Christmas Shopping

Christmas is fast approaching...and as usual, I still am not done with my list. Well, I have gotten stuffs for my family already (psst, got one for my youngest on a site where you can save on drum sets...am sure our Christmas is going to be a noisy one this year! lol), but none yet for our friends and their young ones.

Well, I still have around two weeks, right? Oooh, must go to the mall early to avoid the Christmas shopping rush! Good thing Christmas will start next week for my eldest son...no more classes!

That means I can wake up late, too. :D

Cool...

Unable to hold the reader down...
Finished the first book yesterday, and am starting with this today.

But, reality beckons. :D

Life ...

Last weekend the kids and I went to the mall to buy some stuffs (food, school supplies -my son was looking for one of those precision instruments which their instructor required that they bring - and some other odds and ends), as well as to get my eldest son's eyeglasses. I was shocked when I checked the price for them...more than Php8000 (roughly US$200)! Good thing we brought along our own frame (given by my brother-in-law since he had a new one which he did't get to use)...am sure it would have cost us more than that amount if we hadn't!

Oh well...life. :D

Food Friday

This week's featured Food Friday player is...

Ms. Lynn on her blog Life Bliss with her blog post: Pasta and Beef Recipes

Four recipes in one post! What else can I say...I love it! Click on the pictures above to grab those recipes! You won't be disappointed! Promise! :)

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I saw some nice bellpeppers at the grocery a couple of days ago and I knew I just had to make them into these...

Stuffed Bellpeppers

Ingredients:

• bellpeppers (too bad the grocery store only had green colored ones...am sure some yellow and red ones would liven up the dish!)
• bacon, rice (steamed), tomatoes, cheese, eggplant, okra
• pepper, salt

Procedure:

• Cut out the upper part of the bellpeppers, including the seeds. Immerse in pot with water and boil for around five minutes. Remove once done, and sprinkle salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Dice the other ingredients (bacon, tomatoes, eggplant, and okra). Place bacon first in hot pan, then when turning to be a bit crispy, add in the other diced ingredients. Cook until wilted, then add the steamed rice. Season with salt and pepper, if you want. Set aside to let cool for easier handling.
• Take one bellpepper and stuff with the rice-veggie-bacon mix. Top with generous amounts of cheese. Do the same with the other bellpeppers.
• Using the oven toaster, I placed them inside until the cheese got burnt and bubbly. I had to rotate them every now and then since the temperature was way too high...I think I would have gotten a much better result if I covered them with aluminum foil. Cooking took about twenty minutes.
• Sliced the bellpeppers and added some more cheese before they were devoured.

My sons liked them, even if the eldest normally doesn't like okra and eggplant. lol. I guess the bacon and cheese did it for him. He asked if we can make them again during Christmas day. :)

Reminder: Please don't forget to link back (a simple text would be great, or you may use the buttons provided here). Also, please try to visit the other party-goers and leave some commentluv to let them know that you dropped by. Many thanks! :)

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Sense

Loving this quote and the ebook. It's not the type that you read and read until you finish it immediately. I like reading it in bits...not in a hurry with the journey. First time I've experienced this and really loving it. It makes me want to take my time, understand the characters and mull about what has been happening so far.

Going to find some more ebooks by Rachel Joyce, or something similar. :)

Hmmmm, I must really be getting old. LOL.

Food Friday

This week's featured Food Friday player is...

Mr. Nick, with his post Bean Stew (Fasoladha), on his blog: Intelliblog.

Beans are a good source of nutrients (and relatively cheap), so I really love it when I come across a recipe that calls for beans mixed with other veggies. Mr. Nick's Fasoladha recipe is one of those that I'd love to try; I might be substituting some of the ingredients with what I have on hand, though (as usual, lol). If you're looking for something hearty and healthy to cook,  then I suggest you click the shot above.

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I was surprised that the pomelo (also called shaddock {link}) that I bought was so sweet that I decided I'd make a salad out of it. As usual, I mixed it with whatever was available. Simply called: Pomelo Salad.

Ingredients

• pomelo (I used only half of it)
• salad greens (I used romaine, and red leaf lettuce)
• cucumber

dressing: salt, pepper, olive oil (extra virgin), balsamic vinegar

Procedure:

• Prepare the greens into bite-size pieces; then peel the cucumber, slice in half, and remove the seeds. Slice the cucumber to your liking (in my case, my youngest decided he'd do the slicing...hence some cucumbers were big, and some really tiny. It didn't matter to me. lol). Place inside refrigerator to chill.
• Meanwhile, peel and open the pomelo. Remove the flesh, separate them, and place on top of the salad greens and cucumber mix.
• Mix your dressing and adjust taste. Drizzle on top of the salad.
• Mix and Serve.

Had that as part of my brunch a couple of days ago. I really liked the sweet/tart flavor of the pomelo, mixed with the crunchy greens. It went great with the sweet ham, egg, and toast. Loved it! So easy to prepare, too. :)

Reminder: Please don't forget to link back (a simple text would be great, or you may use the buttons provided here). Also, please try to visit the other party-goers and leave some commentluv to let them know that you dropped by. Many thanks! :)

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