A Plateful of Sunshine ;

With the catastrophe going on in Japan, the world has seemed to have dimmed in color a bit..
parts of California has been affected by the Tsunami as well,
and im hearing about the major issues in Japan's Fukushima Neuclear Power Plants;
There is radiation that has been detected in Japan, and the radiation cloud could drift over here as well.
Sigh..
im in "coward mode" right now, and not looking up any more information on the topic,
i just want some color back into the world, or specifically, MY world.
Here are a few sparkling tid-bits of my life.
1.  ive been craving Mangoes & Strawberries like its nobodies buisness ! Atleast theyre very colorfully pretty & healthy right? Not to mention,  absolutely delicious !

Heart Shaped Pancakes with Mangoes & Strawberries.
check out my Vanilla Pancake Recipe by clicking here .
eating a plate of sunshine to start your day really chases away
the gloom blues.

2. i have contributed a donation into the RED CROSS, to help aid Japan.
3. ive just recently been hired to work at Puma, the Athletic clothing store (with the helping hand of Brandon) and the thing thats so great about it, are my co-workers, theyre such happy, easy-going individuals. and better yet,  Puma  supplies me with FREE clothes & shoes, every.. season i believe? to keep up to date with their latest fashion, AND in addition to that, i also get a 60% discount on all store items! yay.
4. My baby Tomato & Strawberry plants are growing healthy & happily!

The Strawberry Plant
its finally showing fruit !
5 little green berries, can you see them?
i cant wait till they start turing a pretty ruby color  ~

5. & i wanted to specifically thank Kevins mother for a very generous & heart felt offer, & to let her know coco is actually completely useless in warning me with worldly catastrophes.. haha, but he says hello !

My Dog; Coco & His Squished Face
adorable, aint he?

Fruit Kabobs ;

i smell spring !
dont you?
the days are getting warmer, which is great news for me because i cant stand the cold!
i know California is one of the warmer places in the states, especially during winter, but for someone whos teeth chatter uncontrollably in the freezer section of a grocery store.. its painful!
i still sleep with 2 THICK blankets in 55 degree nights.
Oh, im trailing off..
i ment to bring up some  *special news ;
I HAVE NEW LEAF BABIES !

yayyyy !
i have just recently adopted 2 little fruit plants~
one is a strawberry  & the other is a "super sweet 100 hybrid" baby tomato plant !
i cant wait till they start poppin` their fruit !
i love vegetable / fruit gardens, and i admire anyone with a green thumb.
i havent  cared for any plants since... i was really young, living back in Texas.
i use to help my mom raise lettuce & lots of jalapenos (which would grow to be HUGE ! some even managed to grow 6inches.)
we had very impressive peppers, and they were very easy to grow, if i remember correctly.
But me being less than 10 years old at the time, i guess it doesnt really count for a green thumb, haha.
Although ive only had my plants for a week, i can already see a few little green strawberries beginning to grow !
(nothing yet from the tomato plant though, boo . )
Anyway, since spring is in the air,
i was in the mood for some sweet, fresh, & colorful fruit.
First thing that came to mind was Fruit kabobs with some lightly powdered sugar. Mmm!

Use whatever fruits youre craving that day, no need to
follow this recipe exactly~

Recipe ;

- 1 mango, cubed

- Strawberries, halved & sliced

- Banana, sliced

- Blueberries

- Skewers

- Powdered sugar (optional)

Just skewer them in any order & sprinkle some

powdered sugar if you like .

A Presentable Mango
Whenever guests come over, id usually serve some
fruit as dessert, & mango are my personal favorite!
isnt this such a cute way to present a mango?

Directions ;

1 mango *Serves 2 ;

Cut 2 slices of mango off from the flat sides, to

avoid cutting into the large seed within.

Carefully, make 3 lines going across horizontally &

3 lines vertically,  (try not to cut through the skin.)

Then, Just press from underneath and "pop" it up!

Assorted Fruits
(i just cut off the squares from the mango picture up above)

Roasted Chicken & Vegetables ;

An American Classic amiright ?

But, first, let me tell you this,

i have NEVER had a juicier, more tender chicken IN MY LIFE.

This has got to be one of my top 10 favorite recipes for Chicken.

& thats saying a lot .

This smelled wonderful even BEFORE it went into the oven, and dont even get me started on how my kitchen smelled during the roasting.

MMmMM!

i would say it was "breathtakingly" amazing, but its quite the opposite,

i found myself doing deep breathing exercises instead! haha

it was such an addicting smell, it has GOT to be illegal to inhale this much good stuff !

But it wasnt just the chicken that was delicious, but the vegetables were SO full of flavor !

i have never enjoyed eating JUST vegetables this much before.

i ate 3 servings of vegetables alone ! and ate 1/4th of the Chicken, hehe

Can you say Happy Stomach ?

Overall, this Roast Chicken was a 10 in my book. AHHH SO GOOD .

But you know what the best part of the day was?

Enjoying my time in the kitchen with my Best-Friend, Tiffany.

Its always fun having someone cooking with you, isnt it? haha

Tiffany and i had a great laugh when it came to her having to stick her hand into the chickens... backside, haha !

BUT it was done for the sake of good food! & Boyyyyyyyyyyyy, was it good !

Oh, and we had fun playing Twister & baking Peanut butter centered chocolate cupcakes as we were waiting for the chicken to cook !

Ugh, i think we're starting to get old, at the tender age of 20.

Tiffany and i were laughing at each others pain during Twister, and then we had to suffer with sore thighs & legs afterwards. Haha !

Roast Chicken & Vegetables

Recipe ;

- One 5 pound Chicken

- Bundle of medium sized asparagus

- 1/2 pound snow peas

- large handful of grape tomatoes

- 2 red onions halved & cut in 3rds

- 3 Large potatoes cut in large chunks (1.5 inches)

- 3 Medium sized carrots cut in 1 inch pieces

- 1 whole garlic bulb halved

- 4 garlic cloves roughly cut

- 2 lemons

- 5 tbs olive oil

- 1/2 cup oyster sauce

- Kroger Chicken Seasoning

- salt, pepper, & garlic powder for taste

Preheat your oven to 400 F.

Clean & take out insides of chicken, pat dry. Place

the chicken in a large baking/casserole dish, (with

enough room for the vegetables.) (if there are extra

vegetables, roast them in a separate pan, season

them the same as the ones with the chicken.)

Squeeze 1 lemon over the chicken & drizzle

2 tbs of olive oil over the chicken, rub until

completely oiled. Sprinkle Chicken Seasoning

over entire chicken, this will add flavor & help

give you a beautiful golden brown color.

Squeeze half a lemon inside the chicken

and place both halves of the lemon inside,

also stuff the halved garlic bulbs as well.

Drizzle 3 tbs of olive oil over the all vegetables

and add the 4 cloves of roughly chopped garlic,

& mix. Sprinkle salt, pepper, & garlic powder
over the veggies.
Place most of the potatoes under the chicken

(it will prevent the chicken from boiling in its

own juices, which you want it "roasted" not

boiled. Plus, it will add amazing flavor to your

potatoes!) In a separate bowl combine the oyster

sauce and snow peas & mix until covered. Layer

the snow peas and asparagus at the bottom of the

casserole dish (since theyre thin veggies, they tend

to burn easier, placing them at the bottom will

prevent that.) Place the rest of the vegetables

(except the grape tomatoes) in the casserole dish,

around the chicken. & bake for 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes, take the chicken out of the oven

& with a ladle, drizzle the chicken drippings over

the chicken & vegetables (this will prevent the

chicken from drying out.) At this point, add in the

tomatoes into the dish as well. Sprinkle a bit more

of the Chicken Seasoning & place back in the oven

for another 40 minutes, or until completely cooked.

*Tip before serving, ladle the juices over the

chicken again to give it that "glossy" look & to

keep your chicken moist~ ENJOY the yum !

Stuffing the Chicken
Adding my lemon halves & whole garlic bulb inside my
chicken.

Sprinkling Chicken Seasoning
i used Kroger's Chicken Seasoning,
real yum stuff ! i love it!
i even sprinkled some of this on the side of my plate,
and dipped my chicken into it while i was eating.
totally recommended !

