Dinner For Four From the HoneyBaked Ham Store

In my recent posting, I discussed that ordering dinners and meals from restaurants is not new to me. However, last week was my first time to order a family meal from the HoneyBaked Ham store near us.

I have been ordering for the last 5 years just ham, or turkey from the store. I have not tasted the side dishes that you can order for the family meals. The store offers 10 side dishes to accompany your meals. You can order one or ten side dishes if you desire. The meals can be ordered for 2, 4 or 8 persons without reservations. If you plan a party with more than 10 persons, it is recommended that you call ahead for reservation.

Last week, I ordered a family meal of ham and roast beef( tri-tip) for 4 with four side dishes. I selected the cranberry salad, pecan stuffing, mash potatoes and baked beans. The meal cost me only $34.99. The side dishes I ordered were delicious specially the cranberry salad. We happened to have a guest, a new-found relative from the Lodi-Stockton area for the occasion.

The other side dishes available are spinach Alfredo, creamy corn, gravy, potato salad, cheese potatoes or yam souffle.

The store also sells more than a dozen sandwiches for only $5.99. My favorite sandwich is the HoneyBaked Ham Hawaiian. It consists of the ham, Swiss cheese, champagne mustard and pineapple ginger chutney. Their best seller according to the store manager is their Honeybaked Ham Classic consisting of the ham, Swiss Cheese, lettuce, tomato, tangy Mayo and Rich Hickory Honey Mustard. Bread choices are croissant, multi-grain, marble rye, sweet white, sourdough or Hawaiian roll.

Besides the Ham, I have ordered the smoked and oven-roasted Turkey Breast. I like the smoked turkey breast better than the oven-roasted. The store also offers Barbecue Baby Back Ribs, but as of today I have not tasted the Ribs. I plan on ordering the ribs the next time I do not feel cooking our dinner.

So if you are lazy to cook with or without company, buying your meals from the Honeybaked Ham store is another alternative you can do besides ordering meals from regular restaurants such as Olive Garden, Red Lobster, El Tapcio ,El Torrito or from Chinese or Filipino restaurants in your area. Bon Apetit!.

Note: Of course if you want to save a little money and do not count your calories, the other alternative is to buy your meals from the fast restaurants chain, MCdonald, Carl Jr. Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger KIng, etc,,,

My Quick and Easy Recipe for Pinakbet

Pakbet or Pinakbet is a tasty Pinoy dish of mixed vegetables with pork. It originated from the Ilocos Region but have been modified by the Tagalogs and Ilongos and from other regions of the Philippine archipelago .

My Pinakbet Recipe- This is a quick and simple recipe that I cooked recently. I did not have pork meat in my freezer, but I happened to have one bag of pork rind or chicharon. My Kano son who hates bago-ong loves this dish.

Ingredients

1/4 lb bag of pork rind( instead of pork meat)
1 large egg plant, sliced ( Chinese variety recommended)
1 medium-sized bitter melon, chopped
1/4 lb squash, chopped into 2×1 inch cubes (Acorn or Philippine squash)
1 piece onion, chopped
1 tbsp ginger, minced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
6 to 8 pieces okra ( trimmed of edges)
3 tbsp shrimp paste
1 cup water
3 tbsp cooking oil
salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Procedure

1. Heat the pan and put the cooking oil. When oil is hot enough, saute the garlic, ginger, and onion
Put-in the squash and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until texture becomes soft

2. Add the remaining vegetables and mix with the other ingredients. Simmer for 5 minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked. (Do not overcook the vegetables). You want the Okra to be crispy not too slimy.

3. Put-in the shrimp paste and pork rind (chicharon) and cook for 2 minutes. Add water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4.Serve hot with steamed white rice and shrimp paste as a side dish ( Barrio Fiesta is my favorite brand)

The usual recipe uses pork meat(tenderloin). This recipe uses pork rind or chicharon which does not need to be cooked more than 2 minutes. Very quick and easy.

Salmon Fish Head Soup with Vegetables/Tamarind Sauce

Last night we have salmon fish head soup with boktoy and green beans based in tamarind sauce. I reposting the following recipe I wrote about one year ago. yum, yum, yum!

When I saw the salmon fish heads yesterday at the grocery store, I changed the menu for our dinner instantly. I was planning on purchasing 2 rib eye steaks to broil, but the temptation for fish head soup was just so great, I forgot about the rib eye steak. I paid only six dollars for two large salmon fish heads instead of $18 dollars for two pieces of rib eye steaks.

Fish head soup ( sinigang) is a delicacy in the Philippines and one of the most common dishes in an oriental family's diet. My favorite fish head soup besides salmon is the head of bingao, a big ocean fish that belongs to the snapper specie However, to most non-oriental fish head soup is not for human consumption and just looking at the fish head disgust them. My four US born children and six grand children do not eat fish head soup, but they love salmon steaks or red snapper fillet. Of course they love Fish and Chips.

When I was growing up in the Philippines the fish head was always reserved for the head of the family(my DAD) or for the guest of honor at dinner time. The other parts of the fish are for other members of the family. I have a very simple recipe for salmon head fish soup which contained a lot of vegetables( green beans, baby bokchoy, tomatoes, radishes and eggplant)and of course flavored with tamarind cubes.

