Cheese Abuse!

Oh no! With everything else in my place, another food item has been wasted. Why I can never finish anything before the expiration date is beyond me. Too much eating out?! Not enough cooking? Too much pre-made food? *sigh*

The worst happened today when I wasted a bag of cheese! Note to self, don't buy the jumbo bag of shredded cheese. Ate nearly 3/4 of the bag and then when I wanted it most yesterday (to sprinkle on top of broccoli)... there was a big fuzzy smiley face greeting me. Darn you mold! So instead of using shredded cheese... I put american singles cheese.

I used up the last of my singles cheese and this morning, I realize I have nothing to make my grilled cheese! Oh no!

Next best bet... peanut butter wheat toast shall suffice!

=)

Oodles of Noodles

I made lasagna this weekend! Filled up the 9 x 13 pan and turn around to see that I still have literally half the box of noodles left! Did I just not pack the noodles in right? Not enough layers? But, if I add more layers, my pan will overflow! The math just does not add up.... hmmm.

At any rate, my lasagna was good! Definitely not like daddy-o made it, but it will do. Next time I shall add olives. This time around I was too lazy to cut them; so I decided easy solution will be to buy sliced olives next time ;) Simple tricks of the trade or just a sign of a lazy cook hehe.

Now, what do I do with the leftover cooked lasagna noodles??? That is the question... hmmm.
Perhaps next time, I should prepare enough to make 2 pans of lasagna!!!!

I can never have enough lasagna! mmmm yummy!
=)

A Simple Revelation

The other day, I mentioned that I can eat a grilled cheese sandwich everyday! This is no joke! Pretty much every morning, I make myself a grilled cheese sandwich, lightly buttered and oh so delicious!

I have started a quest to find the perfect cheese for a grilled cheese sandwich. However only this morning did I realize, that not only is it about the cheese.... BUT also the BREAD! I must find the perfect match. So far with wheat bread, I have sliced off the list -- Provolone, Swiss, Gouda and Kraft American Singles. The search continues.... with the many different types of cheeses and breads, I will have a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches to eat! But, I don't mind!

Aside from the bread revelation, I thought I would take it on step further and pair it with a soup! Of course, we all know that grilled cheese and tomato soup is a winning combo, BUT I'm sure that there are other soups that may go better depending on the type of grilled cheese sandwich it is.... ah huh... hence my revelation(s)!

Wish me luck in my quest!
Once I find all the answers, I shall open my grilled cheese sandwich restaurant!

=)

Tough Choices

I'm sure you have your favorite restaurants that you frequently visit. And what do you order when you visit your favorite restaurant? Most times the same thing you do every time, right? Or is that just me? Either way, I find it hard to sway from my normal order which I know fulfills me far and beyond tummy satisfaction. Every time I think about changing it up, but at the last minute, I stick with my gut and order the same ol same ol.

There are the very RARE times that I do venture out of my comfort bubble and try something new... which is what I did today. While it was very good, the satisfaction, just was not the same as my usual order. Now I crave my regular dish! Shall I go back tomorrow or next week and get it?! That is a must!

Always get the dish you know you'll love. Satisfaction guaranteed and a happy tummy!

=)

Cheesey Goodness

Who doesn't love cheese?! Even lactose intolerant people like cheese. String cheese, block cheese, sliced cheese, shredded cheese it makes the world go round!

American, swiss, gouda, harvarti, mozarella, fontina, pepperjack and the list goes on and on! Take your pick; I never get tired of the wonderful world of cheese!

Add cheese to pasta, eggs, crackers and it will make the dish that much more delightful.
Every morning I start my day with a GRILLED CHEESE!

=)

Day 2: Poke

I am not a big fan of poke, unless it is imitation crab poke or any other poke that is cooked! Raw fish is a no no for me. However, I did find out what I can do with leftover poke..... make FRIED RICE!!!!

Shrimp poke turned kimchi shrimp fried rice is oh so delish! Plus the poke gives it a little kick and I like spicy! Add some egg and green onions and you're good to go! A yummy meal ready in 10 minutes. I highly recommend trying it if you ever have leftover poke!

