We’ve always been huge fans of Lapid’s Freshly Popped Chicharon.  There are a lot of chicharon stalls with the Lapid name but we always make sure to buy only and ONLY the “freshly popped” brand. ;)

A large bag of chicharon with laman (meat) has a price tag of Php 185.00 (about $4.22).  If my memory serves me right, it was about Php 135.00 the last time we bought some…over 3 years ago.  Lapid’s dipping vinegar is the only vinegar my vinegar-aversed hubby dares consume.  I still don’t get why. :P

I’m ticking food items on my “must eat” list one by one.  Cleansing will have to wait until I get back to domestic diva life. :D  I don’t even want to think about that just yet!

Mabuhay, y’all!

Looking at those cirspy orange-y things just makes me want to make some again, pronto!  I must make sure  wings and drumettes are in my weekend grocery list.  I should have saved some of the wings for this hot & spicy goodness, then I could have called them Hot and Spicy Wengs.  I don’t expect all of you to get that last bit.  Hee hee.  :P

Here’s the recipe…

INGREDIENTS:

20 drumettes or wings
3/4 C whole wheat flour
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t sea salt
1/2 C melted butter
1/2 C hot sauce (I used Schlotzsky’s Louisiana Hot Sauce)

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and lightly brush with oil or butter.  Alternatively, you can lightly grease it with cooking spray.  In a resealable plastic bag, put the flour, cayenne pepper, garlic power and sea salt.  Seal, then shake to mix.  Add the drumettes (or wings, whichever you’re using).  Reseal and shake the bag until the chicken parts are coated well with the flour mixture.  Transfer the drumettes onto the prepared baking sheet and refrigerate for at least an hour.

2.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

3.  In a shallow dish, mix the melted butter and hot sauce.  Dip the drumettes into the mixture and replace on the baking sheet.  Bake until the drumettes are crispy on the outside and no longer pink in the center.  This should take about 45 minutes.  Turn the drumettes over halfway during cooking for even cooking.  You can test for doneness by inserting a skewer/toothpick in the thickest part of the drumettes.  If the juice comes out clear, then they’re done!

For spicier wings, add more hot sauce and cayenne pepper.  For milder wings, use less of the red stuff. :)  These are really quite mild.  But don’t take my word for it.  The level of spiciness of a dish is subjective.

On some cooking shows on tv, I’ve seen some chefs toss the baked wings in the butter and hot sauce mixture AFTER the wings have been baked.  That’s another option worth trying.

We dipped the drumettes in light and creamy ranch dressing.  Oohlala!  This was another one of those moments where I’m practically kicking myself for waiting so long before I thought of making my own hot wings.  Better late than later…I mean, never.  Hee hee.

Football season has begun!  These would make for great game time chow!  Which nfl t shirts will you be proudly wearing?

Here’s to the hot stuff!  Cheers! :)

Sharing precious fridge space are two huge tubs of leafy greens: spring mix for our salads and spinach.  I bought the tub of spinach because I saw boxes of spinach nuggets at the open fridge section of Costco.  I thought, hmmm, I’ll just make the nuggets myself, hence, the tub of spinach.  Did you think I ever got around to making the nuggets?  Of course not! Hee hee.  I ended up using the spinach for pasta, wraps and mushroom stuffing…

I’ve always wanted to make stuffed mushrooms.  And because I had a lot of spinach, spinach-stuffed mushrooms was the way to go.  I’m glad I finally got around to making stuffed mushrooms!  That was one day during our meatless Lent.  I got the recipe HERE.  I did very minor changes.  One, I didn’t have thyme so I didn’t use any.  Two, I used whole wheat bread crumbs.  Three, I topped my mushrooms with mozzarella cheese.  I also used freshly grated parmesan cheese.

We all loved how these mushrooms turned out.  These are appetizers but we ate them with rice just as we would any other vegetable dish.  And I have to say,  couldn’t get enough of ‘em.  I had to save some for my daughter’s school lunch the next day.  She’s mighty proud to be eating spinach.  Haha.  *wink*

It’s been about 3 months now since we started making smarter food choices.  Healthy eating plus regular exercise just melts the pounds away.  No need to buy diet pills.  But that’s just me. :)

Cheers, y’all!

I don’t know why I waited this long to make my own salsa.  It’s so easy to make!  The chopped mangoes I added to the original recipe made it even more yummy. ;)  These days, if I could sneak in some fruits to a dish, I would!  Here’s the recipe…

INGREDIENTS:

3 Tbsp finely chopped onion
2 small cloves garlic, minced
3 large ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeds removed, chopped
1/3 to 1/2 cup chopped  mangoes
2 hot chili peppers, Serrano or Jalapeno, finely chopped
2 to 3 Tbsp minced cilantro
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons lime juice
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Put chopped onion and garlic in a strainer; pour 2 cups boiling water over them then let drain throughly. Discard water. Cool.

