Oh hi Monday, it's you.

I can't believe it's Monday already.

I have to really think what I did during the weekend; it went by so fast!

On Saturday, The Hubby and I got up early and went out for breakfast. It's been awhile since we went out for breakfast so I really enjoyed that. Right afterwards, we went over to his friend's place, The Mentor and went through the script with another friend, Coach. (Hopefully I'll remember these nicknames!)

It was fun and we accomplished quite a lot. I think the script is getting stronger!

We left around 2pm and decided to watch a matinee: S.eason of the W.itch. The movie was alright. Entertaining enough. I just didn't like the 'twist' at the end. Though The Hubby seemed to really enjoy it which surprised me. He's usually very critical when it comes down to rating movies.

We kept it casual in the evening. Watched some TV, ordered sushi for dinner, nice and relaxing.

On Sunday (yesterday), I got up early for C.hurch. The Hubby volunteered to go with me which was really nice but I told him to stay home for lazy reasons. I had errands to do right afterwards and I didn't want to drive back and drop him off. Sigh. I know, it would have only taken 5 mins (we live really close). Next week. If he wants to come, I'll definitely bring him with me.

I went to a couple of stores, in search of b.aby s.hower items for my friend. I scored and found these cute mugs for 45 cents each that we can give away to our guests. And I found these funky blue straws which goes along with our theme: Dr. S.euss.

As soon as I returned home, I said goodbye to The Hubby. Yesterday was his first day of acting classes. I think he signed up for a couple of months - every Sunday from 2pm to 6pm. He thought he would try it out and learn some tips for his Acting/Drama class. Plus, the knowledge would come in handy when he is directing.

So I had the whole afternoon to myself, stranded in our home with my darling pups.

What did I do?

I did a couple loads of laundry and tidied up the kitchen, meaning washed the dishes. Our dishwasher broke so I had to re-wash a whole bunch of dishes. Fun.

I read a few more pages of B.reaking D.awn and treated myself to a movie. I wanted to see I.t's C.omplicated for the longest time and finally had the chance last night. I liked it, actually, I enjoyed it a lot!

Before I know it, The Hubby was on his way home so I started preparing dinner.

I made caesar salad, baked a couple of chicken breasts (with olive oil and Greek spices) and tried a new side dish recipe: Baked Tomatoes and Potatoes with Cheese.

The new dish turned out good. I baked it for 1 hour and unfortunately the potatoes weren't completely done. Other than that, it was deliciously healthy. And it wasn't a complicated dish. I'll post the recipe another time.

And there you have it. A wonderful weekend that went by so quickly.

Simplicity.

This year, I want to keep things simple.

The Hubby and I spent Christmas at his parents' which is in a rural area. Lots of space and not a lot of people. For a change, it was nice to look out the window and only see nature.

A breath of fresh air.

Literally.

The air smelled, tasted and felt different. Like each time you breathe, it replenishes the soul. I like that.

As much as I enjoyed our trip, I don't think I can ever live in the country. It's a completely different lifestyle but I have to say, I really enjoyed the simplicity of it. You do things at a slower pace which allows you to appreciate and enjoy it more. In the city, things are constantly moving around you and sometimes it feels like you always have to keep up. But I guess it's a good thing. Keeps you moving forward.

So this year, I would like to stop and smell the roses.

I'm turing 31 this year and even though sometimes I feel like I'm still 18, I'm not. Time is going by so quickly, I really want to make an effort to enjoy today. I don't want to sweat the small stuff. I don't want to hold onto negative thoughts. Life is way too short and really, life can be as easy as you want it to be.

Basically, I need to live life like my puppies. Eat, play and sleep.

Happy new year and happy eating.

Hello y'all.

Instead of starting this year with a list of goals, I'll kick it off with a really tasty recipe!

I made this on Monday and The Hubby loved it! Which means it's really good because he's a picky eater.

