Chicken with Sweet Peas (Chicken Guisantes)

My daughter likes her packed lunch done this way - everything on top, rice topped with the main dish. She does not eat sweet peas but loves potatoes. She wants the chicken (or any meat) cut into bite size already. And just like me, she does not want too much sauce. This is her packed lunch - chicken guisantes, just like how she wants it prepared.

Like ninety nine percent of posts here under "newbie cook" category, this is another first time - first time I cooked chicken guisantes. Usually on weekdays, I prepare next day's lunch the night before. Like what I always say, if there is a will, there is a way. And I really want to get better at cooking. I love to cook for my family.

Chicken guisantes was fairly easy. I just have to make sure I put in the potatoes and sweet peas at the right time so they won't get overcooked. Right timing, this is one of the things I need to master if I want my cooking to be a success.

"What's in Your Lunch Box?" meme is hosted by Filipino Mom Blog. Come on over!

Mojos

Lunch is sometimes spent outside the confines of the office building. Most dining places are usually full during lunch breaks so we make reservations before heading to our chosen restaurant. But it happens that nobody was able to make one so we either wait to be seated or we settle to a restaurant where there are not much people. Like what happened a few days ago.

With the cold weather, creamy mushroom soup is fine with me.


I am not so much a fan of their chicken. I find it a bit dry. Lacks the juiciness of a chicken joy.


I had carbonara which was just fine.


One reason that I go back to Shakey's is their mojos! I like it with the caesar's dip. I have to say though that their mojos were not as crunchy nor as tasty as they were years ago but they will do. I still like it.


Check out more Food Friday entries. Happy weekend! :)

Egg Mayo and Wheat Bread

My dinner last night and hubby's was this - wheat bread, tuna with lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber. He wanted it with carrots but unfortunately, there's no more in the ref.


Wheat bread expires today so I thought of having some for breakfast and bring along the last two pieces with me. I made myself an egg-mayo sandwich, mayonnaise of the lite kind. This served as my lunch and my share for this week's lunch box meme of the Filipino Mom Blog.



By the way, let me also share a good find - TakeAlongs from Rubbermaid. I love this as it is very flexible - microwave and freezer safe. They have just been taking space in my storage area from the time my mom sent them to me which was about two years ago. I have said that I am not into cooking nor preparing food before so I was not really aware of which is best for what - the different kinds of pots, pans, food storage...even the cutlery. Most of them were sent by my mother. Some my husband bought since he loves to cook even then.

I started making use of the TakeAlongs early last year when I ran out of sandwich bag for my daughter. I get to save a few pesos since I don't frequently use sandwich bag anymore. I usually use this for my daughter's sandwiches, cookies and for some leftover meals. This is not a paid post by the way. I wish it is. :)

Ube Jam

I have three of what I call personal traditions as I welcome the new year together with my family. We all wear red because it's such a vibrant color, full of enthusiasm and energy which I want us all to imbibe for the new year. Second is all lights in the house are turned on including the washrooms. Third is abundant food.

That's why it never fails. We always have left over foods at the start of the year. We don't actually cook for the next two days and there are cakes, leche flans, ube jams, fruits and other desserts for the next seven days or so. They last according to their shelf life fortunately.

The only food left from new year's eve is the last pack of ube jam. But this afternoon as I was preparing to take a picture of it for my entry for LaPiS (Lasang Pinoy, Sundays) I noticed molds are starting to form already. This should not be as this can last for two weeks. My big guess is someone did not properly scoop the jam so it was contaminated. Out it goes from my storage.

Breaded Chicken

Here is my attempt to make decent breaded chicken. I boiled the chicken wings until the meat is tender. I garnished with salt and dried rosemary sprig for a pungent flavor.


I just used a no-frills breading mix for the wings then deep fried each in a pan. The others look even but some wings seem burnt. Uneven breading is the culprit. I hope to make this better next time. I used my old trusty sweet-chili sauce as dip.


Happy new year to all and yes, you my fellow Food Friday blogmate! Cheers to 2009! :)

HAPPY 2009!