Macaroni Soup

It has always been a challenge for me to find something healthy but tasty enough for my little girl to have for her meal.  Because of this, I try to experiment with recipes so that I don't have to make a separate dish just for her. I actually learned this from the book my SIL gave me, that I can make one simple dish and play it up for the adults.

Homemade chicken stock

Since becoming hooked on Food Network again, I wanted to go back to basic -- use homemade chicken stock. I use this for my soup's base and just added a few things to make it really good.

For the adults meal, I added italian sausages to add an oomph! I like how the simple creamy macaroni soup stood out because of the meat added.

Italian sausages

To add variety to the soup, I thought of adding vegetables like mushrooms, carrots and corn. I love the earthy and woodsy taste of the mushrooms in the dish.

Fresh button mushrooms

I paired my bowl of steaming macaroni soup with a warm slice of baguette. I actually didn't finish one slice because the soup was filling enough.

Greek Style Lasagna

I have been reading the recipe book my SIL gave me. And one recipe I found was this Greek style of doing the lasagna. Think feta cheese, olives, and all the works! Since I have pitted olives sitting in my cupboard, I decided to give this a go.

Ingredients:

• 1 pack of no-cook lasagna sheets
• 250 g ground beef
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 big can of tomato sauce
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup water/dry red wine/stock
• 2 Tbsp white sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

For bechamel sauce:

• 3 Tbsp butter
• 5 Tbsp flour
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Garlic, onion and green olives

Feta Cheese

Oohhh layers of goodness!

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Saute onion and garlic then add the beef once the onions are tender. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain half the oil.. Add olives, tomato sauce and tomato paste.  Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Simmer for 10 minutes then add the stock.

2. Using a sauce pan, melt the butter then add the flour. Mix in the milk and stir continuously until there are no lumps. Add the cheese and let it melt. Remove from heat after 3 minutes.

3. To assemble: Arrange 4 cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of a baking pan, overlapping if necessary. Spoon 1/4 of the meat sauce over the noodles. Pour 1/4 of the bechamel sauce and top with 1/4 of the feta cheese. Repeat, ending with bechamel and a bit of feta cheese on top. Sprinkle with extra parmesan cheese.

4. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. Cut and serve with focaccia bread.

Beef Stroganoff

Beef Stroganov

I was thinking of how to use up our leftover pasta over the weekend then I thought of Beef Stroganoff or Beef Stroganov. I didn't know this is a Russian dish up until I googled it earlier today! Oh my. And I didn't know Japanese have their version that uses "instant sauce cubes" and they also add soy sauce. Weird, right? But I want to try that version someday! :)

Too bad I didn't have tarragon and nutmeg at hand so I used my Italian seasoning. And I used light sour cream. Ahem. :P

Ingredients:

• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1 pound of top sirloin or tenderloin, cut thin into small strips
• 1 medium sized onion, shopped
• 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon of dry tarragon or 2 teaspoons of chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 cup of sour cream at room temperature

METHOD


1 Melt 3 Tbsp of butter in a large skillet on medium heat. Increase the heat to high/med-high and add the strips of beef. You want to cook the beef quickly, browning on each side, so the temp needs to be high enough to brown the beef, but not so high as to burn the butter. You may need to work in batches. While cooking the beef, sprinkle with some salt and pepper. When both sides are browned, remove the beef to a bowl and set aside.

2 In the same pan, reduce the heat to medium and add the shallots. Cook the shallots for a minute or two, allowing them to soak up any meat drippings. Remove the shallots to the same bowl as the meat and set aside.

3 In the same pan, melt another 3 Tbsp of butter. Increase heat to medium high and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 4 minutes. While cooking, sprinkle the nutmeg and the tarragon on the mushrooms.

4 Reduce the heat to low and add the sour cream to the mushrooms. You may want to add a tablespoon or two of water to thin the sauce (or not). Mix in the sour cream thoroughly. Do not let it come to a simmer or boil or the sour cream will curdle. Stir in the beef and shallots. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately over egg noodles, fettucine, potatoes, or rice. (Potatoes, rice, and gluten-free pasta are gluten-free options.)

Fresh button mushrooms

Beef strips

Linguine

Light sour cream

Simmering

Serve with pasta and warm focaccia bread

Source: http://www.simplyrecipes.com

Tyler Florence's Spaghetti ala Carbonara

Today, I want to try something authentic. I have tried making "carbonara" before but I didn't use the real ingredients. This time I want to follow a recipe to a tee because I usually deviate. Hehe I'm not a good student! I did my best to stick to the recipe, I tell you. But I saw my fresh button mushrooms in the fridge, they were like calling to me to use them for my dish. :D So I added them. Hee hee

Ingredients

• 1 lb dry spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 ounces pancetta or slab bacon, cubed or sliced into small strips
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Cheese baby!

