Roasted Chicken and Potatoes

Hi again,

For dinner a few weeks ago, I decided to make some simple roasted chicken and potatoes. It was so delicious! I liked the end results with the crispiness of the skin and the how the inside was so moist and juicy. Fresh herbs would be better, unfortunately I only had dried herbs, which still brought out the amazing taste. Not much to say about it, but do try it. I have provided the recipe and directions if you want to make this for lunch or dinner. Bon appetit!

Ingredients:

6 Chicken Leg Pieces

6 Garlic Cloves, unpeeled

3 Large Potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces

Juice of one small Lemon

3 Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary

4 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme

1-2 carrots, chopped

3 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Directions:

1) Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.

2) In a large bowl, add the chicken pieces, lemon juice, fresh thyme, the two roughly chopped sprigs of rosemary, chopped carrots, 1 tbsp of EVOO and season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix everything together and let it marinade for a minimum of 20 minutes or up to  24 hours in the fridge.

3) In a large glass baking dish, add the cubed potatoes, remaining rosemary, garlic cloves (unpeeled), and 2 tbsp of EVOO. Season with salt and pepper to taste and toss the potatoes to ensure the oil is coating everything.

4) Arrange the chicken in the baking dish around the potatoes flat and bake for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.

5) You can squeeze out the garlic out of the skin as a paste to bring out more flavor with the potatoes and carrots afterwards.

Whoopie Pie

Hi again,

Whoopie pies is one of the next dessert faves at parties. They are basically two small round cakes sandwiched together with filling or frosting. I recently purchased a Wilton Whoopie Pie pan at Bed Bath and Beyond since it was on sale, because I tried making them exactly how a baker made them on youtube just using a piping bag and a cookie pan, unfortunately the cake did not formed properly. I made mine with devil's chocolate cake and buttercream frosting. To give it more texture and taste to the whoopie pies I made, I added some sprinkles in the frosting. Try it out for a party, they will definitely be a good hit at the dessert table.

Whoopie Pie Filling (Wilton)

6 tbsp Butter, softened

1 1/2 cups Confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/8 tsp Salt

1 jar Marshmallow creme (about 7 oz)

1 tsp Pure Vanilla extract

Pink food coloring (optional)

Directions:

1) In a large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer until creamy.

2) Add sugar and salt to the butter; mix well. Add marshmallow creme and vanilla extract; blend well. If desired, add food coloring. 

3) Use immediately to fill whoopie pies or refrigerate covered up to 1 week. Bring back to room temperature and lightly beat before using.

* Makes about 2 1/2 cups of filling, enough to fill 12 whoopie pies.

Black Friday 2011

Hi again,

It's that time of year again, exactly one week from now will be black friday!! I'm not sure if any of you have participated with black friday shopping, but I have and let me tell you...it's crazy! lol. Stores open mad early, about 3 or 4 am the earliest and people line up or camp outside the stores from the night before. I haven't camped out like some people have because that's just nuts, but have lined up as early as 1 am. Most of the things I have gotten were from Walmart, so luckily the people can wait inside in the warmth. Last year I went to a local outlet mall and it was freezing, but was well worth it. This year I'm still debating whether I should participate with black friday since I have way too many things and it's not a necessity to buy things. Nonetheless, it's great to get deals for early Christmas shopping.

Tips for Black Friday:

1. Take a nap so that you can get up by midnight
2. Dress warm
3. Bring a chair
4. Wear comfortable clothes
5. Bring some things to entertain you 
6. Check out your local ads and mark down what you want to get
7. Stay on a budget

Check out Walmart, Best Buy, Target, Kohls, Outlet Malls, etc. 

Check out this Black Friday site:

http://bfads.net/

Filipino Beef Lumpia

Hi again,

I recently watched one of my favorite guru's on youtube, it's judy's life, and her mom made some yummy Filipino Lumpia, except hers was made with pork. Although I do eat pork from time to time, I decided to make mine with beef. After watching her youtube channel, it made me crave for some big time, so luckily I had the ingredients to make some. However, I did substitute some of the ingredients with others. I do make lumpia occasionally, but it's always good to pick up some new tricks when making it. I love dipping mine in white vinegar sprinkled with black pepper. Yum!

If you want to check out Judy's youtube channel of her mom's lumpia recipe, click below.
http://www.youtube.com/user/itsJudysLife?blend=7&ob=5#p/u/13/imZIkibE3n0

The Amazing World of Technology

Hi again,

As funny as this sounds, I've never used Skype before, lol. The reason being is because I didn't have the need for it and had found other ways to video chat with others for free. Ever since I reconnected with my family from the Phils, it was a great way for all of us to video chat since they mostly use Skype. For some reason I thought you have to pay monthly in order to use it, but boy was I wrong. I had a great time talking to my cousin and imagine we talked for about 6 hours, lol. It was great, cause I haven't seen her since I was 11 years old and that's a very very long time!! If any of you haven't tried using Skype yet, which I doubt, try it, cause there is a FREE version that you can download. Technology is awesome! Now I should get a laptop for the parentals so that they can keep in touch with the family more often.

Click on the link
http://www.skype.com

FYI: I am NOT affiliated with Skype.

Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce, Grilled Veggies, Potatoes, and Rice (Greek)

Hi again,

I've been craving for some Greek food and I haven't found a good Greek restaurant nearby, so I decided to make some for dinner. I used to make this dish a lot, but didn't have my binder full of recipes since it was hidden in my many boxes from moving. This is not hard to make, especially the tzatziki sauce that tasted so good! Try some Greek food for lunch or dinner sometime. Even if you don't cook it, take a trip to a restaurant. I grilled some chicken kabobs, seasoned just like in the restaurant, grilled some onions and green peppers, because that's what I had in my fridge, seasoned and baked some potatoes, and made some rice that was obviously non Filipino style.

My Favorite Foundation Applications

Hi again,

I wanted to share with you some of my favorite foundation applications that I consistently use almost on a daily basis. The reason why these are my favorite applications to use is because I currently use the Revlon Colorstay Liquid Foundation and these applications help create a flawless look and allows applying foundation more effortlessly. I prefer a more dense, but yet still want some softness when applying. All of these applications were under $15, some can be found at Target and the others were purchased at IMATS. If you  haven't tried Revlon Colorstay Liquid Foundation, some say it's comparable to Mac's Studio Fix but for less. It gives a medium to full coverage, comes in a plethora of colors, and can be found in almost all drug stores, even Walmart and Target. However, this foundation dries quickly, but I found the best solution when using this foundation. You can spray your brushes, I prefer a flat top type of brush, with some distilled water, then dab a little bit of liquid foundation on your brush and start stippling on your face, and then buff away. You must work quickly, but spritzing on some water allows applying effortlessly. I pour only a little bit of foundation on my stainless steel palette so that I can dip my brush or sponge quite easily.

If you are attending IMATS in Toronto this weekend, try to pick up some Crown brushes because they are good quality and inexpensive and also the Mehron Face Smoothie, if you don't want to splurge on a Beauty Blender. It works great and doesn't crumble compared to Sonia Kashuk's.

Here are some of my current faves! (In order from picture above)

1. Mehron Face Smoothie $10-14 (can't remember) - IMATS
2. Sonia Kashuk Flat Top Foundation Brush $14 - Target
3. ELF Flat Top Bronzer $3 - Target
4. Crown Brush's Flat Top Foundation Brush - $7 - IMATS