Adding Bliss

How to Eat and Drink Like a Queen For Cheap in NYC ...

Featuring Guest Blogger: Gina Volpe

Museums and Broadway shows and cultural landmarks are all right, but everyone knows the best reason to visit New York City is to binge on delicious food and drinks. Despite being poor like Charlie Bucket, I visit NYC several times a year for the sole purpose of stuffing myself full of delicious treats. I work it out on my $12/ hr hourly wage, and you can too, by adhering to these money-saving tips and tricks I invented:

Adding Bliss Quickie: Speedy Mac & Cheese

Featuring Guest Blogger: Cynthia Sues

Mac and cheese is already everyone's favorite comfort food.  This recipe can be a main course with a side of steamed veggies or served as a side dish!

3 INGREDIENT MACARONI AND CHEESE

1 pkg elbow macaroni (classic version) or: ziti, fusili,small shells
16 oz sour cream
4 cups grated cheese ( all cheddar is good but I usually use 3 cups cheddar, 1/2 cup mozzerella, 1/2 cup parmesan)
salt and pepper to taste ( garlic salt is good and I usually use white pepper)

Set oven at 350
Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.
In a large mixing bowl , stir together all ingredients.  Pour into a baking dish with a lid. Cover and cook for 1 hour.  Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes with lid on before serving.

 

• My name is Cynthia Sues.
• I live in NYC.
• I write a lifestyle blog called prettyluckygirl.blogspot.com. 
• You can find me on Fragrantica and Polyvore as Cyntillate.
• I twitter whenever I remember to. 
• My interests are many so I hope to post more blissfully on this site!

 

What My Favorite Top Secret Guilty Pleasure Food is...

What I'm about to share with you is Top Secret, well not really,  but it will change the way you snack...forever.

We're about to divide your life into two parts. The part before and after you'd eaten...

Fried Plantains with Fried Cheese!

A lot of you out there may have had the pleasure of tasting this scrumptious snack. Many of you were lucky enough to grow up eating these delightful goodies, but if you've never tasted them; get ready!

Now, I have to warn you. This is not a healthy snack. It is sweet, salty, calorie filled, diet derailing, deep fried deliciousness and is not intended for every day consumption. I would aim to make it  a once-a-month bonus snack though it's hard to restrain your self once you've tasted them. I had to admit it but after I eat a plate full of these  (yeah! I said it, a whole plate) I have to take a nap. But, it's so worth it!

I was first introduced to FP&C by my college bestie Tania, who's mom would make them for me every time I came over because she knew how much I loved them. Just the smell of them frying would be enough to draw you in!

Ok, ok, enough reminiscing. Here's recipe...

How March Madness Can Take the Crazy out of Relationships...

Featuring Guest Blogger: Jade Danielle

In the spirit of March Madness, I got to thinking about "Brackets" and why every single woman should have one.

  

Now from what I know, and please correct me if I am wrong.  During March Madness, sports fans place teams in brackets and make a guess on who they think will win. Eventually, someone wins the entire NCAA championship! 

 

All the hoopla around this sports "season," got me thinking about men and their relationship brackets.

How Jess Spent Her Week... Week 3: Seizing the Day!

Featuring Guest Blogger: Jessica Hill

Each week I will harness the manic energy of NYC to try something new that could better my mind, body or community. This week I…

…seized the day. Carpe diem, baby!

The ethos of carpe diem changes based on our mood, environment and circumstances. What may seem destructive and unhealthy at one time is cathartic and positive at another. This week I indulged my food, wine, sleep and exercise (or, um, lack thereof) whims. Rather than always putting off the little pleasures on offer throughout the day – fresh bagels in the window, the opportunity to sleep in, whatever the case may be - I decided to just go for it and enjoy each and every one of them without worrying too much about the consequences. This was not so much a conscious decision as it was a coping mechanism to get through a particularly tough week.

How to Go H.A.M. in the Gym...

Featuring Guest Blogger: Simone Berry

January 2011 is long gone and so are many of our New Year's resolutions. The 20 lbs that you were so determined to lose before spring break is still hanging around your tummy.  Don't fret! You can still have a banging bikini body by summer if you go Hard As A Mother***** in the gym.  How to go H.A.M you ask? Good question.

