Pansit

Tonight our women's church group got together and some of the Filipino ladies taught us how to make pansit.  My family has definitely become fans of this awesome dish.  I will try making it on my own soon!!!

The amount of ingredients is completely dependent on how much you plan to make.  It doesn't keep more than a day I'm told so less is more, I would imagine.  I'll try to add how much we used tonight.  While the two ladies were showing us how to make it, I was standing by another lady that would give me other tips so I'll add those in the parenthesis.

Chicken, beef, shrimp or pork--abt. 1 1/2 lbs. (usually you stir fry the meat, but you can boil the chicken if you are using chicken thighs with bones.  If you boil the meat, then you can save the broth to use for later.)
Carrots--4
Celery--4 Cabbage--1 headGreen beans--1/2 lb.?Onion--1Garlic--6-8
Vegetable OilOyster SauceSoy SauceBihon Seasoning--1 packetBlack PepperSuper Bihon Noodles--We used 1 packages of rice noodles and 2 packages of corn starch noodles combined.  If you use the corn starch or rice noodles, SOAK noodles in water in the bag while cooking chicken and veggies (you don't want the noodles to be soggy...just lightly moist.)  If you use the flour noodles, no need to soak them in water first!

Cut veggies into slivers (long & thin...it's important for presentation to have them all cut the same.) and mince garlic.  Cut meat into strips.  Pour oil into a hot pan.  When oil is hot, add onions and garlic.  When they have started to saute, add your meat.  When meat is almost fully cooked, add a few drops of oyster sauce and stir fry.  Add carrots, green beans, celery and cabbage.  Keep mixing.  Add water as needed (you can add a little seasoning from the bihon seasoning packet or use the meat broth if you boiled your meat).  Mix and add a few drops of soy sauce and a dash or two of black pepper.  Stir fry for about 10-15 min (don't overcook...the veggies should still be firm).  Remove veggies and put to the side.  Leave any liquid broth in the pan.  Add seasoning to broth (should be about 1 cup...may be more if using a lot of noodles).  Add noodles to broth and cook.  Lower heat and cook approx 10 min until soft.  Add in veggies and keep mixing.  Be VERY careful not to burn the noodles.  Add more soy sauce as needed.  (You can also squeeze lemon over top and mix in.)  Pour in serving dish.  Leave open.  Do not cover while it's hot or it will spoil.

I see lumpia and pansit replacing something on our monthly menu VERY soon!!!!!

July Menu

1.  Carne Asada w/ Southwestern Salad (marinaded carne asada grilled, chopped, and add into a bag of Southwestern Salad Mix from Food 4 Less)
2.  Chicken Enchiladas
3.  Chicken Fajitas
4.  Hamburgers & Hot dogs
9.  Lasagna
10.  Roast w/ Mashed Potatoes
11.  Roast Beef Burritos
12.  Grilled Chicken
13.  Carne Asada
14.  Cheesy Veggie Chowder (freezer meal)
15.  Super Nachos
16.  Salmon
17.  Meatloaf
18.  Pork & Bean Sandwiches
19.  Fried Chicken
20.  Tin Foil Dinners
21.  Chicken Rollups
22.  Orange Chicken
23.  Fiesta Stack
24.  French Dip Sandwiches (apparently, I need to add the recipe to my blog)
25.  Grilled Pizza
26.  Cheesy Chicken Strips
27.  Flank Steak
28.  Garlic Tomato Pasta
29.  Kabobs
30.  Taco Salad (Make taco meat & serve over green salad and crushed tortillas or fritos.   Add salad dressing and/or salsa)
31.  Chicken & Dressing Casserole

June Menu

1.  Korean Beef
2.  Honey Soy Pork Tenderloin
3.  Party
4.  Reception
5.  Boneless Ribs
6.  Lumpia & Honey Lime Grilled Chicken
7.  Spaghetti & Scones
8.  Beef Enchiladas
9.  Stir Fry
10.  Pizza
11.  Hamburgers
12.  Roast  (slice up carrots, potatoes, and an onion to add to the crock pot w/ the roast, add garlic salt, DONE)
13.  Chicken Curry (freezer meal)
14.  Creamy Chicken Alfredo (freezer meal)
15.  Tacos
16.  Ham & Twice Baked Potatoes
17.  Chicken Enchiladas  This is a dish that shows up on my list EVERY month
18.  BBQ Chicken Drumsticks (I need to remember to take a pic so I can add it to the blog.)
19.  Steak & Shrimp
20.  Chicken Tikka Masala (freezer meal)
21.  Crepes
22.  Tator Tot Casserole
23.  Chicken Cacciatore (freezer meal)
24.  Strognaff
25.  Hawiian Haystacks
26.  Crock pot Porkchops
27.  Garlic Ranch Grilled Chicken
28.  Teriyaki Chicken (freezer meal)
29.  Beef Noodle Bowl
30.  Santa Fe Salad

Lumpia

For the past 6 (maybe more years) we've helped with the Varsity Scout Lumpia fundraiser.  This year we rolled just over 1800 lumpia.  This is the only picture I have of proof of our activity this year ;-)  My rolling fingers stayed busy!

