My Hearty Lunch

I woke up late so I decided to have brunch. My husband finds my combo food selection as weird hahaha. I have yet to cook my steamed rice so; since I have a macaroni salad, that will be perfect for my porkchop while waiting for my rice to cook. Oh my goodness, this fills me up.

What's yours?

Lunch at Olive Garden Today

We went to Orlando today to meet a plumber for our condo. The renter has minor problem regarding the toilet so; we had to fix the problem right away. It was fixed in two hours but, by that time we were so hungry. We decided to have lunch at Olive Garden. I was so full!

Do you have favorite in Olive Garden? I just love their soups, salad and bread sticks and for the main menu, I can't think which is my favorite because I love eating them all. 

Mealtime at the Gazebo

How was your Mother's Day celebration today? Did you get a flower? Did your family treat you to lunch or dinner? Did your husband surprise you with a gift? I bet you had a blast celebration today. As for me, I had a wonderful day today. Hubby bought me a flower and he is the chef today.

We decided to stay at home. I was not feeling well so; while I was taking a nap, hubby was grilling.

His baked pork and beans are really good. The grilled chicken and the potato salad are the best.

We had a nice celebration, a good meal to share and for me, this is all I need.


How about you? How did you spend Mother's Day?

Free Breakfast

Whenever hubby and I feeling bored at home, we usually go and drive down to the mall or to IKEA home furnishings. We are fascinated with the room designs and all the home decors of that store so; we just love window shopping then, head to their food court or either way. Did you know that some IKEA stores offer FREE breakfast and that includes FREE unlimited coffee?If you come early before 9:30 AM, shoppers can eat this food for FREE. The store opens at 10AM but, you can walk through the store and see the display earlier than that. Sometimes, they offer FREE kids meal too. IKEA is a Swedish store and their business clicks to the American customers.

Swedish Meatballs

We went to IKEA last Wednesday to buy something as an extension to our pantry. IKEA is a home store where you can buy almost everything that you need for your home. It's a Swedish store but, the business is well-loved by the Americans and me, as a Filipino, oh yeah, I did too! Anyway, first stop? To eat first and then, shop...cool huh? This is the famous Swedish meatballs with smashed potato, it's actually sold at $3.99 but, for this month, they lower the price to $2.99. The cornbread is 2 for $.99cents, drinks is $1.49.Hubby had the chipotle potato soup and corn bread.
Thanks for the visit everyone. I will see you in your blogs soon. This is my yummy Sunday entry this week. see yah next time.

Eat healthy and be happy everyone!

Raspberry

Summer means fun, beach, rejuvenate, family bonding and relaxation! But, it also means heat, thirst, sweat, dehydration, hay fever, allergy and the best way to counter all that is to take more fluid and freshen up! Fruits such as watermelon, mangoes, papaya, blueberry and raspberries are thirst quenching fruits that I crave in summertime.Raspberry contains significant amount of antioxidant that gives protection against several human diseases. It is rich in vitamin C and rank near the top of all fruits for antioxidant strength. It taste a little bit sour that is why I top it with Hershey's Ice Cream and I took an easy chair relaxation...yum!

Sweet and Sour

Just a thought of sharing one food that I missed a lot, sweet and sour. While working in the casino in Mississippi, our food is FREE. We have an employee canteen and we can order hot food because we have our own chefs. By the way, the minimum wage in that casino is $9.00 per hour but here in Florida, it's a lot lower ----> $7.75. Pretty sad huh?

Anyway, back to food----> yeah, in the casino where I worked for almost 2 years, food is FREE. They also gave us a huge turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Coffee, ice-cream, cakes and sodas are FREE anytime. I guess, here in Florida, everything is not. Here is my entry for Yummy Sunday, check it out and join us.

Macaroni Salad

I am craving for macaroni salad today. Since I have these ingredients in the pantry, I'm ready to go:

16 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked
1 lb boneless chicken breast, boiled
1 ½ cup pineapple&papaya chunks
1 cup onion
1 cup raisins
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
2 cups mayonnaise
1 ½ cup Cheddar cheese
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

1. Place the cooked macaroni in a large container

2. Add the mayonnaise and mix well

3. Add the minced onions and mix well

4. Add cheddar cheese in and mix again

5. Add the chicken and distribute evenly

6. Add the pineapple and papaya chunks, boiled eggs, and raisins and mix well

7. Add salt and pepper to taste

8. Chill inside the refrigerator for about an hour

(inspired by the original recipe from PanlasangPinoy.com)

Ruby Tuesday's Baby Back Ribs

Last Tuesday, we dine in at Ruby Tuesday at the Florida Mall because I craved for baby-back ribs. I ordered the Asian Sesame Glazed Baby-Back Ribs, it's a slow-cooked half rack covered with peanut-barbecue sauce such a sweet and tangy taste. Of course, what you see on top of the baby-back ribs are sesame seeds.

