Sausage and Egg Fried Rice

If there is one dish that I make a few times a week (yes, a week not a month) it has to be Sinangag or Fried Rice. It should not come as a surprise, after all, I have grown up eating rice 3x a day and my hubby, who prefers a more gluten-free diet, also loves it, too. My kids, naturally, are big rice eaters too so it makes a lot of sense for me to always cook a big batch of rice. Perhaps, I am just too lazy to make a small batch of rice each time (after all, I only need to push the cook button on my rice cooker and it does all the job!). However, the truth is, I make a huge batch of rice each time so I have left-overs which means, extra rice for making fried rice the next day. This time I don't mind the extra effort of cooking it - in fact, we don't have any microwave so everything has to be heated up on the stove top every time, anyway.

Wonton Soup

I am so glad that after several years, I made this truly tasty Wonton soup again today. It was just perfect for the arctic temperatures we have been having the past few days. I am equally delighted that even my kids enjoyed this and hubby especially loved it with rice. I tried it with rice the second time around and I fully understood now why he wanted to eat it this way. The rice soaks up the delicious broth and is so perfect to eat with the delicious wontons. Perhaps we will try it with some noodles next time. Hope this winter you will enjoy this comforting and flavorful soup. It will surely warm you up and make you feel so refreshingly good!

Dippin' in January - Seriously Delicious Dips Recipe Round Up

We just ended our DIPPIN' IN JANUARY series featuring seriously delicious dips for 2013 and beyond. With this wonderful round-up of tried and tested dips, you no longer need to worry about what to serve for game day, friends and family visits or any special gatherings. I hope you check out all these yummy recipes and try some of them, if not all. Feel free to share them with your friends and family, too. Please visit our talented blogger friends and let them know if you have enjoyed their creations! Thank you so much. 

Yum Yum Dipping Sauce

One time, one of our page followers asked me if I had a recipe for Yum Yum Sauce. I must confess that at that time, I actually didn't know what she meant and had to google it (boy, am I thankful for the internet at times!). When I saw the recipe and its ingredients, I realized all my life I have been making something similar in the Philippines - a mayo-based sauce flavored with either tomato paste or ketchup and then sometimes sweetened with a little sugar or perhaps even some condensed milk. It is naturally used as a dipping sauce for fries (that's camote/sweet potato fries for us) and fried chicken and more commonly as a dressing or perhaps even as a marinade.

Cranberry Praline Bread

Moist, sweet-tangy, buttery, nutty - hints of deliciousness in every bite - Cranberry Praline Bread

So I still had some fresh cranberries left-over from the holiday season that's begging to be used. I didn't fancy making cookies nor cooking extra cranberry sauce. Then an idea struck me when I saw my Apple Praline Bread. Why not try the same recipe for Apples but use Cranberry instead? I know I had to make some adjustments as the cranberries are tart and not as sweet as the apples but with some minor tweaking the result was a truly moist and scrumptious bread, I dare say, as good as the Apple version! From now on this is how I will be making Cranberry Bread! Why haven't I thought of this earlier when there were more Cranberries. Oh well, better late than never!

Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Chicken and bacon, you simply can't go wrong with this delicious combination! But how about adding spinach and ricotta cheese to the mix? Even better, I'd say and this dish has it all! Stuffed with a delicious spinach and ricotta filling and then wrapped in bacon for extra flavor, these perfectly baked, moist and succulent chicken breasts are simply mouth-wateringly good! Are you hungry yet?

Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole

Juicy berries, crunchy walnuts plus yummy cream cheese and warmed up maple syrup make this a fantastic breakfast or brunch dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day! 

It is an established fact that my family loves French Toast (or eggy bread as my British hubby would say) for breakfast and especially for brunch. I have a few versions of it including 3 in this blog! We surely cannot get enough of it. I have tried many variations of this delicious American-style stuffed French toast but the blueberry version is one of our favorites. It is just so wonderful to bite into this warm overnight-soaked baked bread and then into your mouth suddenly burst delicious juices from the berries! But that's not all - the almost melted cream cheese provides a delightful contrast of texture and flavor which makes your palate truly dance with joy! As if that's not enough, make it even better by drizzling your freshly baked french toast with warmed up pure Maple syrup and then help yourself with a generous dusting of powdered sugar on top to add extra sweetness and love! Aren't you hungry yet?

Meatballs and Mushroom Soup

Well, with the Polar Vortex descending on the Midwest this week and causing record high temps, I thought it fitting to make a recipe that will help fight the arctic cold and keep all of us warm. While the weather may get warmer in the next few days, sadly, we are still very much in the midst of winter and truly need something deliciously comforting to help us fight the winter blues! This soup did it for us.

Gluten-free Waffles

My family loves breakfast! We consider it one of the most important meals of the day. While we often don't have the luxury of having a hot and prepared breakfast everyday, on weekends I make it a point to make something that my kids love and the whole family enjoys. While pancakes are a great favorite, my kids last year began clamoring for some waffles. I told them I had to find some waffle maker first. Off we went to the thrift store - I didn't want to immediately buy a new one until I actually knew how to make a waffle. I have been wanting to buy this all-clad gorgeous Belgian waffle makers but oh-boy they are way to expensive and beyond my budget even when they are on sale so I thought, I'll have to check out the second hand store first. Thankfully, we found one that looks like new and hardly used if at all - though I must say, beside it was a gross-looking waffle maker that looks like it was never ever cleaned properly as grease and stain was all over it. I wondered why they were selling that one. We passed on that and quickly grabbed the unused and almost brand-new looking one. We came at the right time!

Top 20 Favorite Recipes of 2013

Now that 2013 is done and gone, let's recap some of the best and well-enjoyed recipes in our blog for 2013. Please enjoy!