cooking

What’s cooking this week (January 4-10, 2016)

January 4, 2016 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 22 Comments

Fact: Meal planning helps me be more efficient when it comes to our household budget and minimizing food waste. It’s something that I enjoy doing, too.

mrspcuyugan — First meal plan of the year! I will start sticking my hand-written menu plans on our fridge for easy reference.

Since we moved houses six months ago, I’ve attempted to do this regularly, and this year I plan on really sharing our meal plans with you guys. I say really because I know I’ve said several times that I’d do this, but I’ve constantly failed to, so, yes, really this time.

For this first week of January, I started off with a near-empty fridge and freezer because I made sure to use up as much of our holiday leftovers as I could before the new year. My grocery shopping was done with soup on my mind because MrC hasn’t been feeling well, and any kind of soup always helps him feel better.

And here are some of the recipes I’ll be using this week:

Tuna Melt (but with Quezo de Bola instead of quickmelt cheese)
Baked French Toast
Banana Swiss Miss Muffins
Spaghetti

In the interest of saving less, which is also one of my goals for 2016, I really hope to stick to my set meal plans. The truth is, though, that we deviated already today. Lol. The kid and I had ice cream and fried siomai at Mini Stop for our PM snack, and then we had dinner at Sinigang by Orange Whisk!

Lol. Oh well. We’ll do better tomorrow.

What’s cooking in your homes this week? Do you plan your meals ahead, too?

What’s cooking this week #1

October 12, 2015 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 17 Comments

Fact: I usually browse the internet on Sundays in search of new recipes to try in the coming week.

Trying out new dishes helps me keep my family interested in the food that I serve them. While I do have my staples like adobo, sinigang and nilaga, I also like to experiment with new dishes, and different versions of old favorites.

The dish that has the honor of being the first thing I cooked in my new kitchen is this pork #sinigang with lotsa veggies. #InstaFood #Instakaw #yummy #onmytable #lipatbahaychronicles #MadeByMrsC

A photo posted by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan (@mrspcuyugan) on Jul 1, 2015 at 5:25am PDT

I have so many recipe links bookmarked on my computer and phone, pinned on Pinterest, and liked on Facebook and Instagram that it’s getting harder to keep track of them all. So I figured I’d start sharing them here so that it’s easier for me to find them, and so you guys also get to try any good recipes I might stumble upon.

For this week’s meal plan, I’ve chosen four new dishes to try. Three are from my blogger friends, and one is from my favorite, Yummy Magazine.

This first one isn’t actually new to me – Momma ‘N Manila’s Homemade Beef Tapa. I’ve tried this recipe by Michelle before, and the boys and I super loved it. The nice thing about this recipe is that you can marinate and freeze it, making it a great baon option.

I didn’t make adobo last week, so I plan on cooking some this week. I saw a post on Peachy’s Instagram page of Adobong Manok sa Gata. This is something I’ve always wanted to try making, but I was never able to find a recipe that looked good to me. The Peach Kitchen’s version looks good, so I’m trying that.

I prepare chicken several times a week because we like chicken, it’s inexpensive, and you can do so much with it. I’ve been meaning to try Joey’s Lemon Butter Chicken from her 80 Breakfasts blog, and I think this is the best time to do it. I’ve been looking for a nice recipe involving lemons since I have a nice big bag of gorgeous yellow fruit from the last Mothers Who Brunch event, so there.

Lemon Butter Chicken — Image borrowed from 80breakfasts.com

The last recipe on my must-try list for the week is Yummy’s Beef Pares. MrC loves pares, and I don’t think that we have any here in the south. I remember going out for pares a few times with friends during the short time that I was living in QC, and I haven’t had the stuff since. I’m already looking forward to it.

That’s it, pancit!

Have you guys tried any good recipes from the internet lately? I’d love it if you could share them with me so I can add them to my growing list of dishes to try!

September #BaonPlan

September 1, 2014 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 21 Comments

Hello, September! I can’t believe you’re here. It’s been a full and eventful 2014 for me so far. It feels like the end of the 3rd quarter is coming around so quickly, and yet it also feels like this year is such a long one.

September, just like the months that came before it, is gonna be a full one. MrC and I are celebrating our anniversary in 10 days. This month also marks my 3rd blog anniversary, and I’m thinking of a nice give-back giveaway for my mommy blogger and WAHM friends. It’s the 4th month of school, and a start of a new term for the kiddo. The third grade has been quite challenging, but it looks like we’re doing okay. I have a bunch of blog events and activities on my calendar also, and that’s sure to be fun.

I have to admit that between mommy-ing, homemaking, MrC time, and writing for work, it’s becoming a challenge finding time to blog. I really want to continue posting often, regradless of how busy I become. Guess I just really have to make time for it and streamline my writing process. Or something. One adjustment that I’m making as of this moment is instead of 2-week baon plans, I’m going for a monthly post now. I feel that this will allow me less writing time and more cooking time, which is something I need.

