Blessings in February

Yes, I know. It's been a while since the last time na nag blog ako!

Sorry guys, I got so busy with my small business, sabayan pa ng bagong schedule and work load sa office. Kulang na lang mag darna na din ako eh. Although I love the feeling of achievement. =)

Well, share ko na din sa inyo so you'll know kung anong mga pinagkakaabalahan ko lately.

First, I bought an oven in January. The money was from my 13th month pay na dinelay ko pa until January since I can't decide what I'll do with the money. I was undecided if I'll get a new phone or an oven. I was told by a friend in the office that one of our officemate's trying to pawn her DSLR. I took advantage of it since wala naman talo. I have the camera while my money is still safe from my capable hands of spending it in the mall plus, I could have the feel of having a bulky camera which I have been wanting since 2012 pa. It was the same camera that I brought during Mommy Bloggers Philippines' Christmas Party and every event that we had in December including our new Years Eve. As you noticed, ni isang december 2015 event wala akong nai share pa dito sa blog because my netbook's charger is missing. =( Once I have all the photos, I'll share them here. =)

After a month, I returned the DSLR and got my money back. At that moment, I came to a decision to buy an oven instead. I know I could use it to something that could help me earn money in the future. I bought the 30L Hanabishi Convection Oven.

photo source 

I found this in SM Department Store in Southmall. It costs Php3,499 which was beyond my budget. I was looking to spend Php2,500-3,000 at max. I have decided to check SM Appliance center (still in Southmall) and found the same exact oven for Php3,075 only. Wow! That was a huge difference diba? I wonder why? Pero I am sold. But wait there's more, hahaha! For cash basis, there'll be a 3% discount which came down to Php2,983.00. Sold na sold na talaga ako at that moment. Hahah! Super within the budget talaga. =) I also loved how the oven look and the knobs where very nice to use din. =)

I wanted an oven since last year. I have been compiling recipes on the internet and even made Yema cakes thru steaming in December 2015 and sold some to my officemates. Hindi talaga ako makatulog after I bought this oven dahil kating-kati akong gamitin na sya for baking. I mainly want to bake pastries and my favorite na Baked Macaroni!

I started with brownies but since wala pa akong right pans to use, I had this round pan that I bought in December for yema cakes. Here's my first baked goodie.

My first ever baked goodie! Chewy Fudgy Chocolatey Brownies. =)

I was so glad the recipe didn't disappoint. I then started selling boxes and boxes of brownies to friends and Daryl's friends and his neighbors in Pasay!

I also baked muffins, until I reached Red Velvet and Chocolate cupcakes.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

Milk Cheese Muffin

It was a dream come true! I can't believe I started baking and that I am earning money from it. Just last night, I also baked a Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Frosting.

Moist Chocolate Cupcake with Filling and Buttercream Frosting

I am so glad that 2016 is showering me with lots of blessings! I am hoping that my baked goods will reach more and more people and that it can be something that will grow overtime.

So far, I am thinking about joining one day baking classes that's available in the market. It tackles different aspects and products of baking and I am looking forward to learning all of them. Masarap din ang feeling that I could invest on baking tools. if you're interested on buying my baked goods, send me a private message thru my facebook page or you could send me an email. =)

Second big thing that happened in a span of one month is me applying for a position of Operations Coach in the office. I was really looking forward in going up the ladder. Although I was given a great battle since mostly, mga tenured people na din ang nag apply. They will observe us for 3 months and will have a final interview after. They'll choose who are qualified for 2 positions by then. Totally, there's 9 of us who's interested in the position.

I was also given another set of task. I am grateful for these things though. I enjoy going to work and learning new things along the way. I celebrated my 2nd year here in January anyway and so far, I never felt that I am tired going to work every single day. =)

Sorry if I made this post really long. It only shows how much I missed blogging and that I hope I'll have more time to do it all at the same time. Parenting-Wife Duties-Wor-Home Baker-Blogger. Eh di ako ng madaming title. =)

Mommy Jen Cooks: Chicken Afritada

Last Saturday, I had all the time in the morning to cook for our lunch. It was a great time na ilabas ang cooking skills since wala akong pasok in the afternoon. I woke up to Jami's cry asking for his "Didiya" (milk) and can't go back to sleep anymore. I went to palengke to shop (wow! shop talaga!) some ingredients for my Lumpiang Shanghai and Chicken Afritada. =)

I was supposed to cook the Lumpiang Shanghai a day before. I had the necessary ingredients to make the shanghai pero wala pala akong nabiling wrapper! Toinks :p

I cooked the Chicken Afritada first since it would take longer times for cooking and preparations. You see, I am not a very good cook and I don't have a chef skills running in my blood so I have to rely on online recipes. I stalk Panlasang Pinoy blog and youtube channel for his recipes. My mantra is, I would try his recipe then see if I'll like it or I can adjust it to my preference next time. I perfected the Ginataang Hipon, Sitaw at Kalabasa which I cooked every week until I get it to perfection according to my taste. Hehehe! So imagine nyo na lang ang pagka umay ni Daryl sa Hipon at Kalabasa. Hahaha! Pwede na namin i skip ang recipe na ito until end of the year maybe? Hahaha! =)

Anyhow, I'll share with you the recipe or you can go straight to Panlasang Pinoy blog.

