Piggy's Simple Life

Reveal From Lock&Lock Third gift Set - All About Containers

2011-06-10T01:26:00.000-07:00

I received the third set of gifts from Lock&Lock a few days ago, a huge box with containers: ceramic zen, borosilicate and classic plastic containers. I absolutely love love love all of them. Let the pictures do the talk :)

Lock&Lock Cookplus Ceramic Set and more

2011-05-31T13:01:00.000-07:00

The second patch of secret gift from Lock&Lock is a set of cookplus ceramic frying pan and sauce pan. I am really excited and can't help to use them immediately when I opened the box. I have bought a green ceramic set during the happy hour sale, as well as the cookplus vitamin set. I am so happy with the new addition to my collection of Lock&Lock cookplus pans.

Luxury gifts from Lock&Lock

Lock&Lock pans I am using right now in my kitchen

************** Breakfast **************

1. Pancake

2. Glutinous Rice Ball Soup

3. Fried Eggs

4. Oats with milk

************** Dinner **************

5. Noodle soup with salted pork rib and radish

6. Egg soup with tomato and mushroom

7. Fried flat beans with noodle

a. Put the noodles in salty water

b. wait until boil or cook until soft, then drain the noodle

c. slice two cloves of garlic, cut the flat beans into pieces

d. put the beans into the boiled water and cook for 1 minute

e. drain

f. add 1Tsp oil into the frying pan, add garlic

g. add green beans, fry 2 minutes, then add salt and pepper, soy sauce (optional)

h. ready!

8. Egg pancake with crab meat

9 Chicken with broccoli

10 Fried rice with egg

Hot-Dry Fast Noodle, Best Gift from My Best Friend

2011-05-21T00:09:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love hot-dry noodle (热干面). I have tried to make it myself (here), but it's really hard to find the right noodle. My best friend since high-school learned that I miss it so much. She bought two big bags of the fast noodle version and sent them to me by mail. Thank you so much, my dear sweet sweet Sanny <3

Two big packages!

There are 8 pieces per bag. In each one, there are noodles, vegetable pack, 3 sauce packs

soy sauce, spicy pack and the most important one: sesamin sauce.

Open the package, the noodle looks like the same as the regular fast noodle, but they did taste differently. The cooking is simple and easy.

1. add noodle and vegetable pack in a bowl;

2. add boiled water and cover

3. Wait 6 minutes and drain water

4. Add the remaining 3 kinds of sauces.

5. Mix well and eat!

520 -- Lovely Heart-shape Egg

2011-05-20T05:51:00.000-07:00

Today is May 20, "520" homophonic in Chinese, meaning "I love you". I found this heart-shaped egg mold from Marshall. Isn't it a charming way to start the day with lovely heart-shape egg in the morning?

Norpro Nonstick Heart Pancake Egg Rings

Cheese and Pasta in a Pot

2011-05-17T21:56:00.000-07:00

When I picked up my little girl one afternoon from preschool last week, she happily told me that her teacher gave her something called "pasta pot" to eat. She loved it so much and kept saying it during the weekend. I have no idea of what it is, so I searched on google and found this "Cheese and Pasta in a Pot" by Carmen.

The original recipe:

Prep Time:
15 Min

Cook Time:
1 Hr 15 Min

Ready In:
1 Hr 30 Min

Servings (Help)

Original Recipe Yield 8 servings

Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) package elbow macaroni

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 (14 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, undrained

1 (16 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce

1 (12 ounce) can mushroom stems and pieces, undrained

2 cups sour cream

1 pound Colby-Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

Place ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown and crumbled. Drain, excess fat, and set aside.

Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until soft and translucent. Stir in garlic, and cook for 30 seconds. Add cooked beef, tomatoes, spaghetti sauce and mushrooms; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

In a 9x13 inch casserole dish, layer 1/2 of the pasta, 1/2 of the meat sauce, 1/2 of the sour cream and 1/2 of the shredded cheese. Repeat layers.

Cover, and bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.

I don't have all the ingredients mentioned in the recipe. I decided to use the stuff I currently have in the fridge. I don't have ground beef, however, I have prepared marinated chicken with Yoshida's sauce instead. I don't have mushroom, so I will just skip it :P

Step 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes; Drain. The insert in the Lock&Lock glass pot is perfect for drain :)

Step 2. Marinate slice chicken thigh with Yoshida's sauce. Add some oil, cook over medium high until brown / color change; set aside.

Step 3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until soft. Stir in garlic, add tomato, spaghetti sauce, cooked chicken and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

Step 4. In a glass pot, layer 1/2 of the pasta, 1/2 of the meat sauce, 1/2 of the sour cream and 1/2 of the mixed cheese. Repeat layers.

sour cream and shredded 3 cheese blend

layer 1

layer 2

layer 3 (I have some pasta left - additional layer)

Step 5. oops, forgot to cover. I baked in the preheated toaster oven over 45 minutes :) Yummy!

Lock&Lock BOROSEAL, Borosilicate Glass Pot

Lock & Lock Cookplus Vitamin Frying Pan, Green, 11-Inch

Gravity Cast Aluminum Goldsun Zen
Lock&Lock BOROSEAL III, Borosilicate Glass Rectangular

My Little Girl's Lunch

2011-05-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

To prepare lunch box for a preschooler is fun. I prepare my little girl's lunch box every morning, sometime with left-overs from dinner. The combination is usually rice/bread, vegetable, egg, and meat. I also put a cup of yogurt, a fruit (apple, orange, banana, watermelon, etc) and juice (orange, apple or grape) in her hello kitty lunch bag. That's why her kitty bag is always very heavy :)

fried rice ball mixed with tomato sauce, cucumber slices, minced pork

egg ball, orange flavored teriyaki chicken with baby cucumbers

Potato salad, scrambled egg, cucumber slice, braised pork slices

minced dry pork, sea weed, asparagus, baby tomatoes

boiled quail eggs, stir-fry with teriyaki chicken, celery, carrot and flavored bean curd

boiled egg, broccoli, chicken nuggets, baby sausage roll and dumlins

thin sandwich bread, scramble egg with spinach, baby tomatoes, chicken nuggets

left-over from dinner, boiled quail eggs

crispy shrimp, pork jelly, lettuce, boiled egg and rice

tilapia with pineapple coconut mango sauce, asparagus, rice

At last, a noodle soup made with asparagus root and salted pork ribs for daddy :) The glass pan from Lock&Lock is a perfect soup container besides her baking functionality.

If you are interested in using a glass container as a lunch box, I highly recommend Lock&Lock borosilicate glass containers. They are oven-safe, microwave-safe and dishwasher-safe. One additional note, don't put the plastic lid in the oven or microwave :P

Trip to Planting Fields

2011-05-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

First time at Planting Fields, a great place to spend Sunday afternoon with beautiful flowers especially :)

Lock&Lock Living Boxes

2011-05-05T13:07:00.000-07:00

I have been looking for a fabric box which could hold my tons of clothes. There are many kinds on the market, but Lock&Lock living boxes caught my most attention. I ordered a lot during the promotion period. These boxes are colorful, beautiful , durable, sturdy, functional and space saving, ---> best organization boxes I have ever had. My husband also like them a lot and asked me where I get these nice boxes :)

Summer is near. It's time to pack our sweaters, downs, wool jackets and make room for summer cloths. I have stuffed the whole family's winter clothing: sweaters, down jackets, wool scarves, etc, into these beautiful boxes. They fit into my closet quite well. Before you close the zipper of the box, don't forget to put a cedar block in the box :)

Moving men, a great helper to move heavy furnitures without extra help!

2011-05-05T11:46:00.000-07:00

I got this kit from amazon some time ago. Today I am using it to move my pricess' twin bed. It's pretty heavy especially with heavy mattress on. However, with the help of Moving Men, the job is a piece of cake :D The kit is very easy to use. All you have to do is to insert the disk under the bed feet. Then, you can either pull or push the bed without any effort :D

Can you see how far the bed is away from the wall?

