Food For the Gods

Food For the Gods is one of my favorite desserts, but it wasn't until I was an adult that I realized that no one outside the Philippines really knew what it was. Huh? It's not an American/European dessert? But we don't even grow dates or walnuts in the Philippines! 

Pupusas with lettuce and beef (aka Pupusalad)

I very rarely buy frozen foods, and when I do, it's usually only one of five dishes: quiche, chicken curry, teriyaki meatballs, Filipino lumpia, or chicken tamales. All but the lumpia come from Costco (the lumpia comes Goldilocks!). The chicken tamales were the result of a blogger partnership with Del Real Foods; they sent us some of their prepared Mexican dishes, and we've loved them ever since. Whenever I see Del Real's chicken tamales at Costco, I can't help stocking up on a pack or two to stash in the freezer!

Easy veggie lasagna

Pasta dishes are a dinner staple at our house, but one item that hardly ever makes it onto our menu is lasagna. I think it's because I always associate making lasagna with a lot of WORK. I have to make the meat sauce, make the white sauce, cook the noodles, then layer everything, then bake. That's a lot of pans and a lot of time, especially for someone who usually starts thinking about what to make for dinner 30 minutes before dinnertime!

A few weeks ago I decided to bite the bullet and make a lasagna. When planning the ingredients, I decided to use Trader Joe's canned marinara sauce, and that turned out to be the shortcut that turned lasagna into a dreaded time-suck into a dish that I can make as easily as a stir-fry. What I've come to realize is that lasagna is as labor-intensive as you want it to be. You can easily substitute prepared foods for some or all of the ingredients like the white sauce and the red sauce, so all you really have to do is layer the dish.

Free form apple tart

My favorite summertime dessert is fresh fruit, and my second-favorite summertime dessert is baked fruit with some kind of dough. We love fruit pies, fruit tarts, and fruit crumbles - especially when topped with vanilla ice cream! While we do buy them occasionally, I prefer making and baking them, especially when all the fresh, sweet summertime fruit arrives at our local farmer's market. I'm not very good at making pie crusts, but crumb toppings are easy-peasy, and I have a go-to sweet pastry dough from food blogger Jennie Perillo, so I can whip up a fruit crumble or tart whenever the whim strikes me.

Tips for making the perfect Lebanese Garlic Sauce

photo: KCET Los Angeles

Lately, we've been obsessed with toum, or Lebanese Garlic Sauce. I found a recipe video online (actually, it found me; it just appeared on my Facebook feed one day). The instructions seemed really simple: mince garlic in a food processor, then slowly add oil and lemon juice until the mixture reaches a fluffy consistency.

Our first batch ended up an oily, soupy mess. It turns out that there's more to making toum than just throwing things together (my preferred method of making just about anything). to making sure this sauce emulsifies properly (i.e. doesn't separate into oils and solids).

Guac-O-Lantern Dip

Want to hear something scary? October is almost over, and I haven't written a single Halloween-themed post!  Usually my blog is filled with Halloween costume how-tos, recipes, and decor. It's not even that I've been doing my usual Halloween stuff and haven't had time to blog. I haven't even done my usual Halloween cooking/crafting/decorating extravaganza in real life. I guess life just happened (that's my standard excuse for 2015).

Well, better late than never. I've got two days left to turn the front yard into a graveyard (thanks to the drought and lawn watering restrictions, the dead grass will make the perfect setting). We'll definitely be carving pumpkins. And I did find time for to make a disgustingly un-appetizing appetizer for Alfie's office Halloween potluck. I like to call it my Guac-O-Lantern Dip!

Easy black bean salad

I'm so thankful that my kids love salads. We got them started on Caesar's salad pretty early on, and since then they've learned to love practically every combination of fresh veggies and dressing. On busy weekday nights, having a salad dinner is an easy way to feed the family in minutes.

One of our favorite salads also happens to be one of the easiest to prepare -- just toss tomatoes, sweet corn, black beans, lime, olive oil, cilantro, crumbled gorgonzola cheese and seasonings into a bowl.  Sometimes I give the salad a bit of a kick by using a more peppery oil. Sometimes we'll substitute goat cheese or feta cheese, depending on what's in the fridge.

This salad goes great with a quesadilla and mashed avocado; you can also toss in some lettuce and have it with a wedge of buttered bread. The cheese and black beans are so filling, you might not need a main course!

What's your family's favorite salad?

