Fish Recipe for Kids

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I'm trying to feed my son more healthy food. So I started to make fruit shakes and vegetable soups for dinner.

Fish is not really his favorite. But because I'm also on a diet and trying to lessen my meat intake, I tried making my own recipe to make it kid-friendly.



Here's the very simple recipe:
1. Sprinkle the fish (I usually use Dory or Tilapia fillet) with a dash of pepper (I usually don't use salt), ginger (chili flakes for that extra kick) and lemon juice (kalamansi will do as well).
2. Wrap it in foil. I usually add leafy greens, tomatoes and whatever veggies I have in the fridge. The juice in the veggies will add flavor to the fish.
3. Steam.
4. Here's how your kids will love it: Top the steamed fish with cream cheese and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

And even if they don't eat the veggies, the juice from the steamed veggies has seeped in the fish.

Awesome idea or what?

My son loved it by the way.

Pichi Pichi: My Favorite White Food

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Pichi Pichi is always present during family gatherings. In my family anyway. This Filipino dessert is made of cassava and topped with grated coconut. My son loves the version that has cheese toppings.

We usually buy at Amber's Restaurant but here's a recipe from my Mom's recipe box.

Pichi Pichi Recipe

2 cups grated cassava

1 cup sugar
2 cups water
1 bundle of pandan leaves or 1/2 tsp buko-pandan essence
1/2 tsp lye water
grated coconut or cheese for topping

1. If using fresh pandan leaves, boil in 2 cups water until reduced to one cup. Set to cool.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar and the pandan flavored water until sugar is dissolved.

3. Add the cassava and then add lye water while continuously stirring the mixture.

4. Pour in individual cup molds and place in a steamer for 45 minutes to an hour or until mixture becomes transluscent.

5. Allow to cool down then roll into grated coconut or cheese.

recipe of the day

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Here's another recipe for your picky eater.

                                                                              yummy.ph

Stuffed Chicken Breast Recipe with ham and swiss cheese and mushroom sauce

Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
8 boneless chicken breast halves, skin removed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
4 slices (1 ounce each) cooked ham, cut in half
4 slices (1 ounce each) Swiss cheese, cut in half
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs
vegetable oil
.
Mushroom Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup heated milk
1/2 cup chicken broth
salt
white pepper

Preparation:

Place each piece of chicken between 2 sheets of wax paper or in food storage bag. Pound gently to flatten, using a rolling pin or smooth side of meat mallet. Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Combine eggs with 1 cup milk; dip chicken pieces in mixture. Place a piece of ham and a piece of cheese in the center of each flattened piece of chicken. Brush top of cheese slices with the milk and egg mixture. Fold ends over the ham and cheese; roll up, beginning with long side. Secure rolls with toothpicks. Dredge chicken in the 1/3 cup flour then dip in remaining milk mixture; roll in bread crumbs to coat well. Place chicken rolls on a plate; cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Heat 1/2-inch of vegetable oil in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Fry chicken rolls for 20 minutes, turning frequently, until golden brown. Drain well. Serve with mushroom sauce. Serves 8.

Mushroom Sauce:
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat; sauté mushrooms until browned. Add flour and stir until mixture is well blended. Gradually stir in hot milk and chicken broth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce begins to boil and thickens. Simmer, stirring frequently, over very low heat for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Makes about 1 cup of medium thick sauce.

recipe: southernfood.about.com

picky eater's pick of the month

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...or maybe just for this week (?).

There are days when I am so frustrated that I just want to pull all my hair out. RJ is a very picky eater and it's very difficult to plan our meals because of that. If I can only have my way, I will cook vegetables for breakfast, lunch, dinner and everything in-between. RJ's favorite line these days, "I hate vegetables! Yuck!"

Thank God that he doesn't hate fruits. And at the moment Taho.

Tahô is a Philippine snack food made of fresh soft/silken tofu, arnibal (brown sugar and vanilla syrup), and pearl sago (similar to pearl tapioca). This staple comfort food is a signature sweet and can be found all over the country. The Indonesian and Malaysian equivalent of this dish is Tahu.

I found this video tutorial on how to make homemade taho. It's so easy.

Ingredients:

22 ounces extra soft tofu
1 ¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup uncooked tapioca pearls
4 ½ cups water

Procedure:

1. Pour 4 cups of water in a cooking pot and bring to a boil.
2. Put-in the tapioca pearls and cook for 40 minutes in medium heat.
3. Add ¼ cup brown sugar and mix well.
4. Turn off the heat and let the tapioca pearls sit on the cooking pot until room temperature is achieved. Set aside.
5. Heat a saucepan then pour-in ½ cup of water.
6. Put-in 1 cup of brown sugar once the water starts to boil. Mix well and simmer for 1 minute. Set aside.
7. Transfer the extra soft tofu in a glass or mug then heat in a microwave oven for a minute.
8. Top the extra soft tofu with the cooked tapioca pearls and sweet syrup.
9. Serve warm. Share and Enjoy!

