SIMPLE THREE CHEESE TUNA LASAGNA

I've been really off schedule when it comes to my blog posts. I apologize to all of you who regularly check for new recipes. My health issues have thrown me off my routine and it took a while to get things back in place.

Now, I'm trying to catch up on all the recipes especially those that have been requested.

This has shown to be one of the favorites among my Facebook posts. The Three Cheese Tuna Lasagna. Three cheese because of the cottage, parmesan and cheddar or mozzarella.

The traditional lasagna uses ground beef and ricotta cheese. In this recipe, we have way healthier alternatives and yet the taste is still as amazing.

Ingredients:

2 cans of solid tuna in oil
1 can of condensed cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 cup of whole milk
1/4 cup scallions or green onions
1/4 cup of fresh or dried parsley
1 tbsp. dried oregano
1 medium onion, minced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups of grated or shredded mozzarella or easy melt cheddar cheese
1 cup of cottage cheese
12 pieces of lasagna noodles
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Cook the lasagna noodles first according to package instructions.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, mix first 8 ingredients together and add 1 cup of the grated mozzarella or easy melt cheddar cheese.

In a greased 8x11 baking dish or pan, arrange 3 lasagna noodles to line the bottom. Pour a third of the tuna mixture over it and then spread a moderate layer of cottage cheese on top. Repeat the steps twice. To finish, add the last three lasagna noodles and top it with the remaining 1 cup of grated mozzarella or easy melt cheddar. Then, sprinkle the 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese and some chopped fresh parsley on top.

Bake it in the oven for 25-30 minutes, usually when the cheese has completely melted and slightly browned.

Take it out of the oven and let it sit for about 15 minutes for the dish to settle and can be sliced easily.

Serve and enjoy!

ROSEMARY CHICKEN WITH LEMON BUTTER GLAZE

I just had a fairly huge grocery haul when I came up with this recipe. I had good finds at the supermarket and wanted to make use of the rare ingredients I got. So I came up with this dish.

What we need:

500g chicken legs

1 tbsp. rosemary

1 small container of plain yogurt

freshly ground pepper

sea salt, to taste

Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Canola Oil

juice from half a lemon

2 oz butter (around 1/4 of a regular brick of butter)

fresh basil, for garnish

 

Marinate the chicken in yogurt, rosemary, salt and pepper the night before and keep in the fridge out of the freezer.

 

On the cooking day, drizzle a fair amount of extra virgin olive oil on a skillet to prevent the chicken from sticking on the pan plus adding more flavor to the meat. On medium high heat, sear the chicken until golden brown. For those new to cooking, the best indication any meat is ready for turning is when you lift it with a flat spatula, it easily gets off the pan surface.

 

After all the chicken is cooked, keep the pan in heat but put it on low. Deglaze the pan with the juice from half the lemon, incorporating the oil and juices left by the chicken on the pan by mixing it with the spatula. Then, add the butter and mix it well. You can add a teaspoon of mustard to thicken as well as add more flavor to the glaze.

 

Once the glaze is thicker and blended, pour it on the chicken and serve with fresh basil.

 

Eat it with rice, corn or a mix of different vegetables. Enjoy!



CALIFORNIA MAKI IN PINAS

This recipe has been requested from a while ago and has been long overdue.

Filipinos have now adapted to more authentic Asian cuisine specifically Japanese and Korean food. What with the increasing number of expats all over the islands thus causing a mushrooming of establishments selling not only these types of food but ingredients as well.

I believe it is a very good thing that we now love sushi and kimchi because they are actually beneficial to our health.

For now, we start with the growingly popular California Maki. Fun fact though is that this dish may have been created by a Japanese but he made this for Americans to cater to their taste. Traditional Maki used fatty tuna, but it was replaced by avocado and for this recipe, mango. Also traditional Maki is made with the seaweed on the outside, the California has it inside out.

What we need are:

1/2 lemon or 1 whole calamansi, juiced

1 medium avocado/mango, peeled, pitted, and sliced into 1/4-inch thick pieces
4 sheets nori
4 cups sushi rice, cooked (Sushi/Japanese Rice cooked-2 cups rice in 3 cups water)
1 tbsp. rice wine/rice vinegar
1/3 cup sesame seed, toasted
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into matchstick-size pieces
4 crabsticks, sliced lengthwise

wasabi, for serving
soy sauce, for serving

If using avocados (which is preferred because it has the best texture to replace the protein in traditional sushis which is the fatty tuna), squeeze the lemon juice over the avocado to prevent browning.

