and only if after mixing the dough is still to soft to touch.

3) Knead the dough well with hands for 15- 25 seconds.

4) Place the dough in a small bowl that has been coated with a non-stick spray and turn the dough lightly coat with oil. And cover with plastic wrap or a dish cloth and then allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 35 to 40 minutes. After that the dough should now double in size.

6) Punch the dough down and let it sit for 10 minutes.  With lightly floured hands, spread the dough over a 12-14 inch pizza pan that has been sprayed with a non-stick oil. Push the dough up to the edge of the pan forming a rim, if desired.

7) With a fork, prick the dough 10-15 times (all over bebe!)

8) Brush with the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil.

Baking suggestions:

Pre-cooking the shell for 5 minutes on each side will result in a crispier, more solid crust. Top shell as desired, bake at 450 degrees for 14-16 minutes, WATCH carefully do not run to the grocery store or have a nice walk outside..LOL.

FOR THE SAUCE:

INGREDIENTS:

1  1/2 tsp. Olive oil

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

28 ounce can chopped tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes if you want)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 teaspoon Fresh Oregano, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh Thyme Leaves, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

PROCEDURE:

1) In a large sauce pan, heat olive oil over medium heat, add garlice and saute for 2 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper.

2) Reduce heat to low and let it simmer uncovered for 3o minutes.  Cool sauce to room temperature before using on pizza.

FOR THE TOPPINGS:

(This is really easy peasy, defo!)

1/2 lb of fresh portobello mushroom, cut into slices

1/2 a lb of mozarella cheese

1/2 a lb of pepperjack cheese

Fresh basil leaves

PREHEAT OVEN for 425 degrees F

PROCEDURES:

Now you got the dough, you got the sauce, its time for you to assemble your own PERSONAL PIZZA! Now, since you have the dough, spread the sauce using the ladle.  Start from center going outwards the end, filled all sides every nook and cranny lol. Add the two cheeses by spreading them evenly. Then the portobello mushrooms and last but not the least the basil leaves scattered all over the nice pizza…baked for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Voila! you got yourself a very simple Pizza that you can create multiple times and create more than what I just shared…so..vamos! go ahead..get your creativity brain working and let’s have this baby off the hook!

Bon apetit!

xx

Meowie’s Mushroom White sauce with dried tomatoes and pasta

Meowie’s note: Here’s my easy breezy pasta dish..less than half an hour to make as long as you know how to make friends with time, that only means, you gotta know how to prioritize which ones to do first and you’ll do just fine!

Conveniently serves 1 or 2

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup finely chopped garlic
1/2 diced onions
1 /2 cup of whole button mushrooms cut into halves
1/2 cup of evap milk or heavy cream
2 tbps. of chopped dried tomatoes (for garnish)
butter
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lb. of cooked spaghetti (must be aldente)

Procedure:

1) Saute`chopped garlic until brown over clarified butter and oil, add the diced onions till the onions became translucent. Make sure the garlic is not burnt before adding the mushrooms.

2) Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste and the milk/cream. Let it simmer and reduce the sauce for 5 minutes. While its simmering, by this time you have prepared the boiling water for the pasta/spaghetti. Make sure the pasta is al dente/firm but not soggy or overcooked.

3) After 5 minutes add the cooked spaghetti and mix everything until thoroughly covered with the white mushroom sauce. Plate the finished dish and sprinkle with chopped dried tomatoes on top.

You can also top it with Parmesano Regiano cheese if you want.

cibo felice! goda di! consommation heureuse ! appréciez ! happy eating! enjoy!

xx

Meowie’s version of Pinakbet with Crispy fried pork belly: 2 birds in one stone!

