I'm back after a long hiatus...

I've been enjoying summer with my children, I've gotten back to the simpler things that we used to enjoy like going to the beach and to the park, and spending lazy days at home taking care of our many pets...

two stray cats have been added to our mini zoo, which already included two rabbits, two mini schnauzers, a rescued toy poodle and a dwarf hamster. we are also debating between getting a Yorkie or another toy poodle so the little dog has his own buddy..

in other news, I've been cooking up a storm- as usual no pic to show, lol. but I promise to make up for it.

I've also reconnected with my old love of paper crafts, been churning out mini albums like butter.. even make a few scrapbook pages and was on the brink of joining another scrapbook kit club! well if you see my stash of scrapbook supplies you'll probably think I couldn't possibly need another thing.. but the reality of scrapbooking is that there is always something new out that wets our appetite, therefore its of essence to add it to our stash.. I hope that makes sense, lol.

Cinnamon Crispies~

this is a super dooper easy recipe, I have a ton of variations however this version is the quickest to put together.

Ingredients-

two cans of refrigerated biscuit dough, I prefer Grands butter tastin'
one stick of butter
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 cup of sugar

line a baking pan with aluminum foil



cut up biscuits into fourths and layer in pan


melt butter in the microwave

mix 1/2 cup of sugar with about a teaspoon of cinnamon, adjust depending on your preference pour melted butter over cut up biscuits, sprinkle sugar/cinnamon mixture on top

bake at 350F for about 20 minutes, turn after 15 minutes..

beware these will be hard to resist, my kids were handing me plates to be served in before I took them out of the oven, lol

enjoy~

Mango Cobbler

This is so delicious, and the aroma while it's baking is divine

the ingredients-

cut up fresh mangoes, as many as you want, I used five

one stick of butter (could use less)

1/2 cup of sugar or splenda

1 cup of dry cake mix

a teaspoon of lemon juice

mix magoes with lemon juice, place in a greased baking pan, sprinkle sugar on top, next- add dry cake mix (do not stir), add butter cut into thin slices

bake at 350 for aprox. 30 minutes

enjoy~

My Favorite Sandwich

well it doesn't get any easier than this, except buying it already made from Fresh Market, lol.. going there tomorrow on our way to the beach



the ingredients- you can use what you like, I happen to like fresh ripe tomatoes, baby spinach, fresh mozzarella, cuban bread, olive oil, a tiny sprinkle of salt..

Supermarket run..

my excuse for going the the supermarket today was that I ran out of potatoes, seriously dude, I needed them for today's dinner so I left my older son in the car and told him that I would be right back... *insert eyeroll*

"oh I'll be right back, I'm only getting one thing" oy~

as if I didn't have enough junk in my trunk, literally, lol!!

my daughter had signed me up for 10 boxes of the fundraiser chocolate they are selling at her school..

OMG, I nearly passed out when I saw that! luckily I was able to decline and take just one box, hell that's 50 bars of chocolate to tempt me at home.. oh the sacrifice :) btw, there's still my little boy's 50 chocolate bars coming later on today. yumo~

Oven Baked Brisket

One of the easiest recipes that I know, this will look like you slaved in the kitchen all day.


the ingredients:

1/2 cup of red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1 cup of ketchup
one diced onion



sprinkle a teaspoon of salt and 1/4 of a teaspoon of pepper on the brisket
place cut up onion on top, add 2 crushed bay leaves


mix the liquid ingredients and pour on top

cover with aluminum foil and baked in a preheated 325 degree oven for 3 hours

I boiled several potatoes and added them once the brisket was cooked through, you should be able to shred it easily at this point if not cook covered for an extra 30 minutes

here is the final result, enjoy! I know my family did as there were no leftovers, lol~

No Method to the Madness~

the other day I was trying to make space in the fridge to put in some new purchases and I noticed I had four containers of cottage cheese, lol. In my constant quest to lose weight I kept buying this safe food that I truly enjoy, however some of the containers of cottage cheese had expired unopened.. same thing with my tea drawer, I keep buying all these different types of tea in hopes that I will drink it- actually I just had a cup of green Jasmine tea. but seriously I should stop buying tea for a few years in order to catch up with my current stash.

a peek into my overcrowded fridge and freezer

there is another overstocked freezer and smaller refrigerator in the laundry room, btw.. and let's not talk about the pantry, oy vey~

anywho, I think besides my LV addiction my food shopping addiction is shamefully out of control.. I find that don't love cooking as much as I once did, yet I keep buying all this food waiting to get motivated ( or inspired?) but sigh...

well I have to admit that the kids do eat all the prepared and the ready to eat stuff, my real gripe is with all the things in the freezer waiting for me to make something with.. lol. in conclusion: I'm addicted to food shopping!

Craving Pastelitos~

I fight this craving to buy pastelitos de guayaba every morning as I'm driving my kids to school, there are like twenty Cuban bakeries on my way there and back, well today I actually went for it. I have no idea how many calories there are in these things but I'm sure they have all the calories in the world and then some, lol!

I only remember to take pics after I had eaten a few, lol..

pan cubano guava pasteles or as we say in Spanish pastelitos de guayaba, beef pasteles- in the center, and cheese pasteles

Lazy Sunday~

This weekend I realized I hadn't cooked in a while, the house remodel is to blame, so I ended up making a fairly easy Sunday lunch, this made dh very happy :)

On the menu- Cuban style Gallo Pinto

fried plantains and grilled steak

I started by caramelizing two onions in some cooking oil
you will need two cans of red kidney beans, do not drain, next
rinse five cups of long grain white rice

once the onions are browned take half of them out and reserve for later, leave the oil in the pan

add the rinsed white rice (about five cups) to half the cooked onions

add the two cans of red kidney beans, four and a half cups of water, and a tablespoon of salt
cover and cook on medium low heat for 25 minutes

there you have it, my version of Gallo pinto, Nicaraguan style rice and red beans~

garnish with the reserved caramelized onions

Fried plantains or platanos maduros, so easy to make and yet so good~

just peel a few ripe plantain, slice, fry until golden brown~

t-bone steaks ready for the grill

I usually add a little bit of garlic powder, salt and pepper while they are grilling

well done on the outside, medium well on the inside~

we finished the meal with assorted cheeses and berries and lots of red vino for dh and I~