Chili Con Carne (with beans)

Rain! Rain! Every freaking day since Sunday it has been relentless and today is no different. My Monday didn’t start out too good so I wanted my Tuesday to be different so I figured I would do some blogs today to help me relax (actually I tried blogging yesterday but the server was acting up). So lets you and me catch up shall we :)

Cookie Craving

I was scanning thru some files in my computer and I happen to come across some pictures of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies that I had made a couple of weeks back. I was planning on sharing the recipe which I never got around to doing…yet. Anyways, I was craving for something chewy so I thought of them. Warm, chewy, with a hint of sweetness plus the raisins and nuts hmmm who wouldn’t want that. Needless to say I wish I had some!

Braised Lamb Shanks...my way

Finally! here is the recipe for this gloriously delicious dish (here you go Joanna). Here are the Ingredients:

Italian Jelly Cookies

This day has been totally dragging for me! I mean with the dreary weather coupled with issues at the office well it’s just a complete blah until I went to the store next door and saw one of my top 3 favorite cookies of all time – Italian Jelly Cookies woohoo! Already altered my crappy mood to somewhat better and I haven’t even tasted it yet. So I got it ($4.49 pricey) brought it back to the office and let me tell you it was awesome. It was buttery and sweet…Now all I need is green tea:)

Chicken Adobo

I made this dish last night since I was feeling lazy and I didn’t want to continuously hover over the hot stove. Adobo is actually the national dish of the Philippines and being Filipino it would be sacrilege if I didn’t know how to make it. You can use pork or chicken, I don’t think I have tried using other meats for this (oh well) I just used chicken because it cooks faster. There are many versions how to make this dish but I wanted mine to be really easy and simple so I copied my Aunt’s version :) here are the list of ingredients:

Clarisonic Plus

Late night TV has the immense power of persuasion, and this I experienced first hand last year. Late one night when I was flipping through channels I happened to stop at the QVC channel, suddenly I found myself being mesmerized about this product, and by the end of the segment I was hooked. I was literally salivating about the idea of trying one out to see if the hype is true, until I saw the price tag – a whopping $225. Don’t get me wrong I have known about Clarisonic since it first came out, but I am one of those women who don’t pay too much attention to new products unless I read a lot of reviews from women who have tried it. Reviews are a great way to see if you can be leaning toward trying the product, or it can affirm the fact (that you were already thinking) that the product will not work for you. With that said, I was now faced with the dilemma whether to buy or not. Luckily Christmas was on the horizon, needless to say I was dropping hints to family members what I wanted for Christmas (one way for it to be a guilt free purchase, I’m bad I know). I was more than ecstatic to find it under the Christmas tree and after opening the box the love story began…

Say Cheese!

Surely everyone has a favorite cheese and that definitely includes me. I am a sucker for trying different varieties. Especially creamy, buttery and nutty ones; which is why I make it a point to check out Stew Leonard’s cheese section on grocery day (one by Yonkers) or stop by Murray’s Cheese (the one located at Grand Central Station by the Seafood Market Place) once a week after work. Aside from the fact that they offer any cheese you can imagine and help you pick out the right cheese for your taste buds, they also ask if you would like to taste the cheese first before purchasing. No matter how many you want to try, all you have to do is ask. With all the varieties to choose from I do have a few Italian cheeses that are a staple in my kitchen. Each has its supporting role (and sometimes a starring role) in making everyday dishes extra special.

Beautiful Blooms

Spring is just around the corner and with it brings a bountiful array of beautiful blooms.

Braised Lamb Shank Dinner

Oh my God! I would have never thought in a million years that I would be eating, let alone cooking lamb at home, but I can say it is by far one of the best dishes I have ever tried to make. The picture does not even do it justice. I made this today for dinner and I can tell you it felt like it took forever to make. I am not the most patient person in the world but I had to keep it together in order to pull off this extraordinary endeavor (for me anyways). After 4 hours, yes people – 4 HOURS of patience and cooking I was able to discover the beauty of braising lamb shanks and can I tell you it was awesome. I also made fried cheesy polenta that completely compliments the dish.

Magazine Overload

Magazines! Magazines! I am up to my eyeballs with magazines. Recently I received a letter from Delta Air that my sky miles are about to expire, and they offered a solution for their use. They have this program where you can use your sky miles to pay for magazine subscriptions, sounds like a good compromise doesn’t it. At first I was elated about the idea since I do have subscriptions to several magazines and I though that I could use my sky miles to extend my subscriptions and subscribe to others that interest me, but alas, it is now becoming a nightmare.

Easy Beef Stew

This is by far the easiest beef stew I have ever made and since I am always on the look out for easy to make recipes well this fits the bill. When I saw this recipe I was a bit skeptical how it would come out because it was too simple and does not require a lot of flavorings. With slight apprehension I decided to try it.

Maxine...2nd chin

After having read about how chins live longer, healthier lives when they have a playmate I decided to get Ella a friend. Mind you she will not be happy sharing her place, but knowing Ella her bark is worse than her bite. My first attempt was bringing home one of Ella’s siblings for a couple of days to see if they would be good together unfortunately she ended up hurting Ella so I had to give her back. The breeder I dealt with was gracious enough to accept her back after I informed her about the incident that had occurred and that it would be best for both chins in the long run. Now back to the drawing board of finding a friend for Ella…

Sloppy Joe's...Part I

Last Saturday I was watching this cooking show and the host was making her version of Philly cheese steak which looked and sounded absolutely delicious so I got to thinking I am going to make the coming work week a sandwich fest but alas the sudden temperature change made my allergies flare up so it ended up not happening (yet). All is not lost since I remembered that I have a can of manwich in my pantry I figured I will just do a manwich night.

Happy Birthday Little Brother

It's March again and time for your Birthday. Another year older and wiser (I hope). Now make a wish and blow the candle. Goodluck on your coming endevours...

Ella...Intro to Chinchillas

My first chinchilla, chin for short. I got Ella when she was still a kit (baby) about 3 months old and boy she was a speedy little demon. She was a handful to begin with, and then add the fact that she is an exotic animal made it quite a challenge for me. I bought her this two storey cage along with all the basic necessities which after adding it all up made for some expensive housing but it was all worth it when your pet is as adorable (cunning) as Ella.

Frost

I find the beauty of nature quite fascinating and undoubtedly difficult to capture but there are those people who are gifted enough to have the ability not just to capture but convey the meaning of what nature bring to us. I unfortunately am not one of those gifted ones but I don’t let that stop me from trying.

Chocolate Indulgence

I remember it was a beautiful Saturday morning, the sun was up and temperature was in the 60’s so I figured why not take advantage of the nice weather. I invited my boyfriend for brunch in the city (Manhattan) expecting we were going to this Ukrainian restaurant that serves awesome comfort food but he had the hankering for some waffles so I had to do some quick thinking (since I am not a huge fan of waffles for brunch) and I asked him if we could walk around union square then decide where to eat, he hesitantly agreed.

Snow Day

I was playing with my blackberry phone when I happened to stumble upon a photo that my brother had sent to me when they had a bad storm in Delaware back in February. He took a picture of his car which I thought looked pretty cool (don’t ask me why, I just think it looks cute like a snail with its antennae sticking out). My family has been living in Delaware for over 10 years now, and this is by far the worst snow storm they have ever encountered. A state of emergency was declared which made sense, since my mom could not even get out of her driveway to go to work.

Homemade Granola

Now that I am getting older I find myself paying more attention to what I eat, I used to chew on energy bars whenever hunger hit me in between meals. Then one day I started reading the ingredients that go into each bar, and to my surprise its not all healthy eating as I thought. So began the crusade of making my own granola from scratch, where I can control the ingredients that go in my granola.