Cook’s Nook – Chicken and Vegetables Meatballs

Easy for little hands to pick up and nibble on and jam packed with wonderfully nutritious vegetable, meatballs make the perfect baby led weaning food, especially for blw beginners!
So when Inigo was born I equipped myself on how will I prevent picky eater. Then I came accross Baby Led Weaning. At first,I was adamant with choking and gagging but as what other BLW mother’s would say “how will you know if you will not try”. 

So again what is BLW means and how it helped me as a mom to achieved a non picky eater toddler this time.

“Baby led weaning quite simply is self feeding. It means allowing your child to feed themselves from the very beginning of their experiences with food. At meal times, your child eats at the same time as the rest of the family and is offered the same food. Baby led weaning is all about exploring, experiencing and enjoying nutritious and delicious family meals from the very first taste of solids.”

And because Inigo loves vegetable and pasta I combined two of his favorite food. 

To create your own batch of easy peasy vege packed chicken and vegetable meatballs  simply.. 

 Begin by placing the grated carrot, zucchini, sweet potato, potato, chicken breast, flour and eggs into a large mixing bowl.  Stir until fully combined.. 

 

Take heaped tablespoon of the mixture and place into shallow bowl with flour. Next, dipped it in egg and lastly into the bowl with parmesan cheese and panko breadcrumbs.

Spray a non stick mini muffin tin tray with cooking spray oil.   

 Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden, flip each vegetable balls and bake for another 2-3 minutes.
  

I served these vegetables alongside a very simple tomato pasta and in no time Inigo gobbled them up. Even Kuya Angelo tried it! 

   

  

   

Spring delights- Ham and Cheese Cupcakes



There are so many reasons that I thanked God every day. And one of them is blessing me with an adorable daughter. We often called her “kutchi-kutchi Isabelle”. She’ll be turning 3 months in few days, and everyday she’s becoming more playful to her brothers. 

Now,that she’s growing fast I couldn’t help but think how our girls bonding would be. Girls talk, shopping, lovelife and I am pretty sure baking and cooking will be on our list too. 

As a matter of fact, I am thinking of compiling all the recipes and create a book that she could use in the future. 😜

On the other hand, since it’s Spring Break , I’m on a mission to bake new food aside from sweet and chocolate-y cupcake. For our breakfast today I baked ham and cheese cupcake. 

My eldest son doesn’t like Ham and Cheese Sandwich but he loves cupcakes. What about ham and cheese wrapped in cupcake? Clever idea right?!



Our entire house swelled with the scent of melted butter and freshly grated cheddar cheese. Mmmm.. 





Ham and Cheese Cupcake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, cubed

1/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 (5-ounce) can condensed milk

1/2 cup ham 

1 cup grated cheddar cheese, divided

Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. 

2 Combine all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Stir well; set aside.

3 In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together on medium speed. Mix until batter is pale yellow in color, about 3 to 5 minutes.

4 Add eggs and vanilla extract; mix. Add condensed milk.

5 Bring mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture gradually.

6 Add 3/4 cup grated cheese. Mix until well combined.

7 Scoop batter onto prepared muffin tin until cups are 3/4 full. Sprinkle each muffin with dice ham. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

8 Remove pan from oven. Let cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

To-Go-Baked Pancake with Your Favorite Hotdog



We loved pancakes. We loved Purefoods hotdogs. How about pancake and hotdog in one bite?! Pwede di ba..

The idea is to use a basic pancake batter recipe, fill up a muffin tin with batter, then top off each muffin with hotdog.



This plain pancake mixture is actually quite tasty all on its own.  You could make this baked pancake without any additional toppings and it would be delicious.



These are such an awesome grab-&-go breakfast.  They are also perfect pambaon ng kids.👍



Cook’s Nook – Pancit Palabok

I am far from being the expert cook. Admittedly, there are some dishes that I used instant mix like Mama Sita.

My husband loves Palabok but I don’t have the guts to cook it para kasing ang busisi.

So for this recipe, I used Mama Sita’s Palabok Mix. So easy in less than 20 minutes, I am done.



INGREDIENTS

3 tbsps cooking oil

1 head garlic, crushed

½ cup deboned tinapa (smoked fish) flakes

1 pouch Mama Sita’s Palabok (Shrimp Gravy) Mix

3 cups stock or water

16 cups water

2 tbsps cooking oil

1 pack bihon

2 pcs hard-boiled eggs, sliced

tofu, fried until golden in color

½ cup shrimps, boiled, shelled, deveined and  cleaned.



COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

In a wok or kawali, heat and sauté garlic, ¼ cup of the tinapa flakes and stir in Mama Sita’s Palabok (Shrimp Gravy) Mix dissolved in 3 cups stock or water. Bring to a boil while stirring occasionally.

Lower the heat and simmer until sauce is thick. Remove from heat and set aside.

Cook the bihon: Bring 4 liters of water and 2 tbsps cooking oil to a rolling boil and drop the noodles. Leave for 1 minute or until noodles are cooked. Drain and wash with cold water.

