• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

At Home With MrsC

Raising a family, making a home.

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Guest Post

Food & Recipes

Recipe: Cheesy and Milky French Toast

July 18, 2012 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 4 Comments

Good morning!

One of the great things that’s come out of my leaving the workforce to focus more on being a mom is my learning to become a morning person. Waking up before 8AM has always been a challenge for me.

You would think that I’d be up and about by 7AM at the latest considering my 9AM clock in time at the office. But in truth, I’d be lucky to be out of bed and functional before 8:30. That explains why I was always late for work.

It wasn’t as bad when I started working close to home as it was when I would report to a Makati office. But anyway, enough about my delinquent past, after all I think I’ve been making up for it in recent weeks.

I now typically get up – as in functioning and moving about, not just awake – between 5:30 and 6AM! Can you imagine that? Yeah, never thought I’d be able to do that either. But my weekdays have been starting out that early for the last two months, with, of course, the occasional lazy morning exception.

Since I’ve been up so early, I’ve actually learned to start my day by eating breakfast. Yay! I think this is a tremendous breakthrough from having started my mornings with a hurried cup of coffee for the last five or so years. I’ve never been a morning person, so this is a definite first for me.

The only downside is I find myself tired and sleepy by 6PM, but amazingly I manage to pull through until after the little guy is fast asleep. Next up on my agenda is finding out how to have more energy throughout the day, and I already know that the answer is exercise. Lol.

So anyway, the point of this post is that I prepared a really great breakfast for my kiddo today. We both love French Toast, and I thought I’d make ours a little more exciting in the form of (his) Cheesy and (my) Milky French Toasts.

Of course, this is nothing more than cheese spread or condensed milk sandwiched in between two slices of bread, dipped in egg and milk and cooked with a little margarine (I use margarine because I don’t like the taste of butter *gasp!*).

I tried the cheesy version once with sliced cheese and found that it was tough keeping the bread slices together when dipping and flipping, so I shifted to cheese spread. The milky version is inspired by my oh so favorite Milk Toast from Kopi Roti but with the condensed milk sandwiched instead of on top of the bread. I love condensed milk. Uh-huh, this is why I’m fat.

I also prefer to use frozen old bread for French Toast, since it doesn’t go all soggy on me. I usually place old bread in the freezer straight away for mornings like this one. 

Cheesy and Milky French Toast

You will need:

  • Frozen Sliced Bread – I used both wheat and white bread, mostly ends!
  • Cheese Spread – I used Cheez Whiz
  • Condensed Milk – I used Carnation Condensada

  • Two Eggs
  • About 1/3 Cup of Milk – I used Magnolia low fat milk
  • Plus: Margarine and Pancake Syrup!

Step-By-Step:

  1. Whisk the milk and eggs together in a bowl until it becomes pale yellow and frothy.
  2. Spread condensed milk or cheese spread between two slices of bread. Don’t put too much or it will run over the sides of the bread and make a mess in your pan.
  3. Dunk the sandwiches into the egg and milk mixture. You will need to soak these a little longer than usual because there are two slices of bread that you need to moisten, plus the bread slices are frozen.
  4. Heat a frying pan, spread some margarine (or butter, if that’s what you prefer), wait for it to sizzle then place the bread on top. I like to put a little bit more margarine on the slice that’s facing up so that it browns nicely when I flip it.
  5. Brown to your liking, and you’re done!
Ready to flip!

I like my French Toast extra toasted, so it may look overdone to you, but it’s just right for me. So sorry for the out-of-focus photos. The Blackberry camera sucks bigtime.

Milky French Toast made with whole wheat bread
Cheesy french toast made with white bread

Serve hot with more butter or margarine (if you wish, but I don’t add any more) and topped with pancake syrup!

Enjoy!

