A Summer Bucket List

I'm sick and tired of this cold.  There, I said it.  I had been just putting up with it without a peep because I'm the one who moved back here from warm New Orleans... I'm the one who has put up with 20-some winters and never thought, gee... I should just move to California for good and have summer year-round.  Well, I'm sick of it.  Winter, BE GONE!

The first day of spring is Thursday, and I'm expecting a magical weather transformation... Anything less will be heartbreaking. But while I'm drudging through the next few days, I might as well think about all the adventures I want to go on this summer...

1. Go camping!  My BF hates the idea of camping (he has never been) so I might have to go stag.

kmart.com

2. 10K or Half Marathon.  I planned on doing the Dam to Dam race here in DSM, but it's the same day as my friend's wedding, and my asthma has been kicking my rear lately, so until it warms up, I'll be walking on a treadmill.

http://memeshare.net

3. Mud Volleyball. It just sounds like a good idea right now.
4. Take another Wilton class.  Ahem Amber, Elizabeth...

This is my first Wilton Class cake!

5. Go to an outdoor concert. They just announced the lineup for Nitefall on the River and two bands I LOVE are on it! Fitz & the Tantrums and Blue October! 
6. Go fishing more than once.When I was little I wanted to be a professional fisherwoman! Did you know that?

rvtravel.com

7. Blog more consistently and figure out this Adsense thing.  Anyone have it figured out?  
8. 90 day health program at church! A friend at church told me about a grant we could get for participating in a 90 day health program, but someone has to create it... and that someone is going to be ME!
9. Clean out my closet and donate worn out and outdated clothes...  Now this is a closet I can handle!

weheartit.com

10. Don't waste a single drop of my CSA. I love my farmer and I love his produce, but sometimes I get lazy or I don't quite know what to do with some of the veggies.  I pay for it, might as well eat it all!

What's on your summer bucket list? 

Two For One: Ginger Garlic Chicken with Roasted Veggies

I generally make enough food for an army... and then by the time I get done eating it I never want to see it again.  So a recipe that I can eat in a few different ways will go a long ways with my patience. 

This recipe was a simple concept kicked up with some flava flav. 

Ginger Garlic Chicken with Roasted Veggies
1 Chicken Breast
2 Cups Cooked Brown Rice
A big pan of roasted vegetables
-1 Sweet potatoes
-1 Onion
-1 Summer Squash
-3 Carrots
1 Tbsp Asian Sesame Salad Dressing
Grated Ginger
Minced Garlic

I marinated the Chicken Breast in Asian Sesame Dressing, about a teaspoon of grated ginger and one minced garlic clove and a drizzle of olive oil for 30 minutes while I prepped my veggies to roast.

The roasted veggies were topped with some more olive oil, grated ginger and minced garlic, salt and pepper and roasted in a 400 degree oven until they were soft in the middle and brown on the outside.  Half of the sweet potato ended up disappearing into my mouth.  IMO, roasted sweet potato is a gift from God. 

While the veggies cooked, I sauteed the chicken until it was cooked through and had a pretty brown crust on the outside.  (As a note, if I was having this for dinner, I would have cooked up two chicken breasts since it's being split in two, but the fact is, I only had one in the fridge, so that's what I used and I was happy eating a few more veggies to fill me up). 

The end result was a beautiful plate topped with a little fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

BUT WAIT! There's more! 

I knew I was going to have plenty of leftovers, so I added an egg and a tablespoon of soy sauce (a little goes a long way) and sauteed up some fried rice!  Topped with cilantro... yum.

 

Leftover fried rice is bananas... I took a bite of it just to make sure all the flavors were there, and I got really excited for dinner. 

I actually had planned on grabbing something from Subway or some sushi to relax after work and watch the ISU game, but now, I'm just going to destroy these leftovers.  Go State! 

Easy Thai Chicken Salad

Dinner tonight was done in 10 minutes...

Do I have your attention?

I had been looking for a way to use a bag of coleslaw mix I bought the other day to top my fish tacos.  I feel like they should sell smaller bags of coleslaw mix, but I digress.  I found this recipe for a chopped Thai Chicken Salad and I couldn't resist makingt a few easy substitutions.  It ended up easier than I even thought it would be! 

Easy Thai Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
1/2 bag coleslaw mix (just the chopped cabbage and carrots bag, pre mayo)
2 chicken breasts
2 green onions
1 snack-sized bag of peanuts (chopped)
Handfull of chopped cilantro
1 Cup Wonton Strips (I love these)
Asian Sesame Dressing to taste

I slapped the chicken on the Foreman Grill (it's getting so nice out, if I had a grill, I would have grilled them outside!) and set to mix up the other ingredients.

I threw everything in a bowl and mixed it all up.  Once the chicken was done, I let it cool off for a bit so it wouldn't wilt my slaw and chopped it up into the salad.

Voila! Dinner was that easy.  And I had plenty of leftovers for lunch tomorrow!  I will note, saving the wonton strips for right before you serve is generally a good idea.  They get a little soggy.

Movie Theater Cookies - Just in time for the Oscars!

So the Oscars are tonight, and I will be watching despite having seen exactly none of the movies nominated for just about anything.  I think the only movie I've seen in the last 6 months is the Hunger Games...  I guess we did go see the new Anchor Man, but I don't think that's nominated for anything except maybe a Razzie...

Nevertheless, I'll do anything for a good theme cookie, so after whipping up my BF's fav chocolate chip cookies, and then making a few with walnuts because that's how I like them, but I'm not sure if his roommates like walnuts, and I overthink my baking...  Ahem, anyways, I made some cookies with a little more glitz and glamor.  Something worthy of the red carpet! A movie night cookie with buttered popcorn and peanut M&Ms. 

I'm not a huge movie person, but my BF is a movie fanatic, and I go with him if for nothing else than the buttery, salty popcorn.  He insists on salting it halfway through, but that's an argument for another day. 

Today I just air-popped some popcorn.  Did you know that you can put a few tablespoons of popcorn kernels in a paper lunch sack, roll over the end just enough to keep your popcorn inside, and pop it in the microwave?  No oil or butter needed... until it's done popping and you want to drench it.  Yum.  I make popcorn like that at least once a week.  I don't trust all that goop in microwave popcorn, and I'm cheap. 

Someday when I have some extra time, I'll swing by a theater and get a small popcorn and use that, because you just can't recreate movie theater popcorn at home. 

Movie Theater Cookies
1 C. Brown Sugar, packed
1/2 C. Sugar
1 C. Shortening*
2 Eggs room temp
1 t. Vanilla
2 1/2 C. Flour
1 t. Baking Soda
1 t. Salt
2 C. Movie Theater Popcorn
1 C. Peanut M&Ms

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 

Cream the brown sugar, sugar and shortening together in a mixing bowl.  Add the eggs, one at a time.  Add the vanilla and mix well. 
Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.  Once combined, add to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.  Don't over-mix! 
Add the popcorn and M&Ms with a wooden spoon or a spatula so you don't crush the M&Ms.  
Form the cookies with your hands and place on a greased cookie sheet.  Press down slightly.
Bake at 375 for 7-10 minutes or until they just start to brown around the edges and on top.  Let the cookies cool on a baking rack before eating.  

*You can use 1/2 shortening and 1/2 butter for a flatter cookie... I just like a bulkier cookie to hold up the popcorn and M&Ms.  That way the peanut M&Ms don't look like tumors sticking out of the cookie.

Who are you pulling for tonight?  I really hope DiCaprio snags his Oscar tonight... He might be a long shot, but I feel like he needs the ring if he's ever going to be as good as Jordan. (That was a LeBron joke... Who have I become?)

12 Ways of Giving: Jolly Holiday Lights

I took my bf on a date the other night... a girl has to treat her man every once in a while. ;)  We got drinks and appetizers at Mezzodi's (Highly recommend the bruschetta) and then I took him on a lights tour that included the Jolly HolidayLights at Waterworks Park.   

I love Christmas lights, so it was delightful to see the displays for the first time, and the $10 went to the Make a Wish Foundation!

They are open every night through January 1st, so you still have time!! 

12 Ways of Giving: Helping my Mama

I love baking and cooking, and when I lived at home, I used to help my mom out and make dinner, sometimes before anyone even got home from work…  But now that I’m out of town, I don’t get to lend a hand quite as often as I would like.  So when my mom asked for some help catering a party she was having for her clients, I was all over it. 

We baked up some cupcakes, appetizers, roasted grapes, cheeses… It was a great spread and her clients were happy and full.  

 

Helping out my family is always an easy way of giving. 

12 Ways of Giving: Thanksgiving at CISS

I had the opportunity to lend a hand at the Central Iowa Shelter Services on Thanksgiving.  We had so many buns in the kitchen, I almost felt useless… which is amazing!  To see so many families and young people give up their Thanksgiving to give back was inspiring.  And Sam with Tacopocalypse killed it with the food.  I was salivating as I was serving.  But not into the food… that would have been gross.