Eat – Page 67 – Jellybeans in the City

Cookie hacks with Betty Crocker’s Cookie Mixes

Hello, house-bound mumshies!

Have you gone on a baking spree already?

If you still haven’t thrown yourself into one of the quarantine’s most popular pastimes because you lack the time, ingredients or equipment, let me share with you some hacks that will have you donning on your apron, ready to bake.

Let’s start you off with simple treats that will surely win the hearts (and tummies!) of the youngsters and adults alike: cookies!

Cookies seem to have been originated in 7th century Persia, a little while after the use of sugar became common in the region. Through the Muslim conquest of Spain, this baked goodies spread throughout Europe. It was said to have come to America through the Dutch in New Amsterdam in the 1620s with the Dutch word koekje latet Anglicized to “cookie.”

Since then, exciting cookie variants have been introduced, giving cookie fans more reasons to love their favorite baked treat.

Bringing these bits of sweet happiness to your home even got a whole lot easier with these beloved cookie flavors in packaged mixes from Betty Crocker.

Betty Crocker got its start back in 1921 through a sales promotion ran by Gold Medal Flour targeting home cooks. Along with the entries, flour milling company Washburn Crosby Company (the predecessor of General Mills, Inc.), received a deluge of questions about baking. The name Betty Crocker was formulated to personalize responses to these queries.

Today, Betty Crocker is considered an icon of food expertise and reliable products, offering reliable and accessible recipes, sound cooking advice and dependable products. Its trademark red spoon and the Betty Crocker brand evokes that feeling of warmth and homeyness.

Among its products are the Betty Crocker Cookie Mixes. These mixes have no colors, no artificial flavors and no preservatives, just honest-to-goodness ingredients that will enable home cooks to have freshly baked treats from bowl to oven in minutes.

And really, these cookie mixes are so easy to use; I made three flavors of cookies using just my trusty mixing bowl, a fork, a 1 1/2-in diameter ice cream scoop, and, of course, my trusty oven (preheated to 375 deg F (190 deg C).

Each 17.5oz (496g) cookie mix bag produces twenty-four 3-inch cookies, enough to sate the cravings of any cookie fan.

Chocolate Chip Cookie

This beloved cookie was invented in 1938 by chefs Ruth Graves Wakefield for the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts, then a popular spot for home cooking. She chopped bits from a Nestle semi-sweet chocolate bar into a cookie dough made with flour, butter, brown and white sugar and vanilla, and a legendary cookie was born.

The Hack: Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

Mix together the cookie mix, one stick (1/2 cup) softened butter and egg until a soft dough forms.

Scoop the dough into round balls and drop them in an ungreased cookie sheet two inches apart.

Bake for nine to eleven minutes or until edges are light golden brown.

Each cookie is chewy and bursting with sweetness, a sure hit for kids and adults alike!

Oatmeal Cookie

A descendant of the traditional Scottish oatcakes which has been around since the middle ages, the recipe of the oatmeal cookie was first published in 1896 by Fannie Merritt Farmer author of the Boston Cooking School Cook Book. When it became popular in the US in the early 1900s, it was considered a health food due to the increased fiber content from the oatmeal.

The Hack: Betty Crocker Oatmeal Cookie Mix

Mix together the cookie mix, one stick (1/2 cup) softened butter, 1 tbsp water and egg until a slightly stiff dough forms.

Scoop the dough into round balls and drop them in an ungreased cookie sheet two inches apart.

Bake for ten to twelve minutes or until edges are light golden brown.

A bit heftier when compared to other cookies, this moist and chewy oatmeal cookie packs a lot of texture as well as flavor in each bite.

Peanut Butter Cookie

The peanut butter cookie was invented in the 1910s by George Washington Carver when he published a peanut cookbook to promote the crop. While his original recipes called for chopped nuts, these were substituted in later iterations with peanut butter, and a classic cookie fave came to be.

The Hack: Betty Crocker Peanut Butter Cookie

Mix together the cookie mix, three tbsp vegetable oil, 1 tbsp water and egg until a soft dough forms.

Scoop the dough into round balls and drop them in an ungreased cookie sheet two inches apart.

Bake for nine to eleven minutes or until edges are light golden brown.

From the smell of peanut butter wafting to your nostrils to the satisfying bites into salty-sweet chewiness, this cookie is a feast for the senses.

(Traditionally, fork marks are associated to the peanut butter cookie. I just forgot to apply them before baking, my bad!)

Want some more cookie hacks?

Allow the cookies to cool for one minute on the cookie sheet before removing them.

Baked too many? Store leftovers in an airtight container and reheat in a 300 deg F (150 deg C) oven for four to six minutes or until warm

Want to save some cookie dough to be baked later? Place the dough balls in a container with lid and place in a freezer. You can pop these in the oven and bake for few minutes longer.

So stock up on these cookie mixes so you can easily treat the fam to bites of cookie happiness at home.

Check out my other product reviews:

This post contains affiliate links.

Want s’mores? Get them from Charlie Baker

Marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers…

We Pinoys don’t have a dessert tradition that involves these three ingredients but in the US, no campfire is complete without them, combined to form S’mores.

A contraction of the phrase “some more,” this campfire treat was first known as the Graham Cracker Sandwich which was very popular among Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. The marshmallows are normally placed on sticks to be toasted using the campfire until golden brown on the outside and gooey on the inside. It is then sandwiched between two graham cracker halves along with a piece of chocolate.

Well, we city denizens might not be able to gather around a campfire anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean we have to deprive ourselves of this campfire treat.

Charlie Baker is a new online business, currently specializing in S’mores. It is managed by thirty-one-year-old Charles Rosales, a recent culinary school graduate who decided to introduce the little-known dessert S’mores to Metro Manila foodies.

For just Php120, dessert lovers can enjoy a 14-piece tub of a handier version of the S’mores which consist of a crust of crushed Graham crackers, a thick layer of milk chocolate topped by toasted marshmallows. A 19″x12″ pan of these yummies – monikered as S’most – is also available at Php750.

You would have to keep this refrigerated before consuming but you can pop a piece or two in the microwave for a few seconds to have the marshmallow become a bit gooey and the chocolate a little melted.

Snack on it in during work or study breaks, or while binge-watching your fave series on TV. You can also serve it to the kiddos as a dessert to cap a meal.

Charlie Baker also offers Chocolate Crinkles at Php120/dozen as well as accepts orders for personalized cakes and pastries.

To order, message Charlie Baker on Facebook or Instagram. Payments via BPI, BDO and GCash are accepted. The S’mores can be delivered to anywhere in Metro Manila via Lalamove, Grab or Mr. Speedy (delivery fee c/o buyer).

Disclosure: Product sample was provided to facilitate an honest review.

Check out my blog posts on other small enterprises and startups in the food business:

Easy dinner delivery from Delanders Pizza + Cafe

I’m all for home cooking; in fact, I’ve been taking the extra time spent at home to cook up delish dishes for the fam.

Every once in a while, however, I find myself lacking the inclination to whip up something in the kitchen. It may be because of a videocon that extended past office hours, or the depletion of supplies in the pantry.

Whatever the reason, I’m glad that a busy work-at-home mom like me – one that’s still adjusting to the New Normal – have a myriad of options for her family’s meal.

One such option is the delivery of pizzas from Delander Pizza + Cafe via FoodPanda.

Both of the kiddos are avid pizza fanatics and both welcomed the break from our usual ulam with pizzas ordered from a relatively new store.

Delander Pizza + Cafe opened its doors in Manggahan, Pasig a little over two years ago, bringing local residents a taste of freshly baked and topping-rich pizzas.

Thankfully, it has remained open through the various stages of community quarantine since mid-March to present for takeout and delivery.

Thanks to FoodPanda, the kiddos and I supped on:

Delander Special (Php90 solo | Php240 regular | Php320 mega). Topped with cheese, ham, bacon, beef, pepperoni, pineapple, mushrooms, bell peppers and onions.

Quadro Pizza (Php405). Four flavors all in one pizza: the Delander Special, Hawaiian (Ham, Cheese and Pineapple), Pepperoni and Cheese, and Shawarma (beef shawarma, cheese, onions, bell pepper and fresh tomatoes). This was an excellent choice as we were able to enjoy all four pizza variants for the price of one.

So, this busy mom got a kitchen duty reprieve, thanks to Delander Pizza and FoodPanda.

Delander Pizza + Cafe is located at 451 RL Reyes Building, Amang Rodriguez Avenue, Barangay Manggahan, Pasig City. To order your pizzas, call +63 2 85439843 or +63 975 7306240.