Thank you to Panlasang Pinoy for the recipe. I am now a big fan!

kid-friendly tortillas?

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Yes, there is a kid-friendly tortilla. It goes by the name Mission Flour Tortillas. Why is it kid-friendly? We all know that kids nowadays are very picky eaters. Your picky eater will never be a picky eater again with Mission Flour Tortillas. Because there are different varieties of tortilla to choose from, different delectable dishes appropriate for your picky eater's taste buds can be created. And they can help in preparing the dishes because Mission Flour Tortillas are available in small (6"), medium (8") and large (10”) sizes. Even your toddler's hand can handle a small round tortilla.

Mission Flour Tortillas contain 0 grams Trans fat per serving and are cholesterol free. So eating this everyday will not make your kid a rolly-polly.

Mission Foods is kicking off the summer with the Mission Menus Challenge.
Beginning June 28, 2010, Chef Sara Moulton will encourage consumers to submit their budget-friendly recipes to Mission at www.MissionMenusChallenge.com for a chance to compete in a cook-off in Los Angeles and win a $10,000 dream kitchen makeover as well as a host of weekly prizes. The grand prize winner will win round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations for two to the Mission Menus Challenge Cook-off on September 10, 2010 at the Hard Rock Café in Los Angeles.

All recipes must include Mission Flour Tortillas. Originality is a must. And it must be able to feed a family of five for $10 or less. This challenge will run until August 9th. So hurry, you still have the chance to submit your recipe online.

fish fillet nuggets

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My son is a very picky eater. I don't want him to eat unhealthy food, so I try to make him eat a healthy meal everyday. Let me ask you something. Do you love eating fish when you we're younger? Me, I don't remember anymore. But I am sure I would have gobbled a piece of cookie right away instead of eating fish.

I tricked my son in eating this fish dish though.

Ingredients:

fish fillet

egg (slightly beaten)

cornstarch

Directions:

1. Cut fish fillet into cubes.

2. Dash beaten egg with a pinch of salt and pepper.

3. Dip fish cubes in egg mixture. Don't soak.

4. Dip in cornstach.

5. Fry until golden brown.

Try using different flavoured dips, each time you cook this fish dish.

corn and spinach soup

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My son is not a big fan of vegetables. His favorite word everytime a veggie touches his tongue is...yuccckkk!

I have tried tricks to make him eat veggies and the most effective one so far is looking mad everytime he says yuccckkk.

Was very happy last week when he ate the corn and spinach soup that I made without uttering and muttering his favorite word.

Here is the recipe, won't make it too complicated.

Ingredients:

ground pork (just enough to add flavor)

corn (removed from the cob)

spinach leaves

minced garlic

diced onions

sliced tomatoes

fish sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute, onions, garlic and tomatoes.

2. Add ground pork, brown.

3. Add corn and fish sauce

4. Add water, boil. Better if corn softens up and make the soup thicken a bit.

5. Add spinach.

6. Don't forget salt and pepper!

Bon Appetit!

how to make flavourful gravy

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My son loves fried chicken so much! But of course, he cannot eat it without gravy. I am not a very good cook and because of that my heart has been broken a lot of times. I can't count the times my son honestly told me that what I cooked was not yummy (says his taste buds, mine liked what I cooked)! Honestly, making gravy from scratch is not an easy task. It is a very challenging task indeed especially if one is not a good cook (really!).

This Christmas eve dinner though, the gravy that I will serve will definitely (hopefully) be a hit! Thanks to the gravy tips video of Club House Gravy. The video helped me practice preparing great tasting gravy that my son and the whole family will surely love.

Club House traces its roots back to 1883, where it first operated in London, Ontario. Because of strict standard of quality, freshness and taste, Club House was able to meet their ultimate goal of putting the best foods on their client's table.

Do you also want to learn how to make flavourful gravy? Club House Gravy can help you make great tasting gravy with no stress or fuss! Go ahead, visit their site.

While you are there, don't forget to visit the newsletter sign-up and contest entry page.

Bye for now! I still have to practice preparing the gravy again. I want to make a perfect, very flavourful gravy for our Christmas eve dinner.

do you need a kitchen makeover?

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If your answer is yes, then you're in for a treat. If you are a Canadian resident, all you have to do is join the $32,000 worth kitchen makeover contest of Maple Leaf Foods. PLUS, you could win 1 of 12 Frigidaire fridges stocked with new Maple Leaf Prime Premium frozen chicken! As a bonus, every entrant into this contest will be eligible for a $500 rebate offer from Frigidaire.

