I'm going to the store with a big grin!

Hosted by "Designs by Gollum"

Well, I can't seem to stop smiling at how generous you all are in celebrating with me yesterday! I loved every single comment and will actually take a few hours tomorrow to return most if not all visits. It was great having so many visitors in one day, my head is still reeling! Whew!

But before I can do any of that, I need to go to the store and grab me some...

of these for sandwiches;

some of these for a quick lunch or dinner since it's so hot! We actually ran out after several months!

And a gallon or two of this because we want to do our bodies good! LOL

So... until I can personally go blog hopping and leave you all some bloggy love, you'll just have to accept this big...

THANK YOU!

Michael Lee, thank you for hosting another wonderful day full of deliciousness!

TABLESCAPING IDEA: ("Brain is still smiling) In honor of the basics, don't be afraid to use what you have to "do up" your table. Now, if you see really chic and pretty tablescapes, it's not about being grand or tall or full of "whatnots" but rather clean, crisp and simply beautifully set tables. You can do that, right? We all can! So look at what you have, clean it and set your tables as if the Queen or President is going to drop by! And remember, have fun!

The Garden's Watered...

Hosted by "Designs by Gollum"
So it's time for brunch! At least for me! The kids had their choices with melon, but I wanted a muffin with pancake's light feel, so... I made some!
Add some ice cold fruit cocktail and a delectable slice of cantaloupe and I'm ready for the day!
This is what happens when the photographer/aspiring food stylist does a session hungry. LOL
That purple stain is my proof of the blackberry in the muffin. LOL

A big thank you to our host and to all you dear friends!

Blackberry Pancake Muffins

4 cups Krusteaz Wheat & Honey Pancake Mix (Target)
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup frozen blackberries (or any berries you choose)
2 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350 deg
Line two muffin tins (12 ct each)

Mix ingredients into a somewhat loose batter
Gently mix in the blackberries
Pour into muffin cups about 3/4 full
Bake for 13-15 minutes

NOTE: As it is mainly a pancake, it is not sweet. Please butter the tops, pour syrup or powdered sugar. Or cut into it then sweeten to cut into the tartness of the blackberry if you wish.

It is a healthy muffin so don't saturate with too much sugar. If you like it sweet, add extra honey or add a little more sugar into the batter.



TABLESCAPING IDEA: ("Brain" is satisfied) Find other tables in your home to do a tablescape on. If none other than you main table, use different placemats to make things interesting.

"Cloche" Enough To Taste

Hosted by "A Stroll Thru Life"

When the lovely and gracious and friendly Marty decided to throw a Cloche Party, I looked and looked for a cloche to buy and enjoy, but no such luck! So bummed out!

I borrowed these online instead!

Pretty unique used of cloche jars, huh? Seedling starters! I read on another blog that this is actually what these jars were intended for so I guess, I should have said, "the original use of cloche jars." I love blogging, I learn so much! ;-)

Both are from English Creek Gardens dot com

I love these apothecary jars, and want some, but hubs is not quite sold on them yet, so here I am... still waiting... *sigh*

This Monday, we know summer officially starts because...

Hosted by "Designs by Gollum"

I'll be cooking these!

My middle child will turn 10 and these are all the foods she requested plus a tablescape! I'm tired just thinking about how busy this day would be! We'll have 20 people, including us in one tiny apartment! Wow!

Thanks to our lovely hosts, Marty and Michael!

The only tablescaping idea I have for you is to enjoy your table the way you want because well, it's your table!

Heart you all for stopping by!

Breakfast Is On Me!

Hosted by "Poofing the Pillows"

Hosted by "Designs by Gollum"

HAPPY PHILIPPINES INDEPENDENCE DAY! (Spanish-American War, 1898)

White color of the equilateral triangle on the hoist side symbolizes equality, fraternity and peace. Blue and red panels are equally divided horizontally where the blue symbolizes noble ideals, political purposes, truth and justice whereas the red is embodied with patriotism, bravery, heroism, courage and willingness of the Filipino patriots to sacrifice life for cause of independence. (Philippines Flag dot net)

Did you know that if the red flies on top, it means that Philippines is at a major war? The flag of the Republic of the Philippines was adopted on May 19, 1898. The Philippine flag has two equal horizontal bands (blue on the top and red on the bottom during peacetime; red on the top during war) (Enchanted Learning dot com/asia/philippines/flag)

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

In honor of today's significance to all Filipinos, before you head to check on all the goodies everyone has to offer, make sure you have yourself a great breakfast, on me! I saw this at Susan's over at "A Southern Daydreamer" and thought it'd be a great breakfast to serve to my own family-- and YOU!

Our drink to start the day, no OJ here today! We like to wake up our minds, too, so we'll have the Minute Maid Blueberry Pomegranate 100% juice that's good for the brain! I know "Brain" loves it!

I'm also flaunting my the beautiful red on the Philippine flag and some of my delicious red strawberries. I got them from Albertson's and they are juicy and sweet! It's my first time joining in with Stacey's FYRF fun, so I hope this is an ok start. (fingers crossed) (Just my luck, she's not available to host today, so I may just be the only one flaunting today, lol)

It's a croissant french toast! With some luscious strawberries, grapes and bacon on the side! I sprinkled powdered sugar on the toast then drizzled syrup around the berries.

Yum! Thank you, Susan!

A big thanks to our lovely hosts, Michael Lee and Stacey; and to all of you who came "peeking" in. Remember, BREAKFAST is the most important meal of the day... :-)

TABLESCAPING IDEA: ("Brain" wants more...) Have kids? Mix up your table menu! We did this recently. We ate dinner leftovers at breakfast, breakfast for lunch and lunch for dinner! Create a table that "tips" off your family of the food to come by using iconic ingredients as part of your centerpiece or have it on a tray nearby.

Crazed Cocoa Consumer, I Am, I Am!

Hosted by "Designs by Gollum"

You know what Friday means... We get to put food on our dishes! We have Gollum to thank for that each week! Hope you come visit her and all of the participants so we can indulge in all kinds of goodies without gaining a pound! (Unless of course you go and have the crazy idea of trying several of them on your own on the same day!)

The reason for the title is because... I made another batch of chocolate cookies! I wanted to make another batch of my own "Slim Cocoas" cookies because Mike, my neighbor Annette's husband requested some. But for the life of me, I could not find the paper I wrote the recipe on! So, in an effort to recreate it, I made these instead! And I'd like to share it with all of you!

(Plate is "Shadow Iris" by Corelle)

Chandy's Chocolate Cookies

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2 3/4 cups AP flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

2 sticks of butter or margarine, softened and cut small

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

a pinch of salt


- In a small bowl, SIFT together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Sifting helps with the lightness of the cookies. Set aside.

- Cream together the butter and sugar in a big bowl until smooth.

- Beat in one egg at a time then add in the vanilla extract.

- Slowly pour in the dry ingredients until well blended in the same consistency as a chocolate ice cream.

- Using a small scoop, put in 12-13 alternating rows of 2 and 3 balls of dough on ungreased cookie sheets.

- Bake 8-10 minutes or until top is no longer domed and slight cracking at the top has occured.

- Cool it slowly on cookie sheets, about 2 minutes, before moving onto cooling racks.

(I lightened this phot so you can see the creamy inside with a light crispy outside)

Have milk ready and limit serving to two cookies! Hope you try them. Our next door neighbor's entire family loved them and my children kept begging for more!

Thanks Gollum for hosting again this week! I am becoming more courageous in baking now since I've joined Foodie Friday! (Ladies, actually it's all of your fault, making all these wonderful dishes!) ;o)

TABLESCAPING IDEA: ("Brain" is buzzed on sugar...) Are you as much a chocoholic and a dishaholic as I am? Well combine the two! Create a brown table! No flowers or leaves just brown or cream.

Foodie Mosaic

Hosted by "Designs by Gollum"

I haven't done much cooking lately since the kids are busy wrapping up school events, business and all that end-of-year jazz. So... I just made a mosaic of the foods I made and enjoyed!

TABLESCAPING IDEA: ("Brain is hungry again...) Next time you are stuck on a centerpiece idea, use food! Artsy cuts, create tiers, and even create a rainbow, but use food. If you do, you only have to worry about which plates to use! Simple and delicious!

M-Baked Potato

Hosted by "Designs by Gollum"

M stands for Microwave! This has been the new way my family's been making baked potatoes. And it is yummy!

All you need to do is wash a medium to large potato, both to clean and wet the skin. Poke with forks all around then wrap in clingwrap. Zap on HIGH for 5 minutes! Add 1 minute at a time up to 3 mins for extra large potato. The key is multiple holes and very wet skin.

You'll have a clean potato to a baked potato in no time! It'll take you longer to gather up the fixin's! LOL

Another big thanks to our host, Gollum for another great week of Foodie Fun! Now let's take our potatoes and munch our way to the others' tables of goodies!

TABLESCAPING IDEA: ("Brain" loved this idea!) Blow up a few easy, clearly handwritten recipes to almost 8x10, creating a whole menu. Make iron transfer copies and create a collage of them on white clean sack flour or canvas cloth. Invite your friends that love easy recipes and create the dishes on the now cute placemats. At the end of the meal, tell them you have a surprise favor but that that you'd have to "clear" the table first and to start passing up their plates towards you. Watch them oooh and aaahhh over the cute placemats and declare that they get to take those home with a packet of notecards just in case they want a hard copy!

