My mom always tell me how lucky I am to have a selfless husband, I couldn't agree more. I cannot ask for a better person and I truly believe that he is my greatest blessing. And then, he loves pampering me and spoiling me (rotten tee hee!). But, I certainly do not like it when he pampers me with his home-cooked meals, gosh, my diet is absolutely destroyed whenever he takes charge of the kitchen. Look at what he has been cooking last week:

He really is inclined with the arts, painting and cooking to be more specific, well business development, sales and marketing are his forte, career-wise. He always tell me that he could inject some food and arts in those fields. No wonder he isn't ever interested in taking any tech jobs.


Happy Weekend!

This got to be my Brother's best recipe, he can make the best fettucine, even better than my mom's. And since I am in a no-rice diet, this could suffice all of my rice cravings, not to mention that my son loves this to bits. Whip away mommies and wifeys!

FETTUCINE

1. boil chicken, reserve stock, flake the chicken.
2. Sauté in butter 3 tsp. garlic, ¼ cup chopped onions. Add the flakes chicken, ¾ can tomato sauce. Add 2 cans cream of mushroom soup( Campbell ). Add 11/2 can to 2 chicken stock using the tomato sauce can (small). Simmer 30 minutes.
3. Boil noodle with salt and oil.
4. Arrange 3 pcs. Of noodles in Pyrex and pour the chicken mixture and cheese. Repeat and reserve sauce for topping and cheese. Put the nestle cream.
5. Bake 10 minutes

I only remember riding a horse a couple of times when I was much younger. I was braver then that I do not have to worry about the mechanics of riding a horse, the horse tack and other stuff that could intimidate a first-time rider and a very young one too. But as I grow older, the more I become coward riding horses that when we visited this theme park which has free horseback riding, I was too afraid to join my son. I guess I was not meant to be an equestrian after all.

A family friend has a son who needs opiate detox pronto. They have been trying to seek help and rehabilitation services but each time they check in their son, they also fear that he would not survive the rehabilitation center's detox services and isolation process. Although, the son has never been this determined to come out clean after several tries. I guess our family friend is the one who is having separation anxiety. I pray that the whole family pass this ordeal and that our family friend's son will be given a better 2nd chance in life.

I cannot believe I spent 4 hours straight on the phone chatting with my soon-to-be bride friend, C. She is all stressed out already and we went through her list of logistics tasks and other things. Apart from this, she has also been looking for an auto insurance package that would include a feature on snow accidents. Chicago has been known for harsh Winter season and she wants to be prepared for it. I cannot believe that in less than 30 days, she'll be Mrs. A already. Happy happy for her and I feel honored to be her Matron-of-Honor :).

I just got back from a salon to do my regular hot oil treatment and I cannot stop raving about how comfortable the chair was! My stylist told me they get their hair salon furniture from PrettySalonUSA.

Last week was such a blur and stressful week for me. I might need some anti wrinkle eye cream from all the stress I got from last week's actitivies, mostly about my internship. And because of that, I did not realize that I missed out on posting the Recipe for the Week. To compensate for that missed post, here's a double whammy Lengua recipe my mom sent me. Don't we all love Lengua? Just make sure to boil them using a pressure cooker so you would not have to wait long.

PASTEL DE LENGUA
(6 to 8 persons without the crust. 15 persons with the crust.)

· Pressure cook 1 ox tongue in a 3 cups water with 2 sliced onions, 1 bay leaf, 1 tbsp fine salt, 11/2 tsps white pepper for 45 minute for 1 ¼ kilos 55 minutes for 1 ½ kilos.

· If a pressure cooker is not available, boil tongue in 6 to 8 cups water until tender, 2 hours depending on the tongue. Check with fork after two hours.

· Peel out white outer covering from tongue and slice diagonally ½ inch thick. Set aside.

· In a pan, add ½ cup fresh butter. Add 2 sliced onions and cook over low fire until transparent. Add tongue and continue cooking 5 minute with 1 small can whole or sliced button mushrooms. Add ½ cup all purpose flour. Mix fast but don’t mash tongue. Pour 2 cups broth, stirring all the time to prevent sauce from getting lumpy. Add 11/2 cups milk, ¾ cup Kraft grated cheese. Add 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper. Set aside

· Make crust:…….2 cups all purpose flour. Cut in 2/3 cup margarine until pea size or 1/3 anchor butter and 1/3 cup snow white shortening. Toss in 8 tbsps water or ½ cup until mixture stick together. Form into a ball and roll out to fit your 2 quarts Pyrex dish. Brush with 1 beaten egg mixture mixed with 2 tbsps evap. Milk. Bake in 350F oven for 25 minutes. Brush again with egg mixture and bake another 15 minute or until brown..

