Despite this, I did have the chance to meet my darling new nephew this weekend. He is one and a half weeks old.

I think my photo taking/editing skills have improved a bit since the last nephew. (I am up to four at this point!)

I’m excited about this coming weekend because I’m taking part in my first Boston Brunchers event! I’m a little nervous about meeting a bunch of new people off the internet but they all love blogging and brunch, so there are good odds that they will be pretty cool! I’ll let you know how it goes!

I love to be able too cook and eat dinner with Brian. In fact, it’s a big priority for me. But last semester I had a lot of late nights at school, so Brian was often left to fend for himself with Chipotle, Spike’s, and his favorite meal: take-out pizza. This semester, my schedule is looking to have a few less late nights, but there are still times where I will come home late-ish and tired.  For those days, I like to have a couple of frozen meals in the freezer so Brian can have dinner ready by the time I get home.

In an ideal world, I would have the time to make these dinners in advance, like Friday night’s Chicken Pot Pie.  In the real world, I try to find the least processed looking stuff I can at the grocery store or Trader Joe’s and we make do with that.

I was excited when, last week, BzzAgent sent me an invitation to a frozen pizza campaign.  (BzzAgent is a company that sends out samples of products in exchange for honest feedback and a promise to share your opinions with friends.)  Usually I find frozen pizzas a bit disappointing, but I'm always up for trying new quick dinner options!  I'll let you know what I think about Dr. Oetker's Ristorante Pizza when it arrives.

What are your favorite quick and easy meals for late nights?

Last week, I got a membership to a local gym.  I was waiting for the new year to come around because I knew they’d have some good deals going on.  Also the vacation gave me a chance to do some research and redesign my schedule.  I really love it so far.  They offer tons of classes and since I started on Wednesday, I’ve already taken ballet, boxing and zumba.

I love the way ballet makes me feel; graceful and poised, probably because I’m not either of those things in real life.  I also love the way boxing makes me feel; tough and aggressive and powerful.  Zumba mostly just makes me feel ridiculous, but it also makes me sweat so that’s okay with me.

My goal right now is to get to the gym at least three days a week.  I’m only working one job these days, so I think I should be able to find the time.  Once I make that happen consistently, I’ll work my way up to tougher goals.

A few nights ago, I made a batch of WikiKitchen‘s Chicken Tortilla Soup for dinner and it definitely hit the spot.   It was a flavorful belly-warmer, with great freshness from the cilantro and creaminess from the avocado.  I had most of the ingredients in my pantry already- I just had to pick up a roast chicken and one or two other items from our local butcher and I was good to go.  This is simple to throw together in the crock pot, so you can set it and forget about it, but you’ll be reminded as the flavors meld and the delicious aromas fill your home.

I made only the most minimal changes to the original recipe.  Mainly, I toned down the spice a bit because of the ingredients I had on hand, but feel free to add a minced jalapeño like Brynn does, if you dare!

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Adapted from a recipe by Wiki Kitchen
Makes 6 servings

1 quart (32 fl oz) chicken stock
1 (15 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2-3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

For garnish:
4 corn tortillas
Olive oil

Optionally:
Grated cheddar cheese
Avocado, sliced
Green onion, sliced
Cilantro
Sour cream

Place all ingredients (except for garnish/toppings) into a slow cooker and stir. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.

Just before serving, slice corn tortillas into thin strips.  Heat a thin layer of olive oil and gently fry tortilla strips on both sides until crisp.  Let drain on paper towels.

When soup is ready, remove bay leaf.   Serve into bowls and top each bowl with tortilla strips and additional toppings, as desired.

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Happy New Year!!

We had a party again this year and I relied on Martha for most of my recipe ideas.  As much as I love cheese, I made it my mission to avoid a bread and cheese platter this year.  I wanted to get creative and try new things!

There were crudités with three kinds of dip.  There was an antipasto platter with homemade cheese straws, crackers, and baguette.  There were bite-sized treats and the guests brought even more food, booze, and desserts.

I’m not so much into the idea of the new year as a fresh start.  Why limit yourself to starting fresh once a year?  I think we should constantly be changing, improving, and motivating ourselves!  But the party was mellow and it was nice and I loved getting to plan it.  Even though they are never as grand and elegant as I imagine, planning parties is a favorite hobby of mine and this one was a good way to start the year.

I meant to post a couple of weeks ago with photos of our Christmas tree and a recipe for the crackers I made at Thanksgiving, but for some reason that never happened.  I also adapted this granola recipe as a stocking stuffer and it was super easy and delicious!

After a hectic, but successful first semester, it’s been relaxing (and a little boring) to have so much time off.

We had a white Christmas in Vermont with Brian’s family.  The weather has been so strange and warm in Boston, but in their house, it felt like I was inside a snow globe.

Tomorrow, I’m off to California to see my own family and celebrate my grandmother’s 85th birthday.  After that, it’s back to school and being busy busy busy, which is how I like it!

When Brian and I got married, one of the wedding gifts we were most excited for was a tent.

We like camping, but in order to do it, we used to drive 4.5 hours to Brian’s parents house.  I don’t think they minded that very much, but with a tent to call our very own, it makes camping a little more convenient.

Every time we go camping, I have these grand delusions of all of the wonderful campfire cooking I will do.

Instead, we always make hot dogs or Brian’s favorite foil-wrapped campfire dish- ground beef, vegetables, and lots and lots of butter.  It’s tasty, and a whole lot easier to plan and execute, but someday I hope to make salmon with lemon, garlic and tomatoes or something that requires a dutch oven.

At least I always get to eat lots of s’mores!

In September, Brian and I went to New York to meet up with my family.  They were in town for a big anniversary party.

While we were there we took a food tour.

The food was pretty fantastic.

The people watching was good too.

And it was nice to see my family.

I must say, I love New York- it truly inspires me.

If I were really writing this blog for me, there would be a lot of rambling.  There probably is anyway, but this is the internet, which doesn’t feel like a very safe place.  But sometimes people do such wonderful things here, like sharing ideas and art and stories!

I’m not sure if I should feel like they do or write like they do.  I’m not sure if I have things worth sharing, or if I do, whether I can trust the internet to keep them safe.  I can show you pictures though.  This is my family, which is a piece of me.  Protect it please.

Looking back on those pictures, I found these two shots so strange and similar.

Why do people turn away from a camera?  What are they so afraid of?