Late last year, it opened a branch a bit nearer to my home (but, sadly, does not yet offet delivery) at 7 Ilang-ilang Street, De Castro Subdivision, Barangay Santa Lucia, Pasig City. To order for pickup, call +63 2 73737751 or +63 999 9908910.

Home-cooked feels from Aling Banang’s

After almost five months of being cooped up at home, I must say that I have developed a newfound respect for home-cooking.

These are the dishes that many of us grew up with and have loved over the years, the viands that we may not always list as put absolute faves but nevertheless welcome when they are presented to us on the dinner table.

The thing is, however, having the same home-cooked dishes again and again can become a drag. Blame it on the limited repertoire of many homemakers when it comes to Filipino food, or simply the lack of time to learn to cook new dishes despite being stuck at home or to replenish the pantry with the needed ingredients.

Whichever the reason, I found myself having to look for viand for my family’s lunch one weekday.

I already know that Aling Banang’s makes a tasty Pancit Canton for groups, but the challenge was how to scale that for a simple family meal.

Fortunately, Aling Banang’s also offers solo servings of its dishes such as:

Pancit Canton (Php60). Pinoy-style stir-fried noodles with shredded veggies topped with Lecon Kawali pieces.

Lechon Kawali (Php60). Pork belly that is boiled, seasoned then deep-fried in a wok until the meat is tender and juicy and the skin is crispy and golden brown.

With five orders of Lechon Kawali and two orders of Pancit Canton, I was able to satisfy the lunch appetites of the entire fam for just Php420!

What’s your meal hack?

Get your own lutong bahay eats without having to sweat it out in the kitchen. If you’re in the Pasig area, order your meal from Aling Banang’s by calling +63 2 73582953, +63 921 3364640 or +63 955 6922033.

“Kitakits sa bahay” with McDonald’s delivery

Have you seen McDonald’s new ad “Kitakits?”

It shows snippets of life that still goes on despite the raging pandemic: the shy smiles from behind the necessary face masks, greeting each other by shaking feet instead of hands, eating out together while remaining apart, and getting used to spending time indoors, all as part of the New Normal.

My fam and I are also adjusting to the new way of being, enjoying our extended time together at home.

And while we’re both busy working from home, Hubby and I still try to squeeze in some bits of time with kiddos within our workday: our own “kitakits.”

On one such occasion, I ordered some of our favorites from McDonald’s for us to munch on during our afternoon break:

Quarter Pounder with Cheese. Hubby’s big appetite needs a big burger and this one fits the bill. A quarter-pound beef patty topped with slices of onions, pickles and melty cheese in a sesame seed bun.

McChicken Sandwich. My go-to order: a crispy fillet of chicken slathered with mayonnaise and sandwiched in a toasted sesame seed bun. It should have come with shredded ice lettuce but I guess someone left that out. Oh,well… 😒

Chicken McNuggets. For the kiddos, we got juicy and crispy ten- and six-piece nuggets accompanied by barbecue sauce. They just can’t seem to stop biting into these yummies!

French Fries. The fam’s favorite fries made with stripes straight cut from whole potatoes, deep-fried to a golden brown, salted and best enjoyed hot and crisp from the fryer.

The missing iceberg lettuce from my McChicken Sandwich, I’m not to crazy about. My enjoyable time with the fam? Luv ko ‘to!

Wanna have your favorite fast food delivered right to your doorstep? Order online at McDelivery between 6am and 9.30pm or download the McDelivery App. Due to the moderate enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), delivery will be available in selected areas.

You may also course your orders through these food delivery apps.

Download the Grab App and get a discount on your first food order when you use my code: GRABJELLYBEANS.

Use this link to download the FoodPanda app and get Php100 off your first order

Check out my other posts on McDonald’s:

House Pizza Time with Yellow Cab delivery

In between video calls, reports and other tasks that make up a frenetic afternoon at work, Hubby and I were able to squeeze in a quick, tasty and filling snack, not just for us, but also for the kiddos.

This is thanks to Yellow Cab’s ongoing promo on GrabFood.

For years now, Filipino-owned pizza brand Yellow Cab has been offering New York-style pizzas using the finest ingredients to local pizza aficionados.

This type of pizza is characterized by a large hand-tossed thin crust, topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, usually sold in wide slices for takeout. If your pizza is thick and crisp on its outer edges yet soft, thin and pliable enough to be folded in half to eat, then what you’ve got is a New York-style pizza.