Tonight I cooked some up.  I must admit that I usually wait a few months to cook it because it's not my favorite thing.  I decided to just cook it tonight to go with our dinner. 

Fresher is DEFINITELY better!

This is the recipe we use every year:

2 ½ pounds pork sausage

1 egg

1 cup carrots (chopped)

1 cup onions (chopped)

2 cups potatoes (chopped)

1 TBL garlic

1 ½ TBL soy sauce

1 TBL oil

1 TBL salt (less is fine…but no more)

1 TBL black pepper

Makes about 35-40 lumpia.

Cooking Instructions:

 *Do not cook in microwave or conventional oven.

*Keep frozen until ready to cook.

*Slightly thaw before cooking.

 Lumpia must be deep fried.  In a medium-size frying pan or skillet, add about 2 1/2 cups of oil.  Heat oil to medium heat.  Test the oil if it’s hot enough by dipping an uncooked lumpia into the oil.  The oil will bubble or sizzle when it’s hot and ready for cooking. Place lumpia pieces into the pan.  Cook until lumpia turn golden brown, about 3-4 mins.  Place cooked lumpia on a paper towel to drain excess oil.  Serve plain or with your favorite dipping sauce.  

Manicotti & Spaghetti Sauce

I wasn't so sure on this freezer meal dish because my kids are NOT fans of ricotta cheese but they all liked this dish.  I didn't mind at all that I had to eat the leftovers. ;-)

8 oz. pkg. manicotti
2 beaten eggs
2 cups shredded mozz. cheese
1 1/2 c. ricotta cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 TBL parsley
1/2 tsp pepper

2 cups spaghetti sauce
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

Cook manicotti according to package directions, drain, and rinse in cold water.  Stir together mozz. cheese, eggs, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and pepper.  Stuff about 1/4 c filling into each shell.  Arrange manicotti in a greased 9x13 dish.  Pour sauce over and sprinkle with cheese.  Bake covered at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.


Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

1 (28 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 capful of spaghetti seasoning
1/4 cup worcetershire sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 lb. ground beef/turkey, browned & drained (the manicotti we had was meatless and it was still yummy)

Put all of the ingredients in the slow cooker, mix together and simmer on low for 2 hours or all day if desired.  Serve over your favorite cooked pasta.

Honey Soy Pork Tenderloin Crock Pot

My friend Katie made this for our freezer meal group.  We didn't add carrots, but next time I think I would because I was scrambling for a veggie to serve with it at the last minute.

½ cup Olive Oil

¼ cup Soy Sauce

½ cup Honey

4 TBSP Steak Seasoning

½ TSP Garlic Powder

⅛ TSP Ground Ginger

⅛ TSP Red Pepper Flakes

2-3 lb Pork Tenderloin

Place the pork tenderloin at the bottom of the crock pot. You CAN add in some baby carrots.

In a small bowl combine the rest of the ingredients and mix. Then pour over the pork tenderloin.

Cook on low 6-8 hours

Boneless Ribs Crockpot

My friend Candi made this for our recent freezer meal swap.

In one bag combine:
boneless ribs
1/2 cup apple juice
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

In a second bag combine:
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1 TBL Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 TBL apple cider vinegar
3 cloves crushed garlic

When it's time to cook, put the ribs in a crockpot on low for 8 hours.  The last hour, dump the liquid in the crock pot, and add the second bag.

I added the second bag at about 2 1/2 hours cooking on high.  I didn't dump the liquid.  We ate it 4 hours later.  It was GREAT!  I served this dish with rice because Dave grew up eating BBQ short ribs over rice so it's one of his favorite meals. :)

Freezer Meals I've Made

So far here are the freezer meals I've made (I think):

Korean Beef
Chicken & Dressing Casserole
Party Potatoes (Funeral Potatoes) w/ ham
Chicken Stir Fry
Naan Pizzas
Crockpot Chicken Dinner
Chicken Enchiladas
Monster Cookies
Cheese Chowder w/ rolls
Honey Lime Grilled Chicken
Beef Enchiladas