 

Place the freshly cooked rice in a bowl and mix it with rice wine or rice vinegar. Set aside.

 

Cover a bamboo rolling mat with plastic wrap or cling wrap.

Cut the nori sheets in half crosswise. Lay 1 sheet of nori, shiny side down, on the plastic covered mat.

 

Wet your fingers with water and spread approximately 1/2 cup of the rice evenly onto the nori. Sprinkle the rice with sesame seeds.

 

Place the second plastic covered bamboo rolling mat on top and flip the two over so that the rice side is down.

 

Place 1/8 of the cucumber, avocado/mango and crab sticks in the center of the sheet.

 

Grab the edge of the mat closest to you, keeping the fillings in place with your fingers, and roll it into a tight cylinder, using the mat to shape the cylinder.

 

It's just simple and easy especially if you have prepared all ingredients and materials you need beforehand.

 

You can make this and have California Maki in the comfort of your own home.

 

Enjoy!

 

OH SO TENDER BAKED LEMON PORK CHOPS

 

Ingredients

 

3 regular sized pork chops

juice from half a lemon

1 tbsp. freshly ground black pepper

salt to taste

dried oregano

chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup salted butter

 

I am very particular with the way meat is cooked particularly pork.

Here in my area, you can find pork chops sold anywhere and most of us think that if it's seasoned well, that would be enough. It should not be just that, the meat itself has to cooked perfectly - brown and caramelized outside while tender and juicy inside. Most eateries here, cook the pork chops fried, with a lot of oil.

Pork has a tendency to get overcooked fast if not thick enough and kept in the skillet for more than the needed time. Don't fry the pork, sear it. Put just a little amount of oil, enough for the meat not to stick to the pan (if you don't have a cast iron, copper, or ceramic skillet). And make sure you time it perfectly not to leave it dry.

Well, if you have no patience to sear the pork perfectly, the best solution is to bake it.

For this recipe, get your chops marinated with the lemon juice, salt and pepper the night before you plan to cook it. Put it back in the fridge but out of the freezer.

On the day of cooking, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your baking dish or tray with quality foil long enough to fold the foil back to cover the chops when prep is done. Make sure that the foil does not have a weird smell (the smell may sometimes indicate the presence of toxic materials).

Place your pork chops on the foil, making sure each is evenly distributed for even cooking in the oven.

Season each chop with the dried oregano and fresh basil.

For the finishing touch, equally distribute the butter on all the chops like in the picture. Now cover the chops completely with foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

After the half an hour passes, keep the oven on but open the foil allowing the top part of the chops to be exposed and leave in the oven for another 10 minutes or until the meat is brown.

Serve with a side of vegetable salad or buttered steamed vegetables.

Enjoy!

SIMPLE CHOCOLATE MARBLE BREAD PUDDING

INGREDIENTS:


6 slices stale or day-old bread                                            
2 tbsps. butter, melted                                              

4 eggs beaten                                                                 

2 cups milk                                                                   

3/4 cup white sugar                                                                     

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon                                                                     

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup Dutch chocolate chunks

 

This dish wasn't part of my weekly meal plan. One night, my mother just turned over less than half a loaf of Wheat Bread from the pantry. She said it's gotten stale and I found out the expiry date was that same night or the next day. So I just put it on the table where I was working on something online. As it got later, I noticed it and thought of what to do with it. and of course, you can imagine the light bulb moment.

 

It's actually been years since I last made bread pudding and that kind of food brings back childhood memories where my Papa would bake them and I would come home from school, smelling the deliciousness and love awaiting for me.

 

This time, since I have my precious block of Dark Dutch Chocolate, I thought of revising the recipe and add some taste of chocolate in it.

 

It's actually very easy to prepare.

 

Just set aside one 8-inch deep baking dish. You need something deeper than a regular pie plate or brownie pan.

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

 

Break bread into smaller but chunky enough pieces into the baking dish. Add the chocolate chunks and spread evenly to distribute the chocolate when it cooks creating a good marble.

 

In a mixing bowl, prepare the custard by mixing all the remaining ingredients. Once mixed well with a whisk, pour it over the bread in the baking dish. Use a fork to slowly flatten the bread a bit to soak in the custard. Set it aside for a few minutes, which is enough time for the bread to absorb the creamy liquid.

 

Then bake it in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until the top of the pudding springs back when you lightly tap it. 

 

Let it cool and enjoy!