Cauliflower Fried “Rice”

Being a Filipino, no meal is complete without white rice. Every dish’s perfect pair is a bowl or a plate of white rice. In the Philippines, most of the restaurants here offer unlimited rice on their menu since Filipinos eat at least 2 cups of rice at least and that is bad news since it is rich in carbohydrates. I’m not saying never eat pasta or rice ever again, but what I’m saying is having too much carbohydrates in your body and not using/burning it becomes stored energy and becomes fat. With today’s generation, health buffs are on the hunt for rice substitutes and I must say this recipe is a good one.

As you all know I love reading and searching for new recipes to try and share with you guys, and this recipe was just shared with me via reddit.com which I just learned that the recipe came from this website. I must say kudos to them because this rice substitute is absolutely yummy. Please try it. 🙂

Cauliflower Fried “Rice”

Recipe

4 cups cauliflower (about 1 head)
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons oil
1-2 eggs, lightly beaten
A few drops of sesame oil
A few drops of soy sauce
1/2 cup chopped baby carrots
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
4 green onions, chopped
2 cups bean sprouts
1/4 cup light, low-sodium soy sauce or liquid aminos
Salt, to taste

Procedure

1. Cut away the core of the cauliflower and dry off any excess water. Cut the cauliflower into florets, and then put half of the florets in the food processor pulse until the cauliflower is about rice or cous-cous sized. Do not overdo it, bigger pieces are better than too small. If you don’t have a food processor, mince by hand. Put the processed cauliflower into a bowl and then repeat with the remaining florets.
2. Once all of the cauliflower is chopped, heat one tablespoon of oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the chopped onion and stir fry until light brown, about 8 minutes. When they’ve browned, remove the onions from the wok and place in a bowl. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the egg (1 or 2, depending on how eggy you like your fried rice) and a few drops of sesame oil and soy sauce. Add a ½ tablespoon of oil to the wok and then quickly scramble the egg mixture in it. Remove the egg and add to the bowl with the onion.
4.Add the last ½ tablespoon of oil to the wok and add in the cauliflower, peas, carrots, green onions, and bean sprouts. Stir fry for 3 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium-low, mix in the soy sauce, and cover for about 3 more minutes, or until cauliflower is cooked through. Add back in the egg and onion and cook together for one more minute. Season with salt, to taste.
5. Garnish with additional chopped green onion.

Serves four (4) to six (6) people. 🙂

Notes on this recipe

1. Another alternative for chopping the cauliflower (other than food processor and chopping them per se) is using your cheese grater or blender. Check out this subreddit from for more tips on this recipe.

2. As per comments on reddit.com, the carb count for this one “is about 15.1 grams of total carbohydrates if you divide by 4 servings, or 10.1 grams if you divide by 6 servings.”

3. Please note that I got and shared this recipe from this website. Giving full credit to them. 🙂

How much did everything cost?

Bean Sprouts Php 24.76
Mixed Vegetables Php 24.50
Cauliflower Php 50.86
Eggs Php 80.00 (10 eggs)

Korean Chicken Barbecue with Bean Sprouts

Korean Chicken Barbecue with Bean Sprouts

Recipe

For Chicken Barbecue

Chicken Thigh Fillet
1/4 cup of oyster sauce
2 tablespoons of sesame oil
1/4 cup of sweet chili sauce
2 tablespoons of salt
2 tablespoons of cooking oil

For Bean Sprouts

250 grams of bean sprout, rinsed
1/4 cup of water
1/4 cup of oyster sauce
2 tablespoons of cooking oil

Procedure

1. In a small bowl pour the oyster sauce, salt, sesame oil and sweet chili sauce. Once mixed, marinate the chicken for an hour.
2. In a skillet, heat the cooking oil and stir-fry the chicken until its cooked then set aside.
3. In the same pan, heat the cooking and saute the bean sprouts for a minute. Add in the oyster sauce with a pinch of salt. Pour in the water and let it boil for a minute.

Serves: 2 people | Best served with *Fried Cauliflower with mixed vegetables. 🙂
* See next post for the recipe.

Notes on the recipe

1. Before marinating the chicken, make sure to poke holes on the chicken so the marinade will sip into the chicken.
2. You can also use chicken breast fillet for this recipe, just make sure to slice them thinly.

