Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts

Hey there, blogging world. Thought I would check in and say hello. And remind you all, I'm most active on Instagram these days. And if you're not on Instagram, I do share posts over to Twitter, so you can interact with me over there too. :)


As for life, I'm still obsessed with nail polish, true crime everything, (follow me on goodreads)... and my new favorite obsession. Tea! (Particularly DavidsTea & Teavana!)

We also added two new boy ratties to the family in January. (Check out my Pet Rats page). Some photos of the current gang below. Ruby, Ben, Waffles, Chester, & Dobby.

Waffles & I.

I'm still not doing any sponsored nail polish or product reviews. Now days I only show off a nail polish (or nail art) when I actually wear it. It's a much more laid back, and genuinely fun and stress free approach, compared to when I was blogging constantly. I still post all my nail photos to Instagram, & Pinterest.


33 has always been my favorite number. And so far year 33 of life for me has been really interesting, so far. I got to visit the Lizzie Borden House, (best adventure ever!) I got to visit my cousin Chrissy in Georgia! I started writing again, (albeit; intermittently), on a book I've been working on for a good ten years! (You can take a peek at the first 3 chapters here). Hopefully the rest of my year 33 is just as good as the first half was.


photo born-pretty-banner-1_zpsd81f0880.jpg

Macaron Cafe French Macaroons!

For my birthday I really wanted French Macaroons again. I was planning on going downtown to Miel Patisserie in Philadelphia during Labor Day weekend, right before my birthday on the 4th... but I forgot Philadelphia was having the 'Made in America' concert for two days straight. So downtown would have been crazy, the trains would have been mobbed... I don't do crowds. I get claustrophobic.

So since I was planning on spending a certain amount on French Macaroons anyway, I just decided I would order online from Macaron Cafe in New York City. I used a 10% off coupon too! (MAC10). They only have one shipping option, overnight shipping. It was $17 to Philadelphia, but since this was a birthday splurge it was worth it. (Sometimes you have to spoil yourself!)

(You can click on the photos to enlarge them)

 
I liked that you can customize your box with any of the flavors available. Most online places have set flavors. And the prices are pretty reasonable, the smallest box is only $16. (Compared to when I was looking online on Amazon and they wanted to charge $30 for 6 macaroons... what the heck?!)

Being a splurge I ordered the largest box of 24 French Macaroons. I ordered two of each flavor (so hubby can share too!) of: Dark Chocolate, Vanilla, Pistachio, Raspberry, Mocha, Peanut Butter, Caramel, Coconut, Strawberry Rhubarb, Nutella, Espresso, Chocolate Raspberry.

When they arrived, they were packed in a box and the gift box was within a thermal bubble envelope with ice packs. The macaroons themselves were in a special plastic separator tray inside the gift box, so none of them got crushed or broken during shipping! The gift box is nice too, it came with a pink ribbon. I'm going to keep it to put makeup or nail polish in after they are all gone!

They are so pretty! French Macaroons are normally pretty. These ones had shimmer & edible gold shimmer on some of the flavors. And of course they are so good! So far I've tried chocolate, raspberry & pistachio. Pistachio is my favorite so far. (I liked pistachio at Miel Patisserie too).


 


*This was purchased by myself. I am not associated with Macaron Cafe.

 photo sarahlynn_zpse7845bbe.jpg

The most amazing pork chops...

I get a lot of hits on this post! Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments, if you've tried this recipe!

These are the most amazing pork chops ever! I've made bone in pork chops using this recipe (my own) three times already... and they are out of this world. Every time we have them, I feel like I'm eating restaurant pork chops or something. They are that good! I wanted to share my simple recipe with everyone.




Ingredients 
Note: Don't try this with boneless, it tastes completely different. You need the dark meat bone-in chops.

1. Coat each side of the pork chops with brown sugar, McCormick Montreal Chicken Seasoning and Goya Adobo all purpose seasoning. (I don't really measure, I just shake the seasonings on each side of the pork chop until coated). Line pork chops in a large casserole dish or pan.

2. Slice a large onion, toss in a bowl with a little soy sauce. (Just to coat). Pour onions on top of the pork chops.

3. Cook on 400F for about 40-45 minutes.

I usually serve these along with some white rice. They are amazing! Enjoy!

There's some pork chops hiding under there. ;-)


 photo sarahlynn_zpse7845bbe.jpg

Dollar Tree Crock Pot Beef Stew

This beef stew was made with Dollar Tree grocery ingredients. (Some Dollar Tree locations now have freezer aisles & canned/dry goods.) My paycheck has been a over $100.00 short lately because of the US Government Sequestration. So, I've had to come up with some cheap but filling dinner ideas.