Through Yellow Cab’s House Pizza Time deal, the whole fam was able to enjoy a modest feast for just Php999! This consisted of:

9-inch Pepperoni Pizza. Hubby’s all-time favorite pizza!

9-inch Hawaiian Pizza. Pineapple bits on pizza may be problematic for some but not for me! I’ll take this pizza topped with pineapple, ham and bacon any day.

16 pcs Hot Wings. Crispy and juicy chicken wings coated with a spicy and tangy buffalo sauce. For me, it would have gone so well with Yellow Cab’s garlic ranch dip but I guess it was left out of our delivery pack. Still, Hubby and the kids lost no time in demolishing these chicken pieces.

Our little snack break was able to tide us over and helped keep our energy levels up until dinner time. It also gave us another reason to get spend a fee minutes with the kiddos despite our busy workday.

Have your favorite pizzas and more delivered right to your doorstep by ordering online. You may also order directly from the store nearest you by calling:

Metro Manila hotline +63 2 87899999 | +63 918 8073591 | +63 918 8073590 | +63 918 8038306
Baguio hotline +63 074 4429999
Cavite hotline +63 046 4169999
Laguna hotline +63 049 5029999
Cebu hotline +63 032 2541111

#QuarantineCookbook: Easy Mac ‘n Cheese

Last Sunday morning, in a bid to stop me from buying a mass-produced mac ‘n cheese packet when we went grocery shopping (or probably to flex his cooking muscles yet again!), Hubby promised me that he would make some macaroni and cheese for me and the kids.

Fast-forward to the afternoon of the same day, my Significant Other is bustling about in the kitchen (in between watching scenes from his latest Korean drama binge-fest) to make what was arguably my daughter #ExhibitA’s favorite macaroni dish.

Macaroni and Cheese (affectionately called Mac ‘n Cheese by its aficionados) is a dish of cooked macaroni pasta in cheese sauce (normally cheddar). Traditionally, this dish is baked in an oven as a casserole but it may also be prepared on a stove using a saucepan. Or you can just add water to a packaged mix and zap it in the microwave.

Similar dishes have been around in Europe since the 14th century. Since then, Mac ‘n Cheese have grown in worldwide popularity, even being considered comfort food in the US.

In his valiant effort to provide the fam with a filling snack that Sunday afternoon, Hubby improvised on an existing Mac ‘n Cheese recipe he found online.

Ingredients:

2 cups of uncooked macaroni
4 cups of milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup parmesan
1/4 cup grated processed cheese
2 tbsp butter

Procedure:

In a large pot, bring the milk to a boil.

Add the macaroni into the pot, stirring constantly for about ten minutes until the pasta is al dente. The milk would have been greatly reduced by then.

Turn off the heat, add in the cheddar and mix well.

Then add butter, parmesan and grated cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve while hot.

I love how milky and creamy this pasta dish is. And, well, Hubby’s version is way better than the packaged mix. 🙂

Try this recipe out the next time you want a yummy snack or appetizer, or when you need to contribute something hearty to a family potluck and let me know what you think.

Looking for other easy-to-cook dishes to try out while in quarantine? Check out my other kitchen adventures:

#QuarantineCookbook: Easy Banana Crisp

Sure, banana breads has become more popular lately as newly minted home bakers have tried their hands on making this ubiquitous pastry.

Well, how about another sweet incarnation of banana as a dessert, say a banana crisp?

A crisp is a dish of baked fresh fruit with a streusel topping that typically includes oats. As the dish bakes, the oats will crisp up, adding another level of texture to the dessert, hence the name.

Unlike banana breads that require overripe fruit, banana crisps need the bananas to be just ripe.

This is a makeshift banana crisp recipe that I improvised with ingredients that I already have on hand when I was struck with one of my cravings for something sweet again.

Check it out:

Ingredients:

4 bananas sliced into thin circles
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup instant oats (my substitute for rolled oats)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
4 tbsp butter, softened

Procedure:

To make the topping,combine the flour, sugar, oats, cinnamon and salt a medium bowl. Add in the softened butter and work the mixture with your hands or a whisk until crumbly. Set aside.

Evenly distribute the banana slices into two cake tins. Cut up some of the bananas to fill in the smaller spaces in between slices.

Sprinkle the topping mixture over the bananas, enough to cover the fruit.

Place inside the oven pre-heated at 205 deg C (400 deg F) and bake for ten to twelve minutes until the topping becomes firm and gets a golden brown color.

Serve while still warm from the oven.

