7 Layer Dip Roll-Ups

 

One of the things I couldn't escape from this summer, aside from the heat, is my kids' big appetite. They are in the house a lot, and so it would seem that I am always in the kitchen cooking up a storm. I find that it takes up a lot of my time just to feed them; so whenever I can, I try to make a huge batch of something, and keep a good deal of second servings in the fridge. Whenever they are hungry again, like maybe after two hours (I kid you not!), they could just grab one roll and eat!:)

One of my favorite recipes to do whenever I go this big batch route is the 7-Layer Dip Roll-Ups. It keeps well in the fridge for upto 2 days, and it can be eaten cold which works really well for busy moms like me. Tee-hee-hee!

From what the name suggest, it should be made up of 7 ingredients to make up the layers, but I like to keep mine extra busy so the more the merrier works for me.:)

7-Layer Dip Roll-Ups
500 grams ground beef
one pack of Taco mix (I use Mc Cormick)
one head of lettuce, shredded
1 can refried beans
3-4 cups shredded Cheddar-Monterey Jack cheese blend
1 container sour cream
1 cup guacamole (if I am out of time I just put in sliced avocados drizzled with calamansi and salt)
1 can diced tomatoes, drained of juices
a few tablespoons of black olives, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1. In a large skillet, brown ground beef, and add taco mix. set aside to cool to room temperature.
2. Spread the ground beef into the bottom of a 9x13 inch serving tray.  

3.  Layer in no particular order: beans, sour cream,guacamole/sliced avocados, diced tomatoes, olives, green pepper

 

 

4. Sprinkle with a generous topping of cheese. And enjoy!

You can serve this dish immediately with nacho chips, like how the Phenomenal Papa likes it; or refrigerate it over night and serve cold like a salad. If you are making this as a roll-up, spread a thin layer of the 7-layer mixture onto each tortilla. Roll up each tortilla, and wrap with aluminum foil to keep the rolls tucked in.  Keeps in the fridge for upto 2 days.

Makes for easy grab and go snacks for the kids to eat in the car when we are in a hurry, too!

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Phenomenal Tip: Eco-bags and Grocery Shopping

There are new things coming up for this blog. And in preparation for the exciting times ahead, the blog will be moving to a new home!  While I will still be writing about our phenomenal life, it will now have a new name. 

From now on, I will be doing all of my posting at the phenomenal mama

I hope you could all bookmark the new site and follow me there!

I will still be keeping this blog open so you can read all of my old posts.  But you won't miss a thing with the new blog as it will have all of the old posts, as well. 

* * * * *

The city where I live in has implemented the Plastic Bag Reduction Ordinance since September of 2012.  All business establishments are instructed to encourage the use reusable bags instead of plastic bags.  As stipulated, the city shall be imposing a  fee of P2 to consumers who insist on using plastic bags. 

It took me some time to get used to doing my grocery shopping using eco-bags.  There were days then when I had to ask the bagger to put everything in a box for me because I forgot my eco-bags at home. In the early days of using eco-bags, one of the problems I encountered was how the bagger would just dump everything I bought in the 2 large reusable bags that I brought along, without any regard for grouping items together.  Thus, the toiletries would be mixed with the pantry items, cleaning supplies and vegetables.  This makes packing away at home a major headache also, since everything is topsy-turvy.  I just couldn't stand the disorderly way of bagging that I have since always placed 5 reusable bags in all of the cars so I am never caught empty handed, just in case grocery shopping is an errand I have to do for the day.

 

My MO as soon as I step in the grocery is to place five eco-bags inside my cart: 1.  fruits and vegetables; 2.  dry goods (pasta, bread, dairy, and other pantry items); 3.  toiletries and personal effects; 4.  cleaning essentials (laundry detergent, etc); 5.  frozen meats.  As I start to shop, I place the items in the corresponding eco-bag.

When the time comes for me to pay at the counter, I simply just load the 5 bags onto the counter and inform the cashier and bagger to return all the items to the bag where they came from.   This new system has saved me from putting each and every single item onto the counter.  Whereas before, I would go back and forth between my cart and the counter multiple times to ferry each grocery item, I now only have to do that in the same number of times as I have reusable bags.  Not only have I put order in the bagging of my groceries, I have also saved my back! :)

 

I have a dedicated bag for frozen meat, which is washed after every use. Just to make sure that the meat drippings and food bacteria from raw meat do not contaminate other surfaces.  If we are not careful, these reusable bags could be a cause for bacteria to transfer from the grocery cart to our kitchen and pantry.

And because I have this new system, grocery shopping is now tolerable... slightly therapeutic, even.:)  Sharing a photo which I posted earlier in my Instagram account.   Belated Happy Mother's Day to all the moms!

