My New Resolve

New Years Resolution-- JANUARY 16, 2009

1. Eliminate ALL unnecessary Debts
2. Read the Entire Bible through this Year
3. Retake the MCAT
4. Apply for Medical School
5. Get a Quaker Parrot (I MISS Emmie!)
6. Lose 15 pounds
7. Revamp my style
8. Make Breakfast every Sunday
9. Try more Recipes
10. Eat more Chocolate (this will probably negate my lose 15 lbs goal)
11. Become a VEGETARIAN again!

WOW!! That doesn't seem TOO TOO BAD I guess........


For a good TGIF laugh.........

20 Worst Foods in America

Alright, I have not been here all week basically. I have three reasons for this.
1. My non-profit company has been taken over by the hospital.
2. I have been in mind numbing orientations ever since. (Luckily they are basically done and I actually came out on top. More benefits. Less taxable income. More net pay. Yayyyy!!! )
3. I was sick because I was DETERMINED to eat BEEF fajitas (even though I have previously established that BEEF makes me deathly ill)

While I was browsing the net I came across a story that I find down right horrible.
20 Worst Foods in America, 2009

Here is my synopsis:
The first thing on the list was actually the Blimpie VEGGIE foot long sub!! Apparently it is better to eat 2 I repeat 2 BIG MACS (with the beef and cheese) versus eating this thing. It has HORRIFYING stats such as follows:

1,106 calories

56 g fat (33 g saturated fat)
2,831 mg sodium
96 g carbohydrates

They list a diversified list of other fattening foods.

The food that tops the list is the Baskin Robbins Large Chocolate Oreo Shake.

HORRIFYING stats as follows:

2,600 calories

135 g fat (59 g saturated fat, 2.5 g trans fats)

263 g sugars

1,700 mg sodium

Apparently this is worse than eating 20 bowls of Fruit Loops! LOL!! "more calories (2,310) than 11 actual Heath Bars, and more ingredients (73) than you’ll find in most chemist labs. It is PACKED with more than a day’s worth of calories and three days worth of saturated fat, and, worst of all, usually takes less than 10 minutes to sip through a straw."

With that said. Maybe we all should just try to eat at home and cook more. This is actually another part of my resolutions. Actually I think I am about to post them. I hope they can be an inspiration to others. Also it's a way to hold myself accountable to completing them.

Mint.com

This is an AMAZING site!!! It is completely free and all you do is create your anonymous Mint account, then add your bank, credit card and investment accounts. Set up takes only five minutes – and the aforementioned requirements is all the data they need! Mint connects securely with over 7,000 US financial institutions to immediately pull in your balances, purchases, stock trades, etc. to give you a comprehensive picture of your finances. Mint updates all of your account information automatically. So its basically always current and accurate information available. They really allow you to focus on improving your financial decisions without getting caught up in organization and procrastination....
The coolest part about all of this is that the updates can be sent to your iphone!!
For those of you who are afraid because you think it might be a scam check out their website and join me in part of my New Year's Resolution-- Eliminate Unnecessary Debt

Mint.com

Lasagna

I made lasagna for the first time and it turned out GREAT!! My husband has transformed into Garfield!! LOL!! The recipe is listed below and I recommend giving it a try. It turned out delicious. I only made a few tweaks which I will explain below....


TWEAKS
Instead of ground beef I used Griller Crumblers (vegetarian ground beef)
I used a package of Turkey sausage
2 packages of ricotta cheese
2 eggs
WARNING: Please basically double this recipe if you intend to use a package of lasagna noodles. Otherwise you will come up really short on the sauce.

INGREDIENTS
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
12 lasagna noodles
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

• In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
• Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes.
  
  

This basically makes two pans especially if you have a smaller baking dish. But it is really really good. It actually reminds me of the Olive Garden lasagna except with less calories if you use my tweak suggestions.

Enjoy!!

Chocolate Crocodile

I absolutely LOVE this store!! If I was a millionaire I would operate several chains. They have the most amazing chocolate covered apples.

Chocolate Crocodile Website

The one pictured to the right is my FAVORITE!!

First they take a large granny smith apple. Then they dip it in caramel. Then cover it in white chocolate. And for the final step they drizzle it with dark semi-sweet chocolate. AMAZING!!! They have other variations as well but this is by far the best for its simplicity and the mix of sweet caramel and white chocolate and the topping of the dark chocolate. Very good. Check out the website for the other types. George and I have tried the "Monster Snickers" and it was a bit overwhelming. But I am sure there is something for everyone.

Toll House Brownies

I know you are probably thinking this will be a post about how great they are... But this is actually a warning against them.

Please

Please

Please

Do not make these brownies ever. They are horrible. I am not sure if it is completely due to the fact that I used the wrong pan to bake them in or whether or not it is due to the actual flavor, texture, and appearance.

You have been WARNED :)

Happy New Year!!

Day two of 2009!!! It's something so refreshing and invigorating about the New Year. You actually have a chance to make a change in your life. The continuum of time has a break and you have the opportunity to seize the moment and define the course of your life. It’s actually like a way of marking the end and beginning of a segment of your life and an excellent way to compartmentalize and define your goals and where you are going. This year I truly plan on doing just that :) There are several goals and dreams that I really want to see happen and I know the steps to get there. For me the hardest part about making a change is the start up. I guess that is why I am an official procrastinator. It is something soo addictive and captivating about achieving a monumental task that should have taken 2-3 weeks... in 1 or 2 days. I think it’s defined as a “procrastinator’s high”. But like every high there is a huge price to pay. ADDICTION. I have realized that this New Year is a perfect time to map out a plan for achieving my goals and conscientiously avoid the pitfall of procrastination. With the dawn of the New Year you actually have a reason to plan out your goals NOW not tomorrow or next week but NOW as in TODAY. Therefore I decided that NOW is a perfect time to differentiate my “New Year’s Resolutions”. I will go right these right NOW. I promise. :) I hope everyone had a safe and fun New Years and Christmas!!!