TGI Fridays "Entree for One" is Making Dinner Easy for Dad's Everywhere

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of T.G.I. FRiDAY'S for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Hey there.  As of late, my wife has been out of commission.  Since she had surgery (more on that real soon), she's been confined to her bed resting.  That leaves me to tend to her, the kids, and the house work and let me tell you something... it's hard work!  Between the cleaning, the laundry, the dogs, the kids, and all other chores, I need to think about dinner.  Now, let's get this straight.  I'm no Chef Ramsey.  Yeah, I can get some of the basics down and they're more than edible (I think so at least) but mac and cheese and hot dogs can get pretty old pretty fast.  That's why I've turned to quick and easy cooking during my time as both mom and dad.  Good thing that T.G.I. FRiDAY’S “Entrées for One” has been perfet for our family.

Enjoy T.G.I. Friday's at Home with Entrees for One Frozen Dinners

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of T.G.I. FRiDAY'S for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Hey there.  Who doesn't enjoy a great dinner at a restaurant?  You don't have to worry about making dinner, you don't need to worry whether or not the kids will make a face while eating it, you don't have to worry about prep time and getting all the ingredient, and you definitely don't have to worry about washing pots, pans, and dishes afterwards.  It's great for fun night out with the family.  But sometimes, money is tight and you can't always go out.  Especially when you have a large family like mine.  A dinner at a restaurant can easily exceed $100 for a family of 6 and that can make a dent into the family's budget.  So how can I have that family dinner experience without breaking the bank?  With T.G.I. FRiDAY’S “Entrées for One”!  That's how!

Piccolo Pete's American Mexican Food Service

Hey there.  I'm a foodie.  I love food.  When the wife and I eat out, I tend to finish my plate and still eat about half of hers.  It's so much a mutual understanding now that the wife will order something from the menu considering my taste.  lol  Anyways, I told myself that I would start doing restaurant and food reviews.  Why?  Well, I say why not!  I started last week with my experience at the Palms Steakfood and Restaurant but I should have given you a heads up.  That's why, I'm letting you guys know that the next place I'm trying is...  PICCOLO PETE'S AMERICAN MEXICAN FOOD SERVICE!

ampm's Too Much Good Stuff Giveaway

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of ampm for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there.  I am a winner!  Whoo hoo!  ampm has an awesome promotional giveaway going on right now and I just had to jump on it.  I've always been a fan of ampm.  The wife and I have even had a few ampm dinners where we just go and grab some of their good stuff and just have ourselves a good time.  We don't do it anymore, but every now and then, we'll get that urge and grab a few burgers, hot dogs, and ponder which of the 24 fountain drink flavors from the Thirst Oasis we want.  Good times, my friends.  Good times.

Review: The Palms Steak and Seafood Restaurant in Downey, CA

Hey there.  For those of you that know me well, you'll know that I love food.  I've been eating my fair share of meals since as far back as I can remember so when it dawned on me that I could be eating at different places and voicing my opinion on them, I just had to jump on it.  I mean why not?!  It's a great way to help local businesses and I get to share that experience with you.  So to start off my first of many restaurant reviews, here's my experience at The Palms Steak and Seafood Restaurant.  Hope you guys enjoy!

Motivational Monday - Food Fight

Let the food war begin!

Ode to Brownies

Hey there.   I haven't done one of these in a long time and I need to bring them back!  After chatting it up with a friend about how awesome brownies are and how I have some and she doesn't, I decided to share my love of brownies to the world.  So here's the latest entry in my "Ode to..."  series.  Enjoy.

Warning! Chocolate!

And my wife said that it was me getting fat!!!  

Freschetta Simply Inspired Bamboo Cutting Board Give-a-Way Winner

Hey there.  It's time to announce a winner for the Bamboo Cutting Board from Freschetta!  We had a total of 58 entries and the comments were numbered 1-58.  The number corresponds to when the comment so if you were the first to comment, you are number 1 and if you were the last to comment than you are number 58.  So let's see what random.org says!  And the winner is:

A Happy Birthday and the Lakers Downfall

LAKERS GONNA WIN!!!  Oh wait...

