Cookie Recipes

Thanksgiving is fast approaching. I am already thinking of cooking some of my favorite recipes for the said occasion. I plan to cook some American and Filipino foods for me and my hubby. That's the way it goes, he being an American and me a Filipina. I will cook his favorite main dish recipe and I will also my favorite one. That's no big deal for us. We are used to doing it every year.

I'm planning to cook some desserts of course and also baking some cookies. I have to admit, I'm not very good yet in baking cookies. I only tried to bake cookies once and it was just okay. I need to really learn how do it the right way. I've been browsing the internet for cookie recipes and fortunately, I've found this site and they have the oatmeal cookies recipe. This was the first cookie recipe that I baked but with different ingredients. I bet this one is a lot better. My husband love chocolate and I should also try to make some chocolate chip cookies. I can almost imagine his big smile on his face when I will bake these cookies and give it to him. I was also glad to see in this site the recipe of Christmas cookies. I have to learn how to make these because these would be great give-away or gifts for the coming Christmas season for my friends and loved ones.

There are lots of different cookie recipes in this site Moms Who Think and if you love to cook and you want some great recipes, then visit this site. You will find there those recipes that will really help you in your cooking for the coming Thanksgiving Day and Christmas season.

Sweet Potato Bake

In the Philippines, we cook sweet potatoes by boiling, grilling or making camote cue. It's only when I got here in the US that I got to taste the sweet potato bake. Oh my, it was so good! I really love it so I searched for the recipe and I tried to cook it. I first tried to cook sweet potato bake last year after I harvested my sweet potatoes. I had lots of it from my garden so I cooked sweet potato bake. It turned out good. My hubby and I enjoyed it.


INGREDIENTS

* 3 cups cold mashed sweet potatoes (without added milk and butter)
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1/4 cup butter, softened
* 3 eggs
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* TOPPING:
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 1/2 cup chopped pecans
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 2 tablespoons cold butter

DIRECTIONS

1. In a mixing bowl, beat sweet potatoes, sugar, milk, butter, eggs, salt and vanilla until smooth. Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, pecans and flour; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over potato mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown.

Inside Cardiac Arrest by St. Jude Medical

Cardiac arrest or heart disease is the number one killer here in the US. There are many people who already suffered from this devastating disease. If you have a heart disease, you should be informed of what to do to prevent sudden cardiac arrest. Inside Cardiac Arrest (www.insidecardiacarrest.com), presented by St. Jude Medical, provides information about the risk factors, warning signs, and treatment of Sudden Cardiac Arrest. The site offers two videos: Sudden Cardiac Arrest (http://www.insidecardiacarrest.com/video_suddencardiacarrest.aspx) and The Human Heart (http://www.insidecardiacarrest.com/video_humanheart.aspx). In the videos, a real doctor explains SCA and heart anatomy in simple, easy to understand language. Visit the site today and get the information that you need. Prevention is better than cure.

My Bottle Gourd

I harvested my last bottle gourd a few days ago from my garden. I cooked it for our lunch and me and my hubby love it. My bottle gourd had made only 3 bottle gourds this time so I cooked it with ground beef.

Ingredients:

* 2 tbsps cooking oil
* a cup (200 grams) ground beef
* 4 cloves garlic, finely crushed
* 2 medium onions, minced
* 1 large (1.8 kg) bottle gourd, cut into 1"x 1/8" cubes
* 3 tbsps fish sauce
* 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
* knorr beef cubes
* 1 cup water

Procedure:

In a large wok, over medium-high fire. Put the oil and ground beef. Stir-fry until beef is lightly brown. Remove from pan the ground beef. Retain the oil. Put the garlic. Saute until golden brown. Follow with onions. Saute until soft. Put the bottle gourd. Stir-fry for a minute. Add in the fish sauce. Sprinkle the pepper. Mix. Cook until aromatic. Pour water. Put the beef cube and fried ground beef. Mix well. Cover. Cook until veggie is soft.

