Crunchy Cornflakes Chicken

I found this recipe printed on the back of a cornflakes box the other day. So, I decided to try it to see if it's good. It turned out to be pretty good actually. I just love how it's so easy to make and the smell of the cornflakes while you bake the chicken in the oven is just so yummilicious!

To start off, combine 1/3 cups of all purpose flour, 1/2 a teaspoon of basil leaves, 1/8 teaspoon of ground thyme, 1/8 teaspoon of crushed rosemary leaves and 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper in a bowl.

Then, add in about 1/3 cup of milk.

Next, add in about 1/4 cup of melted butter.

Mix all the ingredients together well.

Then, dip your chicken pieces ( I used some chicken thighs that I had earlier de boned) into the flour mixture.

Coat your chicken pieces immediately with some crushed cornflakes. Make sure that it's evenly coated.

After coating, place the chicken pieces on a greased baking dish.

Pop it into a 375F oven and bake for about 55-60 minus, or until the chicken is no longer pink and the coating is golden brown.

Here's the chicken after I took it out of the oven. Don't they look yummy? I love how it was really crunchy on the outside but juicy in the inside. I served the chicken with a side of mash potatoes and stuffing. I would say that it's not too bad a recipe, I will definitely make this again :D

Volvo & Saab Auto Parts

Are you a proud owner of a Volvo or Saab automobile? Have you ever tried looking Saab or Volvo parts but is unsure if the sellers are reliable, have the parts you are looking for or giving you the best price? Well, let me introduce you to Swedish Parts Network - your home for Saab and Volvo parts! You can be sure of getting the best service, along with their large selection, fast shipping and low prices. That's right, they guarantee that you will get the lowest price anywhere and the fastest shipping on the net! Not only that, if you make an order totaling more than $50, you qualify for free UPS ground shipping to the lower 48 states. So what are you waiting for? Head over to http://www.swedishparts.net and order your auto parts today!

From Malaysia with Love

I received an email from my dad last Friday telling me that they (my dad and mom) sent me a package via UPS and he gave me the tracking number for the package. I tracked the package and found out that UPS will be delivering it later that day. Woohoo! I waited for the delivery guy all day (our door buzzer doesn't really work that well, hence I had to pay special attention so that I can hear him knocking on the door). At last the delivery guy came at around 3 in the afternoon and this is what he brought me. Yay!

Wanna see what my parents sent us? One clue: You can actually smell it even before you see it :P

Yup, that's right! They sent us a whole lot of Malaysian curry powders, instant mixes, spices and various types of noodle soup bases!! Woohooo! My mom was actually in Penang a few weeks ago and she went to pick up some authentic curry powders and instant mixes form Tean Ean (a popular and well known local products shop in Penang). What a pleasant surprise! I didn't even know that they bought me all these stuff until my dad told me that he was shipping some stuff over. Yes, I am very excited to get 'new' things to cook and test out...but more importantly, I am really grateful that I have amazing parents that loves me (and Kevin, of course) very much. My mom didn't have to buy us all those stuff but she did. Just the thought of her thinking of us, even though we are half way across the world, made my day. It goes to show that you can grow up, get married, move a thousand miles away...but you will always still be your parents little girl. Thanks mom and dad for all your love, the curries...and everything else =)

Back2School Laptop-a-Day Sweepstakes

Guess what guys? There is another new and exciting sweepstakes happening at this very moment. Remember when Charter had their HDTV-A-Day Sweepstakes a while back? Well, there are at it again!! Charter is following up on the success of their HDTV-A-Day Sweepstakes with a new promotion that is giving away a laptop computer every day!! That's right, the Laptop-a-Day Sweepstakes will be giving out a FREE laptop every day! Not only that, they are extending it for 2 months!

The contest runs from July 15 through September 15, 2009 and not only will Charter will be giving out a laptop every single day but in addition to that, you can get a free gift card ranging in value from $25-$100 with special online deals! How cool is that?? The contest is planned for the student or the businessperson on the go who needs a laptop for easy mobility. Talk about perfect timing! It’s right in time for back to school shopping (wouldn’t those gift cards come in handy!)

