What Christmas cookies do you plan on baking this year?

Gbex says: This year I am only going to make 4 kinds of cookies. Everyone in my family has their favorites. My sweetie will eat chocolate chip with walnuts and cashews. That is her ultimate cookie.

My favorites are the old-fashioned cookie press, Spritz, made with almond extract. My sweet angel daughter really likes Peanut Butter Kisses - you know the ones - a simple peanut butter cookie with a Hershey Kiss on top. I'm also going to make Scottish Shortbread just because it is tradition. What cookies are you making for Christmas this year? How many different kinds?

it's pizza time folks...

Gbex says: The name quattro stagioni means four seasons. In this version, artichokes, peppers, mushrooms, and olives each represent a different season. Divide the quadrants with dough strips rolled into thin ropes. This gives the pizza an aesthetically interesting appearance. Try a slice from each section and delight in the flavor of the season.

ingredients
* 1 recipe Pizza Dough (see Recipe Center)
* 1 15-ounce can pizza sauce
* 1-1/2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
* 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
* 1/2 of a medium red sweet pepper, cut into bite-size strips
* 1/2 of a medium yellow sweet pepper, cut into bite-size strips
* 1 cup pitted whole or sliced mixed Italian olives
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* Snipped fresh basil

directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degree F. Prepare Pizza Dough as directed, using the Thin-Crust Pizzas directions, reserving a piece of dough the size of a large walnut. Spread pizza sauce over dough in each pan; sprinkle with cheese. Divide reserved dough into four pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a thin 12-inch rope. Place two dough ropes on each pizza, one horizontally and one crosswise, dividing each pizza into quarters.

2. In a medium skillet, cook mushrooms in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until tender and no liquid remains. Top one quarter of each pizza with mushroom mixture. Top another quarter of each pizza with artichoke hearts. Top a third quarter with pepper strips and remaining quarter with olives.

3. Bake in the preheated oven about 25 minutes or until crust bottom is crisp and brown. Cool in pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Drizzle each pizza with 1 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil. Sprinkle each with snipped basil. Cut pizzas into wedges and serve immediately. Makes 8 servings.

high price of coffee...

Gbex says: Why do people complain about the price of a cup of coffee at Starbuck's and you never hear a word about the 2+ per charge that appears on your ticket at this and that and anywhere that you have coffee?

What really sucks is that it is usually an inferior blend of coffee beans and sawdust that has been overbrewed, sits in the pot too long, resulting in too strong, or worse having no flavor at all.

Okay, so they sit a carafe on your table and you can refill it on your own or they come by and refill it for you - so what? Think about it, was it worth the 2+ that you would have spent at Starbucks for one cup of perfectly brewed coffee?

I know the simple solution is to refuse to buy it, but double blueberry pancakes do not taste the same without coffee.......

fat burners that you'll love...

Gbex says: I have always been looking forward to look for ways to get more out of my morning workouts. Just recently, I discovered that eating the right breakfast might be my newfound secret.

I was taken aback to read that eating a breakfast made with “slow-release” carbohydrates, such as oatmeal or bran cereal, 3 hours before I perform my workout at the gym may help me burn more fat, according to a recent study.

Well, Here’s why. In the recent study, eating “slow-release” carbohydrates didn’t spike blood sugar as high as eating refined carbohydrates, such as white toast. In turn, insulin levels didn’t spike as high and because insulin plays a role in signaling your body to store fat, having lower levels may help you burn fat. Well this is a very good motivation. However, while I like oatmeal, I just can’t eat it every day. I'll go nuts if I do so. So, I devised an -easy-to-prepare 5 delicious breakfast recipes to help fight the accumulation of fat in my body:

1. Scandinavian Muesli:
Serve this Scandinavian cereal with low-fat yogurt or nonfat milk to start your day off with whole grains and some protein and calcium-rich dairy. You can substitute any combination of chopped dried or fresh fruit for the raisins—apricots, apples, figs, cherries or cranberries would all be delicious. Try walnuts or hazelnuts instead of the almonds if you like. Ground flaxseeds stirred in at the end provide a boost of heart-healthy omega-3s.

2. Wake-Up Smoothie:
With a stash of berries in your freezer, you can jump-start your day with this nutritious, tasty smoothie in just minutes. It provides vitamin C, fiber, potassium and soy protein.

