Pan Dog Pops

No matter how unappealing it sounds, this will be the title of this recipe until I can think of something that is more pleasing to the ears... at least it tasted good according to the Hubby and the Daughter. ^_^

Ingredients:

12pcs cocktail hotdogs, cut in half and fried. Better to use hotdog balls so you don’t need to cut them in half.  

200g Magnolia Pancake Mix

1 egg

½ cup water

½ cup milk

Cooking oil for deep frying

How to do it:

1. Mix Pancake Mix with egg, water and milk until free of lumps. Desired consistency must be thicker than that of the pancake batter. You may add the water little by little until you reach the required consistency.

2. Heat oil in a deep-frying pan.

3. Skew 1pc hotdog and dip in the batter. Make sure that it is fully covered.

4. Deep-fry the skewed hotdog until golden brown. Make sure that you roll it from time to time to prevent burning one side.

5. Drain them in a paper towel then they’re ready to be served!

Since I have extra batter, I made a second coating to make the lollipops bigger.

Perfect with a mayo-ketchup dip!

Try it na!

  

A Realization

I am now starting to feel the pressures of running a household. My gulay! Ang hirap pala maging ilaw ng tahanan!

Even if I have been working for half of my human life, I have never experienced being in-charge of anything but myself (not even, sometimes! I'm the pseudo-spoiled brat!).

When I was still single, got married and before I had Amber, I have Nanay to take care of the household needs. I just give her my paycheck and she will be the one to budget for our expenses. I don’t need to worry if the bills have been paid or if there are enough food in the fridge.

When I was about to give birth and finally transferred to the Hubby’s house, there is Mama who makes sure that we are living comfortably under her wing. When we come home from work at night, dinner is ready and is just about to be served.

Ang sarap ng buhay ko no? Parang free board and lodging kaming mag-asawa! Hehe! But in all fairness to the Hubby, he tries to pitch in to whatever needs to be bought and spent around the house. And of course, we pay for our own personal expenses.

Now that Mama is on a long vacation out of the country, I take it that being the eldest female in the house (others are the Hubby’s youngest sister and our 2 year old daughter), I will be left in-charged.

The first few months were great. I felt so empowered! Felt like we’re living on our own. There was a sense of freedom in that.

Then after a while (3 months to be exact), I feel it’s starting to become out of hand. Well, not to that extent yet but I always worry if we have enough of this and that. I have been challenged into making sure that every ends meet. I have to be asked what meal should be prepared. I suddenly have to make decisions on matters that I think too little of before. I even cook now, don’t I? Well, the cooking part, I do enjoy most of the times. ^_^

I realized that it’s hard work to keep a household up.

But at the end of the day, I think what matters the most is that you have given your family comfort.

I will survive... my family will survive! And I’m so embracing the idea that someday soon, I can finally run our very own home. ^_^

So sige lang, praktis-praktis muna!

Amber might have had a twin sister!

The Hubby and I found it amazing how the little girl on the table next to where we were seated sounded so much like our Amber.

We were busy with our dinner when suddenly she made a sound that we thought was distinctive of Amber. The Hubby and I looked at each other, both amazed. Then we shrugged it off then continue eating.

Then she said “Babay” and “Mamam” very much like how our little girl says them. I’ve seen girls of Amber’s age but none sounded like her. I was instantly connected with this little girl at the next table!

The Hubby said that we should finish eating and go home as fast as we can, as our daughter might already be looking for us.

Nakakatuwa lang talaga. Makes us miss that cute little girl at home the more!

I think we have just met Amber’s twin sister. ^_^

From HK Mandarin to Mongolia!

Usapang food muna pipol! Makes me wonder why I talk about foods a great deal when I’m supposed to be on a diet (weh, diet!).

I learned about this restaurant named Mandarin Wok from The Wandering Boots blog. Looking at the pictures of the food and reading her reviews make my stomach grumble. The branch she based her reviews on is at the Mall of Asia, that’s so layo and out of our way home. I checked from the internet if there is a branch near us and I was so happy to know that there is a Mandarin Wok in Festival Mall. I even called up the mall’s information to confirm if it is still there.