Meowie’s note about Pinakbet or pakbet (through WIKIPEDIA) is a popular Ilocano dish, from the northern regions of the Philippines, although it has become popular throughout the archipelago. The word is the contracted form of the Ilocano word pinakebbet, meaning “shrunk” or “shriveled”. The original Ilocano pinakbet uses bagoong, of fermented monamon or other fish, while further south, bagoong alamang is used. The basic vegetables used in this dish include native bitter melon, eggplant, tomato, ginger, okra, string beans, lima beans, chili peppers , parda and winged beans. A Tagalog version usually includes calabaza. Most of these vegetables are easily accessible, and are grown in backyards and gardens of most Ilocano households. As its name suggests, it is usually cooked until almost dry and shriveled and the flavors of the vegetables are emphasized and accentuated by bagoong (shrimp paste). In some cases, lechon, chicharon, or other meats (most commonly pork) are added. It is considered a very healthy dish, and convenient in relation to the harsh and rugged, yet fruitful Northern and Ilocos regions of the Philippines. The history of this dish is derived from such.

Family Serving

INGREDIENTS;

For the Fried Pork Belly

2 lbs of pork belly, sliced lengthwise

cornstarch for dredging

salt and pepper for seasoning

Canola oil for frying

PROCEDURE:

1) This is optional: you can either cut the belly into cubes already or fried the whole thing and cut after, its up to you. Whatever is easy, go ahead and do it, no ones stopping you from doing what you think is the easiest. lol. Don’t forget to preheat your pan to a medium fire.

2) For the pork belly that has been already cut into cubes, seasoned it generously with salt and pepper and dredged with cornstarch.

3) Make sure the canola oil is hot enough for you to get ready and fry those pork belly suckers up. Finish by making sure all sides are cooked evenly. WARNING: make sure the pork belly is completely covered with cornstarch, stay away from water, once water drops on a hot oil, you know what it is, it will blow up on your face like MF.

4) Strain the fried pork bellies and is ready to serve. You can also have some dips if you wish by having vinegar with chillies and chopped garlic mixed together or you can also add some low sodium soy sauce to the dip, still works well.

FOR THE PINAKBET

(Ilocano Style)

2 tbsps. canola oil

half a bunch stalk of Sitaw (asian string beans) cut into an inch

3 tbsps. garlic, minced

1 Chicken bouillon cube, crushed

1 large onion, chopped

1 lb. pork, thinly diced

5 tbsp. bagoong

1 cup warm water

1 medium sized ampalaya (Bitter gourd)

1/2 lb of okra, cut diagonally

2 medium sized eggplant, cut into diagonal

PROCEDURES:
1. Heat Oil in a saucepan and saute garlic and onions.
2. Add pork and half a cup of warm water. Stir and cook until meat is soft.
3. Add the tomatoes and chicken bouillon and cook for 10 minutes.
4. Add the bagoong and remaining half-cup water. Bring to boil.
5. Mix in the Amplaya, eggplants, sitaw and okra.
6. Simmer for 15 minutes, best served with fried pork belly and a side dish of garlic white rice. ENJOY!

Meowie’s Sweddish Meatball Supreme Stew

Family Size Serving

INGREDIENTS:

MEATBALL:

2 lbs. Ground Beef

2 lbs. Ground Pork

1 lb. of Ground Chicken or Turkey

4 tbsps. Worchestershire Sauce

4 tbsps. Low Sodium Soy Sauce

1 medium sized onion, finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 Whole eggs, beaten

2 tbsps. tomato paste

3 tbsps. olive oil

1/2 cup of seasoned or unseasoned Italian Breadcrumbs

a pinch of salt and pepper

2 tbsps of chopped fresh parsley

2 tbsps. paprika

cornstarch for dredging

FOR THE STEW:

1/2 lb of fresh green peas

1 cup of sliced mushrooms, sliced (button or shitake)

4 large pieces of carrots, cut into cubes or wedges

FOR THE GRAVY:

This is a 5 calorie Beef Gravy, got this recipe from Sparkpeople user: Angietunie

3 cubes of beef bouillon, crushed

1 1/8 cups of cold water

1 1/2 tbsp. of cornstarch

pinch of thyme (dried)

pinch of white pepper

PROCEDURES:

1)Preheat oven for 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients well except for the stew and the gravy. Make a form of  a ball like a size of a golf ball and dredge it in seasoned cornstarch (mixed with a little bit of salt and pepper), and one at time slowly put the meatballs in a well oiled, hot pan.  Fry the meatballs on all sides till golden brown, transfer all the meatballs unto a large baking tray and place it in the over for roughly 15-20 minutes. So, while that’s in the oven…

2) You can start making the gravy:

By dissolving the cornstarch and crushed bouillon cubes in cold water.  Add spices. Cook, stirring constantly till the lumps are out, until boiling and smooth. Set aside.