2. Combine onions and garlic with chopped tomatoes, mangoes, peppers, cilantro, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours to blend flavors.

Makes about 2 cups of salsa.

I’ll be sure to double, maybe even triple this recipe next time.  You can add the chilis last, if you like.  That’s what I did because not everyone in our household appreciates spicy food as much Hubby and I do, at least not yet.  So I divided the salsa in two and added chilis only to one of  ‘em.

And to answer my own question at the very beginning of this entry, yes, I am very much ready for Superbowl Sunday.  Although, I would have very much liked to have the Dallas Cowboys playing in it.  Oh well.  Just the same, I’m hoping for a fun and exciting game. May the players be safe.  I’m sure nobody wants them making online life insurance claims.

Have a great week ahead, y’all!  Cheers!

The day before Thanksgiving, November 25th, I received some love from Foodbuzz once again when I got selected to try out a Safeway holiday recipe or two.  The opportunity couldn’t have come at a better time because I had a get-together scheduled on Thanksgiving weekend anyway.  And besides, it’s about time I started trying out new recipes because the holidays are just around the corner.  That means, potlucks galore!  Oh, did I mention shopping money’s on Foodbuzz/Safeway (Randall’s here in Texas)?  Now that’s something worth adding to my “Things I’m Thankful For List”.  *wink*

I chose two recipes from the Safeway Holiday Recipes page.  One is an appetizer while the other one is from the “edible gifts” category.  Let me show and tell you about the appetizer…Deviled Eggs with Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese.

I love eggs.  I love salmon.  And I love cream cheese.  So this was a logical choice.  Plus, the recipe has a 5-star rating on the Safeway site, which made it all the more attractive to me.  I’ve made deviled eggs before but it was totally different from this new one, which, I dare say, is more chic and sophisticated.  Definitely more worthy of the French term “hors d’oeuvres” than the English “appetizer”!  Never mind if they mean one and the same thing. Haha!

Are you a fan of deviled eggs, too?  Well then, here’s the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

* 6 large eggs
* 3 tablespoons minced smoked salmon (about 1 oz.)
* 3 tablespoons minced green onions
* 3 tablespoons softened cream cheese
* 1 tablespoon sour cream
* 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
* 2 teaspoons lemon juice
* ¼ teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
* Garnishes: fresh dill, smoked salmon slivers, sweet paprika

STEPS

1.  Place eggs and enough water to cover in a saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Cover, remove from heat, and let stand 15 minutes. Drain; return eggs to saucepan, and add enough cold water and ice to cover. Let cool. Remove shells from eggs, halve each egg lengthwise, and scrape yolks into a bowl. Reserve egg whites.

2.  Combine yolks, salmon, and next 7 ingredients, mashing with a fork until well blended. Spoon filling into reserved whites, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate up to 2 days. Garnish, if desired.

I love that this recipe makes use of cream cheese and sour cream instead of mayonnaise.  That’s something new to me. The smoked salmon, naturally, gave the eggs a smoky kick.  These eggs almost didn’t make it to the party we attended yesterday because after tasting the mixture, hubby thought he couldn’t part with the deviled eggs.  Hee hee!  My little girl also loved them and has already put in a request to have me make them for her school lunch tomorrow.

Check out more Safeway Holiday Recipes HERE.

Coming up next, edible gifts…still from Safeway Holiday Recipes.

My first pick from Japanese Cuisine for Everyone is a simple appetizer…Glazed Chicken Livers and Giblets.  This is another one of those dishes that brings me back to my childhood.  My Dad always ordered skewered chicken wings and skewered chicken livers whenever we ate at a Japanese restaurant.

Here’s how my Glazed Chicken Livers and Giblets turned out…

I was very pleased pleased with the results, and so was the rest of my family. ;)

The recipe is as follows…

INGREDIENTS:

8 oz chicken livers
8 oz. chicken giblets

Glaze

4 T soy sauce
4 T mirin
1 T sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Wash livers and giblets thoroughly; cut into bite size pieces.
2.  Boil the livers and giblets in salted water for 5 minutes (or until desired tenderness); drain on a tray.  Skewer 3 pieces of liver of giblet per skewer.
3.  Mix soy sauce, mirin and sugar.  Boil; then remove from heat.
4.  Brush glaze over skewered livers and giblets several times while grilling.  Grill for about 10 minutes.

To prevent the skewers from burning while grilling, soak them in water first before you skewer the livers and giblets.  I cooked these on a stove-top grill by the way.  You can use the glaze with pretty much everything. ;)

Expect more Japanese dishes in future entries! :D

I cheated a little and used imitation crab to make these.  You may also substitute the crab with cooked shrimps. ;)  I got the recipe from my favorite dim sum recipe book.

INGREDIENTS:

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup chopped water chestnuts
1 cup chopped crab meat (or chopped cooked shrimp meat)
1/8 cup chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
won ton wrappers
oil for frying

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place cream cheese in a bowl and allow to soften for an hour.  Then add remaining filling ingredients.

