Cito's Seafood Stew

Cito’s Fish and Shrimp Stew

The is one of the most delicious and easiest seafood stew I’ve ever cooked

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 lb frozen shrimp

L lb of your favorite fresh or frozen fish fillet. I use sway or whiting

Two cubed zucchini (eggplant or your favorite veggies fresh and frozen will do)

1 lb frozen French cut beans

Two diced fresh tomatoes or I 14 ounce can diced tomatoes

I medium chopped onion

I tbs minced garlic

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

2 tbs oyster sauce

I tbs fish powder (optional) you can use fish sauce as a substitute

Put all the ingredients in a thick pan and simmer for 20 minutes. That’s all. Make sure the fish is cooked by tasting it. Then put it on top of brown or white rice. Heaven on earth!

Chicken Adobo Cito’s style – A favorite Filipino dish that will tickle your innards

Prep time – 10 minutes
Cooking time – 1 hour
Will serve 6 people

Ingredients:
1 cut up whole chicken (about 4 lbs)
1/3 cup vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tbs pancake or maple syrup
1 heaping table spoon minced or chopped garlic
1 tbs ground black pepper
1 tbs chicken rub seasoning
1 tbs Cajun seasoning
1 tbs barbecue seasoning
3 bay leaves

1, Thoroughly mix the black pepper, chicken rub, Cajun seasoning, and barbecue seasoning and bay leaves with the chicken

2. Put one layer of chicken on a thick pan (I use a big cast iron skillet) and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes to brown the chicken

3. While the chicken is baking, mix the vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and pancake syrup together

4. After 45 minutes, turn over all the chicken pieces and pour the vinegar/soy sauce mixture on top

5. Broil for exactly 10 minutes to make it even browner. More than 10 minutes will burn it.

5. Serve with brown rice cooked with a little sweet rice to make it softer or with sweet potatoes baked in the microwave.

Your wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend, and guest will drool over this as soon as they open the door of your house. If they seem to not like it, send them over to McDonald’s

What's for lunch? Smoked herring on top of toasted bagel downed with a combination of green/earl grey tea

Smoked herring on toasted bagel with tea. Yukky for some but healthy, cheap, and delicious to me. Cost - $1.50. I buy my smoked fish in a dollar store. Benefits - Omega-3 in the herring which is good for the heart and anti-oxidants and diuretics from the tea which is good for high blood pressure. If you are Asian, just put the smoked herring on top of left over steamed rice. Sardines will work too.

Fish Sinigang (Filipino Sour Fish Soup)

My goal is always cheap, easy, and delicious, so I just use what I can find around the kitchen. As I’m writing this menu, my mouth is already drooling, so keep away from the pot while you are cooking this. 

Prep time: 7 minutes
Cooking time: 23 minutes
Cost: $8-10 
Will serve 4-5 peopleIngredients: 
2 lbs frozen fish fillets (I use haddock but whiting also works and is cheaper)
4 cups chicken broth
2 Tbs lemon juice (Sinigang powder is not available everywhere so I use lemon)
I cut up onion
1 Tbs minced garlic or 4 cloves chopped garlic
1 Tsp black pepper
2 potatoes cut in cubes
1 lb of your favorite frozen veggies

Boil and simmer all the ingredients except the fish and frozen veggies for 13-15 minutes
Put the fish and frozen veggies in and let boil and simmer for 10 minutes

Serve with brown or white steamed rice. 

Now my mouth is really watering thinking of sour it is. If you accidentally drool on the pot, just boil for another 5 minutes to kill the germs.

Broiled Whiting with couscous and veggies

Here we go again – cheap, easy, healthy and delicious

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4 people
Cost: $8 including the side dishes. That’s 2 bucks per person

Ingredients:

2 lbs frozen whiting
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp black pepper or 1 tbs chicken rub
4 tbs Italian dressing
3 tsp minced garlic

Cooking: Put all the ingredients together in iron skillet or any thick pan and broil for 20-25 minutes.

Serve with couscous ( follow instructions on box), cut up fresh tomatoes (organic if possible) and kale sautéed in oyster sauce – cut the kale very finely and cook it on high in the microwave. Then sauté it in 1 tbs olive oil, 1 tsp minced garlic, and 1 tbs oyster sauce for 3 minutes

Your guests might say, you’re cheap, but hey, if it tastes good, who cares. Just light a candle and it will look elegant and expensive.

Shrimps with Couscous

What’s for din din tonight? Mediterranean Shrimp with couscous and veggies. Cheap, healthy and easy to cook.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

I love shortcuts that taste as good as fresh

Ingredients:
1 lb cooked shrimp ($5 in Wal-Mart)
I box couscous
I 16 ounce stewed tomatoes without the juice
3 cloves chopped garlic (I just use minced garlic in a bottle)
1 medium onion diced
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp butter
1 tsp black pepper


Sauté the shrimp in the olive oil and butter with the onions, garlic, and black pepper for 5 minutes.
Then pour the stewed tomatoes without the juice and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Follow the instruction on the box on how to cook the couscous
Serve with fresh tomatoes (ours come from our garden) and frozen French cut beans cooked in the microwave or any of your favorite veggies.
This serves 3-4 people. There, wasn’t that easy. With the time you saved you can spend more time cuddling with your spouse, or significant other, or your dog if you don’t have any of the two.

Tinolang Salmon (Filipino Salmon Soup)

Salmon Tinola (Filipino soup)With daikon (Asian radish) and string beans and collard greens from our garden. This is one of the easiest recipe to cook. It's very healthy and sooo goood! 

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes


Ingredients:
1 lb fresh or frozen salmon
1 daikon sliced in strips
2 diced fresh tomatoes (from our garden) or a can of diced tomatoes
1 chopped large onion
3 cloves chopped garlic
A bunch of green beans and collard greens (from our garden too) or kale
3 cups chicken broth

Put all ingredients except the collard greens or kale in a pot 
Boil and simmer for 15 minutes
Put the collard greens or kale and turn off the stove. The greens must not be overcooked
Serve with steamed brown rice

Will serve 4 people