Having Outdoor Fun with Family and Friends

The best part of cooking for the family and friends is serving the food at the gazebo or outdoor patio. Speaking of patio, make sure that you have a patio umbrella so that everyone will be comfortable. If you don't have one, patio umbrellas on amazon are good deals to check out. The sun is brutal here in Florida especially at summer time so; a patio without a shade is not fun at all.

So; where else should you rather be? If you have a pool, bring life to the area as well. When the weather is perfect, my husband and I like to cook on our outdoor grill and dine at the gazebo area. It's rejuvenating to listen the birds chirping, admire the blooms in our garden at the backyard and the best part, having fun with friends and family.

Valentines Day: Strawberry Cake

I am a trying hard baker and this is my first successful strawberry cake sprinkled with ground peanuts made especially for Valentines Day :-) yayyy! I did not make this from scratch though. One of my favorite cake mix is Duncan Hines and since I have one box available, that's what I made this for. I have plenty of strawberries so; I made a puree. I added 1 cup of strawberry puree to the cake mix.

It looks like this before the frosting and this cake smells good and ...  delicious ... says hubby :-)

The frosting is from Duncan Hines, the creamy home-style cream cheese and its so good. I cut the strawberry in 4 slices, used the inner slices to decorate the sides of the cake and the other parts to decorate the top of the cake. Try it!

Bella Deep Fryer

Few weeks ago, I was shopping online for a small stainless steel deep fryer and I found this Bella product. I bought it and tried cooking fries and crunchy fried chicken. I like this product for it features cool-touch handle and it includes a dishwasher-safe chrome-plated basket.

I wanted a small deep fryer and this is just the right size, just 9L oil capacity and very light, a 55 lbs. food capacity. The housing of this product is made of stainless steel and the basket is chrome-plated with folding cool-touch handle. The aluminum oil tank is enamel-coated, temperature gauge is chrome-accented and the magnetic plug is breakaway type. I do recommend this product for quality and the price is just right. Check this product in WalMart, Belk and Kohl's.

Breyers Ice Cream on a Cold Day

Ice cream on a cold day? Not a good idea right? Here I am having 3 scoops of Breyers Blasts Oreo ice cream even if the temperature we have is 39 degrees. I am pretty warm at home so today, I will enjoy my indoor activity, eating. Want some?

My favorite flavor is rocky road but, I tried this oreo flavor and it's not bad at all. Try it! Thanks for checking my blog. See you again next time!

Buffet Village: Great Chinese Buffet in Titusville

You don't need to have a big appetite to get what its worth with your money. For just $7.49 for a lunch buffet and 10.99 - 11.49 for a dinner buffet, you will surely enjoy and have a good time at Buffet Village in Titusville. When I crave for a Filipino food, I would immediately go for Chinese Buffet. This business is newly open last January and it became a hit in the neighborhood in fact, the support is overflowing!

Buffet Village is in a good location and the parking lot is an easy access for Target, Wal-Mart, and Home Depot shoppers. If you want to visit this place, here's the address: 3125 Columbia Blvd; Titusville, Florida. Do you love sushi? You can have variety of delicious sushi right here.

If you are not a Chinese food lover, they got something for you too. They have variety of American Foods such as salads, desserts, pizza, fries and fried chicken. You will never go home with an empty stomach. If you asked about the ambiance well, the place is newly renovated, spacious, new carpet and nice light fixtures. Your dining experience will be awesome and it's clean.

What is your favorite chinese food? Mine is sushi, sushi, and sushi LOL.

If you prefer food that's hot from the grill, you can request and choose your ingredients. They will cook it for you just the way you want it. It is but right to give the cook a good tip for a delicious hot food. Do you like "pansit" with shrimp in it? They can cook it for you in few minutes.

I was in hurry in taking this photo but, I swear (wink) the place looks better than this caption LOL.

Next time, I will show you the whole photo of Buffet Village. I took this picture from where we park our car and was too full to even bother to get out and take a good full size caption of the place.

Hungry? Go fix your meal LOL. Once again, thank you for stopping by and I will see you around for more food delights! Enjoy your day!

My First Superbowl Cake

Are you ready for the Superbowl XLVII? So, what are you waiting for? Bring on that chicken wings, hotdogs, chips and dip. My husband cooked chicken wings, pork and beans, and New York style potato salad just for the two of us. I decided to make an NFL Superbowl chocolate cake but, I forgot to buy the white frosting. I immediately check out Youtube and I found a butter frosting video. Sweet! Here’s my effort.

