Frannywanny

It’s been a week after the long holiday season and after all the fun, the anticipation, the gift-giving, merry-making and non-stop eating, I bet we all have one big dilemma, we got lots of leftovers in the fridge! To be honest, I really do not like seeing our fridge packed with tiny plastic containers which are filled with all sorts of food items -- that last piece of corndog, half a bowl of pasta, a few more slices of cake and chopped veggies and pang-gisa that were excess from our holiday cooking, all these and more. This is why I also find it exciting to clear out our fridge by coming up with dishes that can be created using our holiday leftovers.    Scanning around, I spotted a pack of ground beef that was an excess purchase from what was supposed to be our Christmas spaghetti. I also saw some leftover peas, carrots and onions stored in tiny round containers which are taking up unnecessary fridge space. Seeing all these ingredients, I immediately thought of one particular...

Are you #TeamNamDoSan or #TeamGoodBoy? To know what I'm talking about, you have to watch the Kdrama called "Start Up". One reason why I love watching Korean dramas is because they somehow manage to incorporate a specific Korean food into the storyline. From Chicken and Beer in Crash Landing On You to Corn Dogs in Start Up, I always end up craving for whatever is being repeatedly enjoyed in every episode. I haven't gotten around to watching a new Kdrama so I'm still hooked to Start Up and halmoni 's corndogs.  Given that, I decided to try making Corn Dog Muffins  using a pack of Mekeni Picnic Hotdogs.  I've been hearing about the brand Mekeni for years! It started when I began dating Paul almost two decades ago and heard that Mekeni is a household brand in Pampanga. Finally, I got around to trying it out and I was surprised at the wide array of products available! They have hot dogs, bacon, beef tapa, tocino and even longganisa.  I had so much fun trying...

If there's one thing I realized while feeding my twins is that kids have this great love for anything crispy or crunchy. No matter how hard you try or how long you'd slave away in the kitchen, remember this -- prepare something crispy or crunchy and believe me, your kids will praise you like a kitchen god / goddess. Well, at least, as far as my twins are concerned. Save for the ever-reliable adobo which they love or their all-time fave Baked Spaghetti, my twins are huge fans of fried chicken, corn flakes, crunchy toast sandwiches, crackers and croquettes. This is why I always make sure to have a bag of panko breadcrumbs in our pantry cabinet to make it easy for us to whip up a deep-fry batter whenever the need arises. Don't get me wrong, they get their fair share of veggies and other protein too and we try our best to limit their deep-fried intake on a weekly basis but on days when it just gets slightly tough to satisfy our picky gourmands, well deep-fried crunchy creations...

Allow me to make yet another fearless forecast -- I smell another food trend coming our way and it's in the form of these nice corrugated boxes that's filled with all sorts of ingredients that's packed and carefully sealed. DIY Kits  are here and it means allowing all of us to take our cooking/baking skills to the next level! Since we all have to stay home and to keep ourselves safe from the virus, why not recreate some of your restaurant favorites and enjoy these with the family. I've actually been cooking and baking more since the start of the quarantine and I have to say that I have became more bold and creative in the kitchen. Back then, I'd stick to the usual baked goodies, easy pasta dishes, stir-fries and steamed dishes. For the past weeks, I've learned to make more seafood dishes, cook steak properly, bake a variety of treats and just tonight, I made Galbi Jjim -- a dish that I've been planning to make for months.  A few weeks ago, I rece...

If there's such thing as "by moms for moms", Matt's Waffles would definitely be "by a kid for more kids"  I first heard about this brand of homemade waffles from my cousin-in-law V. She told me that they have been buying from them and even served this as part of the birthday celebration of my niece L. It was easy to find them on social media and I later found out that Matt's is actually a 10 year old boy who happen to be the talented little chef behind these waffles. I have yet to know the full story how little Matt got into making waffles but my guess is probably because it's one of his favorite snack/breakfast/thing to eat. Anyway, one thing that caught my attention is that it's made with the best ingredients. I'm not talking about truffles and Wagyu beef but it's all about choosing good quality ingredient that ensures us that these waffles are safe for kids to eat -- fresh eggs, fresh milk, butter and olive oil. As a mom, I've...

I finally did it! For years, I've been wanting to make stuffed veggies. When I was growing up, whenever we would visit Hong Kong, we would always make sure to have dimsum for Sunday lunch. Somehow, it's a common practice for locals to go for dimsum brunch where the entire family would feast on baskets after baskets of the best dimsum creations paired with their choice of hot tea. They would eat for hours as this is the time when the family also comes together. There would be a handful of aunties pushing the wooden dimsum steam cart and some would have the deep-fried cart too. As you order, they would put a stamp on a piece of card and that's how they would later tally your total bill. It was definitely one of my best childhood memories and the reason why I love dimsum so much. Anyway, during one of those dimsum brunches, I remembered having Stuffed Bell Peppers with Minced Meat. It was so good. Being a kid then, I was never fond of vegetables but if you stuffed it w...

8 years ago, I made my first ever croquette . In fact, the last time I ever did croquette was 2 years ago. Remember my Sardines Croquette ? This is because as easy as it may seem, it actually entails a lot of step and I never really got around to doing it again. Furthermore, I don't really like deep-frying because the thought of cleaning a very greasy pan is enough to discourage me from even entertaining that thought. However, I never thought my culinary creativity will be put to the test the moment I became a Mom...well a Mom of a picky eater. You all know that my little princess L can be quite picky with her food and one thing that she doesn't like is to eat the same dish repeatedly... so, we always have to make sure that we have a new dish every meal so as to entice her to eat. *sigh*  I tell you, my twins are like night and day. As picky as L can be, my little J is so easy to please. Just give him rice, add some sauce or soup and small cubes of meat and he's good. He ...

Here are 3 main reasons why I love salmon: - It's rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B, protein and all the good things making it good for your heart. - It's almost always served boneless which is perfect for people like me who do not like deboning their fish. - It's so easy to prepare and so versatile too! Regardless if you steam, bake, fry, pan-fry or grill it, you're pretty much assured of having a good salmon dish. So, when I received several packs of Seaking frozen salmon cuts a month ago, I was so happy! Well, it was perfect timing too that it arrived just in time for Paul's birthday and you all know how I love going the extra mile for his birthdays so I decided, we have a nice fancy dinner with Baked Salmon as part of the menu. Do you still remember the Baked Salmon dish that I've shared some time back? No? Don't fret, just click on this link to refresh your memory! Anyway, I used the same recipe but since Seaking makes use of Wil...

Just like that, the Ber months have officially begun. Slowly. we're starting to take our Christmas decors out from their usual hiding spot, dusting them to bring back their sparkle and soon enough, I'm sure we can start to hear Christmas carols playing all over town again. It will be my twins' 3rd Christmas and I hope I can make it extra special for them. Anyway, new month, new recipe! Recently, I experimented with a new main ingredient. One that I would always have in my freezer but all I do is to ask our helper to fry it. I'm talking about our National Fish -- Bangus  (Milkfish). I still remember learning about this little fact back in grade school. True enough, I think bangus is one of those fish that makes your dining table truly Pinoy . In fact, I had a hard time looking for bangus when I was in Singapore and I would ask my mom to bring me boxes of Rellenong Bangus  every time she and Papa would visit. We love boneless bangus as I honestly do not have the patie...

Just tonight, I came across a funny joke. It goes like this: Me: I'm good at multi-tasking God: Here, have twins. I must admit that I have said this line way too many times during job interviews from the time that I've graduated from my university up until my days in the Lion City. Funny thing is, I don't recall telling this to my current boss when she interviewed me last year. Can't really remember why I didn't but well, my plate has been overloaded from the day my twins came into this world and I think that will remain that way up until they probably graduate from college or when I retire..whichever comes first. Thankfully though, being a multi-tasker is normal in today's world. Gone are the days when we have the luxury to do one task at a time. In order to get things done while keeping your sanity intact, you just gotta hustle all day, every day.  I got to thank technology for making our lives easier. Not wanting to sound like a tech-crazy mille...

