weekly meal plan Archives - Happy Pinay Mommy

Budget ulam recipe ideas for the week of July 2023

happypinaymommy — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 09:31:31 +0000

Here are the budget ulam ideas for this week

Hello Mommies! It is a Monday once again, and it means a brand new entry for our Budget Ulam Recipe Ideas Series for 2023! If you’ve missed the past two entries, You can start with the first one here.

Anyway, like what I mentioned, the ulam or main dish ideas here are mostly Filipino dishes, or dishes that we Filipinos have adapted to our palate. It feeds a family of 4-5 with adult-portion sizes. The dishes usually cost between P150.00 to P200.00 which is of course much much less expensive compared to ordering delivery food, grabbing take out, or dining in a restaurant (or even in a fastfood).

Of course, nothing compares to the nutritional value of home cooked food, and so, this takes into consideration the labor of love of us moms for our respective families.

This week’s budget ulam recipe ideas

This week’s entries are again easy to cook. Most of the basic ingredients and seasonings are also pantry staples so you would not have to rush to the grocery or the market to buy them. And since this list helps map out seven meals, it will help in your meal planning and grocery shopping making it more cost efficient.

By the way, if you are on the look out for meal plans, affordable breakfast meal ideas, and even kids’ ulam ideas then please do check out our website’s recipe section and baby and toddler meals.

Cheap but delicious ulam ideas 2023

So without further ado here is our list of cheap yet delicious and easy to prepare ulam recipes:

1. Bangus Steak — Instead of high-purine beef, use Bangus and make a Bangus Steak recipe. Of course, use red onions as white onions are still relatively expensive nowadays. Marinate for at least 15 minutes sliced bangus in a mixture of 1/4 cup soy sauce, and about 4-6 pieces calamansi, plus pepper.

In a pan, caramelize some onions and then set aside. Fry the Bangus in the same infused oil. When the fish is fully cooked, add the remaining marinade and the caramelized onions. Add a bit more onion rings and bring to a boil. Simmer for about five minutes and adjust seasoning to taste.

2. Chicken Sotanghon Soup and Crunchy Fried Galunggong – In these days of thunderstorms it is fun to eat noodle soups like our traditional chicken sotanghon soup. You do not need much for this recipe except for a few pieces of chicken breast or whatever chicken cut you prefer. Vermicelli noodles and then spring onions then you are good to go. Pair this is up with crunchy fried galunggong for the win

3. Pandan chicken – You may find Pandan Chicken in the menu of restaurants but it is surprisingly cheap to make. All you need is Pandan leaves, some seasoning and deboned chicken cuts and you’ve got your family an interesting dish that will surely make them ask for more. Here is an easy recipe to follow.

4. Steamed Tilapia with Soy Ginger Sauce. This is a nutritious and very delicious steamed fish recipe. You can use this recipe for steamed Pompano, just sub the fish. With Tilapia you can buy at least 3 medium sized pieces for less than 200.00.

5. Kare-Kareng Gulay. This is another good recipe to make and will surely help the kids enjoy vegetables specifically eggplant, string beans, and pechay. Well if you have kids who could not eat straight up Kare Kareng Gulay, you may add some 2-3 Pork Pata slices so that they could have some meat with their veggies. Here is a good recipe to use.

6. Crunchy fish fillet with thousand island dressing. Yes you can make this party staple as an ordinary-day main dish as it is both affordable and easy to make. Just use your favorite breading on Pangasius fillet and make a mixture of ketchup and mayonnaise as dipping sauce. The breadings that work for us include the usual flour-egg-flour / cornstarch mixture, or the flour-egg-panko breading mix.

7. Chicken Afritada. Who says caldereta is only for special occasions? It is a legit everyday meal since you can buy chicken pieces, tomato sauce, carrots and potatoes for about P200.00 Here is a recipe that you can follow.

So that is our list for this week, hope you visit our website once again next week for new entries to our list of budget ulams for the week.

Food for the soul

At this point, I hope you could allow me to share with you one of my favorite bible passages, this time from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians:

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32

Thank you for stopping by and till next post!

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

https://happypinaymommy.com/2023/06/29/super-easy-soy-veggie-fried-rice-two-ways/

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This week’s baon: Healthy baon ideas (Week 9)

happypinaymommy — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 11:00:22 +0000

I challenged myself the past week to come up with healthy baon ideas.

Did not have time to post this earlier today, but I am hoping the healthy baon ideas in this post are not too late to help you with your baon planning. Here is achie’s baon recap for the past week to help newbie school mamas plan their little one’s baon for the new week.

Healthy Baon Ideas for The Week

This week, I challenged myself to come up with healthy baon ideas for Achie. Not that the past baon snacks i have prepared are unhealthy but more because I wanted to reduce the presence of processed food in my family’s diet. REDUCE being the operative word because I know in my heart that it will be really hard to totally eliminate it (but im sure it is doable as some families have done it) given the many factors that push moms like me to choose to serve processed food from time to time. No judgements whatsoever, i do not know what challenges you have, I am imperfect as well, but I just tried to make cleaner baons the past weeks and see if my kid will be happy with it too. Glad that she is happy with the baons as most of them I have already introduced to her way way back.

Anyway, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, please be mindful of the portions/slices of the baon to prevent choking for younger school kids. Also, caution on the food allergies as well as whatever baon guidelines implemented on your little one’s school. So let’s get started.

School Baon Ideas Recap:

MONDAY — Parmesan chicken wings, Avocado-Cheese Mini Sandwiches, and garlic peanuts.

Glad that my daughter likes avocadoes a lot and since they are in season, i decided to pack it for her school snack.

TUESDAY — Suman (she insisted that I pack it with its original dahon packaging since she already learned how to unwrap it at home), plus some sungsong peanuts — she likes cracking the peanut shells. Tip if you want to pack suman for baon, freeze the suman the day you bought it; then on the day you want to pack it for baon just steam to reheat — or the easiest way is to steam it alongside your sinaing.

My daughter insisted on bringing a suman na may balat in school since according to her, she already knows how to peel it.

WEDNESDAY — Hard-boiled egg, muron (rice cake or kakanin flavored with chocolates and peanuts), cashew nuts. Like the suman, you can freeze the muron and just reheat it through steaming on the day you want to pack it in her baonbox.

Ever since she got to taste Muron, my daughter keeps on prodding me to buy some. It was llve at first bite for her!

THURSDAY — Banana bread, raisins and cashew nuts.

Banana bread will always be in our baon rotation because my daughter absolutely loves it!

FRIDAY (extended school day) — Smoked boneless bangus, rice, banana chips, strawberry yogurt, and fancy mixed nuts.

The bangus monster in her was so happy with this lunch baon idea.

So there you have it, hope I was able to help you with your baon planning this week. For more school baon ideas please check out the baon section of our website, happypinaymommy.com or browse our Facebook album of close to 200 school baon suggestions to pack for your preschooler. Hope you can also follow our Pinterest Baon board. See you there!

A Happy Homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

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Easy Chicken Lomi Recipe

happypinaymommy — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 07:23:51 +0000

Newbie cooking mama alert: here’s a super easy chicken lomi recipe to follow.

Rainy days call for piping hot noodle soups like Lomi. I never thought that this easy chicken lomi soup is easy to cook because it looks so complicated — a dish only veteran moms and grandmothers can confidently cook.

(Related Post: Breastfeeding Soup Recipes for Moms)

But all these assumptions of mine are unfounded, because apparently cooking lomi soup is not that complicated. Budget-wise it is also easy on the pocket because

This chicken lomi recipe is yet another P100 family meal idea!

The first step is to find fresh lomi, which can be bought from the supermarket or your suki in the market. Be mindful of the expiration dates and if there is not that is indicated, ask when it was delivered and when will it perish. Store the fresh lomi noodles in the ref until the day of use — ideally within two days from date of purchase.

So without further ado, here’s our —

Super Easy Chicken Lomi Recipe:

This chicken lomi recipe is yet another P100 family meal idea!

Ingredients:

One pack fresh lomi

One egg

Boiled chicken breast, flaked or sliced thinly

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, sliced

1 tbsp cornstarch mixed in 4 tbsp water

6 cups of chicken stock or plain water (to make chicken stock just boil some chicken bones, a bit of chicken meat, plus onions and other veggies in the ref like carrots, cabbage, beans and then season with salt and pepper).

Chinese Cabbage shredded

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

Optional: Patis and sesame oil

Procedure in cooking easy chicken lomi recipe:

1. Wash the noodles thoroughly in water. Fully immerse it in water that has just boiled for about three minutes, then drain. Wash again and set aside.

2. In a pot, saute onion and garlic.

3. Add the chicken and then the stock or plain water.

(Related Post: Yummy Soup Recipes for the Rainy Season)

4. Bring to a boil then simmer for about five minutes.

5. Add the drained noodles and cook for about 10 minutes.

6. Add in the cabbage and the carrots.

7. Beat the egg in a bowl and then pour into the pot. Stir the mixture until the beaten egg has been cooked

8. Add in the cornstarch mixture or the slurry and stir continuously until the lomi soup thickens.

9. AT THIS POINT YOU CAN NOW GET A SEPARATE PORTION FOR YOUR BABY AND TODDLER SO THEIR SOUP WILL BE UNSEASONED.

10. You can now season the lomi soup accordingly with salt and pepper or with patis if you wish.

11. Simmer again for about two minutes. Then serve.

12. Optional: add a dash of sesame oil prior to serving.

So there you have it, i hope you give this recipe a try. For more soup recipes please check out our recipes and meal plans section of the website, or check out our Facebook album of family meal recipes.

(Related Post: Ulam Recipes Under P100)

Hope you can also follow us over in Instagram where we post family meal recipes on a regular basis. Hope you can check out our Pinterest recipes board as well. Till next post!

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

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This week’s baon ideas (week 04)

happypinaymommy — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 13:27:55 +0000

Hope this week’s baon ideas will help you map out your child’s school snack for the week.

Gorgeous Monday everyone! Sharing with you Achiebelle’s snackboxes the past week as part of our weekly baon series: this week’s baon.

Hopefully, this could help out newbie school mamas map out the baon of their little ones this new school week. Again, as i usually say, please mind the portions for choking hazards, allergies, and snack regulations in your child’s school.

So without further ado, here’s week number four of our weekly baon serye —

This Week’s Baon Ideas:

MONDAY — Failed maruya kaya let’s just call it saba banana pancakes, baked cheese biscuits and yakult.

My daughter told me after school last monday, that Ithe banana oancakes would have been a bigger hit if it has nutella on top. Okay noted!

TUESDAY — Small apple (she insists on taking a whole fruit instead of sliced or cubed ones), raisins, and experimental turon — turon with camote instead of banana and langka.

I did not expect the lumpiang turon to turn out really yummy, even my toddlers liked it!

WEDNESDAY — Fried saba banana sticks, fresh ripe mango cubes, and cheddar cheese sticks.

My kids can eat fried plantain for breakfast, for snack or even with their ulam. It is a staple for us really.

THURSDAY –– Penoy, garlic peanuts, and herbed marble potatoes. The potatoes were easy to cook, i boiled them the night before — about 12 minutes. The next morning i just sliced it in half, and heated it up in a pan with olive oil with butter, a pinch of salt, pepper, paprika, and dried basil.

So I introduced my kids to penoy and balut several moons ago and they liked penoy a lot. So when we ran an evening errand achie asked if we could stop buy the store that sells balut penoy so she could being some to school. When we got home they ate some and I refrigerated the others. The refrigerated ones were still good the next morning and so I packed it for her.

FRIDAY (extended school day) — Papaya chunks, chocolate wafer cubes, dried mangoes, gelatin and tocino with scrambled egg and rice.

Achie does not eat tocino before, and so when I learned to prep homemade tocino, i prepped it in such a way that will suit her taste buds. Glad she likes it now.

So there you have it, another week’s worth of baon ideas! For more baon recipes and suggestions hope you can check out the baon ideas section of our website. We also regularly update our Facebook album of baon and school lunch ideas, and we also post these in our Instagram feed and Pinterest board. Hope to see you there as well. Till next week!

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KBks3ek1Wg

Kid-friendly easy tuna nuggets recipe

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Simple French toast recipe for busy mornings

happypinaymommy — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 07:36:17 +0000

Here’s a simple French toast recipe for breakfast, school snack or home meryenda.

This easy French Toast recipe is one of our go-to breakfasts during weekends. It is easy to make, and at the same time the ingredients are pantry staples. In fact I am thinking this could even be prepared during the week as it also makes for a perfect baon for kids like my eldest, Achie. It can also be a perfect after school meryenda as well.

So what do you need? Any type of bread you like that can be sliced flat — loaf bread or any rustic bread if that is your cup of tea. Any type of milk you have in the ref or pantry — fresh milk, soy milk, almond milk or even evap if that is what you have.

The ingredients are already in your ref or pantry, and the cooking procedure is not complicated at all.

Eggs — about two pieces for a family of four. A couple of drops of vanilla, and then whatever oil you choose for frying but i suggest that you just use this oil to brush your non-stick pan and add a bit of butter. Optional ingredients are powdered sugar for drizzling and honey or maple syrup. (Related Post: Quick Breakfast Ideas for children)

Easy French Toast Recipe

As for the sides, it is fully up to you. Since we eat this only once in a while we usually have either Hungarian or vienna sausages and scrambled eggs. Some families like it with bacon or ham. But if you are skipping these processed breakfast goodies, a homemade breakfast sausage or jam or jelly and fresh fruits in season will be great as well. (Related Post: Easy Homemade Beef Tapa Recipe)

So without further ado here’s the —

Simple but yummy French toast recipe

Ingredients:

Sliced Bread (you may slice further to make it more manageable to fry and eat)

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk of choice

Dash of vanilla extract

Cooking oil for pan brushing + butter

Optional: honey or maple syrup, sides — fruits or sausages

How to cook this quick french toast recipe:

1. Beat the eggs and milk and add in the vanillla.

2. Heat the pan and brush oil and melt some butter on it.

3. Dip each of the slices of bread into the egg mixture coating both sides. Do not soak the bread too long though as it will become too soggy.

We personally do not like soggy toasts so I do not soak them in the egg-milk mixture for too long. I just let each slice absorb enough coating and then I fry it right away.

4. Fry until each side is light brown and then set aside.

5. Serve with your choice side, and top with powdered sugar and honey or maple syrup if desired.

For me, Vienna sausage will always be the perfect pair for this dish, but you can always use a healthier substitute.

Here is another way of serving it, this time with Hungarian sausage on the side:

Please excuse my middle child’s hand, ang kulit.

So there you have it. I hope you can give this easy and simple french toast recipe a try. It is a great baon and a good way to break the usual breakfast meals in a home if yours is the rice and ulam type. (Related Post: Weekly baon ideas series)

Toddlers and babies will also like this. Just make sure to slice it in stick form or manageable and safe portions, and omit any processed sides. Here are some ways I serve up this breakfast dish for my BLW Baby and BLW Toddler. (Related Post: Pinoy Baby and Toddler Food Ideas)

He was about 10 months when I served this and so the toast have been sliced into strips, and the scrambled eggs are in bits as he can safely eat them that way. He also had a pre-loaded spoon of Greek yogurt to go with his Toast plus some banana strips.

Here is another one, now that he is a toddler:

As a toddler (about 1.3 yo), he can already safely eat the toast sliced on a triangular fashion. He again eats it with his favorite scrambled eggs.

For more breakfast ideas, please check out our meal plan and recipes section. You may also browse our facebook album of recipes or our Pinterest recipe board. hope you can also follow us over at Instagram, where we regularly post family meal ideas.

See you there!

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

Leaving you with a video on health benefits of eating a full breakfast meal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL0JoacWRRk

https://happypinaymommy.com/2018/07/01/school-baon-ideas-for-kids-baon-week-2/

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How to cook Baked Fish Nuggets

happypinaymommy — Sat, 30 Jun 2018 13:42:10 +0000

Here is how to cook baked fish nuggets.

As opposed to deep fried fish nuggets, baked fish nuggets can be a better option for those wanting to avoid deep fried food. It is also great for a quick lunch baon for your kid, or a snack box filler.

This baked fish nuggets recipe that I will be sharing with you can be stored frozen for 3-4 weeks (in a freezer bag to avoid freezer burn), and can be cooked just like store bought nuggets. Toasted that is for 3-5 minutes in the oven or toaster or fried for about the same length of time. (Related Post: Freezer meals and meal planning)

Having said this, if you want to make a freezer meal or a ready to heat baon out of this recipe, then might as well double or triple the recipe so you can have some in the freezer all the time.

In any case you can use it as for your sweet and sour fish fillet ulam (and make it a quick-cooking meal), fish sandwich, fish tacos, fish with tausi, among other fish fillet based recipes.

This recipe is a good base for many other fish fillet recipes. It will be a good idea to double or even triple the recipe so that you have on-hand ready-to-heat breaded fish fillet in your freezer.

As for the type of fish to use, if you are adamant about using cream dory or Pangasius fillet then you can always use labahita fillet for this dish. I use both depending on the availability. For cream dory though, i just make sure that I buy from reputable companies that have their own local fish farms.

Before I forget, if you will be serving this dish to toddlers and babies, just make them a separate unseasoned portion for both the breading, egg wash and the fish itself if you’d like to season the fish prior to dredging.

Anyway, i will no longer be burdening you with a long read. As a parting daldal I would just like to say that this recipe will be part of the homemade nuggets series I am hoping to publish within the quarter.

So without further ado here’s the —

Baked fish nuggets recipe

Ingredients:

500 grams fish fillet sliced into strips (labahita or dory is fine)

1 egg

2 tbsp milk

Pinch of salt for the egg mixture

Pinch of pepper for the egg mixture

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp of pepper

Pinch of garlic powder

Pinch of paprika

2 tbsp of oil

Cooking Procedure for baked fish nuggets

1. Assemble your mini work area and preheat your oven to 375F. If you want this dish to be tastier you can sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper on your fish strips and leave it for about 10 minutes prior to dredging. Otherwise, just proceed to the next step after washing the fillet and patting it dry with paper towel.

Apart from being a better alternative to deep fried fish fingers, baked fish, to my mind is juicier and of course safer to cook as there is less risk for oil burns.

2. In one container mix flour, 1 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp of pepper, paprika and garlic powder. Set aside.

3. In another bowl, beat the egg. Add in the pinch of salt and pepper, and the milk. Mix well and set aside.

4. Now you are ready to prepare your breaded fish strips. Dredge the strips into the flour mixture, dip into the egg bowl, and dredge again into the flour mixture until well coated. Repeat the same process until all strips have been coated.

5. Heat oil in the pan and lightly fry both sides of each fish strip. Once it gets light brown, remove from the pan and transfer in a baking pan or whatever baking dish you use.

6. Bake the fish nuggets on the oven for about ten minutes per side.

7. It is now ready to serve with your favorite dipping sauce. We love kewpie’s roasted sesame dressing for this dish, but thousand island, honey mustard, barbecue sauce or even plain ketchup will do.

This is not a sponsored post whatsoever but we absolutely love Kewpie’s roasted sesame dressing as the dipping sauce for this recipe. You should try it

8. For the batch that you intend to freeze — cool the fish strips first for 30 mins to an hour. Transfer to a freezer bag and double bag if possible to avoid freezer burn. Label the bag with the date and consume within three weeks. To reheat, just thaw for about 20 minutes prior to heat-frying for 1 minute each side or for toasting in the oven for about 1.5 to 2 minutes.

Here’s how i served it to my children:

As i said, this baked fish nuggets recipe it is also a perfect lunchbaon or even snack box filler for your littles to munch on in school.

So there you have it, I hope you would give this recipe a try. For more freezer meal ideas and meal planning strategies please check out the meal plans and recipes section of our website or browse our facebook album of recipes. Hope you can also follow us over at Instagram and Pinterest where we regularly post family meal ideas, snack and lunch baon suggestions, and toddler recipes.

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

Leaving you with a relaxing aquarium video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_3jpc4gmg0

https://happypinaymommy.com/2018/06/28/quick-and-easy-arroz-caldo-recipe/

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How to cook quick and easy beef salpicao

happypinaymommy — Fri, 29 Jun 2018 06:31:52 +0000

This easy beef salpicao recipe can help you put a yummy dish on the table during days when you do not have much time to cook in the kitchen.

If you are in for a busy day, then this is a dish that you can prepare without sweat! Easy beef salpicao is what it is, easy, quick cooking, but definitely not short of flavor and yum factor.

I typically cook this on days when I have an extremely long list of back to back chores (like when i have to review my eldest for an exam, i have to catch up.on my cloth diaper laundry, or I have writing backlogs). You see, it is easy to cook — no more than five minutes. Prep time is easier too and i discovered a way to further cut short that prep time.

When i buy beef in the grocery, and i intend to use it for salpicao, i choose my favorite cut and then ask the butcher to slice it further to me for salpicao. It is a free service after all, so might as well take advantage of it.

Now once we get home, i wash the beef and prep the marinade, and marinate the beef for twelve hours. Yes even if i do not intend to use it later or the next day. Why? Because I can freeze it and thaw it the day I would like to cook it. Almost zero prep time on D-day right?

So without further ado, here’s the recipe of —

Quick and easy beef salpicao

Ingredients:

1kg beef chopped into small cubes (i usually choose tenderloin)

6-7 pcs garlic minced

3-4 tbsp liquid seasoning

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

1-2 tbsp butter

Pinch of paprika

Pinch of pepper

Optional ingredient: chili flakes

Procedure for the beef salpicao recipe

1. Mix all the ingredients except for the beef, oil, butter, and garlic to make the marinade.

2. Mix the marinade thoroughly and pour over the beef cubes. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.

3. Once ready to cook, heat oil and saute the garlic until golden brown. Remove the garlic and set aside.

4. Strain the beef cubes, and fry for two to three minutes searing all sides of the cubed meat.

5. Add some of the marinade mixture and cook for another 1 minute. Add the butter stir through the cubes and it is done!

6. Serve with the toasted garlic on top. Add chili flakes if you want it spicy. I usually use marble potatoes as a side to this dish because my eldest loves it!

So there you have it, easy beef salpicao recipe. For more quick cooking ulam recipes, please browse through our meal plan and recipes section of our website. You may also browse our facebook recipe album or check out our Pinterest recipe board. Hope you can also follow us on Instagram where we regularly post family meal ideas, among other day to day mothering stuff. See you there!

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

Leaving you with a video on the different cuts of beef:

Quick and easy Arroz Caldo recipe

The post How to cook quick and easy beef salpicao appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

Quick and easy Arroz Caldo recipe

happypinaymommy — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 07:37:30 +0000

Quick and easy arroz caldo recipe can be whipped up without having to rush to the grocery. It is a dish that makes use of pantry staples.

Arroz Caldo has always been a comfort food for my family. My children love it since they were babies. We like it for brunch especially when paired with crispy tofu and soy sauce or tokwa’t baboy. Sharing with you newbie cooking mamas this easy arroz caldo recipe that you can serve to your family anytime.

The ingredients are pantry staples so you do not have to worry at all. This can even be made for less than P100 for a family of four (or five like us), making it another P100 budget ulam idea.

You do not need to use malagkit or glutinous rice for this recipe. The ordinary rice or bigas that you cook at home is fine. Just soak the rice in water for about 2-3 hours prior to cooking to shorten cooking time.

You can use chicken breast fillet or any part of chicken you like but i usually choose breast fillets so that ill just cook and serve without worries about those small sharp chicken bones getting swallowed by my kids. I sometimes even flake the breast part if im in a hurry to feed the kids. I usually use boiled regardless of the chicken part. P.S. if you are on a budget, tinola cut is the cheapest chicken pieces you can get for the recipe.

The cooking procedure is uncomplicated so newbie cooking mamas do not get intimidated with this. This can be served to your babies too!

Of course I added casubha (in english, safflower — check out this explanation on what casubha is if you are not familiar with it) to give the porridge a yellowish shade. I just season my own bowl with a dash of patis (fish sauce), a bit of calamansi, and a pinch of pepper prior to eating. Otherwise, the onion, luya, and garlic is enough seasoning for the children.

So newbie cooking mamas, check out the recipe below.

Quick and easy arroz caldo recipe

Ingredients:

300 grams chicken pieces (you can use breast, breast fillet, or tinola cut)

1 medium onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic chopped

2 tbsp of thinly sliced ginger (more if one of your family members have colds)

1 cup uncooked rice or bigas (soaked in water for 2-3 hours prior to cooking)

3 cups chicken broth or water (you may have to add more depending on the consistency of your rice)

2 tbsp of coconut or vegetable oil

Casubha for color

Pinch of pepper

ADULT SEASONING: 1-2 tbsp of Patis or more depending on your taste

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS: spring onions, fried minced garlic, boiled egg, and calamansi.

Cooking procedure for Arroz Caldo:

1. Saute ginger, garlic and onions

2. Add in the chicken pieces (i usually pre boil my chicken) and cook until it is slightly browned. If this will not be served to babies or toddlers, add the Patis at this point. If it will be served to babies and toddlers then skip on the seasoning for the meantime.

3. Add in the uncooked rice and let it absorb the oils and juices of the sauteed chicken and aromatics.

4. Add in the pepper

5. Add in the water and bring to a boil.

6. Simmer and stir every three minutes until the rice is tender, and you have achieved your desired porridge consistency. Make sure to stir every now and then to prevent the arroz caldo from sticking in the bottom of the pot.

7. Add in the casubha and mix until the arroz caldo has a tinge of yellow color.

8. Once cooked separate a portion to be served to your toddler/ baby. Season for adult consumption accordingly.

9. Serve with desired optional toppings.

My BLW toddler, Shoti is squeezing calamansi is his bowl of Arroz Caldo. It was a happy, rainy morning for him.

So there you have it, i hope you get to enjoy this easy Arroz Caldo recipe. Some use broth cubes to make this recipe richer in taste, but since this will be served to kids I decided not to put this ingredient in this dish.

For more recipes, mealplans, budget ulam ideas etc please check out the recipes section of our website or browse our Facebook album of recipes. Hope you can also follow our Instagram account and Pinterest board where we regularly post family meals, toddler BLW recipes, and other parenting information on breastfeeding, cloth diapering, baby led weaning, party resources and more. See you there!

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

Leaving you with a video on why breakfast is the most important meal of the day:

Quick and easy Arroz Caldo recipe

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How to cook Eggplant with Minced Meat

happypinaymommy — Tue, 26 Jun 2018 03:49:04 +0000

Eggplant with minced meat recipe

Was looking for a new way to cook eggplant and here’s what I did — eggplant with minced meat. Essentially, it is eggplant topped with saucy ground pork, making it a perfect topping over steamed rice.

Easy to cook, and less than a hundred pesos to make, it is definitely another entry in our annual list of P100 Ulam Ideas for this year. The only downside here is that it is not baby or toddler friendly so I have to prep something else for shobz and the little guy. Not baby-friendly as we will be needing soy sauce and oyster sauce for this recipe.

Anyway, for newbie cooking mamas who may want to try this, here’s a rough guide:

Eggplant with minced meat recipe

The ingredients are easy to find and the cooking procedure is uncomplicated.

Eggplant with minced meat recipe

Ingredients:

3-4 medium sized eggplants, sliced.

1 medium sized onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 kg ground meat (you can use beef, pork or chicken — i used lean ground pork for this recipe)

1/2 cup water

1 tbsp (or more depending on your taste) light oyster sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce (or more depending on your taste)

1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

Slurry mix: 1/2 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp of water

Sesame oil

Cooking procedure: talong with ground pork

1. Fry the sliced eggplants and set aside.
2. Saute chopped onions, garlic and ginger. Add in the ground meat (pork is great but i think beef or chicken will be good for this too). 3. Add in half a cup of water.
4. Add in light oyster sauce, adjusted to taste. Add in a tablespoon of Chinese cooking wine.
5. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
6. Add in half a tablespoon of cornstarch dissolved in one tablespoon of water.
7. Stir and then simmer for two minutes.

8. Add in a dash of sesame oil.

9. Pour over fried eggplants and serve.

Eggplant with minced meat is another P100 ulam idea.

So there you have it. Hope you’d give this eggplant and minced meat recipe a try. For more recipes, mealplans budget ulam ideas please check out the recipes section of our website or browse our recipe and mealplan facebook album. Hope you can also follow our Instagram account @happypinaymommy and our Pinterest board where we regularly post family ulam ideas that are yummy, easy to cook and budget-friendly. See you there!

A Happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

Leaving you with a video on the nutritional benefits of eating eggplants:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEQh5Va-gQE

Week 1: Weekly school snack baon ideas

The post How to cook Eggplant with Minced Meat appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

How to cook tortang giniling with potatoes and malunggay

happypinaymommy — Thu, 21 Jun 2018 03:50:56 +0000

Tortang giniling with potatoes and malunggay

NEWBIE COOKING MAMA ALERT! Tortang Giniling with Potatoes and Malunggay could be one of the simplest recipes you can prepare for your family, especially your children. I remember we regularly have ground pork omelette as ulam when I was younger, and now that I have my own family, i want to regularly serve this dish too but with higher nutritional value.

And since malunggay complements even dry dishes, i decided to include it in the recipe and give it a try. Surprisingly, my children loved it! And another good thing about this is that it is yet another under P100 ulam idea that will fit our budget.

(Related Post: Under P100 Ulam Ideas)

So without futher ado i will be sharing with you, newbie cooking mamas, this tortang giniling with potatoes and malunggay recipe for you to try.

Veggie Tortang Giniling Recipe:

Tortang giniling is yet another dish that will meke it to our P100 Budget ulam recipes because of the affordable ingredients that it features.

Ingredients:

250 grams lean ground pork

1 medium potatoes finely chopped

1/2 cup malunggay (i used dried in this recipe but fresh is best)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

4 pcs eggs

ADULT SEASONING: Salt and pepper

Optional: 2-3 tbsp fresh milk

Optional: 1/4 cup minced carrots

Cooking Procedure for tortang giniling with potatoes and malunggay:

A healthier version of the tortang giniling we have been accustomed to.

1. Saute garlic and onion.

2. Add in the ground pork (i preboil our ground pork to take out excess oils and fats and possible odor) and saute until cooked.

3. Add in potatoes.

4. add 1/4 cup of water and simmer until potatoes are cooked and liquid has evaporated (about 7-10 minutes).

5. Add in the malunggay (and the optional minced carrots) and cook for another two minutes.

5. Turn off the heat and set aside.

6. In a separate mixing bowl, beat the eggs and add the milk if desired. Separate a portion for your toddler or baby, so that you can season the egg mixture for adult consumption. Season the adult portion with salt and pepper.

7. Pour the meat mixture into the bowls. Mix each bowl until all of the ground meat and veggies have been incorporated.

8. Fry depending on your desired size. Some like it as big as the whole pan while others like to fry it burger patty sized.

9. Serve with ketchup!

Tortang giniling is a simple ulam you can whip up in minutes.

So there you have it. Hope you will try this recipe and tell us about it. We can touch base through our Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest where we regularly post budget meal ideas, toddler and baby food recipes, as well as baon suggestions for your school aged kids. We also have meal plans posted here in the website and in our Facebook Albums.

Anyway, here is how I served the torta to my little guy:

For baby and toddler meal ideas that are BLW-friendly, affordable, nutritious and easy to prepare, please check out the baby section of the website or browse our FB albums of over 100 baby and toddler food suggestions.

If you have recipe ideas or any questions or suggestions, you may send us a message in FB or IG.

A Happy Homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q4F2036qTQ

https://happypinaymommy.com/2018/05/26/easy-beef-tapa-recipe/

The post How to cook tortang giniling with potatoes and malunggay appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

How to cook Ginisang Monggo or Munggo Guisado

happypinaymommy — Tue, 29 May 2018 08:26:37 +0000

Newbie cooking mama alert: here’s the recipe for ginisang monggo or monggo gisado soup.

Mung bean soup is a dish i grew up eating — it is my favorite gulay dish as i pour it over rice and devour it quickly. I had to learn how to cook munggo guisado or ginisang monggo because I want my kids to love it too. It is nutritious and cheap — a mainstay in our list of under P100 ulam ideas!

I was wrong though when I thought that this dish is really easy to cook. Apparently it has a lot of prep work and there is no going around all the boiling and pre soaking that needs to be done to make the beans tender, and soup as thick as I want it to be. Anyway, here’s our newbie mama’s guide recipe for —

Ginisang Monggo or Munggo Guisado Recipe

Simple ingredients that would not cost you more than P100, making it a budget ulam idea!

Ingredients:

Half a pack of monggo beans

Salt for cleaning the monggo beans

Water for soaking monggo beans

1 medium sized onions, chopped

2 cloves of garlic chopped

1-2 medium tomatoes chopped

Choice of sahog — flaked fish, shrimps, or sliced pork (i use menudo cut)

A bunch of your choice of greens — malunggay, dahon ng sili, or talbos ng ampalaya (talbos ng ampalaya is our favorite but we only have dried malunggay as of cooking time so we used a handful of that)

Patis to season for adult consumption

OPTIONAL: Chicharon

Procedure in cooking ginisang munggo:

This dish needs to be prepared the night before so, steps 1 and 2 should be done prior the day you plan to serve munggo guisado.

This dish needs to be prepped the night before. Not soaking in water would mean longer cooking time.

1. Wash munggo beans in salt and water (as if you are washing uncooked rice or bigas but this time you use salt as well). Wash until the water is clear in color, which is usually after three washes. I do not do this before but after an aunt mentioned that munggo should be clwaned and washed well because some are being dried out on the road, i started doing this, and you will be surprised to see very small pebbles, small dried twigs etc).

2. Put the washed mongo beans in a bowl and soak it in water. Add enough water to cover plus about an inch more. Leave to soak overnight. This process helps in making the munggo easier to cook and softer.

3. The next day, wash the soaked munggo and boil in a pot in just enough water. Adding more as needed once you start simmering it. This procedure may take about 40 to 50 minutes. Do note be tempted to cook the beans in a pressure cooker to skip steps two and three because the beans would lose its skins and the texture will be a bit weird.

4. Once the monggo starts to thicken and you can mash the monggo with the back of a spoon, then that means you can already start the quick cooking process.

5. Saute onion, garlic and tomatoes. Mash the tomatoes and make sure it is cooked well. Add in your choice of pangsahog (pork, shrimp or fish).

Once the boiled monggo is tender and has thickened, then the next set of cooking steps will definitely be a breeze

6. Once the sahog is cooked, add in the munggo, plus half a cup of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes.

7. Add in your choice of leafy greens. Cover the pot and simmer for about 3 minutes more.

8. AT THIS POINT YOU CAN ALREADY GET AN UNSEASONED PORTION FOR YOUR BABY OR TODDLER.

9. Season to taste for adult consumption. Top with chicharon or shrimp and serve with rice!

So yummy with chicharon!

So there you have it, easy ginisang munggo recipe that is healthy, affordable and yummy! For more budget ulam ideas and filipino meal plans please check out the meals and recipes section of our website, or browse our FB album of under P100 meal ideas.

Hope you can also follow us on Instagram and Pinterest where we regularly post family meal recipes and toddler and baby food ideas.

Here is how I served the dish to my toddler and baby:

Even toddlers enjoy eating munggo gisado over rice!

Hope you can try this version of monggo gisado and tell us about it.

The post How to cook Ginisang Monggo or Munggo Guisado appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

Baby and toddler food recipe: Ginataang tinadtad na sitaw at kalabasa

happypinaymommy — Thu, 24 May 2018 12:14:43 +0000

Ginataang tinadtad na sitaw at kalabasa will be perfect for your toddler or kid who may not like eating sitaw.

First of all i would like to thank my social media sister @super.momma for inspiring me to chop sitaw in this fashion to make it all the more appealing to kids. Thank you sis! Im telling you fellow moms, it makes for a yummy ginataang sitaw at kalabasa that most kids will like (mine liked it a lot!).

Surprisingly, sitaw served this way is more appealing to all my three children.

So why not give it a try? After all it is another P100 Budget ulam idea that is both nutritious and delicious.

Im sure most veteran moms are familiar with the drill of cooking ginatan but for newbie cooking mamas, here’s your guide:

GINATAANG TINADTAD NA SITAW AT KALABASA RECIPE

The ingredients are simple and can be easily prepared. In fact this dish can be prepared for less than P100!

Ingredients:

Small wedge of kalabasa (squash), chopped

250 grams cubed pork (i use menudo cut for my panggisa meat)

1 cup coconut milk (doesnt matter if it is cream or milk, fresh, canned or powdered — use what you have and do not stress yourself, mothering is hard enough!)

Pinch of ground pepper

For adults you may use salt, patis or bagoong to season this dish. Your choice.

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

Procedure in cooking ginataang sitaw at kalabasa:

The cooking procedure for the ginataang tinadtad na sitaw at kalabasa is not complicated as well. It is a quick dish to prepare especially for those days when you have a lot of chores to do.

1. Saute garlic and onion

2. Add the pork, and wait until it has browned (I usually preboil ours).

3. Add in the squash and the sitaw (string beans)

4. Pour in the coconut milk. Bring to a boil then simmer in low fire until coconut milk thickens and the squash has been cooked.

5. At this point you can now set aside an unseasoned portion for your baby.

6. Season the dish for adult consumption — i use patis.

Yummy and easy: ginataang sitaw at kalabasa!

This is how i served it to my toddler:

My toddler loved this dish! Try it, it is best served over white rice.

So there you have it. Hope you and your kids will like this version of our ginataang sitaw at kalabasa recipe. For more toddler food ideas please browse our recipes section here in the website or browse our facebook album of over 100 toddler and baby food ideas that are blw-friendly, nutritious, yummy, doable on a daily basis, and pocket-friendly!

Family meal recipes, budget ulam ideas and filipino meal plans check out our mealplans are also available in out recipes section. You may also want to check out our facebook album of family meal recipes and budget ulam ideas under P100. Hope you can also follow us on IG and Pinterest where we regularly post our family meals, toddler and baby food recipes and other local parenting information. See you there!

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

Here’s a video on the nutritional benefits of eating squash:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gapCP8R0KeQ

Easy Chicken Sotanghon Soup Recipe (Vermicelli Noodles)

The post Baby and toddler food recipe: Ginataang tinadtad na sitaw at kalabasa appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

Easy Chicken Sotanghon Soup Recipe (Vermicelli Noodles)

happypinaymommy — Wed, 16 May 2018 18:04:44 +0000

Here is an easy Chicken Sotanghon Soup Recipe.

Let’s cook this! So perfect for the weather. Easy Chicken Sotanghon Soup Recipe is a well loved noodle soup dish in our household. It is easy and very affordable to make.

This chicken sotanghon soup is another P100 meal idea for a family of four. Perfect as well for breastfeeding mamas! The soup, which uses vermicelli noodles is also great for toddlers and babies who love pancit — just like mine.

For those of you who may want to give it a try and unsure about how to cook it, here’s a rough guide:

Easy Chicken Sotanghon Soup Recipe

Easy chicken sotanghon soup: the ingredients are easy to find, the cooking procedure is uncomplicated.

Ingredients:

1 small pack Vermicelli Noodles (sotanghon)

1 cup shredded pre-boiped chicken breast

1 cup sitsaro (snow peas)

1 medium carrot, sliced

3-4 cups chicken broth

Atsuete Powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

1-2 tbsps of cooking oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium sized onion, chopped

Cooking Procedure for Chicken Sotanghon Soup:

This dish is uncomplicated, although it requires a some prep time.

1. Pre soak sotanghon in water for about 15 minutes. Set aside.

2. Heat atsuete seeds in cooking oil. When the color has been infused on the cooking oil, remove the seeds. If using atsuete powder, just add the powder into the oil.

3. Saute in the achuete oil chopped onion and garlic. Add in the shredded, pre-cooked chicken (or if you have left over rotisserie or fried chicken that would be fine too).

4. Add in the carrots and the snow peas. If you have celery and cabbage you can add some too.

5. Pour chicken stock 3-4 cups (boiled chicken bones with onion, garlic, and whatever veggies you have at home like sayote and cabbage — cooked for about 20 minutes then strained).

6. Bring to a boil and simmer for two minutes.

Add in the strained pre-soaked sotanghon.

7. Cook for about 3-4 minutes.

8. AT THIS POINT SEPARATE AN UNSEASONED PORTION OF SOUP AND NOODLES FOR YOUR TODDLER AND BABY.

Continue cooking and season for the adults — you may use patis or salt, and then finely ground pepper.

9. Stir and simmer for a minute, then serve.

You may top with crispy fried garlic and chopped onion leaks.

So there you have it, hope you’d give this easy chicken sotanghon soup recipe a try. For more recipes, mealplans, budget ulam ideas etc please feel free to check out our recipes section here in the website or browse our Facebook albums.

Hope you can also follow us on Instagram and in Pinterest where we regularly post updates, family recipes, budget ulam ideas, meal plans and baby food suggestions. See you there!

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

Leaving you with a video on how to make vermicelli or sotanghon noodles from scratch:

Tender Adobong Liver and Gizzard Recipe

The post Easy Chicken Sotanghon Soup Recipe (Vermicelli Noodles) appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

Easy Miki Pancit Guisado Recipe

happypinaymommy — Mon, 07 May 2018 15:49:40 +0000

Here jan easy to cook Miki pancit guisado recipe

I have always wanted to try cooking fresh noodles. So when I came across packages of fresh miki in the grocery store i knew it was time to try out an easy miki pancit guisado recipe.

But because life happens, i almost forgot to cook my miki. It has to be cooked within five days from purchase, and by the third day, some of my intended ingredients have been used for an impromptu out of the meal plan dish that i had to prepare a couple of days ago.

Nevertheless, this Miki guisado recipe ill be sharing with you still tastes great. In fact my kids so enjoyed it! So if you have shrimp and squidballs at home, go ahead and add it to the mix. If you want to use chicken instead of pork it is fine too. Just use the breast part, pre boil it and shred.

So without further chatter, here is Happypinaymommy’s —

Easy Miki Pancit Guisado Recipe

The ingredients are easy to find. Preparation may take time because of all the slicing and chopping but the cooking procedure itself is relatively quick.

Ingredients

500 grams fresh miki

1 medium sized onions, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 pieces of chorizo, sliced

250 grams of menudo cut pork

Salt and pepper to taste

Oyster sauce (start with 2 tbsps)

2 tbsp of soy sauce (to add color to the dish)

1/2 tbsp chinese cooking wine

1 tbsp sesame oil

Carrots, sliced thinly

Cabbage, shredded

Green beans, sliced

Shrimp, peeled (optional)

Squidballs, sluced into half (optional)

1/4 cup chicken broth

How to cook miki guisado:

1. Season pork with salt and pepper. If you are adding chicken and shrimps, season it a bit too. You have the option of pre boiling it or cooking it along with all the ingredients of the pancit. I usually pre boil then I set it aside.

2. Prepare fresh miki by soaking it in hot water (boiled) until all the noodles have separated. Drain and soak again in a new bowl of hot water. Wait for about two minutes then drain. Set aside.

3. Saute onions and garlic. Add in the pork. Once the pork has browned add in the chorizo, plus other meats you may want to add (squid ball, pre boiled shrimp or pre cooked chicken).

Pancit miki guisado is an uncomplicated recipe best enjoyed with the company of family or friends.

4. Add in the broth, the cooking wine, the oyster sauce and the soy sauce. Add in the pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning using salt or soy sauce, depending on your preference.

5. Once you have seasoned it according to your taste, you can then add in the vegetables and cook for about three minutes

6. Add in the sesame oil and mix well.

7. Add in the pancit and toss until the sauce has spread evenly to the miki.

8. Serve with calamansi on the side.

Pancit Miki Guisado may be a simple dish but it caught my kids’ hearts.

So there you have it, i hope you would give this recipe a try. It is a great weekend meryenda or a nice recipe to serve for when you are expecting some guests.

For this recipe, i did not spend more then P150.00 to come up with geberous servings for at least four adults.

The ingredients to this pancit miki recipe is not hard to find and are affordable.

For more recipes, weekly meal plans and budget ulam ideas, feel free to browse our recipes section in the website or check out our Facebook album of recipes. Hope you can also follow us on Instagram and Pinterest where we regularly post family recipes, baby and toddler food ideas, and local parenting information for young families. Hope to see you there!

Living you with a video on how to make fresh noodles for pancit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fERcQsoxGg

https://happypinaymommy.com/2018/05/06/how-to-cook-bagis/

The post Easy Miki Pancit Guisado Recipe appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

How to Cook Bagis

happypinaymommy — Sun, 06 May 2018 12:32:35 +0000

How to cook bagis? Bagis is a kapampangan dish that is quick cooking and affordable at the same time!

If you need to whip up a yummy ulam but you only have a hundred pesos and less than 30 minutes to prepare, then i suggest that you learn how to cook bagis.

Bagis is apparently a Kapampangan dish that makes use of ground beef, and has a hint of tart and citrusy flavor and is mostly served spicy. You can always omit the chili though and it will still taste just as great.

Bagis is perfect for rice toppings and an even perfect baon for the school or office.

I was fortunate to have come across this dish from a fellow IG Mama, @todaysbaon as she shared the recipe in one of her posts.

How to Cook Bagis:

What I like about Bagis is it is a dish with very simple ingredients that won’t set you back by more than a hundred pesos to serve a family of two adults and two grown children (i.e. seven years old and up). And it is so easy to prepare. All the ingredients you need are right there in your pantry for sure, or a quick trip to your suking tindahan.

All I can say is that this will surely make it to my 2018 list of under P100 ulam ideas. I just made a few tweaks on this quick cooking and budget friendly recipe, and so without further ado, here is the —

Quick Cooking Bagis Recipe

Bagis has very simple ingredients — most likely you have all that you’ll need from your ref or cupboard.

Ingredients:

1 lb (about 400g) of ground beef

1 large red onion, finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

8-10 pcs Calamansi, squeezed

1-2 tbsp Patis (adjust to your preference)

1 tsp atsuete powder

Pinch of pepper

Pinch of salt

Optional: siling haba or siling labuyo chopped

Bagis Recipe Cooking Procedure:

Heat 1-2 tbsps of cooking oil in a pan. Add atsuete powder. Saute onions and garlic until translucent.

Bagis can be cooked within 20 minutes including preparation time, so if you are looking for a quick.cooking recipe, this is it!

Add in the ground beef and the patis. Brown the beef until it renders some amount of oil. Add in the salt and the pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning levels accordingly. You may now add in the chopped sili in case you want the dish to be spicy. Serve.

Bagis — quick, easy, affordable and super delicious!

So there you have it, the easy bagis recipe! Hope you’ll try this dish and let me know if you have enjoyed it.

For more quick cooking and under P100 budget ulam recipes, please feel free to browse our recipes and filipino meal plan section.

You may also want to browse our Facebook album of family ulam recipes and baby and toddler meal ideas.

Hope you can also follow us on Instagram and Pinterest where we regularly post meals, recipes, baby and toddler food ideas, and school baon suggestions. Hope to see you there!

Here is a video on other famous Kapampangan Dishes.

How to make Moist Puto Cheese

The post How to Cook Bagis appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

Easy Pork Siomai Recipe

happypinaymommy — Wed, 02 May 2018 03:42:30 +0000

How to make easy pork siomai

I have always wondered if i could ever make pinoy-style siomai on my own. I have always loved siomai even as a kid, that i often prod my dad to eat at our favorite Chinese restaurant every Sunday. Fast forward to today, I came up with an easy pork siomai recipe.

While it is devoid of shrimp and mushrooms, and the mini bamboo steamers we have all been accustomed to, I want to have a version that could at least satisfy my craving anytime. A ready meryenda in the freezer for the family, or even a quick ulam I could steam along with rice for those busy days. It can also be a great baon for your school kid.

So as what I always say, I am just suggesting baseline seasoning levels. It is up to you to season it to reach your taste preference level. What I do really is after mixing up all the ingredients, i fry a bit, taste it and adjust seasoning as needed. You can use soy sauce to up the saltiness level of you wish.

So without further ado, here’s —

How to Cook Easy Pork Siomai

How to cook easy pork siomai: The ingredients are easy to find!

Ingredients for the easy pork siomai recipe:

500 grams ground pork
1 pack siomai wrapper
1/4 cup minced carrots, split into mixture ingredient and garnish
1/4 cup minced turnips
2 strips of spring onions finely chopped
1 medium onion, minced
1/2 cup cheese
2 tbsp oyster sauce (or more)
2 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp cornstarch
1 egg, beaten

Cooking procedure for Pinoy Pork Siomai:

1. Mix all of the ingredients except for the beaten egg and the wrapper.

2. Mix thoroughly. You can use your hand to mash and mix up all the ingredients. Once it is fully mixed through, add in the beaten egg and mix again.

3. At this point, fry a bit of the mixture so you can taste it and adjust seasoning levels.

Just mix all the ingredients (except the wrapper of course), you can use your hands to thoroughly mix it up. Fry a bit so you can taste the seasoning level, and then adjust the seasoning accordingly.

3. Once you are fine with the taste, you can now start wrapping your siomai. We have different ways of wrapping siomai, and I will not claim that I am good at this.

My daughter and I watched Youtube video guides so we can learn wrapping techniques. Pero nahiya naman ako because my eldest even wraps better. Me, I use my palms, she on the other hand wraps it on top of the plate. She wrapped most of the siomai! After wrapping, put a piece of carrot on top of each siomai.

My daughter wraps siomai much better than me!

4. Bring your steamer to a boil.

5. Brush your steamer with oil so that the siomai will not stick unto it.

6. Arrange the siomai in the pot and steam for 20 to 25 minutes.

Bring steamer into a boil, brush your steamer with oil, arrange the siomai pieces and steam for about 20 minutes.

Serve the siomai with your favorite dipping sauce. Soy sauce, calamansi and chili oil is the yummiest as we all know.

Tadaaaaa. Siomai that you can have anytime at home!

If you will not be steaming everything at once, you may keep the remaining siomai in a vacuum sealed container and freeze. When ready, just thaw and steam accordingly.

One of the reasons why I wanted to make homemade siomai, is that I could have siomai ready anytime for merienda or quick meals.

The amount of mixture can make up to 36 siomai pieces. You will not spend more than P180.00 for this except if you do not have sesame oil, oyster sauce, and cornstarch in your pantry.

You can make about 36 pieces of siomai for every half a kilo of ground pork

For more freezer meal ideas, meal plans, quick cooking and budget friendly recipes please feel free to browse the recipe section of our website or browse our Facebook albums. Hope you can follow us as well on Instagram and Pinterest where we regularly post family meal ideas, toddler and baby food suggestions, and local parenting stuff. Hope to see you there!

Here meanwhile is a video guide on how to wrap siomai.

https://happypinaymommy.com/2018/04/30/how-to-cook-easy-baked-tahong/

The post Easy Pork Siomai Recipe appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

How to cook easy Menudillo Pork Giniling

happypinaymommy — Tue, 24 Apr 2018 13:32:41 +0000

Here is a guide on how to cook easy menudillo pork giniling recipe

I cook menudillo pork giniling from time to time especially when the craving for real menudo hits yet I do not have all the ingredients it requires.

I usually prepare a masabaw na menudillo with egg version. I purposely cook it with a lot of sauce because the kids love it with rice. And as usual, they love any ulam with boiled egg! (Read our past post on other quick cooking recipes)

This one is easy to prep, and is not so costly. It is just your usual menudillo:

Easy Menudillo Pork Giniling Recipe

Here are the ingredients:

2 cloves of Garlic, chopped
Medium-sized onion, chopped
Medium-sized tomato, chopped
250 grams of lean ground pork (i usually preboil it)
4 pcs boiled eggs – quail eggs are better but we dont have it so I just used regular chicken eggs
1 cup Fresh tomato puree/tomato sauce or tomato paste whatever you prefer (i just used usual tomato paste here because I ran out of tomatoes)
Two medium-sized potatoes, cubed
A medium-sized carrot, cubed
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 Cup of water (or more depending on your preference)
Liver spread and raisins are both optional

Cooking Procedure for Menudillo Filipino Recipe:

1.Just saute onion, garlic and tomatoes.
2. Brown the meat.
3. Add the potatoes and carrots.
4. Add half a cup of water and simmer the potatoes are tender.
5. Add in the tomato sauce, bring to a boil then simmer a bit.
6. Add in the boiled eggs and simmer for another two minutes.

7. TAKE OUT A PORTION FOR THE BABY AND THE TODDLER PRIOR TO SEASONING THE MENUDILLO.

8. For adults, you may season with either salt or patis. Add a dash of dark soy for color, and a bit of pepper.

Menudillo is easy to prepare and cook.

You will not spend more than P150.00 for this menudillo pork giniling ulam that is good for four adults.

This meanwhile was how I served the Pork Giniling Menudillo to my kids (Check our Baby and toddler food Recipe Ideas here).:

Menudillo is a perfect ulam for children. It has carrots and potatoes too plus a good amount of meat.

So there you have it, I hope you get to try this recipe. Let me know how it turned out for you.

For more recipes, mealplans, budget ulam ideas etc please feel free to browse our meals and recipes section and our P100 ulam ideas. You may also want to check out our Facebook Album of P100.00 Ulam Ideas and Pinoy Weekly Meal Plans album.

Hope you can follow us as well on Instagram and Pinterest where we post regular updates of recipes, baby and toddler food ideas, pareting-related matters and more. Hope to see you there!

Here’s a video guide of one of my favorite chefs cooking menudillo or Pork Giniling:

The post How to cook easy Menudillo Pork Giniling appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

How to make skinless homemade Vigan Longganisa

happypinaymommy — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 14:17:20 +0000

Skinless homemade Vigan Longganisa solved my craving for the real thing.

I have always loved Vigan Longganisa. I remember when i was a kid, my mornings had been extra wonderful by default whenever we are having it for breakfast. I have prodded my childhood yaya back then to find out how to make easy, skinless homemade Vigan Longganisa for me so I can always eat it and even bring it to school for lunch baon. Pero she is Waray daw, and not an Ilocana so how can she know?

Anyway, fast forward to when I had my own family, i started buying Vigan Longganisa from specialty stores. Those in the supermarkets are hit and miss –most of those that claim to be authentic Vigan longganisa hardly tasted like the real thing. Well except for the one brand that we love — SONSI. But it can be expensive though, and lately I dont see it in my favorite supermarket’s frozen section anymore.

So here I am, craving for Vigan Longganisa, and hunting for an easy homemade vigan longganisa recipe. I was willing to experiment and fail just to get a good recipe that I can make from time to time.

Easy skinless homemade Vigan longganisa

While I was asking around my Ilocano friends and researching the world wide web, i was surprised that the ingredients for this longaniza are not hard to find. Well except for the Pig Intestine Casing, but one of my Aunts-in-law told me I can always make a skinless version if i do not have the access and the time to get sausage casing. So sige go na tayo sa skinless. I even love longganisang hubad anyway!

So for those of you who are interested to make easy skinless homemade Vigan longganisa at home, ill be sharing with you the recipe that I have tested. The seasoning of course you can adjust but ill just be including the baseline level of seasoning as I have tried it.

After kneading through your mixture, i suggest you fry a small amount of longganisa mixture. Taste it and adjust the seasoning as needed. We have different taste levels, what is Ok for me may be bland or salty for you. So the best solution, as in cooking any dish, is to start with just a wee bit and adjust to taste. Mahirap magkalas sa pagkabalot once you discover that the taste is not to your liking pala.

As for the ground pork, i suggest use some that has fat versus the extra lean ground pork so that your longganisa will be juicy (yes I know, unhealthy so just eat it once a month if you can resist).

Anyhow, for newbie cooking mamas, here is the recipe for easy Vigan Longganisa —

Skinless Vigan Longganisa

Surprisingly, the ingredients are easy to find wherever you are in the country. I mean you do not have to be in Ilocandia to buy the ingredients needed for this longganisa.

Ingredients:

500 grams ground pork
1 tbsp Cane Vinegar
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp ground pepper (coarse)
1 head of garlic finely chopped
Half a small onion finely chopped
1 tsp annato (atsuete) powder
1/2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp soy sauce
You will also need wax paper cut into squares or you may use ice candy wrappers too if you have it at home.

Easy homemade Vigan longganisa recipe:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Use your hands to mix and knead through your whole mixture.

I encourage you to use your hands when mixing all your ingredients. It makes for a better distribution of ingredients and an even better tasting longganisa.

As mentioned above, i strongly recommend that you do a taste test prior to wrapping all your longganiza. Heat a small amount of oil, fry a small tablespoon of the mixture. Taste the cooked mixture and adjust seasoning accordingly.

Once you are fine with the taste of your longganiza, you can then roll them in wax paper like this:

Easy homemade skinless Vigan Longganisa.

Now put all your longganiza in a sealed container and refrigerate for three days so it can properly cure. After three days you can cook it already, or freeze to store.

Homemade skinless Vigan longganisa can be stored in the freezer and thawed on the day you will be cooking it.

Using Ice Candy Wrappers:

If you are up to the challenge and you want to use ice candy wrappers instead of wax paper then funnel the mixture into your ice candy bags. Poke some holes on it using a fork. Tie it altogether and place under direct sunlight for two hours so that the fat can melt and be drained from the sausage. You can then refrigerate your mixture for two days, and then freeze to store. When you are about to cook, just remove the plastic wrap, thaw and fry.

My mornings are happier whenever I have Vigan Longganisa for breakfast.

This is best served with atchara and fresh sliced tomatoes, with fried rice of course. Hope you like it!

As for the cost, i spent less than 150 for this. Actually I only had to buy the ground meat since most of the ingredients are party staples. Half a kilo of ground pork ranger from 100-110.00. Factor in the other ingredients then you wont spend more than P150.00 for a yield of two dozen skinless longganiza pieces.

So what are you waiting for, give it a try and let me know how it turned out

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for regular updates on easy to cook recipes, baby and toddler food ideas, homemaking tips, meal plans and more. See you there!

Here’s a video on Vigan Longganisa:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDcNPg_CIkM

https://happypinaymommy.com/2018/04/18/meal-ideas-for-filipino-babies-and-toddlers/

The post How to make skinless homemade Vigan Longganisa appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

How to cook nagmamantikang Bicol express

happypinaymommy — Sun, 08 Apr 2018 09:21:23 +0000

How to cook nagmamantikang bicol express.

Let me start this blog entry by saying that I am no expert in ginataan dishes, and that I am not claiming that this is the authentic way of cooking this dish. For one I am not a Bicolana, and number two I am just like any smitten turista who wanted to replicate the taste of the nagmamantikang Bicol Express that I have eaten in Legazpi, the ones I have bought in pasalubong centers along the way, and the ones that I have sampled in Bicolano homes that have welcomed us.

The other day, I was so happy because finally, my ginataan dish is not palpak at all. And Id like to share with you, fellow amateur home cooks, how I prepared this dish.

Nagmamantikang Bicol Express

Excuse the almost dried up siling labuyo, but as i said, this is an unlocked achievement for me.

You see, for my 2018 #cookinggoals i said that will try to cook more ginataan dishes since i enjoy them a lot.

And one of those dishes is Bicol Express. I specifically wanted that which i usually eat when in Legazpi. I wanted the naglalangis, the one with more sili than pork. The one which Bicolanos say is just a side dish and not an ulam. I want my refrigerator to constantly have this “side dish.”

So fast forward to today — I tried to cook my very first Bicol Express. The Nagmamantika version. Thanks to my neighbor who gave me the recipe that she learned from her lola. It may be good to note that I use an induction cooker such that the lowest simmer here can still be medium fire if compared to a gas stove.

Anyway, for newbie cooking mamas who may want to replicate the dish, here’s a rough guide:

INGREDIENTS

The ingredients to cook Bicol Express are simple, easy to source and will more or less cost you less than P150.00.

Coconut Cream or Kakang Gata of one niyog (First extract)
Coconut Milk of one niyog (secnd extract)
12 Pcs Siling Haba
1 medium onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 Thumb-sized ginger chopped
2 to 2 1/2 Tbsp of Bagoong Alamang
Pinch of Ground Pepper
1/4 Kg of Pork (some use kasim, some liempo, but i simplified my choice by just buying menudo cut)
2-3 pieces of siling labuyo if you can handle more heat

tip: use a heavy bottom pan, and it will be best to store the dish in a vacuum sealed glass container so you can refrigerate or freeze accordingly

Cooking Procedure for Bicol Express:

1. Combine the coconut milk (second extract), chopped ginger, chopped onion, and chopped garlic, plus the cubed pork (part depends on you, but i used menudo cut) in a pot. Add a dash of pepper.

My neighbor who taught me how to cook this dish emphasized that i should stir continuously so that the milk will not curdle, the bottom of the pan would not get messed up, and that I could achieve the paglalangis easily.

2. Heat through medium fire, and then simmer while stirring continuously until the mixture has almost dried up. Emphasis on CONTINUOUSLY, as in do not let the mixture sit or boil or simmer on its own because the milk will curdle.

Wait until the mixture gets almost dried up.

3. When it is almost dried up add in the Kakang Gata or the First extract. Add in as well 2 to 2 tbsps of bagoong alamang, the 12 pieces of sliced siling haba, and your siling labuyo if you can stomach a higher level of spiciness.

The kakang gata is added during the second part of the cooking process.

4. Then to achieve the desired oiliness of the recipe, just stir continuously over low heat.

TADAAAAAAA…

The nagmamantikang Bicol Express which is an unlocked achievement of yours truly.

For more recipes for newbie cooking mamas, i invite you to head over the meals and recipes section of my blog at happypinaymommy.com.

You may also want to check out our Facebook Album for more recipes and toddler and baby food ideas, as well as meal plans. Hope you can also follow us in Instagram and Pinterest where we regularly post recipes, baby and toddler food ideas, and anything that will interest a happy Pinay mommy like you

The post How to cook nagmamantikang Bicol express appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

How to make easy banana heart burger (banana blossom / puso ng saging burger)

happypinaymommy — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 06:55:04 +0000

Easy banana heart burger is healthy and nutritious!

Pardon the lack of plating and creativity, but these easy Banana Heart Burger Patties are a hit to my littles! Perfect this holyweek, this meatless dish is yummy, nutritious, and at the same time very much affordable to make.

I was surprised with the immense health benefits of eating banana heart based meals so we will be cooking more puso ng saging meals in the coming days.

Here are just some of the benefits of eating banana heart blossom based meals. (Source of info: livestrong.com)

For newbie cooking mamas who are unfamiliar as to how to prepare this dish, here’s a rough guide:

Easy Banana Heart Burger Patties Recipe:

The ingredients are affordable and easy to find!

Ingredients:

Medium sized banana heart patties, finely chopped
1/2 Cup of Flour
2-3 Pcs of eggs (two only if medium sized)
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Pinch of hamburger steak seasoning (optional)
Cooking oil for frying

Cooking procedure for Puso ng Saging Burgers:

1. Prepare one medium-sized banana heart (will come up with a detailed separate post on preparing banana heart for first timers) by blanching, draining, and chopping finely.

2.Saute the prepared banana heart in a small amount of cooking oil, minced garlic and chopped onions.

Preparing banana heart and banana blossoms may be time consuming, but the time and effort will pay definitely pay off.

3. Remove from the pan and add half a cup of flour, and two medium sized eggs. Mix thoroughly.

4. AT THIS POINT, SEPARATE A PORTION OF THE BATTER FOR YOUR BABY/TODDLER SO THEIR PORTION WILL GO UNSALTED.

5. You may now season it for adult consumption — you can add salt and pepper, and if you have powdered hamburger steak seasoning, you can o and add a pinch too.

6. You may now fry the patties individually. Just make sure you will remember which ones are unseasoned, and which ones are for adult consumption.

7. Serve with ketchup either with hamburger buns or rice. This also keeps well in the freezer. Just cook the patties, cool them and keep in an airtight container. It will be good for up to a month, so freezer meal and working mamas, you may want to give this a try.

Here’s how i served it to my BLW baby and toddler, in stick form for easier and safer consumption.

Easy banana heart burger is a great meal idea for BLW babies and toddlers too.

For more budget-friendly ulam ideas that are both yummy and nutritious, please feel free to check out our meal plans and recipes section in the website or browse our Facebook album containing P100 budget meal recipes, weekly Filipino meal plans, and toddler and baby food ideas.

You may also want to follow us on Instagram and Pinterest where regularly post meal ideas, baby and toddler food suggestions, and other Pinay mommy related stuff. See you there!

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

Leaving you with a video on how to prepare Puso ng Saging for cooking:

https://happypinaymommy.com/2018/03/26/how-to-make-camote-tops-iced-tea/

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