Post Thanksgiving Update

I've managed to get my butt up and do something that doesn't require using too much muscles and effort, just my fingers.....blogging. After the Thanksgiving , I was just so tired and satiated that I ( we ) spent the entire Friday doing absolutely NOTHING. We ate the left over ,surf the net ( no fighting over the laptop coz he has his own) and watch tv till 4m of Saturday. It was the laziest day ever.Kids wore their jammies till they took a bath before going to bed. I was so exhausted from prepping , cooking and cleaning that I didn't have any energy left to go shopping on Black Friday. 'Sides, you can shop online too if you are really desperate to buys something and wants to save a few bucks. I guess I wasn't crazy enough to brave the crowd that are waiting outside of the mall before the break of dawn. The turkey must have altered some chemical in my brain coz all of my excitement to go shopping was gone!!! I was so content to just sit in front of our projector screen TV or look online for my favorite store.Me and my husband both just spent the whole Friday cozied up in our sofa with our legs propped up the ottoman with only our eyes and fingers moving and only getting up to go to use the bathroom or get drinks and food in the kitchen.....The Best Friday Ever!!

I just like to add that my Thanksgiving Menu was a success.
All the trouble of brining the turkey over night and making 3 different kind of pies were totally worth it. I would definetly brine my turkey every thanksgiving because it made the meat so tender and juicy .DH commented that if "he can cut the meat with his spoon , then it means that the meat is very tender". You don't even need gravy coz the meat was so tasty ( saves you some extra calories). The veggies was fresh and crisp that you can hear it snap in every bite. My kids surprisingly loved the pumpkin pie. Last year they wouldn't even dare take a tinnie tiny bite. Pecan pie was also turned out perfect and MIL gave it a thumbs up!!!

My Center Piece.The Only Souvenir Shot On Thanksgiving

So how was your Thanksgiving??

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Hooked On Heroes

What a great show!!!. Me and my DH watch this together and we just started last week. It was so good we would watch 3-4 episodes in one sitting .If you have a NETFLIX account , you can go to their website and click on Watch Now.They have a huge list of movies,TV shows,Documentary etch etch.
This show is like our current " Alone Time Together" activity coz we want to watch every episodes together and we are almost done with the first season. The writer/creator of this show , Tim Kring also wrote Crossing Jordan , which I'm also a big follower. If you are in to real suspense and sci fi flicks, then you should not miss this.
I'm still loyal to House MD and LawAndOrder SVU/CI but Heroes is special coz my husband loves it too.

In A Festive Mood

I am partially done with my Thanksgiving dinner shopping.
Saturday morning at your favorite warehouse store ( such as Winco or Costco)on the week before one major holiday is like being in mad house with shoppers all armed with their crumpled shopping lists and a serious look on their faces that I could describe as "Get Out Of My Way Or I'm Gonna Run You Over With My Cart And I'm Not Kidding". Emotions run high as every one has this unified mission : To Find The Perfect Turkey. For a foreigner like me , it is a daunting task .The whole process of planning the meal ,shopping,cooking and clean ups and most of all , the one thing that only worries me is " Are they gonna be impressed with the meal that I make?" That is my ultimate goal : To deliver a satisfying and delicious meal for my family at Thanksgiving. So in order to achieve this goal , I made a game plan and menu for Thursday dinner.

Saturday till Wednesday : 17lb frozen turkey will be thawing in the fridge till ready to be prepared and roasted.
Monday: General Cleaniing.Vacuuming , dusting, putting away clutters , checking all the bathrooms are clean and supplies replenished and make sure that all the dishes , serving platters and silver wares are good to go.I also have to get haircut.
Tuesday: Go to discount store and find good deals with holiday decors such as wreath,candles etch etch.Whatever I could find to make the house looks very festive.
Wednesday : In the morning,get all the fresh ingredients such as veggies,fruits , dairy and must not forget drinks and wine.At night start baking the desserts and the brining of the bird.

