paper owl {cassie d'ambrosio}

I know it's January 10th already and I didn't post any resolutions, but I have made some.
1. I want to learn how to use my Canon Rebel xti off of the automatic setting.
2. I want to actually submit some of my scrapbook layouts to magazines instead of just thinking about it. This means I'm going to have to keep up on the page calls.
3. I resolve to keep my purse/handbag organized.
4. I resolve to use the grocery recyling bags that I keep in my car. Everytime I go shopping I forget to bring them in with me. So far this year I remembered every time!
5. I want to be a better meal planner for the family. I'm sick of coming home from work, not knowing what to make and not having enough of any ingredients to make something interesting. So my goal would be to find a lot of easy, but good recipes that don't take too long and make sure I have the ingredients and plan out what days to have them.

So on the cooking thing...I've always been a gadget lover and have tons of cooking tools and gadgets. This love for tools and gadgets is probably what got me into Architecture. I loved all the drafting equipment, but then the computer came along for Architectural drawing and I switched to kitchen gadgets. This is what makes me a good scrapbooking candidate...I saw all the tools and equipment and got sucked right in. Somehow since the scrapbooking started, the cooking kind of slowed down. Anyway, I've been doing pretty well on resolution #4 so far. I made a meatloaf which turned out to not be so good. I like my family's recipe way better. I tried it because it was different and looked easy and I wanted a change, but I'm going back to the tried and true Mom's recipe. We also had the most delicious Southern Style Jalapeno ribs that my friend Amy gave me, a very easy, but good chicken pesto dish and today French Onion soup that John said "is better than what you would get in a restaurant".


Crispy Baked Pesto Chicken: I got this recipe from the kraft foods website. I used boneless chicken breast that are individually wrapped and frozen - easy to keep on hand. The only part of the recipe that I didn't like was the Shake-n-bake coating. I will substitute Italian style bread crumbs in the future. I made this with Green Beans and Tomatoes Italian also from the kraft site. This was really good. I used Good Seasons Italian instead of what the recipe called for. My time saving tip is that I used the frozen steam in a bag green beans, also easy to keep on hand.