Find Your Happiness

One of the many reasons I wanted to go to Ikea was to try their famous Swedish meatballs. And just like the awesome store, the food did not disappoint. Thankfully, I do not need to drive two and a half hours to the nearest Ikea store every time I have a craving for these because this homemade version is very close to the real deal. The meat is flavorful and sauce is creamy and meaty in flavor. And the allspice? Well, that's the ingredient that just keeps you wondering. It gives the meatballs a distinct but mild unique flavor. My husband and I cooked this together while the little one napped and it made me nostalgic for our pre-bebe days. Barely any space in our littlest kitchen but drunk on newlywed bliss. Adapted from Skinny Taste Serves 4 Ingredients: 1 tsp olive oil 1 small onion, minced 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 celery stalk, finely minced 1/4 cup parsley, minced 1 lb 93% lean ground beef 1 egg 1/4 cup breadcrumbs 1/2 tsp allspice salt and pepper, to tast...

I love quick and easy dinner meals. You can even make this easier by just combining all the ingredients in the pot and throwing it all right away in the oven. However, the flavor will not be as developed compared to if you followed each of the steps in this recipe (I have done both). Taking the time to marinade the chicken for a few minutes and pan-searing it really are necessary steps for a very flavorful chicken meal. Adapted from Eat Yourself Skinny Serves 3 Ingredients: 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast 3/4 lb red potatoes 1 sprig rosemary + 1 tbsp chopped 1 clove garlic, chopped 2 tsp salt Pinch of red pepper flakes Juice of 2 lemons (reserve squeezed halves) 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil Directions: Cover potatoes in cold , salted water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain, cut in quarters then set aside. In a medium bowl, combine 1 tbsp chopped rosemary, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, juice of 1 lemon and ol...

My husband looooves pizza. But me being Asian, I  have  used to have a hard time seeing pizza as a  meal . When we went to the Philippines in 2005, we ordered pizza with my cousins around dinner time. After finishing two large pizzas, one of my cousins asked what we were having for dinner. My husband was flabbergasted because he was sure that we just ate our dinner. He had so much to learn, but quickly found out that what we just had was  merienda  (snack between lunch and dinner). You see, pizza lacks rice. And without rice, it's just not meal. I no longer feel that way about pizzas. But sandwiches? Well, that's a different story. Toppings: Spinach, mushroom, green onions, turkey sausage, feta and ricotta cheese. Pizza is not my favorite food but I will eat it as long as it is made with fresh dough and the freshest ingredients/toppings. I know that sounds a little snobbish but there's just something about processed or delivery pizza that is ...

We had a very lovely, low key Valentine's Day dinner at our house as a family. We ate a home-cooked meal, rented two Redbox movies, and enjoyed this very sweet dessert. Ever since I saw this cover recipe on Southern Living last September (but it is an older magazine), it has been on my mind and I knew I just had to make it. It's easy to make and I love that it incorporates real strawberries both inside the cake and with the icing. But like I said, this cake is sweet. Very sweet. I have sweet teeth and yet I still had to scrape off most of the strawberry buttercream. I love how the frosting turns into this lovely pink because of the fresh strawberries! Adapted from Southern Living Ingredients: Cake 1 (18.25 oz) package white cake mix 1 (3 oz) package strawberry-flavored gelatin mix 4 large eggs 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, finely chopped 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/3 cup all purpose flour  Strawberry Buttercream 1 cup butter...

I love that both my husband and our little two year old boy are adventurous in the kitchen because I am able to try recipes like this. It was so easy to prepare and we all enjoyed this Vietnamese dish. However, I will warn you that if you do not like oyster or fish sauce, you will not enjoy this recipe. It tasted very fishy. I marinated the beef overnight so maybe cutting it down to 1-2 hours may help lessen the fishy flavor. Adapted from SkinnyTaste.com Serves 4-6 Ingredients: Marinade 1 1/2 lbs beef top sirloin, cut into 1″ cubes 5 cloves crushed garlic 1 tbsp sugar 1 tbsp oyster sauce 1 tbsp fish sauce 1 tsp sesame oil 1 tsp soy sauce Dipping sauce juice of 1 lime 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper Directions: Combine garlic, oyster sauce, sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil with the beef. Marinate steak at least one hour or overnight for best results. Heat a large wok or large pan over high heat and when very hot add 1/2 tbsp oil. When ...

Whenever the temperature drops, my stomach craves soup. Thankfully, this soup is easy to prepare with the ingredients you most likely already have in the kitchen. We found that this is even better the next day when the flavors have had time to marry. You can add more broth or just plain water and adjust the seasonings based on how flavorful and spicy you like your chili soup. It is versatile, delicious and just warms your soul and toes :) Adapted from Picky Plate Serves 4 Ingredients: 2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil 1 small onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded (I used rotisserie chicken for extra flavor) 2 tbsps chili powder 2 tbsps cumin 2 tsps dry Ranch seasoning from packet 1 can (10 oz) Rotel diced tomatoes, mild 2 cans (14.5 oz) chicken broth 1 can (8 oz) corn 1 can (16 oz) navy beans, drain and rinse 3/4 cup uncooked pasta*** Toppings: cilantro, cheese, sour cream (optional) ***If using a larger size pasta, pre-cook it acc...

As of late, we have been cutting down our meat intake, specifically red meat. We are not going vegetarians by any stretch of the imagination, but we feel that we really need to increase our vegetable and seafood intake for a more well-balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. I have been on a hunt for vegetarian recipes that I have created a specific board just for this on my Pinterest account, which is where I have been saving all the recipes I find online. This recipe contains some of our favorite vegetables: carrots, mushroom and snap peas. You can pretty much substitute and/or add your favorite veggie. It is versatile, quick, easy and deliciously healthy. The hardest part is cutting the veggies. Seriously. Adapted from Martha Stewart Serves 4 Ingredients: 1 pound extra firm tofu 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoons rice vinegar 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 1 tablespoon canola oil 2 small onions, cut into wedges 9 ounces button mushrooms, quartered 2 cups shredde...

This is such an easy meal to prepare. And it's very tasty, too! I love the color and taste that paprika gives and it has just enough heat from the cayenne pepper. I scaled the salt amount waaaaay down because I knew it would be too salty (probably almost inedible!) just by looking at the recipe. With a pretty decent stocked pantry, I can almost guarantee you can make this for dinner tonight. Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Serves 4 Ingredients: 4 garlic cloves, minced 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for grates 2 tablespoons light-brown sugar 1 teaspoon coarse salt 2 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (more if you want it really spicy) 4 bone-in pork loin chops (about 3 pounds total) Directions: Combine all the ingredients except for pork in a small bowl until a paste forms. Coat pork chops with paste mixture; cover and marinade in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Set the grill to medium-high heat; cl...

I really wish it wasn't too hot here in Texas because I love grilled food---the smoke, char, color, smell, flavor. Mmmmm! And the best part is, it is such a healthy way of cooking and yet it is still packed full of yummy flavor! Hubby does 99.7% of the grilling in the house (and he's so awesome at it!) but I didn't feel too guilty asking him to fire up the grill during an always busy work-week because this is so quick and easy---both to prepare and cook. This is definitely a weeknight dinner for busy families. It took us about half a hour from beginning of prep to setting the finished product on the dinner table. And it taste absolutely delicious! It could probably benefit from longer marinating but it really is good as is. We will definitely be cooking this again and will use the marinade to cook other things such as chicken and eggplant. Recipe adapted from Food Network Magazine, July/Aug 2011   Serves 4 Ingredients: 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil 3 glove...

There is just something so delicious about roasted vegetables especially when they are in season. Roasting brings out the natural sweetness in vegetables and intensifies the flavors without adding a lot of fat and calories---can't beat that! In fact, I love roasted vegetables so much that not even the three-digit Texas heat can prevent me from cranking up my oven just to have a taste of this yummyness. This recipe is so easy to prepare and is very versatile when it comes to the ingredients. I actually substituted the red bell pepper with eggplant. I also opted to use panko bread crumbs instead of regular bread crumbs for the added crunch. Adapted from Parenting Magazine July 2009 Serves 8 Ingredients: 1 large onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 zucchini, sliced 1 eggplant, sliced 2 tbsps olive oil Salt and pepper to taste 1 lb ziti pasta 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese 1/4 cup parmesan, plus 1/2 cup Pinch of nutmeg 1 pint cherry tomatoes, chopped 1 ...

I made Coconut Chicken Curry last week and my husband has been (literally!) bragging about it to everyone. It really was delicious and taste even better as leftovers because the flavors had more time to marry together. Even our sixteen months old son eats this like a pro whereas I have to take breaks and sips of water every few bites because it's spicy. We also had leftover Lemony Lentil soup with mini-sausage meatballs and greens from the previous day and when we ate both leftovers together, my husband said he felt like he was eating in a local cafe in the middle of downtown Beirut, Lebanon. You can serve this with bread but best over a bowl of hot rice. Adapted from Kitchen Shoebox Serves 8 Ingredients: 2 onions, chopped 3 cloves garlic, chopped 2 tbps olive oil 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed 1 lb boneless, skinless thighs, cubed (you can use breasts if you pr...

Stacy at Delighting in the Days gave me her extra copy of  Healthy Homemaking: One Step at a Time and I was so excited when I saw a recipe on how to make homemade yogurt. I'll be honest in that I haven't been giving Nathaniel the full-fat yogurt because it's just too expensive. So imagine my happiness when I found I could make 6+ cups of yogurt with just the price of half a gallon of milk and 1/2 cup of plain yogurt. Score! Lemon-flavored yogurt with fresh strawberries I did opt to follow a different recipe because I am known to burn milk (and butter). I always ask Hubby to heat milk up or melt butter for me but he was out for a six-mile run when I started this. It definitely would have saved me a lot of time by heating the milk on the stovetop instead of using a crockpot but that insured that I would not be wasting half a gallon of milk when I wasn't already sure if this would work in the first place. Oh but it did work! I was so happy whe...

