Friday Favorites

 

Happy Friday! As usual, I am linking up with Andrea at Momfessionals and Erica at A Little Bit of Everything to show you my Friday Favorites!

 

 

1. Jack in the Box.. yes that's right.. Iced Coffee

 

Okay I know I have pledged my alliance to Starbucks iced coffee before and I am a huge coffee snob but this week I was in a pinch and there's a Jack near my office so I tried a Jack in the Box Iced Coffee expecting it to be gross and holy cow! I think I just discovered the best fast food iced coffee. It is good! It's just lightly sweetened and has the perfect ratio of milk and cream. Forgive me Starbucks for I have been unfaithful this week three times!

 

 

2. PartyLite Candles

 

I decided to start selling PartyLite Candles soon because:

A. I wanted a hobby

B. I love their candles

C. I love getting candles at a discounted price

D. I know others that love candles

 

I am so pumped to have my first Candle Party in October! I should be receiving my own catalogues and scent box soon :)
 

 

3. This kid!

 

This cool little dude is having a little league game tomorrow morning. Tia Melissa and Tony will be watching from the stands :)

That's all for my Friday Favorites!
 

 ~Mely

Omega Chicken Salad

Last week I ventured out to the supermarket to buy the ingredients for some sweet Chicken Salad with Craisins, Apple and Almonds. As I pensively stood in the aisle, I realized I could buy a seperate bag of almonds and craisins but I saw this "Omega Blend" and I was intrigued.

 

 

This Omega Blend has a combination of things that are lovely in a Chicken Salad! These include Walnuts, Almonds, Pistachios, Craisins and Pepitas (Pumpkin Seeds).

 

I bought the Omega Blend and set out to make a new Chicken salad recipe! The results were just as good as I thought they would be. Try this out sometime, it's easy and has a nice crunch!

 

Omega Chicken Salad

Makes 4 Sandwiches

 

2 Cups Shredded Chicken Meat

1/3 C. Omega CranMix (if you can't find this any mix of Craisins and Nuts works well)

3-4 TBSP (more or less to taste) Mayo or Greek Yogurt

1 TBSP Diced Onion

1 Apple Diced (Granny Smith or Gala work well)

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Mini French Rolls or Sliced Bread for Sandwiches

 

 

Simply combine and mix all your ingredients in a large storable container and refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving!

 

 

 

I served mine on one of my favorite ever mini french rolls and it was delicious. A perfect weekday lunch!

 

 

Enjoy!

~Mely

 

Why I decided to be an Accountant

People have this stereotype of Accountants, they are serious, like being confined to their offices and cubicles, are Math geniuses and wear pens with protectors in their shirt pockets. With that being said, when people meet me and get to know my personality I always get this comment:

 

"Your personality is really not that of an Accountant."

 

For the record, I take this as a huge compliment!

 

Let's back up 12 or so years... You know when those kids come around and sell large Hershey's candy bars from those boxes to fundraise for Schools, Sports teams, Etc.? Well in sixth grade we had a candy bar fundraiser and I was in charge of maintaining all inventory of candy bar boxes and counting and preparing the Cash deposits. I would also hit up the other kids asking for their profits and distributed and ordered more boxes of chocolate as necessary. And you know what? I freaking loved it. That's probably when I subconsciously knew I would one day be an Accountant.

 

 

In high school I was always good at Algebra, I loved it. During my senior year I had the option to take Accounting to account for Math credits I was missing (because I sucked at Geometry). I jumped at the opportunity and I aced the class and in the process discovered Accounting, at least in it's simplest form is a beautiful beautiful thing. It is used EVERYDAY around the world! After High School I didn't want to go directly to a 4 year University because I wanted to be a grown up and make them dolla bills, I didn't want to be hassled with making an immediate decision about what to do with my life or the pressure of enrolling into a University and having to choose a major. I just wasn't ready for it, so I worked and took a few Junior College classes sporadically here and there. During these "defining" years, I learned how to be an Adult, albeit by making mistakes.

By the time I was 20 I decided I didn't want to work at Taco Bell the rest of my life, I wanted a career! I wanted an 8-5, to wear outfits not uniforms to work and well I wanted to make more money and be able to sustain myself in the real world. I also wanted to do this as soon as possible, I didn't want to be a broke college student for 4 years before I actually got a job that made decent money. So, I started looking at a private trade school in my hometown and as soon as I saw it "Accounting Associate's Degree" a huge huge light bulb went on and I thought "this is it, this is what I want." Disclosure: Trade Schools are not for everybody, I understand that a lot of people end up with a chunk of debt and a career in a market that is super competitive but I had faith that Accounting skills would help me obtain a career fairly quickly and I was willing to make that investment. My trade school also offered Medical Assisting, a Paralegal program, a Tourism program, Administrative program and even IT. The Accounting program actually has the highest placement rate of graduating students at about 90% so I knew I was in the right program!

