Instant noodles.

Have you ever wanted to have something that’s ready to eat? Spicy too? Noodles soup too? Especially on a cold, gloomy weather like this?

Today was a gloomy day and I just wanted something that was warm and have something I can have in front of me to eat. I was craving for a lot of different food, but my mom didn’t want to go out for lunch since it was such a yucky day. I was suggesting that I would pay for it also and just bribing her since I came home early from school, but she wasn’t buying it. So when I got home, I decided to make ramen instant noodles, the spicy kind. It didn’t really take that long to make it, approximately 3-5 minutes. I also added some leftover food from dinner last night too. You can other additional things to it also, like vegetables and your desired food. It was spicy, which fit the cold weather setting for me. So it was a nice lunch. Simple and tasty.

It’s also unhealthy if you consume too much of it. It’s alright if it’s once in awhile, don’t eat it everyday though because of the MSG and what not. Just make it when you’re too lazy to cook food and when you’re really hungry too.

Instant noodles can be good and bad for you sometimes, so don’t overeat it!

Peppermint Mocha.

The winter drinks are back at Starbucks! It’s something that I look for around the cold season. I was really happy when I found that they were back. It was a cold and windy day when I finally got out of class yesterday, but I decided to walk to Starbucks anyways because my craving lasted for a good while. When I got to Starbucks, I loved the smell of coffee and the warmth coming from the steam of hot coffee. I finally ordered one of my favorites, peppermint mocha. YUMMMMMY!

When my drink was finally made and the employee handed to me, I was ready to take a sip out of it. As soon as I took that sip, it felt like everything was better than ever! =P The peppermint brought a minty soothing in the mouth and down to the throat. The smell of the mocha awakens me even more. It’s by far one of my most favorite drinks in the winter time along with hot chocolate. There’s also eggnog latte and gingerbread latte too! I haven’t had a chance to try the other two just yet because I like the peppermint mocha too much. ^.^ Hehe, but I will definitely give a shot of them next time. Go grab your holiday drink favorites! :)

Hot Pot.

When it’s cold outside, I would like to eat something that can make you warm inside. For dinner today, we had hot pot. Hot pot is something we enjoy during the cold season. I think mostly Asians are familiar with this.

There’s a variety of things you can eat for hot pot. We usually prepare different raw foods. Some of my favorites are beef balls, fish slices, fish paste, tofu, and various kinds of vegetables. You can also have other different foods like thin slices of chicken, pork, beef, and even pork livers. (My parents likes to have it for hot pot, I find the texture to be interesting. If you like to try new things, give it a shot. =P) I like to call these foods to be “appetizers” because you can have a little of whatever you like to eat since there are so many to try all at once. When we are done eating different “appetizers” that almost fill you up, we have noodles at the end where you can use the water that was used to boil the food and you can add more “appetizers” if you would like to. I really like the soup base when everyone cooks the food inside, it has a sweet taste to it. The food leaves a sweet, savory to the big pot of plain water.

The sauce may seem bizarre for most of you when you guys are going to read it. A raw egg mixed with soy sauce. Your facial expression might be like o_O or “what in the world?!” That’s what I thought when I was little too. My parents told me that the egg is suppose to calm you down and don’t have so much “fire.” In what means that is, I have no idea, but I like it. I have used this kind of sauce ever since I was little and I have enjoyed it. I don’t know what more I can say about this sauce because I don’t even understand the meaning behind it either.

This way of eating dinner might seem unusual for some families, but I know that it’s common for Chinese families. It’s also another way to have a get together with the family and enjoy the food. From what I have seen, people like to eat lots of seafood when they eat hot pot. There’s so many different ways of eating it too, a prepare soup base like a spicy one. Supposedly, if it’s really spicy, you warm up faster in the cold. I haven’t tried it yet because my family doesn’t want to try a hot, spicy soup base yet. But I’m willing to try it sometime in the future. Hehe. =P

Garlic Bread

One of our most favorite foods when we cook dinner together is garlic bread! It’s always a must have. My friend inspired us to make it on our own and don’t have to buy the store bought ones. It’s easy too!

All you need are: a loaf of bread, a bunch of parsley, one stick of butter, and one bulb of garlic.

First, cut the bread into slices so you will be able to spread the filling. Mince the garlic and chop the parsley. Afterwards, you can melt the butter or if it’s really soft, mix the minced garlic and chopped parsley well. Once it’s mixed, spread it onto the bread. Then set the oven 350 degrees. Bake it until you see bread’s edges golden or if you want it really crispy; leave it there until how you like it. We didn’t really have an estimated time; we check every once in awhile.

This time it was extra crispy and it yummy in our tummies! I think this is probably the easiest recipe to make for garlic bread and not having to go fancy with the ingredients. The cost for this isn’t big, so give it a shot if you would love garlic bread! *Slurps*

With these 3 recipes, our dinner was a success and we were really full too! These are easy recipes that you guys can try with a group of friend too. =D

Potatoes.

For our dinner, there was another dish that we cooked. Mini Baked Potatoes. It’s another easy recipe too! Hehe.

We grab about 25 small red potatoes for the hungry group of people. First you have to wash the potatoes, let it sit in water and rub each potato thoroughly to clean out the dirt residues. After, cut them in halves and haunt around for several toothpicks. Use the toothpicks and poke holes onto the potatoes, so it’s in the oven, it would be easier to bake and air can release from the potatoes easier too. (I think you can try it with the big potatoes too! What a genius friend I have that thought of that! Hehe. =P) Then season the potatoes with rosemary, sage, oregano, thyme, Italian seasoning, and some other ones that I forgot. We basically seasoned it with whatever we found in the cabinet to give its flavor. Oh, and of course, salt and pepper! Mix it well, and then place it in an oven pan. Set the oven 350 degrees and put the potatoes in for about 20-30 minutes.

The potatoes turned out pretty nice, with a crunchy outside texture. When you first put it in the mouth, be careful! The inside part is really hot! Don’t burn your tongue, hehe! The different seasonings brought out a blast of flavors. It’s something that we like to enjoy and easy to prepare. :)