Glazed Chicken Kebabs and Does Your Word Build You Up?

A tongue has no bones but it is strong enough to break a heart. Be careful with your words

 What the heck! Ooopss! Did you just catch me saying a bad word? Heck, is it a bad word? I am actually very averse of bad words spoken. The people who say them are not bad but somehow it is their way of expressing themselves.  I believe that we have to express ourselves freely but we have to be careful on what words come out from our mouths.

Be careful with your words. Once they are said, they can only be forgiven, not forgotten.

When my son was little, I was so mad at him that I said  he is stupid. He reacted so pitifully and he said, you just called me stupid and he hysterically cried. Writing this right now, just made me cringe on how awful I felt that day.How careless I was. Although I can justify the emotion that I felt that time, I cannot justify the " name" that I called him. That was the first and that was the last. It took me a while to undo the words that I have spoken. In fact, right now I am still making it up.

A lot  parents just casually call their children  names, as if it is normal. If you do, please stop it right now. Also, they utter words that curses. And even blasphemy.

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

Because words are powerful, it can break or make a person. Much worse, it can break the person who had spoken them - through karma. The Bible said, You will reap what you sow. This apply in all our daily dealings like work, relationship and our words. have you ever noticed that when you say kind words, the other party cannot help but respond to you kindly? But when you are mean, the other party will be defensive? To be honest, when I hear a person spew out bad words, I pretty much conclude that, that person does not have enough vocabulary to express himself aside from curses. For me, if one wants to be cool, he/she should have enough words other than bad words to express himself, right?

Below are the collection of verses regarding the power of words.

Matthew 15:18 - But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 


Proverbs 18:21 - Death and life [are] in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Proverbs 16:24 - Pleasant words [are as] an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echos are truly endless

Here is another healthy meals I am going to share to you today. I am going to share to you this chicken kebabs recipe. Pretty much, you just need a grill or broiler and hands to mix the ingredients and you are set. This will also be perfect fort that football parties you are planning on. There is a ginger taste on this kebabs and sweet and sour feel in your taste buds, that will make this dish a staple of your table conversation. Make this and get popular to you friends.

Glazed Chicken Kebabs

1. 1/2 " of ginger root 
2. 3 garlic cloves
3. 2 tsp soy sauce
4. 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
5. 2 tsp olive oil
6. 1/8 cup ketchup
7. 1 1/2 lb chicken cutlets
8. 1 red bell pepper
9. 1 yellow bell pepper

Place ingredients 1 to 6 in electric food chopper or you can chopped them manually.
Transfer the spices in a bowl and add in ingredients 7 to 8
Marinate overnight or an hour
Thread into metal skewers and grill or cook under a pre heated broiler for 12 to 15 minutes turning frequently until chicken is cooked through.

Serve and Enjoy

Chicken Enchiladas Recipe and Who is Siri that voice in Apple's Activated Voice Assistant

Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take time to accomplish it. The time will pass away.

Earl Nightingale

 Have you ever wondered who is Siri - that friendly voice in Apple's voice activated assistant ?

Today, I saw her. I often get frustrated with this virtual assistant because often than not, it somehow does not understand my inquiry. I thought it was due to my accent, but when my children tried talking with their american accent , Siri also does not understand them. Pretty much we made fun of this voice and had become a form of laughing medium in our house. I have been calling it, IT. Oh my, oh my, I thought it was robot  behind the voice, but it is not. She is actually a human... I embedded  video and an article of her .here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eLELOBuT-Q

After checking on who she is, try this Chicken Enchiladas I made. This is actually the first time I made enchiladas, so I did not know what to expect. I got this from here. Boy, after the first bite, I know this will be one of my favorite meal and this is also very easy to make. I will stick to this chicken enchilada recipe for good. I used mascarpone cheese as garnish when I made the Sponge Cake . I, however, recommend adding salsa and sour cream as garnishes to give this meal boost. Try it for dinner next week.

Chicken Enchilada Recipe

1 cooked rotisserie chicken store bought
2 cups finely shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups green chili salsa. ( I used the spicy one)
8 Soft taco size flour tortilla
1/2 cup milk

For serving (optional)
Sour Cream
Guacamole
Pickled Jalapeños

Direction:
Preheat oven at 375 F

Remove meat from the chicken and place in a plate or bowl. Add in 1/2 cup  shredded cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup of green salsa. Set aside.
Preheat oven at 375 F
Prepare the pan you're going to use and pour in 1/2 cup of green chili salsa
Put the milk in a flat plate.
Dip tortilla in the milk to soften it then put the chicken meat on top. Roll the tortilla and line them in your prepared pan.
 Do the same thing to the rest of the tortilla.
When the 8 tortilla had been lined and rolled, pour the remaining green salsa and cheese on top and bake until the cheese is melted and the salsa is bubbling.

Serve and enjoy.

Rellenong Manok Stuffed Chicken for Christmas or Thanksgiving Filipino Roasted Chicken

When I was in the Philippines, I did not really hear about Rellenong Manok. I only heard its fish counterpart which is Rellenong Bangus. So when I saw this recipe in Adora's Box, I was curious and got myself into " baking mode." The most difficult part of this meal is the deboning of the chicken. It is not actually that difficult when I thought about it, it just get messy and when you have 3 people clamoring for their  food to get done, it gets frustrating. 

I cut the chicken through the back using a sharp knife. I think using a kitchen scissor is the  easier way to go but since I cannot find my kitchen scissor, I just had to make do of the knife. I had some croutons in my freezer so I used that as stuffing base  instead of the bread crumbs. Actually, I changed the recipe on whatever I got in my pantry.

I did not really have much idea what a chorizo was, so I presumed it is a Chinese sausage- which is easily accessible in our Asian market. I used Bratwurst sausage to add more taste in the stuffing. I brined the chicken for 4 hours and when we arrived from church, I started working on getting done with the meal. 

The stuffing was different from the stuffing they have here in the US. It had a very authentic Filipino taste. Remember our Filipino dishes, they always have different taste in each meal, this accomplished that. This will be a subject of discussion in your dinner table, because it is deliciously unique. The additional raisin in the stuffing made the stuffing hard to forget. The Chinese sausage tied all the taste into very well laid out combo of sweetness and saltiness. A week after tasting this meal, you will be thinking, "How did I thatt symphony of tastes came about?" It will stir curiosity on you taste buds. For me, at least. I say this is worth the time and effort you put into it. This meal is so delicious! 

Rellenong Manok

2 cups crush/ ground Crouton ( I used garlic flavor in mine)
2 bratwurst sausage (slice into small pieces)
2 Chinese style sausage (slice into small pieces)
2 stalk celery ( minced)
1/3 cup figs or raisins
7 cloves garlic ( crushed)
1 small onion
3 tbsp cooking oil
3 boiled egg
1 whole chicken deboned

Chicken Preparation:

Using a scissor or a knife cut the chicken at the back . Debone chicken. I found that it was easier to slice the chicken at the back. Leave the thigh and wing bones.This will give shape to the chicken.
Let the chicken brine in the ref for 4 hours or more.
When ready to cook, drain the brined chicken and dry with a kitchen towel or paper towel to remove excess water.

For the stuffing preparation:

Place the oil, garlic and onion in a large bowl and  microwave for 3 minutes
Add in ingredients 1 to 5 and mix thoroughly .Cover and leave in the refrigerator for an hour or two.

Boil the egg and remove the shell. Set aside.

When Ready to Cook:

Place the stuffing on the chicken. And place the boiled egg on top.

Suture the chicken or use a skewer to seal the chicken and wrap it in a tin foil.

Bake at 325 for an hour then change oven setting to 350 and bake for another 1 1/2 hour or until meat temperature says 190

Serve and Enjoy!

5 Things to Do When You are Bored

Sometimes, the smallest step in the right direction ends up the biggest step of your life. Tip toe if you must but take the step.

Today, I am going to share to you my ideas on how to overcome boredom. I am no expert but these are just my ways on beating the dark word " boring ."

My pastor when I was in college said that bored mind is the playground of the devil. Knowing this, I try as much as I could not to be idle. I am not always successful, for sure. There are times that I am just so bored I feel like going to town and dance on the streets. I remember one time, I was sooooooo bored I asked Google Search : WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE BORED?

Try it yourself, right now, search Google on the topic random things to fight boredom and you will see millions of suggestions on how to fight it. I guess there are a lot of people who are also bored like me. There are good suggestions and bad ones and there are crazy ones. I listed some of these suggestions below.

Some suggestions Google search recommended:

1. Blink wildly - I decided this will not work for me because I wear contact lens
2. Bite your toenails - uhh I only have enough toenails to bite?
3. Plant a tree - well, I do not really have a room for tree in my backyard
4. Use mind power - what ? how do you do that?
5. Scratch myself - uhhh where?
6. Pretend to be a car I guess this is a good idea. I do not have to pay car payments, right?
7. Get yourself nauseated - this is a no, no, no, for me. I do not want to inflict pain on myself! No way!
8. Invent a wild twitch - A big no. I do not want to look spastic.

Contemplating on these suggestions, I decided to find boredom solutions my own way. One that really fit my personality. So these are Boredom Fighting Ideas I came up with.

5 WAYS TO FIGHT BOREDOM

1. Write a blog. Since I started writing this blog, I have never been bored. I got so busy cooking the food, taking pictures of the food  and  thinking about what articles to write in my food blog that I have no time for boredom.You do not have to write a food blog. If you like fashion, blog about it. If you have a cute cat, blog about it. If you want to break up with your boyfriend because he is too boring, blog about that too. Blogging does not cost anything. Check Blogger and Word press. They have various ways and instructions on how to start your own blog for free. In my case however, I opened a (dot) com blog name www.easytocookmeals.com, so I had to pay for that. But you can simply open a blog for free. This blogspot account I am writing this on, is free. 
2. Learn Photography. You do no have to have a fancy camera to learn photography. You have a digital camera which I am betting you are using automatically. Try to set it in manual setting and see what you can learn from it. 
3. Plant something. I did not plant an apple tree, but I planted herbs inside the pot. I arranged them in one of the corners in my house and I  watered it away. Unfortunately, none of those herb plants I planted survived. But currently, I have five ornamental plants that are still alive. When you want freshness and life inside your home, real plants surely accomplish that.

