[Slow Cooker] Cowboy Beef

I was working 10 hours a day, and always exhausted when I got http://www.eileenlikestoeat.com.  I didn't want to cook.  I didn't even feel like going out to eat.  Then I thought "hey maybe I should get a slow cooker".  I read about how people spend a little time the night before or in the morning to prepare the food, then push a button before leaving for work, by the time they come http://www.eileenlikestoeat.com after work, dinner is ready.  The first time I used the slow cooker, it was a disaster.  I made some pork chop with vegetable, and the meat turned out to be so hard and dry.  We ended up throwing it away.  I was disappointed, but determined to try again.  I got the recipe for Cowboy Beef from Better Homes and Gardens The Ultimate Slow Cooker Book.  It turned out to be a big success!  Both Dr. P and I loved it, and it was sooooo easy (and cheap) to make.  The meat was super tender.  The dish tasted a little like Mexican food.  We ate it with corn tortilla.  If you have a slow cooker, give this recipe a try!


Cowboy Beef

Pot roast heads for the untamed West when slow cooked with chili beans, corn, tomatoes, and spicy chile peppers in adobo sauce.

[Huntington Beach] [Chinese] Lotus Chinese Eatery

Lotus Chinese Eatery
清真館
16883 Beach Blvd
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
(714) 848-4940

My dad loves Islamic Chinese food, especially all the lamb dishes.  So growing up, we dined out at Islamic Chinese restaurant frequently.  After I moved down to Orange County, I was thrill to find Mas' Islamic in Anaheim.  I took Dr. P there a while back.  He tried this type of Chinese food for the first time and fell in love.  We thought about going back to Mas' Islamic, but it is a little far for us so we never made the trip.  When I came across another Islamic Chinese restaurant in Huntington Beach, which is a lot closer to us, I told Dr. P about it.  He jumped up with big excitement and said, "Let's go!"  So off we went to try Lotus Chinese Eatery.



Lotus is located inside a big plaza, next to a fancy looking Japanese restaurant with nice outdoor patio.  The restaurant looks really big from outside.

[Alhambra] [Chinese] 海霸小炒皇 Harbor Kitchen

Harbor Kitchen
海霸小炒皇
1411 S Garfield Ave
Alhambra, CA 91801
(626) 289-2328

After visiting Harbor Kitchen with my sister, I kept on thinking about the food from there.  So I returned again with my mom and sister again two weeks later for lunch.


XO醬炒蘿蔔糕 Pan Fried Turnip Cake w/ XO Sauce ($5.95)

Pan Fried Turnip Cake w/ XO Sauce was one of the afternoon tea item we had last time.  We liked it a lot.  So when we saw it on the lunch special menu, we ordered it again.  Lunch special price is $1 more than the afternoon tea special, and it doesn't come with free drink.  We thought lunch portion would be bigger, but it was exact the same portion as afternoon tea.  So I guess going there for afternoon special is a better value than lunch special.

[Tustin] [Pizza] First Class Pizza

First Class Pizza
13175 Jamboree Rd
Tustin, CA 92782
(714) 505-3903
http://www.firstclasspizzatustin.com

First Class Pizza is in the same plaza as the hospital I worked.  My co-workers had been telling me how good their pizza is.  They even offer discount to people who work in the same plaza.  I placed my order on the phone 15 minutes before I get off, and walked over to pick it up.  The place was really busy on a Friday night.


Kick'n Chicken Pizza (Medium) ($18.59)
Chicken, mushroom, garlic, olive oil, FCP Seasonings

All of their specialty pizzas sound so good on the menu.  After thinking over and over, I finally picked Kick'n Chicken Pizza.  It had chicken, mushroom, garlic, olive oil, and First Class pizza's special seasonings.  The seasoning and taste of the pizza was great.  But what made this pizza extraordinarily good was the crust.  The handmade crust was so airy and soft.  It tasted completely different from places like Pizza Hut or Dominoes.  Yes, the pizza was on the expensive side, but it was much much better than those fast-food pizza places.

[Laguna Niguel] [Japanese] Sango Sushi Restaurant

Sango Sushi Restaurant
27261 La Paz Rd #A
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
(949) 831-7287
http://www.sangosushi.com/Laguna.htm

We were on a quest to find good restaurants near our http://www.eileenlikestoeat.com.  When Dr. P lived in West LA, his favorite Japanese restaurant near his place is Hide Sushi.  He got take-out from Hide almost every week.  We found Sango Sushi from a coupon book we received in the mail.  We thought it's a regular sit-down Japanese sushi restaurant.  But only when we got there we found out it was more of a Japanese "fast-food" type of place.  You place order and pay your order at the counter, and no tip needed kind of place.  They do a lot of take-out.  Our first time there, we decided to try the food to-go.


Spicy Tuna Bowl ($7.30)
Spicy (marinated) Tuna with Vegetables over Sushi Rice

Dr. P got a Spicy Tuna Bowl.  The tuna was very fresh.  We like the crunchy cucumber, burdock, and creamy avocado.  The sushi rice was yummy, too.

Grilled T-Bone Steak

I downloaded Omaha Steak Steaks Time app on my iPod Touch.  You type in what kind of steak it is, how thick the cut is, and how do you want the steak to cook, the app will tell you exactly how long to cook it on the grill, even when to flip it.  I saw T-Bone Steak on sale at Ralphs, bought 2 giant steaks http://www.eileenlikestoeat.com to try the new app.



I seasoned the steak with McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning, rubbed butter over my indoor grill pan, put the steak on the pan, and started the timer on iPod Touch.  While the steak was cooking, I quickly sauteed spinach with some garlic.  10 minutes later, our http://www.eileenlikestoeat.com smelt like a steakhouse.  But we need to have patience.  It's best to let the steak sit for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting.

We Like Chew Toys

Since Teddy & Twinkle were growing their baby teeth, they liked to bite on EVERYTHING! To avoid having them chewing on our furniture (well... seemed like it was unavoidable) or biting our hands (uh... unavoidable either), we got them so many chew toys.



Those two toys are gifts from their auntie Luccine.