Bits and Pieces...

Hi you guys! Today is Friday. As usual, I have about 100 different things to tell you. Of course I don't have time to tell you everything and anything. But, I have a free 30 minutes. And so, I will fill you all in... as much as I can. Do you remember back when Bran started his English (speaking) high school. That they asked all of the English (speaking) kids in that program to buy lap tops. They do that... because the western teachers will send the class a group video asking them something. And for instance whoever can reply and answer the fastest wins a small prize. Such as a pack of gummy bears or a pack of erasers. Something small, you know. : ) But enough to make the kids want to get on and answer immediately!!! Anyway Bran and the rest of the freshman English kids... did receive their laptops. And they have been using them ever since. It's also perfect for writing class papers or school assignments too. So long story short, Branden did receive it and this is a picture of his. 

I bought Noah 2 pair jean shorts from Shimamura. He has 2 pair exactly like this, except one is this color/shade of blue and the other pair is a darker shade of denim. So 2 pair of shorts in size 160cm except one is a lighter denim and one is a darker blue denim. This being the lighter pair. They were only 980 yen each. A really great price and super comfy. The darker pair, I bought the week beforehand and forgot to take a pic before I cut the tags off and washed, but they look exactly the same as this, except darker. 

Since Branden wears a uniform, he always wears an undershirt under his dress shirt. But, I did switch to the cooler (temp-wise) ones for summer. They're sold in a 2 pack. And so he has 4 of these now and they were on sale for 500 yen each pack. They keep Bran very cool and dry in the summer heat especially during his commute. 

Apparently you will stay cooler and drier in these than in cotton, go figure.

The last Old Navy order for Summer 2017 arrived 2 weeks ago. Our $5 US American flag tee shirts arrived before American Independence Day/the 4th of July. And so we enjoy these shirts very much, all year round. And for Women, they also sold a gray American flag sweatshirt this year. First time for them to sell this logo as a sweatshirt. And it's awesome. And that way, I can share my love for my country in both summer and winter! Hahaha. 

Pizza happened last Saturday. Yep that is correct. We had Italian 3 nights in a row. But that's how we roll around here. : ) Let's see, Thursday a day earlier than Noah's birthday... we went to that Italian buffet. And then Noah's actual birthday we had chicken parmesan on top of pasta, with salad and garlic bread. And then the next day I made homemade pizza from scratch. My crust is always so crispy. Not ever limp at all. Baked in my oven at 450 degrees. This was the kids pizza. Noboru was at work, so he sadly missed pizza night with us. 

I meanwhile had a pepperoni, mushroom, onion and jalapeno pizza. 

Yesterday morning, I ran to Costco Inzai. I bought a rotisserie chicken for last nights supper. A big bottle of Yoshida's sauce. My kids *love* when I make a fast chicken veggie stir fry with this! My husband does too. 

Also bought a huge bag of frozen shrimp. The largest size they carry and it's all deveined (de-pooped) and cleaned up. I will be making some fried shrimp soon. Tonight, I am making a healthy yummy chicken veggie stir-fry with that sauce up above. I also bought 4 super cups (individual sized servings of ice-cream) today at my local store so we will be having chocolate cake with chocolate frosting with vanilla ice-cream. The cake is in the oven baking in the kitchen as I type. Thank gawd for central air-conditioning because our house is a cool and extremely dry 69 degrees. Plus with the solar panels we get zero bill. We actually make money with the solar panels and still get a nice cool house. Anyways.  Anything else to add? Yes I have tons to add!!!

This Monday... I had met up with 2 very good friends of mine. We met up Monday, May 10th at 11am at Coco's restaurant. It was as always... so nice to meet up and catch up. I don't have to tell you...how very important it is to have friends. How important it is to socialize. And have an actual life. I love getting together with my friends. I'm lucky in that I have some truly amazing friends. I did have to leave earlier then they did. You see...the week beforehand. Branden had half days the week before. Last week....he had half days because he had tests. However...I had a friend lunch planned for this Monday. Planned since last Friday. So...I had asked Bran Saturday..."are you sure you have a full day of school on Monday?" Yes mom. I asked Sunday again..."Bran, are you sure you have a full day of school Monday?" Yes mom. I even asked Bran on Monday morning... as I was driving him to the train station..."Bran...I have a lunch planned with my friends today...I really don't want any surprises...so umm do you have a full day at school?" Yes of course. So...it should come as a huge surprise when my cell phone chimed and I read my Line messages and it said..."hi mom pick me up soon!" @_@  Umm, I was really caught off guard. Because I had asked before so many times. And assured so many times that... it was indeed a full day at school. So...umm yeah. I did leave early. But at least I got a good 90 minutes with my friends. I felt super bad to leave. But I do know...that since they're moms too...they also understand that yes...sometime stuff comes up and yes...sometimes sh*t happens... and it just can't be avoided. So, I headed as fast as lightning to the train station. I was driving the speed limit...mind you...but you know what I mean.

What else? Noah. You know how kids in Japan have school in July. Where as in America... kids don't. Well...all July Noah has been on his summer schedule. This Monday Noah swam at school and went on a nature walk around the school grounds and sketched/drew what they saw and wanted to. Came back to class and read books and went home. Tuesday Noah swam and his class made curry in the huge cooking room our school has. It's an *enormous* cooking room. They then ate and then had free time...where they played on the swings and playground equipment and then went home. The next day they swam and then they sewed. They sewed cleaning rags, which just gives the kids more experience using sewing machines and the kids enjoy this a lot. They sewed a few more fun things too. The next day they swam and made something in Japan called "fruit punch" which is much different than American fruit punch. But...basically every day is just swimming and other fun activities for them. So that's what the kids do in our elementary school in July, just try to enjoy July.  And today for Noah's class...today is Friday...and they took the town-owned great big limousine bus and are currently on a class field trip right now, they should be heading towards our tiny town any minute... and should be dropped off to our housing community by 5pm, the bus makes 2 stops plus a final stop... at the school if you prefer just walk home from school, in case you live near the school. And they ate out at a buffet since they're out and about today, which sounds like such fun for the 6th graders. @_@ Hahaha. So umm yeah. Our particular specific elementary school in July does have school too...but July is more so... a break for the kids...but they're technically at school. Not sure what other elementary schools in Japan do in July...if they are hitting the books or if they're chillin' a bit more too. I like that our school lets the kids relax a bit more in July. The kids need it. : )

This coming Monday is a holiday in Japan... so kids do not have school. Branden's final day of school was today!!! Although he does have summer camp next week for a few days. Noah's final day of school is next week. And things are just superly winding down. Everyone is super ready and happy to be going on summer break soon. The break from school. And making school lunches will be nice. The break from me waking up at 4:15am every morning Monday-Friday will be nice. I usually wake up Bran at 5:30 and Noah at 5:50am. But I get up earlier to have 20 minutes to go through my emails and computer stuff... read the American news and to also start making lunch, finishing lunch and starting on a quick breakfast too. So yes...for me to sleep in...as soon as summer break starts...omg sounds like *bliss*. Sounds like a dream.

Anyway today is Friday. You all have a nice weekend. Hope you all stay cool, don't anybody melt. : ) Hahaha. Just relax and take it easy. What's our weekend plan? Staying home obviously. Resting and relaxing. Tonight the Gong Show comes on. Last night I watched the Little Women LA reunion. OMG...do those girls argue or what?!! They fight like crazy!  So I better end this soon. So I can get ready for Noah to be home. Bran has been home since this afternoon. He's showered and in his comfy clothes relaxing now. I have the chicken chopped, veggies chopped for the stir fry. The rice maker is set. And the ice-cream is in the freezer and the cake is about to beep any minute. Cake and icecream is such a great way to start the weekend. As soon as supper is finished. Anyway, I just wanted to say hi. And catch up a bit. 

Homemade from scratch pizza and family movie night fun...

Has everyone been enjoying their Spring break so far? As for us, most definitely! : ) Yesterday morning right after breakfast was done. Branden and I made our family recipe... for our homemade from scratch pizza dough and we let it rest in the kitchen all day! Meanwhile Noah was finishing his Spring break homework, he finished it all up yesterday morning 100% and then he and little K and 2 other friends went to play tennis at the tennis courts right up the street inside our housing community. So a restful day for us all. Branden and I also walked 2 laps around our housing community, so we did see Noah and his friends playing tennis as we walked past them and we all waved. : )