How much did everything cost?

Thigh Fillets ——- Php 105.00
Bean Sprouts ——– Php 24.76

Simple Joys in the kitchen

Ever since I started this blog I never felt so much joy being in a room/store full of kitchen stuff and equipment – it just feels like home. I’ve been working on my tiny kitchen for some time now, so I’m able to notice the stuff I need and the stuff that I have that are lacking. And to me the price doesn’t matter, as long as the can do the job I’m fine with it. So buying this very useful stuff for the kitchen really made me giddy-up inside.

I’ve been contemplating on sharing with you my kitchen equipment wish list and even my dream kitchen. Watch out for it. 🙂

Beef Caldereta

Beef Caldereta is one recipe that is near and dear to my heart. I have fond memories of my late grandmother cooking this especially when one of my cousins would come over for a visit since it was her favorite. I remember how I prop up over the kitchen counter and watch her chop up potatoes and telling me step by step on how I should do it. Sometimes I would be asked to run to the nearest store and buy additional bay leaves for this.

In the fast paced world that we have today everything has to be quick and easy. Every thing needs to have an easy fix. While doing the easy way to do things we tend to forget that nothing beats the old-fashioned way – well in terms of cooking that is.

Here’s an authentic and simple recipe for Beef Caldereta, I hope you love it.

Beef Caldereta

Recipe

1 cup of cooking oil
1/4 kilo of beef brisket, cubed
1 large bulb garlic, crushed
2 red onion, cut into strips
1 teaspoon of crushed chili
2 red bell pepper, cut into strips
3 large bay leaves
4 potatoes, sliced quarterly
2 carrots, sliced round
250 grams of tomato sauce
1 can of liver spread
water
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

1. In a large casserole, saute the garlic until golden brown then add the onions saute until translucent.
2. Place the beef, add water until the beef is completely submerged then let it boil for an hour to tenderize the beef.
3. Put the tomato sauce, liver spread, potatoes and carrots, let it boil until the potatoes and carrots can be split in half with a fork.
4. Add the bay leaves, bell pepper, crushed chili and let it simmer for 5 minutes. If needed, add salt and pepper.

Serves four (4) to five (5) people | Best served with hot rice. 🙂

Notes on this recipe

1. If you are quite in a hurry, you can use a pressure cooker. With the use of a pressure cooker, you’ll have a tender beef within 30 minutes.
2. Make sure to mix the tomato sauce and liver spread very well. Also add a little water to it because as you leave it to boil it has the tendency to dry up. Mix it very well so you won’t have burnt liver spread stick to the pan.
3. You can also add green peas and green olives for this recipe. Another option is frozen mixed vegetables.
4. Don’t forget to keep the chili on the minimum especially if you’re going to eat with people who are not fond of spicy foods.
5. If you are not a huge fan of beef, you can also try Chicken Caldereta. Here’s how:

a. In a large casserole, saute the garlic until golden brown then add the onions until translucent.
b. Place the chicken and submerge the chicken with water, and cook for about 30 minutes.
c. Add the tomato sauce, liver spread, potatoes and carrots. Make sure to mix well and cook until tender.
d. Add the red bell pepper, bay leaves and chili. Let it cook for five (5) minutes. Add salt and pepper if needed.

How much did everything cost?

Red Bell Pepper —— Php 37.52
Red Onion ———— Php 17.54
Carrots ————– Php 20.02
Potato ————— Php 32.07
Beef —————– Php 55.44 (for 1/4 kilo)

Noodle Craze: Easy Peezy Spaghetti

Now you must understand this recipe comes with a warning. Not a lot of people have tasted this, only the people near and dear to my heart have eaten my spaghetti. I made this for the man in my life right now, made this for the men I had before as a sign that I love them already, and in return they’ve fallen in love with me even more. So you must understand, this has the potential to make people fall in love with you. This can be an equivalent to a love potion, please heed my warning.

My mom used to whip up this recipe when I was a kid and it would instantly make my day a little more brighter. Now as I got older, and got a little more experience in the kitchen she entrusted me with this recipe.

Now I’m sharing it with you, and hopefully it would make your day a little more brighter and hopefully you’ll love it as much as I did.

