tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49046815880844544432012-02-23T21:56:05.088-05:00A newbie cook using the kitchen to de-stress for any and all problems.Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.comBlogger1851100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-83962716482129826592012-02-23T21:53:00.000-05:002012-02-23T21:53:33.857-05:00

Up until this past weekend, I honestly thought I would go a whole winter without seeing snow. It was a sad thought, especially after such huge winter storms we had the past two years. There was talk of snow on Sunday, but I didn't see how that was possible when it was warm and sunny the days before. Boy, was I wrong! Roanoke got at least 8 inches (maybe even more!). I obsessively checked the

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-12772621596994465462012-02-04T23:39:00.000-05:002012-02-04T23:39:00.544-05:00

I can't seem to keep up with all my students' birthdays, so even though I want to do something special, I'd end up forgetting about some of them. I don't want to be unfair or look like I'm playing "favorites" so I don't do anything for birthdays. Last week, however, one of my classes requested a cake. "It's my birthday on Tuesday!" "Mine's on Sunday!" "Mine was two months ago!" Why not celebrate

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-89940278852608966302012-01-21T17:46:00.000-05:002012-01-21T17:46:10.309-05:00

I thought this past week would be one of the best weeks ever because it wasn't a four-day work week - it was actually three and a half. We had an early dismissal on Wednesday because there was only one midterm left. After the last midterm, students who didn't get in trouble during the first semester got to participate in a dodgeball game against the faculty. I didn't get to watch because I had

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-87603386113708197092012-01-16T20:35:00.000-05:002012-01-16T20:36:04.491-05:00

Boy, am I glad for the three-day weekend! Having today off was great. I went up to Lexington to watch a basketball game and visit my friend whom I haven't seen since before Christmas break. It was fun, even though I was there for only a short time. I hope this week flies by since it is a four-day work week.I also liked being able to use my slow cooker today. Normally, I don't use it during the

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-25813218541318145442012-01-12T21:58:00.001-05:002012-01-12T22:04:12.599-05:00

I swear I'm alive. I apologize for the unintentional hiatus, but I come back with an awesome recipe: Oreo Balls.I was first introduced to them through a student of mine. She makes them on a regular basis and there is always someone walking around school with a Ziploc of Oreo Balls. She also gave me a Tupperware full of them for my birthday back in September. Now, I knew about Cake Pops and

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-36116955854243194472011-12-25T20:44:00.000-05:002011-12-25T20:44:47.214-05:00

Merry Christmas, everybody!This year's Christmas isn't as well planned as last year. Presents for my family? Bought 'em yesterday. Kind of. My sister's is on delay, but at least I know what I'm getting her. Christmas dinner? Planned and went grocery shopping yesterday. I didn't even think about dessert until I was at the store. Unbelievable! Decorations? Nada. Not that we were big decorators to

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-42531940519175060522011-12-24T21:29:00.000-05:002011-12-24T21:29:05.594-05:00

I finally got around to making baked goods to send to my friends. Late, but better than nothing, right? I'm bubble-wrapping the cookies and hoping that they will make it safely to their destinations.This is my first time working with dark cocoa powder and it's pretty amazing seriously how dark it makes the dough. It's not noticeable as a powder, but once it's mixed into the wet ingredients, it

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-82486507980781502332011-12-21T12:32:00.000-05:002011-12-21T12:32:20.796-05:00

I've been home in New Jersey since Saturday and I have been sick since Saturday. My body knew that I would be getting a long break and finally gave up on me. I guess it's better that I'm sick now than when school is in session.The last day of school before break was pretty crazy. Most of the students didn't even come to school and I just showed a movie, Lean On Me with Morgan Freeman. Everyone

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-62628560465010913352011-12-06T08:48:00.000-05:002011-12-06T08:48:48.003-05:00

Did you know you could freeze buttermilk?I didn't either. I bought half a gallon of buttermilk to make Buttermilk Pie for Thanksgiving, but it had been sitting in my fridge not being used. I really hate to see food go to waste, so I Googled if freezing it would be possible at all and it's actually quite commonly done. I froze about half of what was left and used the other half to make buttermilk

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-32351077455364054172011-11-29T18:44:00.000-05:002011-11-29T18:44:19.695-05:00

When my mom visited me a couple of weeks ago, I asked her to bring down the slow cooker I left back home. My mom uses it very rarely, so she didn't mind. I didn't even know how much I would be using it--I just really wanted to make some barbecue pulled pork or chicken. While I haven't gotten around to that just yet, I've made a few other recipes and have fallen in love with my slow cooker all

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-62201434151755614262011-11-27T09:32:00.002-05:002011-11-27T13:54:51.914-05:00

Can I just have one more day off? This break has been such a nice recovery time that it's now difficult to get back into work mode. I'm sure all my students will feel that way tomorrow, too. I saved all my work for yesterday and today so that I can actually have a break--no work, no guilt, lots of fun.Feeling no guilt is probably what made last weekend one of the best weekends. Usually, when I

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-9332940652625125082011-11-24T23:58:00.001-05:002011-11-24T23:59:28.383-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everybody had a nice time with family. Since I wasn't with my family this year, my carpool buddy invited me to her family dinner. It was great meeting everyone and putting faces to their names and stories. I had wonderful food and made some wonderful new friends :)I brought over a bottle of Bailey's to enjoy after dinner, but I couldn't show up empty-handed in terms of

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-59695051536760307052011-11-23T18:33:00.000-05:002011-11-23T18:33:44.462-05:00

Last year, I never got around to sharing what was my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner: the stuffing. My sister and my dad are picky eaters so it can be difficult to find something that will satisfy everybody's taste buds. My dad, especially, because he is not quite accustomed to American flavors. I looked through at least 100 stuffing recipes before I stumbled upon one from Martha Stewart. I

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-87715333743204073932011-11-12T12:53:00.000-05:002011-11-12T12:53:18.398-05:00

My sleeping habits are weird. No matter what time I go to sleep at night, I wake up at 6 or 7 the next morning. "Oh, you got only 4 hours of sleep? Too bad," my body says. This isn't bad on weekdays when I have to get up at 6 for work anyway. I make sure I get at least 7 hours the night before. On the weekends, however, I stay up late knowing that I don't have to wake up so early the next day,

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-64258399751138606452011-11-08T20:34:00.000-05:002011-11-08T20:34:46.843-05:00

This is how I spent my day off today:A fellow teacher that I carpool with twice a week knows a lot about hiking trails in the area, so she showed me around this morning. Our day started at 9 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our first stop was a trail just off the parkway. I forget what it's called, but it was a nice short hike. After that, we went to Roanoke Mountain and we somehow missed a turn and

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-87014353910650230592011-11-06T17:36:00.000-05:002011-11-06T17:36:19.225-05:00

I love the Holidays as much as the next person. Seeing Christmas lights hanging around town fills me with joy. Watching Christmas specials of my favorite TV shows makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Praying for snow (or maybe even a White Christmas) becomes a daily routine. But we are still in early November and Thanksgiving has not even passed yet. So I don't understand why, when I walked

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-54917129058265407482011-11-05T20:36:00.000-04:002011-11-05T20:36:29.351-04:00

I always planned my meals ahead to save time and to keep my eating habits under control. But sometimes, they were never what I wanted at the moment, but I had to eat them as I had nothing else prepared. It's never good when I'm "forced" to eat something. So off I'd go searching for whatever my taste buds thought they were missing.Lately, though, I've been really good with my self-control. I

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-70613325710602653252011-11-03T08:53:00.001-04:002011-11-03T09:01:03.341-04:00

Pasta dishes are my favorite easy meals.Throw something together in a baking dish and smother it in cheese.Let it bake and bubble in the oven.Then devour it.I got 4 servings out of this dish (6 shells each--I dropped one on the floor while draining it... sad). It looks like a lot of spinach, but it's a good amount and not at all overpowering. The ricotta balances it out. There's no other cheese

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-36658483535205564172011-10-31T18:27:00.001-04:002011-10-31T22:03:17.778-04:00

Happy Halloween!I'm a little upset that nobody was allowed to dress up at school. I would have loved to dress up as Snape and freak all my students out with my Snape voice, too. But the students who want to violate the dress code just have to ruin it for everybody else. Oh, well.At least nothing stopped me from giving out Halloween goodies. Each class got something different. One class got baked

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-31743264983373227752011-10-30T12:46:00.000-04:002011-10-30T12:46:39.279-04:00

As much as I might complain about how I dislike snow or the cold, I'm jealous that everybody else I know got snow while I didn't. Maybe not quite the snowmageddon that the Northeast got, but just an inch would have been nice. I didn't realize that the storm would end up this epic though. It's not something you expect in October! I wonder what the rest of the winter season will bring...Thankfully,

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-41947003359295224772011-10-19T22:21:00.000-04:002011-10-19T22:21:36.821-04:00

Fall is upon us. Or, is it? Oh, wait, it is. Sorry, the weather is confusing me. I got sick a couple weekends ago from it being 50 degrees and windy outside. Then this past weekend, it was 75 degrees and sunny, no wind. And now, the temperatures are in the 60s and it's raining and windy again. Seriously?Whatever temperature it may be, it is officially Fall according to the calendar. I don't have

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-22542045414920334582011-10-17T19:45:00.004-04:002011-10-17T19:50:25.859-04:00

As a child, there were a lot of things I refused to eat for no apparent reason. For example, tomatoes. If I ordered a salad at a restaurant, I always took out the cherry tomatoes and gave them to my mom. But thankfully, my taste buds have matured as an adult, and now I love all tomatoes, especially as a snack sprinkled lightly with sugar (my favorite way to eat them). I mentioned that I never ate

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-22119324585516909332011-10-16T21:53:00.000-04:002011-10-16T21:53:59.180-04:00

Remember the S'mores Cups I made way, way ago? I was going to take them with me on the drive down here to give as a belated birthday present to a friend. I left them in the fridge overnight and I took my time in the morning before leaving just to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything. But of course! What do I forget?So I owed my friend a present. I've visited her twice now, but couldn't find the

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-66923938601844498582011-10-12T21:54:00.000-04:002011-10-12T21:54:17.309-04:00

I did so much cooking on Sunday. It's actually kind of ridiculous. But there was a reason for it all. I mentioned before that, once I get home, I'm literally too tired that I don't even feel like making myself a decent meal. Last week, I had some boring and not-so-great dinners. I decided that I needed to cook a whole bunch of something when I do have time (like during the weekend) to last me the

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-7947753333669296402011-10-08T10:00:00.000-04:002011-10-08T10:00:03.501-04:00

Having a jar of peanut butter in my apartment is a dangerous thing, especially this week. I tend to eat my stress away and, oh boy, has this week been stressful. First off, I'm sick so I'm sniffling in class and I sound like a man. Second, my job is stressing me out. No. My students are stressing me out. And third, my phone was stolen this week by one of my own students. It was my mistake for not

