Food Connect

Both me and my hubby love to eat. That's the reason I had to learn to cook different recipes and sometimes my hubby does the cooking too. At first it was a trial and error for but as time goes by and the more I cooked, I became a better cook. Cooking became one of my interests. Although I have a few recipe books, I still love to collect recipes in the internet. In fact I printed a lot of recipes that I've found interesting and tried to cook it for my hubby. Just recently, I've found another website where I can get more and more recipes online. At www.foodconnect.com, food lovers like me can get some interesting recipes and also you can share the recipes of the foods that you love. You can also rate and review recipes and restaurants if you join. The site is user friendly and easy to browse. The site is also a social media network so you can also connect with other food lovers there by adding them as your friends. Foodconnect will be changing its homepage but you can still go their site and browse some recipes and meet fellow food lovers. Visit their site now and enjoy seeing those food recipes and meeting new friends. I found this photo with recipe that I like in their site. Just click the photo so you can get the recipe.

Squash Soup

The foods that were served during the Ladies' Fellowship which I attended with the ladies in our church more than a year ago at Sherman, TX were so delicious. I enjoyed eating the foods that they served on the buffet table. The squash soup that they served at night was so delicious. It was my first time to have a taste of that kind of soup. We told the ladies that served it that the squash soup was really good and they gave us the recipe the next day. I asked my hubby to buy the ingredients and I cooked it. Oh how my hubby love it! He ate a lot during lunch and during supper, he finished the soup that was left with bread. I'm so glad my hubby enjoyed my cooking. Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
3 large yellow squash, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cans chicken broth
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 small package Velvetta cheese (you can use the Mexican style if you like spicy)

DIRECTIONS:

Cook squash, onion, in chicken broth until done then add Rotel tomatoes and simmer and then add Velvetta cheese, cook until cheese is melted. Serve with French bread.

Vitamins For Me

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of VitaDigest. All opinions are 100% mine.

Health is wealth as they say. I certainly believe in this saying that's why I've been taking care of my health by using nutritional supplements and vitamins. I know how it is to be sick. It's terrible. I know because I've been there and it was not just ordinary illness that beset me but terrifying ones. I am a cancer and a stroke survivor. How's that! Just the thought of having those disease makes you terrified. I am just blessed because of prayers and my faith, God has healed me and I'm still alive, praise God. After I survived those illnesses, I started to use nutritional supplements and vitamins to strengthen my immune system. I've been using Nutrifresh as my health drink because this is a combination of fruits and veggies. I also take vitamin C because it is a good antioxidant and has numerous health benefits ranging from the common cold to deadly diseases like cancer. I also used herbs from Garden Of Life.

I am always interested to use other vitamins to help me physically and I was so happy when I came across VitaDigest because the site offers a vast selection of vitamins and supplements. I would definitely want to try their Vitamin B Complex, Mangosteen juice and the Organic Total Body Cleanse, 14 Day Program, 3 Part Kit, From Renew Life because I need a total internal body cleanse to eliminate the toxins in my body. Good thing about VitaDigest is that they offer an exclusive 10% off Coupon with coupon code “izb10jan” through end of February. To top it all, they also offer FREE shipping on all orders over $100. One thing more, VitaDigest.com was awarded INC5000 for 2009 as top 5000 Fastest growing company and lastly, the site offers over 13,000 vitamins, supplements, and other health products. You can't ask for more.

Baked Chicken Empanada

It's been a while that I haven't cooked empanada. My hubby likes it so I decided to make some yesterday. I just cooked 8 pieces the other day and I put the remaining dough and filling (I used chicken) in the refrigerator. Then this afternoon I cooked all of it, 11 pieces. After I cooked, hubby came in the kitchen and grabbed a piece. It was still hot, fresh from the oven. I prefer baked empanada than fried. My hubby loves it and he said he can eat it all. He said they are so good. Oh my, I told him to leave some for me because I was going to take a shower. I told him I will eat after I showered. He told me to hurry up before he can it them all. I know he was just teasing me. He just ate three pieces then when we ate our supper we also ate the remaining empanada. It was all gone in a matter of minutes.

Ingredients:

Dough:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 egg
ice water (enough to make a ball)

Filling:
1 chicken breast, boiled and himayin
2 medium potatoes, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
canola oil
salt
pepper

Instructions:

Mix the ingredients for the dough. Knead it well using a rolling pin. If the dough is already okay and doesn't stick to your hands no more, cut it into pieces according to your desired size. For the filling, sautee the garlic, onion, chicken then add the rest of the ingredients. Put salt and pepper according to taste. If it's already cooked, let it cool first. Then form a ball of the dough that you cut into pieces and roll it with the rolling pin to flatten. Then put the filling about 1heaping tablespoon. Then wrap it. Use a fork to seal the edges. Beat 1 egg and just use the yolk. Apply it to the empanada using a brush before baking. Bake it for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

Hubby's Business

My hubby has been into car repair business many moon years back. He and his big brother used to have a wrecking yard and a used car business. My hubby is car mechanic so he knows a lot about cars. During his younger days, when his car broke on the road while he was traveling, he fixed it by himself because he always carry his tools in his car wherever he goes. Now that he's older and he has some back pains and arthritis, he can hardly stoop now or much more bend and work on the car if it breaks. He told his friends and kinfolks to just look for a good collision repair expert like the auto body shop anaheim if something happens to their cars. Hubby is not getting any younger and he has gained a lot of weight too which make it hard for him to do the work that he used to do during his younger years. That's what age do to you, so while you're young, enjoy life to the fullest and do the things that you're passionate with because when you get older, you can’t do the things that you used to do.

My Brother's Business

Since my brother came home from Singapore, he's been working in the house by doing card invitations, letterings, drawings and doing arts and signs. His income is just meager compared to what he was earning as a project engineer abroad but I never heard him complain. The reason he quit his job and came home was homesickness and also he didn't get along well with his boss. Now he just have to contend himself doing small time business and jobs at home. I was telling him to get some promotional product printing so he can give it to his customers and also to other people to promote his business. My brother got a lot of talents being an architecture graduate. He can also do some charcoal and canvass painting. His wife said that his talent is just wasted by doing small time jobs but who knows, he can make it big one of these days. I can't blame him for quitting his job abroad because it was his first time to be away from his family and he missed his wife and baby so much. His baby girl was only more than a month old when left and being a first time dad, he was so homesick that he can’t stand to be away from his family.

Weight Problem Solution

The holidays are over but I'm pretty sure that most of us had a blast during those days. Me and hubby for instance, both of us had gained a lot of weight since the holidays started. It's very hard to resist those appetizing and yummy foods that were served on the table. It took me years to lose and maintained my weight but this past year, all my hard work went to naught. Since my hubby and I am here in my homeland, I already gained 10 lbs. My clothes that used to be lose are now tight. I really don't like this. But wait till you see my hubby. He gained more weight than me. His belly grew bigger and I was teasing him that he must have swallowed a big water melon, he-he! It's really hard for him to lose weight because he don't watch his diet. He's lazy to exercise so I just told him that maybe the lap band houston will be the solution to his weight problem. Houston is just an hour drive from where we live so it's not really that far. We just have to have the money for the procedure. If not then he just have to live carrying his rounded belly wherever he goes, LOL! But no matter what, I love my hubby even though he has a big belly.

Holiday Blasts

It's been a while since I updated this blog. I was busy during the holidays and hubby and I enjoyed celebrating Christmas and New year here in my homeland. We celebrated Christmas in Baguio with my family and friends. We had lots of foods on the table last Christmas. We gobbled and gobbled and ate to our hearts' delight. Then we opened our gifts and we had a blast.

On New year's eve, we again prepared lots of foods and we welcomed the 2010 with a bang. Hubby had bought some firecrackers and some fireworks. They lighted it at exactly 12:00 midnight on New year. We made some noise and then we had a devotion. Then we ate the foods that my sister and I prepared. We had some friends and neighbors with us that night as we ate our Media Noche foods. Then after that we had some karaoke singing. We went to bed so late that night of New year but we had fun.

How Wheat Works

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Wheat Food Council. All opinions are 100% mine.

Since I became aware of the benefits of eating whole wheat products, I started to buy whole wheat bread. I stopped eating white bread and changed my diet to eating whole wheat because it gives me more fiber and it is better to my health. Though whole wheat bread costs more than white bread, I still prefer it. I was just wondering why wheat bread is so expensive and got curious how they grow wheat because I really have no idea until I saw this site called How Wheat Works. This is an interactive, online multimedia program that delivers a farm-to-fork education on wheat, enabling a better understanding of its nutritional value. I signed up and started to view how wheat works. The program has 4 phases, growth, harvest, milling/baking and the grocer’s aisle and it just take a few minutes to complete while the program spans the course of 4 days. I learned a lot about the history of wheat while I was watching the interactive video. I've also learned that there are 6 classes of wheat in the US and they are Hard Red Winter, Hard Red Spring, Soft Red Winter, Hard White, Soft White and Durum. Each class has its own set of properties that make it better suited for making certain types of wheat foods. I chose to plant the hard wheat and tracked its path from the wheat field to the table. It's really amazing. I've learned a lot about wheat planting.

If you participate in their program the Wheat Foods Council will donate two pounds of flour, up to 90,000 pounds, to Operation Homefront, a non-profit that provides assistance to needy U.S. troops and their families. I just did and I'm pretty sure if a lot of people will participate then we can be of great help to our fellowmen. If you have a Twitter or Facebook account, you can join their social networking by adding Wheat Foods Council or become a fan.

Ginisang Pechay (Sauteed Chines Cabbage)

Here's another Filipino recipe to add to my lists. I learned to cook ginisang pechay from my late mom who was a very good cook herself. I remember she had a pechay garden in our yard when I was a kid. I love this recipe because I love eating veggies mixed with some meat. This is easy to prepare, delicious with ground beef, and is rich in calcium, iron, phosphorus and other nutrients. We just had this the other day.

Ingredients

1/2 lb ground beef
4 to 5 stalks of pechay, roughly chopped (around 3 to 4 cups)
5 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, finely sliced
3 pcs. tomatoes, chopped
1 cup water
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsps vegetable oil
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Prepare pechay leaves by trimming ends and chopping to bite-sized pieces. Separate white ends from darker parts.

2. In a pan, heat vegetable oil. Over medium heat, saute onions and garlic until softened. Add chopped tomatoes and cook until tender.

3. Add in ground meat. Saute ground meat until lightly browned.

4. Pour in fish sauce. Continue to stir and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes.

5. Pour in water. Add more as necessary to simmer the meat in and to maintain one cup for when the dish is pulled together. Allow to simmer until meat is fully cooked. Skim off scum that may aggregate on top.

6. Add in white ends of pechay leaves. Cook for around one minute. Combine in dark parts of leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook until leaves are slightly wilted, around one to two minutes.

My Jones Custom Soda

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Jones Soda. All opinions are 100% mine.

When I was working at a fast food restaurant in one of the US bases in Texas, I used to drink a lot of soda because all of us workers were allowed to drink it for free. I drink it when I get tired working or when I go on a break. My hubby is also very fond of drinking soda and until now he loves to drink it. Well, I've been looking for a different kind of soda for my hubby and I guess it was my day when I happened to see the myJones soda in the internet. It's a good gift for the holiday season and I would like to give it as a gift to no other than my hubby of course because he's a soda lover and he loves to drink grape flavor. One good thing about Jones sodas is that it's caffeine free. I also found out that I can customized the label on the bottle by putting a photo at the front label and write a quotation at the back label. Well, I uploaded our latest Christmas photo taken last Sunday and voila, the outcome was great!

I am pretty sure hubby would be delighted to drink myJones custom soda especially when he will see the label. So if you're thinking of what to give on Christmas day to your friends and loved ones, why not consider my Jones soda. I think it would be a good drink on Christmas and also New Year's day. Cheers!

Nilagang Baka (Boiled Beef With Veggies)

This Filipino beef recipe is so yummy especially during cold weather. The hot soup warms the stomach and the beef with veggies are so appetizing. My hubby is not very fond of boiled recipes that's why I seldom cook this. But when I do cook, I really enjoy eating it with rice. It fills me up and this is one of my favorite comfort foods.

Ingredients :

3/4 kilo of beef, cut into serving pieces
1 whole garlic
1 whole onion, peeled
1 bunch of womboc (Chinese cabbage) or pechay or cabbage
4 medium-sized potatoes, quartered
4 pcs. bananas (saging na saba)
salt and black pepper to taste

Cooking procedure:

Place the beef pieces in a casserole and cover with water. Pierce the garlic in several places using a sharp pointed knife. Add the garlic, onion and black pepper to the beef. Season with salt. Set over high heat and bring to a boil, removing scum as it rises. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours or until the beef is tender.

Add the potatoes, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Turn up the heat to medium-high. Place the womboc or pechay leaves on top of the beef and potatoes and boil gently until the leaves begin to wilt. Push down the leaves into the broth, if necessary. Turn off the heat, cover the casserole and finish cooking the womboc leaves for another 5 minutes. Serve hot.

A Good Gift For This Season

Christmas is fast approaching and it's the time of year that we give gifts to our family, friends and loved ones. It's been 6 Christmases that we were thousands of miles away from home so hubby and I wanted to make up for the lost times. Hubby said we need to make the kids happy by showering them with gifts that will surely bring smile to their faces. This coming holiday season is a sort of reunion for us. We are 4 siblings in the family, both of our parents had passed away many moon years back. We would be happier to celebrate Christmas if both of them are still alive. If we had known about C'elle during that time we could have saved them through the help of potentially life-saving stem cells found naturally in menstrual blood. The C’elle service provides women with a C’elle Kit to collect and preserve the vital stem cells that can be taken from body’s menstrual fluid during monthly period. This is beneficiary to all members of the family when things go wrong in health related issue.

It's not easy to get sick nowadays especially the cost of medical bills keep soaring up high not to mention the pain and discomfort you feel when you are sick. To have peace of mind you need to avail what C'elle has to offer for you and your family. If you need more information you can check out their site and read their FAQs to answer your questions. There you will find out all About C’elle and you will see how it can save everyone’s life.

Thanksgiving Celebration

Belated happy thanksgiving to everyone! How was your thanksgiving celebration? I bet you had a good one and was full to the max. We had a family devotion early evening after we were done cooking the foods. Hubby read some verses in the Bible and gave a message about thanking God for all He has given us. Then after our devotion, we sang the song "Give Thanks". We then all sat at the table and ate our Thanksgiving Dinner. We had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, chicken afritada, pancit, rice and refrigerated cake. My siblings were all present and their families. We had a blast though we didn't have some fancy foods like we used to have in the states. We were so thankful to the good Lord for all His blessings and provisions.

Shop Using Dirt Devil Buying Guide

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Dirt Devil. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hubby bought a Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner a few years ago. It was a very light one and it is rechargeable. The reason I like it is that it's not heavy for me to push around compared to our old vacuum cleaner. I've been using it to vacuum our area rug carpet in the living room. Now after almost five years, we want to buy a bigger vacuum cleaner, Dirt Devil brand of course to clean our entire house. I was browsing the internet when I came across the Dirt Devil Holiday Buying Guide. It is just what I need and just in time for the coming Holiday season. I learned that DirtDevil.com offer great Holiday Deals (including: Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, and Family Favorites). Do you know that there are about 300 ways to save with online shopping. You can purchase from their website and they offer FREE shipping of their products. You don't have to go out and drive so you can save money for gas and also you save time. You can shop in the comfort of your home. Shopping online is really convenient for me because I don't drive. So if you are looking for ways to save money, why not visit their site and you can find red hot deals on Black Friday, November 27 and on Cyber Monday, November 30. You can browse the websites there and shop till you drop, LOL! Their site is user friendly and prices are all marked down. You will save money for the holiday.