In the evening, I rolled out the pizzas quickly and Noah put the mozzarella cheese we buy at Costco on there and he added the pepperoni and mushrooms to my small pizza. You can tell how crispy this crust is! I only had 1 slice of pizza and I also had a side salad. We will all have pizza for lunch today. Since there is enough for that. The Maze Runner has been on heavy rotation on my American cable lately and my kids *love* the Maze Runner! So we saw on the cable TV guide channel, while the pizza was baking in the oven that it was about to start. So we usually pick something good to watch on cable since there is *always* so many good TV shows and movies on. But the kids picked to watch The Maze Runner, so as soon as the pizza beeped, I quickly sliced up the pizzas and I brought everyone a plate with pizza slices on them and we ate in the living room, we usually eat in the dining room. But...we just all snuggled up on the couch and enjoy our homemade pizza from scratch and watched the Maze Runner, we caught it right as it started. I did buy ice creams for everyone to enjoy too, except me. I didn't get one, which is totally fine. But yeah...we enjoyed the movie a lot. We all enjoyed the pizza a lot too. : ) The 3rd installment of the Maze Runner is coming out this coming year right? I think so...

Anyway that's about it you guys. We just chilled here at home yesterday. It has been bitterly cold. No rain yesterday. But it is raining here today.

OMG...did anyone see the trailer for the IT (Stephan King) remake. The original movie with John-Boy (Richard Thomas) and John Ritter, was aired on TV in a mini series. This one is going to be an actual real movie at a movie theater. Anyone remember that miniseries on TV with Tim Curry as Pennywise the clown, wow was he fantastic in that... he scared the h*ll out of me as IT! Anyway this one is coming out in America in September 2017. And I saw the trailer yesterday on YouTube. And OMG... it looks so freaking scary! I thought the original was hardcore scary. But this one....looks just as scary, if not more so...I mean it legit... looks like it will give you nightmares for life...type scary! If you liked the original miniseries IT. Definitely go check out the trailer for this new one coming out in September. @_@ 

Bits from our weekend. And all about Branden receiving his "principal's recommendation letter" from his JHS for high school...

 Did everyone have a nice weekend? We had an amazing weekend here! On Friday evening, as you know, we went to the movies to see Rogue One. On Saturday, we had a family movie night here at home. And I made these 2 pizzas from scratch! We also had salads, really amazing salads with The Olive Garden salad dressing. And we had sodas with ice with dinner.

I forget the night we had karaage. But as you can see, ginger infused really well marinated karaage, this is flat out amazing, crispy on the outside and so juicy inside. Rice, macaroni salad and also broccoli too. 

We always have a nice leisurely breakfast over the weekend. 1 day it's pancakes or french toast and the other day is always eggs and bacon. Cheesy scrambled eggs too. Very yum.: )

Amazing cornbread fresh and hot right out of the oven and buttered nicely on top. Went nicely with the chili last night.

Chili beans. There were many toppings to add. If you wanted lean ground beef to add we had it. We had sour cream, diced onions. This was so good and what is currently in their thermos at school today. The boys each took a thermos full of chili beans. A quesadilla each and 1 and a half mikans each... that I peeled and put into a  plastic container. Their soup thermoses stay boiling hot for like 15 hours straight, so they're as hot as the second I pack them. Japanese technology at it's finest! : ) 

Yesterday was a Star Wars marathon on my American cable. It showed them in order and me and the kids actually watched them all yesterday. It was awesome! But also...this week. Was it Wednesday? I forget the day. But on the ID channel (Investigative Discovery channel.) That has nothing but crime shows 24/7, I love this channel. 

Anyway the ID channel has been showing something called, People Magazine Investigates. Cases that were huge in the headlines years ago. People Magazine has been going back and making updates or delving further into the case. I have seen all of these so far. But the one last week. Was a case I remembered immediately. I am sure you do too. : (

It was called, "Mystery in Texas. In The Name of Love"

Recognize her? Does the name Diane Zamora ring a bell? 

The two lovebirds. 

His name was/is David Graham.