3. Quick Breakfast Taco:
A smaller cousin of the breakfast burrito, the breakfast taco made with reduced-fat Cheddar and egg substitute is a satisfying and healthy breakfast option.

4. Breakfast Parfait:
A little low-fat dairy and some vitamin-rich fruit and you've just started your day right, nutritionally speaking.

5. Banana-Bran Muffins:
Ripe bananas are just right for these moist bran muffins. Add a handful of dark chocolate chips to entice children to enjoy a fiber-rich treat.

seven easy-to-prepare dinners

Gbex says: What's for dinner?.....

MONDAY-Mini Meat Loaves w/ Green Beans

TUESDAY-Sweet and Sour Chicken

WEDNESDAY-Southwest Pork Chops with Salsa

THURSDAY-Vegetarian Sloppy Joes

FRIDAY-Souper Spaghetti

SATURDAY-Chicken Breasts with Parm Pesto

SUNDAY:Bean-and-Beef Enchilada Casserole

Nuts goodness

Ellen says:Nuts are one of the best plant sources of protein and make for a great snack. They are rich in fiber, phytonutrients and antioxidants such as Vitamin E and selenium. These tasty snacks are also high in plant sterols and fat - but mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (omega 3 - the good fats), which have all been shown to lower low-density lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol.

The best approach is to reap the health benefits of eating nuts but not add excessive calories to your daily intake. So instead of simply adding nuts to your diet, eat them in replacement of foods that are high in saturated fats and limit your intake of these tasty treats to 1 to 2 oz per day . For instance, instead of adding chocolate chips when making cookies, sprinkle on some nuts. Or instead of making a deli meat sandwich, try a nut butter toast.

Acorn Squash ring recipe

Ellen says: Here's a great way to get my kids to eat squash! Just pierce the stem end of a spaghetti squash with a knife or metal skewer, and place on roasting sheet. Roast at 350 for about an hour, open, and create strands by pulling away the flesh with your fork. Serve with butter and Parmesan cheese or tomato sauce.

Ingredients:
1 large acorn squash
3 tablespoons melted butter
Cranberry relish

Slice the squash into one and one half inch rings. Remove seeds and strings and place on buttered nonstick baking sheet. Top with remaining butter, season with salt and pepper and bake at 375 degrees for approximately 25 minutes, turning once, so that the squash is cooked through and still retains its shape. Serve with cranberry relish.

crisp reheated pizza

Ellen says:No matter how delicious that pizza last night, you and your kids know it won't taste the same tonight. But you can have your pie and enjoy it, too, with this trick:

First you have to remove the oven racks and heat to 400*F. Then, place the foil directly in the oven floor and top with pizza, let it cook for 5 minutes....Ooooppsss!! Don't worry! This is safe as can be method crisp the crust and melts the cheese witout burning.

Oatmeal cookies

Ellen says: Rj my teenage son always have hectic mornings when breakfast must be eaten on the run, So I used to serve him a chewy cookies. Chewy cookies are more wholesome than many cereals — and they don't require milk. I came up with something that my son went CRAZY over! I've never seen him enjoy cookies to that extent!

Directions:
*Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease large baking sheet. In medium-size bowl, combine flour, oats, walnuts, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
*In large bowl, with electric mixer on medium speed, beat brown sugar, egg whites, oil, butter, and vanilla until blended. Reduce mixer speed to low; beat in flour mixture just until combined.
*Drop tablespoonfuls of dough, about 1 inch apart, onto greased sheet. Bake cookies 8 minutes or until set but not browned. Cool cookies on wire racks until slightly warm. While still warm, store in airtight container to retain moisture.

French onion soup

Ellen says: My family loves French Onion Soup. That is the reason why I asked my friend to give me this wonderful recipe so we could have great French onion soup at home. Thanks to my friend Pekekay.

The best part of this recipe is that I do not have to slave over our stove all day long to make this quickie soup. To make this recipe, just make sure you have four soup crocks, since each serving is broiled in its own bowl.

One last hint, peeled onions are available at a local grocery store so you won't cry over them when you peel them off....

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 onion, sliced into thin rings
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
3 (10.5 ounce) cans condensed chicken broth
2 (10.5 ounce) cans condensed beef broth
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (1 ounce) package au jus gravy mix
2 cups croutons
8 slices Swiss cheese

DIRECTIONS
*In a small skillet over medium heat, cook garlic until just golden. Set aside.
In a skillet, cook sliced onions in butter, over medium low heat, until a caramel color is reached (any onion that is burned during this process should be discarded). Set aside.

