Pancit Bihon

What's for today? Me and my hubby are decided to make a Pansit for dinner and here it is, yum-o!!!...





My family's favorite and it is a huge hit with all my non-Filipino friends as well. All of the meats are interchangeable and optional. This recipe can be served alone or with rice.


INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. skinless chicken breast
1 lb. lean pork
1 lb. small shrimp, shelled
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 cabbage, shredded
1/2 lb green beans or pea pods
3 carrots, thinly sliced into rectangular
1 cup celery, thinly sliced
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 cup broth, from boiling chicken
1 lb. rice sticks, soaked in water for 15 minutes or until
softened then drained
1 bun scallions, finely chopped
Lime (optional)

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:
) Boil chicken and pork in 1 1/2 cups water. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat; slice meat into small pieces. Reserve the broth.

2) Heat oil in a large, wide saute pan. Saute onions and garlic until onion is translucent.

3) Add sliced meat, shrimp, soy sauce and stir-fry 5 minutes. Over high heat, add cabbage, green beans or pea pods, carrots, celery, salt, pepper and 1 cup of broth. Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Set aside 1 cup of mixture.

4) Reduce heat to low and add rice sticks, tossing gently with wooden spoons until cooked through and mixed with meat and vegetables, about 3 minutes.

5) If the mixture seems dry, add more broth.

6) Transfer to platter, garnish with chopped scallions.

7) Squeeze lime over each serving and sprinkle with additional garnishes.

Oven-Fried Chicken

I made this for dinner tonight and the extra effort took to make this recipe was worth it. This was delicious, juicy, well done through and through, crispy, and just what fried chicken should be and it's great for a crowd or just a nice family meal.



"Oven-Fried Chicken"

INGREDIENTS:
2 chickens (3 pounds each), cut in 8 serving pieces
1 quart buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil or vegetable shortening

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl and pour the buttermilk over them. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

2) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

3) Combine the flour, paprika, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Take the chicken out of the buttermilk and coat each piece thoroughly with the flour mixture. Pour the oil into a large heavy-bottomed stockpot to a depth of 1-inch and heat to 360 degrees F on a thermometer.

4) Working in batches, carefully place several pieces of chicken in the oil and fry for about 3 minutes on each side until the coating is a light golden brown (it will continue to brown in the oven). Don't crowd the pieces. Remove the chicken from the oil and place each piece on a metal baking rack set on a sheet pan. Allow the oil to return to 360 degrees F before frying the next batch. When all the chicken is fried, bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink inside. Serve hot.

Sauted Green Beans with Ground Beef

This recipe is one of my hubby's favorite...a decent homemade meal that we had for dinner. Originally, in the Philippines we usually use "sitaw" or string beans instead of green beans, but you know it's kinda hard to find that kind of vegetable here in the States. So, green beans is the great subtitutes for that. Adding 2 tbsp of banana kechup with tomato sauce is my way too.




"Sauted Green Beans with Ground Beef"

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground beef
1-1 1/2 lbs green beans
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium chopped onion
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 can of 8 oz Tomato Sauce
1/4 c water if needed
salt and pepper to taste


COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Saute garlic and onion in hot vegetable oil as usual.
2. Add the pork and stir until slightly brown
3. Add the green beans and keep stirring until coated with oil.
4. Add the tomato sauce, soy sauce, salt and pepper.
5. Add 1/4 cup water if it dries up to prevent burning
6. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until green beans are tender but still crisp
7. Serve with hot steamed rice.

Champorado

Champorado (Tagalog: tsamporado) is a sweet chocolate rice porridge in Filipino cuisine. It is traditionally made by boiling sticky/sweet rice and cocoa powder giving it a distinctly brown color. However, dry champorado mixes, which may be found in some Asian food stores, are prepared by adding just boiling water. It can be served hot or cold and with milk and sugar to taste. It is served usually at breakfast and sometimes together with dried fish locally known as tuyo.

The pudding becomes very thick and the lighter milk helps to "loosen" it. It's almost like eating "chocolate oatmeal." It can be eaten as a snack or dessert as well. Sweet rice can be found in most Asian aisles of a grocery store.