I was just being resourceful and found this oblong shape culinary bakeware which is perfect for baking my football cake. This is my first NFL Superbowl Cake and first time to make my butter frosting too. Did you know that this is my first time to use a decorator's set too? I guess I will be baking more and decorate my cake from now on.

I took this photo from my blackberry phone. Wanna have a bite?

I think I will make this a tradition so; see you next year. Thanks for stopping and checking on my blog today. Come by tomorrow okay? Enjoy watching the Superbowl Sunday y’all.

Berries for a Nutritious Breakfast

Do you love fruits? I love fruits and I usually ate them during breakfast. I choose the ones that I can easily eat and doesn't need time to prepare. Here's some berries that I took a picture before I gobble them LOL. Enjoy these berries everyone. Do you like Raspberry? Raspberries are rich in vitamin C, manganese, dietary fiber, Vitamin B, folic acid, magnesium as well as iron.

While Blueberries contain anthocyanins, other pigments and various phytochemicals, there is evidence that this fruit improves memory. There is also under preliminary research for their potential role in reducing risks of diseases such as inflammation and cancer. It is one of the highest antioxidant capacities among all fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants are essential to optimizing health by helping to combat the free radicals and blueberries provide the greatest nutritional benefits.

The edible fruit below is blackberry. Blackberries are healthy antioxidants and rich in nutrients. It is known to contain a compound called salicylic acid which has been proven to numb bodily pains and treat unusually high body temperature or fevers. Fiber is important in maintaining a healthy digestive system because it pushes toxins and other excess waste through the intestines and supports healthy and bowel movements. One of the soluble fibres found within blackberries is pectin which helps lower harmful cholesterol levels which lowers ones’ chances of heart disease.

You can eat them raw or add it in your cereal. Whichever way you feel, fruits are nutritious food to include in your daily diet. Stay healthy everyone and thanks for stopping by.

Longhorn Steakhouse in Merritt Island

Amex sent me about 8 Restaurant Gift Cards worth $25 each. I accumulated so much points and for me, restaurant gift cards is the best option to maximize the worth of my points. I ordered different Restaurant GC and that includes Longhorn Steakhouse. We used it in Merritt Island so; after shopping, we went to this address:

770 E Merritt Island Causeway
Merritt Island
(321) 456-5559

When we went inside, it was not crowded and there was no host/hostess and we waited for at least 3 to 4 minutes but, when we were ready to leave (disappointed), one waitress came to us and assisted us. She was nice. We ordered and the food came just about the right time. It was not a busy day in the restaurant but, the ambiance was not at all positive. Maybe we were disappointed from the beginning. I ordered Rancher's Sirloin, a juicy grilled sirloin which has hickory-smoked bacon and sunny side up egg on top and asparagus on the side. I enjoyed my food but, hubby was not.

My husband ordered the Renegade Top Sirloin which he describes as tough as shoe leather. This is his plate and as you can see, not appealing at all. I gave him half of my steak.

Yes we were not happy on this visit. We will be back though and give them another chance if they are worthy for recommendation.

Longhorn at Merritt Island

Last December, after a tiring holiday shopping at the mall in Merritt Island, we decided to have lunch at Longhorn. The restaurant is just across the street. At first, we really didn't know if it was open or not because there was a yellow sign all over the premises. We found our way to the front door and inside was few people. There was no host at the front door. We waited for 3 or 4 minutes and some employees looked at us but, were busy to even acknowledge. As we head out, the server greet us, apologized and asked if we want a table. We were reluctant but, since we were hungry, we did follow the server anyway.

When we were inside, the waiting took few more minutes before they could serve the drinks. We ordered right away. The food was served on time and it was alright. Considering we were famished, we could have enjoyed the food more but, it was just an okay steak. We didn't finish the food and we asked for the bill and we left. We think they have a problem regarding customer service and the food is not great at all. We will try Longhorn in another location so;  we can tell the difference regarding the customer service and food quality.

Giftcards

Last Christmas, hubby and I received few restaurant giftcards from friends. There are about 8 gift cards in my wallet right now. Lately, we enjoyed baking and cooking at home so; I guess, we will not be using the giftcards soon. How about you? Did Santa gave you the present that you love most? I was in the nice list of Santa because I got my DSLR camera and the lens that I wanted. I gave an AMEX GC to my hubby because I don't want to buy his request. It's a long story hehehe.

Anyway, Happy New Year to all of you and may all of us will have a prosperous life this year.