This case was all over the news. It was big time.. in the news at the time. They were high school sweethearts. In love. She had given her virginity to him, yeah that was a little tmi for me hearing that too last week. And he later told his girlfriend Diane. That he had cheated on her with a girl in his cross country team. Diane was so upset and angry that she told David. To make their love pure again. @_@ They would have to get the girl he slept with and murder her! And he agreed. And so...they did just that. Diane bashed her in the head. She tried to run but because she was bashed in the head and badly injured. David caught her and shot her in the head twice! 2 gun shots to the head. This was huge news all over the USA, why? Because it actually horrified us all. #1, Diane should have broke up with David. Yes sure...she would have been sad. But...life would have went on. And over time... she would have healed and moved on. Or David should have broke up with her after hearing her murderous request!!! The other things that shocked everyone was that...these weren't just... loser kids or bad kids! They were brilliant smart kids, good kids. 3 kids who would have had amazing careers and lives. David and Diane were both going to have military careers. One was in the air force. They were both cadets. One was in Colorado and one was in another state. So they were intelligent kids. Kids who would have had fantastic careers. And good lives. And they could have been contributing people of this earth. However Diane's jealousy got the better of her. And she would not rest until the other girl was lying dead in a morgue. To me that is so sad. I feel saddest for the actual victim. But, I also feel sad for all 3 too. Why? Because, it's obvious...they ruined their own lives! They had a choice not to kill her. Yet they still went through with it. And for what...teenage puppy love?  

This is Diane Zamora now. Sorry but... prison has clearly not been kind to her. I was a tad surprised when I first saw her. I was like...is that REALLY her? @_@ She didn't look anything like she did in her pictures when she was younger. Anyways...I was interested to hear what she had to say in 2016! Was she sorry? Was she remorseful? I guess what I'm saying is.... that I was hoping to hear. "I'm so sorry, every day of my life, I regret what I did. I regret what we did. And every day I think of Adrienne and am so sorry." However...that was not the case at all. She didn't really seem sorry at all. That was the most shocking to me. She said..."I'm sorry for Adrienne however SHE shouldn't have made me mad!!!"...yep that's basically what her thoughts on the matter are as of 2016. And honestly I was really disappointed. Because she doesn't seem remorseful or sorry about it at all. Not really. How sad.

And the actual real victim in all this. Granted should she have slept with another chick's man? Guy? No she should not have done that. However...did she deserve death for it? Absolutely NOT. Her parents never get to hear her voice again. She will never have a wedding day. Never have children. Never get to live up to her full potential. She will never be able to spend another birthday or Christmas with her family. Everybody lost in this! Adrienne lost the most. At least David and Diane's family get to visit them in prison. Or receive letters. Adrienne's family doesn't get to visit with her. The whole thing is just sad. So sad. And what's saddest? Was there was no real remorse...or I'm so sorry. I regret doing what we did. Nothing like that. : (

Anyway so now for some good news. Branden received a principal recommendation. If you live in Japan and have a 9th grader. And your 9th grader will be going to high school in Japan. Your wish and hope is to get a principal recommendation. To get a principal recommendation is like amazing and it's *the* goal. How do you get one? You have to have very good grades. Amazing grades. Outstanding grades. JHS in Japan goes like this... you need points. The highest score you can get for example in English is a 5. And same for math, it's 5 points. And all other subjects. The highest you can get is 25 points for all 5 subjects combined for Chiba prefecture. And then it depends on the school you wish to go to too. Some schools will not even allow you to get a principal recommendation unless you have 20 points, some schools want more. And in many cases if you you have a special skill that will help. Now knowing this. This explains why kids in JHS study their brains out. Because they want their points to stay high. We have really teeter tottered about...should Bran go to high school in the Unites States. Which means I will live with the kids in the US for a few years. Which would be hard being apart. But...we'd do it for our kids. Then we found a few high schools that have strong English departments and programs, Bran  will do university in the United States though 100%. This high school though...they require you to have extremely high English skills. And we have since checked this particular high school out 3 times. Bluntly speaking. My kids are native speakers and they want Branden. There are many native teachers there. The main native teacher actually asked us...if we are returnees (clearly I'm western but he thought we were living in my home country beforehand) because of our kids English abilities. Which was nice/kind to hear. But no...we have lived in Japan their whole school lives. He could not believe my kids have never studied in America and this was coming from a white/western man who has been a high school teacher here for ages and has seen the English skill of returnees vs, hafu, vs never lived over seas at all. And he has a kid Noah's age. So that says a lot, that he assumed my kids were schooled in America. Then.... the actual head teacher and high school principal who is Japanese...the final time we were there... could not believe Branden's Eiken 1. He had *never* seen that before...never ever seen that before...from a 9th grader... that he actually in front of all the other kids and parents and teachers...told everyone and actually asked if he could go make a Xerox copy of it. Yes it was a bit embarrassing that he went on and on and on about his passing the entire Eiken.... regarding Bran... in front of everyone...but understandable too. To have that in your hand is a bit unusual. He was that flat out shocked. So special skill has been proven. And grades are on point. So...our JHS head teacher for the 9th grade and our actual principal went to Branden's future high school and they had a meeting last Friday. Our JHS 2 heads and the high school heads met up at the high school.... and when 2 schools agreed, which they agreed. And they love his grades and agree he has a special skill. So the high school gave the JHS the go ahead to...give Branden his principal recommendation. And so that is why we were in the best mood going to the movies on Friday. Branden's actual teacher phoned our house during dinner. Friday evening saying..."you got it kid!" She spoke to Noboru first. Then spoke to Branden, then spoke to Noboru again. We were quiet while on the phone but we were high five-ing each other in the kitchen. Noah and I were doing a jig! Then Noboru and when Bran got off the phone he passed it back to his dad and Bran Noah and I were dancing in the kitchen. Like Whoop whoop! LOL. Just super happy ya'll.  : ) So anyways...that's that....Branden has 1 final test to take...his entrance exam for high school and he has been studying his brains out. If he gets into this school, which everybody basically thinks it's in the bag. He's going to be having a blast. He will be in the English department. Their school trip in 10th grade is some place English speaking, I know where... but I can't say, I'm sorry guys. And their 11th grade trip is to America. He's basically going to have a blast and best years of his school life. With lots of like minded people just like him. There are many hafu and foreign nationals going to this high school and also returnees (Japanese who lived overseas). I am so happy for my son, you guys. His high school life will be a blast! This school is a good school. It looks like all the hard work of JHS was worth it for Branden.  So anyway, very happy news for Bran. And he's so...almost done with JHS! I love you kid and am so proud of you Branden! : )