This past weekend was exhausting to everyone in the family and I feel like I need a weekend to recover from the weekend. We were on the go and non-stop since Friday with a picnic at my husband's work till we put Nathaniel down to bed at 9:30pm Sunday night with a 101.7F out-of-nowhere fever :( (Teething maybe? He has FOUR teeth coming out after all---now a total of sixteen teeth!) Anyway, I made and brought these Faux Chicken Nuggets to the picnic as an April Fools' joke. I'm so glad and thankful that my husband lets me try new (and even silly!) recipes. He is also more than happy to be the guinea pig of my newly tested creations. These fooled a lot of people but received praises for the taste, too. I was surprised at how realistic they look! And if you can't use peanuts for some reason, you can substitute a combination of crunchy oatmeal cookies and cheerios instead. Recipe adapted from Taste of Home Makes 2 dozen "Chicken Nuggets" and 1 cup dippi...

A few nights ago, my husband asked what we're having for dessert. Usually, we'll have a bowl of ice cream unless I've baked something earlier. Well that certain evening, we so unfortunately(!) ran out of ice cream and I did not make anything. I don't remember what we ate for dessert that evening but I still clearly remember his response after breaking the sad news that indeed, we will not be having any dessert. He said: "We have flour. We have eggs. We have sugar and butter. You could have made a pound cake!" Yes, dear hubby. I could have made a pound cake. But I didn't. But I made this Jam Sandwich Cookies out of the ingredients easily found in our kitchen, too. And it was also a great excuse to use my new food processor :) Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Makes 18 sandwich cookies Ingredients: 4 cups Everyday Baking Mix* 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces 1/2 cup whole milk 3/4 cup seedless jam or jelly *Everyday Baking Mi...

Freshly popped homemade popcorn is one of our favorite go-to snacks at our house. I love that it is healthy (low in calories with lots of fiber!) and since we pop our own, there are no added chemicals or preservatives. Lately, in addition to a little sprinkle of salt, I have been experimenting with different flavors by adding cinnamon, paprika, garlic powder, or chocolate. And when I came across this recipe from Skip to my Lou a couple days ago, I knew I had to give it a try. I was going to wait until St. Patrick's Day but decided why not make them this week and next week? :) In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Then add 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup light corn syrup, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar. Increase temperature to medium high and bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar. Once mixture boils, add in 1/8 teaspoon green food coloring and stop stirring. Boil for 5 minutes. Do NOT stir!  Remove ...

When my husband left Monday morning for training, he was sick as a dog. He spent most of the evening in the bathroom and our Valentine's Day breakfast at home was canceled because he didn't have an appetite. I prayed that (three days later) he was hopefully feeling better. And thankfully, he was! However, I still had this need to serve him comfort food for dinner when he came home last night. It was also raining most of the day and I just love a hot bowl of soup when it's wet and cold outside. (Fun fact: it stopped raining and the sun came out as I was making this soup. It happened so instantaneously that my son thought I turned on the light without leaving my spot when the sun started shining through my kitchen windows. His confused face was a rather pretty funny sight.) This recipe is based from the Betty Crocker Soups magazine edition but I made a few adjustments. I added more vegetables because Nathaniel loves and only eats veggies (do we have a little vegetari...

Puto (or Steamed Rice cake) is one of the well-known Filipino delicacies because they are light, sweet and just plain delicious. They can be eaten for breakfast with a hot cup of coffee, as a snack with hot chocolate or by itself, which is my favorite. The traditional way of making puto requires soaking sticky rice overnight and then grinding it to a paste-like consistency but sticky rice is not always easily accessible to some. So my best girlfriend shared this quick and easy recipe after making a batch for me during our summer visit in Indiana. And then my grandmother in the Philippines sent me puto cups/molds last month so I was finally able to make them myself this past weekend. (You can use small ramekins, too.) I do have to say that I am not allowed to make them again anytime soon per Hubby's order. In my defense, they turned out light, airy, and super delicious and that's why I can't make them again. Dean ate most of them in less than two days. Makes three d...

Snickers Chocolate Fudge (Semisweet chocolate with caramel layer and Snickers chunks) For Christmas, we made several types of fudge to give away as gifts. We made Dark Chocolate, Chocolate Peanut Butter, and Creme-filled (Oreo) White Chocolate fudge. They were relatively easy to make and every one who received them said they were delicious. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the fudge (and they were so adorably packaged too!) and the leftovers were eaten pretty quickly. But we had a few melting chocolate leftover and my Mom bought caramel so Dean decided to experiment with the recipe. He made "Snickers Chocolate Fudge" (see above picture) and "Hodge Podge Fudge" by combining all the leftover chocolate and mixed with crushed Oreos. Hodge Podge Fudge (Semisweet, white, and peanut butter chocolate with slightly crushed Oreo cookies) Here is the basic recipe from All Recipes . The instruction stated to melt the chocolate chips using the microwave but we...