Interested in seeing fat?

what a title right?  you'll see what i mean in just a second.

a few days ago, i told john to buy steaks from costco.  instead, he came home with short ribs.  even better, right?!  i love short ribs.  when cooked right, they are super tender and tasty.  of course, i went straight to my cookbooks and the internet to find an easy recipe.  by now, you must know that i am fond of one-pot meals.  so i was leaning towards using my crock pot.  i found an easy recipe online (pregnancy brain has made me forget which recipe it was) and utilized these ingredients.  *tangent*  i plan on cooking short ribs again using my mom's recipe.  i will post her recipe because it is way better than this one.  it calls for 7up!  

ingredients

before i put the lid on and said sayonara for 8 hours.

after the short ribs were cooked, i separated the meat in a plate and put the sauce in the fridge over night so that the fat will rise and solidify.  see?

yes, that's the fat that solidified overnight in the fridge.

 before i went to work, i removed the pot from the fridge and skimmed off all of the fat.  see?

the de-fatted sauce, minus the short ribs.

then i put the meat back in the sauce and simmered everything until hot.  the husband and i enjoyed this meal and didn't miss the fat at all.  i know that fat = flavor, so some of you may want to skip this step.  but once you see the fat, can you really eat it knowing that that's what's going into your bodies and clogging your arteries????  ok, maybe only occasionally ;-)

Christmas decor circa 2012.

2 days ago, i had asked the husband to take out our christmas storage box from the garage so that i can evaluate if i needed to buy wrapping paper and gift tags with the intention of wrapping all my gifts that day.  being a good husband that he is, he gladly obliged and then off to work he went.   i started to rummage threw my old christmas decorations and ornaments of the past with no intention of actually decorating our house.  but as i sorted threw things, i had a sudden urge to whip them out and display a few christmas-y items around our abode.  no, we did not get a tree.  but i do have a humungo wreath on my stairs that can be 1/4 lit up!  does that count?

i used to hang this wreath on the outside of our previous house.
since we don't have an outside banister, i hung it inside.
it's several years old, hence only 1/4 of the lights work.
i think i'll be retiring this one after this year.

i also decided to use my old outdoor lights and wrap them around my stairs.

please don't mind my treadmill at the bottom
left hand corner.

next up, we have our stockings.  it just wouldn't be right without stockings hung on our fireplace.  to think, at this time, next year, our 2 stockings, will grow into 3 =)

here we have my 3 little angels that i bought on clearance post holiday season from pier 1 imports a long time ago.

and here is a photo, to keep things "real" of my christmas mess that i have accumulated which consists of boxes, gifts, wrapping paper, etc.  this is on my to-do list.

after all that decorating, hitting the gym, and running errands, i had the energy to whip up dinner!  i wanted something easy so i initially settled with chicken afritada made in my crock pot.  recipe adapted from here.  but, by the time i got home it was too late to wait 4 hours to finish cooking dinner.  so i just threw everything in my big, black pot and cooked it for 1 hour.

i added salt, more soy sauce, and some sugar to taste.  and since i love carrots because it adds sweetness to any dish, i dumped the whole trader joe's baby carrots bag into the pot.  husband loved it, brother loved it, and so did i.  i ate mine with quinoa since i'm trying to stay away from rice.  here is my plate:

 husband's contribution to our dinner, was a fresh strawberry and orange drink via our vitamix!  it was so yummy and refreshing!!

it does feel good to make a home cooked meal for my loved ones.  i'm trying to be more consistent and better at it.  once gabriella makes her grand entrance into this world and starts eating solids, cooking   nutritious meals for my family will be one of my top priorities.  what are your top go-to meals?

Pumpkin smoothie.

after OD-ing on all the carbs from thanksgiving, i made an attempt to eat a little healthier today.  half of my brain was determined to eat clean, but the other half was calling to eat the last piece of chocolate cream pie in my fridge.  luckily i had one can of pumpkin puree in my pantry and decided to make a pumpkin smoothie.  pumpkin smoothies have been popping up on pinterest ever since fall started and it always intrigued me.  so i whipped out my ipad and browsed pinterest until i found a healthy pumpkin smoothie recipe.  props to ms. martha stewart for coming up with the recipe.  i took her recipe and tweaked it just a bit.

here's what you'll need:

1.  1/2 cup of pumpkin puree..which is very low in calorie and fat btw

2. 1 cup of fat free greek yogurt.

