Trick them boys

Good Monday to you Friend!

Today kicks off Sergio's (Hubs) Birthday Week!!! It's his first birthday as a husband!

Yeah, yeah, I know it's silly to celebrate ALL of our "firsts as a married couple" but, you gotta celebrate those little milestones, right? PLUS, it's yet another reason for me to cook more meals. And who the heck doesn't like that!?

I'm going to stuff him silly!

This week I'm going full force as a wife! I'm going to try to make one of his favorite dishes each day of the week. No, I'm not crazy, I'm just.... dang it... ok I'm crazy.

On ward we go!

Like Garfield, Hubs is MAD about Lasagna!!

So, I thought this would be a good meal to start off the week. I gathered all my previous knowledge from making lasagna in the past and made sure to add EXTRA of his favorite ingredients... oregano and ricotta cheese.

Done and Done!

Sergio's Sausage and Saucy Birthday Lasagna

Ingredients:
1 tbs of Olive Oil
1 garlic clove; minced
1/2 large onion; chopped
1 and 1/2 cups chopped bell pepper ( I used yellow and orange)
6 sweet Italian turkey sausages with casings removed
1 can of stewed Italian tomatoes
1 tsp of Oregano
salt and pepper to taste
lasagna noo noos
2 cups of Spaghetti Sauce

1 large tub of Ricotta Cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup of Parmesan
1/2 cup of grated Pecorino Romano
A LOT of Shredded Mozzarella ( I used 1/2 lb)

1. Start by flavoring the oil with the garlic and dried oregano

2. Saute the onions and bell peppers

3. Crumble the turkey sausage and brown.

I hid the good stuff all up in there...shhhhh.... to the boys, there were no veggies and it was beef ok?

4. Add the tomats. Salt and pepper to taste and you're all done...with that.

Yeah, I use generic brands...don't judge.

5. Mix the Ricotta, Parmesan, Pecorino, and 2 eggs together.

Is it just me or is cheese AMAZING!?

6. Now it is time, to layer. Sauce, noo noos, meat, ricotta mix, mozzarella, Parmesan, repeat x2

Bake for 20-30 minutes at 375 degrees.

::sad face:: I got so caught up with the eating part I forgot to take picture of the finished product.

Close your eyes and imagine and a cheesy, bubbly, brown around the edges kinda lasagna!

To make it up to you, I give you something that is also cheesy, bubbly, and I guess a bit brown around the edges...this cutie pah-tootie.

Yes, his shirt says "Miso Cute"

Sebby and my Kuya came over to celebrate Day 1 of Hub's birthday celebration!

SURPRISE!



This is a gift for me too! Now Hubs can do some handy work around the house! Happy BIRTHDAY!!

Take ONE!

Ok, Take TWO...

Forget it....

After dinner, Sebs and I made dessert!

You'll have to wait until tomorrow to see him help me with a very special Project Wifey Wife dessert!

Until then, here's a picture of how we ended our night... XBOX Kinect! Silly game!

Now move over it's my turn!

Have you played Xbox Kinect yet? What do you think of it?

Crock Pot Virgin

::Happy Dance::
Is anyone else excited that the weekend is here? I was able to sleep in until 7:00, then napped again on the couch until 9:00. You early risers know what I'm talkin' bout! I guzzled down a PB Green Monster and took my pupsters on a nice long walk though the neighborhood.

My blogger buddy Christine posted this on FB today:

"I love how all the people who are out walking and running in the morning smile and say good morning to each other. It's just so... nice. Okay, back to my normal, cynical self."

Holla if you agree! People are so nice in the morning when you're exercising!

Anywho- on to my Crock Pot Virginity.

For years I've been wanting to Crock Pot, but I just thought...hmmm, that's too big for lil' ol' me. But then, I got married and someone was kind enough to gift it to us for the wedding. Thank you kindly!

This is the model we got....DAAAMMMNN... look at those curves!

I finally decided, after 4 months, to bust that baby out and use it. The hubs helped me pick out what to cook first. He decided on Barbecue Pulled Pork....but, in good stubborn fashion, I used beef...because I wanted to.

Project Wifey Wife Week 7(The Savory)- BBQ Pulled Pork Beef :
Adapted from the Crock pot Cooker Cookbook "Best-Loved Slower Cooker Recipes)

Ingredients:
1 boneless beef shoulder or butt roast (3-4 lbs)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into strip
1 bottle of BBQ sauce
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar


1. Combine salt, cumin, paprika, black pepper, and red pepper in a small bowl; rub over roast. Massage it good!

2. Place onion and bell pepper around and some below the beef. Combine bbq sauce and sugar to pour over. Mmm....

I made it the night before then left it in the fridge. I started the Crock pot before I left for work the next morning.

To tell you the truth, I was terrified to leave something on while I was away. All day I had visions of the house on fire and Sonic trapped in this room. I quickly rushed home and everything was absolutely fine.

Because my imagination is so active...or crazy, whatever you prefer, I googled "crock pot fires".

Whew...nada.

3. Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours. I did it for 11. 

I came home to a house that smelled like a southern bbq restaurant....or The Neely's House perhaps?

4. Use a fork to shred. I could've let a newborn baby do this part because it was THAT tender. If there was a bone, it would've fallen off that.

With this, I made baked red potato wedges sprinkled with Lawry's seasoning and Olive Oil.



and corn OFF the cob.

"Ring the cattle bell Pa! It's time to GRUB!"

For Dessert, I had some leftover egg roll wrappers so I looked around the house and came up with these bad boys!

I love unexpected treats!

Enjoy your weekend friends!

Tell me: What's ONE good thing that happened to you this week?

1 Wok, 2 Filipino Classics

Happy Windy Wednesday!! If you are anywhere near Riverside, you definitely know what I'm talkin' bout. I can hear those 50mph winds!! ::Home Alone Face!::


What's the point in even fixing your hair on days like these? That's what I'd like to know.


Last night I decided to whip up two of my Mommy's classics for dinner. It was quick, healthy, and Sarap! (That's Tagalog for YUM!)


Let's get this show on the road, shall we?


1 Wok...2 meals...in a jif!


You'll be needing pretty much the same ingredients for both.

Mommy's Vegetable Lumpia (Eggrolls)



Ingredients:
1-2 tbs of oil ( I used Olive)
2 cloves of garlic; squashed but not chopped
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
1/4 ground beef
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded cabbage
1/2 cup chopped green beans
1 cup bean sprouts
drizzle of Soy Sauce
salt and pepper to taste
eggroll wrappers (The thinner the better)
egg to seal the lumpia


1. Start by heating the oil and flavoring it with the garlic cloves. I did this by simply sauteing the garlic until brown.

Discard the garlic after it has browned.

2. The oil gets VERY hot in a Wok so quickly throw in the onions and saute for 1 minute.  Add the meat and cook halfway.

3. Add the carrots, cabbage, and green beans. We only want to cook the mixture halfway. It'll finish cooking when we fry the lumpia.


When cutting the green beans, cut it at a slant. Better bite in the lumpia!

This is a good place to drizzle some soy sauce and add salt and pepper to taste.

4. Let cool in a strainer.

When cool, add the beansprouts. Now we are ready to ROLL!!

5. Remember:  fill, side side, bottom, roll, seal. Then, FRY!

I usually make a bunch and freeze some for those lazy days.



More on eggrolls in a bit....

Mommy's Pancit Canton (Our Chow Mein)

Ingredients

1-2 tbs of oil ( I used Olive)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded cabbage
1/2 cup chopped green beans
1 cup bean sprouts
drizzle of Soy Sauce
salt and pepper to taste <-- Same ingredients as the Lumpia!

2-3 chicken thigh or breast filets (cut bite sized)
handful of snap peas
Oyster Sauce
Pancit Canton noodles (Can be found at almost any grocery store, Vons has them!)
1 cup of chicken broth
lemon to garnish


1. Season the Chicken in whatever you like. I used the Goya Adobo seasoning!

Brown and set aside

2. Add more oil and saute garlic, onions, and all of the veggies except for the the snap peas.


Drizzle some Soy Sauce (About 1 tbs)

3. Add the noodles and pour the chicken broth over it to moisten. Stir and let the ingredients play.

4. Pour about 2-3 tbs of oyster sauce and mix mix.


Sideways shot!

5. Add the chicken to finish cooking and cook until noodles are tender.

Squirt some lemon and you're good to go!


SARAP!

I'll leave you with ONE more filipino tip-bit.


This is our sauce of choice...our "holy water" if you will. We put it on SOO MANY things!

Saying that, make a slit in your eggroll and spoon in some vinegar. You can also use sweet and sour sauce, but then you'd be going against the filipinos....don't be racist.

Hope you enjoyed my filipino post!! Try it... you'll like it.

Back to Life, Back to Reality

If you grew up in the 90's, you gotta know that jam that I titled. Anyone?

Forgive me Blogger, for I have sinned. It has been 5 days since my last post.

Where the HECK have I been? Well, I have a good excuse! I was on a Cruise! I went on a 3 day cruise to Baja for my friend Karen's Bachelorette Party! Oh the FUN, the FOOD, and the FOOLISHNESS that ensued.

We are SOOO totally awesome. Seriously.
This is the ONLY picture I will be posting... because "What happens on the boat, stays on the boat...or on Facebook."

I will say that there was free food, good food, 24 hours a day for 4 days. NOM NOM NOM!

I am currently paying the pudgy price for my pig outs. ::le sigh::
This week I have PLANS... food plans...because that's what this blog is about...duh.

Tuesday: 2 Filipino dishes, 1 Wok, and Filipino Holy Water
Wednesday: Crock-Pot Pulled Pork sandwiches with potato wedges
Thursday: BUNCOOOOOO!
Friday: Carrot Cake Cookies... cucko cucko cah-choo

It's ON like Donkey Kong.

See you manana with some Filipino Fun!