365 days-Day 21 Island Chicken and Rice

Yummy, yummy, yummy. A definite do over. This one will be in rotation to try another time once this challenge is over.

http://www.publix.com/aprons/meals/MainDish/SimpleMeal.do?mealId=2018&mealGroupId=1004

Husband tried this awhile ago at Publix and asked me to make it. Unfortunately I waited until it was no longer the featured recipe and it took awhile to find all the items but it was worth the wait. Not sure what else to say. I served it with a salad and some fruit.

As a side note I just noticed that there are no more leaves on our trees outside our front door. Guess that means fall is over. I know it is technically Dec 21 but this is a depressing day for me. Good thing the high was like 72 to help ease the pain.

365 days-Day 20 REM listening Party

I went with Jennifer to Athens tonight for a REM listening party for their last album release. It was pretty cool. Had Chick-fil-A on the way, not so cool. At the party Mike Mills and Bill Berry showed up. Mike Mills even signed my new REM t-shirt. Guess that shirt will never be worn.

365 days-Day 19 Parmesean Crusted Chicken with Pasta Alfredo

This was pretty good. Would be something to try again with maybe a little harder recipe. I had limited supplies so this worked out really well. Here is the recipe I used.

http://www.hellmanns.us/promotions/ChickenChallenge/recipe-parmesan-crusted-chicken.aspx

I served it with orecchiette pasta with alfredo sauce on top and brocolli florets.

365 Days-Day 18 Republican debate

Today Chad went to the first network televised Republican Presidential Debate. We always travel together to keep one another entertained so we ate out. I failed my other challenge (no beef) and ate a nasty greasy cheeseburger and decided that it wasn't really that great so maybe I can stop craving them.

365 Days-Day 17 Marsha's spaghetti bake

My neighbor Marsha who I have been giving some of my dinners away to made dinner for us tonight. Actually it was for yesterday but since I had the tooth pulled we ate it tonight. Very good. Gonna have to ask her how to make that sauce.

365 Days-Day 16 tooth pulled :(

Insert big frowny face here. I thought I would be fine after surgery but I was soooo wrong. I did pull it together enough to go to work for an hour or so but after that I was wasted. I got yummy Chicken Soup from Monterrey's Mexican. I am off solid food for 24 hours per surgeon. Another big frowny face goes here :(

365 days-Day 15 Fresh Bread and Chicken Salad.

This was always a staple in our house growing up but with Tuna instead of chicken salad. I am not big on tuna unless it is with fresh bread so I made chicken salad which I am a big fan of. I used my bread machine instead of my mixer since it is a little easier that way. This is the recipe I used:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/best-bread-machine-bread/detail.aspx

It is as good as the Krusteaz Country White mix that costs over $2-3 just for the mix. It was so yummy.

The chicken salad is a simple recipe I learned from my Memphis mama-Deborah. The amounts needed are guesses because she never measures and I never measure but I tried to take note of what I put in tonight. For a small batch I used about 1/2 -1 cooked chicken breast, 1 celery stalk (large chop), 1/2 small to medium onion (large chop), and approximately 1/4 cup Hellman's regular mayo. You can also add some salt and pepper. Dump into food processor and process till you get your desired consistency. I like it all mixed up really good and no large bits. I have a mini food processor so I make the small batches and then dump into a larger bowl and mix that up if I need more. Taste as you process so you can decide if you want to add more of something.

365 days-Day 15 Eating out

Tonight we went to see Hairspray at Brenau. It was awesome. I was worried that it being a smallish college it might not be very good. I was pleasantly suprised but it being at least cruise ship quality and maybe not quite as good as something at the Fox in Atlanta but very nice. Singing was awesome. Dancing was so so. You could tell these are vocal actors and dancing is down low on their skills but if you aren't looking for the mistakes you might not hardly notice. If you get a chance please go see this and support them so they can get even better next time.

