Heavenly Wraps

We dropped by Costco yesterday after picking up Lei from school. Good thing my hubby's membership is still a few days away from expiring and we were able to buy a couple of things including Lei's birthday gift. I love going to Costco more than the buying experience because they tend to be more expensive but their stuff are of good quality so we're still trying to figure out whether we should renew the membership or not.

Lei loves going there mainly because of the food samples. Yesterday we got to try the wrap with turkey slices, cream cheese and chili sauce. We liked it so much that we ended up buying a whole bag of tortillas, ham slices, cream cheese and a big bottle of chili sauce. It tastes so good. The chili gives the wrap a whole new flavor with its sweetness and surprisingly makes the cream cheese level up a bit more.

And since I'm a dessert person, I made strawberry cream cheese wrap as well. Pure heaven in my mouth :D

Stressful Mornings

my li'l monster

My most stressful days of the week are Tuesdays and Thursdays. These are the days when my youngest goes to school as well and it's not easy to wake her up (just like dad), feed and bathe. I feel like exploding when she goes into one of her tantrums and I couldn't make her eat, dress up nor even pee. How I manage to haul them both in school (on time) especially when we're walking is a miracle indeed.

Lance, always early like mom

My daughter, who's turning 4 in a week can be so excited about school at one point and then feel exactly the opposite in a snap. It is so stressful, words are not enough to describe how hectic our Tues/Thurs mornings are. I feel like I'm gonna have a heart attack one of these days. I hope not, I don't want my kids to miss school nor be late. Kidding aside, I guess I'm just freaked out by time itself. I hate being late, I am very conscious about time and my daughter's morning antics can cause a lot of delays. And since she's also stubborn, pushing her more into the right direction brings about the opposite reaction and she will refuse everything I expect her to do. I can only breathe a sigh of relief once I have signed her in in class and before I know it, it's time to pick her up.

Oh LIFE!!! Can you be kinder towards me? :D

Tom Yum Noodle Soup

We had to go to the Apple store in Calgary during the weekend and after our urgent visit brought about positive results, we leisurely strolled and had dinner at the mall. The kids had their usual fast food while we opted for Chinese. It was too late before I noticed the big bowls of noodle soup the other customers were enjoying. I kind of figured out where they got them (Thai Express) and from where I was seating I could read that it was Tom Yum Noodle Soup. It looked so delicious and all I could do was look and drool!

Before going home the next day, we ordered this for lunch and we were just speechless. It was so delicious, sooo tasty and spicy! We loved every drop of it and we couldn't stop thinking about it. I saw this recipe and we made a trip to the Asian store today to buy the ingredients. We bought the paste and the authentic ingredients as well. We were just dying to make this soup at home and we did! So yummy :D

Colorful Cat's Tongue Cookies

On our way home from school, my daughter asked me to drop by the bakery. We haven't been there for quite sometime and she probably misses the free cookies. So I bargained with her and promised to make some lengua de gato or cat's tongue cookies once we're home. This is probably the only cookies that I can bake perfectly and at the same time my kids really like. Leila's other request was to put sprinkles on them and her idea was a good one, the cookies looked more appetizing and yet still tastes the same :D

Coco-Carrot Cake

I made carrot cake the other day, thought of making carrot cupcakes at first but ended up with the cake. I based it on this recipe and the end result was better than my first one. I also added sweetened coconut flakes The kids especially my eldest wasn't interested at all since it's a carrot cake but managed to have several small bites. Leila on the other hand, would have liked it more if there were huge amounts of frosting which I didn't have.

Anyway I enjoyed baking it and I enjoyed the eating part even more :D

Fresh Meat for a Change

We made a trip to a meat shop today to try and check if their prices are cheaper. We ended up buying beef short ribs which my husband and I used for cooking beef caldereta. This time around we used caldereta mix and liver spread. My husband put a generous amount of olives and we added mushrooms too. It was delicious and the beef ribs were just perfect for this dish. So were they cheaper? We don't know but this won't be our last trip to the meat shop for sure :D

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Turkey Empanada

I'm not a fan of turkey either, but I didn't mind having it for Thanksgiving since I was looking forward to the leftovers. I knew exactly what to do with them and the day after I was attacking the white meat already for my turkey empanada.