Winners will get an easy to use and efficient HP 550 Notebook 15-inch with Windows Vista and a NeoTec Compu Backpack. The Gift Cards are from major retailers in clothing, home and accessories, restaurants and more! Some of the participating retailers are Old Navy, Home Depot, Macy's, Kohls, Best Buy, Sears, Applebees, Shell, Banana Republic, GAP, Olive Garden, Ruby Tuesdays and a whole lot more!

Charter continues to create a buzz around its online contests. And they keep getting better. I still remember when they gave away laptops, Xbox 360 game systems and one customer even drove away a 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid last year! You can also keep up the latest updates from Charter on Facebook and also follow Charter on Twitter. Visit Charter.com/laptop to view the complete sweepstakes rules, the list of winners, details on the notebook computer as well as to register today!!

Kevin's Easy Meatloaf Recipe

It's the weekend again and it's time for another one of Kevin's recipes. This week, he will be sharing with all our readers an easy to make meatloaf recipe. It's really easy and fun (cos you get to get your hands all icky and messy :P) recipe to make. Enjoy!

To start off, place about 2 lbs of lean ground beef into a large mixing bowl. You can use ground turkey too if you like. Remember, the leaner the meat, the better it is for this recipe.

Add in one large onion that has been finely diced.

Then, pour in 2 lightly beaten eggs.

Next, add in one small can of tomato paste.

Now it's time to get your hands dirty. Mix all the ingredients together.

Once it's all mixed up, add in one packet of McCormick's Meatloaf Seasoning Mix.

Mix that into the meatloaf. Then, add in about 1/2 cup of milk.

This next part can be a little bit tricky. Add in some breadcrumbs. I cannot tell you how much to add in, you will have to eyeball it. Add in just enough so that it's not too watery but not too dry either. Start with a little and slowly add in more and more. It should be just enough for the meat to form a ball.

Mix everything up one last time and form the meat mixture into a oval shaped ball (about the size and shape of a small football).

Place the meatloaf into a meatloaf pan.

Then, spread some tomato ketchup on top of the meatloaf.

Pop it into a 375F oven for about 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes, take the meatloaf out and spread some more tomato ketchup on top of it.

Pop the meatloaf back into the oven for another 20 minutes or so. After that, allow the meatloaf to cool for about 5 minutes before taking it out from the pan. It should be nicely charred on the outside (that's the best part!).

Slice the meatloaf into thick slices and it's ready to be served! Kevin served it up with some herb mashed potatoes and corn on cob. The meat was juicy in the inside and nicely charred on the outside. Mmmm mmm mmmm....what a nice weekend dinner :D

Protect your baby's future

A couple of years ago, the word of the hour among my friends and cousins were "weddings". It seemed that everyone around me was getting married. These days, it has shifted from "weddings" to "babies". Many of my friends are pregnant or planning to have a baby in the near future. I'm pretty sure that many of my readers understand what I am talking about and that they are at that same period of life as me. To all expecting parents out there, how much do you know about the miraculous benefits of saving your child's cord blood? Well, there are just so many benefits. Did you know that U-Cord blood stem cells are known to treat over 75 diseases and have been used in over 12,000 transplants worldwide? Not only that, but cord blood stem cells are a 100% match for the infant donor and 1 in 4 match for a sibling!

Let me introduce you to Cryo-Cell. They are the industry's family cord bank leader with more quality accreditation's than any private cord blood bank. For more than a decade, Cryo-Cell Cord Blood Bank has been providing families a wonderful opportunity to cryogenically preserve their newborns umbilical cord blood stem cells in a safe and secure environment.

Sounds expensive, you might say. Well, Cryo-Cell understands that there is so much to think about when planning for a new baby. In these trying economic times it can be especially difficult to weigh your choices and balance the family budget. Because they believe nothing is more important than protecting your baby’s future, Cryo-Cell is helping families like yours ease your financial burden.