How to Decorate Mickey Paintball Rice Krispy Treats with Royal Icing Transfers

Any time there's a party in our household, there's a good chance that it's going to include rice krispy treats.  They're easy to make, they don't cost much, and we could eat them all day.  I knew I wanted to serve rice krispy treats at 3Po's paintball party/DisneySide party, but I didn't want to make another set of Mickey head rice krispy treats like I did at last year's DisneySide party. Fellow DisneySide blogger Dawn recently posted about how she uses waxed paper, buttercream, and an image printout to create amazing buttercream designs, and I decided to use that technique to create some royal icing designs to decorate my rice krispy squares. Here's how I did it:

Nacho Fries Casserole

I wear a multitude of hats in my life these days, so it's always a big win for me when I'm able to multi-task.   Last night's Nacho Fries was a great example.  With that one simple dish, I managed to kill four birds with one stone (okay, that sounded really brutal, but you know what I mean).  First and second, I was able to create content for two different campaigns -- CravOn Fries (one of the ingredients) and Corningware (the casserole I served it in).  Third, I was able to write this blog post.   And fourth, my family was able to enjoy a delicious dinner.

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

I had some pureed pumpkin left over from last week's Pumpkin Cranberry Cookies, and since those were gobbled up pretty quickly, I decided to make another pumpkin baked treat.  After all, there's no sense in letting perfectly good pumpkin puree go to waste!  I just happened to have another box of spice cake mix (I always buy cake mix in pairs!), so I went back to The Ultimate Cake Mix Cookie Book -- but I couldn't find the combination of ingredients I was hankering for, so I decided to use the cookbook's basic bar cookie recipe as an inspiration to create my own!

For this treat, I wanted a pumpkin bar cookie, with some cheesecake batter swirled in.  I also wanted to add some chocolate chips, because let's face it, chocolate makes everything taste better. Here's what I came up with.  The name -- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars -- is quite a mouthful, but then so is the treat.

Pumpkin Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's almost October, and my fall baking season has begun!  I've already stocked up on Trader Joe's pumpkin bread mix, and I've bought lots of pumpkin puree for those other times when I want to bake from scratch.  My first baked treat of the season is a mixture of both:  you start with a cake mix, but you add flour, eggs, and other ingredients to make it your own.  This one is from The Ultimate Cake Mix Cookie Book, and it's called Whole Wheat Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies.  Since it has whole wheat flour and pureed pumpkin, I guess the author figured it was as least as healthy as the breakfast muffins you buy at your local bakery.  I added chocolate chips, so I'm not even pretending that it's anything but a yummy treat :)  These cookies are soft and cakey and super delicious.  However, they're on the dry side -- so you'll want to have them with a cup of tea or a glass of milk!

A taste of Scotland

One of the things we most enjoy about traveling is getting to try new foods. Every region on earth has its own distinct cuisine, and if you keep an open mind and an open mouth, there's no limit to the delicious experiences you can have.  Even foods that might seem gross turn out to be delicious -- that was certainly the case on our trip to Scotland.  Who would have thought that I'd actually eat -- and enjoy -- dishes made out of sheep's innards and blood?

Tofu Spinach Sandwich

Tofu is one of our favorite sources of protein, but there's really only one way we enjoy it -- fried.  I tried baking it once, but it turned out so salty and unappetizing that I've stuck to good old fried tofu ever since.  Last week I attended a blog event where one of the lunch choices was a tofu sandwich.  Tofu in a sandwich?  I was intrigued.  I was even more surprised to discover that the tofu in the sandwich was cold and uncooked.  I've come to associate raw, cubed tofu with salads (and they're not my favorite salad topping either), but this sandwich was so delicious that I knew I'd have to try and recreate it at home.  I made a version of the sandwich today, and my test subject (Alfie and The Pea) loved it.  This one's a keeper!

The perfect homemade Dole Pineapple Whip

Without a doubt, my favorite Disney park treat is the Dole Pineapple Whip.  It's sweet, but not too sweet, tart, but not too tart, creamy but not too rich.  It's thirst quenching and delicious and just thinking about it makes me want some.  Unfortunately, you can only get a Dole Pineapple Whip at a Disney park, so it's not like I can indulge in a Dole Pineapple Whip when the craving strikes.

Or can I?

Cooking for picky eaters with Campbell's

I am blessed to have kids with adventurous palates, but occasionally one of them will revert to a toddler-like pickiness that can be really frustrating.  For example, broccoli was Jammy's favorite vegetable for the longest time.  Then he decided he was broccoli's worst enemy.  Nowadays, he'll tolerate it as long as it's smothered in soy sauce or cheese.  That's okay.  I'm happy to help him and my other kids out by preparing foods they don't like in ways that they do like.  For example, my kids love creamy casseroles (anything that reminds them of macaroni and cheese!), so why not serve a broccoli with cheese sauce baked into a casserole?

