What's for Dinner Tonight?

I have seen this recipe on Southern Living Magazine few years ago. I have forgotten where I put the cut out recipe and it was only few weeks’ ago when I finally find it. If you love Salisbury steak like me then this is for you. This is not your typical Salisbury steak with mushroom, once you cook this one you will be cooking it over and over again and you might just forget the mushroom version like we do. The mixed of taco seasoning and other ingredients makes is so moist and mouth watering.

Give it a try and tell me what you think.

Enjoy!









Tex-Mex Salisbury steak

Makes 6 serving
Prep. 20 Min., Cook: 25 Min.

1 pound ground beef ( could use ½ pound if desired and the rest of the recipe follow as half)
½ pound mild ground pork sausage
1 small onion, chopped
1 large egg
½ cup fine, dry breadcrumbs
½ cup mild salsa
2 tablespoon taco seasoning mix
1 tablespoon dry cilantro, divided
1 (2.64-oz) package country style gravy
1 ½ cups beef broth
1 (14 ½ -oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

Direction:

Combine first 7 ingredients and ½ tablespoon cilantro. Shape mixture into 6 (1/3-inch thick) patties.
Heat a lightly greased large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add patties; reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 8 to 10 minutes per side or until center is no longer pink. Remove from skillet. Wipe pan clean.
Whisk together gravy mix, broth, tomatoes and remaining ½ tablespoon of cilantro. Cook over medium heat 1 minute or until thickened. Return patties to skillet, and cook until thoroughly heated. Serve hot and paired with mashed potatoes if desired.

Cool Award

I am honored to be given this award by a dear friend Jacy, thank you so much J.It an honor to have a friend like you....

P.S.
J, I dont know how to put a link on this one, so pardon me.





I am giving these award to all my blogging friends in here. I hope you guys willl grab these too. Mwuahhh!

Another Award

Am not really sure if i deserve this award, but thank you so much Claire for these one. It maakes me feel good and of course makes me special too. I have not meet you in person yet, but i know you have a good heart and with that i do thank you for the friendship and for always being nice to me rest assured that it is well treasured.

Take care and may God bless u and your family.. mwuwahhhh

Awesome Site Award

Thanks for the award Anne it was very sweet of you and am blessed to have a friend like you..

Been Tagged by SimplyJacy

Questions and Answers:

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says:……“When you see the poetry in your relationship, then you'll truly see what you have to celebrate."

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?…… My sleeping sock, i took it off when i change sock to walk on the treadmill.

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?…… Foxnews, about Hurricane Ike.

4. WITHOUT LOOKING, guess what time it is:…… 3:00 pm

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?……2:35 pm

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?…… Valentine, snoring on my side. :)

7. When did you last step outside? what were you doing?…… Yesterday, i checked the mail after Ate Maria drop me off.

8. Before you came to this website, what did you look at?…… New Top at Bebe and a new brown boots that am planning to buy.

9. What are you wearing?…… sweat pants and a sweater, I feel cold.

10. Did you dream last night?…… Yes

11. When did you last laugh?…… Earlier, when i was watching Marimar

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in?…… A painting by Patrick Nagel

13. Seen anything weird lately?…… not that I recall

14. What do you think of this quiz?……Great! not the typical one.. i love it

15. What is the last movie you saw?……“Tell me no Lies" the one that i recorded on DVR, Lifetime Movie Network

16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?…… House and Lot for us and my family in pinas.

17. Tell me something about you that I don’t know: Hmmm, am iyakin

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?……Hhmm i dont know yet, let me think some more and i will ge back to you..hehe

19. Do you like to dance?…… Yes! even if i have 2 left foot. I dance when i dont exrcise.

20. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her? a boy?…… A girl- Shannie a boy? Xandrey, but this is just a thought for me since were not going to have a baby ever.

21. Would you ever consider living abroad?……Yes! Would love to live in France for a while, then maybe few years in Pinas, but i would definitely go back to Charlotte, because that's where my heart is.

Now I’m tagging all those who get the chance to read this.

What makes me Happy?

These are just some of the few things that makes me happy, but what makes my life worthwhile and complete is being married to my husband for 4 years and still counting. So what about you what makes u happy?


