Spaghetti

Spaghetti is one of my family's favorite aside from pancit. In fact during most occasions especially birthdays, we always have these 2 great menus. Last Sunday was my aunt's birthday and we had pancit and spaghetti on the table. Guess what? It was the spaghetti which was gone first. The kids as well as the adults love it except my hubby. He doesn't eat spaghetti.

Here's the recipe of Spaghetti, Filipino style.

2 lbs spaghetti noodles
2 lbs ground beef
1/2 lb hotdogs, diagonally sliced
2 6 oz. cans tomato sauce
3 pieces laurel leaves (bay leaves)
1/4 cup brown or white sugar
2 green bell peppers, diced
2 onions, chopped
1 head garlic, minced
3 tablespoons of cooking oil
1 cup of water
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated cheese

Spaghetti Cooking Instructions:

1. Cook spaghetti noodles according to package instructions.

2. In a sauce pan or wok, sauté garlic and onions in cooking oil.

3. Add ground beef, ground pork, laurel leaves, bell pepper and a cup of water. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Add tomato sauce, salt and pepper to taste then let simmer for another 10 minutes

5. Add brown sugar and hotdogs. Continue to simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

6. Serve with the cooked spaghetti noodles and grated cheese on top.

Flour Tortilla

My former Mexican neighbor used to give us homemade tortillas. I'm not really very fond of it but my hubby is. He loves eating it. I asked my neighbor to show me how to cook tortillas and she came in our house and made a bunch of flour tortillas for us. I bought all the ingredients needed. My hubby was so delighted. I had to put the tortillas in zip lock bags and put them in the refrigerator to keep it fresh.

Flour tortillas are not made with a tortilla press, they are formed using a rolling pin to roll them flat and into the round. This takes practice to do properly.

Basic Recipe (10 - 12 tortillas)

3 cups all-purpose flour (not bread flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
about 1-1/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, shortening, or lard

Step #1 - Mixing the Dough

Stir dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, folding in the oil or lard. Gradually stir in enough warm water to form a stiff crumbly dough; knead the dough until it holds together, approximately 5-7 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a floured pastry board and again knead it until smooth (3-5 minutes). Once the dough is smooth and no longer sticks to the pastry board, roll it into a "log" shape. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and form each into a ball. Cover the dough balls with plastic wrap and let rest 20 minutes.

Step #2 - Forming the Tortillas

Place a dough ball between two sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper and flatten by hand into a 4" or 5" patty. Use a rolling pin or tortilla pin and, working from the center out to the edges, roll into thin 8-9", round tortillas. Try not to roll over and off the edge of the tortilla as this will make the edges too thin. Turn the tortillas often as you roll. Stretch the dough slightly in your hands as the tortilla is carefully peel off the work surface. If the tortillas tear too easily to handle you may want to reknead the dough.

Note: if rolling out round tortillas is too difficult or time consuming, we have a great alternative. Our electric heated flour tortilla maker produces round, thin precooked 8" flour tortillas in 3-4 seconds and ready to be finished in a hot comal or stored for cooking later. This is a unique and innovative kitchen tool made in Mexico that we have found very handy and effective. See our products page for details and purchase information.

Step #3 - Cooking the Tortillas

Carefully place the tortillas, one at a time, onto a preheated (medium) dry comal or griddle. Within seconds, tiny blisters will appear in the surface of the tortilla. Flip and immediately press down on the tortilla with a wide spatula or flat wooden paddle, apply gentle but firm pressure all over the top. This will cause the tortilla to puff from the steam inside. Blisters will form over most of the tortilla surface as you press down. Turn the tortilla again and press the other side until the blisters turn a light golden brown; the tortilla should remain soft. If the tortillas stick to the comal or burn reduce the heat. The cooking time should be less than 1 minute. Do not overcook.

Stack the tortillas as they are cooked inside a cloth towel lined tupperware container or tortilla warmer. Make sure to seal the container so that they can "steam" while you finish cooking the rest of the batch. For the best taste, serve the tortillas while still warm and fresh.

Fish Secrets

I love eating fish and I can eat it any way it is cooked. But do you know that there are ways in handling fish so they will last long and won't spoil easily? Here are some fish secrets that you might not yet know. Read on.

