Miscellany Monday

I am taking a tip from Lindsay and participating in Miscellany Monday!

* I get onto food kicks - - I have apparently come full circle because I am on the same snack kick as I was my sophomore year of high school - - cooked carrots. I season them with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray and salt/pepper. I have to watch out, because I OD'd back in 1999 and avoided them for about 12 years. But for now - - I'm baaack!

* I used to be SO addicted to Grey's Anatomy - and although I've DVR'd it all season I think I've only watched 1 or 2 episodes. I keep planning to catch up but haven't had 12 hours to dedicate to this task quite yet.

* For Christmas Randy got me three pairs of fluffy house slippers with grips on the bottom. I love them. I'm wearing the purple stripey pair right now!

* The first time I was ever in the Atlantic Ocean, I was stung by a jellyfish. Twice. It pretty much turned me off from going into the water. Which is a pity, considering it's only a short roadtrip to the beach.

* I wear flats every day of the week. I own some high heels - don't get me wrong - but I hardly ever wear them. I'm a flats girl.

* I have about 10 boxes of pasta in my pantry - mostly thin spaghetti. I always think I'm running low on pasta, for some reason, and end up picking it up at the grocery. I never seem to remember that I have enough to last me a year.

That's it for today - - HAPPY MONDAY!

Cooking Light

My hubby will tell you - - one of the best days of the month is the one where my bright & shining COOKING LIGHT magazine arrives. I've been a subscriber to the magazine since 2004 and haven't missed an issue!  I have some great memories from college, going over to Lindsay's house and cooking great recipes out of the newest edition (I miss that!)  But nowadays, I have developed a little system to squeeze every pinch of enjoyment out of its arrival:

First, there is the "preliminary glance" - I thumb through the magazine to get an idea of what kind of recipes and features await me. I don't linger on any of the pages or really read through the recipes or articles.

Then, there is the second read through. Now I start to be a bit more detailed. I read the articles and evaluate the recipes to see if any of them will make an upcoming appearance on our dinner table.  (I read through the ingredients, how to prepare the dish, and try to decide if it's binder-worthy).

I leave the magazine intact for a few weeks so that I can look through it during my down time - then afterwards comes the last step: extraction. I go through and tear out the pages that feature recipes to add to my collection. I used to just clip recipes that "looked good" but then didn't really consider whether or not I'd actually make them. Now that I'm married - I know there are some things that my hubby doesn't like or will particulary want on a Tuesday night - so I've scaled it down a bit. Then the recipes get added to my binder...and I've even created an index so it's easy to find the recipes I've been longing for!

About a year ago, the magazine went through a facelift and my new favorite section is the "Editor's Dozen" - where they feature 12 gadgets or kitchen tools and where to get them. I actually got some of my wish-list items around the holidays from these few pages.

Here are a few of my all-time favorite recipes from over the years:

Walnut crusted pork chops 
Basil and three-cheese thin-crust pizza with the Pizza sauce
Sausage-stuffed chicken breasts
Italian creme cake
Yankee pot roast
Crab cakes with roasted veggies
Crisp mashed potato cakes
Pear crisp

Wow, it was hard to narrow those down! Am I the only one who is seriously in love with a cooking magazine (enough to blog about it)? :)

Chocolate chip pound cake balls

The way to a man's heart is his stomach - so I knew that in order win over my hubby on Valentine's Day I had to make something special and chocolatey. So I took one of Randy's favorite desserts and kicked it up a notch - and created these bite-sized treats. This is a spin on the cake balls I made a few months ago - and I promise, these won't disappoint.

Choco chip pound cake:

1 Duncan Hines yellow cake mix
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
2 eggs
1 1/4 c. water
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 cup chocolate chips (I used mini chips in this recipe)
1 tub of vanilla frosting
1 package chocolate bark

Mix together ingredients, then stir in chocolate chips. Pour into greased bundt pan, bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Let cool on racks.

When cooled, break cakes into small pieces and stir in 3/4 container of frosting. (I also stirred in some extra chocolate chips - just for good measure). Form cake mixture into 1" balls. Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and refrigerate several hours (or in the freezer if you're in a rush).

Melt chocolate bark in microwave according to package directions. One at a time, dip the balls in chocolate and let set. You can decorate the balls with sprinkles - or more mini chocolate chips, like I did. The result is pure, bite-sized bliss.

Practically Picasso

A few weeks ago a few girls from work and I went to a place in Raleigh called Wine & Design. The premise is that you can BYOW and paint for a few hours with your girlfriends. There is an instructor who decides the theme of the evening and does a bit of instruction along the way - everything from a creating still-life art to a portrait of your home or pet.  The class we attended was painting happy little owls perched on a tree.  Except, I unknowingly painted my owls' mouths upside down, so they resemble the Angry Birds iPhone app.

Regardless of my [lack of] artistic abilities - I have been in a painting/crafty mood ever since.  Lucky for me, I have a home to decorate, so I had a great excuse to be a crafty, creative homemaker.

My first project was adding some decor to our bedroom. We have abstract art over our bed - and I created a trio of paintings to coordinate with it. (I actually used a blending technique that I learned at the painting class, which made me feel pretty darn cool.)  These went over the TV in our bedroom.  Just call me Mark Rothko.

My other project was for the guest bathroom. I recently bought a wall hanging that features a damask pattern and decided that another trio of paintings would help tie things together.  I am actually pretty proud of these little guys.

Sadly, I think I am out of areas that I can add my own artistic flare to. For now, at least. But I think I've been bit by the crafty bug. Not only do we have unique, one of a kind decor in our home - but I did it on a dime. Not too shabby.

There she goes...

This past week I got the biggest piece of flattery I've had in ages.  I got a letter informing me that I have been nominated to try out for the Miss North Carolina pageant.  They're only about 10 years too late.

On traveling solo...

I've done a bit of solo sightseeing in my day. According to a recent statistic, 45% of solo travelers are women - and 79% of those travelers wished they had someone traveling with them. I have to agree with that. Solo travel just isn't all it's cracked up to be.

A definite perk of taking a trip alone is that you get to plan the itinerary - and there's no need to compromise on what activities you do.  You have the freedom to explore back streets, wander into little shops, and maybe even blend in with the locals. 

Both Randy and I felt that our trips to the UK were good - but that it would have been a lot more enjoyable if we had experienced London together.  Before I went, he gave me some tips on things to see and do - he knows that I'm a cornball tourist, so the suggestions that he had were definitely up my alley.  Oh the man knows me so well.  Numero uno on my list was going to see Big Ben. It is quintessential London, after all.  So I made it a point on my one free afternoon to go visit downtown London.

This brings me to my main reason for disliking traveling alone - photo ops are scarce. You may get some great scenery photos - but it can be a hassle to try and get yourself in the photo. Sure, you can ask a bystander to take a photo for you - but most of the time, you end up with either a blurry photo, one that cuts off part of your head, or one so far away you blend in with the scenery.  Your last resort as a solo tourist is taking the dreaded self-portrait. These photos end up worse than if you had a fellow tourist snap it for you - plus it is pretty dang obvious that you're a tourist - and you look like a goofball.

So - below is the one photo that I have to prove that I was in London.  Mind you, it ain't pretty - but it's all I have.

Before my next solo trip I should probably practice the art of taking self-portraits. Oh, and do my sightseeing on a day that it's not raining. But I'll focus on one thing at a time.

Remember the time I had a blog?

Oh gheez. I have literally fallen off of the blogosphere. I can't believe how quickly time has passed - and that I've not blogged since DECEMBER! I always have big aspirations to blog, but I've not followed through. 

I have a few blogs up my sleeve - - watch for those this week!