Fried rice is always a winner in my book! =)

What's good for your heart?!

Beans Beans "they're good for your heart!" ... the more you eat the more you fart, the more you fart, the better you feel... so what?! eat beans with every meal!!!!

I don't know about you, but I *heart* beans! But for some reason, I find a large number of guys do not care for beans. No bean black beans. No kidney beans. No bean chili. Now, is it really chili without beans?!?!? I think not!

Beans are good for you, so I highly recommend eating them!!!
=)

Quick & Easy

Now I understand the hardships of "growing up" and "fending for myself". When I was living at home, dinner would be cooked and ready to serve when I got home from work. Spoiled?! YES. (My daddy's the bestest). But now that I got my own place... it is I that has to prepare my own meals! After a long day at work, all I want is for the food to magically appear like before, but of course it doesn't.

So... when I'm lazy and need a quick fix (which is almost every night), what is the solution?!?! BOTTLED PASTA SAUCE! It works wonders.. boil the noodles, throw in some veggies, mushooms and pour the sauce on! Works miracles and tastes good too! Add some extra cheese on top and finish with a beer or glass of wine! Can't go wrong.

Thank you bottled pasta sauce for existing!
You make food appear... quickly!
=)

Hate it, then Love it

Why is it that you might hate eating something as a kid, but when you're older you really enjoy it. My dad never liked fish as a kid, but now he's always eating it. I hated when mom would make me eat oatmeal as a kid, but now I love it. I can remember when she wouldn't let me leave until I finished all my oatmeal. All the gagging in the world, wouldn't let me off the hook. I had to eat it all. Now though, it's not a problem.

Why oh why do our taste buds change like that? Then there are still some foods that you hated when you were younger and still hate to this day! Why? It makes no sense!

Hate it, love it, whatevers.. food makes the world go round! Let your taste buds do the talkin'
=)

How old is too old?!

I have the hardest time figuring out whether or not the food is still good. Take for instance last night.. I forgot to put away my cheese pizza. I woke up and it is still patiently waiting in the toaster to be put away. Is it still good?! Or will staying out all night make the cheese funky and upset my tummy?

Yogurt, how long after it expires is it still good? Because let me tell you, a whole box of yogurt from Costco is hard to finish by oneself, especially if you do not check the expiration date before you buy it. And only after you buy it, do you realize that it expires in 2 weeks!!! Still good a week later, right?

Milk, rice, etc... never can figure it out. Of course everyone says to smell it, which I do, but sometimes it is still hard to tell. Which means, it must be edible, right!?

Anyways, you better believe it... I have a stomach made of steel! =)

Stinky BO

I have a monthly dinner with my 2 foodie friends; each time we take turns picking a new restaurant. This past week we tried The Counter, a burger joint where you can customize your burger - from patty, sauce and toppings! Quite problematic for the indecisive, like me! Took me awhile to figure out which 4 toppings I wanted... do I want tomatoes or organic mixed greens or pickles or roasted red peppers or jalapenos or grilled onions and the list goes on! Don't even get me started on the sauce options because that was just as long, if not longer, than the toppings list!

In the end, I finally customized my burger and it was delish! =) A side order cheesey fries to complete my dinner.... which would have been perfect... if only the person next to us did not have BO! The smell of someone stink next to you, while you try to enjoy a perfect burger is torturous! You cannot inhale or you will taste the body odor on your burger! I shall say, this was probably the fastest we finished our meal...

Besides that little encounter, it was yet again a perfect monthly dinner with my 2 best foodie pals =) next month is my turn to pick a restaurant!

Holiday Puff

The holiday season is here! A time for thanks, a time for family and friends and most of all a time for good grinds! =)

All the lovely vendors and clients have delivered an aray of goodies to our office - ranging from cookies to waffers to chocolates to cakes to pretzels and mixed salty snacks - ohh the sweet and savory how I love thee; of course I love them separately. I dislike when a meal or dish is both sweet and savory at the same time - that throws off my taste buds!

At any rate, I have been snacking all day, non stop! Let the holiday puff (that is my expanding belly) begin~

=) Merry Christmas to all!!!!