Check out Cryo-Cell's exclusive premium family service, "Protect Baby, Protect Mom" where you can get the best value. Choose to enroll online with Cryo-Cell using Promo Code: 995PS by Midnight, Sunday, July 26th, and you will receive special UCORD pricing of $995 for processing, testing and first year of storage! Not only that, the cancellation fee is waived. This is an unbelievable discount of $725!!! Also, you can choose to enroll in the Signature UCORD Service and Exclusive C’elle Service, for One Low Price of $1299. Just use the Promo Code: P2PS. Do not wait any longer. Take advantage of this special discounted offer and ENROLL NOW!!

Crockpot Italian Herb Chicken

I've always been a big fan of cooking with the crock pot. It's so easy, just dump everything into it in the morning, turn it on and dinner will be ready by evening. When we were out grocery shopping a few weeks back, I picked up a packet of McCormick's Italian Herb Chicken Seasoning for slow cookers. It looked pretty interesting, so I decided to give it a try.

This is what you will need to make this dish. McCormick's Italian Herb Chicken Seasoning (of course), one packet of fresh mushrooms, two cans of stewed tomatoes, one can of tomato paste and chicken. I used chicken drumsticks. Of course, you could use any part of the chicken that you like.

Start off by placing 8 pieces of chicken drumsticks into the crock pot.

Then, quarter the fresh mushrooms and add them into the crock pot. You can slice them if you like but I like my mushrooms chunky.

In a bowl, mix the seasoning, stewed tomatoes and tomato paste evenly. Remember, you do not need to drain the stewed tomatoes.

Next, pour the mixture over the chicken and mushrooms in the crock pot and give it a good mix.

Cover the crock pot and set it on "low" for about 8 hours. If you do not have much time, you can set it on "high" for 4 hours. For best results, do not remove the cover of the crock pot until it is done cooking.

After 8 hours, remove the lid, give it a good stir and it's ready. Doesn't it look yummy? The chicken meat was so tender and flavorful! I served it with some whole wheat spaghetti tossed in herbs and butter. A yummy wholesome meal...oh, and the best part? It's so so so easy to make! Dump everything in and forget about it til dinnertime! :D

Awesome Apartment Search iPhone App!

When Kevin and I first moved to New Jersey, we had quite a tough time searching for a new apartment to move to. There were just so many different types of apartments out there, and us not really knowing the neighborhoods didn't really help either. We didn't know which neighborhood was close to Kevin's workplace or if the apartment we are interested in was close to public transport and grocery stores. Also, we wasted so much time emailing or calling up each place individually to get price quotes and ask questions about on site amenities...ect.

If only there was MyNewPlace back then. MyNewPlace (http://www.mynewplace.com/iphone) just introduced an awesome apartment search App for your iPhone! Now, looking for a new apartment cannot be easier. It's the perfect platform for the perfect apartment search. With the iPhone's unique features, the free MyNewPlace App lets you take your apartment search on the go! How cool is that?

With MyNewPlace, you can search for more than 6 million apartments and rental homes nationwide. It allows you to find apartments nearby using GPS, or search for city, state, zip. Not only that, it has lots of rich filtering of search results (beds, baths, price, pet policies, amenities) and also notes and photos that helps keep you organized by letting you store thoughts and photos right on the listing!

With more than 6 million apartments and rental homes nationwide, MyNewPlace is one of the biggest apartment rental sites on the Internet. They are also an innovator in the field, being the first to put Facebook Connect on their site to share listings with friends this spring. Also, they are a 3-time BusinessWeek Best of the Web Winner! Check out this cool video to learn more.

So, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and download MyNewPlace in the iPhone app store today!

Free Starbucks Ice Cream!!

Something good came in the mail today! Well, actually two good things came in the mail today. One is this and another is my "Love on a Diet, staring Sammi Cheng and Andy Lau" movie DVD from Netflix (yes, Netflix do have a whole lot of HK movies, will blog about it later). Anywayyyy, I found this envelope waiting for me in my mailbox (even though it's under Kevin's name, I know it's for me :P).

I actually saw this promotion "Share a pint of New Starbucks Ice Cream" on Facebook a few weeks back. I think all we needed to do was install the application and we can send a coupon for a free pint of Starbucks Ice Cream to one of our friends (hence, I sent it to Kevin..since I couldn't be sending it to myself :P)

I've always been a big fan of Starbucks, and now that they also make ice cream..mmmm mmm mmmm! It comes in 4 flavors - Caramel Macchiato, Java Chip Frap, Mocha Frap and Coffee. Ohhh I can't wait to go out and get my free Caramel Macchiato ice cream from our neighborhood grocery store. I'm definitely a happy camper today! Thanks Starbucks for the coupon!!!

Amazing Dog Shampoo

Many people have commented that Abby always smells wonderful whenever we take her out to the dog park or out walking. They would always ask if she just came back from the dog spa or just took her bath not too long ago. Unlike many other dogs, Abby doesn't itch, scratch or stink anymore. However, this has not always been the case. She used to stink beyond belief! We would wash her and the smell would return the very next day. Then, we would have to wait for weeks before we can bath her again because her skin would get so dry and flaky. Oh, how we just hate bathing her because no matter how much we would rinse and rinse and rinse...we still can't get her completely rinsed. I am pretty sure that we are not alone. Many dog owners across America are facing the same problem. Is your dog itching, scratching and stinking beyond belief? Need help? I know we did! It was terrible until we found out about an amazing dog shampoo that works wonders. The all natural dog shampoo Dogosuds ® made by Dinovite, Inc!

Dogosuds is a gentle soothing shampoo that is great for sensitive skin. It contains 100% pure, therapeutic grade essential oils that have natural, healing properties and contains no chemicals, no perfumes as well as no fillers. In short, there is nothing to irritate or dry your dog's skin! Dogosuds also lathers beautifully, rinses easily and makes your dog smell clean and wonderful for a very long time. Not only that, it is also a natural flea deterrent and works great in removing that oh so terrible skunk odor! In fact, it will remove skunk odor in just one wash!! How amazing is that? Dogosuds comes in 4 exciting blends, the essential oil blend, lavender, peppermint/tea tree and the unscented. Go ahead and check out the dog shampoo at http://www.dinovite.com/dog_shampoo.html today! Also, you can look at Dinovite's other products at Dinovite.com and follow @Dinovite on Twitter for cool new updates!

Ohh I Lovee Asian Grocery Storessss!

Oh I just love going to Asian grocery stores, don't you? We would usually go to the one in Jersey City, because it's near our apartment. Occasionally, we would drive about 30 miles (yes, I know...Chinatown in NYC is nearer to us, but it's a pain to look for parking) to East Brunswick to go to Hong Kong Supermarket. Another good Asian supermarket that we would go to is Kam Man. It's just next to Penang Restaurant, so we would always make a point to pop over whenever we go to Penang for dinner.

Why do I love Asian grocery store so much? Well, apart from the super cheap and super fresh produce, I just love the variety of stuff available there. We could get all kinds of fruits that is almost impossible to find in regular grocery store. We managed to buy some young coconuts from Thailand and fresh lychees from China last weekend. Really really sweet and yummy.

I am a big fan of noodles, I prefer eating noodles to rice. When ever we go to a big Asian supermarket, I would stock up on all kinds of noodles. Yup, we bought all that last weekend :P Regular fresh yellow noodles (mee), fresh rice noodles (koay teow), fresh shanghai noodles, rice vermicelli (mee hoon), deep fried noodles and flour vermicelli (mee suah). I would have bought some glass noodles (tang hoon) too, but I forgot..haha!

Apart from regular noodles, we would stock up on instant noodles too! Apart from my usual Maggi Mee (which I can get from the Malaysian grocery store in Chinatown), I also like the MAMA tomyum noodles and of course Indomie. My favorite Indomie is the Baso Sapi flavor...mmm mmm mmm :P~~~

Canned fruits like lychees, rambutans and longans are Kevin's favorite. So, we would stock up on that too. Apart from canned fruits, I would also stock up on various types of mushrooms.

