ANNIVERSARY loaded PASTA!

Currently Digging: 2 fried eggs, 1 toast, orange

She loves pizza. checked! (delivered at her place during our online "DATE CHAT")
She loves my pasta. ... ... ... ... ...

Another year apart. Another year of not celebrating anniv together.

Here's what I cooked for myself to celebrate for our 5 years anniv...

IN d MIX:

• spaghetti (cooked al dente per package instructions)
• 2-3 slices bacon
• chicken breast
• onions
• garlic *tons*
• broccoli
• green onions chopped
• cream of mushroom condensed
• chicken stock or water or skim milk or pasta water
• salt and pepper and garlic powder
• favorite cheese -cut into small cubes

TOMAKE:

~heat skillet, wok, pan whatever... i used the wok coz its big..

~fry bacon in its own fat. remove. drain.

~remove most of bacon fat, until about 1tbsp is left, brown chicken breast. Season.

~add onions, wait until almost browned, then push to side allowing each ingredient to touch bottom of wok

~add garlic- toast until golden brown
~add broccoli, then immediately add about 1/4-1/2 cup condensed cream of mushroom soup.

~add chicken stock (or water and skim milk) or pasta water *tanchahan lang kung gaano karami!*

~let simmer and reduce until sauce is creamy

~mix in the pasta

~garnish with green onions, chopped crispy bacon and of course cheeeeeeeeeeeeeese!

SERVE WITH HOT SAUCE or chili garlic sauce!
YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMY!!!!

I LOVE YOU HOU!
>miss u<

MEX PIZ

Currently Digging: roasted pork loin sandwhich + cream mushroom soup

i love pizza... its just not very healthy... kaya i try to stay away as much as i can. This one is good enough to satisfy that craving. TOppings taste like pizza, but without the crust and that issue about PORTION size.


BREAKDOWN:
2 3-4in. corn tortilla
2-3 tsp left over pizza sauce **left over from here**
lightly sautee'd onions, mushrooms, green peppers and spinach
1-2 tbsp browned ground meat
2-3 oz. shredded cheese



ARRANGE:
~~toast corn tortilla until almost crispy (watch out not to over do this.)
~~add tsp left over pizza sauce
~~layer with browned ground meat
~~add lightly sauteed/sweated veggies
~~top with favorite shreded cheese
~~toast or broil for about 3-4mins until cheese melted

total Cal: >300Cal for 2 pcs of tortilla complete with toppings.

DIG IN & GET DIRTY!!!

LOW FAT shrimp & potatoes

Currently Digging: mushroom soup & ground meat salad.

OHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I like shrimps, because it is packed with protein, salty to taste and easy to deal with... did i say it's so easy and fast to cook?!? Well here's one meal that i put together
in what? <15mins?>

SHRIMPs: store bought shrimps (easy peel, but i love it with heads sana but its not available.. so what the heck, it is still shrimps!)
~~~once water is boiling, drop shrimps until color change to orange. Drain. Serve. EASY?

POTATO: 1 medium sized potato. scrubbed and cleaned.
~~~place 1 potato in a potato microwave bag (love this kitchen cookware! hehe THANKS TO FRANKIE!). Cook for 4minutes on high heat. Check, if not soft yet, heat in 1 minute increments until done. Mine took 4minutes +2more minutes cuz our microwave isn't very hot =)

TOP: 1 tbsp of ranch dip or sourcream OR spray can't believe it's not butter (0 cal), freshly cracked black pepper.

SIDEs: clear home made chicks soup/broth with shredded chicken
~~~let it boil. Add lots of spinach leaves and.. serve HOOOOOOT! ***there's tons of recipe's online on making ur own broth! just grabbed one! I added tons of garlic! hehe:D***

• shrimps: 4-6oz = $2.00
• potato: 7-8oz = $0.40
• protein: 48.1 g
• carbs: 33.3 g
• fat: 4.0 g
• total calories: 380 Cal
  
  >>>cheap and healthy... what else can you ask
  for?!?<<<

turkey beef pasta with roasted veggies

Currently Digging: romaine salad, hashbrowns, egg with sausage scramble~

HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY DAD!

I prepared this dinner for myself on my dad's 60th birthday. He was asking me where I want to eat, but i told him since he can't, why bother. I would just cook for myself, at least i won't mess up my diet. Instead of the all-time-birthday-tradition: PANCIT, i cooked pasta instead-- EASY and delicious!

PASTA: any kind of pasta... (not the round or with hole kinds, coz this doesn't have cream or sauce...) cooked Al-dente of course!

SAUCE: i have a huge batch of ground turkey and ground beef that I have browned and seasoned (with herbs, onions, garlic, few salt, pepper). I used that.

Added button mushrooms.

Can't believe its not butter spray.

Toasted garlic.

Some pasta cooking water (to de-glaze the pan)

shaved parmesan cheese

~~~add butter to pan, brown the garlic. add mushrooms, let it cook until most liquid is gone. add pre-browned meat. let it cook until all is well done. (if too dry, add some pasta cooking water.)