This is a favorite Filipino recipe. I remember my Nanay used to make this for us all the time growing up.

"CHAMPORADO"

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup glutinous (sweet/sticky) rice
2 1/2 to 4 cups water (it depends how thick the soup you want)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup granulated sugar
sweetened condensed milk

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Cook Rice in a medium-size saucepan with water.

2) Stir constantly.

3) When rice is ready, rice should be somewhat transparent and it'll feel thicker as you stir.

4) add cocoa and sugar except milk.

5) Serve in bowls with swirls of milk on top.

My Best Cheesecake

Now we know the history of cheesecake, let's make this simple recipe of mine.
OK, I'm not gonna lie, my husband and daughter just love this creamy and delicious cheesecake:)


What You Need


1-3/4 cups HONEY MAID Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/3 cup margarine or butter, melted
1 cups sugar, divided
3 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling or any filling you want




BAKING INSTRUCTIONS:


PREHEAT oven to 325F if using a silver 8- or 9-inch springform pan. Mix graham cracker crumbs, margarine and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Press firmly onto bottom and 2-1/2 inches up side of pan; set aside.

BEAT cream cheese and the remaining 1 cup sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add sour cream and vanilla; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition just until blended. Pour into crust.

BAKE 45 to 50 mins. or until the center is almost set. Turn your oven off and leave the cheesecake inside the for another hour. Remove cheesecake from oven; cool completely. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Loosen cheesecake from rim of pan; remove rim. Top cheesecake with pie filling just before serving. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.


Prep Time: 15 min Total Time: 5 hr 25 min Makes: 16 servings, one slice each



CHEESECAKE TIPS AND IDEAS


1) A springform pan (with removable side and bottom) is the most commonly used pan for making cheesecakes.

2) Avoid over-beating the batter. Over-beating incorporates additional air and tends to cause cracking on the surface of the cheesecake.

3) For even marbling and the best distribution of added ingredients, such as chocolate chips or nuts, do not over-soften or over-beat the cream cheese.

4) Avoid over-baking: Cheesecake baking times are not always exact, due to variations in ovens. The cheesecake will continue to bake after it is removed from the oven. The center of the cheesecake should be just slightly moist when it is ready to be removed.

5) Upon removal from the oven, loosen the cake from the edge of the pan by running the tip of a knife or narrow spatula between the top edge of the cake and the side of the pan. This allows the cake to pull away freely from the pan as it cools.

6) Cool the cheesecake on a wire rack away from drafts.

7) After a cheesecake has cooled completely, gently loosen the entire side of the cheesecake from the pan with the tip of a knife while slowly releasing the springform pan clamp. Carefully remove the side of the pan.

8) Baked cheesecakes freeze well. Cool them completely and wrap them securely in heavy-duty foil or plastic wrap, but do not freeze cheesecakes with garnishes or toppings.

The History of Cheesecake

Cheesecake is believed to have originated in ancient Greece. Historians believe that cheesecake was served to the athletes during the first Olympic Games held in 776 B.C. However, cheese making can be traced back as far as 2,000 B.C., anthropologists have found cheese molds dating back to that period. Alan Davidson, author of the Oxford Companion to Food, wrote that, "cheesecake was mentioned in Marcus Porcius Cato's De re Rustica around 200 BCE and that Cato described making his cheese libum (cake) with results very similar to modern cheesecake."
The Romans spread cheesecake from Greece to across Europe. Centuries later cheesecake appeared in America, the recipes brought over by immigrants.

Good Tasting Coffee

Steps to brewing great coffee

1.Use good quality coffee, freshly roasted and freshly ground
2.Use fresh, clean, cold water. Filtered or bottled water works well, but avoid 33distilled or softened water.
3.The grind chosen must be of the correct fineness for the chosen brewing method.
4.The post must be cleand and warm
5.Make only enough coffee for your immediate needs. The coffee will deteriorate if you keep it too long. Avoid reheating coffee, it just doesn't taste the same.
6.Avoid boiling brewed coffee - it is a sure way to spoil the coffee.
7.Use approximately 70 grams of coffee per litre of water.