Quick and easy dinner

There are times that we have friends over but I really don't want to spend time in the kitchen. this is one the things that I cook during those times. something as main dish that you I could pop it in the oven and as side dish something that I could prepare in advance and heat up if necessary. 

This time I made chicken legs, here are the ingredients to marinate the chicken and also for side dish and salad:

Chicken legs with bones or without (as you wish): based on number of people and their appetite

Onions sliced: 2 for around 8 chicken legs

Garlic sliced : 2

Clubhouse chicken spice (the one that I used called Montreal chicken seasoning): plenty to cover the chickens; If you don't have that use paprika or any other spice you want

For side dish I wanted to have a vegetables like broccoli and potatoes; you could go with something fun like mashed sweet potato or small baked potato.
Butter  for mashed potato
Since I didn't make any sauce to go with chicken, I decided to make a salad with sauce.
Cabbage : 1/4 ( the whole would make a lot of salad);shredded
Carrots : 3-4  ;shredded
Raisins: 1/2 cup
Mayonnaise sauce: 1-2 tablespoon

Chicken: In a baking dish, put sliced onions, garlic and chickens. cover them with the spices and sprinkle little EV olive oil on top, then mix them very well together ( preferably with your hand) so all the chickens are covered with onions and spices. cover the dish and leave it in the fridge for about 1-2 hour.
Potatoes:Bake the sweet potatoes in boiling water till they are completely done; mashed them with butter and little bit of salt and leave them aside.

If you are not in the mood for mashed potatoes of any kind, you could go with baked potato. wash them and leave them on the baking pan ( with their skin) and sprinkle them with salt, pepper, olive oil and dried dill (or fresh if you have), and leave aside so you could pop them in the oven with chickens.










Broccoli: boil the water in a sauce pan and put your broccoli in them; cook for 1-1.5 minutes; not more than that. resine them and put them in cold water to stop them from cooking.









So depending on when you want to have dinner, an hour before, heat up your oven to 350F and when it is ready pop your chickens in the oven (cover the pan with aluminium sheet) , they take about 40-45 minutes. and 20 minutes later put the potatoes in. When the chickens are cooked, take the aluminium cover and let the chickens' top get little crispy. Serve the chickens with vegetables and salads.
This kind of fast dinners dose not have specific recipe; you could have fun with with endless options as spices, side-dish, salads and main course.
Love,
Mania

Products I won'n repurchase series- E4: Biotherm Age Fitness Yeux Power2

I have to say I am not a big fan of Biotherm products, I tried a lot of them and each one came with disappointment and maybe if it wasn't an expensive line I was not bother that much. But when you pay about 50$ for a 15 ml eye-cream you kind of expect something more from the 20$ ones. I got this eye-cream few months ago but started to use it around January since I had other stuff to finish. 

On Biotherm website there is a little description for it :

"Age Fitness Yeux Power 2 with pure olive leaf concentrate + pure olive extracts.

Specifically developed to target the first signs of aging around the eyes, the area of the face where they appear the earliest. 

Immediately smoothes the skin and helps relieve signs of fatigue. Day after day, fine lines are visibly reduced and your complexion regains its sparkle."

First of all the product suppose to be moisturizing, which is not that much and I personally used it more often since I did not felt its moisture effect ( so I ran out of it so fast). But sometimes it is not necessary to put more, just one pump would be enough but because it dose not feel good, I put more and that would be waste of products; and this is quite surprising for me because they claim to have olive extracts ( it seems to me it is tiny bit there)

My 2nd complain is about their claim "fine lines are visibly reduced ". I am at my late 20s and I certainly have "fine" lines under my eyes and I did not see any change on them due to use of this cream. 

So to express my opinion in a more condense way: beautifully packed, very expensive and very ineffective. anyone could get easily something else in much better price and get better results. 

Wish you all a very nice weekend :)

Love,

Mania

Painted veil

Last weekend we watched "The Painted Veil" movie with our friends. the movie is plotted around 1920s (I think); and it is story of two person who have absolutely nothing in common. Walter ( played by Edward Norton)  who is a smart, shy and rather unsocial person falls in love with Kitty ( Naomi Watts) who is a social girl, loves going out, playing piano and basically loves being the center of attention.  even they have nothing in common they got married ( for reasons you 'll find out if you watch the movie) and because of Walter's work they move to China and then things happens ( which I can not tell you if you want to watch) and they move to the cholera struck region where Walter is busy with his works and Kitty only have one English speaker neighbor ( which is very hard for someone like her).