2.  Combine filling ingredients thoroughly.

3.  Place 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of wrapper.

4.  Moisten the edges of the wrapper and fold in the shape of a triangle (or crescent of using round won ton wrappers), pressing to seal.

Alternatively, you can wrap them this way:  Pick two opposite corners of the wrapper and seal like so….

Then pick up the two other corners and seal them to look like this…

5.  Deep fry won tons until golden brown.  Drain on paper towels and serve with your favorite Sweet and Sour or Sweet Chili sauce.

One word of caution though, the won tons will balloon when you put them in the pan of hot oil,  so press them down with your tongs for a few seconds before putting another piece in the pan.  Do the same when you flip them over.  Keep them down for a few seconds before proceeding to flip the other pieces.

This is the finished product…

And this is how the pouches looked…

Noticed how some parts of the won tons ballooned?  We didn’t really care though.  Hee hee. :D

Crab Rangoon is now perennially on request here at home.  It’s always fun to be able to enjoy food we order from restaurants in our very own home…at a much reasonable price. ;)

When I saw two or three weeks ago that we’re having an egg theme for La.Pi.S., I decided right there and then that I was going to make deviled eggs. As I was shopping for treats at Walmart a few days before Easter, I was thrilled to find  blue and green egg-shaped deviled eggs platters that were selling for only a dollar each.  I love you, Walmart!…but you know that already.  Hee hee!

Deviled eggs bring fond childhood memories.  Before my mom became an entrepreneur (pre-laptop years!), she worked as an accountant for the nicest couple ever (who have since become treasured dear friends of our family!) who were in the food/catering business.  During catered family events, deviled eggs were almost always in the menu.  In fact, for our wedding, we had deviled eggs made fancy by a topping of caviar. ;)

Here’s the recipe…

INGREDIENTS: (for a 12-cavity deviled eggs platter)

6 eggs
1/4 cup tuna flakes (take this out and you have a basic deviled eggs recipe)
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
paprika

DIRECTIONS:

1.  (Hard) Boil the eggs.  (Click here for tips on how to make hard boiled eggs.)  Gently lay the eggs in a large saucepan that has been filled with water.  Make sure that the eggs are covered with about an inch of water.  Add a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of vinegar to the water (which help prevent egg whites from leaking out should the shells crack while boiling).  Bring the water to a boil, then remove from heat.  Let sit covered for 12-15 minutes.  Drain hot water from the pan and run cool water over the eggs.  Let the eggs sit in cool water for a few minutes.  Change the water every now and then if necessary.

2.  Peel the eggs.  With a sharp knife, slice each egg in half, lengthwise.  Gently remove the yolks and place in a mixing bowl.

3.  Arrange the egg white halves on a serving platter.

4.  Mash the yolks with a fork then add the tuna, dijon mustard, mayonnaise, salt and pepper.  Spoon the mixture into the egg white halves then finish with a sprinkling of paprika.

I love how it’s very easy to make and requires only a handful of ingredients, which you most likely already have in your pantry.  Yet, the finished product looks so fancy and chic.  ;)  There’s so many ways you can get creative with the recipe!  Add cheese, take out the tuna, substitute with another ingredient you fancy, add your favorite spices, etc!  Go crazy with it.  It’s not called “deviled” for nothing!  Haha!

The verdict?

Need I say more? ;)

Have a great weekend, y’all!

First up, Finger Sandwiches…

To make these, I used lean turkey ham, cheddar cheese, a wee bit of light mayo and wheat bread.  Instead of simply cutting them into squares, I used my newly bought autumn-themed cookie cutters.  Even the cookie cutter shapes are of a healthy theme – leaves, pumpkin and apple!  That ought to count for something. Hee hee.

Ain’t it cute?  Hee hee.  No bigger than my fingers!

Next up, Beef Franks Wrapped in Bacon…

I haven’t fried hotdogs/franks in what seems like forever.  I just boil them in a pan with water.  To make these, I sliced the bacon strips and beef franks in two, wrapped the beef frank slice with the bacon and secured with a toothpick, then fried them in hot oil.  Stick to the finger sandwiches if you’re on a diet and currently undergoing acne treatment.

For a healthier alternative, you may use  turkey or chicken hotdogs/franks in place of the beef franks and a turkey bacon in place of a regular bacon.  But where’s the fun in that? Hee hee!

Have a wonderful weekend and guten Appetit!

Aaaawwwww!  I am very much capable of torturing myself.  :D This is hubby’s and my favorite appetizer platter from Burgoo (I wonder if it’s still around!).  Actually, we see it as appetizer and viand (ulam) in one.  The platter includes buffalo wings, Sante Fe spring rolls, mozzarella sticks and onion rings.  Burgoo is our favorite casual dining restaurant for American food.

This looking for food pics isn’t helping me at all as I try to control my food intake.  I just made myself hungry.  Argh!