Pasta & Broccoli Salad W/ Golden Raisins and Sunflower Seeds
This pasta & broccoli salad is not that complicated to make. Besides boiling water for the pasta and chopping the broccoli florets, there’s really not that much to do.
INGREDIENTS:
half a box of Rotini garden pasta (cook al dente’)
1 medium head of broccoli florets (chopped coarsely)
3/4 cup golden raisins
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 generous drizzle of Italian salad dressing
3 big spoonfuls of mayonnaise
3/4 cup of shredded cheese
sprinkle of black pepper
Cook the pasta according to the box. Drain the water. Transfer the cooked pasta into a salad mixing bowl.
Chopped the broccoli florets. Add into the pasta.
Add golden raisins, sunflower seeds, shredded cheese, mayonnaise, salad dressing, and black pepper. Stir everything together.
Cover the bowl. Store in the fridge until ready for serving.
Crepes With Nutella & Raspberry Sauce
Whenever we are craving for crepes, we go to Bob Evans. They serve the best crepes with different fillings (whatever is available of course, banana cream, blueberries or strawberries). But of course, we can’t afford eating out all the time coz once we’re there, crepes aren’t the only ones we’re ordering. Having said that, Bob Evans restaurant has a delicious and affordable menu. We just can’t be there every week, is my point. Therefore it’s always a good idea to learn how make crepes on your own. It’s really not that hard to make. Don’t let the French name and France origin scare you. However, you must be patient and attentive coz you want to make them too thick and you don’t want to cook them too long. Don’t worry, once you get the hang of tilting the pan to get the consistency of a crepe, you’d be very proud of yourself.
The crepe recipe I’ve used that I really like was from AllRecipes: (SOURCE)
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon white sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 3 eggs
* 2 cups milk
* 2 tablespoons butter, melted
FILLINGS RECIPE (MINE)
1 tbsp of nutella/crepe
1 tbsp of raspberry sauce *recipe below*
cool whip or whipped cream
fresh berries, optional
1. Sift together flour, sugar and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs and milk together with an electric mixer. Beat in flour mixture until smooth; stir in melted butter.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 2 tablespoons for each crepe. Tip and rotate pan to spread batter as thinly as possible. Brown on both sides and serve hot.
RASPBERRY SAUCE (based on here)
* 1 pint fresh raspberries
* 1/4 cup white sugar
* 2 tablespoons orange juice
* 2 tablespoons cornstarch
* 1 cup cold water
1. Combine the raspberries, sugar, and orange juice in a saucepan. Whisk the cornstarch into the cold water until smooth. Add the mixture to the saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the desired consistency is reached. The sauce will thicken further as it cools.
3. Puree the sauce in a blender or with a handheld immersion blender and strain it through a fine sieve. Serve warm or cold. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
** I opted not to strain the seeds. It was fine but if you prefer it to be smoother and not bite into those seeds then strain away 
.
Gently and carefully spread Nutella on a crepe, pour 2 tbsp of raspberry sauce to spread on top. Roll the crepe, then repeat the process with the other crepes.
Place 2-3 rolled crepes on a plate. Add a dollop of cool whip on the middle-top, garnish with fresh berries, then drizzle a little bit more raspberry sauce on top.
You can also sprinkle powdered sugar if you like. Replace raspberry with either strawberry or blueberries. There you go. Practice makes perfect!!!
Ina Garten’s Coconut Macaroons
As mentioned in the chocolate cupcakes with buttercream coconut cupcakes recipe, I’ve finally made the coconut macaroons. I learned how to make it from watching an episode of Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa on Food Network. My first attempt on making macaroons years ago certainly baffles me how I completely messed that one up after seeing how easy it actually is.
Apple Crisp W/ Vanilla Ice Cream
The apples from the grocery stores really looked delicious the other day so I bought a bag and decided to make an apple crisp out of them. I haven’t made in a while so I figured yesterday was as good as any. What I like about apple crisp is that it’s not as tedious as making an apple pie. Peeling, coring and slicing the apple are the only steps that take a while but other than that it’s all easy after that.
Apple Cinnamon Pancakes
Something fruity and crunchy are added into pancakes to make it interesting for breakfast. Besides making the basic recipe for pancakes, I had to make the apple-cinnamon filling separately.
LASANG PINOY SUNDAYS: SEAFOOD: SALMON FISH FRY W/ MANGO & SCALLIONS RELISH
I saw a pack of Zatarain’s Fish Fry Mix at the store so I figured I’d try it with the pretty looking salmon I bought at BJ’s. Something for a change. Fish Fry usually uses cod or haddock but I decided to be “fancy” and used salmon instead.
Christmas 2009 Dinner
For our Christmas dinner, we didn’t do the traditional ham or roasted chicken. Hubs found some really nice looking rib eye steaks from BJ’s days before Christmas which made him declare, “we’re having steaks for Christmas.” I had no problem with it coz it meant he’ll be grilling, .
The Apple Pie
If pumpkin or sweet potatoes pies are for Thanksgiving, our traditional Christmas dessert is apple pie. I have to make this every year or else I’ll hear about not having apple pie one Christmas for the rest of my life. Truthfully, I quite enjoy baking an apple pie and seeing everyone’s faces after a bite or in my brother-in-law’s case, surprise that I could actually bake one. I guess it could get intimidating especially if you’re a baking novice but once you get used to it you’ll find joy in peeling and slicing the apples, then rolling the dough especially if you’re using a non-stick rolling pin like mine .
For a better tasting apple pie, it’s better to combine tart and sweet apples. 4 each.
Bacon Wrapped Beef Stuffed With Portobello Mushrooms, Cheese, and Asparagus
… And caramelized apples on the side. Sorry but adding the caramelized apples on the title would’ve made it too long.
After reading Connie’s (Pinoycook) Penne with creamed portobello mushrooms I was reminded of the bacon wrapped beef stuffed with portobello mushrooms, cheese and asparagus dish that has been sitting in my folder since October. Yes I know, I’m so behind . This is actually a variation of the bacon wrapped boneless chicken that I’ve posted years ago which my sister-in-law learned from her Father while he was over for a short visit from New Jersey. The original recipe was using button mushrooms. I sometimes do that but this time I used portobello mushrooms. There is no rule that says you can’t .
We have bacon, asparagus, portobello mushrooms, cheese, beef and the caramelized apples. What more do we need?
Yellow Watermelon and Green Grapes
Our family love fruits. Fresh ones. Which is a good thing in balancing a healthy diet. We are enjoying what the Summer season has to offer. Have you seen the papayas? Watermelon is staple in our house during summer. Red and yellow. We discovered the latter color last year and it has become such a treat. We actually get a kick out of eating yellow watermelon instead of the red ones.