Here's my recipe. If other vegetables are not available in your area, baby bokchoy, radishes and green beans must be a must if you want your soup to taste good! The following recipe will serve from 6 to 8 adults with other dishes in the dinner table.

2 pcs salmon fish heads (red snapper or other big ocean fish heads may be used)
1.5 liters of water
1 medium onions (quartered)
2 tbsp of ginger slices
2 pcs of medium tomatoes (quartered)
6 pcs string beans (cut 3 inches approx)
6 bunches of baby bokchoy( Kangkong is used in the Philippines)
2 small raddish (sliced)
2 pcs of egg plant (sliced)
1 pck of sinigang mix (Tamarind based) (for 1.5 liter mix)


In a large sauce pan, boil water and onions & ginger then add fish and cooked for approx 5-10 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients( slice the vegetables evenly) except for the bokchoy and cooked for about 2-3 minutes and serve hot. Add the baby bokchoy last. Shut off the heat and let the pan simmer. Do not over cook veggies.

Fish heads contain a lot of omega 3 fatty acids and fish oil that promote brain development according to a recent report on nutrition and health. There are some studies that shows that if a pregnant women eat fish (which means lots of omega3 fatty acids or fish oil on her diet) her babies will have higher IQs and fewer learning disorders, and were less likely to develop mental retardation or cognitive delays.

As for me even if I can not get pregnant, I will eat fish as often as I can, since I love fish and I know it is good for my health and in my aging years. For those of you who hate fish, especially fish heads, I feel sorry for you since you are missing one of the most nutritious and delicious dish easily available all over the world.

Three Easy Recipes for those who are Lazy to Cook

Just recently, My sister-in-law and Merlet Perlas visited my wife and me. They brought with them two whole Dungeness Crab. They also brought with them two other dishes, the chicken adobo sa gata and the Chicken Quesadilla dish. The recipe of the three dishes are as follows:

A.Dungeness Crabs in Oyster Sauce

1.Divide and Cracked whole steamed Dungeness Crabs into small portions. Save the Butter.

2.In a separate pan saute ginger, and garlic with vegetable or olive oil.

3.Place the cracked crabs into the pan, stir until it simmers.

4.Add the crab butter with enough water to transfer all the butter into the pan

5.Add 2 tbs of oyster sauce, then the scallions.

6.Continue stirring until it simmers. Serve Hot.

B. Chicken Adobo sa Gata

1. Chopped the whole chicken into small edible portions. Take out most of the skins and wash the meat

2. Saute garlic and onion in vegetable or olive oil in a pot. Put the chicken in the pot, stir and mix. Add a tsp of powdered black pepper. Boil the chicken for 10 minutes or until cooked without adding any water. Add about one tsp of tumeric powder* ( dilaw or yellow in Pilipino) and simmer another 10 minutes.

3. Add 1 can of coconut milk and simmer until the dish turn yellow. Then add ½ cup of vinegar, and mix. Add slices of green and red bell peppers, salt and pepper to taste. Serve Hot. Total time should be around 30 minutes.
* If you are rich, used safron instead of tumeric

C. Chicken Quesadilla ( Excellent for Left over Baked Chicken)

1. Shred the left over chicken. Place the chicken in a tortilla flour. Add Cheddar Cheese.( Any kind of cheese will do).

2.Close and flip the tortilla. Place in a hot skillet ( no oil). Invert tortilla and cook until the cheese melts. Add your favorite salsa( mild or hot) and sour cream. Bon Apetit!

My Favorite Recipe for Lobster Enchilada

I was looking for a recipe for lobster enchilada after watching the NBC food competition program The TASTE, the other day. I found the following recipe from the Foodnetwork.com that looks easy and savory. I will give it a try and let you know of the results in my future postings. Perhaps you may give it a try also and let me know the results. Bon Apetit!

Ingredients

5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 zucchini, diced
2 jalapenos, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cups vegetable stock
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 leaves Swiss chard, stems removed
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon onion powder
4 cooked lobster tails, cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 lime, juiced
3 ounces feta cheese

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

In a saute pan over medium heat, add 3 tablespoons olive oil and saute the zucchini, jalapenos, garlic and onions until they begin to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Then add the vegetable stock and lower the heat. Season the mixture with salt and pepper and simmer 20 minutes. Puree in a blender and adjust seasoning, if necessary. (See Cook's Note.) Hold warm over low heat.

Salt the boiling water generously and blanch the Swiss chard leaves just until limp, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and drain.

In a saute pan over medium-high heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, the coriander, cumin and onion powder. Cook until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Then add the lobster, lime juice and season with salt and pepper. Cook another 30 seconds to 1 minute, just so the flavors combine. Be careful not to overcook the lobster.

To assemble, place a spoonful of lobster in each blanched Swiss chard leaf and roll up like an enchilada. Then pour the sauce over the top and garnish with the feta cheese.

Cook's Note: When blending hot liquids, remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.
Notes

This recipe was created by a contestant during a cooking competition. The Food Network Kitchens have not tested it for home use, therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/lobster-enchiladas-with-spicy-zucchini-sauce-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback