The Chic Life

Buckwheat Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce

It may be true that you are what you eat, but I think it's also true that you eat what you stock. 

I grew up eating a pretty healthy diet thanks to my health-freak dad (and I mean that in a good way) and my background training as a figure skater.  I was a normal kid/teen who still craved a little junk food here and there, but you can cut junk food out really easily when you simply don't have money for it - a lesson I learned in college with my $125/month food budget.  These days, I'm working on bringing more and more good-for-you foods into the home because I think if we have these good foods around, we're more likely to eat more healthily.  One of the things I brought home recently that would make dad proud was a package of Bob's Red Mill Buckwheat Pancake Mix, which I bought during my healthy-food-shopping-spree the other day.

I decided yesterday that we needed a super healthy breakfast, so I whipped up some buckwheat pancakes using my new mix.

I remember my dad trying to get the rest of the fam to eat his buckwheat pancakes, but we always preferred the generic boxed stuff (can't remember the brand at the moment).  Buckwheat pancakes definitely have a distinctive taste that and one may even consider an acquired taste, but they are definitely healthier for you.  If you prefer whole wheat and whole grains over bleached-white products, you may like these, too.

 

I decided to pair the pancakes with another healthy recipe - Ellie Krieger's Strawberry Sauce.  I got a good deal on strawberries the other day at the grocery store and they looked to be on their last legs, so I figured this sauce would be the best option. 

 

I thought breakfast was quite good.  Just look at all that lucsious, red strawberry sauce!  The sauce was sweet, but not too sweet.  It paired well with the pancakes, too.  The buckwheat pancakes were nice and thick.  Hubby didn't really like them, but he's not nearly into healthy foods like I am.  Next time, I think I'll try to do a mix of regular pancake mix and the buckwheat stuff as a nice compromise.  Still, I'm glad we had this for breakfast today.  It was nourishing, but not heavy and gave us lots of good energy for the day.

 

The recipe for the pancakes (and waffles, if you'd like) is (are) available on the back of the package of the mix and on Bob's Red Mill web site here (click).

Strawberry Sauce
by Ellie Krieger from her cookbook The Food You Crave

2 pints (16 ounces) fresh strawberries, hulled, or 4 cups frozen unsweetened strawberries, thawed
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Place the strawberries in a food processor and process them into a chunky puree.  Transfer the puree to a small saucepan over low heat and heat just until warm.  Stir in the lemon juice and maple syrup.

 

Done and done!

Btw, I've been watching FitTV a bit lately and they have some really good shows!  Getting Fresh with Sara Snow was on in the background while I was blogging this post and the woman has some great tips!  Check it out if you have a moment.

Vanilla-Almond Rice Pudding

Since getting my Ellie Krieger cookbook in the mail, I've been anxious to try one of her dessert dishes.  Who doesn't want something sweet and healthy, right?  I decided that her Very Vanilla Rice Pudding would hit the spot considering how cold and gloomy the weather has been around here lately.  With all this icky weather, I was in need of some nice, hot, comfort food.

I've liked rice pudding since I was a little kid.  I think I liked rice pudding (and oatmeal) for the same reason - they reminded me of the porridge eaten in lots of my favorite, childhood stories, like Goldilocks and The Three Bears. 

Now, I like rice pudding for its comfort-food-factor.  This dish is especially good, because according to Ellie's book, a 2/3 cup serving has only 154 calories, 2 G of fat (see book for other nutrition info), and is a good source of protein.

I was originally going to make the recipe exactly as it appears in Ellie's cookbook, but I was hesitant to add the cinnamon because, although I find the flavor delicious, I am, unfortunately, allergic to cinnamon. *sad face*  So, when I saw the almond-vanilla rice pudding over at smitten kitchen, it was a no-brainer for me to sub almond extract for the spices in Ellie's version.

Vanilla-Almond Rice Pudding
Adapted from Ellie Krieger's Very Vanilla Rice Pudding in The Food You Crave cookbook

My Note: You can definitely taste the soy milk in this recipe, so if you don't like soy milk, you may want to try the recipe on smitten kitchen (link above) instead.  I happen to really like soy milk, so I enjoyed this quite a bit.  I also found a recipe for a blueberry compote on foodnetwork.com (click for direct link to recipe) that she apparently used to top the pudding with when she made this on TV.  I'll have to try that next time.  Additionally, here's a slightly different version of the rice pudding recipe on foodnetwork.com (click).

Ingredients

2 cups water
1 cup Arborio rice
3 cups vanilla soy milk
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
3 raspberries, optional

Directions

• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Bring the water to a boil in a medium, heavy, ovenproof saucepan.  Add the rice, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the rice is nearly cooked, about 20 minutes.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the soy milk, sugar, and salt.  When the rice is cooked and still hot, add the soy milk mixture.  Cover, place in the oven, and cook for 45 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and uncover.  Stir in the vanilla extract and almond extract.  The pudding will be slightly liquidy; the liquid will continue to absorb into the rice and thicken as the pudding cools.  Distribute into 8 bowls.  Serve warm or room temperature.  If you'd like, garnish with the raspberries.  The pudding will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about 3 days. 

Easy Afternoon, Tea, and Knit Group

Hubby took the dog out this am and let me sleep in...thank goodness because sleep seems to be the only thing that makes me feel better, and I do feel a little better today.  I'm getting there!  Mr. Chic took me out for a pancake breakfast (yum!) and then we did a quick stop at the grocery store so he could pick up some brews for the football game later today (Panthers vs. Cardinals).

For some reason, the restaurant from this AM was having problems with their water and they were not serving any coffees or teas or tap water.  The food is fab there, so we stayed, but I needed some coffee still.  Hubby got some gas station coffee from the place next door, but the food came out so fast, I almost didn't need it.  In fact, the food got to our table before hubby got back with the coffee.  The coffee was decent but by the time we got back, I craved a wee bit more caffeine, so I went for some black tea.

 

I originally wanted to pair some MateVana with some Rooibos Caramel, but I was out of the MateVana (note to self: get more MateVana next time you're at the mall), so I just went with a Thai Tea Blend.  I got a lot of my teas (and all of my loose-leaf teas) from Teavana - do you have one of these places in your town?  We got one a couple years ago and when I found out about the place, I went a little crazy and got about 6 tins of tea (plus accessories).  I didn't get them all in one stop, but still!