4. Volunteer. I did this and I just felt great about myself. Just  knowing that you are contributing your time and talents for a good cause surely boost your energy. I opted to volunteer to a shelter here in our state. It is a shelter for those families who are evicted from their houses or families who lost their jobs. They have nothing to stay. I volunteered to bake cakes for the kids' birthdays. Good thing I do not have to do it everyday, but it is sure to be good way to fight boredom. I also volunteered to a feeding program where I distributed food for the homeless.

5. Open an Etsy Store. If you have a little bit of skills on something, why not open an Etsy store. I do not recommend it that much because maintaining an online store gets to be expensive, but I did this 4 months ago. I eventually got tired of it and closed it. But it served its purpose. I was not bored at that time.

6. Go to the gym. I know. I said 5 ways to fight boredom, but this trick really helped me. Join group classes in the gym. You will find new friends and it will make your body rip. Though my body is still far away from being rip, that Zumba class, ooh la lala. It is is fun.

If you  think that these suggestions do not work for you, try the Google suggestions I wrote above and let me know how it goes.

How about you? How do you fight boredom?

Again, it is the 10 Minute Meal Project. I chose this since I have Parmesan an chicken breast in the ref. I misread the recipe though, instead of using two chicken cutlets,  I used 1 1/2 pounds. I  realized this halfway into cooking when  I said, " There is no way this is 10 minute meal, I have been frying the chicken cutlets for almost 30 minutes. " Then I re read the recipe ....

Verdict: I cannot tell how many minutes it was but in term of taste, it was delicious.


10 Minute Meal Project # 4 Chicken with Parmesan and Basil Leaves

Ingredients;

1. 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
2. 1 1/2 cup croutons/ can be bread crumbs
3. 1/2 cup basil
4. salt and black pepper to taste
5. 1 1/2 lb chicken cutlets 1/4 inch thick
6. 1 egg
7. 3 tbsp cooking oil

Directions:

Mix ingredients 1 to 4. in a flat plate.
Scramble 1 egg in a small bowl
Cut chicken breast into thin slices. Around 1/4 " thickness
Dip the chicken cutlets on the scramble egg then roll it in the cheese mixture. Then fry it in a heated oil.
Fry until golden brown
Do this to the rest of the chicken .Serve with lemon or salad.

Chicken Salad - A Little Kindness Goes A Long way

I had been on my edge for the last two weeks now. With my clinical which never came then my license probation. Nope. I did not do anything bad. I just have some issues regarding my continuing education credits which almost drove me crazy. I am a Radiologic Technologist by profession. I have two licenses for it but I am not working as a Rad Tech. You see, I have been a stay at home mom for two years now. But I always tried to keep my license since it is a big part of who I am and it is one of my big accomplishments. So while staying home, I am taking classes for it to stay active. This March, some classes that I reported were not approved, and my license has been noted as under probation. I have to meet certain requirements or else I will lose it this month, August 31st. 

So I took classes this summer, from June 10 to August 15 , but it looks like the board were not satisfied of just receiving my note that I have done it. They wanted proof, which is just appropriate. But I was hoping they will take my documentation that I did well in the class since I am so tight with time. Also school  records will be released by the 17th. Boy, I am starting to panic. Plus my problem with the clinical schedule, I have been so upset! I have been burning my phone calling all the necessary people with regards to this... I got my grades online and sent the office unofficial transcript and they still did not lift the probation... Now, I am getting crazy! 

I called the board again today and there was this girl named Natalie. I have to ask her up front to look at my unofficial records and tell me if it is enough to meet the requirements to lift the probation. She said, " Wait a minute, okey ?" She said the last word OK  sooooo gently that when I heard the music in the background, I was literally sobbing.  All the desperation just poured out.She said OK so kindly. OK never sounded so great. She came back on the phone and said  that they accepted the report and will lift the probation as soon  as today. Gosh, I was so haaaaaaaaappppppy! This girl is a bearer of hope. I consider her an an angel.

One thing that struck me the most is how a little kindness can go a long way. I tend to use my words and my voice haphazardly that I may not know their effects to other.. This Natalie girl, she just accomplished her purpose today. She brought good news that my probation has been lifted, she inspired me to try to speak sweetly and she made me realize to be kind at all times... Natalie, I may not know you, but may God Bless you.

For Boiling Chicken
1 cup Water
1/2 tbsp salt
5 pcs of the frozen sliced chicken breast in the groceries

1/4 cup celery
1/4 cup carrots
1 box raisins
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup light mayonnaise

Boil chicken breast with water and salt until cook. Let the chicken cool down then shred in a large bowl. Add in the last 4 ingredients and mix.

For Serving:

You can use croissant, sliced bread or Pita pockets or you can eat it by itself. I noticed that it gets watery the next day, so I suggest to make just enough for you. This recipe is good for 4 sandwiches.

Serve and Enjoy