Out of all the aisles in the Asian grocery store, there is one that we will never miss. That's the snacks and yummy stuff aisle! We would buy all kinds of ice creams and snacks...it's just crazy :P Sometimes I think we are worse than children. Note: This is only part of our loot.

Of course we do serious grocery shopping (meat, seafood,vegetables...yawn)too but all the stuff that I have shown here are the 'fun' stuff that we buy. The one place that we would stop on our way out to the car is the bakery! I just love all the different HK style pastries and buns. We would sometimes pick up some bubble tea too! So yeah, this is why I love going to Asian grocery stores...there are just so many things to see and buy! Ohhh I love Asian grocery storesss, oh yes I do! :D

Nakano Salmon Salad Recipe

I was surfing the net for some new and interesting recipes earlier today when I stumbled upon Mizkan.com. I was pretty excited because it's been a while since I have been on such a good recipe site. The Salmon Salad made with Nakano Seasoned Rice Vinegar caught my eye. It looks really appetizing and it wasn't all that hard to make. Since Mizkan is the global leader in premium liquid condiments, I figured the recipe must be good. Boy, was I right!

Before I share the recipe with you, let me tell you a little bit more about Nakano All Natural Seasoned Rice Vinegar. It's such a versatile and handy product to have in your kitchen. You can pretty much use it on anything! All you need to do is splash some onto your dishes, be it grilled chicken, pasta or baked potatoes. You can also use it on salads and hot vegetables. Yeah, that's right. It can be used as a healthier alternative to sour cream, butter or salad dressing. Nakano All Natural Seasoned Rice Vinegar is made from real rice and contains 50% less sodium then their competition. Not only that, it's also low in calorie, fat free, gluten free and most importantly, it's all natural! Since it's all naturally brewed, it has a very nice, subtle and distinctive taste.

I don't know about you, but every time I go to the store to buy some rice vinegar, I get somewhat confused. there are so many different types and brands! This Salmon Salad recipe calls for the Seasoned Original. Be sure to look for the right rice vinegar. Here is a little tip. To find Nakano's All Natural Seasoned Rice Vinegar, always look for the red cap! It makes it easier to find. Save $1 on Nakano Rice Vinegar when you sign up at the Mizkan website. All you need to do is fill in your particulars, then you can download and print your coupon. It's that easy. Anyway, as promised, here is the recipe for Nakano's Salmon Salad.

INGREDIENTS

2/3 cup NAKANO Seasoned Rice Vinegar Roasted Garlic or Original
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons dried dill weed, divided
4 salmon fillets, about 5 ounces each
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
16 asparagus spears
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 tablespoon capers Hearts of Romaine lettuce

METHOD

Combine rice vinegar, garlic, salt and 1 teaspoon dill weed to make dill vinaigrette; stir well. Place salmon fillets in a shallow non metallic container. Add 4 tablespoons dill vinaigrette; marinate 30 to 60 minutes. Drain salmon and discard marinade. Grill or saute salmon, starting with the skin side down, until cooked as desired. Cover and set aside.

Add olive oil to remaining vinaigrette. Blanch asparagus and place in shallow, rimmed dish. Drizzle 3 tablespoons vinaigrette over asparagus. Combine tomatoes, capers, 2 tablespoons vinaigrette and remaining 1/2 teaspoon dill weed.

To serve, arrange lettuce leaves and 4 asparagus spears on each serving plate. Remove skin from salmon and place one fillet on each plate. Spoon a generous ribbon of tomato mixture over salmon, lettuce and asparagus. Serve with remaining dill vinaigrette, as desired.

NOTE:
This recipe serves 4
Salmon may be served hot or at room temperature.

There you go! Nakano's Salmon Salad recipe. If you like this recipe, you should join the NAKANO Splash Recipe Club. Not only do they have great recipes, but they also send really cool newsletters that have cooking themes. For example, the latest one was all about Caribbean flavors. Also, go check out Mizkan.com. There are lots of great tasting recipes and easy splash tips to share.