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Showing posts from December, 2009

Empanadas

There are many versions of empanadas, and as you practice you can experiment with different fillings and versions. You can use chicken, beef or pork. Some I've tasted some with cheese. However, if this is your first time making it..you can try this recipe : Filling: 1/4 c cooking oil 4 cloves garlic minced 1/2 c white onion chopped 1 c potatoes , peeled and cubed 1 lb ground turkey (93/7 not lean) or ground beef 1/4 c raisins 2 tsps Kikkoman soy sauce 1 tsp salt 1/4 c green peas 1/3 c msg free chicken stock Directions: Heat cooking oil in a large wok. Brown garlic lightly add chopped onions and cubed potatoes. Cover and allow to cook for one minute. Add the ground meat, Brown and then add the rest of the ingredients. Cover until potatoes are done, then uncover and simmer so the stock evaporates. Let cool before adding to pie crust. Shaping the empanadas: You will need 2 boxes of Pilsbury pie crust dough. Unroll, and cut into 6 inch squares or circles. Add 1 Tbsp of filling, and f

Stuffed Chicken with Embotido recipe (Rellenong Manok)

In the Philippines, we celebrate our Christmas dinner with the Stuffed Chicken and Embotido which my mom would make by hand. I've never tasted anyone else's embotido as good as the one our family used to make, so I've decided to preserve my mom's recipe in this blog . It's only 5 more days till Christmas, and well..as I share with you our recipe, I've included my healthy version as well. Embotido (is the filipino version of meatloaf) which is used as stuffing for the chicken, and the rest rolled out and steamed as meatrolls. Ingredients: 2 lbs minced pork (or used 93/7 ground turkey meat) 2 raw organic eggs 1 onion chopped finely by hand then run through a food processor 2 Tbsp msg free soy sauce 1/2 c organic raisins 1/2c sweet relish (run through a food processor) and save juice 2 c nitrate free hotdog and ham (you can use turkey or chicken, organic), chopped finely then run through a food processor 1/2 c grated cheese (queso

Christmas Traditions: baking cookies

There's nothing more Christmas-sy than the tradition of baking cookies. What I like about this, is that you can make the dough ahead of time (a week before) and freeze it in saran wrap to bake at a Cookie swap or holiday dinner.. One of my favorite childhood cookie favorites is the chocolate crinkles. I love it and looks like snow dusted chocolate cookies... Ingredients: 2 c organic cane sugar 3/4c vegetable oil (trans fat free) 1/4 c dark cocoa powder 1/2 c regular cocoa powder 3 eggs organic beaten 2 tsp organic vanilla 2 c Unbleached organic flour 2 tsp aluminum free baking powder 1/2 tsp sea salt 1c Powdered sugar to dust on cookies Directions: 1. Whisk eggs and vanilla in a bowl 2. In a separate bowl, beat oil with organic cane sugar, then add cocoa. Add egg mixture. Gradually add in the flour, mixing it one at a time. Add baking powder and salt. 3. Put dough in saran wrap and refrigerate 4-6 hours till firm 3. Preheat oven to 350F 4. Cut do

Julie and Julia

This weekend I rented the Julie and Julia movie. Story of Julia Child and her famous cookbook "how to master the art of French cooking". I thought i'd try one of her famous recipes which is the beef stew . I've never made a succesful beef stew that I loved. So trusting the French, I learnt the secret of a flavorful beef bourgouignion (pardon the French)... Some key points that I learnt: Drying the beef stew chunks in paper towels, then searing the meat in bacon fat. Also sauteeing the sliced onions and carrots in bacon fat. Adding and browning the flour to the sauteed beef to make crust Adding red wine and beef stock bouillon instead of water Sauteeing the mushrooms in butter Braising the small white onions in broth As you can see, each ingredient is not just added to the pot. It is carefully infused with flavors before cooking. It is not just a mix you can stir together. The whole cooking time takes 2 1/2 hours to simmer and additional for prepping the ingredients. A

Quick Chicken Pot pie

This is my ultimate comfort food. I used to get the Marie Calendar's frozen pot pie and I was happy to find out my sister-in-law's recipe from when she used to bring this to our Holiday parties. This recipe is good for 2 pies, you can freeze the other one for a later date. In a soup pot, add 1T olive oil. Saute, 1 T minced garlic 1 small white onion chopped When translucent, Add 2 lbs of boneless Chicken meat cut in squares. Season with sea salt and ground pepper. When chicken is cooked, Add 2 can of Campbelles healthy request chicken condensed soup ( or you can substitue 1 can with the cream of mushroom if you want it to be sweeter). Add 1c of frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, peas,corn, beans). Put heat to medium low, and simmer in stove top while preheating the oven to 425F. You need 4 rolls of Pilsbury pie crust or any transfat free pie crust. Mold into the pie pans. Poke some holes on the bottom with a fork. Pour the chicken mixture in the pie crusts. Cover with another