Hey there.  The Lakers are out of the playoffs...  I think I can now talk about it without getting too upset.  This was the team that was favored to sweep the Mavs, if not win in 5 games.  What the hell happened?!?!?!  Now there's talks about them being too old, Kobe not being Kobe, Gasol having personal issues, Odom is too inconsistent, blah blah blah...  Listen, this is the same team that has gone to the finals for 3 straight years.  This team is still made up of pretty much the same guys.  So what the hell happened???  Don't know.  But just by looking at the team during the games, they just looked uninspired.  Kind of like they were saying, no worries, we'll win the next one, and pretty much just sleepwalked through the games and that kind of attitude bit them in the ass.  The great thing about the Lakers is that we measure the season's success by championships.  If we win the title, it was a successful season.  If we don't win the title, then the season was a bust.  It's really as simple as that and all Laker fans are spoiled by that mentality.  We expect to win and when we don't, all hell breaks loose.  I'm hoping that they'll be able to get their act together and make another run next season, but man... did we just stink it up against the Mavs...

Now, on to brighter days.  My birthday was yesterday!  The big 2-9!  lmao  I don't make a big deal out of my birthday, I never have, but the wife loves to make it a little festive.  This year, she did this:

Playing Black Ops, dad.  Oh yeah, and Happy B Day!

 

The wife is great at creating an atmosphere.  I know, I know...  Lakers were eliminated on Sunday, but we all didn't think that was gonna happen.  lol  So she carried on with her Lakers theme and prepared my meal of choice, T bone steak, mashed potatos and veggies!  Oh yeah!

The woman sure knows how to make a mean batch of mash taters!

Then we all sat together, had our dinner, and goofed around a bit.  Cause that's what we do.  The wife and I sat on the couch, watching the kids play with, wait for it...  balloons...  lmao  That's right, balloons.  I understand that the young one would want to bat around a balloon for kicks but the older kids were having a blast themselves.  lol

Oooh...  Balloon...

Almost... got... it...

Then it was time for the cake.  As the wife gathered everyone around the cake and snapped a few photos, she asked to take one of me and the cake.  I think it's some kind of tradition to do that.  lol  So I sat in the chair waiting for the pic and this happened...

Why so serious

Whoa...  what is that?!  lmao!  Hand me a knife and some evil cloak because there is definitely murder in those eyes!  hahahahaaha!  The wife wasn't too happy with that one so we took another.

A lot better

After I made my wish and blew out the candles it came time for the family portrait (which my wife conveniently decided she needed to take manually so that everyone comes out 'nice'  lol) 

Happy birthday Dad!

Baby says, my cake!

Awesome.  Awesome.  Awesome!  From the decorations, to the meal, to the cake, to the laughs.  A great b day spent with my family.  So why not go out to a "fancy" restaurant for your b day?  Eh.  I'd rather spend the time at home, messing around with the wife and kids than to have to "behave" at a restaurant.  The wife will tell ya, she jokes (well I think she's joking...) that I can be just as bad as the kids.  It just comes to show you that I like to have fun.  Regardless of what the candles on the cake say.  lol  Later!

Freschetta Simply Inspired Bamboo Cutting Board Give-a-Way

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of FRESCHETTA® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Hey there friends.  Who doesn't love pizza?  Pizza is usually considered an unhealthy choice of food but now a days you can find a wide variety of mouth watering and healthy pizzas.  That's where our good friends at Freschetta have our backs and rolled out their Simply Inspired line of pizzas.
I was fortunate enough to get to try one out over the weekend and all I can say is wow.  Since my boy and I are the resident pizza experts at our house, we went to the market to choose the FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™ pizza of our choice.  With 8 different varieties, it was definitely a hard decision.  I would have loved to have ry the Chicken Bianco style pizza.  Mmmmm....  Grilled chicken, red peppers, black olives, and alfredo sauce.  Man, that just sounds awesome.  Alas, it was not to be since no one at home eats olives but yours truly.  After a brief debate with my son, we decided that we were going to try the Hawaiian style pizza.  The family would enjoy that more than the Chicken Bianco.
Anyways, one the of first things that I notice is the packaging.  It's not in a standard, old pizza box.  It's in this light, plastic container that is different than any other pizza packaging that I have seen.  I was glad to see that on the back it states that it is using 30% less packaging so not only is Freschetta looking out for me, but it's looking out for mother Earth as well.  The second thing I noticed was the fresh smell of pineapple once I opened the container.  Once you peel it open, the sweet aroma of fresh meat and veggies fills the air.  Unlike many frozen pizzas, Freschetta did not seal their pizza in what seems like shrink wrap.  I guess that's what they mean by "Fresch-Taste-Seal".  So far, simply awesome.
Personally, I like thin crust pizza and the FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™ line of pizzas are all thin crust.  The argument that my wife makes is that there's less pizza to eat if it's thin crust.  I say, it's just a different texture.  Sometimes you're in the mood for a little thickness in your pizza slice, sometimes your not and if you're in the mood for some awesome thin crust pizza, this is it.  It has the perfect amount of crunch that it doesn't take away from their signature sauces or ingredients.  Did I mention that this one had a sweet BBQ sauce on it?  I'm not a BBQ sauce fan and I was pleasantly surprised by the how great it was.  For far, I'm loving the ingredients, the taste, and the style.
The family definitely enjoyed the pizza and we already decided that this weekend we're going to try the Chicken Bianco style pizza.  (YES!)  lol  The kids gobbled it up, the wife thinks it's a great, healthy pizza, and I think  that any pizza that can satisfy a family of 6 is always welcome at our home.  But don't take my word for it.  Go to freschettasimplyinspired.com and check out all the pizza varieties in the Simply Inspired line and find out which style is simply you.
Still not convinced to try one out?  Here, I'll give you a coupon for a free pizza!  Whoa!  Whoa!  Whoa!  I don't have one for EVERYONE reading this post.  1 lucky reader will walk away with a coupon for a free FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™ pizza.  And to sweeten the pot, our good friends at Freschetta are throwing in a wooden bamboo cutting board!  Check it out!







How awesome is that?  So how do you enter for a chance to win?  I'll make it easy.  Simply leave comment on this post on this post with your favorite pizza toppings.  That's it.  Once the the deadline has past, I'll use random.org to chose a number and that will determine our winner. Let's recap the rules:

• Give-a-way is available to US and Canadian friends only.
• Give-a-way will run from now until May14th.  Winner will be announced on May 15th.
• Leave a comment on this post stating what your favorite pizza toppings are to enter.

Be sure to check out Freschetta on Twitter and Facebook for upcoming news and give-a-ways.  Like Freschetta on Facebook for a free downloadable and printable coupon for $2 off any Simply Inspired pizzas.  So let's hear it friends, what are your favorite pizza toppings???  Later!

Exercise AND Diet???

Hey there.  As most of you know, I've been hitting the gym.  Oh yeah!  I keep tabs of the circumference of the my arms, chest, and waist.  So far, I've both arms and chest increase and a slight decrease in my waist.  So here's the question:  Why do I weigh the same?  I've been hovering around 170 since I started this mission and as of yesterday, I'm at 172 lbs.  What gives? 

I tell myself that because there is increase in muscle (or so I hope there is), I'll be heavier as opposed to having fat.  Hmmmm...  I don't know if that's true, but that's what I'm sticking too.  The fact that I'm working out and eating cupcakes/donuts/twinkies/chocolate/candy/meals at midnight would have NOTHING to do with my not losing weight... right?! Fine... I guess that would have something to do with it, huh.  So I've come to the conclusion, exercise is awesome.  Exercise with less crap intake, probably even better.

I don't like using the word diet.  My wife seems to always be on a diet and I don't like how she repels certain foods.  I just can't do that.  I've told many people that "men don't diet".  They simply eat less of what they want.  So instead of having those calorie filled midnight snacks, I'll limit it to only one cupcake or maybe even a healthier choice like a milkshake.  lmao!  I know.  I know...  I'm helpless.  lol  Well, I'm going to incorporate this new tactic and see if I'll lose some weight.  I think I've set a new goal of 160 lbs for me.  Maybe I'll stick around at the 170 lbs range but only if I don't look like a chubby.  lol  Wish me luck!  Later!

What's Going On

Hey there.  March 1st, that's today.  It is exactly 12 days away from finishing my 3rd year of blogging.  I can't believe that it's been close to 3 full years already!  I  was thinking of maybe doing some kind of give a away.  Maybe a game?  Maybe some cash?  Maybe some kind of prize?  I don't know just yet.  I've been thinking about it, I've just haven't decided what it will be.  Any suggestions?

Best workstation ever!

On a side note, I just wanted to fill you guys in and what's been going down on my side of computer.  My geek side has been pretty busy.  I unlocked my cousin's iPhone last night, I am working on fixing 2 more PS3s, and I have an XBOX 360 coming my way later tonight for me to take a look at.  I'm sure my wife is not thrilled about it.  I'm one those people that gets a little geeked out by this kinda stuff and will spend hours non stop working on all things tech. My wife made a comment to my cousin and his wife how she should dress up as some broken tech device so that I would pay attention to her.  lol 

Things on the blogging side have been going well.  Just not as well as I would like.  I managed to get the computer at home working but I haven't been working much at home.  My time online has been tight and I manage to churn out a post or two.  I need to get on the ball with that and spend some more leisure time on improving my online stats.  I've also made a conscience effort to provide more comments on blogs.  I've been horrible at letting know that I've stopped by so that's being improved upon.