365 days-Day 14 Fajita Quesadillas

I love, love, love fajita quesadillas. They are delicious and really easy. I have always made them with chicken, but in the spirit of the challenge to myself I made them with shrimp for the first time. All you have to do is cut up about 1/2-1 bell pepper and onion and them make the marinade. I like the Walmart/Great Value Fajita mix the best and never make it ahead like it says. I throw everything in the pan together and cook. If you use chicken let that cook longer and add the veggies after the chicken has cooked 3-5 minutes. Then spread some butter or something on one side of a tortilla, place in fry pan and let it cook. While the tortilla is doing its thing sprinkle cheese all over the tortilla and then put your meat and veggies on one side of the tortilla and fold over. Done. Yummy. I forgot to take a picture but they looked like the above pic.

365 days-Day 13 Sweet & Sour Chicken

Yummm. This one was good. Not sure if it ranks at the top. I think I would try a different recipe next time, but very good and very easy for novice cooks. I found the recipe here:

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/10/sweet-and-sour-chicken-stir-fry/

Not much else to say. I followed this recipe spot on except I forgot to get fresh ginger so I threw in some cinnamon and allspice with the salt and pepper. I would use the red bell pepper for presentation's sake. I used green and it didn't look as pretty as the stock photos. :)

365 days-Day 12 Baked Spaghetti with side salad

So baked spaghetti. . . I give it a 2.5 out of five. I did not get sick and I didn't want to spit it out but it lacked a lot of flavor. I used really good sauce and did everything right except I used ground turkey because of the no beef thing. I wouldn't recomment but I bet this would be a whole lot better with real beef. Also I realized I didn't have regular spaghetti noodle only angel hair so I made it with some penne pasta. Here is the recipe if you want to try:
http://www.publix.com/aprons/meals/MainDish/SimpleMeal.do?mealId=60&mealGroupId=1001

365 days-Day 11 Coconut Shrimp with Orange Marmalade Dipping sauce

Tonight was soooooo good. I think it was my favorite so far. This is one of my most favorite things to eat anyway. Lisa A gave me a recipe for this and I also had one from Publix and they varied a decent amount so I decided to see if there was a recipe online for Outback Gold Coast Coconut Shrimp because I mostly wanted the dipping sauce. Yipee Skipy they have it here:

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/524/Outback_Steakhouse_Gold_Coast_Coconut_Shrimp38359.shtml

Yummmmmm. You will love this recipe. It is not hard at all. I mean look at the list of ingredients. A well trained monkey could handle this. It would be easier if you could find already peeled shrimp. I fried mine in my tiny fry daddy and I wouldn't recommend this. I could only do like 3 at a time and even then I had grease boiling over. Most recipes I saw called for pulling oil in large saute pan enough to cover the bottom and cooking there. I also used fresh cold beer (thanks Marsha), not flat; and cooked immediately due to the comments people left on the website.

365 days- Day 10 Logan's

Ugh another night out! Tonight we stayed in Douglasville until the rain had passed through Atlanta so we could drive home in no rain or traffic. Coconut shrimp will have to wait one more night.

365 days- Day 9 Chick-fil-A

Don't ya just love it? Tonight was church and we got out late from work, so it turned into a Chick-fil-A night. Bleh.

365 Days-Day 8 King Ranch Chicken

Tonight we had king ranch chicken, broccoli slaw, salad, and fresh fruit. I forgot to take my pictures but I have the stock photo for the recipe above. Here is a link to the recipe I used.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/king-ranch-chicken-casserole-i/detail.aspx

The broccoli slaw is a fresh veggie mix from publix and you add the mayo and whatnot to turn it into slaw. The salad was a fresh express pear Gorgonzola mix and then we had strawberries and bananas. Overall the dinner was very good. This was the easiest King Ranch chicken recipe I have found anywhere and I think it could have been a lot better if there was more effort on my part. Don't get me wrong I thought it was good and will be happy to eat the leftovers for lunch but next time I might try a little more difficult recipe because I think it will be worth it.

365 days-Day 7 Leftovers

Failure on day 7 you ask? Well not sure because husband said he wanted to eat leftover chili and quiche for dinner. I think he was just trying to go easy on me so we could get the dogs in costume and get ready for trick or treaters. Whatever it worked for me.

365 days-Day 6 Dinner at Parentals

Yea I did not have to cook tonight. It was birthday dinner for my awesome sister Jen who I love. Mom cooked basically thanksgiving dinner. Jen loves turkey so we had turkey and mashed taters, green beans, jello, and homemade rolls. Mmmmmmmm. I needed a break already from all the cooking. Now its time to look up some new yummy recipes.