I enrolled in school the Summer 2010 and I graduated with honors with my Associate's Degree in Accounting January of 2012.

 

I had to dig real deep in my FB photos to find this picture and I have a hard time sharing it because when I graduated I was at my heaviest.. I was well over 300 pounds and I was a really sad person inside and wanted to get out so bad. On a lighter note, that's my sister in the purple striking a pose. Here I am with my Aunt, Uncle, my two cousins and as mentioned, my sister.

Present day my days are filled with reconciling our company bank account making sure that all money coming in and going our is accounted for. I also process payments, donations, expense reimburesments, invoices and check deposits. No, I am not a CPA and I don't have any plans to become one soon as I am currently trying to expand my experience!

This is my "official" work picture.. I was about 15 pounds lighter (pre-marriage days when I actually exercised like I was supposed to!)

 

Unofficial work selfie taken in "present" time. Quick story, that Money Tree in the background was given to my by my favorite Aunt Teresa as a gift in 2012 on my birthday right after graduating college. To this day, my Money Tree is still the only plant I've managed to keep alive. The Calla Lily pot my Father in Law kept alive for me obviously doesn't count. I think I shall name my plant Old Faithful.

 

And that about wraps it up!

 

~Mely

Mely Cooks Monday - Wednesday Link Up Edition

Today I am linking up with Andrea at Momfessionals for her Recipe Club Link-up! Yay!


 

Last week when Tony and I decided we wanted to get married by the church we also established we needed to diet. He said all he wanted to eat was vegetables, but my heart was set on making this Pasta with Mushrooms, Chicken Breast and my favorite Pesto long before we established we needed to be strict with our eating. Naturally I made this Pasta anyways because I had the Pesto and Chicken already sitting in my fridge, sorry diet!
 

I rushed to the gym to get a workout in before I rushed home to get started on this beautiful carb masterpiece. Tony goes to the gym at 7 which allows me to have "me and Netflix time" or "me and my recipes time" every day from 7-9ish. So here we go!

Creamy Pesto Pasta

Serves 4 hungry adults

 

 

What you will need:

 

1 C. Heavy Cream

1 container of Pesto (about 7- 10 OZ works, I used Pasta King Pesto which is local)

1 Chicken Breast

2-3 Cups sliced Mushrooms (I use Cremini)
1/4 C. Grated Parmesan Cheese

2 cloves of Garlic

1 LB Spaghetti or Angel Hair Pasta (Any long pasta will work)

Olive Oil for Sauteeing

3 TBSP Butter

 

These are just the main ingredients!

Heat up a pot of Water and boil your pasta according to directions, drain and rinse with cool water.

Finely dice or press your garlic cloves and cut up your chicken in 1 inch cubes. Season your chicken with Salt and Pepper.

Heat up a medium size pot and add 3 tablespoons of Olive oil. Follow by adding your garlic, chicken and mushrooms. Cook until your chicken is no longer pink and mushrooms are tender, about 10 minutes. Do NOT drain the natural juices from the Chicken and Mushrooms.

Add your butter, cream and pesto and bring your sauce to a boil constantly stirring to allow your sauce to thicken. Add your Parmesan Cheese and keep stirring about 5 minutes. You want your Sauce to not be watery but also not too thick because once you add the noodles, the sauce tends to dry up a little***

 

Once your sauce has become saucey lol, add your pasta and stir together.

Serve immediately and top with grated Parmesan Cheese.

 

*** I made the mistake of letting my sauce thicken a little too much so my Pasta came out a little drier than I would have liked, still good but next time I'll add my pasta a little sooner.

 

Enjoy!

~Mely

 

Weekend Story

 

Friday

 

Friday my boss took us to lunch at Flavor Bistro and let us go home at 3 PM, I was super pumped! After work I set out to buy spices to expand my Spice Pantry. I went to Trader Joe's and got a couple of things and then I went and checked out Penzey's Spices. It was life changing, they have every possible spice or flavor extract you could need! I ended up buying these three things but I want to come back every so often to treat myself to different spices ;) I also signed up to become a PartyLite Candle Consultant, I love their candles and thought this would be a fun hobby so I took the dive!

