Oct 10 2013

No-Bake Cookies & Cream Bars

Posted on October 10, 2013 by olsk_mercado

If there is one thing I don’t have a natural talent for it’s cooking. I’m married to someone who loves to cook and he’s from Pampanga, well known for its excellent and sumptuous dishes. Despite the lack of talent in this area I decided to try to make no-bake cookies and cream bars.

I’m not that bad, I can cook rice, fry eggs and the like. The one dish I can cook that my children love is macaroni soup. It’s a comfort food of sorts especially on days when they’re sick. Other than that I leave the cooking to hubby.

Since I joined the Ultimate Blog Challenge, I’ve tried to come up with a post everyday and no-bake desserts seemed like an interesting topic.

Thankfully, my first no-bake project was a success. With the help of a good friend (thank you for the use of your kitchen!) we made these delicious dessert bars. It’s super simple and fast to make.

What you’ll need:

12 packs (3/pack) of chocoate sandwich cookies (any brand will do)
1 bag of large marshmallows
5 tablespoons butter

The secret ingredient here is butter. This is what will make it easier to mix. Without it, it’ll be like trying to mix rubber!

Instructions:

Line a medium sized baking dish with aluminum foil. Put aside.

Crush the cookies in a large plastic bag with a rolling pin until it’s fairly broken up. Also try crushing the bag with your hands to get those big sized pieces you weren’t able to crush with the rolling pin.

Melt the marshmallows and butter in a large microwave-safe container for about 2 minutes. After it has melted immediately pour in the crushed cookies. Stir quickly and thoroughly then transfer to your baking dish lined with aluminum.

Let it cool for about 10 to 15 minutes. Cut the bars and you’re ready to serve!

Oct 9 2013

Drinking Water Checklist

Posted on October 9, 2013 by olsk_mercado

Water is the one of the most important necessities of life. Without it we would perish in a week depending on the climate. I created a drinking water checklist because I’m one of those people that forget to drink water.

I can literally go a day without drinking water. However, that will lead to major illnesses down the line. In fact, I had my gallbladder removed and one of the reasons was that my body lacked the water intake it needed.

I’ve come across apps that were supposed to help remind me when to drink but it never really worked. Mostly, it would go off and I would be in the middle of something and it would just slip my mind usually realizing that I hadn’t drank all day. My friends marvel that I can go without a drink while eating. I’ve become so used to it but I know that it’s unhealthy and I need to change my ways.

I needed a reminder, something I could see to remind me. Luckily, I had access to PicMonkey and went ahead and made my own checklist. It’s a very basic list. It shows me the days and how many glasses I have drank. If mid way through the day I see that I’ve only ticked 2 circles then I know I need to catch up and drink at least every hour after that.

If you’re in the same boat as me then you are very much welcome to use this checklist. If you will be sharing it please link to this post.

Oct 8 2013

Paint Colors: Our Picks

Posted on October 8, 2013 by olsk_mercado

We have slowly been making improvements on our home and what started us off was paint colors! My husband and I were discussing how we would one day improve our home. He suggested we check out paint colors and we went from there. Our once all white home is now a colorful abode. We’ve also started clearing out the unneeded and unwanted items.

I’m so elated with our changes so far and I’m really happy about being able to put home renovation on my wishlist as in progress.

We chose blue for our bedroom and bathroom, yellow for our living room and kitchen, and green and yellow for our children’s room with white accents in all rooms. We live in a 2 bedroom condo so it was a challenge but our top priority after painting is adding more storage space. I’ll talk more about that in a future post.

My husband assigned the task of picking the colors to me and I was a bit hesitant. In the end these were the colors we chose.

Paint sample colors we chose

Actual color when applied

Up close, the pictures don’t do it much justice but they are bright, relaxing and calm. It can be a trial and error process but we’re very happy with what we’ve chosen. Our door frames and moldings are white. Pictures of the rooms to follow when we’ve finished with the entire project.

Next up my home office!

Oct 7 2013

All You Can Eat- Affordable Buffets

Posted on October 7, 2013 by olsk_mercado

We love to eat! We haven’t got the money to eat out all the time but we try out affordable restaurants and especially all you can eat restaurants. I consider buffets under Php1,000 to be affordable. There are very expensive buffets usually at hotels that can go for as high as Php2,500 per person!

I’ve compiled a list of those we have tried and those we plan on trying and have gotten great reviews from friends and family.

Yakimix

Yakimix serves a variety of food from Korean to Chinese to Japanese dishes. Its special feature is the fact that you can grill your own food. They also serve cooked dishes.

Eat & Drink All You Can (Mon-Fri Lunch) P520

Eat All You Can (Mon-Fri Dinner) P620

Eat All You Can (Weekends & Holidays) P660

Eat All You Can (Kids below 4ft) P380

Eat All You Can (Kids below 3ft) FREE

Drink All You Can (Soft-drinks and Juices Only) P75

Photo Credit: entrepgirl2 (Flickr)

Buffet 101

I haven’t tried Buffet 101 yet but have also heard good things. It has an adequate selection but you can aslso get a better selection at other all you can eat places at these prices from what I’ve been told. The picture below is enticing enough though to make you try it.

Mon-Fri Lunch P699

Mon-Fri Dinner P950

Sat Lunch P799

Sun Lunch,Sat-Sun Dinner P1050

Kids below 4.5ft are P499.

Kids below 3.5ft are free of charge.

Photo Credit: incrediblethots
Flickr)

Dads/Kamayan/Saisaki

I had a chance to eat at Dads/Kamayan/Saisaki EDSA during a baptismal reception. My husband was chosen to be a godfather for his friend’s daughter but he had to work and so my daughter, my youngest son and I attended for him. They also have a great selection here. We enjoyed the food, especially the desert.

DADS Crossover No Left Over Buffet price schedule:

Includes Saisaki and Kamayan Buffet

LUNCH (Mon – Thurs) P 625

LUNCH (Fri – Sun) P 695

DINNER (Mon – Sun) P 695

HOLIDAYS (Lunch&Dinner) P 695

For kids below 4 ft. P 290

70 yr. olds and above – 50% off

SAISAKI No Left Over Buffet price schedule:

LUNCH (Mon – Thurs) P 580

LUNCH (Fri – Sun) P 655

DINNER (Mon- Sun ) P 655

HOLIDAYS (Lunch&Dinner)P 655

For kids below 4 ft. P265

70 yr. olds and above – 50% off

KAMAYAN No Left Over Buffet price:

LUNCH & DINNER (Mon-Sun) P 425

For kids below 4 ft. P 225

70 yr. olds and above – 50% off

Vikings

I really enjoyed our time at Vikings MOA. The food selection was delicious, different varieties and yummy food aplenty. Sadly, because this was my pre-gallstones surgery days, I was only able to eat just a morsel of everything I could. Hence, the small servings you see below. I am hoping to go back soon and believe me it’ll be with a vengeance! They offer birthday deals as some other buffets do. The prices are reasonable for the quality of the food.

So far, they have 4 branches, Mall of Asia, Marikina, SM North, and in Davao coming really soon.

Also, it’s better to call ahead at least 2 weeks and place a reservation rather than being a walk-in as you could end up waiting for some time.

Prices: Weekday Lunch is 688+, Weekday Dinner is 888+, Weekend Lunch and Dinner plus Holiday is 1088+

Somethin’ Fishy

If you’re looking for a really great deal on all you can eat buffets, Somethin’ Fishy would be at the top of the list. Their Midnight to Morning buffet is only Php169.00 from Mondays to Fridays and Php179 on weekends and holidays. Definitely a great price for an all you can eat fare of over 20 dishes.

The food quality is adequate. You probably won’t rate it as the best you’ve ever had but for these prices you’ll walk away full and satisfied.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of food to share except for these. You can see how our mood went from Ready to eat to burp!

City Buffet

We celebrated our 14th anniversary at City Buffet Fairview. We had been wanting to try it for some time but decided to wait for a special day to do so. The kids had a great time and ate to their heart’s content. As this was still my pre-gallstones days I yet again, had to control my portions lest I have another attack of pain.

SM Fairview:

Mon - Fri (Lunch P399/ Dinner P499)

Lunch Time: 11:30AM - 3:00PM (Last Call 2:15PM-2:30PM)

Dinner Time: 5:00PM - 10:00PM (Last Call 9:15PM-9:30PM)

Sat - Sun & Holiday (P539)

Lunch Time: 11:30AM - 3:00PM (Last Call 2:15PM-2:30PM)

Dinner Time: 5:00PM - 10:00PM (Last Call 9:15PM-9:30PM)

Robinson Galleria:

Mon - Fri (Lunch P399/ Dinner P499)

Lunch Time: 11:00AM - 3:00PM (Last Call 2:15PM)

Dinner Time: 5:00PM - 10:00PM (Last Call 9:15PM)

Sat - Sun & Holiday (P539)

Lunch Time: 11:00AM - 3:00PM (Last Call 2:15PM)

Dinner Time: 5:00PM - 10:00PM (Last Call 9:15PM)

We have so many more all you can eat places to try but these are some that I would suggest that are under php1,000. Do you have any great buffets to recommend?

Oct 6 2013

SMAC Deal: Baby Clean Hand Wash

Posted on October 6, 2013 by olsk_mercado

I don’t think you can ever get enough of hand wash. When I saw the Baby Clean Hand Wash deal at just Php250.00 (worth Php500.00) I had to grab it.

Each bottle is priced at Php59.75 so at that I got 9 bottles and only had to pay an excess of Php37.75. A bottle usually lasts us 1 month so we’ll be having a stock of hand wash for quite a few months.

We had a choice of Blue, Tea Tree and Lavender which I ended up getting 3 of each.

It was too bad I missed the Baby Wipes deal. Hopefully they’ll have another run soon.

If you want to take advantage of these deals visit the SMAC Deals page on Facebook or subscribe for email alerts on their website.

This is not a sponsored post and I am not receiving any earnings from recommending this deal.