Christmas!!!

Here's a recap of my LONG Christmas weekend...

Day 1 (Sunday): Me and Greg had our own lil Christmas Eve since he was flying down to see his parents on Monday. He liked his presents and I loved mine!

Day 2 (Christmas Eve): My famliy came over my place in the afternoon and we had lots of Yi's Cooking!

Dips (Spinach, Roasted Peppers, Guacamole and Salsa), Baked Shrimp, Italian Green Beans, Chicken Tenders and Teriyaki Salmon. YUM!

Here's Dani, Sydney, Me and my Mommy.

Day 3 (Christmas Day): This was a special day reserved just for Mommy and me. I gave her a tour of my work (The Pyramid) and then we walked to the Westfield Shopping Center to watch Enchanted.
That night we walked over to the Embarcadero Center and took some pictures with the pretty decorations. It was SO cold but SO worth it!

I had WONDERFUL Christmas weekend filled with everything I could ever hope for and I don't just mean the presents! :)

Pulled Pork Sandwich at Home?

Gosh I love my slow cooker! I made another awesome dish tonight...Pulled Pork Sandwiches! They were tender and juicy and SO good!

Ingredients: (4 servings)

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 ½ lbs pork shoulder roast
½ c water
1 c BBQ sauce, divided (I used Bullseye)
4 hamburger buns
Shredded lettuce

Preparations:

1. Place half the onion slices in bottom of slow cooker or crock pot; add pork, water, half the barbecue sauce and remaining onion slices.
2. Cover and cook on medium 8-10 hours.
3. Remove pork from slow cooker. Use 2 forks to pull pork into shreds.
4. Place pork back in slow cooker. Stir in remaining BBQ sauce. Increase heat setting to High. Cover; cook 30 to 45 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
5. Spoon filling onto warmed buns. Top with shredded lettuce.

Holiday Pretzel Treats

I found this really cute and easy recipe on Hersheys.com. It's a wonderful holiday treat with salty and sweet flavors and only takes 10 minutes to make!

Ingredients:

Bite-size pretzels
Hershey's Kiss or Hershey's Hug
M&M's candy

Preparation:

1. Heat the oven to 170º. Set a number of bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels (one for each treat) in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then top each pretzel with an unwrapped Hershey's Kiss or Hershey's Hug.
2. Bake for 4 to 6 minutes (the white chocolate will melt more quickly), until the chocolates feel soft when touched with a wooden spoon. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and quickly press an M&M's candy into the center of each Kiss.
3. Allow the treats to cool for a few minutes, then place them in the refrigerator to set, about 10 minutes.

More Slow Cooking

I love Sundays. They're so relaxing when I get to stay home and do laundry while some good football games are on. Today after making my gourmet Eggs Benedict breakfast and Bloody Mary, I decided to take on a new crockpot recipe...Pizza Porkchops! I jazzed it up with some potatoes and carrots on the bottom and it turned out awesome!

Ingredients: (2 servings)

2 pork loin chops, 1 inch thick (about 2 1/4 lb)
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 c)

1 c carrot slices

6 baby potatoes, chopped
2 c tomato pasta sauce
1/2 c shredded mozzarella cheese (2 oz)

Preparations:
1. Remove excess fat from pork. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. In 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add pork; cook about 5 minutes, turning once, until brown.
2. Place veggies on the bottom and pork on top in 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker. Add pasta sauce.
3. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 4 to 6 hours.
4. Place pork on platter. Top with sauce. Sprinkle with cheese.

Mini Muffin Swirls for the Party

Tonight we were invited to Greg's friend Dan's house for another holiday party. I didn't want us to show up empty-handed (and I just bought my mini-muffin pan!) so I made some Mini Muffin Cookies with my holiday swirled morsels. Look how cute they are! And SO semi-homemade! hehe

Ingredients: (24 cookies)

1 pkg (16 oz) refrigerated chocolate chip or 1 pkg (16.5 oz) Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar Dough
1 c (6 oz) SWIRLED Morsels, any flavor

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease 24 mini-muffin cups.
2. Place squares of dough into prepared muffin cups; press down to make a deep well.
3. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are set. Remove from oven to wire rack(s). While still warm, fill cookie cups with morsels. Morsels will soften and retain their shape. Cool completely. With tip of knife, remove cookie cups from muffin pan(s).

