I know I haven’t been around for a while, but the holidays are such a busy time.  I honestly have been so busy with work, holiday shopping, spending time with family and wedding stuff, I’ve been neglecting the blog!  2010 is only days away and honestly, I cannot believe how fast this year has gone by!

Next year is filled with excitement, as I am getting married at the end of February, and who knows what life will bring?  All I know is that this blog is here to stay, and I hope to post A LOT more next year.  I am also planning to get a new camera so I can also experiment with food photography!

Before I go, I just wanted to let you all know that I recently found this great tea that I think everyone should try.  It’s a holiday tea by Celestial Seasonings called Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride.  It smells like a sugar cookie and is quite tasty!  I found it at Super Target, but you can also buy it online at Amazon.com.

Have a Happy (and Safe!) New Years!!  See you all on the other side!

The first time I had a chicken teriyaki bowl was at Whole Foods.  It became one of my favorite lunches to get there, as it was wholesome, healthy and not to mention, delicious!  Because the Whole Foods that I go to that makes it fresh to order is far from I live, I decided to make it myself, and it’s become a favorite dish in our household.

It’s so simple, and its so filling!

Ingredients I Used:

Brown rice
Chicken breasts
Salt and Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Steamed Brown Rice
Scallions
Teriyaki Sauce
Sesame seeds

How I Made It:

Brown rice takes a long time to cook, so I started that first.  Thank goodness for a rice cooker.  I followed the directions on the package.

Then, I spiced the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.  Then, I heated a pan and put some EVOO on it to prevent the chicken from sticking.  I cooked the chicken for about 15-20 minutes and then cut the cooked chicken into strips.

While the chicken was cooking I cut up the scallions. Depending on how much you like scallions you can use one or two. I used two since it was a dish for me and Glen.

Once the rice was cooked, I put the rice in separate bowls, followed by the chicken, teriyaki sauce, scallions and topped with sesame seeds. That’s it!

End Result:

A simple, dinner that can be cooked in less than an hour, and delicious too!

One of my favorite foods at the moment is bread.  I know, bread = carbs but it’s so good.  And who says you can’t have healthy bread, in moderation?  I recently bought the book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients by chance.  I saw the video on the Amazon page and was so intrigued by the fact that bread could be made that easily.  Seriously.  The idea of baking bread intimidated me, and honestly, I was expecting to mess this loaf up.

It took longer than 5 minutes to prep for me only because I boiled water and it took forever to get lukewarm.  I probably would have been better off microwaving the water for 30 seconds or so.  I also got to use my trusty Kitchenaid mixer to easily mix up the bread dough and then placed it in a plastic bowl to give it time to rise.  For some odd reason, I like the smell of bread dough rising.  I guess I’m just weird like that.  Anyway the baking was a success and I learned some things along the way.

• Parchment paper and wax paper is NOT the same.  Glad I caught that one before I really messed up the bread.
• Following directions is key, reading ahead is even smarter.
• Do not open the oven door while the bread is baking, as I wanted to do this many times, and read it’s best to keep the oven closed in order for the bread and steam to stay inside.  I was excited, what can I say?

Here is the end result.  A nice looking loaf of bread.  I was so excited, I cut into the bread right away.  It was pretty hot.   I topped the bread with sesame and poppy seeds, as you can see… Does it look home made??  The taste is very good and wholesome.  I can’t help but say that I am proud of baking this loaf of bread.  Yay!

I have enough dough to make a few loaves which I’m going to make for my parents and Glen’s parents to bring to Thanksgiving.  I guess I can only get better from here.  The book I got has loads of recipes, so I’m sure you’ll see more bread recipes attempts in the future!!

On Friday I discovered an interesting sandwich at Starbucks.  I don’t know about you, but I love the sandwiches at Starbucks.  They’re not too expensive and they’re healthy and quite filling.  I usually get the turkey and swiss on wheat bread, but I had found a different turkey sandwich variation called, “Grandma’s Turkey Sandwich” which has cranberry, stuffing and turkey on whole wheat bread.  It was actually REALLY good, and today I decided to create that sandwich myself.

I basically took multigrain bread (the only bread we had on hand at that moment) and toasted it really well.  I cooked some Stovetop Savory Herb stuffing and opened a can of cranberry sauce.  I had bought some turkey breast at Publix at the deli to last for the week.  And seriously, that was it.  I put it all together and voila!  My own Thanksgiving-esque sandwich.  It’s quite tasty, and I couldn’t even finish the whole thing!

Who says you can’t have Thanksgiving early?

Last Saturday I wanted to try out this French cafe called Paris Bakery Cafe for breakfast.  From their website, it looked like a pretty great find.  I was even more excited as we were approaching the cafe that there were a lot of people eating there, meaning it was probably a great place to eat tasty food.  As we went in, we weren’t really greeted or helped right away.  My disappointment started after standing and waiting to be seated about 5 minutes and got no attention.  By chance, one of the people behind the counter asked if we needed help and we then got a table.

Since I was in breakfast mode I decided on a crepe with eggs, bacon and potatoes.  It was pretty good, as I was pretty hungry.  I also had some French bread with some strawberry jam and orange marmalade (I tried both spreads).

I also got a cafe latte, which was delicious.  Loved it.

After we got our food, there wasn’t much interaction with the staff and us.  No offer for a re-fill or anything, and Glen had to go up to the register to pay for our breakfast (and wait over 5 minutes just to get any attention).  Sure, it’s a Saturday morning and it’s understood that it’s pretty busy.  But in all honesty, the service at this place was not great at all.  This is a huge factor in determining whether or not I’d come back, and I don’t think I will.  Cute little cafe, okay food, but service needs improvement.

