Daisy Cupcake

It's Saturday and my dear daughter requested for some cupcakes and since we have all the ingredients needed, we decided to make one.

She wanted to decorate it but we didn't have enough time to make the icing so I decided to just used the left-over fondant icing I made the other day.

I used a medium size flower cut out and fondant vein tool to make it look like a daisy. And colored it pink...a pink daisy that is. :)

The cake recipe I used was the triple chocolate. This triple chocolate cake is so delicious, rich and decadent. As soon the cake cooled down, my dear daughter ate two right away.

We dusted it off with powdered sugar and topped it off with pink daisies. :)

Happy cupcake weekend everyone!

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Easy Beef Chili

One night I just got tired of cooking our traditional dinner . So we decided to have Beef Chili partnered with Mexican rice. I will write in my next blog the recipe for the Mexican rice. For now enjoy this very quick and easy to prepare Beef Chili.




This is the recipe I got from the internet..


Ingredients:
2 tsp oil
1 lb lean ground beef
1 c chopped onion
1 clove garlic minced
1 large can diced tomatoes (28 oz)
1 can small red beans, with liquid(15 oz)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Procedure:
In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, brown ground beef in hot oil then add onions; add garlic the last few minutes. Drain off excess fat. Add remaining ingredients; Cover and bring to a simmer. Just before serving, top it off with grated cheese and some chopped onions.

My hubby liked it so much that he used the left over as a dip for nachos!

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Fruit-Full Cake

It's been a while since I last baked a cake. So this time around, I see to it that it's gonna be something special since it is my husband's birthday.


I baked a Mocha-Chocolate Chiffon cake and decorated with Creme Chantilly and piped it with small flowers. This cake is about 4 inches high, double layered.

I've topped it with my hubby's favorite fruits which are the sliced peaches and fresh strawberries.

Of all the cakes I baked, this one is my favorite. My daughter liked it even more. Of course, the birthday celebrant liked it as well.

Both of them were excited to see the outcome of this fruit-full cake.. Happy Birthday Honey!!! Cheers!!

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Christmas Cupcakes galore

Today is my daughter's Christmas party in school. As usual, I brought cupcakes but this time had no choice because that was the only item in her class list not filled up yet. And besides, I really enjoyed decorating cakes. So that worked really well for me!

So last night I started baking all the yellow cupcakes. I was planning to do chocolate ones but had ran out of cocoa powder. And kids love cup cakes regardless of the flavor anyways. So, this should work.


I made my own icing from scratch and colored it green to look more festive. Then I have topped it with red and green sugar crystals with a little bit of sprinkles and finished it off with marshmallow on top with tiny candies.

The finish product really looked Christmas-y. My dear daughter could not stop picking on those marshmallows. :) .

I started making about 2 dozens but since my dear daughter kept eating the cupcakes I ended up bringing only 16 which hopefully should be enough for a class of 8. I will find out later tonight.

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Petite Brownies treat

My daughter had a Thanksgiving party at her school and I volunteered to bring some treats for the kids but for some reason I became so busy that day and had to think of something that was easy to make.

Since I already had a Duncan Hines Brownies mix box ready in my pantry I decided to make it. It was easy, right? I just had to follow the directions on the box. But had to make it pretty for the kids you know.


To make it look so enticing, I topped it with whipped cream and fresh strawberries.

And voila, it worked. Not only does it look pretty, it is yummy as well.


The moment I entered my daughter's classroom, the kids could not wait for their teacher to serve it. I don't blame them, as I myself could not resist it!

Enjoy these yummy treat!

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Panaeng Neua (Beef Sauteed Curry)

Thai food has always been on the top of my list when it comes to my favorite dishes. I think it is because the taste is so close to the foods i have accustomed to when I was growing up back in Manila.

Thai curry is the one I like best. So few days back, I opened my Thai Recipe book and tried this dish called Panaeng Neua (Beef Sauteed Curry). It is a spicy stir-fried beef curry with coconut milk.


Ingredients:
Beef tenderloin cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 tbsp. panaeng curry paste
2 sliced red spur chilies
6 kaffir lime leaves
3 tbsp. roasted peanuts
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce

Directions:
1] Heat 1/2 cup of coconut milk until the oil surfaces, then add the Panaeng curry paste.
2] Add the beef and fry for 3 minutes, then add the rest of the coconut milk.
3] Season with salt, fish sauce, sugar and ground roasted peanuts and simmer for 5 minutes until the beef is tender. Add the kaffir lime leaves and chilies. Turn off the heat.
4] Serve with white rice.


Just want to say to be very careful with the Panaeng curry paste as it is very spicy. I suggest to just use a little bit at first then, then adjust according to the level of hotness you prefer.

Happy Eating!

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Egg Sarciado

Have you ever come to a point that you don't know what to cook anymore? Yes I have, and last night was no exception. So, I surveyed my fridge and found 2 dozen eggs. That's a lot for a family of three huh?! Well, in my kitchen that is the only thing I don't ever get run out of because my daughter and I love to bake. And so here I was thinking last night what to do with those eggs besides fried and omelet... hmmm... then suddenly I thought about Sarciado which I haven't made for such a long time.

Right away went to the pantry to look for tomatoes - checked, garlic - checked, onions - checked. So finally the problem as to what to make for dinner is solved.

This is very easy to make. Just sautee the garlic until golden brown, then add tomatoes and onions. Cook until wilted. It's a personal preference on how much tomatoes and onions you want to use. Then add about a 1/4 cup water, season with salt and pepper or you can substitute fish sauce with salt. Then add the eggs (boiled, peeled and cut in half). Continue to simmer for about 1 minute. Serve with hot rice.


Instead of boiled eggs, you can also use fried fish or pork. Procedure is about the same. I'll make Fish Sarciado next time so could show you. Happy Eating!

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