 

Why Journaling is Good For the Soul...

Featuring Guest Blogger: Charissa Arsaoui

Experts agree that it takes 30 days to form a habit so you shouldn't be so hard on yourself when you forget to journal daily.  It takes discipline to follow a routine and writing requires thought. 

With this in mind, it's important to carve out time for your journaling.  This can be right before you go to bed at night or first thing in the morning while the rest of the world is still sleeping.  The point is to write, to spill your soul on paper, and to do it frequently so you can receive the therapeutic benefits of journaling.

In addition to cultivating a daily practice, writing gives you the opportunity to express yourself openly and indiscriminately.  This allows you to branch out in new directions by exploring unchartered territory.  It also puts you in touch with your feelings and provides you with a place to explore your dreams and day-to-day activities.  In fact, you can learn a lot about your patterns of behavior by reading past journal entries. 

Why This Sausage Pasta is Worthy of Your Last Supper...

Featuring Guest Blogger: Gina Volpe

If I were to ever wind up on death row, at least I wouldn’t be troubled trying to decide what I'd request for my last meal. That’s because I’m certain my last supper would be, without a doubt, the House-made Cavatelli with Faiccos Hot Sausage & Browned Sage Butter pasta from Frankies Spuntino in New York City. Each time I visit the city, I inevitably wind up at Frankies within a few hours of landing. Forget Times Square. Who cares about Central Park? Frankie's is where you want to be, cozying up beside the other diners under the flattering dim lights and devouring a succulent plate of cavatelli.

Although it'd certainly be worth every dollar, traveling to New York each time I get a craving for Frankies (47 times a week) is a bit outside my budget. Therefore, I've devised my own version of my dream pasta to tide me over in between trips to the Real McCoy. Now, the owners of Frankies Spuntino recently released a cookbook which includes the recipe for this divine pasta dish. The recipe, while sinfully delicious, calls for homemade cavatelli and Italian pork sausage links that, frankly, I can’t frickin’ find at Kroger. Tasty, yes, but practical for most of us? Probably not. If I’m going to dish out for a cavatelli maker, I might as well just buy a plane ticket to New York and enjoy the real thing. My version eliminates 90% of the effort but keeps 100% of the deliciousness. Call it:

Frankies-Inspired Sausage and Cavatelli for Lazies

Why You Should Know About Fenugreek...

Featuring Guest Blogger: Susan Westfall

Imagine, something which alleviates pain without side effects, acts towards a cure for the common cold, increases one’s libido, lessens hot flashes, suppresses high cholesterol, alleviates PMS, treats arthritis and even increases breast size! What is this magical something you ask? It is a small, mighty and generally unknown herb to the Western world: fenugreek.

Of course one might be hesitant of examining the benefits of an unknown herb; however, fenugreek is not unknown in many areas of the world. In both China and India, fenugreek is an ancient remedy for many disorders, taken daily by millions of people. If that doesn’t convince you, let me continue.

A recent study conducted in India indicates that taking only 2 ounces of fenugreek a  day significantly reduces cholesterol levels (around 14%) in only 24 weeks lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease by 25%. Two teaspoons of ground fenugreek taken in milk or broth also acts to reduce blood glucose levels in diabetic patients as it normalizes glucose absorption. Both of these effects are implemented by the naturally occurring fibre in fenugreek: galactomanna.

How to Not Get Fired From Your Relationship...

Featuring Guest Blogger: Cathy Sampson

Are you looking to wash your hands clean of your current boyfriend because he has bad breath or a poor temper? Or are you wondering what to do to ensure that your charming love never ditches you for years to come? Whether you intentionally want to lose a guy or keep a guy, there is a skill to it in my opinion.

I am the queen of sabotaging relationships, having short relationships and getting caught up being friends with benefits... occasionally. I know I can get rid of a guy in 3.5 minutes if I send him five text messages in a row talking about babies and marriage. I usually don’t use that tactic, but it’s quite effective.

I have made enough mistakes with dating and relationships to know what I should not do if I want to keep a guy calling me for more than a month. If you want to keep your lovely guy around, you should avoid doing these 10 things: