October 11, 2010

Not Blessed Mama Cooks! (sometimes)

Mamas, let me be honest with you- cooking isn't my thing. I do cook- we try and eat at home as much as possible, and only eat out on the weekends once or twice. But I really don't enjoy it. At the end of the day I'm getting tired, the house is getting messy (or already is a disaster), Not Blessed Daddy's home and things are generally just chaotic and busy. The last thing I want to do is slave in a hot kitchen over a meal that will be either inhaled in 30 seconds or picked and prodded and rejected. Needless to say, simple meals are generally preferred. One pot? Excellent.  Few ingredients? Yahoo! So in that spirit, I would like to share one of my favorite recipes. It's simple, easy, tasty and the ingredients are probably already in your cupboard. AND it's Filipino. You see, N.B. Dad is Filipino, and I figured it would be nice for him to eat some food from his childhood. I knew I would never stack up to his Mama, but I was okay with that- until he asked me to make this dish to take to the in-laws the other day. As I told my brother-in-law, "Do you have any idea how intimidating it is to make Filipino food for your in-laws when you're white?!" They all raved over my Chicken Adobo,  and I hope it lived up to their stringent standards. 
it doesn't look like much, but you'll love it!


CHICKEN ADOBO
ingredients: 1 cup soy sauce, 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup water, 2 Tbs brown sugar, 
1 Tbs chopped garlic, 3 bay leaves, black pepper, chicken thighs
  1. In a pot, combine soy sauce (low sodium is good), vinegar (I use white distilled), water, brown sugar, chopped garlic (I use canned!), bay leaves, a dash of black pepper, and as many chicken thighs as you like. I used about 3 lbs. the other day- the leftovers are excellent, so don't worry about making too much. I prefer boneless/skinless, but that is not the Pinoy way- we compromise with skinless, bone-in.
  2. Boil like crazy for 30 minutes and don't turn the heat down until you hear the pot boil over. Frantically hope dinner is not ruined
  3. Okay, okay, number 2 was a joke. Well, it's what I do- but do as I say, not as I do. Gently simmer for about 40 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked. You want it bubbling, but not a rolling boil. Check broth after about 25 minutes. Add water if it's too strong- but it should be tangy. It will be soupy.
  4. Eat! Ladle the sauce over rice. 

This recipe is super easy and hard to mess up. I don't even measure the ingredients anymore, just dump it in and cook away. I hope you try it and enjoy it!
And if you have any quick, easy recipes (especially for the crock pot), comment below! My family will thank you for it. 

13 comments:

  1. That looks... unappatizing xD But if you're posting it, it must be good LOL

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  2. yeah, making brown chicken in brown sauce look good was harder than i thought. but un-identifiable meat is pretty standard Filipino fare. ;)

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  3. oh and if you meant the taste, of course it's good!!!

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  4. That sounds like a pretty straightforward/easy recipe - thanks for sharing!


    - LBJ

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  5. Mmm. My family loves chicken adobo. But I have to admit, I have messed it up a few times. Too much vinegar.

    --Kim C.

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  6. I may try this out this week. lol B has school 4x a week. I'm the only one who cooks chicken. Might as well use one of my "I am required to cook or my children will starve" nights to give it a try. Thanks! ;0)

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  7. Yea...picture not so hot. ;) I will try receipe...thank you!

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  8. I love super simple recipes like this, thanks!! It sounds like it's very yummy! (Yes, I'm part Filipino and I can't say I've ever had it). lol

    One of my easy fav's:

    1 can of condensed mushroom soup
    3-4 chicken breasts

    Put the soup and a can of water over the chicken and cook it for about 35 min at 350 degrees. Serve over rice. Quick and EASY. :)

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  9. That sounds delicious! Maybe you could make it for me and send it here....I think the fam would be more inclined to eat it then since they seem just seem to want to throw my food on the floor.

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  10. My husband LOVES soy sauce and vinegar, so to combine them in this recipe will have him salivating! It sounds so easy too!
    I'm with you - I cook at home because it's cheaper, but I don't necessarily enjoy it!

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  11. thanks for your comments ladies. i hope that you enjoy it if you try it. it is definitely one of my failsafes. :)
    sunshine, he would probably love this dish then. my husband loves the same flavors.
    teisha, my in-laws were recommending i sell it on E-bay- but we all decided the shipping logistics were impossible. Unless you made it into jerky? hahaha.

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  12. Yum, yum, yum. I'll have to try that!

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  13. i've made this many times since you posted the recipe a couple years ago on our forum, we love it! oh and I recommend crock pot cooking, its great to get the dinner out of the way in the morning and just serve up at night, i do a lot of it, and you can get books that are the 5 ingredient kind!

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