Went to pick up groceries one day. Figured, we wanted to eat pasta after a long day. Pasta, especially spaghetti for Filipinos, is somewhat a treat. We eat it most occasionally at birthday celebrations. It was perfect since it was my aunt's birthday too.

(This is not a sponsored post.)

Egan and I decided to make it a little more special this time though. We made meatballs and used penne instead of spaghetti. It turned out great and just full of love. Yup! You can taste the love in the food. Try this...

Homemade Pasta and Meatball recipe
INGREDIENTS:

100 g lean ground beef
50 g ground pork
1 small garlic clove, grated
1/2 medium red onion, minced
2 Tablespoons bread crumbs (Good Life brand)
salt
pepper
1/2 egg, beaten
1 Tablespoon seasoned breadcrumbs (Crispy brand)
1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese (Kraft brand)
1 Tablespoon canola oil (Marca Leon brand)
--
4 cups boiling water
1 cup uncooked pasta ( La Filipina brand penne)
salt
--
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 medium red onion, minced
1 small carrot grated
1 can whole peeled tomatoes (Honey brand)
1/8 cup Italian Spaghetti sauce (RAM brand)
salt
pepper
--
Parmesan cheese

1. In a mixing bowl, combine all first 10 ingredients above. Set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan on high heat, place in the boiling water with a teaspoon of salt.
3. Wait until it the water is visibly boiling hot before placing in your pasta.
4. Cook until al denté (cooked yet firm).
5. Drain water and place in a bowl where you will serve your pasta.
6. Place back the now-empty saucepan on medium heat and place 1 Tablespoon of oil.
7. Form the golf-ball-sized meatballs out of the meat mixture made earlier.
8. Cook them meatballs while turning them on every side for about 10-15 minutes.
9. Once cooked, place the meatballs on the pasta.
10. In the saucepan, sauté the onions, garlic, and shredded carrot.
11. Season with salt and pepper (about a pinch each).
12. Cover the saucepan for 3 minutes. Bring heat to medium-low.
13. While waiting, roughly chop or crush the peeled tomatoes with clean hands or forks.
14. Take the cover off the saucepan and add the tomatoes with the sauce from the can.
15. Also, add the Spaghetti sauce to add a little sweetness.
16. Submerge the meatballs back into the saucepan with the sauce and cover for 5 minutes.
17. We are done with the cooking! You can place the sauce over the pasta or you can also mix the pasta in the sauce before serving. Top each serving with Parmesan cheese according to your liking.

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A post shared by MunchTrip - Food & Travel Blog (@munchtrip) on Dec 3, 2018 at 6:29pm PST

Enjoy!
Hope you love this dish just like we did.
For comments, suggestions, or questions, you can message us.

More recipes here.

In French, “cordon bleu” means “of the highest class”, so let’s make some classy chicken!  This Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe was inspired by how good it tastes when you order it in a restaurant. The cheese just marries so well with the taste of the pork and chicken, all wrapped in a crispy coating of goodness.

Egan craved it and dove into making it for lunch using some free-range chicken breast fillets I carved out of a whole chicken the day before.

It doesn’t mean that if you are short on budget, you can’t eat really good food. It just takes a bit of patience and a sense of adventure to try making a dish.

Homemade Chicken Codon Bleu recipe

INGREDIENTS:
1/8 kg pork steak (sliced very thinly)
-
chicken breasts fillets (from one Magnolia free-range whole chicken)
salt
pepper
25g cheddar (about 1/8 bar of Kraft brand)
-
1/4 cup cornstarch (Cream brannd)
bread crumbs (Good Life brand)
egg
1/2 cup oil (Marca Leon canola)

PROCEDURE:
1. Slice the porksteak into 1/4 centimeter thick slices.
2. Boil the pork slices in a pan with enough water that covers the slices and leave it for 3-5 minutes.
3. Set aside the pork.
4. Lay the chicken breast flat on a surface (optional: sandwich it between cling wrap).
5. Using a glass with a flat bottom, pound it until it ends with a uniformed thickness of 1/4 centimeters.
6. Season the chicken breast with salt and pepper.
7. Slice the cheese into sticks.
8. Here comes the assembly. On the flattened chicken breast fillets, put the pork steak slices on top. Do not let the pork go beyond the area of the chicken. It is possible that you will need less that the pork you prepared.
9. On top of the pork slices, place the cheese sticks across the longer side or the chicken.
10. Just like a sushi, roll all of the ingredients into one big log. Shape it and chill it.
11. Heat up the oil in a medium sized skillet.
12. Prepare the cornstarch and breadcrumbs in separate plates.
13. Beat the egg.
14. You know when the oil is ready if a breadcrumb that you drop in it sizzles and rises to the surface.
15. Get the log/roll. Coat it in cornstarch. Dip it in the beaten egg. Roll it on the breadcrumbs.
16. Fry the log in medium heat for about 10-15 minutes. Roll it every now and then to make sure it gets cooked on all sides.
17. When it has turned golden brown, take it out of the pan. Slice and serve.

By the way, we served this with a No-Mayonnaise Sweet Mustard Dip. It was kind of like a no-egg or vegan honey mustard dip substitute. If you are interested, here is the recipe.

I’m writing this as quick as I can for a friend who requested it (Hi, Kitty!).
Egan and I hope you, guys, love this recipe. For comments, suggestions, and questions, feel free to write them down below or send us a message.

On to the next munchtrip!