2012 Goals Update

2012 Goals Update

Erin's 2012 Goals:

~ Get an organized book list in one location and get it fully "entered"

          * DONE!  I decided to use one app called GoodReads.  The best part is, you can use it on a phone, tablet, or computer.  I highly recommend it.  And if you are on GoodReads, look me up!

~ Make homemade laundry detergent
     * Not yet.

~ Make homemade hummus.
     * Not yet.

~ Improve my sewing skills.  My ultimate goal is to learn how to quilt.
     * Nothing new - I plan to scour some yard sales to find a drafting table, that way I can set everything up and be more apt to actually sew.

~ Lose 20 pounds.
     * We are regularly going to the gym and meeting with our trainer.

~ Pay off my credit card.  Enough said.
     * Plugging away at this.

~ Walk 10 miles per week.
     * Nope.

~ Run a 5K.
     * I have discovered that I am not a fan of running so this is getting put on the back burner.

~ Read 24 books (I have chosen 12 books to read individually and I will read 12 books through my book club).  

Here is what I have read so far:

          Individual Books                                                             Book Club Books

Jan:       Your Money or Your Life (Joe Dominguez)               Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins)

Feb:      The Girl Who Played with Fire (Steig Larsson)         Carnal Innocence (Nora Roberts)
March:  The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (S. Larsson) * No Book Club this month
            Red Rabbit (Tom Clancy)

April:     Noble Vision (Gen LaGreca)                                    City of Veils (Zoe Ferraris)

May:     Hunt for Red October (Tom Clancy)                          The Kitchen House (Kathleen Grissom)

            The Dirty Life (Kristin Kimball)

            Seriously...I'm Kidding (Ellen DeGeneres)

June:    Fifty Shades of Grey (E.L. James)                            * No Book Club this month

            Fifty Shades Darker (E.L. James)

Books I plan to read:

* Cutting for Stone (Abraham Verghese)

* The Millionaire Next Door (Thomas J Stanley PhD & William D Danko PhD) - won off a blog, want to finally give it a go

* Joy for Beginners (Erica Bauermeister)

* Change of Heart (Jodi Picoult)

* Folks, This Ain't Normal (Joel Salatin)

And if I don't reach my goal with this list, plus book club books - don't worry, I still have a "Want to read" list that keeps growing every day!

Joint Goals.  Dr Bob and I hope to:

~ Learn to can food - Had a lesson, now we have to do it on our own.

~ Try a sweet new recipe per month

     Jan: Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

     Feb:  Chocolate Chai Mini Loaves

     March: Flan
     April: Basbousa - To go with our Book Club's Saudi Arabian theme, I asked a Saudi friend to send me some recipes.  This turned out pretty good.  Hopefully I can get the recipe typed up soon in case you want to try a new dessert recipe.
    May: Nothing :-(

    June: Banana Banana Bread

~ Try a savory new recipe per month

     Jan:  Neither of us can remember what we made.  =)

     Feb: Crock pot enchilada's

     March: Queso
     April: Kofti(e) which is a traditional spiced meatball (another recipe made for Book Club)  

     May: Nothing :-(

     June: Shredded Buffalo Chicken sandwiches (we used "Millie the Mixer" to shred the chicken - AMAZING concept!)

~ Explore Asheville, North Carolina

~ Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

     * Planning to go for our 5 year wedding anniversary in September!  I'm so excited!

~ Post 2 blog entries per month
     * Not in May :-(

~ Try a new restaurant per month - we live in such a Foody area

     Jan:  Yeah Burger, Chris' Pizza, Matador Mexican Cantina, Agave Restaurant

     Feb:  Community Q BBQ, Front Page News, Cafe Sababa, and I went to the Melting Pot for the first time with some friends.
     March: Capozzi's
     April: I can't believe this but we actually didn't eat out much this month and none of the places were new. Wow.

     May: Tijuana Garage

     June: Universal Joint

~ Try a new hike per month - this has not been happening so I am going to officially take this off the goal list.

I have been terrible about blogging and some of my goals but I wanted to make sure I jotted down what I/we have been accomplishing.

How have you guys been doing with your goals??

2012 Goals Update

Erin's 2012 Goals:

~ Get an organized book list in one location and get it fully "entered"

          * DONE!  I decided to use one app called GoodReads.  The best part is, you can use it on a phone, tablet, or computer.  I highly recommend it.  And if you are on GoodReads, look me up!