Just one push~~~

Just Received Lock&Lock Gifts --- BIG BOX!!! Lots of Pictures :D

2011-05-03T14:23:00.000-07:00

I am so lucky to be selected to participate Lock&Lock supporters program. Today I received a big box from Lock&Lock. I am so excited and took a lot pictures to share with you my happiness :D

Big Box Arrived

Open it:

All contents in the box:

1 Borosilicate Glass Pot

2 Borosilicate Glass Pans

1 set of three Borosilicate Glass Containers

1 Lock&Lock plastic Wraps

In the small box

All together :D

There is one more glass container not showing in the picture

The Glass Pot, very nicely packed

Remove the plastic wraps

Remove the inner basket

Add the lid

the bottom ~~~

The glass pan with orange handles

Cheerio necklace

2011-04-30T06:11:00.000-07:00

My little girl was playing with Cheerios. The result is ---> a Cheerio necklace! Isn't it lovely? You can eat it at the same time :)

Delicious Snacks From Costco

2011-04-29T06:58:00.000-07:00

Costco is a place I go every week for bottled water, meat, milk, eggs, and vegetables. I went there yesterday for grocery shopping. As usual, of course, I was wandering around and around, and happily found a snack for pork lovers ---> Pork Jelly from Golden Island with grilled barbecue flavor. It has 0g of trans fat per serving, no MSG added, and best of all, it did taste like one of my childhood favorite pork jelly. It is a truly "authentic Asian style snacks". My little girl love it a lot. She even grabbed the whole bag and doesn't allow me to touch it :) 14.5oz for $10.89

In addition, I also got my favorite dessert ---> cream puff, 3lb for $ 9.99, a big big big bucket of cream puffs. I just can't stop eating them :P It comes with a handle for easy carrying around.

