Lunch Date!

Happy Friday! Today was such a great day, It was so cold out. I usually don't like it when it's this cold, But today I didn't mind, and getting all bundled up was really comfortable.

 We decided to eat out for lunch today. It was amazing!

Feels like I deserved to eat this much today!

Our plan was to go to Outback steakhouse or Texas Roadhouse, But they were both close for lunch so good thing Longhorn was open, We really want to have steaks!

This Honey wheat bread was so good. I need to try to make this at home. I just couldn't stop eating it.

The other reason why we wanted to go outback steakhouse was because I really want some blooming onion so we picked something like it. This one is called Texas Tonion, Which was so good too and the sauce was the best!

Hubby had a Ribeye and I had Renegade sirloin, I know I don't need anything big, But I made sure I had Baked sweet potato for side. It's so good!!!

I had the best lunch date ever! So grateful for days like this. Grateful for this little boy. And for my husband, He's really the best!

Goodnight!

xo-Jen :)

Love your body.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"As we go on through life, we sometimes forget how much our body does for us on a daily basis, and instead of being grateful, we attack it. We start doing things like exercise and diets out of punishment rather than enjoyment. If we can begin to look at ourselves with love, forgiveness, and a whole lot of compassion, we can begin to do things that we never thought  possible. It is important to reconnect with our body and listen to what it tells us everyday. So much energy gets stored in different areas and, if left unheard, can manifest as disease as a last cry. Our bodies deserve to feel love and happy in this life, as well. Take care of it and it will take care of you."

 

xo

 

 

Sunday Meal Prep.

 

 

 

 

My Sunday ritual has become meal prep. The busier life gets, the more essential this has become. Prepping some of our food for the week allows me to have a healthy, stress-free week when it comes to meal planning. I don't prep everything, but the most of the essentials. That way when I do have to cook, I only have to prepare one or two side dishes. I try to make it healthy as much as possible! This prepped food usually lasts until Wednesday or Thursday. and then I cook something light the rest of the week, I could prepare for the whole week but by Thursday me and my husband usually ready for something fresh and new.

 

 

Beef Fried Rice

 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef or turkey
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups of cooked white rice or brown
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
       

• Heat 1 tbsp. of oil in a frying pan or wok over medium-high heat
• When pan is hot, add eggs salt and pepper. Scramble. Transfer to a dish. Wipe pan clean with a paper towel.
• Add ground beef to pan. Brown and transfer to a dish. Wipe wok with a paper towel.
• Add remaining tbsp. of oil to pan. Add garlic and onion, Stir fry about 30 seconds, being careful not to let garlic burn.
• Add the rice, peas, corn and soy sauce to pan. Stir fry 1-2 minutes
• Return egg and beef to pan. Stir fry about a minute or tow until peas and corn are warmed through. Taste and add more soy sauce if desired.

          

Roasted Carrots

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roasting carrots is really easy!

I posted it Here

 

 

 

I made some chicken wrap too, I just put some cooked chicken, lettuce, cheese and some ranch and that's it! it's one of my favorite quick Lunch, and hubby loves wraps! The other side is Steamed Broccoli it's easy and so good.

 

I hope you find this helpful, I'm looking forward to sharing next weeks meals, I'm Looking for new ideas for food prep, what are yours??

 

-xo Jen

 

 

Relaxing Saturday..

 

 

We had a couple busy weekends so it's nice to have a relaxing day with my boys

We just stayed home had a movie night and stuffed our face with this amazing chili that I made tonight and oh some cornbread!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tbsp. garlic, minced
• 1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (15 oz.) red kidney beans
• 1 (15 oz.) beef broth (or water)
• Tomato paste
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste

 

Optional topping: Sour cream, shredded cheese, Fritos.

 

 

Directions:

• Brown the ground beef in pan on the stove. Don't add any oil or anything. Just brown the meat in the pan.
• Add the beef to the crock pot (Drain it) Add the rest of the ingredients to the crockpot (Don't drain any of them)
• Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
• Garnish with Sour cream, Fritos, and cheese.

 

I really thought, that I'm not going to like this, I'm not really into soup, but from now on this is going to be one of my fall recipe favorite!

