#69

69. Go to the Melting Pot and Order Dessert ONLY

A few weeks ago my fiancé and I went to do a little shopping after work and before we knew it it was 9 o'clock and we hadn't even stopped for dinner. We were driving home and happened to pass The Melting Pot. We both looked at each other and could instantly read each other. A quick U-turn was all it took and we were there ready to indulge in some deliciously sweet dessert.

I can't remember what exactly we ordered other than the fact it was chocolatey deliciousness with oreos and tons of yummy dippers like rice krispies, marshmallows, strawberries and cheesecake. YUM! Well worth it.

20. Read 20 Non-School Books (10/20)

Ohhhhhhh, we're halfway there....*singing*

Somehow, even with this being my last semester of school, taking two courses, planning a wedding and working full time, I managed to fit in another book. So here it is...#10

This is Stephen King's newest collection of short stories. The book has 4 different stories which he describes as "ordinary people faced with extraordinary circumstances." Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. Definitely on my recommended list.

#50

50. Visit a Zoo

YAY! I finally got my trip to the zoo that I've been wanting for over 2 years!! When my fiancé and I first started dating I had told him I'd never been to a real zoo before. I've been to petting zoos and small traveling zoos, but never a REAL zoo. He promised to take me but it's something that just hasn't really worked out. It's either been too hot, or too cold, or we've been too busy to make the trip. We woke up last Saturday and decided today was the day. We got in our car and headed to the National Zoo in D.C. It was a gorgeous day in the 70s and we had a great time. Saw lots of interesting animals and even got to go into a special part of the zoo to help the zebra trainers work with some new arrivals. I even had a tree monkey come within a few inches of me while taking photos. Unfortunately, I ended up breaking my camera that day (nothing major, it's fixed now) so didn't get to take pictures of much else :-/ Oh well, we're close enough that we can definitely go again!

#13

13. Buy a new iPod and load all the music from #12 on it.

So it's not an iPod, it's an iPhone. My old iPhone was the original. A 4GB, slower than death antiquity in these high-technology times. It had gotten so bad that all incoming callers sounded like they were phoning from the bottom of the sea. My WONDERFUL fiancé bought me the iPhone 4 for my Birthday. I got the 32GB, which isn't quite big enough, but we also share a 120GB iPod Classic so between the two we'll have plenty of room.

#12

12. Re-Rip and Organize Entire Music Collection

Ok, so I didn't officially Re-Rip everything. A lot of what I had done previously was good enough quality. There were only a handful that needed to be re-ripped. The organization, however, was greatly needed. A good chunk of my music collection comes from the good ole' college days where file sharing was in it's prime so a lot of the file names weren't consistent. I managed to go through my entire collection and re-name and organize them. And the reason for this? See #13.

I love these "kill two birds with one stone" list items!!

#79

79. Vote in a Non-Presidential Election

Check! I've never really felt strongly one way or another when it comes to local or State issues, but since this year's senatorial election was such a big one, I decided to get out there and state my peace.

#22 (12/30)

22. Try 30 new recipes (12/30)

Another super easy, very tasty recipe.

Chicken Piccata Pasta

1 1/4 lbs (625 g) boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil, divided
1 1/2 tbsp (22 mL) Lemon Pepper seasoning
3 cans (14 oz each) 33% reduced-sodium chicken broth (about 6 cups/1.5 L)
1/2 medium onion
12 oz (350 g) uncooked angel hair pasta
1 lemon
2 oz (60 g) cream cheese, softened
1 can (14 oz or 398 mL) quartered artichoke hearts in water, drained
1/4 cup cup (50 mL) capers, drained and rinsed
Chopped fresh parsley and grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Cut chicken into 1-in. (2.5-cm) pieces. Combine chicken, 1 tbsp (15 mL) of the oil and seasoning in mixing bowl; toss to coat. Heat remaining oil in (12-in./30-cm) Skillet over medium-high heat 1–3 minutes or until shimmering. add chicken to skillet; cook and stir 10 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and centers are no longer pink. remove chicken from skillet; set aside.


Meanwhile, heat broth in microwave safe bowl, covered, on HIGH 8–10 minutes or until broth comes to a boil. On clean cutting board, chop onion. Add onion to skillet; cook 10–20 seconds or until onion is fragrant. Carefully add broth and pasta to Skillet; cook, uncovered, 7–8 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally.


Zest lemon to measure 1 tbsp (15 mL). Juice lemon with to measure 2 tbsp (30 mL). Add zest, juice and cream cheese to skillet; stir until cream cheese is fully incorporated. Add chicken and artichokes to Skillet. Cook, covered, 1–2 minutes or until heated through. Remove Skillet from heat; stir in capers. Garnish with parsley and Parmesan cheese, if desired

#22 (11/30)

22. Try 30 new recipes (11/30)

I've been on a bit of a recipe kick lately so they're adding up fast!