Enjoy as is or topped with vanilla ice cream (see my recipe for Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream).

Try this recipe out and let me know what you think.

Looking for other easy-to-cook dishes to try out while in quarantine? Check out my other kitchen adventures:

#QuarantineCookbook: Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Hey, foodie!

Come on, let’s list the uses for vanilla ice cream!

A dessert on its own
A topping for dessert pies and crumbles
The thing that floats in a root beer float
The thing that makes milk shakes extra decadent
The thing that’s sandwiched when you typically make ice cream sandwiches

I’m sure there are lots more that good ole’ plain vanilla ice cream can contribute to the enjoyment of foodies everywhere.

Surprisingly, I’ve been having trouble finding vanilla ice cream in my neighborhood grocery and convenience stores the past few days. And with the modified enhanced community quarantine just around the corner, I can be sure that ice cream deliveries to these local stores will be delayed.

This is quite unfortunate as I have hankering for pies and shakes that include this treat.

Since necessity is the mother of invention, I decided to make vanilla ice cream myself.

Here’s how:

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk + 1/2 cup all-purpose cream (my substitute for the 1 cup half-and-half that the original recipe called for)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla

Procedure:

Combine the milk, all-purpose cream, sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Mix until well blended.

In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until it begins to double in volume or form stiff peaks.

Mix in the vanilla mixture until well combined.

Freeze overnight.

Now, I have vanilla ice cream ready to use for pies and milkshakes!

Try this recipe out for yourself!

Looking for other easy-to-cook dishes to try out while in quarantine? Check out my other kitchen adventures:

K-BBQ obsession at Romantic Baboy, L&Y Plaza

Why are we Pinoys so obsessed with Korean BBQ?

It’s been years since the samgyeopsal trended as the hottest food item in the metro, but we just can’t seem to get our fill of it.

Korean barbecue is actually called gogi-gui in Korea, a method of grilling meat such as beef, chicken or pork using table-top grills. Many Korean BBQ restaurants also offer unlimited meats for grilling on a fixed per-person cost, giving diners a wondrous array of marinated and unmarinated meats by which to sate their carnivorous cravings.

One such restaurant is Romantic Baboy whose branch nearest to my place for a time was the one in L&Y Plaza at the corner of E. Rodriguez Jr Avenue and Ortigas Avenue Extension.

There, together with my fam before the lockdowns, I was able to explore the reasons why Korean BBQ holds so much appeal to us Pinoy diners.

Value for Money. For Php499 per person, you can eat your fill of grilled pork and beef which already comes with kimchi, cheese, egg, rice, veggies, gochujang jigae and six kinds of side dishes.

Laid-back atmosphere. A K-BBQ joint is the place to hang back and have fun. The mood is informal and loose while you’re grilling your meats and enjoying the wide array of Korean side dishes.

The more, the merrier. Since you’re paying a fixed price per person, you already have an idea of your potential spend for a group meal, making a K-BBQ place the ideal venue for a birthday blowout or similar celebrations.

Tasty and satisfying. One can’t go wrong with K-BBQ and Korean dishes, right? Unlimited freshly grilled meats dipped in melted cheese the. wrapped in crisp greens with a little bit of ssamjang and gochujang are just the ticket for a filling meal.

For a time, Romantic Baboy, as well as other Korean BBQ restos had to pause operations due to the community quarantine. However, I’m glad that this branch has already re-opened and is accepting dine-ins, albeit with a few safety precautions.

So if you’re planning on dining out at Romantic Baboy, do take note:

Plan the timing of your visit. The resto will only allow 30% of its normal capacity so you might not want to go during a busy time. Otherwise, you might have a long wait ahead of you.
Submit to the required temperature checks, hand sanitation and use of the disinfecting mats prior to entering. Also, remember to properly fill up the health declaration form.
Maintain physical distancing. The store has implemented an alternate seating arrangement to ensure that diners are able to have sufficient space between them.
Cashless payments via GCash and BDO are now available.

If you don’t want to go through all that but still want to have a Korean meal, you can select among Romantic Baboy’s Frozen Meat or Ready to Eat Menus and have your choices delivered to your home. Just call in your orders at +63 947 3969740 or +917 5118616.

This Romantic Baboy branch is located at L&Y Plaza, 120 E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue Corner Ortigas Avenue Extension, Ugong, Pasig City, open for dine-in, pickup or delivery from 11am to 8pm.