Chicken Rub-down
After rubbing the lemon, oil, & seasoning~
my poor casserole dish was too small, even though this was
my largest one..
Soooo, i just baked the rest of my veggies in a seperate
baking dish. hehe~

Placing Potatoes Underneath the Chicken
Placing most of my potatoes underneath my chicken to
give it a little height, so it doesnt boil in its own juices.
but also adds amazing flavor to the potatoes as well.
MmMmmm ~
ahaha ! Tiffany holding up the Chicken,
isnt the tail flap so adorable?!

Sliced Red Onions
This is how i cut my onions, but i would probably
cut them a bit thicker next time.
They do shrink during the baking process.

Layering My Vegetables
i laid out my sauced snow peas & asparagus over the
potatoes that were underneath the chicken.
Layering the thinner veggies at the bottom will help
prevent them from getting burned.

My Extra Vegetables
i roasted the extra vegetables along with my chicken,
they were done by the first 40 minute session of cooking.
So i enjoyed munching on these with Tiffany, as we
waited for for the chicken to roast.
OH ! and can you believe my little brothers LOVED these
veggies? yes, JUST veggies.. their exact words were
"Dude, these vegetables are BOMB."
haha !
You know somethings good when teenage boys are
fighting over them !

Ready to Bake !
This picture was taken right before it was placed in the
oven, for its first 40min cooking.
Along with my extra pan of veggies.
(which were ready to eat after the 40 mins.)

Side Dish Pasta
As the chicken was in the oven, i had 40 mins to spare,
so i decided to add a side dish to go along with my roasted
Chicken & Veggies.
This is a quick & simple fix-dish. with some left-over
vegetables, specifically the asparagus, and tomatoes.

Recipe ;

- asparagus sliced in half, length-wise &

  chopped in 2inch pieces

- baby tomato quartered

- parsley roughly chopped

- turkey sliced thin

- 2 cupsbow-tie pasta

- 1 clove finely chopped garlic.

- 2 tsp olive oil

- 2 tbs balsamic vinaigrette

- salt & pepper for taste

Cook the pasta as directed on the package, Drain and place

in a mixing bowl. Cook the asparagus & tomatoes with

1tsp of olive oil, garlic, pepper & salt. Cook just for 2 mins.

Combine the rest of the ingredients with the pasta, mix &

Enjoy.

After 40 mins of Cooking
After the first 40min. session, Tiffany added the tomatoes
& as we set the timer for another 40mins, we munched
happily on the delicious vegetables .
P.S Thanks Tiffy for being my hand-model, haha

FINISHED ROASTED CHICKEN & VEGGiES !
isnt it the most beautiful chicken you've ever seen?!
it tastes just as great as it looks. i PROMISE.
This 5 pound chicken easily *Serves 5 people.
i also sprinkled some extra Chicken seasoning as i ate
my chicken~  Mmm, i think im addicted to that stuff.

Special Thanks to Tiffany, for helping me cook.
Youre the bestest friend anyone could ask for, & i just
adore cooking with you! ahhhhh i love ya Tiffy !
Lets hang out again soon, okay?
Miss ya already! ♥

Healthy ice-cream ?! ;

For all the ice-cream lovers out there,

im sure you've heard the phrase "i wish i could have icecream for breakfast"

right ?

Well, heres a healthy breakfast ice-cream !

My Frozen Banana with Yogurt & Cereal
& since today is national pancake day,
heres my link to my Vanilla Pancake Recipe.

My Frozen Bananas !

These were delicious!

Naturally sweet from the yogurt & fruit.

and a fun way to have my breakfast~

First Steps

Recipe ;

- 1 banana (cut in half)

- 2 lollipop sticks

- 1 cup of yogurt (any flavor)

- 1 cup of cereal (your choice)

Carefully insert the lollipop stick into the banana halfway.

With a spoon, gently & evenly spread your yogurt over the 

banana completely. Sprinkle or Roll your banana over

cereal pieces. & Place in freezer for 20 mins.

Enjoy your guilt-less ice-cream breakfast!

Rainbow Fruitloop-sicle.

i used 3 different types of cereal;

Fruitloops, Lucky Charms, & Honey Nut Cheerios.

My little brothers love Fruitloops & Lucky Charms cereal,

while my parents enjoy Cheerios. 

Making a Stand
This step isnt necessary, but instead of
freezing them on a plate, i had some
styrofoam lying around from making
my Gingerbread & Cake Lollipops
last Christmas, so i used this to keep my
bananas upright.

