Yummy recipe: Chicken Cordon Bleu

It's been awhile since my last post. I got busy baking cookies for breastfeeding moms and making our weekly menus at home. That's my role - I do the weekly menus and make desserts. I also encourage you mommies to do your weekly menus. It will not only help save you time when doing your grocery, but it will also let you stick to your budget. Plus, it will guide your helpers as to what to feed your kids.

Unlike other moms who have to rush home from work to cook dinner, I am lucky because I married a professional chef. That said, I usually tell my husband what I want for dinner and he does it for me. That means an overwhelming culinary experience of about six years (four years in college and two in culinary school) into my plate.

For every new recipe, my husband Chef Jon usually performs a mini demo to our staff so our cook can re-create them when they appear on the weekly menu. Here's a sample.

Monday:

Breakfast (B): Oatmeal with milk and banana

Lunch (L): Kiwi, Beef Afritada with potatoes, Fried Chicken, Brown Rice

Dinner (D): Ebi Tempura, Beef Gyudon, Cabbage Salad with Sesame Miso dressing, Miso Soup, Brown Rice

Tuesday:

B: Open-faced sandwich with caramelized onions and cream cheese and orange wedges

L: Kiwi, Beef Soup, Grilled Bangus Belly wrapped in banana leaves, Green beans and Brown Rice

D: Avocado, Egg Ampalaya, Chicken Cordon Blue and Calamares, Brown Rice

Wednesday:

B: Orange wedges, Corned beef and Brown Fried Rice

L: Papaya, Beef Sinigang and Brown Rice

D: Ripe Mango, Fresh Mushroom soup, Roast Tamarind Chicken, Steamed Broccoli, Fried Dory, Brown Rice

Thursday:

B: Oatmeal with milk and Papaya

L: Banana, Pork Ribs Nilaga with pechay, Fried Galunggong and Eggplant Torta, Brown Rice

D: Pears, Nilaga Soup, Korean Beef Stew, Grilled Shrimps, Steamed vegetable (beans, sayote and cauliflower)

Friday:

B: Apple, Club Sandwich (Ham, Egg and Chicken Spread), Hot Choco

L: Atis, Beef soup with Malungay, Fried Pampano, Pinoy ensalada (Bagoong with tomatoes and onions), Steamed Okra, Brown Rice

D: Dragon Fruit, Chicken Tinola with Malungay, Baked Pork Ribs, Brown Rice

Saturday

B: Pomelo, Smoked Salmon with Cream Cheese Sandwich

L: Lunch at Mameng's

D: Dinner Date

Sunday:

B: Papaya and Pancit Canton with Egg

L: Lunch at Ama's house

D: Family dinner

I often post pictures of our dinners at Instagram (follow me @raquelchua) and most of my followers ask me for recipes so I am sharing you one on this blog: Chicken Cordon Bleu by Chef Jon.

Ingredients:

4 pcs chicken leg quarter, deboned

4 slices cooked sweet ham

4 long strips Quickmelt cheese (We love Magnolia Quickmelt Cheese)*

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

2 pc eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cup Japanese breadcrumbs

cooking oil for deep-frying

*If you don't like Quickmelt cheese you may use pasteurized cheese (I love Quez-O Cheese)

toothpicks

Procedure:
Place boneless chicken skin side down on a chopping board. Place 1 ham per chicken then a strip of cheese. Roll chicken into a log then seal the ends with 3-4 toothpicks per chicken.

Prepare 3 bowls or plate for your breading.

1st bowl: Combine flour with salt and pepper.

2nd bowl: Place egg and whisk until well beaten.

3rd bowl: Place Japanese bread crumbs.

Dredge the chicken onto the flour mixture, dip into the egg, then completely coat with Japanese breadcrumbs.

After drenching in eggs, coat the chicken with breadcrumbs.

Pre-heat oil for deep-frying. Preheat oven to 350F. When the oil is hot, deep fry chicken until the crumbs are golden brown. How will you know if the oil is ready? Sprinkle some breadcrumbs in the oil. If it bubbles, it’s ready for deep-frying.

Place them in paper towels so it can absorb the excess oil. Then put the chicken onto a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes (325F) or until the chicken is fully cooked with an internal temperature of at least 165F.

Remove the chicken and let it rest on a chopping board, about 5 minutes. Slice chicken into thin rounds and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Hint: if you are using boneless chicken breast fillet, there is no need to cook inside the oven. Skip the oven part as they quickly cook during deep-frying. Boneless leg quarters are far thicker so they need to be finished off inside the oven. If you don't own an oven, you can continue cooking by oil.