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-86023525158883810522011-10-04T14:08:00.000-04:002011-10-04T14:08:28.897-04:00

I feed my students a lot. I used Fruit Loops for a lesson on combining like terms (or like colors). I used Lucky Charms for a lesson on a real world application of absolute value functions. Every Friday, I give out a limited amount of candy to students who give me correct answers. Every test day, I give out chocolate for brain power. Students respond really well to food. Be on their best behavior

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-74169604290124506592011-09-28T15:41:00.001-04:002011-09-28T15:41:00.448-04:00

This past weekend, I spent my time with other people and not just by myself! That sounds more sad than I'd like it to, but honestly, I've been in this city for 5 weeks and I know absolutely nobody. Maybe I should join the gym. A fellow first-year teacher had a barbecue at his place and invited a bunch of his friends, me and another new teacher. We watched football, played whiffleball, played with

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-70896817483421195012011-09-25T13:39:00.000-04:002011-09-25T13:39:00.889-04:00

By the end of the school day, I am mentally, physically, and maybe emotionally drained that I just can't form thoughts or can't focus long enough to form thoughts. I never knew I could be this tired. When I get home, I find it difficult even to cook myself a decent dinner. It's either dinnertime or past dinnertime so I am very hungry when I walk into my apartment.This is when foil or parchment

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-91966522894048904872011-09-18T13:08:00.000-04:002011-09-18T13:08:22.039-04:00

On Friday, I stayed at school until 5:30 to go to a football game. I'm glad I went because I was able to see my students in their environment with their friends and not just in the classroom. We were winning at halftime, but I don't know the final score as I left after the marching band show. Then on Saturday, I worked at school from 9 to 3. Crazy, but I caught up with all the work that I felt

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-54097460803170054742011-09-13T22:58:00.000-04:002011-09-13T22:58:57.651-04:00

Back in August, the school's insurance company offered a free health risk assessment for the faculty. Basically, they take our blood, blood pressure, weight and height, etc to determine any health issues we need to watch out for. My results were pretty good. My risk of heart disease and diabetes are very low and my cholesterol levels were green, which is good. The only thing that really got me

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-67837767068944939982011-09-11T19:07:00.000-04:002011-09-11T19:07:35.826-04:00

This week was too long. Or at least it felt too long because it was actually only a four-day work week. I was so tired by the end of the week that Friday just felt like a terrible day. I needed a pick-me-up so that night, I went to see A Midsummer Night's Dream at Blackfriars with a friend. It was just what I needed. The actors were amazing and so hilarious that my cheeks hurt by the end from so

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-57596251515408475822011-09-06T20:27:00.000-04:002011-09-06T20:27:42.814-04:00

When I studied abroad in Budapest (2 years ago now -- wow, how time flies), I had a professor who would give us chocolate whenever we had a test. He believed that chocolate gave us brain power so while we were trying to focus and concentrate on figuring out the answers, he would be handing out 3 to 4 pieces of chocolate. I had no problem with this. I love chocolate and especially European

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-18112161746701338392011-09-02T21:32:00.000-04:002011-09-02T21:32:05.840-04:00

I can't believe it took me until now to try fresh cauliflower. I've eaten it frozen before, but, in my opinion, the pre-packaged frozen vegetables never taste that great, so I always avoided it. But I saw this recipe and the blogger described roasted cauliflower as sweet, so I thought I would give it a try. Also, I've mentioned that roasting is now my favorite method of eating vegetables, which

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-63716520100360424552011-08-30T19:10:00.000-04:002011-08-30T19:10:07.731-04:00

Whoever says teaching is a part-time job should follow me around for a day and see what it's really like. I teach all levels of Algebra and deal with all grade levels. It's a challenge to keep everybody engaged, especially for such a long ninety minutes. That is difficult even for me because I don't have any experience with block scheduling so sometimes I end up either overplanning or

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-12935019563881849872011-08-27T18:16:00.000-04:002011-08-27T18:16:10.378-04:00

This week has been crazy. First of all, the first day of school was Monday and I officially started teaching. I survived and I even had fun with the students. It made me realize why I wanted to be a teacher in the first place. Of course, the days after that made me question my sanity and why I wanted to be a teacher. But it's only the first week and I realize that it's going to take a while for

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-81809714453524230122011-08-20T18:16:00.004-04:002011-08-20T22:20:05.667-04:00

I promise I have a good reason why it has been 2 weeks since my last post. First, I couldn't move into my apartment last week because it wasn't quite ready. I was staying with a friend until last weekend when my mom and my sister came down with half of my belongings. I had the other half that had none of my kitchen supplies. Second, there wasn't Internet at my apartment until now. Literally last

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-46903245766096843262011-08-06T21:15:00.001-04:002011-08-06T21:18:36.840-04:00

Tomorrow, I leave the nest and set out to live on my own. I'm excited that I finally have my own place that I can decorate to my liking and where I can just be alone. But that's the other thing I'm nervous about. I will literally be all by myself. Maybe not until I make new friends, but I won't even have my baby dogs with me. I'm not quite sure what the pet policies are in the apartment building,

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-54750266901169190402011-07-23T10:00:00.003-04:002011-07-23T13:13:41.091-04:00

Yesterday, my mom and I took a trip down to Roanoke for apartment hunting. The school I'll be teaching at for the next year is in a small town, but I knew I'd prefer living in a bigger city. I considered living in my old college town, as it is only an hour away, but I didn't think I'd really enjoy commuting every morning on either I-81 or the really zig-zaggy hill roads. Roanoke is 20 minutes

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-84715826026238645442011-07-20T12:19:00.000-04:002011-07-20T12:19:35.232-04:00

I got the official superintendent approval letter in the mail yesterday, so I can officially celebrate. But, I can't seem to bring myself to do it. I just get so anxious anytime I think about that first day. I want to make a good first impression and hope that I live up to everyone's expectations. But I should just stop worrying and start preparing myself. No point in wasting my energy in

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-31877664266108333472011-07-18T10:14:00.001-04:002011-07-18T10:17:42.198-04:00

The Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread was such a success that I knew I needed to make the lemon version to see how that would taste. It finally happened after much delay. The method of making the dough was different this time. Instead of adding all of the flour in at once, I reserved some to be put in towards the end after the wet ingredients have been mixed in. I've seen this method on other blogs

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-91218137858193688932011-07-17T14:21:00.000-04:002011-07-17T14:21:39.216-04:00

Yesterday, we had 11 eggs in the house. Today, we have none. I used 9 for the baby shower cake and my sister used two for pancakes. I was at the store twice yesterday, once after I used all the eggs, but didn't think to buy more because I was frantically trying to get home in time to finish the cake. So this morning, my sister didn't have any to make pancakes (she used flaxseed meal instead) and

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-85399323332252555582011-07-16T22:00:00.001-04:002011-07-27T12:43:43.912-04:00

I've had better baking days than today. You know, when everything goes wrong and you just wanna give up and throw the cake in the trash can? But I really couldn't do that as the cake was supposed to make an appearance at a baby shower.I'll start from the beginning. My mom asked me to bake something for her to take to a baby shower. I immediately thought of the Baby Gender Cake I saw a few months

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-91328129996187937592011-07-13T19:43:00.002-04:002011-07-13T19:45:11.120-04:00

I had bought a jar of pimento-stuffed olives a while back as I meant to make black beans with them, but didn't get around to it. I actually just ended up mixing them in sandwiches. But I decided to save the rest of the jar for this recipe.Only a few flavors, yet I really enjoy this dish. As much I love the taste of beef, I also love the fact that the cumin and tomato paste kind of cover it up

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-7423542579224341332011-07-12T21:00:00.001-04:002011-07-12T21:02:14.325-04:00

That job interview? It went really well. Like, really well. Just waiting for the official call, but I think it's safe to say that I have a job secured for at least the next year. No celebration until then though. I don't want to jinx it!While I was in Lexington, I went to Macado's to have dinner with my friend before watching Transformers 3. (What did you think of that, by the way? I enjoyed it,

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-53396930829070164712011-07-06T14:52:00.001-04:002011-07-06T14:53:04.517-04:00

This morning, I had a job interview. I think it went pretty well, but as this is my first real job experience, I have nothing to compare it to in order to know if it really did go well. Next week, we get what are essentially "callbacks" and I'll find out if I made it to the second round of interviews. Fingers crossed!The school I interviewed at is in Virginia, an hour away from my college town,

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-31186207250902326102011-07-03T08:28:00.003-04:002011-07-03T11:41:39.912-04:00

Today is the birthday of my (former) housemate who lives in California. I decided to surprise her. Unfortunately, not by hopping on a plane and arriving at her doorstep. I took a less expensive route and surprised her with a package at her doorstep.I know that she would love sweets, but first of all, I don't think sending a cake through the mail is really ideal, and second, I didn't want her to

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-59202371218226323942011-07-02T21:06:00.004-04:002011-07-02T22:52:20.598-04:00

My mom has gone blueberry picking thrice just within this week. The blueberries take up about half the space in our freezer and there is no more room. More are sitting out on the counter waiting to be eaten or frozen. I would estimate that a total of 50 pounds has entered this house. This only means I need to get my apron on and become a mad scientist (or a mad baker/cook?). I'm going to try to

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-29584849363762052282011-06-28T12:26:00.000-04:002011-06-28T12:26:07.262-04:00

Salmon, it's been too long since I've eaten you. With all the healthy fats and nutrients that you contain, I don't know why you're not in my diet more often. Oh, maybe it's because you're a bit expensive! Thank goodness the store was having a sale.Am I talking to my food? Okay, I'll stop. This week, I based my meals on what was on sale at the store to save myself some money. Still unemployed and

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-91385824996745398732011-06-22T09:07:00.001-04:002011-06-22T09:34:53.321-04:00

What is it about cinnamon and sugar that makes it such a heavenly mixture?There was a church gathering at our house Sunday night and I provided the dessert, as always. As soon as my mom brought this pull-apart bread to the table, everyone dived in. The sweet cinnamon-y taste between thin layers of soft bread will win over anybody's heart. I made two loaves and when it was all gone, people kept

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-80557654936250520032011-06-19T20:07:00.001-04:002011-06-19T20:14:53.356-04:00

Happy Father's Day to all the men out there :)My mom, my sister, and I put our money together to get my dad an awesome birthday gift, but as it was only two weeks ago, we ended up making it a birthday/Father's Day gift. So this morning, I surprised my dad with pancakes. He doesn't leave for work until 9 a.m. on Sundays, so I woke up earlier than usual to make them. Normally, my dad has Korean

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-54063487780622245682011-06-18T17:53:00.002-04:002011-06-18T17:55:30.147-04:00

Did you know that there are over 38,000 varieties of mushrooms? Of course, this number is including the deadly ones, too, but even when I'm at the supermarket, I'm overwhelmed by the choices. I can't decide which one I want to buy that day. Portobellos, baby portobellos, white button, oyster, king oyster, enoki, and the list goes on. As a high schooler (when I was so uneducated about food--still

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-72292623418660497602011-06-17T12:34:00.000-04:002011-06-17T12:34:37.421-04:00

I haven't made anything to do with curry in a while so I made this stew for lunch two days ago. I just happened to have ground chicken breast in the freezer and I also have a pound of dried chickpeas I'd like to get rid of. All I had to buy was a can of diced tomatoes and yogurt. I had sour cream in the fridge and wondered if that would work better than the yogurt, and decided to test both. I put

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-39135385968530215882011-06-16T20:19:00.000-04:002011-06-16T20:19:45.887-04:00

Sometimes, simplicity is key. A rich and hearty pasta sauce with herbs and spices sounds fantastic, but tomatoes and basil simmered together sounds even better. That is the exact sauce used for this Eggplant Parmigiana, which is also a very simple recipe. Five ingredients max and no breading or frying involved (though I really should make the real deal one day). My stack of eggplant rounds fell

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-13782792968791265752011-06-14T12:54:00.000-04:002011-06-14T12:54:41.103-04:00

I looked in the freezer the other day and noticed something wrapped in foil in the shape of a pizza. Aha! An easy dinner. Must eat now. Unfortunately, an onion pizza did not appeal to me at all. Then I went to Baked Bree to read her latest entry, which was a recipe for pizza, just what I wanted. It was a combination of new flavors, too, so I was inspired to make it. I had to adjust the recipe,

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-67811386783706430452011-06-13T19:00:00.002-04:002011-06-13T19:02:21.362-04:00

It wasn't until last week I was introduced to Sriracha hot chili sauce. I had seen this thing at restaurants, but didn't bother to try it, so I never understood people's obsession with it. My sister's roommate apparently eats the hot sauce with her breakfast! At first taste, I still didn't understand the obsession, but my taste buds are now getting used to this flavor and are beginning to enjoy

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-40231195458616115812011-06-10T23:04:00.000-04:002011-06-10T23:04:50.549-04:00

I wish we had a bigger fridge. Or a bigger kitchen, but let's start small. My mom tends to push things into the fridge, sending everything to the back and then forgetting about what's in the back and letting it get old. Now that I'm home, I inspect the back frequently to see what I can throw out and clear up some much needed space. But sometimes, nothing can be thrown out and there's absolutely

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-22743629913284364322011-06-09T22:07:00.000-04:002011-06-09T22:07:34.948-04:00

Ever since the cook-out that my housemates and our families held for graduation last month, I've had kebabs on my mind. We were, at one time, in charge of the food so it was one of the ideas flowing through my head until the parents took over, but I still wanted to make them. Today was probably the worst day this week to do just that. It was over 100 degrees this afternoon and humid and sunny.

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-70142420123578474562011-06-08T14:42:00.002-04:002011-06-08T14:43:42.051-04:00

In Lexington, VA, besides farmer's markets, the only markets are Wal-Mart and Kroger. There's also a Food Lion, but that was a little out of my way so I always went to Wal-Mart, which was literally 5 minutes from the house. Wal-Mart may have a good selection in the aisles, but the produce section is lacking and challenging to find fruits or vegetables in good condition.Here at home, in South

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-71584527628519829222011-06-05T21:19:00.000-04:002011-06-05T21:19:29.595-04:00

Today, we are celebrating my dad's birthday. He turns 60 next week, but since this week is the only time that people are free for Sunday dinner, we are celebrating it early. Right now, the men are sitting around the table enjoying their drinks and the women are taking care of business in the kitchen. All are having a good time, laughing and sharing stories. Sometimes the random bursts of roaring

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-55061348221620262982011-06-04T13:38:00.001-04:002011-06-04T13:39:08.308-04:00

Since I came home on Wednesday, I've been eating my mom's cooking. It's nice to eat Korean food again, but I figured I should cook something myself. At the market, I bought some chicken and randomly grabbed mushrooms without thinking of what I would make. There's something about white button mushrooms that makes me want to buy them whenever I look at them. Then this recipe popped into my head.

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-62280915192734604562011-06-02T08:31:00.000-04:002011-06-02T08:31:15.932-04:00

No, I'm not back in New Jersey only to head back to Lexington after a week. I'm here to begin life after college, waiting to hear from jobs for the next year and interviewing at different places. While driving, I kept thinking of things I didn't do while I was a student or while I was in town. Like watching the sunset or the sunrise on top of one of our school buildings or visiting Foamhenge.

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-87018467885551917232011-05-31T09:51:00.000-04:002011-05-31T09:52:02.570-04:00

I bought a ton of apples last week to make Caramel Apple Pie, but that never happened at the Renaissance Festival. I then thought that I could make it for our Graduation Cook-Out, but that never happened either. I'm quickly running out of time to use the apples and I think my housemates would hate me if I left them with a pie when only two of them will remain. I was trying to think of recipes

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-66555864551870755612011-05-28T23:59:00.000-04:002011-05-28T23:59:40.891-04:00

The second dessert I made for our graduation cook-out was Cream Puffs. Since I knew I didn't want to be making two desserts in five hours, I opted to make the Cream Puffs on Monday and freeze them until Thursday. I'm always so shocked when I find out that a dessert I thought was so complicated turns out quite easy. The recipe does not call for strange ingredients, but rather, staples that one

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-14034839309036403772011-05-27T13:49:00.000-04:002011-05-27T13:49:20.988-04:00

Congratulations to my fellow classmates of 2011 at Washington and Lee. Today marks the start of our lives as college graduates. It finally hit me during our school president's speech, but only for a minute. I got choked up and teary-eyed, but I stopped myself before I made a scene. My attention immediately went to the hot, blazing sun. As much as I love tradition, I don't understand why

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-37489168796607016222011-05-25T14:09:00.001-04:002011-05-25T22:18:11.302-04:00

I survived. Not college. That's not until Thursday. I survived my recital! As I stepped off the stage last night, my career as a pianist at this university came to an end. I was more nervous about this than I am about graduating. I made sure to get plenty of sleep and practice with music so that I don't have a memory slip. Maybe it's because my mom has never seen me play in a recital and I wanted

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-71194025171025469482011-05-23T15:10:00.003-04:002011-06-26T20:31:32.460-04:00

Only a week left in this house. I'm trying to get rid of all the food I have left. Last week, I was craving anything fried, so I really wanted some fries and chicken tenders. I saw the recipe for these baked chicken nuggets and thought it was the perfect way to get rid of the frozen chicken breasts I still had in the freezer. It also satisfied my craving. I know it's not fried, but it's more

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-47829833595437787902011-05-21T14:29:00.003-04:002011-05-22T15:01:09.969-04:00

As yesterday was the last day of classes as an undergrad for me and I just handed in my final paper, I should be feeling two emotions right now. One, I should be excited to start a new chapter in my life and get out of this town (as much as I love it, it's way too small). A little part of me is, but the more dominant feeling is panic. When you don't have a job lined up for next year, it's

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-34924115733989914942011-05-19T19:26:00.004-04:002011-05-19T19:26:00.170-04:00

I cannot live without coffee. Yet, my limit is one cup. A day. Before noon. Or else, I cannot sleep that night. So strange, but that one cup of coffee in the morning makes such a difference in my day. Thankfully, coffee in dessert doesn't affect me too much. I still conked out after having a slice of this cake close to 11 p.m. But then again, I was up at 5 a.m. that day...Tiramisu is an Italian

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-23548769384051225722011-05-16T17:27:00.000-04:002011-05-16T17:27:24.484-04:00

My fairy tale class lasts two hours and we get a break halfway through class. My professor decided that we should have something to munch on during the break so she made a sign-up sheet for everyone to choose a day to bring in snacks. So far, we've had chips, Doritos, sugar cookies, Capri-Sun (I was extremely happy about this), and Oreos to share. Last week, somebody made chewy chocolate chip

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-69038733152506962612011-05-14T15:16:00.003-04:002011-05-14T15:47:09.296-04:00

I love surprises. To me, the expression on people's faces is rewarding. Maybe it's because I'm so paranoid that the person I'm surprising won't like the surprise and it's such a relief to see their happy faces. For my latest surprise, I didn't get to see the immediate reaction, but I got an awesome text. My housemate's birthday was yesterday and I had two surprises planned for her. One, her cake.

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-84380297797005773002011-05-13T22:43:00.000-04:002011-05-13T22:43:16.837-04:00

Unless I am going crazy, I am definitely sure I had already published a post about my pudding adventures. I guess the technical difficulties Blogger was having sucked my post out of the Internets. But I wouldn't cross out the crazy option just yet... So, I'm sorry if you already read this post and came here thinking it was a new one. Though, I do have a few more recipes coming up due to a

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-52021509202186008892011-05-08T13:04:00.003-04:002011-05-08T22:56:16.431-04:00

Yesterday, the Shakespeare Society had its second annual 'Stravaganza, where we perform select scenes from any Shakespeare play. It went pretty well, though we had a small audience. Things haven't been working out as we would have liked this term, but it's okay. It's over and done with now! It only hit me at dinner yesterday that the 'Stravaganza was my last performance with the Shakespeare

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-5303423402854575752011-05-07T12:35:00.001-04:002011-05-07T12:38:25.815-04:00

One of the ways my university is unique is the semester schedule. Split into a trimester, the year starts off with a 12-week term, then another 12-week term, and ends with the 4-week term, Spring Term. Spring Term is special in that it involves just one academic course and lots of shenanigans. It's a time to relax, go tubing, party, and for seniors, do everything that's left to do in this town.

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-43672462305555621892011-04-30T10:51:00.002-04:002011-04-30T12:34:18.852-04:00

My first week of classes was great. I have three classes: Badminton, Piano, and Fairy Tale & Pop Culture Literature class. So far, I'm enjoying all of them! I was a little worried about the Lit class because I haven't taken an English class in almost three years, so my writing has probably gone downhill. But the professor seems really nice and awesome so I think I will feel comfortable asking her

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-85999669770077257362011-04-24T16:07:00.002-04:002011-04-24T16:12:04.269-04:00

I love the idea of traditions. My family and I have a few of our own, but most of them don't really involve food, especially baked goods. Now that I've become more active in the kitchen, I've been wanting to start new ones. At Thanksgiving dinner, I decided that the stuffing I made last year must become a tradition. Everyone loved the dish and I can't imagine another stuffing recipe that would

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-72215885593379920502011-04-23T17:41:00.001-04:002011-04-23T17:41:27.821-04:00

Why is Mother Nature so cruel? When I drove up to Jersey last week, it rained non-stop. When I drove down to Virginia yesterday, it rained for the last half of the trip. At least it wasn't as bad as last week. I got back around 2 p.m. and decided to go food shopping. What would be an easy meal to throw together when I'm feeling oh-so-tired? Burgers! After unpacking and cleaning up my room, it was

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-65691406984246991582011-04-22T07:37:00.001-04:002011-04-22T07:38:36.013-04:00

When my family and I take a vacation, it never involves flying. We drive everywhere. We stick to the east coast of the States, but we have driven to as far as Niagara Falls, Maine, North Carolina, and more. My dad is always the one to drive the nine or seven hours it takes to get to our destination. As a kid, I tried to stay awake as much as I could so that my dad wouldn't feel lonely. Not that

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-77473597176715257762011-04-18T20:53:00.004-04:002011-04-18T21:52:44.524-04:00

Spring Break started last week and I drove back home on Saturday. I couldn't have chosen a better day to drive for 7 hours. Rain, rain, and more rain. Oh, and some wind. I'm surprised I even survived that trip, but I'm alive and I arrived home safely. So far, my break has been decent. Yesterday, I went on a shopping spree because I was in desperate need of new clothes and new shoes since the

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-40586566210042132312011-04-13T11:06:00.003-04:002011-04-13T12:51:20.454-04:00

When I was growing up, my parents worked late hours and got home around 9 every night so it was just me and my sister for the most part. I couldn't wait until my parents got home to eat dinner, so sometimes my mom left us real meals before she left for work. Other times, she was in a rush to head out the door, so my sister would cook for the two of us. We always had a package of rice cakes in

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-64079406141574919912011-04-10T15:29:00.001-04:002011-08-06T21:16:26.771-04:00

Wow, what a weekend. Last night, we had the cast party for Much Ado About Nothing. It was great seeing everyone again. Some of the cast members I saw on an almost daily basis, but others I barely saw. As always, good times were had and good food was eaten. I haven't been too inspired lately with cake ideas, so I actually had to sort through my bookmarks. I was stuck between S'More Pie from

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-75743281921007649672011-04-07T17:40:00.003-04:002011-04-07T17:45:01.669-04:00

A few nights ago, a friend made plans for a dinner party at his place. I didn't want to show up empty-handed, so I decided to bake a cake. I figured, dessert is completely necessary at the end of a meal, so it's an appropriate thing to take. I've never browned butter before, so I wasn't completely sure if it was turning out the right way, but I saw brown flecks and it had a nutty aroma just like

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-87345314939769657392011-04-06T14:21:00.002-04:002011-04-24T16:15:13.659-04:00

For some reason, every black bean recipe I've tried so far has been disappointing. The dish ends up either runny or bland. I don't know what I'm expecting it to taste like or where I got these expectations from, but I will experiment until I can get it right. The consistency of these Cuban Black Beans is actually close to what I'd like, so I'll stick to this for now. At first, I thought it was

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-4031549574626450772011-04-01T15:10:00.000-04:002011-04-01T15:10:31.831-04:00

Happy April Fools' Day! Trying to find a good way to trick people? Well, then you should make these burgers... It's a great way to make sure you or anyone else who doesn't like vegetables actually eat vegetables. You can clearly tell that my burgers have zucchini in them, so I couldn't trick somebody, but they at least wouldn't be able to taste that zucchini is in the burgers. At first, I was

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-69494962204863182332011-03-28T19:54:00.002-04:002011-04-13T20:52:26.572-04:00

Much Ado is over! I have a mix of emotions about this. It's sad that I won't see the cast every night, but it's also very exciting that my evenings are not swallowed up by rehearsals. For Friday's show, 98 people showed up and on Saturday, 60 showed up. Both nights were big crowds, considering we are a pretty new student organization on campus. The show was also great both nights. We've gotten

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-64187791726801281892011-03-23T18:05:00.001-04:002011-03-23T18:05:42.125-04:00

I apologize for the lack of posts lately, but theatre has taken over my life. Thankfully (or unfortunately? Depends on how the show goes...), Much Ado shows this Friday and Saturday and then it's all over! I'll have my evenings open to do whatever I please.I have been able to leave student-teaching a little early this week because the students have just their semester exams and no classes.

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-66623276883305063122011-03-15T19:03:00.003-04:002011-04-13T20:32:01.820-04:00

Oh, Daylight Savings. How I am not a fan of thee. I've been going to sleep an hour earlier than usual to make sure I'm not losing any sleep this week. I can't afford to be cranky when I'm teaching. Waking up at 6:30 a.m. when it's still dark outside is hard enough. But I've also got to pack lunch, pack for Weight Training, clean my dishes, eat breakfast, pick out an outfit, and be out the door by

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-41701866554498946222011-03-14T17:26:00.001-04:002011-03-14T17:26:00.099-04:00

Happy Pi Day! The constant, pi, has a value of 3.14159265 and so on; hence, the March 14th celebration every year. It's been a quite useful number in my math career and so I feel it necessary to celebrate this day. Sure, I could do some math problems, but the baker in me just really had to make a pie. And so I did! I baked it last night as I knew I would have no time to do it today and I had

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-19248476061726735592011-03-08T22:28:00.001-05:002011-03-14T18:29:37.187-04:00

