The parent’s handbook from my daughter’s school specifically says that all of the student’s belonging should be labeled, from the cubbies to the lunch bags, to the clothes that will be left in the cubbies, to everything!  Being the obedient parent that I am, I did just that.  But not without lots of help from my trusty DYMO Labelmakers!

Abby’s food containers of various sizes all have her name on them.

Abby’s lunch bag also has her name on it.

During lunch time at Abby’s school, it’s so easy for everyone’s belonging to get all mixed up.    Anything I could put a label on, I labeled!  Abby’s placemat has a special label on it, and so do each and every piece of clothing in her cubby: extra shirt, socks, undies and shorts.

If not for the labels on Abby’s dance paraphernalia, like her ballet and tap shoes, another girl could have easily picked up Abby’s things.  This has happened to other girls in Abby’s dance class so many times already.  Shoes, tights and leotards getting into the wrong girl’s dance bag.  But not my Abby!  Hee hee.

Call me obsessive compulsive or a control freak, but with the price of things nowadays, we can’t afford to lose anything!  Besides, I have a lot of fun labeling.

Most of my cookware have plastic handles.  In January, I received a most welcome present from my aunt….new cookware.

I’ve already posted a photo of these cookware before.  I love them.  They are so pro-looking!  My only problem when I use them is that I constantly have to remind myself that the handles are hot.  Even Chef Ramsey burns his hand from handling hot pan/pot handles!  And a lot of times, I have to look around for my trusty potholders.

I found a solution for my little pot-holding problem when I was windowshopping at the Crate and Barrel online store a few minutes ago.  Silicone grips!  ;)  Lookey…

Mario Batali Silicon Handle Grips

More Mario Batali Silicon Handle Grips!

Silicone Mini Oven Mitt

Silicone Grips

Promise, I was only window shopping. :)  I haven’t bought any of these things yet but I’m seriously considering doing so.  I must admit that I didn’t know there were such things!  That’s what I get for living under a rock.  Gosh, I need to get out more often…or windowshop more often!  Hee hee!

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I’m almost sure fellow bloggers will have a field day after hearing this bit of news…very good news.

My Husband is a carnivore.  He just loves beef!  If we’re going to eat buffet, he’s going to head to the carving station first if he can help it.  Last Friday, I decided to make him  beef caldereta (beef stewed in tomato sauce).  It’s been a very long while since I made this dish for him.

I’m not an expert cook.  As always, I googled recipes for beef caldereta.  I wasn’t surprised that there are so many variations in the ingeridients as well as the procedures in cooking caldereta.  In the end, I simply made do with the ingredients I had on hand and cooked it my way.  Here’s a photo of my caldereta…

The color resembles that of kare-kare.  Hahaha!  But the taste is undeniably caldereta!  Sauce pa lang, ulam na! Promise!

Ingredients:

beef cut into cubes

2 potatoes, quartered

red bellpepper (I used only half of a really big bellpepper)

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic (we love garlic!)

1 can of liver spread

1 small can of tomato sauce

salt and pepper

optional: chilli peppers

1. Boil the beef in about 4 cups of water until tender.

2. Saute the garlic and onion in a bit of oil.  Add the potatoes, carrots, bellpeppers, beef and broth.  Simmer for for 10 minutes.

3.  Add the tomato sauce and simmer until the potatoes and carrots are tender.

4.  Add the liver spread to thicken the sauce.

5.  Add the chilli peppers if you’re using some.

6.  Season with salt and pepper.

7.  If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little bit of water.

8.  Serve with hot steaming rice!

Hubby and I just used Tabasco sauce to add some spice to the calderetta.  I can’t put chilli pepper in the dish because our 4-year old daughter will be eating it, too.  She’s just beginning to appreciate the goodness that is spicy food.

What influences your purchasing decision, say when it comes to food items?  Price?  Nutrition?  Freebies?  All of the above?  When it comes to Abby stuff, nutrition is first, of course!  When it comes to Hubby and me, we are a little more, uhm, flexible.  Hee hee.

We shop at H-E-B and they have pretty good deals every week.  Last Friday, I made a quick stop at H-E-B after dropping Abby off in school and just before I went looking for car covers.  We were out of coffee and coffee, is a must-have here at home.  Almost of the same importance level as rice. 

For a very long time, we’ve been buying Seattle’s Best ground coffee (Creme Brulee’s my fave!).  But that particular Friday, I traded my SBC ground coffee for a local Texas brand, which we also like anyway, Cafe Ole.  It’s about 30-50 cents cheaper than SBC’s.

I got a flavor which we haven’t ever tried yet, Snickernut Cookie.  And I have to say, I like the nutty taste. ;)  And the aroma alone is enough to wake me up!  Hee hee.  That isn’t the best part of the deal though.  For buying that $5.99 package of ground coffee, I got this for free…

How’s that for a good deal?  A package of Pepperidge Farm cookies costs $3.39.  I chose our favorite cookie variant, Milano.  Instead of the regular package, I picked one that came in a very nice pink and white packaging, in support of Susan Komen’s The Cure (for breast cancer).

I got my coffee and a package of yummy cookies, too! :D  Truly a winning moment.  Hahaha!