Shop at Kmart

My favorite holiday of the year is fast approaching and that is Christmas of course. Ever since I was a kid, I was always excited and happy when Christmas time comes. Why not? This is the time of the year that I receive some gifts from my family, friends and loved ones. It's barely more than a month from now and then it will be Christmas again. As early as this time of the year, I am already thinking of what will I buy as Christmas gifts for my family and loved ones. My hubby is of course the number one person in my list to give gifts this coming holiday season. He is very fund of wood working and of course he need power tools to do it. He has already some tools but I think he would be happy to get one more. But power tools are not that cheap so I haven't started shopping yet. It's a good thing that there's this Kmart Layaway program so I can buy a power tool for my hubby and I'll just pay a down payment and then pay it every 2 weeks. I can start paying it this month and will be able to pay it off just before Christmas. This layaway program is really for shoppers like me who can't afford to pay cash for the things that we want to buy for Christmas.

So if you want to buy gifts for your loved ones this coming Christmas season, why not go to Kmart and put the things you want to buy on layaway. Just pay a down payment and a certain amount every 2 weeks until you will pay it off. In this way, shopping will not be a pain the pocket because you don't have to pay a big amount at one time. Make your wish come true this coming Christmas season by shopping at Kmart.

Cute Blogger Award

Thanks to Selina for this one. I appreciate it very much. Thanks for always thinking of me.

Here are the rules:

1. Each blogger must post these rules.

2. Each blogger starts with ten random facts/habits about themselves.

3. Bloggers that are tagged, need to write ten facts about themselves. You need to choose ten people to tag and list their names.

4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and also to read your blog.

Now here are my ten Random facts about me:

1. I am the oldest child in the family of four.

2. I have a sister and 2 younger brothers

4. I was a consistent honor student from elementary up to high school.

5. I had 2 boyfriends before I met my husband.

6. I love gardening, sightseeing, cross-stitching and crocheting.

7. I like to read the Bible and talk to God through prayers.

8. I love eating vegetables, fish and fruits.

9. I like to go window shopping and end up buying things that are on sale.

10.I am generous and helpful to my friends and loved ones.

Now its my time to give this award to : Marly, Sugar and AidiSan.

Shop NBC Coupons

In this time that the economy is getting weak, people are trying all their very best to save money. Everything is sky rocketing nowadays since the price of gas soared up high. When my hubby and I go to the grocery, we can only buy a few items with a hundred bucks nowadays. That's why I don't spend money for unnecessary things. I only buy those that we really need. But on some occasions, I also get to shop especially during Christmas, birthdays and anniversaries. But I always try to look for discount coupons to save money. It's just practical isn't it. I don't buy items on regular price. I will wait till they go on sale or till I get a coupon so I can save money. Life is getting harder you know.

One site that offers discount coupon is savings.com. As the name implies, you will really save money when you shop in their site. You can avail of their ShopNBC coupons online to use when you shop from them. This is a good place to shop for your loved ones and friends for their Christmas gifts. Look no further because you can find the best deals from them. Save money and time by shopping at Savings. You will avoid the hassle in shopping to a crowded store and save money by availing of their coupon codes. Visit their site today and enjoy shopping.

I Cooked For My Hubby's Birthday

It's my hubby's birthday today so I tried to cook something for our lunch. I usually get lazy cooking so early but since it's my hubby's birthday I cooked his favorite mashed potatoes and I baked chicken leg quarters using the shake and bake mixture from the box. I also cooked collard greens, the last batch from my garden. So when he came home for lunch he ate what I cooked and he likes it. We'll be going out to eat tonight in the restaurant. I still have the 2 gift cards from 2 of the restaurants here in our place that I received as gifts from my church family during my citizenship celebration. We will use one of it tonight to celebrate my hubby's birthday.

Debt Consolidation

Majority of the people if not all here in the US have debts. My hubby and I have debts too and we're paying it monthly. When a family gets into debts and can't get out from it, most likely the couple will end up into divorce. I don't want that to happen to me and my hubby and I'm pretty sure other couples wouldn't want that to happen to them either. That's why it's so important not to get into debts that you can't afford to pay. If you have debts, it's best to get help from experts for debt consolidation. If you are struggling in paying your bills every month, try to visit fastdebtfreedomnow.com. They can help you save thousands by reducing balances up to 50%, have one easy, low monthly payment, avoid bankruptcy, no Credit Checks - Bad Credit OK, home ownership not required, consolidate debt payments, and you will be debt free in as little as 12-30 months. Isn't that awesome! Get help for you debt loans by visiting this site and avail of their services.

Know Me A Bit

This tag came from Selina. Thank you sis.

As you may not know it, I only accept very few tags it's because I feel lazy doing them, sorry friends to be so upfront. This tag below sounds interesting so I thought of doing it with an open heart so my readers or visitors will know a bit about me.

A. Attached or single?~~~married
B. Best friend? ~~~Jesus Christ and my husband.
C. Cake or pie? ~~~cake
D. Day of choice?~~~ any day, but I like Sunday the most
E. Essential item?~~~my PC.
F. Favorite colour?~~~pink
G. Gummy bears or worms?~~~Gummy bears
H. Hometown?~~~Laoac
I. Favorite indulgence?~~~internet, eating, reading God's
J. January or July?~~~January
K. Kids?~~~none but I love kids
L. Life isn’t complete without?~~~God, my husband, family and friends.
M. Marriage date?~~~September 11
N. Number of magazine subscriptions:~~~ none
O. Oranges or apples?~~~both
P. Phobias?~~~heights
Q. Quotes?~~~If God is with us, who can be against us.
R. Reasons to smile?~~~ when I see color white and green opps on my screen.
S. Season of choice?~~~Spring ,Fall
T. Tag 5 people.~~~anybody can just grab this if you want to.
U. Unknown fact about me?~~~I trust my instinct.
V. Vegetable?~~~brocolli, cabbage, and Filipino veggies
W. Worst habit?~~~ staying infront of the PC for hours
X. X-ray or ultrasound?~~~none
Y. Your favorite foods?~~~pinakbet
Z. Zodiac Sign?~~~ Leo

Wow, Nice and Cheap Eyeglasses!!!

Zenni is so popular nowadays. In fact Zenni Optical was on FOX news!. That’s right. Most people had watched Zenni on FOX. The Secret to Zenni’s Low Prices is that they sell only their own manufactured frames direct to the customer, with no middlemen and virtually no advertising budget. Where else can you find Great Eyeglasses For Less but Zenni Optical. They sell stylish prescription eye glasses online from $8. In fact I already ordered two prescription eyeglasses from them. One for me and one for my hubby. Check out this site and you will find Variable Dimension Frames From Zenni. They have a lot of styles and frames to choose from.

Ground Beef With Potatoes

I wanted a quick and easy meal for me and my hubby so I just thawed the ground beef (from grass-fed cow). Then I peeled and sliced 2 potatoes and also onions and garlic. I saute it using olive oil. It was so good to me.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
2 medium size potatoes, peeled and diced
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Directions:
Saute the onions and garlic with olive oil. Put the ground beef and cook until brown. Put the diced onions and season with salt and pepper. Cook until it's done about 20 minutes.

Nikon Binoculars

Do you want to go out sightseeing? Or perhaps you are fun of hunting animals during the hunting season. If so, perhaps you would want to have a binocular to use during these activities. Nikon has some nice binoculars that you can choose from. This brand is very dependable. In fact my digital camera is Nikon.If you are a hunter, the Nikon's All Terrain Binocular would be good for you. It has earned a reputation among serious hunters for precision optics, great ruggedness and incredible value. They have also the Nikon Monarch and Trailblazer Binoculars. They have a promo now and they're giving out Gift cards for Nikon Pro Gear, allowing you to get some cool gear for no additional cost. You get a $50 gift card when you purchase one of the Monarch ATB binoculars, and a $25 gift card when you get either a Trailblazer ATB, an Action Extreme ATB, or a ProStaff binocular. Promo ends December 31, 2008. Visit their website now and avail of this great offer.

Top Seven Countries

As we celebrate the United Nations month this October, I'd like to start this chain of the top 7 countries I like or admire the most.
The list below are based on the places that I already been/traveled and want to visit someday.

1. Philippines- my native land and where my heart is.
2. USA- My second home.
3. Japan- I want to visit my friend Sofia and her family. I miss them.
4. Switzerland- Because they have beautiful parks and sceneries there.
5. Italy- Because I think it's a historical place.
6. Hong Kong- Because I want to shop there.
7. Australia - Because I want to see the land down under and the kangaroos.

Thanks Selina for this tag. I appreciate it girl.

Now I'd like to tag Marly, Richelle, Alf and Ging.

Personal Loans

Many of us who are living from paycheck to paycheck sometimes need extra money to spend for the things that are important for our daily living like fixing the car, pay bills or make a small home improvement. Sometimes we don't know where to borrow that needed money. It's good that there's a site that offers Personal Loans in Minutes to help people in times of need. These loans allow individuals to obtain a small chunk of money that can help them financially until their next payday. Payday loan is easy to qualify as long as you have an active bank account, you're employed or have a verifiable income and you're at least 18 years old. Save yourself from embarrassment in borrowing money from your kins of friends. Get your fast cash by applying a payday loan online at Personal Loans Mania. They offer personal loan program which helps customers nationwide obtain the financing they need without a lot of hassles.

Pink Sisterhood - Breast Cancer Awareness Tag

This tag is from Richelle . Thank you for this tag and I really appreciate it.

**start copy***

1. Put the logo in your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who shared it with you.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4. Add your link to the list of participants below
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

PINK Sisterhood
1.Fara 2. Massy 3. N.O.Y 4. Mariuca 5. A Great Pleasure 6. Benchiegrace 7. Grace 8. Jhelea 9. Richelle 10. Lisa and YOU Next!

***end copy***

I'm tagging Marly, Selina and Ging.

Turkey Meatballs

I cooked turkey meatballs the other day. I just baked it and I put the leftovers in the refrigerator. My hubby and I ate it again the next day and it saved me time in cooking. I just wish I will just eat and not have to cook. That was my life way back in the Philippines. How I miss it!

Anyway, here's the recipe for this turkey meatballs. These oven-baked meatballs are fast and easy to prepare. You can serve them with pasta and spaghetti sauce or just eat them with ketchup. Feel free to substitute lean ground beef for the ground turkey. The turkey should have at least 7% fat."

INGREDIENTS:

* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 (20 ounce) package ground turkey
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1/3 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
* 1 onion

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with the olive oil, and place it in the oven while preheating.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the ground turkey, egg, and bread crumbs using your hands. Using an ice cream scoop if possible, form the meat into golf ball sized meatballs. Place about 1 inch apart in the hot baking dish. Press down to flatten the bottom just slightly.
3. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then turn them over, and continue baking for about 5 more minutes, or until somewhat crispy on the outside. Serve with pasta and sauce or however you'd like.

Get Out Of Debt

As I mentioned here in my previous post, debt is one of the major cause of divorce here in the US. It had caused a lot of marital problems that caused strain in the couples' relationship that led them to go their separate ways. It's not easy to be in debt. I'm so thankful that my hubby is very careful regarding this matter. He doesn't want to be in debt that he can't afford to pay. That's the reason why we don't spend beyond our means. We only buy what we need and not what we want. I really commend my hubby for this and I'm so thankful to the good Lord for giving me my hubby.

It's so important not to get into debts that you can't afford to pay. If you have debts, it's best to have non profit debt consolidation to help you manage or solve your debt problems so you can pay all your bills on time. If you are struggling in paying your debts try to visit American Credit Foundation. This company is non-profit organization and is here to help you manage your debts. It can help and assist you to understand your overall financial health and teach you ways to improve your finances. This site can help you get out of your debts quickly and that is what everybody else want to happen.

It's a good thing that there are sites like American Credit Foundation to help people manage their debts. Don't be tortured with your debts overload. Get help by visiting this site. One more thing, don't spend beyond your means and pay your bills on time to avoid interests or penalties. It's an unending monthly routine that we have to pay in order to get going. If not, life won't be the same again if they cut off the electricity, water or repossess the house and the car if we can't pay the bills. Oh my, life is really getting harder. It's good my hubby is up to date in paying our bills. He's been consistent in doing it and I commend him for that. There were times that we struggle like last month but we managed anyway. Good management of our finances is the key. We don't spend our money on things that we can live without it. In short, we only buy the things that we really need.

A Grateful Heart

I have been tag by Richelle. Thanks for this one.

Ten Reasons to be Thankful Today!




Here are the rules:

Add your Blog to the list. If you’re keeping multiple Blogs, it’ll be fine if you add them all up and just post your answers in one of those Blogs.



2. IMPORTANT: kindly get back to me [architect] so i will be able to visit your sites, read your answers and include you in the Masterlist.



3. Please do copy from Start to End.



4. You may tag as many online friends as you please.Copy this Participants List:



sweet..pretty..naughty, Memory Filled Sweety tots, My Life in this Wonderful World, My Online World, Living A' La Mode, From This Side.My Life's Journey in Italy, In My Kitchen, Your Blog here.



