Advertorial
If you are a working mom like myself, you know the frustration I sometimes feel when I don't get to prepare my family a good home-cooked meal.  When I say good, that means any of the following dishes: Menudo, Afritada, Tinola or Sinigang.  I am always in a hurry and the best that I can do for cooking our baon is to fry, because it's the easiest and quickest way to cook a meal.

Deep Fried Chicken

Deep Fried Lumpiang Shanghai

We do all know that fried foods could be very unhealthy for our bodies right?  I believe that too!  But I also know better now, that it actually depends on what type of cooking oil you use, also that everything should be in moderation.  Researches in the past show that it could cause obesity, heart attacks or diabetes.  But recently, a long-term study was made in Spain among 40,000 adults, and it showed that:

"...those who ate the most fried foods had no greater risk of heart disease or premature death. Another study, this one in obese women, even found a beneficial effect of fried foods on insulin levels.  The type of oil or fat is just one factor that can affect the healthfulness of a fried food." (Source: Time.com)

Advertorial

Christmas is really  here loves!  What better to celebrate it than have a family reunion over lunch or dinner at home with good old home-cooked meal!  It's a tradition in our family that my brothers and their families, as well as ours, get together every Christmas at my parents house.  I can say we can actually be called "Family Practicality" because we have pot luck Christmas lunch.  Each brings a meal or two to share to everyone.  This way, we don't need to spend too much by dining outside or buying food from restaurants.  Besides, nothing beats tasting each family's specialty menu!

My wacky and crazy beautiful family - Christmas Time

Speaking of which, I have said in the past that I may be a busy working mom who doesn't have time to cook anymore, but again, that doesn't mean I don't know how to cook.  In fact, when I do find time to cook, you've got to write down your name before you eat my mean meal, because you might forget your name or your spouse's name because of my sumptuous meal!  Let me share with you the staple in any of our family celebration, my Filipino-Italian Spaghetti!

Wow it's a hybrid of the usual kid-loved-Filipino Style spaghetti but with a zesty twist because it's got an Italian taste too.  Today's your lucky day love because I'll be sharing my recipe.  This spaghetti is much loved among the family, I'm a little proud to say that.  Are you ready?  First, here's how my meaty and yummy spaghetti looks like:

Filipino-Italian Spaghetti Recipe 

Ingredients:

• 1 kg cooked Spaghetti Noodles (any brand)
• 1-2 tsp of MINOLA Coconut Oil
• 1 large sized onion, peeled and diced
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, peeled and diced
• 3 medium sized tomatoes, cut in halves
• 1 small can of button mushrooms
• 3/4 kg lean ground pork/beef
• 3-4 pieces regular hotdog, sliced diagonally
• 1.5 kg Italian Spaghetti Sauce
• 1 cup of broth
• 1/2 tsp of Sugar
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, heat MINOLA Coconut Oil.  Add onions, tomatoes then garlic and stir occasionally until onions caramelized in color.
2. Add the hotdogs and cook for a minute then ground pork and cook for 5-7 minutes while stirring occasionally to break into small pieces.
3. Add the Italian Spaghetti Sauce and bring to a boil while stirring occasionally.
4. Once boiled, lower down fire then let it simmer for a few more minutes until the meat is fully cooked.
5. Add mushrooms to the sauce.
6. Add water especially when the sauce thickens.  Add sugar.
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste.