Shrimp Stir Fry

Thanks to couponing, our household has survived without me having to go grocery shopping for over a month now.  Although it was nice not having to worry about it, it was time to get some fresh veggies. Lo and behold, Shrimp Stir Fry was on the menu tonight. Shrimp Stir FryShrimp Stir Fry dishInstructions: Sautée all the veggies with onion and garlic. Put in the shrimp. Season with soy sauce, salt and pepper. Tada!

This is one of my favorite dishes. It’s healthy and it’s so easy to make. It’s great with rice and you can even substitute the shrimp with chicken or tofu.

I’m also trying to be better with menu planning by using this menu planner I found from OrgJunkieMenu Planner

Now time to plan out healthy recipes. And oh, here’s some pup and hubby love ❤

Samson Brian

Wisdom Tooth Diet

Everybody knows getting your wisdom tooth out is no fun business. 25df74a8f88efa34b6f6bb4c7127951a

I got mine taken out last Monday & I definitely don’t want to do that ever again. I’m just really grateful for such a loving & caring hubby by my side. It made the experience more bearable knowing that I was taken care of. So, thank you so much honey 🙂

5dbaff411765147df61d0d52fe5d1204

Another part of getting your wisdom tooth out is changing your diet to… soft foods. Yum yum?

Soft food1) Mashed Potatoes 2) Jello Pudding 3) Yogurt 4) Ramen Noodles 5) Crackers

All I can say is I cannot wait to eat Chinese food and have a piece of steak!

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Recipe

Here’s a great recipe for those days when you just need to whip something up real quick.

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken

baconchicken

Ingredients: Chicken, Bacon (we used turkey bacon), Red pepper flakes

Instructions: 

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2) Individually wrapped your bacon around the chicken.

3)Place it on a baking pan & season it with your favorite spice. I decided to spice it up a bit with red pepper flakes.

4) Bake for about 30 minutes or until bacon & chicken is cooked thoroughly.

5) Serve it with rice and veggies.

Easy as pie huh? Dinner solved 🙂

baconwrapchicken

Nom Nom Alley: New York Cheesecake w/Caramel Drizzle

New York Cheesecake w/Caramel Drizzle 

by Carissa 

This recipe was really easy—I prepared and put it in the oven before I got ready for work, simply turn the oven off and let the cheesecake cool inside when I left, and put it in the fridge when I got back home from work—just enough time to be chilled for dessert! I hope you enjoy and please tell me how you like it/if you made any changes that made it even better!

e218a4ee65aa11e289dc22000a9f12b0_7

INGREDIENTS:
¾ cup graham crackers or 15 graham crackers, crushed
3 tablespoons butter, melted
4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup milk
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 jar of Smucker’s Topping (I used caramel, but you can use any flavor you like)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch springform pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press onto bottom of springform pan.
3. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth. Pour filling into prepared crust.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours; this prevents cracking.
5. Heat topping jar 20-30 seconds in the microwave (just enough so you can pour it but it should still be a little thick, not runny), pour generously or drizzle lightly over cheesecake.
6. Chill in refrigerator at least 2 hours before serving.

3 Hour Old Fashioned Oven Pot Roast

For today’s post, we have an Oven Pot Roast recipe. Now, this is quite a victory for me because I have NEVER made pot roast before. I was really nervous about trying something new especially when I want ed to make it for our date night dinner. I did some research & luckily I found this recipe from Food.com. Brian really enjoyed this recipe & even said that it’s one of his favorites 🙂 —-> Happy wifey!!!  

3 Hour Old Fashioned Oven Pot Roast

Oven Pot Roast

Ingredients: 

  • 1 Bottom Round Beef Roast (I used 2.5 lbs)
  • Season Salt
  • Pepper
  • Cajun
  • Cumin
  • 4 medium Carrots (cut diagonally)
  • 2 large onions, quartered
  • 8 medium fresh mushrooms, whole
  • 12 small potatoes, scrubbed
  • 1 1/4 cups beef broth, divided
  • 3 tbsp cold water
  • 1 tbsp cornstarchDSC_0585

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Sprinkle *season salt & pepper all over roast, place fat side up in dutch oven or roaster.
  3. Bake uncovered for 1 hour at 375 degrees.
  4. Reduce heat to 325 degrees, sprinkle all over roast with Cajun & Cumin seasoning.
  5. Add 1/2 cup beef broth to roaster, cover & bake for another 1 hour.
  6. While waiting for roast, boil potatoes & carrots with water. *
  7. Remove the roaster from oven & add 3/4 cup beef broth to roaster.
  8. Add potatoes, carrots, mushrooms and onions. Sprinkle  with season salt & pepper.
  9. Cover & roast for 30 more minutes or until veggies are tender,*
  10. Remove roast to platter & slice. Surround with veggies, cover with foil & keep warm.
  11. Add cornstarch to cold water, whisk & add to roaster.
  12. Whisk while bringing to boil, simmer for 5 mins or until thickened. Ladel over roast & veggies.
  13. Enjoy!

*Changes I made from original recipe.

I will most definitely use this recipe again. I’m just glad it worked out! Sometimes it’s good to do something you’ve never done before right?

http://www.food.com/recipe/3-hour-old-fashioned-oven-pot-roast-317798

Hello, December!

113012271870987372_g7DrmHet_c

December is FINALLY here! And even though we’re only 3 days into it, I’m already having a blast 🙂

60813_3835525937156_1453337108_n(I really need to start using my camera again… I’ve becometoo dependent on my Instagram & so I get photos like these :/)

This past weekend, Brian & I actually got a chance to go on a couple of dates —–just the two of us.  We love spending time with our friends & family but sometimes, its nice to have a one-on-one date with your sweetie & just laugh together & share inside jokes like no other. I can’t speak for my husband but for me, I feel love refreshed like almost that feeling you get after a really good bath/ shower. Does that make sense?

395109_3833105836655_1277886020_n

We started our weekend off with Pizza Palace then stopping by at Peterbrooke Chocolatier. That place smelled heavenly! Then, did I mention before that Brian is now officially a couponer? We went on our very first couponing trip together last Tuesday & he actually enjoyed it. I was one happy wifey! We got some handcream & placemats— with an initial total of $32.34, we only paid $2.19. A total of 93%!

598555_10152283307115076_942215413_n

Anyways, before we went on one of our dates this weekend, we were able to squeeze in a quick coupon trip. With $51 worth of stuff, this time Publix paid us $1.21 before tax to buy their stuff & only paid a total of $1.50 for all of those Pop-Tarts.

306045_3835440455019_877524889_n (1)

Then, we had a romantic dinner at Maggiano’s Little Italy Restaurant. It was quite a lovely evening ❤

306082_3835485616148_943684713_n

During this season of joy, I feel very loved and hope that I will be able to share my blessings to others. Brian, I look forward to spending this Christmas and another new year with you. You make life worth living. 

481469_3835561898055_812697527_n

Ti voglio molto bene, Grace

Coconut Shrimp Curry

One of the things I love about being a wifey is having my own kitchen & cooking for my hubby. Sometimes, Brian has rough days at work & a good home cooked meal always seem to cure it.

Last week, I made some Coconut Shrimp Curry. We usually like spicy curry but this recipe is more sweet with a spicy kick to it. So, here’s the recipe for it… Enjoy!

COCONUT SHRIMP CURRY

1) Marinade & toss the shrimp in a bag or a bowl for about 20 minutes. Put these ingredients together to make the Shrimp Marinade.

Shrimp Marinade Ingredients: 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 ground black pepper 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 freshly squeezed lemon juice, shrimp (peeled/ deveined)

2) While the shrimps are marinating, prepare the sauce in a medium- sized pot.

Sauce Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 finely chopped onion, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 tsp ground pepper, 1 tbsp ground cinnamon, 1 tbsp salt, 2 tsp ground coriander, 1/2 tsp turmeric, curry powder, 1 can (14.5 oz) undrained diced tomatoes, 1 can coconut milk, cilantro

3) Heat oil & sauté the onion & garlic. Stir in ground pepper, ground cinnamon, salt, ground coriander, turmeric & curry powder (add as much curry as you want). Let it cook for about 5 minutes.

4) Add undrained diced tomatoes & let it sit for about a minute. Increase the heat & simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring often.

5) Add coconut milk (I love using this on recipes!) & stir to mix. Let it boil.

6) Add the marinated shrimp & the marinate juice. Simmer & cook until shrimp is curled & cooked through.

7) Add some cilantro. Serve over a bed of rice. TA-DA!

Bon Appétit.

Baked Salmon

Salmon!!! 

Anybody else a Salmon fan around here? I AM! So, here’s a simple recipe I have inherited from my Mama.

Ingredients: Salmon, Tomato, Onion, Garlic, Lemon Juice, Soy Sauce, Salt, Pepper

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven at 375 degrees. 2) Place salmon on a glass baking dish. 3) Sprinkle some chopped garlic, sliced onion, & crushed tomatoes. 4) Pour lemon juice & soy sauce. 4) Salt & pepper to taste. 5) Bake salmon for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

 

Always Look Ahead and Above Yourself

I was flipping through Netflix trying to find something worthwhile to watch and this caught my attention:

Right from the beginning, I was inspired by Mr. Jiro Ono’s perspective in life. I don’t necessarily want to make sushi but his work ethic is astounding that it made me want to be like him.

This movie somehow brought me back to the simpler days when we lived in the Philippines. I remember growing up, we didn’t really have any toys. Jared & I would play with tin cans, stick & dirt. The closest thing I had to a doll was a torn up one-eyed teddy bear & I named her Jennifer. Then I think it was in pre-school, everyone would have a full lunch with juice box, sandwiches & little snackies. I had bread & water for lunch. On some days, I had peanut butter with my bread. That was it but I was happy & content.

I don’t remember ever complaining about school or work either. We woke up before the sun was up, went to school until late, had one hour of TV, did our HW then went to sleep to the same thing the next day. Thoughts of vacations/ getaways were not really in my vocabulary since we couldn’t afford it anyways. I just did what I was supposed to & tried my best to do well whatever it was.  I remember telling myself that I can be ANYTHING, if I just put my all into it. I truthfully believed that. I was happy & motivated.

Somewhere growing up, I sort of lost that belief. I’m not sure if anyone feels the same way but you started feeling like you just have to settle with whatever is in front of you.  You start using words you swore you’d never say when you grow up: “I’m too busy”, “That’s impossible “, “That was just a stupid dream”. Well NO MORE!

Take every opportunity to “Always look ahead and above yourself. Always try to improve on yourself. Always strive to elevate your craft” because in the end, you are your own success. 

I ABSOLUTELY recommend this movie. I hope you will feel inspired as I did.

Have a wonderful day!

Green Smoothie Recipes

 I am a big fan of smoothies! I love vegetables and I love fruits. So, it just makes sense to have a veggie smoothie right? Sounds yucky? Well, try these recipes and you might be surprised! 

Green Blueberry Banana Smoothie 

  • 2 cups of blueberries
  • 1/2 a banana
  • 2 big handfuls of spinach
  • 1 cup of water

Green Coconut Raspberry Smoothie

  • 1 cup raspberries
  • 1/3 cup coconut flakes
  • 2 big handfuls of spinach
  • 1 cup water

Green Peaches & Oats Smoothie

  • 1 1/2 cups sliced peaches
  • 2 big handfuls of spinach
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/4 cup raw oats and 1 cup water

Green Pineapple Banana Smoothie

  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut
  • 1 cup fresh pineapple chunks
  • 1/2 a banana
  • 2 big handfuls of spinach
  • 2 cups water

Green Banana- Raspberry Smoothie

  • 1 cup frozen raspberries
  • 3/4 skim milk, half a banana
  • 1 tbsp of honey (to taste)
  • 2 handfuls of spinach

Green Cinnamon Banana Smoothie

  • Unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1 banana
  • Spinach
  • Ice
  • Cinnamon spices

Green Mixed Berry Banana Smoothie

  • 2 handfuls berries (blue,rasp,straw)(mixed of fresh & frozen)
  • 1/2 banana
  • hand full of kale (leaves torn from stems)
  • unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • vanilla yogurt
  • mint (optional)

Green Banana-Pineapple-Mango Smoothie

  • Lots of Spinach
  • Frozen mangos
  • Frozen Bananas
  • Frozen Pineapple
  • H2O

Green Cucumber Apple Smoothie

  • 1 apple
  • 1 cup spinach
  • 1 cup cucumber
  • 2-3 stalks of celery
  • 1 bunch of kale
  • 1/2 lemon

Feel free to try out a couple of the recipes & share your results with us.

Go Green!