Recent good eats! Taquito night at our house. And homemade from scratch pizza. Plus what's on our weekly menu for this week...

Happy Tuesday you guys! If you are in the USA are you enjoying the Twilight Zone marathon on TV? It airs every New year's and every American Independence Day. And although, I was out all day today in Inzai bouncing between Joyful Honda and Costco and back home. I have been enjoying the Twilight Zone marathon since coming home, unpacking my weekly groceries and getting dinner started. As you could guess from my latest pics from Costco, I did buy a rotisserie chicken and I did say that it would be for taquito night. And sure enough, I made chicken taquitos, a side of rice and beans. We 4 enjoyed them a lot. I try to make taquitos once a month, because everybody at our house loves them. 

I find 1 rotisserie chicken plenty for a family of 4 to make taquitos PLUS, there is a tad leftover roasted chicken after wards and so, since I had leftover corn tortillas too (bought from Kaldi if you're in Japan) I just fixed myself lunch the next day too. So it made 4 dinners plus my 1 lunch the next day, pictured here. So 1 rotisserie chicken sure gets a lot of usage. Budget friendly if you can get 4 dinners plus 1 lunch from it. : ) 

Just random pics of the buns one of the nights when we were having cheeseburger night at home. Slightly buttered bun. Like how they do at restaurants. : )  I tell ya...If I'm goign to make burgers...we're going to take a stroll through FLAVOR TOWN first. Even the bun better be flavorful. : )

Give it a nice little toasting. Trust me, just doing that 1 little extra step, makes your burgers or chicken sandwiches so good. I just started doing this to our burgers/chicken sandwiches about 2 months ago and we're all hooked here doing that. : ) 

Last Friday night was of course homemade from scratch pizza night at our house plus a family movie with some popped on the stove popcorn and some treats. I make my dough in the mornings as soon as I send the boys to school. I make it all by hand. It's an old family recipe. You could also tell by the jars of jalapenos we bought from Costco, we would be adding those as well. We had mushrooms, bellpeppers, onions jalapenos, pepperoni and real 100% mozzarella cheese! My dough had been resting all day long. I waited for the boys to get home. As soon as they were home, I quickly rolled out the crust. Heated the oven to 450 F. Because we want that crust crispy and light.   

Dinner from last Friday night. We had 1 large pepperoni pizza and 1 small slightly thicker crust pizza. But as you could see by this pic, my crusts are most definitely on point, it even looks crispy in these pictures. Now that's a good looking pizza. : ) We closed all the blinds, we filled us all some sodas with ice and we enjoyed the end of the week with homemade from scratch pizza. 