 

 I decided to make some cornbread too, It's kind of like a corn casserole but they are really good, that we ate them all.. yup! all of it! haha



 

 

 

Sweet Cornbread

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

• 1 (8.5 oz.) package Jiffy corn muffin Mix
• 1 (14.75 oz.) can cream style corn
• 1 (15 oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup sour cream (8 oz.)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. salt

 

Instructions:

 

• Preheat oven to 375F and lightly greased a 9 inch pie pan or any 2 quart casserole dish with a non stick cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, combine the ingredients and mix well.
• Pour the mixture into the casserole dish.
• Bake 40-55 minutes, or until the bread is set.

 

 

Done. Yes, that easy!

 

Enjoy! :)

xo-Jen

 



 





 

This is for me..

 

This is for me

 

 

This is for the breaths I have to take,

for the memories I have yet to unfold,

for dreams I have yet to discover

 

This is for the struggles I faced in the past,

to which I will part ways with comradeship

for they gave bruises to my knees and made me realize

that falling down does not mean it's the end

 

This is for my passions and strength,

seemingly lost beneath the shadows of myself

 

This is for the sunshine in my laughter,

the constellations in my eyes,

the flowers beneath my skin,

and the moon in my heart

 

This is for me

This is for who I was

This is for who I can be

This is for who I've become

This is for who I want to be,

not who you want me to be.

 

 

 



Banana Bread with chocolate chips

 



 

 



 

 

I love love banana! I can say that I eat it on a daily basis, Most of the time I use it for my smoothies. So I make sure we have it every week.

 

 

I actually haven't made this for a while because I have been making a lot of smoothies these past summer and now that it's fall I haven't been craving it so today decided to make some banana bread for a change and I added some chocolate chips to it, I love this recipe, it's so moist! Let me know if you like it too! :)

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

• 3 Ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cups semi sweet chocolate chips.

 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine mashed bananas, egg, vegetable oil and sugar.
• Stir In cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Add flour and mix until combined.
• Fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter into greased 9x5 bread pan
• Bake for 55 minutes or until golden brown on top and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

 Enjoy! :)

Best Pancakes i've ever made!

 

 

 

 

Hello everyone!

It's Tuesday and not even close to Friday or Saturday which is usually our pancake day, and I'm already day dreaming about these pancakes that I have made. There's still a lot of pancakes that I want to try but so far these are the best ones I made! Let me know if you like it too! :)

 

 

 

 

Let start with the Oreo Pancakes.

 

 

 

 

This pancake well.. all of these pancakes are perfect for cheat days because if you are on a strict diet, I'm sorry this is kind of bad for you. haha!

  I've been seeing a lot of  healthy recipe for pancakes but I just don't want to try it yet. I just think that it's not going to taste like real pancakes.

 

 

Oreo Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup All purpose flour
• 3 1/2 tsp baking powder.
• 1 egg
• 1 3/4 cup milk
• 3 tbsp. butter, melted
• 1- 1/2 rows of finely chopped crushed oreos

Double stuff syrup:

• 6 oz Cream cheese
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp. milk

Directions:

• In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, salt.
• In a food processor, crush the oreos.
• Then add the pancake mix, Blend until well combined.
• Add in milk egg and butter. process it again until its smooth
• Pour or scoop the batter into a griddle and cook both sides until it's golden brown.

For the glaze:

             

                In  mixing bowl, or food processor, blend the cream cheese, powdered sugar and milk. Blend until well combined. about 2 minutes.

 

Add some crushed oreos on top if desired! :)

 

 

 Red Velvet Pancakes

 

 

I'm in love with all of these pancakes but this is one of my favorite!

 

 

 

Red Velvet Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups red velvet cake mix
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 1-2 cups of milk

For the cream cheese frosting

• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2-3 tbsp. milk
• splash of vanilla if desired.

 

 Directions:



• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, red velvet cake mix, baking powder, salt and sugar.
• Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth
• Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat.
• Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake.
• Brown both sides.

 

For the glaze:

             

                In  mixing bowl, or food processor, blend the cream cheese, powdered sugar and milk. Blend until well combined. about 2 minutes.

 

 

Sausage Pancakes

 

 

This pancake is my husband's favorite! He even made me used a spicy sausage (he loves spicy!), I tried it and it's actually good! :)

 

 

 



 

 

Sausage Pancakes

Ingredients:

(Makes 8 servings)

• 1  1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 3 1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 3/4 cup of milk
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 3 tablespoon of butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 lb sausage cooked and crumbled

Directions:



• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
• Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth
• Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat.
• Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake and sprinkle 1-2 tbsp sausage on top of pancake.
• Brown both sides and serve hot.