Easy Peezy Spaghetti

Recipe

4 tablespoons of cooking oil (for macaroni) / 3 tablespoon (for sauce)
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 bulb of red onion, chopped lengthwise
1 bottle of Banana Catsup
1 block of Cheese, grated
3 teaspoon of salt (for macaroni) / 1 teaspoon (for sauce)
2 teaspoon of black pepper
1/4 kilo ground beef
200 grams of Elbow Macaroni

Procedure

Elbow Macaroni

1. In a large casserole, fill it half way with water then add 4 tablespoons of cooking oil and 3 teaspoon of salt and bring it to a boil.
2. Once it boils, place the macaroni and let it cook for 10 minutes. You’ll know its done, when a fork can cut right through it.

Spaghetti Sauce

1. In a large sauce pan, heat the oil then saute the garlic until golden brown. Saute the onions until translucent.
2. Add the ground beef and cook for three (3) minutes. If you’ll notice that the oil from the ground beef comes oil, scoop it out until there is no more oil present. Add salt and pepper and let it cook for five (5) minutes.
3. Add the catsup. Now there will be some catsup left once you’ve emptied the bottle, add a little water and shake it until you can see the inside of the bottle clearly.
4. Add the cheese. Make sure to it is well blended with the catsup. Add salt and pepper if needed, then you’re good to go.

Serves five (5) to six (6) people | Can be serve right away, but placing it in the refrigerator and eating it a day after would make it absolutely divine.

Notes on this recipe

1. I usually use spaghetti noodles for this, but unfortunately a lot of them were to many for group of three (3), so I opted for the elbow macaroni.
2. For easy melting cheese, I prefer (recommend) you use Quickmelt.
3. If you don’t feel like grating the cheese, you can opt to use your double broiler to melt it. You can also chop it into tiny bits and place it in the microwave for a minute.

How much did everything cost?

Cooking oil (Wesson Canola Oil) ——- Php 171. 50
Garlic ——————————– Php 30.00 (for 1/4 kilo)
Red onion —————————– Php 19.84
UFC Banana Catsup ——————— Php 29.00 (per 550 gram bottle)
Quickemelt Cheese ——————— Php 70.50
Ground beef ————————— Php 96.38 (for 1/2 kilo)
Del Monte Elbow Macaroni ————– Php 53.50 (for 400 grams)

Steamed Stuffed Tilapia with Sauteed String Beans

I actually made this recipe a few months ago, back when I didn’t have a blog yet. I just wanted to share with you a quick and healthy recipe you can easily try.

Steamed Stuffed Tilapia

Recipe

1 whole tilapia, cleaned and gutted
1 bulb of red onion, chopped coarsely
1 red tomato, chopped coarsely
1 ginger, sliced thinly
1 bundle of tanglad leaves
salt and pepper

Procedure

Here you’ll obviously need a steam basket. If you have a steamer, lucky you. For some of us who don’t have one you have a two alternatives.

One: If you have a rice cooker that comes with a plastic steam basket, you can use that. You just need to fill the rice cooker with water half-way, place the plastic steam basket then place the tilapia. Make sure the tilapia is wrapped in aluminum foil.

Two: Bamboo or steel steam basket. You’ll need a casserole large enough to fit your steam basket. Fill it up with water to reach 1/3 of the total volume of the casserole. Let it boil, once it boils place the steam basket and let it warm.

How to prepare the tilapia:

1. Season first with salt and pepper
2. On the open part of the tilapia where the gut of the fish is removed, place the onions, tomato and ginger.
3. Tie the tanglad leaves into knots then place it in the aluminum foil.
4. If you have leftover onions, tomatoes and ginger, scatter them around the fish.
5. Steam for 20 to 25 minutes.

You can enjoy this with a sauce containing: 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 3 drops of sesame oil and 1/ 2 teaspoon of brown sugar.

Sauteed String Beans

Recipe

1 bunch of string beans
1 tablespoon of garlic, crushed
1 bulb of red onion, diced
1 red tomato, diced
1 beef bouillon cube

Procedure

1. In a small sauce pan, heat oil and saute garlic until golden brown.
2. Saute the onions until translucent, add the tomatoes and beef bouillon cube.
3. Once the tomatoes are crushed and the beef bouillon cube has melted, add the string beans with 1/4 to 1/3 cup of water.
4. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes and you are good to go.