Sing-a-ma-jigs~~~~~ so cute~~~~~

~~~and~~~ spring is here ~~~~

Lock&Lock Cookplus Ceramic Casserole

2011-04-21T16:01:00.000-07:00

As a fan of lock&lock, I am very impressed by their cookplus collection, stylish, durable and colorful. Today I will share with you the beautiful Cookplus Ceramic Casserole in Red

[ZT] How To use Honey and Lemon to Cure cough

2011-04-18T07:04:00.000-07:00

The correct way to cure cough naturally.

Enlarge Image

Browse the internet for remedies to treat cough and you will find tens of them from all the world countries use Lemon or Orange , and a fewer number uses honey with or without Lemon.

Unfortunately, they use them the wrong way that made people prefer to use supplementary vitamin C for more convenience and with comparable results. Almost all people CUT the lemon and squeeze it to get its juice, yet cutting the Lemon peel may release enzymes recently found in the rind of many fruits, and these enzymes may change some costituints of the Lemon juice.

For hundreds of years, the best way to use Lemon to cure cough was to boil the INTACT Lemon in water before squeezing it, and no body knew why. In view of the recent findings, the cause may be that boiling the lemon kills enzymes present in its rind ( enzyme denaturation).

The procedure to prepare the best natural cure of cough is as follows:

1- Fill a can with water and put a middle or big sized Lemon.

2- Leave the can to boil for about 10-15 minutes till it bocomes soft but intact.

3- Take the Lemon and squeeze it to extract its juice.

4- Clear the juice or filter it.

5- Add the juice to 1/2 cup of honey ( or about 60 ml).

Some people - including me- add 30 ml ( 2 tablespoonful ) glycerin to the Lemon juice before adding honey.

Take 1 tablespoonful 3 times a day.

This is the best known natural cure of cough of people of any age through all times. Prepare for the fall and winter the right and easy way.

By waheed elqalatawy

Honey orange chicken tariyaki

2011-04-17T21:48:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
1 cup Mr. Yoshida's Original Gourmet Sauce
1 cup Orange juice - premium, Not from Concentrate, or juice from 3 oranges
6 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 pounds chicken breast (or chicken legs), sliced or chicken tenders
1 tablespoon Olive Oil

Optional:
1/4 cup slivered or sliced almonds, toasted
3 tablespoon zest

Directions:
1. In bowl, mix orange juice, Yoshida Sauce, honey and zest, reserve 1 cup
2. Marinate Chicken for 10 minutes or longer, Drain chicken, discard marinade
3. lightly brush grill pan with olive oil, heat to medium
4. Cook Chicken, turning once halfway through cooking time (4-6 minutes) and brush with 1 cup reserved sauce. Cook for 4-6 minutes, until thoroughly cooked. Use remaining sauce at the table as a dipping sauce or salad dressing.
5. Optional: Top with toasted almonds

Yoshida sauce website: http://www.mryoshidas.com/

Bamboo shoots soup with salted pork ribs 腌笃鲜

2011-04-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

This is a very easy recipe. It's very easy to prepare. The soup tastes amazingly good! It's now my favorite light simple soup.

Prepare time: 20 minutes, cooking time: 3+ hours, Total time: 16+ hours

Ingredients: pork ribs 2 lb, bamboo shoots - a few, salt and water

Prepration:

1. Rub enough salt on pork ribs, let it stay in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours.

2. Peel the bamboo shoots, and slice it / cut it into small pieces.

3. Take the pork ribs from the fridge, rinsed, then put into the pot and covered with LOTS of water. Note, it takes more than 3 hours to cook. Enough water is necessary.

4. Boil the soup on Medium high for about 30 minutes. Remove the formed foam on surface.

5. Add bamboo shoots, boiled the soup again and turn the fire to small, simmer for over 2 and half hours. DONE!

We don't have to add salt during cooking. The salt will come slowly from salty ribs. The soup tastes extremely delicious. Two thumbs up!!!

The cooking pot is from Lock&Lock goldsun zen series. It's stylish, lightweight, and durable. Love it <3

Another Lock&Lock Favorite --- Goldsun Zen

2011-04-10T18:09:00.000-07:00

I am definitely a big fan of Lock&Lock. Two months ago, I had only one Lock&Lock container. But now, I have too many to count, from famous Boroseal glass containers, ceramic containers, living boxes, to water bottles, stockpot and frying pans. Now, I have another favorite from Lock&Lock Goldsun Zen series: Gravity Cast Aluminum Goldsun Zen 8.3Inch 1.7L Green
Usually a pot like this is very heavy. But this pot is amazingly lightweight. It looks very elegant and stylish. The size is not small at all. The capacity is enough for a family of 3 :) I just cooked my favorite eggplant pot in this beauty and served directly on the table.

Rugelach

2011-04-10T17:43:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, my husband brought me a bag of rugelach. They taste so good that I finished almost half of the bag immediately. I have to try to make rugelach by myself. This recipe was the first one on the search page with very good review. I decided to give it a try :)