I LOVE my new crockpot!

I tested out my new crockpot today with slow cooked chicken. Quote from Greg, "This is the best meal I've ever had!" All it took was some chicken broth, garlice, butter and thyme, and 8 hours later...TA DA!

Ingredients: (6 servings)

1 pkg (1 lb 4 oz) bone-in skinless chicken thighs
1 ½ c chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ tsp dried thyme leaves
2 Tbsp butter or margarine

Preparations:

1. Place chicken in 3- to 4-quart slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients except parsley.
2. Cover and cook on Low heat setting 8 to 10 hours.
3. Remove chicken from cooker. Spoon any remaining juices over chicken. Garnish with parsley.

Healthy and Fast

I made some healthy tuna pasta salad for dinner. It was really yummy AND almost fat free!

Ingredients: (4 servings)

¼ c mayonnaise
¼ tsp celery salt
1 c elbow macaroni, cooked, drained
1 c frozen peas, thawed
½ c chopped red onion
1 can (6 oz) white tuna in water, drained, flaked

Preparations:

1. Mix mayo and salt in large bowl.
2. Add remaining ingredients; mix lightly. Cover.
3. Serve warm or refrigerate to serve chilled.

Weekend with the Parents

Greg's parents came to visit us this weekend and we had an AWESOME time! It was so nice to get away from our normal routine and have 3 days of yummy food! Here's the recap:

Thursday - We had dinner at Foreign Cinema. It was raining and I wished we could've sat outside and watched a movie. The food was very gourment and we had a really nice time.

Friday - We took Greg's recommendation and had dinner at Farmer Brown. Nothing beats fried chicken and beer for the guys!

Saturday - The weather was beautiful and we walked around the Ferry Building before showing off our new apartment. Greg's parents loved the view and our new couch! Afterwards we drove to Tiburon and had a late lunch at Guaymas.

Sunday was Greg's big day. I woke up early to get him a balloon, some Champagne and cake. He looks happy, doesn't he? hehe

Afterwards we had brunch at Hotel Monaco and finally here's a non-food related picture of the happy couple. :)

Dips Dips and more Dips!

This is the bowl that I bought Greg's parents as a little Thanksgiving present. It's a cute glass bowl for dip! Here we've got guac, salsa and spinach dip! YUM!

Appetizers with no Guests...

Deviled Eggs and Mini-Meatloves

It's Sunday afternoon and football is on our 50" screen. Greg invited his friends over so I made some appetizers. So far no one has shown up. I'm hoping someone will or Greg's gonna be having deviled eggs and mini-meatloaves for the next 3 days!

Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:
6 hard-cooked eggs, peeled
¼ c mayonnaise
2 tsp Dijon mustard
¼ tsp parsley
¼ tsp salt
paprika

Preparation:
1. Slice eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks; place in small bowl. Mash yolks with fork or potato masher.

2. Stir in mayonnaise, mustard, parsley and salt until smooth and creamy.

3. Spoon or pipe mixture into egg white halves. Sprinkle with paprika.

4. Refrigerate 1 hour or until ready to serve.

Mini Meatloaves

Ingredients:

1lb extra lean ground beef
1pkg (6oz) Stuffing Mix
1c water
2 tsp chili powder OR 1tsp garlic powder
3/4c chunky salsa OR 3/4c BBQ sauce
3/4c shredded Mexican style OR cheddar cheese

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix meat, stuffing mix, water and the seasoning until well blended.

2. Press evenly into 12 medium muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray; make an indentation in center of each with back of spoon.

3. Spoon sauce evenly into indentations in meatloaves.

4. Bake 30 min or until meatloaves are cooked through (160°F).

5. Top evenly with cheese; continue baking 5 min or until cheese is melted.

6. Let stand 10 min before serving.

Eggs Benedict

This was the first thing I've ever tried to cook for Greg back when we started dating (about a million years ago). Of course, I was a rookie back then and the attempt didn't turn out as perfect as these! (Actually they turned out to be something like egg-drop soup but anyway...) Now THERE is a breakfast for a king!

