Gotta Go To Mo's

Mariano Rivera sets career record for saves, at 602, surpassing Trevor Hoffman -- and as usual, Rivera breaks a bat along the way.

NJ Pizza

Our first harvest

Among the tomatoes, zucchini and peppers, we grew string beans. The kids were excited to see them grow.



Chicken and string beans in a brown sauce. Solid!



And the end results with veggies.
This picture says it all!

And in the news...

The Amarillo Sox, an independent minor league team in Texas, were expecting to have a huge hit on their hands by unveiling a new team mascot over the weekend.

Instead, they got this...

It was 14 years ago...

Greg and Tracie had a FULL ON DISPLAY of public affection.

Kc was all about getting the fire works on video. (if only we had an iphone)

Stephanie had short hair.
and I wore those teva sandals and mesh hat... which I still wear today.


HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

Meat on Summer Grill..

Olivia got a ball from a player

Baysox Game with the D's

Who needs Friendly's

I think they're called Frizzles. Here it's called vanilla & orange shake in a pint glass!

Pre Memorial Day BBQ

Chinese roast pork, grilled. Corn.

Late night kabobs

Amazing!

Ingredients:
A whole bottle of Newmans Own light balsamic vinaigrette
Rosemary
Oregano

Marinade over night
Add Goya adobo and soy sauce an hour before grilling

Great on or next to a salad.
...and it's healthy!

S'mores

Sandwiches off the grill

It does the job and it's quick!

Trader Joe's Thai Shrimp Dumplings

Fried Dumplings (refuse to call them pot stickers!) in less than 10 minutes. From the freezer on to your plate.

Throw as many dumplings as you want into the microwave to 'thaw' them.
2 minutes.

*they're precooked.

Once out of the microwave, you can eat them (kinda like a steamed dumpling) or give them a little crisp.

How?
Put some oil in a pan and throw them in. Let them sit for a few seconds. (until the skin turns a light brown).
Once the 'crisp' is to your liking, you're done.

Enjoy!
Dumpling sauce goes great with them.

Trade Joe's Thai Shrimp Dumplings only costs $5. I think there are a few dozen in there.
Kids love it. Quick eats.

London Broil Sandwich for lunch

Happy Birthday Jeff!

No man should be without a pink funfetti cake on his 37th birthday. This cake was selected, baked and decorated by Olivia.

A boy's response...

Sorry girls.

From cellphone to Blog

Hello friends,

If you want to post something (pictures or anything else) from your cellphone directly to our blog, use this email address.

Just a hello from VA to NC

It's not about food, just a kids greeting!

Cobb Salad

The bacon, eggs and cheese helped mask the fact that we were having salad for dinner. The girls ate more vegetables with this dinner than they had all month. We made the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese as a back up, which was a hit, of course!

Classic PorkRoll Eggs n Cheese on Everything Bagel

Bacon!

It all tastes better with bacon. In this case wrap ur boring chicken
kabobs with bacon and coat with honey mustArd through out a slow cook
on the grill.

Steak and twice grilled potatoes

Nat Yo Ordinary Nachos

Fun for family picking and yummy to serve at a fun gathering

These are my Natchooooossssss

1-2 lbs ground turkey meat

1 bag mexican mix cheese

1 red onion - diced

1 jar of your favorite salsa, I used a mango flavored one medium spice

1-2 whole avacado, slice your self

1 can black beans

1 can corn

1 bag your favorite Nachos

Cook meat with red onion, flavor with taco or chili seasoning. temp as you wish

remove from pan

drain black beans and corn, cook in same pan as meat ( use that flavor)

Now layer chips in bowl or plate

layer meat on chips

layer salsa on meat

layer cheese

layer beans and corn

now repeat layers starting with chips

after you have made a second floor add your sliced avacados

ENJOY!!!!!

Tropicana Orange Juice

Does the new marketing look on Tropicana's 1/2 gallon OJ look HOT or is it just me??

Teriyaki Chicken

Teriyaki Chicken is a quick meal that you throw in the Crock Pot and in 8 hours (on LOW), you're ready to serve.


*We go with drumsticks here at the Chong household.
a) they cook well on the bone.
b) the kids can pick them up -if the meat is not sliding off.

*Pick up a bottle of Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce. (on the shelves at The TEET located in the Asian aisle for about $3)


*Coat the bottom of the crock pot with some Teriyaki Sauce (not too much) prior to putting the drumsticks in.
REASON: It doesn't stick to the liner* or pot. A little olive oil doesn't hurt either.

*Place all the drumsticks in the crock pot.

*POUR the whole bottle of Teriyaki Sauce onto the drumsticks.

*Mix around.

*Throw some seasoning on top. Get creative. (I like to draw 2 lines of Soy on top for that 'burst')

*Cover.

*Place the crock pot in the refrigerator until the next day.

*Side Note: Crock Pot liners rock. No mess. When you're done, all you have to do is throw out the liner and wipe down the pot. No more dealing with washing the crock pot and figuring out what to do with the electric cord while washing.

THE NEXT DAY....

Before you start 'cooking', mix the drumpsticks with a spoon. Get the sauce to mingle with the other drumsticks other than the ones the sauce was hanging out with overnight.

Since we are gone all day, we set our crock pot on LOW for 8 hours and then when the 8 hours are up, our crock pot kicks onto WARM.

WARNING: Your house will smell like Teriyaki Chicken.

Best served with rice. Or on top of a salad. We also go with stuffing and corn.
Plenty of extra sauce to re douse the 'sticks when done.

Stephanie LOVES it as do the girls.

EASY. Prep time and cooking.

Crockery BBQ Chicken

2 Lbs DARK Meat Thighs (it absorbs the flavors better than White meat)

1 Whole Bottle of Favorite BBQ Sauce ( I use Sweet Baby Rays)

You can use any BBQ sauce of your choice

All into Crock Pot

Cook High 4 Hours and turn Low until ready to eat

or If you leave the House Leave on Low cooks while you are at work

Serve with a side of Rice

Or Make yummy BBQ Sandwichs with side of coleslaw

Magic Shell is THE REAL BOSS

We love our sweets in this house....our famous chocolate mousse...

1 package instant chocolate pudding mix

2 cups milk

1 package (8oz) cream cheese

1 tub whip cream

chocolate chips

use hand mixer to combine all ingredients minus the chocolate chips...mix for ~2 min then stir in chocolate chips.

decorate w/magic shell if desired. :-)

Obviously I don't cook much, based on my lack of posts to this blog. But, I am a good recipe follower and our family loved the pork ass! Thanks Jeff!

Happy Valentine's Day

On those Special Occasions, Stephanie would make cakes with the girls. Here's February 14th special. And yes, it's on a styrofoam dish.


Our new ride.

The other white meat

Chinese Roast Pork
the FAST AND FURIOUS edition!

Here’s something that my dad taught me a year ago.
It’s quick and easy. Prep time is fast and I suggest you marinade it for a day in the refrigerator.

What you need:
* Pork (I usually get something called “butt” and no, it’s not the pig’s ass)
* Chicken Marinade (If not, some soy or teriyaki)
* Red dye
* Sugar













First poke holes in the pork with a fork. (i made a rhyme) Stab it like you mean it. This will allow the marinade to drip into the holes as well as tenderize it.

Once you're done, pour the marinade (1/4 of the bottle) on the pork. If you're using SOY, it should be less because SOY is usually salty.
RUB IT IN.

Then apply the sugar. Sprinkle it all around the pork. *if you want it more sweet, use more.
RUB IT IN.

Once you're done, add a few drops of the red dye. *Is it really necessary? Not really, but it looks good!



Cover it and refrigerate it for the night.

Pop it in the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour. Give or take your power of your oven.


Occasionally remarinade the pork with the drippings.
*If you're feeling fancy, the last 15 minutes apply HONEY. Another could be with hoisin sauce.







AND THEN SERVE.



Great with white rice. Stephanie puts the pork on a salad.
Olivia and Ellie love it.

Sausage Sandwich

After a long day at work I like to make my Hubby happy with a Super Sausage Sand.

Home make Red Sauce which was chunked up with dice tom and onions.

A yummy roll to hold all the sauce and meat to tie it all together.

enjoy.

IceCream Sandwich Desert

Who does not love a classic Ice Cream Sandwich

It's Rabbit Season

How many times have you seen this place mat at your local Chinese 'gypsy' eatery?


YEAR OF THE RABBIT: Good taste and refinement will shine on everything and people will acknowledge that persuasion is better than force.

Time to make some dumplings - Trader Joe's style (i will do a followup)



Last year's pic.

Only at Seaside!

Who wants to split this with me this summer?

My Biggest Nightmare!

The potties at the Indian restaurant by work.

This sauce is THE REAL BOSS

Lee Kum Kee Chicken Marinade Sauce.
A Convenient, Sweet, Ginger Flavored Soy-based Cooking Sauce.
Marinates As It Cooks.

This is it friends. With this bottle of joy you can make any Chinese dish in seconds. Lo Mien? Fried Rice? Chicken or Beef with mixed vegetables? NO PROBLEM! If you want to thicken the sauce, use corn starch.

I even molested a roto chicken with this bad boy for added flavor and it rocked.

Kids will love it because its sweet. You'll love it because it goes with everything, tastes good and is EASY.

Chicken Soft Tacos

In a pinch and you're craving Mexican whip up some chicken soft tacos like so:



Preheat grill to HIGH.
Spray chicken breats with olive oil.
Coat both sides chili powder and cumin (don't open breast, this keeps em juicy).
Cook for 20 mins flipping every 5 min.
Remove and chop up.

We usually hit up the local Mexiceteria for salsa and chips. Homemade guac? lol yeh who has time for that!!

Cook a lot and save for the week, great for a quick taco salad too.

Kids LOVE IT!