· For 3 quarts Pyrex use 3 cups all purpose flour, ½ cup margarine or butter and1/2 cup shortening, ¾ cup water.

If you wish to make lengua with tomato sauce sauté in ¼ cup oil, 1 head pounded garlic, 2 sliced onions, 4 chorizo de belbao, sliced diagonally the tongue, 1 can tomato paste(3/4 cup), the mushrooms 21/2 tbsps sugar, salt and pepper, broth. Simmer over low 15 minutes then thicken sauce with ½ cup or more flour dispersed in water. Lastly, add 15 to 20 green olives. .

FANCY FISH FINGERS:
4 pcs (400 grms ) fish or fillet
1 small can pinaple crushed drained (reserve 2 tbsp syrup)
2 tbsp calamansi juice
1/4 klo ground pork
1 medium carrot grated
1 stalk celery or kinchay chopped
1 med size chopped onions
1tbsp soy sauce 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

procedure
1. fillet and scrape flesh with spoon. remove bones, then marinate in pineaple syrup and calamansi juice for 15 minutes.

2. combine with the rest of the ingredients except breadcrumbs. season with 1 tsp iodised salt or rock salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. mix thouroughly.

3. form every 2 tbsp into sticks or croquettes. roll in breadcrumbs and fry until golden brown. serve with ketchup or sweet chili sauce.

Yahoo! After a week of pigging out on fastfood deliveries and take-outs for my boys, our pantry and fridge are filled up with yumminess again. Hubby did some grocery shopping and boy was it a lot! He discovered this newly-opened meatshop and their spareribs were on sale at 99 cents per pound hee! So here's sharing this week's recipe before I check on my mom's age spots cream.

(image credit: google search)

SPARERIBS WITH SWEET SPICY SAUCE
Ingredients:
1 kilo short baby ribs
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon chopped spring onions
1 teaspoon grated garlic
½ teaspoon grated ginger
½ tablespoon sugar
¼ chili powder or chopped labuyo
2 teaspoon sesame seed, toasted
oil to cook

Procedure:
1. Panfry the spareribs just to change color around 5 minutes.( you can grill in oven or barbecue the ribs) remove from pan.
2. In another pan with small amount of oil, put garlic, ginger and shallot or onions (optional)then put the spareribs, add labuyo or chili powder, curry powder and sugar to taste. Cook for 30 minutes or until tender then add soy sauce.
3. Put over rice or noodles then put sesame seed, onions leaves.

Side dish: sprouted mongo slightly blanched.

Tips:
Singaporean style…use curry powder
Japanese style…Use Kikkoman
Thai style…Use sweet salty sauce ( calamansi, tamarind sauce or candy tamarind boiled the make into a tamarind sauce)

Since I have posted the top 7 foods which you should not/NOT eat. I am going to share this 6 so-called “Healthy” Foods That Are in fact: Fat Traps in Disguise! 6 “Healthy” Foods That Are Fat Traps in Disguise. I came across this list while checking out Yahoo News, alternately researching on the most affordable Samsung HDTV. Now, read on and be surprised that your favorite favored yogurt ain't that non-fat at all.

1. Flavored Yogurt

Brace yourself for culture shock. Plain yogurt naturally contains about 16 grams of sugar per cup. But if you eat flavored yogurt, you could be downing 15 or more additional grams of sugar, which is like shoveling in four extra teaspoonfuls.

What to eat instead: Choose plain, low-fat yogurt and stir in a teaspoon of honey, maple syrup, or all-fruit spread for a hint of sweetness. Or opt for fat-free Greek yogurt, which is lower in sugar than even regular plain yogurt but often has double the protein to keep you satisfied longer.


2. Sugar-Free Cookies and Candy

Don’t fall for the no-sugar scam: When manufacturers remove the sweet stuff, they often add fat. One popular brand offers chocolate-chip cookies that each contain 160 calories and 9 grams of fat, so why not eat the real thing? You might save calories with sugar-free candy, but many contain sorbitol, which can cause bloating and diarrhea.

What to eat instead: Get your cookie fix with graham crackers, which have almost a teaspoon less sugar per serving than many other packaged cookies. Or find a 100-calorie snack pack of your favorite (try Keebler Fudge Shoppe Mini Fudge Stripes). Taking a trip to candy land? Grab a 60-calorie Tootsie Pop or a York Peppermint Pattie (140 calories and 2.5 grams of fat).


3. Trail Mix

Store-bought versions of this hiking staple should take a hike. A 1-ounce handful of banana chips packs 10 grams of fat (they’re usually deep-fried), and yogurt-covered raisins are coated with partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil, which contains saturated and trans fats.

What to eat instead: Toss your own trail mix with nuts, dried fruit (raisins or chopped apricots), whole-grain cereal, mini pretzels, and a few chocolate chips. Limit your portion to one cup.


4. Veggie Chips

The rainbow-hued chips are no better than their potato counterparts. While both may boast a little vitamin A or C, your hips won’t know the difference: The salty snacks have about 150 calories and 9 or 10 grams of fat per handful. And that bag may contain plain old chips in disguise; sometimes manufacturers simply add food coloring to potato flour.

What to eat instead: Be sure your chips list a vegetable, not potato flour or corn flour, as the first ingredient (we like Terra Chips) and stick with just one portion. Or skip them in favor of baked tortilla chips: Pair a serving (about 12 chips) with 1/2 cup of salsa; you’ll quell your crunch craving and get a full serving of veggies with only 153 nearly fat-free calories.


5. Granola

Pancakes drowned in syrup, eggs swimming in hollandaise sauce — is there a healthy option on the brunch menu? Granola seems harmless, but it’s no breakfast of champions. One cup contains up to 560 calories and 28 grams of fat before you add milk.

What to eat instead: Reluctant to give up that sweet, nutty taste? Skip granola at restaurants, where you can’t control your portion. Enjoy it at home by mixing a quarter cup into a cup of low-cal, whole-grain cereal, such as All-Bran Complete Wheat Flakes, or sprinkle a tablespoon on oatmeal.


6. Ground Turkey

It seems like a no-brainer for burgers and lasagna, but ground turkey often includes fat and skin. A 3-ounce serving can contain 13 grams of fat — almost triple the amount in lean ground beef. With 40-plus percent of your day’s worth of cholesterol, regular ground chicken is no better.

What to eat instead: Look closely at labels. Extra-lean turkey is your best bet, with 1 gram of fat and no saturated fat per serving. Can’t find it? Buy at least 92 percent lean ground beef.

For the past 3 days, corned beef has been a staple food for me. I never really like the locally-produced corned beef here as they are so juicy and saucy. So when I had a trip to the nearby Filipino store after DH checked out cellular shades in the mall, I saw my favorite Purefoods corned beef! The store usually does not carry that food brand so I was surprised! It made my day hee hee :)

What is your current craving?

If there is one dish that I have perfected and will not be ashamed to serve everyone in my family, it is this soup :). The reason for the perfection is my constant cooking of this soup. My boys love it and they could finish 1/2 kilo of macaroni noodles in a week. It is really easy and all it takes is your own tastebuds to tell you if it's delectable or not. So before I check Kwikset, here's sharing my recipe. Pardon me but I do not have the proper measurements.

CHICKEN MACARONI SOUP

Ingredients:
*Chicken (whatever part you want and volume is depending on how you would want your soup to have that much chicken chunks)
*Macaroni Noodles
*Celery, Onion spring, Parsely
*Onions
*Garlic
*Carrots
*Butter
*Evaporated Milk
*Knorr/Maggi Chicken broth cubes
*Salt to taste
*A pinch of Pepper

PROCEDURE: Boil the chicken and when it's done, keep the broth, slice the chicken. Boil the macaroni noodles. Separate. Saute garlic and onions in margarine. Add the chicken, carrots, celery stalk, onion spring leaves, and Parsely. Add the Chicken broth (the one you used to boil the chicken). Add the chicken broth cubes, salt and pepper. Boil it and add the macaroni noodles. When almost done, add the evaporated milk. Serve while hot :).