*Combine chicken and beef broth in a 2 quart saucepan. Add fried garlic, fresh ground pepper and sauteed onions. Bring the soup mixture to a boil and then simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Stir in the packaged gravy mix and simmer for another 10 minutes.

*Turn on oven broiler and divide soup evenly among 4 oven safe soup crocks. Place several croutons on the top of the soup followed by two slices of Swiss cheese on top of the croutons. Make sure that the cheese does not sink into the soup. Place soup crocks on a cookie sheet and place under the broiler. Broil until the cheese is golden brown and bubbling. Let cool slightly before serving.

bell pepper delicacy, anyone?

Ellen says: I know that there are already so many different stuffed pepper recipes out there in the net to refer from, but I thought I would add my own favorite one, too.

This is a delicious one and if you have someone in the family who doesn't like the peppers, then you can still serve the meat from around the peppers.

Ingredients
6 large bell peppers , 1 lb lean ground beef , 1/2 chopped onion , 1 (16 ounce) can tomatoes, cut up , 1/2 cup long grain rice , 1/2 cup water , 1 teaspoon salt , 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions for cooking
1.You must cut the tops from peppers.
2.Then discard their seeds and membranes.
3.You must chop enough of the tops to make a good 1/4 cup of them.
4.Then set it aside.
5.Now, you will cook the whole bell peppers in salted boiling water for 5 minutes, no more no less!.
6. Then you need to invert and drain them well.
7. The next thing you will do is to sprinkle the insides of peppers lightly with salt.
8. It's time to get your skillet, cook the ground beef, onions and the chopped bell peppers until meat is browned and veggies are tender.
9.Well, you need to drain off any fat.
10. Next step is, you add undrained tomatoes, uncooked rice, water, salt, worcestershire and a dash of pepper.
11.Now you have to bring them to boil.
12.But you need to reduce heat after a little while, then cover and simmer for 15 to 18 minutes or until rice is tender.
13.You have to stir them in cheese.
14.Now you will need to stuff the peppers with the meat mixture.
15.Then you have to place them in a baking dish.
16.Now you will need to spoon any remaining meat around and in between the peppers.
17.And finally, you will need to cover and bake them in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes.

Presto!!! you are done with your most delicious bell pepper delicacy!

Happy eating!!!!!!!

the real great challenge...

Ellen says: My youngest son is into having a problem with his weight. I should do something about it before it gets too late for him... We all know that high intake of refined starch and sugar is related to a higher risk of heart disease and diabetes, whereas high-fiber whole-grain carbohydrates are related to a lower risk. So with this in mind- I should do a total change of our daily menus. It is not surprising that high intakes of sugar and refined starch have an adverse effect on blood glucose levels so that the quality of the diet is really important,... Tomorrow, I am going out for grocery shopping and will start to redirect the kind of foods I will pick up for our daily menu...

food diary

Gbex says: The US Researchers said just this day that keeping a food diary that shows a record of a detailed account of what you eat and drink and the calories it packs makes it as a potent and a powerful tool in helping as well as guiding people lose their weight....

Can you believe it?..there was a study that was conducted recently that involved 1,685 middle-aged men and women over six months who were found out keeping their diaries of their food diet who, just about every day, lost about twice as much weight as those who did not keep and write diaries....

Well, the magic spells on to those who are working on weight loss that just writing down everything they eat is already a pretty powerful technique...Don't you want to write down what you are eating everyday?

orange fruit as source of Vit C...

Gbex says: Sweet orange is a member of the family of citrus. The orange is a hybrid of ancient cultivated origin, possibly between pomelo and tangerine. It is a small flowering tree growing to about 10 m tall with evergreen leaves, which are arranged alternately, of ovate shape with crenulate margins and 4–10 cm long. The orange fruit is a hesperidium, a type of berry.

Oranges originated in Southeast Asia. The fruit of Orange is called sweet orange to distinguish it from the bitter orange. In a number of languages, it is known as a "Chinese apple", "China's apple", or "Apfelsine" in German).

