Recipes 4, 5, 6 & 7

My list of recipes to try in 2013 keeps getting longer so I decided it was time to start crossing a few off. Last weekend I tackled four of them and was very pleased with them all.

First up, Cranberry-Pumpkin Seed Energy Bars:

These are my new favorite thing for breakfast. They have rice krispies in them so it's like eating dessert for breakfast. You can really use any kinds of seed and nuts and fruits that you want but for this round I followed the recipe. You then make this honey caramel-like mixture that holds everything together. They are sweet but not overly sweet at all. Buying all of the ingredients can feel like it's costing a lot because they aren't cheap things, but from every bag of nuts and seeds I bought, I'll probably get three batches of these and one batch is more than enough for breakfast each day of the week.

For Sunday night dinner it was Crispy mustard-roasted chicken:

This is from the Barefoot Contessa's new cookbook and the recipe isn't online yet so I don't have the link. Email me if you want the recipe. It's chicken dipped in mustard and white wine and then topped with panko with lemon and thyme and then baked until crispy. I did all chicken breast but you can do whatever you like. I paired it with some parmesan mashed potatoes and some broccoli for a yummy dinner. This was also really good left over for lunch during the week.

Then, as a treat for a meeting I was going to on Monday night, it was Salted Caramel Brownies:

These are also from the new Barefoot cookbook and oh my goodness they are tasty. They are incredibly rich (I am not kidding here) and kind of fudge-like. The base is her go-to standard brownie that I had never made before but might make my go-to standard. Then, as soon as you take them out of the oven you pour caramel sauce over the top and sprinkle on a bit of salt. The guys at the meeting I went to each at two very large brownies (I could barely eat one small one) and it was a good think I brought along the milk!

Then, for my regular Tuesday night dinner group, I made Carrot Cake. I don't have a picture of this and I don't have a link to the recipe so it's a little anticlimactic, I know. Again, it's from the new Barefoot cookbook and it's actually called Carrot Cake with Ginger Mascarpone Frosting. However, I changed it up a bit. I made the cake as directed and it was SO good. I just changed up the frosting a bit. The people I was making this for love carrot cake for the cream cheese frosting so I wanted to make sure that it had a lot of that flavor. So, instead of there being more mascarpone, I used equal parts of that and cream cheese. I bought the candied ginger that was supposed to get mixed in and I tasted it and didn't like it. So, I didn't put it in there. The cake was a huge hit!

*Sorry if the pics are really small still, I'm having some issues making them do what I want.

First Recipes of 2013

This weekend I tried out the first new recipes of 2013. My list of recipes to try is already really long so I figured it was time to start getting through a couple of them. They were both a success!

Recipe #1 - Fig Bars with Red Wine and Anise.

They sound fancy, but they are just like Fig Newtons! The biggest difference - way better! Honestly, the dough is a little hard to work with so the assembling of everything was a little different. If I did these again, I just make them sandwich cookies or something a bit easier to put together. Recipe is from Food and Wine and can be found here.

Recipe #2 - Pasta alla Vecchia Bettola.

 

This is a terrible photo of an absolutely delicious pasta dish. Basically, it's pasta with vodka sauce but even better. Kelly and I enjoyed this while watching Downton Abbey last night. It takes a bit of time but most of that is just the sauce being in the oven. I added some Italian sausage since this was our meal but it really doesn't need anything. It is just a bowl full of comfort on a cold night and it'll make your co-workers jealous when you take leftovers to work the next day. The recipe is in the Barefoot Contessa's newest cookbook and can also be found here.

New Year, New Habits

I've never been one for New Year Resolutions. But, as I've gotten older, I've started to appreciate the chance to start fresh and do something new that makes me a better person. So, I'm working on some resolutions for 2013. There are going to be the usual things about losing weight and being better about finances because, truth be told, those things need to change. I also want to make sure there are one or two things in the mix that are a bit more fun to carry out.

One of the things that I think that I have decided on is to have friends over for dinner at least once a month. I'm also going to start a list of all the new recipes I want to try in 2013. This all started when I was reading the latest Food and Wine magazine and loved a ton of recipes in it. I realized that I never remember the recipes I want to try so I started a list of them. I'm keeping track of the recipe and where I find it so that I can find it again. I started doing this list and then realized that it's going to be way too much food for myself. Hence, I will have friends over for dinner once a month. I figured that once a month wasn't too much but it gives me a chance to be a bit fancy and try out new things. It's also a chance to get to know some people a bit better.

I'll have to solidify all resolutions in the near future and I'll keep you posted on things. Stay tuned for a recap of the first dinner sometime in January!

December Birchbox

I realize that I never reviewed my November box but I've already put things away (or thrown them away) and I didn't take pictures so it will have to remain a mystery. I won't fail you on the December box though. It's a pretty good box. Here it is.
Frownies Eye Gels. These are supposed to fight puffy dark circles under my eyes. There are two patches in here and they should each last a couple of days when sprayed with some tonic that is not included. So, we'll see if I get more than one use out of each of these. Haven't tried them yet but I like them in theory.