 

This burger was good but it wasn't the best I've ever had!

 

 

I was happy to get these bottles of spices all for $10! Cream of Tartar at the grocery store is almost $6 a bottle, same goes for Ground Mustard! That's crazy, I hate spending a boatload of money on a spice I will rarely use.

 

Later in the evening Tony and I took my Mom and his Aunt to Red Lobster... I used to love Red Lobster as a kid and was astonished Tony had never been before so we went out for dinner and it was nice. I remember the food tasting better but it could just be my tastebuds are "more refined" now. Hehe :)

 

Saturday

Saturday we went to one of my favorite places, Costco! I had to buy a Costco-sized package of butter because I realize that I use a lot of butter for my baking and wanted to have a bunch handy. We also went to the grocery store and then went to my Momma's house for a while. She had a small BBQ and we were there until late. Anthony's parents went out and he stayed with his Grandma.. We got this super cute selfie, it's a little blurry but I loved it :)

 

I mean, how cute is my baby nephew?

 

I also browsed some pictures of my Mom and Dad's wedding day and how gorgeous was my Momma on her Wedding day? And my Dad looks like a Novela Actor.

 

My mom doesn't know what the heck my Grandma did with her wedding dress, I was pretty irritated because I wanted that dress! She said it was nothing special but I think it's gorgeous. Side note: my Parents are actually divorced now but it's still cool to look at pictures and see all that history.

 

Sunday

Sunday I left to Santa Rosa solo to go to my little sister's soccer game and afterwards my Mom made Corundas with a couple of her friends at her house. Tony was at his cousin's house watching the Raiders game and I only watched part of the Niners game, it was horrible and the Refs have no idea what they are doing! Saturday night, I had made Chili and Sunday I was able to indulge in some with Sour Cream and Cheddar which made my heart ache a little less after that crappy loss. It was mighty good!

 

I was at my Mom's house until around 8 PM at which point I went home and we watched an episode of American Dad before going to sleep.

 

All in all, this weekend was a good weekend (minus my Niners losing). Next weekend Kari has a soccer tournament... uh oh #crazyoldersistersoccercheering. And tonite on Mely Cooks Monday...

 

Creamy Pesto Spaghetti with Mushrooms and Chicken

 

That recipe will be up tomorrow!

~Mely

 

Red Velvet Cake

It's no secret I love a Red Velvet Cupcake. I love these Red Velvet Cupcakes from Sift's Cupcakery so much I want to make love to them.

 

So I thought it would be wonderful to make my own Red Velvet Cake and/or cupcakes from home! I tried to use a box of this stuff because I really didn't feel like putting all the extra effort in to make a cake from scratch and the results were dissapointing. Why? Because Red Velvet cake shouldn't taste like Chocolate Cake with red dye, it should taste velvety and buttermilky with just a hint of chocolate like, well, Red Velvet cake is supposed to.

 

Duncan Hines: Ruining Red Velvet Cake since 1952

 

So it was back to the drawing board and I didn't want to make a Red Velvet cake from scratch and spend hours mixing and baking unless I thought it would be lovely so I found this recipe by PW that seemed legit!

 

So here we go!

 

Ingredients

 

1 cup Shortening:

1-3/4 cup Sugar

2-1/2 cups Cake Flour

1-1/4 teaspoon Salt

2 whole Eggs

1 cup Buttermilk

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1-1/2 teaspoon Vinegar

1 ounce, fluid Red Food Coloring (The original recipe called for 1.5 ounces but I didn't feel like buying 2 bottles so I figured 1 ounce would do.)

1-1/2 teaspoon Cocoa Powder

 

I took my hiney to FoodMaxx and bought all the ingredients I needed. I bought shortening with every ounce of doubt in my soul because I have never baked with shortening before and I was es-scared.

 

I got a "work" bridal shower gift baking set from one of my old coworkers Anne before I got married. Anne is simply a doll and while all my other coworkers threw me a raunchy Bridal Shower at Chevy's with sexy lingerie Anne showed up with a baking pan set, I appreciated that :) Because as the good Lord and my Husband know, I don't really do Lingerie well except for my wedding ni---- Okay enough. You get the point. Baking though? Oh yes I definitely do bake!!!

 

Back to the recipe. Focus Melissa! FOCUS! I decided to use a large rectangular baking pan. At first I thought I could use my cupcake pan but I wanted to eat a slice of cake. So I chose a rectangular pan!