Oranges are widely grown in warm climates worldwide, and the flavours of oranges vary from sweet to sour. The fruit is commonly peeled and eaten fresh, or squeezed for its juice. It has a thick bitter rind that is usually discarded, but can be processed into animal feed by removing water, using pressure and heat.

It is also used in certain recipes as flavouring or a garnish. The outer-most layer of the rind can be grated or thinly veneered with a tool called a zester, to produce orange zest.
Zest is popular in cooking because it contains the oil glands and has a strong flavour similar to the fleshy inner part of the orange.
The white part of the rind, called the pericarp or albedo and including the pith, is a source of pectin and has nearly the same amount of vitamin C as the flesh.

leafy, green and yellow vegetables

Dom says: In the monastery, our everyday food served at table for our main meal which is at 1:20PM from Monday to Saturday always consists of a set of leafy green and yellow vegetables.

What the heck is in leafy green and yellow vegetables? Well, let me tell you that leafy greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. Although they come from a very wide variety of plants, most share a great deal with other leaf vegetables in nutrition and cooking methods.

Nearly one thousand species of plants with edible leaves are known. Leaf vegetables most often come from short-lived herbaceous plants such as lettuce and spinach.

The leaves of many fodder crops are also edible by humans, but usually only eaten under famine conditions. Examples include alfalfa, clover, and most grasses, including wheat and barley. These plants are often much more prolific than more traditional leaf vegetables, but exploitation of their rich nutrition is difficult, primarily because of their high fiber content. This obstacle can be overcome by further processing such as drying and grinding into powder or pulping and pressing for juice.

Leaf vegetables are typically low in calories, low in fat, high in protein per calorie, high in dietary fiber, high in iron and calcium, and very high in phytochemicals such as vitamin C, vitamin A, lutein and folic acid.

Most leaf vegetables can be eaten raw, for example in sandwiches or salads. Leafy greens can be used to wrap other ingredients like a tortilla. They may also be stir-fried, stewed or steamed. Leaf vegetables stewed with pork are a traditional dish in soul food, and southern U.S. cuisine. They are also commonly eaten in a variety of South East Asian dishes especially in the Philippines, my native country!!!.

shop 'til you drop...

Dom says: My friend Dani and his wife Amhy went one day at Albertson's Sta Fe for their weekly grocery shopping. Fortunately, we bumped at each other, who that time, I was also looking for some medical stuffs for my ailing brothermonks in my community.
So, we went together inside the grocery and enjoyed very much in our day's shopping, and as what Amhy said: "brother Lawrence, I suggest you shop 'til you drop" - that's her usual idiomatic expression whenever she would crack jokes at me.

strawberries anyone?...

Dom says: When I was still in the Philippines, I seldom see strawberries in the shelves of popular groceries in Metro Manila.

They are indeed scarce because of the hot and humid climate that we have over there.

But here, in NM where I am based now, I can see strawberries in piles in every shelf and stand of groceries in Sta Fe. Reason? =The climate in Sta Fe and all over NM is always cold and chilling whole year round.

No wonder strawberries abound all over the place.

protein-filled fruit...

Gbex says: My youngest brother went home last night from the province and handed me a basket filled with avocados! Well, I was so glad because these fruits are one of my favorite fruits...
Actually avocado is very popular in vegetarian cuisine, making an excellent substitute for meats in sandwiches and salads because of its high fat content.

The fruit is not sweet, but fatty, distinctly yet subtly flavored, and of smooth, almost creamy texture. It is used as the base for the Mexican dip known as guacamole, as well as a filling for several kinds of sushi, including California rolls.

Avocado is popular in chicken dishes and as a spread on toast, served with salt and pepper. In Brazil and Vietnam, avocados are considered sweet fruits, so are frequently used for milk-shakes and occasionally added to ice cream and other desserts.
In Brazil, Vietnam, in my country, the Philippines and Indonesia, a dessert drink is made with sugar, milk or water, and pureed avocado. Chocolate syrup is sometimes added.

fruit of the season...

Gbex says: fruits sustain vitality and vigor from our daily toils.... What is your kind of fruit that adds color to your healthy regimen?

missing my relatives..

Dom says: One of the things that keep my mind busy is thinking of my nieces and nephews! Is it a kind of homesickness?....
my elder sister (the seventh in the family) with her grown-up children during our dinner date at a seafood restaurant inside Mall Of Asia