Dinner Highlight: Easy Peasy Beef Stew!

Wow. It's been a while....heh.

Well! What's new? I've got a job! Which is one of the reasons why I haven't been blogging as often...but here I am!

So this new recipe I tried was given to me by my lovely women's group leader at my church. It's from the Southern Plate recipes collection, and it's all made in the slow cooker! For all y'all that do not have one (and I believe I had mentioned this in one of my previous blogs), it's a great investment, and well worth it! Especially since I've started working full-time, having a slow cooker definitely solves the "I-don't-have-time-to-cook-and-make-dinner" problem/excuse (heh, sorry ladies, but let's face it...we make time for things we reaaally want to do..right?).

Anyways...this recipe is so simple it's ridiculous...yet it's soooo delicious! My hubby was definitely enjoying this meal. Sooo...here goes!

Easy Peasy Beef Stew!

Ingredients:
1.5-2 lbs. stew meat, cut into small pieces
1 pkg onion soup mix
1 can beef broth
baby carrots (however much you prefer; I added about half of a small bag)

Directions:
Dump all the ingredients in the slow cooker, give it a little stir, and cook it on low for 6-8 hours. (I cooked mine for the whole time I was gone at work, which was about 9-10 hours, and it was still great!). Serve over hot rice or egg noodles.

That's it! Hope your taste buds have a blast with this recipe! ;-)

More slow cooker recipes to come.... :-D

Dessert Highlight: Wellness Cupcakes and Vanilla Cupcakes

Let's bake!

Now that I'm back from my trip and am on summer break (minus the work part, but hey! at last there's no homework! ;-P), I have quite some time on my hands to bake and experiment on different flavors. If you do not know already, my dream is to have a bakery of my own one day, and believe it or not, that dream is slowly coming true! I'm not going to give much details just yet, but I will be featuring some cupcakes that will be included in our repertoire. All of the cupcakes are baked from scratch (good bye to boxed cake mix days! hehe), and since these may very well be the cupcakes we sell, I will unfortunately not be able to give the recipes on my blog any longer. However, if you are reeeeally interested, subscribe to my blog and email me and we'll see what I can do to help add some "yum!" to your recipes :-).

The cupcakes I am featuring today are my Wellness cupcakes (green tea cupcakes with a low fat cream cheese frosting and a hint of caramel) and the regular Vanilla Buttercream cupcakes. I am also in the middle of making Chocolate Chocolate cupcakes, so stay tuned!

Like I said, subscribe and email me or leave a comment if you have any questions!

Wellness Cupcakes and Vanilla Buttercream Cupcakes

Trip to South Korea

"Anyong-Haseyo!" ("Hello!", "How are you?", "Good morning/afternoon/evening!" in Korean ;-P)

I'm back! Well, technically, I've been back for a couple of weeks now, but I have not updated my blog in a while, sooo I'm back!

As the title says, I took a brief school trip to South Korea, and it was a great experience! The food, the culture, the people...everything was amazing. It wasn't as much of a culture shock for me since I grew up in the Philippines, but the huge discrepancy between the main city (Seoul) and it's surroundings was extremely surprising. Seoul is beautiful; it is highly developed and it well exudes the typical 'big' city life, such as that of Tokyo and New York City. We did visit a few businesses, like the KIA auto plant, Songdo City (High-tech, green-living city), and the Mapo Resource Recovery Plant. The latter was a plant that is basically a waste recovery (recycling) plant. One of the many things that amazed me was the discipline of the Koreans; imagine, they started separating their trash over 20 years ago! They are so forward-thinking - a trait that I truly admire and respect, and one that should be adopted by the Americans. The level of discipline within the South Koreans is quite typical due to their culture, and the U.S. can definitely learn a thing or two from them.

Aside from the business perspective, we also experienced the culture and the people of Korea through food, the city fashion and trends, and our day trip to the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. I thoroughly enjoyed the food (if you go to S. Korea, check out Samwon Garden, the fish market, and eat some octopus! Live octopus! :-D), and I certainly did some shopping, but the highlight of my trip was our visit to North Korea. What a big difference the area was compared to the city; it was completely underdeveloped, and there was a level of tension in the air, one that was appropriate for 2 regions that are technically still at war. We got to see North Korea in person, and stepped into the meeting room where generals and officials of South and North Korea meet, so in actuality, I was in North Korea for about 1 minute ;-P.

All in all, the trip was one to remember. I'd visit again, but next time, with family. I hope you enjoy the pictures! :-)
Until next time...

 My hotel room

 Walking around the city

 Dim-sum on the first night

 Octopus dish!

 KIA auto plant

 Korean utensils

 At the subway!

 Mapo plant. Horse made with recycled material

 Japanese cherry blossoms in full bloom! :)

2002 World Cup Stadium

 Street food vendors

With South Korean military official on North Korean side of meeting room

Middle meeting table 

View of North Korean "Welcome Center"

Having Bulgogi (Korean sweet beef)

Trying to use the chopsticks :-D

King Sejong - He invented the Korean alphabet

Lanterns outside the temple

At Samwon Garden

By the waterfall at Samwon Garden

Continuation of Birthday Week for My Love! :-D

Sooo... We had a small, intimate birthday get-together for my huney with some church and work friends this past Saturday. Our menu included, guava-mozzarella crackers as our starter, salad, taco lasagna, rice n' beans, and Publix fried chicken for the main entrees, and finally, some guava-filled Puerto Rican cake per request of my sweetie. It was such a nice (and deeelicious!) evening. I'm glad it all worked out for my hubby. Happy 28th, sweetheart! :-)

Dessert Highlight: Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes

Are you a Peanut Butter lover??? This one's for youuu!! :-D

As promised, here is the recipe of the cupcakes I made for my hubby to bring to work for this birthday. They were quite a hit, so enjoy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 Box chocolate cake mix, prepared as directed on box -- optional: add 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels into batter to make cupcakes extra chocolatey! (makes 24 regular-sized cupcakes, 20-22 large cupcakes)
1-1.5 cups smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup shortening (i.e. Crisco)
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp water
5 Tbsp milk, more if needed for smoother frosting consistency
20-24 miniature Reese's peanut butter cups (optional)

Directions:
Prepare cake mix as directed on box instructions. As mentioned, you can add about 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate morsels into the batter to make it extra chocolatey. Bake cupcakes in cupcake pans lined with cupcake liners (about 1/4 cup of batter per cupcake). For the frosting, combine shortening, peanut butter, powdered sugar, salt, water, vanilla and milk in a bowl and mix using a mixer until the consistency is smooth and creamy. Frost cupcakes (I used a Ziplock bag and cut the tip) and top with a miniature Reese's peanut butter cup. Enjoy! :-d~~

Happy Birthday to My Love!

Yes, it was my hubby's birthday this week! :-D

It truly is a birthday week for him. On Sunday, we celebrated with the family at Buca di Beppo. Boy, their food is awesomely deeeelicious. We had a coupon which made the experience even better! I have no pictures of the food (yes, we were that hungry), but we ordered their Antipasto Salad, Bruschetta (one of the best I've had), Chicken Parmigiana, Spaghetti with Meatballs, and Baked Ziti. For our dessert, my sister-in-law bought some cupcakes from Sweet! and they were oh so yummy! Needless to say, we had a goooood dinner! :-D

On the day of his birthday, I had made 2 dozen cupcakes for him to bring to work. They were Peanut Butter Chocolate and Funfetti Vanilla. Apparently, they were a big hit and now I can possibly be hired as the personal company baker. ;-P

Here are the pictures....drool away! ;-D
(recipe to come shortly)

(Yup! I garnished the PB choco cupcake with a mini-Reese's cup! yum yum yummmm)

The celebrations are not over for him! We have one more party for him this weekend with some friends, and of course, with some guava-filled Puerto Rican Cake! Later, everyone! :)

Side Highlight: New England Baked Beans...Crockpot Style!

Ohh yes...this idea came shortly after our Boston trip!

I actually made this side for our 2010 Christmas Day family lunch. I decided to make it for 2 reasons:
1. My husband did not get to taste the infamous Boston baked beans while we were in Boston...and he really did want to have some, but we did not get the chance...and..
2. I was looking through a crock-pot recipe box gifted to me by a dear friend, and voila! I found this delicious recipe. :-)

For those of you who have crock-pots (aka slow-cookers), you already know that this will be quite easy and simple to make. If you do not have a crock-pot, I highly recommend getting one! It is one of those cooking investments you will not regret...promise. ;-)

I owe a special thanks to my father-in-law who, probably due to my subtle noises in the kitchen, also woke up early on Christmas day and helped me put together this wonderful side. I hope y'all enjoy this recipe as much as we have!

New England Baked Beans

Ingredients:
4 slices uncooked bacon, chopped
3 cans (about 15 oz. each) Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup water
1 small onion, chopped
1/3 cup canned diced tomatoes, well drained
3 Tbsp. packed light brown sugar
3 Tbsp. maple syrup (I used pancake maple syrup :-P)
3 Tbsp. molasses
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 small bay leaf
1 Tbsp. cornstarch (optional)

Directions:
Cook bacon in skillet until almost cooked, not crispy. Drain and set aside. Combine bacon and all remaining ingredients in the crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until mixture has thickened. If the mixture is not as thick as you'd like (which is what happened in my case), get some of the liquid from the baked beans (about 4-5 Tbsp) and add cornstarch to this liquid. Mix well and add liquid mixture back into the baked beans. Cook uncovered on low for another 15-20 minutes. Remove bay leaf before serving. Enjoy! :-)

Dinner Highlight: Beef Chili Soup

Need a hearty soup recipe? This is it! :-D

.....And yes, I am on a soup frenzy!! :-P

While we were spending a weekend with my in-laws, my momma-in-law shared a recipe book with me entitled, "The Soup Bible." It was literally filled with hundreds of soup recipes from all over the world. Of course, I took advantage of this moment and wrote down a few recipes that I was sure were going to be great additions to my repertoire. When I saw this recipe, I immediately thought of my hubby. He absolutely enjoys delicious soups, especially those that are as hearty and as meat-filled as this. Not only was this a hot at home, but it was surprisingly enjoyed by my church family as well at a fellowship lunch. I hope y'all enjoy this as much as we have! :-)

Beef Chili Soup

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. oil
1 onion, chopped
1 lb. ground beef
1 packet Sazon seasoning (found in your local grocery store at the Ethnic/Hispanic foods sections)
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 + 1/8 cup all purpose flour
14-oz can diced petite cut tomatoes with zesty jalapenos
3 cups beef stock
1 can (15 oz.) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
salt and pepper

Directions:
Heat oil and brown beef and onion in a pot. Add Sazon seasoning and mix in with meat mixture. Add garlic, pepper flakes and flour. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and pour in stock. Bring to boil. Stir in beans and salt and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes. add parsley. Served great with some crushed tortilla chips as a topping and biscuits and salad on the side. Enjoy! :-)

Dinner Highlight: Zuppa Toscana a la Elizabeth!

Bon Appetit!

Clearly, this recipe was inspired by the Italian restaurant, Olive Garden. However, if you really want specifics, I was inspired to make it after I watched a lady from my church make it one night while I was at her house helping her daughter with wedding preparations. The house smelled awesome. As a result, I was determined to find a recipe and make it for me and my hubby!

I found many recipes online, but I found one that was simple to make, and simple enough to tweak. As usual, I usually change up some recipes a wee bit if I can replace some items with semi-healthier versions. I made this soup one night for dinner, and as you can imagine, it was a BIG hit with my hubby! (well, it does help that he's part Italian and that he loves food! ;-P) This recipe makes plenty of soup, so it's perfect for a big family, or to freeze for another night, or for some leftovers the following day. Enjoy!

Zuppa Toscana a la Elizabeth

Ingredients:
1 lb. mild or spicy Italian sausage, casings removed (personally, I used spicy)
1/2 lb. turkey bacon, chopped (or regular bacon)
1 qt. water
2 cans (14.5 oz. each) chicken broth (or about 3 and 2/3 cups)
2 large potatoes, scrubbed clean, cubed
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2-3 cups chopped kale
1 cup heavy whipping cream
salt and pepper

Directions:
Brown sausage in a pan, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks. Drain and set aside. Then, brown bacon, and be careful not to cook it crispy. Drain and set aside. Place broth, water, garlic, potatoes and onion in a pot. Heat on high until boiling, then bring down to medium heat to simmer until potatoes are tender (not falling apart, but jut tender -- about 20-30 minutes). Add sausage and bacon. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Add kale and cream to the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes. This is a hearty soup served great with biscuits and salad. Enjoy!

Dinner Highlight: Taco Lasagna

Ole! (blast the Mariachi music in the background)

I personally enjoy Mexican food a lot, and when I tasted this I immediately knew I had to make it for dinner one night. The recipe is one of those that have been distributed from Publix supermarkets, so yes, you will be able to find it on their website. Trust me; it is a definite keeper... just ask my hubby! :-D

Taco Lasagna

Ingredients:
1.5 lb. ground turkey
1/4-1/2 cup sofrito
1 Box dinner kit Old El Paso/Taco Bell soft tortilla
1 14 oz. can black beans, drained
3/4 cup salsa (plus more if need be)
1 4 oz. bag shredded monterey jack cheese

Directions:
In a large skillet, brown ground turkey with sofrito. Add taco seasoning (from the boxed dinner kit) and black beans. Cook until meat, beans and flavors thicken. Remove about 2 cups of the meat mixture and set aside. Lower heat. Spread remaining meat mixture at the bottom of the skillet. Layer about 3-4 flour tortillas (in boxed kit) over meat. Add salsa and spread on top of the tortillas. Using the meat mixture that was laid aside, layer some over the salsa. Repeat process of layering until there are about 3-4 layers, ending with some meat mixture on top (the meat on top does not have to completely cover the top of the taco lasagna). Sprinkle the shredded cheese all over the top of the lasagna. Cover the skillet with its lid and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. This goes great with a side salad, rice and beans, a side of your favorite veggies, or all of the above. Buen provecho! :)

Dessert Highlight: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Cupcake + cookie dough = a blast of yumminess on your taste buds!

I first encountered this recipe as I was researching online for unique cupcake recipes. I found a couple of ideas I wanted to try, and this particular recipe was one of them. I remember having a cookie dough frenzy growing up... I would always order chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, I'd snack on the tub of cookie dough (I know, I know...that's bad for me...but it's oh-so-good! :-D), and I would even make my own chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream at home! I was quite on a diet, as you can see. ;-P

This recipe is super easy to make, especially since it is semi-homemade. If you have a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe from scratch, by all means, please use it as your cookie dough recipe. Same thing with the chocolate cupcakes. Here's the link below if you would like to see where I found the recipe:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes Recipe

For the chocolate topping, I used Nesquik chocolate powder instead of unsweetened cocoa powder. It tasted fantastic. I hope y'all enjoy this recipe as much as we have. Below are the pictures of my yummy cupcakes. :-) Have fun baking!!

Dinner Highlight: Adobo (Filipino Stew)

Yay to Filipino food! :-D

Ever since I got married, I had wanted to make sure I also cooked Filipino food for my husband. I'm so thankful that my husband is not a picky eater... ;-)

Adobo is a well-known dish in the Philippines, and is one of those that is made almost every month in a typical Filipino household. It is very simple to make, and it is extremely delicious and flavorful. Many Filipinos have their own versions, but I found this recipe in a slow-cooker cookbook, however I also made some revisions of my own. No worries, it tasted authentic and wonderful. It is best served with warm white rice with the sauce poured all over the rice. Mm-mmm, good!!

Adobo

Ingredients:
6-8 chicken thighs without skin
1 Tbsp oil
1/2 - 3/4 cup soy sauce (I recommend the brand, Datu Puti - can be found in your local Filipino/oriental store)
1/2 - 3/4 cup white vinegar (also Datu Puti brand)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 Tbsp peppercorns
2 small bay leaves
3 small yellow onions, halved then thinly sliced
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:
Mix together oil, soy sauce, vinegar and sugar in a bowl. In a medium or large stockpot, arrange chicken at the bottom. Pour the liquid mixture all over the chicken. Sprinkle the crushed garlic, peppercorn and shredded cheese all over the chicken. Add bay leaves then the onions on top. Leave chicken to marinade in the pot for about 1 hour.
Heat the stockpot (with the lid on top) on high until the adobo starts to boil. Let it boil for about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to the lowest setting and let the adobo simmer for at least 2-3 hours. The chicken will be falling-off-the-bone tender....yumm-oh! Serve with steaming hot white rice. Enjoy! :)

Travel Highlight: Winter Boston Trip

Brrrrr was it COLD! :-D

Last December, my husband and I rendezvoused with his brother for a weekend trip to Boston. Let me tell you....what a beauuutiful city! The history...the architecture...the people...the food... it was all amazing. This trip was definitely one of the most memorable for me and my husband (especially for my hubby ;-P). If you are planning on taking a trip there one day, here are a few recommendations on what you can do.

• For a guided tour of the historical city, take the Freedom Trail. It is a 1.5 hour walking tour with a costumed guide, and he takes you to specific spots within the city. It was very inexpensive (about $9 per person) and the guide was very entertaining. Well worth it! This tour starts at the Boston Common - another place that is a must-visit!

• Eat at the Union Oyster House. It is the oldest restaurant in the United States, and it also brews its own root beer! Of course, they mainly serve seafood, and it was recommended to us to have their lobster ravioli. It was sooo good! A little on the pricey side, but well worth the food investment. The restaurant also has an oyster bar. The atmosphere boasts the historical nature of the city - very comfortable and very homey.

• Watch a Patriots game. I believe this was the highlight of our trip. The Lo Presti family members are huge New England Patriots fans, so, of course, we watched a game! And yes! The Pats won. :) What an experience, and boy was it cold!! :-D

• Take a Trolley tour bus ride to see the rest of the city. You can get off and hop back on at any of the tourist sites, some of which included Harvard, Fenway Park and the TD Garden. There are a handful of companies offering such a tour. The bus drivers are the tour guides, and they are one of the most knowledgeable people in Boston. Each guide has a little bit of extra information regarding the history of the city and each site, so every time you board the trolley, you acquire new insights; it's never a dull moment! If you are staying at a hotel (or something similar), ask the concierge if they offer any discounts.

• Eat at Finagle Bagel for breakfast, lunch or for a mid-day snack. I won't give any details, but the bagels and sandwiches are delicious, and don't forget to check out their rotating blade they use for slicing their bagels... It's quite the sight. :)

• Take a walk along Newbury Street. They call it the "Rodeo Drive" of Boston. There are many restaurants and little eateries, but it is well-known as a shopping scene. Stores such as H&M, Longchamp, Camper, Urban Outfitters, Cartier, Valentino, Cole Haan, and the like can be found on that street. It was especially beautiful walking down the street at night during this Christmas season due to the lights.Another shopping strip is Fanhuil Hall Marketplace. The stores include Abercrombie and Fitch, Gap and Banana Republic.

• Visit the Omni Hotel (aka Omni Parker House) where the original Boston Cream Pie was invented. It was oh-so-good! Especially when ordered with some hot chocolate. :) A little fun fact: Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese communist leader, was the pastry chef's assistant when this sweet treat was first invented, long before Ho became infamous.

• If you have extra time, visit the Prudential Tower's Observatory. It is a sky-high view of the whole city of Boston. It was beautiful. :)

There are many more things to do in Boston, but these were a few highlights of the trip we made. I hope you enjoyed it, and if you do decide to visit the city, make sure to have lots of seafood and to have fun! :)