• Having been saved and accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior
• Receiving cards, notes, flowers from my husband
• Hearing my husband say I love you 10 times a day
• Watching movies and doing a lot of fun things with my hubby
• Exchanging text messages with my husband
• Going to church with my husband every Sunday
• Dancing with my husband even when there is no music
• Grocery shopping with my husband every Friday
• Cooking breakfast for my husband every day
• Spending quality time together with my husband and our baby Valentine
• Going out on a date with my husband
• Loving my husband and being loved back
• Helping my family in every possible way I can
• Giving mom extra attention and showing her lots of love
• Talking to my mama/family in Pinas
• Looking at Sam’s pictures , my nephew Xandrex and niece Mary Rose
• For having a good health
• Having good friends, someone that I can talk too anytime with just about anything
• Browsing the net and interacting with lots of friends in multiply
• Working in the yard and , planting flowers
• Watching movies that I recorded on DVR
• Shopping for a new purse and shoes
• Playing with the apps that I downloaded on my iphone
• Listening to music’s, love country, love songs, soft rock and 80’s
• Creating personal cards for family and friends
• Dancing on Madonna’s music especially the Material Girl and Like a Virgin
• Walking on the treadmill while watching tagalog movies and other series
• Having been able to meet good friends online
• Eating cookies, bread, chocolate and ice cream
• Shopping online either for clothes, home décor, shoes, kitchen gadgets and gifts
• Having been able to own/buy some of my wants

Living in Charlotte

It was year 2004 of July when I first set foot in the Queen City and feel in love with the place. They call it Queen City in the honor of the wife of King George III, who was the king of England. In 1768, Charlotte became an incorporated city. Charlotte was located in the new county Mecklenburg, which was also name in the honor of Queen Charlotte’s homeland of Germany. This is how Charlotte became known as the “Queen City”.

Charlotte is the one of the fast growing city in the US, and having been live here for 4 years now is great. People are nice, friendly and you’ll still see and experience the old southern hospitality tradition, although I must say that there are still some people that are not so nice which is common in every place/country.

What I love about living in Charlotte is the weather. Growing up in the Philippines is different since we only have 2 seasons, that’s rainy season and many of those very hot days. I enjoy early summer, spring, fall and winter and that’s only is the weather channel is forecasting that were going to have a snow. Snow is very unlikely to happen in December and January. If we’re going to have a snow it’s going to be in February and early March if not we’ll better luck next winter for us. Some people say’s I will eventually get use to the cold weather, but I don’t it will happen to me. I like snow, but I don’t like cold weather for 3 months, I guess that’s one of the many things that I need to live by, not unless we move to Florida.

The second thing that I love living in Charlotte is the food. Wooh! They have variety of restaurant that’s you’ll enjoy and it’s always worth every bucks spend. My fave restaurant are Bonefish Grill, Flatrock Grill and Longhorn if am hungry for seafood. For steaks, I love Mortons and Ruth Chris. For Italian and pasta I love Villa Antonio, Olive Garden, Cheesecake factory and Buca de bipo. For Burger, it’s got to be Five Guys; they have a very scrumptious burger paired French fries cooked in peanut oil. For Ribs, I like Tony Roma’s they have the great ribs and it’s always good paired with a loaded baked potato. For Pulled Barbeque, its 521 barbeque in Fort mill the place is quite small, but there food is delicious. With a barbeque plate you’ll get the pulled pork barbeque, 4 pieces of hushpuppies, French fries, beans and a choice of coleslaw or potato salad and the best part you’ll only pay 8.95 for the whole meal. That’s a lot of food for one person, but I can assure when u leave the place you’re full, have a smile on your face and you’ll go back whenever you have the chance.

Third and most important thing why I love living in Charlotte is my husband “Vic”. He’d been living in Charlotte for 15 years and his enjoying every minute of it. I have learn to love and enjoy this place because of him and wherever he is that’s where am going to be. Right now, I consider Charlotte as my home and we’ll be for a very very long time.

Spaghetti with Cheddar Cheese Sauce

This is not your typical spaghetti. I saw this one Rachel Ray Show and just by looking at it make me so hungry. So, I decided to cook it myself and it turns out to be really really good. I omitted some ingredients that I don’t like since am not into spicy food. You guys should try it sometimes and I can assure you that you will be cooking this one over and over again.

Good luck and enjoy cooking!







