71. Make 80 new recipes.

Here's a question: What do you do when you have no idea what to make for dinner?  
Answer: Scour the internet for a fabulous recipe and hope for the best.

This is exactly the mentality I took on after I found and decided to make this Chicken with Mushrooms recipe.

And wow was it fantastic, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

This my stove all ready for the deliciousness.

Chopped mushrooms and the breading station for the chicken all ready.

I took the advice of other's before me and baked the chicken without the cheese until about 5 minutes are left on the cook time - then I added the cheese.

This my friends, was the final product.  Juicy, flavorful, and perfect for a Sunday night.  I served it with some rice and steamed veggies for a hearty February meal.  

Just another reason to thank Al Gore for the internet ;) just kidding.

71. Make 80 new recipes.

Tonight's new recipe comes to us from Rachel Ray's 30 Minutes Meals. Love her or hate her - that woman makes a fine meal. Sometimes when I feel I am at my max level of "yum-o"s for the day, I watch her on mute. Regardless, I decided to try making her Mac and Cheddar Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli.

Chickens and onions cooking.

(Side Note: I love the smell of sauting onions. Yankee Candles should make THAT smell in wax form. I would burn that in my kitchen 24/7. no lie.)

Cooked mac, broccoli, onions, and chickens amxiously awaiting the cheese sauce.

Cheesy. Yum.

Overall - this was a great recipe. J gave it with a thumbs up to include it in our recipe binder.


I did learn two things:


1. Skim milk does not take the place of whole milk. When I make this again - I think I will only add 2 cups milk and 1 cup stock. Or maybe 3 cups milk. 4 cups made the sauce a bit runny.


2. I need to add bacon to this. No other reason than I love bacon and melty cheese.

LOST

I cannot believe I have to wait another week on top of the months I have already waited.


This is like being a kid at christmas. 


Finally, on February 2nd, J and I can resume our tradition of turning off cellphones, putting away laptops, and in stress-related eating - consume an entire pack of reduced-fat oreos while watching 60 minutes of the greatest show every week.

I will seriously be depressed when this show ends in a few months.

10. Take a walk on the beach and build a sandcastle.

This was completed on two different days of our vacation - alas that's a technicality. :)


While on vacation in St. Kitts we visted Cockelshell Bay, located on the southeastern peninsula of the island.  Not only was this beach quiet, sucluded, and off the beaten path (many dirt roads were utilized to get us here!) it also had gorgeous views of St. Kitts's sister island, Nevis.

J and I with Nevis in the distance.

While we were at Cockelshell Bay, J and I decided to built a Caribbean Sand Castle/Fort.


We started out with a moat and high walls to protect the castle from the pirates of the Caribbean.

We added turrets and an interior fort to protect the illustrious dribble castle.


After the fort was secure, it was adorned with local shells as doors and decorations.

Finally, a drawbridge was put in place for friendly visitors to Forte San Julia.

(As you can see from this picture,  I needed to apply just a little bit more 50 SPF.  

Alas, this did not happen and now I currently have peeling sunburn in 20 degree weather,

 and let me just say, it's a super weird feeling.)

A few days later in Sint Maarten, J and I strolled along Great Bay beach located in the capitol city of Phillipsburg on the Dutch side of the island.  The other side of the island, St. Martin, is a French terriroty.  

Our footprints on the white sand beach. 

The water at Great Bay beach was an incredible aqua blue, and we had spectacular views of Saba, the smallest island of the Netherland Antilles.

I love the Listerine water in the Caribbean.