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly spray a large (18 x 12) sheet cake pan or a large rectangular baking pan with nonstick baking spray. Be sure to get in all the corners of the pan.

 

Sift together cake flour and salt. Set aside.

 

In a separate bowl, stir together buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and baking soda. Add vinegar and stir. Set aside.

 

In a separate small bowl, mix together cocoa and red food coloring. Set aside.

 

Cream together shortening and sugar until fluffy. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk/egg mixture until all combined. Pour the red mixture in and beat until combined.

 

Pour batter into prepared sheet cake pan. Use a large offset spatula or knife to even out the surface.

 

Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean after inserting in the cake

 

Remove pan from oven and allow cake to cool in the pan for 25 minutes before frosting. Place a large cutting board on top of the cake pan, then invert the cake, allowing it to turn out onto the cutting board. Allow cake to cool completely before icing.

Here's a close up of the end result:

 

Hello Beautiful

The cake was so delicious, moist, spongy but not too spongy. It really was super velvety and I loved the bright red color. I was right when I made the call to only use one small bottle of red food coloring. The extra half ounce wasn't necessary. It was heaven. Here was my mistake, I used a container of this crap and it overpowered the delicate flavor of the cake.

 

The cake frosting of Lucifer

 

Never again. Don't do what I did, make your own frosting. Here's the link for really good frosting recipe. I think it would have made all the difference in the world!

 

I will definitely be making this recipe again! And now that I had to buy a thing of this stuff (and I have Cake Flour just chilling at home), there's a strong possibilty I will be searching for really good made from scratch Chocolate cake recipes in the near furture.

 

Or maybe brownies made from scratch are in order... That would be a first for me :)

 

See you next time!

~Mely

 

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!

Today I am linking up with Andrea at Momfessionals to and Erika at A Little Bit of Everything to show you my Friday Favorites!

 

1. Dancing with the Stars

I wasn't planning on watching DWTS this season because my heart is set on watching the next season of The Bachelor and I had already established no other show would satisfy my Reality TV show fix but I watched the first episode and after seeing Carlton (AKA Alfonso Ribeiro) work it I'm all in!

 

2. Saved by the Bell

I recently discovered that the whole series of Saved by the Bell is on Netflix!!! On my down time, I have been binging and watching from Season One :)

 

 

3. This Bracelet by Alex and Ani

 Have I mentioned my love for Honeybees? I love this Alex and Ani bracelet and it's definitely on my wish list ;) I may or may not have hinted to Tony to buy it for me next time he wants to "surprise" me with something special.

 

I also want to buy this one for my Momma...

 

 

And this one for PK...

 

 

If you haven't checked out or heard of Alex and Ani, they offer unique and beautiful charm bracelets for any personality! Click here to visit Alex and Ani's website.

 

That's all, have a dandy weekend!

~Mely

Trader Joe's Reviews Part 1

I like TJ's a LOT. It's my jam, when I used to work for RCU, my C-pals and I would hit up TJ's at least once or twice a week. Tony is beginning to appreciate the greatness of TJ's as well, I rub off on him quite nicely. I have tried many many a-foods from TJ's and here are my reviews for the stuff I love and the stuff that eh I probably won't be buying again. Although, in all fairness, most of the stuff I buy from TJ's is amazing and I keep coming back again.

 

Disclosure: All the images are borrowed from Google Images because I decided to start this series on a whim and I don't have ALL of my TJ's products with me at once...

I'll start with MLs (Mely Loves)

 

1. Greek Yogurt

 

 

Listen, I am a huge snob when it comes to my Greek Yogurt and these yogurts from TJ's satisfy my soul. Although, I remain fiercely loyal to Fage, sometimes I don't want to spend upwards of 1.50 per cup of Fage so TJ's is a good cheap backup. My favorite flavors are Vanilla Bean and Raspberry. I've had all of them but these are my go-to's.

2. Vanilla Bean Wafers

These are so amazing! And they are cheap! A must try, next time you go to TJ's buy yourself a container.

3. Bon Bons

 

  Need I say more? These are perfect for a shameful pig-out session or a post break up indulgence. I haven't actually eaten them after a break-up since in my younger unmarried days I was usually relieved to break up with my boyfriends but based on chick flick stereotypes, I can imagine they are great after a break-up.

4. Teriyaki Chicken

I have blogged about this Chicken before. It's easy, tasty and quick! It pairs perfectly with Frozen Jasmine Rice and Steamed Veggies. Buy a couple bags of these and have Teriyaki Chicken Bowl night at your house tonite!