Chicken with Tomatoes and Cinnamon

Ingredients

1 tbsp of sunflower oil (or olive oil)
2 tbsp of butter
6 chicken thighs (or any cuts)
1 yellow onion (finely chopped)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 large pinch ground ginger
8-10 tomatoes (cored and roughly chopped)
2 tbsp clear honey

Directions

1.
Heat 1 large pot (I used my beautiful dutch oven), then stir in sunflower oil and butter.

2.
When oil/butter mixture starts to sizzle, lightly brown the chicken.

3.
When chicken is browned, add: finely chopped onions, cinnamon, ginger, and roughly chopped tomatoes. All seasonings like salt and pepper. Stir.

4.
Lower the heat and cover for 1 hour. Occasionally, stir the chicken and sauce.

5.
After 1 hour or when the chicken is cooked through, take the chicken out.

6.
Increase the heat and stir the sauce frequently. Keep cooking until the sauce thickens. This process took about 25 mins for me. The sauce was really runny and it took a long time for it to thicken.

7.
Once the sauce thickens, add the honey and cook for 1 minute.

8.
Lower the heat and then add the chicken. Cook for another 5 minutes.
Then serve on a bed of rice or potatoes.


Delicious! It was really tasty and I especially love the aromas ! You can taste a hint of cinnamon which gives the dish a bit of wow factor in my books! The spices were not overpowering at all. It was just a simple and different dish. Love, love, love! I am definitely going to make this again.

The only 'bad' thing about this dish is that it's a bit oily. Probably because I used chicken with skin, plus oil and butter. I removed the skin when I took out the chicken in Step #5. It helped a little bit but not enough. So next time, I will definitely use skinless chicken and maybe only use enough butter to brown the chicken.

Oh and one more thing. I was supposed to peel the tomatoes as per original recipe but after trying one tomato, I said forget it! So if you are an advanced cook, peel and core the tomatoes before chopping them. It might make the sauce a bit more smooth. But to be honest, we didn't mind the skin at all. Plus, it's good for you! Oh and you can also add blanched almonds, whatever that means :D

So there you have it! Chicken with Tomatoes and Cinnamon!

Happy New Year everyone!

It's November, sofa so good.

I love everything about November.

I love the cool, crisp air.
I love that C.hristmas is just around the corner.
And I love that we are going to get our new leather couches very soon!!

Huzzah!!

For awhile now, I've been wanting to replace our sofa and loveseat. We bought the set together when we got married, about 3 years ago. They were pretty cheap - about $700 for both of them plus a million matching throw pillows (The Hubby sure knows how to bargain).

There's nothing really special about them but they suited our needs perfectly. But since we've moved into our house, I've started to dislike them. They are very blah. And really not that comfortable. And I think the pups have ruined them by digging for imaginary bones.

It took a year for The Hubby to finally agree that they needed to go. Yes!

So about a month ago, The Hubby surprised me by calling me on the cell, telling me that he found a really nice couch and wanted my opinion on it. He picked me up right away and drove back to the store. Unfortunately, I wasn't too excited about it. And after much thought, neither was he. But he explained that he really wanted a sectional with recliners and he wanted real leather.

The following week, when we didn't have anything planned, we went couch hunting but it didn't take long. We stopped by at one place and quickly left. Way over our budget and most importantly, they didn't carry our 'dream' couches.

Then we went to the store next door and 30 minutes later, we signed the papers and have become proud owners of real leather couches!!

I am over ecstatic!

We ended up purchasing the "T.ouchdown S.ectional" from L.ane F.urnishings and went with the following combination (in dark brown): 1 double reclining console loveseat, 1 wedge, 1 double reclining console loveseat instead of 1 double reclining console loveseat, 1 wedge, 1 double reclining sofa as pictured above.

I can't wait! They are so freakn' comfortable and aren't as bulky as some couches we've seen which is a major plus! Our living space isn't very big so the least thing I want is to have our new couches overwhelm the room.

Anyway, we are keeping this a secret from everyone. When they deliver it (end of November or 1st week of December), we will invite our friends and family over and surprise them :D I think they are going to go nuts. We already have 2 sets of theatre seats in our basement where we watch movies 98% of the time. Now we are going to have the same luxury in our own living room!

Sigh, so excited. And we know our little pups will love it too!!! But definitely no more digging!!!

Say cheese.

Did everyone have a good H.alloween weekend?

I sure did!