Eggsssss

Fresh parsley

Olive oil

Bacon

Fresh button mushrooms

Directions:

1. Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking to ensure that the spaghetti will be hot and ready when the sauce is finished; it is very important that the pasta is hot when adding the egg mixture, so that the heat of the pasta cooks the raw eggs in the sauce.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender yet firm (as they say in Italian "al dente.") Drain the pasta well, reserving 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water to use in the sauce if you wish.

3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium flame. Add the pancetta and saute for about 3 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered. Toss the garlic into the fat and saute for less than 1 minute to soften.

4. Add the hot, drained spaghetti to the pan and toss for 2 minutes to coat the strands in the bacon fat. Beat the eggs and Parmesan together in a mixing bowl, stirring well to prevent lumps. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the egg/cheese mixture into the pasta, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken, but do not scramble (this is done off the heat to ensure this does not happen.) Thin out the sauce with a bit of the reserved pasta water, until it reaches desired consistency. Season the carbonara with several turns of freshly ground black pepper and taste for salt. Mound the spaghetti carbonara into warm serving bowls and garnish with chopped parsley. Pass more cheese around the table.

Egg with the cheese

The egg and cheese mixture

Frying the bacon

Bacon, garlic and mushrooms

Mixing the pasta to the bacon and mushrooms

Tadah!

Source: Food Network

Balboa - Pizza, Pasta, Ice Cream

Balboa - pizza, pasta and ice cream

Last night, I was able to squeeze in a couple of hours of girl bonding with my Bacolod girl friends. A lot has happened over a year and we were so busy with the "updates" that we forgot to move to another place for dessert. Sad. I was looking forward to tasting another Calea treat. But I guess it was a blessing in disguise. I probably won't fit into my pants by the time our holiday is over! haha

Anyway, we decided to go to Balboa. It's located in a hang out place in Bacolod, the Piazza Sorrento. When you reach the place, you would hear the loud music and busy people enjoying a hearty meal or just chilling out with a cold beer. 

When I got to see their menu, I was pleased that the prices are affordable. Like the angus burger, it was just Php 149! The 12 inch pizza was just between Php 200-260. The food was great and staff were attentive. I guess it was a good thing that we dined on a weekday night, less crowd. :) I guess that makes me old, appreciating peaceful surrounding while dining. hek hek!

I had to make it large to make it readable :)

Look at how the prices are so pocket friendly!

I love the 3 cheese pizza. The crust was thin and crispy. The combination of the mozzarella, parmesan and the mild goat cheese was really good, not over powering nor bland. It was just the right taste for a cheese lover like me. :) I have been craving for this kind of pizza since last year!

Three cheese pizza - Php 189

The angus burger was the order of my friend. She said she and her better half became instant fans the moment they tried this. I wasn't in the mood for any burgers last night so I wasn't able to try this.

Angus Burger - Php 149

The seafood pasta was really tasty. It had shrimps, anchovies and I think there were crab meat included if I'm not mistaken. For me, in Ilonggo, it was too saboroso for my liking. :)

Seafood pasta - Php 159

I like the chicken in a basket! Deep fried goodness in every bite, baby! It's been a while since I've had good gravy paired with chicken and fries. This dish is two thumbs up for me. :)

Chicken in a basket - Php 239

In general, Balboa is a great place to have good food with moderately priced menu. The place is a cozy place to hang out with friends. They serve tasty burgers, pasta and pizza. Too bad I wasn't able to try their famous frozen brazo de mercedes. Will definitely blog about it when I get the chance! :)

Mezzanine Level, Piazza Sorrento
13th - Lacson Streets, Bacolod City, Philippines

Price per person - Php 200-300

Baked Meatless Pasta

It was the husband's birthday yesterday and I'm supposed to abstain from something I like because it's Ash Wednesday. So I thought of preparing something nice but without meat. Since I need to use my tomatoes and cream, I decided to make a creamy tomato pasta.

Ingredients:

• 200 grams fettuccine pasta, cooked as instructed
• 100 grams button mushrooms, cut into quarters
• 10 cloves garlic, minced
• half an onion, sliced
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 can tomato sauce/spaghetti sauce
• 1/3 cup melting cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• dried basil
• thyme
• oregano

Directions:

1. Cook pasta as instructed. Drain and set aside. Prepare 9" baking dish.
2. Fry garlic and set aside as topping. Saute onion and mushrooms. Add tomatoes.
3. Add tomato sauce. Season with salt, pepper and herbs.
4. Mix in heavy cream. Add half of the shredded cheddar cheese and adjust taste.
5. Carefully add the cooked pasta into the sauce. Mix well until well combined.
6. Pour pasta onto the prepared baking dish. Top with shredded cheese and toasted garlic bits. 
7. Bake for about 15 minutes at 150 degrees Celsius or until cheese melts.

