Pumpkin spiced pancakes 南瓜鬆餅

Got too many pumpkins for the holidays and don’t know what to do with them aside from pumpkin pies? This pumpkin spiced pancakes are quick and easy. Make your Sunday morning brunch a little different from the regular simple pancakes and they taste sooooo good.

[Columbia, MD] Mission BBQ: Awesome food and vision, but NO military discount, REALLY?

Recommendation: 87%

When surfing what good restaurants are around my area, this place caught my eye with really good reviews on yelp and some other websites. Moreover, their patriotism triggered my interests even more.

MISSION BBQ opened its doors for business on September 11, 2011.
Ten years after our world changed forever, in some small way we wanted to change it back.
As the founders of MISSION BBQ, we strive every day to remind everyone what makes Our Country great—its heroes.

Who are we? Two friends passionate about BBQ, patriotic for Our Country, and who believe in running a business with meaning and purpose.

— Quote: Our Story Mission BBQ

Vitamix Winter Squash Soup 南瓜濃湯

It’s the pumpkin and upcoming holiday season!!!!! One of my favorite food is all kinds of pumpkin and squash dishes.

If you have pre-made chicken stock from the freezer, this dish would be super easy to make with breathtaking looks and great tastes.

Vegetable Oyako-don (Chicken-Egg-Don) 鮮蔬野菇親子丼

This is such an easy and nutritious dinner. In one bowl, you get everything you need for a meal with meat, vegetables, egg, and rice. And it only takes about 30-40 minutes from preparation to finish. Isn’t it perfect for working wives or moms?

Copycat Hot N Juicy Boil~ Let’s get your hands dirty!!!

I just tried this recipe another time and made it a little differently this time. Still LOVE this recipe!! Updates are at the bottom. Check it out!! 🙂

09/12/2015 Update Hot N Juicy Boil Part II

So… over the weekend I tried this recipe again but made a little adjustment to it. Taste even better!!

Ingredient-wise: It’s a total upgrade. 🙂 I used snow crabs, blue crabs, shrimps, some potatoes, and bell peppers. You gotta grasp as many crabs before the crab season is over, right?

Sauce-wise: I substitute half of butter into olive oil. Not only for the health reason, but also taste lighter and better. I like this version much better. I won’t get tired of the taste after just a couple bites. Also, I bought a “Cajun seasoning.” My ingredients for the garlic butter cajun boil sauce this time is:

• 1-2 sticks of butter
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 heads of fresh garlic minced
• Cajun Seasoning
• Red chili powder
• Paprika powder
• Old bay seasoning
• Lemon pepper
• Sugar

Just to be safe, add the lemon pepper and cajun seasoning little by little to adjust the taste. They have strong pungent flavor so you don’t want it to overpower the taste.

 

For the boil, I still use cajun seasoning and one lemon. When the seafood is cooked, drain the water and pour over your spicy garlic butter sauce. YumYum!!! What a happy friday. 🙂

Mon's Tasty Life 愛吃鬼享樂生活誌

Absolutely LOVE this recipe!!!! Recommendation: 100% Must Try

After our last visit to Hot N Juicy, me and J kept thinking about the savory, hot, buttery taste of those shrimps. Occasionally we found this video tutoring how to make copycat version of Hot N Juicy cajun boil and garlic butter sauce. It seems not difficult at all!!! And the best part is when making your own Hot N Juicy boil at home, you get to choose what to put include in your meal, the quality of seafood, and you can tweak the taste as much as you want~~~ (Best of all, it’s a lot cheaper LOL)

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[Prague, CZ] Prague Castle, the city of a hundred spires 布拉格城堡區，一夕成銀白世界

Prague Castle, the district that all visitors can never leave Prague without visiting!! It is located at the northwest area of the Prague City, up on the hill right across the Vltava river. Due to its elevated location, you can observe the entire Prague city from this area, one of my favorite views of the city.

Pressure Cooker Oxtail Bourguignon 壓力鍋紅酒燉牛尾

I recently got a box of oxtail on sale. However, I have never maken oxtail before. It seems to be tough and takes a long time to cook. After I tried making this Oxtail Bourguignon with my pressure cooker, I found out it’s super easy and I just love the savory sauce.

Stir-fried tomato and scrambled eggs 家常蕃茄炒蛋

Tomatoes are in season!!!

It’s one of my favorite ingredients to all kinds of dishes. No matter Asian dishes like beef stew, Mexican dish such as salsa, or pasta, burger, or sandwiches, I always love lots of tomatoes. I prefer cooked tomatoes over fresh tomatoes. The cooked tomatoes taste sweeter and the flavor is much more enhanced. Also, cooked tomatoes contain rich lycopene and antioxidant which is really good for health.

Thai Style Spicy Chicken 泰式椒麻雞

I always love Thai style cuisines especially in the summer time. The sweet, sour, and spicy taste makes you feel refreshing and triggers the appetite. Also, the various colors from all kinds of vegetables and ingredients on the plate is an eye candy.

Vitamix Creamy Mushroom Soup 蘑菇奶油濃湯

The fresh mushroom cream soup has a really creamy, mushroomy flavor, but with a very light, fluffy texture. I can never go back to canned cream mushroom soup after I tried this.

The golden onion and homemade chicken stock also add another layer of taste. All fresh and real ingredients!! No MSG, No preservatives!!

Super Easy Miso Glazed Salmon 超簡單味噌烤鮭魚

This is a super easy 30 mins dish. It fits perfectly for a working mom’s dinner schedule. While it is in the oven, you can have time to prep other dishes. Also, it taste sooooo good!!! You got to try!!

Black Bean Soymilk 黑豆漿

I always have the impression of making own soymilk is so troublesome. The traditional ways to make it needs overnight soaks, grind the beans, filter the milk and then carefully boil it but not to burn it. So many steps….

After I got the Vitamix, lots of friends told me they use it to blend soymilk and it turns out really simple and tastes great. The best part is, you can blend the serving for the day each time. Since the natural soymilk spoils really fast, the traditional method which makes a big pod of soymilk bothers small family size like mine. With this method, I can just freeze the beans and took out whatever portion you are planning on making. Very convenient and simple

Stars and Stripes Pie 美國國旗派

Happy July 4th !!!

July is also the best season for all kinds of berries. Why not making a patriotic pie to celebrate the upcoming 4th of July long weekend? This pie looks great and fun but it’s so easy to make and taste awesome!! All you need is a cardboard and a small knife or star cookie cutter.

Just defrost your pre-made pie crusts and let’s get started!!

Basic Pie Crust from scratch 基礎派皮食譜

Making your own pie crust may seem intimidating in the first place. It seems so difficult… I seems very troublesome… Why would I want to make my own pie crust when I can just easily purchase from grocery stores… and they taste not bad at all? Well… I had the same questions when I started baking.

However, after my first try of making my own pie crust, the real buttery, crispy, flaky texture and flavor makes the pie taste much better. On top of that, it’s not difficult at all!!! You can always make more and store them in the freezer. Just defrost a little bit before you want to make pies the next time.

What makes me never want to buy store pie crust again is after reading the ingredients of ready-to-use pie shells. You basically just need flour, butter, egg, water, and little bit of salt and sugar to make your own crust. These are all pretty basic ingredients that all kitchens have. On the other hand… looking at the ingredients of a couple common store pie shells throws me off completely… 

My new kitchen toy: Vitamix. Worth invested!!

Since our last blender broken, we haven’t got a new one for a while. I thought I would be fine living without a blender for the rest of my life until one imposive purchase in store after watching the demo of Vitamix. LOL