Arrange the noodles on a bilao (bamboo tray) or any round platter lined with banana leaves (optional). Pour the sauce over and garnish with boiled egg, toasted garlic, boiled shrimp, chopped spring onions, crushed chicharon, remaining tinapa flakes and calamansi or lemon halves.

Cook’s Nook – Roasted Chicken with Butter and Garlic



Whenever I am too lazy to prepare a dish that will require lots of preparation I always opt for an easy dish that doesn’t need effort.



I particularly loves the herby butter which I rub under the skin – it keeps the chicken moist and is packed full of flavor.



This is a very simple recipe, all the ingredients are readily available in your pantry.

You’ll be needing soft butter and mix it with chopped garlic and herbs of your choice – I used lemon,thyme and rosemary. Season the herby butter with salt and pepper. Gently work your fingers underneath the chicken skin to loosen it, trying not to rip it. Using your hands, work the butter underneath the skin. Rub the remaining butter over the top of the chicken. Pop in the oven for 1-1/2 hours, depending on the size of your chicken. Served with hot steaming rice.



Cook’s Nook – Buttered Shrimp with Tomatos and Spinach

Garlic and butter. When you combine these two in a glorious shrimp skillet, well, it’s nothing short of perfection.

Eh perfection na pala why I still need to add tomatos and spinach. You may wonder why just give it a try and  you’ll be surprise how it will turned out. 

It’s delicious and this is just one of those dishes that will be stapled on your daily menu because every last, succulent, juicy bite of this is completely worth it. 



What made this dish extra special is that I got a cute little chef, who happened to like being in the kitchen.



Now it’s your turn to shine and impress your love ones!

Happy Weekend!







Cook’s Nook – Filipino Style Pork Binagoongan with Eggplant

Without bragging if there is one recipe that I loved cooking most  is my own style of Pork Binagoongan. I loved my version with lots of fried eggplants and tomatoes.

One of the twist that I made with this recipe is adding mashed roasted garlic and cooking it inside the oven. You should give this a try the meat turns out so crispy and tender.

 This dish is a simple Filipino dish made out of crispy pork pieces dressed with bagoong sauce, a good dish paired with garlic fried rice and a glass of cold Coca Cola.

Cook’s Nook – Oven Baked Fried Chicken with Corn Flakes

If you’re looking for something quick and easy to make, and delicious to eat, this is for you!

These tasty and crispy chicken are very quick and easy to throw together.

Ingredients:

Chicken

Salt and Pepper

2 teaspoon of low fat plain yoghurt

2 cups crushed corn flakes

1 egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F
Lightly oil a baking sheet
Rinse chicken and pat dry
Season with salt and pepper
Whisk egg and yoghurt together in a large bowl
Combine corn flakes, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl
Dip the chicken in the egg mixture, then coat with corn flake mixture
Arrange the chicken, skin side up on the greased cookie sheet
Bake until the chicken is golden and crisp about 45-60 minutes
Serve with rice and enjoy!

Cook’s Nook – Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

I love it when ingredients force you to make something appetising.
Especially when bacon are involved and asparagus are just begging to be bunched together and wrapped up tight to create a gourmet looking food.

This is an easy peasy recipe and doesn’t involved much preparation..

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus..
(adopted from Food Network Blog)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds asparagus spears, trimmed 4 to 5 inches long tips
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
A few grinds black pepper
4 slices center cut bacon

Directions
1.Preheat oven, if using, to 400 degrees F.
2.Lightly coat asparagus spears in extra-virgin olive oil.
3. Season the asparagus with black pepper. Take a quick count of the spear tips. Divide the total number by four. 4.Gather that number of spears and use a slice of bacon to wrap the bundle and secure the spears together. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
5.To grill, place bundles on hot grill and cover. Cook 10 to 12 minutes until bacon is crisp and asparagus bundles are tender.
6.For oven preparation, place bundles on slotted broiler pan. Bake 12 minutes.

Palitaw (Filipino desserts) Pinoy Recipe

To those who are not familiar with this Filipino native delicacy, palitaw is flattened rice cakes rolled in grated fresh coconut then sprinkled with a mixture of toasted sesame seeds and sugar.
The name derive from the Filipino word “lilitaw” because the rice cakes will automatically float on top of the boiling water when they’re already cooked.

Palitaw Recipe
Recipe adapted from Jun Belen Blog

2 cups glutinous rice flour
1 cup water
1-1/2 cups grated coconut
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

Knead the rice flour and water in a mixing bowl to make a smooth dough that holds together and separates cleanly from the bowl. With floured hands, pinch off about 1-1/2 tablespoons of the dough, roll into a ball and flatten into a patty, about 2 to 3 inches in diameter and about 1/4 inch thick. Set aside on a dry plate. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Place grated coconut in a bowl. Mix sugar and toasted sesame seeds in a separate bowl.

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a pot. Drop the dumplings into the pot and boil until they rise and float to the top, about 1 to 3 minutes. Scoop them out with a wire mesh skimmer and drain.

Roll the dumplings in coconut and then sprinkle generously with sugar and toasted sesame seeds.

Serve warm or at room temperature.