  • Egg Noodles from Dollar Tree 12oz bag. (Only use half the bag & don't add them until the last hour).
  • 1 Package of frozen mixed veggies Steam'ables 10oz from Dollar Tree
  • 3 packages of frozen Rib Eye steak meat from Dollar Tree 3oz each. Cut into small pieces.
  • 1-2 medium sliced, diced or whole onions- your preference (The onions are not from Dollar Tree)
Sauce:

I mix my sauce first and whisk it together in a large bowl, then I pour it over the meat & veggies in the crock pot. Stir everything together.
  • 2 cups of Water 
  • 1 cup of Ketchup
  • 1/2 cup Soy Sauce 
  • 3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoons of salt 
  • 1/4 teaspoon of pepper 
  • 2 tablespoons of brown sugar 
  • 1 teaspoon Goya Adobe all purpose seasoning. (Red lid)
  • 3 tablespoons of Flour (Whisk into sauce).

Directions: Cook for 7 hours on low in the crock pot. During the last hour of cooking- add the egg noodles and stir well. (This makes around 5 servings.)

You can add whatever veggies you have laying around, I had half a bag of baby carrots left over, so I put those into the stew as well.

 If you're looking for a regular Crock Pot Beef Stew recipe click here.

Other Dollar Tree related blogs: 

My Dollar Tree is Freaking Amazing!

* Everything was purchased by myself, I am not affiliated with Dollar Tree.


 photo sarahlynn_zpse7845bbe.jpg

Lush Cosmetics & French Macaroons!

My cousin & I got together for her belated birthday last weekend. We hadn't seen each other... since last year! We're both either always busy working, sick, or it was snowing, lol. So it was nice to get together with her and have a girls day out. We took the train down to Center City Philadelphia so we could do some shopping on Walnut Street near Rittenhouse Square. It was a nice sunny day even though it was a bit windy and only in the low 60's.


One of the things we really wanted to do was check out Lush Cosmetics. My cousin had already gotten stuff online from them and I've heard about them so it was fun to actually visit the shop. The staff was incredibly friendly. They let you try out products, they give demonstrations. They were nice and laid back.


My Lush Haul: I got Sexy Peel soap... which smells so amazing. Like lemon candy drops. It makes my whole shower smell good. I also got Lemony Flutter cuticle butter. It smells of lemon and lavender. And Mint Julips lip scrub. It tastes like chocolate mint.

I loved the Sexy Peel soap so much. I just ordered 2 more bars online. And a facial soap I liked the smell of. And one of their all natural herbal deodorants. Can't wait until they arrive!

Another thing my cousin & I have wanted to do is try French Macaroons! You see them everywhere online, in blogs. They are always so colorful and pretty. But boy are they tough to find around here! We found out there's a patisserie & coffee shop down near 17th & Walnut Street. Miel Patisserie. So we were super excited to stop there and try some French Macaroons for the 1st time ever!

The shop is really cute. They serve coffee, some food items. They have gorgeous looking pastries and chocolates. And soooo many flavors of French Macaroons. I wish I could have tried every flavor! (They are $1.50 each). I ordered an iced coffee & a Cappuccino and Pistachio French Macaroon. My cousin ordered Blueberry Lemon & Salted Caramel.


Oh. My. Gosh. They were beyond what we both imagined. At first we were scared to try them because of all the hype and we were afraid they wouldn't be what we were thinking. But wow. French Macaroons are small, they have a crispy exterior, but when you bite into it it's more a chewy cake consistency. And the filling... oh my wow.... the ones I ordered had a very rich sweet cream center. The Blueberry Lemon one I tried of my cousins had the most amazing sweet blueberry center. They were so good we got some more to take home.

Leftover French Macaroons.
(I took home Raspberry, Pistachio & Cappuccino).

To finish our shopping adventures. We stopped at Ruby Tuesday's near Liberty Place for an early dinner. I got a yummy salmon salad. And we both got top shelf long island iced teas. We did so much walking downtown! We were exhausted on the train ride back home.
 
  
 Other Philadelphia Adventures:
 photo sarahlynn_zpse7845bbe.jpg

Easter, an Anniversary & other ramblings.

It's been 9 years since F.B. & I defined our long distance relationship, back on April 1st, 2004! (See our Relationship Timeline). The picture above is the card he got me. :-)

We had a quiet Easter dinner here at home. I made homemade pound cake, (using this recipe). It turned out gorgeous!

Our Easter Dinner. Roast Beef, Onions & Mushrooms, Roasted Seasoned Potatoes, Creamed Corn & Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider. We still have leftovers.

I also made lemon butter cream icing to go with our pound cake. 

Peeps & the Little Chick are from my co-worker. 

Also, I'm now obsessed with these iced & frozen cappuccinos from Wawa. They have a specialty drink bar now and you can customize your coffee drink. Soooo good.

I took advantage of the 20% off coupon L'Occitane sent me in the mail.  I got Almond soap, Verbena soap & Rose soap. Love them.

I've been having green smoothies in the morning for breakfast now. I do 1 whole banana, 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt, Half cup of almond milk, Big handful of fresh spinach, tablespoon of PB2 powder, & some protein powder. Might do some strawberry or blueberry, fruit smoothies this week too.

