Cooking Adventure 1: Macaroni and cheese

I would like to share a recipe of my own mac and cheese that is so easy to make. It only took me 20 minutes to make it. When you get the chance to make one out of my recipe, please send me a feedback! I would love to hear what others think. I have no idea what triggered my craving for something salty and cheesy yesterday and just to satisfy that craving, I decided to make mac and cheese. I like to experiment in cooking, mixing ingredients, improvising and of course a whole lot of guessing. This is actually the second time I made mac and cheese. The last time I made mac and cheese was already a year ago and I went all out on the budget to make sure my mac and cheese would taste exceptional. But this time, I only used the basic ingredients I could find at home and what we usually have. So if you’re on a tight budget and want to serve mac and cheese, here’s all you need.

Ingredients:

Instead of using elbow macaroni, I used seashell macaroni (400g).

For the sauce:

Butter

Instead of using quickmelt cheese, I used an ordinary buttermilk cheese. It takes a little more time to melt them but it will get there.

A bottle of cheez whiz

A box of all-purpose cream

1 tablespoon of salt

1 tablespoon of pepper

Procedure:

Slice the cheese into cubes

Melt ½ cup of butter in a non-stick sauce pan and add buttermilk cheese, wait for it to melt. A lot of stirring and mashing of cheese is needed.

Add the all-purpose cream and cheez whiz to melted cheese, stir.

Season with salt and pepper.

It’s important that you constantly stir because the cheese sauce thickens up quick.

In the sauce pan, mix the cooked macaroni to the sauce evenly and serve.

Adding bacon bits and other kinds of meat products is optional.

I can’t promise that it’s easy on your palette; I don’t know what kind of taste you’re after. But it pleased me, my sister and other people at home. Enjoy!

Pancake House, Fail!

Have you ever had the feeling you wanted to eat a certain something so bad that you can almost taste it but when you're about to eat it you end up disappointed? That's what I felt when I was about to eat my dinner at Pancake House and have some frozen yogurt too. Pancake House, Madison Branch closed 2 hours before the announced closing time!!! I wanted to order the Classic Country Medley (2 pancakes and sausage) but sad to say, they failed to meet my expectations cause they closed early and yes, I'm quite furious about it. I even planned to order a light dessert, a fro-yo since Pancake House is already serving that.

Pancake House, FAIL!

Though, thanks to Starbucks they have a Sausage Roll I could satisfy my appetite with and Mercury Drugs for having the Nestle Fruit Selection yogurt.

These are the moments when you have no choice but to settle for something less.

Happy Lemon

You might have seen this cute logo for quite a bit now. This very happy-looking lemon is obviously Happy Lemon’s logo. I’ve been seeing this store for over months now in Promenade, Greenhills but never got the courage to go in and check what they’re serving but once I heard the same brand name specializes in Milk Tea and popular in Hong Kong, I didn’t think twice to order my favorite comfort drink – Milk Tea! It was my first time to try Happy Lemon’s selection of drinks and I gave Milk Tea with Mesona Jelly (coffee jelly I think) a try since it’s the safest and most familiar to my taste. I noticed that you can also have an option for the sweetness level of the drink you ordered but sad to say, the attendant didn’t ask me my preferred dose and just went with 100% when I usually go for 75% or 50%. I like their Milk Tea because it wasn’t so milky and you can still taste the blackness of the tea used though the sweetness level was up to the maximum already, what more if I only went for the 50% or the 75%. Unlike the milk teas I patronize (Serenitea’s and Teaology’s), Happy Lemon doesn’t use a seal to cover their drinks so I had to stop when I was about to turn my cup upside down to give it a last “shake”. For those who are more adventurous with their drinks, Happy Lemon has signature drinks which I find too weird as a first time customer; you should try the Rock Salt Cheese variety (Green Tea with Rock Salt and Cheese, Cocoa with Rock Salt and Cheese and the Coffee and Rock Salt and Cheese). On my second visit, I would surely want to try Mousse Spin variety (Lemon Yakult, Mango & Cheese Yogurt and Matcha with Adzuki Bean). If it’s your first time in Happy Lemon, don’t worry that you might not have options for a comfort drink cause they have a very wide selection of drinks whether you like it zesty, fruity, milky, creamy, a little salty and what not.

“At Happy Lemon, you can be assured that only the Yummiest drinks are served.”

Sunrise Buckets - Where Life is Simple

If you love the beach and good food, like I do - you will love Sunrise Buckets. Ever since this restaurant opened, I've been a frequent visitor. Frequent like 4x a week frequent! What I love about the place is the beach-y feel, ambient music, affordable prices of the food, generous serving, friendliness of the staff (and owners), the quality and the one-of-a-kind selection of their food and drinks.

my personal favorite: Rootbeer float P105 + 12% tax

Here are some low-resolution photos I took:

Catch a wave!

shot glass + used coffee ground = ash tray

 From their Facebook page:

When you see this logo, you know you're at the right place already.

Visit Sunrise Buckets: Unit 1, Madison Square, Ortigas Avenue corner Madison St., North Greenhills, San Juan, Philippine.
Add or Like them in Facebook: Sunrise Buckets, Sunrise Buckets Fan Page

Serene Serenitea

Ever since I had a taste of milk tea, I can't get enough of it. I may not be an expert when it comes to tea but when mixed with milk, I know how my milk tea should be. Lately, I have had my guilty pleasures and comfort from Serenitea. Personal favorites are Hokkaido milk tea with pearls and 75% sugar and Okinawa milk tea, 50% sugar. Serenitea's tea is freshly brewed and has no artificial flavors. I have yet to try their Yakult mixed drinks. For take outs, your drink must be consumed before 3 hours. Aside from herbal infused drinks, Serenitea has variety of snacks for an affordable price. One of the snacks I tried was the Chicken Chops.

Chicken Chops P65 (Fried breaded chicken fillet with fried basil leaves on the side)

One more think I like about Serenitea, for less than P100, you can buy yourself a wonderful treat. If only Serenitea is well distributed around the metro, I'll have it any day.


Visit Serenitea at
#1F G&L Bldg J Abad Santos cor V. Cruz, Little Baguio, San Juan
#268 Aguirre Ave. BF Homes Paranaque
#74B N Roxas St.cor Banawe, Quezon City
Cinema Area, Alabang Town Center
Adriatico Wing, Robinsons Place Manila
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