Sunday Funday: Bowling with friends

 

Had fun time with friends last Sunday, We went to meet up with hubby's co-workers, I got to meet and hangout with their wives which was really nice. 

Little man was too excited when we got there, That he doesn't want to let anybody else play. haha 

He got a little cranky at first but once he got warmed up with other kids they were inseparable.

 

 What did you do for fun last Sunday?

 

 

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

 

 Before we went bowling, I decided to bake. There was bananas sitting on our kitchen counter needed to be used and I have plenty of frozen bananas for my smoothies so I decided to use it for something else.

I made Chocolate Banana bread, I love banana bread so much! I would make it all the time if I can, Today I decided to make a different version and make it chocolatey. It was so good!

 

 

 

 

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/4 cups mashed banana (I used 3)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

 

Directions:

• Heat oven to 350. Spray bottom of 8x4 inch loaf pan with cooking spray
• Beat sugar, eggs and oil in a large bowl at medium speed until combined. Beat in banana and vanilla at low speed.
• Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in medium bow; Beat into banana mixture at low speed just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
• Spoon batter into pan. Bake 60-70 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Cool 10 minutes before removing from the pan and cool completely on wire rack.

 

Enjoy! 

 

 

 

 

Valentine's Day

 

 

 

 

 Happy Valentine's day everyone!

I hope you all had a great day.

I had an amazing day with my boys, We just decided to go have dinner to our favorite restaurant Ruby Tuesday, The last time we went there was my birthday last year.

It was a really good idea to go there, It wasn't busy at all.

I hate going to restaurant that is so busy, I never get satisfied.

 

 

I was in the mood for a really good drink, So I decided to try their Mango Margarita.. It was good!

 

 

 For appetizer we had Thai phoon shrimp, It was good but nothing really special about it.

 

 

And of course, I had their Salad.. One of the reason why I love Ruby Tuesday! 

 

 

 Hubby wasn't planning on having their Pretzel burger but he said it looks too good to not have it again.

 

I wanted to to be adventurous and try something else so I had some ribs, It was really fall off the bone! It was good to try something else for a change.

 

It was a wonderful time with my loves, How was your valentine's day?

xoxo



Valentine's Day Came Early

 

 

 

 

Had a surprise knock Thursday morning.. 

A guy delivered this to our house.

 

 

 

 While I was receiving it, I can't help but smile because my husband was just in the garage smoking.

 

I can't believe that Valentine's Day would come this early, Valentine's Day is not until Saturday.

Hubby did a good job though, He knows me so well.. He knows that I love Fruit so much that I will appreciate this better than flowers.

 

 

 

Every year he always get me flowers, Even though I want to tell him so bad to please not give me flowers, I'm glad that he already knew it. I think he noticed how I love smoothies and I've been pinning a lot of fruity stuff on Pinterest. haha

 

 

But anyways, He did a good job picking the Fruit Bouquet and Chocolate-Covered strawberries. These strawberries are huge! They are not just normal strawberries that I usually get at the store, Too bad that I still can't have some today. But tomorrow I will definitely will.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I can't stop staring at them, Makes me not want to eat it because they are too pretty!

 

 

I know I took too much pictures but I just really love how they looked!  

 

 

Valentine's Day is should not be just all about the flowers, chocolate or any material things. I don't even care if he got me the cheapest stuff ever, It's really the thought that counts.

 

I love it when he does things like this and try to me smile and happy, Which he never fail anyways.

 Sometimes it's what you really need. Especially when you are not having a good day/week.

 

What are you guys doing for Valentine's Day, I hope you have a great day.

xoxo



Sunshine

 

 

"Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations.

I may not reach them, But I can look up and see their beauty,

Believe In them, And try to follow where they lead."

 

 

 

 

Blueberry and Mango Smoothie

 

 

 

 

Happy Monday everyone! I hope the first day of the week is good for you.

Had an amazing smoothie this morning, After all of the bad food I had last weekend, It's so good to have something fresh, delicious and healthy this morning.

I like to get creative with my smoothie, So I made two kind today. You can make just one if you don't feel like to make 2 kind of smoothie.

 

 

 

For the bottom:

 

Ingredients:

 

• 1 Cup frozen or fresh mangoes
• 1 Frozen Banana
• 1 Cup milk
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 Cup of ice (less or more depends on your liking)
• 2 packets of stevia (optional)

 

For the top:

 

Ingredients:

 

• 1 Cup frozen blueberries
• 1 Frozen Banana
• 1 Cup milk
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 Cup of ice (less or more depends on your liking)
• 2 packets of stevia (optional)

 

Directions:

Toss everything in a blender separately and top it with granola, Blueberries or any fruit topping that you prefer. Enjoy! :)

 



Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole

 

Made these amazing casserole last Sunday, One of the easiest meal I've ever made and it was so good. The crunch of the topping made It more perfect.

 

This is a perfect weeknight meal especially when you don't have that much time to cook. 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

Adapted from Mom on Timeout

• 2 Cups of diced rotisserie chicken (or any cooked chicken)
• 2 Cups broccoli florets, broken down into bite sized pieces
• 1 Can cream of chicken soup
• 2 Cup cooked rice
• 1 1/2 Cups shredded cheese
• 1/2 Cup mayonnaise
• 3/4 Cup or more crushed corn flakes
• 2 Tbsp. melted butter

 

 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 F
• Combine all ingredients into a greased 9x13 baking dish.
• Mix up all of the ingredients except the corn flakes and butter right in the baking dish

• Sprinkle the crushed corn flakes over the top of the casserole.

• Drizzle melted butter over the top
• Bake for 30-35 minutes or until casserole is heated through.

 

Enjoy! :)

 



"Surround yourself only with people who are going to lift you higher."

 

 

Had a great day yesterday, I have never had such a fun day like this in a long time.

 

 

 

My friend was in town so she decided to stop by to hangout with us, She is my son's Godmother so she loves to visit him once in a while.

 

 



 

 

She made two of my favorite Filipino dishes..

It definitely taste and felt like I'm home.. Were talking in Tagalog and having Filipino lunch. It was the best! :)

 

 

 
 
 

She is a really good cook especially Filipino food, so I always love it when she cooks for us. Then I make her any cookies that she want. I made her M&M's cookies and No-Bake Oatmeal cookies. The recipe is on my post yesterday The recipe is here.

 

 

 

We went outdoor to do some walking and sightseeing since they don't live here, I showed them some places and we stopped by at the church. It was a really fun day. I can't wait to do the same thing when I come over to their place this spring.

 

How was your day?

 

xoxo

 

Impromptu Baking Day

 

 

 

 

 

Last Thursday my friend called me and told me that she will be in town Friday and she is going to stop by to hangout with me, I was actually not feeling great but she requested that I make cookies for her. It's a good motivation to get up and stop being lazy. (I was just feeling really sore)

 

M&M's Cookies

 

 

 

 

 

So I made these delicious M&M's Cookies, It's not that hard to make I just had to take out eggs and butter right away because that's the secret to perfect cookies you have to use room temperature eggs and cookies if not, Your cookies will just end up flat or won't look good at all. But it will still taste good for sure!

 

The recipe is here.. M&M's Cookies 

 

 

No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies

 

 

 

Then I also made these delicious cookies they are a little healthy and you don't need to bake it. Really easy to make!

 

 

 

Ingredients:

• 2 Cup white sugar
• 1 stick (1/2 Cup) butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 3 cups oats (quick cooking oats)

 

 

Directions:

• Add the first 4 ingredients in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, boil for 1-2 minutes.
• Stir in the next 3 ingredients and drop onto wax/foil paper.
• Let cool until set.

 

 

Enjoy!! :)

 

 



Remember how far you have come

 

 

 

"Whenever you find yourself doubting how far you can go, Just remember how far you have come .

Remember everything you have faced, All the battles you have won, And all the fears you have overcome."

-Unknown

 

 

 

 

Delicious Taco Pasta and Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

 

Taco Pasta

 

 

Last Sunday we decided to just stay home and watch Superbowl at home, I thought it was a really good idea. I didn't feel like going anywhere anyway.

 

So we just cooked at home. I made these pasta and Hubby made some Buffalo Chicken meatballs, I'm not a fan of Spicy foods but I did like this one. It's perfect for a Game day Appetizer.

 

 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Extra lean ground beef
• 1/2 Cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
• 2 Cups water, separated
• 1 Cup salsa
• 1 Cup frozen corn
• 1 Packet taco seasoning
• 2 Cups elbow macaroni
• 1 Cup taco sauce
• 1 and 1/2 cups taco cheese, shredded

 

 

Directions:

• In a large skillet, brown the ground beef completely.
• Drain any fat and add in the onion and garlic. Stir until fragrant about 30 second to 1 minute on medium-high heat
• Add in one cup of water, salsa, corn and taco seasoning. Stir well and add in the pasta and taco sauce
• Bring to a boil and then lower to low-medium heat and cover the skillet with a lid.
• Let simmer for about 5-7 minutes and then add in the last cup of water and stir everything together. Return lid and simmer until pasta is tender, about another 5-7 minutes. ( You will need to stir this every 3-4 minutes if your don't have a non-stick skillet so it doesn't stick to the bottom)
• Remove from heat and sprinkle cheese to cover the skillet. Let melt and serve immediately.



 

 

 Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

 

 

 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 lb. Ground Chicken
• 1 Egg
• 1 Cup Panko Breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp. Celery Salt
• 1 tsp. Onion Powder
• 1/2 Cup Green onions, finely sliced
• 1 1/2 Cup Buffalo sauce
• 1/2 Cup Blue cheese dressing

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 F.
• In a large bowl, Combine ground chicken, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, onion powder, pepper and 1/3 cup of green onions.
• Mix well, roll into 20 round meatballs, about an inch to an inch and a half in diameter
• Place in parchment-lined baking sheet
• Bake meatballs just until outsides are firmed up, about 5 minutes
• Transfer meatballs into 4 quart slow cooker.
• Cover with buffalo sauce.
• Place lid and cook on low for 2 hours.
• Serve meatballs with blue cheese sauce for dipping.

 

Enjoy!

Valentine Pretzel Hugs

 

Happy First day of the month everyone! Valentine's day is just around the corner, It's one of my favorite day of the year. I'm so glad that I'll be able to spend Valentine's day with my boys again this year.

 

It was so hard to decide what Valentine dessert to make, There's a lot to choose from, I want to make all of them, but I decided to not make something big, I just want something easy and still so good.

 

The first time I had pretzel hugs was for Christmas. The salty-sweet combination of this are so perfect for me. This is definitely not going to last until Valentine's day! haha!

 

What you'll need:

• Square Pretzels
• Hershey's hugs (you can use kisses too)
• M&M's

 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 200F.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place pretzels on and top them with hugs



 

 

 

 

• Bake for 4-5 minutes until the chocolate is shiny and soft
• Carefully place M&M's in the center of each hug and press it down to spread chocolate.

• Allow to cool completely (I put them in the fridge and it works perfectly!)

 



 

 

 

 

Not all of them turned out perfectly, but they were so good!

 

Enjoy!

xoxo  

Fear and Love

 

 

 

 

 

"There are two basic motivating forces: Fear and Love.

When we are afraid, We pull back from life.

 When we are in love, We open to all that life has to offer

with passion, excitement, and acceptance.

We need to learn to love ourselves first,

in all our glory and imperfections.

If we cannot love ourselves,

we cannot fully open our ability to love others

or our potential to create.

Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness

and open-hearted of people who embrace life."

-John Lennon