Three Cheese Filipino Style Baked Macaroni

Today, I'm bringing you a favorite pasta dish in the Philippines...the Baked Macaroni. Like the all time favorite Macaroni and Cheese here in the US, Filipino Style Baked Macaroni has elbow macaroni and cheese as the basic ingredients, but it has a tomato based meat sauce which is a little sweet like the sauce used in Filipino Style Spaghetti.

The most common version of baked macaroni in the Philippines is simply cooked pasta combined with meat sauce then topped with shredded cheddar cheese. The version that I'm going to share with you is my family's favorite. This is how I've been making Baked Macaroni since we got here in the US. The addition of mushrooms in the meat sauce makes it more special. The topping is also different. It 's a lot better than the usual melted cheddar cheese topping. It's creamy and cheesier, and both kids and adults will surely love it!

Check it out and do give it a try! It doesn't only make a delicious filling meal any day of the week, it's a perfect pasta dish for special occasions too...like Valentine's Day! ;)

Sardinas Pancit Sotanghon (Bean Thread Noodles with Sardines in Tomato Sauce)

Last week was all rainy here in my side of the world. Though I don't like rain (especially very hard rain that could stop me from doing things), I just love the sound of it. It kinda makes me feel relaxed. Ehhhr, I guess lazy is the right word...because all I wanna do on a rainy day is to either curl up on the couch with Ryan and the girls or take a long nap...and all I could think of is FOOD! But since I am feeling lazy, I don't want to do too much cooking...all I want is quick and easy comfort food. 

It was raining really hard last Wednesday so Ryan decided to just work from home. We ate some leftover nilaga for lunch...and when it was dinner time, the girls were saying they wanted pancit (noodles). With all the ingredients I put in the usual pancit I cook, I felt so tired already just thinking of how much chopping I had to make. Then suddenly I remember about this vermicelli soup with sardines that my mom used to make. I don't cook it often because Clarise and Cherlin aren't so into canned sardines. But I thought that they might like it if I make it into a guisado (sauted) version without the soup. So that's what I made. I was thinking that if they won't like it, I'll just make them eat the leftover mac & cheese in the ref...

 

...but guess what??! They loved the Sardinas Pancit Sotanghon! I couldn't believe that both of them finished a plateful of it in just a few minutes...and they asked for another serving. Too bad I didn't cook much! 

Since they didn't get enough of it, I had to cook it again last weekend...and just like last Wednesday, it was all gone before I knew it! :)