#14: Try 10 New Restaurants

Yesterday Joe and I went out for dinner after his office Christmas party was canceled. I requested a new restaurant we’ve never been to, and we ended up at Fiesta Mexico, a new Mexican (duh) place half-way between our house and where his Christmas party was supposed to be.

Verdict: It was ok. Although it was definitely more “authentic” than say…Chilis…the food was good, but not excellent. I had chicken burritos, and basically it tasted like the ones I make at home. On the plus side the atmosphere was really neat, with a lot of hanging star lights on the ceiling and an authentic feel. It was also reasonably priced – the total bill was only $20 for both of us. I would eat here again and not protest if I was with other people, but I’m not sure this is a place Joe and I will be frequenting very often in the future.

#85: Complete 50 Books from my Book List

Book #1 was completed this past week, on one of my days off.  I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  I won’t say much about it in case I’m not the last person in the world to finish it, other than I LOVED it.  I’m sad the series is over and there are no more books to look forward to, but I thought the ending was fitting and it provided the closure that makes me happy at the end of a series (I’m still not happy with you, Sopranos!).

I’ve decided to read Middlesex next, and I started that last night.  (I didn’t get very far, but I started!)  I decided to read it because I generally love Oprah’s selections, so I checked Middlesex out of the library.  Did anyone enjoy Middlesex?

#66: Hang up all the Art and Photos in the House – Complete!

…and let me tell you what a difference it makes!  My house felt like a home for the first time this weekend.  Joe and I went on a massive cleaning spree before everyone arrived for the party, and we hung up all the rock posters, as well as a lot of other photos we have had framed and sitting on the floor for a long time.  I’m glad I can now actually enjoy our collection!

#16: Learn How to Make 10 New Cocktails

In conjunction with the holiday party I hosted, I made a new cocktail to serve: Bananas Foster Punch.  This turned out really delicious.  I found the directions to be a little confusing, so I had to do a little interpreting on my own.  I was confused by how to actually blend the mixture, so I ended up just combining half the milk mixture with all the other ingredients, then blending, then adding the other half of the milk mixture.  If that’s not the correct interpretation of the directions, it’s ok because it still tasted great!  It did not make as much as I was expecting, so for a large party (more then 5), I would definitely double the recipe.  I ended up making two batches just because my family is a little lush!  Cooking Light does not disappoint, once again!

#12: Host a Holiday Party – Complete!

This past Saturday I completed my goal to host a holiday party! I invited my entire family, as well as Joe’s. We had a blast – there was a ton of food, and a ton of good company. My finalized menu was:

Appetizers:

1. Garlic Dip
2. Bacon Dip
3. Vegetable Tray
4. Fudge (Thanks Grandma!)
5. Pecan Bars
6. Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
7. Beer Bread

Main Course:

1. Honey Glazed Ham
2. Green Bean Casserole
3. Sweet Potatoes
4. Ranch Mashed Potatoes
5. Rolls
6. Salad

Dessert:

1. Gingerbread Cake with Jeweled Lemon Sauce
2. Pecan Fig Pie

After the party and much eating, we played games and talked. We had a great time, and it was well worth the effort. I may make this a yearly tradition at my house.

Weekly Goals: Week of 12/3

This week is all about finishing up semester work for school and completing my “Host a Holiday Party” goal. My goals for this week are:

1. Weekly Recipe – I have loads of new recipes this week to try out for the holiday party. I’m going to be trying some new cocktails, new desserts, and a new main course.
2. Finish problem set #2 for class.
3. Holiday party is Saturday! Lots of cleaning and cooking to get ready to have a house full of people, 5 of which will be sleeping at my house for Friday and Saturday night. Because of the amount of cooking involved for Saturday…I think I’m going to try to convince my overnight guests to eat dinner at Red Robin on Friday night!
4. At some point, hopefully I’ll also be able to do my weekly Quicken update.
5. Wrap remaining Christmas gifts – I need to find some gift boxes!

#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!