Leftover Makeover: Hotdog "Paella"

The other night, it was just Jiggly and I at home so I felt too lazy to cook dinner. There was still some rice left from the previous meal so I scanned through the few ingredients in the fridge waiting to be noticed haha. 

The result is another delicous, albeit lazy, leftover experiment inspired by the famous Valencian rice dish, PAELLA, with an Italian twist.:D

HOTDOG PAELLA

Ingredients:

Leftover Rice

Hotdog, cut in bite-size pieces

Butter

Spaghetti Sauce

Water

Cheese, grated or cut in small pieces

Seasoning

Directions:

1. Pan fry hotdog with a scoop of butter.

2. Pour in spaghetti sauce and some water.

3. Add cheese to the mixture.

4. Stir and let it simmer.

5. Season to taste.

6. Mix leftover rice until well-coated.

6. Serve and enjoy!

Other ingredients may be added such as carrots, peas and bell pepper. The possibilities are actually endless.:D

Taraaaaaaaaaaan!:D INSTANT MEAL! 

I'm sure kids and kids-at-heart will love this as much as I did.:D

Leftover Makeover: Scrambled Egg Con Lechon

Until now, Hubby and I are still thriving on Christmas and New Year leftovers.:) It's not a bad thing though because we spend less on food these days hohoho.:)

Anyway, my post would be about what we had for brunch today. Made out of leftovers (yeah!), it's a very ordinary dish but the taste turned out to be so good that I thought of sharing the idea with everyone.

SCRAMBLED EGG CON LECHON

Ingredients:

Leftover Lechon (cut in strips)

Leftover Quickmelt Cheese (cut in desired size)

Egg

Seasoning

Directions:

1. Beat egg.

2. Add cheese and seasoning.

3. Set aside egg mixture.

4. Fry lechon strips until crispy. (Fat from lechon may be used as cooking oil substitute)

5. Add egg mixture.

6. Cook as you would a scrambled egg.

7. Serve and enjoy!

Sorry for this seemingly "unflattering" photo LOL!

Very simple and easy to do, right? But the taste? Ooooohhhhh, simply awesome!:) 

This dish is perfect for breakfast, lunch too and yes, even dinner. 

Happy cooking and eating!:)

My Final Artwork for 2013 ^^

Time flies so fast and today marks the end of 2013! Instead of looking back to the year that was, for now I'd rather look forward to the year that will be.:) 

Here are my aspirations for 2014, as symbolized by my final artwork for 2013 ---- 

My Customized and Handmade Planner Cover!:)

Unlike its "predecessor" which is more on the cool pastel side, the cover of my new planner screams of sparkle, shimmer and all that! 

It might be too lustrous for some but, hey, that's how I want my 2014 to be.:) I want to "radiate" endless energy and enthusiasm to be able to take giant leaps in reaching my goals and accomplishing even those I haven't had courage to do before. 

The color scheme is also reminiscent of our wedding motif. I hope 2014 will be another fruitful year for our marriage, in whatever means possible.

As for the gold ribbon, it also signifies me, Golda being my name haha. It simply means that one of my aspirations for the coming year is to have more opportunities to express my individuality, my skills and whatever that would speak of who/what I really am, sans fear of rejection or indifference.

The color violet (my fave!) is also for royalty. Maybe, just maybe, I will be a real princess in my own palace come 2014.:)

Finally, the heart on the cover denotes my yearning to give more love and care to family, friends and just about anybody in my own little way. Of course, such would not be possible without first acknowledging God's great love for humanity.

So that's my final artwork for 2013. More than a visual masterpiece (or at least that's how I perceive it lol), it is an unabashed display of my heart's desires for 2014. May all of these (and yours too!) come true, God-willing.

I wish everyone Wondrous & Joyful New Year!^^

------------------------------

UPDATE: January 27, 2014

After barely a month, the metallic coating on the letters I used for my name already began to chip off. Hence, I decided to just use plain foam cut-outs, material of which is similar to the ones I used for "2014".:) 

Here's the current look of my planner cover teehee...:)

ADVENT 2013: Of Observance and Crafts

Today, the 1st of December, marks the beginning of ADVENT, a season that Christians observe before Christmas. It is a time of reflection, anticipation and preparation for the nativity of Jesus.:)

A Catholic myself, I grew up  having an Advent wreath in our home as part of the season's observance. Every year, the presence of the wreath would nurture my spirituality, reminding me of what the season is all about.