To guarantee clean plates after dinner, I've taken inspiration from the classic Campbell's Green Bean Casserole, which my kids love.  Instead of green beans, I use frozen broccoli.  Instead of Campbell's Condensed Cream of Mushroom soup, I use Campbell's Condensed Broccoli Cheese soup.  It gives my broccoli casserole exactly the right flavor and creaminess!

Broccoli Cheese Casserole 

1 can Campbell's Condensed Broccoli Cheese soup
1 package (16 oz.) frozen chooped broccoli
1/2 cup reduced fat (2%) milk
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon melted butter

1) Empty 1 can of Campbell's Broccoli Cheese soup into a medium sized casserole.
2) Pour in 1/2 cup reduced fat milk and whisk together with the soup until well blended.
3) Add a 16-oz. package of frozen chopped broccoli, and stir until the broccoli is well coated in the mixture. 4) Bake the casserole for 30 minutes in a 350-degree (F) oven.
5) After 30 minutes, remove the casserole from the oven and sprinkle 1/4 cup breadcrumbs over the top.  Drizzle with 1 tablespoon melted butter, then return the casserole to the oven and broil for 5 minutes, or until the top is browned.

Just a few notes: First, I doubled the recipe because it turned out so delicious, I wanted to have leftovers (it turned out so delicious, we ended up with far fewer leftovers than I thought!).  Since it was a double recipe, I increased the breadcrumbs slightly to 1/3 cup.  Second, if you want to be a bit naughtier, you can mix in a bit of grated parmesan cheese with the breadcrumbs.  It will make the crust cheesier -- but if you decide not to go that route, don't worry.  It's still going to be great.

Campbell's has a similar recipe for a Broccoli Cheese casserole on their website, which adds grated cheese and mustard, as well as other recipes that picky kids love.  They all use Campbell's cooking soups, so what's not to love?  Check out their fun, quick, kid-friendly meal ideas at WisestKid.com!

Nutty HOWLoween Cookies

It's funny how my blog somehow morphs into a craft and food blog when October rolls around!  There's just something about my favorite holiday that inspires me to create.  Today's Halloween treat is so easy, anyone can do it.  I wanted to make something with the mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups I received from Hershey's, and I thought they would make cute owl eyes.  Most of the owl cookies I see on Pinterest are beautifully frosted, cut-out creations that would intimidate anyone .  This owl cookie recipe is perfect for beginning, busy, or lazy bakers who still have a crafty monster inside who wants to come out!  You can use refrigerated cookie dough or make your own.

Kooky Spooky Kit Kat Cookie

I love to bake any time of the year, but there's something about fall's crisp, cool weather that makes me crave warm baked goods.  I received a boxload of Halloween candies from Hershey's that we can't (or shouldn't) eat all on our own, so I've decided to use them in my baking and share them with friends.   First up: special Halloween Kit Kat bars coated with orange colored white chocolate! I took my inspiration from the Kit Kat Cookie recipe from Life with the Crust Cut Off, and created my own Kooky Spooky Kit Kat Cookie.

How to fry tofu

How to fry tofu -- that sounds like such a stupid title.  The phrase seems self-explanatory -- just get some tofu and fry it!  But it's not as simple as it sounds; at least it wasn't for me.

We first started eating tofu regularly after my kids fell in love with the fried tofu cubes sold at our local farmer's market.  I jumped at the opportunity to cut more meat from our diets -- but when I tried frying the tofu myself, it just didn't come out the way the farmer's market tofu vendor's did.  I tried dipping tofu cubes in egg whites and panko bread crumbs before frying them.  I tried deep frying them.  I tried pan-frying them.  I tried baking them.  Nothing I did resulted in the crispy, golden-brown squares my kids craved.  The tofu was too white.  It didn't have that crispy "skin".  It broke apart and crumbled.  It took ages to fry.

The Pea's first crepes

The Pea started a week of cooking camp yesterday, and she had mixed feelings about her first day.  She didn't know anyone in her class, and everyone else was attending camp with a friend, so she found it difficult to join a cooking group and spent lunch hour by herself.  My heart goes out to her, but it's one of those learning experiences you have to let your child go through, and I have no doubt (okay, maybe just a teeny doubt) that she'll finish the week with some new friends.

How to make Beignets

Happy National Doughnut Day!  Normally I'd say there's nothing better than a sweet, tender Krispy Kreme plain glazed donut, but today I decided to get all fancy and celebrate this important holiday by making my own donuts.  To be more precise, I made beignets, which don't actually have holes: they're square, pillow-shaped deep fried pastries popularized in New Orleans.  In fact, I got the recipe from The Princess and the Frog Cookbook; since the movie is set in New Orleans, all the recipes in the cookbook are inspired by New Orleans dishes.