5. Chicken Caeser Salad

I saved the best for last. You know something is quite special when it's cheaper and still way better than it's competitors. If you know TJ's at all you know that they have a wide variety of pre-packaged salads to choose from all for less than $5 each. This one is the best, the dressing is delicious and very Caeser dressing-like and the croutons have a kick to them, so so good. I think this one is $3.99? Funny story: when I give my 11 year old sister her choice of food when we are out and about, she elects to have a TJ's Caeser salad. The apple doesn't far too far from the other apple from the same tree. Get it? HA!

Now for a MNL (Mely No Like)

Tempura Sweet and Sour Chicken

Maybe it's because I baked it instead of frying it but the sauce was too watery and the chicken had a weird doughy consistency. Meh!

Tune in next week... I will review:

TJ's Beef and Broccoli
TJ's Cinnamon Rolls
TJ's Hummus
TJ's Cheese
TJ's Tamales

~Mely

Weekend Story - Football Edition

This post is not for the easily offended...

 

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post as last night I had to witness an unbearable Niners loss due to:

• Extremely poor officiating
• Turnovers/Interceptions

Nevertheless life goes on and I have to forget about this loss and look forward to the next game. At least Seattle lost! For those Football-saavy here are a couple of my favorite memes of the weekend...

 

 

 

Richard Sherman was beat by Phillip Rivers a couple times and blew his coverage... I guess he forgot to pop his Adderall before the game.

 

And on the subject of terrible officiating, the NFL refs gifted Seattle with a Touchdown that shouldn't have been.

 

And since we are talking about Seattle...

 

Just like somebody on Twitter said, "As a SF fan it's like you root for two teams: SF and whoever Seattle is playing that week." On top of that, Seattle's Defense gave me a -1 points on my Fantasy team this week. That's NEGATIVE 1 point. Sheesh.

 

That was essentially my Sunday, I did wifely woman things in the morning such as bake Cinnamon rolls, make eggs and hot links, clean and vacuum. As soon as I go to my Momma's house I become this un-ladylike trash talking-cursing Football fan and it's not real purty let me tell ya. I would like to believe deep down inside my Husband thinks it's sexy.

 

That was my Sunday...

 

My Saturday!

 

We ate donuts and drank coffee in the morning with my Momma, Tony's aunt, a family friend, my sister, Tony's sister and Martina. I hit up Le Walmart for a couple of things and I made this beautiful tray of Nachos for the Mayweather Maidana fight.

 

I used refried beans (courtesy of my Mother in Law), Gaucamole (made myself), melted Monterrey Jack cheese, Chicken, Steak, Sour Cream and Jalapenos. They were super good and I can't wait to make them again!

 

We had a nice time at my cousin and her husband's house watching the fight. She made Ceviche and there was tons of other food. We talked and talked and I spent time with my niece and Goddaughter, it was good times!

 

Today my goal is to get through work in a reasonably productive manner and go home and do laundry and cook!

 

~Mely

Friday Favorites - Live United Edition

 

Happy Friday!

 

Today I am linking up with Andrea at Momfessionals to show you my Friday Favorite for the week!

 

 

This Friday my very favorite moment was participating in Day of Caring, an annual event held by my office. In case you missed it, I am an Accountant for United Way of the Wine Country. Day of Caring is an annual event that connects volunteers in the community with dozens of non-profits to complete projects such as painting and landscaping. We have a rally in the morning with coffee and breakfast and then we send our volunteers on their way! My job was to drive around to 8 non-profits and take dozens of pictures of our volunteers working. This is my favorite event all year! Click HERE to read an article by our local newspaper highlighting Day of Caring!

 

Among the projects we had, one was in our own office putting together School Readiness Kits which are for school readiness and engagement for 3 and 4 year olds and include things such as books, the new "My Plate"nutritional guide and resources for parents. Watch the video below which has a cool time lapse of the 1,000 backpacks put together by volunteers :) The inside of my cubicle is shown at the 1:55 mark (sorry had to throw that out there! LOL). I realize you think this is a shameless plug for my job but honestly, Day of Caring and what we achieved in the community was truly my favorite moment this week!

 

 

 

United Way is an organization for social change focused on improving Education, Income and Health in our local communities. As a volunteer, donor and employee I could talk about our United Way and what we do for ever but I encourage you to go see what your local United Way is doing in your community!
 

Thanks for stopping by :)

~Mely