Denny's at Home?

It's Sunday morning and the perfect time for pancakes and fried egg. It's occasionally a meal at Denny's around 2am but MUCH better (and memorable) at home when you're actually sober, don't you think? (I think Greg agrees.) Only one thing missing...the Bloody Mary I drank while taking this picture! hehe

Meat and Potatoes

Greg is a "Meat and Potatoes" type of guy and he LOVED my porkchops and potatoes! Anything to get him to eat some veggies!

Ingredients: (4 servings)

4 pork loin or rib chops, 1 inch thick (1 ½ lbs)
¼ c beef or chicken broth
4 medium potatoes, cut into fourths
4 small carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 medium onions, cut into fourths
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
Chopped fresh parsley, if desired

Preparation:

1. Remove fat from pork. Spray 12-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Cook pork in skillet about 5 minutes, turning once, until brown.

2. Add broth, potatoes, carrots and onions to skillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender and pork is slightly pink when cut near bone. Sprinkle with parsley.

Trick or Treat Brownies

Where we live, I'm guessing we won't be getting any trick-or-treaters. So I decided to treat my co-workers to some candy-corn brownies. They were super sweet but that's what treats are supposed to be like right?

Cheesy Beefy Pasta

Another dinner at home and WAY better than eating out! Isn't it awesome to have Safeway right downstairs? hehe

Ingredients: (4 servings)

1 lb ground beef
1 (16 oz) jar chunky salsa
1½ c water
2 c (7oz) elbow macaroni, uncooked
1¼ c shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Preparations:

1. Brown meat in large skillet; drain.
2. Add salsa and water; stir. Bring to boil. Stir in macaroni. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover. Simmer 15 minutes or until macaroni is tender.
3. Add 1 c of the cheese; cook until cheese is melted and mixture is heated through, stirring occasionally.
4. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 c cheese; cover. Let stand 1 minute or until cheese is melted.

Sloppy Joe Pie

This is officially the first dinner at our new place and I COOKED! Here's the picture and the recipe. Greg was VERY pleasantly surprised!

Ingredients: (6 servings)

1 lb lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 c)
1 can (15½ oz) original sloppy joe sauce
1 c shredded Cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
1 c Bisquick® mix
½ c milk
1 egg

Preparations:

1. Heat oven to 400ºF. Cook beef and onion in skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Stir in sloppy joe sauce.
2. Transfer to 10-inch pie dish. Sprinkle with cheese.
3. Stir remaining ingredients until blended. Pour over beef mixture.
4. Bake about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Laguna Nigel (Biotech?)

This year, I was officially invited as Greg's "honored guest" during his company's annual Biotech Conference. Let's just say I had no complaints about the Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Nigel. The weather was perfectly warm and you can't get any better than "all-expenses paid"!

Saturday night we had a western-themed dinner and I got to wear my pink cowgirl hat! I thought my outfit was the best until I saw Giovanni in his Indian head-dress. Oh well, maybe next year I'll get more creative too. (The Indian, the cowgirl and...the Mexican?)



Sunday night was the formal ball and here's the happy couple all dressed up! I can't WAIT until next year! (If I'm invited again...)

Mini-Vacation in Seattle

Another short but awesome vacation with my BFF Kat! Seattle was SO beautiful and the weather was just perfect! This is us on top of The Space Needle Friday afternoon, where we got a great view of the entire city. After that, we had a HUGE dinner at Bahama Breeze and got to hang out with Kat's dad, who I haven't seen for over 5 years!

We got to explore the entire city in less than 48 hours! Saturday was a busy day that started at the first ever Starbucks in Pike Place and a yummy seafood lunch on the Waterfront. After that, we checked out the Seattle Art Museum and then headed to this awesome Chinese restaurant that had Happy Hour even on the weekends! Who can say no to $5 appetizers and $3 drinks?

The night ended with some chill time in the pool at our Ramada and the trip ended with a VERY early morning flight home! Now I'm back at work wishing I was still on vacation!

Happy Birthday Sydney!

