Burritos For Supper

Hubby and I had bean burritos tonight. I didn't have time to cook because we went to church. I didn't make the burritos. I don't know how to make it and haven't tried yet. My hubby bought the bean burritos in the store. It's been a while since we ate burritos so I requested him to buy yesterday. I just cooked it in the oven because I don't have microwave now. I disposed my microwave a couple of years ago since I learned the bad effects of using it. Anyways, we enjoyed the burritos tonight and I also fried some lumpia that I made.

Making a Lattice-Top Pie Crust

Making a lattice top is not a complicated process; it just takes practice. The techniques shown here can be used for more than just fruit pies: woven lattices are a great way to dress up quiches, pastries, and tarts.

Prepare your dough. It should be chilled at least half an hour before you begin rolling it out and making your lattice. Roll out half the dough and line the pie plate. Refrigerate.

1. On a lightly floured surface, roll reserved dough out to a ¼-inch thickness. Roll it in a circle, as though preparing a double-crusted pie. Transfer the dough to a small cutting board, baking sheet, or other rimless pan that will fit in your refrigerator.

2. Carefully cut the dough into strips approximately ¾-inch wide. You can use a sharp knife, pizza cutter, or scallop-edged pastry wheel. If you're worried about cutting straight, use a ruler as a guide.

3. Cover the pastry strips with plastic wrap and place the pan of dough in the refrigerator to relax while you prepare the pie filling and transfer it to the pastry-lined pie plate.

4. When you're ready to weave, moisten the rim of the pie with a small amount of water. Start with the longest strips and lay the first two in an X in the center of the pie. You can arrange them at 90 degree angles or at a sharper 45-degree angle. Alternate horizontal and vertical strips, weaving them in an over-and-under pattern. Use the shortest strips for the edges of the lattice. If you're having trouble removing the dough from the cutting board or pan, roll the strips up like a rug and unroll them onto the pie. Press the ends of the strips firmly to the lip of the pie and trim away any excess dough with kitchen shears or a paring knife.

5. The amount of filling left to peek through the lattice is entirely a matter of style: thin strips of dough make a more elegant lattice, while a few wide strips give the pie a more rustic look. You can even twist the strips of dough as you form the lattice, so they look like festive paper streamers.

6. Once the pie has been covered with the lattice, brush the top with egg wash (an egg beaten with a tablespoon of water or milk) or milk for a brown, shiny crust. Dust the top with cinnamon-sugar, if desired.

My Page Rank

I created this blog two and a half months ago and I bought the domain less than two months ago. In just less than 2 months, this blog was given a PR 2 yesterday. Ain't that great? But the question is, for how long will I enjoy the page rank? I just hope it will be here for a while. Anyways, welcome to my blog PR 2 and I'm happy you came along.

Beef Stew

I've been cooking beef stew before but I didn't think it would be necessary to brown the meat first. I thought it will just add grease to the meat and I don't like greasy foods. But since I've seen Juliana's recipe that she posted in her blog, I thought of trying to brown the meat first and it did turned out good and it tasted better. It was a hearty and delicious meal. My hubby and I love beef stew and I cook it very often. Here's the recipe of beef stew. Try it and you'll like it.

INGREDIENTS

* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 pound cubed beef stew meat
* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 4 cups water
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 tbsp soy sauce
* 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon paprika
* 2 cups cubed potatoes
* 1 cup chopped carrots
* 1/2 lemon juice
* 2 stalks celery, sliced
* 1 teaspoons dried rosemary
* 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
* 1/2 cup frozen green beans
* 1/4 cup frozen peas
* 1 medium onion, diced
* 1 clove garlic, minced

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil in large pot. Add beef and flour, stirring to coat beef; brown.
2. Add water, salt, and pepper. Heat to boiling; reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour.
3. Stir in potatoes, carrots (or turnips), browning sauce, and rosemary. Simmer 1-2 hours.
4. Add corn and green beans; simmer for 30 minutes longer.

Making Apple Pie Filling

Hubby and I love apple pie and I already tried a few times baking apple pies. Here are some tips in making the filling.

1. Use eight medium Granny Smith apples and a mixture of 2/3 of a cup sugar, 1/3 of a cup all-purpose flour, and one tablespoon of cinnamon to make our filling. A pinch of salt and a dash of ground cloves enhance the cinnamon flavor. Use a peeler or paring knife to peel the apples. If you have an apple corer, use it while the apple is still whole.

2. Cut the apple in half to remove the seeds, blossom end, and stem.

3. Use a melon baller, spoon, or paring knife to remove the seeds and hard flesh of the core. If you used an apple corer, remove any remaining bits of core with your paring knife.

4. Cut the apples into even slices no more than ¼ of an inch thick. If you like a chunkier pie, cut the apples into ½-inch cubes. To ensure the apples bake evenly and completely, the fruit pieces should be cut to the same size.

5. In a large bowl, toss the apples with the sugar-flour-spice mixture. If you're using a sweeter variety of apple, add a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to brighten the flavor. Transfer the filling to a pastry-lined pie plate. The flour in the mixture will mix with the juices of the apple to form a thick cinnamon sauce for the apples to stew in as they bake. This pie can also be made using frozen sliced or cubed apples.

6. Top the pie with a crumb topping, a lattice crust, or a full crust, as desired, and bake as directed.

My First Baked Cookies

I've been baking cakes, muffins and bread but I never tried baking cookies. So finally, I tried to bake some home-made cookies because my hubby likes it. I baked oatmeal-butterscotch cookies and to my surprise they turned out good. They're delicious and my hubby and I have been eating them. I offered him to take some to his work but he forgot. Oh well, more for us to eat. Here's the recipe:

Sensibly Delicious Oatmeal-Butterscotch Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or grated peel of 1 orange
3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1 2/3 cups (11-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Butterscotch Morsels

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
COMBINE flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats and morsels. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
BAKE for 7 to 8 minutes for chewy cookies or 9 to 10 minutes for crisp cookies. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Ginisang Upo (Bottle Gourd)

I bought 2 bottle gourds at the Asian store in Fort Worth when hubby and I went there last week. I cooked it a few days ago and hubby and I ate it with rice. I cooked it with ground beef and not pork because I removed pork in our diet more than 2 years ago. My nutritionist told me that pigs are scavengers and so pork is not good for our health. Anyways, the ginisang upo that I cooked was good though it was not as good as my aunt's cooking in the Philippines. I still have to do a little more practice before I can match her cooking. I gave the other bottle gourd to my friend Ann when she and her hubby came here the other day.

Ingredients:

* 2 tbsps cooking oil
* a cup (200 grams) ground beef
* 4 cloves garlic, finely crushed
* 2 medium onions, minced
* 1 large (1.8 kg) bottle gourd, cut into 1"x 1/8" cubes
* 3 tbsps fish sauce
* 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
* knorr beef cubes

Procedure:

In a large wok, over medium-high fire. Put the oil and ground beef. Stir-fry until beef is lightly brown. Remove from pan the ground beef. Retain the oil. Put the garlic. Saute until golden brown. Follow with onions. Saute until soft. Put the bottle gourd. Stir-fry for a minute. Add in the fish sauce. Sprinkle the pepper. Mix. Cook until aromatic. Pour water. Put the beef cube and fried ground beef. Mix well. Cover. Cook until veggie is soft. No need to add water because this veggie is watery