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Breakfast, French Toast, Recipe

Dinner with the Boys at Makan Makan Asian Food Village

May 23, 2012 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

I’m sorry but I just have to say that we noticed a lot of typographical errors in the menu of Makan Makan when we went there for dinner.  Ok, now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, I should also share that the food was super good, and we really enjoyed our dining experience there. You will have to excuse my ugly photos though. I only used my Blackberry to take pictures, and I really am regretting the decision. I can’t seem to focus properly with that camera. Anyway…

We had dinner at Makan Makan during our stay at Hotel H2O for the little boy’s birthday. We chose to eat there because I’d read varied reviews about it online, and was curious to try it out myself. We were planning to go around Ocean Park the next day, and I had a feeling we would end up having a heavy breakfast and late lunch (I was right), and so we wouldn’t get the chance to eat there anymore. Also, we were too lazy to think about what to eat and where to have dinner, so went for the simplest option.

Makan Makan Entrance

Since we were there to celebrate the little one’s birthday (although his actual birthday was two days later), we made sure to order noodles for long life. The pasta choice for the kiddo was an obvious Carbonara, while Mr C and I split an order of Pad Thai. The Carbonara was good, very smoky from the thick bacon mixed into the creamy sauce. The Pad Thai was also very yummy, and also pretty spicy.  There was a lot of noodles in both dishes, and we actually weren’t able to finish them. These definitely can feed 2-3 persons each.

Pad Thai, PHP160.00
Stir-fried flat noodles with shrimp and vegetables

Spaghetti Carbonara, PHP180.00

I really like Asian food, so it was no surprise that I enjoyed our dinner feast. I use the word feast instead of meal because I ended up getting excited and ordering a lot of food. I think I’d go as far as to say that I went overboard a little bit.

The Hainanese Chicken Rice was Mr C’s choice. This was served with the usual three sauces and Hainanese rice, and the chicken was perfectly cooked. Everything about this dish was good.

Hainanese Chicken Rice, PHP160.00

Three Sauces – Ginger, Sweet Soy, Chili

I chose the Bagoong Fried Rice, which was served with condiments – fried pork, shrimp, scrambled egg, green mango, cucumber, red onions and red chili. This was really good and extremely flavorful. There was a lot of it too, enough to share. It was a perfect compliment to the Pandan Chicken, which I also chose.

Bagoong Fried Rice, PHP160.00

Chicken Pandan with Sweet Chili Sauce

Extra Sauce

Then the food arrived, we dug in immediately, realizing that we were a lot hungrier than we first thought we were. And as much as I’d wanted to try the different dessert items on the menu, we were pretty much stuffed after our meal. I guess I’ll just have to come back another time then.

Birthday Boy with Carbonara Mouth

Mr C

Overall, Makan Makan served us really good food. The place was clean and relatively quiet, mostly I suppose because we were there on a Monday night. The staff could be more attentive, as they could be tough to flag down at times. But In the end, they catered to all our needs, and that was enough. The best part about it is the food is cheap for the quantity that you get, without sacrificing quality. That’s something that’s hard to find these days, and I hope that when I do go back to Makan Makan, I get the same satisfaction from my meal as I did during this visit. After all, consistency will dictate if it’s really a good place to eat or not.

signature
==========================
Makan Makan Asian Food Village
2F Sunset Quay, Manila Ocean Park
Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines
+632 567-3512
Date of Visit: April 9, 2012

Filed Under: Food & Recipes

Thursdate at Heaven and Eggs

May 19, 2012 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

Why is it that every time I visit Heaven and Eggs in Glorietta, the place looks different?

I remember in the early years of the restaurant, they had a very heaven-like interior, with blue walls and painted white clouds. Back then, the name Heaven and Eggs made sense. Unfortunately, during this time, I wasn’t coming to Makati often, and so I never got to try their original menu.

Image borrowed from http://neilrizo.livejournal.com/

Then all of a sudden, in 2008 when I finally got to eat at Heaven and Eggs with my teammates from Smart, I saw that it had become sort of like a glam rock, underground UK pub looking place.

Ancient photo with my Smart office mates JC and Joyce ant H&E in 2008
I know you can’t really see the rocker decor, but I just really wanted to
 use this photo


The rock star haven was what I was expecting when I asked Mr C if we could have dinner at Heaven and Eggs the other night. To my surprise, it changed it’s entire look again! I’m not sure what theme they were aiming for this time, but the place felt to me like a bright and summery beach house. Or maybe that’s just me nursing a beach hangover from last weekend?

