Tonight, we revisited the Crispy Herb Chicken recipe I raved about last night! Again, it was delicious! I dearly love fresh, fried chicken with a nice crispy skin, with just the right amount of pepper and salt, but this new chicken recipe is playing a very close second to that! It's easy, and yummy, and for the last two nights, The Bug has come running from the opposite end of the house when he has smelled it cooking, anxious to dig in. He liked it so well last night that he asked if he could just have 2 pieces of it tonight, and nothing else.
The nothing else he wanted to have tonight was leftover zucchini lasagna from last week's menu. It was, by no means, pretty to look at tonight, and it was not nearly as yummy as the first night, but a bite of lasagna and a bite of chicken at the same time worked famously. I had the idea last night that this chicken recipe, with a slight adjustment to the spices, would be a great way to make chicken parmesan. Served with the lasagna tonight, I am convinced! Seriously, this chicken just makes me giddy.
I told my man tonight that if I get no more recipes out of this project than this chicken one, it will have been worth it. I will definitely be making this chicken for the rest of my life!!
In other news:
I mentioned that I was on Weight Watchers when I began this and was wondering how the project would work with tracking points, and vice versa. I am happy to announce that I have lost a total of 10 pounds since I started! And, last night, I ran 6 kilometers, which equals 3.75-something miles, the farthest I've run, since 2 springs ago, when I ran a 10-mile race. I'm quite excited! My next goal: 4 miles. It's the next step toward a race that I signed up for in June - a 10k trail race. And for now, I'm still contemplating whether or not I want to revisit the same 10-mile race. It takes place in April, not too hot, sometimes rainy, which means not so sweaty, which I love!!! I just haven't decided if I want to commit yet.
Another thing I think I should add: my New Year's Resolution this year has been to not allow irrational fear to dictate the decisions I make. Because something is weird, or too hard, or is not a good enough reason not to do it. I'm not unreasonable, of course. I'm not talking about stupid things. But, for instance, for 2 years in a row, I have signed up for and chickened out of the Baltimore half-marathon just because I was scared. See, the thing is, both times, I've signed up for it way in advance, so the amount they charge was already spent, and gone, and things being "out of sight, out of mind" as they can be with me, it was easy not to let losing that money bother me. After all, I have reasoned, the money then goes to a good cause. UGH! Admitting it even makes me squirm. I mean, seriously, I spent 8 weeks in boot camp. I have delivered 3 babies. I have endured a number of deployments, and their associated crises, to include one in which I was rear-ended, totaling my husband's '91 Camaro, and I have made it this far. And I decide to let 13 miles stump me. And not just once. Twice.
To make matters worse, my husband and I have friends (a couple) whose daughter (who is in middle school now), has completed her first half-marathon already. GRR!!!
And now, as I type this, I realize that I have just put this out into cyberspace, and still have not signed up for that race. HMMMM....Guess I better hit "send" before I get the urge to delete what I've just written.
Showing posts with label NO FEAR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NO FEAR. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
The Schedule
Hello all. I mentioned in my last post that I have roughly 338 recipes to try in 329 days.
Today, I spent time counting out those recipes, grouping them, and combining side dishes with main courses to see how I might make some kind of meal plan or schedule for the completion of this project.
Here is what I have:
110 Main Course Meals
Some of these use main course AND side dish recipes; Others are just main dishes to which I will add my own sides. This works out to 2 meals per week for the next 11 months.
8 Lunch specific meals
I will use these during the school days with the kids, or just whenever.
25 Breakfast Meals
Of course, there is no way that I will save them all for the breakfast hours, I am sure. This works out to one breakfast meal every other week.
11 Soups
This equals one new soup recipe a month until the end of the year.
5 Salads
1 new recipe every other month for 10 months
40 Beverages
This comes out to 1 a week for the rest of the year (minus 7 weeks).
There are also 4 recipes that I set aside to use specifically for church picnics, since we always need sides/salads, and these will keep well sitting outside (no mayo or eggs!).
Finally, I also had 75 various dessert, cookie, and snack recipes. I have decided that I am not going to stress over whether or not I get these worked into the schedule. These recipes I will use for church picnics, special occasions, or parties. Some of the snack recipes I could also use for quick suppers when I don't really feel like cooking. I made this decision because, at this point in our lives, we have a retirement pending, and maybe a move, and I didn't want to spread myself to thin and have something else to stress about when this is supposed to be fun. I also didn't want to risk quitting before I really got started.
My goal: to finish this task before the end of the year. I will settle for completing the task in a year, but I believe that I have worked this out so that I can complete my goal by the end of December. Since January is all but gone, I have 11 months to meet this goal.
So, I hope you all are ready to hear all about my cooking exploits - as well as, I am sure, many other rants and raves, praises and complaints, OH, AND, recipe reviews (maybe even from the family instead of me) and pictures of the dishes - because, FOR BETTER OR WORSE, y'all are stuck with me until the end of the year. So just know, if you are a friend of mine in the Fort Meade, MD area (or wherever we may end up after retirement), and you are reading this, it is entirely possible you will be fed something I have never made before. LOL!
One last thing before I go:
I have a back-up plan already too. Supportive as he is of my plan and my project, and as eager as he is for me to make tortillas (both corn and flour), chorizo, and tomatillo salsa, my husband has already given me the green light to order pizza or make PB-n-J if the recipes flop. PHEW!!
Next week I will begin! Are you ready for the ride?
Today, I spent time counting out those recipes, grouping them, and combining side dishes with main courses to see how I might make some kind of meal plan or schedule for the completion of this project.