Sorry for the low quality photo

Cheesy Conchiglioni

Here's what you need:

• 300 grams Conchiglioni (big shell shaped pasta), cook as instructed
• 2 tbsp butter, softened
• 2-3 tbsp flour
• 1/2 cup skimmed milk
• 1/3 cup cheddar or any tasty cheese, shredded
• 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• dash of paprika

Cooked conchiglioni

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta as instructed. set aside.
2. On a pan over low heat, melt butter. Add flour, this will result to lumps. Immediately add skimmed milk. Let simmer and stir continuously to dissolve the lumps.
3. Mix in the cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. Continue to stir until well blended. season with a bit of salt, pepper and paprika.
4. Place into a serving bowl, decorate with paprika and fresh parsley. Serve and enjoy while hot!

Pasta married with the cheese sauce

Presentation kuno

Lemon Fusilli with Arugula

The Husband usually doesn't like cream-based pasta. He like the ones with olive oil based sauce or pomodoro. As for me, I like anything for pasta as long as it doesn't have anchovies or too much onion :) So I went to the grocery and bought what I needed. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find arugula. I got the baby spinach instead. Starting now, I will be posting my own recipes since Google doesn't like it if you just copy recipes online. Boo. Moving forward, the recipes that you will see are my own versions of those recipes online I use as guides.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 200 grams scrap ham
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 lemons, squeezed
• 300 grams fusilli pasta, cooked as instructed
• 200 grams baby arugula or spinach
• 250 grams baby tomatoes, roasted
• 2/3 cup freshly grated American, Monterey Jack or Mozzarella cheese
• sea salt
• black pepper

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, heat olive oil. Saute garlic and add ham. Mix in cream and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes then lower the heat until the sauce thickens.
2. Add the cooked pasta into the cream sauce and let it stand for about 5 minutes until all pasta have been mixed well with the sauce.
3. Pour pasta onto serving dish. Top with greens, roasted tomatoes and top with cheese.
4. Serve with extra lemon wedges and parmesan cheese.

Sweet, tangy and oh so yummy!

The Husband approved of the pasta this time!  Maybe because it has veggies to make up for the cream sauce. Haha By the way, I made oven roasted tomatoes to make it more appetizing.

Just a quick tip when reheating leftover pasta: before popping it into the oven, make sure to cover it or else you'll end up with a hardened pasta.

Recipe guide: Ina Garten's Recipe

Baked Beef Pasta

Usually, we don't have beef in our meals.  It's very rare that we buy this meat as what we all know, it's red meat and it's not really good for the health. But I guess having it once in a while won't be a bad thing, right? (I'm just trying to reason out here - Haha!) I wanted to make lasagna but I wanted to try a different pasta so I opted to use the shells this time.

Ingredients:

• 300 grams Conchiglie pasta, cooked per instructions
• 200 grams lean ground beef
• 200 grams button mushrooms, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 200 grams roasted tomatoes
• half an onion, sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 jar of Leggo's Stir Through Sun Dried Tomato and Garlic Sauce
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1tsp dried basil
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• sea salt
• coarsely ground black pepper

Directions:

1. In a pan, heat olive oil. Saute onion, garlic then mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes.
2. Add beef. Cook thoroughly for about 10-15 minutes to avoid contamination. Season with salt and
3. pepper. Let simmer for 10 minutes. 
4. Stir in tomato sauce, roasted tomatoes, oregano and basil. Adjust taste according to your liking.
5. Mix in cooked pasta and make sure everything is coated with the sauce. Let it sit for about 10 minutes.
6. In an oven proof dish, arrange the pasta. Top with mozzarella or monterey jack. Bake for about 20 minutes or until cheese melts.
7. Serve while hot.

Recipe guide: Allrecipes.com

Cooked pasta mixed with sauce

I only used this as a guide because I had a totally different dish in mind but had a hard time looking up for the specific recipe.  I wanted to use bechamel sauce but since I ran out of milk, I just used mozzarella cheese as a topping and popped the pasta into the oven for about 20 minutes.

The Husband likes the roasted tomatoes and so did I. You see, I rarely like veggies. I knerrrr, that's why I'm looking for some ways to cook veggies in a nice way so I don't get so scared of them. Hee hee :) I'll post my oven-roasted tomatoes recipe next time. That's it for now. Goodnight and Gong Xi Fa Cai from the Fine City!