Sweet Potatoes - Asian Style

When we went to the Oriental Store in Pittsburgh the last time, I saw a box full of Kamote or sweet potatoes so I grab some because they are the kind that like the ones that we have in the Philippines. Iba kasi ang kamote dito eh hehehe.

MY FIL love the way I prefer it, I fry 'em then I put a caramelized sugar on it afterwards. My daughter love it too, here's the proof..

Just remember....

that a little bit of this

and a little dash of that

makes a sumptuous life...

so Spice Up Your Life.

Menudo

We had menudo for lunch the other day. I prefer menudo over caldereta because I like pork more than beef. My husband love the latter though. Before, he wasn't crazy about the menudo because of the liver in it but lately he is starting to adopt to it and I'm glad that he does because that's one of my favorite ingredients in menudo hehehe.

Got this recipe from filipinofoodrecipes.net.

Pork Menudo Recipe

Estimated preparation & cooking time: 50 minutes

Menudo Ingredients:

• 1/2 kilo pork (cut into small chunks)

• 1/4 kilo pork liver (cut into small cubes)

• 5 pieces chorizo Bilbao (also cut in small pieces)

• 4 potatoes (peeled, cut in small cubes, fried)

• 1 green and 1 red bell pepper (diced)

• 1 cup chickpeas

• 1/4 cup raisins

• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

• 1 cup pork or chicken stock

• 2 teaspoons of patis (fish sauce)

• 3 tablespoons oil

• 1 tablespoon atsuete oil (optional)

• 3 tomatoes (diced)

• 1 small head of garlic (minced)

• 1 medium size onion (diced)

Menudo Cooking Instructions:

• In a pan or wok, heat cooking oil and atsuete oil.

• Saute garlic, onion. Then add the pork, liver, chorizo de Bilabo, tomatoes, bell pepper, paprika, patis and the stock.

• Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the pork is tender.

• Add the chickpeas, potatoes and raisins. Boil of another 2 minutes.

• Salt and pepper to taste.

• Serve hot with white rice.

Just remember....

that a little bit of this

and a little dash of that

makes a sumptuous life...

so Spice Up Your Life.

Deviled Egg Crew

Rylie is definitely a Daddy's girl. Whenever her Dad is in School or at work (when he was still working) she would always thing of something to do or make to surprise him. Last Tuesday, I was busy doing the laundry at the basement and when I came up at the kitchen she was busy doing something and the stove was one. She was boiling some eggs! She wanted to make some deviled to surprise her Dad because John love DE.

So when the egg was cooked, I peeled tit for them then she did most of them pretty much with a little bit of help from master Joops hehehe. I told her what the ingredients were and she whip it all up. EJ's job was to squirt the mustard in it, he love that.

Here's Dadddy happily eating the surprise filled with love devilled egg. we also brought some to Pap as he love eating it it too

These are the ingredients.

Presenting the deviled from my little crew.

Just remember....

that a little bit of this

and a little dash of that

makes a sumptuous life...

so Spice Up Your Life

Classic Puto

One of my kids favorite Filipino dessert or kakanin is the puto. I am glad that there is a classic puto mix that you can buy in the oriental store where you can just whip up and voila you have puto instantly steaming.

But even then, I have a very impatient princess who look like this trying to wait for her puto to get done lol.

See here, that's the fruit of her messy labor. I wasn't able to take pictures of the process since it was so messy that I don't want to clean up my hands then get back to work then take pictures (grrrr too many excuses lol..).

But anyhow, they love puto so much!

always remember

a little bit of this

and a little dash of that

makes a sumptuous lif...

So always Spice up your Life!!

Fried Bangus or Milk Fish

My husband is not very fond of eating fish but there are some that he can tolerate eating like the tinapa or smoke fish but it has to be the galunggong kind. He can also eat the boneless bangus or milkfish as long as it is fried.

So whenever we go to the Oriantal store, we always buy one when it is available.

You may ask why there are carrots slices there which doesn't fit for the menu. That is for EJ who doe not like tomatoes but he likes eating carrots so whatever works, I will serve lol..

always remember

a little bit of this

and a little dash of that

makes a sumptuous lif...

So always Spice up your Life!!

Bolgogi Bibimbap - My version

When we went to the Asian store in Pittsburgh (45 minutes drive from us), I got excited when I saw the jar of the hot pepper paste, the paste that you use in bibimbap. My husband and I have been missing this Korean dish for quite a while now since we left the country so upon seeing it, I feel like I have to buy one so I can make it (although I don't know how).

I did not find the ingredients there, so we went to Walmart and find some similar veggies that I could use like the cole slaw mix, spinach, mushroom, and the herb mix. I did not like the bean sprout that was in there so I thought I could make my own and did not realize that it will take four days to sprout the mung beans lol.

So the first batch of bibimbap that I made has no sprouted beans ( am still waiting for the mung beans to fully sprout till now lol). But it's fun to do it with the kids, you can teach them how to do it. So here's my first attempt of making bibimbap, hubby said his craving was satisfied!

Since the kids, can't eat the spicy bibimbap, I made them some rice with veggies and eggs wrapped up with seaweeds.

If you want to find out how to make bibimbap, just click the link.

always remember

a little bit of this

and a little dash of that

makes a sumptuous lif...

So always Spice up your Life!!

Potato Cakes

I made these potato cakes sometime in March during one of those Fridays where we fast to eat meat. We ate it with eggs. I was going to make some hash brown but I don't have the right kind of shredder so I just put it in my small veggie mixer and the kids had fun with it. I added some bread crumbs and sesame seeds to eat before frying them and it tasted good. Even my uber choosy son ate them.

Shake It Up

We had a left over of our water melon at our fridge and I don't want it to be wasted so I put it in the mixer, put some ice and condensed milk and voila, we had an instant water melon shake. My daughter and I enjoyed it outside while watching the birds hop around the trees.

I received these sensational shake recipes from nubella.com and thought of sharing it here for you guys. Sweet, filling, and refreshing, shakes are ideal for breakfast or an afternoon snack. Enjoy the great flavors of a Blueberry Apricot Shake, Mango Watermelon Shake, or Fruity Soy Shake.

always remember

a little bit of this

and a little dash of that

makes a sumptuous lif...

So always Spice up your Life!!

Mango Lovers

Most of the time, we do grocery shopping as a family but sometimes when I don't feel like going to the store because of some household chores, hubby goes alone. When he does, he always surprise us with something when he comes home. He would find something that would put aa smile to our faces like these yummy mangoes.

That's how loving my husband is, he always thinks of his family. That's why we LOVE him soooo much!

Not only perfect for our tummy but also perfect for my mellow yellow meme weeeeeee! Thanks honey!

Our daughter love mango as much as I do. Just look how much she enjoyed it. Our son, on the other hand, isn't crazy about it, he did not even tasted it.

Have a happy Monday dearest friends!

always remember

a little bit of this

and a little dash of that

makes a sumptuous lif...

So always Spice up your Life!!

Easter Bunny Cake

I mentioned on my previous post that I will show you the Easter bunny cake that my sister-in-law Chris has made so here it is. Isn't it is pretty? It tasted very yummy too!

I just wish that I have even just a little bit of chris's inborn talents and skills hehehe.

Anyone care for a slice?

always remember

a little bit of this

and a little dash of that

makes a sumptuous life...

So always Spice up your Life!!

Easter Feast

Here are the foods that we feasted during Easter. All of us had a full belly. Thanks to the Chef's of the Cottrill clan, the Mom and daughter tandem, Chris and Jen.

Some potato salad, green bean casserole, the European bread called huska that she baked and the sweet potato.

The coleslaw, baked beans, fried rice, and the spiral ham.

This is an apple pie brought by SIL Jill.

always remember

a little bit of this

and a little dash of that

makes a sumptuous lif...

So always Spice up your Life!!