Just my luck, triple whammy!

Planned a nice lunch with some great coworkers... 

Whammy #1: get to our lunch destination and the hostess asks if we want to sit inside or outside.  As it was a bit muggy today, I said "inside!"... the hostess then says, "oops, nevermind there are no seats inside."  boo!!!  Big whammy - so we sit in the muggy heat, outside.

Whammy #2: after stuffing my face with a whole bowlful of loco moco (with scrambled egg), the malasada looked very appealing and only $0.90!  what a deal... so I stuff my face some more and then when I get back to the office... what gets delivered... a boxful of malasadas!!!!  how do I resist... but believe it or not, power to me because I did not take one!  once in a while, I have will power and mostly that is because I knew I had dinner in about 3 hours!

Whammy #3: just got to my dinner destination to exchange gifts with my two highschool friends and the food is delicious!  just as we are finishing our meal... *power goes out*  poof!  my first thought is ... free dinner!?!?!?  but just my luck, their PO system has a 30 minute back up!  *sigh*  at least I walked out of there with a full tummy and satisfied smile due to the great service!  

Even though I encountered the triple whammy threat today, I have two good points that made my night!

1. received an email from my mom who said dinner at grandma and grandpa o's is ON!  this was a surprise and literally brought tears to my eyes.  my grandparents have not been well and we didn't gather last year, so this is a good sign..

2. my friend who is traveling around the world just came a knocking on my door!!!  *knock knock* back for a few months.. let the fun begin~

smiles all around  =)

pop pop popcorn

popcorn would be the perfect snack: light, semi healthy, low calories.... IF ONLY it didn't get stuck in my teeth all the time! Visualize this... I'm at my desk.. picking at it, finger in the mouth, trying to remove it from my teeth with no luck, grumbling and close to drooling! ... not very classy haha.

popcorn would also be the perfect snack IF ONLY I could make it without burning it! .. I guess my listening skills are not very good because I cannot pinpoint that exact moment to press the "done" button on the microwave. So, I wait and wait a bit longer.. all of a sudden there is silence and of course, out comes a black puff of smoke! burnt popcorn = fail. This is a skill I am working on! ;)

none-the-less, I still love popcorn - regular kind (butter and salt) rather than kettle corn (sweet and salty)... mmmm now I shall enjoy my leftover festive Halloween popcorn (orange and black coloring)

=)

Why oh Why Tendon?!

Why oh why tendon...

1. why do I always order tendon at Japanese restaurants?
That is a good question because I do not like the sweet sauce that is poured all over the rice. Nor do I eat all my shrimp, which normally there are only 2 or 3. That is the most expensive part of the meal.

2. why do I always get sick after ordering tendon!?
I have a pretty tough stomach, which I like to claim is made of steel. Rarely do I ever get sick or have stomach aches from food. The first time ever was a year or two ago when I ate at this Korean/Japanese restaurant, which everyone says is so worth it! I ordered tendon and that very night, my stomach cramped up so bad; I wanted to die! I thought it must have been the restaurants fault.. however, last night again, after eating tendon... my stomach got ubber sore and unfortunately, I had the runny doots. =( Gross... I know!

Conclusion... tendon is bad for me and I really shouldn't order it anymore! Why oh why do I continue to do so.. beats the heck out of me.. but I am on board now to say "NO tendon!"

=)

btw, my stomach is finally feeling better after about 18 hours!

oh and btw, if you do not know what ten don is ... basically it is vegetable and shrimp tempura over a bed of rice, drizzled with a slightly sweet sauce.

Boycott

I am the master of boycotts at restaurants. I expect good food and good service... well, last nights service sucked majorly. First, we had a party of 6 and they said to please wait 6-10 minutes. We waited longer than that and when they finally sat us, there were many open tables to seat a party of 6. What took so long?!?!

Secondly, our waiter took forever to even take our order; they didn't refill our glass of water, and he wallked by 3 times before bringing us our bread and appetizer. Keep in mind, it is not busy.

Last thing that pissed off my friends was that he couldn't split up the check due to the rule of a fixed gratuity on parties of 6 or more. I can understand that but what I did not get was why we can't pay in both cash and credit card from one check. All you have to do is plug in the cash amount and the remaining balance goes on credit card. What is so hard to understand? Apparently their registers cannot do such a thing. Insane!

While I will not argue that the food was good... due to the horribly bad service... this restaurant in Kaneohe (also a location in Kailua), gets my boycott!

Boring Sandwich

Sandwiches are boring! I don't think I could eat one everyday of the week, unless it was a grilled cheese sandwich. I just ate a turkey and cheese sandwich with a side banana and string cheese. It is just not a hearty meal. I like *hearty* Maybe I should try to cook...

Speaking of which, I just got a 7 quart crock pot that I am ready to tackle once I find a good recipe! I would like to make a chili, soup, stew, jambalaya and I suppose a pot roast or some meaty thing for the boyfriend, even though I'm not a big meat eater... I could be nice once in a while...

I tend to stick with eating things I know I like.. so I always order the same dish at certain restaurants (e.g. Saigon Noodle House = Veggie Pho, Kim Chee = Mandoo Kook Soo, etc). But yesterday at my dad's birthday linner (late lunch, early dinner)... I went out of my bubble and tried the chop chae. I thought it would be like how its served at fast food Korean places, but instead it was in a soup! I barely ate any of the chicken! But all that wonbok was delicious! =) Overall, I didn't hate it, but I probably will stick with my Mandoo Kook Soo from now on!

Snail or Slug

Which is slower... a snail or a slug?! Whichever it is, that's what I am because I am so full from all that veggie fried rice at lunch! All I want to do is take a 2 hour long nap! *YAWN*

I actually brought home lunch today, chicken tamale and rice, BUT how can I pass up Lau Yee Chai's $5 dollar fried rice?!?! Oh so ono! This week was a rare happening.. I ate out 4 out of 5 days in the week! Next week I am bringing home lunch every day! That is my vow.... we shall see if it happens...

By the way, last night at Makitti, I tried "Shoronpo" for the first time. Supposedly it is supposed to have beef and soup like filling in the dumpling form, but this one was rather dry with no soup! It sort of tasted like a pork hash to me. I think I just like saying "shoronpo!" Oh and there was hardly anything "hello kitty" about the restaurant, so I was not bombarded with over cutesy-ness, thank goodness!

=)

Hakata Style

Received an email early this morning about the "today only" special at Gyu-Kaku. FREE kalbi when you say the secret word "kalbi". Very tempting... however, I decided to stick with my original plan, which was Menchanko-Tei!

Funny thing is I ate lunch at Menchanko-Tei with 2 friends, one of which is the regional director of Gyu-Kaku!!!! =) Muahahahahaha. I swayed him from his own restaurant! Such power I have.. not really.. but still... as always, the hakata ramen and chicken rice was delicious and only $6.50. What a deal! 

Tonight I shall attend the soft opening at Makitti, the hello kitty of Makino Chaya... I am afraid of the ubber cuteness of the restaurant, but am excited to see my friends and check out what they have to offer... beware though, because there are some coworkers (including the president) from my office who will be there... I must duck and hide!

=)

Maui Tacos BEBE!

B drizz ordered the chicken chingaling, which is basically a taquito but using flour tortilla instead of corn tortillas~ Here is my jingle for her based off a famous song, "give a ring when you want some chingaling!..." HAHAHA! Do you know what song that comes from?!?!?!?

As for me, I ordered the vegetarian bowl-filled with rice, black beans, potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes and 4 tortilla chips! Quite refreshing... mmmm. I have also tried their cheese quesadilla and burrito with wet sauce (aka enchilada sauce)! The very first time I tried Maui Tacos, I was not that impressed, but giving it another try, I have since changed my mind... I would like to try their banana lumpia next!

And just to add to the story, Maui Tacos is where I secretly set up a coworker on a date with the new printer dude! MUAHAHAHAHA ... evil =

My other friend, Tuna, ended up going to Panda Express. Just FYI - the kids meal at Panda was about the same price as my vegetarian bowl ($6.50). Why is the Royal Hawaiian Center's food court so expensive?!

=)