Disclosure: I was invited to a dinner to try the Chef Creation with Las Palmas Sauces, however all opinions expressed are my own.

I was invited to Frida Mexican Cuisine to try some of the traditional Mexican recipes using Las Palmas Red Chile sauce. It was a night not only full of delicious food, desserts and drinks, but also learning some secrets to make Mexican food at home, in an easy way.

Chef Vicente Del Rio prepared for us some great dishes and I even got the recipes and I am going to share those with you. 

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 6 cup of cactus paddles, cleaned, stripped of spines and finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 3 garlic cloves
• ½ tsp. of baking soda
• 6 jalapeños (or serranos), stemmed
• 1 (28oz.) can of LAS PALMAS® Red Chile Sauce    
• 3 tbsp. of vegetable oil
• ½ cup of cilantro, finely chopped
• ½ tbsp. of salt

Directions

1. Place chopped cactus paddles, onion, garlic and baking soda in a medium sauce pan, cover with water and cook over medium heat until tender (about 10 to 15 minutes). Drain, remove onion and garlic; set aside.
2. In a small sauce pan, cook jalapeños for about 5 minutes.
3. Puree cooked jalapeños or peppers with Red Chile Sauce; set aside.
4. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook pureed chile sauce for about 5 minutes.
5. Add chopped cactus paddles and cook over medium heat for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat, stir in cilantro and salt

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

• ¼ cup of vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp. of salt
• ½ tsp. of ground pepper
• 1 (28 oz.) can of LAS PALMAS® Red Chile Sauce   
• 2 tbsp. of butter
• 3 lbs. U16-20 black tiger shrimp
• ¾ cup of parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Heat oil in large sauce pan over medium high heat; add onion and garlic and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes.
3. Add bay leaves, salt, pepper and Red Chile Sauce; cover and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes.
4. n another skillet, melt butter and lightly sauté the shrimp, stirring constantly, no more than 2 minutes.
5. Add shrimp to the sauce; simmer over low heat for 3 minutes until shrimp are just pink.
6. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 pork loin, about 3 lbs. 
• ¼ cup of olive oil 
• 1 tsp. of salt
• ¼ tsp. of freshly ground pepper 
• ½ tsp. of dried oregano
• 2 tbsp. of all purpose (plain) flour
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 3 cups of white wine
• cups of chicken stock
• 2 cans (10oz.) LAS PALMAS® Red Chile Sauce

Directions

1. Remove as much fat from the pork as possible. Rub with the oil, salt, pepper and oregano.
2. Sprinkle the entire surface of the meat with the flour, pressing with your hands to make it stick.
3. Place the sliced onion on top of the pork, cover and refrigerate overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 400F.
5. Place the pork loin in a baking pan and roast, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes or until the surface is lightly browned. Add the stock and wine mixture, cover the pan and lower the oven to 325F. Roast for 1.1/2 – 2 hours or until the meat is tender.
6. Transfer the port to a platter. Strain the pan juices onto a heatproof bowl. Rinse out the pan 1/4 cup of water and strain into the bowl.
7. In a saucepan heat a tablespoon of olive oil and add the 2 cans of Red Chile Sauce. Add the pan juices and cook for 5 minutes. As soon as the mixture begins to simmer, remove from the heat. Correct the seasonings.
8. Before serving, slice the pork loin and cover with the sauce. 

Frida has several locations in Los Angeles. I had never been at the restaurant and now I am sure my family and I will be visiting soon again. The service was great, the music and environment were relaxing and inviting and of course the food and drinks were awesome.

Frida Mexican Cuisine (Westwood)
10853 Lindbrook Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Lunch (daily until 4 p.m.) and Dinner (nightly):
Sunday 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Monday - Thursday 11:00 a.m to 10:00 p.m.

Disclosure: I was provided with a free T-Shirt sample to facilitate this review however all opinions expressed are my own.

When I go to the store I see shirts with funny sayings. I am always looking for that shirt that identifies me. It is not always easy. They might be funny but not on the color I like or they might not be available in on my size. There is also times when to participate in a 5K I want to form a team and have a theme and getting the t-shirts is really hard. 

So, when I heard about Allied Shirts I was really impressed. They carry a great variety of colors and sizes of t-shirts and sweatshirts. Ordering is really easy.The site is very user friendly. Shipping is free and fast (around one week to receive my product).

The quality of the t-shirt is good and they printing of the design is good quality. The customer service is great. I uploaded by mistake a low quality image and customer service contacted me to request an approval or to change the graph. I am glad they did just not send the original order and they contacted me to be sure I was going to like my product.

And the result is a great personalized shirt that is just me: pink and fun! I am gathering ideas for my future shirts, I might just get coordinating sweatshirts for a future family vacation....

Presented by Mami Innovative Media, this is a sponsored post on behalf of Sears and Kmart. All opinions expressed here are my own

The end of the year is a busy time at work. It is a busy time at school for my son (musicals and performances) and it is a busy time for parties and even friend’s birthdays.

I really prefer buying things online, because I can do it from the comfort of my warm bed and I avoid the large lines to pay. So when I heard that Sears and Kmart have free in store pick up I was really excited. Not only I can pick up the items at the store (saving the cost of shipping) but I also can earn points with my rewards card.

Both Sears and Kmart offer $10 back in points if I spend at least $59 and I can opt for free in store pick up. Now that is good news. I can get some money back for future purchases.

The store pick up service is also great for those last minute gift purchases. You can pick up your item in store in 5 minutes so you will still make it on time for your party.

With the savings on money and time I can now say that this year our holidays will be “merrier” and I know I am going to have time for that trip to the spa!

This event will be running from Saturday 12/7/13 at 6 p.m CT through Tuesday 12/10/13 at 9 a.m CT Online. You can also enjoy of the one day In-Store event which is Sunday 12/8/13.

For more information visit Sears and Kmart

There is not really a healthy way to have eggnog, but this recipe seems to be healthier. Hope you like it.

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 6 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 can skimmed low fat condensed milk
• 3 cups organic milk (or raw milk if you use it)
• Cinnamon 

Preparation
Separate the eggs and beat the yolks with the sugar. Stir in vanilla, milk and condensed milk. Beat the egg whites and add them to the milk mixture. Mix well. Chill overnight. Serve on glass and sprinkle with cinnamon.

For an alcoholic option you can add Rum or Baileys. Enjoy.

Makes 6 servings

Disclosure: I was provided with a complimentary manicure. All opinions are my own 

Last night I had the opportunity to get out of the house and have a Girls Night out with some of the wonderful ladies from SoCal Lady Bloggers, and let me tell you not only I needed the time out with girlfriends but I was also in need of a good manicure.

We visited the Nail Garden salon in Valencia, CA and we got to try the delicious cupcakes from Velvet Cupcakes, so it was a true treat for all of us.

Nail Garden opened their first salon five years ago, and since then they have grown so much that they have already 5 locations in SoCal and they will be opening at least 3 more in the beginning of 2014. 

I had never been at any of their locations but I have heard wonders from other friends and now I understand why. Their service is great. You are greeter as soon as you walk in and they offer you water, coffee and even hot chocolate (from their fancy machine). The salon is clean and very organized.

The technicians are well trained and they have a great variety of services (gels, white tips, acrylics and more) and they have a great selections of colors to choose from

You can choose from different types of manicures, but even the basic service includes a very relaxing hand massage and the results are great. I loved how sweet and nice Stephanie my technician was. She did an amazing job!

As for our GNO organized by the SoCal Laddy Bloggers group, well it was as usual great. We had some very yummy cupcakes, hot chocolate with Baileys and we got to laugh a little bit.

Now, I am sure now you want to visit one of their salons. And the good news is that from now until December 18th, they have a Toy Drive and if you donate an new, unwrapped toy you can get 15% off of any service (at any of their locations.

And also now until the end of 2013 if you mention SoCal Lady Bloggers you can have a 15% off (Offers cannot be combined).

Now you can have cute nails for all your upcoming parties. Book your appointment and do not forget to get a toy!