3) On a hot pan with olive oil and butter, saute sliced mushrooms (any kind of mushrooms but I prefer button or shitake), carrots and green peas. Add some beef broth about half a cup or if you don’t have extra, water is fine (it’s just not as flavourful though =p) let it simmer for 2 minutes.

4) Take the meatball from the oven and carefully transfer them unto the sauteed vegies, once done, you can now put beef gravy and let it simmer for another 5 minutes for all the flavours to incorporate.

5) Best served with white rice or on top of egg noodles or just by itself alone is just as gooooddd!! Just see the photo below as an example. LOL.

Hope you love it!

Bon apetit

xx

Meowie’s Asian Pacific Islander Chicken

Conveniently serves 2-4

Meowie’s note: READ everything first before cooking, it helps you know rather than just looking at the site while cooking and then you fuck up and curse the writer big time (that’s me! haaha!)

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. of boneless and skinless chicken breast

SIDE DISH:

1 large size Onion, sliced

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

green peas and carrots (chopped into cubes)

1 medium size red bellpepper, sliced

Olive oil

Butter

MARINADE:

1/2 cup of soy sauce

1/3 cup worchestershire sauce

3 tbsps. of brown sugar

1/2 cup juice of a lime or lemon

a pinch of salt and pepper

1 tsp. of paprika

PROCEDURES:

1) Clean and prepare the boneless and skinless chicken breasts for marinade. Set aside.

2) Mix all marinade ingredients and pour over the contents over the cleaned chicken, let it steep for at least an hour to a maximum of 6 hours.

3) For the simple side dish: Heat pan on a medium high heat, with olive oil and butter, saute the onions, garlic and red bellpepper. Once all the vegies are translucent remove from heat and set aside.

4)An hour of marinade is up! now its time to cook the chicken. Don’t forget to preheat the oven for 350 Degrees.

5) Have the hot cast iron skillet prepared with olive oil and butter, slowly transfering the marinade chicken to the pan, cooked until golden brown on both sides for 15-20 mins (depending how big the cut of the chicken is/are) just make sure that is not burnt outside and still raw inside, that’s why we preheated the oven so that we can follow up the heat inside the chicken so as not to make it dry and evenly cooked =)

6) Since I have mentioned the oven, you can now put the almost cooked chicken covered with aluminum foil inside the preheated oven. Let it bake or 10 mins and broil for 5 mins I just want to see that dark caramelized texture from the brown sugar melting on top of the chicken. Yumm Savoroso! heeee.

7)Best served with the sauteed vegies that you have set aside, make sure that you do that while you are cooking the chicken (multi-tasking baby!) so everything are still hot when you serve it. And if you have some cooked white or brown rice, it works too.

Bon Apetit!

xx

Meowie’s oh so fluffy biscuits

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 C. cake flour
3/4 C. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/4 C. butter, cut into small chunks
3/4 C. buttermilk

PROCEDURES:

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

2. Prepare ingredients: Cut butter into small chunks, place in a bowl and return to fridge. Measure out buttermilk and set aside. Sprinkle flour on a work surface and have extra flour nearby for your hands and biscuit cutter. Have biscuit cutter and an ungreased baking sheet handy

3. Mix dough: In a medium-large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt until very well blended. Add butter and cut into flour using a pastry blender, two knives or your fingertips, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in buttermilk and stir lightly until dough comes together in a ball.

4. Knead dough and cut biscuits: Dump dough mixture out onto floured work surface. With floured hands, lightly knead dough a few times until it is fairly well blended. Pat out into a circle, 3/4 – 1 inch thick. Dip cutter into flour and cut biscuits without twisting the cutter. Form the dough scraps into an extra biscuit-like shape instead of re-rolling the dough. Place cut biscuits together on the baking sheet so that the sides are touching. Brush tops with melted butter, if desired.

5. Bake biscuits: place baking sheet in the middle of a preheated 500 degree oven and bake for 8-10 minutes until they are golden brown. Remove biscuits to a wire rack to cool for a few minutes.

Bon Apetit!

xx

Meowie’s Not so dry Meatloaf

Meowie’s note: I usually would cook this on a hot cast iron pan, but since I could not find the one’s that I previously took, I think this will work for now…thanks for the patience.

Conveniently Serves for Two to Four

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb of Ground beef

1 lb of Ground Pork

Medium sized onion, chopped

Medium sized, yellow or red bellpepper, chopped into small cubes

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 a cup of tomato sauce

1 tbsp. of tomato paste

1/2 a cup of Ketchup with 1 tbsp.of brown sugar

1 whole egg

1/2 a cup of seasoned or unseasoned bread crumbs

Olive Oil and butter for cooking.

salt and pepper for seasoning.

PROCEDURE:

1) Preheat the cast iron pan on a low-medium heat while preparing for the meatloaf ingredients. Also preheat Oven for 350 degrees.

2) In a large bowl, mix altogether: ground beef, ground pork, onion, garlic, bellpepper, tomato sauce, tomato paste, a little bit of ketchup mixture (the remaining stuff are to be added later), 1 whole egg, seasoned or unseasoned bread crumbs, salt and pepper and two swirls of olive oil. Mix well but don’t over do it.

3) Form the meatloaf mixture according to your liking, if you want it to be shaped like a cat or dog so be it..but I personally prefer it be nice and simple like that of regular loaf pan shape.Baste the external part (obviously) of the whole shaped meatloaf with the ketchup and brown sugar (for extra flavor and texture).

4) Place the shaped mixture to the hot cast iron pan, remove from heat, cover with aluminum foil and place in a preheated 350 degree oven. Let it cook for about 20 mins.

5) After 20 mins, remove the foil and let it bake for another 30 mins. At this time, the juices that comes out from the meatloaf will ooze out, so use it for basting so that it won’t dry out.

6) Stick a toothpick or bamboo skewer for doneness. If it comes out clean, its ready to serve.

7) Let the meat rest for about 3 minutes before serving, best served with some homemade Creamy and buttery mashed potatoes with parsley and some corn on the cob on the side. YUUMMMYY.

So that would be my next recipe. lol.

Meowie’s take on Grilled BBqued Chicken

Meowie’s note: This a special marinade sauce inspired from back home (where I was born and raised, Bacolod City, city of smiles –you can google it you know ;P

INGREDIENTS:

Serves 2-4

1 lb. of chicken wing

MARINADE:

1 cup of Soy Sauce (you can also use the Low sodium one)

Half a cup of Vinegar

half a cup of Calamansi Juice (you can use lime or lemon)

3 tbsps. of brown sugar

half a bulb of garlic crushed

sea salt, pepper and paprika for seasoning

For Basting:

Annatto seeds for coloring with oil

Dried or fresh Bay Leaves

PROCECURES:

1) Combine all ingredients for the marinade, (please see list above) once mixed pour all contents unto the chicken wings. Let it marinade for at least 6 hours, do not marinade more than 24 hours.

2) Prepare the grill, making sure that its really clean, hot and greased so that the chicken won’t stick. While the grill is being prepared, place the annatto seeds in oil for basting the chicken.

3) Other options, you can put the marinated chicken wings on to the skewer by threes or depending how big the wings are when grilling (make sure to soak the bamboo skewers in the water for about an hour at least).

4) You can now grill the marinaded chicken wings, make it well basted enough to keep it moist and not dry.

5) Grill on both sides until done. Served with garlic rice and with some soysauce, calamansi, vinegar and garlic condiments.

Bon Apetit.

xx!

Black Beans and Rice

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 45 mins.

Total Time: 50 mins.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsps. Olive Oil

1/2 cup Sofrito

A small bottle of Green Olives (whole, but pitted)

1 packet of Sazon with annatto

Salt  and pepper to taste

1 15 oz can of Black Beans

2 cups Long grain white rice

4 cups of chicken broth (or water)

PREPARATION:

1) Heat olive oil  in a pot over medium heat.

2) Add sofrito and lightly fry for about one minute.

3) Add sazon, salt, beans and rice. Stir to combine ingredients and coat the rice with color.

4) Pour in water or chicken broth and bring to a rolling boil.  Allow to boil for one or two minutes, and then stir the rice mixture.

5) Reduce the heat and cover and keep the lid slightly open. Let it steam for 10 minutes and check for doneness and mix the rice and beans so that it would lessen the amount of brown stuff sticking in the bottom of the pan.

6) Once the rice mixture  is cooked or aldente, remove from heat and let it steam for another 15 minutes.

7) Fluff the rice with a fork and serve it with your favorite main dish. Top it with green or black olives for more texture and flavour.

Meowie’s note: photos to follow. =D

Bon Apetit!

xx

Kare-Kare (Oxtail and Peanut Stew) Recipe

MEOWIE’S NOTE: via wikipedia:

Kare-kare is a Philippine stew. It is made from peanut sauce with a variety of vegetables, stewed oxtail, beef, and occasionally offal or tripe. Meat variants may include goat meat or (rarely) chicken. It is often eaten with bagoong (shrimp paste), sometimes spiced with chili, and sprinkled with calamansi juice. Traditionally, any Filipino fiesta (particularly in Pampanga region) is not complete without kare-kare. In some Filipino-American versions of the dish, oxtail is exclusively used as the meat.

KARE KARE (OX TAIL AND PEANUT STEW) RECIPE
Conveniently serves 6-8

Photo Courtesy: http://www.witsandnuts.com and ms. divina pe

Ingredients:

Ox Tail

2 lbs ox tail
1 lb beef round or short ribs
Sea salt and white pepper
2 large onions
2 medium carrots
8 cups water

Sauce and Vegetables

2 ½ cups whole peanuts
1/3 cup Jasmine rice
2 onions
4 tbsp annatto oil (please see note)
2 medium sized eggplants

¼ bundle string beans, cut into 1/2 inch1 piece of banana bud/heart
6 calamansi or you can also use Lime or Lemon (But we really prefer calamansi, tastes better =D)

To Serve

2 garlic cloves, chopped and roasted
1 shallot
1/3 cup bagoong (fermented shrimp paste)

PROCEDURES:

1)To cook the meat, heat a large Dutch oven or deep frying pan over medium-high heat. Then season the meat on all sides with salt and pepper. Add the oil to the pan and brown the meat. While the meat is browning, peel and roughly chop the onions and carrots. When the meat has browned on both sides, transfer to a plate and set aside.

2) Add the onions, carrots and celery. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and brown. Once golden, add the seared beef back to the pan. Cover the ingredients with water or just enough to cover the meat. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Lower the heat, cover and cook for about 3 to 5 hours or until the meat are fork tender.

3) To prepare the other ingredients, first remove the fat from the surface of the beef stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Next, toast the peanuts in a large pan, stirring occasionally until light golden brown. Allow the nuts to cool down and process them in a food processor until finely ground. Transfer to a bowl.

4) Next, grind the raw rice in a spice grinder and toast the in a pan until lightly golden brown. Transfer to a bowl with the ground nuts. Add enough of the hot stock to form a paste and set aside.

5)To prepare the vegetables, peel and chop the onion, slice the eggplants into 1-inch thick, on a bias, cut the string beans into 2-inch pieces and cut the banana bud half lengthwise, then into 1-inch pieces crosswise. Soak the cut banana heart in water with a little vinegar. Then, juice the calamansi.

6)To prepare the bagoong, peel and thinly slice the garlic and the shallots. Heat oil in pan over low heat and add the sliced garlic and shallots, and cook until soft. Add the bagoong and cook until the mixture is fragrant. Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and set aside.

7)To cook the Kare Kare, heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan and sweat the onions, followed by the salt. Cook until the onions are soft. Add 5 cups of the simmering stock and peanut mixture, stirring with a whisk until combined. Then add the beef and let it simmer for 15 minutes until tender. Stir the mixture occasionally. Next, add the eggplant, string beans, banana heart and cook until the vegetables are tender. Add more water if the mixture is too thick. Add the calamansi juice, then season with salt to  taste. Allow to simmer for another 2 minutes and take it off the heat.