Now What?

Hosted by "Designs by Gollum"
Well, today, Friday, our gracious host, Gollum asked all of her participants to post about our Foodie Friday disasters. I think this is one theme I can rise to the occasion each time. LOL

For a recipe that called for cornmeal muffins, I used grits instead. Well, now they are petrified grits muffins! They are hard!!!

Here are the cakey sugar cookies... It was a pain getting them off the pan!

The extra that no one else wanted and practically got hollowed out from getting off the pan! LOL

Michael, thank you for hosting and to those who visited, you all so rock!!! What was your foodie disaster this week?

TABLESCAPING IDEA: ("Brain is saying yellow not grits, yellow...) Don't let mistakes bother you just find an alternative. Then set the table using your successful recipe (just like I did with my "honey wheat muffins with sausage on TT's post) as the main centerpiece!

Bad Cupcakes, Baaaad Cupcakes!

Hosted by Designs by Gollum
Why? Because they are so good! Each one is so moist, soft, fluffy and full of cheesecake frosting with cinnamon sugar sprinkles goodness!

Mmmm... I. AM. SO. GLAD. TO. HAVE. EATEN. ONLY. ONE!!! Yay for will power!

I just used a regular Devil's Food Chocolate Cake mix but instead of the time that said in the box, I pulled the pans out two-three minutes earlier and let them cool for about 10 minutes. Then, instead of making my own chocolate frosting, I found some whipped cheesecake frosting, topped each one, spiked it up with the spreader then carefully sprinkled cinnamon sugar that we made ourselves! It. is. to. die. for.... Please, please only take one- for your own sake! ;-)

An aerial view to show off my milkware cake stand I got thru Freecycle! It is perfect for all things worth showing off! ;-) Here is my attempt at sneaking up to one, hee, hee!


I couldn't help myself, I've been in the tablescape mode all week, so of course, I'd do a simple one again to showcase my delish cupcake, Mikasa Annette "dessert plates" (really saucers), and Asian 3-pc coffee and creamer set (in my case, hot cocoa!)

Here's the cupcake upclose, want one? Go ahead! Take one!

Ok, make sure you don't eat it all at once... Isn't it pretty and smells wonderful? It is!

Gollum, thanks for a great theme this week! My children and dh love you right now! ;-)

Make sure you check out all the delish fares today, if not all the cakes!

Virtual Feast Down South

Hosted by "Designs by Gollum"
I've got four tablescapes to do the next 5 days, so I really haven't focused on any food. Not that I haven't cooked, I just haven't cooked according to FF meme theme. But I should be good for the next set of Fridays.

Today, I give you again inspiration menus for Cinco de Mayo. Our Cinco de Mayo dinner will be done then so watch out for that.

Ok, so let's put on our imaginary Mexican Hats and sit down on a glorious Cinco de Mayo tablescape...

The food's not quite ready yet so let me offer you some- Virgin Strawberry Margarita! This hostess does not do alcohol, sorry... but I promise it's just as refreshing! (Good Cocktails.com)

While sipping our margaritas, let's admire the grand bouquet of Mexican Hat flowers freshly picked off a nearby field. (Texas Parks and Wildlife)


Let's pass up the time with some pinata hitting! Here's one of Texas, one state that borders Mexico.

(Pinatas.com)

Ok, that was great! "Food's ready!" Let's see what we have...

(Food Network.com)
Mmmm... some beef tacos! Note that it's not ground beef, it is thin and sliced...

(Examiner.com)Here's some fresh out of the oven enchiladas. How does it taste?
I added some extra lime juice in the filling! ;-)

(Epicurious.com)

Getting full, you say? C'mon, you have more room for some fresh, golden, ripe Mexican mangoes. Am I right, am I right, huh? ;-)

(Dallas News. com)
Alright, let's wash it all down with some Horchata! Aaahhh.... All done!
Who wants to watch soccer?

Ok, slowly... take off your hats and open your eyes... You're back in front of your keyboard about to leave me a great comment.... LOL

Did you enjoy our Mexican feast?

Thanks Gollum for hosting this great theme today!

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
TABLESCAPING IDEA: ("Brain" is craving Mexican food!) It's fun to do a tablescape for a cultural holiday with your stamp on it. Not all the accessories have to be authentic. Base everything on the colors and you can put together a table for a lot less and come up with the same effect! If you want authenticity, start researching menus and recipes you can do. Then shop for your tabletop goodies on clearance right after the holiday and you'll be ready with everything you need next year! Like I mentioned in my sidebar, under "Holiday Holla", choose which holiday you want to set a nice table on then start looking!"

Edible Cups? I Say, Yummy!!!

Hosted by "Designs by Gollum"

Today is "Spring Fling" Foodie Friday!

What did you make?

First of all, I want to thank everyone who took the time to visit my dear friend Ann (Hansonpatch) of "Three Little Girls" yesterday during both Thursday memes. We became friends a while back in Arizona, just before we moved here to Texas. She's a fairly new blogger and she loves getting visitors as much as I do! ;-) She is a wonderful woman and mother like all of you and she is a perpetual learner. She also just recently decided that she will homeschool her lovely girls. (I wanted to do that but am afraid my children are way into social things right now that they might hang me upside down over the notion. LOL) That means everytime she meets someone, she makes it a point to learn something from that person. Yesterday, you just filled her mind with awesome tablescaping ideas! I bet she was just in heaven! You all rock!

And again, an armful of thanks to all who participated in the Thrifty Thursday normally hosted by Leigh. She would be thrilled to know that so many of us found great deals on such awesome treasures! I can't wait until she comes back blogging away about her vacay adventures!

To Cathy of The Stylish House, thank you for the award! You are so sweet to remember me. I will feature it with my Sunday Favorite post for Chari's meme! I can't wai to do all of these wonderful things to complete this week!

********************************************************************

What does one do when there's simply no time and a hungry family is starting to revolt? You bribe them with an easy but deadly yummy dessert!

Got kids that would rather not use a plate to hold their dessert? Make the container edible!

I call this my "Sweetly Kissed" Biscuit Cups because... it is easy to make and oh so yummy! Each biscuit dough disc from a can of Pilsbury Grands were flattened and molded on to a cupcake pan and filled with a delectable cream cheese filling:

Preheat oven to 400 deg

"Sweetly Kissed" Filling

1 brick of Kraft Neufchatel cheese or 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp cinnamon

a small pinch of salt

Blend together until well mixed. Taste and adjust.

Spoon into each biscuit cup dough and bake for 10 minutes or until puffed and lightly browned.

Take it out and transfer onto a cookie sheet. Bake for another 2-3 minutes on 400 deg.

Serve slightly warm topped with a tall tower of low-fat whipped cream and cinnamon sprinkles. Any kid can just grab it and eat it without fear of needing to stay put. Why because they'll eat the cream off first and eat inside out! Yum! Of course, you can do the following presentation if you are a proper consumer. (Nah, after I took this picture, I ate a strawberry, took a bite while holding the "cup" in one hand, strawberry, a bite and so forth and so on... You think you can handle that?) :P

I also guarantee you that when you take a bite of the whole filling and biscuit with or without whipped cream is like a "sweet kiss"! (mwah!)

You like the plate? You've all seen it! It's Corelle's "Shadow Iris". I've had this set since 1997 and they all still look fairly new even with three voracious eaters I call my children. ;-)

TABLESCAPING IDEA: ("Brain" is getting hungry over this one) In light of today's post, compose a buffet style finger foods and use it as your centerpiece! Instead of flowers, use cut fruits to bring a fresh factor to the tablescape. Instead of dinner plates, just use salad plates for portion control and talk your guests ear off about how much fun you had putting it together for them! For a favor, give them a copy of the recipes on individual cards with the picture of the corresponding dishes.

A big thank you to our host, Gollum for making us welcome Spring with today's "Spring Fling" Foodie Friday!

Papa Murphy's and some more Awards!

Hosted by "Designs by Gollum"
Can you believe it? We've known about Papa Murphy's Take-n-Bake pizza place for a while. In Arizona, we lived practically next to it. In Utah, with my in-laws, we ate some and not realized it was Papa Murphy's or forgot all about it. But... we never went ourselves! And to think we love pizza!

We were quite delighted when yesterday, the stars seem to align in the skies and let us have the opportunity to try it again. We have one near us, everyone I talked to raved about and my own teen even wished it while talking to her boyfriend after school, on their way home. I guess that was enough cue for me to get it for dinner.

So finally, for the first time ever on our own, this is what we enjoyed last night for dinner...

Chicago Style Stuffed Pizza

From Flickr.com

And these are the last three pieces of the

Cinnamon Wheel.

The strawberries are ours.

They tasted good together! Yummy!

Gollum, this has been another great Foodie Friday! Thank you! I wish I can visit everyone's entries today... Thank you all for stopping by!

TABLESCAPING IDEA: ("Brain" loves Friday!) In creating a tablescape, the first step is to decide to do it. Don't worry abou the rules. Even reverse the norm; let your fun menu meet your good china or formal menu be with paper plates. The point is, a good table makes the food look and taste that much better, no matter what you use, so just have fun!

*************************************************************

"Monica's English Version"

gave out these two awards to her visitors and blog buddies so

here I am sharing it with

all of you!

Thank you Monica!

Isn't it amazing to think that your blog is "uber" anything? Uber good of course!

Or how about being a sunshine to another blogger?

How wonderful of a notion!

Enjoy your day!