Filipino Style Macaroni Dish

Craving for pasta recipe? Here's one easy to cook that I'll be sharing with you. My kids loved its taste, precious and priceless as compared to restaurants and fast food chains. Instead of using spaghetti noodles, I used elbow macaroni. It's been one of the favorite foods during parties and any occasion. I consider this as a comfort food for children, especially to my youngest that is very choosy and extremely difficult to feed.

*History of Macaroni

Macaroni is a variety of dry pasta made with durum wheat. Elbow macaroni noodles normally do not contain eggs, (although they may be an optional ingredient) and are normally cut in short, hollow shapes; however, the term refers not to the shape of the pasta, but to the kind of dough from which the noodle is made. Although home machines exist that can make macaroni shapes, macaroni is usually made commercially by large-scale extrusion. The curved shape is caused by the different speeds on either side of the pasta tube as it comes out of the machine. The name derives from Italian maccheroni, however Italians use maccheroni to refer to any form of pasta, whatever the shape, whether it is straight, tubular, two-inch or longer pasta. A different name, chifferi orlumaconi, refers to the elbow-shape pasta of this article.

According to legend, macaroni was brought to Italy by Marco Polo, returning to Venicefrom China in 1292. This hypothesis has long been disproved, since it seems that macaroni was already used in Italy at least a century before, like pasta in general; Moroccan geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi, who lived in Sicily, documented macaroni in Sicily and in particular in Trabia.
*Source: Wikipedia

Ingredients:

• 200 g Elbow Macaroni (snack pack)
• 1 Can 150 g Corned Beef
• Hotdog or Chicken Franks, sliced
• 250 g Spaghetti Sauce (sweet style or Filipino style)
• Onions, minced
• Garlic, minced
• Basil leaves
• Oregano leaves
• Grated cheese (cheddar of parmesan)
• Cooking Oil
• Sugar (optional, for added flavors)

Cooking Procedure:

1. Pour water in a medium sized pot, put in the stove then bring to a boil.
2. Put some salt and 1 tbsp of cooking oil.
3. Cook pasta according to instructions seen at the back label of the packaging.
4. Stir pasta to prevent from sticking, cook until tender or 'al dente'.
5. Drain then set aside.
6. In a separate sauce pan, sauté garlic and onions.
7. Add corned beef and hotdog, cook for 2 minutes.
8. Seasoned with pepper, basil leaves, and oregano (I used McCormick).
9. Put spaghetti sauce then simmer for 5 minutes.
10. Remove from heat.
11. Put sauce on top of macaroni and add grated cheese.
12. Serve and enjoy!

Straw Less KFC: A way of reducing restaurants waste

Is there a straw less society nowadays? I was surprised last night when I ordered for some food in a known fast food chain (KFC) located in a leading mall in the metro. I asked the lady dispatching my order for straw since it was for dine out. She told me that they are “straw less”.  Really? How my child was supposed to drink a cup of soda that is covered without a straw? Ironically, the cup cover has a perforated portion at the center, which is intended for punching the straw. I understand your advocacy of reducing the use of plastic nowadays but hey – have a little common sense.

I know how much waste is produced by restaurants daily and one of the culprits is drinking straw. Imagine those plastic cups, eating utensils, Styrofoam containers, wrappers and napkins that are thrown in the waste bin. With the overwhelming amount of waste produced by fast food restaurants, I am wondering if our government regulated the law concerning the issue on how it affects our life, if landfill is enough or not. Gee, my fault for not bringing my reusable drinking bottle. I should start using it also for ordering drinks over the counter.

As expected, the soda spilled as he was opening the cover every time he drinks from the cup. I've checked with the other branch of the same fast food joint, they are using straw for their drinks. How come this branch doesn't have any? My son told me that “ants” consumed all of their straw because they are saving for rainy season. It was a joke of course, a result of his imaginative and creative innocent mind. Anyway, we should learn to love more our environment by cutting down our wastes, reuse, recycle and refrain from using plastics.

Benefits of Drinking Green Tea

I’m recently taking a cup of clear green tea in mint flavor while taking a break from doing my household chores. I was surprised to see that there’s a “FEEL GOOD TIP” at the back label of my tea bag. It says “Meet your friends for lunch today”. Sounds familiar, it resembles fortune cookies wherein there’s a small note with words of wisdom or a prophecy wrapped inside. Tea manufacturer’s thought of different ways to attract their consumers. I’m used to drinking tea nowadays due its health benefits.

Green Tea is prepared from unfermented leaves from Camellia sinensis  that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. 

Health Benefits:

• boost metabolism and help burn fats
• regulates blood sugar level
• reduces the risk of high blood pressure
• improves ratio of good cholesterol (HDL) and reduces bad cholesterol (LDL)
• prevents Atherosclerosis (thickening of the arterial wall due to fatty deposits)
• reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases
• helps prevent dental cavities
• reduces the risk of developing many forms of cancer
• delay deterioration caused by Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases
• reduces inflammation and slowing the breakdown of cartilage in Arthritis
• provide a relaxing and calming effect

click here for full benefits