Family...period.

I read this quote today and posted it on FB. I don't have to elaborate cause it speaks for itself. I.LOVE.IT.

"I once read 'blood is thicker than water'. In today's world, after all of the advancement, we realize that often times the blood of another can save ones life. If you think family consists of only those who share your bloodline, you're sadly offering a swift slap to the face of one who would give the last of what they have for your happiness."

I didn't grow up with everyone who I call family. But I know that I couldn't live without them all even if I tried. Life has a funny way of making certain things fall into place. It's all part of a greater plan and I would be foolish to question something that I have no power over. I will say that I'm lucky in more ways that I can count.

Lucky Girl

It's been CRAZY for me lately! You can tell by my lack of blogging. ;-) We were lucky enough to have a whole lotta family join us for Mark's farewell program last Sunday. It turned out really nice! I'll post pictures soon. I also have a back-up of recipes that I need to post. Geez it's sucky trying to play catch up!

I've been busy at work especially. It gets hard to be away from everyone for most of the day. I'm not cut out to be a stay-at-home mom, but oh how I miss everyone while I'm at work.

Siua has made it a routine to send me camera phone snapshots every once in a while when I'm at work. They help me maintain my sanity when things are tough and it's a subtle reminder of why I'm here in the first place. More likely than not, they are pictures of Luvie doing whatever task he has planned for the day. I must say, I am one lucky mama. He's AMAZING with the kids! They have been blessed with an incredibly patient hands on Dad. Most times I don't even know what he has planned for the day with his baby girl. But sure enough, I get a picture of Luvie at the park, the store, the two of them out to lunch or going for a walk. He does the same when he is on field trips with the boys. He went on one with Joshua recently and my Joshy couldn't have been more excited for his Dad to go.

It's the little things that help my babies feel special and loved. He does such a good job with those special little things. I once read "The best thing you can give children, next to good habits, are good memories." I'm so glad that so many of my children's good memories are shared with their Daddy.

Here are a few of the cell phone snapshots along with Siua's subject heading in his emails -

"This guy is lovin' it. All hecka juiced to brush a goat.lol"
"She's ready to shop."
"Lunch on the go. She's feelin' her Lunchables. lol"
"Someone wants her own bowl of cereal. Straight throwin' a fit."
"Lunch at Round Table with Rich and Marky Bo"

THANK YOU LANI!!!!!

I just had to make sure that I give credit where it's due. For the record, 9 times out of 10, the pictures that you see on my recipe posts (and almost all of the pictures at family functions) are taken by my super talented apprentice photographer sister LANI.

She is amazing and has such an eye for good pictures and great angles. I can't wait to see her develop her talent into a booming career if she chooses to move forward with it.

THANK YOU for being so willing to help me Lani!!! I love you hunnay!

Here are a couple of my FAVORITE snap-shots Lani took during the past couple of weeks.

Good Old Coconut Bars

I was maybe 6 years old when I recall having my very first coconut bar. I probably tasted it long before but I was too young to remember. I didn't even know what to call it but it came in a big box during Christmas week just like every year before. There were a ton of other homemade goodies (peanut butter fudge, chex mex, nougat etc.) but the sweet coconutty treat stood out just as much then as it does now. It was my FAVORITE.

My great-grandmother MaMaw sent us the box of goodies she made from scratch every year at Christmas time. I didn't even know her real name until I was in my teens. She's from the South and we only called her MamMaw. Apparently, the nick name came about because her grandchildren, my mom included, couldn't pronounce "Grandma" when they were young.

I never really got to spend as much time with her as I would have liked. When I was young, I specifically remember that I looked forward to the $10 check she would mail on every birthday. The first check I ever cashed was from MamMaw. She passed away when I was a teenager. But now that I'm older, I know that we would have gotten along great. We share a love of baking and I'm positive that she is one from whom I inherited that love.

Sorry the picture is so small, this is the only one I have. It's me all the way to the right. You can barely see me sitting on the couch next to MamMaw. My mom (in the center holding Rich), my Nana (left) and my MamMaw (right).
I'm lucky to have been surrounded by some of the most amazing cooks. My aunties Tala and Lea make some of the BEST dishes I've ever had. My auntie Tala especially bakes the most dilectable Tongan desserts. It's this group of women (of course my madre included) that I draw inspiration from.

So this one belongs to my MamMaw. An old recipe that hasn't ever been changed because it's THAT good!

Monday night I decided to whip up a batch because we hadn't had them in a while. Mark's girlfriend Hannah was over for dinner and offered to help so I asked her to make them for me. With quick directions Hannah made it happen for our coconut bars. Maybe that's a sign that she is meant to be a part of our family. LOL While Hannah worked on the bars, Lani, Tasha and I worked on dinner. It was a group effort and we ALL enjoyed it. I hope you enjoy it too!

Coconut Bars
4 cups of grahm cracker crumbs (you can buy the crumbs OR crush regular grahm crackers)
1 stick of butter
1 bag of chocolate chips (for our house, I use two)
1 bag of shredded coconut
1 cup of chopped pecans
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
Preheat oven to 375. Put the stick of butter on the bottom of a sheet pan and bake in the oven. Remove the pan once the butter is completely melted.

Sprinkle grahm cracker crumbs over the top of the butter and pat down to create a crust.
Add chocolate chips, coconut and pecans (in that order) spreading over the whole pan evenly.
Drizzle with sweetened condensed milk trying to get it evenly over as much of the pan as you can.
Bake at 375 for about 12-15 minutes. Sometimes I have to leave it in for an additional 2 minutes to make sure the coconut browns just right. Take it out of the oven and let it cool at least 20 minutes before cutting and serving. The longer you wait, the better they hold up. Our batch didn't last very long! LOL
Doesn't it look SO easy?!?! It really is! Which is probably why this is one of the very first things I ever baked.

The Secret

We all know about it. When I walked into work my friend gave me this "scroll" that she found. I.LOVE.IT and I couldn't resist posting it. I'm including a picture of the scroll but since the lettering is so small, I typed it out as well. I bolded the ones that I especially loved. ENJOY! I know I did.

I Promise Myself
(Repeat this line before each of the following)
To be so strong that nothing can disturb my piece of mind.

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person I meet.

To make all my friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make my optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature I meet.

To give so much time to improving myself that I have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of myself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud word, but in great deeds.

To live in the faith that the whole world is on my side, so long as I am true to the best that is in me.

Okay so I probably should've just bolded them all! LOL But I really enjoyed this. The forgiveness issue is a big one for me. I am a leo, I won't let you burn me twice. LOL But I can sure try!

That's it!

It's official, I'm going to do all that I can to make lunches for my kids from now on. I'm sure I'll slip up and end up allowing them to eat "hot lunch" at school every now and then but at least it won't be everyday.

I came across this blog a few months back and posted it on FB. It's maintained by an educator who pledged to eat school lunches for one whole year in order to see what kinds of effects the food has on her body. It's horrible! Similar to the McDonalds project done a few years back. She includes pictures of her lunch from everyday as well. I was disgusted! I felt bad about picking and chosing what I ate for lunch while my kids were forced to eat vile distgusting looking food some days. So, depending on what's served for "hot lunch", I'm going to pick and chose when I allow them to eat at school from now on.

I'm sure they'll be upset on days when they want to simply eat what everyone else is eating. But I'm also sure that they'll thank me later.

Super lazy Sunday...

I just love how Sunday's are so calm and relaxing! Wooosaaahhhh!!!!

Crumb Topped Banana Muffins

Okay, don't be fooled. I don't bake during the week on a regular. I usually save that for the weekends unless it's the holidays. I just happened to get lucky last night because Tasha mixed up days and cooked dinner on my night by accident. So I had spare time to make something sweet for mi familia. Marky Bo's girlfriend Hannah was over for dinner with her daughter Iga too so we had a big group of helpers aka eaters. lol

I've been wanting to do a banana muffin with crumb topping for a while now because that topping is always a fave and you can never go wrong with banana. It turned out so yummy! I used a recipe that I found and altered it a little to make it just the way we like. They were gone before I got a chance to save one for breakfast. I also managed to do a giveaway so that was sweet as well! Miss Losili won the muffins and it was fitting since her birthday is this week. You can find the recipe and directions below. Enjoy!

This recipe makes about 15 muffins. I tripled it for our house.
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted

Topping
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg, vanilla and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture to combine.Scoop batter (I used a 1/4 cup scooper that looks like it's for scooping ice cream) into muffin cups lined with cupcake paper liners.In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and 6 tablespoons flour. Add 3 tablespoons soft butter until mixture looks like slightly damp crumbs.Sprinkle topping over muffins. I added a lot of the crumb topping. That's the best part! Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean. Or until they are super golden brown.
We ate them 10 minutes after they came out of the oven. Nice and hot!

My very first foodie post!

I'm excited! It's my very first recipe post. I got all giddy while cooking dinner last night so I (with the help of mi Madre) took pictures while cooking. Can't promise I'm going to be able to do that all the time.

Some of you may know that at our house we have dinner nights. I'm responsible for cooking dinner on Mondays and Tuesdays. Tasha and Kris handle two nights a week as well and then mi Madre does Sunday dinner. The arrangement works to save both time and money. It totally works for me and it allows for me to do more on the two nights I'm responsible for since I know I don't have to worry about it for the rest of the week.

Last nights dinner was oven "fried" chicken strips and potato spinach casserole with a side of honey mustard dipping sauce. YUM! Right? It was a hit! I wanted to try something new and we had everything at home already so I didn't have to go shopping. SCORE! It was so easy too! You can find instructions below. I should probably mention that I made enough to feed about 15 people. You many want to downsize the recipe a little if you don't have such a big group to feed. Enjoy!

Oven Fried Chicken Strips
1 6lb bag of boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips. You can decide how thick/thin you like them.
3 cups sour cream
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
salt/pepper to taste
splash of hot sauce
1 big box of crushed corn flakes

Mix everything EXCEPT for the corn flakes in a big bowl until it's all combined. Throw your chicken in and cover with the sour cream mix completely. I apologize for the lighting in this picture, I'm obviously not the greatest photographer. LOLWhile the chicken is "marinating" in the sour cream mix, go ahead an smash those corn flakes! Grind them down as much as you can. I had a little help. ;-)
Now that your corn flakes are crushed dip each piece of chicken into the corn flakes individually just like you would do with "Shake and Bake". Once they are fully coated lay them onto the bottom of a foiled pan or an aluminum tray.Bake at 400 degrees uncovered for 30-40 minutes depending on how thick you cut your pieces. They'll come out crunchy and golden brown.

Now for those potatoes. They were pretty yummy! Of course my kids caught the first glimpse of them and immediately thought it was lu. I had to tell them that it wasn't their FAVE Tongan dish and then convince them to try it anyway. Wasn't happening. BUT everyone else liked it!

Here's what you need -
6 potatoes
1 cup of shredded cheese
1 block of frozen chopped spinach
1 cup of sour cream
2 cups of milk
1 tablespoon of garlic (I LOVE GARLIC!)
Salt/pepper to taste (about a teaspoon of each)
Bacon (optional)

Peel and slice the potatoes into 1/4 inch thick pieces. I had help with this part too.In a separate bowl mix sour cream, milk, garlic, salt and pepper to create your "drizzle". Once your spinach is thawed (I put it in hot water then squeezed out the liquid) you're ready to assemble.

I baked mine in an aluminum pan but you can use any baking dish you like. First layer the potatoes on the bottom of the pan then add a layer of spinach. Go back and forth between spinach and potatoes until the pan is half full. I snuck in a layer or two of cheese as well. At the half way point, pour half of the sour cream/milk sauce over the entire pan. Go back and repeat layering until the entire pan is full then top with bacon. Finish off with the rest of the sour cream sauce.Then top it off with cheese.Bake at 400 (I put the potatoes on the bottom rack while the chicken was on the top) for about an hour covered with foil. Then remove the foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until fork tender.It kinda does look a little like lu doesn't it?

Now for that honey mustard sauce. THAT was the highlight of last nights dinner believe it or not! And it was the easiest to make. Funny how things work out that way. Here are the ingredients and directions. I will definitely be making this again soon.

1 cup of mayo
1/4 cup of yellow mustard
1/4 of honey (or as much as your heart desires really!)
splash of lemon juice
Simply throw it in a bowl and mix it all together!You can change it however you like. Our house happens to like it sweeter so I add a little more honey to counter the "mustardy" taste. Do what you like!

ENJOY!!!!!!

Announcements, Announcements, ANNOOOUUUNNCEEMENTS!

Just had a girls camp flashback! LOL Gotta love those!

I read a quote that a good friend (Thanks Nane!) posted on FB recently and it managed to describe exactly how I feel about a particular subject in a way that I couldn't compose with my own words. It's simple, but often taken for granted or looked over for more cost efficient or time saving convenience.

Cooking at home conveys an unspoken message to the family. It says "YOU are worth my time and energy".

I know cooking isn't easy. Especially if it isn't your "thing". But I can say from my own experience that the small effort you put into a meal satisfies more than just hunger. It feeds ones spirit and nourishes the soul. That's my last cheezeball line for the week...promise! LOL

Now one quick "announcement". In an effort to make cooking at home easier for us all - I've decided to do recipes/picture tutorials on my blog. I've made many attempts at chronicling the different "foodie" things I try and I still end up with my old school stacks of paper and scribbled in cookbooks. Seriously. I'll post a picture cause it's THAT bad! LOL

SOOOOOO, I'm going to handle things the new and improved way from now on. I'll try to take step by step pictures and list recipes here on my familia blog. Small fact - I cook/bake and often times don't measure or remember what the heck I did! LOL It's so hard to duplicate something my family loved if I can't remember what I did in the first place! I'm hoping that this will help me to keep a good record of the things I try and that it will also allow for you all to try new things too! I'll tag them "Food" so they are easily accessible here. I get recipe requests all the time and it's a heck of a lot easier to refer someone here where there are pictures and descriptions. So here goes nothin'! Now if only I had decided to do this before I made cinnamon rolls twice a week for the entire month of December! LOL

I look forward to hearing your feedback if/when you try things out!

I'm a GLEEK!!!

First off...HAPPY NEW YEAR! Woohoo for 2011! I'm ready to tackle this year and make the best of every waking moment! Gotta love a nice fresh start!

Speaking of FRESH starts - I am a newly dedicated GLEEK! My Sissies Lani, Jigz and Tash (with Kris dippin' in and out randomly)and my Papaman all spent most of New Years Eve night (we litterally took a break for countdown and then went right back to watching lol), almost all of New Years day and over 4 hours Sunday watching GLEE season 1. What a way to start the year! LOL Mi Madre bought the entire season on DVD and we've been HOOKED ever since! I.LOVE.IT. C'mon Salomay...you gotta get hooked too! Being the cheezeball that I am (lol) I'm not the least bit surprised that I love the show. Here's to more GLEE in our lives! I'm convinced that due to my natural dorkyness, I'd for sure be a candidate for a slushy facial. ;-)