Original Recipe Yield 4 dozen, by JACKIE

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins

Directions

Cut cold butter or margarine and cream cheese into bits. In food processor pulse flour, salt, butter or margarine, cream cheese and sour cream until crumbly.
Shape crumbly mixture into four equal disks. Wrap each disk and chill 2 hours or up to 2 days.
Roll each disk into a 9-inch round, keeping other disks chilled until ready to roll them.
Combine sugar, cinnamon, chopped walnuts, and finely chopped raisins (may substitute miniature chocolate chips for raisins).
Roll each disk into a 9 inch round keeping other disks chilled until ready to roll them. Sprinkle round with sugar/nut mixture. Press lightly into dough. With chefs knife or pizza cutter, cut each round into 12 wedges. Roll wedges from wide to narrow, you will end up with point on outside of cookie. Place on ungreased baking sheets and chill rugelach 20 minutes before baking.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
After rugelach are chilled, bake them in the center rack of your oven 22 minutes until lightly golden. Cool on wire racks. Store in airtight containers...they freeze very well.
Variations: Before putting the filling on the dough, use a pastry brush to layer apricot jam as well as brown sugar. Then add the recommended filling. You may also make a mixture of cinnamon and sugar and roll the rugelach in this prior to putting them on the cookie sheets.

DIY "Hot-dry Noodle" - my favorite breakfast :)

2011-04-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

Hot-dry noodle is one of my favorite breakfast in my hometown (Wuhan, China). It's so popular that everyone knows about it. I absolutely love it!!!

What is it made of? and who invent this delicious dish? The legend of hot-dry noodle goes back to early 20th century. A local food seller named "Li Bao" is selling noodles for a living. You know, the summer in Wuhan is extremely hot. One day, Mr. Li had a lot of left-over noodles. Being afraid of them getting bad, he drained the cooked noodles and left them on the cutting board to dry. Accidentally, he broke some oil container, the sesame oil was poured on to the noodles. There is nothing he can do. So he mixed the noodles and oil together and continued to dry them. The next morning, Mr. Li put the oil-mixed noodles into boiling water, drained, and added spices. It smells so good that all the neighbors rushed to buy his noodles, which later becomes his signature dish "hot-dry noodle".

It is really difficult to find similar type of noodle here. I searched all the supermarket, the only close noodle I found is actually spaghetti. Another necessary ingredient is sesame paste and sesame oil. I also added pickled radish, minced green onions, and soy sauce. YUMMY! Although the flavor is not 100% original, I am quite satisfied. I really can't ask for more :P

Lock & Lock CookPlus Charming Stockpot and Steamers Arrived!!!

2011-04-07T11:40:00.000-07:00

I have been looking for a good steamer for a long time. I am tired of using my tiny plastic steamer in my rice cooker. One day when I was browsing lock&lock website, I was so excited to find these charming cookware and ordered them immediately. Now the beauties arrived. Just like their names, they are very charming and stylish.

blogger, here I am

2011-04-06T01:19:00.000-07:00

It is 4 in the morning, the time I started my blog, a very important moment :)

Piggy's Simple Life

Reveal From Lock&Lock Third gift Set - All About Containers

Lock&Lock Cookplus Ceramic Set and more

Hot-Dry Fast Noodle, Best Gift from My Best Friend

520 -- Lovely Heart-shape Egg

Norpro Nonstick Heart Pancake Egg Rings

Cheese and Pasta in a Pot

Prep Time: 15 Min

Cook Time: 1 Hr 15 Min

Ready In: 1 Hr 30 Min

Servings (Help)

Directions

Lock&Lock BOROSEAL, Borosilicate Glass Pot

Lock & Lock Cookplus Vitamin Frying Pan, Green, 11-Inch

Gravity Cast Aluminum Goldsun ZenLock&Lock BOROSEAL III, Borosilicate Glass Rectangular

Gravity Cast Aluminum Goldsun Zen

Lock&Lock BOROSEAL III, Borosilicate Glass Rectangular

My Little Girl's Lunch

Trip to Planting Fields

Lock&Lock Living Boxes

Moving men, a great helper to move heavy furnitures without extra help!

Just Received Lock&Lock Gifts --- BIG BOX!!! Lots of Pictures :D

Cheerio necklace

Delicious Snacks From Costco

Lock&Lock Cookplus Ceramic Casserole

[ZT] How To use Honey and Lemon to Cure cough

Honey orange chicken tariyaki

Bamboo shoots soup with salted pork ribs 腌笃鲜

Another Lock&Lock Favorite --- Goldsun Zen

Rugelach

Directions

DIY "Hot-dry Noodle" - my favorite breakfast :)

Lock & Lock CookPlus Charming Stockpot and Steamers Arrived!!!

blogger, here I am

Prep Time:
15 Min

Cook Time:
1 Hr 15 Min

Ready In:
1 Hr 30 Min

Gravity Cast Aluminum Goldsun Zen
Lock&Lock BOROSEAL III, Borosilicate Glass Rectangular