#6: Recipe of the Week

I have two new recipes again for this week - last night I made Red Chili Cheese Enchiladas, and Luscious Lemon Bars.

Red Chili Cheese Enchiladas

The first new recipe this week was Red Chili Cheese Enchiladas from the most recent Cooking Light magazine. However…I’m not going to post the recipe this time, because frankly, it wasn’t that good. Our meal turned out edible, and we won’t be throwing any away, but it’s definitely not a keeper. The sauce that goes with the enchiladas took a very long time to make, to the point of it being not worth it. It also required the blender and the food processor, which in my opinion is overkill on sauce. I washed my food processor three times last night for this meal, plus the blender once. On the flip side, the filling was too simple - just cottage cheese and Monterey Jack. Overall, I thought the recipe lacked texture and was too bland. This is the first time I’ve been disappointed with a Cooking Light recipe.

Luscious Lemon Bars

Who doesn’t love lemon bars? This was the first time I made them from scratch (and not from the box). They turned out really excellent, and much better than the box kind! I may make these again for the family holiday party at my house next weekend. My only criticism was that next time, I would kick up the amount of lemon called for the in recipe, it’s not quite strong enough for my taste as-written. Here’s the recipe from Southern Living magazine:

Luscious Lemon Bars

2 1/4 c all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 c butter, softened
4 large eggs
2 c sugar
1/3 c lemon juice (I’d personally recommend more)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
powdered sugar

1. Combine 2 c flour and 1/2 c powdered sugar
2. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until crumbly. Firmly press mixture into a lightly greased 9 x 13 pan.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly browned.
4. Whisk eggs in a large bowl; whisk in 2 c sugar and lemon juice. Combine remaining 1/4 c flour and baking powder; whisk into egg mixture. Pour batter over crust.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until set. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into bars, and sprinkle evenly with additional powdered sugar.

Prep 15 minutes, bake 50 minutes.
Yield 2 1/2 dozen

This is really turning into an important goal for me to make a new recipe each week. I’m finding it really fun trying out new things (even though sometimes it doesn’t work out well). For next week, I think I’m going to officially pick the cookbook I want to work through, because even at one new recipe a week, it’s going to take a long time to cook through an entire cookbook.

My 2008 Financial Resolution

One of my favorite blogs, Cash Money Life, has put out a challenge to make a 2008 financial resolution.   I think this is a great idea to keep people motivated about their financial goals.  As part of my overall 101 goals project, I’d like to highlight two things I’d like to accomplish for 2008 - and they won’t be put off until later in my 101 goals project!

1.  Pay down my undergraduate student debt by $250/month.  I just got a letter from my loan company a few weeks ago letting me know that my loans are now in deferment because I’m enrolled in a master’s program.  The government is now paying my interest (for the next two years), so it’s the perfect time to pay my debt down - every contribution I make will go 100% towards the principle balance.  I’m going to make my resolution a monthly payment of $250/month because that will be manageable (but still a challenge), but I’m hoping I can stretch that to $500/month some months.

2 . Some may think this is a silly goal, but it’s a money sink for me.  For 2008, I’d like to resolve to not purchase a lunch (or dinner on the nights I have class) from the food court at work.  I’m decent about packing my lunch, but there are some days when I just don’t feel like eating it and end up buying an overpriced (and not as tasty) lunch from the court.  This needs to stop, and I’d like to make myself think twice about doing it - and then sticking the cash I would I have spent into a jar to put back towards my student loan.

Goals for the Week - 11/26

After a nice Thanksgiving break, where I ate a little too much but got most of my holiday shopping done, it’s time to refocus on some goals for this week. The things I’d like to accomplish this week are:

1. Recipe of the Week - for new recipes this week I have Chai Shortbread cookies - I’d like to make a double batch of these, one to eat now, and one to freeze for the holiday party
2. Update Quicken
3. Finalize menu for holiday party (on 12/8!)
4. Get started on problem set #2 for class
5. This doesn’t have to be done this week - but I’d like to get started on some gift wrapping, as all my Black Friday deals are taking up valuable living room space!

Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving!