I’ve made sure to put a hyperlink on all the recipes that I took from the internet, whether they’re from this blog or elsewhere. It’ll make recipe searching easier on all of us! And, just like before, if I get to try a recipe that I particularly like, I’ll make sure blog about it so that I can share it with you guys. Oh, and I also hope to make use of my newly acquired bento skills. Sana.

So, here we go with September’s Baon Plan. I included a pasta dish each week, and I’m extra excited about those. You know how pasta is my happy food. I also added lots of baked stuff as snacks, since my oven and I are now friends again. Hope you guys like the dishes I put together!

Class Suspensions and Lazy, Rainy Days + Baon Plan #4

August 1, 2014 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 18 Comments

Like I said last week, I adjusted my baon plan posting by a week because we had almost a whole week without school thanks to the crazy storm that was #GlendaPH. If you follow me on Instagram, you will have seen that our place was a cross between Jumanji and Jurassic Park, sans the large animals.

Thankfully, apart from having no water for 2 days and no power for 4 days, we were all okay, safe and dry at home. Our only casualty was the rear windshield of my dad’s trusty old Nissan Vanette, which had an acacia tree fall on top of it, breaking the glass. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Mom’s car and my sister’s car under some branches. Thankfully, these weren’t hit hard.

This Week’s Featured Recipes and Baon Plan

After the storm, life got really busy for me with back to back projects and work galore. And of course this is great, but it also means that I’ve had less time to prepare meals. This baon plan is perfect for hectic or busy days, because it requires very little thinking and not a lot of effort either.

I have three featured recipes this week. One is a Honey Balsamic Pork Chop recipe that’s actually my Glazed Tuna Recipe but with pork chops instead of tuna steaks. There’s also a Beef Tapa Recipe that my cousin shared with me, based on my grandmother’s tapa. This is a dry kind of tapa, sort of like a jerky. The last featured recipe is for Longganisa, which I got from Market Manila. I cook this giniling style so that I end up with crispy, garlicky bits.

Here's a quick peek into the lunchboxes for Baon Plan #4 — Here’s a quick peek into the lunchboxes for Baon Plan #4

Click here to download this week’s baon plan. To check out my past lunchbox plans from Grade 2 and Grade 3, click here.

Promise to share another baon plan in a couple of weeks, and hopefully a new recipe before then. Here’s to an awesome August for all of us!

Steak With Cheese Sauce + Baon Plan #3

July 10, 2014 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 15 Comments

Confession: This post is dated Thursday, July 10, but I am writing it on Tuesday, July 15.

July has been good for me so far, where my WAHM Life is concerned. That means though that time management has been a challenge. I’ve not been able to find time to write, mostly because my days have been full. When I did have a couple of hours or so to spare over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been either napping or reading because my brain has been too tired to think. Today, though, classes are suspended in the Muntinlupa mountains, and so I basically have no responsibilities – no baon to prepare, no school bus driver duties, and no homework. Yay for me! I just really hope that this typhoon (which has yet to be felt) is not as strong as they say it will be, especially since MrC is off to work today.

I thought I wouldn’t have time to write today, but it seems like the kiddo is more excited about the prospect of catching his weekday cartoons over spending extra time with mommy, so while he’s glued to the tube, I’ve decided to blog. Yay for me, and yay for lazy, pajamas-in-bed kinds of days. I’d make hot chocolate but so far it’s still too hot and humid for a hot drink.

A sneak peek into what’s on this Baon Plan

Among all of the things listed on my queue, which sadly has pending posts from February pa (I know, so irresponsible), I’ve decided to work on my baon plan first. I love that I’m actually able to help out a few moms by posting what I pack each week. I also love that my mom friends and blogger friends recommend my baon plans to other mommies. I must be doing something right, right? 🙂

Okay, moving on.

Last Week’s Test Recipes

I didn’t get to make Parmesan Chicken Fingers because I forgot to buy breadcrumbs. Instead, I made a quick an easy Chicken Popcorn using Del Monte Quick N Easy Breading Mix. I just cut up some filleted chicken thighs into 1″ cubes, dumped them in a plastic bag with the breading mix, shook it up and fried in a bit of oil. The kiddo really loved this.

For the Balsamic-Honey Glazed Pork , we used pork chops instead of pork loin medallions. It was actually my mom who prepared this, and we had it for dinner at home instead of baon. I liked it, but the little boy wasn’t that happy. I guess this appeals to more mature taste buds.

This Week’s Featured Recipes and Baon Plan

This week’s baon is based on what I actually packed for the boys over the last two weeks. You can even see some of them in the first photo in this post, and on my Instagram feed. While I still think that planning ahead helps, especially when it’s grocery shopping time, I also like to prepare food that I feel like making on that particular day. That explains why I sometimes deviate from my own baon plan. Lol.