365 days-Day 5 Smoked Beef Brisket Chili

Today was super fun. I got a text at about 8:05 from my neighbor telling me she was leaving at 8:25 for a 5k that I recall saying I would run as long as I wasn't pregnant. My tummy was not excited about that but Chad convinced me it would be a good idea. I did a lot better than my only other 5k and was under 40 minutes. Then the doggies played with their best friend for awhile and then I went to work which wasn't so fun. After that though I made this Chili and then got to hang with Chad while it simmered.

So tonight I made Chili from the leftover smoked beef brisket that Chad smoked last Sunday. I am no longer eating beef but Chad says it was awesome. It won an award at the chili competition at Church tonight. I didn't get best overall :( If you are interested in the recipe I mostly followed this one from youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7abwxuzieyg&noredirect=1

After the Chili had simmered for about 2 hours we headed over to Church for trunk or treat. It was pretty fun cause we brought the dogs since it really normally is not that exciting since we don't have kids. The dogs were a hit. Max was a turtle and Shelby was a bumblebee. So stinking cute. I've had lots of fun. This can officially be labeled a good day.

365 days-Day 4 Bacon & Cheese Quiche and Kickin Collards

Tonight's dinner was the above Quiche and Kickin' Collard Greens. Here are the recipes:

http://www.momswhothink.com/easy-recipes/easy-dinner-recipes-week-one.html

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/kickin-collard-greens/detail.aspx

I did it wrong and started the greens first thinking they would take longer and then started the quiche. If you cook these together start the quiche and work on the greens once it is in the oven.

It was also a little more work than I thought it would be. Nothing difficult but it took awhile to get it all together for the quiche.

Chad says this one is a keeper. I really don't like veggies much but the collards suprised me by not sucking and being edible. Would have been even better probably if they hadn't sat in my fridge for over a week before I cooked them. The quiche was delish. If there was anything wrong it was TOO rich and had too much bacon I think. Will definatly try a quiche again since this was my first.

365 days-Day 3 Basalmic Chicken with Baby Greens and Sun-Dried Tomato Gnocci

Here is a link to tonight's recipe. I have fallen in love with the idea of Publix's Apron meals. For those who don't know about Publix it is a very nice grocery chain in the southeast. They have cooking demonstrations and then all the ingredients you need to make the meal right next to the demo area.

http://www.publix.com/aprons/meals/MainDish/SimpleMeal.do?mealId=74&mealGroupId=1004

They also have a list of all their recipes on their website:

http://www.publix.com/aprons/meals/MainDish/RecipeList.do

They are very easy to make and usually under 30 min total prep and cooking. Awesome. Not all are good or healthy but I really liked tonight's dinner. Chad agreed it was a winner. I would say out of 5 stars: hummmm 4. It might make it into the rotation after this is all said and done. Here are what my finished product looked like.

365 days-Day 2 Enchiladas?

Okay so today I kind of cheated. This sweet little old Mexican lady who likes to rub my tummy to try to make me be able to have babies came and brought Dr. Poole what she said were enchiladas. These were more like small quesadillas with a corn tortilla. I just had to cook them in the pan to crisp up the outside and melt the cheese inside. Got home too late to make the original dinner plan which was gonna take over and hour. Too long when you get home at 7:30. These turned out to be yummy but a little/lot bit unhealthy.

This is dessert. The Mexican lady's daughter brought this to Dr. Poole last week and we can't bring ourselves to eat this pretty jello art. I want to save it forever. How long does jello last?

365 days-Day 1 BBQ stuffed potatoes

I hate cooking dinner for the record. Reasons why: I work full time and I don't feel like I have the time, I never recall volunteering to cook every night, and three I feel very unappreciated when I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and no one can even bother to help me clean up. That said I am challenging myself to change it up. I have problem: I only like to make things I know how to make and new recipes exhaust me before I even get started. Enter new Julie. I am going to cook something new every night for the next 365 days. Granted we go out to eat and eat with friends but every meal in my house will be different. After this is done I will have 365ish new dinner ideas and lots of new things I know how to make. I am counting tonight because we have never ate this but tonight was BBQ chicken stuffed potatoes. So they were not a hit but oh well. You win some you lose some. Accompanying the potatoes we has fresh steamed broccoli and broiled asparagus. Yeah I know sounds boring and yucky. I had a LONG crappy day.

