Happy New Year!!!

We went to the Convergence Zone (bowling alley on base) for new year's. We had FUN. I got a little crazy singing karaoke. I blame it from drinking too much soda. Lol.

Arianna and Mommy on New Year's Eve

with my friend Amengel

Amengel, Brendy, me and Arianna

I guess I wasn't that shy anymore. I sang some karaoke... in PUBLIC! I am pretty sure if my family and cousins were there, I would got tease by them. They all know I can't sing. Haha! I sang "I gotta feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas. I think it was an appropriate song to sing on new year's eve. lol. I met my two adorable back up singers there. Thanks goodness for back up singers. Haha! I was surprised they knew the song!

My back up singers will be taller than me in a couple of years. lol

yeah, I was feeling it.....

I wish you all the best in 2011. By the way, my husband will be home soon. I am getting excited. :)

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.  ~Oprah Winfrey

Arroz Caldo (Filipino Rice Congee)

According to Wikipedia, Arroz caldo is actually a Chinese congee that was adapted to the tastes of the Spanish colonial settlers who patronised Chinese restaurants in the Philippines.

Whenever I feel cold (due to the cold weather here in Washington), I often want to eat one of my favorite comfort food, Arroz Caldo. There are lots of variations out there on how to cook this and it's really up to you what ingredients you want to put in it. I usually make it with chicken.

Here's a funny traumatizing TRUE story when I was living in the Philippines.

One rainy day, (I think there was a typhoon that time), my mom told me that we were having Arroz Caldo. But there was a problem, we didn't have chicken in the freezer that time and didn't have money to buy some. So she grabbed one hen outside our house. (by the way, my mom was taking care like 4-6 chickens that time. We got some fresh eggs from those hens). ok, so, she grabbed it and asked me to help her to kill the chicken. I was like, oh no! My mom said, "you will starve if we dont kill the hen". (of course she said that seriously in Tagalog). My mom was right though. I think that was my mom's first time on killing a hen also. Long story short, we thought the hen was dead already so my mom put it on a basin. Then suddenly, the hen flew out of the basin and was trying to escape. I screamed but didn't cry. It was soooo sad. My mom laughed at me and took care of the business.

Then, recently, my husband got to spend time in the Philippines because their ship pulled into port in Subic. They went to an orphanage to help the kids. I think, that was really nice of them to go to an orphanage and help the unfortunate kids. Well, Tony told me that the kids there know how to kill chickens. And I told him, "well, my mom taught me how to kill one." LOL. I would never forget that experience. I am hoping that would be the last traumatizing experience I will ever have about chickens!

So everytime I eat Arroz Caldo, I always think about what happened on that particular rainy day. Lol.

Here's the recipe. Luckily, I didn't have to kill a hen this time. I had chicken in my freezer. Life is good!


Arroz Caldo

1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb. chicken (I used breast but you can also use thighs and drumsticks)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
about 1/4 cup fresh ginger, julienned
1 cup uncooked rice (some people use sticky rice but I just use regular jasmine rice)
8 cups chicken broth
salt and black pepper to taste
a pinch of saffron threads (optional)

For Garnish
patis(fish sauce)
green onions
minced fried garlic
lemons

In a medium size pot, heat olive oil. Add the chicken and fry until lightly browned. Remove the chicken and set aside.
In the same casserole, saute minced garlic until lightly brown. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add ginger. Saute for a couple of minutes.
Add rice and stir until coated with oil.
Pour in the chicken stock. Add the chicken.
Add a little salt, pepper and the saffron threads. Bring to a boil. Turn down heat. Cover and simmer until rice and chicken are fully cooked, about 30-40 minutes. Stir occassionally to make sure the rice does not stick at the bottom of the pot.
Serve into bowls. Sprinkle chopped green onions and fried minced garlic. Serve with a sliced of lemon and patis on the side.

Arroz Caldo

Christmas morning

This morning, I got a wake up phone call from my husband.

Him: "You're still sleeping?"
Me: ""yessssss.... it's only 6:30am"

Arianna eventually woke up too. It was really nice to talk to him over the phone on Christmas but it would be better if he was here with me and Arianna. My husband got to spend Christmas with my family in the Philippines. His ship pulled  into port in Subic again.

Well, you probably would ask, "Why Arianna and I didn't go"? That would be a good question.

First of all, I procastinated to get a passport. It would take weeks to get one. You don't get good things from procastination.

Second, my husband will just be there for a really short time.

Third, I dont wanna waste $1500- $2000(that's just for the plane ticket) to go to the Philippines and couldn't stay for at least 2 weeks. If I went to the Philippines, I rather stay there for 2 weeks or a month or so.... (if you know where to get cheap tickets to fly to the Philippines let me know!)

I am just glad that my husband and his co-workers pulled into port. It would suck if they spent Christmas in the ship out in the middle of the ocean. ;)

On the other hand, Arianna had fun opening all her presents.

She cracks me up! I guess her and her baby doll can share a pacifier. HAHA!