Chicken Afritada

• 2 lbs chicken, cut into serving pieces
• 1 large potato, quartered
• 1 large carrot, sliced
• 1 large bell pepper, sliced
• 1 cup green peas
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 pieces hotdogs, sliced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1¼ cups chicken broth or stock
• 2 pieces dried bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon granulated white sugar
• 4 tablespoons cooking oil
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

1.  Pour-in cooking oil in a cooking pot or casserole then apply heat.
2. Pan-fry the chicken until the color turns light brown (about 3 minutes per side).
3. Remove the chicken from the cooking pot.
4. On the same cooking pot, sauté garlic and onions.
5. Put-in the sliced hotdogs and pan-fried chicken then cook for a minute.
6. Pour-in tomato sauce and chicken stock then add bay leaves. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes.
7. Add the potato and carrots then simmer for 7 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
8. Put-in the bell pepper, green peas, salt, sugar, and ground black pepper then cook for 3 minutes more.
9. Turn-off heat then transfer to a serving plate.
10. Serve with steamed rice. Share and enjoy!

 

 I opted not to add the green peas since I don't like them. I actually put a lot of tomato sauce, and little of the water so I ended up not having enough sauce for the chicken.

So how would I know if I like the recipe or not? I usually follow the recipe, then I'll adjust it according to my taste. If I found it good naman, then I'll keep the recipe. If not, I have to alter something in it. I am no expert in cooking since I am still trying to learn them.

One thing that I noticed is that, ang hirap pala mag luto kung picky eater ka.. Hayyy.. Just like me, sobrang picky eater ko so hindi ako makapili ng ibang recipe. Anyhow, I am looking to follow more recipes. Nowadays naman, recipes are just a click away diba? =)

Let me know if you tried this recipe and if you liked it.

I'm Starting to Love..

..Cooking!! Heheh. You know guys, before I had James, I never thought of spending time in the kitchen - cooking stuff. I can only cook hotdogs, noodles, canned corned beef and any friend stuff except fried fish. I am really scared sa mga tumatalsik na mantika while cooking. I am also not fond of cooking stew meals. I rely on Nanay, sisters and brothers or if all else fails, I'll just buy cooked stuff. When I was a kid and Mom used to cook, I never bothered myself checking out or even watching what she's up to. I'll just wait until it is served. Haha.

Two Sundays ago, I decided to cook. It was actually not planned at all. They just told me to cook it because they are already preparing spaghetti for no reason. I was the one who prepared the veggies though. It was actually "Ginisang Sayote". I really don't know how to cook it but I trusted my instict na lang. 

I am not a good cook but I want to share this recipe (not sure if I can call it recipe anyway. Haha) for documentation purposes. So here it is!!

Ingredients:

1 Onion, minced

3- 4 Garlic Cloves, minced

3 Sayote (cut into strips)

½ kilo Ground Pork

1 Tomato, slized thinly

1 Seasoning (optional) (I used AjiGinisa)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cooking Oil

To cook:

1.      On a casserole, sautee garlic, onion and tomato until garlic turned slightly brown and onion and tomato is cooked. Add the ground pork and let it cook until it turned slightly brown too.

2.      You may add the sayote/chayote. After 3 minutes, add water for about 2 – 3 cups depending on your desired amount of stew. You may add Seasoning or just Salt and Pepper to taste. Simmer for 5-8 minutes or until the sayote/chayote is cooked.

3.      Serve with a smile =)

Optional: It is best served with a deep fried fish (any kind).

And the verdict? Actually, I don’t know. Kinain naman nila so I think it’s edible naman. Hahaha! Daryl and I ate it too. I mashed at least 3 – 5 pieces of sayote/chayote for James to taste it… kinain naman nya. =) One time lang yun promise! Hehe. 

And because of that, last weekend, I cooked another recipe. It was epic fail though. We didn’t enjoy it all. I cooked Pork Giniling with Tomato Sauce. I guess I put too much of tomato sauce kaya hindi naging masarap. I was told my reliable friend, Sokey to put a little amount of it like the small pouch lang dapat.

At ang comment nila?

Daryl: Be dapat nilagyan mo na din ng cheese para naging spaghetti na. 

Ate Grace: Ayokong tikman yan wala ako sa mood. 

Hahahah! Grabe sila sa akin!

Okeeeeyyy! Better luck next time. Not bad naman for the first timer eh kasi edible pa rin naman ang naluto ko. Hahahaha #defensive

Even my last recipe turned out as a failure, It didn’t stop me on cooking more recipe moving forward. Yay! So if I may, I’ll be glad to post more recipe and cooking escapades in the future.

P.S Pasensya na kung obvious na first timer yung paggawa ko ng ingredients and cooking steps ha? I’ll improve next time promise. =)