We also finished up the last of our salad. We had salad and pizza, sodas. Sent the kids upstairs to get showered and situated while I put the dishes in the dishwasher and hand washed the pizza pans and then popped up the popcorn real quick. And we got ready for movie night.

Do you ever freeze food for your family? For example, when you make homemade lasagna...do you instead make 2 and freeze one and bake one. That sort of thing? The Pioneer Woman from the cooking channel got me hooked doing this since this January. I make a couple different meals for my freezer about twice a month. One night, that we had Mexican food for dinner. I had leftover beans. I knew we had no plan to use them the next day. And I'm certainly not going to throw them out. So, I re-purposed them instead. I made beans and cheese burritos and froze them. Creamy homemade from scratch beans, tons of shredded cheese and some blended salsa in there and I wrapped them up and wrapped in plastic wrap, that way the burritos wouldn't stick to one another in the freezer bag. 

I made 2 without salsa which is why you see 2 that say w/o. And 2 with. 

I dated them. I always date stuff I freeze. Branden spotted them first. And then told Noah. They did not even last a week. @_@  I have 6 frozen burritos in my freezer right now, I froze them over the weekend. @_@ Hahaha. : ) Oh and for what it's worth, in Japan guess how much Costco Japan sells 6 frozen bean and cheese burritos? Like 2000- 2500 yen...for 6. Which is so shocking to me. Next time I'm at Costco, I'll snap a pic. With a 99cent pack of beans, I can probably get 20 burritos from that. I totally understand folks buying them, if they don't know how to make their own though. That's understandable. : ) 

Since the weather has been warm I have been buying these pineapple popsicles. These taste so good, you know we buy these every single summer and that's only because these are so good. There is only 1 store near me that sells them. They have been selling these for 10 years and I buy them every year. I have never seen them at my closest Besia or Cainz or shops in Inzai. It's weird. I don't see these more often, but these are definitely worth buying if you should ever find them. Like fresh real pineapple. So good. : ) 

This is sort of funny. I really like the cookies called Coconut Sable. The packaging looks pretty similar to this, since they are from the same company and all that. However, about a month ago, I saw these. It said triple nuts. Same price as the others... about 99 yen. I think the picture and whole...triple the nuts got to me. I bought them for the kids. I tried one. These taste and look exactly like the Coconut Sable cookies exactly. Like...if you were blind taste tested...you would not be able to tell the difference between the coconut ones and the triple the nuts ones. LOL. So in case..you should see these. Just a heads up. Don't get all excited like I did. They look and taste no different. Hahaha. But still good though. : )

Since I just did my weekly shopping today. What's on the menu for us this week? It's not in any particular order.(1) Beef stew. (2)That chicken fettucini with broccoli dish I make. (3) American style fried chicken and mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. (4) Chili beans (Texas style chili) (5) Pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw on top. (6) Tonight's dinner is curry spaghetti for the kids and I and curry rice for Noboru. I made 1 big pot of curry and you can either have it with rice (Noboru's fave way) or with pasta (the kids favorite way) It's not 7 nights, it's 6 nights this week because 1 night we will be at one of the Disney's. Oh that's right...I also bought an 8 pack of thicker sliced pork chops. They weren't on my list... but they were at such a sale, that I jumped on those. I think maybe next week, I can do something with those. I already have a weeks worth of food, plus the pork chops can be for next week. I also bought a box of Gari Gari-kun popsicles, regular ones in the blue box. That's a 7 pack. And 4 choco mint ice-cream cups. Just something to toss in the freezer in case the weather heats up again.

Today was so cold! Maybe because yesterday was too hot though. : ) It was as hot and as humid as a sauna yesterday. Because I spent over 2 hours in the gymnasium at Noah's school yesterday making a scarecrow. The weather was hot but the scarecrow making and chit chatting with my mom friends was a blast! Noboru had fun with his fellow Father's Club dad's too and it was nice interacting with Noah and the other kids in our team (scarecrow making team that is). All of the kids and us parents were near dying of heat stroke or melting, LOL. Despite the weather we all had a blast! : ) But today is so cold in comparison to yesterday. Yesterday was like high 80's F and today is like 69-70 F. Like two totally polar opposite days...weather-wise. : ) 

Good Food. With lots of pics...

Do you like to cook? Some people really love cooking, where as some people not so much. Meanwhile some people are really good at sewing and that's their passion. Some people love to bake. Some people's passions are gardening. And while many of us are good at quite a few things and have a wide range of interests. We usually have 1 thing that is really our "favorite" of the bunch. : ) I'm not crafty and don't want to be. I don't sew (unless you count sewing name labels on my kids things that are necessary/required at school) I don't crochet. And I'm not frankly interested in sewing or crochet at all. Like if the subject were brought up, I'd be bored out of my skull. And that's okay. If we were all the exact same on this earth...it would make for a very boring earth. hahaha. : ) I however really enjoy cooking. I find cooking relaxing and fun. I like it a lot. And hey, that's okay, that's my thing.  And yes I do have other interests too. Like my treadmill, travel, my kids, my family, going to the movies, good TV, organizing my home, cosmetics and skincare, hanging at the beach in summer or wave pools. etc etc. And yes, I have friends who love sewing and crochet and I admire their skills, but it's not something I'm into at all and never will be. Where as many of my friends like cooking and some really dabble in cooking, I do have 1 friend, we've been friends since high school and she hates cooking. She dreads it. And that's okay too. : ) I love cooking all sorts of different types of cuisine. Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Tex-Mex, BBQ, Japanese. American. The list goes on. I love perfecting a dish until I know it's absolutely perfect (for me). Flavor is right on. And I enjoy all the tries/attempts it took to get there. I also love watching my love ones... enjoy the food I made for them. Watching them take their first bite. Watching them chow down and asking for seconds. That to me is like...a mom version of a touch down TRULY! I love that feeling. Probably dorkiest thing I have ever said. But that's okay. : ) Anyways, what have I made for my family lately? Here's some pics. Homemade from scratch refried beans. Boiled a pot of beans all morning. And right before I went to get Noah from school, I refried them real quick and covered them. Turned the stove off and came back in 7 minutes. And finished up the last minutes of supper that night.    

We had taquitos (crunchy rolled corn tortillas with rotisserie chicken breast from Costco, this is so flavorful it's perfect wrapped inside. Topped with sour cream, lettuce and cheese with a side of homemade beans and rice. Bran and Noboru eats 3 taquitos plus side dishes. But Noah and also my limit is usually 2 taquitos each. A very filling dinner.

Fresh fruit is booming and plentiful this season. We have been eating bunches and bunches of grapes every week. Fresh watermelon and fresh cantaloupe weekly too. For breakfast, lunches and dinners. We just honestly add fruit for every meal. My area of Japan has tons of fruit and melons especially cantaloupe and watermelons are super cheap... since I live right at the edge of Chiba and Ibaraki. And Ibaraki melons are well known for being delicious sweet and plentiful. For where we live they are super cheap. : ) 

Another night, I made cheesy gratin potatoes baked in the oven of course. These are always a hit around here. And I made fried chicken and we had steamed veggie and we also had salad as well.

I bought and snapped this pic... during Golden Week. But, my breakfasts are the same exactly....day in and day out. I have yogurt 5 days a week. That's just my morning thing. And I have toasted croissant with peanut butter and a sliced banana on top. Besia sells a croissant 4 pack for 98 yen or 99 yen. That 4 pack lasts me 4 days. And usually on my 5th day I'll have a slice of bakery bread toasted with peanut butter and banana. But yep, my breakfasts are cheap and healthy. I like knowing exactly how many calories are in my weekday breakfasts. Weekends are for nice leisurely indulgent breakfasts but weekday breakfasts are fast and basic. : ) This flavor of Greek yogurt is coconut and pineapple, it's really good, tastes very tropical. : )

Homemade pizza night happened one Friday.

The dough is resting for the day. : )

Baked in a 450F degree oven... the crust is so crisp and delicious. Yummers. : ) 

We had salad and pizza for dinner that night. Before we kicked off a family movie night at home.

Homemade chicken and cheese enchiladas. Right about to go into the oven. I make them in the day right after lunch. Make the Spanish rice in the day too (right after lunch) and leave covered on the stove. And the enchiladas I wrap in tin foil and place in the fridge. As soon as the kids get home. I whack this into the oven for 30 minutes. Since the kids have homework to do right when they get home and Bran showers usually right after he gets home. By the time they get done with all that. Dinners totally done. 