Excuse the dressy outfit, I just came from a blogger event.  Such is the life of a mom!

  















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2013 Palarong Pambansa

There are new things coming up for this blog. And in preparation for the exciting times ahead, the blog will be moving to a new home!  While I will still be writing about our phenomenal life, it will now have a new name. 

From now on, I will be doing all of my posting at The Phenomenal Mama

I hope you could all bookmark the new site and follow me there!

I will still be keeping this blog open so you can read all of my old posts.  But you won't miss a thing with the new blog as it will have all of the old posts, as well. 

* * * * *

I just came back from Dumaguete after doing chaperone duties accompanying my eldest as she participated in the swimming event for the recently concluded Palarong Pambansa which was held in the city of Dumaguete, Negros Oriental from April 21 to April 27, 2013.  The Palaro, which has been held annually since 1948, is the biggest sporting event in the country, composed of elementary and secondary school students from public and private schools from all the 17 regions of the Philippines.
 
We landed in Dumaguete just in time to witness the colorful parade of athletes, joined by a marching band and marjorettes, as they passed by the streets of Dumaguete; a thick throng of people crowding the streets cheering for the student-athletes.  It was a festive and lively display which I enjoyed, in spite of the blaring afternoon sun. 

For the uninitiated, the Palarong Pambansa is actually a series of meets, starting at the school level,followed by provincial, then regional, and finally culminates in the national games known as Palarong Pambansa.  The process of selection starts in the first semester of the school year, wherein preliminary meets are undertaken by the individual or team athletes, and the top two winners in each school are selected to represent the school in the district meet.  The process of getting the top two victors is repeated in the regional level until the final two athletes/team qualify to move up to the national level of competition. 

Delegates were assigned billeting quarters in the different public schools of Negros Oriental.  For the delegates of NCR, the Dumaguete City High School served as the temporary housing for all the NCR athletes, coaches and support staff.  In addition shuttle buses were also provided to shuttle the athletes and coaches from the billeting quarters to the playing venues.
 
Food is served for breakfast, lunch, merienda and dinner - for free, ha!  Moreover, fresh fruits, bottled water, juices and Gatorade were also provided for free everyday during the entire duration of the games.  The DepEd of Dumaguete also made sure that the sleeping areas for the athletes were comfortable as the rooms were provided with padded mattresses for sleeping.  I have heard that some of the previous sleeping accommodations for the past games were not so comfortable, with the athletes being made to sleep on top of school tables, or worse on the cold floor with just a banig .

 

But most of the NCR athletes, like us, did not stay at the assigned biletting quarters, and instead each booked their own hotel rooms.  But there are a lot of other student-athletes who slept at the public school, and most of them came unchaperoned.  The athletes who stayed at the quarters had to contend with doing their own chores such as washing their own clothes and cleaning up their dishes after every meal.  It would have been a very educational experience for J if she also had the chance to sleep at the headquarters, even just for a night. 

The girl in the photo below is a member of the NCR-girls baseball  team.  I chanced upon a group of them inside the girls' room cubicles washing their jerseys.  I took a photo with the intention of showing my own daughter how washing her own suit after every meet is not a chore that should be met with dread, but should be viewed as an opportunity - a chance to develop larger life skills like independence, industriousness and self-reliance.  

 

Here are the NCR girls being briefed by their coach on the first day of the meet.  A total of 8 girls to represent the elementary division, and another 10 to represent the secondary division.

 

This is my daughter’s first Palaro experience, and the entire episode is nothing but wonderful for her.  She was able to muster mental strength as she overcame her jitters in her first event, the 100-meter butterfly, to qualify for the finals, placing seventh in the morning prelims with a time of 1:17.  After prevailing over her struggle to calm her nerves, she finally clocked in her personal best time of 1:14 during the finals in the afternoon, shaving off 3 seconds from her prelims time.  She was gunning for a third place finish, but actually placed fourth overall in the 100-meter butterfly. Still, even without the podium finish, we are both satisfied with how she performed.

She went on to win silver in her two other events:  the 4x50 freestyle and the 4x100 freestyle.

On our last competition day, the parents of one of the NCR swimmers hosted a thanksgiving party for all of the NCR swimmers.  It was a delightful change to see the swimmers have the chance to talk to each other outside of the pool for a change... wearing clothes other than swim suits, and their feet fitted with shoes other than the usual flipflops.  The NCR coaches took on the task of hosting the program and providing entertainment.

Dumaguete lived up to their promise that this year’s games would be "clean, green and high-tech."  We are impressed with our Palaro experience as we got timely results and photo updates via various social media sites.  Even the Phenomenal Papa, who was left behind in Manila, got the game results a few minutes after they happened.  Kudos to the Dumaguete provincial government for one of the most organized Palaro games! 