So yesterday, I raved about my newest kitchen appliance -- the Instant Pot Duo 6QT  which I think is an answered prayer for all home cooks who are living in small spaces or are always on the go.  Of course, I wasted no time and started to put this baby on a road test. As soon as I got my Instant Pot , my mom told me that it's the perfect appliance to have given that I always make sure to have soup available for my kids in every meal. It's where we've made delicious beef soup, creamy pumpkin soup that L loves so much and a few months back, I discovered that you can also make pasta here without the use of multiple pots. It's truly your machine for those one-pot wonder dishes. Let me share with you one recipe that I've tried making using my Instant Pot and I was very pleased with the outcome. It's yummy, healthy and so easy to make. Instant Pot Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese  (source: here ) Here's what you'll need: - macaroni or any short pasta...

Among all the recipes that I can make, I think pasta is one of my favorite. Apart from the fact that I love to eat pasta, it's also so easy to make. All you need to do is to cook the noodles as per the instruction on the package, add in your choice of ingredients and tadah! You get a delicious plate of pasta that never fails to hit the right spot too. A few years back, I discovered the wonders of deli sausages. Since I always have a very short time frame to make dinner, I would normally pop by the nearest grocery and buy my choice of deli sausages be it Hungarian, Bratwurst or Kielbasa and I'd take these home, chop it into bite-size slices and add it into my pasta dish. The beauty about it is it's actually cooked so you don't have to grill or pan-fry it for a long period of time which as we know can make your pasta noodles soggy if you expose it to heat for long. 

Hi guys! It's been a while since I've shared a recipe here. My apologies. My entire family's (except for Little L, please spare her) down with the weirdest viruses since last week so we've been pretty much resting and getting drunks with meds. Anyway, J and I are recovering much quickly and we hope Paul's virus will go away pretty soon too as it's hard to watch the twins without Daddy. *waahh* Anyway, let me share with you one of the most recent kid-friendly dishes that Paul and I made for our twins. It's really not easy to have a picky eater but we somehow now have a better idea of what she likes and so we try to bank on that. For instance, L loves chicken. So, we try to be creative with this apart from the usual chicken soup, stir-fry chicken noodles, roast chicken and chicken nuggets, we try to introduce different dishes to them and while there's really no telling if the twins will like it or not, we will just keep on trying. We recently g...

Wow 2019 is zooming by so so so fast, don't you agree? Look at this, we're half way in February and before we know it, we're halfway through the year and 2020 will start making its way through. Don't you wish that time would slow down a lil bit allowing us to breath, relax and have a bit more fun? As I was going through my blog archive, I realized that I haven't shared any recipes with you guys for the past 2 months. A lot of things have happened in 60 days that sometimes I feel like I just can't keep up! Anyway, let me have a good start to this exciting week by sharing one of my favorite easy-peasy recipes with you. This one can be done in less than 30 minutes and one that I love to do when I'm literally in a rush. That said, I apologize in advance for the awful photo qualities that you'll see below. No glamorized shots, no proper lighting, no stylized plating. I was seriously rushing to make dinner as I got stuck in traffic and came home with less th...

When you say Christmas in the Philippines, a number of things come to mind... Parol  (lanterns), Bibingka (rice cake with salted egg), Lechon  (roasted pig) , Noche Buena  (Christmas feast) and Queso de Bola.   Actually, I think I can name a lot more but that will definitely make this blog entry so so so long. Let me focus on Queso de Bola . Recently, I wondered how come this round cheese that's traditionally coated in red wax cover became so popular especially during Christmas. Well, a quick research showed that back in the day, edam cheese or queso de bola is one of the staple items during Noche Buena. I'd also credit this to brilliant marketing work of whoever is behind the brand who sold the first ever Queso de Bola. Imagine, while having cheese with crackers, nuts or fruits is something very European yet this was successfully adapted into our Noche Buena spread together with Jamon, Fruit Salad, Bibingka and Puto Bumbong.

The hubby has been extra busy with the opening of our newest baby project that he rarely has dinner at home. Despite how hectic our family schedule has been, I really am so proud of what he has accomplished and what he continues to do at his very best. So last Monday, in order to give him a good start to his week, I prepared a special lunch using one of our favorite pantry staples -- Japanese Curry . We always have a good stock of Japanese curry mixes in the house as it's so easy to use. Literally just saute veggies and meat, add this in, pour in a good amount of water and wait for it to boil. The result is this very umami meal that will make you say "oishi desu"! I got four types of curry to choose from -- Kokumaru Curry , Vermont Curry , Java Curry and the ever reliable Instant Curry . I've featured the Vermont Curry previously so this time, I decided to use the Kokumaru Curry  variant instead. What makes this different is how it produces an extra creamy textu...

Sardines is probably one of those canned goods that I don't think I'll get ever tired of having. That and corned beef. Oh, and also some real good luncheon meat. It has been my fallback food on days when I'm just too lazy to think of what to have for lunch or dinner or when I'm feeling extra picky about the food that's on the table. I personally like my sardines with sunny-side up egg. Regardless if it's the one with tomato sauce, chili tomato sauce or olive oil, I'd happily go for any of those. So, when I got a bag filled with cans of sardines, I wasted no time and I started cooking. I've been wanting to experiment with sardines for a long time now. Other than to just saute this with garlic, onions and to served is as is, I wonder if potato would go well with sardines too. Here's my personal creation using the basic croquette recipe which I jazzed up a bit more to complement the sardines that I have on hand. One thing that I love about this di...

Pasta is one of the dishes that I am most comfortable in preparing. It's one that I can easily whip up when pressed for time or when I'm just craving for some comfort food. Normally though, it would take me at least 30 minutes to an hour to prepare a pasta dish as I have to cook the pasta noodles till al dente, prepare the sauce, incorporate both together, plate it, sprinkle with garnish and set it on the table. This doesn't also take into account the time spent in preparing each ingredient such as chopping the garlic, pulling out all sauces and sometimes, cleaning the seafood too. A month ago, I received one of the best things that has ever graced my kitchen counter -- the Instant Pot. I have yet to tell you more about it but basically it's one powerful kitchen appliance that can cook rice, make porridge/congee, saute, cook even the hardest and toughest meat under high pressure, delay cooking and make yogurt. I have yet to explore all the functions but so far I'v...

This year, I got to play queen for two special occasions -- my birthday and Mother's Day . I swear, I was so thrilled by all the surprise gifts that came my way. Delimondo , one of my favorite corned beef brand, made Mother's Day extra memorable for me with their special delivery. Back when I was residing in Singapore, Paul and I would make it a point to fill at least 20% of our luggage with cans of Delimondo Garlic and Chili Corned Beef . It's the yummiest and easiest thing to have when we're in a rush and we don't have time to prepare our baon or dinner. I normally would even cook this with more garlic to make it more aromatic. Of course, it's either I have it with macaroni as how Mommy taught me or a piping hot bowl of rice. This time, we got their newest variants -- Delimondo Caldereta Corned Beef and their Sweet and Spicy Luncheon Meat . I got to admit that this is me taking a step outside my comfort zone as I'm just so used to their original flav...

Did you know that raisins can aid digestion? Furthermore, it can be a cure for anemia, insomnia and hypertension? In fact, a quick search online will point you to more benefits that eating raisins can bring however... I got to admit that I'm personally am not a fan of this healthy snack. I know that it has natural sugar making it a good treat option for young children. Perhaps, someday I'll train my twins to have raisins and pray that they won't grow up to be as picky as me. I hope they'll take after their Dad who doesn't have a single food aversion and he loves raisins too. So, if I don't eat raisins, then why would I make one with it? Simple. It's because my family loves it and since I love them so Oatmeal Raisin Cookies  it is! Another reason is because I got this huge bag of raisin sitting on my kitchen counter and OC me just can't bear seeing it untouched. I have to make good use of it and so here I am, baking away again while the twins were bu...