#12: Host a Holiday Dinner Party

I’ve put the wheels in motion this week to have a holiday dinner party.  I’ve invited my parents, grandparents, sister, sister’s fiance, and Joe’s parents and sister.  Everyone will be coming to our house Dec. 8.  I’m really excited - last holiday season I was a little upset because we end up going to everyone else’s houses, but no one comes to ours (due to our lack of children and toys).  It felt like we did a lot of work to decorate and prepare for the season, and no one was there to enjoy it except us.  I’m starting menu planning now, because with class and work, I’m looking for some things I can make ahead.  I’d also like to try to make some new things, so I’d like to have a chance to make them at least once before I dare feed them to others.  So far, I’m thinking:

1. Appetizers - crab rangoon, cookie tray, and some sort of dip
2. Salad
3. Main course - still considering
4. Sides - green been casserole, cranberry salad, sweet potato pie, mashed potatoes, rolls
5. Dessert - pecan pie, another type of pie or cake…my mom likes graham cracker creme, but I’ll have to figure that one out, and cookies

I also think I’m going to make hot cider and homemade hot chocolate, and my candy cane marshmallows.  I’m still going through my recipe books trying to find some good things, I want this to be really special for my family.  We have a TON of work to do at the house before it’s presentable enough to have everyone over on the 8th.  There is definitely a Home Depot trip on the agenda for this weekend!

Goals for the Week

In order to keep myself moving forward on my 101 goals project, I’ve decided to put out some weekly goals. I hope this will help with motivation and a sense of actually accomplishing things from my list. So…my weekly goals for Nov. 11-17 are:

1. New Recipe for the week
2. Update Quicken
3. Take a bubble bath
4. Sort magazines to get rid of - weekend project
5. Return all my library books (Ok, not related to my 101 goals, but I really need to take the books back. I’ve renewed them all about 5 times now. I will recheck them out when I’m actually ready to read them.) UPDATE: I only had time to find half of them.  I’m a little unorganized when it comes to books/magazines.  I’ll look for the rest this weekend.

#6: Recipe of the Week

I already have a new recipe of the week! I actually made two new things last night we’ve never had before and both turned out great: Spicy Oatmeal Crisps and a Spinach Tortellini Toss. We ate the spinach tortellini for dinner - it was really good, had a nice kick in the sauce courtesy of crushed red pepper and lots of garlic. The cookies were also good - but I didn’t follow the directions for “level tablespoon” because it didn’t look like much - they baked extremely thin (ok…I should have known by the word “crisp” in the title), and mine turned into basically a tray of one cookie. I just cut them apart with a knife, and all is well. Here is the recipe for the cookies, from Cooking Light magazine:

Spicy Oatmeal Crisps

3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 cup packed brown sugar (I used dark brown)
5 Tbsp. butter or stick margarine, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 cup oats
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 7 ingredients (flour through pepper) in a medium bowl. Beat sugar, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg; beat well. Stir in flour mixture and oats.

Drop by level tablespoon 2 inches apart on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes or until crisp. Cool on pan 2-3 minutes or until firm. Remove from pan; cool on wire racks.

Yield 2 dozen cookies.

#6: Recipe of the Week

Last night I tackled Martha Stewart’s French Lentil and Swiss Chard Risotto. This was a really delicious recipe. My sister-in-law recommended this one, and it really intrigued me because it involved a large amount of our CSA box’s weekly veggies, and it gave me the opportunity to try two things I have never had before: leeks and lentils. I made the recipe as written, with the exception of using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock (why ruin a perfectly good vegetarian recipe?). With the combination of the rice and lentils, this makes a hearty dish for a main course. The texture was creamy, and the lentils provided a good contrast. I think I definitely prefer kale to Swiss chard, and next time I make this, I will probably go that route instead. The only downside to this recipe was the time. It took about 90 minutes start to finish, and it was all busy time due to the fact that the recipe requires constant stirring (and they mean constant, it instantly bonds to the bottom of the pan otherwise). This was not making me happy when I miscalculated the cooking time and I was trying to finish before Survivor started! Overall, I would definitely make this again, but I would save it for a weekend when I have a little extra time.

#92: Start a Blog for this Project

…and one goal down! This will be the official blog for my 101 goals in 1001 days project. I’ve tried to make this site look nice, and spent some time updating things to make it easy for me to write, and for readers to follow along.

101 Goals in 1001 Days

Welcome to The Happy Life. The goal of this site is to journal my personal path to happiness. I’ve started on this path by deciding to participate in the 101 Goals in 1001 Days project. I came across this site via a blog I read, and decided to give it a shot to get me re-energized about life. This project started on November 7, 2007, and ends on August 4, 2010.