Since it comes along with two sides, I chose the mash potato and rice pilaf. This is a large portion for me so I always asked for a box to take it home with me. I love the rice pilaf, not a big fan really but, this works for me. Will I recommend this for lunch or dinner? Certainly will! Try it! This is my entry for this week's Yummy Sunday! Thanks for stopping by!

Homebaked Moist Banana Cake

Hello everyone! Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mommies all over the whole world:-) Today, in celebration of Mother's Day, I decided to do my share of home baking activity for my husband and a friend. I couldn't contain myself because the texture and the taste is truly GREAT, says my hubby and friend. I take their word for that LOL! I love my own bake "moist banana cake". Try my recipe mommies.Here's the ingredients:
1 cup banana, mashed
1 cup sugar
2 pieces raw eggs
1/2 cup cooking oil
1 tsp teaspoon salt
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 pancake mix
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup raisins

Here's the Procedure:
1. Combine all the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda.
2. Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly.
3. Add the other ingredients (eggs, mashed bananas, cooking oil, vanilla essence), mix well with the dry ingredients until a batter is formed.
4. Grease the loaf pan, pour-in the mixture, spread the raisins at the bottom and the remaining at the top.
5. Preheat oven at 350 degrees F then, bake for 55 minutes.
6. Just allow to cool down for few minutes before serving. YUM YUM YUM!
This is my entry for this week's Yummy Sunday. Let's enjoy baking or cooking everyone:-)

Food Chains in the USA

Food chains for me are not bad! As long as you don't eat too much, you know what I mean? Without these kind of businesses, Americans will go hungry! It might be exaggerating but, there is truth to it! A typical American that I know works so hard! Their minds are "WORK!WORK!WORK!" They are always on the GO! Preparing a meal is hard that is why, their breakfast usually consist of "meds", eggs, muffins, banana, breakfast bars, coffee, pancakes, cheerios .... endless easy to prepare breakfast and OFF TO WORK!

Asians loves to eat a hearty breakfast though! We need to have a filling breakfast to have that energy to tackle the day! Our breakfast is equivalent to American dinner. As for me, I need rice for the entire meals for the day. Of course, this observation is not true in most cases.Food chains in the USA is everywhere from Mc Donalds, KFC, Long John's Silver and more. Here, everyone is busy so, this kind of business SAVES the day for every family!

Some nutritionist discourage their clients in relying solely to food chains. Food here has tremendous amount in fats and unwanted nutrients that may harm our body if we patronize regularly, so they claimed. In reality, some food chains are trying to offer more healthy food and they educate their customers by showing the calorie content of the food before you order. And if you are health conscious, you can always ask and personalized what you order. In general, I love to eat in FOOD CHAINS especially if I am in a hurry to get back to my workplace. Everything is bad if we patronize too much but, it won't hurt if I crave once in awhile. So, don't deprive yourself! Check out the food of these food chains because there is a need to satisfy our cravings sometimes. After all, their food is truly delicious! And I stay FIT!

Easter Food: Tinolang Isda

It's EASTER SUNDAY! Hubby and I bought a fresh Tuna and Red Snapper at a Seafood store. I guess it's the only seafood store around and it's fresh. I was thinking to make a "kinilaw"/sushi but, since I don't have ginger in the pantry, I made this instead. Let's chow people! Tinolang Isda is a Filipino cuisine probably called Fish Stew. You can actually make a "Tinola" recipe using chicken meat or beef and this food is popular for Filipinos. Now, since hubby will be having baked ham for lunch, let me satisfy my simple craving for tinola in this lovely Easter morning:-)Happy Easter Everyone and let us be reborn in the goodness of the Lord Almighty! Do something good to others. This is my entry for Yummy Sunday this week.

Ruby Tuesday: Baby Back Ribs

I had a giftcard from Ruby Tuesday worth $25 and have been keeping it since last year. My husband has kept on procrastinating our lunch date at Ruby Tuesday and most of time, we end up detouring to another restaurant. Last Friday, we went to Florida Mall, and finally had our late lunch at Ruby Tuesday.I ordered Classic Barbecue Baby-Back Ribs which is a half-rack slow-cooked for hours then covered with tangy barbecue sauce. This is my first time to taste a delicious, so tender and well-done baby-back ribs. I enjoyed this meal a lot together with the Onion Rings and fries. I highly recommend Ruby Tuesday, particulary the outlet in Florida Mall. I know this is not a good shot. I wanted to take the sign of Florida Mall but, we were walking away towards our car. Ruby Tuesday Restaurant is near by the entrance and next to Sak's Fifth Avenue Shopping area. This is my entry fro this week's YUMMY SUNDAY!

