Instant Pot Sausage and Cabbage Soup

This quick, easy and tasty Sausage and Cabbage Soup is made in the Instant Pot (pressure cooker) for a dish that's on the table in 30 minutes!

It's still summery out there, I know, but before you know it, the cold weather would just sneak upon us. Thus, I have been doing my preparations in advance making some soup recipes that we can count on to give up warmth and comfort during the coming chilly weather!!

Slow Cooker Chicken (or Turkey) Chili

I have made this chili many times for my family and friends and it's always well loved and the super easy recipe is often requested. 

When our schedules are not hectic we love to have people over at our place. We especially love having friends from church during Sunday nights after the evening worship service. It's just a nice and perfect time to relax, enjoy each others company especially before we face the challenges in the real world the next day --- Monday! We enjoy some food and occasionally have some games that everyone can participate in. We don't do anything too formal or structured, the food is mostly the appetizer type - quick and easy in preparation. The point is to enjoy each other's company in a fuss-free environment.

Cheese Tortellini Soup with White Beans and Kielbasa

In 30 minutes you can serve your family a hearty and delicious soup! Easy-peasy yumminess in a bowl!

I have been making quite a lot of soup this winter season. You may think, well, that's pretty normal for the cold season. Perhaps but it's not normal for me. Since the Philippines is a hot country with only two major seasons - wet and dry - which incidentally are both relatively warm (hot!) weather, you won't often find soup on a Filipino's daily menu. Besides that, soup, like tea, when served, is often associated with an ailment or being unwell as that's often what's given to anyone who has been afflicted with some illness in the Philippines. Having this background, you can imagine, I am not much of a soup person at all.

Italian Sausage, Kale and White Bean Soup

In 30 minutes you have a delicious, nutritious and hearty soup for the whole family -  Italian Sausage, Kale and White Bean Soup. Easy recipe, too.

Winter season is soup season indeed! Since winter is also the season when you most likely will get sick or catch a bug, I want to make sure that I feed  my family healthy and wholesome food, too. As we all know green and leafy vegetables are one of the best sources of nutrients and Kale is certainly often considered the queen (or was it king?) of greens! Naturally, since it's not exactly candy material and the bright tint of green doesn't excite my kids either - I need to devise some ways to make them eat this healthy veggie!

Italian Sausage Casserole

This Italian Sausage Casserole is delicious and loaded with flavors from meat, herbs and vegetables! A healthy and yummy option for those in a gluten-free and low-carb diet, too!

Last November we went to England because of a family emergency. While we were there we met up with some of our friends. We only get to see them when we come to the UK for a visit so when we are over we make sure we meet at least once. One of the Sundays we were in London we attended worship service at St. Helen's, part of the Church of England denomination. Our friend attends this church regularly and we all decided to have dinner together after the evening service. After our souls were fed, we wondered where to get some physical nourishment. Thankfully, we didn't have to go too far to find a restaurant as St. Helen's, on Sunday nights, offers a dining service in one of its buildings for a very reasonable price. And the food was really good!!!

Slow Cooker Beef Caldereta (Kalderetang Baka)

This Asian beef stew (Beef Caldereta) is robust in flavor and so delicious! Cooking in the slow cooker makes it very convenient, too. Serve with Jasmine rice.

Sometime last year when the weather was starting to get cooler, I had this intense craving for Filipino food. In particular, I was longing for a steamy bowl of Beef Caldereta, a classic Filipino beef stew originally based on a Spanish stew, hence the name, (we were colonized by Spain for over 300 years, remember?) but with a distinctly and authentic Asian flair! It is a dish you will commonly find in any major celebration in the Philippines - weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, you name it. It is usually made with either beef or goat though you may also find versions of chicken or pork. Naturally, it pairs perfectly well with rice!

Overnight Apple Oatmeal with Praline Topping

Cinnamon flavored oatmeal with apples and a buttery, crunchy praline topping is a delicious fall or winter breakfast or brunch dish!

We are back this month with another 30 Day Recipe Challenge for the fall season and our main ingredient for September is the yummy, juicy Apple! For those of you who are new to our blog, in the 30 Day Recipe Challenge, I join with some amazing food bloggers and we create delicious recipes using a chosen main ingredient. We have a month to come up with the most mouth-watering and tasty recipe that would highlight said main ingredient.

Slow Cooker Beef Burgundy (Boeuf Bourguignon)

Beef chunks are simmered in red wine in the slow cooker and results in a melt-in-your-mouth delicious stew. Make this crockpot version of the classic French stew - Beef Burgundy (Boeuf Bourguignon) in the morning and enjoy it for dinner!

I feel the chill in the air! It has started to get cooler the past few days and I have seen leaves fall all over the place already which means Autumn has started. Yay! I do love the fall season with all the gorgeous colors that it brings and also the most wonderful and aromatic dishes we associate with it.

Slow Cooker Roast Pork with Dried Fruits

Melt-in-your-mouth, moist and delicious roast pork that you'll make over and over again. Use a different variety of fruits - dried giant raisins, apricot, plums, cherries, etc. It's your choice.

I love my slow cooker as it's a very reliable ally in the kitchen. While I have used it for a variety of recipes including desserts my favorite dish to cook in my crock pot is a roast. I love the result of melt-in-your mouth tender meat that is so moist and full of flavor as a result of long hours of braising. It just has never failed me so far and my family is always delighted with the outcome.

Cranberry Eggnog Espresso Chocolate Chip Cake

This is my 13th cranberry recipe in the blog, can you believe it? I only realized that when I counted yesterday. That really shows how much we love cranberries in this family. It's such a great ingredient to use whether for a savory or sweet dish as it imparts a tangy and fresh taste that contrasts, enhances or compliments other flavors. Of course, it is a natural holiday favorite too because of its vibrant red color which makes anything you add it to look festive and gorgeous.

21 Luscious NO BAKE Holiday Cheesecakes

It's the most wonderful time of the year....With the kids jingle belling....And everyone telling you be of good cheer......and so the song goes. This song has been playing in my head for a few days now. I guess because I have been gearing up for Christmas since September that's why! Why September? Because the whole 7,100+ islands of the Philippine archipelago believe in their hearts as soon as the -BER months begin - it's the signal of Christmas season so some radio stations and around the malls you'll begin to hear Christmas carols already. I know, it's too much but I am just trying to fully embrace my culture! LOL. 

Cranberry Cheese and Prosciutto Sandwich

Do you stick to one particular supermarket or grocery store when you go shopping for food on a weekly basis? Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't depending on which one has a sale. I do have three favorite stores that I make my rounds on. I already know, more or less, where to go for particular products or for certain food and that helps make everything easier and convenient.

Candied Sweet Potato Casserole

My family and I are getting excited about Thanksgiving and it's just around the corner. Since my parents and siblings  are in the Philippines and hubby's parents are in England, when Thanksgiving comes we really don't have our family to celebrate with us - it's just the four of us, hubby, me and our two little Americans. We do miss them especially during Thanksgiving and Christmas as it's not often that we get to see them because the fares are astronomically high to travel abroad during holiday season.

Easy 3 Ingredient Chili (Slow Cooker or Stove Top)

Even though I am not a winter fan at all I do have two perfectly good reasons why I can tolerate (perhaps even love!) the cold season - fashion and food! Let's talk about fashion first. I just love fall and winter fashion - the boots, scarves, coats, hats or headbands and what have you.... I just love to dress up during fall and winter. I get excited digging up in the closet what I can wear again for the next few months and finding out which ones fit well with a particular pair of shoes or scarf, etc. The best part is that you don't even need to buy expensive clothes as long as you can properly mix and match your outfit with your accessories.

No Bake Individual Pumpkin White Chocolate Cheesecake

We had a ladies' book study at our apartment last Friday and I volunteered to host it. We scheduled it in a way that the study would be done at noon time and thereafter we could have lunch fellowship. I mentioned in the previous post that for the main course I made some hearty Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup. For dessert, I knew I had to make something with pumpkin and since I never made a pumpkin cheesecake before I attempted to make one.

Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup

Several years ago when we were still living in Michigan, one of the ladies from our church prepared this soup for our ladies fellowship. All of us who attended that meeting enjoyed this very tasty soup and naturally we all asked for the recipe. She kindly gave us a copy and I have never forgotten this yummy soup ever since.

Chicken and Bacon Chowder

There's something comforting about a hot bowl of creamy soup. The aroma from the soup scooped out straight from the simmering pan conjures an image of something so good and delightful! And when you are in the middle of winter you need a lot of this bowl of deliciousness.

Yummy Pear Pie

I am not much of a pie person I must confess. Not because I don't like it because I certainly do - it's one of my favorite desserts! I especially love it served a la mode - anything with ice cream is always better, isn't it? The truth is I don't make a lot of pies because I get scared I'll mess it up. It's just one of those desserts that I truly feel intimidated, I don't know why. That fear factor has certainly prevented me from trying to make pies.

Ricotta Meatballs in Creamy White Wine Sauce

Today I felt like a contestant in that popular show from the Food Network - Chopped. I had some left-over ingredients which needed to be used up but they seemed to be an odd assortment. Initially, I felt like it would be weird to merge them in one dish, much like in Chopped (though perhaps not as extreme) where contestants are supposed to come with a yummy dish using a medley of ingredients which you don't normally put together. That was my challenge for the day - how to use in one dish a few pieces of sun-dried tomatoes, a little wine, two types of cheeses and ground beef.

Spicy Coconut Pumpkin Soup

Nowadays, I am in-love with anything that has coconut in it. Perhaps because I do miss my lovely island of Marinduque where we are surrounded by towering coconut trees. I have so many lovely memories of my childhood that involves this amazing tree and of course, it's delicious fruit. My parents own some piece of land in the barrio (small village in the outskirts of our town). Most of the land is devoted to rice fields but the mountainous areas are all covered with coconut trees. My parents have tenants who stay in the land either for free or for a very low rent and in return cultivate the rice crops among other things. Occasionally, we visited and to see how things were going, if the harvest would be plentiful as the rice that we ate then really came from these fields (well, when I was young I really didn't care for that but my parents did, of course.) For me, I was more concerned if we would either be able to ride the carabao (our beast of burden and really the farmer's best friend in the Philippines) during the visit and if they would be willing to give us some fresh coconuts straight from the tree.