Ingredients:

• 1 pound spaghetti
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 slices smoky bacon, chopped
• 1 pound ground sirloin
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce ( i use tobasco juz a few drops)
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (eyeball it)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder (depends on ur liking)
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin (half a palmful)
• 1 can, 14 ounces chopped or crushed tomatoes
• 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup milk
• 2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 scallions, chopped

Preparation:

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add a generous amount of salt, then the pasta and cook spaghetti until al dente according to package directions.

Heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add EVOO and bacon. Brown and crisp bacon, about 5 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate and reserve. Drain off a little excess fat if necessary but leave just enough to coat the bottom of the skillet. Add the sirloin and crumble it with a wooden spoon as it browns, 3-4 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, and season with salt, pepper, hot sauce, Worcestershire, chili powder and cumin. Cook for another 5-6 minutes. Add the beer, cook for 1 minute more then add tomatoes and tomato sauce. Bring up to a bubble and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
While the meat sauce is cooking, make the cheese sauce: Heat a small sauce pot over medium heat and add butter. When the butter melts, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the chicken stock and then the milk. Thicken for 2 minutes then stir in the cheese and melt, for another 2 minutes. Stir in the jalapenos and scallions. Season with a little salt and pepper.
Drain spaghetti, add to the meat sauce and combine.
Pour into a large serving bowl and pour the cheddar cheese sauce over the top.

4th Wedding Anniversary

Anniversary for me is always special and one of the most happy and fulfilling event of marriage life. It is not, because of the present that I will receive, but what it symbolizes. For me, anniversary is the celebration of love, what we accomplished, learned and shared as married couple.

Being married with “My Vic” as what I call him, for four years is the best four years of my life. With him I feel safe, secure, needed and most of all loved. There would be no other place I would rather be than to be with him. Being married to him is the best decision I have ever made. Life couldn’t be happier and better if not spent with him. I thank God everyday for bringing him into my life.

To my Ever Dearest Husband:

Thank you for bringing out the best in me, for teaching me how to be strong, for being with me all time, for the guidance, for understanding, for loving me and my family and best of all for being My Vic. I love you with all my heart and with all of me. My love for you grows each day and well continues to do so for the rest of my life.


yours,
rOsE

Product dating can be confusing

As I was organizing and sorting my recipe collection yesterday, I came across to this article that I have printed 2 years ago. It was very helpful for me because I always get confused on the dates printed on the foods that we buy like crackers, milk, eggs and etc. Now, at least I know that milk is still good for about 1 week after the sell-by-date. Grocery prices have gone way up lately so every little thing that I can do to minimize our grocery bill is a huge help.

Hope you guys find these article helpful also!


Product dating can be confusing
07/30/2006 05:05 AM
By: Martie Salt, News 14 Carolina

Smart Woman
The expiration date for most foods is the last date you should eat them.

When do you toss out the milk? How long should you keep those crackers? It can be a confusing game, but those different dates on food products really mean something.

Your favorite foods are giving you hints, but sometimes it may seem like a secret code. It's confusing for consumer Mara Lim and many of the rest of us.

"Use by or best by ... It doesn't seem very clear to me," Lim said.

Milk is usually good for about seven days after the sell-by date. So what's the difference between words like expires, sell by, and use by?

Dietitian Eileen Paul, RD, of Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, says it's more about freshness. You'll see words like use by or best if used by on packaged foods like cereal. That's the last date the product is at its peak flavor or quality. It doesn't mean it's unsafe.

"It gives the consumer an alert that this has been on your shelf for a long time," Paul said “You should probably toss it out.”

Sell by or pull are on foods like dairy products. The retailer must remove them by that date, but you don't have to use them by then. For example, milk is usually good for about seven days after the sell-by date.

Dietitian Eileen Paul says the dates normally refer to freshness. Expiration dates for most foods is the last date you should eat them. Perishable foods like meat and bagged salads can harbor harmful bacteria. Eggs are an exception. You should be able to use them safely for three to five weeks after the expiration date.

"For non-perishables it's about freshness, not safety. For perishables it's about safety," Paul said.

Have you checked your dates lately? Product dating is not required by the federal government on foods except for poultry, infant formula, and some baby food, but more than 20 states mandate it for some products.




Contact Information Eileen Paul, RD, CDE
Group Health Cooperative
paul.e@ghc.org