Fresh out of the oven that night.

Ready to top with some sour cream and chopped up lettuce.

This, I showed already. I had this pot roast in the oven slow cooking all day so it would be "fall apart" tender. Made a huge amount of mashed potatoes. made gravy and green beans. Branden loves pot roast, so I knew this would be the perfect...welcome home...after coming back from Kyoto. : ) 

Branden had seconds, Noah had a second serving. Noboru had 3 servings. These guys love pot roast. : ) We had just enough for about 4 sandwiches the next day. : )

This was such a killer sandwich. In fact I should make pot roast next week, just so we can all enjoy some sandwiches the next day. : ) 

Chicken parmesan happened too. And love how leftover hot dog buns become the perfect garlic breadsticks. So soft and perfect for garlic bread. If you're in Japan, you may want to try that. : )

This homemade pasta from Costco, I was showing the package to you in this pic.

This right here reminds me... of my family Sunday dinners growing up. Reminds me of Christmas time too... granted we never had chicken parmesan for Christmas dinner that was more a regular night... type of dinner. But my aunties and my mom always made homemade manicotti for Christmas. Christmas dinner to me... equals homemade from scratch Italian dinner.  So yeah this pasta....I am so glad we can get this pasta at Costco in Japan. This meal is so filling. I usually make this on a Friday or Saturday. In fact I am making this very meal... this Saturday. Noah usually on Saturday's is riding bikes or his RipStik outside with his friends. And by 4pm you can surely smell the many breaded... chicken parmesan baking in our oven on top of some sauce. You can smell it from outside. All the kids from our neighborhood know...delicious yummy food smells, dinner smells or cookies or brownies...just something is always baking or cooking at our house. By the time Noah gets in by 4:30-5pm at the latest, he is so ready to eat. : )

This night. American style fried pork chops, butter fettucini noodles, broccoli and we had salad too. Again, I like my kids to come home. They come home from school always... absolutely famished/starved. Even though I pack them a very filling lunch daily. And to see them tuck right into a nice big meal like this right away. Just makes me so happy. And we had fresh sliced and cubed watermelon for dessert this night.

A nice hearty beef stew. I had defrosted it in the fridge the night before. That morning, I diced up the beef in cubes and skillet fried and then boiled that beef for the entire day, while cleaning my house. Around 2pm-ish after the beef was indeed fall apart tender. I added the mushrooms and onions and potatoes and boiled for an extra 45 minutes. I then turned off the pot and added the roux. And at 3pm, it was ready, but Noah didn't get out of school until 3:45pm. The rice had beeped it was ready. And I went and picked up Noah from school. Bran has been riding his bike nearly every single day since starting the 9th grade. So he now rides his bike home. As soon as both kids were home and hubby was home, I very quickly reheated up the stew it took barely 5 minutes and during those 5 minutes I added a generous handful of frozen green beans to the top of the stew. Plated up everyone some hearty beef stew. We had another big dish of fresh seedless grapes in the center of the table for after stew...so everyone could munch on after our dinner. It was a darn good dinner that night. : ) 

Chopping up some peanut butter cups. You know what that means. : )

Peanut butter icecream happened one weekend. So super good and what a fun way to celebrate the weekend being here! With some peanut butter cup icecream.

Fresh corn on the cob is also so plentiful right now. Every night that we need a separate veggie...for example...when we have like fried porkchop, pulled pork or karaage or grilled chiken we have fresh corn as our veggie now. Because it's just in season right now and will be... all summer long. Again for our area of Japan we live in, fresh corn is super cheap too and the quality is so good, the corn is almost sweet.  Hard to explain but it's SO good. Pictured here were 4 ears of corn. I was peeling/shucking 1... when I remembered to take a pic. 

Also we also go through quite a bit of frozen veggies too. This pictured here...this amount.. will just last 1 full week. Why? Because we frankly eat lots of veggies. Skillet fried potatoes with corn niblets are so good. Ever had them? Yum. : ) Zucchini and corn niblets skillet fried in a dab of butter (calavacitas) ever had these? These are also so good and if you have a fresh chili to add to your zucchini and corn dish all the better. For weekend lunches or whatnot we go through tons of veggies around our house. : ) Always something cooking around here. : )  Anyway that's what's been cooking here at our house lately. : )