~ Make homemade laundry detergent - I have wanted to try this for a few years now, so now it is officially on the goal list.
     * Not yet.

~ Make homemade hummus.  I have only recently come to enjoy hummus.  Now that I have, I want to try to make my own.
     * Almost had the opportunity this month but we ran short on time.

~ Improve my sewing skills.  My ultimate goal is to learn how to quilt.
     * I cut out a pattern for a new purse/bag but have not had the chance to move forward.

~ Lose 20 pounds.
     * We are regularly going to the gym and meeting with our trainer.

~ Pay off my credit card.  Enough said.
     * Plugging away at this.

~ Walk 10 miles per week.
     * This hasn't been perfect this month.  Hopefully May turns around.

~ Run a 5K.
     * I have discovered that I am not a fan of running so this is getting put on the back burner.

~ Read 24 books (I have chosen 12 books to read individually and I will read 12 books through my book club).  

Here is what I have read so far:

          Individual Books                                                             Book Club Books

Jan:       Your Money or Your Life (Joe Dominguez)               Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins)

Feb:      The Girl Who Played with Fire (Steig Larsson)         Carnal Innocence (Nora Roberts)
March:  The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (S. Larsson) * No Book Club this month
             Red Rabbit (Tom Clancy)

April:     Noble Vision (Gen LaGreca)                                    City of Veils (Zoe Ferraris)

Books I plan to read:

* Cutting for Stone (Abraham Verghese)

* The Dirty Life (Kristin Kimball)

* The Millionaire Next Door (Thomas J Stanley PhD & William D Danko PhD) - won off a blog, want to finally give it a go

* Joy for Beginners (Erica Bauermeister)

* Change of Heart (Jodi Picoult)

* Folks, This Ain't Normal (Joel Salatin)

And if I don't reach my goal with this list, plus book club books - don't worry, I still have a "Want to read" list that keeps growing every day!

Joint Goals.  Dr Bob and I hope to:

~ Learn to can food - My parents came to visit so I made my Dad show me how he cans, YAY!  We now have 11 jars of strawberry jam that I can't wait to try.  And now that we have seen how easy it can be, we are ready to give it a go by ourselves....so excited!

~ Try a sweet new recipe per month

     Jan: Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

     Feb:  Chocolate Chai Mini Loaves

     March: Flan
     April: Basbousa - To go with our Book Club's Saudi Arabian theme, I asked a Saudi friend to send me some recipes.  This turned out pretty good.  Hopefully I can get the recipe typed up soon in case you want to try a new dessert recipe.

~ Try a savory new recipe per month

     Jan:  Neither of us can remember what we made.  =)

     Feb: Crock pot enchilada's

     March: Queso
     April: Kofti(e) which is a traditional spiced meatball (another recipe made for Book Club)

~ Explore Asheville, North Carolina

~ Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~ Post 2 blog entries per month
     * Doing good so far!

~ Try a new restaurant per month - we live in such a Foody area

     Jan:  Yeah Burger, Chris' Pizza, Matador Mexican Cantina, Agave Restaurant

     Feb:  Community Q BBQ, Front Page News, Cafe Sababa, and I went to the Melting Pot for the first time with some friends.
     March: Capozzi's
     April: I can't believe this but we actually didn't eat out much this month and none of the places were new. Wow.

~ Try a new hike per month - this has not been happening so I am going to officially take this off the goal list.

Other than that, I have been getting used to the new job which has been tiring but GREAT!  I am so thankful for this employment.

That's all she wrote folks!

How have you guys been doing with your goals??

It's coming....tomorrow!

Hi All,
I wanted to get an update on our goals posted today but the new job has been keeping me busy and I worked a split shift today and have an early start tomorrow.  Sooooooo, the post has to be put on the back burner.  Hopefully I will get it up tomorrow!

I hope you all had a great month of April and can you believe that May starts tomorrow?!  Unreal!
~ Mrs. Dr. Bob

2012 Goals Update

Erin's 2012 Goals:

~ Get an organized book list in one location and get it fully "entered"

          * DONE!  I decided to use one app called GoodReads.  The best part is, you can use it on a phone, tablet, or computer.  I highly recommend it.  And if you are on GoodReads, look me up!