This serves 2 persons | Best served with hot rice. 🙂

Note on this recipe

1. Make sure to put salt and pepper on and in the fish, and the mixture you’ll be placing inside so the fish won’t be bland.

How much did everything cost?

Tilapia ———— Php 68.91
Red Onion ———- Php 17.54
Tanglad Leaves —– Php 10.75
Red Tomato ——— Php 22.00
Ginger ————- Php 35.38
String Beans ——- Php 8.53

Chicken Inasal with Java Rice

Chicken Inasal

Recipe

4 pieces chicken leg quarter
2/3 to 1 cup of local white vinegar
1/2 cup of Sprite or 7-Up
2 tablespoons of calamansi juice
1 1/2 tablespoons of chopped ginger
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 tablespoons of onion powder
1/2 tablespoon of rock salt
1 tablespoon of pepper

For Annatto Oil

Recipe

3 tablespoons of corn or canola oil
1 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of local white vinegar
1 tablespoon of butter
1/3 cups of annatto seeds

Procedure

1. Combine the vinegar, Sprite or 7-Up, ginger, calamansi juice, brown sugar, onion powder, salt and pepper in a bowl – this will serve as your marinade.

2. Soak in the chicken, let it stand at room temperature for an hour before refrigerating overnight.

How to prepare the annatto oil

3. Heat the oil then add the annatto seeds. Stir until the seeds release their color and aroma.

4. Strain the oil to remove the seeds.

5. Return the oil to the pan then add the salt, butter, and vinegar. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.

6. Prepare your grill or grill pan. Grill the marinated chicken while basting with the annatto oil.

Java Rice

Recipe

1 tablespoon of garlic, minced
1 bulb of onion, minced
1 red bell pepper, minced
1 tablespoon of annatto powder
3 tablespoons of cooking oil
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 cup of tomato catsup
2 cups of cooked rice

Procedure

1. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan, then add the annatto powder.

2. Saute the garlic, onion and red bell pepper for 2 minutes.

3. Add the rice and mix very well.

4. Add the soy sauce and tomato catsup, then mix again.

Serves 4 persons | Best served with a hot bowl of sinigang soup. 🙂

Notes on this recipe

1. If ever you live in a condominium and you cannot use your typical charcoal grill, you can also use a grill pan.

2. If you use your grill pan, make sure you set the stove on low heat to prevent the pan to being too hot. This is a lesson learned for me. I set the stove to medium heat, this caused the chicken to be unevenly cooked and burnt skin. If you have a meat thermometer with you, you can use it to check if the heat gets through the chicken meat well enough to cook it well.

3. When making the annatto oil, make sure the cooking oil is already heated so you can easily blend it with the annatto powder.

How much did everything cost?

Salted Butter ——————– Php 50.00
Sprite in can ——————– Php 21.00
McCormick Onion powder ———– Php 67.50
McCormick minced Garlic ———- Php 83.50
Annatto Powder ——————- Php 17.00
Calamansi ———————— Php 17.40
RedOnion ————————- Php 17.54
Red bell pepper —————— Php 43.68 (2 pieces)
Chicken Leg quarters with bone — Php 134.83 (for 4 pieces)

Easy Paella

During Christmas eve dinner, it is a yearly tradition that a Paella will be served and year after year this dish surely fills-up my plate more than anything. Paella is easily one of the reasons why I always look forward to Christmas. In this time I get to indulge myself with plate after plate of Paella.

Once in a while I crave for a plate of Paella, and a Spanish-Filipino themed restaurant is the answer for my cravings. Since ordering Paella at a restaurant is costly, at times I think to myself if I can cook my very own version of Paella. Thinking that it is too tedious and I would need to have a skillet to cook this made me opt not to. Through flipping the pages of cookbooks, I’ve discovered that one doesn’t need a skillet to cook Paella and there are simplified recipes available. The very first time I cooked Paella it was too oily. The second time, it was too salty, Now, three times the charm, I finally got it right. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Easy Paella

Recipe

1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon of annatto powder
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 cup of chopped onions
1 small red bell pepper, sliced
1 small green bell pepper, sliced
1 can of chorizo Bilbao, sliced
1 cup of cubed chicken breast
1/4 teaspoon of Spanish Paprika
2 pieces of chicken bouillon cubes
2 cups of cooked rice

Procedure

1. In a large sauce pan, heat oil then add annatto powder and garlic.
2. Add the onions and red & green bell pepper, cook for 2 minutes or until fragrant.
3. Put the chorizo Bilbao, cubed chicken, spanish paprika, chicken bouillon and cook for 10 minutes.
4. Add in the cooked rice and make sure to mix well. Add salt and pepper if deemed necessary then you’re good to go.

