Baked Salmon ala Conti's

While doing the groceries last weekend, we saw some Salmon and thought of baking it with the Teriyaki marinade which I've tried before.  (To read about it, please click here.)  And just as I was about to start working on the marinade, I suddenly thought of (craved for!) Conti's Baked Salmon! (Conti's is a popular Bakery and Restaurant in the Philippines which is known for their cakes and Baked Salmon to name a few)

So I went online and looked for Conti's-inspired Baked Salmon recipes and found a few but went with the recipe shared by The Happy Tummy Kitchen.  I'm glad I did!  You know the recipe is going to turn out great when your picky eater suddenly says "Mama, it smells good!"  And she said this when we were just working on the sauce.  But it does smell good!  The smell was that of . . . Conti's! *insert dance of joy here* I guess I was on the right track!  

So before I call it a day (and before I forget what I did, haha), I want to share with you this picky eater-approved (hubby-approved too!) Salmon dish.  She ate fish for the first time!!!!  Woohoo!  Thanks to the Cheesy-garlic mayo sauce!  Haha!

Hope you like it too!  

Happy Cooking!

*Inspired by the recipe from The Happy Tummy Kitchen's blog.  For her exact recipe, please click here.  

My take on this recipe:

Ingredients:

Salmon (around 800-900 grams)

Salt 

Pepper

Garlic powder

Juice from half of a lemon

Half a block of Cream Cheese

3/4 cup of Shredded Parmesan (1/2 cup to go to the cheese mixture and 1/4 cup for toppings)

4 tbsp of Mayonnaise

Garlic (3 big cloves, minced)

Salt

Pepper

Directions:

1. Marinade the Salmon (around 30 mins) with salt, pepper, garlic powder and lemon juice.  Sorry, I don't have any measurements, I just eyeball it when I do a marinade. 

2. Pre-heat oven to 450F.

3. Mix the cream cheese, Parmesan, mayonnaise, minced garlic, salt and pepper.  Taste and adjust the seasoning (and consistency) to suit your taste.

4. Butter your baking dish.

5. Pat the salmon dry and put it in your baking dish and top it with the cream cheese mixture and sprinkle some shredded Parmesan cheese.

6. We baked it for 25 minutes and it came out pretty well.  Please take note that the cooking time really depends on the thickness of your fish.

7. Best to Serve it with buttered vegetables and mashed potatoes (I wish I had more time!)

My Notes:

The next time I bake this, I will make more of the white sauce mixture, probably another garlic clove, will bake it a longer time only because we want the top to be a little more golden brown (just a matter of preference).

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After posting this entry, I've made this dish soooo many times (it's my go-to recipe whenever we have guests over, haha) so I thought of sharing with you a more updated photo of the dish and that baked golden brown color we love!

Quickfix to untangle a doll's hair

"Mahangin ba sa labas? "

Directly translated, it means "is it windy outside?"

This was a line from a shampoo commercial which became so popular that Filipinos use it when they see someone having a bad hair day.  

And this is exactly the same thing I say when I see my daughter's dolls!  

Yes, Flulttershy is having a super bad hair day, haha!

It really doesn't bother me because I like my daughter to have fun with her dolls.  But one day, I couldn't take it anymore.  I think the doll was actually asking to be saved, haha!  

So I googled for a solution and found out that fabric softener can do wonders for a doll's untangled hair!  

It is easy as --- 

1. Dip your doll's hair to a cup of softener

2. Brush the doll's hair 

3. Rinse and brush some more

And Voila!!!

 Look who was happy with her makeover?! =)

Well, I think this pink-haired doll has a bigger smile these days, haha! 

You're welcome, Fluttershy!

 Okay, one down. . . . . and a LOT (like A LOT!) more to gooooo . . . .

Taking the Challenge: Baked Mac and Cheese

I am back!!!

I know, I have been missing in action in my blog for a month!  But I have a good reason!  We just moved to a different house so that pretty much took my (our) time (and it still does!) since the last blog post.  I haven't even gotten the chance to tell some family and friends about our move yet.  (So to my family and friends, if you are reading this, I am so sorry for not writing sooner!  I guess, now you know, teehee)  

I will be sharing with you (in my succeeding blogs posts) some home improvement projects (just minor ones) which Hubby and I did to make this house, our home.

For today's post, I will be sharing with you something I prepared for the kids' lunch today: Baked Mac and Cheese!

(I am blogging about it now before I forget what I did, haha!)

I have tried making Mac and Cheese before but somehow, it didn't work out for me, haha!   Truth be told, it is an easy to do recipe where you just mix together butter, milk, flour and cheese.  The first (and LAST!) time I made Mac and Cheese, it tasted "floury".

But since the kids now are enjoying Mac and Cheese (it is one of the few things they eat when we dine out), I challenged myself to try making it again!  It doesn't have to be good, as long as it is eatable AND it doesn't have that floury taste, haha!

Challenge accepted.

I saw two recipes from two of my favorite Food Network stars, Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman) and from the Neelys and took something from each recipe.

(For their original recipes, please click on the links above.)

Ingredients:

Elbow Macaroni - 10 oz package (I didn't use everything though)

1/2 cup Butter

1/4 cup of Flour

2 1/2 cups of Milk

1 tbsp of Prepared Mustard/Yellow Mustard

A pinch of Nutmeg, Thyme and Garlic powder

8 oz Sharp Cheddar Cheese

4 oz Velveeta Cheese

Salt and Pepper

Toppings when you bake it:

Grated Parmesan Cheese

Crushed Potato Chips (I'm glad we had some in the pantry!  I used the Cheesy Garlic Bread Flavored potato chips by Lay's----Yummm!!!)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F

2. Cook the Macaroni according to package, drain and set it aside.

3. Melt the butter and then sprinkle the flour, whisk it together for a couple of minutes on medium -low heat.

4. Add the milk slowly and continue whisking everything together.  As the sauce thickens, add the mustard, nutmeg, thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Mix everything well.

5. Add the cheese, stir and let it melt.

Taste to see if it is to your liking.  Feel free to add more of your seasonings and more cheese!!!!  

6. Add the macaroni pasta.  I suggest you do it gradually (don't dump the macaroni all at once) to come up with the consistency you like (ratio of the cheese sauce to the pasta).  You may serve it as it is or you may bake it.  

If you want to bake it, I suggest make it more saucy to avoid drying up your  Mac and Cheese. 

7. Butter your baking dish, pour the Mac and Cheese and top it with grated Parmesan Cheese and crushed potato chips!  

Notes:

I definitely found the Mac and Cheese recipe that worked for me!  Happy to say that it is toddler- approved!  The next time I'm doing it, I will add more salt (I just added more crushed potato chips on top of it) and add another type of cheese!  I am sure that adding other types of Cheese like Gruyere, Fontina or Asiago would do wonders!

Happy Cooking!