~ Make homemade laundry detergent - I have wanted to try this for a few years now, so now it is officially on the goal list.
     * Not yet.

~ Make homemade hummus.  I have only recently come to enjoy hummus.  Now that I have, I want to try to make my own.
     * Not yet.

~ Improve my sewing skills.  I bought a sewing machine a few months back and I have been slowly learning how to use it.  My ultimate goal is to learn how to quilt.
     * I spent some time at the 2012 Sewing Expo and picked up a beginner's pattern to try.

~ Lose 20 pounds.
     * We are regularly going to the gym and meeting with our trainer.

~ Pay off my credit card.  Enough said.
     * Plugging away at this.

~ Walk 10 miles per week.
     * Right now I am walking/jogging and average of 5-6 miles per week.

~ Run a 5K.
     * Ran about 3/4 of a mile at the Hunger Run/Walk on March 11th.

~ Read 24 books (I have chosen 12 books to read individually and I will read 12 books through my book club).  

Here is what I have read so far:

          Individual Books                                                             Book Club Books

Jan:       Your Money or Your Life (Joe Dominguez)               Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins)

Feb:      The Girl Who Played with Fire (Steig Larsson)         Carnal Innocence (Nora Roberts)
March:  The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (S. Larsson) * No Book Club this month
             Red Rabbit (Tom Clancy)

Books I plan to read:

* City of Veils (Zoe Ferraris) - personal choice but will be our April book for Book Club

* Noble Vision (Gen LaGreca) - given to me by a book club member

* Cutting for Stone (Abraham Verghese)

* The Dirty Life (Kristin Kimball)

* The Millionaire Next Door (Thomas J Stanley PhD & William D Danko PhD) - won off a blog, want to finally give it a go

* Joy for Beginners (Erica Bauermeister)

* Change of Heart (Jodi Picoult)

* Folks, This Ain't Normal (Joel Salatin)

And if I don't reach my goal with this list, plus book club books - don't worry, I still have a "Want to read" list that keeps growing every day!

Joint Goals.  Dr Bob and I hope to:

~ Learn to can food

~ Try a sweet new recipe per month

     Jan: Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

     Feb:  Chocolate Chai Mini Loaves

     March: Flan (Dr Bob made this to go with a Mexican themed dinner party.  He chose this dessert because I gave up desserts and sugary sweets for Lent so it was something I had little interest in being tempted to eat.  What a great guy I have!)

~ Try a savory new recipe per month

     Jan:  Neither of us can remember what we made.  =)

     Feb: Crock pot enchilada's

     March: Queso - no real recipe was used.  Dr. Bob looked a few and then created his own.  It was quite tasty.

~ Explore Asheville, North Carolina

~ Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~ Post 2 blog entries per month
     * Doing good so far!

~ Try a new restaurant per month - we live in such a Foody area, it is actually impossible to only keep it to one per month.

     Jan:  Yeah Burger, Chris' Pizza, Matador Mexican Cantina, Agave Restaurant

     Feb:  Community Q BBQ, Front Page News, Cafe Sababa, and I went to the Melting Pot for the first time with some friends.
     March: Capozzi's

~ Try a new hike per month.  We did not get to explore anywhere in January but we did try a new local path just last week so we met the goal in February.  Not really anything in March.

That's all she wrote folks!

Hunger Walk/Run 2012

This doesn't really have to do with cooking, recipes, or dessert but it does support the Atlanta Community Food Bank which feeds many, many, many mouths across Metro Atlanta.

I set a goal to run a 5K in 2012.  I did not reach that goal yesterday but I had a good time trying.

I knew I wasn't going to run the entire thing.  I have not been training for all that long.  It wasn't realistic.  My goal for the run was to do half of it running and half of it walking.  That didn't happen either.

I have been battling a long term cramp in my left calf muscle.  It's a beast.  It shows up at the most inopportune times.  I'm not making excuses for my lack of running but a cramp is a cramp and there is only so much I can do  to try to fix it before race day.  I tried my darndest.

The other reason I did not meet my 1.5 mile challenge was because I did not spend enough time training outdoors for this race.  Running on a treadmill and running outdoors are two completely different things.  I have learned that now.  I will work on this for the next race.

I do think the ACFB could have worked a little harder though to get a more level race route thank you very much!  :-) Good lord were there slow incline hills.  I hate hills in general but I hate slow incline hills even more!