Serves 4 persons 🙂

Notes on this recipe

1. If you’ll noticed there are only a few meats and seafood in my Paella, that is because the people here at home are allergic to seafood. You are free to add fish, shrimps, squid, crab, mussels and even a hard-boiled egg if you want to.

2. There are a number of varieties of Paella:

a. Paella Valenciana (only one type of meat, either beef or chicken)
b. Seafood Paella (a mix of fish, shrimps, squid, crab and/or lobster)
c. Mixed Paella (a mix of beef, chicken, seafood and vegetables)
d. Paella Negra (has the same ingredients with seafood paella but uses the ink of the squid to coat the rice)

3. Essentially, a good Paella will have a layered of toasted rice at the bottom of the pan. This is because the toasted rice adds more flavor to Paella. One can achieve this by cooking it in a skillet, but there is no need to buy if you don’t have one for you can use your large sauce pan though you will not achieve the toasted rice with this.

4. I’m sure there are a number of varieties of Chorizo Bilbao out there, but I just prefer to use the canned version. You can also use Chinese Chorizo, by the way.

How much did everything cost?

Purefoods Chorizo Bilbao ———- Php 121.50
McCormick Spanish Paprika ——— Php 59.50
McCormick Minced Garlic ———– Php 83.50
Mamasita Annatto Powder ———– Php 17.00
Red & Green Bell Pepper ———– Php 36.40
Bounty Fresh Chicken Brest Fillet – Php 100.00 (max. Php 200)

Dessert Madness: Swiss Miss Mug Cake

Who said that desserts have to be baked? Craving for something sweet but do not have an oven? Here is a perfect example of a no-bake goodie you can serve anytime.

Swiss Miss Mug Cake

Recipe

1 package of Swiss Miss
1 egg
3 tablespoons of cooking oil
3 tablespoons of fresh milk
2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons of white sugar
pinch of salt

Procedure

1. Place all the ingredients in the mug and stir until it is completely free of lumps.
2. Put inside the microwave and set it for 1 minute and 30 seconds.

One serving only | Enjoy. 🙂

Notes on this recipe

1. You can serve this with vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate syrup. Another option is to serve this with peanut butter sauce or chocolate sauce.

2. I’m not sure if this will work for generic or other brands, but you are welcome to try it. Make use of what is available to you. Like I said, just keep on trying to see what works.

Noodle Craze: Penne Pesto

Craving for some pasta? Hungry but you want something light? Try having some pasta. Sharing with you the recipe for Penne Pesto.

Penne Pesto

Recipe

100 to 120 grams of penne pasta
1 bottle (190 grams) of bottled classic pesto

Procedure
1. In a large saucepan, fill it with water just mid-way then add in 1/2 cup of cooking oil and 2 teaspoons of salt – bring it to a boil.
2. Add the pasta and cook for 10 minutes, or until tender.
3. Drain the pasta.
4. In a saucepan, heat the pesto for 2-3 minutes.
5. Toss the pesto with the pasta then you’re good to go.

Serves 4 to 5 persons 🙂

Notes on this recipe

1. For the pasta/noodles, you can also use tagliatelle, linguine or spaghetti.

2. Sadly I do not have a food processor or a blender to make my very own pesto so I had to resort to using a bottled pesto sauce which is available at your local supermarkets. Allow me to share with you a recipe that I have for making your very own pesto.

What you’ll need:

2 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup of pine nuts
2 1/2 cup of basil leaves
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of cooking oil
large pinch of salt

How to do it:

In a food processor or blender, place the garlic, pine nuts, and salt. Process it briefly. Add the basil leaves and process it until it turns into paste. While the motor is still running, slowly add olive oil. Once done, place it in a bowl then add in the parmesan cheese and mix. Adjust the taste by adding salt when needed.