• When cooking thicker fish steaks, you can tell they’re ready by making a small cut in the center. It’s ready when the cut is milky white or opaque.
• Fresh fish shouldn’t smell at all – if it does, that means it’s been around too long.
• Experts say that fresh fish should feel like your own flesh. It must come back up when you press it down.
• Choose fillets that are moist and free of drying or browning around the edges.
• Store live clams, oysters, mussels and crabs in well-ventilated containers and cover with a damp cloth or paper towel.
• Cook fish for about 10 minutes per inch of thickness. For example, a 1-inch thick fish fillet should be cooked for 10 minutes.
• Don't buy cooked seafood products which are right beside raw seafood products in the display case - they may be contaminated.
• Be careful when handling fish since it can bruise easily. Lift the whole fish gently with both hands. Don't hold it by the tail.
• When freezing large quantities of fish, place a piece of the wrapping material between each. They'll separate easily and will make thawing quicker.
• Add 5 minutes to the total cooking time for fish wrapped in foil or covered in sauce.

Easy Quiche

The first time I ate quiche was during the mother and daughter banquet in our church which was held in a restaurant. They served different foods but this one was new to me since I never ate it before. I got curious how to cook it because it was so good. My friend told me it was just easy and so here is the recipe that I searched and I have to try it as soon as I have the ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

* 8 slices bacon
* 4 ounces shredded Swiss cheese
* 2 tablespoons butter, melted
* 4 eggs, beaten
* 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 cups milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9 inch pie pan.
3. Line bottom of pie plate with cheese and crumbled bacon. Combine eggs, butter, onion, salt, flour and milk; whisk together until smooth; pour into pie pan.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, until set. Serve hot or cold.

WE ARE THE WORLD TAG

I was tagged by Eva and it's only now that I've seen it because I was away for 2 weeks. Things happened unexpectedly beyond my control. Hubby got sick but I thank God he's okay now. Anyways, thank you so much for this tag Eva. I appreciate it.

You do not have to be tagged to play along. The game is simple and so are the rules.

1. Copy from *Start Copy Here* through *End Copy Here*

2. Add your site(s) to the list. Just be sure to post at each site you add.

3. Tag as many bloggers as you like so the list keeps on growing.

4. Let me know your blog’s name and url by leaving me a comment HERE. I will add you to the master list.

5. Come back and copy the master list back to your site, often. This process will allow late-comers to get as much link benefit as the first ones in.

We Are The World Bloggers Master List:

1. Emila Yusof 2. The Other Side of Emila 3. Mariuca 4. Mariuca’s Perfume Gallery 5. Meow Diaries 6. Unlisted One 7. Spiff, the Spaceman 8. My Sweet Escape 9. Nota Nurul 10. Life’s Tapestry 11. Spontaneous Insignificancy 12. LadyJava 13. Miss Igorota 14. AnnyBoo 15. Yoon See 16. Jia’s Life 17. Nessa’s Mumblings 18. Also Mommy 19. The Walk of Life 20.Pretty Firefly 21. Untouchable EARTH 22. Baterya 23. Comedy Plus 24. Bain Cardin 25. Strawberry Milkshake 26. Turn-U-Off 27. Jom Heboh Di Sini 28. Notes by Marvic 29. Memoir Mez 30.Origena 31.Walking Newspaper 32. Bluedreamer 34. Breaking the Boundaries 35. Life According to Me 36. A Great Pleasure 37. Time Goes By 38. Kancing itu Butang 39. In my Kitchen 41. Fyzal’s Territory 40. Wiggy’s World 40. A Simple Life 41. A Taxi Ride 42. Single Life of Me 43. Little Bits of Info 44. Ode to Adrienne 45. KMP 46. Simple Happy Life 47. Chuchie's Hideaway 48. Seiko's Diary 49.SURVIVOR:the REALITY of my LIFE 50. Mom's Special Diary 51. Her and History 52. Basic Bloganomics 53. My Daily Thoughts and Moods 54. My Overview 55. My Daily Business 56. Starbucks City Mug 57. Yellow n Pink 58. All About Life 59. In My Kitchen



ELITE BLOG ARTIST AWARD


Anybody can grab this tag if you want to.