Paps and I are the ones preparing and cooking meals for our family. We seldom eat-out or order food for delivery because our kids prefer what we cook for them.

The advantages of cooking and eating home-cooked meals are tremendous since we meticulously do the shopping, hand-picking, and preparing our own food. We know that what we serve to our loved ones is clean, safe, healthy, and most of all, delicious.

Preparing delicious meals doesn't necessary mean that we have to make it grand in amount or appearance. Anthony Bourdain, one of the most influential chefs, authors, and television personalities in the world, said, "Good food is very often, even most often, simple food."  Indeed, we agree because our food is always simple but its flavors that tickle our palates and the benefits that it contributes to our well-being are amazingly satisfying.

Aside from handling our food with so much love and care, I am going to reveal our family's secret to our delectable meals and that is no less than, MAGGI. We may be using various brands of herbs, spices, and sauces but Maggi products are always in our pantry.

Why is Maggi part of our meal preparations for years? 

Whenever we choose products especially for ingestion, we always check if they are from reputable brands. Maggi has been in the market for decades. It's among the most trusted food brands in the world. Most of all, it's a product of Nestle, one of the world's leader in health and nutrition. Nestle products including Maggi is research-based and proven to be safe and healthy to use.

Maggi is not just safe and healthy. Napapasasarap naman nito talaga ang mga pagkaing aming inihahanda para sa aming pamilya kahit hindi na lalagyan ng salt o iba pang pampaalat. Maggi balances and enhances the flavor of every meal without making it too salty.

Our vegetable dishes are incomplete without a dash of Maggi Savor Classic Liquid Seasoning. This variant in particular is also best as dip for dumplings, fried dishes, roasted meats, and steamed or boiled veggies. 

We put salt and pepper to our oil-less pan fried chicken. When we discovered Maggi Magic Sarap All-In-One Seasoning Granules and Maggi Magic Chicken Meaty Seasoning Granules, we use them interchangeably and don't use salt anymore. Furthermore, our fried rice is incomplete without Maggi Magic Sarap.

Seared Pork Chops are my mom's favorite. The pork taste is enhanced when Maggi Magic Pork Meaty Seasoning Granules are added to the milk marinade.

Then we tried using it in our Ginisang Monggo because we lessened the pork. Mas lalo pang naging meaty ang flavor at lalong sumarap at naging malinamnam ito!

Why is it that our barbecue dishes taste great? Maggi Oyster Sauce ang sikreto riyan! My best friend, Grace Yanzon, served her Pork Barbecue with Maggi Oyster Sauce when she invited me for lunch in her home. Sa sobrang sarap ng barbecue niya, I never forget to stock up Maggi Oyster Sauce at home. It also makes stir-fry dishes flavorful.

Another milestone was unlocked, Our search for affordable, tasty, and not too salty soy sauce was over because of the launch of Maggi Soy Sauce in the market a couple of months ago. Our Adobo, Menudo or Igado tastes even better with it.

To sum it up, Maggi makes simple dishes taste magical! Parang laging may handaan sa aming tahanan dahil sa Maggi. Sa simpleng Sinigang, pritong ulam, o inihaw, #AllWeNeedIsMagic!

Maggi Watermelon Surprise Soup Base Mix and Maggi Magic Isda All-In-One Seasoning Granules for Fish ang susunod kong susubukan. Ikaw, ano ang kwentong Maggi mo?

The Philippine Readers and Writers Festival was a three day event. Everyday was filled with workshops hosted by different publications which you could attend for free. Just register and you would be given a free pass to all the ballrooms where the workshops were held plus free entrance to the 38th Manila International Book Fair. This event encouraged aspiring and current writers to learn and be good in their craft. 

