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| An iPhone pic of us downtown on New Years Eve |
I've had a lot of fun blogging this year. I don't know how many people are actually reading this, (I guess I could check the stats, but I think that 80% of the hits are from myself ) but I am continuing to do it anyways. I don't get paid to do it or anything, but it keeps me excited about what my sister calls my "suburban adult life." (She's 18 and too cool for baking and crafting- until she comes over for homemade cookies). There's something about putting my little thoughts out there for people to see that makes cooking dinner 5-7 nights a week and brown bagging lunches to work every day bearable and even fun. I'm afraid without it, Greg would be barely subsisting off of Lean Cuisines and Papa John's. So here it goes, some of my favorite posts from 2011. Happy New Year!
January 2011 was at the height of my Madeleine obsession. I
failed twice before meeting with
success finally in February. In January I also revealed my love of cooking with
wine and for the first time, got a little bit
nostalgic about a childhood memory, and made one of
my now-favorite dinners, spicy chicken tacos.
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| "Uh Oh" Moment |
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| Finally! |
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| Perfect thank you gift for a friend |
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| Chicken Tacos with Spicy Jalapeno Sauce |
In February I made another one of my
now-most-favoritist dinners. I made a last minute substitution that has made this recipe my go-to for deliciousness and quickness.
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| Penne with Non-Vodka Sauce |
In March, my sister reminded me, once again, that she is
cool and I am not. I also had a brief
identity crisis, thinking for an instant that I enjoyed baking more than cooking. I soon proved myself wrong.
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| Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting |
April was a light month, in more than one way. I only blogged twice all month because this is also when we found out about Greg's dangerously high blood pressure and decided to try to change from our "butter is better" motto to something a bit more health conscious. We're still trying and doing alright, but we aren't as zealous as we were at first.
In May we were still on our health kick, yes. But we weren't about to start depriving ourselves of life's pleasures. This is my favorite post because it's the one I had the most fun making. I had two of my favorite people over and the three of us, plus Greg, made pizzas from scratch. Much healthier and more fun than something delivered, this was so much fun that I wish I could have a pizza night once a month! Sadly both of these friends moved away this year, one to California, and one to Florida. So if you live in Annapolis and like pizza, I my be hitting you up sometime soon, so start screening you phone calls!
June was delicious. I really got into summertime with my
summer eats and my glorious and tasty obsession with
shrimp.
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| Shrimp with Orzo from Krieger's Healthy Cookbook |
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| Cajan Shrimp |
The best part of July was when Greg and I took a trip to a small ski town in Vermont. It was empty, save the old antique shops and the creeks and rivers, which were so much fun to stop by for a quick dip of the toes. I couldn't leave without bringing home some Grade A Maple Syrup.
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| We used almost all of it before I could even get a good pic! |
August had my other
favorite post, my sister's going away party. I spent few days making her cake and painting her a gift for her dorm room. This cake was chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. The icing was so good. I squeezed fresh strawberry juice into it for some natural flavor. It was so much better than artificial icing!
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| No time for a fancy picture, people wanted to eat! |
In September I was mainly trying to get back into the swing of the school day, but I did drag myself away for a few minutes to make this
comfort food. It was also our second anniversary. : )
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| Anniversary Dessert (almost as yummy as wedding cake) |
In October I shared a
weeks worth of meals. I also described (in every painful detail) my food
shopping strategy.
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| Baked Ziti |
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| Creamy Chicken |
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| Spinach and Sausage Quiche |
In November I recapped the things I did this
fall. It reminded me how much I love that time of year even though I was trying to hold on strong to summer more than usual this year.
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| Making Oatmeal Raisin Cookies |
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| Hiking in Maryland |
December was a time for
gingerbread cookies, which I had so much fun icing myself. Any time I can use the piping bag I get really excited. I feel professional, like I'm a kid putting on my mom's work pumps and lipstick and parading around the house.
Happy New Year! Thanks for reading a years-worth of thoughts about food!
