Ancheta & Co. Est. 5/2007

Rah Rah Ah Ah Ah...

2011-09-13T23:19:00.001-07:00

This post isn't about Lady Gaga, but making my own homemade pom poms. Heh, that part of Bad Romance just popped into my mind and gave me the idea for the post title.

Anyway, it's college football season and we were lucky enough to catch the season opener game for the University of Hawaii on our recent trip home. Also, this weekend we get to watch another UH Warrior football game in Las Vegas. Whoot Whoot!! We got a bunch of Warrior gear and we're all good to go.

However, I felt we were missing something and after watching another game on tv it dawned on me that it was pom poms. I was watching the crowd in this particular game and they were shaking around pom poms in the school colors. Then it gave me the idea to make on my own so I went to the best tutorial site...YouTube.

I found some that were made with crepe paper and they looked pretty lame. Until I found a tutorial that really caught my eye and seemed really easy to follow. I can thank Pinellas County HIPPY Helps for this tutorial. I'm currently writing up this post on my phone so I'll have to update with the actual tutorial later.

For this pom pom creation it only cost me less than $5 to make and I just used three materials. Here's the how to with a minor addition.

Homemade Pom Poms

Materials:

Plastic tablecovers (In any color you like.)
Scissors

Electoral tape

Directions:

Open up the tablecloth completely, fold in half, and cut in half. Keep cutting the tablecloth in half until you get squares around the size of 12"x12" or 14"x14" depending on the original size of the tablecloth. When done cutting they would look like this below.

Next start layering your cut pieces in alternating colors using a total of 20 sheets. I used clothespins to help hold the sheets together so they don't slip around when cutting.

Once the sheets are clipped together start cutting about inch wide strips one half of the sheet stopping about a half inch toward the center. One half will look like this below.

Then continue to do the same on the other half.

Next take off one of the clothespins and start gathering the uncut center. I gathered the center in a fan like hold till I reached the end.

Once gathered, wrap the electrical tape tightly around the center about five times.

Lastly, start fluffing each piece on both sides. Separate each piece gently to alternating sides. Once done the pom pom will be full and you won't even see the electric taped center. Here's how they will look.

I'm going to make another set using the other UH colors. Can't wait to bring these to the game this weekend.

GO WARRIORS!!

Here's the tutorial video that you all can watch. Happy crafting!

Where the Heck....

2011-08-31T00:37:00.000-07:00

Have I been?

Geez, I haven't posted anything in here since May! It's been a ghost town on my blog since then. Well I'm alive and well and a whole lot has happened since I last posted. I've been meaning to share some news that is quite exciting for us but haven't had the time to post it.

The BIG announcement is that Ancheta & Co. is EXPANDING!! Baby #2 is on his/her way this coming February 2012. I'm so far 17 weeks along and we get to find out the baby's sex in about three weeks. The Lil Booger is excited that he gets to be a big brother and can't wait to help out with the new baby.

Finding out that we're expecting Baby #2 happened a day before our 4-year wedding anniversary and it was a great present to the both of us. Now I can't wait to have enough energy and time to start making some baby craft items. We're home in Hawaii right now so I've already gotten some really nice Hawaiian print material and before we left Oregon I scored some cheap diaper cloths.

Our summer has been pretty busy with the Lil Booger in some sports camps offered through our city and parks recreation. Adding with me feeling completely exhausted and finally experiencing "any time of the day" sickness during my first trimester. We've had a fun filled summer I must say though with camping, sports, days at the park, and now to end it with a trip home to Hawaii.

That's pretty much why I've been M.I.A on my blog. Now that I've gotten most of my energy back and not taking 4-hour naps in the afternoons anymore, I should be able to blog a little more now. LOL!

So I'll see you all soon. Here's a pic to end the blog with that I took the other day. I was telling my hubby that I took a similar pic like this when the Lil Booger was six months old on our first trip home with him. Just to think in a year we could have Baby #2 doing the same post ^_^.

I'm Getting Fancier...

2011-05-21T15:43:00.000-07:00

I made a batch of red velvet cake balls for hubby's bosses at work and with this batch I wanted to play around with a little decorating. Nothing totally fancy but just with some candy drizzling.

I first tried doing the drizzling with a melting squeeze bottle but I think I got a little impatient with the candy melting that I clogged the tip. Since I didn't have a small enough cake decorator tip I sort of went the poor man's route and used a Ziploc bag. I just filled it up with chocolate, sealed it up, and snipped a tiny whole in the corner of the bag. Heh, it worked for the purpose and the cake balls turned out alright. I just need to make a mental note to find a new decorator tip for this kind of decorating purposes.

Guess their looks didn't matter since I was told they tasted so good anyway ^_^. Here's how they looked.

Special Order

Colored Balls...

2011-05-21T15:21:00.000-07:00

So with this whole phenom of Bakerella's Cake Balls I jumped on the wagon in making these now.

The thing I didn't mention in my previous post when I first made them is that I found a WAY cheaper way to get candy melts. Rather than using pre-packaged Wilton brand candy melts that you can find already colored, I actually found chocolate and vanilla candy melts in the bulk foods section of my local grocery store at Winco. The Wilton candy melts come in bags of 14 oz. at around $2.99 regular price. Whereas, in the bulk bins I got my candy melts for $2.38/lb! Even though I would have to use oil based dye to color the white melts it still cheaper than buying the melts pre-packaged and I can deal with the coloring part.

If you have a bulk foods section in your local grocery store go and look if you can find the candy melts. I've been shopping at the grocery store for the past 10 years and have only really discovered it in the recent months. I don't know why I never thought of buying most of my grocery items in that section, it would have helped me save some money in the past.

With that said this past Easter I made some Devil's Food cake balls just to play around with flavor. With this batch I ended up using vanilla flavored candy melts and used oil based dye to color them baby blue and lavender.

I had to play around with the dyes a bit to get the color I wanted. I first started out with the blue coloring and used a toothpick dipped into the dye and let it drip into the melted chocolate. After a few tries I got the color I desired. With this batch of cake balls I think I made about 80, so I colored half of it blue and the other half lavendar. When the first batch was done I still had some blue coating left, so I just added more candy melts and added red dye till I reached the lavendar shade I wanted.

After this batch was done and taste test commenced. I got a thumbs up from my Lil Booger and friends! Although they still preferred the red velvet cake instead LOL. It was good experimentation for me and try to get the cake balls coated nicer.

Here's how they turned out and a few pics of my supplies.

Vanilla Candy Melts

Oil Based Candy Colors

Vanilla Melts Colored Lavender

Light Blue Colored Cake Balls

Lavender Colored Cake Balls

Spring Cleaning...

2011-05-16T00:43:00.000-07:00

Is it still technically Spring? I can't really tell while living in the Great Northwest since it's still raining LOL.

Nonetheless, I've gotten the sudden urge to do some spring cleaning and try to re-organize our house. The first plan off attack was our kitchen pantry. I usually end up cleaning it up and in no time it looks like a bomb went off in there. I figured maybe getting pantry stackable shelves will help out the problem with the canned goods piling on each other and getting bigger baskets or containers for our snacks and such.

So the first place I had to check out was IKEA for some organizers on the cheap. I so LOVE Ikea and wish I could furnish our whole house with their stuff. I knew they would have what I needed which where the stackable shelves. I had already checked Target for those but they were a little more rinky dink than I imagined and costing $7 or more each item. So when I seen the Rationell Variera shelf insert for $5.99, that had me sold.

We took a quick trip to Ikea yesterday and I was on a mission to JUST get the shelves and that's it. Yeah, that sort of didn't happen, I got two glass vases for under $2/each and 3 rubber spatulas for $0.29 in addition to the shelves. I was though in Ikea for under an hour on a Saturday afternoon, you have to give me that LOL.

Then on Sunday I hit up Home Depot and Target to search for storage bins/containers to better contain other things that are thrown into the pantry. When I finally got home I spent the last three hours or so purging out old food and what nots in there that I had used 3/10 gallon sized garbage bags that were filled to the opening of the bags.

After all that work, I must say I'm quite satisfied how it turned out. The only thing I forgot to do was clean out the very top shelf which is pretty minor. Now that this part of spring cleaning is over, on to other parts of the house. Here's my BEFORE/AFTER pics of my cleaning escapade.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Pretty Cherry Blossoms & Sunshine...

2011-04-09T00:41:00.000-07:00

Today was such a nice and sunny day that all the Cherry Blossom trees I seen while driving around looked so pretty. I like this time of season when all the spring flowers start to bloom. My flower bed in the backyard of daffodils and tulips are blossoming.

I keep bugging my hubby to plant a cherry blossom tree but he doesn't want to since the flowers make a big mess when they fall. Makes a good point there since I don't want to be the one that cleans it up LOL. It's SO pretty though. I guess I'll settle for admiring cherry blossoms from afar like I did today. I took a picture of a tree today but it's not the greatest since it was taken from my phone. Hopefully we get another sunny day to take some real pics, but here's the beauty I saw today :o).

I WON!!

2011-04-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot I had entered a giveaway at the blog site Rad Linc Crafts nearly a month ago since March was National Craft Month. The giveaway was for a book on how to create nylon flowers and a small kit to get me started.

I absolutely forgot that I even entered this giveaway and only remembered when I had seen a comment posted on my DIY Nail Polish post made be Fe at Rad Linc Crafts telling me that I won. Again, sorry Fe that I didn't get in touch with you any sooner.

I am so excited that I won since I've been wanting to try my hand in making nylon flowers since I've already made fabric ones already. I don't have a picture sample of my own to show you how a nylon flower looks like but you can check out one of Rad Linc Crafts' tutorials on "Making Nylon Flowers, Part 3: Making Plumerias" to get an idea.

In addition to checking out that tutorial, check out her entire blog. She's got other great craft tutorials and recipes as well.

I can't wait to receive my giveaway prize and start making some nylon flowers. I'll of course be sure to write up a blog when I do ;o).

It's T-Shirt Time! Criss Cross Technique...

2011-04-05T01:35:00.000-07:00

After doing the weaving technique I wanted to try out other ideas, so I went back to YouTube to find other cool t-shirt cutting techniques.

The one idea that caught my eye was by Salinabear and she has several other tutorial vids that are just as cool. She did this really cool criss cross technique that intrigued me and I had never seen before. It looked a little complicated so I had to use an old t-shirt of my hubby's as a guinea pig before I even started on the actual shirt that I was interested in cutting up.

This technique requires you to cut tiny holes into the shirt for weaving the strips into. I ran into a little problem with that since I had a hard time finding where I actually cut the holes. I should actually clarify that the video tutorial says to cut tiny holes but I ended up just poking holes with my scissors instead since I wanted to make sure that when I weaved the strips through they would stay put and not fall out.

Anyway if you follow my technique of making holes, I HIGHLY recommend that you mark your holes with tailor's chalk on dark material or disappearing water soluble pen on light material. I ended up missing a hole when I practiced on my guinea pig shirt.

Here are some pics of my cutting process along with the actual tutorial vid.

Cut back into strips and stretch out.

Separate your strips to be tied in 4 different sections.

The final project.

I followed just the criss cross cutting technique and adjusted the shirt to fit me better since it's one of my hubby's old XL t-shirts. Here is the video tutorial by Salinabear and be sure to check out her other tutorials as well.

Happy Cutting!

It's T-Shirt Time! Weaving Technique...

2011-04-05T00:44:00.000-07:00

I wish I never gave away a bunch of old tees that I had so I could experiment with the cool art of t-shirt cutting. So for now I'm using my hubby's old tees for practice and just adjust them to fit me.

I started my hand in t-shirt cutting a few months ago when I wanted to match my son's Plex Halloween costume. I just the weaving technique on the back, cut out the neckline, and tied colored ribbon to scrunch up the sleeves. This turned out pretty good for my first time and this is how it turned out.

I later did more t-shirt cutting for myself, a friend, and her daughter using the same technique when we went to a Yo Gabba Gabba concert. I didn't have enough time to experiment with different styles so I just did the same weaving technique. I ended up weaving the back of my t-shirt three times since it was too loose. Here's how our t-shirts turned out.

Danni's Tee

Suelynne's Tee

My Tee

I'd give you the rundown tutorial but I'd totally screw up on writing it correctly. So rather than confuse the heck out of you here's the YouTube video by MakeupByRisa that I used to get the idea of just the weaving technique. Everything else I did to my tee was just by going with the flow on how to make it cute.

Hope you try this out and you rock some cool tees!

Trifle, Sex in a Pan, Orgasm Cake...

2011-04-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

However you want to call it. I've only known this dessert to be called Trifle when I first learned how to make this over 15 years ago in high school. It's so indulgently yummy and chocolaty I can see why it can be called "Sex in a Pan" or an "Orgasm Cake" since it's better than sex or so I've been told LOL.

It's really easy to make and I usually layer this dessert neatly into a glass trifle dish bowl. However, since I made this last night to take over to a BBQ I just used a plain ol' aluminum pan and made one layer of each ingredient.

Here's the how to:

CHOCOLATE TRIFLE
Ingredients:
1 box of devil's food cake mix
1 box of chocolate instant pudding (I used the bigger one, not sure what the size is exactly)
1 big tub of Cool Whip
4 Skor candy bars

Directions:
Bake cake according to box directions. Prepare pudding according to package directions. Let Cool Whip thaw out while cake is baking. Chop up Skor candy bar into small pieces. Once the cake is done baking and cooled down, crumble into a layer in a trifle bowl. Layer with half of chocolate pudding, half of Cool Whip, and candy. Repeat layer one more time with remaining ingredients.

This is how it would look like in a trifle bowl and one layered in an aluminum pan.

Cake Balls!

2011-04-03T03:27:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to make Cake Balls for forever but never had a reason to make them. Like I really had an excurse not to anyway, they're some kind of dessert! If you're not familiar on what Cake Balls are, they're essentially chocolate covered cake balls kind of like a truffle.

I've been following the site Bakerella that showcases the Cake Balls along with other yummy looking treats. She provides the how-to's to duplicate her yummy creations and they look pretty easy. So since my son's third birthday is coming up I was thinking of making these cake balls as treats for the young ones but more so for the adults.

I followed Bakerella's recipe for the Red Velvet Cake Ball's and here's my process on how they turned out.

Ready to bake the cake.

Cake is done baking.

Crumble the cake.

Add a can of whipped creamcheese frosting.

Mix the frosting into the crumbled cake.

Shape into about 1.25 inch balls.

Melt chocolate. Here I used an electric candy melter/warmer.

Melted chocolate ready in about 5 minutes.

Dip a cake ball into chocolate, tapping off any excess.

Lay on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Allow chocolate to harden.

Mmmm....Yummy Red Velvet Cake Balls!

DIY Nail Polish

2011-03-17T22:30:00.000-07:00

I subscribe to the craft website Craft Gossip via Facebook and they post all kinds of daily craft projects done by other crafters. One craft project that caught my eye recently was DIY Nail Polish. The site featured for that project was The Lifestyle Lounge.

The Lifestyle Lounge featured two how-to's but I chose to try out the first option which seemed the easiest to do. After getting my supplies I set out to try my little experiment out earlier today.

Here's the supply list and directions from The Lifestyle Lounge. I just got a cheap $1 eyeshadow quad and a $2 bottle of clear polish from Target since I didn't want spend too much on this and not have it work. This actually did work with cheap supplies and I can't wait to make more. The bottle of DIY nail polish in the end cost me about $3....not too shabby ;o).

HOMEMADE NAIL POLISH

Materials Required:

Clear Nail Polish

Colored Eye Shadow/ Pigment Makeup

Nail Polish Remover

Fine Glitter Dust (optional)

Small Funnel

Scrap of Paper

Plastic Baggie

Procedure:

Open up the bottle of clear nail polish and place the funnel end into the bottle.

Block the hole of the funnel by placing a small scrap of paper at the bottom.

Place some eye shadow in a sealed plastic bag.

Gently press the eye shadow and crush it till you get a lump-free, powdery consistency.

Transfer the powdered eye shadow or pigment makeup into the funnel.

If you desire, you can add a very small amount of fine glitter to the funnel mixture.

Carefully mix the fine glitter and eye shadow/ pigment makeup before you remove the scrap of paper.

Remove the scrap of paper and allow the mixture to enter the bottle.

Remove the funnel from the bottle and replace the cap on the clear nail polish.