Midnight snacks are the best!

Working out has been good to me, I guess.  I missed my exercise check in last week (damn time restrictions) so I'll make sure that I have one in this week.  Most likely be done tomorrow or Thursday.  I don't feel as winded as I have before and the wife says that there is some subtle differences in my body.  But, I don't know if I'm helping the cause by having ice cream at midnight.  lol

I also had a so called "man date" this Saturday with the compadre and a friend.  That adventure will be detailed in an upcoming post.  lol 

I know I'm forgetting some stuff but I'm sure that'll just come to me later.  So what's going on with you, friends?  What's new in the life of you?  Hope to hear from you soon.  Later!

Belle's Bake Shop

Hey there. Yesterday I found out that a classmate (and band mate) of mine has recently decided to go into the bakery business, specializing in cakes. She's been doing it for years and family has finally convinced her of becoming her own boss and selling her cakes. Just check out some of the masterpieces she's created!

Cake is a white cake with strawberries and whipped cream filling.
Car is all rice crispies and covered in fondant.
Perfect for birthday parties.

Monkey and base (not pedestal) are made from rice crispies and covered in fondant.
Cupcakes are banana nut with buttercream frosting with a flower on top (made out of fondant) as decoration.
Perfect for baby shower themed parties

Doll's skirt is vanilla cake (this one doesn't have a filling).
Doll's entire dress is fondant.
Perfect for Sweet 16 or Quinceañeras

Pretty awesome, no?  She's not nationwide (yet) but if you're anywhere in the Los Angeles/San Pedro area, feel free to check it out.  She makes all her cakes from scratch and she's flexible when it comes to decorations.  She's very artistic and seems to be a master with fondant.  lol  Here's a personal message from the owner:

I make sweet treats to satisfy that sweet tooth!  All of my cakes are made with lots of care and love.  Any character or idea you may have I try my very best to mold it into a beautiful cake, cookie, or cupcake.  All orders are taken only by email please or messaged here. Prices do range on size and quantity, but I guarantee that I have the lowest prices you will find!!  Email orders to:  cuteyummycakes@hotmail.com

If you want to check out more from Belle's Bake Shop check out her Facebook page here.  Tell her Metallman sent ya!  Later!

How Buffalo Wings are Made (per Maxim)

Hey there.  My wife sent this to me via text. lol This was in the Maxim magazine that we received in the mail. I knew that there had to be a secret to the making of buffalo wings but who knew that dragons, wizards, and beautiful virgins were involved!  Damn is this hilarious. Just another reason why I love Maxim magazine. Enjoy!

What Will You be Eating While Watching the Big Game

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kenmore Live Studio. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there.  The Super Bowl is this weekend!  The unofficial American holiday of football fans everywhere.  Aside from the big game, fans everywhere will be hanging out with friends and enjoying their Super Bowl parties.  But what are you going to serve at the game?  This is not just any game where the standard chips and dip is going to cut it.  That's why I strongly suggest that you take a look at some of these Super Bowl Recipes to spice up your Super Bowl party.
Imagine that.  A Youtube channel specifically made to share some awesome recipes for the Super Bowl.  If you really want to impress your guests, I would strongly suggest to try out some of the dishes with the Green Bay or Pittsburg name attached to it.  After viewing some of the videos, I stumbled across Pittsburg Popcorn.  Check that out on the video below.

Another great dish that I stumbled upon is the Green Bay Mojo Shrimp Skewers.  These look so good.  Check that out.

You can't go wrong with any of the Super Bowl recipes that are shared.  It's all a matter of what theme you're going for and what tickles your fancy.  Be safe and have an awesome Super Bowl weekend.  Later!

Valentine's Day Chocolate

Hey there.  Valentine's Day is coming!  It's that time of year where love birds show their appreciation to one another.  Whether it be with an extravagant night out on the town or a sincere, heart felt gift of chocolate candies.  You can never go wrong with chocolate.

I don't think I've ever met a woman who doesn't appreciate a nice heart shaped box full of chocolates.  It's no wonder that retailers everywhere stock up on them just to appeal to the ladies.  There's just something about the heart shaped box that lights a woman's face.  And from experience, See's Candy seems to be the one that brings the brightest smiles. 

