90. Learn to cook 10 new recipes (4/10)

I'm a meat and potatoes kind of gal. I'm also super frugal.. I totally check out circulars (do they still call them that? I swear I'm incapable of keeping up with current lingo) before I go grocery shopping so when I saw an ad at my local supermarket for super cheap pork ribs.. I jumped on that bandwagon.

You'll notice quickly that I had absolutely no idea how much to buy or what kind of ingredients I would need to complete this meal.

Seriously, I just started pulling stuff that I already had from my fridge and pantry. Let's see there's minced garlic, honey bbq sauce, worcestershire sauce, regular bbq sauce, TJ's sweet chile sauce (seriously, amazing - get some now), garlic salt and ketchup.

After looking at various recipes online, I just started mixing stuff together and tasting it until I wanted to consume it by the spoonful. Yes, that's my "seasoning" method.

With just salt and pepper, I put these bad boys in the oven - See! I told you! Massive pork ribs. I mean, there are ONLY two of us (Murphy does not count when people food is involved) and look how much I bought! Whoops!

I can't even explain how much balance it took for me to take a picture WHILE flipping the meat. I'm just thrilled I didn't knock the entire pan over. Back in the oven they go!

They were fall-off-the-meat tender when all was said and done. And my house, the smell was insane. I tore off a piece and slathered my mix all over them. Yes, the picture is fuzzy because they were pipping hot!

I let them cool down a touch before taking another picture. Yes, I still use paper plates.. don't all the great cooks do that? I'm not sure if I've ever had pork ribs before but I would love to make these again. NOM!

Not really 101 related..

but this happened...



I'm getting back on track now.. I promise! Let's blog away :)

90. Learn to cook 10 new recipes (3/10)

As documented in past blog entries, I'm a total glutton when it comes to food blogs. Now, I realize I can't really cook or bake a lick but in my mind, I'm totally a heavier, less cracked out Sandra Lee. Anyway, one of my favorite blogs (like I totally visit the site multiple times a day) is Carrots N' Cake. I'm such a super fan and totally purchasing her book when it debuts in May 2011.

Now, she has blogged about "the best apple crisp recipe" and since it's fall and apple crisp happens to be S' favorite dessert of all time, I said hey why not. So, I pulled up her recipe and started cutting apples.

Isn't it cute that I cut apples like I do this all the time?



I could not believe I owned a pan perfect for this little cooking project. I threw all the apple pieces in the pan.


Time to mix the topping. And yes, that's butter. Come on, live a little people.



Sprinkled cinnamon on zee apples.



Toppings on the apple slices and into the oven. I'm such a bad wannabe food blogger.. forgot to take a picture of the oven with the pan in there.


Look at that.. browned up in no time flat. The house smelled divine.. like I wish I could have bottled the smell and sold it.



Obviously, I had to check quality control of the product. Delish. Seriously, so so easy. Another successful new recipe in the books. Count it!

And yes, in case you're wondering, S loved the apple crisp.

99. Go to a drive-in movie theater

As I was perusing others' websites and blogs, I realized that I couldn't even remember the last time I updated my 101 list. My eight year old laptop essentially started to die a slow death after my last blog post and I simply fell behind on my 101 pledge. It's mid-October and so much has occurred (more posts on THAT later) - I mean, it's not even drive-in movie season for goodness sake!

ANYWAY, S and I made plans to go to the drive-in. We packed the necessary essentials (this was his recommendation although I don't that much nudging when it comes to BYOB)..

Growlers and bottles of beer as well as a bottle of Relax for moi. Yes, we did put ice in there.. this is pre-iced cooler picture. We decided to make a little evening out of it so we went to dinner and got to the drive-in.

Leicester has a huge drive-in.. with three different screens showing six different movies! However, we were faced with a slight problem we arrived (other than getting there too early)...

The movie we were dying to see was "Inception" (I told you it's been a while since we did this!). Now the only "issue" with this is that in order to see that movie.. we would have to see the movie that's playing on that screen prior which happened to be...

(Source)

I wish I was kidding. So S and I chatted it over and decided to just suck it up and watch it. And then everyone decided to come - thankfully! We were sitting forever waiting for the movie to start.

Disregard how blurry this is.. I was trying to be stealthy and not look like I was taking creepo pictures of the high school boys around us.

Popcorn in hand, we were ready to watch the movies! It was such a fun experience and we plan to do this every summer. Next time, we'll bring snacks and friends - who's coming?

65. Go to the movies.. by myself

On Monday, July 19, there was a weather alert that interrupted us during dinner. (Have I mentioned that I'm a touch behind in my blogs? Just a touch) The TV screen just turned on, told us it was an emergency and to get into a basement immediately. Obviously I'm Ms. Calm, Cool and Collected so we totally followed the warnings and took cover. (Not at all how it happened - let's just say there's a reason that I could never work in an emergency room)

Once the storm finally passed (like 1.5 hours later), we were still without power. Since it's July, it was so hot that my sweat was forming sweat. We slept in the living room (the coolest room in the house), hoping that the power would eventually come back on. It never did and I had to use a personal day to deal with the things that come with when your house loses power for more than 12 hours at a time like emptying the fridge/freezer, getting Murphy to a dog friendly place and figuring out how to "hold it" because we also have no running water.

Finally I stopped by S' parents' house where S' mom suggested going to the movies to stay cool and even offered me a free movie pass. Fantastic idea! I used her internet to look up movies and thought that "Despicable Me" looked super cute.

See! So cute. Here's my movie pass.. Yep a Tuesday at 2 pm. And yes, I looked like an absolute creep, sitting at a kids movie in the middle of the workday by myself. It's fine!

Surprisingly, it was so nice to sit and watch something that I wanted to see all by myself. It's kind of like meditating but surrounded by strangers and entertainment. Ok, maybe it's not like meditating at all but it certainly isn't as frightening as I thought it would be. If you're looking for some "me" time that involves doing something, I would totally recommend going to the movies by yourself. Besides, you never really wanted to share the popcorn anyway.

90. Learn to cook 10 new recipes (2/10)

My daily post-work commute is long.. sometimes longer than I care to admit. So, if you know me, you already know that I'm kind of a grouchy pants if I wait too long between meals and even when I snack, I'm absolutely annoying until I eat dinner. And if you don't know me, then hi thanks for stopping by my blog and yes, I have low blood sugar which makes me a borderline lunatic at times.

ANYWAY.. these variables along with probably a dozen others (like how I'm incredibly Type A) requires me to plan ahead my meals for the week. I'm always on the hunt for new recipes - especially those that require minimal effort and no cooking skills whatsoever. I'm not looking to be Julia Child here.. I just want to eat.

One of my favorite websites to browse recipes is the Pioneer Woman. Her website includes photography, family, hobbies and my favorite, cooking. She even has her own cookbook so you know she's legit. One section she's starting to tag is 16 minute meals - I'll take those extra fourteen minutes over Rachael Ray any day! So, on July 17, she posted about her Mini Meatball Sandwiches. First, I love most things in miniature form so my heart strings were tugged at the sight of the title. Second, I've never made meatballs before and totally wanted to try it without consuming hours of my time. So, here we go! (btw, the actual directions may be found here)

First, let's gather ingredients shall we? (Like last time, we're going to overlook my outdated kitchen)

Yes, I used jarred sauce. WHATEVER. It was light Ragu Tomato Basil and surprisingly delish. Additionally, I made use of my roasted garlic (that I made a couple days before), panko, yellow onion, one lb of 90/10 ground meat (on sale! score me!), provolone cheese, milk, olive oil, salt & pepper and the cutest little dinner rolls. Most of the items I already had in my house so that was another bonus.

Ok, time to combine my meat with panko and a touch of milk.

Chopped up some yellow onion. Did you know that if you throw an onion in the freezer for a couple of minutes before you chop it that it's easier to cut it AND it doesn't trigger tears as easy!? These are just some treats for reading my blog - you're welcome!

Moving on, I used my tablespoon measuring thingee to scoop the perfect size meat for the meatballs and then I rolled them cleanly with my hands. Again, if you want the correct lingo, I'm sure the Food Network is an excellent resource.

I know, that's a lot of meatballs! So you're probably wondering why I rolled all the meatballs before throwing the onions to brown in the skillet (if not, let's pay attention here!). I knew that I would totally burn the onions in the oil if I didn't pay attention so yes it took longer but I needed to not screw it up before I got there.

Here's the oil and onions! Now, I had to be super stealthy because S doesn't like onions but likes the taste of them.. so as long as he doesn't see them, he'll eat them. Make sense? It's fine, I think there's a unwritten rule that guys are supposed to make absolutely no sense various times throughout the day.

So now we brown the meatballs - let's use our imaginations here since I was trying to be stealthy and avoid burning our house down so picture taking was not the top priority - and then add the sauce!

Doesn't it smell good?! Yes, I know my blog is not a scratch and sniff but as I type this, I'm salivating at the picture. Now we cover the pot! Like my new cookware? Compliments to Paula Deen and S for selecting these beauties as a gift!

While that bad boy simmers away, time to prepare the bread and cheese. Yes, in absolute fat kid style, are there two words that go more perfectly together as bread and cheese?! I think not. So you just slice the bread in half and put a quarter of provolone on each piece of bread.

Once everything is cooked, you just put a meatball on the bottom of the bread, top with some extra sauce and squish down the top piece of bread and watch those bad boys just melt together.

Yeah, sometimes we use paper plates. It happens more frequently when I anticipate that I'll be in a fat kid coma with my mini meatball sandwich belly. These sandwiches were absolutely delicious and I will definitely make them again. Perfect sized mini meatball to the cutest little bread. Divine!

A Bit Unfocused

Every now and again, we need something that refocuses us on the big picture. You know, those moments that you just want to toss your hands up in the air and just storm out of the room. (Just me?)

Here's a website that will help put everything back into perspective:

http://1000awesomethings.com/

Enjoy!

7. Recommend five enjoyable books and have those people read them (1/5)

In my lifetime, I have read copious amounts of books. When I was younger, we used to go the library (at least) once a week and were able to lend as many books as we could read. I went through the typical Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High and Babysitters' Club series like water on a hot day. I could not get enough and felt like I had created a friendship with the characters in their stories.

(Sidebar: I still become embarrassingly connected to people that I have never met - but in 2010, it's with the people from Big Brother rather than Dawn & Stacy of BSC but I digress)

I've always treasured the art of telling a story from a female's perspective - I suppose that's my internal feminist talking but what can I say, I love a good story that I can relate to. I went through a period where intellectually I thought I was "above" female writing - not female authors but that chick lit that girls have become obsessed with over the past decade - so I often pushed aside anything that was deemed "fun" reading and stuck to boring, "mentally-stimulating" reading. Well, surprise surprise - those items being pushed down my throat as stimulating became anything but and I longed for a simply great, witty read.

Enter: Jen Lancaster - Now, this broad (I write that in love)can write.. and the best part? All her books are memoirs so it's beyond relatable because it actually happened to her. My pal Erin told me in passing that she was looking for a fun summer read and before she finished the sentence, my inner Tourette's came out and I blurted out about my blog and my task seven and how I would love to recommend the perfect book for her - Bitter is the New Black. Viola!

(Source)

I've been actually a fan of Jen (See! We're like totally friends that haven't met yet) for years since her first book came out. I'm not really sure how she got on my radar but I'm so glad she did. She's hilarious and totally someone I would share a bottle (or three) of wine with and talk about all the trashy reality tv shows.

I asked Erin to write me an email about her thoughts/feelings on it for my blog and here it is:

"I totally loved the book! It gave me such insight into the mind of the girl who "has it all." I always look at those women and think "How did they get where they are and how can I do it too?" Reading Jen Lancaster's story really inspired me because I'm going through a rough patch (financially) in my own life, and I definitely related to her; especially the part where she is selling her designer bags on EBay and thinking "what I spent on this bag could have bought my groceries for an entire season." Thank you so much for lending this book to me! My next step is to follow Jen's blog - I'm a huge fan now!"

Erin, I'm glad you loved the book. I have all her other books so just let me know if you want to borrow those too!

Ah, I love a success story. I need to recommend four more books.. anyone want to read one of my recommendations? This could be YOU!

23. Watch a film from the year I was born

Did you miss me? I've totally neglected my blog but don't worry - I've been busy with 101 type things. For instance, I took the opportunity on an extremely lazy Sunday (I'm talking like "snacks for dinner because I didn't want to physically make anything" lazy) to knock off one of my easy peasy 101 items, #23 Watch a film from the year I was born.

Now as you may or may not know, my movie-watching past has been scarce. I haven't seen classics like Caddyshack and Christmas Vacation (don't worry, I'm on it) but have seen Clue & Rover Dangerfield (both highly recommended via moi) like 100 times. Regardless, I better get to the focus of this blog before I get dozens of emails on "why I haven't seen such and such movie before" - I admit, I have a problem - that's step one, duh.

First, I did some research a la imdb.com on what movies came out the year I was born.. there were so many to choose from but I opted for a classic, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Thanks to A & E for letting me borrow their DVD :)

Source

Obviously I'm not going to bore you with the plot details because I'm sure you've all seen it. Overall I thought it was a pretty good movie and I cannot believe I haven't seen it before."Totally" eighties genre completely with way too many topless girls but hey, that's what was "rad" then. Alright, enough eighties lingo - I'll leave you with a final thought.. If I can age the way Sean Penn has (totally Benjamin Button style - he is like a fine wine, no?) then I think I'm totally solid with getting older :)

3. Remind yourself that you can do it and hold a baby

As previously mentioned in a previous post, my pal Shelby was pregnant with her second little girl. Shelby and I arranged some time to hang out, check out her new crib and of course see the beautiful little girls. Shelby informed me ahead of time that there was going to be absolutely no decision-making and that I would holding Izzie whether I wanted to or not. And you know what?

I'm so glad I did! I mean, look how absolutely precious she is! She was so well behaved and didn't even cry once! I loved her little feet and obviously her adorable little outfit. Maybe this holding babies stuff isn't so bad..

90. Learn to cook 10 new recipes (1/10)

I love the summer.. well, minus the ridiculous humidity and its affect on my hair. Oh and how I hate working when it's gorgeous out and all I want to do is be outside. And how every time I'm outside in the summer, I burn to a crisp even though I wear like SPF 60. Vicious cycle, I tell you.

Now, where was I? Oh yes, summer - love love love. One thing I love about summer is obviously glorious cocktails. What?! You didn't think I was going to attempt an actual meal for my first new recipe, did you?

Anyway, since I'm a total fat kid, I have a subscription to the Rachael Ray Magazine (as well as Martha's Food Everyday - and since I really don't cook, fat kid alert) and she featured an adorable "Fourth of July" themed party. The party drink was called a Blackberry Ginger Sour Highball and look how summery it looks!

Source

So I'm totally going to do the rest of the post like I'm food blogger - in advance, I will apologize for my lack of fancy kitchen stuff and the pictures, in general. haha!

First, I chopped the ginger into one inch pieces. Btw, thanks to the Smith Household for my answering my random phone inquiry about whether or not I had to peel the skin off the ginger root. Sure, none of us knew the answer, but I appreciate answering my call!

Then I put the chopped ginger, blackberries, water and sugar into the pan on the stove. And within five minutes, it looked like this. Tell me this isn't a pretty color!

So this is the "syrup" for the drink. Since we were going to the cottage that weekend, I opted to make this ahead of time. I let it cool, strained it (aka just took the ginger and blackberries out) and then poured it into some tupperware where it sat in the fridge until it was drink time!

Obviously now we're in Saratoga - who else noticed the change in kitchens? So you're supposed to essentially fill the pitcher with ice and the gin - then mix it for a little over a minute so the alcohol is NICE and cold. I attempted to put the syrup right into the pitcher but it started to leak.

So I just transferred everything directly into the large tumbler glasses. Now this recipe is supposed to make six cocktails but obviously my serving size and the magazine's are two different things. I put more blackberries, ice, topped with club soda and even some limes (for color) right into the glasses and served!

Absolutely refreshing! I'm so happy with how these came out and I will absolutely be making these again. Next time, I'll just make like triple the recipe (what's more syrup right?) so there's enough if anyone wants a refill. In the words of Ms. Rachael Ray - Delish!

24. Visit Cooperstown

I was acquainted with baseball at four years old when my parents signed me up to the local t-ball league. Back then, to be a member of the girls' softball league, you had to be a little older to join so it was onto the local co-ed league. I was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates and I remember our plain little uniforms of baseball pants with a black t-shirt with the bright yellow writing. Obviously the league organizers were males because they didn't think that maybe black t-shirts and hats may be a touch HOT in glaring sun at noontime on a Saturday in the late eighties. Regardless, it really allowed my very blond ponytail to pop under the hat so I was happy as a clam. Sure, it's not the majors or anything but we have to start somewhere right?

Eventually my season with the Pirates ended and I moved on to bigger and better things (including better uniforms) but my affection for baseball never diminished. I still go to multiple games a year (and yes, moderate pitch softball counts) and thought it would be appropriate to visit the place where all its glorious history is documented, Cooperstown!

We went to Saratoga for Memorial Day weekend and Cooperstown was just a hop, skip and a jump down the road - well not really, but my three trip companions made the trip fly by. Now, the Hall of Fame is in charming Cooperstown and I mean totally charming. It reminds me of a movie with a really small town Main Street running down the middle of it, filling with families and small businesses.

Obviously this picture needed to happen.. it seems only fitting after reminiscing about my early t-ball days, right? The Baseball HOF has a ton of exhibits and really strives to rotate new material regularly. It's a nice mix of history and current items - including this season's stats compared with historical statistics. We did look for the bloody sock (which the staff insisted was on display - wrong!) but otherwise a good trip!

40. Buy 5 powerball tickets and write down three things you would do with the money (5/5)

I'm a relatively decisive person but when it comes to gambling, I can't make up my mind. I love to play games but hate to lose money - actually, I hate to lose, period. Gambling, in any form, is a risk and I'm a planner by profession. Therefore, I tend to stick to lower risk (in my mind at least) forms of gambling like Keno, scratch tickets and any obscure bet that I know I'm going to win. Either way, I'm upset when I lose and insisting on high fives when I win.

When I heard Powerball was up to 220 million, I was like go big or go home. So S and I each got five quick picks and pinky swore that we would split whatever our combined winnings. Here is my ticket..


Now, my task for the 101 list is to buy five Powerball tickets (check) and then write down five things that I would do if I won the jackpot. Surprisingly, this was harder than I thought. My list..


The list reads...

1) Buy a "crib" (Obviously I was thinking like a massively obscene place to live not somewhere to store a baby)

2) Do not end up on an E! True Hollywood Story (Is anyone else obsessed with watching the horrifying "How the Lottery Changed My Life" episodes?! Just me? Cool.)

3) Share the wealth (My plea to karma to assist in my winnings? Perhaps)

4) Travel - Travel - Travel (Obviously I need something to fill my schedule once I tell my place of employment where to go)

5) Be set for life (Ahhh my roots of planning come to a head. Basically, I was telling the future billionaire me to not blow it all at once - complete with a smiley face no less)

Not too shabby of a list eh? Well, the Powerball numbers were announced and I won...

NOTHING!

Well I shouldn't say "nothing" persay.. I earned the two delicious pieces of paper (see below) and a chance to be part of the hype.


Either way, I think I'm going to stick to Keno and ridiculous bets from here on out.

76. Eat 5 things I've never tried before (1/5)

I don't know why but I've always been a fussy eater. I love food, have subscriptions to food magazines and obsessively read food blogs. I'm pretty sure if I ate every time I thought about food, I would weigh 800 pounds and have my own documentary on TLC. Thankfully (or not thankfully if you're into that sort of thing), I dismiss certain foods for absolutely no rhyme or reason other than I deem it yucky before I even taste it.

Take baked beans for instance - absolutely no rhyme or reason why I haven't even tasted it. So what better time to totally step out of the box and try something new!

Source

I stopped by a relative's house to watch the game and enjoy a couple of adult beverages. Being that it was dinnertime and I certainly didn't want to seem rude, I decide to indulge in a bit of grilled food. Alas, the only side was baked beans and rather than eat my weight in hot dogs (which I could easily do), I thought this was the perfect opportunity to try it.. and guess what, I didn't hate it. I don't think anyone loves baked beans or craves them but I wouldn't definitely kick it off my plate in the near future.

Not too shabby.. first random item to try and I didn't want to barf. (I know, I'm so eight years old) Could this be a positive sign for things to come? Time will tell :)

85. Start a herb garden

Growing up in southeastern Massachusetts, we were surrounded with farms and vegetable stands. I really never appreciated the wealth of fruits and vegetables in my community until I moved to Boston where our local "grocery store" was a glorified market and the produce was something to be desired. Now that I'm back in the "country", I thought that I would get in the mood to buy the freshest stuff and really embrace the local environment.

When I was home three weekends ago, my Mom suggested we go to Four Farms to check out the herbs and start my herb garden (Sidebar: I love that she reads my blog and wants to help me complete my items - thanks Mom!) Four Farms is a family owned farm located right outside of Providence, Rhode Island. They have everything between produce, flowers and herbs. All items are super fresh and their staff is so kind and friendly.

Yes, I took this picture when the car was moving - impressive eh? :)

Anyway I decided that I was going to start an herb garden of stuff that I was actually going to use - unlike the lemongrass that I grew last summer because it added some color to the garden.

Behold!

Disregard the nighttime picture - it's been a tough couple of weeks where I've gotten home after sundown on the regular. We selected some basil (my favorite), parsley and mint with the hopes that it'll inspire me to use one of these little gems regularly. Don't worry, I'm not going to keep them in those ghetto little pots - eventually I'll transfer the three plants into one large pot. Now who wants some herbs?!