I do hope that I could get everything set to go before Thursday so we could all just relax and feast all day Thursday.

My Menu is simple and traditional but I always want to add a little bit of extra touch so I am brining my turkey the night before to guarantee flavor,tenderness and juiciness. I've never tried this process before so I'm nervous but hey, there's always the first time. My MIL is bringing the stuffing and mash potatoes so that's saves me a lot of time to do other meal.

Thanksgiving Dinner Menu:

Appetizers : Cheese platters (Gorgonzola ,brie,swizz and sharp cheddar)
Assorted Olives , pickles , crackers and some fruits
Side Dishes :Broccoli Casserole with Mushrooms and cheese
Asparagus wrapped in bacon and souted with some shallots & sprinkle of
toasted almonds,Creamy Mashed potatoes and corn bread muffin
Main Course : Roasted Turkey with Gravy , stuffing and cranberry sauce
Desserts : we have 3 different pies .Pumpkin ,apple and pecan pie. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream on top.

We have movies that we plan on watching after dinner. Movies for us adults and for the kids so I think its gonna be a fun and relaxing day.My alarm clock is set to go off at 4am and you know why?? Black Friday!! yes, in deed. My dear sweet husband agreed to babysit the kids while me and girl pal Sonia go shopping without interruption. That should be lots of fun.

I hope you guys have a fun and exciting Thanksgiving.


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Got Some Awards

I'd like to thank Bless for giving me these awards. Its really sweet and thoughtful.Don't know if I deserve it but I gladly accept it :)

Meldz Perfect Roasted Chicken

Ingredients:
1 small whole Chicken (3-4 lbs)
2 medium onions quartered
5 cloves of garlic crushed
2 medium carrots in big chunks
2 potatoes big cubes
Sprig of rosemary (fresh or dry )
Olive oil
Dry Oregano
Salt & pepper to taste
1 ½ cups of low sodium low fat chicken stock

Procedure:
Pre heat oven at 350°F
Rinse chicken under cold running water.
Remove giblets & set aside ( I boil them & reserve the stock to make gravy)
Pat the chicken dry w/ paper towels then cover w/ olive oil.

On a roasting pan season chicken w/ salt & pepper.
Insert some of the crushed garlic under the skin of the chicken
Put some veggies inside the chicken cavity including rosemary.
Put the remaining garlic & veggies around the chicken.
Pour chicken stock around the chicken ( this is the secret to juicy & tasty chicken meat)
Cover the top of the chicken w/ aluminum foil ( to avoid burning too fast )
Roast for about 30 mins then baste w/ stock.
When the chicken is half way done , remove the foil & let roast again
For another 30 mins ,basting from time to time.
The last 20 mins , crank up the heat to 400°f to make skin brown & crisp.

When chicken is cooked , transfer to a serving platter & let rest before carving.

Gravy:
Pass the roasting liquid to a strainer.
On a small sauce pan , heat some olive oil & a little bit of butter.
Add 2-3 teaspoon of flour & cook for about 2-3 mins mixing constantly to
avoid lumps. Pour the reserve stock & whisk till creamy .
Adjust the seasoning .Just add some more chicken stock or warm water if gravy gets too sticky or creamy

Serve chicken w/ the roasted veggies , steamed rice or mashed potatoes & gravy.

I like making this on the weekends.Yumm!

Labor Day Weekend ~ It's the end of a long vacation

50% of me says " yey,at last vacation is over...I'll be busy again " but the other 50% says " Oh man, this means I can't stay in bed till 10am anymore!" But I guess I'll go w/ the first coz I think I've had enough of idle time. I'm so excited for the start of the school season. It means we'll gonna meet new people , gonna go to new places , kids have brand new clothes & school stuff , meeting new friends.....it's just so thrilling for me!!

