New Year's Resolutions

Well, for the first time ever, I think I am actually going to have some New Year's Resolutions. This is a huge monumental step for me, as I am a pretty bad planner. However, Faith has inspired me, so I am going to do it. Hopefully. Here's the list:

1. Lose some weight! Includes exercising (at least 3 times a week, but shooting for 5) and cooking more and eating healthier foods, including more raw produce especially. I am going for 60 pounds by the end of the year, which is about 5 pounds a month. Doable, right? (Faith, I need all your secrets...)
2. Read my scriptures every single day. I have never been great at that.
3. Have a baby. (Although that is not really in my control...)
4. Be happier. Attitude is everything!

We will see how long this phase lasts. I really hope I can stick with it!

Ode to the Christmas Tree

Well, since I am taking my tree down tomorrow, I thought I would finally post some photos of it. The top two are details of the pheasants that I designed my tree around, and then the bottom one is a full view. From Christmas morning. So, if you look closely you can see some gifts I got! I love the feathers, and I wish I had more. Oh well. Farewell, Christmas. We'll see you again next year!

A bit about my amazing past week....

So, last week (well, I guess continuing into this week) was the best week ever! It was just amazing. Let me lay it out for you.
Sunday: We had the most amazing lesson ever in YW (church). I cried over and over. I just really, really felt the spirit and I think it set the tone for the week.

Monday: I finished my Christmas Shopping, which was good enough. But THEN, Jason came home as a surprise! Which was surprising, as I was not expecting him until Wednesday.

Tuesday: I went over to Heather Acosta's, and we made chocolates and had a wonderful time. We also had a delicious dinner of pizza. Which, okay, was not as good as the dinners we usually have over there (as we all share the love of cooking and good food) but I didn't have to cook it after hours of Chocolates. We made almond joys, truffles, toffee, and the following cremes: mint, orange, raspberry, coconut, and cinnamon. I think the cinnamon cremes were my favorite.

Wednesday: We had Adam and Lauren Wilson and Carl Armstrong over for Christmas Eve activities. We watched A Christmas Story, ate Grilled Cheese and Cocoa, and opened presents. I got a Dominos set (Double 15s- sweet!) and a present that I will receive later. Also, I got to open a present from Jason and it was a really nice silky robe. Oooh- it feels so good! Also, UPS called and said they had a package for us that they needed to deliver. I told them our new address, and they said it would be there Monday. But we weren't expecting a package. So what could it be?

Thursday: Christmas morning was fun, as I am sure you can guess. Big gift- a digital camera! Most surprising gift: A wedding band! It was really sweet! Then we went over to Heather and Jason Acosta's for a DELICIOUS prime rib (bone-in) and other tasties. That was more on par with the normal dinners. I can't get over how good it was! Then, we also opened presents with them. I got a game called Partini- which is SUCH a fun game! We played it, and I recommend it to everyone who likes games!

Friday: I went Day-After-Christmas Shopping with Lauren, where I got THREE really cute skirts, a Really cute pair of black heels (FOR FIVE BUCKS!!) and some soap, body butter, and cinnamon-mint lip gloss. Then, Dan and Faith Burk came over! We- can you guess?- opened presents! I got a really good, tear-jerker of a book called The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck, some chocolate covered pretzels, and a gift certificate for Jo-Ann's. We played assorted video games, played Partini (again! SO fun!) and also played a game similar to The Newlywed Game. We also had Pizza. They didn't want to leave, we were having so much fun! They finally had to leave around eleven because Grace (their two year old) was having a total meltdown. After about an hour of "Go? Go?"

Saturday: Jason and I went shopping, and I got a cute case for my camera. I also looked all over for a cute purse, but couldn't find one. So, I went online, but still couldn't find one I liked. Then, I remembered Etsy (which is a site for people to sell handmade items) and found TONS of cute purses. So I found one I liked, and found out I could customize it! Sweet! Then, because my new band was pinchin my finger, and also because I can't wear a band with my ring, we decided to got trade in the band for a whole new ring, which I got to pick a setting, and then put any kind of stone I want in it. So, overall, it was a very customizable day.

Sunday: We had friends over for dinner, and I invented another dish. I also worked on my purse.

Monday: Got the package from UPS- it turned out to be my two free copies of the bead magazine I am in!! Yay!! So, now I have those to show off! (BeadStar, if anyone wants to go buy it. I will probably dedicate a post to it soon.) Also, we got RockBand 2 and played it (it's waaaaaay better than Guitar Hero World Tour), and I ordered my purse. You can see it below. (The inside is also the brown fabric.) I can't wait for it to be delivered! Oh- and I spent my Jo-Ann card, and I also found some fun beading stuff at a hardware store. (Nuts, Washers, and O-Rings). Plus, I found out Jason will probably have this week off as well.

All in all, it was a pretty amazing week, don't you think? I can't wait for tomorrow!

Goat Cheese and Bell Pepper Pasta

Mmm- it looks pretty good, huh? I didn't have a Cherry Tomato to make it look more beautiful, so I just sucked all the sauce off some of the Bell Peppers and arranged them for a garnish. (Hey- it was my plate, I can do what I want!)
Basic Recipe: Chicken with olive oil and salt and pepper, sauteed with lemon juice. Added mushrooms, a tiny bit of sun-dried tomatoes, and a red bell pepper and a yellow bell pepper. Added lots of garlic. And then some lime juice (because I was out of lemon, and I thought it needed more.) Added some Tarragon. Added a bit of cream, reduced it, and then added some Chevre goat cheese to melt in. Added more cream for sauce-like consistency and served with Penne.
Ratings: Everyone gave it a Six. They thought the peppers were really good (which was the point, as I built the whole pasta to bring out the pepper flavor, so I did that well.) but that the goat cheese made a weird texture. The goat cheese doesn't melt really smoothly, and it kindof coats your mouth, which is a bit of a required taste.
My Rating: Probably a Six-and-a-Half. It needs a bit of tweaking. It didn't have enough goat cheese, and I am not sure I liked the cream-based sauce. I will try it again with a lemon butter. Another possible idea is to serve it as Chicken. Chicken, covered with the sauce and veggies, and then add a smear of goat cheese on top. Probably would have been better. But I did like it quite a bit. More than anyone else did. I was impressed that the main flavor was the bell peppers. Everything just really brought out that flavor.

Busy and Then Some

Well, this is just a placeholder post, honestly. I have been soooooo busy for the last week, so I haven't had a chance to post. BUT- I have a TON to post, so I will be doing so shortly. We had a great Christmas, and I will go through more detail later. I am mostly just feeling so guilty for not writing in my blog. Also- somehow I find the time to check at least twice a day for blog updates. So, yeah. I could have been posting. Love you all, and Merry Christmas!

A Winter Wonderland!

It's impossible not to get into the Christmas Spirit when you are getting as much snow as we are! Our first snow day was one week ago today, and we have probably a foot and a half in our backyard. It has been snowing like crazy!

This is a beautiful pine tree in our backyard.

This is a walnut tree in our backyard.

This is one night's accumulation of snow. No joke. With my hand for scale.

This is my car. One night only. (From about midnight until 10am) The window line you can see is about an inch from the top of the car. Not the best for scale.

Creative Kitchenry and Sucky Computery

Well, today I decided to invent a new recipe for dinner. I took some beautiful pictures of it (complete with pretty tomato garnish!!) to post. I took them off the camera and put them on the computer, into a new folder I had just titled "Food." They showed up, so I deleted them off the camera. Then, when I went to look at them, they were gone! Just gone! And THEN, the title of the folder reverted back to "New Folder." So, I think my computer must have gone back in time. Or something. Unfortunately, the camera was still firmly affixed in the present. So, you will just have to imagine how delicious my dinner looked.

Now, on to the dinner. Recipe name: I am not totally sure yet. I'm going with maybe "White on White with a Tomato Twist" or something else dumb.
Basic Description: Sauteed (sliced on the bias) chicken and garlic. Salt and peppered with a splash of lemon juice and a generous plop of White Balsamic Vinegar. When browned, I added baby Bella mushrooms and Sundried tomatoes (for color). Near the end, I added quite a bit of cream to make a modified alfredo-ish sauce. All served over Angel Hair pasta. (It really was beautiful. Maybe if my pictures reappear, I will post them.)
The consensus: I had three friends over for dinner. The average rating (out of 10) was about an 8.56. (Including Jason's.) Some memorable quotes: Adam- It's better than Taco Bell. (Which didn't say much for me, but he loves it.) Jason- It has a nice fruity undertone, with solid legs and a smooth finish. (The fruitiness is from the White Balsamic.)
My rating: Honestly, not the best dish I invented. I thought it needed a bit more cream than I added to make more of a sauce. Lauren and Adam concurred. I gave it a 7. The fruity tones were excellent with the mushrooms, and the sundried tomatoes were perfect. So what was my beef? A little too sweet. The Balsamic gets really sweet when reduced, and the White Balsamic is missing the "zing" of the regular Balsamic. And then with the cream, I found it really tasty for a few bites, and then a little hard to swallow.
The fix: Next time, I will add a dash of Tobasco sauce to help negate the sweetness. I would definitely make it again.
Stay tuned for more "Adventures in the Kitchen with Amanda!"