Binangkal Recipe

Binangkal Craving

I don't usually have this intense craving for " Binangkal" but this time, It's different. I can't resist myself but to make my own for the first first time. I was surprised how it turned out, It was divine!. It's crunchy outside and sweet cakey like taste inside, to top it off! the sesame seed outside the ' Binangkal " made it more divine that I just keep coming back for more until I can't eat anymore ( haha ). My hubby and kids loved it, I was really happy about that. It was delicious and very easy to make.

I remember my  best friend Michelle made this " Binangkal" on my baby shower before, and it was really good. She made it couple more times and I can't get it out of head since then. I have " Binangkal " before back while I'm in Pinas but not as good as Michelle made it though. I don't know her secret recipe but this recipe is little close to what my best friend Michelle used to make ( haha ).
I was having little problem at first how the sesame sticking to the dough but I figured it out right after I made my first batch.  I loved  Binangkal and the craving is finally over. I might keep making Binangkal every once in awhile. It just that good!  It took me like 45 minutes it clean the whole thing up but it's all worthed. I enjoyed eating "binangkal"

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup water

2 tbsp oil

sesame seeds

Directions:

1.) Shift together dry ingredients. Set aside;

2.) Mix brown sugar, water, oil. Add slowly the dry ingredients into the mixture. Mix it well.

3.) Using teaspoon, take bits of batter, roll into little balls and roll into sesame seeds.

4.) Fry it deep hot oil until brown.

5.) Serve it hot or cold along with your favorite drinks and ENJOY!. I like mine with hot chocolate.:)

 Finish product. I made like 20-24 pieces.. wink:)

Lechon Manok Recipe

Lechon Manok Recipe / Rotisserie Chicken

(My version of Lechon Manok Recipe )

I love Lechon Manok! This is one of my favorite dish growing up. It's very popular in the Philippines on birthday's, fiesta and all  kinds of special occasion, you can get lechon anywhere now. The last time I visited the country October 2012, I was blown away of how many "lechonan" is all over the place. We had the " chooks to go " cause its the one close to the place were we stayed and my family loved it. Its very delicious and the price is very affordable, We always had it for lunch. Every time I asked my family what's for lunch they're screaming "chooks to go" even hubby. ( hahaha) after 3 consecutive days eating I think we had enough and decided to eat something else. Aside from exploring all the Filipino food Cebu has to offer, We also enjoying checking some beaches around the area. It was one of the best vacation so far, the fun part is I'm with my family and its priceless.
So, the last couple days I've been craving for lechon and I wanna go back to those lovely times I had with my family eating lechon almost everyday, So, that's why I made this scrumptious chicken. It's pretty close to the Lechon I used to have, the only difference maybe is the way how it cooked but I won't change a thing. It's crunchy and so tender inside, very delicious. I made a very simple sauce that goes along with it just soy sauce, little vinegar, onion and hot peppers. Hubby and kids loved it! and so do I. I'll be making this maybe once a month for sure..:)

Ingredients:

Whole Chicken

 Garlic- minced

Onion- chopped

Lemon juice

Salt & Pepper

Sprite- half a can

Vinegar

Green onion

 Directions:

1.) Marinate the chicken ahead of time (24-48 hours) for best result.

2.) When your ready to cook the chicken, Preheat the oven to 375 degree. Stuff all the vegetables inside the chicken to add more flavor.

 

3.)Put in on the oven for 1 hour, bast the remaining liquid into the chicken and put it back for another 30 minutes until its golden brown.

4.) I add some chopped vegetables along the side for our side dish.( hubby's favorite )

5.) This is the finish product after roasting  for 1 1/2 hours. Serve it with rice and soy sauce with little vinegar. Perfect family dinner.

Homemade Cute little Bags

Homemade Cute Treat Bags

(Perfect bag for yummy treats )

Me and my good friend Mj will be throwing baby shower next month, So, this is like a continue project for  baby shower favors that I'm making, I'm thinking it would be great addition to the  Homemade Little Boxes I made earlier this week. I was little busy this week celebrating my birthday, work, kids and family, I'm still find some time to make this homemade treat bags, experimenting as I would say (haha). Its like family time with me and my kids, before they take their afternoon nap. It's always fun doing it.

 I love to be busy all the time, it seems like time goes so fast and I wanna do as much as I can ( wink ).  " Time is GOLD" so every minute is valuable.. cheers! Happy weekend everyone!

Things you need: 

Scissor

Glue

Card-stock

Ribbons/ embellishment

      Directions:

Fold the crease area of the card stock. Use the tip of the scissor to flatten the surface. Then cut little slit on both side. Just like the picture above.Continue the process until everything is done.

 

I personalized this cute little treat bag by putting some baby decorations, heart embellishment perfect for baby shower theme.

Glued all little treat bags, Let is set for 30 minutes or so, and add some ribbons on top or you can totally just leave as simple as is it.

Glimpse on my 25th Birthday

My 25 Birthday Celebration

 

I was so happy and excited to celebrate my 25th birthday. I was thankful for my 25th year existence on this wonderful world, for having loving family and great friends. I couldn't ask for more in life.

 So this how I celebrate my 25th Birthday!

Soup for the day

 Entree

First stop, My hubby treat me for dinner on my favorite restaurant OUTBACK Steakhouse. I love steak!
It's good thing I tried their walkabout soup that day. It's very delicious! It just creamy bake potato soup with bacon bits, cheese and green onion on top. It's very good birthday dinner I would say:)

Meatballs and Rice

 Flowers and Balloons

Next stop, Birthday party with family. My mother in-law make my favorite meal Meatballs and Rice. It's the best meatball I've ever tasted in my 25 years existence. ( lol ) no kidding. Also, I was showered with glorious gifts, flowers and balloons. My Mother in-law also make a chocolate cake with vanilla icing, ( picture on very top) Thank you much for making my day extra special.:)

 We have Lumpia, cassava cake, carbonara, monggo, fish, dried fish, cupcakes, cakes, eggplant, fish sauce, and sinigang na hipon. 

 Sinigang na Hipon- Made by Rose

 Red Velvet Cupcake- made by Cherry

 Rachel- for this yummy cake

Third stop, Surprised Birthday celebration with my good friends, Rachel, Cherry and Rose. So, It's like fiesta again none stop eating, videoke and playing cards. It's always fun hanging out with them, The fun part is was surprised birthday bash.
Thank you so much for glorious gift, great friendship and much more!

- Word can't explain how much I'm thankful for everything for making my life so special and fulfill with happiness. I love you all:)

Homemade Cute Little Boxes

Homemade Cute Little Boxes 

( Perfect for any special occasions )

Few weeks from now, Me and my good friend Mj will be hosting a double baby showers for our friends Cherry and Rose. I hosted a baby shower before for my best friend Michelle 2 years ago, been awhile. So, I wanna make this shower memorable for mommies to-be, just like how I remember my first baby shower, It was fun and unforgettable experience. So, as part of this baby shower preparation I made this Homemade Cute little boxes for favors. It very cute, simple and thoughtful favors for the guests.A perfect way to say " Thank You" for coming and celebrating this special day for mommies to-be. I have so much fun doing it and I have some little helpers with me, my kids! ( haha! ) Imagine how chaotic it is on the table, but we had FUN! and that all matters.. wink:)

Try to make this cute little box for your friends and love ones, Just estimate how big is the item and then you can adjust using your card stock...

 Things you need:

Card stock - I used baby colors for the baby shower theme.

Scissor

Glue/ double sided tape- I used glue

Butter knife- Used to crease the side of the paper

Paper Pins

Embellishments/ Ribbons/ Cut outs- I used heart embellishment, personalized print out from my computer and colorful ribbons.

 Fold the card stock into half; cut. and fold it again 1/4 size, this time cut letter C on both end of the card stock. ( just like picture on top )

 Fold it in half just like on the picture above.

Crease both side of the paper using butter knife

Glue the two little end of the card stock, secure it by using paper pins. Let it stand for like 15 minutes or so.

 Pulled all the paper clips and you're ready to decorate!

I used heart embellishment on the side and the cut outs on the center of the box.

 Push the side end of the paper. Add some ribbons for final touch.

