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#FrannyCooks : Shepherd’s Pie with U.S. Dehyrated Potatoes (the easy way!)

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It’s been a week after the long holiday season and after all the fun, the anticipation, the gift-giving, merry-making and non-stop eating, I bet we all have one big dilemma, we got lots of leftovers in the fridge! To be honest, I really do not like seeing our fridge packed with tiny plastic containers which are filled with all sorts of food items -- that last piece of corndog, half a bowl of pasta, a few more slices of cake and chopped veggies and pang-gisa that were excess from our holiday cooking, all these and more. This is why I also find it exciting to clear out our fridge by coming up with dishes that can be created using our holiday leftovers.    Scanning around, I spotted a pack of ground beef that was an excess purchase from what was supposed to be our Christmas spaghetti. I also saw some leftover peas, carrots and onions stored in tiny round containers which are taking up unnecessary fridge space. Seeing all these ingredients, I immediately thought of one particular dish and
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Franny Mommy Travels : Family Trip to Pico de Loro, Batangas

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Finally, after so long I'm back blogging and I'm ready to share our latest travel adventure with all of you!  You all know how much Paul and I love to travel and it's been a bummer that we've been stuck at home for the past year and a half due to the pandemic so when restrictions finally eased up a bit, we thought long and hard and just decided to go with our gut feel as we took the #AngTwins on their first ever birthday beach trip.  Our destination: Pico de Loro  in Nasugbu, Batangas.  We've been there before, 9 years ago to be exact , but back then, we went without kids and so my perspective and point of view then were totally different. This time, I'm wearing my mommy hat and I'll share with you our experience traveling with toddlers during a pandemic . The first step was choosing our destination. It was quite a challenge to convince Paul as he was very cautious and slightly paranoid (can't blame him) about the virus. More so, when I brought up the i
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Cakes by Louise : The Best Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake in town?

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Whenever I get to look back at my childhood, I can't help but feel that life was wayyy simpler back then. No cellphones, no internet, no cable TV.. sometimes I do wonder how we managed to survive but we did! We learned to play with our siblings, our neighbors, we find fun in reading the comic strips in the newspaper, we became creative and somewhat entrepreneurial at a young age, we had lots of fun.  Food was also more or on the simpler side back then. It need not to be Instagrammable but it's one that's legit delicious and truly comforting. Take cakes for example, I remember growing up enjoying the kind of chocolate cake that has a nice spongey chiffon texture, the frosting with just the right amount of sweetness and with that creamy caramel center to seal the deal. Nothing fancy, not even with those gold foils or molten centers. Don't get me wrong, innovation is always good and I'm so happy that we have a wider range of choices today but it still sure feels good t
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5 Must-try Dining Spots in Metro Cebu

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Lately, I've been busy doing some spring cleaning on my laptop. Since I have to transfer my files from my old laptop to our new one, I realize that I have to free up some space on our external hard drive too. As I was going through my old files, I landed on this folder that's filled with photos from our travels long before our twins came along. Suddenly, all the good memories just came rushing in.  How I miss those days when Paul and I would go on a road trip or fly out for a weekend break to our chosen domestic location. Living in a country with more than 7,107 islands, this means that you have a lot of places to visit and to choose from. One of my favorite spots is Cebu . The land of delicious lechon, dried mangoes and an island filled with the warmest, most hospitable people. The idea of traveling to Cebu never fails to excite me as it's an island with a good mix of city and island life. Cebu City is every bit a busy cosmopolitan center with malls, IT hubs, buildings,
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Celebrated my birthday with Party Plate Philippines

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We're officially halfway through the year! I can't believe June flew by with just one blog post. My sincere apologies! My birthday month found me so busy with work that on nights when I have the time to relax and to blog, I would opt to just binge on Netflix to clear my mind before bedtime. Anyway, please don't forget to follow me on Instagram as I would regularly post my latest food discoveries there.  Let me share with you one of the highlights of my birthday celebration. As you know, this is the 2nd year that I celebrated my birthday at home as we are still battling the COVID19 virus but one good thing that happened before my birthday was that my parents and I got our full dose of vaccines and Paul just got his first dose recently so here's to getting all of us fully vaccinated in the coming weeks. Despite having to stay home for my birthday, I got to say that this year's celebration was made extra special as I was showered with lots of love and well wishes fro
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[PR] Easy Recipes from La Germania

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Mother's Day was a month ago and in a week's time, we will be celebrating another special day -- Father's Day. As they say, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach so why not whipped up these easy dishes for the special men in your lives? It need not be fancy or complicated to make. What matters is it comes from the heart, right? Get your little ones involved too as they can help you out with the preparation:  Breakfast in Bed  There’s nothing like waking up to a delicious yet nutritious breakfast made with love. One easy yet impressive dish you can try is the classic banana pancakes. All you need is 20 minutes of prep time, and you’re good to go.  Ingredients:  ● 1 cup all-purpose flour  ● 1 tablespoon white sugar  ● 2 teaspoons baking powder  ● ¼ teaspoon salt   ● 1 egg, beaten  ● 1 cup milk  ● 2 tablespoons vegetable oil  ● 2 ripe bananas, mashed  Instructions:  1. Combine flour, white sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together egg, mil
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#FrannyBakes : DIY Mother's Day Cake from Holiday Inn & Suites Makati

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You know the age-old saying that "you can't have your cake and eat it too?"  For me, it means you can't just have it all. That's true and very realistic as life is never perfect. However, to celebrate Mother's Day, the sweet folks of  Holiday Inn & Suites Makati  has the perfect solution to counter this saying with their DIY Cake Box !  It's a special DIY box filled with all the essential ingredients to make your very own cake! One that you can also enjoy come Mother's Day (or any other day even before that if you just can't wait any longer). For only P1350, the box comes with specially packed and measured cake flour, buttercream icing, rainbow sprinkles, an 8-inch springform pan, a set of silicone baking utensils, 2 adult aprons and some freebies from Jack n Jill and Nissin. This is a great deal as the baking pan alone can be use for a really long time and it can help bring out the Baking Star in you.  I got this over the weekend an
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