 

Today, I got use out of one of my teas and all my accessories.  I used my Teavana Pefect Tea Spoon to drop a couple teaspoons of loose leaf tea into my Teavana® Perfect Tea Maker (16oz.) and then it was steep time.

 

Once the steeping was complete, it was time to get the tea into my Teavana Perfect Tea Mug.

 

Then, time to add sugar and milk.

And, finally, time to enjoy!

 

After relaxing for the tea for a bit, I was off to hit up the yarn shop where I met up with the Charlotte Purls.  I'm not a member (yet), but sweet Stacey welcomed me to join their event.  Thanks hun!

 

I won a coupon for an additional 10% off my purchase today and used it to get some yarn for a couple projects I've been eying in the Debbie Bliss mag (the vintage pink Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino for the knee-high socks, and the Debbie Bliss luxury donegal tweed for the Lacy Scarf) and a ball of Mille Colore.  A couple girls talked me out of the Blue Sky Organic Cotton and the Blue Sky Sport weight (that I eyed awhile back) balls of yarn, which was probably a good thing.  Phew, with all this yarn and all these WIPs to finish, I'm going to be a busy girl!

Macaroni Grill with a Friend

I helped a good friend move out from a bad roommate situation last night.  Her roomie changed the locks on her and dictated that we only had 30 minutes to pack.  I'm so glad she's getting out of that situation.  But, rather than getting into the details on that, let's talk about something more fun...like food.  We decided to hit up Macaroni Grill for some delicious food.  I used to work there through college and know the manager...thank goodness they liked me because he made sure we didn't have to wait more than 5 or 10 minutes (as opposed to the quoted 45 mins to an hour!)...sweet!

D and I split the whole meal.  I wished I had taken pictures of everything, but I was so hungry, I forgot to take any, except some of our sodas.  We started with Italian sodas (she got orange, I got pomegranate), the famous Mac Grill bread with balsamic vinegar in the olive oil, the shrimp and artichoke dip, a Caesar salad, and the Pasta Milano.  Everything was sooo good, but I'm sure terribly fattening what with all the cream sauces.  Oh well...I think it's ok to indulge once in awhile. :)

Sleepy Puppy

It's a good thing the sun is finally coming out again (though I do hear it's supposed to rain tomorrow) because Bailey has been one sleepy puppy!

He loves napping on our chaise here.  We find him up here all the time.

Here's Bailey asleep on the bed I made for him awhile back.  This is where we make him stay when we eat our meals.  He usually either tries to sneak off of the bed and inch towards the food or he falls asleep like he did here.

 

Besides sleeping through the gloomy weather, Bailey has managed to make friends with one of his Christmas toys he got from his Grandma (Hubby's mom).  Hubby has nicknamed Bailey's stuffed animal friend, "Baby" because Bails has been toting the thing around like his baby.  Hubby and I are quite astonished that "Baby" has lasted this long.

Normally, he tears his toys up faster than you can tell him "Nooooooo!" and you should see him eat treats...he gulps them.  At least, he tries to gulp them.  I hear corgis are "gulpers."

 

Just look at that face!  You can almost see him thinking "Who me?"

On the Up and Up

I went to work the rest of this week, even though I'm still feeling meh.  I only stayed home Tuesday. 

I'm finally getting the chance to work in my office.  I've basically been at client sites for the last two years, stuck in tee-niny cubicles.  But, this week, for the first time, I'm working in my office.  Yes, this is my office!  I never would have dreamed I'd have my very own office, with a window, at 28, but here she is.  The room is a bit sparse, but it's a nice change from the current clutter madness going on at the apartment.

While we're on the subject of my office, here's our break room.  Pretty snazzy, no?  The break room comes complete with a fridge, microwave, working sink (yes, I've seen non-working sinks at client sites), dishwasher, eating/bar area, coffee machine, tea machine, fridge full of free sodas (which I take great strides to avoid...I try to only have a soda once in awhile), a flat screen TV with HD, and a custom pool table with my company's logo printed in the top.  My fave feature is the TV because I can watch Food TV in HD on my lunch breaks.  Yesssss!

Anywho, I think all that coziness Wednesday night (plus the 2 extra hours of sleep I got) really helped me out leaps and bounds.  Thursday morning I felt much better.  Friday (today) was about the same as Thursday.  I think the worst part about being sick at the moment is that now that the new year is here, I'm all motivated to get my work-out on.  I'm there mentally, but not physically.  It's a shame because I was supposed to go ice skating last weekend with an old skating buddy and today, my zumba instructor was offering free classes.  I am still hoping to go skating later this weekend if I'm feeling better by then.  Maybe Sunday?  Either way, the weather has been pretty gloomy the last week or so, but today, the sun finally came out.  I think the happy, bright weather is helping me feel better, too.  Just look at how blue the sky is!  The azure blue sky reminds me of this beautiful day we had this past fall.

 

When I got home from work, I decided that I'd compromise between not working out at all and going to zumba by taking a quick walk with Bailey.  I figured the fresh air would be good for us, too.

 

We were only gone 20 minutes, but I didn't want to push it.  It seems every time I'm sick and I try to act like I'm 100% right away, I make myself sick again.  The 20 minute walk was perfect.  Bails and I had a decent workout (all things considered) and the fresh air was very invigorating.

Anywho, I just finished one of my Yogi Tea Cold Season sampler teas (I went with Cold Season and it was quite good) and now it's time to watch Everyday Italian.  Ta-ta!

Martha's Chicken & Israeli Couscous with Tomato & Lemon

I've subscribed to Martha Stewart Living for awhile now, but I haven't actually cooked anything from any of the magazines...at least, I hadn't (past tense) until today.  Today, I decided to try the super-yummy-looking Chicken & Israeli Couscous with Tomato & Lemon dish that I have been eying since first seeing it in my January 2009 MS Living mag.

I've been wanting to try Israeli couscous for awhile now, and since I already had the wine leftover from my pork dinner the other night, I figured I may as well get the other ingredients today to make this dish.

I got the Israeli couscous earlier today and hubby got the veggies - tomatoes, onion, garlic, and peas.  Can you tell yet the other reason I wanted to make this dish?  It's touted in the mag as being healthy!  Woohoo!  Lots of us could use this to help us out with our '09 resolutions, no?

Oh, and do you see this stuff?  It's threads of gold...I mean...saffron.  This is my first time cooking with saffron because the stuff is so. darn. expensive.  I've seen lots of tasty meals that I've mentally noted to try when I actually have saffron, so maybe now that I have some in the pantry, I'll give those recipes a go, too.  If you're worried about the cost of the saffron, you could probably leave the saffron out of this dish and it would probably still be quite tasty.

 

If you're on the fence about whether you want to try this or not...here's three more reasons to cook this: 1. It's super easy 2. It only uses one pot and 3. It's pretty darn fast.

 

Just look at all that healthy goodness bubbling away!

 

I have to say, it's so nice to try another grain to break from the typical starch sides I usually do, like rice or pasta.  This recipe is definitely a keeper. The soft couscous balls reminded me a bit of orzo in taste and texture.  The sliced roma tomatoes seemed a bit large at first, but cooked down to the perfect size.  The onions almost melted away into all the hot couscous, but in a good way, and the fresh bursts of peas made the dish taste extra fresh and light.  The chicken was also quite tender cooked in the chicken broth and wine as the couscous simmered away.  Yum!

 

Chicken & Israeli Couscous with Tomato & Lemon
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living - January 2009

My Note: You could probably use however many chicken breasts you want (within reason, 2-6) or even use chicken tenderloins.  The original recipe called for skinless chicken thighs, but I don't like those, so I subbed boneless chicken breasts)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup Israeli couscous
• 3-4 chicken breasts
• 1/2 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 4 roma or plum tomatoes (cut lengthwise into 6 slices)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 strips lemon peel
• pinch saffron
• 1/2 cup dry white wine, i.e. Sauvignon Blanc
• 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1/2 salt
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving (optional)

Directions

1. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add couscous, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  Transfer to a bowl, and return skillet to heat.
2. Add other 1 Tbsp oil to skillet.  Salt & pepper chicken, cook chicken on side with salt & pepper and salt & pepper other side.  Cook chicken until browned on both sides (4-6 minutes per side).  Transfer to a plate, reserving drippings in skillet.
3. Reduce heat to medium, add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes, garlic, lemon peel, and saffron, and cook, stirring frequently, until tomatoes begin to break down, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Return chicken to skillet.  Add wine to deglaze pan and scrape brown bits off pan.  Cook for 4 minutes.  Add stock, salt, and couscous, and stir.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until couscous is tender and chicken is cooked through, 12 to 14 minutes.  Stir in peas, and cook until heated through, about 1 minute.  Serve immediately with lemon.

According to the magazine, the original recipe (which is pretty much the same as the adapted above) contains, per serving: 446 calories, 3 g saturated fat, 9 g unsaturated fat, 86 mg cholesterol, 45 g carbohydrates, 342 mg sodium, 32 g protein, 9 g fiber - I imagine the adapted recipe has similar nutritional values.

Healthy Grocery Shopping

For dinner tonight, I split up the grocery shopping.  Hubby went to the regular chain grocery store while I went to the healthy-health food store.  Do you ever shop at those kinds of places?  I love shopping them!  They always have such interesting foods.

I blame my love for odd-ball health foods on my dad.  He has always been extremely mindful of his food and diet and has always tried to pass his knowledge and healthy food tips on to me and my sister.  When I was a kid, this was the biggest pain ever.  Did we get to eat bleached white bread like the other kids?  No.  Did we get to eat Fruit Rollups like the other kids? Nope.  Did we get to drink Kool-aid like the other kids?  Not so much.  Ok, some times, we would sneak a couple quick bites/sips at friends' places or when we could convince our mom to sneak some "garbage" into the house, but in general, we were forbidden.  Dad tried to reason with us kids that these junk foods we craved provided no nutritional value, were like "eating cardboard", etc, etc.  Did he persuade us from desiring the most-delicious Fruit by the Foot (one of my personal, childhood faves) and other un-healthy treats?  Heck no, we still wanted our goodies!

However, now that I'm getting older, times have changed.  These days, I genuinely appreciate the healthy habits that he's instilled in my sister and me.  Nowadays, I actually prefer wheat bread over white bread, don't care about the fruit snacks, and I'm not at all interested in drinking Kool-Aid. Now that I'm more mature, I actually get really excited when I see a big wall of hearty and healthy grains, nuts, dried fruit mixes, and all that good stuff.  I want to try a little bit of everything, but one can only eat so much at a time, eh?

For today's shopping spree, I picked up some Israeli couscous, sliced almonds, fresh ground almond butter, Buckwheat pancake & waffle mix (a favorite of my dad), toasted wheat germ (I've been looking for this for forever!), quinoa, and raw pumpkin seeds.

While I was there, I also picked up this Yogi Tea Cold Season Sampler, which contains 4 of their teas: Breathe Deep, Echinecea Immune Support, Cold Season, and Throat Comfort.

Thanks Dad for teaching us your healthy habits.  I'm hoping to continue to make the most of them!

Cozy Does It

I went to work today, but I still felt bad.  Mostly, I just felt (and feel) exhausted.  Whilst browsing the web today, I stumbled upon a post by Erin (from erincooks.com) about her Luxury Plush Throw from Restoration Hardware.  Now, anyone who knits or crochets (including myself) knows how easily one can be persuaded by a soft ball of cashmerino or other yummy yarn at their local yarn shop (I'm not the only one oohing and ahing over the softest silks, wools, and cashmeres under my fingertips, am I?).  Now, think about an entire blanket of the softest yarn you've seen (touched) and you're getting close to this throw.  I'm a total sucker for uber-soft things, blankets, especially, and while the thought of this comfy blanket waiting for me on my couch piqued my interest, the new sale price tag of a mere $23.99 had me sold.  Within an hour or two of finding Erin's post, I had called my local Restoration Hardware to see if they had any throws left, and they did, much to my surprise.  I decided that it was time for a little mind over matter to try to get rid of this yuckiness I've been living the last couple days, and this blanket would kick things off.

 

I headed straight to Restoration Hardware after work to make a quick stop for the throw, but first, since it has nothing to do with getting cozy, may I point out these gorgeous pink and white kitchen towels I got there, at 50% off?  I'm pretty happy with these and I get the feeling I'm going to need these more since the stainless pots & pans seem to demand a good drying to prevent water spots.

 

Ok, on to the coziness of it all...here's the very plush, very fabulous, Luxury Plus Throw from Restoration Hardware.  They only had 2 colors available at the $23.99 price tag - blush and eucalyptus.  I went straight for the lower price tagged colors since I'm trying to be mindful of my money these days, but they were both such pretty colors, I had a hard time picking between the two.  I wasn't sure if the eucalyptus would match (or even coordinate with) the turquoise-y things I already have in my living room, so I went straight for the pink (sorry hubby).  The majority of this throw is a super soft polyester, but it's that longer-stranded part (see upper right corner folded above) that is the really good stuff.  I have a couple blankets at the house that I consider quite cozy and pretty darn soft, but this beats them out hands down.  I figured a blanket as soft as this would be sure to help a girl to recover quicker.

 

As soon as I got home, I opened my throw for some cuddle time with the Bails.  How could you not relax with this guy cuddling next to you?  Just look at that adorable puppy-face!

 

Oh, and did you see what was on my feet in the previous photo?  Here's a closer look at one.  It's a Luxury Plush Foot Duvet and it's like butter on your feet.  Ok, not really because that would be gross, but these babies are lined with the same material from the throw, making your feet feel all warm and comfy.  I got these for a mere $9.99.  All this plushness is already making me feel a wee bit better.

 

And for my last "plush" purchase, I got this travel set for $23.99.  The set includes a mini plush blanket and a mini plush pillow.  I'm hoping to take this with me on car trips, plane trips...all trips, basically.  I'm getting the feeling I'm about to be spending a lot of trips on planes, so this could come in handy.

 

Anywho, I've got a yummy candle burning tonight, too.  Hubby and I got a set of 2 Christmas-scented candles (Gingerbread and Christmas Cookie) 50% off at the Hallmark store (I think $15 for the set).  I love candles and burn one almost every night.  Besides making our place smell good, I find them very soothing and relaxing.

 

I've got one last trick up my sleeve to get me into a total state of relaxation - a bath bomb.  Have you ever tried one of these me! bath Bath Ice Creams?  Drop one of these into your next bath for an explosion of soothing oils, minerals, and other goodies.  They are a bit pricey at $8.50 a pop, but still cheaper than a day at the spa.

Ok, I'm off to get cozy and relax.  First, I'm headed for the bath with my Land of Milk n Honey bath bomb, and next, I'm headed to cuddle up in my new plush throw and slippers.  Let's see if all this comfy goodness helps me feel any better.  Oh, and thanks Erin for sharing your throw post with us!

Giada's Pork Chops with Fennel and Caper Sauce

I cooked one of the best meals I've had in a long time tonight - Giada's Pork Chops with Fennel and Caper Sauce.  I don't remember this meal being so good the last time I made it, but tonight, it was spectacular!

I stayed home from work today.  I felt worse than I did yesterday when I woke up, so I figured it would be best if I just stayed put rather than contaminate my co-workers.  I tried my best to sit still and relax all day.  I don't do well sitting still.  I get fidgety and want to start doing something (anything!) like organizing or picking up.  Today, I was so tired and my body so achy, it was much easier than normal to relax. 

As for dinner, even though I was super tired tonight, I knew I had to cook those pork chops I bought this weekend before they went bad.  I actually had all the ingredients last night, but was so tired, I just had  egg drop soup.

So, I willed myself into getting dinner ready and gathered my ingredients, and there were many fresh ingredients in this dish, indeed.  Just look at em!

I wasn't sure exactly which parts of the fennel to use (exactly what are the "fronds" anyways?), so I checked my DVR and luckily, I had the episode where Giada cooks this dish on file.  After watching the entire segment earlier today whilst sipping some hot tea and, yes, actually sitting still, I figured out to grab the main part of the bulb (minus the hard exterior layer) and some of the green dill-looking tops (the "fronds").

We also cracked open our Two Buck Chuck.  Have you heard of it before?  It's a pretty decent wine available at Trader Joe's.  Apparently, it got its name due to its $2 price tag, although now it costs $2.99 (and in some places, $4).  It's still a great deal, especially when you're watching your bottom line like I am (and it probably helps that I'm no wine connoisseur, though the wine has won some awards, apparently).  Either way, wine is typically a pricey ingredient I avoid when I'm on a budget, but I'm going to plan more meals for later this week around this ingredient to make good use of it.

For all the flavor you get, this meal was surprisingly simple and only used 2 pots/pans.  Ok, one pot, one pan, if you want to be precise.  I used one pot to cook the pasta and one pan to cook the pork chops and sauce.  Well, I guess I also used a baking sheet to make a couple of those Pillsbury Oven Baked Dinner Rolls, so that makes 3.  Either way, I had a good stress-free time cooking tonight.  For the side, I made some Colavita Angel Hair Nests.  I love these things because they keep well in my pantry, cook in only 3 minutes, and are already ball-shaped, so they are easy to plate.

 

 

For all the flavor of this dish, it was also pretty affordable.  I think I (read - hubby) got all the ingredients for less than $15, including the wine!  Not too shabby, eh?

 

Looking for a fast, fresh, and flavorful pork dinner?  Give this one a try...it's delicious!

Pork Chops with Fennel and Caper Sauce
by Giada deLaurentis (via foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients

    * 1/4 cup olive oil
    * 4 boneless (2-inch-thick) pork chops (about 2 pounds total)
    * 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning meat
    * 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning meat
    * 2 fennel bulbs with fronds, thinly sliced (about 8 ounces or 2 cups)
    * 2 large shallots, thinly sliced
    * 1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus 1/3 cup
    * 1/2 cup white wine
    * 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their juices
    * 1/2 lemon, zested
    * 2 tablespoons capers

Directions

In a large, heavy skillet heat the olive oil over high heat. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Add the pork to the pan and brown on both sides, about 4 minutes each side. Remove the pork from the pan, cover loosely with foil, and set aside.

Add the fennel, shallots, and 1/3 cup parsley to the pan and cook over medium heat until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the wine. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the tomatoes and stir. Add the pork back into the pan, nestling the chops between the fennel and tomatoes so they are mostly submerged in the pan juices. Cook until the fennel is tender and the pork is done, about 12 to 15 minutes.

Place the pork on a serving dish. To finish the sauce, add the lemon zest, remaining 1/3 cup parsley, capers, and 3/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Spoon over the pork chops and serve immediately.

Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life

It's here!  It's here!

I ordered Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life a couple weeks ago and it's finally here!  Have you seen Ellie's show?  She cooks healthy food, but she uses real ingredients.  I'm not a fan of diet sodas or reduced fat foods.  I'd rather eat the real thing and eat less of it.  Ellie shows you how to cook great tasting food that is healthy, and by healthy, I mean not just low in fat or calories, but good for you - chock full of vitamins and other goodies. 

I've made a couple things from Ellie before: Oven Fried Chicken, Tuscan Roasted Chicken and Vegetables, and Linguine with Shrimp.  I'm sure you'll be seeing lots more of her recipes here now that I have her book.  Yippee!

Mr. Funky Super Crochet Hat - Complete!

Even though I woke up still feeling icky today, I went to work.  I probably shouldn't have, but I always feel bad about staying home unless I have a doctor's note or something...even though my bosses have NEVER asked for one.  Anywho, no cooking posts for tonight.  I took photos of the easy "cheater" meal I make when I feel sick, don't have any food around, or don't feel like making anything - Egg Drop Soup, but I wasn't happy with the photos, so I think I'll save that for another day.

Tonight, I bring you proof that I finished a WIP for once.  Remember this Mr. Funky Super Crochet Hat WIP from forever ago?

I finished it!

I actually finished it a long time ago...I just never photographed it for whatever reason.

I'd show you the matching scarf WIP, but alas, that is but a long, sad chain stitch. 

In better progress-news, I have worked a few more rounds on my knit hat WIP tonight while I try to rest and recoop, now that it's all fixed thanks to Sandy.  The yarn is thin and the needles are tee-niny, so it's a slow-moving project, but I'm hoping to have it done so I can wear it some time this winter.  Cross your fingers.

Mom's Beef & Barley Soup

When I was in college and living in my first apartment, every time I would visit my parents, they would send me home with a few tupperwares of frozen soup.  My favorite of the group was always the Beef & Barley Soup.  Having these home-cooked meals in my freezer and available whenever I wanted some seriously good food (and by that I mean, not fast food or a sub) was a life-saver.  Hubby and I still come home with frozen soups, even today!

I think mom my originally got her recipe for the soup from some cookbook...but since I don't know which one it is, I'll just share what she gave me.  If any one knows the origin of this recipe, please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due.

Mom's Beef and Barley Soup

Ingredients:
1  Cup of Barley
1  tsp. salt
4  Cups boiling water
1/2-1  pound good beef, cut small
2 tbsp butter
3 stalks of celery, diced fine
1  Onion,chopped  fine
1  large carrot, diced fine
1  shallots' diced fine
10  Cups of water or less if you want the soup thick, just guesstimate
5  Beef bouillon cubes
2  chicken bouillon cubes
1  veggie bouillon cube, optional
1  tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1  garlic clove, chopped fine
1  tbsp parsley  fresh or dried, use more if fresh

Directions:
Combine barley, salt and 4 cups of boiling water in a sauce pan( any pan that will hold at least 4 cups of water). Heat to boiling then simmer for 30-40 minutes,covered till barley is soft. Drain in colander, rinsed well with cold water, set aside.

While the barley is cooking, brown the beef in 1 tbsp of butter in medium-high heat. then add the onion,celery,carrot and shallot and the rest of the butter about 3-5 minutes till soft.  Add the 10 cups of water, bouillon cubes, salt and pepper, and garlic. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low or simmer about 30 minutes till beef is soft. Add parsley and barley. Cook for 10 minutes. If too thick add more water.

The barley had the longest cooking time, so I started that first.  While the barley simmered, I got started on the soup.

I cut the beef (my mom cuts hers into itty-bitty pieces - about 1/2 inch squares) and got it started sauteing.

As far as veggies, the soup starts with the trinity (onion, celery, carrots) and some shallots.  The more I cook with shallots, the more I love them - they are so light and fresh tasting.  I really enjoy them in pastas.

Once the beef was browned, I added all those yummy, healthy veggies and sauted some more.

 

While the veggies and beef sauted, I drained the barley.  I still had a ways to go before adding it to the soup, though.  I added the water and boullian cubes (etc) and let the soup simmer for 40 minutes.

 

Then, it was time to add the barley to the soup and let it cook for another 10 minutes.  In that time, I pre-heated the oven and cooked two of those Pillsbury Oven Baked Dinner rolls.  Have you tried them?  They are a staple in our house.  With these babies, you can have fresh baked rolls without having to go through the trouble of making them from scratch.  One of these days, I'd like to make some from scratch, but after a busy day, these will do the trick.

 

This soup was perfect to help me get back on my feet and feeling better.  The hot broth felt super comforting on my throat and I just love those chewy little bits of barley.  Yum!

 

The best part about this soup is that it makes a lot and reheats well.  I don't know about you, but for some things, if you freeze it and try to reheat it, it tastes...funny.  But, this soup tastes almost as good from the freezer as it does straight from the pot the first day you made it.  Seriously...give it a go. 

Hubby and I said we would start going to the farmers market on the weekends and making a big pot of soup to eat that day and freeze for later, so we can have home-cooked meals at our fingertips.  So far, we haven't followed through with this plan and our local farmers market is closed.  Tonight's dinner yielded 2 tupperwares full of soup for lunch tomorrow and (only) one to go in the freezer.  Ah well...we have a trip scheduled to see my parents very soon.  We'll have to stock up again.

Icky Sicky

I woke up today feeling worse than yesterday.  Besides feeling exhausted, my body aches, and my throat hurts a bit.  I feel terrible...don't get me wrong, I've seen worse, but I do feel pretty bad.

Not bad enough to ignore my donuts that I made yesterday, though.  After all that work, I was determined to eat at least two.

