So...what did you prepare for New Year's Eve? :-)

New Year's eve is always a festive time here in our country.

Families all over celebrate the anticipation of a prosperous New Year and everyone partakes in a special dinner called the "Media Noche".

The feast includes favorite dishes along with 12 kinds of round fruit believed to bring good luck to the months ahead.

a basket full of round fruits on my table 

(Kiwi, apple, melon, grapes, oranges, etc.)

 ~ for a prosperous new year!!

For our Media Noche, we decided to have a simple, healthy menu of: 

Pancit Molo, Kani Salad, Maki Rolls, Tebasaki (Chicken Lollipop), and Baked Macaroni.

For dessert, we had Fruit Salad, Ube Cake, and native Suman
(especially for the kids and their friends). ☺

Pancit Molo

The hubby especially requested this for our Media Noche and of course, his wish was granted. ♥

Very much similar to the Chinese wonton soup,
Pancit Molo is a delicious soup dish which is easy to prepare with dumplings and meat broth.

Its ingredients are a mixture of *ground pork wrapped in wonton wrapper,
 (*I substituted my version with *lean ground beef for health reasons)
 shredded chicken meat, shrimps, and vegetables.

It is a dish which originated in Molo, Iloilo hence the name "Pancit Molo".

Pancit Molo

For soup stock:

1 large *chicken 

(*preferably the native kind or what we call the "bisaya" kind, in Ilonggo)

1 large onion, quartered

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

salt

For Molo Filling:

1/2 kilo *ground pork

(or you may substitute with *lean ground beef ~ like I do)

1/2 kilo shrimp, peeled and minced

1 head garlic, minced

1 large onion, minced

2 stalks spring onion, minced

salt

pepper

soy sauce

2 eggs

100 pieces Molo wrappers

1/2 head garlic, minced

1 large onion, minced

spring onions, chopped

fresh calamansi or lemon

1. In a large pot, put together soup stock ingredients with water.

Simmer till chicken is tender.

Remove and shred.

Discard bay leaf.

2. In a bowl, combine molo filling ingredients except wrappers.

Mix very well and wrap in the molo wrappers.

Drop in boiling soup stock.

3. In a pan, saute garlic, onion and shredded chicken.

Add to soup stock.

Season with a teaspoon of fresh calamansi or lemon juice and garnish with chopped spring onions.

(As for the hubby and me, we like our Molo soup topped with chopped spring onions and lots of toasted garlic.) ☺

Kani Salad

Maki

Tebasaki

the delicious Pineapple-Ham Dish my Tita Amy and *cousin Sarah gave us for New Year's eve ♥

(*My cousin Sarah is a graduate of the University Of St.La Salle Bacolod-Culinary School.) ☺

Baked Macaroni

Fruit Salad

native Suman

Ube Cake