Here is what I have:
110 Main Course Meals
Some of these use main course AND side dish recipes; Others are just main dishes to which I will add my own sides. This works out to 2 meals per week for the next 11 months.
8 Lunch specific meals
I will use these during the school days with the kids, or just whenever.
25 Breakfast Meals
Of course, there is no way that I will save them all for the breakfast hours, I am sure. This works out to one breakfast meal every other week.
11 Soups
This equals one new soup recipe a month until the end of the year.
5 Salads
1 new recipe every other month for 10 months
40 Beverages
This comes out to 1 a week for the rest of the year (minus 7 weeks).
There are also 4 recipes that I set aside to use specifically for church picnics, since we always need sides/salads, and these will keep well sitting outside (no mayo or eggs!).
Finally, I also had 75 various dessert, cookie, and snack recipes. I have decided that I am not going to stress over whether or not I get these worked into the schedule. These recipes I will use for church picnics, special occasions, or parties. Some of the snack recipes I could also use for quick suppers when I don't really feel like cooking. I made this decision because, at this point in our lives, we have a retirement pending, and maybe a move, and I didn't want to spread myself to thin and have something else to stress about when this is supposed to be fun. I also didn't want to risk quitting before I really got started.
My goal: to finish this task before the end of the year. I will settle for completing the task in a year, but I believe that I have worked this out so that I can complete my goal by the end of December. Since January is all but gone, I have 11 months to meet this goal.
So, I hope you all are ready to hear all about my cooking exploits - as well as, I am sure, many other rants and raves, praises and complaints, OH, AND, recipe reviews (maybe even from the family instead of me) and pictures of the dishes - because, FOR BETTER OR WORSE, y'all are stuck with me until the end of the year. So just know, if you are a friend of mine in the Fort Meade, MD area (or wherever we may end up after retirement), and you are reading this, it is entirely possible you will be fed something I have never made before. LOL!
One last thing before I go:
I have a back-up plan already too. Supportive as he is of my plan and my project, and as eager as he is for me to make tortillas (both corn and flour), chorizo, and tomatillo salsa, my husband has already given me the green light to order pizza or make PB-n-J if the recipes flop. PHEW!!
Next week I will begin! Are you ready for the ride?
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
What was I thinking?
Oh wow. So, I figured, how hard could my little recipe undertaking be.
The girl in the movie had 524 recipes to work through in 365 days. That's not me, so I ought to be okay.
Well, it's a different story when you decide to set out to do the task, and start committing the plan to paper.
As it turns out, I have 338 (or so) recipes to make in 329 days.
I have 45 poultry recipes alone; that's nearly 1 a week for the rest of the year. I also have 44 veggie recipes.
Now, I have to admit, right up front, that I did make a New Years Resolution this year. It may seem a bit generic at the outset, but I assure you it has kept me challenged.
The resolution: to not be dictated to by unreasonable fear. My goal this year is to stare down whatever it is that comes my way that causes me to shrink back, or second-guess myself, and really examine it. If I am deciding not to do something, say - for instance, trying octopus for the first time - simply because it looks weird and a little creepy, well...that's just not a good enough reason to not do it.
Don't get me wrong! Stupid, I am not. I have no death wish. I will not be bungee jumping unless the life of one of my children is at stake. I have never had any desire to put myself in that kind of peril. But, when it comes to food, if its dead already, COME ON!
It is from that place I am operating, and from that place that I have decided that, even though this idea feels absolutely ridiculous in the cold, stark light of day, I will proceed.
After all, we eat 3 meals a day. So when I break the goal down THAT FAR, to cop out before I even get started is nothing more than letting fear dictate my action.
To quote former President George H.W. Bush, "Not gonna do it. Wouldn't be prudent."
So, with that, I have come up with a plan but, I'm not posting it right now because its 1:30 am, and I have to be up in 5 hours to babysit a sweet, sweet little girl.
Good night, er... I mean, good morning.
The girl in the movie had 524 recipes to work through in 365 days. That's not me, so I ought to be okay.
Well, it's a different story when you decide to set out to do the task, and start committing the plan to paper.
As it turns out, I have 338 (or so) recipes to make in 329 days.
I have 45 poultry recipes alone; that's nearly 1 a week for the rest of the year. I also have 44 veggie recipes.
Now, I have to admit, right up front, that I did make a New Years Resolution this year. It may seem a bit generic at the outset, but I assure you it has kept me challenged.
The resolution: to not be dictated to by unreasonable fear. My goal this year is to stare down whatever it is that comes my way that causes me to shrink back, or second-guess myself, and really examine it. If I am deciding not to do something, say - for instance, trying octopus for the first time - simply because it looks weird and a little creepy, well...that's just not a good enough reason to not do it.
Don't get me wrong! Stupid, I am not. I have no death wish. I will not be bungee jumping unless the life of one of my children is at stake. I have never had any desire to put myself in that kind of peril. But, when it comes to food, if its dead already, COME ON!
It is from that place I am operating, and from that place that I have decided that, even though this idea feels absolutely ridiculous in the cold, stark light of day, I will proceed.
After all, we eat 3 meals a day. So when I break the goal down THAT FAR, to cop out before I even get started is nothing more than letting fear dictate my action.
To quote former President George H.W. Bush, "Not gonna do it. Wouldn't be prudent."
So, with that, I have come up with a plan but, I'm not posting it right now because its 1:30 am, and I have to be up in 5 hours to babysit a sweet, sweet little girl.
Good night, er... I mean, good morning.
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