While this maybe as hard as roasting a turkey or probably harder because I just couldn't make the dough right, most of the time I end up with edible and delicious to my standard empanadas. Be it chicken or turkey, I love empanadas. I just wish I'd make the dough more perfect, maybe next Thanksgiving I'll get it right.

I cooked the rest of the turkey with oyster sauce, mushrooms and celery but no matter how I attempt to make it more delicious and enjoyable for my husband, he isn't really a fan of turkey unless it's inside an empanada :D

Thanksgiving 2011

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.  

~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

 

We celebrated Thanksgiving on a Sunday instead of Monday. We kind of decided last minute that we would be preparing for a Thanksgiving dinner. My hubby was against buying a turkey since we actually prefer chicken but the kids wanted turkey. It's Thanksgiving anyway, so we bought turkey. It won't be Thanksgiving without a turkey I guess.

All along I thought we'd be celebrating the next day (Monday) so I didn't thaw the turkey right away. Around lunch time my husband called me and said we'll be celebrating that night. Imagine thawing a turkey in time for dinner and it was already past 1pm. Good thing I made bread pudding when I woke up that morning, at least I got dessert already.

I seasoned the turkey with salt, pepper, sage, marjoram and generously brushed it with butter. I stuffed it with lemon, apple slices, celery and onions. I cooked it for about 4 hours, making our Thanksgiving dinner a late one at past 9pm.

While roasting the turkey, I baked some potatoes and later topped them with mozzarella and cheddar cheese and bacon bits. I made Greek salad and deviled eggs as well. Hot dinner buns and white rice completed our Thanksgiving meal plus the Ice wine we brought home from Inniskillin.

What made the meal more special was Lance leading the prayer and everybody saying what we were thankful for. Another year, with its ups and downs and yet we're still standing strong.

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice.  

~Meister Eckhart

Bread Pudding

I used to throw away the sides of the bread since I couldn't make a proper bread pudding and have no other use for them. When I tried this recipe though, I was glad I found a bread pudding recipe that I liked. Now I don't have to throw away food and those sides of the bread still have cheese on them making them more perfect for my bread pudding. They also served as our holiday give away to friends since we usually keep Thanksgiving a family affair :D

I ♥ Pork

This post will once again reflect my love for pork dishes.

Tofu and pork, usually serve as toppings for congee but in our house, best eaten with rice. I used pork belly, boiled until tender and medium firm tofu fried until crispy. Dipped in soy sauce with vinegar, chopped onions and once again I'm in heaven.

Who says barbeque is only done in the summer? I marinated thin slices of pork and stacked them on sticks, grilled them indoors and once again it reminded me of those times we would buy this on the streets back home when we're too lazy to cook.

Oh pork, when will I start to hate you? :D

Ground Pork Adobo

I took out the ground pork out of the freezer this morning but had no clear idea of what to do with it. I have been craving for Adobo unfortunately, we didn't have any pork other than the ground pork or chicken in our freezer. After seeing this post though, I knew I just had to cook Adobo. I sure can do a crispy version using ground pork. So in between doing the laundry and one of my daughter's meltdowns, that's what I did and it was delicious. The taste is a cross between genuine Adobo and Vigan longganisa which is a bonus because the latter is one of our favorites. Hmmm... I think I'll cook this again tomorrow :D

Beef Stir Fry with Vinegar

I saw a Facebook friend's post craving for Imbaliktad (Ilokano Beef Stir Fry) and I immediately googled the recipe. It's basically stir fry with vinegar. Since I looove anything with vinegar, I gave this dish a try and we liked it so much that I cooked it again the next day :D