Easy Spinach and Cheese Puff Pastry

It's been ages since my last Mom-Cook blog feature and I apologize for being too lazy to write lately. Blogging has taken a back seat for me, but I will try to continue to share content that are hopefully interesting and entertaining for you. I just realized na mag- 10 years old na ang My Mom-Friday this May!!! Nakatagal din pala ako, all thanks to you who still visit and read my blog. THANK YOU! 

Anyhow, today's catch-up post is all about this delicious turnover I made for the first time. It was a hit-- the girl loved it, so I thought it's worthy of a space here. 

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Bento Your Gold Seas with Tuna Cakes

When I learned how to do bento several years ago, I've been on and off with my efforts to prepare bento-style baon for the kids. Well, the boy couldn't care less, haha, so no more bento for him. For the girl, it's only when I'm in the mood and have enough time to be more creative. I had the pleasure of attending yet another bento-making event that gave me fresh ideas to try. And this time, it's with our favorite ready-to-eat canned tuna -- Gold Seas Tuna Chunks.

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DIY Breakfast Bowls for Beginners

First Friday of the month: Foodie Friday

What's in a breakfast bowl? Usually a thick fruit smoothie base topped with the good stuff like fresh fruits and nuts, oats, granola, and all sorts of superfood mix. And it's cold and thick. It can also be a simple bowl of yogurt with whatever add-ons you crave. Yan ang hilig ko ngayon and many of my friends are also making their own versions at home. You can too, try it!

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DIY Cheezy Milky Delight Holiday Bento

A few more weeks to go and it's Christmas! Have you started planning for your holiday parties and gift list? Amidst all the shopping rush for gifts, food is always the center of every celebration and it's exciting to incorporate a theme, even for a bento! Let me present two cute and cheesy holiday-themed bento that you can prepare and serve during get-togethers or even packed lunch for school or parties. It's now beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

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Easy Cheezy Halloween Sandwich Bento

We are all cheese lovers here, and so I try to incorporate different types of cheese in our meals, from breakfast to snacks. The kids especially love cheesy sandwiches, so it's a no-brainer for me to send it as their baon to school or on road trips. That's why, I make sure we're well stocked with cheese slices, grated cheese, and spreadable Cheez Whiz all the time.

I grew up with Cheez Whiz so it's also a staple in our pantry. The versatility of this favorite cheese spread makes it very easy to use, especially for bento meals. Thanks to Cheez Whiz, I'll be sharing with you three bento creations, starting with this month's theme -- Halloween!

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Our Mamon-It-Yourself Summer Decorating Activity

Since the start of school break, I've been thinking of home activities I can do with the kids. As you know, I'm a stay-at-home mom to two precocious youngsters and summer time can be more stressful when they're at home most days.  Normally, during vacation time, I assign days for summer classes, field trips, and home-based projects - which is actually harder to plan.  We just do the usual arts and crafts, and have a kitchen day to experiment or bake. I also welcome invitations to interesting events where my kids can participate - saving me a day of thinking what to do with them, hahahaha! 

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Foodie Friday: DIY Hot Pot Meal

First Friday of the month: Mom-Cook / Recipe

I cannot count how many times I've written about "instant", "quickfire", and "easy-to-cook" dishes here.  If you are a regular reader of this blog, I'm sure you've noticed my laziness in the kitchen as exhibited in the Mom-Cook recipes I've been sharing here, heehee... but who doesn't want a simple, easy-to-prepare, yet satisfying meal, right?

Please do not be disappointed as I am about to share another one of my go-to meal-in-a-pot recipes - DIY Chinese hot pot (or Japanese shabu-shabu).

Traditional hot pot usually includes thinly sliced meats, wontons, mushrooms, seafood, noodles, assorted vegetables, cooked in simmering broth and eaten with a few choices of dipping sauces.  My DIY hot pot is much simpler, and of course, done in less than 30 minutes.  Music to this home cook's ears!

DIY HOT POT

Assorted frozen seafood balls or rolls (any kind you like, I buy DoDo brand) - fish, squid, prawn, lobster, cuttlefish
Kani (Japanese crab stick)
Firm tofu
Meats - sukiyaki cut beef and/or pork slices
Seafood - Shrimp, fish fillet
Vegetables - Chinese cabbage, watercress, onions
Corn kernels
Noodles - vermicelli (glass rice noodles) or flat rice noodles (pho/Vietnamese noodles)
2 liters broth - chicken base, or sate base (use chicken bullion/cubes if you don't have homemade broth)
seasoning (I used Braggs Liquid Aminos)
sesame oil

Dipping sauce:
Hot chili sauce, hoisin sauce, chili-garlic

To prepare:
Boil at least 2 liters of water / broth in a large pot.
Sort all the food items you wish to include in your pot.  Set dipping sauces on the table.
(It may include some or all of the above list, depending on what you prefer, or even add more, like chicken, mushrooms, taro, corn on the cob -- but this takes a little longer to cook)

To cook:
In boiling water, dissolve the chicken cubes.  Add some liquid seasoning and adjust to your taste.
Start putting in the seafood balls.
After about 5 minutes, add the meats, veggies and the noodles. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
Finally, add corn kernels, tofu, kani, and other fresh seafoods you have, and simmer for 2 minutes.
Pour a drops of sesame oil and mix everything.

