TGIF - I Need A Drink - Punchy Pina Colada

This pina colada is excellent because it's fruity, icy, and sweet. It doesn't have much alcohol, so it's perfect if you're not interesting in the alcohol but the fruitiness of the drink. Perfect to entertain and makes you think of beaches and palms. Hope you'd like the this recipe:

 1 can of pineapple chunks in juice (8 ounces can)

 1 can of cream of coconut (8 ounces can)
 2 cup fruit punch (no specific brand necessary)

  cups ice cubes
 1/2 cup rum

Add everything in a blender and mix for about 2 minutes. Serve with mint.

Song of the Week:Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys feat. Nicki Minaj

Honey Pumpkin Spread

This is a spread recipe that I found in one of my apps, iCookbook (which i recommend). It has save me time a couple of times. Perfect to entertain, especially now for the upcoming holidays. What I like about this recipe is that it's sweet and cheesy. Here's the recipe and hope you'd like it.
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup puree of Pumpkin
2 tablespoons honey
1 pinch ground cinnamon

 Stir cream cheese, pumpkin, honey and cinnamon in medium bowl for 1 minute or until smooth. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Serve with apple slices or whole wheat crackers.

Book Tuesday: For One More Day by Mitch Albom

When Charley "Chick" Benetto was a child, he was a daddy's boy but his father left the family when Chick was about to become a teenager, this broke his heart. This event shape him into a man a bitter man, that pushed everybody he loved away.

Chick is now a broken man, full of regret. His wife left and his daughter doesn't want him at her wedding. All these things combine sent Chick into the abyss of alcoholism and to make a choice that will take him on a journey with his mother who passed away eight years earlier into the past. On this journey Chick discovers that all about the things he thought he knew about his parents, were exactly like he thought they were. It opens his eyes and give him the courage to change and regain what he lost.

For One More day will take you on journey of redemption and understanding, that everybody should take and enjoy.

A Late Thanksgiving Dinner Side - A Nut Stuffing

 Stuffing is a tradition and it is one of the essentials side dishes in Thanksgiving dinner, that's why it can't missed. I don't like to cook the stuffing inside the Turkey and health wise it's not recommended. This is a super easy stuffing recipe and you'll love it. Here's my stuffing recipe:

4 cup of cooked rice
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup raisins
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

 Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add walnuts and cook and stir until lightly toasted. Add onion and celery; cook and stir until crispy. Stir in rice and remaining ingredients. Heat thoroughly, stirring occasionally. I like to add about three tablespoons of the turkey gravy.

TGIF - I Need A Drink - Rum Punch

I found the original recipe in Food and Wine magazine, but this version I have to improvise since I didn’t have all the ingredients.  I think this a great drink for Friday after work. Here’s the recipe and hope you enjoy:

·      8 oz. rum

·      8 oz. fresh orange juice

·      8 oz. mango nectar or juice

·      4 oz. pineapple juice

·      Ice

In a big pitcher, blend all the ingredients without the ice, then serve in glass with the ice.

Song of The Week: Diamonds by Rihanna

Arepa !!! A Dominican Dessert

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There are different types of Arepa, but the one I am going to talk about is the one from the Dominican Republic. This is a dessert that is a tradition in this country. I like it because it’s super sweet and I like the texture of it.

5 Cups of Regular Milk
2 Cans of Evaporated Milk
2 Cans of Coconut Cream
½ Cup of Raisins
½ cup of brown sugar
1 tbsp. Vanilla Extract
3 Cinnamon Sticks
½ tsp. Salt
4 Cups of Fine Yellow Cornmeal
5 Cups of Water
4 tbsp. Butter

·  Preheat oven at a 350-degree heat. Butter a deep round baking dish.

·  Mix all the ingredients. Put in a pot and put on the stove in a high heat, stirring constantly to avoid sticking. When it comes to a boil lower the fire to medium and continue stirring until it reaches a heavier texture.

·  Pour mixture in the baking dish and bake for 45 minutes or until you able to insert a knife in the center of it and it comes clean. Cool down to room temperature and take it out of the baking dish. Then cut into squares and serve.

Arepa

Book Tuesday: The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

Eddie is a bitter war veteran who feels trapped in a life he did not want for himself. He works in an amusement park fixing the rides. Eddie feels he has not done anything worthwhile with his life, it makes him feel unfilled and bitter. On Eddie's 83rd birthday, he is in a tragic accident and dies trying to save the life of a little girl. When he dies, he wakes in heaven, where he finds out that heaven is not what he was taught it would be.

In the heaven, Eddie discover, it is a place where your life is explain to you by five people. The people Eddie meets in heaven are people whom he may had loved or strangers who may had touched his life without him knowing. In heaven, these five people show Eddie all the connection of his life and the events that shape him.

The five people you meet in heaven is a beautiful story about reflection and the afterlife. It will teach us the meaning of life while we are here.