With fall rapidly making it's presence known, I've been having this dire craving for soup. I LOVE french onion soup but have never been brave enough to try making my own. I don't know what I was thinking! It's one of the easiest soups to make and virtually impossible to mess up! A quick search on allrecipes.com and off I went. It came out great!

French Onion Soup

• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 onions, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 2 (10.5 ounce) cans condensed beef broth
• 1 French baguette
• 8 ounces sliced Swiss cheese

Directions

1. Melt butter or margarine in a 4 quart saucepan. Stir in sugar. Cook onions over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
2. Stir in flour until well blended with the onions and pan juices. Add water, wine, and beef broth; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low. Cover soup, and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Cut four 1 inch thick slices of bread from the loaf. Toast the bread slices at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) just until browned, about 10 minutes. Reserve the remaining bread to serve with the soup.
4. Ladle soup into four 12 ounce, oven-safe bowls. Place 1 slice toasted bread on top of the soup in each bowl. Fold Swiss cheese slices, and fit onto toasted bread slices. Place soup bowls on a cookie sheet for easier handling.
5. Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 10 minutes, or just until cheese is melted

#22 (10/30)

22. Try 30 New Recipes

Now Serving...#10!

Super easy pasta recipe you can cook in one pot!...It doesn't taste half bad either!

I made this one sans meat but you can add cooked chicken breast or even Italian sausage for a different twist.

Creamy Pasta Recipe

4 cloves garlic, peeled

1 Tbsp Olive oil

3 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in 1/2

5 1/2 cups of chicken broth

1 lb uncooked penne pasta

3 cups broccoli florets

2 cups white mushrooms, sliced

4 oz cream cheese

salt, to taste

black pepper, to taste

fresh basil

parmesean cheese, to taste

1. Slice garlic thinly. Place garlic and 1 Tbsp of olive oil in large stockpot. Cook on medium heat until garlic is lightly browned, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add broth and bring to a boil. Add penne and cook 8-10 minutes. Pasta should still be slightly firm.

2. Chop vegetables and cream cheese into bite-sized cubes. Add vegetables and cream cheese to stockpot and cook on low heat until cheese is melted, mixing to coat pasta thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste Serve sprinkled with chopped basil leaves and Parmesan cheese.

#84

84. Drive the Speed Limit for an Entire Day

Wow. This one took A WHILE! I've attempted this one on more occasions than I can count, and just haven't been able to make it happen. Finally this past Sunday I was able to do it. I drove up North to a friends house, hung out, did a little shopping and headed home...around 60 miles total...all without speeding :)

#22 (9/30)

22. Try 30 new recipes (6/30)

Here’s a new one! The fresh orange flavors mixed with the ginger and soy smell and taste delicious, and it was super easy to make. I'm not a huge fan of cabbage but in this dish it really works well.

2 oranges

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tsp grated gresh gingerroot

3/4 tsp salt

1 garlic clove crushed

1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

3 Tbsp veg. oil

3 garlic cloves, pressed

6 oz Chinese egg noodles (or 2pkg ramen noodles if you can't find egg noodles)

1 bag (12-16 oz) frozen stir-fry veggie blend (e.g. broccoli, carrots & peapods) thawed

3 cups thinly sliced green cabbage

1. Zest 2 oranges to measure 1 Tbsp. Juice both oranges to measure 1/2 cup. Combine zest, juice, water, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce & seasonings in medium bowl. Whisk well. Set aside.

2. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Combine egg, salt & black pepper in a bowl. Add chicken; stir to coat. Combine flour & cornstarch in large Colander Bowl. Add chicken mixture; toss to coat. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until simmering. Remove chicken from flour mixture, shaking off excess, and place into Skillet. Cook 8-10 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and centers are no longer pink, stirring occasionally. Remove chicken from Skillet; set aside & keep warm.

3. Allow skillet to cool a bit (to avoid burning garlic) and add pressed garlic to skillet. Cook 30-60 seconds until fragrant. Add noodles & orange mixture to skillet. Cover; bring to a simmer and cook 3-4 minutes or until noodles are softened. Add stir-fry blend & cabbage; cook 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are hot & cabbage is crisp tender. Add chicken to skillet; mix well to coat chicken.

#58

58. Fly a Kite

Apparently I had a pretty sheltered childhood, as I've NEVER flown a kite! Not even the Charlie Brown stick and newspaper kind you make when you're like 5.

Well, thanks to a friend of mine I was able to cross this one off the list. We were hanging at the beach for our annual Memorial Day Beach Weekend and a few people decided to go to the kite store. Knowing that I'd never flown a kite, my one friend returned with a small turtle kite for me to fly. It was pretty windy out that day and we had some difficulty getting it to fly, so we swapped it out for a larger monkey kite. We got that one flying no problem. It was pretty cool how high up we got it, but winding it back in was a total pain!

Another one bites the dust!

#73

73. Decide on my concentration (or none) for finishing my Master's degree

I think I've decided. None. I was debating between concentrating in Regulatory Affairs or Drug Development, but I only have 2 classes left and think it would be best not to choose a concentration. So my Master's Degree will be in Biotechnology....period. The degree will still look awesome hanging on my wall :)

#25

25. Buy a new dining room set

New house = new dining room set!

Since we will officially have a formal dining room in our new house (which should be finished in one week!!) we needed a nice dining room set. We wanted one big enough for 8 and absolutely fell in love with this one. We got a really great deal on it through a family member who works at a furniture store and I can't wait to see what it looks like in our dining room!

#31

31. Shoot a gun

Holy crap this was fun! I've shot rifles with my dad when I was a kid, but I've never shot a handgun before. My boyfriend and I were driving around one Saturday afternoon and decided to stop at a shooting range we saw. We rented a 40 caliber Springfield (XD40), bought a box of bullets and off we went! At first I was really nervous. Guns have always kind of creeped me out, and I wasn't sure I could handle the kick of a 40 caliber but it was a piece of cake! Just gotta relax, take it slow and concentrate. I'm actually looking forward to doing this again sometime soon!

He didn't stand a chance....

#82

82. Make a Birthday Cake for a Friend

Cupcakes still count right?? Two of my friends have birthdays about a week apart, so we invited everyone over for a game night and I decided to surprise them with birthday cupcakes! They were a HUGE success.

#46

46. Run 5K

I've been working out like crazy for months now, and Monday night I finally felt inspired to try running a full 5K (3.1 miles). I didn't enter a race or anything but decided to just try it out on the treadmill. Running has never been something that really interests me; I can do it, I just get bored pretty easily and quit to do something more exciting. This time I was determined. I found some killer dance music on my iPod and away I went. Before I knew it I looked down and it was over! I even ran an extra 3/10 of a mile without realizing it!

Maybe when it warms up a bit here I'll be brave enough to enter a race, and update this post :)

#20 (9/20)

20. Read 20 non-school books (9/20)

Here's number nine! The third book in the Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood) series, Club Dead. Not quite as good as books 1 and 2 in my opinion, but still worth the read.

#22 (8/30)

22. Try 30 New Recipes (8/30)

Here's another yummy low-calorie one for the books! It's kind of a combination of two different caccitore recipes I found. I combined them to speed up the cooking process and to utilize the ingredients I had on hand.

Chicken Caccitore

3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast (I used breast tenderloins)

1/2 cup all purpose flour

3 Tbsp vegetable oil (I used Canola)

2 14 oz cans diced tomato- no sodium added

2 cups sliced white mushrooms

1 medium onion sliced chunky

1 medium/large green pepper sliced chunky

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1/4 cup red wine

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp thyme

1. Coat chicken in flour. Heat 1.5 Tbsp of oil in large skillet on medium/high heat. Add chicken and cook 8-10 minutes until browned, turning once halfway through cooking.

2. Remove chicken from heat and add remaining oil to pan. Saute onions 3 minutes constantly stirring. Add bell pepper and garlic and continue cooking for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for 4 additional minutes. Add wine and reduce until nearly dry. Add tomatoes, basil, thyme and oregano. Reduce heat to low and simmer 7-8 minutes. Return chicken to sauce mixture and simmer 10-12 minutes. Chicken should be easy to break up with a spoon.

3. Serve over pasta or brown rice (I used bowtie pasta)

Makes approximately 8 servings

Nutrition per serving: 270 calories, 8g fat, >1g sat fat, 90mg chol, 406mg sodium, 15g carbs, 2g fiber, 5g sugar, 27g protein, 23mg calcium.

#22 (7/30)

Really yummy AND low calorie!

Orange Ginger Chicken

From: Betty Crocker The 300 Calorie Cookbook: 300 Tasty Meals for Eating Healthy Every Day

Ingredients

1.25 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

1/3 cup Orange Marmalade

1/2 tsp Ground Ginger (dried) or 1 tsp Ground Ginger (fresh)

1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

1. Spray skillet with cooking spray. Cook chicken on medium/high heat about 5 minutes until brown on bottom. Turn chicken over, add remaining ingredients and reduce heat to low.

2. Cover, and simmer 10-15 min stirring occasionally. When chicken is fully cooked, sliced into thin slices. Spoon sauce over chicken.

Makes 4 servings

Nutrition Info (per serving): 210 Cal, 4g Fat, 1g Sat Fat, 70mg Chol, 85mg Sodium, 19g Carbs, 13g Sugar, 0g Fiber, 25g Protein

I served it with 1/2 cup of brown rice and it was DELICIOUS!