Hello Old Friend

How have you been? It's been a while. I'm very happily adjusting to married life.  Strangely, according to those I've talked with recently, M and I still aren't cohabitating.  Anyway, on to way more important and interesting things.  I've decided to make a few goals for 2013.

I want to make one new "challenge" meal a month. I'm in the process of compiling my  list of dishes.  I'm hoping this gets me out of my cooking/eating rut and also helps me learn a bit more skill in the kitchen.  I created a board on Pinterest and hope to have 12 recipes collected by December 31, 2012.

In searching through the interwebs and more specifically Pinterest, to find these challenge recipes I stumbled across a really cool website - They Draw & Cook.  It has beautifully illustrated recipes.  I'm dying to try the Pumpkin Mousse.   I would also sort of love to have some of these as prints in my kitchen...someday when I have a kitchen.

Another good thing about this self-imposed challenge is that I'm trying out some recipes that I pinned - the simpler ones that are not challenge worthy.  Tonight's dinner was porkchops marinated in soy sauce, garlic and honey.  

Source: healthy-snack-recipe.blogspot.com via Alicia on Pinterest

The Pinterest link highlighted one of my many frustrations with Pinterest - it linked to little more than a picture.  To be fair, this one at least went to a website, but beyond saying what ingredients were used it wasn't very helpful - there were no measurements listed.  I took a guess on how much of the garlic (two heapng teasspoonfuls of the minced garlic), honey (about a teaspoon), and soy sauce (probably about 1/3-1/2 cup of the low sodium).  Marinade all day and yum!

Mine looked nothing like the pin, but it tasted wonderful.  I had cheesy broccoli as a side and froze the leftover chop.  Simple, yummy, filling and leftovers for a dinner yet this week.  See, there is a bonus to not living with your spouse - I get the leftovers.  :)