Chicken and Spaghetti Parmesan

Many love pasta dishes. Here is a simple pasta recipe that you and your loved ones, of any age, will surely love.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes 
Cook Time: 30 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 1 pound spaghetti, or other pasta, cooked to desired doneness
• 1 24oz jar of your favorite pasta sauce
• 4-6 breaded chicken patties OR un-breaded, cooked chicken breasts (I do this more often than not)
• 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Helpful Tip:
It's important to add sauce to the pasta before placing the dish in the oven; plain pasta doesn't bake as well. My kids like this even without the chicken.

Serving Size: 
Serves 4-6 people

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a lasagna dish or other rectangular baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Toss cooked pasta and 2/3 jar of sauce together and spread evenly into pan.
3. Sprinkle spaghetti with 1/2 cup of mozzarella.
4. Top with chicken patties. Pour remaining sauce over all and sprinkle with the rest of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.
5. Cover with foil and bake for 20-30 minutes until heated through.
6. Serve each chicken patty with spaghetti underneath.

5 Best Filipino Dishes during Rainy Season

When summer days are over, the sound of raindrops wakes us up in the morning. The cool breeze and gloomy atmosphere makes it harder to get out of bed and start another busy day. To get you going and to make it easier to rise in the morning, preparing delicious dishes would help!

1. Champorado 

This chocolate concoction tops our list for the rainy season must-eat! Made from glutinous rice or malagkit, and cocoa powder, or for a more traditional recipe, tableya, this chocolate rice porridge is a favorite merienda (and even breakfast!) for Filipinos.

BEST SERVED: serve a warm bowl of this sweet porridge drizzled with condensed milk, then fry a couple of dried fish or tuyo for the perfect meal!

2. Beef Mami 

A simple recipe of hot beef stock, egg noodles and cuts of melt-in-your-mouth beef briskets can certainly go a long way. Although of Chinese origin, this dish became very popular to Filipinos from all walks of life. Imagine a big bowl of this yummy goodness on a rainy morning; that certainly will be a piece of heaven on earth.

BEST SERVED: Add crushed chicharon for that Filipino twist, and a lot of hot sauce for the added spice and hotness!

3. Banana Turon 

Saging na saba coated with brown sugar, wrapped in lumpia wrapper and fried to the heart’s content, makes up for one of the most craved merienda of Filipinos. A perfect comfort food, turon can be found anywhere and anytime on the streets of our country. It is a staple street food and can be purchased for 5 to 15 pesos each.

BEST SERVED: To add a unique flavor, throw in slivers of jack fruit (langka) in the mix. This will make the turon sweeter and even more irresistible! To make it more sinful, arrange 2 pieces of cooked turon on a plate and top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, drizzled with caramel sauce!

4. Sopas

The perfect soup for the rainy days is sopas. Most Filipino families have their own version and recipe of this delicious dish that is passed through generations. The use of fresh milk or evaporated milk makes this soup based dish unique.

BEST SERVED: Throw in a generous amount of cubed chicken meat and double the recipe for milk will make your own version of sopas to die for!

5. Dinuguan 

For the more adventurous eater, try the Filipino “Blood Stew”. Made out of pork meat, pork innards and pork blood, this is a definite must try for first timers in the country. The use of vinegar and green peppers is very Filipino in taste. With its thick sauce and unique ingredients, a hot bowl of this dish will certainly lift your spirits even on the gloomiest of weathers.

BEST SERVED: Dip puto (steamed rice cake) into the dish and the deliciousness of this unusual meal will all make sense on the first bite!

Seafood cocktails during summer season

Seafood Madness is here to show you delicious seafood recipes perfect for summer.

These light and refreshing appetizers are great for summer. Martini or margarita glasses are best for the shrimp version, but keep the portions small. Buy cooked, deveined shrimp and jarred mango slices. Colorful diced bell peppers are usually available at the market – these make an attractive garnish for many dishes. If you choose to boil raw shrimp, instructions should be followed for the recipe. Jumbo lump crab is best as it is virtually free of shell or cartilage.

There are two seafood cocktail recipes which you will surely love for this summer season.

1. MINI CRAB COCKTAILS WITH MANGO CREAM

Ingredients:

* 1/3 to 1/2 pound jumbo lump crabmeat
* 3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
* 4 tablespoons mango juice (from a jar of sliced mango)
* 3 tablespoons cream or half and half
* 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
* 3 tablespoons jarred diced mango
* 2 to 3 tablespoons diced mixed bell pepper or seeded, diced tomatoes Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Rinse crabmeat under cold water and drain. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl or mini food processor combine cream cheese with mango juice, cream or half and half and lime juice. Stir in diced mango and bell pepper or tomato. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Place a spoonful of crab in the bottom of each serving container followed by the cream mixture. Repeat. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 6 servings.

Note: (PER SERVING) Calories 124 (58% fat), Fat 8 g (5 g sat), Cholesterol 49 mg, Sodium 363 mg, negligible Fiber, Carbohydrates 4 g, Protein 8 g

2. TEQUILA SHRIMP COCKTAILS

Ingredients:

* 1 pound deveined cooked shrimp (31 to 40 count), tails removed
* 1 1/2 teaspoons Good Seasons Italian dressing mix
* 1 tablespoon light olive oil
* 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
* 1 teaspoon lemon juice
* 1/2 to 2/3 cup pico de gallo
* 2 tablespoons diced mango
* 1 small avocado, peeled and diced
* 1 teaspoon minced parsley
* 6 tablespoons tequila (optional)

Procedure:

1. Place cooked shrimp in a glass bowl. Sprinkle evenly with 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian dressing mix.
2. Add olive oil, vinegar and lime juice. Toss to combine.
3. Gently mix in pico de gallo, mango, avocado and parsley. Divide among serving glasses and refrigerate.
4. When ready to serve, add tequila if desired. Makes 6 servings.

Boiled shrimp: Bring about 6 cups water to a boil. Add shrimp (thawed or frozen) and return the water to a boil. This takes about 6-8 minutes. When water boils, cover, remove from heat and let stand 8 minutes. Rinse under cold water, peel and devein.

Note: (PER SERVING) Calories 177 (46% fat), Fat 9 g (1 g sat), Cholesterol 153 mg, Sodium 549 mg, Fiber 2 g, Carbohydrates 6 g, Protein 20 g

Consumers show more demand and interest with seafood

Overall consumption has fallen but research points to increased demand for certain species.

While overall seafood consumption restaurant owners and some research confirm that consumers are showing more interest in different types of fish and shellfish. A menu research firm, Datassential, lists more than 80 seafood items that are appearing on more menus now versus a year ago. Many of those items, such as branzino and striped bass, are starting from quite low base, appearing on fewer than 2 percent of all menus monitored by Datassential. But others, such as tilapia and grilled salmon, have shown nonstop growth in recent years. Oysters appear on 3.6 percent more menus now than a year ago, and octopus had a strong showing on menus over the past five years, appearing on 17.7 percent more menus now than five years ago and 7.4 percent more menus than a year ago. Forbes even put octopus on its list of top food trends for 2013, noting that introducing the mollusk to the market increased nearly 40 percent between 2010 and 2012.

Note: Supporting data for this study were based on real accounts of well-known chefs and restaurants all over the world. It was found out that there is a “huge increase” in seafood sales in the past years. Even the United States’ Food & Drug Administration’s Dietary Guidelines studied and agreed with that. According to them, that is the result of health-conscious consumers recognizing fish and shellfish as a source of high-quality protein and other nutrients which are essential in their healthful diet.