Paksiw na Isda ( Tulingan )

Paksiw na Isda

Tulingan is one of my favorite fish, This kind of fish is hard to find from where I lived, and I'm just so happy when I found it at "Chutchay's" Filipino store right down at Reynoldsburg. It's like 30-35 minutes drive not that far and they sell all kinds of Filipino stuffs. I always go there twice a month with couple friends just buy some Filipino goods and one of them is this kind of fish " Tulingan" I can get enough with these fish they're just so yummy. ( haha! ) It's more delicious, if you eat it with Filipino friends. I grew up eating this kind of food everyday and I'm telling you, I craved for this from time to time. Thanks to " Chutchay's"! my Paksiw craving is over. The best thing to cook this kind of fish is " Paksiw" or "Prito" since they're frozen. Back in Pinas my Mom, make this fish in any preparation and they all taste yummy. It's also good "Tinola" style only when its fresh. So, I made this " Paksiw" on New Year Party, My preggy friend Rose love this fish and so all my friends, So I thought it would be nice surprise if I'm gonna brought some to the party. We just decided to put it on the side so that the smell won't over power the other food too.(haha).( wink).

The process of making this dish is very simple...just combine everything in one pot. whoala fish fiesta in no time.

 Ingredients:

Tulingan

Green and Red Bell Peppers

Onion

Garlic

Ginger

Salt n Pepper

Soy Sauce

Vinegar

Oil

Water

Directions:

1.) Just combine everything in one pot, put the heat on medium low. Let it cook for like 15-20 minutes. 

2.) Salt n Pepper to taste, serve it hot with rice. Enjoy!

That's how easy it is to make this dish:)

Vegetable Stir Fry

Vegetable Stir Fry

(Ginisang Gulay)

 I grew up eating vegetables. My Mom always have the way making all kind of vegetables taste so yummy. Just combine all the vegetable harvested on the farm, throw it on the pot and whoala! delicious and healthy dinner for whole family. I remember growing up, I helped my parents plating corn, sweet potato, cassava and much more on our farm. Now that I'm thousands miles away from them, sometimes kinda missing those times. So, I made this Vegetable Stir Fry on our New Year's Party recipe from how I remember my Mom made it. It felt like I'm celebrating with my family too:)  I just add little twist to it, I add some Italian Sausage. It's yummy, you gonna keep coming back for more!

Ingredients:

Green Beans

Carrots

Bokchoy

Cabbage

Zucchini

Summer Squash

Green and Red Bell Peppers
Onion
Garlic
Oil
Salt 'n Pepper- to taste

Directions:
1.) Put oil on the pan, add the sausage and let it cook. Add the onion and garlic and sautee.
2.) Add all the vegetables and let it simmer for couple minutes.
3.) Stir and season with salt and pepper. Let it stand for 2 minutes or so.
4.) Serve as side dish or entree.

Tips: Try to add some ( ginisa mix) and its gonna be big hit. Substitute the sausage with meat of your choice or make it pure vegetarian style.

Welcome 2013 ( New Year's Party )

New Year's Party with Friends

 This is how I start my 2013, Having fun pigging out this scrumptious food on the table ( hahaha). This is very similar to the New Year in the Philippines, as in food galore!! the only thing missing is the fireworks but that's totally OK! The kiddos noise is just enough for me. I can't even decide what I'm gonna eat first (lol!) I'm telling you, there's much more food, we just don't have enough room to put everything on the table.We had blast! very festive and fun New Year indeed. We did few games like paper dance, tomato relay, banana eating and orange on the floor, My stomach hurt from laughing out loud with all the craziness we've done. To top it off ! We did exchange gifts Pinas style ( bunutan )

 Our gifts!ready to be exchanged "from gorgeous owner to beautiful receiver."

We agreed and decided that the gifts should be $20 (dollars) household items or product. In that way the the husband or wife can benefit out of it. I'm so happy of what I got and so my friends!

I pulled number (3) and its from Cherry. I was really excited and physic, what could it be inside this giant snowman bag, and I got very soft blanket perfect for this very cold season and my favorite shower gel "Sweet Pea". As you can see, I really loved it! I just remember the story about my old blanket.. ..hahaha!  My friends got some really good stuffs too:)

I'm just gonna take this chance to say "Thank so much"  for the amazing friendship and let's start our 2013 with fun, festive and big smile on our faces. CHEERS!!

I wanna share with you some of the food that I brought to the party. 

Cassava Cake- for recipe click HERE

 Pan De Coco- for recipe click HERE

 

Lumpia Shanghai- for recipe click HERE

 

Pumpkin Spice Mini Cupcake with Vanilla Orange frosting

 Tips: Before icing the mini cupcake let it cool first.
 

 My friends brought lot of very delicious food maybe one day, I can share their recipes here on my blog. I made couple more food to the party but I'll save those for next time.. wink!

Nothing more joyful than sharing delicious food on New Year's Day.