I hope you all had a very Merry CHRISTmas!

Roasted Shrimp Cocktail

I've been craving for seafood for weeks now and I only have shrimp in the freezer so I decided to make shrimp cocktail. I got so lucky because I had all the ingredients for the cocktail sauce.

This is my second time using this recipe. I think it's better than a store bought shrimp cocktail.

The package says "jumbo" shrimp and I got rip off. LOL.

They are so tiny.



Roasted Shrimp Cocktail

recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa

For the shrimp:

15-18 count shrimp (jumbo size)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce:

1/4 cup chili sauce

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place them on a sheet pan with the olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread them in 1 layer. Roast for 8 to10 minutes, just until pink and firm and cooked through. Set aside to cool.

For the sauce, combine the chili sauce, ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Serve as a dip with the shrimp.

Deployment Project Week #10

Triple-layer EGG NOG pie

You are probably thinking "Really? A pie as a project"? Well, just so you know, I've never made a pie before so for me this counts as a project. ;) Thanks to my friend Trina who brought this pie at our church get-together.

If you like sweets and EGG NOG this pie is for you.

Triple- Layer Egg Nog Pie
adapted from Kraftrecipes

1/2 cup carmel bits

1 tbsp milk

1 HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.)

1/2 cup  chopped pecans, toasted

2 pkg. (3.4 oz. each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding

2 cups  cold eggnog

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

Microwave caramels and 1 Tbsp. milk in microwaveable bowl on MEDIUM (50%) 30 sec. or until caramels are completely melted when stirred. Pour into crust; sprinkle with nuts.

Beat pudding mixes and eggnog with whisk 2 min.; spoon 1-1/2 cups over nuts. Stir half the cool whip into remaining pudding; spread over pudding layer in crust. Top with remaining cool whip. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

How to Toast Nuts:

Heat oven to 350°F. Spread nuts in single layer in shallow pan. Bake 5 to 7 min. or until lightly toasted, stirring occasionally.

I tweaked  the recipe a lil bit and it worked! Holy delicious, batman! I know that my husband would love this minus the pecans. Ha!

Homemade Marshmallows

It's better than the ones you buy in the store. I've been telling myself that I was gonna make some months ago and I just finally did. It's really easy to make. I used Alton Brown's recipe.

Noticed that I made 2 baking pans of marshmallows?

I made a thin and thick ones.

I used a cookie cutter to cut the marshmallows.

Candy cane and star shaped marshmallow.

By the way, That's my homemade hot chocolate too.

Well, I wasn't very happy with the candy cane shaped marshmallows.

So I scooped it all out and ate them.

I put new star shaped marshmallows on my hot chocolate.

I think it looked better. ;)

So here's the recipe.

Homemade Marshmallows

by Alton Brown

Ingredients

• 3 packages unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup ice cold water, divided
• 12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• Nonstick spray

Directions

Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.
In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.
Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.

For regular marshmallows:

Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.
When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

For miniature marshmallows:

Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Line 4 half sheet pans with parchment paper, spray the paper with nonstick cooking spray and dust with the confectioners' sugar mixture.
Scoop the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round piping tip. Pipe the mixture onto the prepared sheet pans lengthwise, leaving about 1-inch between each strip. Sprinkle the tops with enough of the remaining cornstarch and sugar mixture to lightly cover. Let the strips set for 4 hours or up to overnight.
Cut into 1/2 inch pieces using a pizza wheel or scissors dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining sugar mixture and store in an airtight container for up to a week.



Dozens of Cookies

So what did I do with all those cookies I baked? Well, I gave some to my visiting teaching companion and to the 2 ladies we visit. Then, I gave some to friends and neighbors.

I made my own tags and I bought the cookie boxes at Michaels. (using a 50% off coupon.)

I totally forgot to take a picture of this when I was home.

So I used my phone to take a picture before I give them to my friends.

I bought the cookie tins at Walmart. It was 3 for 2 bucks.

Then the white ribbon was purchased at the dollar store.

And again, I made the tags.

These are for my nieghbors.

Neighbor #1- just moved in the neighborhood last August

and I haven't met them til I dropped off the cookies earlier.

Neighbor # 2- They really are a nice family. Never met the whole family before.

The guy is super nice and he gave us onions from their graden last summer.

Neighbor #3- who hates our dogs. Well, we're not really good friends.

I guess she doesn't get along with my dogs.

But I decided to give them some cookies even I was so nervous.

The couple didn't answer the door but their daughter did. Oh well, I came with peace. ;)

Neighbor #4- Wasn't home for 2 days now so I guess they're on vacation.

So Arianna and I have a plate of cookies to share. =)



This Christmas is sooo different to me. I've never done this before(baking cookies to give away to friends and neighbors). Well, it's a good feeling and it's so nice to be reminded of "it's better to give than to recieve". Arianna is a trooper. She's always with me from baking to delivering the cookies to our friends and neighbors' houses. I miss my husband terribly. =( I can't wait for him to come home. Couple more weeks...