Birthday Bash Celebration

My Birthday Celebration! :)

Hello Everyone!

When I started blogging (3 years ago) Its kinda like a tradition that I posted my birthday celebration every year. As you may all remembered my 26th birthday and 25th birthday. So, this year is no different, As I am super excited to share with you all how my birthday went. I'm also be sharing some delicious recipes and ideas that you might want to try on your special day.

 Let's raise our glass and Cheers for another year older (hahaha) Come on! Let's start the birthday food fest!

....Celebration with Lovely Friends....

My birthday celebration started when my friends came over to my house and surprise ME with this delicious food and everything FESTIVE! I have too many pictures on food, that I just selected few to share here on my blog ( foodie lover!) We had Fish Paksiw, Fried Red Snapper, Bolinao, Chicken Adobo, Beef Steak, Binangkal, Cassava Cake, Lemon Pudding, Pansit Bihon & Chocolate Chip Cookies ( takaw ko talaga! hahaha)

I'm so amazed and surprised when my friend Rose made me a tower of delicious cupcake and Red Velvet Cake- it was scrumptious! I can't even believe that I still have room for dessert after pigging out those food mention above. (wink!)

We dance, sing and talked for hours. It was so much FUN!

 .... Dinner Night Out....

My kids gave me a birthday card and hubby as always is super sweet! Saturday, we went out for Double Birthday Dinner Date with my friend Cherry and her hubby @ Old Bag of Nails. I ordered Blackened Cod Fillet with Wild Rice and Broccoli, Hubby got Buffalo Wrap which I think its pretty good. My friend Cherry got Burger ( It was gigantic!) and Matt ( Cherry's hubby) for Fish and Fries. The dinner was pretty good! Then, we continued the celebration and decided to go BOWLING all night!

..... Triple Birthday Celebration with my beloved family....

 I celebrated my birthday with my beloved sister in-law (Kindra) and my mother in-law (Cheri)-It was so fun, festive and amazing! We had the legendary stuff shells ( oh yeah! its scrumptious) Salad, corn and rolls. My mother in-law (Cheri ) made me a chocolate cake with white icing ( which is my favorite. Yum!) and super fun and cute cupcakes. Kindra had yellow cake with chocolate icing and Mom Cheri had a German Chocolate cake. Just imagine yourself surrounded with this sweet treat, not to mention chocolate mint ice cream is within reach.:)

....Fabulous Birthday Gift...

"Best gift ever is my family and my friends whose always there for me. Thank you all for making my birthday GREAT and FUN as always" I love you all!..:)

I can't put into words how thankful I am for having great family and friends and for making my birthday an extra special one, for being so generous as always, for making my birthday as fun as it can be. To all who greeted me offline and online " Thank You" and Cheers!
I hope you enjoy the recipe that I posted here and I'll see you in few days for more fun foodie escapades and recipes. Have great day!

- Sweet Birthday Shoutout to my cousin Lorlyn- Happy Birthday Dai, wishing you all the best in life. Miss you!

xoxox- Melgie

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Bzzagent Campaign: Barilla Collezione Recipe

 Barilla Collezione Casarecce with Meat Sauce Recipe

Hello Everyone!
Yay! It's Friday I hope everyone is having fun today. I was little busy this week between work,family and this cold weather is slowing me down. I don't know why I feel so tired all the time!! (hahaha ). Today, I'm extremely excited to share with you my latest BzzCampaign the Barilla Collezione Casarecce Pasta that I got for FREE courtesy from Barilla and Bzzagent. It always excite me every time I get freebies on the mail and getting my latest BzzCampiagn is no different.I 'm so thankful to Barilla and Bzzagent to make this whole experience fun and festive for the whole family.
What is BzzAgent? An international network of consumers who voluntarily participate in word-of-mouth (WOM) campaigns for a variety of products and services.
How Bzzagent works?All I did was take surveys, get invited, try the product, review and share, then Keep it UP! Easy peasy right? I joined Bzzagent, June of 2014 and I been trying 7-8 great products. Check out the Bzzagent website and sign up for FREE! It's so much fun.:)

The New Barilla Collezione is new product and this is so exciting to find out what is Casarecce means-  
CASARECCE , translated means "homemade" originates frombeautiful sicily. It is short,wide strip of pasta loosely rooled like a scroll, perfect for capturing every drop of sauce. 

That is why its a perfect pasta for scrumptious meat sauce. Yummy!! The shape of Casarecce is unique, easy to eat and guaranteed that will capture every drop of sauce ( awesome!) It's also perfect for any pasta recipe you have in mind. Are you getting excited to make this super fast and delicious dinner?  BUT first let's take a look on my Barilla Collezione BzzKit!! wink:)

My Bzzagent Kit:

• ONE FREE box of Barilla Collezione Casarecce pasta
• Pass-along coupon/recipe card for $1 off any Barilla Collezione pasta, to share with friends and family
• Barilla Blue peppercorn mill
• Jar of gourmet pink peppercorns

Come on you guys! Let's start cooking and be inspired by the taste from Italy. Yumm-0 :)

Barilla Collezione Casarecce Pasta with Meat Sauce Recipe 

 

Ingredients:

1 box Barilla Collezione Casarecce Pasta

1 jar of Barilla Meat Sauce

1/2 lbs. Ground beef

Parmesan Cheese- toppings

Pink Peppercorn- optional

Salt and Pepper- to taste

Directions:

1.) Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. 9-10 minutes is perfect for "Al Dente" where the pasta is cooked through but not mushy. Just perfect!