Yummy Clams

When we were in Mississippi, hubby and I will always dine out in the Satisfaction Buffet at Hard Rock Casino and Hotel every Wednesdays and Fridays. My first food was always the steamed clams at the Asian Area. It was my appetizer but, I can finished 2 bowls usually and no more space for the main course :-). During my younger days, we lived nearby the riverbanks. I had a wonderful time harvesting clams with my neighbors. It surely can save a week's meal. My mother created few recipes out of clams such as steamed, tortilla, omelet, soup and more. Good old days were fun and reminiscing those moments certainly bring back happy thoughts. Ang Kinason, paborito nako nga pagkaon sa bata pako. Mangaligo mi sa suba, uban sa akong mga amigo ug amiga, magdala dayon mi planggana. Kurawon namo ang balas sa ilalom pina agi sa amoang tiil, hangtod mang gawas ang kinason. Amo dayon suroyon sa hinimo nga net, paskang biboha labi na kung dagko amo makuha. Ayaw mo katingala ngano itum ko. Nagdako ko sa lugar sa dakong suba sa Cagayan de Oro, KUK.

I snagged this picture from the Website of Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi. This is the exact ambiance in Satisfaction Buffet. If you happen to pass by Mississippi, get on Highway 90 and have a quick stop to relax at the Hard Rock Biloxi.

This is my entry for letter K.

Dinner at Rusty's Seafood

I snagged this photo from the Website of Rusty's Seafood and Oyster's Bar because I can't find the picture that I took from this place. This is our favorite hang out restaurant in Port Canaveral Florida for two reasons: delicious FOOD and good spot to watch the cruise ship off to it's destination.

We invited one of our closest friend with us and we had our sumptuous dinner in this place. Rusty's always have great crowd mostly hanging out for food who also enjoy the live music at the waterfront deck. Hubby and I loves to sit by the window facing the waterfront just to watch the cruise ship. Hubby ordered his favorite raw oysters from Rusty's famous Buried Treasures menu. The picture below is not the actual oysters from Rusty's. Their serving is way better looking and nicely served at the top of cold ice to preserved it's freshness.

I ordered "arrr famous encrusted mahi-mahi" served with coleslaw and fries. Because it was so delicious, I devour the food without taking a snap shot of it :-) There you go hahaha. Anyway, if you happen to visit Port Canaveral for a cruising trip to Bahamas or Caribbean, take your time to wander in this area. You will love the restaurants in this place but, do visit Rusty's first. Happy Sunday everyone!

Grilled Chicken and Shrimp Scampi

Almost everyday, hubby and I go out for lunch or dinner. We love Italian, Chinese and Seafood Restaurants, RED LOBSTER is one of the many places that we love to visit to savor and enjoy the good food. Isn't it delicious by just looking at this food? I ordered shrimp scampi and grilled chicken with rice pilaf. Did you know that their new England clam chowder soup is truly delicious? I am drooling of this yumminess now!

This is my entry for Bogie's Yummy Sunday Meme. Visit her blog and

join us in sharing the food that delights our senses :-). Happy Sunday everyone!

Fried Sliced-Banana

Living abroad in a state where Filipino Restaurants and Filipino stores are scarce would make you go crazy. I know it's a lil bit exaggerated but, it feels like that especially when you are craving for simple food treats such as bananaque or camote que.

I tried to be creative just to get the taste and the right stuff to make it like one. This is my version of sliced-banana fried in olive oil. I used plantain, it looks like the sweet green banana that we have in the Philippines but, the taste is like the "saba". No brown sugar this time but, used melted dark chocolate as a dip. It taste delicious (for me), it might not work for you LOL. My experiment actually did justice to all my cravings. Happy Sunday everyone.

This will be my FIRST entry for Yummy Sunday and I hope you will find it Yummy.

Homemade Meals

Lately, hubby and I enjoyed staying at home and preparing home made meals. This is something new for us because all the time, we go out for lunch and dinners. We just can't stay home. We are always on the go and on the road for either short travel or having a vacation.(Mussels in garlic butter) While we were in Mississippi, my father in-law loves to treat us to a fine dining. We would do gardening a lil bit and then, head out for meal escapades. Hubby and I were tired of that activity therefore, we shifted to what is normal. This way, we realized that we save more and we enjoyed the food that we cook at home.

Toaster Strudel

I was watching movies the whole afternoon using my Netflix and my Wii Console. I am having a movie marathon about Mayan Prediction for 2012. Do you believe it? I watch the different versions of 2012 to better understand what is it all about. Do I believe it? NOPE! The world will end but, only God knows when will it happen. Right now, I am so hungry and I am having my strudel snacks. A 5 year-old girl introduced this snacks and I do agree, this is truly delicious.
If you want something to fill you up lightly, this pastry can save your growling stomach.

Take a bite! This comes with many varieties. Check it out in your food market.

Popeyes

Popeye's is one of my most favorite food chains here in the US. I fell in love with their bonafide chicken because there is nothing that taste better than Louisiana taste. I am a bonafide :-) ! Sometimes, I crave for Popeye's Bonafide Chicken Meal and they served it fresh! That's the good thing right? It is not a frozen meal. I usually ordered for take out because I love to eat the spicy bonafide chicken together with my Jasmine rice. Delicious!

My hubby loves the red beans and rice as a side order and mine, I just love french fries. The taste of the fries and chicken in Popeye's is truly delicious and mouth-watering. It is because of the Louisiana spices in it which I so love about. How about you? What's your favorite Popeye's meal?