ModelCo SHINE Ultra Lip Gloss. This is from Australia so it must be fancy. I'm a fan. This particular one really has no color to it but it adds a nice shine. It's not sticky like some and it lasts pretty well. Plus, it has a slight taste of strawberries that is kind of nice. This is my favorite of the box.

Cartier Baiser Vole Eau de Parfume. This is an award-winning scent with a single-not composition of pure lily. It's actually kind of nice. It's a little strong for me for daytime but would be lovely for a night out.

Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Repair CC Cream. The lightweight cream naturally improves skin tone with vitamin C and grape-derived resveratrol. We'll see. Again, I haven't tried this one yet but the tube is so small, I'm guessing I won't see much results before it runs out.

Nick Chavez Beverly Hills Advanced Volume Shampoo. It's purple. According to the description, it's also buzz-worthy. I mostly just like that it's a nice travel size. I'll be sticking this in my stash of things to take on trips with me. I'll let you know if it's anything special after my next trip. UPDATE: I used this while I was home for Christmas and it's pretty good. It gave my hair good body even in the winter when my hair usually goes flat. It's unlikely I'll hunt down a full size bottle and/or order it online but if you happen to run into some, give it a try.

And then, just to rub salt in the wound, they included this lovely present for the Birchbox man in my life. Again, they forgot to also include the man. It's a nice little scent. I'd appreciate it if a man smelled like this. I accidentally sprayed some on my chair so I keep getting a whiff of it and I don't mind.

There you have it. That's the excitement for December! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Oh right, I have a blog

So, I'm not the most consistent blogger in the world. The two of you that read this will forgive me, right? I have a Birchbox that needs reviewing and I said something about some blogs about shoes that you should look forward to. I'm sure there have been some other somewhat exciting things in my life that I could tell you about. But, I've failed you. Sorry. I've had a lot I've wanted to say but haven't felt like I should ramble about my personal life and my frustrations with it in such a public forum. So, I've kept it to myself and to a few trusted friends and one-on-one, actual human interactions.
I've been a little down in the dumps lately. I've understood why people want to just sit around and drink all day (and, my problems are not anywhere near what some people deal with). I've wanted to just lay on my couch and watch Twilight movies all day. I'm working my way out of it though, so don't worry too much about me. If you want to know more details, feel free to contact me some other way. It has to do with boys and feeling like I'm not really going anywhere in life and wishing I had a reason to take pictures with someone (a friend keeps posting her fantastic photos of lovely couples and families and it makes me want to have photos).
On the bright side, today I got a sweet reminder that I have fantastic people in my life who really do love and care for me. This shouldn't be a revelation to me because I am very fortunate to have always had wonderful friends and family. But, sometimes you just need a reminder. I got home from dinner (again, with friends that I am lucky enough to see all the time) and there was a package waiting for me. I was a bit surprised because I didn't order anything and it's not my birthday and it's too early for Christmas. When I opened it, it was a lovely set of my very own personalize stationary! Very simple cards with my name at the top in a lovely apple green color. Turns out they are from a friend of mine who just wanted to be sweet. I had mentioned to him awhile ago that I was jealous of his personalized stationary and that I had thought of getting my own but never had. I had pretty much forgotten about that conversation but I guess he remembered. The stationary is lovely but I think it means even more that he remembered such a short conversation and thought that I could use a little treat.
I really am incredibly blessed by the people in my life.

O.M.G.

So, tonight I made this cake.

6-layer salted caramel chocolate cake.

Yes, it tasted as good as it sounds. Better, actually. People wanted to slap me it was so good. I almost fell out of my chair after the first bite. Oh. My. Word. The cake itself was delicious. Now my go-to chocolate cake. Then it's layered with homemade caramel with more butter than should be legal. The whole thing is wrapped up in frosting that contains even more butter and an entire pound of semi-sweet chocolate. It's rich. It's indulgent. I feel like I should confess some sins now.

It's a bit of a labor of love but for a special occasion and people you love it's worth every second.

The Little Black Shoe

If you work in an office setting, it's important to have a basic black shoe that can be worn with 90% of your wardrobe. The shoe should be comfortable but still look nice. I prefer to buy ones with classic lines that won't go out of style in a month. That way, I don't feel bad about spending a few extra dollars to get a higher quality shoe. I also like to make sure my shoes have just a bit of interest or detailing to them so that they aren't too boring.
This summer, I purchased these (again, sorry for the bad picture).

They are Calvin Klein shoes that I found on sale at Macy's and they are really comfortable. The slightly thicker heel helps but it's not so chunky that it looks bad with skirts and tights. The leather is super soft and there is nice padding on the bottoms. It's hard to tell in this picture but there is a texture to the leather that is almost like a very small snake skin pattern and there's just a bit of a sheen to them. They are not sparkly, just a bit of shine. So far, they look good with everything.