Heaven and Eggs’ “New Look”

I was extremely thirsty after an entire afternoon spent standing up, and after our quick run to the toy store to buy the little guy’s Tooth Fairy gift, so we ordered drinks first while we decided what to eat. I asked for the Signature Iced Tea, although I’m not entirely sure what was “signature” about it. It tasted like regular powdered iced tea to me.

H&E Menu

Sprite for Mr C, Signature Iced Tea for me

I was intitally thinking of having either the Lucban longaniza meal or a plate of pancakes. In the end, I went with Roast Beefin’ on the Edge. Mr C, who was set on having some form of steak, ordered Rock U Like a Hurricane, which was what I had eaten at H&E during it’s rock era.

After asking the waiter if they had WiFi, we took a few photos while waiting for our food to arrive.

Connecting…

Look at how big my face is! Dear me, must really stop eating so much.

The usual table condiments

Hungry Mr C

My food arrived first, and I thought that the guitar-shaped sizzling plate that my food was served in was really cute. I’m guessing this is one of the remnants of the schizophrenic Heaven and Eggs’ rocker days.

Cute guitar-shaped sizzling plate. I want one at home!

Roast Beefin’ on the Edge (295.00)
Slow roasted beef slices, served with mashed potato,
buttered vegetables and thick gravy

I wasn’t all that happy with my roast beef. The cut of the meat was more like a thin liempo, or thick bacon, and was almost 50% fat. I ended up finishing everything on my plate anyway because I was raised to be part of the Clean Plate Gang, thus explains the current size of my face. The vegetables and mashed potatoes were good. Then again, you can’t really go wrong with steamed veggies and mashed potatoes anyway.

I gave up one piece of roast beef in exchange for a piece of Mr C’s food. He had his steak done medium well, which is a bit too cooked for me, but who am I to complain. After all, it was his meal not mine. I found the meat to be a little charred on the outside, and rather tough overall. The cuts weren’t that big, and I’d imagine they would end up completely rubbery if cooked any longer than they were.

Rock U Like A Hurricane (PHP365.00)
Grilled, bacon wrapped beef tenderloin, served with whipped potatoes, miniature sunny side ups, mushrooms and roasted red bell pepper hollandaise sauce

On both visits to Heaven & Eggs, I wasn’t that impressed by the food. I guess maybe I should just order pancakes next time, or some other form of breakfast food. That is, if I do decide to come back.

signature

============================
Heaven and Eggs, Glorietta 4
Unit 104 G/F, Glorietta 4, Ayala Center
Makati City, Metro Manila
(+632) 818-2792  
Date of Visit: May 17, 2012

Filed Under: Food & Recipes

Snacking Away At South Diner

April 3, 2012 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

Last December, the boys and I went to check out a house we’re considering in Muntinlupa. Afterwards, we decided to grab a snack at South Diner in BF. Mr C tried the food already with some friends a few days before our visit, and he wanted us to eat there as well. 

I really like the interiors of the place. I think it was fairly new when we visited so everything was still clean and fresh.

Inside South Diner

Diner with a Pinoy twist – a Sto Nino behind the counter

Hungry boy
Cute napkin holder

Savor the flavor

Watching TV

Mr C and the Kiddo
Utensils and condiments

Mr C and I split an order Baked Potato Skins with cheese and bacon, a Monte Cristo sandwich and Buffalo Wings. The little guy ordered Cheesy Pancakes. I got to take a photo of everything but the wings. By the time they arrived, I was already too busy eating.

Monte Cristo with a side of Fries

Cheesy Pancakes

Baked Potato Skins

Got an order of Serenitea on our way to the restaurant

See how pogi my BB is? Christmas gift from Mr C!

Filed Under: Food & Recipes

Date Night at The Bellevue

March 10, 2012 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan Leave a Comment

It’s rare that my husband and I get to go out on dates, so we make sure to do something nice every time an opportunity comes around.

February’s date night fell on the eve of my birthday, and since it was an extra special cause to celebrate, we decided to use the buffet dinner gift certificates at Cafe d’Asie that we received from some friends as a wedding gift. We chose a good time to use the GC’s, the restaurant offered a free glass of wine with every buffet dinner as their promo for February. A good glass of wine plus a fabulous cheese platter sounds like a spectacular plan to me!

Round1: Pumpkin Soup with Croutons and Bacon Bits
Round1: Shrimp Cocktail
Round1: Sushi & Sashimi

I’m pretty sure I enjoyed the appetizers more than the main dishes, as I usually do. I love pica-pica food, and so I always load up on starters when I go to these buffet places. Plus, I wasn’t all that into the available viands that day.

Mr C ready to dig in
Round2: Main Dishes
Among the main dishes, I enjoyed the chicken in mango sauce best. The potato salad and the turkey were alright too. The rest, I can’t even remember. I’ll be honest, the food that night at The Bellevue wasn’t as good as I remembered it to be. Then again, the last time I was there they were offering steaks grilled the way you want them. It’s pretty hard to top that.
Round3: Cold Cuts, Cheeses and Crackers – The highlight of my evening
Meanwhile, Mr C was enjoying his meal too

Then came my favorite part of the meal, dessert. Mr C got a plateful of assorted pastries, and I had a bit of strawberry mousse and assorted chocolates, which I happily devoured before realizing I’d forgotten to take photos.

Sweet treats

While I was hoping for a little bit more as far as the food was concerned, I was still glad to have been able to spend the evening with my husband. Overall, with the ambiance plus the wine, cheeses and chocolates (and the fact that it was all FREE) was enough to make this a lovely evening.

Cafe d’Asie
2F The Bellevue Manila Hotel
Northgate Cyberzone, Filinvest City
Alabang, Muntinlupa

 

Filed Under: Food & Recipes

My Thai + Pho Hoa

February 22, 2012 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 10 Comments

Last Sunday was another one of my working rest days. I dragged my sister Rocky to the mall with me since she didn’t have anything planned anyway.

After walking around for a bit and having new glasses made, we decided to have lunch at the mall’s newly opened Pho Hoa + My Thai + Jack’s Loft restaurant. It was an easy choice since Rocky was instantly sold on the idea of having Thai Milk Tea with lunch. I’m actually not sure how she managed to finish a whole glass of milk tea, plus half of mine. It was really yummy, but super heavy!

Thai Milk Tea

We shared a plate of Pad See Ew noodles, which was good. We also ordered Kung Pao Chicken. Both dishes were really yummy, and the servings were big enough to share. It’s a good thing we decided to wait for our meal to arrive before deciding to order anything more, otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to finish our food. To think, the waiter told us that the servings were good for one person only. All in all, our meal cost just a little over PHP600.00, which is not bad by my standards.

Yum yum yummy!
Kung Pao Chicken
Pad See Ew

We enjoyed our lunch so much that we missed a photo op with The Lorax that we were both looking forward to.

I was hoping to try some of the yummy cakes on display at the Jack’s Loft side of the restaurant, but I was already stuffed by the time we cleaned our plates off. At least I have something to look forward to on my next visit.

I will definitely come back to this pink, green, black and white themed restaurant real soon. And next time I will make sure to leave room for dessert.

Pho Hoa + My Thai + Jack’s Loft @ Festival Supermall, Alabang

Pho Hoa + My Thai + Jack’s Loft

3L Chef’s Avenue
Festival Supermall Alabang

 

Filed Under: Food & Recipes Tagged With: Alabang Restaurant, Festival Supermall Alabang, Jack's Loft, Mai Thai, Pho Hoa, Restaurant Review

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 18
  • Go to page 19
  • Go to page 20
  • Go to page 21
  • Go to page 22
  • Go to Next Page »

Welcome to my online home

Hi, I'm MrsC, a happy wife and mom, a help-less but not helpless homemaker, who is learning to live simply in this complicated world.

Copyright © 2025 · Twenty Seven Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress