Happy New Year!

I have had a very lazy New Year’s Day.  In fact, I have had a very lazy holiday break as a whole!  Corky and I had planned on traveling to Phoenix for the two weeks but changed our plans at the last minute.  We have two weeks on hold with a rental house there, so we will be planning something for later in 2011!  Luckily, we like the heat there, because the next time I will have two weeks off is summer break and that is when the rental is most available!

I was a very negligent blogger in the last quarter of 2010.  I have plans to blog more regularly in the new year, although I don’t want to state a bunch of blogging related resolutions here!  Maybe one day I will be a real blogger who researches posts and blogs a few weeks ahead of holidays with ideas and recipes that I have tested and tried out and share with you with ample time to make them for your holiday!  That is a bit lofty.  This blog’s tagline should read “hey, I made this” or “hey I ate this here and really like it!”  I am a home cook who likes to eat and likes to share creations with others.  I am not a planner and not timely with the posts.  My neighbors think I am crazy when they see me taking a picture of my dinner (outside in natural light when we have it) before I eat it, but hey, that is me!  I am also the crazy lady pulling out the camera in a restaurant!

Because of my blogging negligence since August, 2010, I have a lot of pictures that I hope to share over time on here.  I still can’t believe that I haven’t shared the stories of our Labor Day weekend trip to Philly or my birthday dinner at The Girl and The Goat in Chicago!  Life has been pretty crazy, but 2011 should be a little calmer.  We shall see.  Those two events are on my “to do” list. 

I started out this New Year’s Day with plans to make a traditional Southern New Year’s Dinner.  I bought Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens.  Since one of my “goals” for the new year is to not waste food, I decided to turn those black eyed peas into chili with the Longiza (can someone tell me how this is different from chorizo?) that was in my fridge from last week’s trip to the Honeybee Market in Detroit.  I wish I had a recipe to share, but what started as loosely following this recipe from Homesick Texan turned quickly into a typical chili making experience for me.  I used the longiza, onion, garlic, chicken broth, black eyed peas, canned fire roasted tomatoes, ground chipotle pepper, the juice of a lime, a touch of cinnamon, a little Piloncillo or Mexican Brown Sugar.  It tasted a lot like the chili I made for the BWL Chili Cook-Off in 2008.  It wasn’t the Hoppin’ John that I envisioned making when I bought the Black Eyed Peas, but I was very happy with it!  It needed a little chopped cilantro, but I was not about to head to the store just for that, especially since that would have involved changing out of my pajamas!  I settled for a sprinkle of shredded cheese and a dollop of greek yogurt.

Since I also had a bunch of Collard Greens, I needed to come up with something to do with them.  I could have cooked them up with some onions, garlic and bacon, but then I remembered this recipe that I bookmarked yesterday!  The recipe from Ezra Pound Cake is exceptional.  I happened to have all the ingredients on hand, except I used regular cream cheese instead of the low fat variety and 2% Greek Yogurt in place of the sour cream.  This dip is so flavorful that I am sure it is great with low fat dairy as well. 

I have resolutions for 2011, but haven’t put them down in writing or really put them into words in my head yet.  The BIG resolution for both me and for Corky involves getting “back to our fighting weights”, also known as the weights we were when we started dating over six years ago!  This picture is of the two of us at my niece Jenny’s wedding in 2005.   

This picture is hanging up in my bathroom and on the refrigerator as a constant reminder of how skinny we once were!    I had Weight Loss Surgery in December, 2003.  While I am not happy with the weight gain I have experienced, I am still close to 100 pounds lighter than I was in 2003 and thankful for that!  2011 will be a year of going “back to basics” and following “the rules” that I have gotten away from.  One other thing that I know is needed and I know that I won’t be able to maintain a healthy weight without, is regular exercise.  My biggest goal in this process will be figuring out a way to get active and STAY active in 2011.  I am open to suggestions on that. 

Here is to a 2011 full of activity, good food, moderation in all things, good friends, family, love and good health!