Serve with the whole pot on the table.  If you have a portable single burner, you can cook everything on the table as you do in restaurants.

Tip:

Adjust the amount of broth to the quantity of food you will put in.  

Buy small packs of assorted frozen seafood balls, and slice a small amount of meat.  

Consider the number of people sharing the pot so just cook what you can consume.  

Leftovers can be reheated the following day.

As you can see, these are three different Instagram photos taken on separate occasions.  Those were the only items I had in my freezer and ref at that time.  Don't be forced to buy all the food items - just get what you want for the mix.  Look at my bowl below.  I only had squid balls, prawn balls, kani, tofu, and Chinese cabbage.  The hot sauce is the perfect compliment to this serving of soup!

It's safe to say this is a healthy option for a family meal - no frying, no oil, no rice.  Next time you see another shot of this on my Instagram, you'll know I'm having those lazy days again and I need to put (good) food on the table pronto. =)   Hope you like hot pot meals!

I'd love to know your thoughts on this post.  If you enjoyed this, feel free to share it!
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Fun Friday: Easy Gift Wrapping Ideas

I know this post is a bit late already since Christmas is just a few days away and I'm sure most of you have wrapped your presents already, if not gave them away.  Still, I am sharing this with you because we all wrap gifts the whole year round and hopefully, you haven't done some of these yet! =)

Gift-wrapping is one of the more relaxing and fun things to do, for me at least.  Even wrapping books in plastic is quite therapeutic!  I know I'm not alone in that department.

Anyway, when it comes to gifts, if I don't have the store wrap them for me, I use whatever appropriate materials available at home.  I always have assorted wrappers and paper gift bags in stock but sometimes, I don't have that perfect cut or size to wrap a present.

This post will be all about simple and easy-to-do, no-frills wrapping.  There are so many fantastic and over-the-top creations out there, but time is not something I have a lot of during the holidays.  Crafty projects can be tedious, therefore time-consuming.  With too many Christmas gifts to wrap (and I am the only one who does them), I just try to make things simple yet still very presentable.  This year, I think I wrapped almost 100 items in just a few days, over a period of 2 weeks!


The Gift Bag
Here's another way of tying a ribbon on your gift bag - vertically, passing through the handle and over to one side. Some friends who saw this on Instagram liked the idea so I thought I'd share it on the blog... sorry I did not get to do this blog post sooner!

I had two items that would have been perfect when boxed, then wrapped.  But I had none at that time.  Next best thing was to use this last piece of plain kraft paper bag I had.  After rummaging through my box of left over ribbons, this happened.  A wider ribbon would look better though.

This style is universal and can work with all kinds of gifts.  Whether for a small or large bag, just use different types of ribbons to match the occasion and recipient.  When the ribbon is too short, I just tie it around one side of the handles.


The Candy Roll

Sometimes, boxes can be boring when used for wrapping soft items, like clothes, towels, etc.  If the occasion is not formal, I just roll the gift and tie each end to look like candy.

This technique works best with thinner paper or cloth-like materials.  Even old scarves and handkerchief would be perfect for this type of wrapping!  Cylindrical items can also be wrapped this way, as long as it's not breakable.

You can use craft scissors, zigzag or scallop, to trim the edge of the paper for a more decorative look.  Just make sure the ends are a bit longer that the diameter of the the roll so you can tie it securely with a ribbon.  I once tied a criss-cross over and under the roll, from top to bottom, using yarn.

The Bottle Neck
For irregular shaped items, like bottles and tubes, this is how I quickly wrap them.  The top end should be extended long enough to conceal the item, unless you want the tip of a bottle to show.

Roll and secure the bottom with tape, then tie the neck with a ribbon. Also ideal for round or cylindrical items like vases, jars, and candles .  Add an extra touch with a flower clip or big bow, or make ribbons long and curly.

The Band

This is one of my favorite wrapping ideas.  It's a clean and simple look that makes use of excess wrappers.  You can use colorful printed paper as a band or sleeve around gifts.  Best used with plain wrapping paper for a contrasting effect.  Print on print can work well too if you can find complimentary prints and colors.

The paper band is a great alternative to bows and ribbons, cheaper too.  Sometimes, I intentionally use whole printed wrappers and cut them to strips, and highlight their design against a plain background, like this kraft paper.  I even used felt paper and cartolina before.  Put a band on any form of gifts - from boxed to candy roll, and even around a gift bag above, instead of a ribbon!

Do you have other creative, no-frills wrapping ideas?

Hope you have fun gift-wrapping!  Happy holidays!

I'd love to know your thoughts on this post.  If you enjoyed this, feel free to share it! Get instant updates:
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