8) To serve the Kare Kare, ladle the dish into a bowl and serve with plain steamed rice and bagoong.

Cook’s Notes: via Divina Pe (www.senseandsensibility.com)

Atsuete Oil (Annato oil)

To prepare annato oil, simply combine ¼ cup of annato seeds and 1 cup grapeseed or rice bran oil. Heat up the mixture and turn off the heat and allow to sit for 1 hour. Strain the oil through a glass container and discard the annato seeds. Another option is to combine 1 tablespoon of annato seeds in ½ cup of hot water, and let it sit an hour. Then press the seeds with a spoon to extract the color. Strain the mixture and discard the seeds.

If you happen to use oxtail with the skin on and you’re not searing it, blanch them first to remove the impurities. When the water has come to boil, drain the ox tail and wash in cold water. Wash the pot and fill with some freshly cold water and add the ox tail back. Bring to a boil and simmer with 1onion (roughly chopped) and few slices of ginger).

For maximum peanut flavor, make sure to toast or roast the peanuts very well. You can also use peanut butter but make sure to get a really good quality peanut butter. You can use a combination of good quality smooth peanut butter and freshly ground roasted peanuts.

Some recipes would call for vegetables to be cooked separately before adding to the dish. In some restaurants, the three components are served almost separately by ladling the sauce first before arranging the vegetables and the ox tail on top of the sauce.

Hope you like this version as much as I do. Keep coming back for more recipes!

Bon Apetit!

xx

Meowie’s Spanish Style Paella

INGREDIENTS:

Half a bulb of Garlic, minced

One large size Onion, chopped

handful of bay leaves (fresh or dry)

One regular size Tomato Sauce

Two 32 ounce Chicken Stock (use one whole for the rice and half for

3 swirls of Olive Oil from the bottle or any container (=D)

A pack of Pork Cubes (aka Kasim) or Ham, cut into cubes

Half a pound of each: Chicken legs, breasts and thighs

Chorizo Bilbao or any kind of sausages you prefer

A pound of scallops

A pound of Clams with shells, cleaned

A pound of Mussels with shells. cleaned

A pound of Squid (calamari)

Half a pound of Monk Fish (fillet)

Glutenous or sticky rice (Long grain)

Half a pound of Potatoes (cut into cubes)

Red and Green Bellppers (cut into thin slices)

FOR GARNISH:

4 Large Size hard-boiled eggs

1 cup green peas

a pinch of Saffron

PROCEDURES:

1) Start by cooking the glutinous rice or you can also mix it up with a regular long grain if you wish but make sure its 2:1 ratio of glutinous & the regular LG rice.  Either way you can put the 32 ounce chicken stock to the pot or if you have a rice cooker even better so you will have a perfect fluffy rice if you don’t have the time to check the rice once in a while to keep it from burning. Start adding the glutinous rice or mixed to the chicken stock, cook for 15-20 mins or check to see if the rice is aldente or if it needs more fluid. While its cooking you can now proceed to the next step. BUT! you also have an option since traditionally, the rice is cooked with the rest of the ingredients like putting it after the chicken parts have been browned. SO either way it works fine, it’s just a matter of timing.

2) Heat olive oil and butter (or margerine whichever you prefer) in a paella pan or if youre like me I prefer a large cast iron pan.  Sauté onion tomatoes,garlic and sliced bellpeppers, cook until the onions becomes translucent, add salt and pepper for seasoning. Before I forget, soak the saffron in 1 cup of HOT water for 15 minutes.

3) When the sautéed vegies are done,remove from pan and throw in the chicken legs, breasts and thighs first since it needs a lot of time to cook. Wait till the chicken is golden brown, don’t forget to season it with salt and pepper (not too much though). Add thePork Kasim or cubed Hams and  Spanish Sausage or Chorizo Bilbao ( you can find this mostly at Asian Stores or Gourmet Specialty Shops) if you can’t find one you can also use some smoked sausages which you can find in any grocery stores.

4) You can now add the potatoes,saffron water, tomato sauce and some extra chicken stock and let it simmer or wait till the chicken is tender.

5) When the chicken parts are done, make a well in the pan and then slowly add fish, scallops, shrimps, squid, clams and mussels, dried or fresh bay leaves and lastly the cooked aldente rice and mix altogether nicely and gently. Cover the pan so everything steams and cooks inside evenly for about 10 mins.

5) Uncover the pan, check for doneness if everything looks great to you, fantastic! now you can serve your mouth watering Paella to your loved ones, but before that garnish it with sliced eggs, green peas and just a pinch of saffron for added texture and flavour.

Arrange it according to the type that ingredients that you put in like e.g. first round line is mussels, then second, fish, third, scallops..so on and so forth, whatever you want to do, do it use your creativity! YES! by all means =D

So there you go, lemme know what you think (if you have tried it and tested the recipe) I know there are countless of recipes out there but sure enough I am happy to share this one and the rest for you and to the rest of my loved ones.

Bon apètit and ciao!

xx

Meowie’s Dinuguan (Pork Blood Stew)

MEOWIE’S NOTE via Wikipedia: Dinuguan (also called dinardaraan in Ilocano and tid-tad in Pampanga, or pork blood stew in English) is a Filipino savory stew of blood and meat (typically stomach, intestines, ears, and snout) simmered in a rich, spicy gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili (most often siling mahaba), and vinegar. The term dinuguan comes from the Filipino word dugo meaning “blood”. It is similar to the Singapore dish pig’s organ soup, differing in that it does not contain vegetables and has a characteristically thick gravy. It is frequently considered an unusual or alarming dish to most people, though it is rather similar to European-style blood sausage, or British black pudding in a saucy stew form. It is perhaps closer in appearance and preparation to the ancient Spartan dish known as melas zomos (black soup) whose primary ingredients were pork, vinegar and blood. Dinuguan is often served with white rice or a Filipino rice cake called puto. It has earned the nickname of chocolate meat for its appearance.

A similar dish is also known among the Bataks of Indonesia, called sangsang. Sangsang is made from pork or dog meat (or more rarely, water buffalo meat), coconut milk and spices (including kaffir lime and bay leaves, coriander, shallot, garlic, chili pepper and Thai pepper, lemongrass, ginger, galangal, turmeric and andaliman (the fruit of a native shrub similar to Sichuan pepper)).

Sangsang has special significance to the Bataks, as it is an obligatory dish in Batak marriage celebrations.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 a lb. each Internal Organs (heart, liver, pancreas & meat with fat or other options– pig’s ears or feet)

1 lb. Pork Blood (MAIN INGREDIENT!)

2 cups of Vinegar with water, tablespoon of salt

One Medium sized Onion, Chopped

Half a bulb of Garlic, chopped

3 pcs of whole bay leaves (dried or fresh)

Two pieces Hot Pepper (Siling Labuyo), depends if you want it mild or spicy.

2 tbsps. Margarine

A stalk of Lemon Grass (Tanglad)

Sugar (Tbsp.)

A can of Evaporated Milk (yes! you’ll be surprised!)

Salt and Pepper to taste

PROCEDURES:

1) Clean and cut all internal organs into small bite size pieces, cook  into sauce pan with vinegar mixture until tender. Let it boil for 20 minutes. The vinegar will actually kill all the bacteria,  and the gameness taste of the organs and best for marinade too. Yes, I know it definitely sounds nasty…but this is very helpful especially when it comes to dishes like this..(in my own experience that is =D )

2) On a hot pan, saute garlic and onion, add the boiled organs and continue cooking for 10 mins.

3) Add the fresh pork blood little by little and then by stirring the whole mixture. When finished bring the pot to a boil, if its too thick add more water, season with salt and pepper and cover for another 10 minutes.

4) Add evaporated milk, tablespoon of sugar, lemon grass and the chili pepper before removing from the fire.

5) Keep covered and served hot with white rice, garlic rice or with Puto. (that would be our next recipe soon!)

Bon Apetit!

Let’s get wasted! (with food and drinks of course! lol)

This is currently under construction!

Till i finally get my hands to work my external HD to work, when I start working again (this coming monday) and when our gas here in the house will finally work…everything will come back to normal again and things will get better.

YES to POSITIVE thinking! haaa haaaa…