 

Hubby was sweet enough to pick up my prescription and get me some more Country Life Superior Vitamin C.  This vitamin is one of those food-based vitamins (at least that's what they told me at the store), which is supposed to be better for you and easier for your body to absorb than a generic/chemical vitamin.  Here's what a appears to be a legitimate article on the subject (click) if you'd like to read more.  Anywho, I will be  consuming Vitamin C and hot tea like a madwoman all day today.  Round 1 - Yogi Tea Green Tea Kombucha (Defense).

Homemade Donuts

A few months ago, I saw a Good Eats episode where Alton Brown made 30 minutes worth of glazed-donut-goodness.  With mouth watering, I promised myself I would try his recipe out soon-ish.  Fast forward to earlier this week when I saw a shared blog popped up on my Google reader.  The blog - ErinCooks.com, the post - donuts!  After seeing Erin's amazing-looking donuts, I decided it was time to give donuts-from-scratch a try.

I planned to make donuts some time over my 4-day weekend, and decided today would be the day.  But, when I woke up, I had that groggy, congested, I'm-sick-feeling, which made me second-guess whether I should still make them.  After delaying for a couple hours over a late breakfast and a couple cups of tea, I finally decided to go ahead and go for them.  I visited Erin's donut post for her adapted Betty Crocker Raised Donuts recipe (click for link), and I went ahead and got the dough prepped, since it had to rise for almost an hour.

 

After letting the dough rise long enough, it was time for the cutting...

*Update* - Since Lys asked about the donut cutter, I figured someone else may be interested to know.  I got my donut cutter from Sur La Table (click for donut cutter), though they only seem to have 2 1/2 inch while the recipe calls for a 3 inch.  I just lowered my cook time to compensate for the smaller donut size.  I also got my oil temperature gauge (aka candy/deep fry thermometer) from Sur La Table (click for link to thermometer).

 

...and there were many donuts to be cut.

 

Then more wait time to let them re-rise.  My donuts didn't really rise the second time, though.  Perhaps I let them go too long the first time?  Or I made some other kind of error?  Who knows?

 

They looked good enough to me and I had come too far to turn around.  It was time to get cooking!

 

But, before I could cook, I had to get the oil to the right temperature.  I actually had lots of trouble regulating the oil temp.  I burned the first couple donuts.

I dipped half of one of those slightly-burnt donuts and dipped it into the sugar bowl I had set up and surprisingly, it was pretty tasty.  There was hope still!

 

I finally got the swing of things and was able to fry up the rest of the dough.

 

 

I took Erin's advice and did some donuts in sugar...

 

 

...and I did a LOT of donuts in a glaze. I wanted to try out Alton Brown's Chocolate Doughnut Glaze recipe, too, but let me tell you, the donut recipe was no easy feat.  I was so tired by the time I was done with just making the donuts, I wasn't ready to break out another set of pans for the sake of chocolate.  Perhaps if I have a helper next time, I will give that chocolate glaze a go?

 

Want a bite?

 

In fact, want a few bites?  This recipe made a smorgasbord of donuts!  Yowsa!  Let's hope hubby is hungry.

Easy Broccoli Cheese Quiche

I realized I forgot a couple resolutions and added them to my New Year's Resolutions post (click).  My two new resolutions are related to using money and leftovers more efficiently.  I decided to try out a quiche recipe in an effort to kill two birds with one stone and tackle two resolutions at once.  In some ways, I really tackled three resolutions because I planned to make this meal as early as two weeks ago when I picked up refrigerated pie crusts on major markdown for the holiday season.  I even bought cheese and broccoli earlier this week, planning to make a broccoli cheese quiche, even though I didn't really have a recipe.  This was to be my first quiche attempt ever!

Luckily, a google search quickly yielded several options, though the only recipe that really jumped out at me was this Easy Broccoli Quiche recipe, which I found on allrecipes.com with 4 1/2 stars out of 404 comments.  At first, I was put off that nearly everyone who reviewed the recipe had made major alterations to the recipe, but then I accepted that they knew what they were talking about and I'd just have to pick someone to side with.  I copied the recipe to a word document, added 3 of the reviews complete with their takes on the recipe, and printed out the doc for when I was ready to cook.

When I was finally ready, I decided to go with Marim's comments, which read, "I made this recipe per the direction of previous reviewers, and that's what my rating is for, not the original recipe here. I used 3 eggs, 3/4 cup milk, 1 cup broccoli, 1/2 of an onion, and sharp white cheddar. Mixed all ingredients together before putting in pie crust. Cooked for about 45 minutes, until cheese turned golden brown on top. This was delicious and easy."

 

I followed the main recipe primarily, using Marim's portion suggestions and some cooking instructions.  I got to use a half onion leftover from yesterday's meal, and I added one minced clove of garlic.  I was planning to mix all the ingredients together, per Marim's suggestion, but I forgot to mix the broccoli into the egg/milk mixture, and I put the cooked onion/broccoli/garlic mix straight into the bottom of the pie plate as the original recipe directed.  Oopsie.

 

I did, however, remember to mix the cheese (I used cheddar) into the egg/milk mixture prior to pouring into the pie dish.  I'm not sure it made a difference, though.  The egg/milk mixture seeped into the brocoli and onions, while the cheese kinda lumped on top.  I tried to gently mix everything, but the cheese kinda stayed to the top, so I just flattened it out.  Everything seemed awfully low in the dish, as though, maybe I didn't use enough liquid ingredients.  I figured that Marim knew what she was talking about, so I wished for the best and placed the quiche into the oven for 45 minutes, as Marim suggested. 

 

At 30 minutes, I checked the quiche to make sure nothing was going awry and to see if I needed to cover the crusts to keep them from burning.  Everything looked fine and even the center was beginning to puff up nicely (good thing I didn't add extra liquid, or it may have spilled over).  I prepped our dinner plates with some mixed baby greens and topped them with halved  cherry tomatoes (leftover from earlier in the week).  At 45 minutes, I took the quiche out of the oven and let it sit for a couple minutes. After waiting, I started to cut a slice to serve, but the center seemed...off.  Perhaps too liquidy?  I'd never made quiche before, so I didn't know what to expect for the consistency.  To be safe, I put the quiche back into the oven for an extra 5 minutes and then let it sit to cool for an extra 10.  I worried the whole time that I had ruined the meal and it wouldn't turn out right.  How could I follow the recipe of some random commenter?  What was I thinking?!

