Kubiertos

Meat sauce. Bechamel. Cheese. Think rich, yummy lasagna. I love it! The many times I have made it though really became too rich even for me. Imagine all that butter you need to make your bechamel sauce. My mom recommended I try ricotta and I know that many other recipes call for it too. The thing is, ricotta is not available in our nearby supermarket and you have to go out to a specialty store just to get a tub of it. So I came up with something that used cream cheese and milk instead of ricotta or butter. And the result was marvelously delicious. More cheesy (which I love) than rich and creamy.

Ingredients:

1 package lasagna noodles (cooked to directions)
cheddar cheese

Meat sauce
1/2 kilo ground lean pork
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 medium onion diced
3 cloves garlic minced
dried basil
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp olive oil

Cheese sauce
8 oz cream cheese (cut into small cubes)
1 cup milk

Procedures:

Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat. Saute garlic and onions until translucent. Put in ground pork and stir until everything is cooked. At this point, the pork would have produced a lot of oil. Scoop out some of the excess oil then put in the tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir until the paste dissolves into a sauce. Let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes so that the meat absorbs the flavor of the tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, and basil. Set aside.

In a saucepan, put in 1 cup milk over medium heat. Add in cream cheese and melt to make the cheese sauce.

To assemble, line the bottom of a baking pan with meat sauce. place the lasagna noodles over it. Top with meat sauce, cheese sauce then noodles. Continue this combination until the baking pan is filled to the top. Cover the top with the cheddar cheese. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in 350 degrees F. Cut into 2 inch squares and serve.

Hundreds of entries have been posted. I had to go through each and everyone of them sometimes going back to those I have already seen just to make sure I picked the best shot. For the Catch a Real leaf contest, my choice is daddyjoey’s Real People, Real Leaf entry. It was impressive how he got these hardworking people to take a break and indulge in a little photoshoot. I also loved that he created a short poem to accompany his entry. I love it! Congratulations daddyjoey!

Here are some photos from his winning entry:

Daddy Joey pls. dont forget to send me your complete name, address and contact number. You will be contacted within the week to let you know how you can claim your prize. Congratulations and keep drinking Real Leaf!

UPDATE: Coca-cola has chosen the grand winner out of all of the bloggers’ pick as the Real Leaf Contest winner. And… its my pick! Daddy Joey congratulations! In addition to an IPOD Nano, you also win Php 10,000 cash and a 1-year supply of Real Leaf. Again, congratulations!!

You all know how much I love cheesecake. I made a simple cheesecake, a chocolate cheesecake and now I have successfully whipped up a mocha cheesecake. This was inspired by the most perfect coffee cheesecake that my friends and I had while enjoying coffee and great conversation at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Surprisingly, my cheesecake proved to be the most perfect among all those that I have baked. No cracks, intense taste. So I am sharing with you my tried and tested recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Crust

1 cups crushed graham crackers
1 stick of butter

Filling

16 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup all purpose cream
2 tbsp instant coffee granules
1 tbsp hot water
1 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Procedures:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine all the ingredients for the crust in a bowl and mix with a fork until evenly moistened. Coat the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan with this mixture and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Mix the coffee with the hot water to make a coffee paste.

Beat the cream cheese on low speed for 1 minute. Add in the eggs one at a time. Gradually add the sugar. Continue beating while you add the cream, vanilla extract, coffee paste and flour.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake in a water bath for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Leave inside the over for another hour. Cool overnight for best results.