Are you like me who believe that the family who eats and prays together, stays together? 
No it isn’t Noche Buena yet but thankfully, my wife, Tina found time exactly a week ago to prepare a meal that Gabby and I love eating! Pasta! She made a little twist on the usual ingredients of carbonara. Instead of using the usual spaghetti or fettuccini, penne or linguini, she personally hand-picked a pack of pasta-shapes with spinach from the grocery shelf to make the dish more enticing for our kid; and unlike other version with bacon bits, she opted to incorporate Purefoods Fiesta ham. OK, I must admit; I made her used it, LOL. I like it and another brand of ham which I’ll try to feature before the holidays.
Should you be interested in trying Tina’s recipe, here are the ingredients : San Remo Vegeroni Pasta Shapes, Sabroso Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Alaska All Purpose Cream, Jolly Button Mushroom, Carnation Evaporated Milk, Gold Medal All Purpose Flour, Kraft Eden Melt-Sarap Cheese, Anchor Family Spread Butter (our favorite!), carrots, bell peppers, salt and pepper to taste and the so-called star of Noche Buena – Purefoods Fiesta Ham!
Look at those pasta!
STEPS :
1. Boil pasta to al dente; within 9 – 10 minutes; add a few drops of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and a teaspoon of butter. Drain the pasta and set aside.
2. Cut the carrots and bell peppers into small cubes; do the same with the button mushrooms; set aside.
3. Slice Purefoods Fiesta Ham and cut into cubes. Fry until golden brown; set aside.
4. For the carbonara sauce : Melt 2/3 Anchor butter. Add and mix 2 – 3 tetra packs of Alaska All-Purpose Cream with 2 cans of Carnation Evaporated Milk in a sauce pan. Grate Kraft Eden Melt Sarap Cheese and add it to the mixture. Save some grated cheese for toppings. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring into a boil with constant stirring. Add remaining ingredients (mushroom, carrots, bell peppers) and simmer for 2 — 3 minutes.
5. Pour a fraction of the sauce over cooked pasta on a plate and top it with ham and grated cheese.
6. Serve with a smile and with all your heart, naks!
Actually, Tina’s secret ingredient was the fun bonding moments she had with Gabby while cooking. And my participation? I’m their food tester taster, LOL
What’s your favorite home-cooked meal ?
wow Chef-fy ang dating ni Gabby! I like his toque. It looks yummy Doc Gelo, hats off to Ms. Tina for cooking.
Doc, is there difference in flavor sa Anchor Butter na Family Spread compared to the regular ones? we use kc the unsalted kind as our staple butter.
yes its true a family that eats and prays together, stays and get healthy together. it instills to children good table manners and foster open communications with the parents. I have this friend na 5 boys sila sa family. it is mandatory that they eat dinner together almost every night (except Saturday i think). and during dinner time, the parents ask their boys how was their day was and vice versa. so when one his brothers “came out” he did it during dinner time and it was like a simple conversation lang. his parents were just waiting for his brother to tell them. then carry on lang with the dinner.
When I cook for John and Peewee, they like my spaghetti and afritada. When I’m at my parents’ house, my mom makes me my fried dilis/tawilis with garlic fried rice topped with slices of tomatoes and patis.
hi ingrid, thanks for the kind words. tina appreciates it.
we usually buy anchor butter family spread salted because it’s more ‘spreadable’ and a lot cheaper than the regular anchor butter. you’re more health-conscious than us for you prefer unsalted ones.
those foods you mentioned were real yummies
i see those noodles in the supermarket! oo nga, ang cute nila and sakto sa christmas! it will make cooking [and eating] more fun!
hey, kg! pambata nga ang pasta yun, and perfect for holiday vacation
Thank you for this wonderul recipe doc! Quite timely for those wanting to prepare a great pasta this Noche Buena. Those pics look yummy!!!
try the recipe, sometime, dennis
thanks! 
It looks like Gabby is getting some early home-based training as a chef. He’d be whipping you up some great meals soon. Thanks for sharing the recipe – this is a great treat for Noche Buena indeed!
you’re welcome, dennis. how’s the snow in ny?
Chef to be! Galing ng finished product. Mukhang pambata nga with all the colors.
thanks, rico. sana nga maging chef si gabby. as of now, he really wants to be one.
Ang cute ng noodles! Parang gusto ko rin nung ala-chef hairdress ni Gabby. =) My fave homecooked meal? Anything “pansit” and with gata or ginataan.
you like his toque, witsandnuts?
we only got it for P90+ from landmark dept store in triNoma. 
Wow! Chef na chef si Gabby ha! Bagay sa kanya. Those pasta noodles look so good. Love the colors.
thanks, b’ley
you are blest, doc.:-) Merry Christmas!
thanks, doc Z.
wow galing naman ni Ms. Tina at Gabby at may home made pasta pa si Doc (as tester LOL)…at may all purpose cream na rin pala ang alaska, pano yan ano bang replacement ng all purpose cream dito?? heavy cream??? parang ang sarap lutuin yun recipe ni Tina pero wala kaming Eden cheese dito at wala rin anchor butter hehehe
(parang ayaw magluto no, panay ang reklamo hehehe) miss ko na nga ang lasa ng Eden walang katulad…..actually ang favorite ko lang talagang lutuin ay ang walang kamatayan kong sinigang LOL pero malakas ka sa kin Doc baka itry ko yan….baka lang ha…parang beef, “baka” hehehe
i’ve read your sinigang post, missy! spinach and beans in sinigang?! hehe
love it! colorful! and you can never go wrong with purefoods fiesta ham!
i put it naman sa macaroni salad.
thanks, iya for frequenting my site. we love purefoods fiesta ham! in fact we have another kilo at our freezer now
Gabby looks good in a chef’s hat, doc!
I also like your salad; so colorful! I’m breaking out the paellera for some heavy duty cooking come next week; paella’s our family’s lutong bahay of choice for Christmas and has been for as long as I can remember.
it’s pasta, midge. but less the carbonara sauce, those shaped pasta can also be used for salad of course… btw, i’m also a paella fanatic like your family. advance merry christmas!
ang colorful ng pasta! ang cute ni gabby!
Why sabroso olive oli iS good .