New favorite wine (Besides Sutter Home Sweet Red). I never had Pink Moscato before! It's really fruity and tangy. LOVE!

Typical commuting to work week. I ride these trains 2 times a day, 5 times a week. 45min to 1 hour commute...
Pictures are from my Instagram: @tunaynamahal82

  photo sarahlynn_zpse7845bbe.jpg

Crockpot Vegetable Lasagna.

I've made vegetable lasagna in the oven before many times. I just started making it in the crock pot last year. My recipe is loosely based on this awesome recipe.

Ingredients:
  • Oven Ready Lasagna Noodles *(make sure the box says 'Oven Ready' noodles, these are noodles that are already slightly pre-cooked so you don't have to boil them).
  • 1 jar of Tomato Sauce (I use Prego)
  • Ricotta Cheese
  • Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
  • Spinach (Fresh or Frozen)
  • 2 medium onions or 1 large onion
  • 2 Yellow Squash
  • 2 Zucchini
  • Mushrooms (Fresh or Canned) 
Spices:
Note: You can use whatever veggies you like. Sometimes I add Eggplant, you can add carrots, etc. (My husband isn't fond of carrots).

Directions:

I season my Ricotta cheese with the above spices. (I don't really measure, it's just to taste). Then I put a little tomato sauce in the bottom of the crock pot. Break your lasagna noodles to fit your crock pot, (it won't be perfect). Then some ricotta cheese, a little sauce and a layer of all your chopped vegetables in whatever order you choose. Then more sauce, ricotta cheese, sprinkle a little mozzarella cheese, then noodles again. Repeat until you reach the top. Noodles, sauce & the rest of the mozzarella cheese should cover the very top. Cook for 6-7 hours on low. Enjoy!

Note: This will be more like a lasagna casserole, that you can serve in a bowl. The noodles won't come out in perfect slices, but it still tastes amazing!

P.S. Someone buy me this Damask Crockpot, lol!


 photo sarahlynn_zpse7845bbe.jpg

Weekend Getaway!

F.B. & I decided to have a little "staycation" getaway. Saturday into Sunday we checked into the Hyatt at the Bellevue in Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square section. The hotel was just two blocks down from the Academy of Music. I found a nice rate on our room on Agoda.com

Check in was at 3pm on Saturday. We took the train down to Suburban Station. We got downtown around 2pm, so we decided to walk around a little bit. We checked out The Shops at Liberty Place. It's a small mall right near City Hall.

Glass dome roof inside Liberty Place

City Hall
Our Hotel


There was a Starbucks downstairs inside the hotel! They also had a Tiffany & Co, Williams & Sonoma and some other shops downstairs.

Our room!
We headed to dinner after checking in. We ate at Ruby Tuesday at Liberty Place. Then walked around a little after dinner. And I got some Starbucks when we got back to the hotel, hehe.


Sirloin steak, broccoli & mashed cauliflower
Top shelf long island iced tea
Mojito
F.B. with our chocolate lava cake for dessert. 


Art school across the street from the hotel. We could see ballerina's practicing in the studio from the sidewalk. :)
Academy of Music was 2 blocks from the hotel.
Light outside the Academy of Music.
Starbucks & Chocolate back at the hotel!

Courtyard out our hotel window

 Check out was at 12pm. I forgot to take pictures of us when we came back to the hotel after dinner, I was tired. lol. So that's why my hair is wet here.


We checked out shops on Chestnut Street & Walnut Street after checking out. Walnut Street has a bunch of high end shops. The one I really wanted to stop at was L'Occitane!

My loot from L'Occitane! Almond soap, Verbena soap, Almond oil body wash, Verbena hand lotion, Almond lotion, Rose solid perfume.

We decided to head to 30th Street Station to take the train back home. It was sunny, but very cold and windy out! We walked from Broad St all the way to 30th Street Station.

Comcast Center
Church on 17th Street, I liked the red door.

Bridge near Schuylkill Ave.
Oh hi work... see you Tuesday...
30th Street Station, Amtrack building in the back.
Bridge near Schuylkill Ave.
30th Street Station
I got a cute Philadelphia tote bag for work and a metal city souvenir from the book shop inside 30th Street Station. Yeah... playing tourist in my own city again, lol. Ever since my office moved downtown back in December 2010 and I've been riding the trains. I've definitely been checking out more of downtown Philadelphia than ever before.

F.B. tired on the train home.
Me waiting in the car, while F.B. get Wendy's for dinner!
We had a really nice weekend. But boy with all that walking, we are exhausted!

P.S. This was the note F.B. left on my coffee cup and I found when I got to work Thursday morning. (I make my coffee at home in the morning and my travel tumbler goes into my work bag until I get to work).


Other Philadelphia Adventures:
 photo sarahlynn_zpse7845bbe.jpg

Designed by FlexyCreatives