3. 1/2 cup of almond milk

4.  cinnamon (i put a lot of cinnamon.  did you know 

cinnamon speeds up your metabolism?)

5.  stevia to taste

6.  ice cubes

directions:

just throw all your ingredients in your blender and enjoy!

this smoothie really hit the spot.  not only was it delicious, but it's the perfect low calorie, low fat, high in calcium and protein drink for a preggo mama-to-be.  try it!

PS

if you want to add an extra "oomf" to his drink, i think graham crackers would be the perfect addition.

PPS

i have filipino pork loin adobo (healthy version) cooking in my crock pot as i type this post.  stay tuned for the recipe ;-)

Thanksgiving on a saturday.

because i had to work on thanksgiving, my mom said she would cook her famous turkey and stuffing on saturday and that we could celebrate thanksgiving then.  gosh, i love having such a flexible family.  the dinner was just absolutely delicious.  the secret to her turkey is mustard.  she slathers the bird with mustard along with salt and pepper and throws it in the oven.  the turkey always comes out so juicy and flavorful and she doesn't even have to brine it.  and her stuffing is made with ritz crackers and chorizo sausage.  it is just divine.  having a mom that can cook is a blessing.

speaking of blessings, there are so many things that i have to be thankful for.  i am so thankful to have 2 sets of parents who love and support us through everything.  i feel so blessed that i have siblings, mine and john's, that are always there for us.  i have 2 goofy dogs that show me love everyday.  i have a husband who is a phenomenal man in every sense of the word, who loves me, listens to me, and is going to make an amazing father. and i am so thankful to be given an opportunity to be a mama to a little girl whom i can't wait to meet.  God is good.

A low carb, but not necessarily low fat chicken recipe.

just in case you wanted to eat something besides turkey, here's a super quick and easy recipe i whipped up for john and myself.  i'm always looking for chicken recipes.  this one calls for only 4 ingredients that are low carb, but not necessarily low fat.  i used mayo for goodness sake!  but, i think it was the mayo that kept the chicken breast juicy.  don't you just hate overcooked, dry chicken breast??  i do...

so without further adieu here it is:

what you'll need:

chicken breasts

mayo

lipton onion soup packet

parmesan cheese (optional)

mix the mayo and onion soup mix together until you have enough to 

coat all your chicken breasts.  then sprinkle with

parmesan cheese.  bake at 375 degrees for 30 min.

i ate mine with cooked spinach.  husband ate his with brown rice.

3...count them, 3  ingredients + chicken breasts!

prior to the parmesan cheese 

with the cheese.  you can omit this ingredient.
i just wanted finish what i had in the fridge.

golden brown and juicy chicken that packs a nice flavor
punch.

Happy weekend.

i'll be super busy this weekend.  john's family from san diego is here for his cousin's wedding on saturday.  and sunday is my aunt's birthday.  we've been spoiled with pretty stellar weather these last couple of days, but the forecast is predicting rain...boo...

i'll leave you with a few photos i took this week of a dish i made: crock pot teriyaki chicken.  i got the recipe from lake lure cottage kitchen.  i used chicken breasts and omitted the cornstarch because i didn't have any in my pantry.  it was bangin'.  and super easy to make.  the husband ate 2 chicken breasts in 1 sitting!  since i've rediscovered my crock pot, stay tuned for more recipes that i'll be trying.

my trusty, red crock pot.  thanks cousin for buying me one =)

yes, that's raw chicken.

the ingredients.  the recipe called for ginger and garlic separately.
but i had a jar in my fridge that conveniently minced both ingredients
for me.

this is what the sauce looked like before i poured it over the chicken.

sauce + chicken

the recipe said to cook it on low for 4 hours.  but i knew we wouldn't
be able to wait that long for lunch.
so i cooked it on high for 3 hours and it turned out just fine.

i simmered the sauce for 15 minutes with the hope that it would get thicker.
no such luck.  the cornstarch would've been a nice addition. 

this is my plate. i ate mine with a little brown rice and some raw spinach.
totally healthy and delicious.

have a great weekend friends!

