Carbonara Veggie

Craving for pasta… I decided to drop by at the grocery store from work one Thursday afternoon. I grab some RAGU four cheese sauce, fettuccine pasta, and some vegetables. Instead of having chicken breast, Carbonara usually has, I decided to put vegetables such as broccoli and tomato – it is healthier. I planned to cook it the next day.

On my way home, I was so excited! It’s been a while since I cooked pasta with white cheese sauce. Then my sister called, asking my help to look after the kids the next day. I forgot! She called days ago; I got stuck with a lot of things and didn't return her call. Well of course, as a kind sister I always is, I said yes. :P 

Now, my new recipe will have more people to be judged. My niece and nephew are always energetic to see me which pleases me more every time I go and visit them. The youngest, (1 year old) is so sweet… run and hug as soon as he sees me. Well, all of them hugged me.  Or, I may say squeeze me, to the point where it hard for me to breath! :D They all looked puzzled as they see my grocery bag; I explained I’ll be cooking tomorrow. They all smile and shout with excitement… cheering me up, I guess.

This recipe is so simple, just combine everything in a saucepan, and simmer for few minutes and then… tada... it is done! No need to add more seasoning and stuff because the white sauce itself is already flavored.

I bet they all like it. My nephew, who likes pasta had 2 plates, my niece had 1 ½ plate, my sister and brother also enjoyed it. To sum it all... everyone, including me… liked, enjoyed and got full that day!

Actually, it’s pretty good. So, I hope you try and enjoy it too!

Ingredients:

1 box of fettuccine pasta (whole grain/regular)

1 bottle Ragu Three Cheese Sauce

bite size slice of broccoli

bite size slice of tomato

crushed garlic

slice onion

1/2 cup water

salt and pepper

grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Procedures:

For the sauce:

1. In a saucepan, saute garlic and onion then add the remaining vegetables cook for few minutes until the vegetable is half cook.

2. Add the Ragu sauce and water.

3. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For the pasta:
Follow the box instruction to cook pasta. The cooking time varies per pasta type.

Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese at the top. (optional)

Baked Potato

Ingredients:

whole potatoes

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

Garnishing:

sour cream

butter

dried parsley

Procedures:

1. Pre-heat the oven in 400F.

2. Wash the potatoes, make sure there is no soil or dirt. After washing dry using paper towel or cloth towel.

3. In a baking pan, put the potatoes, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. 

4. When the oven is ready, put the baking pan and the potatoes inside and cook for 30 to 45 mins. or until cooked.

5. Server with sour cream, butter with sprinkler of parsley and bread on the side. 

Turkey Burger

Ingredients:

1 lbs. ground turkey 

1 egg

thumb size ginger, minced

3 gloves garlic, minced

pepper and salt to taste

1/4 cup bell pepper, chopped finely

1/4 cup onion, chopped finely

1/4 cup carrots, chopped finely

1/2 cup nappa cabbage (Chinese cabbage), finely chopped

1 tbsp. oil

Procedure:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Use your hand to mixed accordingly.

2. Heat the pan in a low-medium heat. Add the oil.

3. Form the patty in a burger shape using your hand.

4. Cook the patty, both side until golden brown, approximately 10 - 15 mins. 

5. Serve with sliced cheese, tomato and lettuce.

Tofu Adobo

Adobo is one of the popular dishes in the Philippines. It is distinguished by its flavor and aroma that really makes the Philippine cuisine to be proud of.

Adobo is great with meat; chicken and pork are the most common. But today, I’m going to make my own version, a vegetarian dish with tofu.

Tofu is made of soy. It contains low amount of calories, large amount of iron and little fat, and may also be high in calcium and/or magnesium. Thinking about all the nutrients we can get from tofu and mostly, the highlighted “low amount calories”, I can say… Tofu is not a joke.

Especially, I would like to dedicate this dish to my vegetarian friends, with whom I want to share my favorite dishes from back home. Hope you try this one!

Ingredients:

1 pack (4 pcs) tofu, cut into cubes
Generous amount of vegetable oil for deep fry
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
Sugar, Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1.       Deep fry the tofu, set aside.

2.       In a pot or a pan, combine the rest of the ingredients except sugar and bring to boil.

3.       Add the fried tofu into the pot and let it simmer for a few minutes. You want the tofu to absorb the adobo mixture.

4.       Add sugar and let it simmer for another 2-3 minutes. You will notice that the sauce  thickens as you add sugar.

5.       Adjust the flavor by adding salt, pepper and sugar.

6.  Put on of cooked rice and garnished with chopped onion.

Shrimp Tempura

One of the Japanese specialties I love... Shrimp Tempura!

Last weekend I went window shopping and ended up on a book store. I like to read novels... I wish I have more free time for that. I checked the recipe section and found two great recipe books for very affordable prices. It is best to invest in cookbooks (at least for me because I like to cook and experiment) rather than novels. So I bought those and went home.

I shared the excitement about my new cookbook with my friends in Facebook by writing something on my wall. And one of my dear friends commented and reminded me of my blog. She said “All the best Lerrie! Keep updating ur site.. I'm a huge fan! =)”. I felt so glad that finally (FINALLY!!!) someone acknowledges my blog and is really looking forward to my next recipe. I got inspired and prepared my next post right away.

Of course, she is not the first who has done that. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of my friends that really appreciate and love my every post and recipe… for all your comments, private messages. I am not really fond of mentioning names but you know who you are. ^_^ (More hugs and thanks!) You all make my heart pounding!

Well, back to business, the recipe I am sharing right now is not on the cookbook I bought.. hehehe.. yeah!! Tricky, right?! I had the ingredients for this recipe weeks ago… I just didn’t have time to do it. Now, here is my chance to finally do it.

Tempura is made by deep-frying vegetables, seafood, meat or other foods in a light batter. What makes it unique is that it uses tempura batter and the Japanese bread crumbs. People usually serve it with  soy sauce but I tried doing it with mayonnaise and catsup dip and it tasted great!

Let’s all enjoy Shrimp Tempura this weekend! Yum! Yum!

Ingredients:

Large raw shrimps, shelled, leaving tails on

Tempura batter mix, powdered

1 egg

Japanese bread crumbs

Dip

2 tbsp. Mayonnaise

1 tsp. Catsup

Instructions:

1.   1. Clean the shrimp by removing the head and the shell. Leave the tail on. Drain and dry using paper towel.

2.   2. Prepare the deep frying pan. Heat the oil to 340 F. (To check the temperature of the oil; drop a little tempura batter into the oil. If the batter comes up right away instead of sinking to the bottom of the pan, it's about 360 F degree. If the batter goes halfway to the bottom and comes up, it's about 340F degree.)

3.   3. Prepare the tempura batter mix (powdered), beaten egg and Japanese bread crumbs each in a separate bowl. 

4.   4. Roll the shrimp in the tempura batter mix.

5.   5. Dip into the beaten egg.

6.   6. Roll generously in Japanese bread crumbs

7.   7. Deep fry in the heated oil until golden brown.

8.   8. Mix the mayonnaise and catsup and put on the saucer.

8.   9. Serve with mayonnaise and catsup dip on the side.