 

I started to try to remember what the consistency of quiche was like when I had it in restaurants in the past.  I rationalized with myself that quiche is normally a bit soft and "liquidy" in the inside...that's just how they are.  Right?  After willing up the courage, I headed back to the quiche to try to cut a slice again.  The filling still seemed a bit liquidy, but I kept going and you know what?  The slice came out just fine!  In fact, it was probably done the first time I took it out.

Hubby was more than ready to eat after all the extra cooking time and waiting-to-cool time, but I did make sure to snap a couple photos.  Here's a great shot of our fresh salad mix and cherry tomatoes.  I topped mine with my favorite salad dressing (3 years running) - Drew's All Natural Rosemary Balsamic - this stuff is divine!

 

Hubby also had some steak, leftover from last night's dinner.  I also served dinner with a piece of leftover cornbread from last night, drizzled with a little honey.  The honey made the cornbread seem more like dessert and satisfied my sweet tooth, though hubby and I did end up splitting an apple to wrap things up.

I think with all the leftovers and affordable ingredients we had, I may have finally, successfully created a $5 Dinner.  I've been trying to think of a good one to make ever since finding out about the $5 Dinners blog (click).  You should check it out if you're resolving to save more money, too.  $5 Dinner mom shares great tips on affordable meals and some serious shopping savings.

Here's my Broccoli Cheese Quiche cost  breakdown:
Eggs     $0.63
Cheese     $1.50
Pie Crust     $0.75
Milk     $0.19
Broccoli     $1.00
Salad Mix     $0.58
Cherry Tomatoes     $0.25
Onion     $0.35
Garlic     $0.04

TOTAL: $5.29

I think the broccoli may have actually been more expensive, but I can't find a receipt.  I pretty much had to guestimate the ingredient costs anyways since I got most of them on sale.  Either way, factor in that we only ate half of the quiche and will have the rest for breakfast in the AM, and my meal was def under $5.  Ah-ha! :)

A Day of Corrections

I took today off to clean, organize, maybe do something I just feel like doing, and in general, work on getting my life back in order.  I slept in till 10 am (woohoo!) and woke up to what appeared to be ruined pots and pans.  Egads!

Do you see those stains and discoloration?!  I almost freaked out.  Hubby and I have been talking about how much we want to take good care of these pots and pans and for them to look like this after ONE use?  Oh my!

Luckily, I referred to the documentation that came with the pots & pans (which, mind you, Hubby wanted to toss) and read that I could use one part vinegar to one part water to soak in the pots and pans to remove such spotting and discoloration.  Well, much to my relief, it worked!  Phew...that was close.  Let's hope we don't have to do this every time we use these pots and pans, though.

After not having to worry about the pots and pans, I went for breakfast.  My favorite breakfast to eat, in general, is oatmeal.  Well, that's not 100% true.  I also love a good eggs, bacon, and hash browns kinda breakfast a whole lot, too, but I like that one when I want a really big breakfast.  All that food tends to be a bit heavy on the tummy, so when I'm wanting something filling that is healthy, light, and good to give me lots of energy for the day, I always turn to oatmeal.  For this AM, I made a modified version of Ellie Krieger's Cherry Vanilla Oatmeal. I used 1/4 cup quick cooking oats, 1/2 cup water, a handful of chopped, dried cherries, a pinch of flax seed, and a pinch of wheatberry pre-cooking.  After, I stirred in a teaspoon of seedless strawberry jam (which I bought awhile back to make those cute cut-out cookies or thumbprint cookies), a dash of vanilla extract, and about 2 tablespoons of milk.  Everything was delish, though, I wish I had some slivered almonds to top off the oatmeal.

 

After breakfast, I headed to Charlotte Yarn to see if someone could perform emergency life saving techniques on my knit hat WIP.  I brought it with me on the Christmas trips in hopes of getting a lot of work done on it (so I may actually be able to wear this hat this winter), but I had a hard stop on an error when I was supposed to purl 3 and I only had 2 stitches left on my needles for the round.  Luckily, (really, really, really luckily) my fave instructor Sandy was able to fix my WIP and get me back on track.  Phew...close one, again!

 

Of course, I found a few more things I'd like to buy while I was there, including this beautiful sportweight blue sky yarn...

 

...and two books that Sandy showed me:

• Ocean Breezes: Knitted Scarves Inspired by the Sea by Sheryl Thies
• Luxury Yarn One-Skein Wonders by Judith Durant

These have both been added to my amazon.com wish list.

Then, it was back home to eat lunch (a late lunch at 3PM).  I had leftover collard greens, leftover black eye peas, leftover cornbread drizzled with honey, and a nice, hot cup of Green Tea Kombucha by Yogi Tea, to ward off the cold weather blues.  Yogi Tea is quickly becoming my favorite brand of tea.  So far, I've only tried 3 of their flavors, but I just signed up for a sample packet on their web site (here) to try some more.  I can't wait till they're here!

Ok, I'm off to go "correct" my apartment, and by that, I mean clean/organize.

Traditional New Year's Day Dinner...Sorta

I've grown up eating black eye peas and collard greens on New Year's Day for good luck and fortune, so I had been planning to eat these two sides, though I had no clue how to cook them.  I also wasn't sure what to do with the NY strip steak I picked up earlier in the day with hubby.  After much research, I found several recipes I adapted to create our New Year's Day Dinner.

I happily readied my brand spankin new stainless steel pots and pans and my green, vintage pyrex baking dish.

 

Since the black eye peas were supposed to be cooked the longest, I started on those first.  I had a hard time actually finding a recipe for canned black eye peas.  I also had a hard time finding a recipe without bacon or ham hock.  I'm sure those recipes with the meats would be quite tasty, but since I knew I was using some bacon to cook the collard greens, putting them in the black eye peas sounded like bacon overload.  I ended up basing my cooking loosely off of this recipe (click) I found on cooks.com.  I didn't have jalapenos, so basically, I sauteed some chopped onion for about 60 seconds in a pot with a teaspoon of olive oil.  I added garlic and sauteed that for about 45 seconds and then added a can of un-drained black eye peas.  I brought this to a boil, covered, lowered the heat and simmered until everything else was ready.  The recipe said to cook the peas for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, but since the canned peas were already soft, I figured I could go with less cooking time.

 

Next, I got started on the collard greens.  I did a variation on Dave Lieberman's Braised Collard Greens, Mustard Greens, and Red Swiss Chard recipe I found on foodnetwork.com.  I only had collard greens, so I halved the liquid ingredients (chicken broth/stock, apple cider vinegar) and the sugar.  I also only used 2 slices of bacon.  The recipe turned out great, but I wish I could have cut the collard greens smaller and used a wee-bit less sugar.  I know for next time, though. :)

 

While I worked on the collard greens, hubby put together our Jiffy cornbread and got it into the oven.

 

I searched a long time for a good steak recipe.  I thought about just pan-searing the steak and eating it with A1, but since tonight's dinner was going to be special, I figured I'd look for something a little more fancy.  I ended up using two recipes - Steak au Poivre from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook Special Edition (the pink Susan G Komen version) and Alton Brown's Pan Seared Rib Eye recipe from foodnetwork.com.  I used an old Rachael Ray trick to crush the peppercorns by putting about a tablespoon of whole peppercorns into a plastic bag and then bashing the heck out of them with a frying pan.

 

We actually go the peppercorns from my parents for Christmas...how convenient, no?  Hubby, the flame-tongued-one, got more peppercorns than me, of course.

 

I prepared the NY strip steaks following the BHG recipe and cooked them following Alton Brown's (seared 3 mins per side, in oven 2 minutes per side).

 

The cornbread came out of the oven just in time to make room for the steaks to finish cooking at a higher temp.

 

Then, all I had to do was make the sauce.  I used the BHG recipe and the 2 parts beef broth version.  I really think Brandy would have made the dish extra tasty, but I didn't have it on hand.

 

Once the sauce was done cooking, it was time to eat!

 

And eat we did!  The meal was super yummy.  I loved all the (slightly-altered) recipes I tried - they were delish!  The collards and black eye peas were the "traditional" part of the meal and the steak was just what we felt like eating that night.  I'm not sure Steak au Poivre is supposed to go with collard greens and black eye peas, but hubby and I enjoyed the combo, so I guess that's all that matters.

Did you eat anything special for New Year's Day?

New Year’s Resolutions 2009

I figured I'd take the first day of the year to go ahead and outline my New Year’s Resolutions for 2009.  I decided to group them by those resolutions I consider concrete (those that have a measurable or specific goal) and general (those that are more related to a general idea).

Concrete
•    Work out once a week, even if it’s only a walk with Bailey.
•    Plan meals ahead of time by creating menus for the week – at least 3 days worth.  Bonus points for planning meals around sales/coupons.
•    Pay off all credit card debt asap – definitely by end of year.
•    Set aside at least two times a month for date/family time – date nights, taking Bailey to the doggie park, etc.
•    Clean and organize craft room by end of year.
•    Create a cleaning schedule and stick to it.

General
•    Eat more veggies.
•    Eat more fruit.
•    Eat healthier in general.
•    Use food leftovers and ingredients more efficiently (added 1/2/09)
•    Use money more efficiently - spend less (added 1/2/09)
•    Volunteer more.
•    Spend more time with friends.
•    Save for a house.
•    De-clutter house.
•    Make more “me” time.

This morning, I woke up with a huge headache, which seemed weird to me considering I didn't have a drop of alcohol last night.  I couldn't figure out if I had a headache because I slept in and my caffeine addiction was kicking in or if I had been grinding my teeth again in my sleep.  The cause was probably due to a little bit of both.  Hubby made me some coffee, which I drank while checking email and my google reader.  It definitely helped out my headache, but I still felt in a bit of a daze the rest of the afternoon.

In an effort to kick off the new year the right way, we decided to try to tackle some errands and open items.  I gathered our Goodwill/Salvation Army donation bags (which I typically fill while I'm organizing/decluttering), the boxes from our new pots and pans that actually contain our old pots and pans (since Mom gave us new ones for our wedding prezzy), and three bags of plastic bags to recycle.  Hubby loaded the car while I got ready to go.  When I was ready, I packed a cream colored, short pea coat I got on sale recently at J Crew. 

I've been trying to talk myself into returning that purchase and got the coat and receipt ready to return.  We headed straight for the mall, but by the time I got there, I had talked myself out of returning that darn coat.  Ah well, I've really wanted one (this style and this color) for a long time and I got this one at a pretty good deal.  Besides that, it won't put me in debt, so I figured I can keep it.

While hubby went to Jos A Bank to exchange a belt for a different size, I hit up Borders in search of the Marie Claire Idees magazine and a chai latte.  I found the latte, along with a couple cool desk calendars, but no Marie Claire Idees...le sigh.

We hit up the other stores Mr. Chic wanted to visit at the mall, and I didn't even go into any stores I normally frequent except one - Sur La Table.  After seeing these amazing looking donuts, I was itching to try the recipe, so I figured I'd better go ahead and get a donut cutter for when I'm ready.  

After we left the mall, we hit up the grocery store for a meat to go with the collard greens and black eye peas I purchased earlier this week for our New Year's Day meal.  We got NY strip steaks, bacon, Jiffy cornbread mix, a baguette, and my favorite AM coffee - Fresh Market's Breakfast Blend.

 

After we got back from errands, hubby went to a friend's place to watch the Rose Bowl and I worked on some more chores and had a snack of baguette, Port Salut cheese (the one I got a couple weeks ago), and Celestial Seasonings herbal peppermint tea.

Other Stuff I Got Done Today
•    Cleaned my bathroom - swiffered floor, washed bath rugs, scrubbed/cleaned shower, cleaned top of toilet, cleaned countertop, cleaned sink.  Tomorrow, I'll scrub the toilet and clean the mirror, but I get wary about using different cleaners at the same time since I heard it was dangerous if the fumes mix.
•    Signed up for the 2009 Declutter Calendar and weekly simplicity tips available at http://www.mysimplerlife.com/blog/.  I highly recommend signing up for this - it's free and awesome.  I just downloaded and printed my calendar and it has daily tasks for you to get your world organized.  I can't wait to get started!
•    Cooked a traditional New Year's Day dinner - but that's for another post. :)

Overall, I think today has been a pretty successful kick-off for the new year.  I am looking forward to working on my resolutions and tacking my 2009 Declutter Calendar tasks.  2009, here we come!