Saturday we stormed the Woodburn Company Store Outlet and went elbow-to-elbow amongst the crowd of anxious shoppers. I made sure that I wore my most comfortable pair of shoes coz the last time was pretty painful , my feet was sore for a few days from my very fashionable 3" clogs (duh). This time I came all set & prepared( studied the map,list of stores, shopping list) & I came victorious. This is a shopping heaven for penny pincher's.
My kids have enough clothes till the next change of season w/o breaking the bank.

Labor Day Dinner: Sweet & Sour Chicken W/ Garlic Rice

After whining about the quality of Chinese food here , I decided to make one myself.
The batter is light but still crispy & the sauce has just the right sweetness .

Tired the whole day so I guess I deserve
a glass of good chilled chardonnay & enjoyed the rest of the evening with my honey.

I hope you all had a Great Labor Day weekend :)

Food Critique ~ Chinese Food In America

I've wanted to write about this topic a long time ago but it kept slippin' off of my mind but last Sunday was the last straw . I was just sick & tired of getting the same nasty crap they so called Chinese food here. I been to many Chinese restaurant & none of them serves authentic dish. Even the most expensive one didn't even came close. My DH knows the look on my face when I see the food in front of me & I just could just tell without even taking a tiny bite that it's gonna taste awful . I guess he kinda have a respect for my expertise *wink* in this world renowned food coz you get that when you've lived in China for over 5 years . Okay 'nough about me .So here are some pics of the food that I'm talking about.


Chinese Pork bbq ( Cha Su ). Looks OK but it's so dry you'd think you're chewing on styrofoam.

This is how it should look like & I bet this one's are tender,juicy & tasty like it should be .

DH ordered his favorite general Tao's chicken . I didn't want to spoil his appetite but I sure felt like I'm gonna go into a cardiac arrest just by looking at it.It has so much breading & oil. I wanna make sure that my guess was right so I tasted it & sure enough it was loaded w/ sugar & batter & the fried rice , gees, lord only knows how long that rice have been kept in the fridge before it ended up in the wok.


1.5 star for this one Gen Tao's Doesn't Have Too Much Batter


Chinese food , the real one , are not only tasty & delicious but also healthy & nutritional.
I'm not giving up just yet. I'm sure somewhere out there I'll find a restaurant that serves
good ( maybe even close to original) Chinese food.

Happy Eating !!!

Chicken Pamesan

Chicken Pamesan

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted
1/2 bunch fresh basil leaves
2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, drained and hand-crushed
Pinch sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts (about 11/2 pounds)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water
1 cup dried bread crumbs
1 (8-ounce) ball fresh buffalo mozzarella, water drained
Freshly grated Parmesan
1 pound spaghetti pasta, cooked al dente

Coat a saute pan with olive oil and place over medium heat. When the oil gets hazy, add the onions, garlic, and bay leaves; cook and stir for 5 minutes until fragrant and soft. Add the olives and some hand-torn basil. Carefully add the tomatoes (nothing splashes like tomatoes), cook and stir until the liquid is cooked down and the sauce is thick, about 15 minutes; season with sugar, salt and pepper. Lower the heat, cover, and keep warm.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Get the ingredients together for the chicken so you have a little assembly line. Put the chicken breasts side by side on a cutting board and lay a piece of plastic wrap over them. Pound the chicken breasts with a flat meat mallet, until they are about 1/2-inch thick. Put the flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. In a wide bowl, combine the eggs and water, beat until frothy. Put the bread crumbs on a plate, season with salt and pepper.

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high flame in a large oven-proof skillet. Lightly dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, and then dip them in the egg wash to coat completely, letting the excess drip off, then dredge in the bread crumbs. When the oil is nice and hot, add the cutlets and fry for 4 minutes on each side until golden and crusty, turning once.

Ladle the tomato-olive sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with mozzarella, Parmesan, and basil. Bake the Chicken Parmesan for 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Serve hot with spaghetti.

My first time & it turned A-OK!!

Crunchy & Chewy Cheese Topping,Tender & Juicy Chicken

Courtesy Of : Food Network.om