Neapolitan Pizza Challenge :: Pizzetta 211

have you all forgotten about the great quest to find the best neapolitan pizza in san francisco? i know i did...guilty!  my 2 cousins from new york (queens and BK to be exact) decided to visit last week.  so naturally, i took that opportunity to resurrect the neapolitan pizza challenge from the dead, and head to pizzetta 211.  the pizza was ahhhhh-maaaazzzzzing.  yes it was!  fresh, light, non greasy....everything a neapolitan pizza should be.  plus, it was right around the corner from the salon that does digital perms.  this little fact is important because, one of my cousins was getting a digital perm (and i wanted to document it step-by-step...more on that in another post) and the other cousin had to grab lunch before she caught her flight back to the east coast.  the close proximity of the salon and pizzetta 211 allowed me to run back and forth between the 2 so that i could take my photos.  i know, i know...it's tough work to be a blogger ;-)

anyways, back to the the pizza challenge.  ready?  here we go.

store front

the charming area designated for the utensils, napkins, glasses, etc.
i particularly love the flowers.  it was a nice touch.

the perfectly seasoned and dressed salad.
who knew greens, salt, pepper, olive oil,
and balsamic vinegar could taste so good? 

the pepperoni was like no other.

this one lacked a little flavor
for me.  it could've used a little more zing.
maybe a squeeze of lemon, a drizzle of olive oil,
salt and pepper on the arugula would've done the trick.

the tomatoes on this vegetarian pizza just exploded with flavor.

and now on to dessert.

a bowl of fresh strawberries on the counter.

sweet biscuits for their strawberry shortcake.

strawberry shortcake to-go.  perfectly put together in a
box for my cousin to enjoy on the plane ride back home.
check out that freshly whipped sweet cream!!!!

once again, as a caveat, i chose the restaurants based on yelp. each contestant had to have >500 reviews and at least 4 stars.

Pizetta 211 according to me (no john this time)

on a scale of 1-5, 5 being exceptional

crust: 4

sauce: 4

cheese: 4 

freshness of toppings: 5 (menu is seasonal)

SF experience: 4 (richmond district)

total score: 21

p.s.

next up: delfina, tony's, tommaso, pizetta 211, gialina, and berretta, zero zero, pizza hacker.

My birthday kick off :: Part 2

when my brother got home he surprised me with a sweet birthday card and baby gabriella's first gift.

of course he had to get her 49er's gear.
btw, i'm sot so sure about stripes anymore...

then we headed to san mateo with my parents to celebrate my birthday at himawari.  so far ramen dojo takes the cake.  but himawari was good too.  overall, this has got to be one of the best birthday kick offs for me.  i really have to count my blessings!  34 ain't too shabby ;-)

i am stuffed!  the birthday marathon takes a break tomorrow (gotta work), but then friday is cotogna and sat is dinner with my cousins.  life is good.

Ramen craving.

i have been craving for ramen for 2 weeks now, thanks to my 2 friends who went without me...thanks a lot shar and sana ;-)

thoughts of spicy, hearty, flavorful broth, with perfectly cooked ramen noodles, savory pork, corn, roasted seaweed, earthy shitake mushrooms, and a single grand quail egg to top it off have been flooding my brain and making my mouth water.

in preparation for our work week (friday is actually john's and my monday), he graciously agreed to go to san mateo so that i could get my ramen fix.  ramen dojo converted john into a ramen lover!  that tells you that this place is gooooood.

and now for some photos...

we got there at 1pm on a thursday and there was a line!

pork belly = yum
roasted seaweed = yum
corn = yum
roasted garlic = yum
ramen dojo = yuuuuuum

i was so happy when i found out that
yogurtland opened in burlingame.
it was a perfect ending to a
lovely afternoon.

Where's the beef?

well, you aren't going to find it over here.  beef has been the culprit of many sleepless nights.  it causes major gas, indigestion, and bloating for me.  if i eat large quantities of meat, it seems to take me at least 2 days for it to digest. so far, the safest bet during this pregnancy has been the good 'ol trusty chicken.  it's strange, because non-pregnant me would normally pick a juicy medium rare steak any day over boring chicken. so while my taste buds would normally go nuts over...

this

lately, i seem to best stomach...

this.

particularly...

this. 

in case you don't know what this is, it's chicken katsu.  and what's even more perplexing to me, is that normal, non-pregnanat me doesn't care for hawaiian food. go figure?!  so far, chicken katsu has been the only meal i have fully enjoyed and not have had to endure any miserable repercussions.