Happy Valentine's Day, Y'all!

A beautiful day today! How is your Valentine's Day so far? I want to make today the day to appreciate how lucky we are to have found each other. Whatever the reason, you may call it a fate or destiny, we are in each other's life for a short while we are on this earth. I'd like to ponder the meaning of that fact.

Believe in love!

     Click if you like this post

True Ramen Is Out There

When it comes to ramen, I'm a bit of a snob since I was born in the city famous for the best ramen in Japan. In our neck of the woods, this local Japanese restaurant called Yakitori Jinbei serves serious tonkotsu ramen; arguably the best in town. Their ramen is delicious, although I wish they would serve miso ramen which is my ultimate favorite of all time. My hubby had a bowl of spicy tonkotsu ramen, and I had a yakitori bowl this time. 

Spicy tonkotsu ramen 

SLUUUURP!

Grilled over imported charcoal, binchotan

Click if you like this post

Casserole for a New Week

Casserole dishes are your friend. You can make a big thing of it which can last for at least a few days. When you've had a long day, it's nice to find something in the fridge that's ready to go. Leftovers are perfect ingredients for casseroles; just throw everything in there to clean up your fridge! You can make this ahead of time and freeze it, too.

That browned cheese is the best part.

Wild Rice and Chicken Casserole

2 1/2 cups cooked wild rice
1 chicken breast
1 cup frozen broccoli 
1 can cream of chicken
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Dashes curry powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Dice chicken breast and sprinkle with curry powder, salt and pepper. Sauté the chicken in olive oil or butter. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Spray a 11x9 casserole dish with Pam and pour in the rice mixture. Top it with cheese. Bake it covered for 40 minutes, another 15 minutes uncovered.

Bubbly cheesy goodness

Click if you like this post

Mini King Cake

When we went out with our friends, I saw on our menu a picture of a cake with a tiny plastic baby sitting on top of it. I was told that it was called the king cake. The little shiny doll represents the baby Jesus during Mardi Gras celebrations, and it's usually baked inside the cake, and whoever gets it has special privileges. I don't mean no disrespect, but I was a bit creeped out by this picture when I first saw it. Maybe it was those tiny arms and legs of the baby or how shiny it was that made my eyebrows crinkled, but soon I was itching to make one myself. 

"Ohh noooo!"

Yellow, green and purple sugar sprinkles

Mini King Cake

1 Pillsbury Grands cinnamon roll dough
Yellow, green and purple sugar sprinkles

Undo it and twist it 

Unroll cinnamon roll dough and fold it in half. Twist the dough as you make a circle with it. Put them on parchment paper and bake according to the package directions. While warm, spread icing and sprinkle colored sugar. Place a baby on the cinnamon rolls.
Recipe adapted from pillsbury.com.

Spread icing and sprinkle sugar while still warm

Set a baby on the roll.

I like variations....

Check out funny bonus photos here!