July 24 is little Sydney's 10th birthday and we had a big celebration on Saturday. Big Sis Dani made us yummy potato salad with shrimp and ham. She also bought a big Honey Baked Ham and birthday cake. Then we all went to Stoneridge mall and had an awesome dinner at Todai. There were so many different kinds of sushi and seafood, and the desserts were great too! They even made us crepes with all sorts of fruits and chocolate mousse! We all had a wonderful day and I'm so glad we got to spend time as a family!

Happy Birtday Sydney!

New Song Dedicated to My Honey...

Verse 1:
Fendi this
and Juicy that
look at me
and my Louis bag

Prada shades
and Gucci hats
did you think
I need all that

I just wanted to let you know
in my heart I took an oath
I would trade in all my clothes
all the platinum all the gold

Chorus:

when you need me I'll be there
with you I'll always share
cuz nothing in this world compares
to you to you

Verse 2:

they may drive
them fancy cars
buy me drinks
up in the bars

trust me they
won't get to far
cuz you'll always
be my star

I just needed to make sure
that you know my heart is pure
and no matter rich or poor
I just wanted to be yours

Chorus:

when you need me I'll be there
with you I'll always share
cuz nothing in this world compares
to you to you

Verse 3:

the Tiffany around my neck
can't represent my heart
and trinkets made of faberge
can break apart
you can feed me with a silver spoon
but nothing taste as sweet
than the loving between you and me

Chorus:
when you need me I'll be there

with you I'll always share

cuz nothing in this world compares

to you to you

Go Shorty It's My Birthday!

Happy Birthday to me! I'm officially a quarter of a century old...too bad I still feel like a kid! hehe I had the most perfect time thanks to my best friends, family and of course, Greg. We had an all-girls dinner at Citizen Thai and The Monkey.

The food was great and I got a birthday ice cream!

Then we all went to Dragon Bar and danced the night away!

Saturday was my official birthday and Greg drove us down to San Jose where we went shopping at the Great Mall and played video games at Dave and Busters. Oh how I miss my old suburban town!

My mom's birthday was on Sunday and we had a big table at Red Lobster's. Greg and I surprised her with Happy 60th Birthday balloons! She was so happy and said that she didn't even mind turning 60! hehe

Back from Cabo!

Ok back to reality...

Cabo was SO perfect! Free drinks on the beach...What more could a girl ask for? We stayed at Dreams Resort and below was the view from our balcony. Can you say "paradise?"

This is me and Greg at the Swing Bar on our first day.

And here's us on the beach...

On Saturday, we took a boat out to the tip of Baja California and laid on the beach drinking Modelo.

Me and Greg's mom, Priscilla on the beach.
More pictures to come...

New Song - Perfection

Verse 1:

does your world
force you to be beautiful
force you to feel ashamed
if you weren't so beautiful
would you feel the same

look inside
do you believe
beauty lies beneath
so if you think you're beautiful
then you will really be

Chorus:

we are trapped in a world of visions
so hard to make our own decisions
and we're all just so dependent
on what others see

was a time I stared at my reflection
wondered why it's not perfection
finally I found self-affection
I could be
nobody but me

Verse 2:

does your heart
force you to be someone else
force you to act this way
if you acted like yourself
would it be ok

look around
what do you see
put your trust in me
I know if you think you're beautiful
then you will really be

Bay 2 Breakers!

So last Sunday was my very first Bay 2 Breakers! It was SO much fun! I managed to stay sober for the ENTIRE race (and then got drunk off of 2 glasses of wine since I hadn't eaten all day!) There were so many creative and awesome costumes. (And so many people not wearing much of anything!) Next year, we're going ALL OUT with costumes and LOTS of alcohol! We had a great time though and very proud of ourselves for finishing the race before noon!

Mother's Day

Last Sunday was Mother's Day and I took my mommy to McCormick's in downtown San Jose. (Well, actually she took me since I no longer drive but I paid the bill!) We were late for our reservation (as usual) since mommy forgot the camera at home. But what's a special day with no pictures to remember it by? We had really good luck finding parking and the host didn't seem to mind that we were 30min late. =)

The place was really cute but the food wasn't too impressive. I think mommy liked the seafood pasta better at Red Lobster and I could've made my own crab and shrimp salad. BUT we went for the ambiance and were pretty happy with it!