10/21/10 Don't talk to strangers

So I don't like to talk to strangers. Not sure if it is part of being shy, or still listening to childhood advise, or that I jsut find most people annoying but I just really don't hardly ever talk to strangers. Luckily Chad is not too interested in strangers either so I loved out little nook that we found to lay out in the sun in. It was a little hidden spot on the back of the boat. It is a tiny platform that only has room for 6 loungers. It overlooks a small pool beside us and down one level, and faces the sea through some rails. There is a little overhang above us for partial shade too. Nice breeze and we get to stare out at the wake and the churned up foam and the endless beautiful sea. Perfect. Every once in a while a bar service person will come by and ask if we want drinks. Yes please cause I got the unlimted plan!

I love Movies Under the Stars (MUTS). So far my favorite part of this cruise so far. Every night they put a cover over the lounge chairs that has a pillow and there is a huge screen over on the the pools and they have an awesome sound system. There are blankets, popcorn, and someone brings out warm cookies during the movie. Yummmm. First night was The Ocean, last night Iron Man II, and tonight The Bounty Hunter. The musicals are pretty good too but haven't been able to get Chad to go to one with me. Had to go without him. Last night it was packed an I got there late so I sat on the stairs (it was raining so I couldn't finish Ironman at MUTS). They replayed Ironman and I fell asleep at the climax of the action. That happens to me a lot during action movies. I think it is because the coversation lapses or something but give me an action movie and I am VERY likely to fall asleep during a very intense scene.

Dinner has been a fairly big disappointment. The first night was just okay. Tasted like leftovers or something. Barely better than airline food. Decent dessert though. They celebrated our anniversary and gave us a cake. We wanted to take the leftover cake with us so they wrapped it in aluminum foil and added a handle. Our funny little waited kept saying "ohhh Louis Vuitton, Louis Vuitton." It was funnier in person I'm sure. Last night Chad had escargot, crabmeat quiche, cream of asparagus soup which was supposed to have salmon dumplings, filet mignon medallions with grilled vegetables adn croquettes. Dessert was bananas foster flambe. Nothing I had was worth mention. Bummer cause this is normally my favorite part of the cruise.

10/20/2010 Today I am bliss

Today is good. Woke up looking for the sunrise but couldn't find it on deck 18. Must have been towards the front of the boat. Being a geographer and all you'd think I could figure out the whole east/west thing. Too much thinking involved and I am on vacation here. Anyway, went to run/walk on deck 19 and that was awesome but got a little boring cause I forgot my iPod. Retrieved my husband and we went to stake out our good lounge chairs for the day.

Lounging and reading is how I want to spend the rest of my life. Bring on the daquiris cause they are nonstop with my drink plan.


At a flat stomach seminar I attended (which I think is just to sell you on their detox plan) they said you can store up to 80 pounds of food in your colon. First thing I think is ewwwwwww nasty. Second I look down at my belly and think how dare you, and it says stop feeding me doughnuits, and I said tell that to my brain and tastebuds. If only my brocolli could be as yummy as doughnuts. Still I'm pretty grossed out and wanting some serious doses of exlax or something.



Okay they also just told me deodorant is a dangerous toxin for your body because of the aluminum. Hummmm. I think I am sticking with that one. I like having friends. Not worth giving that one up. Recommended all natural/organic options. Don't think I am hippy enough to even know where to find such an item. I love my secret deo anywway.

The Emerald Princess is nice. This is our first princess cruise. Previously we have only done Royal Caribbean (RCL). The staterooms are slightly larger than RCL and with a little better layout. The closet is awesome sortof a walk-in closet. The dining rooms are on RCL are nicer though, with muliple tiers kindof like a ballroom with huge chandeliers and stuff. RCL also has some things that Princess does not, like ice staking rink with ice dancing shows and free skating time, flowrider surf machines, rock climbing walls, and a "royal promenade" whick is like a three story mall kind of thing with balconies over looking the promenade. RCL has a younger crowd too, lots of old fats on here shuffling around with canes, looking around for friends to talk to. This boat is truely all about what the stigma is "newly wed and nearly dead."