What are you waiting for? Enter your email every day until December 15, 2009 or risk losing your chance of winning.

After joining the contest, don't forget to check out the Maple Leaf Market and say hello to the Butcher, the Baker and the Pasta Maker. The Butcher will give you an expert advice about meat and food safety as well as shopping tips. The Baker's years of expertise enables her to give the website visitors new tips in the kitchen. The Pasta Maker gives entertaining ideas as well as answer frequently asked questions.

In the market, you will also meet "the Cook". She will help you plan and prepare a great meal in just a few minutes that the whole family will love! With just a few clicks, you can search for fresh recipes and customize a shopping list that will help you create a wholesome, healthy dinner without any sweat at all.

By the way, if you were to win the contest what would you do to your kitchen?

Lasagna, anyone?

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As I have said on my earlier post, my son is a very picky eater. I can count on my two hands the dishes that he likes to eat. Topping the list of his favorite food is pasta. He can eat macaroni and cheese on any given day for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Today, I decided to cook another pasta dish that my son likes to eat. Lasagna. It has more ingredients and takes much longer to cook than the I-can-cook-with-eyes-closed mac & cheese.

Try cooking this Lasagna recipe for your family also. I’m sure they will love it.

Ingredients
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 medium sweet white onion, diced
1/2 large green bell pepper, seeds and veins removed, diced
1/2 lb dry lasagna noodles (requires 9 lasagna noodles - unbroken)
1/4 cup sugar
1 28 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 28 oz can (16 oz) stewed tomatoes
1/2 6 oz can (3 oz) tomato paste
1 lb Ricotta cheese
1 1/2 lb Mozzarella cheese (large flat square slices)
3/4 lb freshly grated parmesan cheese
Garlic Powder
Oregano
Italian Spice
Salt
Garlic Salt
Parsley diced (fresh flat leaf preferred)
1 Garlic Cloves, minced
White wine vinegar

Method
1 Brown lean ground beef in skillet until lightly browned and cooked through. Put a few layers of paper towels in large bowl. With slotted spoon, remove browned beef from skillet draining off excess beef fat and put on top of blotting towels. After all the browned beef has been removed from the skillet, drain off and dispose of excess beef fat. Wipe skillet clean with paper towel. (If your ground beef is sufficiently lean, there won't be any excess fat to drain.)

Add diced green pepper and onion to skillet. Brown for a few minutes on medium high heat, add browned beef back to the skillet, lower the heat to low and continue to cook for 5 more minutes stirring frequently.

2 Transfer browned beef, green pepper and onions to 3 Qt. pot. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste. Open stewed tomatoes and dice, then add to 3 Qt. pot. Add oregano, parsley, Italian Spice Mix to taste, probably 2 teaspoons of each. Add a pinch of garlic powder and a pinch of garlic salt, to taste. Add a dash of white wine vinegar. Add sugar a couple tablespoons at a time, until desired level of sweetness, no more than 1/4 cup of sugar. Note that it is hard to follow a pure recipe when it comes to pasta sauce. One Italian spice mix is not like the other, nor is one can of tomato sauce not like the other. So you really do need to taste the sauce as you are adding the spices, sugar and vinegar.

Stir and allow sauce to simmer 15-45 minutes to thicken (do not scorch bottom, stir frequently). Remove from heat.

3 Cook 1 lb lasagna noodles in 6 Qt. Pot per cooking directions (al dente). (Note noodles may be cooked in advance.) Stir often to prevent from sticking and be sure that water remains at a low boil during the entire cooking to prevent noodles from sticking. I usually add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to the cooking water to help prevent sticking and I add 1/2 teaspoon of salt so the noodles are more flavorful. Drain in colander and place in cool water filled pan to keep from drying out and sticking together.

4 In dry lasagna pan, ladle one cup of sauce and spread along the bottom of the pan. Apply a layer noodles 3 length wise (edges overlapping). Ladle in sauce sparingly into center trough of 3 noodles. Apply a layer of mozzarella cheese slices on top of lasagna sauce. Place ricotta cheese dollops (about a Tablespoon) every 2 inches in center of noodles on top of mozzarella cheese slices, sprinkle grated parmesan cheese in thin even layer on top of ricotta cheese. Apply second layer of noodles, repeat three time topping with noodles. If you have extra sauce and cheese you can spread that over the top. Tent lasagna pan with aluminum foil (not touching noodles or sauce). Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

Note - Flavor improves for second service and may be reheated in convention or microwave. Leave aluminum tent on for storage (Do not allow aluminum to touch the sauce.)

You might want to try one of my son's fave dessert - the Mango Float.

recipe source: Elise.com