I wonder if French cafes are like this in France… if so I’m not sure if I want to even visit! 

Today’s my mom’s birthday!  It was a simple birthday celebration at my parent’s house.  I had offered to buy dinner and bring it home, but she had insisted on cooking herself.  In the Filipino culture, birthdays are celebrated by cooking a dish called pancit, which is a noodle dish with vegetables and some kind of meat.  My mom chose to put chicken it it.  She even grilled some spare ribs!  My sister bought this delicious chocolate cake.

Of course, I had to take pictures of the food, and especially the cake.  It looked beautiful and was delicious.  Now that I think of it, I wish I had taken some home when my mom had asked!  Oh well… I’m trying to lose weight, and the cake won’t help! Hah.

My mom blowing out the candles on her cake.  See the flowers?  Glen gave those to my mom, how sweet!   I’m holding my nephew, who looks like he wants a piece of that cake!

And also, we celebrated our dog Lex’s birthday too!  We think he was born around November since he was 2 months when we adopted him.  He’s 4 years old now!

I packed up my lunch before leaving for work today – an Almond Butter sandwich (on multi-grain bread), some string cheese, and avocado in milk with some sugar.  I was totally happy with eating that but then, as I was picking up a gift for my mom’s birthday, I realized there was a great sushi place I hadn’t been at in a while!

This place is kind of a little hole in the wall (which I love) in the corner of a plaza.  There’s kind of a story behind how I found this place.  It was by total chance, and I thank my good friend Olivia for checking this place out.  We were hungry, and she pointed out this sushi place called Yokohama Sushi.  We then discovered that they had a 50% off menu on their sushi menu!  After that day, it was definitely a place we frequented a lot, and even the waitress knows us!

So, today I ended up getting a Mexican Roll (for only like $5.50) and enjoyed it fully!

Here’s a closeup of a roll – a Mexican roll is basically shrimp tempura, spicy mayo, avocado and lettuce with sesame seeds.  Not the healthiest, but moderation is key, right?

A bit later, I had my avocado dessert.  This is something that my dad would make whenever we had avocado in the house, and I had decided to make it for myself. 

I’m planning to check out a gym near my place, and then veg out after.  I’m excited about the gym though, because I NEED to get into shape.  Wedding dress fitting is coming up fast!!

When I get up in the morning, I absolutely have to have breakfast.  It makes the rest of my day just starts.  I used to eat whatever was lying around, but after many trial and error, I put together the ultimate breakfast that I absolutely love!  For one thing, coffee for me is a must.  I usually use a little French press that I bought at Ross for like, $4.  It’s small and good for one, but it does the trick and makes me love coffee now.  When made in a coffee pot, I feel the flavors of the coffee are not soaked in together long enough.  Since you pour water directly into the coffee grinds in a French press, the water and coffee really soak in together.

I also eat a bowl of Irish Steel Cut Oats and it tastes a LOT better than regular oatmeal.  I usually top it with some honey and a little bit of milk.  Maybe one day I’ll try topping it with other things, but this combination is my ultimate favorite.

I also have discovered the phenomenon that is almond butter.  Of course, buying a jar costs an arm and a leg, and can only be found at stores like Whole Foods, but on top of toasted multi grain bread, it’s just delicious (and totally worth it)!

Here is my breakfast in all its yummy glory (although I didn’t add the honey and milk to my oats yet – but you get the idea).  Good morning!

What’s your ultimate favorite breakfast??

Part of the name of my blog is “be happy” and I guess I don’t really focus on the happy part as much as I’d like to.  I have found a great love with baking and cooking, and it does make me happy.  I do think about the goals I have in life, and of course, it’s not easy to attain.  Things take time, and I really do hope and believe in time, things will fall into place, as it has in different aspects of my life.  In a few months, I’ll be married and hopefully soon after that, a family.  But there are other things I strive for.  Something that I’ll be happy doing, and look forward to doing at the end of each closing day.

I know this isn’t a food post, but sometimes you just need to reflect on other things, right?

Ever since November started, I’ve been thinking a lot about Thanksgiving. The food, the desserts, the turkey! Glen had an interesting idea… lets cook our own turkey and other Thanksgiving food… this weekend! We got a small turkey, about 12 pounds and pretty much winged it. After thawing the bird for about a day, we were able to cook it in the oven today. It came out well!

Things I learned about a turkey:

• A turkey needs a LOT of time to thaw.  A LOT.
• It’s best to marinate the bird in water and spices for the best flavor – not that our bird wasn’t good, it was, but it could have been better.
• Make sure the gizzard is out of the bird, as we had found it after carving the turkey, in a plastic bag.  It was deep in the turkey’s butt?   We thought they take that out before packaging the turkey!

Of course, we had to make stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy.

As dessert, I made candied yams!  This is a really easy dessert to make.  Seriously.

I used 1 big can 40 oz. of Bruce’s Yams, 4 teaspoons (1/2 stick) of butter, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and crushed ginger and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg.  I mixed it up in the Kitchenaid mixer and then added it to a rectangular pan.  I topped it with marshmallows and placed it in the oven for about 15-20 minutes.  Done!

And this was my plate of delicious Thanksgiving-esque food.  I couldn’t even finish the bit of turkey I had!  At least we have leftovers!  …for days.

At least we get to enjoy Thanksgiving again in a few weeks, and I won’t have to do a thing!  Maybe I’ll bake something and bring it to the Thanksgiving dinner we will be going to!