home life

The homebody lifestyle seemed really appealing this weekend, so I started my eating in project a little early. On Thursday, I made Weight Watchers' Turkey Enchilada Pie with plans to freeze leftovers for the rest of the week. Unfortunately, my poor, sensitive little taste buds couldn't handle the meager 4 ounces of jalapeno peppers. The spiciness overpowered the rest of the dish. Even a generous dollop of sour cream couldn't help! So either I will try to pawn it off on my roommate (Jon found it too spicy as well) or it will go in the garbage. Sad waste of food, but now I know better. Next time, no jalapenos!

I also made buttermilk biscuits from scratch. It's a nice feeling putting all the ingredients together, sticking it in the oven and having it come out recognizable. I mean, these look like biscuits, right?

They were good, too. I accidentally made one more than the recipe called for, and the biscuits were a little flat, but still yummy, and I'm not the only one who thought so. Unlike my disastrous low-fat brownies (can't find the recipe online and wouldn't want to share it with you anyway!), Jon actually found these edible and delicious. Yay, me!

This morning, I made lemon ricotta pancakes. I was supposed to make them with my friend Megan, but circumstances being what they are with my family, I had to postpone. So I practiced today after being a good girl and going to the gym. They were DIVINE.

Colorful mixing bowls makes breakfast even more fun.

Any recipe requiring melting butter on a hot pan is A-OK with me.

Ta-daaah!

These didn't last long. And the best part: I couldn't possibly eat them all, so I get to freeze the rest for later. This will be a tasty week.

unprepared

It's always too soon.

Project Dine In

Hello, my little neglected corner of the blogosphere. I'm revisiting you to make an announcement: I, Jennifer Driver, will not be dining out for the entire month of February. This includes restaurants, coffee shops, fast food, and (sob) El Zarape. Inspired by Cathy at Not Eating Out in New York, my goal is to save money (approx. $100) and eat more healthfully by cooking my own meals. It will be tough; as I was discussing last night with my friend Sarah, most social gatherings take place over dinner or coffee. For some reason, we gravitate toward making food the center of our get-togethers, whether we are catching up with friends or celebrating a birthday. But dining out is expensive and not as intimate as preparing and eating a meal together, or taking a walk or visiting a museum. One of my goals in this project is to redefine the way my friends and I spend time together.

To make sure I don't go crazy cooking alone in my tiny apartment kitchen, I am enlisting my friends and boyfriend to support my cause. Sarah and I already have plans to cook dinner together, and Jon has offered to pay for ingredients if I will whip him up something meaty and fabulous from Julia Child's famous cookbook. I also have plans for a grand kitchen-stocking shopping spree this weekend; I've been drooling over SUPER cheap casseroles at Amazon, mini muffin tins at Target, and loaf pans & a grill pan at IKEA. Hopefully I will remember to take pictures, even though my food doesn't always come out pretty and my standard point-and-shoot camera wasn't made for taking blog-worthy pictures. I just love when blogs have pictures, it looks more interesting.

I'm kicking off my journey February 1st, after a "last supper" at the Waterfront Grill in Nat'l City with Joyce this Friday. Wish me luck!

hello, 2010.

I can feel the change coming. What a wonderful feeling!

I quit my 2 jobs.
I'm starting a new one next week that will help me take the load off my parents, and hopefully won't drive me completely crazy in the process.
I'm still applying to schools while I wait to hear back from sac state...thanks to budget cuts, they have to wait til their department gets its allocations before sending out letters. Really, an e-mail wouldn't hurt, but I guess they prefer to do things the old-fashioned (and expensive) way.
I ran 12 MILES today! In three weeks, I will run my first half-marathon ever!
WW has been a huge success - it's getting easier to eat healthy and take care of myself. At this point I don't care how much weight I've lost, I'm just thankful for the lifestyle change and confident that I won't go back to my old habits.

Alas, change isn't always good...

Jon leaves for med school in 8 months. Not much to say about that.
This year, my brother turns 16 and my sister turns TWENTY. I am not liking this at all.
My grandpa has brain cancer. Luckily, it's treatable, but still. It's brain cancer and I'm terrified. What a lovely way to start the new year, yeah?

Still I'm staying positive - "Keep Calm and Carry On" is my new motto.