2.) In separate pan, brown the ground beef until it cooked through. Add the pink peppercorn if you like ( this is optional). Drain excess oil and put it back on the pan. Add the barilla sauce about 3/4 of the jar depend on how much sauce you want for your pasta. Add more if you need to:)

3.) Simmer the sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste! Set aside.

4.) Drain the cooked pasta and set aside.

5.) - At this point you can totally mixed the pasta and the sauce together OR you can put the sauce on the top of the pasta. Add the parmesan cheese on top! Enjoy!!

( I mixed the sauce and the pasta together! Yum!!!:) 

I really love this recipe, super easy, fast to make and perfect for family pasta night. The Barilla Collezione Casarecce pasta is so perfect for capturing every drop of sauce. My family loved it and so do I, Perfect pair with garlic bread and a slice of sweet dessert or a cookie. I hope this recipe inspires you in many ways and don't forget to check out Barilla.com/Collezione  site for more delicious recipe that you might want to try.

I have to finish my pasta! hehehe I'll see you in few days for more awesome recipes and food escapades. I'll promise everything I posted here on my blog is DELISH! check and browse around..wink:) Stay gorgeous and stay warm!!!

xoxo- Melgie

 Disclosure: I received Barilla Collezione Pasta  for free courtesy from Barilla and Bzzagent. My opinion and experience is 100 percent mine. Thank you BarillaUS and Bzzagent for awesome snack.:) #Bzzagent #GotItFree #BarillaCollezione

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Banana Yogurt Muffin Recipe

Banana Muffin Recipe with Chobani Yogurt- Yum!

Hello Everyone!
 I'm thrilled and excited to start off my 2015 with a blast. Starting of with my first blog post of the year "The Banana Yogurt Muffin" I hope you guys had a wonderful New Year's celebration and looking forward for what 2015 could bring. We ended our  amazing 2014 with simple dinner with my family and on New Years day we watched football with my family and friends and it was a sweet victory for Buckeyes and I can't wait to see them play on National Championship. Go bucks!
Anyways, back to the star of the day which is my Banana Yogurt Muffin. Let me tell you! this muffin recipe is amazing! The Chobani yogurt keep the muffin moist and soft for longer period of time and it taste good. If you like banana's and yogurt then this recipe is for you. I think the combination of two ingredients is undeniable- surely compliments each other. The idea of adding yogurt into the traditional banana muffin mixture is totally just my personal experiment. I replaced the sour cream ingredient with Chobani Greek yogurt and here's my scrumptious creation- "The Banana Yogurt Muffin" ( Shhh- Hey! this banana yogurt muffin doesn't stay long in my household- my kids loved them)
Are you hungry yet? Alright! Come on join me in my kitchen as we bake this delicious goodies that surely everyone will loved. The good thing about this recipe you can make it ahead of time good recipe if you have company coming over for breakfast or brunch. Just follow my super easy recipe below and have fun baking!- Yum!!:)

* Note:Double the quantity for larger crowd. Adjust the cooking time if needed.
- Used any Chobani yogurt flavor you like.:) Enjoy!

 Wet Ingredients:

(2) Ripe Banana- mashed

(2) Eggs

(1) 5.3 oz Chobani Greek yogurt - (blueberry flavor) 

1/2 cup cooking oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

Dry Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.) Preheat the oven into 350 degrees
2.) Combine all the Dry Ingredients in a bowl. Set aside
3.) In separate bowl, smashed the ripe banana using fork. Add the 2 eggs, cooking oil, vanilla and Chobani yogurt and mix well.
4.) Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredient. Mix thoroughly until everything is combine.
5.) Spray the baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Add the Banana yogurt muffin mixture into the muffin tin. I used individual silicon muffin cups but you can totally used whatever you have in hand. Bake it for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.
6.) Enjoy and share with family and friends.

My kids love this muffin for breakfast along with their cup of yogurt, little fruit and milk. It taste sweet just like regular banana muffin but its moist and soft. I would say that blueberry yogurt flavor is so good with banana but if you like to have blueberry muffin that would be a great idea also. As I've stated above- Used your favorite yogurt flavor the next time you make muffin. As I promise you!
I hope this recipe inspire you in many ways especially when it comes to baking muffins. Until next time everyone- remember cook with love and everything turn so delicious! Stay warm and gorgeous:)

Check www.chobani.com/recipes for more recipes inspired by Chobani yogurt. Yum!
xoxox- Melgie

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