But the best part about the race was the company.  We say this often but it doesn't hurt to say it again.  Dr. Bob and I have been very blessed to have met some amazing friends in the short time we have lived here.  We are supportive of each others goals, wonderful motivators, and an all around blast to hang out with!  I couldn't have done it without them yesterday:

(The Sunday Funday Crew - we had shirts made and everything)

The race started and ended at the site of the old Braves Stadium.  It's a parking lot now but they paid tribute to the old field by re-creating the original baseball diamond in bricks.

The event had all sorts of activities and entertainment to enjoy.  It was a lot of fun.

That's Turner Field in the back.  For all the Olympic enthusiasts out there, Turner Field was built for the 1996 Summer Olympic Opening Ceremonies.  It later became the new home of the Braves.

The race started on the main road between the parking lot and Turner Field.  We took an immediate left and was able to run past the Olympic cauldron.  I am such a geek when it comes to the Olympics!  It is so fun getting to see the sights even though the games took place 16 years ago.

Between runners and walkers, there were over 15,000 participants.  The crowds of people just kept coming and coming.  It was unbelievable and inspiring!

Word to the wise though - when you are outside for 4 hours in March in Atlanta....don't forget the sunscreen or choose to leave the sunglasses in the car!  Dr. Bob and I are pretty red at the moment.  Oh dear.

So now that reality has hit, I know what I need to work on, how to train a little better, and how to take care of myself a little better.  Plus it also helps that we are meeting our new trainer on tomorrow so hopefully he can help me get some of this extra poundage off which will increase my ability to run exponentially.

The next race I have in mind is April 22nd.  I think my goal for that is to be able to run half the race.  Then I will set my sights on a third race where the goal will be to run the full course.

I'll get there.

Do I have a green thumb?

The answer has always been a resounding "NO!"  But I am hoping to change that this time around.  Mainly because I am not fully in charge of the growing.  I am an apprentice of sorts.

I have dreams of having luscious gardens, backyard animals, whole meals made from scratch - oh I could go on and on about it.  But I will save that for another day.  

Right now I am taking the first steps and starting to get my hands dirty.  Dr. Bob and I live in an apartment complex with no room for growing so I have to go elsewhere.  Sure I could look into securing a spot in a community garden - but I really have no clue how to get a garden started.  Enter my local homeowner pals.  It came up in conversation with one and I was totally game, then I asked another and possibly another.  I am going to spend this growing season assisting with 2, maybe 3 gardens so I can take notes, learn techniques, and experiment for my future garden.  I am super excited!

So Cicely and I made a date to clean up her gardens this past Saturday and get this year's crop planted.  We had a great time.  This is her 2nd year with a garden in GA and let me tell you how much easier it was for her this year than last year....LOTS!  Last year she had to start by building her gardens - digging holes, building the raised beds, shoveling new dirt in, and then planting - most of this was all by herself - PHEW!  I'm tired just thinking about it.  This year we only had to clear out weeds and old plants, rake some, and start planting.  We flew through the task on 2 of her 4 raised beds:

Backyard raised bed #1:

 Backyard raised bed #2:

In these raised beds you will find: 4 different types of peas, 3 types of swiss chard, lettuce, mesclun, kale, and 2 types of carrots.

Then Cicely indulged me a little so we experimented on something I found on a blog - a potato box!

Apparently this sucker can yield up to 100 pounds of potatoes and only takes up a 4 square foot area in your yard!  I lurv me some potatoes.  If this turns out to work well, I am going to have these suckers at all of my friends houses and we will be doing multiple plantings of these.  According to the article (which was written in Portland or Seattle - much different climate up there), you can plant potatoes in April and again in August.  Here in GA they say you can start as early as January...we could have backyard potatoes all year round!  I am crossing my fingers that these Yellow Fin potatoes are a success!

I learned that these items went in her backyard because they were considered "cool weather plants."  Her backyard does not get a ton of sun so that is why they are grown back here.  The front yard is where she has 2 more raised beds which will be home to those items needing lots of sun.  We are getting together next Saturday to tackle those raised beds.

Okay back to the planting.  Next we needed to get some seedlings planted.  Technically we could have started them at least a month ago but we are all still getting used to the seasons down here (Cicely moved from Boston about 1.5 years ago so we are both not used to such an early start time) - better late than never I say!

We are trying a method where we plant the seeds in trays to get started, then when they start to sprout, we will thin them out into their own little containers to finish growing before they are put in the ground.

Here you will find: a variety of tomatoes, eggplant, celery, cauliflower, basil, thyme, parsley, lavender, sweet peppers, hot peppers, jalapenos, and tomatillos.

We called it a night after that because it was getting late but the day was a lot of fun.

This upcoming weekend we hope to get the raised beds in the front yard cleared out, prepped, and planted (as much as we can until the seedlings are ready, that is).

This is such a fun new adventure for me.  Thanks Cicely for allowing me to help!

Simple Solution

We had 7 of our favorite people over for a Mexican FEAST last night.  We tried some new recipes as well as stuck with some classics.  We had a great time.

But

With every feast.........

Comes DISHES!

Ugh!

We always try our best to clean up a majority of the kitchen when we have dinner parties but we weren't able to get through everything last night.  I woke up this morning and that's when the light bulb went off.

We have a dishwasher that we rarely use but why can't we use it to dry all of our big dishes??

DUH!

Why haven't we thought of this before?!?!

What would have taken me all day due to the small size of our dish drainer, is now complete in one wash.  This is AH-mazing!

Have you done this before??  Do you have other simple solutions to share??

2012 Goals

Happy Leap Day!  And Happy Birthday to a good friend of mine, Val!

Anyone else feel like February has been the Longest.Month.Ever??  I am not saying it is a bad thing, but I feel like this month has been around forever!  Usually the months fly by!  I am happy March starts tomorrow, but I am glad that things have slowed down a bit.  It has been a long time since I have been able to enjoy each month and not feel so rushed.

Moving on, today's post is long overdue....but I am happy to finally be getting around to it.  I often see bloggers post their goals right around the New Year.  Makes sense.  I have decided to do the same.  This way, I am accountable for my actions.  And if I put that information out there....I am more motivated to get them accomplished.  Most of the goals are specifically for me, however Dr. Bob and I also have some joint ones too.  I will say that they were created as we were ringing in the New Year, I just haven't shared them until now.

Erin's 2012 Goals:

~ Get an organized book list in one location and get it fully "entered"

          * I am happy to say that I took one night last week to finally do this.  It took awhile but I feel so much better now.  I actually decided to use one app that has turned out to be a wonderful thing.  It is called GoodReads.  The best part is, you can use it on a phone, tablet, or computer.  I highly recommend it.  And if you are on GoodReads, look me up!

~ Make homemade laundry detergent - I have wanted to try this for a few years now, so now it is officially on the goal list.

~ Make homemade hummus.  I have only recently come to enjoy hummus.  Now that I have, I want to try to make my own.

~ Improve my sewing skills.  I bought a sewing machine a few months back and I have been slowly learning how to use it.  My ultimate goal is to learn how to quilt.

~ Lose 20 pounds.  Dr. Bob and I have joined a local gym and signed up for personal training sessions.  We have been going to the gym about 5 times a week for the past 2 - 3 weeks.  I haven't noticed a major weight loss but I know I am physically feeling better and stronger.  The weight will come off soon.

~ Pay off my credit card.  Enough said.

~ Walk 10 miles per week.  This is something I want to eventually make a habit.  Right now I am walking/jogging and average of 5-6 miles per week.

~ Run a 5K.  March 11th is the big day.  Physically I know I will be able to run half of it, and I am happy about that.  I also plan to run a 5K on April 22nd - this is when I hope to run the entire distance and am able to cross this goal off my list.

~ Read 24 books (I have chosen 12 books to read individually and I will read 12 books through my book club).  

Here is what I have read so far:

          Individual Books                                                             Book Club Books

Jan:       Your Money or Your Life (Joe Dominguez)               Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins)

Feb:      The Girl Who Played with Fire (Steig Larsson)          Carnal Innocence (Nora Roberts)

Books I plan to read:

* The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Steig Larsson)

* City of Veils (Zoe Ferraris) - personal choice but will be our April book for Book Club

* Noble Vision (Gen LaGreca) - given to me by a book club member

* Cutting for Stone (Abraham Verghese)

* The Dirty Life (Kristin Kimball)

* The Millionaire Next Door (Thomas J Stanley PhD & William D Danko PhD) - won off a blog, want to finally give it a go

* Review Patriot Games and then read Red Rabbit (Tom Clancy) - I am working through the whole Jack Ryan series

* Joy for Beginners (Erica Bauermeister)

* Change of Heart (Jodi Picoult)

* Folks, This Ain't Normal (Joel Salatin)

And if I don't reach my goal with this list, plus book club books - don't worry, I still have a "Want to read" list that keeps growing every day!

Now for our Joint Goals.  Dr Bob and I hope to:

~ Learn to can food

~ Try a sweet new recipe per month

     Jan: Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

     Feb:  Chocolate Chai Mini Loaves

~ Try a savory new recipe per month

     Jan:  I can't remember :-O I will double check with Dr Bob and get back to you

     Feb: Crock pot enchilada's (I need to find where Dr Bob got this recipe and then I will provide a link)

~ Explore Asheville, North Carolina

~ Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~ Post 2 blog entries per month - doing good so far!

~ Try a new restaurant per month - we live in such a Foody area, it is actually impossible to only keep it to one per month.

     Jan:  Yeah Burger, Chris' Pizza, Matador Mexican Cantina, Agave Restaurant

     Feb:  Community Q BBQ, Front Page News, Cafe Sababa, and I went to the Melting Pot for the first time with some friends.

~ Try a new hike per month.  We did not get to explore anywhere in January but we did try a new local path just last week so we met the goal in February.

Okay PHEW, that is a loooooooong list!  Sorry about that.  But now they are out there and we are being held accountable.

Chocolate Chai Mini Loaves, Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Rice Krispie Treats

When Dr. Bob and I moved to the Metro Atlanta area last June, we rented an apartment sight unseen.

We were nervous to say the least.  Had we made the right decision?  Was it in a good area of town?  Was it safe?  Were we going to like our neighbors/complex staff?

Turns out it was a GREAT find!  We love where we live.  We love the area.  We love the staff at our complex.  We feel blessed that we lucked out!

A leasing agent by the name of Nicole was pivotal in making our transition a smooth and stress-free experience.  She was very friendly, helpful, and efficient.  We were so excited to get down here and finally meet her!

Fast forward about 9 months....Nicole has decided to move up in our complexes company and that means she is relocating to an Equity complex in Scottsdale, Arizona.  We are thrilled for her success but very sad to see her go!

She has been a big fan of our baking so when I stopped in to chat about her move she requested some baked goods as a farewell gift.  (I had already planned to make her some goodies, so it was good to get some guidance on her favorites.)

What am I making??

First, I am dying to have her try my absolute favorite/current "go-to" chocolate chip cookie recipe:  Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Next, she loves Rice Krispie treats so I am going to use the original recipe on the Rice Krispie website.

And finally, I have a new recipe that I have been dying to try, so here is the perfect opportunity.  I will be trying out Lisey's Chocolate Chai Mini Loaves.  I can't wait to taste test these suckers.

I think it is a nice mix and I know Nicole (and the rest of the staff) will really enjoy them.

What have you been baking lately??

P.S.  Stay tuned, I think there is going to be another blog entry coming up either today or tomorrow.  That's just plain unheard of around here these days!

Superbowl + Pinterest = Amazing

Hi Folks,
Well this past Sunday the Pats ended up losing the Superbowl - Boo.  But we were able to spend it with a ton of friends in the area as well as a visitor from the North!

We had such a good time showing Bits around, playing tourists, and checking out 3 - count them 3 - new to us restaurants.  Slowly but surely we are going to eat our way around Metro Atlanta!

Okay back to the point of the post.  I am having way too much fun on Pinterest.  I am absolutely not addicted like some people I know, but I am having a ton of fun checking out food decorating, recipes, crafts, and simple solutions.  I decided to make some of my "pins" become reality for the Superbowl.  Here is what I made:

Fruit Ka-bobs:

The idea originally came from http://www.theantiperfectionist.com.  I figured we were going to be munching on a ton of other non-healthy things so let's incorporate some fruit in a cute and colorful way.

Next - Healthy Cupcakes, not so healthy frosting/design.

A friend of mine from college pinned an idea of taking a cupcake box mix and adding only 12 oz. of diet 7 up, keeping the original baking temp and time.  It was estimated that each cup cake would be about 100 calories if using a "lite" box mix.  I tried desperately to find a lite mix but it did not happen.  I was okay with it though because the cupcakes were already going to be healthier by nixing the regular ingredients and just using the diet soda.  They came out so light and fluffy!  And they tasted delish!

