Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Goodbye

Saturday we had a memorial service for my Aunt Jamie, who left earth for heaven on 9~11~2010. It was a sad yet uplifitng day. Our family is amazing and really came together. Goodbyes are always hard, but this one just didnt seem fair. She was an exceptional woman! She battled with cancer for 3 years and suffered greatly for the last 6 months. But through all her pain she was still able to smile and give us a wave or even a kiss. Jamie was a godly woman and she inspires me to share her love of christ with others. I hope I can be just half the giving, compastionate, & selfless woman that she was. Auntie you will never know how much that last goodbye and Kiss meant to me. Through all your pain you still made me laugh and cry =) I will miss you dearly and you will always be heavy on my heart. Say hello to Grandpa up in heaven for me. I promise I will be here if any of your kids if they ever need me. You left a great legacy. I love you always!



Jamie Lyn Alonzo <3






Jamie's Award Winning Salsa, yum!





Jamie's Ashes <3


Some of Jamie's delicious dessert recipes.







Some of Jamie's creative outlets,and gifts she made for us!









City of Hope walk for Breast Cancer October 2009













My Aunt at our wedding, thank you for sharing in our special day Aunt Jamie, we love you!!





Saturday, September 4, 2010

Long Beach Cupcakes Reviewed

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We had these cupcakes for Josue's Birthday. I bought some of there bitties to share and some regulars for the Birthday boy =) When you walk into the store you can see what a cute small business it is. You can choose from bitties (mini cupcakes), regular, or big daddy cupcakes. They have a variety of flavors, but I have to say Chocolate Chip is my favorite here, and a must try! I liked that even though they looked professional they tasted homemade. They cupcakes moist and the frosting is light and delicious. They also do custom orders which are gorgeous, and can't be done at all places.


Frosted Cupcakery~Belmont Shore


Josue and I have tried this place a couple times whenever we are in the Belmont area walking the beach or something. Unfortunately I only have one pictures, but it will suffice. This place has more of a commercial feel, kind of like sprinkles. My favorite cupcake here is the red velvet, yum! Their cupcakes are dense and moist at the same time! The frosting is thick and sweet! I enjoyed my cupcakes from here, but almost thought the frosting over powered my cake, which I am not a fan of. They have so many flavors to choose from, which I like but it makes it hard for me to make a choice ;)



Overall I liked Miss Priss better, though they are both great cupcake places. The prices are better at Miss Priss, and over all I liked the taste better. So if you are ever in Long Beach (or you want to come over)
Stop by Miss Priss Cupcakes N Such to try at mini or heck even a big daddy =)


MMMMMM now I want a cupcake ;)

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Italian Risotto

Italian Risotto
I normally make my Italian Grandmother's risotto, but I decided to use Pioneer Womans recipe. With a few tweaks of my own ;) This isn't a healthy dish, actually it is pretty rich. Pair it with a grilled piece of chicken or fish and a nice vegetable.


Ingredients
■ 2 1/2 cups Arborio Rice
■ 3/4 cups of each Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago Cheese
■ 3 cloves Garlic
■ 1/4 whole Large Onion
■ 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
■ 1 Tablespoon Butter
■ 7 cups (to 8 Cups) Chicken Broth
■ 1 cup Heavy Cream
■ 1 Tablespoon Basil, Chopped
■ Salt And Pepper, to taste
I made just cheese risotto for blogging purposes but some options that we love to add are;
Italian Sausage
Feta Cheese
Broccoli
Asparagus
Mushrooms
Pepper Flakes
Chicken
Etc.








Preparation Instructions
Grate 2 cups of cheese. Peel and finely dice 3 to 4 cloves of garlic. Dice 1/4 of a large onion.

Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil. Then add 1 tablespoon of butter. Throw in the garlic and onion and sauté for a couple of minutes until the onion is translucent.

Add the Arborio rice and stir to coat the rice thoroughly. Adding 1 cup at a time, add 7-8 ounces of chicken broth, stirring constantly after each addition. As soon as it appears that the rice has absorbed each helping of broth, add in the next helping. Do not stop stirring. This process will take at least 20 minutes. Rice is done when it no longer has a hard bite.

When more of the broth is absorbed pour in 1 to 1 ½ cups of heavy cream. Next add the grated cheese and stir thoroughly. Add in plenty of fresh cracked pepper and about 1 to 2 tablespoons of chopped basil. Add salt to taste.

Enjoy!