A friend once told me that chocolate is divine.  If that is true, then check out the selection of See's candies and experience first hand that their divinity is the best.  Chocolates are no longer a surprise gift on Valentine's Day, but where you get them, that makes all the difference.  Later!

Do You Rate Local Busniesses?

Hey there.  Do you guys rate businesses in your area?  I mean, by going to some website online and providing some kind of ranking to show your displeasure or satisfaction to a service or business that you recently visited?  I ask because not too long ago, I started seeing these suckers on drive thru windows:

Now this is interesting.  Usually great burger joints are passed on through word of mouth but now I'm seeing that more and more are being looked at online.  My problem with Yelp.com is that it's mainly a rating system and is new to the "search for" world so I wonder if Local.com is the way to go.  I did a quick local search find that it's more of a hybrid of several rating and search systems.  Find a business and rate it, all in one location.

I say that Local.com would be a better place to go to search and rate.  I'm not knocking on Yelp.com.  I think that what they're doing is great.  I'm just saying that Local.com is doing it better.  Do a quick local search yourself and let me know what you think.  Who knows, maybe we'll start seeing more decals across business windows with the below logo.  Later!

Sugar Cookie Christmas Trees

Guest post written by Lauren Wiles

Right now I'm planning our family's annual Christmas party where a bunch of our neighbors, friends and our kids' friends come over for a dinner and some fun. We don't exchange gifts because we never know who's really going to show up. We just ask people to bring something with them if they come. But even thought we do that and don't have to make as much food as a result, I still put a lot of time into what I'm making and how I decorate our house for it.

I was online with our Clearinternet trying to find some new recipes to fix for this year. I found all kinds fo stuff, a lot of which I could actually fix the day before, which will make that a lot easier for me. On my e-mail invites, I'm making sure to add a list of things I'm making so that people won't bring the same thing with them.

I never like to repeat centerpieces from year to year, so I was really excited when I found the idea for a sugar cookie Christmas tree. You can eat the cookies afterward and I thought that it was the cutest thing ever.

Building a Gingerbread House

Hey there.  Last night, the family embarked in their first ever gingerbread house.  I know, I know.  How can it be the first one???  Well, quite frankly, they're hard to decorate so if we bought one, it most definitely had to be pre-decorated!  Well, last night we decorated it ourselves.  The wife went out and got 2 gingerbread kits.  One being the house and the other being the tree.  Since the women have better decorating prowess than the men, the girls decided they wanted to do the tree while my son and I did the tree.  We all agreed and we set off to our adventure.

The icing mix was easy to make but the mess... god, the mess...  There was white and green icing EVERYWHERE.  And to top it off, the instructions on the bag of icing were all wrong.  We used almost twice as much water to get that "toothpaste" feel and once it was poured in the decorating bag, it started to ooze out!  lol  Once that was done, I created a base of the gingerbread tree with cardboard and foil.  Nothing fancy, just a circle cut out wrapped in foil.  Then we started building the tree, which was simple enough... just place icing on a star shapped cookie and stack em up.  At this point, I look over to the girls to see how there were doing, since we were doing just awesomely.  lol  And I see the wife struggling to build the house.  I ask the girls how they're doing and this exchanged happened:

Wife:  Ugh!
Me: How you ladies doing?
Oldest Daughter: Ok, I guess.  I'm just watching.
Wife: You're not watching, baby.  You're supervising.
Oldest Daughter: No I'm not.  I'm just watching.

All the while, the youngest daughter is sitting there holding the decorating bag of icing and letting it drip into her hand.

Me:  What are you doing, baby?
Youngest Daughter:  Nothing, just holding the bag.

At this point, the wife figured that the girls were getting bored, watching her trying to keep together the gingerbread house.  She asked me to build it because "men are better at building things" which the girls gladly agreed.  lol  So I stepped in and put together the house and once the icing dried up, let the kids go at it.

Instructions? Who needs instructions when you have imagination!

After icing, candy, and everything else splattered all over the table, the finish product looks pretty damn good.  Check em out.

Too bad they need to be eaten!

All in all, it was a fun experience.  The clean up is a pain, but the kids enjoyed it.  Considering that it's our first one ever, not too bad, right?  Next time, we'll learn how to do the swirls, icicles, and all the other fancy stuff in the instruction booklet.  But until then, we have these delicious looking structures that we built.  Later!