These days, it's been more difficult for me to come up with satisfying dinner ideas when one, I haven't gone grocery shopping in a while and two, I barely have time to sit down and think! I like to fall back on something simple for dinner, such as fried tofu. Fried tofu is an easy side dish addition to a lunch or dinner meal. I love tofu in every way, but I think it's best when fried. When my mom

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-31496654950732937142011-03-05T08:02:00.004-05:002011-03-05T08:19:05.208-05:00

Two of my housemates have birthdays in the summer, one in July and the other in August. We didn't do much for their birthdays when we got back to school, but a celebration for their 21st was absolutely necessary! We knew we wanted to postpone it until around February for their half birthdays. In October, we had a joint party for my birthday and another housemate's birthday and then there weren't

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-56643453827588421842011-02-26T10:26:00.003-05:002011-02-27T11:56:59.717-05:00

The weather has been confusing lately. Last week, it was in the 60s and the sun was shining and I was driving with my sunroof open, blasting music. Then a few days ago, it suddenly got really cold in the morning and one day we even had flurries. Yesterday, there was wind that left branches all over our driveway and it was pouring rain that sounded as if the world was ending. And then all of a

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-33188944235870517932011-02-22T19:38:00.003-05:002011-04-24T16:15:30.713-04:00

I made a bunch of burritos a while ago and stuffed them in the freezer and I ran out last week! So I needed to make some more. Since I have time to cook this week, I figured I should make those so that I have more back-ups lunch and/or dinner plans for the upcoming weeks where I will be busy, busy, busy! The easiest lunch I could prepare. Just take one out of the freezer the night before and

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-50612965456932855892011-02-20T12:30:00.001-05:002011-02-20T12:43:30.741-05:00

Our university gives us a week off in February probably because of Washington's birthday, so this week all I have is student-teaching from 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. I am so glad to have this break because I have the evenings free! Now I seriously have time to cook as much as I want. I might have stuff to work on such as memorizing my lines for two plays (though one is significantly shorter time-wise

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-47642861098384395962011-02-13T08:28:00.001-05:002011-02-13T08:31:06.777-05:00

There are random times when my housemates and I crave brownies. Anything with chocolate, really. When we get home from rehearsal late at night, we sometimes decide to make brownies. If there's nothing appealing for dessert, we make brownies. So we always have brownie mix in our house. We ran out last week so I bought a bulk size box. One of my housemates didn't know I had already bought it, so

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-84786127636281452702011-02-04T08:29:00.000-05:002011-02-04T08:29:01.153-05:00

Ever since Much Ado About Nothing rehearsals have started, I haven't had any time to cook. After student teaching, I have Weight Training, piano lessons, or the student teaching seminar. Then I go straight to rehearsal. If I have time to stop by home, it's usually only enough to put together a quick dinner and then out the door I go. So this week, I didn't cook anything new, but here is a stuffed

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-23129079554592053242011-01-31T10:11:00.000-05:002011-01-31T10:11:00.223-05:00

Besides dairy, my other favorite food group has to be seafood. As I try to incorporate more fish into my diet, I also try to add other items such as seaweed. A main dish that features seaweed is Miyukguk (미역국), one of my favorite soups. It's traditionally eaten on one's birthday, but you can also eat it whenever you'd like.Whenever I tried to make Miyukgook, it tasted alright, but never like the

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-10046470350251875392011-01-30T08:19:00.000-05:002011-01-30T08:19:00.453-05:00

I definitely don't eat enough fish. I eat canned tuna about once a week, but I really should try to incorporate fresh fish. After a year of shopping at Wal-Mart, I only just discovered that Wal-Mart sells fish other than the packaged ones in the freezer. It's not advertised very well. There is no sign that says "Fish" such as the signs for "Poultry" or "Beef". So I was very excited to see a pack

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-33862585628321077432011-01-28T08:26:00.000-05:002011-01-28T08:28:00.768-05:00

Normally, I would be at the high school right now working with students in Algebra. But we got quite a bit of snow on Wednesday and it started snowing this morning. The snow has melted off the main roads, but since the high school is a county school, there are students who live way out in the county on farms and whatnot where roads are still bad for buses to travel so I haven't had school after

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-54540611778007344302011-01-25T22:12:00.002-05:002011-01-25T22:16:01.123-05:00

Wow, did I have a scare yesterday. So after Weight Training finishes at 4:45 p.m., I always practice piano. This seemed to work fine the first few days of class, but then again, I hadn't been really putting much weight on the machines. My instructor finally realized that I can actually do with more weight, so I've been increasing them each time. It's to the point where I can do it, but because I

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-43689478533283247552011-01-23T10:20:00.006-05:002011-01-23T10:29:41.858-05:00

After I heard a funny story about Bulgogi from a housemate, I decided that I would cook it for my housemates (who eat beef anyway) to give them a taste of Korean home cooking. Of course I couldn't serve just beef and rice--it's just not the Korean way. Other side dishes included Ddukbokki (떡북기), fried tofu with a soy sauce-sesame oil sauce, and a salad with Kraft's Asian Sesame dressing. The

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904681588084454443.post-85501666046081968582011-01-22T22:17:00.003-05:002011-01-22T22:20:26.683-05:00

Last term, Shakespeare Society put on a production of Twelfth Night. It went extremely well and people really enjoyed it! Many whom I've talked to thought it was our best one yet. There are of course a few of those who thought otherwise, but they should really see that we are amateurs and not professionals.To celebrate a job well done, we always throw a cast party at our house a week after a show

Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18226790990905698282noreply@blogger.com0