SIDE POCKET: Love your veggies! I am not a huge fan of veggies, but when it is roasted or grilled, i will eat them (depending of the kind of veggies ofcourse! duh!).

broccoli bunch

asparagus

cherry tomatoes

~~~wash the veggies and dry. on a convection oven (this is what we have) or a conventional oven, single layer the veggies in a pan. drizzle with little olive oil, season with herbs or mrs. dash. Pop it in the oven, or use the broiler low function to cook the veggies until some areas are crunchy and dry, some with preserved veggie juice. THAT's IT!

PLATE: Mix the pasta with the dry meat sauce, until well coated. Add the roasted chery tomatoes. plate the veggies. plate pasta. top with thinly shaved parmesan cheese. SERVE HOT and fresh!

CONDIMENTS: Lee kum kee chili garlic sauce or tabasco.

DELICIOUS! just do not overdo the olive oil!

I HATE GREASY PASTA!!!

total Cal: 517.6

total protein: 38.1 g

total carbs: 59.2 g

total fat: 16.8 g

loaded pseudo gourmet pizza

Currently Digging: roasted ratatouille, teriyaki chix & cottage cheese

I am trying to lose weight... Di pa ba obvious? Super bowl sunday was approaching, my dad can't eat by mouth, it's just me and him, so I thought, 'y order pizza, if ako lang ang kakain?!.'
9/10 times I overeat when PIZZA is around! IT's SIMPLY my BIGGEST TEMPTATION.


Anyway, went to grocery store day before, bought veggies for toppings, yeast, and I was thinking of getting a package of pepperoni, but guess what? I didn't! Aside from the price, it's loaded with sodium and fat.

So here's what I made for the DOUGH:
I tried an online recipe! i just typed pizza dough... hehe
2 cup all-purpose flour (i was going to use whole wheat but i don't wanna spend more money to buy it, after all, this is a tria pizza right?)
1 package quick-rising yeast
some salt
pinch sugar
warm water for the yeast (accdg to package :D)
instead of adding olive oil, i used CAn't believe it's not butter-spray (0 cal, 0 whatever.)

BOTTOMs:
olive oil
garlic minced
onions minced
boiled spinach or frozen spinach DRAINED
small can tomato sauce
salt & pepper to taste
basil leaves or dried basil--gives that italian pizza taste instead of a Greenwich or 3M pizza (you know what I mean!!)



TOPs:
monterey jack cheese (this is what I have at that time eh!)
cheddar cheese (Frankie happened to give me some)
parmesan cheese (i bought for $1.79 a small triangular block)
mushrooms
bell pepper
onion slices
drained frozen spinach
about 6-8oz smoked beef sausage-pre cook
2 slices bacon- pre cook

What i did:
CRUST: Yeast + warm h2O set aside. mix dry ingredients. combine. and mix thoroughly. With this modern age, we don't have a mixer or a food processor. So i did it the old fashion way, mix it by hand and used my palms to knead the bread. It's really hard to tell exact measurements since I CANNOT follow ANY recipe. The dough was seemed dry, so i added a tsp of warm water. (if too sticky dust with flour). Once it is soft enough, i sprayed it with can't believe it's not butter. Wrap it in plastic whrink wrap and let it rest for ABOUT 30mins
I rolled it with roller pin until it feels like a pizza crust! haha... Di ko alam kung gaano ka kapal eh! Basta I have a big pizza pan, and i wanted it thin since it is home made. I used extra virgin olive oil to oil the pan and dusted it LIGHTLY with flour.
Baked it 450* on the bottom rack until it looks almost done, haha! (can't remember how long!)

BOTTOMs: Sauted onions and garlic in olive oil until golden brown. Added frozen spinach. Salt and pepper. Mix in tomato sauce, let boil, then simmer to reduce to about 25-40%. Salt and Pepper to taste, actually I didn't add anymore salt cuz once the sauce reduced, the flavors intensified enough :D

TOPs: After pre baking the crust (so it won't be soggy), i used just enough sauce (3/4 to 1cup of sauce) to cover crust. Dust with monterey and cheddar cheese (so the toppings will stick together and won't fall off). Added the pre cook meat. Then the raw veggies on top (so it will be more expose to heat once cooked). Added the remainder of the cheeses + freshly grated parmesan.

BAke in middle rack, until desired doneness~~~ cheese bubbly, veggies cooked, crust golden brown!

SERVE with tabasco or red pepper flakes and freshly cracked pepper! DIG IN!!!


***burrrrrrrrrrrrp*** I made sure to get 3 slices and left the rest in the kitchen, packed it in plasticwares, ready to be stored in the ref! (para di ko na kainin!!!)


^^^NY Giants WON!^^^

let's test it out

Since I can't follow any recipe at all, I'll use this blog instead to jot down notes about foods I make at home... food experiments, food adventures while we are not together.
hopefully, this will be the beginning of the food menu for my dream resto.. WHATCHATHINK? **dreaming.... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ... ... .. ... . ... .**


This is for you... to share my food experiments and discoveries with you! I LOVE YOU!