kitchen hack – Jellybeans in the City

Want to treat the people you love to something special for Valentine’s Day but don’t want to join the mad rush during this busy holiday?

Not to worry because the Max’s Group’s got your back with its new product line – MGI Kitchen – which consists of well-loved offerings from the Max’s Group restaurants, now ready to cook in your very own kitchen!

That’s right: no tedious preparations necessary and very minimal effort required for you to produce a show-stopping meal for the people you love most during this season of hearts.

These include:

Yellow Cab’s Oven Toaster Pizza Box.

My little boy’s favorite Pepperoni Pizza, already pre-made and placed in a box. All we needed to do is pop it into the oven for three to five minutes and it’s ready in all its cheesy and pepperoni goodness for my little pizza monster to enjoy!

Max’s Fried Chicken Box.

Who would have thought that my fam and I can feast on my well-loved Max’s classic sarap to the bones fried chicken just by heating these pieces up in the oven for ten minutes? Paired with steamed rice and a bit of banana ketchup on the side, it’s absolutely delish!

Pancake House’ Spaghetti Sauce.

That party fave just got a whole lot easier to make with Pancake House’ signature spaghetti sauce already prepared and packed. All we needed to do is to heat it up in the microwave for three minutes, ladle on to our noodles, add lots of cheese, and then serve!

Teriyaki Boy’s Teriyaki Chicken

Chicken teriyaki is the fusion of so many flavors: the savory, the sweet and the bit of gingery spice all come together to create a dish that appeals to so many people, especially to my fam! The best thing is, I can easily whip up this dish by pan-grilling Teriyaki Boy’s packed Chicken Teriyaki for ten minutes while basting it with its teriyaki sauce, then serving it garnished with chopped green onions.

Dencio’s Krispy Sisig

The sisig has long been a mainstay in many a Pinoy’s hapagkainan and my family’s is no exception. We prefer ours with ultra-crispy finely chopped bits of pork jowl liberally flavored with minced onions but with a hint of creaminess that makes it perfect when paired with lots and lots of rice, just like how Dencio’s does its Krispy Sisig. To bring this homegrown favorite to my family’s table, all I had to do was saute the contents of the pack on a pan together with its sauce until it attains the crispiness we prefer, then serve it topped with a sunny side up egg.

With these ready-to-cook packs from MGI Kitchen, serving up my love to the fam in the form of good food is super easy!

You can buy these at selected outlets of SM Supermarket/Hypermarket/Savemore, Robinsons Supermarkets, Waltermart, Shopwise, The Marketplace, Puregold, AllDay, Gaisano Market and at Max’s Restaurants, with prices starting at Php350.

Stock up on these ready-to-cook products so you too can just as easily whip up a feast for your fam to enjoy this Valentine’s Day, or any occasion!

Disclosure: Product samples were provided to facilitate this feature story.

If the pandemic, along with being stuck at home, has taught us anything, it’s the value of a good home-cooked meal.

Preparing our family’s meals at home not only keeps us safe during this time of rising COVID-19 cases, but also helps us in taking more control of our nutrition – in terms of ingredients used and portion sizes – as well as in managing our food budget.

However, some people who have become used to eating out, ordering takeout or having their delivered from restaurants and fast food outlets may find themselves at a loss when venturing into their own kitchens.

Fortunately, newbie cooks don’t have to get started on their culinary journey empty-handed. With the help of these food products readily available at e-commerce site Lazada, they can skip many of the rigorous steps in preparing home-cooked dishes and get right on to enjoying their delicious meals with the family.

Purefoods Beef Tapa.

A perennial favorite Filipino breakfast is a tapsilog in which the beef tapa takes center-stage. Traditionally, the beef is cured with salt and spices, then dried or smoked to preserve the meat for later consumption.

With Purefoods Beef Tapa, the frozen beef slices just need to be defrosted then fried in oil. Served with fried rice and fried egg, it becomes a delicious and filling breakfast for the family.

Buy It

Del Monte Quick ‘N Easy Flavors of Asia Red Curry Mix.

Whipping up an exotic dish like Chicken Curry may seem like a daunting task. Buying and storing the myriad of spices need to produce the vibrant and complex flavors of this traditional Indian dish may also be costly and impractical.

Del Monte Quick ‘N Easy Red Curry Mix already combines the spices and flavorings in the right proportions to capture the unique taste of Chicken Curry. Just heat up the powder mix in oil before adding the coconut milk, chicken and vegetables, and soon, you’ll have a tasty and extraordinary dish ready to serve.

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UFC Fresh Selections Whole Corn Kernels and Coconut Cream.

Gone are the days when home cooks would have to manually shave off the corn kernels from the cob as well as squeeze and strain the cream from freshly grated coconut just to be able to incorporate these in their dishes.

Picked and canned on the same day, UFC Fresh Selections enable newbie home cooks to conveniently include healthy and wholesome ingredients in their cooking. To make this Ginataang Mais, for example, just bring a pot with malagkit rice and UFC Fresh Selections Coconut Cream to a boil, then simmer until the rice is cooked before adding the UFC Whole Corn Kernels and sugar. In a few minutes, this classic Pinoy merienda is ready for the family to enjoy.

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Lemon Square Chocolate-Filled Lava Cake.

Many find baking to be quite intimidating. Whether it’s because of the need for precise measures or exact temperatures and baking times, some home cooks would rather avoid baking altogether, which is a shame since it’s a requirement of many scrumptious desserts.

However, my kids’ favorite snack during recess can actually be used as the cake base for a truly decadent Chocolate Dreamcake. Just crush a few pieces of Lemon Square Chocolate-Filled Lava Cake and press the crumbs into a pan before layering in the chocolate pudding and the melted chocolate to produce a truly show-stopping dessert.

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MY San Chocolate Graham Crackers.

There may be times when a fuss-free snack is in order.

A quick and delicious snack may be produced in a few minutes by bringing a pot of sugar, milk and butter to a boil, then adding oats, vanilla and salt and stirring in some crushed MY San Chocolate Graham Crackers once the oats are cooked. Shape these into balls and leave at room temperature , and soon, there’ll be a lovely treat for the kids to nibble on.

Buy It

With these cooking aids that help us skip many of the lengthy, time-consuming and tedious processes involved in preparing meals at home, budding home cooks really don’t have to be afraid of the kitchen. They can hone their cooking skills with ease and confidence, and still produce mouth-watering home-cooked meals for the family to enjoy.

Check out my Lazada picks to stock up on these pantry essentials and more.

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Photo Credit: Header by Anton Nazaretian of Unsplash.