Shake the bottle well for about 2 minutes.

You can add more eye shadow/ pigment makeup or glitter in case the resultant color is not up to your liking.

In case your nail polish gets thick or lumpy, add a few drops of nail polish remover and shake for one minute to thin the nail polish.

Paella

2011-03-14T00:02:00.000-07:00

Here's one of my very belated recipes from my past menu plans. I've had this cookbook called "Ethnic Foods of Hawaii" written by the well known Hawaii author Ann Kondo Corum for years but never really used it much. This cookbook showcases recipes from Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan, Portuguese, Puerto Rican, Korean, Filipino, Samoan, Thai, and Vietnamese ethnicities. Since I was experimenting with the menu plan wanting to try out new recipes I figure I give this a try.

One recipe I wanted to try was Paella. I've eaten it before and I love all the seafood that's in it. I never tried it since it always seemed too difficult to make. Since I've been making mushroom risotto lately I figure this pretty much along the same lines.

This recipe called for minced clams and I had to omit it since my lil booger might be allergic to it. Nonetheless, in the end once this had been done being made it turned out really good. Hubby and the lil booger gave the seal of approval and I get to make this again some other time.

Here's the recipe and a picture sample.

PAELLA
Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless chicken breasts or thighs, cubed
1 lb. lean pork or beef, cubed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 lb. scallops
1/2 lb. shrimp, cleaned and deveined
1 tomato, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups rice, washed
1 can (7 oz.) minced clams
1 pkg. frozen artichoke hearts (I couldn't find packaged artichoke hearts so I used 1 canned hearts)
1 pkg. frozen peas
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp saffron (can substitute achiote oil for color) (*I used achiote oil since I couldn't find saffron*)
3-3 1/2 cups boiling chicken broth
pimiento, cut into strips
cilantro, chopped

Directions:
Heat oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven or paella pan. Add chicken and pork and saute until golden brown. Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes. Stir in tomato, garlic, rice, clams (including liquid), vegetables, salt, and saffron. Add boiling chicken broth. Add scallops and shrimp. Cook, uncovered over medium heat (or bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Garnish with pimiento and cilantro before serving.

Making Malasadas...

2011-03-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday was Fat Tuesday and in Hawaii it's celebrated at Malasada Day. So to celebrate in spirit I wanted to make our very own maladadas for dessert. A malasada is a egg sized Portuguese fried doughnut coated into sugar. I was too lazy to make it the traditional way and wait for the yeast to rise so I did the next best and easiest thing....fried up some canned biscuits.

I haven't done this in years either and I usually just buy canned Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits, fry them in oil and coat them in sugar. Instead buying a brand name can of biscuits, I bought the Albertson's generic brand and tried the home style biscuit version. The buttermilk biscuits tend to have a salty after taste so I tried the home style in hopes that it makes a difference. I had my lil booger help me out and pop open the biscuit cans, to my surprise the cans that I opened up were the ones that POPPED and made me jump. His cans had to be forced open and didn't get to scare him like I hoped they would LOL. Yeah, I know bad mommy wanting to scare her child ;)-

I made a sugar and cinnamon mixture instead of just the normal sugar. Once the first batch was done cooking, coated in sugar, and cooled off it was time for a taste test. The home style flavored biscuits made a BIG difference in flavor. They tasted better than using buttermilk and didn't have that after taste. Also, coating in sugar and cinnamon made the malasada taste even better. So much that I had to close the container and walk away LOL.

Here's what our little malasada party looked like.

Food Adventure: Noho's Hawaiian Cafe

2011-03-04T01:21:00.000-08:00

So I'm pretty new to the site Yelp. I've been only using it to find restaurants and utilizing that check in feature to places I've been. The other day I received an email from Yelp about 808 restaurants in the 503. I know there's a few Hawaii eateries around in the Portland Metro area but I usually frequent the same two places, namely L & L Hawaiian BBQ and Kauai Island Grill.

When I moved to Oregon nearly 11 years ago the first local eatery I heard of was Noho's Hawaiian Cafe. Since my boyfriend now husband moved to Oregon before I did, he got the opportunity to try that place first and said it was pretty good but pricey. So when I finally moved to Oregon I never got to try out the place till just recently. The only reason it took me so long to try the place is because of the location which is 20 miles from we live and I really don't venture out to Portland much either.

Anywhoo, about the email. It had Noho's as one of the "must" local food places to eat at. This now intrigued me more to finally go there any try it, so yesterday my hubby decided to finally take me there. It's a nice small place and we are greeted by the waitress who knew right off the bat was a local girl from Hawaii. We went in the late afternoon so we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

We ordered the Blalah sized ribs and teri beef to share between my hubby and I and that buggah was HUGE! We later found out that the cook noticed that we were locals from HI and hooked us up. We even got a small bowl of shoyu chicken and rice for our son for free!

The only disappointment was the mac salad. The typical plate lunch is two scoops rice, mac salad, and entree....the mac salad helps make the plate lunch ONO. The consistency of the mayo was watery and the taste was lackluster. I know great mac salad when I've had some and sorry to say this didn't make the grade for me.

That was the only negative thing I had about their food. I must add though their staff was really nice. Our waitress came and talk story with us and we even got to meet the owner Noho himself. He sat down with us and chatted with us for a while as well. I was always under the impression the owner of Noho's was just a mainland person trying to bring Hawaii local food flavor to the mainland. My hubby and I were surprised to find out that he's a local boy from Niu Valley and he still get his pidgin accent after living in Oregon for the past 15+ years. He was a great guy to come talk story with us out of his busy schedule.

On my Yelp review I gave them 4 out of 5 stars....1 star short for their mac salad. I'd still go again though and try their other items. Here's a picture of what our meal looked like. We didn't get to finish it all, it was that HUGE....enough for our dinner that night.

Meal Plan Recipes

2011-03-01T19:08:00.000-08:00

So I know I'm totally behind in posting some of my last meal plan recipes. I honestly can't really remember when I made those meals but I did take some pictures of them. I will just post those recipes with their pics and they won't be attached to meal plan like how I used to post them.

So be on the lookout for some new recipes ;o)

Thrifty Tip

2011-03-01T12:24:00.000-08:00

I found this book at Urban Outfitters at a mall in Denver when I was visiting my brother called "The Big-Ass Book of Crafts" by Mark Montano. I've seen him featured on a tv show called "She's Crafty" on the ION channel and he's also on TLC's "While You Were Out" show.

Me being a craftaholic I was really curious on what I could find in this book but I wasn't about the shell out $20 + Denver sales tax. I figured I can find it cheaper later at Barnes & Noble or something which I did for a good price. However, I checked and see if my local library had in stock so I can look through it and see if it was really worth me buying. I put in a request to reserve my copy and it was ready for pick up a week later. I was really excited to go through the book but I was kind of disappointed since most of the stuff wasn't really my taste and my hubby wouldn't go for most of it being decorated in our home.

I did though come across this one idea that caught my eye and it was how to make homemade dryer sheets. It never really occurred to me that dryer sheets are really just fabric softener, like Downey, dried onto a small piece of fabric. Same stuff you put into the washer but in a solid form. So to help save money you can make your very own dryer sheets with old scraps of fabric and a bottle of liquid softener. This is even better for those you have loads and loads done every week and are on a very tight budget.

Here's all you need:

1 yard of cotton fabric, any pattern
Pinking shears
Spray bottle
1 bottle of fabric softener, any brand

if you use concentrated softenter, just mix one part softener and one part water.

Optional: Sewing machine, with zigzag stitch capability. Sew a zigzag stitch around the fabric pieces to prevent fraying and to make them look pretty.

Directions:

Cut your cotton fabric inot 8" x 8" squares
Fill your spray bottle with fabric softener.
When you're ready to do a load of laundry, spray a cotton square six to eight times, and toss it in the dryer.

**Wash your squares every once in a while to remove buildup of softener. With a little care, these dryer sheets should last for years.**

Ok, I'm Totally Sucking....

2011-02-03T22:25:00.000-08:00

In the blog department that is! What did you think I meant? Haha!

So I haven't blogged in a month and didn't do anything I said I was going to try to do more. There goes that blogging resolution hmph. However, I did actually have my New Year's resolutions and they were in my head, I just never really shared them. So here they are:

Start working out more...again - CHECK and so far so good!
Blog MORE! - So far failing but there's still 11 more months to improve on that right?
Complete unfinished sewing projects before the lil booger outgrows them.
One BIG goal is to start my own Etsy store. I just have to figure out what craft I want to focus on since I like to dabble in anything and everything.

That's it! Nothing too outlandish and unattainable. I think I can accomplish them all so we'll see ;-)

As for the meal planning and recipe stuff...well I'm going to have to put off the meal planning. My husband and I have enrolled into this fitness challenge program at our local gym/rec center to motivate ourselves to lose weight and increase our exercise activity. Which means I've changed our way of eating to more healthier choices...well at least for me since I cook separately for myself and hubby and lil booger. However, I will continue to share any new or old recipes that I have ^_^. Which BTW I have to still blog some recipes I'm way behind in sharing.

Since my hubby and I got new iPhones as Christmas gifts to ourselves, I should be able to blog a little more even if it's something simple. On another note, we're going home to Hawaii in a few days so that should give me more the incentive to blog a little more on our activities and of course the FOOD! Haha!

So be on the lookout and see if I stay true on my New Year's resolutions ;o).

Happy New Year 1/1/11!

2011-01-01T20:28:00.000-08:00

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou is Hawaiian Happy New Year!It's been a crazy busy last two months for us with the holidays and a California trip in between. Been two long months since I've last blogged and post any recipes. I'll eventually get to it. I'm going to make some revisions on how I will be doing my menu planning since I haven't been able to keep up with posting the meals and recipes. Going to try to make it more simplified for myself and really get on it with bloggig more often.I'm actually going to try make a list of New Year's resolutions as well....at least some things that will be realistic to achieve. I still have to ponder more on those since Ive never followed through on a resolution before.Be back later on those thoughts, it's time for a late dinner.

Arroz Caldo

2010-11-06T22:34:00.000-07:00

Whew! I'm finally caught up with all the meals and I'm now up to date. October has been a really busy month and I didn't even make a meal plan for that month either. The first week of November has already passed and I haven't started one for this month either so I'm kind of behind already. I'll try to get on it with a meal plan for this month in the next few days.

In any case I have a recipe that isn't on the meal plan at all. With the fall weather already starting it's soup season for us. One of my favorites to make is something called Arroz Caldo which is pretty much like a chicken gruel soup made with rice. This is something that I make with the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving or from stripping a Costco rotisserie chicken. When it's all done, this fills you up with warm goodness and it's a major plus since my toddler loves it. I just made a big pot of that today since we hosted UH Warrior football game at our home and the pot's all empty. This is so simple to make that I'm sure one of you will enjoy. Here is my modified recipe and picture to share.

ARROZ CALDO
Ingredients:
1 Costco rotisserie chicken stripped and meat shredded
4 cups cooked rice
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
1 medium piece ginger, cut into chunks
1/2 onion, sliced
4 cans chicken broth
1 bunch green onion, chopped
4 tbsp. patis
pepper
oil

Directions:
Cook onion, garlic, and ginger in some oil til onions are tender. Add shredded chicken and patis and mix. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add rice and green onion and mix well. Season with pepper and simmer until broth has thickened. Add more broth if needed if you want it to be more soupy.

September 2010 Meal #26: Taco Crescent Bake

2010-11-06T22:11:00.000-07:00

I skipped over to Meal #26 which was as Taco Crescent Bake since it was too soon from when we ate chicken for dinner. I also eventually decided to scrap the whole Beef Wellington idea since I didn't realize how much a beef tenderloin cost. Anyway I chose this recipe from my casserole cookbook that I've been experimenting with and this was too was really easy to make. Here's the recipe and picture to share.

TACO CRESCENT BAKE
Ingredients:
1 tube (8 oz.) refrigerated crescent rolls
2 cups crushed corn chips, divided
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
1 envelop taco seasoning
1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Unroll crescent dough into a rectangle; press onto the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a greased 13"x9"x2" baking dish. Seal seams and perforations. Sprinkle with 1 cup chips; set aside.

In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce and taco seasoning; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Spoon over chips. Top with sour cream, cheese, and remaining chips.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until crust is lightly browned.

September 2010 Meal #23: Baked Salmon w/Crab Replaced w/Baked Salmon w/Mushrooms

2010-11-06T21:58:00.000-07:00

For Meal #23 I had planned to make Baked Salmon with Crab topping but the only "crab" I had was imitation crab. This reminded me of the Baked Crab Casserole I made a little while ago and wasn't really feeling on making something like that as a topping. So I just went to my go to Baked Salmon recipe with mushrooms and onions. I forgot to take a picture but it's really yummy and I'll try to remember to take a picture next time I make this.

BAKED SALMON W/MUSHROOMS & ONIONS
Ingredients:
2 lbs. salmon fillet, skin off and without bones
1/2 cup onions, chopped
3 cups white mushrooms, sliced
3/4 cup mayonnaise
garlic salt
lemon pepper
shoyu

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place salmon fillet into a 13"x9"x2" baking dish. Season with garlic salt and lemon pepper. Spread mayonnaise evenly all over salmon. Sprinkle with onions and mushrooms. Drizzle shoyu all over. Cover tightly with foil. Bake for 45 minutes.

September 2010 Meal #22: Pinakbet

2010-11-06T21:45:00.000-07:00

I guess I've been getting in touch with my inner Filipino self and been making a lot of Filipino dishes recently. For Meal #22 I decided to make Pinakbet for dinner since this as well I haven't made in a while either. I think the reason why I don't make it often is because I have to trek to the Asian/Filipino grocer that isn't close to my home. But since I had to go to that part of town I figure I make this for dinner. My toddler actually liked eating it and didn't really notice of all the veggies he was eating. It doesn't quite taste the same as home cooked pinakbet from back home in Hawaii but it was close enough. Oh one funny thing happened while I was preparing this, the tomatoes that I thought I had had rotted and I really didn't want to run to the store for fresh tomatoes. So I searched my pantry and actually found a can of diced tomatoes and it worked just as fine as fresh ones. No taste difference at all :o). So here's the recipe and picture to share.

PINAKBET
Ingredients:
2 lbs. pork chuck steak, chopped
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 bunch long beans, ends cut off and thrown away, break bean into about 3-4 inch pieces
2 medium sized Japanese eggplant, sliced into bite sized pieces
2 cups okra, cut in halves
2 medium sized tomatoes, sliced
2-4 tbsp. patis (fish sauce) depending on taste
1/2 cup dried shrimp
2 cups chicharon, broken into pieces
oil
water
salt and pepper

Directions:
Brown pork in oil with garlic. Add onions and cook til tender. Add about 1 1/2 cup water bring to boil. Add patis and all veggies. Mix and let simmer. Add dried shrimp and chicharon and mix. Add more patis and/or water to taste if needed. Season with some salt and pepper. Cook til veggies are tender.

September 2010 Meal #21: Chicken Long Rice

2010-11-06T19:34:00.000-07:00

This is also one of my favorites to eat and make especially during our cold fall and winter months. Meal #21 which is called Chicken Long Rice is a local Hawaii favorite and is pretty much like a "Hawaiian Chicken Noodle Soup". This is really easy to make and I'm sure that your family will enjoy it. The "long rice" are bean thread noodles that are clear and can be found at at Asian grocer or in the Asian foods aisle at your local grocer. Here is a recipe that I've modified over the years and I'm certain there are other variations of this recipe as well.

CHICKEN LONG RICE
Ingredients:
3 lbs. chicken thighs, cut into pieces
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 medium piece ginger, cut into chunks
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water & sliced when soft or 2 cups fresh white mushrooms, sliced
2 cans chicken broth (more maybe needed since noodles soak up liquid)
2 pkgs. long rice (bean thread noodles)
oil
pepper
shoyu

Directions:
Brown chicken and garlic in some oil. Add onions and cook until slightly tender. Add chicken broth and ginger and bring to boil. Add long rice and let it soak in broth to get soft. Add more cans of broth if needed. Add mushrooms and green onions stirring to mix. Add pepper and shoyu to taste.