The Mission: Complete 101 Tasks in 1001 Days

The Criteria:

• The tasks must be specific
• The results must be measurable
• The tasks must be realistic and stretching

So with that starting point, here are my 101 goals, organized by category, not order of importance:

Cooking and Food

1. Go vegetarian for 1 month
2. Go vegan for 1 month
3. Learn how to make wine
4. Try seitan
5. Take a pastry-making class
6. Cook one new recipe per week
7. Learn how to decorate a cake properly
8. Make a family recipe cookbook to distribute to family - www.tastebook.com
9. Host a dinner party
10. Cook every recipe at least once in two of my cookbooks
11. Make 10 different kinds of homemade ice cream
12. Throw a holiday party
13. Learn how to pair wine and food
14. Try 10 new restaurants
15. Host a summer barbeque party
16. Learn to make 10 new cocktails
17. Learn how to make Grandma’s banana cream pie

Personal Development and Work

18. Finish my MBA
19. Start a small part-time home business
20. Create a personal website
21. Get my own domain
22. Have clothes and breakfast/lunch ready for work the night before for one month
23. Get an office plant
24. Bring in surprise breakfast or snacks for the office 10 times
25. Volunteer for a committee/group at work

Activism

26. Volunteer at an animal shelter for 1 month
27. Write a letter to congress
28. Send a care package to a soldier
29. Get involved with the 2008 campaign
30. Attend a vegetarian club event

Finances

31. Put 200/month to pay my student loan
32. Put 200/month in an IRA
33. Update Quicken once a week
34. Start an IRA
35. Don’t buy anything from the food court at work for one month
36. No new clothes or shoes for one month
37. Pay down my student loan by half (down to $7,500)
38. Make a will

Travel

39. Visit 5 states I have never been to
40. See a show at Radio City Music Hall
41. Visit a country I have never been to before
42. Go camping
43. Go to a Steelers game

Health and Fitness

44. Run a half marathon
45. Take an adult swim lesson
46. Meditate for 15 minutes per day for one month
47. Attend a yoga retreat at the Kripalu Center
48. Take a rock climbing class
49. Do 20 minutes of sun salutations before bed every night for 2 weeks
50. No caffeine for 2 weeks
51. Floss every day for a month
52. Volunteer at a marathon
53. Go parasailing
54. Get my rollerblades fixed or buy new rollerblades

Art

55. Make a quilt
56. Construct a digital photo album of family images
57. Learn photography
58. Learn Photoshop
59. Make a mosaic something

Music

60. Organize my live music collection
61. Organize my CD’s collection on iTunes
62. Start playing piano again – learn the complete Tori Amos book
63. Listen to all my CD’s at least once
64. Sell/give away any CD’s I no longer enjoy

Household

65. Be able to park both cars in the garage
66. Hang up all art/photos in the house
67. Start a container garden
68. Create a cleaning schedule and follow it for three months
69. Purge old magazines and give away
70. Get rid of at least 25 books I no longer read/want
71. Organize the electronic cords behind the TV and the computer desk
72. Paint two canvases for the bathroom
73. Get new windows for the house
74. Get rid of 101 material items (magazines/books/CD’s don’t count)
75. Get a safety deposit box for important documents
76. Tame the weeds in the backyard

Family and Friends

77. Take Molly for a walk every day for a month
78. Take each niece on a special afternoon trip 1 on 1
79. Volunteer to baby-sit 3 times for the O’Neil’s so they can go out sans children
80. Volunteer to baby-sit 3 times for the Roman’s so they can go out sans children
81. Prepare a “thanks for everything” meal for Joe
82. Send Christmas cards out to family and friends
83. Reconnect with 5 old friends
84. Take Papa on a train ride

Me!

85. Complete 50 books from my book list (0/50)
86. Get a massage
87. Get professional photos done of me and Joe
88. For one month, go to bed at 9:00 and read books
89. No TV for one week
90. Identify 100 things that make me happy
91. Sell something on Etsy
92. Start a new blog for this project
93. Post at least one post for each 101 thing on my list
94. Take a calligraphy class
95. Start a hobby for Joe and me to do together
96. Take one bubble bath per month
97. Participate in an online book exchange
98. Get up 1 hour early for 2 weeks to exercise or read
99. Get a Steelers jersey for myself
100. Get a Steelers jersey for Molly

And Finally…

101. Write a new 101 list!