Frozen Bananas

Here they are, 20 minutes later, completely frozen.
Yum !

30 Seconds Before it Disappeared
i managed to take 1 more picture before these babies
were devoured.
Breakfast Frozen Treats? A SUCESS !

Baked Potato with a "Grate" Cheese Topping;

2 words.

Cheese & Potatoes.

Okay, now that i have your attention,

can i say that THIS IS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS ?!

i ate 2 whole potatoes just for breakfast alone.  MMmmMmm.. 

Actually, just looking at these pictures again makes me want to make another,

can you say Midnight Snack? haha .

You know that moment,

when you see your baked potato during its last 5 seconds of perfection, right before you stab your fork in it?

When you see the bubbly melting cheese oozing over the skin, and all the toppings piled high on that potato, hiding that starchy goodness within.
Ooh~ and that moment you put your fork in it and you purposely lift that bite a bit higher than your lips, JUST so u could see all that yummy cheese stretching?
Yes. that is what this dish provides.
Comfort, Major Deliciousness . & Satisfaction Guaranteed !

Prettiest potato ive ever seen!
Definitely makes me drool, haha

The Perfect Baked Potato

Recipe ;

- 2 Medium sized Potatoes, Baked

- 1 cup Montery Jack Cheese

- about 3-4 Branches of broccoli chopped

- 2 tbs chopped red onion

- 2 tbs chopped picked peppers

- Bacon bits (optional)

- Salt & Pepper to taste

In a bowl combine ingredients 2-5 & microwave for

1 minute, or until cheese is completely melted.

While microwaving the cheese, cut the potato in half &

(* TIP: pinch the sides of the potato while pushing inward,

it`ll help give that "overfilling"  look.)

Spoon insides a bit to make the potato "chunky".

Then, just spoon on the Cheese topping, sprinkle some

salt & pepper over the top, and enjoy this yummminess!

*Serves 2

Astro Boy & Chocolate Covered Strawberries ;

Unfortunately, i have never seen a single episode of Astro Boy in my life,
but it was requested by a very talented Artist ; Arlyn.
Hes an AMAZING artist and creator of  Ogre Shop 
(click the link & check out his amazing work !)

Astro Boy
Requested by & Dedicated to: Arlyn
i hope i didnt mess up on his face too much!
his facial features took me forever to cut out
- insert crying noises here-
So Astro Boy is resting on a mushroom omelet, with a tiny

little heart stuck on a pea. (hoho)

The top left corner is a flowered zucchini sushi roll,

& the right is filled with red onion lace, Peas & Carrot mini

skewers, sliced strawberries & a zucchini checked slice.

  -   -   - - - - -
On another note, this morning i also had a very delicious out-of-the-ordinary breakfast.
Besides devouring Astro Boy, i also made CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES!
They were delicious !
i normally dislike sweets, and i dislike chocolates ..
that is... until my "monthly" comes by, then i get chocolate & sugar cravings..hehe
SOoo, being in the mood for something sweet,
i found a few sad looking strawberries in my fridge, that were on the verge of becoming over-ripe,
i melted some dark chocolate Candy melts & some white chocolate chips & tada!
There were perfect 7 strawberries, just the same amount of house-members i have at home.
so i made one for my 4 younger brothers, my mother & step-dad, they disappeared in seconds!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries
haha you can see the process of me starting off with my
first one the Left,(which looks like total crap).
To finishing off with the far Right one & getting better!
i guess Practice does make perfect, haha

Big-Ass Chocolate Covered Strawberry
Not bad looking for my first time eh? haha
Making these are simple & oh-so-very delicious.

Recipe;

- Strawberries ; Washed  & Dried

- Dark Chocolate Candy Melts

- White Chocolate Chips

slowly melt the Chocolate Candy Melts in the microwave

in 15 second intervals, until completely melted.

Do the same with the white chocolate chips, and spoon into

a corner of a zip-lock bag, cut a TINY bit off the corner,

(you'll be using this to drizzle your berries).

Tip: Wet Strawberries will not allow chocolate to stick,

be sure to dry them off completely with a paper towel

before dipping.

Then Dip, Decorate, let it sit in the fridge for 5 mins

& ENJOYYY !