September 2010 Meal #20: Shrimp Scampi

2010-11-06T19:03:00.000-07:00

I got Meal #20 which was Shrimp Scampi from one of my favorite Hawaii local cookbook "What Hawaii Likes to Eat". Another easy and quick meal to prepare and my little one liked it alot. Here's the recipe and a picture to share too.

SHRIMP SCAMPI
Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1 clove butter, crushed
7 shrimp, shelled and deveined leaving tails on
3 fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 can (14.5 oz.) whole tomatoes
salt to taste
white pepper to taste
garlic salt to taste
1/2 tbsp. white wine
2 oz. dried fettuccine, cooked according to package directions

Directions:
Heat butter in pan with garlic. Add shrimp and cook until shrimp curls. Add mushrooms and tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic slat to taste; simmer 2 minutes. Add wine and reduce. Serve Scampi over cooked pasta.

September 2010 Meal #19: Pork & Balatong (Mung Beans)

2010-11-06T18:30:00.000-07:00

I rarely make this Filipino dish and is one of my faves to eat when we visit a Filipino restaurant back home in Hawaii. For Meal #19 I made something called Pork & Balatong (Mung Beans) that tastes good with some hot rice. I've seen three different kind of packaged mung beans which are available whole, split, or split and peeled. In this dish I ended up using the split and peeled beans since this is what available at the nearest Asian grocer near me. Here is the recipe to share with you.

PORK & BALATONG (MUNG BEANS)
Ingredients:
1-2 lbs. pork chuck steak, chopped
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cup split & peeled mung bean
patis
water
pepper
1 cup chicharon (pork rinds), broken into pieces
1/2 cup dried shrimp

Directions:
Brown pork and garlic with some oil. Add onions and cook until tender. Add 4 cups water and mung beans. Add patis and pepper to your liking. Add chicharon and dried shrimp. Let simmer until beans are cooked through adding more water if needed. Enjoy!

September 2010 Meal #18: Pot Roast & Veggies Replaced By Beef Curry Stew

2010-11-06T18:10:00.000-07:00

Meal #18 was supposed to be Pot Roast and Veggies that I wanted to cook in the crockpot. When I gathered my ingredients I realized I was missing some Lipton Onion Soup seasoning. So at the last minute I decided to make a Beef Curry Stew. This is actually something that my hubby admittedly makes better than me but after 10 years of watching him make it I figure I can make it just the same. It actually turned out just as good as he makes it and it's super yummy and easy to make. Sorry again no picture to share.

BEEF CURRY
Ingredients:
2-3 lbs. chuck roast, cut into cubes
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
1 cup carrot, sliced
1 cup celery, chopped
1 1/2 cups potato, cubed
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 cup flour
1 large or 2 small pkgs. S&B curry sauce
shoyu
pepper
water

Directions:
Brown meat with flour, some shoyu, pepper, and some oil. Add all veggies and cook til semi tender. Add enough water according to the curry packaging. Break apart curry blocks and add to pot. Stir until curry has been dissolved. Let simmer till soup base has thickened and veggies are tender. Serve over hot rice and enjoy!

September 2010 Meal #17: Miki

2010-11-06T17:46:00.000-07:00

Meal #17 which was a Filipino dish called Miki is one of my favorites that I've only learned how to make in the recent years. I loved eating the Miki that my BFF's mom would make at family gatherings and she would never divulge her recipe. For some reason I never thought of searching for a recipe online or elsewhere until I happen to stumble upon it on the HECO (Hawaiian Electric Company) website while looking for another recipe. The recipe I found is really simple and tried it for the first time a few years ago. I've since then modified it a little to my liking and have become a favorite to make at home. Sorry I forgot to take a pic but will try to remember the next time I make it again.

MIKI
Ingredients:
1 pkg (9 oz) dry udon (wide Japanese noodles)

1/2 lb thinly sliced lean pork
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 lb shrimp, cleaned, shelled, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces*
1 lb chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1 tablespoon patis (clear fish sauce)
1 teaspoon achuete (lipstick plant) powder
2 cups hot water
3 cans (14.5 oz size) chicken broth
2 pkg (2 oz size) long rice, soaked in water and drained
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup chopped chives

Directions:
Cook udon noodles according to package directions; drain. In a large wok or sauce pot, brown pork and garlic. Add shrimp, chicken, and patis; stir-fry until shrimp turn pink. Dissolve achuete powder in the hot water; add to wok. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. To wok, add chicken broth and bring to a boil; add cooked noodles, long rice, salt, and pepper. Stirring frequently, cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Add chives just before serving. Serve immediately. Makes 8 servings.
If desired, slivered shiitake mushrooms can be substituted for the shrimp.

September 2010 Meal #16: Shoyu/Sesame Ahi

2010-11-06T17:25:00.000-07:00

I haven't eaten or made this particular meal in about 10 years, which means since I've moved away from home in Hawaii. For Meal #16 I made Seared Ahi w/a Shoyu & Sesame Oil sauce and it turned out as good as it could get. The only reason I say that is because since we live in Oregon we don't get fresh ahi like we would in Hawaii. I have to settle for frozen ahi which can be a little pricey. I found some decent ones at the grocery store that I frequent and it looked really pink for being frozen. So I decided to experiment with that and made this dish.

SEARED AHI w/ SHOYU & SESAME OIL SAUCE
Ingredients:
2-4 lbs. ahi steaks
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
garlic salt
pepper
shoyu
sesame oil
oil for frying

Directions:
Heat oil in pan. Season fish with pepper and garlic salt. Sear on each side for 30 seconds. Drain on paper towel. Drizzle with shoyu and sesame oil. Garnish with green onions.

September 2010 Meal #15: Roast Pork w/Gravy

2010-11-06T17:04:00.000-07:00

For Meal #15 I decided to make Roast Pork with Gravy since I hadn't made it in a while. Really easy to make and doesn't take much effort either. Here's my easy version that I learned from my dad and mom.

ROAST PORK
Ingredients:
5-6 lbs. boneless pork shoulder or butt
2 tbsp. garlic, ,minced
pepper
garlic salt
water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Massage garlic entirely onto pork. Season with pepper and garlic salt. Place into 13x9x2 baking pan. Add about 3/4 water. Cover tightly with foil. Bake for 2 hours. Cool when done and slice into serving pieces. Serve with pork gravy (I just used packaged gravy).

September 2010 Meal #14: Beef Broccoli

2010-11-06T16:43:00.000-07:00

Meal #14 which was Beef Broccoli is really easy to make and in fact I don't know why I don't make this often. Depending on my mood I make different variations of this with different kinds of sauces. I sometimes use a packaged beef broccoli sauce or use some Yoshida sauce or make it from scratch. This particular night though I ended up using a packaged sauce and I unfortunately can't remember what brand I used. All I remember is that it required to be mixed with some water and shoyu in addition with adding the meat and veggies. I don't have a picture to share this yummy creation but here is the recipe for what I made.

BEEF BROCCOLI
Ingredients:
2-3 lbs. steak, sliced
2-3 cups broccoli, cut into pieces
1/2 onion, sliced
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
2-3 cups white mushrooms, sliced
2 pkgs. beef broccoli sauce, prepare as directed
oil

Directions:
Brown steak with garlic in oil until meat is cooked. Add onions and cook til soft. Add broccoli and mushrooms and cook til semi soft. Add sauce, stir and let simmer til veggies are tender.

September 2010 Meal #13: Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

2010-11-06T16:26:00.000-07:00

This was my first time making gumbo ever and it turned out pretty good. For Meal #13 I made Chicken and Sausage Gumbo. I strayed away from making gumbo before since I figured it took too long to make but with this particular recipe it didn't take much time. I found this recipe in the cookbook "Garden of Flowers" which was made to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Playmate School on Oahu. I found this cookbook of all places at a Powell's Used Bookstore here in Oregon and never used it til now. Here's the recipe to share.

CHICKEN & SAUSAGE GUMBO
Ingredients:
1 lb. smoked sausage, cut into 1" slices
4-6 lbs. chicken, cooked and cut into bite-size pieces
4 tbsp. oil
1 stick butter
4 tbsp. flour
1 box frozen okra , thawed
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. green onion, chopped
3-4 cups water
1 cup chicken broth
salt, black pepper, & cayenne pepper to taste

Directions:
Make a roux by melting butter in a heavy pot; add olive oil and flour, stirring constantly over medium heat until mixture turns golden brown. (Will take 10-15 minutes) Stir in onion, celery, bell pepper, and cook on low heat unit onions are soft. Stir in garlic and green onions to mixture and cook until soft. Add water, chicken broth and season to taste. Bring to boil. Mix in chicken, sausage, and okra and simmer 1-2 hours. Serve in soup bowls over rice or by itself. Some like it thick as stew and others prefer it thin as soup. To thicken, add more flour and to to thin, add more water.

Here is how it turned out.

September 2010 Meal #12: Shrimp Carbonara

2010-10-16T16:12:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to eat is SEAFOOD! I would rather eat seafood than a nice juicy steak. So it was only fitting that I prepare a meal consisting of shrimp for Meal #12 which was Shrimp Carbonara. I didn't exactly follow the recipe since it instructed you to blend of of the ingredients into a blender. I didn't want to bust out the blender only to take it apart to clean it, yeah I know lazy me ;p

I forgot to take a picture of this since it was so YUMMY! Maybe I'll remember next time as I want to add more seafood to it like scallops, crab, and such. Here is the recipe for you to try out.

SHRIMP CARBONARA
Ingredients:
2 lbs. 41/60 ct. shrimp, peeled and deveined
9 slices bacon, diced
1 tbsp. vegetable oil.
2 onion, diced
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
3 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. white pepper
1/2 cup peas
10 fresh basil leaves, julienned
1-8 oz. pkg. linguine, cooked

Directions:
Cook bacon and drain, reserving three tbsp. bacon fat in pan, Saute onions and garlic until cooked, about 5 minutes. Add heavy cream and simmer until reduced in half. Add Parmesan cheese, salt and white pepper. Blend together in a blender for 2 minutes or until pureed. Cook linguine according to package directions. In a hot saute pan, cook shrimp in vegetable oil for three minutes. Add peas, blended carbonara sauce and basil. Add linguine and toss until coated with sauce. Serve immediately.

September 2010 Meal #11: Quickie Salisbury Steak

2010-10-16T15:56:00.000-07:00

For Meal #11 which was Quickie Salisbury Steak I got it from my local Hawaii cookbooks called "Ohana Style Cookbook". It's a really easy dish to make and it turned out pretty good. The only negative thing about it was that I put too much chopped onions (I have a weird love/hate relationship with onions). Otherwise, I'd use this recipe again using less onions ;p. Here's the recipe to share.

QUICKIE SALISBURY STEAK
Ingredients:
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 lb. hamburger
1/2 dry bread crumbs
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup water

Directions:
Mix 1/4 cup of cream of mushroom soup and remaining ingredients (except water); mix thoroughly. Shape into patties and place in a shallow baking dish. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Spoon off fat.

Mix remaining soup and water, pour over meat. Bake 10 minutes longer.

September 2010 Meal 10: Eggplant Sausage Casserole

2010-10-16T15:35:00.000-07:00

Out of my casserole cookbook I found another recipe to try for Meal #10 that was Eggplant Sausage Casserole. This turned out really good and might make it again sometime. Here's the recipe for you to try out.

EGGPLANT SAUSAGE CASSEROLE
Ingredients:
1 pkg. (1 lb.) penne pasta
2 lbs. bulk Italian sausage
1 medium eggplant, peeled and cubed
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp paprika
1 carton (15 oz.) ricotta cheese
4 cups (16 oz.) shredded part-skin mozzarella cheese, divided

Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Set sausage aside.

In the same skillet, saute the eggplant onion and garlic in oil. Stire in the tomatoes tomato paste, salt, basil and paprika; simmer, partially covered, for 15 minutes. remove from the heat drain pasta; stir into eggplant mixture. Add sausage.

Spread half of the sausage mixture in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Spread with ricotta cheese. Top with half of the mozzarella cheese and remaining sausage mixture.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Baker 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

September 2010 Meal #9: Chinese Roast Chicken

2010-10-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

For Meal #9 that was Chinese Roast Chicken I never got to eat. I defrosted the chicken and nearly forgot about it. I already had the marinade and decided to prepare it for the baby shower that was being held at our home. The marinade I used was the NOH Chinese Roast Chicken that looks like this below.

I used chicken thighs and marinaded it for several hours until it was time to BBQ it for the baby shower. There was an abundance of other good food that I forgot to grab a bite of this chicken. According to the package directions you can roast or BBQ it. My husband said that it didn't have much flavor but then again the person in charge of BBQ'g kind of burnt it anyway. So the next time I use this particular seasoning I'll try the baking method. Hope it turns out better for someone else. ;o)

I Want Candy!

2010-10-16T14:52:00.000-07:00

For the baby shower I mentioned just a bit ago I made some candy favors to giveaway. I made White Chocolate Pretzels that have a good balance of sweet and salty. I used to make these back home in Hawaii once in a great while and before I became a SAHM here in Oregon I used to make these as Christmas treats for my co-workers. Since I hadn't made these in a while I figure what better time than now. They are really easy to make and inexpensive too. I used to eyeball the amount of ingredients but found a much better recipe from one of my local Hawaii cookbooks "Local Style: Cooking With A Mainland Flair" that was a Project Graduation 2006 for Moanalua High School. Here's the recipe and a few pictures of the making process. Enjoy!

WHITE CHOCOLATE PRETZELS
Ingredients:
1 lb. white chocolate (I use 2-12 oz. packages of chocolate since 1 lb. seems a little dry)
10-ounce low salt, buttered pretzel sticks
2 cups Rice Krispies

Directions:
Melt chocolate in microwave bowl 6-8 minutes on defrost setting (be careful not to burn; chocolate will still look solid).

Break apart pretzels and mix with Rice Krispies. Pour melted chocolate over pretzel-cereal mixture. Mix well, making sure treats are covered well. Scoop mixture, while chocolate is still hot, into baking (cupcake) cups. Treats will harden in 10-15 minutes.

Recipe says it makes 2 dozen cups. This last batch I made was 30 cups, it all depends how much you put into the cupcake cups. After putting them into the cups I like to add colored sprinkles, it's all up to you what kind you put depending on the occasion that you are giving them for.

2 pkgs. white chocolate

2 cups Rice Krispies

10-ounce Pretzels broken up

White chocolate already heated in the micro...see how it still keeps it shape? Don't worry it's fine, the chips underneath are the ones that were really melted in the process. When adding them to the cereal and pretzel mixture the rest will melt.

Everything all mixed up.

Ready for consumption.

It's A Baby Shower!

2010-10-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of throwing a friend's baby shower. They already have two adorable boys and baby #3 was going to be a SURPRISE! I've been used to knowing what gender I'm working with when I create baby shower gifts so it makes the process simpler with the specific pink for girls and blue for boys. Not this time since I had to work with gender neutral colors and I found it to be a little more challenging to keep the color and print selection in the middle. Nonetheless I like the challenge since it allows me to think more openly and I got to peruse more of the fabric section at Joann's, which by the way made my eyes go O_O in delight LOL.

Since I've been making alot of the onesie cupcakes and washcloth lollipops for recent gifts, I wanted to make another diaper wreath in addition try my hand in making fabric panelled burp cloths, a diaper pouch, and a blanket. I can't remember where exactly I found the site where I learned how to construct a diaper wreath, all I did was Google "How to make a diaper wreath?" and a plethora of information came up. I learned how to create the simple to do diaper burp cloths from the blog Chickpea Sewing Studio and she has other great tutorials as well. Here's the tutorial link.

I also tried my hand in making a diaper clutch and I found a great tutorial on the blog site Diary of a Quilter. I followed her tutorial exactly with the exception that I added a small handle on the side to attach a clip if wanted. Here's the tutorial link.

As for the blanket, all I did was get 1-yard of printed flannel, 1-yard of super plush material, and enough satin binding and sewed the two 1-yard pieces with the binding on the edges. Here are the results of my baby gifts to Baby Boy or Girl that we can't wait to meet. Oh, also mommy was very happy to receive these very special gifts and the color of the material was perfect since she likes the color brown ^_^

Diaper Clutch

Diaper Burp Cloths

Baby Blanket

Diaper Wreath

September 2010 Meal #8: Crab Supreme

2010-10-14T23:08:00.000-07:00

Meal #8: Crab Supreme was also from my casserole cookbook. I ended up making double the recipe and it turned out too rich because of the mayonnaise it called for. I would suggest that you stick to the actual measurements or else it becomes more like a dip rather than an actual dinner meal.

CRAB SUPREME
Ingredients:
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup diced green pepper
3 tbsp. butter, divided
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 lb. fresh or canned crab meat, drained, flaked, and cartilage removed or 1 cup imitation crab meat, flaked
1/3 cup mayonnaise
Dash hot pepper sauce
2 tbsp. dry bread crumbs
Dask paprika

Directions:
In a small saucepan saute onion and green pepper in 2 tbsp. butter. Stir in flour until blended; gradually stir in the milk. Add chili powder and salt. Bring to boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Remove from the hear; stir in the crab, mayonnaise, and hot pepper sauce.

Transfer to a greased shallow 1-qt. baking dish. Melt the remaining butter and toss with bread crumbs. Sprinkle over crab mixture. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with paprika.

September 2010 Meal #7: Spaghetti Goulash

2010-10-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

Meal #7: Spaghetti Goulash was found in my supermarket checkout stand cookbook of casseroles. This turned out alright except that it was a little dry. I believe I just made too much noodles and not enough sauce. Hopefully if one of you try it out it will turn out better for you.

SPAGHETTI GOULASH
Ingredients:
1 pkg. (16 oz.) thin spaghetti, broken in half
3/4 lb. ground beef
3/4 lb. bulk pork sausage
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cane (14-1/2 oz. each) diced tomatoes
1 bottle (12 oz.) chili sauce
1 can (8 oz.) mushrooms stems and pieces, drained
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Directions:
Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain. In a large skillet, cook the beef, sausage, green pepper, and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the tomatoes; cover and simmer for 45 minutes.

Remove from heat; stir in the chili sauce, mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and spaghetti.

Transfer to a greases 4-qt. baking dish or two greased 2-qt. baking dishes. Sprinkle wit cheese. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until heated through.

September 2010 Meal #6: Baby Back Ribs

2010-10-14T22:29:00.000-07:00

I didn't prepare Meal #6: Baby Back Ribs, my husband did. In the early part of summer we went to our local Saturday farmer's market at the Hillsboro Saturday Market and found a vendor that sold BBQ sauce. This vendor was called Bette Jo's and they had several of their sauces out for sample. The one in particular that we enjoyed was the Sweet Heat BBQ Sauce and that just enough heat for me to tolerate since I'm a wimp in hot spices. It was $6.00 for a 12 fl. oz. bottle and we were willing to try it out for the upcoming summer bbq season.

So that had to be early or mid May I am assuming when we purchased the BBQ sauce. Fast forward to the beginning of September when we finally ended up using that bottle of sauce and slathering it on a rack of pork ribs. I really don't know what took so long for us to bust open that bottle but when we finally did that rack of ribs was sure yummy.

My husband doesn't do anything special to prepare pork ribs. He just simply seasons the rack and bakes it in the oven and the sauce is slathered all over it and adds more if needed. Unfortunately I don't have a picture to prove how yummy this turned out, but just imagine a nice rack of yummy bbq sauced pork goodness ;p. Also, I won't provide a recipe for this either since it was basically sauce slathered over meat and baked at 400 degrees for one hour.

However, please do check them out at the farmer's market and on their site!

September 2010 Meal #5: Chicken Masala & Roti Chapati

2010-10-14T22:00:00.000-07:00

Wow it's been a LONG time since I've actually updated since I'm still on Meal #5: Chicken Masala & Roti Chapati. I'll make this quick and simple and just post the recipe without too much extra commentary since there's lots to catch up on.

The Masala sauce I found at our local Costco so I really don't know if it's available at other locations as well. It's pretty much a Indian curry sauce and they come in different kinds of varieties flavors and spices. I bought I think a 32 oz. container and basically added chicken and vegetables and served over hot basmati rice. I also got the Roti Chapati bread from Costco, it was the closest thing to naan bread that I found. They were uncooked flattened dough that looked like tortillas, all I had to do was warm them up in a frying pan until it was cooked on both sides. Used them to dip into the Masala sauce and it's slightly sweet taste accompanied the curry well.

CHICKEN MASALA
Ingredients:
3 lbs. boneless/skinless chicken thigh, cut up into pieces
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
1 cup onion, chopped
32 oz. Masala sauce
2 cups white mushrooms, sliced
1 small bag of frozen peas and diced carrots
oil
salt & pepper

Directions:
Brown chicken and garlic with some oil till cooked through. Add onions and cook til soft. Add Masala sauce, mushrooms, and frozen peas and carrots. Mix thoroughly and let simmer. Cook until frozen veggies are heated through and tender. Serve over hot basmati rice or rice of your preference.

It's Been Nearly A Month...

2010-10-14T20:58:00.000-07:00

It's been nearly a month since I've last blogged and that was just for a giveaway I tried to win for. Lots has happened since then and I have lots to blog about. Been caught up with planning a baby shower for some dear friends and I got to create a few new things for their baby, which I'll get to post eventually. I have been keeping up with the most recent meal plan but haven't had the chance to post the recipes/meals. There aren't much pics of them since my hubbys DSLR is gone on the blink and is in the shop as we speak. I tried to take some pics with my regular p/s camera and phone camera when I could remember, but of course the quality isn't as great. I don't even remember where I last left off on the menu, but eh I'll do what I can do in updating it. As for October's Menu Plan, I'll just continue to work through September's Menu Plan until I run out of meals and create one for November.

During my little hiatus me and my lil booger got to go to Denver, CO for the very first time. My brother accepted a transfer position from Maui to Denver, so I went there to help him settle in. There are a few pics that I took of places we went but I missed out taking pics of the Bronco's Stadium and where The Rockie's play at. I'm pretty sure this won't be the last time we'll be going to Denver to visit my brother, so there's always going to be more picture opportunities.

So enough of me blabbing on, I'll get to work on updating some posts with some recipes and I'm sure some of you have been jonesing for ;o)

Posh Pixels Design Studio Giveaway

2010-09-22T16:50:00.000-07:00

Posh Pixels Design Studio having a giveaway of Bakerella's Cake Pops book and a cake pop kit. Go to Posh Pixels site and enter to win. There are seven different ways to enter, the more you enter the more chances you have to win.

Click the link above to go directly to the giveaway! You have until Thursday, September 23, 2010 before 11:00pm (EST) to enter. Good luck!

My Little Rascal...

2010-09-20T01:58:00.000-07:00

I'm talking about my two year old toddler who sometimes thinks he's five. Today on my Facebook status I wrote:

"Micah's highlights today: "stealing" those round size tag things from hangers while at Ross (found a bunch in his carseat cup holder), walking in the grocery parking lot & he decides to stomp his foot into a puddle splashing really dirty water all over my foot (I was wearing slippahs), & lastly his nightly fart in my face while I get him changed after his bath. The end!"

While browsing through Ross he picked up all the size tags on the floor and hit them in his jeans pockets. When we left to go to another destination and I took him out of his carseat, I found his little handful of tags in his carseat cup holder.

Yesterday it rained cats and dogs and Micah stepped in puddles which I didn't really mind too much since I wore boots. Today it was a little sunnier so I wore slippahs when we ran errands but Micah wore some sneakers. We were walking towards the entrance to the grocery store and a puddle was in our path. I steered him away from the puddle but he stuck his foot out and stomped right into it. Dark dirty water all over my foot!

Living in a house with all males and that also includes our Maltese dog, I am surrounded with male bodily function humor. It was only fitting that Micah would soon pick up that male humor. He thinks its hilarious to fart and especially after I bath him. He will tell me, "Mama I futt in yo hand mama! Ha ha!" If it doesn't come out naturally, this kid will force it out. His favorite time to surprise me with one is when I remove his bath towel and he blasts one straight at me.

With all the little rascal boy things he does I can't help but smile and laugh. He's my one and only "Lil Booger" as I call him, his smile and dimples just melt me to pieces.

I Think I'm In Love w/Anastacia...

2010-09-18T00:09:00.000-07:00

The Hollywood eyebrow guru that is...LOL! A few months ago I went to Sephora on the hunt for the Anastacia Eyebrow Kit but I wasn't about to buy it for $100+ with all the extra goodies in it. All I wanted and needed were the eyebrow stencils and for $20 it was a dun deal. I had read somewhere that these stencils worked really well in shaping your eyebrows and Lord knows I needed that help. Since I no longer go to a professional waxer to cut costs in this darn economy I've succumbed to waxing and tweezing my own eyebrows again.

I admit I can go weeks without maintaining them and I end up losing the shape so I end up over plucking or not plucking in the right spots. Weird as it may sound I tend to check out people's eyebrows so see how they're shaped and I really envy those who have perfectly groomed and shaped eyebrows. I've even considered tattooing my eyebrows but I'm too chicken and afraid of it looking so fake, even worse it's permanent.

So anyway I bought the Anastacia Eyebrow Stencils a few months back and tried them. Guess I didn't try hard enough since I couldn't figure out to get the shape correctly so I gave up. Now fast foward about seven months later and I gave it another try. By golly I think it finally worked! Granted I may have again over plucked a little and the ends my of eyebrows are a little sparse to begin with, but with some eyebrow filler (I use the Laura Mercier Brow Definer) everything looks nice and tidy. I just did this tonight without putting on my full blown makeup battle gear on so things could be a little different when I try to recreate the shape at a later time.

So as of right now I am saying I think I'm on love with Anastacia for helping me re-shape my eyebrows. If there's another post about this then you'll know something went wrong.

These Boots Were Made For Walking....

2010-09-16T22:40:00.000-07:00

I finally found a pair of slouch style boots that actually fit the contours of my FLAT FEET! Last fall I saw a pair of Steve Madden flat heeled knee high slouch boots but never got them. I should have since they were on sale and the store still had a pair in my size. I would normally see it as sign that something was meant just for me if it was the last one in my size, but I passed them up. So since then I've been dwelling over that loss and with fall and winter approaching I was on a hunt for a pair of boots.

Last week I went to Ross just to get what I needed and I decided to stop into Famous Footwear next door just to "browse". Yeah, that didn't happen since I found a pair of Madden Girl boots. It was something I was looking for but this pair was a little different. It actually had a 3-inch heel and buckles, something I wasn't really going for but I tried in on anyway. What do you know, they fit really great! I wanted a flat heel since my flat feet can no longer handle heels much anymore but this pair fit just right and didn't hug around my calves tightly. I fell in LOVE!

The store had a buy one, get one half off sale so I decided to get a pair of kicks my little one since there wasn't anything else that I liked. The final damage was $85, pretty steep but I was super happy that I found boots. I was so excited that I found the pair of boots that I was ready to blog about them until I searched them online to only find them CHEAPER elsewhere! UGH!!!

I ended up finding the same exact pair the Madden Girl Partial online at DSW for $20 cheaper! They had a Labor Day weekend sale and if I signed up for their free rewards program I'd get free shipping. So what did I do? I returned BOTH pairs of shoes back to Famous Footwear and I did ask if they did price matching and they said no, humph. Then I ordered the cheaper pair online from DSW and waited just a week for them and now I'm happy as a clam.

I wore them out today even it was a short trip to the grocery store ha ha, but they are so comfy and I really love them. Here are what they look like alone, I have yet to take a pic with them on.

Becoming a Bridal Shower "Cake"...

2010-09-16T01:11:00.000-07:00

I've only made one bridal shower "cake" before and that was three years ago for my friend Suelynne. It was simply decorated with ribbon and fake flower hydrangeas. The cake which was made out of two bath towels, two hand towels, and two washcloths turned out really pretty, so pretty that till this day Suelynne has never taken it apart. In fact it's still on the poster board with the crinkled stuffing at the bottom tier same as the day I presented it to her. Here is what that towel cake looked like.

Fast forward nearly three years later and I have another opportunity to make a bridal shower towel cake. Only this time I wanted to do something a little different and try my hand in making homemade fabric flowers. Our friends Jenna and Wilson are getting married in Oahu next February so it only made sense for me to decorate the towel cake with plumeria flours.

My friend MJ and I had a conversation one day about fabric flowers and asked if I knew how to make them. I told her I didn't so I went to the world of Google and found an easy tutorial that can be found on the blog Polka Dot Pineapple. With the bridal shower coming up I bought all the supplies I needed to create these flowers especially in Jenna and Wilson's wedding color scheme which are espresso, coral, and ivory (which was hard to find but I totally lucked out).

I had to individually make each petal and five petals made one plumeria. I ended up making about 30 plumerias total so you do the math on how many petals I created. It was time consuming but really easy to make. This is a great way to use up scraps of material that you may have been hoarding. Here are a few pictures of the flower making (sorry I don't have pics of each step) and the end result of Jenna and Wilson's shower cake.

The beginning of 150 petals...

Full concentration to get glue and a very thin piece of wire.

I have a yard of material to make a really BIG field of plumerias.

Completed plumerias.

Added some bling to girlyfy them.

The complete bridal shower towel cake.

My favorite pic of the top tier and I was only playing around with the camera.

Just For Sarah...

2010-09-16T00:04:00.000-07:00

As my onesie cupcake gifts are getting better with improvements they have become my go to gift for baby showers if they're being sent out of state. This particular gift was sent to my husband's aunt on Oahu for baby Sarah. Sarah is part Japanese so it was only fitting that I made special onesies with Asian printed material cut from my Cricut Expression. I had gotten the "Pagoda" cartridge last Christmas and it has cherry blossom designs which were perfect for Sarah since it is her room decor theme. Here are the appliques on the onesies and how they looked after being turned into a "basketful of treats."

"Pagoda & Accent Essentials" Cricut Cartridges

Basketful of Treats

September 2010 Meal #4: Baked Rataouille

2010-09-15T23:22:00.000-07:00

For Meal #4 I also referred to the cookbook "Taste of Home: Best Loved Casseroles" and chose to make Baked Ratatouille. Just seeing the word "ratatouille" reminds me of the children's cartoon movie of the same name. If you have seen the movie you would recall it's a layered dish consisting of eggplant and some other vegetables. This recipe called for layering of the veggies however my meal didn't quite turn out exactly how its supposed too.

The night I made this for dinner is the same night my husband plays for his flag football league. I had to cook this before I had to pick him up from work to head out to the game. I ended up just cubing and mixing all the ingredients together in a pot instead of it being a casserole and I neglected to read the ingredients correctly since I was missing cheese for the topping. So unfortunately I don't have a picture to share although it turned out really good over a bed of hot rice anyway ;p

BAKED RATATOUILLE
Ingredients:
4 bacon strips, cut into 2-inch pieces (I omitted the bacon and used ground Italian sausage, cook til no longer pink)
1 cup onion, sliced
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1/3 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 large eggplant (about 1 1/4 lbs.), peeled and cubed
4 medium zucchini, sliced
1 large green pepper, cut into strips
8-12 ounces sliced Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:
In a large skillet, cook the bacon (or ground Italian sausage) and onion over medium heat until bacon is crisp (or until sausage is brown); drain oil. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, oil, garlic, salt, and Italian seasoning.

Spread half into a greased 13-in x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Layer with half of eggplant, zucchini, green pepper, and cheese. Repeat layers. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

September 2010 Meal #3: Enchilada Casserole

2010-09-15T22:48:00.000-07:00

I mentioned before that I used to have a habit of buying those little cookbooks that you see at the checkout counter at the grocery store. I have begun to utilize them and there are pretty good recipes in there. Out of the recipe book "Taste of Home: Best Loved Casseroles" for Meal #3 I chose the Enchilada Casserole. It was really easy to make and didn't take much time. The outcome was really tasty however I would make more filling since the edges were kind of dry after I baked it. I'll have to remember to make a few revisions to his dish the next time I decide to make it. Here's a picture sample and recipe to share. I only wished I had some sour cream to complete my dinner.

ENCHILADA CASSEROLE
Ingredients:
1 lb. hamburger or ground turkey
1-1/2 cups onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. plus 1/3 cup vegetable oil, divided
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. chili powder
3/4 tsp. seasoned salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
4 cups water
12 corn tortillas (7 inches)
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1-1/2 cup salsa

Directions:
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook meat, onions, and garlic in 1 tbsp. oil until no longer pink; drain. Sprinkle with the flour, chili powder, seasoned salt, and pepper. Add water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until reduced.

In another skillet, fry tortillas in remaining oil for about 15 seconds turning once. Drain well. Cut nine tortillas in half. Place cut edge of one tortilla against each short end of a greased 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Place cut edge of two tortillas against long sides of dish, overlapping to fit. Place a whole tortilla in center.

Spoon 2 cups of meat mixture over tortillas; sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining tortillas and meat sauce. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Serve with salsa.

September 2010 Meal #2: Mushroom Risotto w/Sweet Italian Sausage

2010-09-14T17:14:00.000-07:00

I have been looking forward to making this meal for the past two months and I finally have done so. Meal #2 was Mushroom Risotto w/Sweet Italian Sausage. The sausage I got from a vendor Jacobsmuhlens at our local Saturday Farmer's Market and they have several different varieties of sausages and meats including buffalo.

Ever since our honeymoon three years ago to Italy, I fell in love with eating risotto. I always feared in making it myself since I heard it was "complicated" to make, the rice will turn into mush or it will be undercooked. So anytime I'd see risotto on the menu when eating out I'd always choose that for my meal. Upon starting this blog about my menu planning I finally decided to try my hand in making homemade risotto. I asked around a bunch of my friends on a mommy site to recommend a recipe and Andrea referred me to allrecipes.com and gave me a recipe for Gourmet Mushroom Risotto. It looked simple enough and since it had mushrooms (my faves) there could be no wrong. I could even change up the measurements since the six servings listed wasn't enough for my "normal" cooking amounts.

I followed the recipe to the "T' and it was actually really easy. I heated up sliced sweet Italian sausage in a frying pan and added it to the risotto. The outcome turned out really yummy, so much that I want to make it again later this week and a regular side dish to our meals. Here's the recipe and a picture to share.

MUSHROOM RISOTTO w/SWEET ITALIAN SAUSAGE
Ingredients:
6 cups chicken broth, divided

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 shallots, diced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons finely chopped chives
4 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1.In a saucepan, warm the broth over low heat.

2.Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms, and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Remove mushrooms and their liquid, and set aside.

3.Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to skillet, and stir in the shallots. Cook 1 minute. Add rice, stirring to coat with oil, about 2 minutes. When the rice has taken on a pale, golden color, pour in wine, stirring constantly until the wine is fully absorbed. Add 1/2 cup broth to the rice, and stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 15 to 20 minutes.

4.Remove from heat, and stir in mushrooms with their liquid, butter, chives, and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

September 2010 Meal #1: Baked Chicken w/Gravy

2010-09-07T22:03:00.000-07:00

I'm finally posting about September Meal #1 and I finally got to make it for dinner last night. Last night's dinner was Baked Chicken w/Gravy and it was pretty much prepared the same way I made Baked Chicken w/Cream of Mushroom Gravy the other month. The only difference is that I made packaged chicken gravy instead of condensed cream of mushroom soup. It pretty much tastes the same and my lil one liked it a lot since he ate a bowlful of it. So to refer to the recipe just click the link above to see how I prepared it and here's a picture on what last night's dinner looked like.

My Momma Say Fool's Ball For the Debbo....

2010-09-05T23:40:00.000-07:00

I jokingly use that phrase from the movie "Waterboy" when I'm talking football with my husband and friends ha ha. My husband knows that I am only kidding everytime I say that and also another movie line from "Remember the Titans" when the head coach's daughter says to the other coach's daughter "Cheryl, I don't care?" anytime he's talking football gibberish to me. All in all I do enjoy the sport even though I may not understand it fully.

My husband has been involved with football all year whether it was coaching or playing football. For the past year he has been coaching youth football for Westview Youth and for a semi-pro team called the "Portland Monarchs." In between that he also played for a winter flag football team called "Back That Pass Up" and now for the City of Hillsboro flag football league "Sudden Rush". It's year round football in this house and I'm just happy my husband has a passion for the sport and does a good job playing and coaching. Here's a picture of his current team Sudden Rush.

Kim Chee Fried Rice

2010-09-05T22:07:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy week full of get togethers and I haven't been able to start on September's menu plan yet. We hosted the UH vs. USC football game there was a lot of FOOD. There was enough for us to eat at leftovers the next day and I also had a rotisserie chicken that I got from Costco still in the fridge since we never made it to a friend's get together. During this time I had thought I had defrosted some pork steaks and was going to cook it tonight before it spoiled, but I mistook the tray of meat in the fridge for ours when it actually was my BIL's. So with no meat defrosted we had no dinner tonight until I realized that I had some kim chee that I've been hoarding to make Kim Chee Fried Rice.

For some reason I've been craving it and I've actually never ate it before. So tonight was the perfect time to make it and something to whip up easily. After it was all made, this turned out super yummy and I don't know I've never made this before either. I just used Spam, onions, garlic, eggs, and cut up kim chee, I think I'll add different kinds of meats now that I've developed a craving for lup cheong now. Here's how it turned out and the recipe to boot too.

KIM CHEE FRIED RICE
Ingredients:
1 can Spam, cubed
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
1/2 onion, diced
1 jar kim chee, chopped up (reserve liquid)
8 eggs, scrambled
4 cup rice, cooked
oil

Directions:
Fry Spam, garlic, and onions in oil till Spam is lightly brown and onions are tender. Add eggs and scramble into mixture (add more oil if pan isn't coated enough). Add kim chee and mix. Add rice and kim chee liquid and thoroughly mix.

Enjoy!

Hubby Shot Some People....

2010-09-05T00:46:00.000-07:00

An engagement photoshoot that is. He shot the engagement pictures of one of his co-workers who is getting married in my hometown Maui next month. He hasn't done any photoshoots as of lates and he did really well. Here are some of the ones that I like.

I Think I Got It....

2010-09-04T23:57:00.000-07:00

My second try at making those onesie cupcakes turned out cute but I thought they still needed improvement. I wasn't particularly happy with the shape of the cupcake after I covered it with the baby washcloth. Then I had an idea when I had another baby gift to send home to Hawaii, I figured that I should use quilt batting to help give it some shape. Voila, below is the result of what quilt batting did to improve it for the better. Think I got perfected now.

Iron On Appliques

Don't they look much better?

Off to Oahu, Hawaii they went.

Second Attempt...

2010-09-04T21:21:00.000-07:00

This was my second time making onesie cupcakes and since I was going to attempt to make baby washcloth lolliops, I had the bright idea of using some of the washcloths to cover the tops of the onesies. For the onesies though, instead of embellishing them with the store bought iron on appliques I made my own fabric appliques from my Cricut Expression.

Making the washcloth lollipops was my first time, I found a pack of 12 baby girl themed washcloth at a retail department store. I actually used lollipop sticks since I had a bunch on hand leftover from my previous failed attempt to make cookie lollipops but that's for another story. Here are the creations that went to our good friends in Las Vegas.

Onesie's w/fabric appliques cut from the Cricut Expression

Washcloth Lollipops

Basketful of "Treats"

My First Onesie Cupcakes...

2010-09-04T01:35:00.000-07:00

A long while ago I was Internet researching on different baby gift items to create on your own. One of the cute and easy gifts I found were onesie cupcakes. They were just plain colored baby onesies rolled up decorated with little embellishments and stuck into a muffin paper cup thing. They looked simple enough to make and I figured I could do that myself.

Since I had a baby shower coming up, the mother and father had a very special and specific request on what color clothing they preferred for their baby. They had a "Nightmare Before Christmas" theme and that was out of the normal baby theme. I found it as a challenge with open arms to create something as close to that theme as possible.

Thus this was created and an evolution of onesie cupcake gifts were created. I dyed some onesies and added cute iron on appliques to each of them, turned them into "cupcakes", and added little embellishments.

"That's How I Roll" & "eat, sleep, poop, cry"

"My Dad Rocks" & "My Mom Rocks"

"So Fresh & So Clean", "Born to Rock", & "AB/CD"

Cupcake Creation

All Packaged & Ready to go

Plush Kid's Neck Pillow

2010-09-03T22:13:00.000-07:00

In addition to my sister's request for a makeup bag, she also asked me if I could sew up a kid's neck pillow for my nephew. She was planning on buying one but those suckers are kind of expensive, so she figured that I could probably make one. So I did my search on the Internet to find a tutorial on how to make one. I pretty much knew it'd be just like sewing a pillow and stuffing it, but I figure I just check and see if there was any specific way on to make one.

Lo and behold I found quite a lot of tutorials, even better I found one that had a pattern at the craft site Ucreate. SWEET!! I can't draw to save my life so having a pattern helped me cut the fabric as even as possible. Since my sister lives in Hawaii I tried to find material that would be soft, comfortable, and wouldn't feel irritating against my nephew's skin on days he uses the neck pillow during hot/humid weather. I found a soft plush material with zoo animals on it and the bonus was that it was on sale AND I had a coupon for extra off. I bought a yard of it since I figured I'd make one for my son too and I could also make a practice one as well.

For the first pillow I made I cut it exactly to the pattern I had and discovered while stitching it up that the material is so soft that I had a hard time trying to keep the seams together. Perhaps I needed to change the needle or whatever since I just use the standard needle. Nonetheless, I got it stitched up and ready to be stuffed. I used ultra plush stuffing to make it nice, soft, and comfy. The last procedure was to whip stitch that bugger up which I loathe and could never get right....well maybe never learned how to do it properly before. So instead I just smooshed down opening and stitched it closed with my machine...yeah lazy I know ha ha.

The end result came out alright and needed a few adjustments. So for the pillow I made for my nephew I just added about half an inch extra material to help stitch it up better. This worked out perfectly since I didn't have problems with stitching up the seams this time. I wasn't particularly happy with the way I closed up the first pillow and decided to overcome my dislike for whip stitching. So I referred to a YouTube video and got cracking on closing that pillow up. What do you know? I think I mastered whip stitching ha ha! Pillow #2 turned out a lot better and here it is below.

PLUSH KID'S NECK PILLOW

Pleated Makeup Bag & Tissue Holder

2010-09-03T02:04:00.000-07:00

My sister asked me to sew her up a makeup bag and I happily took on the challenge. To start off I sent her a few links of different websites on possible makeup bags that she could choose a style from. Luckily she chose one that was easy enough for me to follow and try out.

I first made one for myself at a trial run before I made one for my sister since I wanted to make her one with a nylon lining for easy cleanup. I didn't want to waste the remnant nylon I got from the fabric store since the piece wasn't that large. In addition to making the makeup bags, I also sewed up some tissue holders as well since it looked really simple and it compliments the bags too. I found both tutorials at the blogsite Skip to My Lou along with some other great crafting tutorials.

So here are my latest creations.

Cherry Blossom &Damask Print

Inside Lining

Tokidoki & Floral Print

Inside Lined w/Nylon

My Sew Story...

2010-09-02T17:08:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that I'm a novice seamstress and I am learning as I go through trial and error. The only formal training that I had for sewing was in my 8th grade sewing elective class. I remember I sewed a pillow (that's actually still at my parents house), a bean bag rabbit that I fondly remember my neighbor James named "Lucille", and a windsock. I haven't sewn anything since then and really had no desire to until about two years ago.

My son was born and I found it astonishing how much burp cloths I went through wiping up spit ups from that lil person. I ran out of burp cloths and was washing a load of his clothes like every other day in order to get a clean burp cloth. Then I had an idea that I could either sew/make my own burp cloths or go buy some new ones that were already pricey to begin with. So my hubby gave me permission to buy my first sewing machine ever and I haven't looked back since.

I bought a Singer 4166 when Costco had a coupon for it and I didn't even research it.

I just bought it because of the price, little did I know this particular machine was actually little advanced for the novice me. That didn't matter to me since I really LOVE my machine after making a few things since the day I bought it. Firing up the machine the very first time was like riding a bike (yeah to those who know me, I don't know how to ride a bike. we'll save that story for another time.) and my first burp cloth was born.

I made my son's burp cloths out of decorative fleece and towel material with hopes of having it absorb the spit up action my son does. It was so easy, just a few straight lines, and sewing up the closure. I made a whole bunch for him and my nephew who is five months younger than my son.

From my first sewing project I have created more things in the last two years and working my way up to more advanced creations. As I mentioned I am learning through trial and error, I have borrowed books from the library to help refresh my memory of basic sewing techniques, and the INTERNET is wonderful for finding tutorials especially YOUTUBE. I've sewn a few new things lately and I'll post about them along with their pictures if there are any.

So that's my sew story and I'm sticking to it.

September 2010 Meal Plan

2010-09-02T16:21:00.000-07:00

So I've got the ball rolling with this month's menu plan since I pretty much slacked off for the month of August. There are quite a few new recipes that I've added and have never tried before, so here's to experimentation. I dusted off the cobwebs from some of the cookbooks I've collected over the years especially those little ones you find at the checkout stand at your supermarket. I had developed a habit of buying those in hopes of implementing them but I never did. So now that I've started this meal plan experiment I am going to try to put all those cookbooks to good use.

I rolled over whatever meals for August I had planned so that at least helped me not think up new dishes to make. So here's the menu plan for September and I hope to try to stick to as much as I can.

SEPTEMBER MENU PLAN

Baked Chicken w/Gravy
Mushroom Risotto w/Italian Sausage
Baked Beef Enchilada
Baked Ratatouille
Chicken Masala w/Roti Chapati
Baby Back Ribs
Spaghetti Goulash
Crab Supreme
Chinese Roast Chicken
Eggplant Sausage Casserole
Quickie Salisbury Steak
Shrimp Cabonara
Chicken & Sausage Gumbo
Beef Broccoli
Roast Pork w/Gravy
Shoyu/Sesame Ahi
Miki
Pot Roast w/Veggies in Crockpot
Port & Balatong (Mung Beans)
Shrimp Scampi
Chicken Long Rice
Beef Wellington
Pinakbet
Baked Salmon w/Crab Stuffing
Oyster Chicken w/Noodles
Taco Crescent Bake
Lauya
Paella w/Shrimp & Chicken
Cold Ginger Chicken
Pad Thai

August 2010 Meal #12: Thai Coconut Shrimp Replaced By Black Bean Garlic Shrimp

2010-09-02T15:42:00.000-07:00

My Meal #12 was originally supposed to be Thai Coconut Shrimp but instead I replaced it to be Black Bean Garlic Shrimp. I unfortunately forgot what cookbook I had seen that dish in and gave up trying to find it in my mountain of cookbooks. So the next best and easiest thing to cook up that shrimp that I had was to use some black bean sauce.

I've actually never made this before but my husband has, so this couldn't be hard right? Well it wasn't, I actually used the same ingredients as I use in the Pork & Eggplant w/Black Bean Garlic Sauce recipe and just used shrimp. All in about 10 minutes dinner was done and it was very yummy too. Alas, I don't have a picture of this as well...yeah I know I know I'm slacking in that department but here's the super easy recipe.

BLACK BEAN GARLIC SHRIMP
Ingredients:
1 lb. shrimp (I had used the smallest sized raw shrimp, you can use any sized shrimp to your liking. You can either leave the shell on or devein and peel.)
3 tbsp. garlic, minced
2 tbsp. butter or margarine
5 tbsp. black bean sauce
2 tbsp. garlic chili sauce

Directions:
Melt garlic in pan. Add all ingredients and cook until shrimp is cooked (no longer black/gray in color).

August 2010 Meal #11: Szechwan Ribs w/Mongolian Marinade

2010-09-02T01:07:00.000-07:00

For Meal #11 I made Szechwan Ribs w/Mongolian Marinade which is a recipe my cousin Julie gave me a few months ago. It sounded real good and it was something new for me to try. While I was perusing through one of my local cookbooks from Hawaii I was surprise to find that I had the recipe for years and didn't even know it. This is actually a recipe from Roy's in Hawaii and it's famous chef Roy Yamaguchi.

This was really easy to make and it turned out really good. Even with the chili paste making it a little spicy, I still got the approval from my two year old. ;o). For once I used half of the recipe since I used pork spareribs instead of the baby back ribs the recipe called for. Here's the recipe to share and again no picture to share :o(.

SZECHWAN RIBS W/MONGOLIAN MARINADE
Ingredients:
4 1/2 lbs. baby back ribs (3 slabs)
2 cups Hoisin sauce
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
3 tbsp. ginger, minced
2 tbsp Chinese chili paste
1/2 cup honey

Cut ribs in half and place in a large pot of boiling water. Slow boil for an hour and half or until meat is tender (meat must have shrunk down from top of the bone at least a half inch). Remove ribs from water and let stand for abut 10 minutes until warm to touch.

For Mongolian marinade, mix Hoisin sauce, garlic, ginger, chili paste, and honey in a large mixing bowl and refrigerate. Brush Mongolian marinade on both sides of the ribs. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place ribs on a cooling rack and then onto a cookie sheet within the oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until ribs are shiny and sauce had baked into meat. Remove and let cool. Cut ribs into pieces and brush with leftover marinade. Grill rib pieces on a hibachi for a few minutes until hot, then serve and enjoy!

August 2010 Meal #10: Chop Chai

2010-09-02T00:36:00.000-07:00

For Meal #10 I had decided to make Chop Chai which is a Korean Chop Suey. My husband and I ate this dish a long while ago at a Korean restaurant in Oregon that was really good. I had made this once before but for some reason never made it again. Since I'm on the hunt for new meals to make, I added this to the menu plan. This particular recipe I also got from the Moanalua High School Project Graduation 2008: Local Style Cooking With A Mainland Flair fundraising cookbook.

When I was ready to prepare this recipe I found that I was missing two ingredients which were carrots and watercress. The watercress apparently isn't available in my local supermarkets and I am guessing I had to make a trip to the Asian market that's kind of out of the way for me. As for the carrots, I just simply forgot to grab some. Nonetheless, after preparing with what I already had this meal turned out really well and an accompanying side dish of kim chee made it even tastier. I had also forgotten to take a picture of this too, besides since it was missing two ingredients I didn't think it was picture worthy. I'll likely make this again someday and I'll be sure to take a picture to share.

CHOP CHAI (KOREAN CHOP SUEY)
Ingredients
3 - 1.75 oz. pkgs. long rice
6 dried shiitake mushrooms
1/2 lb. flank steak, cut into fine 1-inch strips
1 cup carrots, julienned
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
salt, to taste
1 cup string beans, French cut
1/2 cup onions, sliced
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1/2 bundle watercress, cut into 2-inch lengths

Seasoning for long rice:
4 tbsp. shoyu
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 1/2 to 4 tbsp sugar, to taste
1 tbsp. roasted sesame seeds
1/8 tsp pepper

Seasoning for beef:
1/2 tsp garlic, minced
2 tbsp. shoyu
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp roasted sesame seeds

Directions:
Soak long rice in hot water until soft, then boil until cooked. Drain well and cut into 2-inch lengths. Soak mushrooms in hot water until soft. Squeeze to remove water; remove stems and cut into strips.

Combine seasoning ingredients for long rice. Add to long rice, tossing to coat. Set aside and toss occasionally.

Combine seasoning ingredients for beef. Add beef strips.

Fry carrots in 2 tbsp oil just until tender. Sprinkle with salt; place in a large bowl to cool. Follow same procedure with string beans; add to carrots.

Fry onions in sesame oil. Add beef strips and seasonings; fry until meat is half-done. Add mushrooms and watercress; fry until meat is cooked. Cool, then combine with carrots, beans, and long rice. Serve at room temperature.

ENJOY!

August 2010 Meal #9: Chicken Alfredo w/Gnocchi

2010-09-02T00:12:00.000-07:00

For August's Meal #9 I planned to make Chicken Alfredo with Homemade Gnocchi, but I was a bit lazy and tired that day to make gnocchi after a long day of running errands. So instead I decided to just make the Alfredo with regular fettuccine noodles which my two year old had no problem with ;o).

I simply used a jarred Alfredo sauce, cut up chicken thighs, and fresh sliced mushrooms...a real simple dinner. The sauce in particular that I used was the Bertolli Mushroom Alfredo, which is super yummy since I love mushrooms. The jar looks like this and here's the easy recipe to go along with it. I apologize that I don't have a picture to share since I forgot to take one that night.

CHICKEN ALFREDO
Ingredients:
3 lbs. chicken thighs, cut into small pieces
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
3 cups white mushrooms, sliced
2 jars of Bertolli Mushroom Alfredo sauce
1 box fettuccine noodles, cooked

Directions:
Brown chicken and garlic until chicken is done. Add sauce and mushrooms. Mix and let simmer til mushrooms are tender. Add cooked noodles and toss. Serve.

August 2010 Meal #8: Shoyu Pork Replaced by Pork Adobo

2010-08-27T00:20:00.000-07:00

Meal #8 was supposed to be Shoyu Pork but I decided to change it since I had started dinner a little late. So this was replaced by the super easy and quick Pork Adobo. I had mentioned before that my husband is usually the Pork Adobo cooker and he has his own "recipe" that he goes by. I was in charge of cooking this particular night since he was at work still and I followed the Adobo recipe that I have posted. I have only followed the recipe while cooking it with chicken so using pork would be a little experiment for me.

To my surprise it turned out really well and tasty that my two year old happily ate it. So now I guess I don't have to rely on my husband to cook this for dinner anymore...awww SHUCKS ;-p. Here's the link below to the recipe I previously posted.

PORK ADOBO

August 2010 Meal #7: Baked Miso Salmon

2010-08-27T00:13:00.000-07:00

Meal #7 which was Baked Miso Salmon would have turned out good if I had paid attention to the oven. I don't have a picture of it since this didn't turn out so good. The fish ended up being too dry since I nearly forgot I had it on broil for the last part of baking, but I'll still share the recipe and someone will have better luck with it.

BAKED MISO BUTTERFISH/SALMON
Ingredients:
3 lbs. butterfish or salmon

Marinade:
1/3 cup miso
1/3 cup mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
2 tbsp sake
1/3 cup low-salt shoyu
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 - 2 inches piece ginger, coarsely grated
3 stalks green onion, finely chopped

Combine marinade ingredients. Add fish and marinade overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scrape excess marinade from fish. Bake 20-30 minutes til baked through, then broil to brown top.

August 2010 Meal #6: Meat Jun

2010-08-26T23:42:00.000-07:00

This particular meal is one of my favorites to eat everytime we go home to Hawaii to visit. I have to make at least one or two stops to eat this make me happy as a clam. Meal#6 is called Meat Jun which is a Korean dish consisting of thinly sliced beef marinated in a Korean sauce, battered, fried, and served with an accompanying sauce. Since I haven't found a decent Korean restaurant in Oregon and have succumbed to having to make this myself. I rarely make this unless I have a deep craving for it since it's a tedious process to cook....well at least to me it is.

I used to cheat and use already sliced carne asada beef which is a little too thick for Meat Jun. You're supposed to slice your own beef from a partially frozen roast but all these years I've been lazy to do so and cheated a little. However, this time I sliced my beef the proper way and who would have thunk it that it made the meat jun even better.

So here's my recipe for this very yummy dish along with the sauce and as a BONUS the shoyu/sesame bean sprouts that's usually a side dish provided at any Korean restaurant.

MEAT JUN
Ingredients:
2-3 lbs top sirloin roast, partially frozen and sliced thinly
2 stalks green onion, chopped finely
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/1/4 cups shoyu
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp. sesame seed oil
2 dashes pepper
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup flour
oil for frying

Combine all ingredients except eggs, flour, and oil. Marinate overnight. Heat oil in pan. Coat meat in flour and dip in egg. Fry on both sides til lightly brown. Drain on paper towels and slice.

DIPPING SAUCE:
Ingredients:
2 tbsp shoyu
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp sesame seeds

Heat all ingredients in small saucepan until sugar dissolves. Serve with Meat Jun.

SHOYU/SESAME BEAN SPROUTS
Ingredients:
3 cups bean sprouts
1/4 cup shoyu
2 tbsp. sesame seed oil
3 tbsp. sugar
water for boiling.

Par boil bean sprouts. Drain and return to pot. Add remaining ingredients and cook until sugar is dissolved. You may add more sugar and shoyu to your taste.

Below is my homemade Meat Jun and I just had to have some Kim Chee with it too.

August 2010 Meal #5: Chinese Roast Chicken Replaced by Char Siu Chicken

2010-08-26T22:44:00.000-07:00

I had meant to make Chinese Roast Chicken for Meal #5 but I didn't realize that I only had one package of the marinade. Which is kind of weird since I usually buy more than one package and I haven't made that in a long while. So as an alternative and it's a good thing that I had more than one package of marinade, I ended up making Char Siu Chicken instead. I don't have a recipe from scratch since sometimes I think the simpler something is to make, the better for me. I used the NOH brand Char Siu mix and all you have to pretty much do is supply the meat and just add water. How much simpler could it get right? This is how the package looks like and the recipe to go along with it.

CHAR SIU CHICKEN
1 pkg. NOH Chinese Barbecue Seasoning Mix (I normally use 2 pkgs.)

1/2 cup water
1 1/2 lbs. pork (pork butt, ribs, chicken, duck, turkey, etc.)

Combine contents of package with 1/2 cup water. Mix thoroughly. Cut 1 1/2 lbs. of pork into 2 inch by 2 inch by 4 inch pieces. Marinate in sauce for 2 to 4 hours or overnight for best results. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place pork on a rack in a roasting pan and cook for 20 minutes. Turn meat and cook 20 minutes longer or until done. Baste occasionally with marinade.

OPTIONAL: Dry mix can be rubbed directly onto the meat without adding water.

I had the chicken grilled over our BBQ grill and it tastes better when grilled. I thought that I had a picture of it but I don't so I apologize for not providing a sample.

My Apologies...

2010-08-18T15:11:00.000-07:00

Been pretty busy lately with some craft projects that I have to get done and cooked a little off the August menu plan which I think is pretty much shot for the month. Being that I neglected that menu and half the month is already passed I'll have to start fresh when September rolls around. I'm still kind of on track with the menu plan though but I'm just really behind in posting anything. I'll get to it once I'm done with this last major project which probably at the latest will be after this coming weekend.

In addition to the food stuff I blog about, I'll have to start blogging about the many crafts that I like to make which I hope someday I get to turn into a part-time at home business for myself. I have no set type of craft I specialize in, I just simply find things and like to try to create them myself. So the "Crafty Creations" tab up on top will soon be filled with some of my old creations in addition to the recent ones I have made. Still deciding if I'll make some tutorials about things I create since I'm terrible in taking pictures of the process, so we'll see.

August 2010 Menu Plan

2010-08-10T17:47:00.000-07:00

It's already the 10th of August and I haven't created or completed a menu plan for this month. With a few blips from last month and with my husband being out of town during the first weekend of this month last months menu it a little all over the place.

July Meals #15-#18 I should have included as August's meals instead. I have to transfer the unmade meals for this months meals with some minor changed and add a few new ones to it which I haven't even thought up yet. Totally slacking on my part, got a few projects going on that I've been putting this off. So for now here's the "completed" menu and I'll put a revision when I have the chance.

AUGUST MENU PLAN

Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole
Chili
Sweet n Sour Pork Spareribs
Baked Chicken w/ Cream of Mushroom Gravy
Chinese Roast Chicken
Meat Jun
Baked Miso Salmon
Shoyu Pork
Chicken Alfredo w/Gnocchi
Chop Chae
Szechwan Ribs w/Mongolian Marinade
Thai Coconut Shrimp
Baked Chicken w/Gravy
Beef Wellington
Mushroom Risotto w/Italian Sausage
Chicken Masala w/Rodi Chapati
Baby Back BBQ Ribs

July 2010 Meal #15: Chicken, Mushrooms, & Zucchini REPLACED W/Baked Chicken w/Cream of Mushroom Gravy

2010-08-09T22:34:00.000-07:00

I've been slacking off a bit on the menu especially since my husband went to Las Vegas over the weekend to coach for his semi-pro football team. My much postponed Meal #15 of Chicken, Mushrooms, & Zucchini got replaced by Baked Chicken w/Cream of Mushroom Gravy. This was a last minute decision since the veggies for the original meal had rotted and I had to think of an alternative. So here came cream of mushroom soup and dry onion soup mix to the rescue! Thanks goodness I have these staples in my pantry, which reminds me I used up the last of the onion soup mix.

So this is pretty much a spin off of Oven Baked Chicken and I just modified to have the cream of mushroom gravy instead of regular chicken gravy. It turned out really good and will likely use this recipe again. Here's my last minute concoction for me to share.

BAKED CHICKEN W/CREAM OF MUSHROOM GRAVY
Ingredients:
3 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs
3 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 pkg. Lipton Onion Soup mix
2 cups flour
1 tbsp.garlic salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. paprika
3 tbsp butter or margarine

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. While oven is heating up add butter/margarine into 13x9 baking pan and let butter melt to help coat pan. Mix flour, garlic salt, pepper, and paprika. Coat chicken evenly on both sides. Layer chicken evenly into heated baking pan and bake chicken for 20 minutes. Turn chicken over and bake another 20 minutes. Mix soups and pour over chicken and bake another 20 minutes.

This was really good over a bed of hot rice. My 2 year old liked it alot.

July 2010 Meal #18: Sweet n Sour Pork Spareribs

2010-08-06T02:12:00.000-07:00

Meal #18 which was Sweet n Sour Pork Spareribs is really easy to make and one of my go to meals if I can't think of anything else to make. I got it from one of my many local cookbooks from Hawaii and this is pretty tasty. I tend to use canned pineapple chunks since I'm not to fond of pineapple and I can pick it out easily. Me being born and raised in Hawaii I don't like pineapple, pretty funny huh? Haha!

I just don't like the stringiness of it as do the same with oranges or other fruit in the likes. I like the flavor of these fruits I just won't eat the fruit itself....weird I know. Anyway below is the yummy recipe for me to share.

SWEET N SOUR PORK SPARERIBS
Ingredients:
5 lbs. pork spareribs

3 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup shoyu
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 can (20 oz.)pineapple w/juice

Directions:
Cut up pork and brown with garlic. Add brown sugar, vinegar, shoyu, and pineapple. Simmer on medium til done. Make cornstarch paste if you want gravy to be thicker (I usually don't).

Enjoy!

July 2010 Meal #17: Chili

2010-08-05T00:48:00.000-07:00

For Meal #17 I chose to make Chili for dinner. I actually have two types of chili that I make which is my lazy chili and one that I make from scratch. The chili that I decided to make was my lazy chili that only takes about 15-20 minutes cooking time.

I used a packaged chili seasoning and I prefer to use McCormick's Original Chili seasoning mix that looks like the picture below. I will eventually decide to make my chili from scratch and don't worry I'll be sure to share the recipe. For now here's my lazy version.

CHILI
Ingredients:
2 lbs. ground hamburger
1/2 onion, diced
2 tbsp garlic, minced
2 pkgs. McCormick's Chili seasoning
4 small cans tomato sauce
2 cans red kidney beans (I use only 1 can since my hubby prefers less means more meat)
2 pkgs. hot dogs, sliced
1 stick Portuguese sausages, diced

Directions:
Brown hamburger with garlic. Drain fat. Add onions and cook till tender. Add remaining ingredients and stir. Let simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Here's a not so good picture of it since I was kind of lazy to get the better camera, so it was instead taken from my phone camera.

July 2010 Meal #16: Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole

2010-08-05T00:04:00.000-07:00

I'm skipping over Meal #15: Chicken, Mushrooms, & Zucchini for now since it seems like we just had chicken a lil bit ago. I'm hopping over to Meal #16: Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole since we've haven't had any type of fish/seafood for a while.

My sister seen my menu list for July and wanted to try out this recipe first since I haven't made this particular dish yet. It's a good thing that she did since she gave me a few suggestions on how to make it a little better. So the recipe that I'm going to provide will be a revised version from the original that I found. In the end this dish pretty much turned into a better version of Tuna Helper which I cooked all the time and was one of my lazy go to meals.

I'm trying to stay away from processed foods and cook meals more from scratch, so eliminating boxed dehydrated foods is my first step since I grew up learning how to cook those. I've probably cooked every variety of Hamburger Helper, Tuna Helper, and Chicken Helper there is and I'm learning to break that habit. Besides I like knowing what ingredients I'm putting into my child's meals and learning how to cook more meals from scratch.

The end result turned out well and it was better than Tuna Helper ;o)

EASY TUNA NOODLE CASSEROLE
Ingredients:
16 oz. wide egg noodles, boiled
3 cans tuna, drained
3 cans cream of mushroom
2 cups milk
1 bag of frozen veggies (I used a bag of chopped broccoli)
Bread crumbs

Grease 13x9 baking pan and heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients except bread crumbs. Pour mixture into baking pan and sprinkle bread crumbs on top if mixture. Bake for 1 hour or til nicely browned.

Real simple to make and got the approval to make this again. Enjoy!

July 2010 Meal #14: Kalua Pig

2010-08-04T22:24:00.000-07:00

Although we just had Kalua Pig a few weeks ago and I just made a post about it, I wanted to eat it again. What can I say my hubby makes a mean Kalua Pig haha. So I'm just going to provide the link to that post I made about a week ago rather than re-typing the same thing again.

Enjoy!

http://anchetaandco.blogspot.com/2010/07/oven-baked-kalua-pork.html

July 2010 Meal #13: Corned Beef Brisket

2010-08-04T19:37:00.000-07:00

Meal #13 was Corned Beef Brisket which is something I haven't eaten in a while. With it being summertime I wouldn't normally make this for dinner when we're supposed to have warmer weather. Since our Great Northwest weather has been pretty funky lately I just decided to make corned beef brisket for dinner.

I used to boil the meat over the stove until it was tender which took at least over an hour and served it with just cabbage and mustard. After meeting my husband he introduced me to the wonderful world of pressure cooking that takes half the time or even less. The only idea I ever had about a pressure cooker was from watching the movie Radio Flyer when the two brothers decide to make a bad guy potion to rid of their mean step-father. They had the stove set on high and the pressure cooker exploded making the concoction fly everywhere. Needless to say I've never used one and was afraid of it exploding in my kitchen when we bought one. So for a long while my husband was the one to manned the pressure cooker anytime we cooked something in it. Only within the last few years I've become brave and learned to man it myself LOL.

I just normally purchase the corned beef that already has the seasonings with it and add cabbage to the broth when it's done cooking. I don't add the potatoes and carrots with it, I just prefer it cabbage and a generous amount of yellow mustard.

CORNED BEEF BRISKET
Ingredients:
3-4 lbs. corned beef w/seasonings in the bag
water
1 small head cabbage
yellow mustard

Directions:
Boil corned beef w/seasonings with water covering the beef until tender. Adding more water as it recedes if meat isn't tender yet. Let cool once cooked. Slice beef and return to pot. Chop up head cabbage and add to soup, re-heat soup and cook cabbage until tender. Serve with yellow mustard.

Enjoy!

July 2010 Meal #12: Chicken Papaya...Replaced By Chicken Stir Fry

2010-08-04T18:34:00.000-07:00

Meal #12 was originally going to be Chicken Papaya but I couldn't find any green papaya at the time so I ended up using frozen chicken thighs and the remaining bell peppers and mushrooms for another stir fry dinner. I also had some of the garlic chicken dipping sauce left from the other night so I decided to use that as the sauce base. This meal ended up being a last minute dinner idea and it came out pretty good. I unfortunately don't have a picture of it to share, it pretty much looked like the pork stir fry minus the noodles.

CHICKEN STIR FRY
Ingredients:
3 lbs. chicken thighs, cut into small pieces
1/2 onion, sliced
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
1 each red, yellow, orange bell pepper, sliced
2 cups white mushrooms, sliced
pepper

Garlic Soy Sauce:
I used about 1 cup of the remaining garlic soy sauce from the garlic chicken I made previously. Here's the link to the recipe on the blog post: http://anchetaandco.blogspot.com/2010/08/july-2010-meal-8-garlic-chicken.html

Directions:
Brown chicken with garlic. Add onions and cook til rendered. Add remaining veggies and sauce. Cook till veggies are tender and pepper to taste.

July 2010 Meal #11: Pork Stir Fry w/Won Ton Noodles

2010-08-04T18:21:00.000-07:00

Meal # 11 which was Pork Stir Fry w/Won Ton Noodles was something I threw together. The good thing about stir fry is that you can pretty much put in any kind of vegetables, meats, and sauces that you want. You can't really mess this up since it's a mish mash of things that you like to eat. I used some colorful veggies like red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, snap peas, and white mushrooms and just used an oyster sauce base for the sauce. Here's the recipe below.

PORK STIR FRY W/WON TON NOODLES
Ingredients:
1 pkg. won ton noodles, cooked
1-2 lbs. chopped pork IE. pork belly, pork butt, or leaner meat if you prefer
1/2 onion, sliced
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
1 each red, yellow, orange bell pepper, cut into chunks
3 cups snap peas
2 cups bean sprouts
2 cups white mushroom, sliced
oyster sauce
pepper

Directions:
Brown pork with garlic. Add onions and cook till rendered. Add the remaining veggies and oyster sauce (you may add as much oyster sauce to your taste), and cook until veggies are tender. Add noodles and toss with mixture. Add pepper to taste and more oyster sauce if needed.

Enjoy!

July 2010 Meal #8: Garlic Chicken

2010-08-04T17:32:00.000-07:00

I postponed Meal #8 which was Garlic Chicken due to our kitchen faucet being broken. I had originally planned on using chicken thighs for this but I still had drummettes to use since I was not able to find any green papaya for Meal #12. Besides I had a craving for this meal anyway so I just ended up making it anyway.

I got the recipe from the cookbook "What Hawaii Likes to Eat" and it's supposedly a version of Mitsu-Ken's famous garlic chicken they have for their plate lunches. I've actually never eaten at Mitsu-Ken but my hubby says it tastes pretty close to the original. I like it alot and a great hit when I make it for get togethers at our home.

GARLIC CHICKEN
Ingredients:
3 lbs. Chicken drummettes or wings

2 cups flour
2 tbsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 qt canola oil for frying

Garlic soy sauce:
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp grated ginger
1 small clove garlic, grated
1/4 cup minced green onion
Shichimi togarashi (red pepper mix) to taste, optional

Directions:
Rinse chicken and pat dry; set aside. Combine flour, garlic salt,pepper, and garlic powder in gallon size plastic bag; shake to mix well. Place chicken in plastic bag; shake to coat with flour mixture. Refrigerate 30-40 minutes.

Deep fry in oil to 365 degrees-375 degrees F until chicken is golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper and dip in garlic soy sauce to serve.

Prepare garlic soy sauce:
Combine all ingredients for garlic soy sauce; mix until well blended. Serve with fried chicken.

Below is the yummy fried goodness. Boneless skinless chicken thighs can be used as well. Just slice it up, coat in flour mixture, and deep fry.

Mac Salad

2010-08-04T02:06:00.000-07:00

The third dish that we were also in charge of was my "Famous Mac Salad." Within our group of friends I'm the go to person to prepare the mac salad for every BBQ, get together, and what have you. My mac salad is always requested and I don't hesitate on making it since I'm pretty picky on how it's prepared and I DON'T like that Reser Brand of macaroni salad in a tub. I don't like onions or celery in my mac salad, if I end up eating mac salad with either of those I will meticulously pick them out.

So my concoction of mac salad is pretty simple and only contains six ingredients. I used to put frozen peas in it until my husband requested that I no longer do that, it's actually better without the peas anyway. I once in a great while will put in diced boiled potatoes if I have any on hand. I've never shared this recipe before and it almost seems so secretive since I'm pretty sure any local girl from Hawaii probably makes it the same as I do. LOL. Also, I never measure the ingredients for this in the exception of the macaroni. I mince up the imitation crab and just eyeball it to see if there's enough and the mayo I add enough to make the mixture wet. So the measurements below are an approximate of how much I think I use.

MAC SALAD
Ingredients:
3 cups macaroni, boiled
5 eggs, boiled & diced
2 cups imitation crab, minced
3 cups mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Adding salt and pepper to taste.

Simple as that! The picture below is the "party size" with paprika sprinkled on top to make it look a little more fancy.

Chow Fun

2010-08-04T01:42:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's been nearly 10 days since I've last blogged and I'm WAY behind. Also, I changed up the food blog to no longer be a just a food blog but instead an everything and anything blog. So time to get back to business since I think I'm about six meals behind.

So to continue on from the last post about Kalua Pig for the baby luau, we also made a big pan of local style chow fun. I would normally use the Hula Girl brand of dry chow fun but I didn't have enough of it and the Asian store that I get them at ran out. So I ended up using two packages of the refrigerated already cooked chow fun noodles. By the picture below you can't even tell the difference between the noodles and the guests who ate it didn't couldn't taste the difference either. The recipe below will be for the "normal" size I would make for my family alone whereas the picture below was the big "party tray" size. Also, on a side note you may want to cook it in two batches depending on the size of your pot, wok, or whichever cooking pan you're using. Makes for easier mixing.

CHOW FUN
Ingredients:
1 lbs. ground pork
1 can Spam, julienned
3 pkgs. chow fun noodles
1/2 onion, sliced
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
1 carrot, grated
1 kamaboko (fishcake, the pink & white swirled one), shredded
2-3 cups bean sprouts
1 bunch green onion, chopped
Oyster sauce
pepper

Directions:
Boil noodles according to the package directions and set aside. Brown ground pork with garlic. Add onions, Spam, carrots, green onions, kamaboko, bean sprouts, and about 1/2 cup of oyster sauce and mix well. Add cooked noodles and about 1/2 cup more oyster sauce and toss mixture thoroughly. Season with some pepper to your liking. You may add more oyster sauce to your preference if noodles are looking dry.

Here's the yummy outcome!

Oven Baked Kalua Pork

2010-07-25T01:33:00.000-07:00

I totally had forgotten that my husband and I made some party food over two weeks ago. I took the pictures and everything but forgot to make some postings about them. We were in charge of making three dishes and this one in particular was Oven Baked Kalua Pork.

Traditionally the Hawaiian Kalua Pork is a whole pig cooked in an imu or underground oven. Since I'm not about to dig up a big hole in my backyard to make kalua pork, the hole in my wall where my oven resides will do.

Funny story about the first time my husband made kalua pork in the oven years ago when we first moved to Oregon. I had the bright idea of copying down recipes from local Hawaii cookbooks before I moved and one of the recipes was kalua pork. So while I was at work my husband used that recipe I copied and let's just say it was the WORSE kalua pig ever! I was SO salty that putting on ketchup (hubby thought that would cancel the saltiness ???) didn't work nor did rinsing it under water. I asked him how much hawaiian salt did you use and he said 1/2 cup and that's what the recipe said! Oops! That was MY fault, a little typo there on my part. Needless to say that recipe was thrown into the trash along with that batch of kalua pork LOL.

So after that little fiasco my husband created his own recipe and I give him total credit since he makes the ONO'EST oven baked kalua pork. Heres' the recipe below.

OVEN BAKED KALUA PORK
Ingredients:
5 lbs. pork butt or boneless pork shoulder (if you find pork shoulder w/bone in that's fine)
Liquid smoke
Shoyu
Hawaiian salt
Water

Directions:
Slice pork into about 1 1/2 inch slices (when done baking it'll make for easier shredding) and arrange into at 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Sprinkle about 1 1/2 tbsp Hawaiian salt. Drizzle some shoyu over pork. Drizzle some liquid smoke over pork. Add 1/4 cup water. Bake at 400 degrees for 2 hours. Check for doneness, if easily shreds with fork then it's all done. Let cool and shred all pork pieces.

July 2010 Meal #10: Teri Glazed Salmon

2010-07-23T01:53:00.000-07:00

I wanted to try something new when preparing salmon. You'd think with me living in the Great Northwest of Oregon I'd have plenty of salmon recipes, but I actually don't. I think in the 10 years that I've lived here, I've only prepare salmon two different baked variations. One style is always with onions, mushrooms, seasoning, and mayonaise and the only one time I tried something different was adding the Costco seafood dip spread as a topping and baked it.

So I looked through my many local Hawaii cookbooks and came across a very easy salmon recipe. While I was preparing my July meal plan I for some reason put it down as "Miso Salmon" when in fact it was supposed to be "Teri Glazed Salmon". So I made a little edit in the July 2010 Meal Plan post. This turned out really good, but my husband wasn't too fond of the wasabi/mayo drizzle that the recipe called for. It could just be that I added a bit too much wasabi to the mixture that turned his taste buds away. Overall, we both liked it and I just may have to omit the wasabit mayo in the future.

TERI GLAZED SALMON
Ingredients:
2-3 lb. salmon filet, skin removed
1 jar nori furikake
1/2 cup Yoshida Sauce
Wasabi paste
Mayonaise

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a baking dish lay salmon. Pour Yoshida sauce evenly over salmon. Sprinkle furikake liberally over salmon. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. While salmon is baking, mix wasabi paste and mayo to your taste. Wasabi taste should be mild (this is the part where I went a little overboard). When salmon is done baking, drizzle wasabi/mayo over salmon.

I used a piping bag and tip to make it look a little fancy since my manual drizzling skills weren't really cutting it.

July 2010 Meal #9: Easy Party Lasagna

2010-07-23T01:33:00.000-07:00

Since our kitchen faucet is semi out of commission I have to postpone Meal #8: Garlic Chicken for another time or at least until our faucet gets fixed. That particular meal requires me to constantly wash my hands and I can't stand it if the chicken I prepare isn't cleaned thoroughly either. I'm using frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs, so I HAVE to trim the fat and rip out the veins stuck in there....yah I'm OCD like that.

Anyway I just skipped over to Meal #9 that required less mess which was Easy Party Lasagna. Got this recipe from my mom years ago who got it from some friend of hers. Believe it or not, you don't even have to boil the noodles beforehand before you layer and bake it. The meat sauce is what helps cook the noodles and when done, the noodles are nice and tender. Here's the recipe below!

EASY PARTY LASAGNA
Ingredients:
Lasagna noodles
Hamburger or ground Italian Sausage
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
1/2 onion, diced
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 can condense cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup milk

Directions:
Brown meat in garlic til brown. Drain fat and add onions till cooked. Add spagetti sauce and mix thoroughly. Set aside. In a separate bowl mix 2 cups of cheese, can of soup, and milk. Set aside. Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a 13x9 baking dish layer half of spaghetti mixture, noodles, all of the milk/cheese/soup mixture, noodles, and the rest of the meat sauce. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and remove foil. Layer with the remaining cheese and bake uncoverd for another 10 minutes or until bubbly.

Who said making lasagna had to be a long tedious process? Hope you try this really easy lasagna!

July 2010 Meal #7: Pork Chop w/Cream of Mushroom Gravy

2010-07-23T00:48:00.000-07:00

So sorry for falling behind on blogging my meals, we've encountered a mild emergency with our kitchen faucet breaking which has caused us to eat more this month than we did last month.

With Meal #7 which was Pork Chop w/Cream of Mushroom Gravy I know there are different variations on how many people prepare this whether it is baked, browned and then crocked pot, frying, using canned condensed soup, or even making a gravy from scratch.

My version is just simply browning the pork chop til cooked through and letting it simmer in canned condensed soup to make the meat a little more tender. Doesn't take too long for me to cook this, it all just depends on the thickness of the meat. Below is my very simple recipe.

PORK CHOP W/CREAM OF MUSHROOM GRAVY
Ingredients:
6-8 pork chops
3 small cans of condensed cream of mushroom soup
garlic salt
pepper
water
oil

Directions:
Season pork chops with garlic salt and pepper on both sides. Heat oil in pan (I use a 3-qt saute pan since i reuse it to simmer the meat with the soup afterwards). Brown meat on both sides till cooked through. Place cooked chops on paper towels and set aside. Drain oil. Add the 3 small cans of condensed soup plus 1 can of water. Whisk mixture to get rid of clumps on medium high heat. Add cooked chops and cover in gravy. Let simmer for 10 minutes.

I sometimes add one more can of soup since I personally like to smother my pork chop with lots of gravy over a bed of hot rice and we usually run out of gravy when it's time to eat the leftovers too.

July 2010 Meal #6: Teri Patties

2010-07-17T23:06:00.000-07:00

I had gone grocery shopping the day I planned to make Meal #6: Teri Patties dinner so this was going to be something really easy to make or so I thought. I had planned on using the NOH brand Hawaiian Teri Mix only to realize I only had one packet of it which looks like this.

One packet wasn't enough for the 3 lb. batch of hamburger I had bought so I figured I'd use some Yoshida sauce. Of course I had forgotten I had used up the rest of it the week before for the Kal Bi I made for a 4th of July bbq.

So what to do? I have a plethora of cookbooks from Hawaii so one of them was bound to have a teriyaki sauce recipe. All I needed to do was find a sauce and tweek it with some eggs and bread crumbs so the patties would become nice and moist. So below is the recipe I used with a few tweeks. I'm not adding a picture since after "grilling" it in my George Foreman grill it looks the same as the turkey patties I made a few weeks ago.

TERI PATTIES
Ingredients:
3 lbs. ground hamburger
3/4 cups shoyu
3 tbsp. water
3 tsp. sugar
3 clove garlic, minced
3 tsp ginger, grated
4 eggs
3/4 cups bread crumbs

Directions:
Mix all ingredients and let marinate for 1 hour. Form into patties and grill or fry in skillet.

Easy Char Siu Bao...In Other Words Mini Char Siu Manapua

2010-07-17T03:16:00.000-07:00

This is something I made off the July menu plan. I have always wanted to make my own manapua but been too lazy to even try and I don't want to wait for the dough to rise. I had been thinking of ways to give my son something new to eat for lunch and snacks that I could easily freeze and re-heat later.

My BFF told me a bit ago that her mom used to make mini manapuas out of Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits and baked them. I kept that idea in mind but forgot about it for a while until I started going through my cookbooks to plan July's menu. Lo and behold I found the mini manapua recipe in one of my books! Who would have thought after all these years I had this recipe this whole time. I bought the used cookbook "Garden of Flavors: Playmate School's 50th Anniversary" from Powells Bookstore maybe five years ago and was surprised to find a cookbook originating from Hawaii in there.

This was actually easy to make but a little messy, nothing but a little practice can't fix. For the char siu I had to use store bought packaged "mainland Chinese BBQ Pork" which is REALLY dry, makes me want to just make my own but that will be for an experiment for another time. Overall it turned out really well and I got the toddler approval since he's eaten so many of them.

EASY CHAR SIU BAO, "MANAPUA"
Ingredients:
1 cup char siu, diced
2-3 tbsp. Hoisin Sauce (enough to moisten)
1 stalk green onion, chopped (optional)
1 can Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits

Directions:
Combine first 3 ingredients and place about 1 tbsp. on each biscuit slice. Fold into a half moon and pinch edges to seal. Lay each piece onto a 3x3-inch square of wax paper. Steam for 10-15 minutes.

Here are what they look like. I need to practice a bit more to make them look a little neater but in any case my 2 year old didn't care ;o)

July 2010 Meal #5: Chicken Adobo

2010-07-12T16:12:00.000-07:00

Meal #5 which was chicken adobo is another simple dish to make. A few weeks ago I had made pork adobo for dinner and posted the recipe then as well. Below is the same recipe and a picture provided to show what the final outcome looks like. This is always a winner in our house!

PORK & CHICKEN ADOBO

Ingredients:
3 lbs. belly pork or chicken pieces
3/4 cup shoyu
2 cups water
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
6 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
1/2 tbsp. peppercorn
2 bay leaves

Directions:
Combine all ingredients and cook on medium heat until meat is tender.

July 2010 Meal #4: Pork & Squash

2010-07-12T16:04:00.000-07:00

Meal #4 is a Filipino dish that I don't get to make too often since it requires me to find the main vegetable at an Asian market. This was a pork and tabungao (white opo squash) dish that is really easy to make and tastes so good over hot rice. Sometimes I just slice the the squash or run it through a shredder, it all depends on how I want to eat the squash. If you are wondering what the squash looks like here is a picture of it below:

PORK & TABUNGAO (WHITE OPO SQUASH)
Ingredients:
2 lbs. pork, chopped
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
2 medium sized tomatoes, chopped
1/2 onion, diced
2 small or 1 medium squash, sliced & seeds removed
patis (fish sauce)
pepper
oil

Directions:
Brown pork and garlic in about 1 tbsp. oil. Add onions till tender. Add sliced squash, tomatoes, and patis (this you will add to your taste). Mix well and let simmer until squash is tender. Add pepper to taste and more patis to your taste.

4th of July 2010 BBQ: Kal Bi

2010-07-08T14:12:00.000-07:00

It's the 4th of July and what's better than making some delicious BBQ! One of my favorites for bbq'g is Korean Kal Bi. While living in Hawaii it was easily accessible for purchasing at any grocery store and I had my favorites from Azeka's in Kihei and Takamiya's in Wailuku. I grew up eating the kal bi from Takamiya only because my dad was one of the butchers there for many years. I grew accustomed to the sweeter taste of kal bi and that's how I prefer it.

After moving to the mainland finding kal bi wasn't easy, in fact we couldn't find it anywhere and had to resort to making our own. For awhile my husband was the one in charge of marinating the kal bi meat and he likes it on the shoyu/spicy side. I couldn't ever figure out how to duplicate the taste of the kal bi that I'm so used to eating. Even after asking my dad for the Takamiya recipe which you'd figure he would know right off the bat, but I was wrong. So I was set on trying to make my own version of a kal bi sauce that was cheaper and in bigger quantities than the ones that came in small jars at the Asian stores.

I had always bought a big jar of Yoshida sauce from Costco and mainly used it for cooking stir fry but for some reason never really thought of using it as a marinade. It already has a sweet flavor, so I figured if I added some of the basic components of a kal bi marinade it just might work. Going by smell and adding a little bit of this and a little bit of that, marinating the kal bi meat for a few hours, and grilling. EUREKA!! I have found my kal bi marinade!

So for this past 4th of July bbq at a friend's home I made a batch of kal bi and got some good reviews on it. Also...shhhh....I was told it was preferred over my husband's version hehe.

KOREAN KAL BI
Ingredients:
3-4 lbs. kal bi meat (on the mainland it's called FLANKEN SHORT RIBS)
4-6 cups Yoshida Sauce
1 big bunch green onions, chopped
3-4 tbsp. garlic, minced
2-3 tbsp. garlic chili sauce
1/2 cup sesame seed oil
3-4 tbsp. sesame seeds

Directions:
In a big bowl or container that you'll be using for marinating add all ingredients except the meat. Mix well. Add the meat and coat well. Cover and let marinate for 2-3 hours. Cook over grill till meat is done, medium well and well done works best.

**The measurements are just general amounts. You are more than welcome to add as much or as little as you want especially for the chili garlic sauce.**

Here are the pics of the meat marinating and the final outcome.

July 2010 Meal #3: Hamburger Stroganoff w/Gnocchi

2010-07-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

I've made Meal #3 which is Hamburger Stroganoff so many times that I don't follow the recipe anymore. The recipe is actually from the Betty Crocker cookbook and I used to follow it from my mom's 70's cookbook version.

The recipe calls for the stroganoff to be served on a bed of egg noodles but my husband wanted me to try it with the leftover frozen gnocchi I had from when I made the ragout a few weeks ago. By doing this it reminded me of one of our dinners while we were in Switzerland for our honeymoon. It was something similar to stroganoff but with beef strips, a little creamier, and served with something that was kind of like hash browns. So I figured making the stroganoff and using the gnocchi would be a little similar and I was up for an experiment anyway.

HAMBURGER STROGANOFF
Ingredients:
1 lb. hamburger

1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup margarine or butter
2 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tray fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream or unflavored yogurt
2-3 cups hot cooked egg noodles

Directions:
Cook and stir margarine, hamburger, garlic, and onion in 10-inch skillet until brown. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Stir in sour crem, soup, and mushrooms and simmer until mushrooms are tender. Serve over hot noodles.

Here's the stroganoff with the gnocchi and it tasted just as good if it were topped over noodles.

July 2010 Meal #2: Chicken Katsu

2010-07-08T13:05:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay with updating the meals. Had a busy weekend and with the sun finally making it's appearance in the Great Northwest I've been taking advantage of it with my little one.

Meal #2 for the month is something I've made numerous times from the time I was allowed to cook with hot oil. This particular dish is called Chicken Katsu which is coated Japanese breadcrumbs and deep fried. Other kinds of meat like beef or pork can be prepare the same way with the Japanese breadcrumbs. For this as well I don't have an exact recipe but will provide the general idea on how to prepare this along with the accompanying dipping sauce.

CHICKEN KATSU
Ingredients:
3 lbs. boneless/skinless chicken thighs
3 cups flour
4 eggs, scrambled
3 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
garlic salt or regular salt, whichever you prefer
pepper
oil for deep frying

Directions:
Heat oil in pan. Mix salt and pepper into flour. Evenly coat chicken into flour mixture. Evenly coat flour coated chicken in scrambled eggs. Then evenly coat chicken into panko. Fry chicken in hot oil till golden brown on both sides, cooking about 10 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. Slice and serve.

KATSU SAUCE
Ingredients:
Ketchup
Worcestershire Sauce
Brown sugar

Directions:
In a small saucepan pour as much ketchup you will need/want for the katsu as this is the base of the sauce. Add as much Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar to your preference/taste. Heat saucepan and stir until sugar has melted. The taste of the sauce will be entirely to your preference so add Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar accordingly.

Here's the final yummy outcome.

July 2010 Meal #1: Pork & Eggplant w/Black Bean Garlic Sauce

2010-07-02T16:12:00.000-07:00

For meal #1 I had originally planned on making pork and squash only to realize that I had forgotten to buy the right cut of pork. So I just ended up making a substitute before the vegetable got bad which was ground pork and eggplant with garlic black bean sauce. I learned this from my husband and started cooking it every so often. It's really easy to make and tastes really good over a bed of hot rice. My husband gave me a break from cooking dinner last night and it turned out just as good when I make it. I don't have an actual recipe for this so everything is all by "guesstimate" and I'll try to provide the general amount of ingredients to use.

PORK AND EGGPLANT W/BLACK BEAN GARLIC SAUCE
Ingredients:
3 lbs. ground pork
2 medium sized round eggplants, chopped
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
1/2 onion, diced
Black bean garlic paste
Garlic chili sauce (think the brand name is called Sambal)
water

Directions:
Break down ground pork and brown with garlic. Drain fat. Add onions and cook til tender. Add the black bean garlic paste and garlic chili sauce (I just add about 2 heaping spoonfuls of both. You can add more of the chili sauce to your preference). Add about a cup of water and eggplant. Stir and cover. Cook until eggplant is tender. You can add more black bean paste if the taste is still a little to bland for you.

I took a picture of it last night but I loaded it into a different computer. I will have to update this post with the picture at a later time.

July Menu Plan 2010

2010-07-02T15:45:00.000-07:00

July has started and taking a look at June's menu plan I have noticed that I only got through half of the meals. Now is that a good thing or a bad thing? I'd like to say that it's a VERY good thing since it took off half of the stress of trying to think of meals for the week. During the month I think we only ate out once and majority of the meals I had planned lasted at least 2-3 days like I had planned. So going through 15 meals sounds about right for a 30 day month.

I have decided with whatever meals that I didn't get to prepare in June, I will carry them over to the July menu and add new dishes from there. I was looking forward to making those dishes, so transferring them over to July's menu made more sense and I would just have to think of fewer new dishes to make. So here's the menu plan for the month of July.

JULY MENU PLAN

Pork and Eggplant w/Black Bean Garlic Sauce
Chicken Katsu
Hamburger Stroganoff w/Gnocchi
Pork and Squash
Chicken Adobo
Teri Patties
Pork Chop w/Cream of Mushroom Gravy
Garlic Chicken
Lasagna
~~Miso Salmon~~ Teri Glaze Salmon
Pork Stir Fry w/Won Ton Noodles
Chicken Papaya
Corned Beef Brisket & Cabbage
Kalua Pig
Chicken, Mushrooms, & Zucchini
Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole
Chili
Sweet n' Sour Spareribs
Hawaiian Roast Chicken
Meat Jun
Baked Teri Salmon
Shoyu Pork
Chicken Alfredo w/Gnocchi
Chop Chae
Szechwan Ribs w/Mongolian Marinade
Thai Coconut Shrimp
Baked Chicken w/Gravy
Beef Wellington
Mushroom Risotto w/Italian Sausage
Chicken Masala w/Roti Chapati
Baby Back BBQ Ribs

June 2010 Meal #15: Crockpot Stew

2010-07-01T12:39:00.000-07:00

Meal #15 which is a crockpot stew is one the the only things I make regularly in the crockpot. I used to make this particular dish in the oven and didn't have an actual name for it. This is something I learned from my mom and dad, when I made it for the first time for my husband years ago he ended up really liking it. I normally used kal bi meat (flanken steak) because of it's fattiness making the meat real tender when baking. However as of lately the meat price has fluctuated and I've been buying similar cuts of boneless meat.

I was given a crockpot for Christmas a few years ago and maybe had only used it twice, then for some reason one day I had an epiphany to make this baked dish in the crockpot. Now why hadn't I thought of that before? I have no idea! Haha! So by making this in the crockpot it turned out be more of a stew than a baked dish. Nonetheless, a really good outcome and has become a popular go to crockpot dinner.

I didn't realize until just recently that Lipton's Onion Soup mix and Campbell's Cream of Mushroom is a staple in my kitchen and I always need them on stock in my pantry. Thank goodness for Costco to help keep me well stocked.

CROCKPOT STEW
Ingredients:
2-3 lbs. flanken cut meat, sliced
1 large potato or 2 medium sized potatoes, diced
2 carrots,sliced
2 cups white mushroom, sliced
3 small cans or 1 large can Campbells Cream of mushroom soup
2 pkgs. Lipton Onion dry soup mix

Directions:
Mix cream of mushroom soup with Lipton Onion soup mix. Layer in crockpot the meat, some of soup mixture over meat, then all the veggies, and the remaining of the soup mixture. Cover and set crockpot on low and cook for 8 hours.

**This can also be done in the oven. Layer the same into a 13x9 baking dish and cover with foil. Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 1 hour. After one hour check if meat is cooked and if veggies are soft to your liking. If it isn't then continue to bake uncovered for another 10-15 minutes.**

June 2010 Meal #14: Turkey Patties

2010-06-29T19:33:00.000-07:00

Meal # 14 which was turkey patties is one of my lazy meals. Yesterday I went grocery shopping for our next seven meals and after running around doing errands with a toddler, dinner will have to be something already prepared or something really easy to make. Coincidently I had planned turkey patties for dinner on the day that I grocery shopped.

This only took me 5-7 minutes to prepare and cooking was real easy since I have a George Foreman grill. So all I had to do was use my ice cream scooper, scoop the mixture, plop onto the grill, and close the lid. How simpler could it get? To those that don't have a George Foreman grill, I really suggest you get one for cooking/grilling not only for burgers but for any other kinds of meats and even veggies too. I thank our old roommate for getting this contraption for us a few Christmases ago. Also, by using the ground turkey there was no fat that dripped from cooking it on the Foreman grill. So that's a real plus for those of you looking into trying to control your cholesterol.

The recipe I used for the turkey patties is the same one I used for the meatloaf I made a few meals ago. The only things I did different was doubling up the ingredients and omitting the ketchup. I bought a 3 lb. tray of ground turkey so this particular meal is going to last us until at least lunch tomorrow.

TURKEY PATTIES:
Ingredients:
2 envelopes Lipton® Recipe Secrets® Onion Soup Mix
3 lbs. ground turkey
1 1/2 cups plain dry bread crumbs
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups water
pepper to taste

Directions:
Mix all ingredients. Form into patties and fry or grill til cooked through.

June 2010 Meal #13: Shoyu Chicken

2010-06-28T02:37:00.000-07:00

Meal #13 was Shoyu Chicken and it is a really easy meal to make. It only takes about 5-10 minutes to prepare and about 30-45 minutes cooking time. You can use a cut up whole chicken but I prefer to use drumettes or thighs for the juicy and tender meat. There are different variations on making shoyu chicken but all it really takes is shoyu, ginger, and sugar as part of the main components. Here is a recipe I used from the Moanalua High School Project Graduation 2006 fundraising cookbook since this one in particular I already had laying out to plan next months menu plan.

SHOYU CHICKEN
Ingredients:
2-3 lbs. chicken wings or thighs
1 cup water
1 cup shoyu (Aloha brand preferred)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. sesame oil
3 to 4 cloves grated ginger, to taste
minced garlic, to taste
sesame seeds, optional
chopped green onions

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a large pot, except green onions. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 30-45 minutes (until chicken is soft). Sprinkle with green onions and serve.

Nice and tender shoyu chicken below.