Under construction...

Dear readers, if you're even out there...


I've had a slight change of heart. I don't like having too many rules. I like to read whatever book I want, shop at whatever stores I want, and eat as many calories as I want. Therefore, limiting my blog to only certain kinds of posts has been making me feel anxious. I have refrained from posting lots of things because they didn't "fit my theme". So I'm letting you all know that the tone around here will be changing. Check back soon for some new topics and a new title!

Family Dinner Friday

Our apartment complex is so great in that so many of our friends live in the area. Because of this, we're having a little family dinner night. Everyone brings/cooks something and we have the meal at someone's house. I'm responsible for roasted asparagus which just happens to be one of my favorite things! Roasting any kind of vegetable is great way to eat healthy but with lots of flavor. 

Here's what I do: 

1. Preheat over to 425 degrees.
2. Trim off asparagus ends and place on a baking sheet. 
3. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper. 
4. Roast for about 15-20 minutes depending on how fat your asparagus are. 
5. Eat!
6. Even better, you don't have to worry about keeping them piping hot because they are great at room temp!

I'll be making this tonight after work - I'll post pics of the dinner party tomorrow!

Take a trip through a book

Since I now have a full time, big girl job, I am not free to travel whenever I want. I can’t just skip class on Friday and jet off for the weekend. Lately, I’ve had to resort to a different kind of travel – literary travelling. This may not sound that exciting but for an avid reader like me, it’s a real thrill. Right now I’m reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin which chronicles a year of her life trying to be happier. She does all kinds of research on what makes people happy and one of the things she mentions is starting/having a collection. I reflected on what kinds of things I like to collect. This was hard for me because I am constantly eliminating, selling, giving away and weeding out my ‘things’. I don’t like clutter or unnecessary saving so I’m always getting rid of things. But I realized that I do have a collection – of books. I LOVE new books. In fact, friends always try to loan me a good book to read and I always turn it down and go buy my own copy. I love having shelves filled with books I’ve read and ones I’ve yet to crack open. For me, it’s a sign of accomplishment of fill a whole shelf with books I’ve finished. One of the unique things about my book collection is that I usually can remember when or the context in which I read a book. This is why I equate reading to traveling or vacations. Not only is digging into a good book an imaginary vacation, but I also associate books with the places I’ve read them in. For example, I remember reading the first Harry Potter book while I was in vacation in Cape Cod. I read the Zoo Keeper’s Wife while I was learning about the holocaust when I studied abroad in Copenhagen. I read all the Twilight books two summers ago. I enjoy being able to remember a good book and associate with an experience or time in my life. I’m always going to remember reading The Happiness Project at a huge transition point in my life.



So when you can’t get away, pick up a good book – one about a foreign land and take a little mini vacation in your head!

What to cook when you don't want to cook anything!

Initially when we moved into our new place, I resolved to cook a real meal at least 3 times a week. This meant no Lean Cuisines, no frozen pizza, no mac & cheese....

Easier said than done. When I get home from work at 6pm, I want nothing more than a bowl of pasta with cheese and olive oil, watch a show and go to bed. But I've really been making an effort to take 20 more minutes to prepare dinner. Lately, I've found a few quick fixes that don't take much time, are inexpensive, and don't result in a daily run to the grocery store. Here are a couple of my latest meals:

1. Grilled Chicken with Rice Pilaf and Cucumber Salad

The best way to deal with fresh protein is to buy the kinds that are packaged individually. Perdue sells chicken (in the regular fresh meat section) that comes already marinated. It comes with 3 boneless, skinless breasts. I usually cook one that night (either eat it for dinner or save it for a salad or sandwich) and then I freeze the other 2. This works great because the chicken is already in a vacuumed packed bag so it stores in the freezer really well.

Note: When you decide to eat one of those frozen breasts, DO NOT defrost on the counter or microwave. Defrosting on the counter leaves the meat vulnerable to bacteria and defrosting in the microwave always leads to cooked, disgusting edges. Just throw the breast in the refrigerator before work and when you get home you'll be ready to throw it on the George Forman.

So now you've got the chicken part down - cook it anyway you like, grill, pan, oven, but just make sure you cook out all the pink in the middle.

Rice pilaf is a really simple side dish and it's delish. You can buy a packages in the rice section. Best part is, it just takes 20 minutes on the stovetop and you don't even have to check it, stir it or fuss with it. Just boil the water, throw in the rice and seasoning, turn down to simmer, throw on a lid and you're good to go.

One of my FAVORITE kinds of salads is cucumber salad. I slice up an English Cucumber (there the "seedless" ones that come in plastic wrap), toss it with balsamic dressing and goat cheese and let marinate for 5 minutes or so. It's so delicious and really easy to make. Best part about it, cucumbers last for a while in the fridge, longer than lettuce, I think.

2. Burger and Fries

This is not your typical, greasing, burger joint meal - in fact it's a "fast food" meal you can feel really good about.

Again, I'll buy some burgers at the store - cook a few and freeze the rest. You can also just buy ground beef and make your own patties to the size you like. There are lots of ways to doctor up your ground beef as well. My mom always mixed in an egg (for binding), Worcestershire Sauce and some shredded cheese (instead of cheese on top).

Grill your burger anyway you like and top with your favorite things. Caramelized onions are really easy to make and add great flavor to your burger. Just thinly slice some onion rings and saute in a pan over low heat with a few tablespoons of olive oil and butter. This will take about 10 minutes so be patient. Low and slow is the key to good caramelization.

For the fries, I slice up a potato into sticks (just a good 'ole baking potato). Cover the potatoes in olive oil and whatever seasonings you like. I usually sprinkle on some garlic salt and onion powder. Then bake in the over at 425 degrees until browned on all sides. Give the potatoes a good shake and make sure to toss them around every few minutes so that they bake evenly. This is also really easy to go in a cast iron pan on the grill top.

These meals are great because they are easy to make for 1 and can store easily too. I'll be sure to keep you posted on my next meal creations!