We Love Goldilocks

Usually during weekends, when Peter and I are not out of town, and if we're not doing some general cleaning inside the house, it's so typical of us to just go shopping then watch movies in Festival Super Mall. Our favorite place for lunch is Goldilocks. We eat there like there's no tomorrow!

Baked Salmon, Eggplant Tzatiki and Japanese Rice

Three of the dishes that my hubby and I prepared over the weekend were Baked Salmon, Eggplant Enselada and Japanese Rice.

The Japanese rice was easy to do. I just mixed a packet of Clara Ole's Ora Mix Mo Japanese rice sauce with 2 cups of cooked rice and voila --- we have a very tasty rice dish.

What Have I Been Cooking Lately?

I took up a monster work schedule the past month and it's only now that I am able to recover a little more quality time for myself and for my cooking. And on those rare occasions that I or my hubby was able to prepare something to eat, I enjoyed each and every dishes we made. We also made sure that they're all healthy and delicious at the same time. Let me share with you those few home-cooked dishes I had. The rest of the time, I was either eating out , cooking the same dishes, or munching on fruits, raw vegetables, and chocolates. ^_^

Herbed Sweet and Sour Tuna Sauteed with Fresh Egg, Tomatoes and Garlic

Grilled Angus Rib Eye Steak with Sweetened Vegetables and Fried Baby Potatoes

My sister is currently staying with us. She has never tried any of my cooking so I wanted to impress her a bit. I prepared my favorites for her --- grilled rib eye steak, sweetened mixed vegetables and of course my fried baby potatoes.

The trick to making the perfect rib eye steak is to thaw the meat properly, wipe it with a clean cloth or tissue afterwards so that it will brown well, dash both sides of the meat with lots of pepper and salt and grill each side of the meat on a nice oiled hot grill pan for four minutes each. This amount of time would be enough to brown the surface, keep the meat tender while keeping the inside pink and medium rare.

Chicken Breast in Herbed Tomato Sauce

I was craving for something that's "tomatoey" this particular weekend. Since we had chicken in the fridge that needed to be cooked and we always keep several packets of tomato sauce, we decided to have chicken in tomato sauce one Saturday.

After the chicken has been thawed, we dashed it with pepper, salt, basil, thyme, sage, and rosemary; we wrapped it in foil; and then we popped it in the oven toaster for around 20 minutes. This way, the chicken did't get burnt while it's baking. The foil also helped retain the natural fat juices of the chicken and helped in absorbing the flavors of the spices and herbs much faster even if it was not marinated the night before.

Buttered Salmon Delight, Honeyed Veggies, White Wine and Almond Vanilla & Pistachio Ice Cream

This has got to be the best salmon I've ever tasted so far and I made it myself! I cooked it the way I grill rib eye steaks, only this time, each side must be fried in butter for 2 1/2 minutes, medium heat. This will ensure that the salmon turns pink and not brown.

What I did first was to thaw the two pieces of salmon we have. Once they're all thawed out, I wiped the fish using a clean cloth. This made it easier for the salmon to turn pink later on. I then sprinkled both sides with salt and pepper. Afterward, I put one in my pan with the melted butter. Once the first salmon was done, I did the same thing with the second one.

Fried Potatoes, Toasted Meatloaf, Scrambled Eggs, Fried Veggies in Honey and Fried Bread

Remember when I told you that I had a very big breakfast yesterday? Well, it was so big that I had leftover meatloaf, scrambled eggs and rice. I just reheated everything (toasted the meatloaf) and added TWO more dishes to the mix --- my own version of French fries... only it's not French. I so loooved my fried baby potatoes the other day that I made some again, only this time, I didn't toast them as much. I'm telling you, if you do this, you will never eat French fries in some fast food outlets ever again. The one I made is so much more healthy with none of that overused saturated fats that can cause cancer. It's even better than those German potatoes served in German beach resorts. I should know! I had some over the weekend and they tasted like paper. Mine are so much yummier!

I used my old little frying pan (the grill pan is so heavy and so high maintenance for me), poured canola oil and let it heat for a while. Then I placed my sliced baby potatoes one by one to make sure that they are spread out so they can brown evenly. Notice that I did not peel the skin. That will add texture as well as fiber to my diet. I then sprinkled a bit of salt and pepper. After about 3 minutes, I turned each one to the other side then waited 2 more minutes. I served them hot. Scrumptious!