Candies as Accent Decoration for Holidays

I did some tinkering of the  candies that my kids had here at home.  They are not eating the candies, which I am very  glad, so I decided to use them as accents in decorating our   kitchen window.  

 I saved the bottle from the  salt that I reviewed before  and placed the small candy canes inside it.  I also used some of the smarties candy to  fill the  Christmas shot glass.  Doesn't it add vibrancy?

 They also have the  candies  from the Halloween so I used the red, white, and gfddn and put it in the empty candle jar that I also saved.

  I love it that you can find different things to make decorations.  I don't have a lot of money to buy expensive decorations so I just use whatever is available at my home.

 I put pine cones on our Christmas glasses and I also put some candies underneath it.

 Being away from my family is hard  and one way of  taking care of my homesickness is by  cooking  the foods that we normally have during Christmass  from back home and decorating the house to feel the Christmas spirit.   Pink Saturday

Chicken BBQ with Veggies and Fruits

This is what we had for dinner.  I made some chicken BBQ and thought of jazzing it up with some fruits and veggies.  I had some button mushrooms, bell  peppers, and  pineapple so I  cut them up and made them into BBQ.

 I marinated the chicken with mama sita's  BBQ mix and added   a half a cup of kahlua beer.

 It turned out really delicious!

I was going to make Pininyahang manok (Chicken with pineapple)  but my husband was craving for some BBQ so I made these and so glad they loved it! 

Reindeer Food

Here is something that you and your children can do for fun during the Christmas break.  You can do this reindeer food at home.  It is just a mixture of oatmeal and glitters.  

 Then you can print out this  instruction that says:

Sprinkle this in your yard on Christmas Eve night.

The light of the moon will make it sparkle bright.

As Santa's reindeer fly and roam.

This will guide them to your home.

 This is  becoming a tradition that the kids do every year.

 This shines brightly especially when there's a moonlight during Christmas and you sprinkle it on top of snow, really beautiful to look at.

Santa Claus won't be missing your house since the reindeer will be  attracted to this food, wink.

Feeding your Tummy and Brain in the Morning

One of the important routines that I instill in my kids is eating breakfast.  They know that feeding their  brain through their tummy is so important so that they would    function great in school.  

 This is just  one example of what I prepare for them to eat in the morning before they get ready for school.  My kids love oatmeal.  Sometimes my daughter would go in waves of eating Grits everyday, then she would change to oats, then toast.  With those changes, I make sure to incorporate  fruits in their diet.

I don't like buying those  lunchables pack  that you see in store for them to take  to school when  they have cold lunch.  I love preparing their  food instead to make sure that what they are eating is healthy.  

Coffee Cake by our Little Chef

Our little pastry chef  was browsing my food blog last night and she couldn't find the coffee cake that she made  anywhere in my blog posts.  I thought I have posted this already but I was wrong so here it is.  This is the very  first one she made from scratch.

 It turned really  soft and delicious!  She used  a little bit of coffee  and coffee creamer on this one that's why she called it coffee cake.

 I apologize if I can't share you the recipe but I will ask her if she still has it.  She watched a video on youtube on how to make this one.

 It tasted even better with blueberry compote on top.

A slice of this a cup of coffee is perfect for afternoon snack or even for breakfast.

Thanks to our ever enthusiastic  pastry chef who love to explore in the kitchen and make a mess lol.

Exotic Veggies

If the Giant Eagle in Pennsylvania is near us, I would shop there often because thy have a large variety of  exptic vegetables that I love.  It's the only store I could find Kohlrabi.

 I am so glad that both of my kids love veggies and fish because it's some of the  healthy food s that they need.

I am glad that I introduced them  to vegetables at an early age because they still love to eat it till now. 

Wild Rice, Chicken, and Mushroom

I had this idea of cooking chicken, mushrooms, and wild rice in a  tomato sauce.  I seasoned the mushrooms with  black and pepper and I also seasoned the chicken with  burger  seasoning.  

 I laid the rice first then layered it with the mushrooms and then top it off with the  chicken strips.

 Then I  put the  tomato sauce on top.  I baked it  for 1 hour in 350 degrees in the oven.

 It turned out so delicious.

 My husband said that  I should cook this menu again.

I will surely  cook this again because I thought that it was pretty good too.

Celebratory Dinner at Eat n' Park

We did not get out of Duquesne till  three pm so we were all   hungry.  We decided to drop by at Eat n' Park by Robinson  and  had a simple celebratory dinner.  Daughter's first performance was a success so we  dined out.  

With all the  expenses for the holidays, we seldom go out and eat because it is expensive but if there's a special occasion, we do try to go out and eat.  I pretty much  order the same food  when I go out because it is something that I normally cook.

Foods for Fertility

Are you trying to conceive? There are many supplements you can take to boost your fertility.

However, if you want to go the more natural way, there are also fertility boosting foods that you can choose to eat. Our friends at www.pregnancytips.org have some advice on what you can eat to improve your fertility. Cold water fish are great, make sure to choose fatty fish; they have the highest levels of omega-3.

Try salmon, sardines and herring. Also try full fat dairy products; research shows that they are great in producing calcium which helps improve fertility. Of course, fruits and vegetables will always be on the list. They are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other healthy stuff your body needs to boost fertility. Eat fewer and fewer junk foods, recent study shows that these can negatively affect your fertility.

Missing Achara

My husband  is craving for some  achara.  I don't have  anymore here  and  I don't see any kohlrabi at the stores around our area.  He said that he will drop by at Giant Eagle sometimes to get the Kohlrabi.

I didn't think that he would love the achara that I made  out of kohlrabi.  It was just n experiment for me to use the kohlrabi to imitate the achara that we have in the Philippines using Papaya.  I am thinking of ordering some seedling  online  to plant some kohlrabi in my garden next year..  It might be cheaper that way rather than buying the  gtown veggies from the store.  

Upside Down Apple Pie

My husband and  our daughter baked an Upside Down Apple Pie last Thanksgiving.  Hubby saw this on TV and he wanted to try it out.  I am not fond of apple pie but with the addition of  pecans in it, I loved it!

 He had a little trouble removing the  wax paper but other than that, it was delicious.

I will update this post for the recipe as soon as I get back from school.  I am baking one right now so I could show you the step by step process in making this delicious pie.  

As promised,  here is the recipe courtesy of Mr.Food.com:
Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, melted, divided
• 1/2 cup light brwn sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 package refrigerated rolled pie crusts
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 5 large Granny Smith or other firm apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 wedges

Procedure:

- Preheat he oven to 375 degrees F.  Coat a deep dish pie plate with cooking spray and line it with wax paper.  Coat wax paper with cooking spray.

- In a small bowl, combine 4 tablespoon butter, the brown sugar, and pecans.  Mix well and spread evenly over bottom of pie plate.  

- Unroll 1 pie crust and place it in a pie plate, pressing crust firmly against nut mixture and sides of pie plate; set aside.

 In a large bowl, combine granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, and remaining butter;  mix well.  Add apples and toss gently.  Spoon into pie crust.

 - Unroll second pie crust and place over apple mixture.  Trim and fold edges together to seal.  Using a knife, cut four 1 inch slits in top crust.

 I bought this pack of pie crust from the store.  It has to crust in it.

 - Bake to 1 to-  1 hour and 15 minutes or until crust is golden.  Carefully loosen wax paper around rim and invert pie into a serving plate while still hot.    Remove wax paper and allow to cool slightly;

Your pie pan should look like this when you removed the pan.  

 Slice into wedges and serve warm.

 This pie is really  a must try, so delicious!  The one I baked today  has three slices left lol.