For some people, cooking comes naturally and preparing sumptuous meals is easy even without taking culinary lessons. However, there are those who find preparing homecooked meals a real challenge. I am one of those culinary-challenged moms who got married with nary a kitchen skill then found themselves having to whip up nutritious food for the entire family. And it’s not even enough for the meals to be nutritious; they have to be delicious as well.
Fortunately, there are now a wide range of products available that help moms like me prepare meals that are tasty and packed with nutrients. One of our family’s favourite brands is Ajinomoto. From the popular AJI-NO-MOTO® Umami Seasoning, the brand now has plenty of other products to make meals more delicious.
Last night, our dinner was made UMAMI-licious with these products from Ajinomoto: Aji-Ginisa Flavor Seasoning Mix Shrimp Flavor, So Quick Marinade, Crispy Fry Original, and Fres-C Powder Drink Mix. I’m really no expert in the kitchen so I’m proud to have been able to cook dinner in less than an hour. This already includes all the washing and chopping of vegetables and meat AND washing the pots and pans used to cook the meals.
First off was the Budget Pinakbet. Budget because it didn’t include any shrimp or pork to add flavour to the vegetables. What I used instead was a pack of AJI-NO-MOTO® Aji-Ginisa Seasoning Mix Shrimp flavouring. I added just a tiny dash of AJI-NO-MOTO® Umami Seasoning for good measure. We already had tomatoes, okra and sigarilyas in our crisper so all I needed to buy from the nearby talipapa was a piece of eggplant and a slice of kalabasa. Since Aji-Ginisa is already a complete mix of panggisa spices, there was no need to use garlic and onions – saved me time chopping those two as well. 🙂 The cooked dish was good for 2-3 adults and the ingredients cost no more than 60 pesos. How’s that for a budget ulam?!
Our other viand for dinner was the kids’ – and my – favorite Crispy Fried Chicken Wings. The chicken wings were marinated in AJI-NO-MOTO® So Quick Marinade for only 15 minutes. One tip I learned from watching a cooking show was to prick the meat before marinating it to ensure that the flavor seeps inside the meat. You can actually already cook the chicken after marinating it but my kids love breaded chicken so I used AJI-NO-MOTO® Crispy Fry Original breading mix to give our wings some crunch. I made sure to wipe off the marinade that sticks to the meat before coating it with the Crispy Fry so the chicken will not be too salty. The six pieces of chicken wings, Ajinomoto So Quick Marinade, and Ajinomoto Crispy Fry breading mix all cost around 100 pesos.
For dessert, we had Orange Pops and Jelly which I made while the kids were in school. It took me only about 10 minutes to turn Fres-C Orange, some sugar, and unflavored gelatine into this lip-smacking Fres-C Orange Jelly. All I did was boil a pack of unflavored gelatine in one liter of water, stir in one pack of Fres-C Orange powder and one-fourth cup of sugar, and pour the mixture into the molds. Once they were cool already, I placed them in the refrigerator. The kids couldn’t wait until dinner time to taste the Fres-C Orange Jelly and asked to have the small ones during snack time. Then they shared the big jelly with their Papa after our UMAMI-licious dinner.
Last night’s dinner of pinakbet, crispy wings, and orange jelly cost us just a little over 200 pesos. That’s just right within our budget. Plus, it put smiles on the faces of my husband and two precious little kids.
You really don’t have to be a chef to prepare meals that your family – especially the children – will enjoy eating. With the freshest ingredients and a little help from AJI-NO-MOTO® Umami Seasoning, you can have UMAMI-licious meals every day.
This bottle has already made many homecooked meals UMAMI-licious!
Nice idea ung Fres-C Orange Jelly. Might try it some time.. Mukhang enjoy na enjoy mga kids mo sis =D
Naku, sinabi mo pa. Love nila yung jelly and ice pops. Got the idea of Fres-C jelly from the Ajinomoto calendar. 🙂 May recipes dun.
Nice that the kids enjoyed the veggies, not every kids love veggies.. 🙂
sarap ng kain ng mga kids, they really enjoyed the meal
i missed gelatin!
From the viand to the dessert, Ajinomoto-inspired kaya I’m sure masarap!
Sis, they seriously eat pinakbet? My 7 year old boy tells in school na fave nya ang broccoli and everytime i cook it, i let him prove to me that it is his fave. he is saying yummy pero kita sa face nya that he does not like it. My older girls naman eat only baguio veggies.
My daughter does! Naku, talo pa ako coz she eats sigarilyas and okra. And she loves kalabasa! Nagmana sa Papa nya who loves gulay. My little boy takes after me naman, we’re both carnivorous. 🙂
haha, i know adults who hate okra and saluyot. sobrang dulas daw!
awwww.. love the presentation at heart-shaped ang rice!
I bet your kids enjoyed the Fres-C Popsicles!
ay galing ng jelly idea! weeeee now gusto kong gumawa. LOL
Naku! The kids loved it. I use bear and hello kitty bread molds kaya lang di masyado nakita yung details sa picture. It’s really easy to make. 🙂
I am one of those who knows the way around the kitchen but could easily get lost in pot of dish heheh…. That’s the problem with both parents being good cooks lol!
Wow! I would love to try those ajinomoto in my cooking. Sana magkaroon na dito soon!
I will try the orange pop and the jelly. I am sure my son will love it too. Simple meals shared with family is love.
Mommy Maye
http://www.momaye.com
Love that your kids love your cooking. I try to stay away from ajinamoto as it’s an artificial seasoning and have heard that it is not good for your health in the long run .
I really like to see kids eating heartily! 😀 Some parents I know have problems with feeding their children. I used to have a problem, too. But now I have to go and make them diet. LOL
i have to admit, I am not into adding Ajinomoto in cooking meals. But sometimes adding this ingredient can really make a dish superb.
Aside from Crispy Fry, I also use So Quick…masarap sya sis…Aji product din
We had this So quick marinade at home pero hindi ko pa nagagamit until now. Maybe I’ll try this one day. Best sa chicken wings.
the pinakbet looks yummy.. I feel like cooking this menu tomorrow…:-)
The ice pop is something I’d like to replicate in the future lalo na when summer comes. It’s nice to serve this to my nephews and niece as they further discover the shapes and characters due to the molds used. Where did you buy the plastic containers, Olga?
less than 60pesos for a pinakbet? wow, budget ulam na, healthy pa!
budget friendly meal! the kids really enjoyed their food hahaha
aww, Jade + Jakei, teach nyo naman si Jared how to eat solids with gusto! ^_^
mommy Olga, it is official, ako na lang ang nag-iisang culinary challenged in our group! congratulations! 😉
These food mixes are really helpful for the cooks in the house!!!
Crispy Fry is also our favorite breading mix!
I use Ginisa mix and Crispy fry all the time. 🙂
Aji-umami really makes simple foods delicious. 🙂
Your kids did enjoyed eating the crispy chicken. 🙂 Parang chicken joy na rin 🙂
when i cook, i always have that one as well. 🙂 The umami taste rules!
I’ve been dying to prepare that ginisang sa gulay. I miss my mom even more when I saw this post. She’s from Pangasinan and we all know that they are obsessed with vegetables hehehe!
Wow very economical ang family dinner nyo! Someday I will learn to do this for my family too. 🙂
Naku, Vera! I’m not a very good cook either and learned the basics just after I got married. Those dishes I cooked were very easy to prepare and cook.
Too bad we’re not a fan of that seasoning.
I did that Fresh C Orange Jelly last New Year’s Eve and kids loved it very much.
We try to cook “healthier” meals by not using MSG, pero iba talaga lasa eh. So we still use seasoning haha. And the orange jelly is a great idea!
We use it very sparingly. 🙂
I use magic sarap mix naman in cooking veggies. I love the idea that it could make every dish really delicious even you don’t add real meats. Love your pinakbet, looks inviting. 🙂
I also want to experiment on just cooking veggies using some seasonings. I’m trying to cut down on meats for health reasons na rin even I’m not really fat. Cooking a special dish in less than an hour is such a wow!
One of my favorite brands too is Ajinomoto. Instant sarap may ginisa mix ang ulam but since MSG pa rin ito, kaunti lang. Malasa naman kahit kaunti lang.
Swerte nga tayo daming cooking aids. Makes kare-kare, sinigang and other meals easy to prepare.