 

Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes 

 

 

 

This Pancake is the one I usually make, I love love bananas and peanut butter. if you haven't tried to put some peanut butter on your pancakes then, your missing out! :)

 

Peanut butter Banana Pancakes

 

For the recipe of this one. I posted it here

 

http://www.myrecipemagic.com/recipe/recipedetail/peanut-butter-banana-pancakes

 

http://peachymee.blogspot.com/2014/09/friday-breakfast.html

 

 Enjoy! Let me know which one you like!

 

xo-Jen

Be grounded.

 

 

 

"To dwell in the here and now does not mean you never think about the past or responsibly plan for the future. The idea is simply not to allow yourself to get lost in regrets about the past or worries about the future. If you are firmly grounded in the present moment, the past can be an object of injury, the object of your mindfulness and concentration. You can attain many insights by looking into the past. But you are still grounded in the present moment."- Thich Nhat Hanh

 

 

 

 

The best chocolate Chip cookies!

 

Hello Everyone! I hope you are having great start of the week, I'm feeling a little under the weather today. I don't know if it's because of the weather, it's been so cold for a couple of days now here in North Carolina.

But I had an amazing weekend with friends! I wish it lasted longer!

Today I want to share you the recipe of the best chocolate chip cookies that I made for my friends this weekend. I have been looking for the perfect one. I looked all over internet and put a little touch of my own version to it.

 

I made two kinds of chocolate chip cookies this weekend, The classic one and the Oreo stuffed cookies, I am just really craving for the Oreo stuffed cookies so I had to make it. Hubby requested the Peanut butter Oreo cookies so that's what I used.

 

They were so perfect! if you want to try it here's the recipe:

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip cookies

 

 

Chocolate chip cookies

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

• Cream butter, oil and sugars. Add eggs and beat until fluffy.
• Add remaining ingredients.
• Refrigerate it for 3 hours or overnight (This Is what makes it perfect)
• Bake at 350 for 9 minutes.

 

That's it! Enjoy! :)



Halloween 2014

 

Hello everyone!

 

I hope you all had a great Halloween! We did, I can say that our Halloween is better than last year, It's great to end a month like this!

 

 

Started our day with an amazing breakfast, we haven't been there for a while and I thought today was the perfect day to eat there again.

 

They were so busy today and I already expected that, But I didn't expect to wait for our food that long.. anyways after we got our food I forgot how long we waited, I can say that it was worth the wait.

 

Little man had his free scary pancake. (Yes it was free! awesome right?!) I think he loved it! I can't believe he almost ate it all too. (of course we helped him finished it) :)

 

 

Every time we eat at this place I always get their new food, especially if it's fruity like this.

I had the Blueberry cheesecake waffle and Colorado omelette.

 

 

I know it looks like it's a lot but I was really hungry and this is how I eat on weekends. haha! :) (I think I deserve it!)

 

 

 

 

When we got home I started making cookies for our friends tomorrow.

I am trying the chocolate cookie recipe that I used before but I'm making a little bit of change to it so we'll see how it goes! I'm really hoping it goes perfect. I admit I'm perfectionist on a lot of things especially on food.. looks, taste, everything!

 

 

 I'm also going to use this amazing, delicious stuff for my cookies tomorrow. I'm so excited! :)

 

 

After that we went trick or treating.

 

 Kurt was suppose to be a batman, But he didn't want to wear it at all so we had to change it; I think he looks cute!  He didn't like us to put the head part, I think I just got lucky that I got to take a picture of him wearing it even for 2 seconds! that's all I need! :)

 

 

He did so good tonight and I think he had fun! when we got home he won't go to sleep because he just want to keep eating his candies!which, was not much by the way. haha!

Today went perfect and I can't even explain how happy I am!
Now time to sleep, I'm so tired!

 

xo-Jen :)

 

 



Pandesal Recipe

 

 

Hello everyone! Thanks for stopping by!

 

Today I want to share you this classic Filipino recipe that I made the other day, I wasn't planning on making it but I was texting with my mom and I asked her what is her breakfast and she told me, Pandesal with some coffee..she kind of sound like she's making me jealous. well.. I did got jealous! So I went to my favorite place in our house and make this amazing classic Filipino bread.

 

 



 

 

Pandesal is a classic Filipino bread. These bread rolls are widely enjoyed in breakfast or even throughout the day.

 

I never thought I could make this homemade, There's just something about this delicious bread that makes me think that it's impossible for me to make it myself.

 

I have a dream of owning a bakery  in the Philippines one day, I don't know if it's because I'm a bread lover, dessert lover or I just love to bake.. Maybe one day that dream will happen! But for now, I will just continue baking in my own kitchen! haha! :)

 

 



Ingredients:

 

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups bread flour
• ½ cup white sugar
• 5 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1¼ cup fresh milk, warm
• 1 pouch rapid rise yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 piece raw egg
• 1 tbsp cooking oil

 

 

Directions:

 

1. Combine the yeast, sugar, and warm milk and stir until the yeast and sugar are fully dissolved
2. In the mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients starting with the flour then the sugar, salt, and baking powder . Mix well by stirring
3. Add the egg, butter, cooking oil, and yeast-sugar-milk mixture in the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients then mix again until a dough is formed. Use your clean hands to effectively mix the ingredients.
4. In a flat surface, knead the dough until the texture becomes fine. For faster and easier kneading, you may use a Stand Mixer with dough hook.
5. Mold the dough until shape becomes round then put back in the mixing bowl. Cover the mixing bowl with damp cloth and let the dough rise for at least 1 hour
6. Put the dough back to the flat surface and divide into 4 equal parts using a dough slicer
7. Roll each part until it forms a cylindrical shape
8. Slice the cylindrical dough diagonally (These slices will be the individual pieces of the pandesal)
9. Roll the sliced dough over the breadcrumbs and place in a baking tray with wax paper (makes sure to provide gaps between dough as this will rise later on)
10. Leave the sliced dough with breadcrumbs in the tray for another 10 to 15 minutes to rise
11. Pre-heat the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes
12. Put the tray with dough in the oven and bake for 15 minutes
13. Turn off the oven and remove the freshly baked pandesal.
14. Serve hot. Share and enjoy!



 

 

 

 

 

These how they looked like before i put them in the oven.

 

 

 

They are so good fresh!!

 

Enjoy!

 

xo-Jen :)

 

Sunday Food Prep

 

 

I firmly believe that weekend food prep plays a major part of our ability to eat healthy during the week.

 

 

 

I have been doing this for 4 months now and so far I'm really loving this, I don't think i will stop.

 

 I make sure that I make time on Sunday morning or afternoon to make our food for the week, Especially for a mom like me, it's hard to make meals during the week so doing it on the weekend is so much easier, my husband can just grab it before he leaves for work during the week and I can just heat it up when I wake up in the morning.

 

It does take time to make all of this but it's worth it!

I try to change it up sometimes so my husband won't get tired of it, and so far he said that i'm doing a great job!

 

 

 

For the vegetables here's what I did

Quick Roasted Vegetables



Ingredients:

• 1 pound asparagus
• 1 pound fresh carrots, peeled and cut
• 1 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1 Tsp Lemon pepper
• 1 Tsp Garlic salt
• 1 Tsp black pepper

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400F. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place carrots and asparagus on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, lemon pepper, garlic salt, pepper and thyme. Toss to coat.
• Roast for 25 minutes. Tossing every 10 minutes.

 



 

 

For the chicken fried rice, I tried to make it a little healthy so I used brown rice.

 

Ingredients:

 

• 1 lb chicken, about 2-3 chicken
• 3 cups cooked brown rice.
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2-3 Tbsp soy sauce(more or less to taste)

 

 

Instructions:

• Cook and shred the chicken.
• Preheat large skillet or wok to medium heat. Pour sesame oil in the bottom. Add white onion and peas and fry until tender.
• Add the rice and chicken. Pour the soy sauce on top. Stir and fry the rice, peas, and chicken until heated through and combined. Add chopped green onions if desired.

 

I usually add vegetables on the side for our meal that's why i didn't put that much vegetable on the fried rice, but you can add carrots, scrambled eggs on it if you want.

I will post my other version of fried rice soon!

 

Xo-Jen