Image courtesy of ph.openrice.com

So elated, I called the Hubby, who was still in the office, to invite him out for dinner later. I was already making a mental note of what to order. I’ll try the Baked Chicken Rice and order the Sweet and Sour Pork for the Hubby, exactly what The Wandering Boots raved about!

But I ended up so disappointed! Not because I was dissatisfied with the food but because Mandarin Wok only offers Dim Sums in this branch. I almost weep. I will not be able to give life to that yummy Baked Chicken Rice that I’ve carefully kept in my memory. Haiz!

Since I don’t feel like eating Siomais and Siopaos, I pulled Hubby away. But I was really hungry so we have to eat somewhere!

Come Mongolian Quick-Stop to the rescue! I realized I haven’t eaten togue for quite some time now and I missed it. This is the only gulay that the Hubby is so willing to eat.

They are a fast-food style restaurant. You place your order and pay for it on the counter, then you will be given a number.

What I enjoy about this restaurant and any other Mongolian Restaurants for that matter, is the Eat-All-You-Can Mongolian Barbecue! But we decided not to avail of it this time.

The Hubby said he wanted to order something new. He turned to the cashier and ordered for a Chicken Teriyaki. Ngek! Something new daw, eh for the nth time na kumain kami dun, yun lang ang ino-order nya! Super picky! He is not the type who tries new and different tastes. He always sticks to what he is already comfortable with.

Chicken Teriyaki at PhP115. The Hubby asked for it to have lesser ginger.

Ako, for the past 2 visits, I’ve been ordering Mongolian Squid because I like its sweet and spicy sauce. But for now, I asked for the Seafood Bowl and Calamari Crunch.

Seafood Bowl for PhP105 and Calamari Crunch for PhP85.
Colors look so yum-yum!

Wait, may nagparamdam...

Kunsensha: Kala ko ba diet ka?!?!

Bunay: Di ba nga sabi ko gutom ako!

*Does that justify the bowl of rice that I really did finish?*

All together now! Btw, the bottles of Mountain Dew are concealed from 
this picture. Sobra na kasi sha sa exposure kaya di na sinama. :p 

We left the restaurant with tummies so full. But the aftertaste of what we just ate made us crave for something sweet. Problem lang is that we were so busog that we do not have extra spaces to put the sweets in anymore. L

For the food nga pala... price, I think is reasonable enough because it is filling. The taste is just right. You can request for a different sauce mix when they cook your food, if you want it spicier or sweeter. Best to try the Mongolian buffet at only PhP285/person! Although I noticed that the ingredients are not as many as before.

They also offer catering services, you might be interested:

Mongolian Quick-Stop

3^rd Level, Festival Mall

Tel No.: 850-4226

Oh, and may I add, they are right in front of that big Carousel. I really want Amber to experience a carousel ride! One of these days! J

Being responsible starts at an early age

I just have to share this...

One night, the Hubby and I were already dead tired but Amber is still very hyper and won’t be talked into getting to sleep. So I allowed her to play and walk around the room while his Daddy and I took our respective places on our bed.

I was already half-asleep when I felt her climb on my side. I thought she was ready to sleep but she was still eating snacks that she found on the treats’ storage bin inside the room! She left crumbs on my pillow but I was just too tired to still stand and clean it up. So andun lang sha, hoping na lang na wag kami langgamin. ^_^

After a while, she woke me up saying, “Mommy, ayaw na.”. When I opened my eyes, she was handing me what she was snacking on. I put back the lid and told her to just put it on top of the storage bin where she took it from.

Instead of doing just that, she went to the bin which she placed on the floor, opened the cover and put the snack inside. Then she put back the cover, secured the side locks, picked the storage bin and brought it to where she took it from.

Seeing her do that made me feel so proud that I almost cried! She did more than what I asked her to do. She showed so much responsibility for her age.

Then she came to me and climbed up again to our bed. I gave her water to drink then she slept immediately after.

Hay, I so love my baby girl! I do hope she grows up to be very responsible! 

And masipag, too! The following pictures were taken when she was 21 months old. She insisted on sweeping the floor. Look at how diligent she appears in the pictures. ^_^