The design aspect of the cup cakes came from http://sixinthesuburbsblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/are-you-ready-for-some-football.html.  We decided to only put goal posts on a few of the cupcakes so people could get the idea.


Finally, who doesn't love brownies?!  This idea originally came from http://www.20goingon80.com/2011/11/last-time-i-posted-football-treat-ideas.html.  I was befuddled that I could not find a football shaped cookie cutter.  I almost threw in the towel.  But my good pal Bits came up with a brilliant idea - take a circular cookie cutter and squeeze it until it looked like a football - DUH!

Ta-dah!

I loved these!  So simple to make.  So delicious.

All of our items were a bit hit!  I think we came home with only a few cup cakes.

This is why I really like Pinterest!  (I don't think we are at the degree of love yet, give me a few more weeks ;-)  )

What did you have at your Superbowl party?

Ode to the pizza cutter

Dear Pizza Cutter,

It's been a great 4.5 years.  

You were a good friend.  

All those wonderful pizza's, quesadilla's, and the like. 

I have enjoyed every moment.  

.....................................

But another cutter has entered my life.  

I can't help it.  

I'm weak.

"KA-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

I hope we can still be friends!

Take care!
Love, Erin

Asian night with the Bobs

I wish I could say it was 100% homemade, but there were a few things out of a box.  Oh, well.  

Course 1 - Potstickers.  

Ling Ling brand chicken potstickers.  I found the best way to cook these is to put about 1/4 cup water in a large frying pan and a tablespoon of sesame oil and a tablespoon of vegetable/olive oil, for cooking 8-10 potstickers.  Put the pan on medium-high heat, cover with a tight fitting lid and let the potstickers steam for about 8-10 minutes (depending on how frozen they are).  Take the lid off, let the steam evaporate and lightly brown with the oil in the pan.  

Dipping sauce - 1 teaspoon minced garlic, two tablespoons reduced sodium tamari, a few splashes of mirin, a quick sprinkle of ground ginger and a few shakes of crushed red pepper.

Main course - teriyaki chicken.

Brown rice in the slow cooker.  

Bite size chicken marinated in a mix of reduced sodium tamari, brown sugar, minced garlic.  Heat a mix of sesame oil and vegetable oil over medium high heat and add the chicken and enough marinade to half-cover.  Cook until browned on one side (brown sugar should help it carmelize a little), then stir around and continue to cook until chicken is fully cooked through and marinade remnants have reduced down to a nice coat over the chicken.  Serve over brown rice.

Side dishes (probably for later in the week)

Thin mein noodles (10 oz) boiled, drained and mixed with one bottle House of Tsang Peanut Sauce.

I also made an extra batch of rice (about 4 cups cooked) to make fried rice tomorrow.  That will contain green onions, diced carrots, a mix of soy and sesame oil (for stir-frying), and pork.

Pork for fried rice - cut boneless pork loin into small pieces (about quarter size)  and toss with about 1/4-1/2 cup reduced sodium tamari, a few splashes of mirin, a few loose crumbles of brown sugar, a healthy drizzle of sesame oil and chili oil.  Marinate for about an hour.  Heat a large pan over medium high heat, and cook like the chicken above.  

There'll be more adventure later - with homemade wontons and egg rolls, but not tonight.

One of the next things to make again will be this sweet and sour chicken from Brown Eyed Baker.

January (& hopefully longer) freezer cooking

Holidays are over, back to a normal routine, thankfully. 

Starting some hardcore cooking for the freezer tonight.

Pork loin in the slow cooker for BBQ pulled pork.
Cheeseburger soup simmering on the stovetop.
Homemade enchilada sauce thawing and taco-seasoned turkey cooking for ground turkey/bean enchiladas. 

Later in the week - creamy chicken & rice, chicken/potato/spinach stew, chicken parmesan, Italian pork with a bacon-infused red sauce. 

All of these will be finished and pre-packed into portion-controlled (and freezer hogging) Gladware containers.

In addition, we have about two and a half pounds of ground turkey that we should be able to get about 10 quarter-pound turkey burgers stored away.  Old-school Tupperware burger stackers are amazing!

Links and recipes coming soon.  Stay tuned!