Baked Potatoes, Wild Rice, and Breaded Fish

Baked Potatoes, Wild Rice, and Breaded Fish, one yummy dinner we had this month at home.  I have been trying cooking fish and  chicken and less red meat for the past  few weeks but today, I am making a pot roast. I started  slow cooking it since this morning.  

 The baked potatoes with broccoli and cheese were so good.  I baked the potatoes in the microwave till its done then I  cut it in half.  I then added the  frozen broccoli and top it with black pepper and cheese and baked it at 350 degrees in the over for about ten minutes.

 The wild rice is the one I always bought  in the store, the Uncle Ben's brand.  They are about  a dollar and some for a box and it feeds us four.

 We love the potato crusted fish fillet from Gorton.  The fish is flaky and it doesn't get saggy when you bake it.

That and a glass of pomegranate juice is a perfect dinner for me.  No need to go out and eat at the restaurant.  You can just make it at home, it's cheaper and it's the right portion.  Sorry for not having the recipe on this, it's pretty much  came from boxes  and I just  made them according to the directions.  For the baked potato, it's easy as  1,2,3 so no need for a recipe.  

Key Lime Cupcakes

School is closed since yesterday so my little chef got a little  productive by baking us some treats, key lime cupcakes.  We did not have enough ingredients that she needs so she just made  them small.  I am not sure how she made them but they were delicious.  The cake  reminds me of angel cake.

 She also made the icing from scratch.  She's definitely better than me in baking.  I would never bake anything from scratch.  I can bake but it has to be the pre-packaged in the box lol.

 My husband bought this  lime for  his beer but he never drunk  h it so Ms. Burrito used it.

 She gets this urge to bake  some sweet treat once in a while so I just let her.  When she was a little  smaller, I never let her do anything without me watching but now, even though I want to look, I am not allowed!  Luckily, I trust her enough so I am confident that she will be safe inthe kitchen without me hovering like a helicopter lol.

I will ask her about the recipe for this and may post it later.

Java Me Up - Coffee with a Bite

Disclosure: The author of this blog was NOT financially compensated to write this review. Opinions expressed is solely my own and may differ from others. The product/s being described in this review was provided for FREE for evaluation purposes only.

We all need something to wake us up in the morning, don't you agree?   For us, COFFEE is it.  I tried  quitting to drink coffee and  was successful but my husband would always pour a cup for me  in the morning so  I always end up having a cup or two in a day.  Hey, a cup or two ain't so bad, is it?

For those of you who work outside home and need  something that could boost their energy at work, I would  highly suggest this Coffee that never spills, the Java Me Up!  This mocha almond flavored  energy bar is coffee-fueled and dipped in a chocolate and it is antioxidant-rich.  One bar of this energy bar is equals to  one half cup of coffee.  This is definitely   what my husband could  take to work since he works 10 hours a day (4 days a week).  

 I always pack him three separate food to munch for the whole day because he has   mid-morning break, lunch, and an afternoon break.  This energy bar would keep his  energy high in the morning.  He already tried it as soon as it arrived while he was doing his  school homework.  He said that the ingredients (coffee, chocolate, almonds, and rolled oats) can really fuel you while working.  

 Java Me Up is a Coffee Energy Bar that  can be summed up as a "Coffee With a Bite".  There's 160 calories in a bar, 6 grams protein, and 5g fiber.  It has low sodium so you don't have to worry about the sodium content of it.  Gotta love this fresh-brewed idea, thanks to Java Me UP!

You can buy this through shoplet, just  click the above link I have provided.  So  guys, if you  love coffee and  love to have  an energy  bar at work, this  Java Me Up is perfect.  I ate one of this and I  love it as well.  I have to hold up though because my husband needs it more than me!  I would definitely buy him more of this when it runs out.  

Shoplet have everything that you need for your business and home including office supplies, office stationary, promotional products,  and many others such as medical supplies .   Thank you once again Shoplet and  Java Me Up!!

Ice Cream Cake

Mr. Burrito wanted a n ice cream cake for his birthday so that's what we  got.  We bought it at Dairy Queen.  I must say that it was pretty good!

I love the cookie crumble or oreo crumble in the muddle of it.

 The only thing about ice cream cake is, you have to eat it right away when you sliced it because it melts if you don't.

 This is our first time  having an ice cream birthday cake.

I have had ice cream cake before but I didn't really think too much of it till yesterday, it was pretty good!

Chicken Fajita with Rice

My husband love the breakfast burritos that I used to make but whenever I don't have the ingredients to make it, I just make  chicken fajita.  To mimic the breakfast burrito, I usually   add steamed rice on the tortilla before putting the  chicken fajita and wrap it up.  

Baking the wrapped chicken fajita for ten minutes   works excellent  when  he need to warm it up in the microwave at work, the tortilla doesn't get saggy.

Natural Tone

Aside from  meeting new friends online, I love blogging because I get to learn new things like line6.  If you are not a musician, you won't know those things that's why I am glad I have learned to blog.  Line6 is an amplifier for acoustic guitar to make the sound or tone a lot natural.  Technology rocks, it makes everything a lot  better!  Line6 is a great tool for musician.  It gives them opportunity to explore more.

Meanwhile, I will leave you with this lasagna to look at.

EJ's Birthday At Home

Our son  wanted to have a little party at home for his 8th birthday.  From my past experiences, having a party is always stressful because I do all the cooking and  preparation.  This year however, I changed my strategy.  I  prepared most of the food ahead and just left a couple of menus to cook the day of the party.

 I made this puto (rice cake/cupcake) a day ahead while my kids were at school.  I did the same thing with the pigs in a blanket, I baked them ahead.  The only problem is, they keep eating them lol.

I also made  sweet rice bars.  I  tweaked the  regular sweet rice into a sweet rice bar by adding oatmeal and some   kashi cereal with nuts and  other  things.  I also added  sesame  seeds in it.

 Then I separated them for easy serving and made them into bar-type of sweets.

 We avoid chips at home but since it is a party and we are expecting company, we grabbed a bag of this  scoop chips and salsa.

 I cooked the rice noodles on the morning of the party then just warmed it up at the microwave before serving it  during the party.

 I made the  lumpia/spring rolls  two days  ahead and just put it in the refrigerator before  frying it on the day of the party.I also ran out of the sweet and spicy sauce for lumpia dipping so I just  mixed  miracle whip, ketchup, sriracha, and pepper flakes, it was good.

Our little man  had a blast and we are all glad to reunite with our friends and family at our humble abode.

Minion Theme Birthday

I am very fortunate  to have had the opportunity to  review the  birthday in a box   they sent to me for review.Birthday in a box by  a company I work with via  Costume website.  I love that the paper plates are very sturdy, it's perfect to use for food!

The napkins comes in two sizes which was great  for  the main courses and for dessert.

The cups and the party hats are nice addition as well.

The cutlery and straws are pretty awesome as well.

My son was very happy to have the "happy birthday" banner.

The balloons and the  hanging  minions were also  awesome.  I used duct tape to   attach them to the wall.

Overall, I was pretty impressed of how this birthday in a box provided us what we need for a small party we had for our son.  Despicable Me  or Minion theme is really a winner for a child's birthday.  I highly recommend it.

Lima Beans with Shrimp

One of the many kinds of beans that I love since I was a kid is the Lima bean.  My parents used to grow this veggies at our backyard and we would pick them and  open  it up to get the seeds, it was a fun memory.  My Mom would cook this  coconut mil with  fish and it was always a hit in our kitchen table for us kids.  Even though I can only  have frozen lima beans here, I still buy them because I like them and it reminds me of home.  Below is a simple recipe.

Ingredients:
1 bag of frozen lima beans
1 can of coconut milk
1/2 lb of frozen  shrimp
1 thumb size ginger, crushed
2 sticks of  lemon gass
1 onion, diced
salt and pepper to taste
2 jalapeños, diced (optional)

Direction:

• Put the coconut milk in a pan and salt, onion, ginger, and  lemon grass.  Let it boil, stirring  occasionally.
• Add the  lima beans and let it cook for 7-10 minutes in a medium high heat.  
• Add the shrimp and let it cook for  another 5 minutes.
• Add black pepper and jalapeño.

Serve with  steamed rice.  

Peanut Butter Chocolate

Disclosure: The author of this blog was NOT financially compensated to write this review. Opinions expressed is solely my own and may differ from others. The product/s being described in this review was provided for FREE for evaluation purposes only.

I got this Reese's Spread from Influenster.  This is my very first time receiving a perk from them so I forgot to  take a video of unboxing (sorry).  But anyhow, I was very excited to try this spread because I saw this on TV before and it looks tasty.

The small chunks of peanut in it makes it so nutty and delicious  for any kind of snack you want to spread this on.  

 We tried it with  apples and it was really delicious.  The combination of peanut butter and chocolate is   awesome!

 Too bad, my son can't eat it because he is allergic to peanut.  He was bummed out too since he loves chocolate.  Hmmnn, just look how yummy it is with fuji apple slices.

 I also made my husband a snack to take at his work using  crackers and apple in the middle in between the  peanut and  chocolate spread.  Of course I have to save some for me to try and they are really delicious!

Sp if you are looking for a twist on your peanut butter spread, try the new Reese's peanut and chocolate spread.  They are so delicious!

Gelatin with Avocado

I made this  delightful dessert  on the second day of  2015.  The gelatin is orange flavored and I put some mango chunks in it.  I also added  condensed mild and cream cheese.  Looks good isn't it?  It tasted even better!

Tasty dessert for the year of the Goat.

Gorton. Real. Smart. Seafood

Disclosure: The author of this blog was NOT financially compensated to write this review. Opinions expressed is solely my own and may differ from others. The product/s being described in this review was provided for FREE for evaluation purposes only.

I don't make New Year's Resolution but I do  jot down my goals  at the start of the year so I will be on track of what is need to be need and accomplished.  One of my goals this year is to stay active  and  eat  healthier. That's why I was stoked to received this review kit valued at $75 from Gorton which include the following:

• Five (5) full-value product coupons to purchase your Gorton’s Grilled or Simply Bake products

• An insulated tote bag to bring home your Gorton’s products and other frozen goodies
• The SparkPeople Cookbook, a collection of more than 160 satisfying, sustaining, and stress-free recipes that streamline your healthy-eating efforts
• The Spark book by SparkPeople founder, CEO and Motivation Expert, Chris Downie
• The SparkPeople 28-Day Boot Camp Workout DVD

Before I get on to the SparkPeople products, I want to share to you what we  have tried so far from the  free Gorton products that we have.  First is the Skillet Crisp Tilapia that we had for dinner tonight.

My husband is not very fond of  fish  especially tilapia but  he likes this one because it is already seasoned and you don't need to  use oil to cook it in a skillet.  The  tilapia is so flaky and  fresh tasting.  I had mine with rice and pineapple and orange salsa with  sriracha sauce yum!  My kids and husband had theirs with  sour krout (weird combination eh,  but what4ver works right?)

My daughter  love seafood just like me so this shrimp scampi is perfect for her.  I am not very fond of  garlic so what I did was to incorporate it in some rotini pasta and broccoli.

The pasta and  veggy absorabed the  garlicky flavor and with the addition of  parmesan cheese, it was delicious!

This was our first dinner in 2015.  We ate  it with bread sticks and man, it was  sumptuous!

We still yet to try the fish fillets and fish  sandwich fillets.  I am sure that it would be as delicious as the first two that we  tried. So for seafood lovers like us, I highly recommend Gorton products!

So here's the verdict of the two fish fillets above.  We love the potato crusted  fish fillets.  We ate it with my baked potatoes with broccoli and cheese and wild rice.

 My husband and son  tied the fish sandwich fillets yesterday.  They said it was okay but still preferred the potato crusted one.  I made my husband a sandwich  with lettuce,  tomatoes, and tartar sauce.

 My son ate his with wild rice,  vegetable medley, and a slice of tomato.  He also preferred the potato crusted one o over this.

 My daughter and I  had the  grilled tilapia yesterday for dinner.  

The  seasoning  came off after I baked it.  I was hoping that the grilled mark will be there but  since the  seasoning  got melted, it was nothing like a grilled tilapia although it still tasted  good, the appearance isn't what I expected it too.  So our verdict is, we preferred the  skillet crisp tilapia over the grilled one.

Now onto the SparkPeople products, I have decided to  review the  The Spark Book and  Total Body Sculpting DVD at my Fitness Blog as it  us more fitting  on the theme of the blog.  You can see my review by clicking the link I have included above.  I have read some of the recipes on this book but I haven't found the one that I would like to try yet,  I would update you about it soon.

Now, there is a big event that will happen in SparkPeople.  Beginning January 5, you can sign up for and participate in the 30-Day Realistic Resolution Challenge on SparkPeople.com or using the SparkPeople app.  The app is available on iTunes Store or Google Play so make sure to check on that.  I am considering on participating myself so let's see by Monday.   I signed up with the 30-Day Realistic Resolution Challenge.

Here are some things that you can do:
a. Download a coupon
b. Sign up for the SparkPeople's   30-Day Realistic Resolution Challenge
c. Enter the Gorton’s Eat Smarter Sweepstakes