Due to my limited time, I had a chance to sit on a 2 1/2 hour workshop, "The Path to Possibilities: How Stories Can Reach a Global Audience" by Scholastic Asia and facilitated by five experts in the field of education, reading, editing, publishing, writing, and coaching. Let me give you their background and the insights that they imparted to inspire aspiring and current writers, bloggers, educators, students, and even parents to instill in themselves, to their kids and others the pointers on how to create a good story and love reading. Here they are:

Barry Cunningham is  the publisher of Chicken House Books, has had an impressive career in publishing. He has worked with the great names in children's books including Roald Dahl during the most popular years of his career. He soon became one of the best-known names in publishing after he signed up J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. In 2010, he was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in the Queen's Honours List for services in literature.

Mr. Cunningham prepared this video while on vacation. He was so enthusiastic to share his expertise and expressed his regret of not being able to see us in person. (Courtesy: Scholastic Asia)

Professors Sangil and Villanueva amazed the audience as they shared their insights. (Courtesy: Scholastic Asia)

Fondly called Teacher Vic, has spent 24 years doing literacy work in various roles. He was an Assistant Professor in the College of Education, University of the Philippines Diliman, Executive Director of Wordlab School, Judge of National Book Development Board, Consultant of Wordprime, Founder of Read Ability Literacy Improvement Center, and School Director of The Builder's School. He is currently a Senior Educational Consultant of Grolier Scholastic Philippines, Board Member of The Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY), and Reading Assessment Specialist.

The following are the key points that he has mentioned in "Reading Landscape: What Readers Look for in a Good Story?"

 (Bruno Bettelheim, The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales)

Learning from the speakers could be refreshing and recharging. Even if we are writing for a couple of years now, learning should not stop. After all, we don't have the monopoly of knowledge.  All the insights that they said would mean that great writers started from reading at a very young age. They found it easier to express themselves effectively due to their exposure to good vocabulary, other writers' ideas through the books that they read, and most of all through their own experiences. 

All the tips that they've shared may sound easy but being great not just in writing entails a lot of hard work, enthusiasm, and perseverance. Furthermore, experience makes perfect and permanence. Learning is part of our lifetime and it shall only end as we die.

It's been a a while since I've shared my most favorite recipes. This Mama is very, very busy for a couple of months now. As you all now, I am writing for PSST!PH since July (It's a dream come true, actually.) and our home based family business is doing good. I am striking the iron while it's hot!

While my hands were tied, I also had a quick decision to have my blog get an overhaul. It so happened that a good blogger friend and a very talented software engineer, Celerhina Aubrey, had a very nice and reasonable proposal and I took advantage of the opportunity.

While Aubrey was fixing the look of my website, Paps and I were focused on our kids while doing our own jobs and helping each other with mom on our family business. Wala kaming hangin and a day is not enough to cover all our duties. Having a writer's block from time to time also refrains me from even touching the keyboard of our PC. Sakit ko na yata ito especially when the year is about to end.

Furthermore, there are so many ongoing issues and concerns in my life. To slow down a bit, I always write my musings on my Instagram account. By the way, it's my most updated social media account and I invite you to check it out. There I write almost anything that pops on my head. I also browse my past photos from time to time and that is when I came across with Mrs. Patty Cuyugan's Mexican Rice Casserole Recipe na pagkasarap-sarap!

It has an authentic taste of a cheesy, meaty, and spicy Mexican food. Dahil nakita ko na naman ang photo na ito on Instagram I have this urge to cook it again and enjoy it with my family. I also encourage you to try this. You'll surely love this too! Madali pang iluto.

When you cook this, tanya-tanya lang.

Ingredients

old rice 

 pork giniling 

 taco seasoning 

crushed tomatoes 

minced onions 

corn 

bell pepper 

cheese 

Procedure

Saute all the ingredients except cheese in taco seasoning. When everything was mixed thoroughly, place grated cheese and a little sauteed pork giniling on top and turned off the stove. 

Isn't it super easy? When you smell and taste it, feel na feel mo ang Mexican flavors. It fits perfectly what Kate Mclennan of thekateringshow.com once said, "Mexican food is so full of colour, life, and music. It's like a pinata exploding in your mouth."

Thanks for sharing this recipe, Patty! I will be sharing again more home cooked recipes in the days to come! Feel free to leave a comment once you have tried and tasted it. Maraming salamat, Mars at Pards!