Source: http://christmastraditions.net/advent.shtml

An Advent wreath has many symbolism in itself. Traditionally made of evergreen, its color signifies eternal life. Its circular shape speaks of the belief that God has no beginning nor end.  

There are four candles on the wreath, representing the four weeks of Advent.  Three of which are purple and one is pink. 

The purple candles in particular symbolize the prayer, penance, and preparatory sacrifices and goods works undertaken at this time. The rose candle is lit on the third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, when the priest also wears rose vestments at Mass; Gaudete Sunday is the Sunday of rejoicing, because the faithful have arrived at the midpoint of Advent, when their preparation is now half over and they are close to Christmas. The progressive lighting of the candles symbolizes the expectation and hope surrounding our Lord’s first coming into the world and the anticipation of His second coming to judge the living and the dead.  The light again signifies Christ, the Light of the world. Some modern day adaptions include a white candle placed in the middle of the wreath, which represents Christ and is lit on Christmas Eve. (www.catholiceducation.org)

In the past, it is my mother who always took the initiative to set up an Advent wreath. Now that I am living in separate residence with my Hubby (and JIGGLY :)), I happily assumed the "responsibility".:)

To be honest though, until yesterday morning, I did not have a clear idea on how to go about setting up our own Advent wreath. Afternoon came and I was cramming already. Since time wasn't enough for me to go to wherever to buy a ready-made wreath, I decided to improvise one.:) I suddenly had inspiration when I rummaged through the available materials in the house. Thank God, I was able to come up with this... tadaaaaah!:)

Materials used:

4 wine glasses
4 candles (3 purple and 1 pink) ---> Courtesy of my mom ^^ 
Green Garlands 

See, I did not have to spend much for our simple wreath! I truly hope that with this in our home, as in the past years, I would always be prompted of the true essence of Advent which leads up to the most joyous yet meaningful time of the year, Christmas.:)

WIN A BORACAY TRAVEL AND TOUR PACKAGE!:)

I am pleased to share with everyone this exciting invite that I received from I-map Websolutions, Inc. :D

Greetings!

We are pleased to invite you to our “Expression of Love Blogging Contest.” Share a story of a captivating moment involving flowers and gifts that made your heart goes “awwwww”. Be it your own experience or someone’s magical moment as long as you can convey the expression of love into words. Be as creative as you can be!

MECHANICS

• The topic should be about giving flowers and gifts in any occasions.
• Must be an original composition with 500 words but not more than 600 words.
• Should promote our products and business. (Philflora.com, ManilaBlossoms.com, PHgifts.com)
• Willing to put up the article in their personal blogs.
• Content must be in English.
• Participants can submit one (1) entry per website. (Philflora.com, ManilaBlossoms.com, PHgifts.com)

NOTE: Participants can request photos for the writing purposes.

Deadline of Submission

Submit on or before November 20, 2013. 

Registration Form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19i4BtLRxoM01dPG8JYjeK8L5FRp9Plk-I-owC90e9P8/viewform

Announcement will be on December 07, 2013.

Criteria for Judging

                25% - originality

                25% - creativity (writing style)

                20% - use of media

                30% - promotional and marketing relevance, key wording and overall content

Exciting Prizes

                1^st Prize – 3 days and 2 nights travel package and tour in Boracay

                2^nd Prize – Blog website and 1 year hosting            

                3^rd Prize – Ebook reader

If you have any questions or you would like to participate, please contact us by email. You can also forward this email to your blog’s followers and following.

Eagerly looking forward to your participation!

Best Regards,

Philflora, ManilaBlossoms, PHgifts
IMAP WEBSOLUTIONS, INC.
Address: 2E Patricia Bldg. 1050 EDSA Magallanes, Makati City
Website: www.imapwebsolutions.com www.philflora.com www.manilablossoms.com www.phgifts.com

Just a lil Boracay "visual aid" haha. Lifted off this old post of mine.

So what are you waiting for? Join “Expression of Love Blogging Contest” now and get a chance to fly to BORACAY for FREE!:D 

Good luck!