Happy cooking mommies!

- Mommy Raquel

Yummy recipe: taco salad

There is something therapeutic about cooking - even while you are only preparing the ingredients. I guess it's the break from your usual routine that makes cooking fresh again. I did not use to cook. I only picked it up when I got married - same with my other newly-acquired domestic skills such as baking and sewing. So when I finally put Caitlin to sleep, I detached from my phone and stayed away from my laptop so I can prepare the dressing for the Yummy Taco Salad that we are having for lunch.

I modified the recipe I found from http://www.yummy.ph/. I never used cilantro leaves and sour cream. And I also do not follow the recipe to the letter, but according to taste. Today, however, I will be using soft tortillas instead of nachos which we usually have. If that does not work, we can always buy tortilla chips at the nearest convenience store.

The Yummy Taco Salad is best served during dinnertime with beer, but it is up to you really.

Click on this link to view the recipe submitted by Jun Jun de Guzman or see my version below.

For the dressing:
Combine balsamic vinegar, olive oil, tomato sauce, sugar, chopped onion, and a dash of hot sauce to taste.

For the beef mixture:
Saute chopped garlic and onion in oil. Add in the ground beef. Season with cumin powder, salt, and pepper to taste.

You'll also need to chop lettuce and tomatoes in bite size pieces.

To assemble the salad, lay your nachos, soft tortillas, or tortilla chips on a platter. Spread lettuce and tomatoes on top. Add in your beef mixture and dressing before topping it off with grated cheddar cheese.

Enjoy!

- Mommy Smiley

Trying the recipe with tortilla chips. It's still best with nachos.

If you want it heavy and very filling, try it with soft tortillas.

Yummy recipe: cookies for babies

I know I have been MIA for awhile or for the longest time. I'm so sorry for that. I haven't been blogging because I find it hard to use this gadget. A gadget called the iPad. Hahaha! How stupid of me for abandoning my favored laptop for this fancy iPad that I can't seem to do the same functions. Hehehe.

Anyway, for some time now, I was having problems with my milk supply. Or so I think I was having problems with it. Hahaha. I wanted to pump more milk so I could store it. That was my goal: to store milk. It's not that I am going off to work or scared that my Saffron will starve. It's more for "just in case mommy and daddy need to go out on date nights." With some milk in the ref, I am assured that my Saffron will be ok. Hahaha. So one night, fearful that my supply is getting low, I texted mommy Smiley. (Mommy Smiley and I are our own breastfeeding support group. Just the two of us. Hahaha.) I asked if she could donate milk for my Saffron. Of course she said yes. Hahaha. Then she sent me this recipe for lactation cookies. 

After weeks of not baking, I got so eager to bake cookies again. This time, my drive was to make cookies so I could produce more milk for my Saffron. What other motivation do I need? Haha! 

Baking lactation cookies.

Wrapping the cookies individually so I can send them to my friends for a taste test. I sent mommy Smiley three dozens plus one pack for Caitlin.

The entrepreneur that I am, yes, I have turned this into a business. I am now selling lactation cookies. Hahaha! 

Each cookie recipe has flaxseed, fenugreek, and oatmeal. I don't like adding chocolates to lactation cookies because my breastfeeding teacher said that when you're breastfeeding, you should refrain from eating chocolates. So I didn't put it. Hehehe. 

Here's the recipe Mommy Smiley sent me. More than a lactation cookie, this is a healthy cookie recipe that you can make for everybody to eat. Flaxseed is high in omega 3.

Flaxseed cookies for mom, dad and kids

Ingredients:

1 cup of butter 

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

4 tbsp water

2 tbsp flaxseed 

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cup flour 

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3 cups oatmeal

Direction:

***pre-heat oven to 350 F.

1. In a small bowl, mix water and flaxseed. Leave it for three minutes.

2. In another dry bowl, mix flour, salt, baking soda, and oatmeal. Set aside. 

3. In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. 

4. Add eggs one at a time. Making sure to scrape all sides. 

5. Add in vanilla. 

6. Lower the speed of the mixer and add in the dry ingredients. 

7. Add in flaxseed mix. 

8. As soon as you see all the ingredients are well incorporated, STOP mixing.
9. Scoop in your cookie dough in a pan lined with GLAD baking paper. Make sure to give some space in between each cookies. Bake them for 10-12 mins. 

Baking is a perfect science. You need to follow the EXCACT measurements of all the ingredients and bake at the EXACT time. My oven has been with me for 20 years so I can guage the baking time. If you're new in baking, you may check your cookies after 10 minutes to see if they are done.  

Happy baking mommies!

- Mommy Raquel

Yummy recipe: Lactation cookies

Oatmeal chocolate chip lactation cookies

I don't have issues with my milk supply, but since these "lactation cookies" involved baking, why not give it a try?

I got this Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookie recipe from a fellow breastfeeding mom. Submitted by Noel Trujillo for food.com, this recipe combines two things I enjoy doing the most these days: baking and producing more breastmilk for Caitlin for storing or donating to other babies.

This oatmeal chocochip cookie is like your usual recipe but with the addition of brewer's yeast and flaxseed meal to, as they say, increase the breastmilk supply of nursing moms.

Others believe that brewer's yeast and flaxseed meal serve as galactagogues or any substance which increases breastmilk supply. Brewer's yeast is rich in vitamin B while flaxseed oil contains omega-3 essential fatty acids which may aid in the production of hormones needed in breastfeeding. To date, however, there is still no published scientific proof as to the effectiveness of herbal remedies in increasing breastmilk supply. Most of the evidence are based on traditional use. So as these herbal remedies may work for some, they may be ineffective for others. Some suggest trying out the various galactogogues to find out which works for you. But the wrong way to view these herbal remedies is to take it as a miracle pill that will solve your breastmilk supply issues. What's more important than taking any of these is to nurse often and for as long as your baby wants to. And try to be close to your baby as much as possible.

Here's the recipe copied from food.com

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons flax seed meal
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup chocolate chips
2-4 tablespoons brewer's yeast

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Mix the flaxseed meal and water and let sit for 3-5 minutes. Beat the butter and sugars together. Add the eggs and mix well. Add the flaxseed mix and vanilla. Beat well. Sift together the flour, brewer's yeast, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mix. Stir in oats and chips. Scoop onto baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes.

Healthy Options sells Flaxseed Meal for Php 199 and Brewer's Yeast for Php 805.

Prepare your ingredients. I always have flour, chocolate chips, rolled oats, white and brown sugars, vanilla, eggs, and unsalted butter on hand for my home baking needs.

Add Brewer's Yeast to the dry ingredients.

Your cookie dough.

Scoop them onto cookie sheets.

Bake for 12 minutes at 176 C.

Let cool.

Have one or two (or more) a day.

Same as before. Here's my milk during one pumping session afer eating these lactation cookies for three days.

- Mommy Smiley

Yummy recipe: Tuna Panini with cheese

What's for breakfast? Tuna Panini with cheese.

My husband has been complaining that I sleep too much. So for the past couple of days, I started waking up early… early enough to make hubby his breakfast: yummy Tuna Panini with cheese.

I made the tuna spread the night before and stored it in the refrigerator in time for breakfast the next day. It’s simple and very easy to do. Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:

Kraft Miracle Whip (my husband’s preference)

2 cans (180 g) Century Tuna Flakes in Brine (drain the water)

2 medium sized onions (chopped)

Salt and pepper to taste

Kraft cheese singles

White bread

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients together except the cheese and white bread. Others add more mayonnaise, some like it with more pepper. I want mine with more tuna.

To arrange the sandwich, set the Panini grill to medium to high heat (depending on the time you have to prepare this). I used to own an Imarflex Panini grill. It’s so easy to handle. All you have to do is plug it in and wait for the green light then you are all set. Now, however, I am using a more sophisticated gadget, the Cuisinart GR-4N 5-in-1 Griddler (special thanks to John and Cathy Villamiel for the best wedding gift ever). As it is, this can be used as a Panini grill press or a Griddler for grilling Angus beef burgers.

Get two thick slices of white bread. Smother one side of the bread with tuna spread, add a slice of Kraft cheese singles and top with the other piece of bread.

When the grill is ready, place your assembled sandwich then "press" Panini until you achieve your perfect browning.

For your husband or child’s baon, wrap the sandwich in foil and slip it inside a zip lock bag such as Glad. Wrapping the sandwich in foil keeps it warmer longer.

Happy eating! 

Cuisinart GR-4N 5-in-1 Griddler

Tuna Panini.

My soon to be organized kitchen counter. Sorry, I am in a hurry (excuses!).

Hugs and kisses,

Mommy Raquel