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Christmas Eve Dinner 2012

For the last several years, we have been out of the country during Christmas.  But since we stayed home this year, I was able to personally prepare our Christmas eve dinner.  

I remember a few years back we had a Christmas eve buffet dinner in Hong Kong, I didn't fully appreciate the food spread because of the limited time available.  Add to the fact the two younger ones were so much younger then, and needed more assistance.  Eating at home is so much more relaxed.  It is made more enjoyable if, like me, you also enjoy cooking and trying new recipes.

Since I decided that ALL the food are going to be home-made, I started prep work in the kitchen mid-afternoon to make sure that I won't be hurried.  I wanted to enjoy the process since I was going to make it for my family for Christmas Eve. after all.  

Pardon the photos since they were all just taken with my daughter's iPhone cam.  As you know, my hands are tied in the kitchen.... So anyway, here's what we had for our simple celebration:

Caprese Salad on Skewers.  Grape tomatoes, basil leaves, truffle noir cheese, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, generous sprinkle of freshly ground peppercorns and sea salt.  This is a family staple, even on ordinary days as this is so easy to prepare, and the flavors just pop in one mouthful.

 

Baked Brie with Truffle Mushroom, topped with Roasted Honey Almonds. You cannot see it here but underneath those roasted almonds is a layer of crusted brown sugar.  This is hands down the favorite dish of the night.  So easy to prepare, but it made my family think the world of me.

Baked pears with caramelized balamic vinegar topped with crumbled stilton cheese and pistachios.  The kids usually refuse to eat any kind of blue cheese, but somehow this one was tolerated somewhat... or they were just being cooperative and grateful.

 

Roasted chicken with garlic and lemons.  This roasted chicken is another family favorite, and on the few occasions that there are leftovers, I find that they taste even better the next day.

And I just love the roasted garlic... I simply press at the ends and all the garlicky goodness slides out easily.  Mash and eat with the chicken.

 

Grilled rib-eye steak on a bed of arugula and strawberry salad, drizzled with balsamic vinegar dressing.  My carniverous family could not let a meal pass us without red meat, so I grilled a few slabs of rib-eye and placed them on top of the salad.  Hate to admit, but I prepared the salad to find a way to limit their consumption of red meat.

 

Linguinie with mushrooms and garilic with truffle cream sauce.  This is a special request from C, and I made sure to make the sauce generously cover the pasta as everyone loves the cream sauce... no fighting over food because it's Christmas Eve.:)

You might notice that I was very generous with using truffle oil, using it even in several dishes; and that is because I bought it at Bacchus Epicerie over at PowerPlant Mall the day before Christmas for 20% off.  I bought a small bottle of black truffle oil (about 25ml if I am not mistaken) from them about six months ago for P1,200.  And for this recent purchase, I just paid less than a thousand only.  

I did not prepare desserts anymore, but I want to share with you that the red velvet cake from Karen's Kitchen is such a stand out that it will soon be a staple on every celebration!  It's so good, so moist and just the right amount of sweet.  

That's about it.  Leaving you all as I celebrate the New Year with a staycation.  See you all 2013!



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My Kitchen by Chef Chris

We first tasted Chef Chris' famous panizza when we went took the kids on a Pampanga Food Trip a few years back.  Since then, quite a few copycats have added this to their menu.  But for me, nothing beats the original, so when we learned that Chef Chris opened a new resto in Manila, C was quite overjoyed.  He first tried it with his college friends a few months back, and couldn't wait to return with us.  So we did finally last Sunday.
 

My Kitchen by Chef Chris is located near Paco Park, as the in-house restaurant of Oasis Hotel.  

We went straight after church, and were the first customers seated.  But pretty soon, big groups of families came and the place was packed by 12 noon.

Here's what we had for starters:
A complimentary bread plate with pesto/olive oil dip started our meal. I love European crusty breads, if C did not remind me to not stuff myself with the bread to make room for the food we ordered, I could've easily asked for a second serving.

KRISTINA PANIZZA bacon, ham, caramelized onion, sun dried tomatoes and mushrooms. PhP780.00

VERENA Panizza. Tomato and white truffle oil enhanced cheese sauce topped with scallop, prawns and sun dried tomatoes. PhP790.00

Filling up a slice with arugula, alfalfa sprouts (a sprinkle of chilli oil, if you want some heat) and rolling it all up into one tiny bundle of gastronomic joy.

 

Chef Chris was there during our Sunday lunch, dropping by our table twice to check on how we were enjoying the food. We shared with him how delighted we are that his culinary creations are now a convenient drive away.  

 

Here are the entrees we ordered:

RISOTTO POLLO E FUNGI. Pan roasted chicken fillet and assorted mushrooms blend to perfection in parmesan butter risotto with fresh herbs. PhP650.00.  The risotto was wiped out as soon as it was placed on our table.  The arborio rice was cooked to perfection, creamy but with a firm bite.

SPAGHETTI CARBONARA. Parmesan cream sauce with bacon, mushrooms. PhP650.00 

CHEF CHRIS FAMOUS WHOLE SLOW ROASTED CHICKEN. Seasoned with lemon, white wine and olive oil presented over aromatic chorizo pilaf garnished with roasted carrots, pumpkin and spring garlic. PhP1250.00 – good for 4 to 6 persons.  This one is very good, with the very flavorful and tender chicken meat falling off the bone. The siding of roasted squash was something new for me.  I hope to recreate this chicken dish in my kitchen one of these days. :)

BISTECCA. US prime angus flank steak with rosemary garlic marinade presented on oven baked potato slices and macedoine of olive oil roasted carrots, pumpkin and Italian broccoli. PhP1800.00 (500gr/18oz) – good for 2 to 5 person 

I've been spoiled with U.S. Black Angus rib-eye, so flank steak doesn't quite do it for me.  To add to it, we had ours medium well, since we had the kids with us; this resulted with the meat getting quite tough to eat.   C swore that the Bistecca was very good the last time he ate at My Kitchen with his friends, when he ordered the meat medium rare.  So if you are going to order this, make sure to get it medium rare.

PAN ROASTED SALMON FILLET WITH VIN SANTO BUTTER SAUCE bedded on lentils with Italian broccoli and golden fried potatoes PhP770.00 

All in all, it was a good dining experience.  Chef Chris has his signature all over the place; when he was not busy in the kitchen, he was in the dining area making sure everything was perfect for his guests.  The staff were attentive to our needs, without hovering. We will be back!

Oasis Park Hotel
1032-34 Belen Street
Paco, Manila, Philippines
Tel.: (632) 521-2371 to 75

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What's In My Cart

As much as I can, I try to rotate grocery shopping to at least three of my favorite groceries.  Most often, this is when I get to discover items which become family favorites.  I'd like to share with you what I put in my cart recently when I did my grocery-shopping at S & R.

Classico and Bertolli Brand of creamy alfredo sauce is always a must-buy.  The kids love it when I toss in some mushrooms, freshly grated peppercorns, a generous sprinkle of grated pecorino-romano and parmesan cheeses, and finally a few drops of truffle oil.  When I am out of time to prepare merienda for them, this is always a life-saver.  My kids adore me because the sauce is so good that it gives the impression like I slaved in the kitchen.

The California Sunshine milk tastes just like the milk from the US... because as the label says:  it is "REAL California Milk."  :)  It is creamier and less sweet than the Real Fresh or Cow Head brand, which I also buy.

Zanuy Soft Tacos is a perfect stand-by for the days when my kids crave for seven-layer dip.

And since I have a carniverous family, my grocery bill always racks up because of beef, beef, beef, and even more beef.  Don't take me wrong, my kids love and eat generous servings of veggies; but because they are all involved in a sport that requires endurance, I need to make sure that they are eating enough protein to sufficiently aid their muscle development, most especially as they get into their adolescent years.

We regularly have steak nights, and usually, it is C who buys the steaks.  But there are times when I feel like he goes crazy over the top when he is at Santi's on a steak shopping spree.  Yes!  Hard to believe, but it has happened so many times already!  In an amount so crazy that it sometimes causes minor arguments between us.

I have been buying Meltique Beef during my last three visits to S & R.  A box of five individually shrink-wrapped steaks only costs P1,599.95, so roughly about P320.00 for a slice.  C is none the wiser because the marbling and the taste is consistent.  Not bad at all. I have since resorted to making sure the freezer has a constant supply so whenever he asks if he needs to buy, my reply nowadays usually is, "there's still some."  That will make sure his Santi's visit are far and few in between. :)

And because you cannot teach an old dog new tricks, here are some not-so healthy grocery choices that C made.... 

He just loves the choices of imported beers.  He grabs a pack whenever we visit.  It is not pictured here, but Stella Artois is also a fave, both his and mine; although I only can drink half a bottle of it. hehehe!:)

Microwavable chicharon!  His food porn!

I know I have said countless of times that I limit canned goods, but I ease up sometimes and let them enjoy Delimondo's Corned Beef.  My boys both love, love, love this.  I limit serving this to about once every quarter.  Yah, I know - Nazi!

I am not a coffee-drinker so I do not really go crazy for the frapuccinos of Starbucks, save for their Green Tea Frap.  But my kids and husband love the Starbucks Vanilla and Coffee Frap that comes in a bottle.  Ready to drink for whenever they feel like it!

How about you, what did you put in your grocery cart recently?

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