First, CW and I scored 3rd place at our work's costume contest. I know I should be happy that we won $100 but my competitive side thinks that we should have gotten 1st place or even 2nd. I felt we were more creative and definitely performed the best!! Oh well, there's always next year. I really shouldn't complain since it's the third year in a row that I've won a prize... but I must say, it has been way too long since I came in 1st! Greedy much?

Moving on.

On Saturday night, we went over to our friend's place for a little get together. No dress-up but it was a lot of fun. We ended up watching "R.epo M.en" which was frighteningly horrible! But they had good food so that made up for it :D

The next morning, The Hubby and I went to our favourite breakfast spot then went home and carved our pumpkins. I should have taken photos! My sister-in-law and her boyfriend came over around 3pm. We chatted for a bit and then watched "S.hutter I.sland". Have you seen it? It's a pretty good movie, definitely better than "R.epo M.en".

Towards the end of the movie, we started getting t.rick or t-reaters. The Hubby and I had fun handing out c.hips and sodas to the little guys though we noticed that we've gotten less kids this year! SIL and her boyfriend haven't seen "Z.ombieland" so we popped that in while we gave out more treats. Overall, a fun evening but I wished I didn't have to go to work the next day.

So last night, I made one of the best macaroni and cheese dinner ever! No box included! It was really tasty and not too hard to make.

Macaroni and Cheese with Broccoli and Chicken

Ingredients

4 cups of macaroni
1/2 white onion (finely chopped)
3-5 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp of flour
1 cup of skim milk
1 cup of shredded mozarella cheese
1/4 cup of grated parmesan
broccoli (chopped)
chicken (diced)
garlic salt

Directions

1.
Boil your macaroni. I used penne because that's the only pasta I had. And I don't know if I used 4 cups - I used up whatever I had which was half a bag. And I can't tell you what size the bag was.

2.
I used red onion instead of white. I chopped half the onion into small pieces or until my eyes couldn't take it anymore and set aside.

3.
I did the same with 5 cloves of garlic. The original recipe mentioned 3 cloves but me likes garlic. Set aside.

4.
Take this time to also chop your broccoli. You will need this just before the pasta is ready.

5.
I wanted to add protein to the meal so I used chicken. I diced up some chicken thighs and sprinkled some garlic salt for extra flava' flave. Then on a separate skillet, I cooked it in butter. I should have used olive oil but no one stopped me. When cooked, set aside.

6.
Now back to the onions and garlic. On a separate pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Then pour the onion and garlic. Stir until fragrant - do not brown. Add the flour and keep stirring until the oil and flour are mixed together.

7.
Slowly add milk to the mixture. Use a whisk to get rid of the lumps. The mixture will eventually thicken. Add a little bit more milk if it's too thick.

8.
Then add the mozzarella and parmesan, continue to stir.

9.
By this time, the pasta should be done. But before draining, add the choppped broccoli to the pasta and allow it to cook for 1 minute. Then drain.

10.
Then add the pasta to the mixture or vice versa. Stir until pasta is coated. If you want this to be a vegetarian dish, then stop here. Or add your cooked/diced chicken into the pot. Stir.

If by this time you are hungry and can't wait another 10-15 minutes, sprinkle a little more parmesan or mozarella before serving.

Or, transfer the pasta mixture into an oven dish. Sprinkle parmesan on top and put it in the pre-heated oven (375 degrees) for about 15 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.

And voila!!!

It's so good and 'healthy'.

I used skim milk, low fat mozarella and low fat parmesan and it was still dang tasty, thanks to my best buds: onions and garlic.

Next time, I'll use whole wheat pasta and cook the chicken with olive oil instead of butter.

Well, maybe.

Trick or treat.

Sometimes I wish my thoughts would automatically appear as blog posts.

I always want to post something and instead of 'living the moment' and writing out a thought/entry, I decide to do it later and of course never do! Ayah.

Anyway, remember that cardigan sweater and purple boots I mentioned in a previous post? Well, the store sent me an email and apologized for a mistake. The boots were not available and they shipped the cardigan before I could cancel the order. The cardigan arrived promptly but unfortunately it didn't work out so well. Luckily, I was able to return it with no costs plus they gave me a 20% discount on my next purchase. And yes, I've already taken advantage - I bought these two little gems:

Adorable huh? I bought the S.harp I.mage P.encil S.harpener and i.Phone stand for The Hubby and he thought they were pretty neat, especially the pencil sharpener. He thought the i.Plunge was cool/different but he wasn't sure how often he would use it. So instead, I'm going to give this to my brother as a C.hristmas stocking stuffer.

I know, let's pretend I didn't mention C.hristmas... it's only what? 8 weeks from now?

Okay, let's not get too carried away here. Let's talk about H.alloween. Any plans? My coworker (CW) and I are dressing up as D.unkin' D.onuts tomorrow. Every year, our workplace hosts a costume contest: 1st prize $300, 2nd prize $200 and 3rd prize $100. So we are hoping to grab the 1st prize and split. Should be fun! The Hubby sewed my costume for me. He kept reminding me how lucky I am to have him... which is true but I know that he really wanted to sew :D

He's dressing up as a S.team P.unk V.ampire, I'm sure his kids will get a kick out of it. I tried convincing him to dress up as E.dward from T.wilight but he ignored me.

I'm excited because his best friend is having a Birthday/H.alloween bash this Saturday and everyone is dressing up. So it will give us another chance to wear our costumes. And on Sunday, his sister and her boyfriend are coming over to watch S.hutter I.sland and help give out H.alloween candy. Let's pray for dry weather!

Last Minute Fried Rice.

Another slow day at work. Wish I was home, curled up with the pups while reading my book.

I was really good on Monday. I finally made a homecooked meal for The Hubby and I. Lately, we've been eating precooked meals; we buy the 'healthy' kind but nothing compares to eating a meal cooked from scratch.

Last Minute Fried Rice

Ingredients

2 cups rice (I used 1 cup brown rice, 1 cup white rice)
2 1/2 cups of water or chicken broth
2-3 tbsp of sesame oil
2-3 tbsp of soy sauce
5 cloves of garlic
half an onion
1 1/2 cups chopped turkey pepperoni (optional)
2 cups chopped chicken breast
1 can of corn niblets
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro

Directions

The first thing you should do is make the rice. Luckily, I have a mini rice cooker so it was pretty simple. Instead of using water, I thought of spicing it up a bit by using chicken broth to add an extra 'umph'. I don't think it worked because I used 'low-sodium' chicken broth...

While you wait for the rice to be ready, now is the time to start prepping. Basically you can use whatever you want/have. We had a lot of turkey pepperoni on hand (The Hubby bought way too much) and I wanted use it up before it start to spoil. I chopped them in small pieces and set aside. Ham or any other types of deli meat will work too.

Oh, we didn't have any chicken breasts, otherwise I would use that. Instead, we had three breaded chicken burgers still sitting in the freezer. So I baked them. When ready, I chopped them and added to the rice just before serving. I didn't want them to cook any longer since I practically burnt them...

We had a few cans of corn in the pantry so I grabbed one. I rinsed the niblets and set them aside to drain. I learned that this is an important step: rinsing and draining. One time, I drained the corn just a little and poured it straight into the rice mixture. The corn flavour was too overpowering. No thanks. But that's just me.

What else, oh, I chopped some onions. Not as much as I would like to because The Hubby does not care for them.... but that's okay. Because the other half of the onion was rotten. Sssh... don't tell anybody.

I chopped up some fresh cilanto and peeled about 5 cloves of garlic. Instead of chopping, I flattened them with the knife just to let the flavour ooze out a bit.

By the time the rice was ready, I turned the stove on high. You really want your pan/wok to be really hot. Then I put in the sesame oil. You can use any other oil but personally, I think sesame oil gives that 'asian' flavour. Then I added the soy sauce. When the oil/soy sauce starts to sizzle, dump the rice in and quickly stir so that everything is coated. Then I made room on the side for the onions to cook. I didn't want to put the onions first because last time, I burned them.

Anyway, then I added the garlic. Stir. Then the chopped turkey pepperonies. Stir. Then the corn. Stir. Then finally the chopped breaded chicken and cilantro. And I think I might have added a bit more soy sauce. And voila!!! Yummy fried rice!

Super long directions but it's actually quite easy.

I don't think I should ever write a recipe book: there would only be room for 3 recipes, maybe 4.