I have been caught up with a lot of things at work and I have focus all of my attention on my troubles at work that I failed to see all the wonderful blessings I have.

This tag helped me appreciate the graces that I have are a lot more compared to the things that worry me at present.:-(

And my list of things I’m grateful for are:

1. I thank God for my life, without Him I am nothing.
2. I thank God for giving His Son Jesus who died on the cross for my sins.
3. I thank God for the joy of my salvation.
4. I thank my husband for loving me unconditionally.
5. I thank my family for their love and support.
6. I thank my church family for their love and prayers.
7. I thank all my friends whom God has given me.
8. I thank all the advertisers who's been giving me the chance to earn money.

These are some of the things and people I’m grateful for. Thank you... You make my life complete...:-)

I'm tagging Ging, Selina and Marly.

Online Payday Loan

Life is really getting harder and harder nowadays. What with the price of gas and prime commodities sky rocketing nowadays. It's really hard to budget the money now. When you go to the grocery, you can only buy a few items now with a hundred dollars. The sad thing is, despite the increase of gas, the employees' salary doesn't increase so it's really hard. There are several times that people need money for their day to day living but don't know where to borrow from. I know it's embarrassing to borrow money from your friends and relatives. You don't want them to know that you're in need of money badly. So to save you from embarrassment in borrowing money from your friends and relatives, why not apply for Online Payday Loan. You heard it right. You don't even need to drive and go far. Just go online and fill out their application form for an instant loan. It's easy to apply. You don't need to pay application fee and there's no hidden charges. No home equity or collateral is needed. Just check it our folks.

Lumpia Was A Hit

I cooked 125 lumpia on my citizenship party last Sunday evening in our church. It took me 2 days to make it because I get tired making it in one setting. I cooked it in 2 frying fans on Sunday afternoon so I can cook it faster. Hubby and I brought it in the church together with the baked burritos and the cake made by Ann's mom-in-law. As expected, the lumpia was a hit. There were a few leftover of the lumpia and I told everybody that they can take it home and sure they did.

Debt Consolidation

I heard that debt is one of the reasons why there are many cases of divorce here in the US. When a family gets into debts and can't get out from it, most likely the couple will end up into divorce. I don't want that to happen to me and my hubby and I'm pretty sure other couples wouldn't want that to happen to them either. That's why it's so important not to get into debts that you can't afford to pay. If you have debts, it's best to have debt consolidation to help you manage or solve your debt problems so you can pay all your bills on time. If you are struggling in paying your debts try to visit www.debtconsolidation.com. It can help and assist you to understand your overall financial health and teach you ways to improve your financial score. You will get an idea how to manage your finances. This site offers free ongoing credit counseling services and educational materials regardless of whether or not consumers enroll in the debt management plan program. They also offer free educational seminars to the public. Their debt consolidators are always ready to answer your questions and find out what is best for your particular situation. Credit counselors will negotiate upon your behalf to lower payments, have fees waived, and your interest rates reduced. Building a strong financial education for you is a top priority. The debt consolidators will teach you how to handle your bills, use a family budget, create a way to save for your future, and most importantly become debt free.

Pay your bills on time to avoid interests or penalties. It's an unending monthly routine that we have to pay in order to get going. If not, life won't be the same again if they cut off the electricity, water or repossess the house and the car if we can't pay the bills. Oh my, life is really getting harder. It's good my hubby is up to date in paying our bills. He's been consistent in doing it and I commend him for that. There were times that we struggle like last month but we managed anyway. Good management of our finances is the key. We don't spend our money on things that we can live without it. In short, we only buy the things that we really need.

My Cakes

I had my US citizenship party last Sunday in our church and my friends made 2 cakes for me. They decorated it with the US flag. Oh my, I was so happy to see those two cakes when they gave it. They were so uniquely decorated with icings of different colors and also with the US flag. My church family brought some foods and I brought 125 lumpia and some burritos that we bought from the store. I made the lumpia myself and everybody love it. The cakes were so soft and delicious. One of the cakes was chocolate and the other was a combination of yellow and chocolate cake. I really enjoyed my citizenship party and thanks for my church family for organizing it and bringing foods and making drinks. They also decorated our dining tables with US flags. I can't thank them enough.