Featured recipes from this blog are my ever-so-reliable Breaded Pork Chops and my Chicken Menudo . I also have Bangus Belly ala Pobre on the menu. I used store-bought bangus for this, and the brand that I like is Sea King. But I really want to start marinading my own from scratch. I think I will try this recipe from Casa Veneracion because it looks so simple. I also am sharing with you the easiest steak recipe ever with cheese sauce to match. This is one of Little MrC’s favorite dishes. The cheese sauce makes it super kid-friendly.

Lola Terry's Steak With Cheese Sauce

2014-07-14 22:51:20

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Ingredients

Beef tenderloin
Knorr Seasoning
Salt and Pepper
Oil for frying

For the Cheese Sauce

1 cup Fresh milk
1 small bar Quickmelt cheese, grated
Knorr Seasoning
Pepper
Pan drippings from the steak

Instructions

Rub salt, pepper and Knorr seasoning onto each side of the steak. The amount of seasoning you use will depend entirely on your taste. Let the meat sit for a few minutes to marinade.
Heat oil in a skillet and cook the meat to your desired doneness.
Transfer the meat from the pan to a serving plate, and let it rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing.
Lower the heat on your stove and slowly pour in the fresh milk, stirring as you pour to prevent curdling.
Add the grated cheese. Simmer until melted, stirring occasionally.
Adjust seasoning with Knorr and pepper.

By MrsC

Adapted from Lola Terry's Homecooking

At Home With MrsC https://blissbysam.com/

Click here to download this week’s baon plan. To check out my past lunchbox plans from Grade 2 and Grade 3, click here.

Thanks for stopping by! I’ll have another lunchbox menu ready for you in two weeks.

Penmanship Problems + Baon Plan #2

June 27, 2014 by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan 8 Comments

It’s officially the end of our third week of school. Yay! I wish I could say that I look forward to sleeping in over the weekend, but soccer camp is back on and so Saturdays and Sundays find us on the field bright and early. I do have the luxury of afternoon naps, though, so it’s all good.

Tell me about your kids’ first few weeks of school

Did everything run as smoothly as you thought they would? Here at home, weekday afternoons are super busy, with homework and review time taking up a good chunk of what used to be free time for us. I keep reminding my son that the third grade is now part of the “Upper Grades” in school, which means that things are now pretty serious, academically.

One major challenge I’ve been having to deal with is my son’s note-taking. He’s been showing me a lot of incomplete and misspelled notes in his assignment notebook and in his subject notebooks, too. These are things he copies off the board, and that’s why I have a hard time understanding why there are so many errors. The bad thing is that his excuse is consistent, each and every time. He says he does it in a hurry because he runs out of time to copy his notes. When prodded, he admits that he wasted a lot of time talking before he actually started writing, and that’s why he was unable to copy properly. Every day. Every single day this week. I’m still figuring out how to deal with this.

There’s also been a bit of drama where the lunch box is concerned, because he recently discovered the joys of buying pizza at recess time, and not eating the food that mom prepared for him. No, he doesn’t have an allowance yet, just to be clear. He has some money saved up from random gift-giving sessions with aunts and grandparents, and that’s what he’s been using. Maybe this is a challenge for me to up my game where baon is concerned? Something to think about for sure. In the meantime, here are some photos of lunches from the last two weeks, as posted on Instagram.

Just a few lunch boxes from the last two weeks

Last Week’s Test Recipes

I was able to try two new recipes last week, a beef tapa one from Yummy and Once A Month Meals’ Cheesy Tuna Mac. MrC loved the tapa. It was garlicky and sweet and salty with a hint of sourness. It reminded me a lot of carinderia tapa, covered in a sticky sauce that nicely coated the meat while cooking. I still have one more container in the freezer, ready to be cooked for brunch one of these weekends. The Mac N Cheese was well-received by the little boy. In fact,of all the food I packed for him since school started, this was one of the few that he really finished. As in, no leftovers! I also froze some, and I think I’m gonna snack on one of the containers this weekend while watching the World Cup games.

This Week’s Featured Recipes and Baon Plan

I feel pressured to make sure that everything I prepare is extra yummy this week, because like I said earlier, I’m now competing with cafeteria pizza. Ugh. I have my sure-win Pinoy Spaghetti on there, and my Beef Salpicao, too. I’m also trying out this recipe for Parmesan Chicken Fingers, and this Honey Balsamic Glazed Pork one. Plus, for recess, I’m gonna be baking a batch of cheese cupcakes. If I never get around to baking, I know I can get good pastries from Le Coeur de France. Buy 1 take 1 on weekends and after 7pm on weekdays, yay! I really hope that the kiddo finishes his food from here on out. I’d like to think that the adjustment period is over already.

I’ll let you know how these new recipe experiments turn out. In the meantime, please download (and enjoy) my Baon Plan for June 30 to July 11! And make me kwento about your first few weeks of school, okay?