This movie is absolutely beautiful. it shows how the couple begins to see each other for what they really are and the coldness between them replaced by love after their marriage. It is a progression story of both of them toward a point that they meet each other. it shows that people are complex and they hurt one another but what is important is the healing after. 

The place and the surroundings in this movie is amazing and also the acting. it really transfers you to that time. It is romantic movie but not those cheesy ones so probably if you are into romantic movies you will enjoy it regardless of your gender preferences. It made me cry ( and I have to tell you I cry in sad moments as well as happy ones; so you never know) 

Have you seen this movie or any other non-cheesy romantic movies lately ?!

Love,

Mania

Recent Book read: American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

I finally finished this book, oh it seems like forever. it was about 580 pages of fine prints, and I liked it :) 
On the fist page of the book it is written:

      "American Wife is a work of fiction loosely inspired by the life of an American first lady. Her husband, his parents, and certain prominent members of his administration are recognizable. all other characters in the novel are products of the author's imagination, as are the incidents concerning them." 

I had no idea what so ever that the book is actually inspired of a real first lady but when I started to read and the story well progressed it was very clear to me that the first lady in the book (Alice) is very close to Laura Bush. and now that I finished the book; at the end ; in conversation with author section, she claimed that the her book idea came form Laura Bush's life. 

The story starts form the childhood of Alice till around 61. for most of the book Alice is shown as an "perfect wife"; who has unquestioned loyalty to a husband with values very different from hers. at same time the book shows a mixed image of US president; quite chilling though! 
In my opinion, the fist chapters of the book were stronger, it seems that after they moved to white house the author wasn't very focused; she described  the characters and emotions in more details at first three sections but not the same in the last part.  also there is too many flashbacks at last section where I really wanted the story to go forward. 

One of the most interesting points of the book was that Alice ( before meeting his husband) was free thinker and then she transfered to an obedient wife and then when they got famous to very likable first lady. there were parts in the book that Alice seems selfless to me which I did not like at all.

When I was reading the book so many questions went through my mind like: if you become a political wife and disagree with your husband's politics are you thus responsible for his actions as a leader if you believe they are morally corrupt ? Could you close your eyes to things that you think are wrong because you love your husband and don't want to ruin your marriage by discussing those points?!or could you  have married a man with such different in a first place?

It was one the most absorbing  and thought-provoking books I have read in a while. during my read I taught about the characters and kind of thinking how I would react or behave in those conditions; the fact that we shouldn't judge anyone before knowing and understanding their story was also shown beautifully in this book. 

So here is my take on my recent read which I highly recommend, have you read any interesting book recently? 

Clinique Review: Even Better makeup &Moisture sheer tint

Here is another review for 2 Clinique products. let's start with the foundation:

1-Clinique even better makeup SPF15

I got this products last spring from a Clinique counter; I asked the sales lady for something that could give me medium coverage but still light in texture so I could wear it daily even in the summer. and she recommended this product to me.so let's start with positive points:

It gives medium to full coverage and feels light; does not look greasy or cakey ( good for hot summer weather) . on the package it does not say "oil-free" but on its online description it is expressed as so.  It is reasonably priced for a non-drugstore brand product. 

Even though she tested different colors on my skin,the foundation makes my face look pink, so when i went back to the store I noticed that lighting there is quite yellow so that's why I did not notice then. during that time I was using the 3-step Clinique face routine for acne and I experienced very bad breakouts on my skin, so I stopped using the foundation. I start using it last month but my skin is fine so now the only problem I have with it is the color. It is claimed that through continuous wear  there is a noticeable difference in your skin tone; which I did not experienced. 

Would I repurchase it ? No because I think there are so many others that I would like to try. 

Would I recommend this? Yes, but be careful with the color :)

2-Clinique moisture sheer tint SPF15

This is a tinted moisturizer which is basically an oil-free cream-gel moisturizer with light beige color (perfect for summer time). I think they come in 2 colors ( very limited color range) ; the other one is more for fair skin tones. It is a very light moisturizer, so I don't think it would be good for dry skins; even if you have dry spots due to acne or anything else it emphasize them so avoid those areas. for oily skin it gives a matte finish which turns to shinny as day progress.It is just a tint so it only even outs the skin, without coverage. Still the color is not perfect for me because it has little pink undertone.

Would I repurchase it ? No because honestly I tried better tinted moisturizers.
Would I recommend this? No, unless you have perfect and oily skin with pink undertones.which I think you could get away with a nice and light moisturizer ( with SPF) and light face powder; still this is not necessary.

 

These 2 products kind of go into the "miss category" from Clinique.  Hope this was helpful :)

Love,

Mania 

Coffee Cake Muffins

Coffee-and-cake is one of my simple pleasures. I personally love to have my tea or coffee with something special ( like cake or a good biscuit or even slice of chocolate) and if there is nothing to have it with, there is no reason  for to drink a coffee or tea either. Few days ago I came across a post in MSN that gathered 9 different recipes for coffee cake ( courtesy of Martha Stewart). I am planning to make them all soon and see which I like the best. because you know I can't get enough of cakes :). Almost all the cakes here have 2 steps of making, one for the topping and one for the cake itself.

So let's start with baking the first one called "Coffee Cake Muffins". 

Ingredients:

Streusel Topping: 

Brown sugar:  1 cup

All-purpose flour : 1 cup

Salt: 1/2 teaspoon

Ground cinnamon: 1/2 teaspoon

Chilled unsalted butter ( cut in small cubes): 1/2 cup

Muffins: 

Unsalted butter : 1/2 cup

All-purpose flour : 1 3/4 cup

Baking Powder: 2 teaspoons

Baking Soda: 1 teaspoons

Sour Cream: 1 cup

Sugar : 1 cup

Vanilla extract: 1 teaspoon

Eggs: 2 large


Prepare streusel topping:
In a medium bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour, salt and cinnamon. then mix the butter ( cut to small pieces) to the rest of materials until mixture resembles large coarse crumbs;put them in fridge until ready to use. 
Prepare the muffin:
First preheat the oven to 350F. in a small bowl mix the flour, baking powder and baking soda and set aside. using an electric mixer ( on medium speed) beat together butter, sour cream, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. add the eggs one by one until well combined. then put the mixer at low and add the flour to the rest. 
I used baking sheets for muffins; if you don't want to use them , grease the pans before loading them. add half of the batter to the muffin pan, top it with a layer of streusel mixture, then put the remaining batter and top it with streusel again. 

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean. after they become ready coll them on wire rack for couple of minutes. these muffins are so moist and favorable,I really liked its texture. Hope you try them and enjoy with your tea or coffee.

Love,
Mania

Review: LUSH Cosmetic Warrior Mask

I don't know if you are familiar with Lush products or not, I know I wasn't few years ago. It is a company that makes bath and beauty products made by hand with organic, fresh ingredients like soaps, bath bombs, bubble bars, shampoo and conditioner, face products and lots more. All of its products are 100% cruelty-free, vegetarian and some vegan products. I am not vegetarian or vegan though but it is nice to use products that not have so many chemicals in them and are made of natural stuff. I am sure you all remember your mothers or grandmothers used eggs, olive oil or garlic for conditioning their hair, or honey face masks and lots of other food-i cosmetics stuff.

The name is written in French "Guerrier De La Beauté" 

I tried diffrent products from them, some I repurchased some I did not. in this post I would like to talk to you about one of my favorite products from them called "Cosmetic Warrior".

This product is a face mask; on the package is written:

"Antiseptic fresh garlic and tea tree essential oil reinforced by deep cleansing kaolin and fresh grapes, aided by softening honey and free range eggs."
Because the mask contains fresh ingredients it should be kept on the fridge and also you could keep it for 20 days starting  form the day it was made ( it is written on the back of the jar)
I used it 3 times a week, after cleansing my face, I put one layer of the mask all over my face (in a scrubbing motions), wait for about 10 minutes and then I wash my face with warm water.
Afterwards my skin feels so soft and clean, and my pores looks noticeably smaller; which is a surprise for me, I still don't know which ingredients is responsible for minimizing my pores.
This is hands down the best face mask I tried,since I started using this product I did not have any breakouts which is quite odd for my acne prone skin. I think it is because ingredients like tea tree,garlic.. are antiseptic treatments known to help keep bacteria under control. 
Just to let you know it has a pasty,grayish texture and it does not smell nice ( but for me the smell was bearable), so if you are not sure about smell, go to lush and ask for a sample of the mask.
I used 2 jars so far, so probably I will stop for a month to see how my skin looks afterwards and then I'll get another jar. If you have a lush store near by I highly recommend  to give this a try ( or get a sample).Hope this quick review was helpful.
Have you ever tried any of Lush products, what is your favorite ?
Love,
Mania