Weekend Waffle - My Fresh Banana Waffle, w/Strawberries and Whip

It's a regular thing for me to make Waffles pretty much once a weekend, whether it be on Saturday or Sunday. That accompanied by a Bigole'Cup of Joe .... A whole lotta Wonderful . I'm gonna go ahead and share my Banana Waffle recipe , I top mine with a dusting of powdered sugar, fresh cut strawberries, and homemade vanilla whipped cream.  

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 6 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 egg
• 2 ripe bananas, sliced

I mix all my dry ingredients together with a whisk, I combine all my wet, then add the wet to the dry ingredients .  Lastly add the sliced fresh bananas. 

Spray preheated waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour 1/4 c batter of the waffle batter onto the hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown. Top with powdered sugar, sliced strawberries, and fresh whipped cream. 

*Combine the heavy whipping cream, about 2 tbsp powders sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and mix on high for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.  

ENJOY :)

Let them eat Cake!! (Cupcakes)

Life is too short, so kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly and eat cupcakes quickly. ~ 

 What is a good Cupcake? In my opinion a GOOD cupcake is moist, good cake/frosting ratio,  frosting not too sweet or hard, and of course they must be pretty ! (And NEVER from a Box) ** 

I'd like to think I know a thing or two about cupcakes, I'd like to Toot my own horn (Toot Toot) and having mastered the art of GOOD cupcake making... I've been doing it for over 15 years... my first "Cupcake Shop Cupcake" was from Sprinkles in New Port Beach back about 5 years ago... ever since then I was hooked on taking random road trips to find Cupcake Shops and sampling these little pieces of heaven (well some anyways) .... I'm NOT biased when it comes to Cupcakes from other people or other shops. Always open to the competition (Opps did I just say that out loud) ?? 

Any-Who!! Here are a couple of my Favorite Cupcake places

Sprinkles Cupcakes  - after all I have to give it to Candace Nelson for being the first only cupcake bakery! 

Kara's Cupcakes - most I like, not a big fan a Swiss Meringue buttercream , taste too buttery in my opinion. 

Icing on the Cake- PURE HEAVEN, hasn't disappointed me yet! (I have the dimples to prove it) *blushing* 

*I couldn't even wait to take the pic, sorry!

That Takes the Cake- I had one of the best Red Velvet cupcakes from here. 

Dots Cupcakes- A girls trip to Pasadena, Ca turned into a Cupcakes and Boobies weekend -don't ask. 

Ok now here a couple Cupcakes places I DID not like .... 

Pennycakes- Umm Helloooo I know what a boxed cupcake taste like, nice try, and they charge over $3.00 for a cupcake...  YEAH! 

Lulu's Cupcakes- Naturally you'd think I'd dislike this place being that they are in my old Spot.... Nope not the case, the cupcakes are No Bueno. I can't even give them a little credit for being ok... almost $4.00 a cupcake for a super small , dry, shortening frosting cupcake. 

So there you have it. My take on Cupcakes....     In a Nutshell :) 

If a cupcake can brighten the day of a little boy that just spent 3weeks in the Hospital during his Chemo treatment. Then these Cupcakes are doing something right, God Bless. 

Ok, Gabby I know you didn't make that....Pineapple Upside Down Cake!

Pineapple Upside down cake, when I think of this cake it makes me think of a Housewife , a Step-ford Wife...the early 1900's . Obviously a image far from what I really am, a "cool" young single Mom (although my boys don't think so sometimes, pffttt ) Ok, but really I was watching one of this seasons last episodes of Desperate Housewives, and in this episode Brea makes a AMAZING Pineapple Upside Down Cake that Gabby tries to duplicate after telling Carlos she really made it, pretty funny. 

-See even Carlos wasn't fooled, he knew Gabby didn't make that amazing cake. 


Ok well back to me and this cake. I finally did it, I couldn't remember the last time I made a Pineapple Upside Down Cake....  My mom makes them every once a year, maybe? But we took out her recipes that she has, a lot of these recipes she used when she was just married -over 34 years ago. LONG time, much credit to my Dad, my Momma's crazy.... lol (shh don't tell her I said that) heehee 

None the Less... Here is what mine came out looking like tonight. It was very Good !

 Here's the Recipe

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 c butter (unsalted)2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk

Mix all together for about 2-3 minutes until well combined. 

Topping : 1/2 c brown sugar, and 1/4 c butter - cook in a saucepan, until it melts and slightly boils... immediately pour into a round cake pan (I used a 9inch) that has been lined with parchment paper and sprayed with baking non-stick spray. Line the bottom of the pan with pineapple rings adding Maraschino cherry halves in each pineapple center. Pour your cake mix over the pineapples and cherries. Bake 35-40 minutes at 350°F. Let cool in pan 10minutes then turn upside down into a plate. Enjoy :)

I walked 3 miles.......... THEN I ate THIS

Soo I've been pretty proud of myself lately. I take the boys to school then I take off walking/jogging for about 30-45 minutes a day. Sometimes more... like today for example. Walked over 1 hour 15 minutes, unintentional, Yes, but it all worked out in my favor. I got to eat this come lunch time : (insert evil laugh, followed by a bursting button on my jeans) 


Today I had the pleasure of trying MoGo BBQ. What is MoGo you ask? Well it's a Korean-Style BBQ mobile truck (gasp!! the Stigma of the Roach coach is disappearing with Trucks like these) servicing the San Francisco and Bay Areas. They serve anything from Tacos, Burrito's , and Quesadillas with a Korean KICK Waaaa-Powww!! 

 Sweet spicy pork Quesadilla ~ Yumm!

 Slider, not your traditional slider, this one filled with Korean-style short ribs, Spam, and other good stuff... ohh yeah and Kris's favorite served on Hawaiian rolls. 

Last but not least, Tofu Burrito ...... filled with tofu marinated in Korean BBQ sauce... with Kimchi, rice, lettuce/cabbage slaw, and cheese. 


Give me a little credit, I didn't eat all this by myself. Sheesh ! But it was pretty AMAZING .

Chicken Soup for the Soul, OK. Chicken soup for my sick Baby and Momma

Today my Mom woke up not feeling soo well..... GREAT. Then I pick up Kris from school and he tells me," I threw up at school today", even more GREAT. Hopefully this Chicken Noodle soup (my way) will help those tummies feel better.


I started off with a Costco Rotisserie chicken....... these Chickens are Amazing... you can do soo much with them and they are only $4.99 ! SCORE ` I take all the meat off the bones and use the bones to inhance the flavor of the broth by adding it to boiling water with chopped carrots, onions, celery, and bay leaf. I boil for about 1hour then remove it and strain good, reserving your stock to the side.

I start with a big pot..... saute a traditional mirepoix (carrots, onions, and celery) in butter... add 2 Bay Leaves. Cook about 5 minutes, then add 4 small chopped white potatoes with the skin, cook about 10-15 minutes until tender. 

Now to your stock(you should have about 6-8 cups) that you had reserved, add some chicken bouillon base, add a little bit at a time- to your liking. Add your mirepoix mix, add your shredded chicken, about 1/2 cup of your favorite small pasta (I used elbows) simmer until the pasta is al-dente..... lastly add a 15 oz can of creamed corn... add salt and pepper to your liking ! 

And there you have it, Chicken Soup.................. I topped mine with Parmesan crusted Croutons (homemade of course) SOUPer GOod :)

Hot Potato ............ TACOS :)

I make these Tacos for my Boys............ and they LOVE them. They are quick, easy, and Most importantly cheap! You will need about 6-8 russet potatoes , shredded mexican cheese, heavy cream, Vegetable oil, paprika, salt/pepper, ,melted butter, shredded lettuce, corn tortillas .... 

Take your potatoes peel, cut into cubes, cover with water and boil until fully cooked (like making mashed potatoes)  Once potatoes are mashed add 2tbsp melted butter, about 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream, about 1/4 cup shredded cheese, and a couple sprinklings of paprika, salt, and pepper. Next you wanna heat up your tortillas on a Comal (tortilla hot plate) set aside the tortillas, now stuff each tortilla with a spoon full or two of mashed potato mix, close the tortilla and secure the top with a toothpick. Heat oil in skillet to med high. oil should sizzle if taco dipped in. Place tacos in oil, seam side down. fry 2-3 minutes on first side, the flip and fry second side for a couple minutes. remove with tongs and tilt tacos so any oil inside taco can drain out on a paper-towel lined dish. Once the tacos are cool enough to handle, remove the toothpick and stuff with shredded lettuce and cheese. Enjoy!