Cook. Something. Healthy.

I'm just about burnt out on sweets and fattening stuff and the scale agrees with me. After church potluck tomorrow, I'm back to basics. DH is onboard too!!

Work through my "to try" file.

Master pie crust. I CAN do this!!!
My brother's girlfriend makes the most awesome crust and I just talked to her on the phone and we've agreed that we'll make crust here so I can see what her secret is. Whoopee!

Next????????

Deanna

Jessy...you truly are evil! Just for reminding me that I have an over stocked pantry that needs cleaning!

Not going to get sucked in..I have learned the hard way, I seem to do just the opposite when I make New Years resolutions. So if I don't make any, then maybe, just maybe, I'll do some of the things I should be making NY resolutions to do.

I have this pile of 'to try' recipes that has more in it than there are day's in the year, plastic ware with no lids and lids with no bottoms, pan lids stored so that if you move one, they all come tumbling out of the cupboard, spices and seasonings to sort through, healthy eating to work on.... enough??

Nancy

A third of the kitchen has been reorganized at this point and I want to get the rest done soon. Prioritizing to get rid of stuff that isn't used and make the kitchen work for me.

And still want to get into canning! At least the BWB stuff. Have to try Habenero Gold, Dilly Beans, Annie's Salsa and all of the other jams, butters, etc. that sound so good.

Beth

I think I've mentioned this elsewhere, but thought I've enjoyed it so much the past few years thought I'd mention it here too... In 2008 and 2009 (and now again in 2010), I've resolved to make at least one new recipe each week. Occasionally I go longer than a week, but then usually double up and make two new ones. It has been such a fantastic way to expand my repertoire, I just can't recommend it enough!

More canning, perhaps. I want to make marmalade.

I'm pretty good about pantry control, it's the upright freezer in the garage that holds mysteries. Defrosting and making order of that madness should be a goal. Should. Maybe. On a pretty spring day when being in the garage no longer requires a coat and gloves.

I will learn to properly grill. Sure I will...

A good goal, but I did begin to attack the pantry last week. I found outdated mixes and a bunch of other carp including a weeping can of tomato sauce--Ewwww!

DH was just kidding me about my bread machine (used once) and my ice cream maker (used a few times). I will either use them or get rid of them!
I would like to try and plan ahead with more dinners so that DH and I won't be caught in the lurch or stuck eating out in mediocre restaurants after work. Perhaps I try working through a few more new recipes and organizing all of my clippings and print outs, they're a disaster!

Wait...there's a mix for green tea ice cream? I must know more. I love green tea ice cream.

Yep, I have several -
Cut my grocery budget by at least 10%.
Label EVERYTHING that goes into the freezer. "Oh, I'll remember." No, I won't.
Go meatless a couple days a week.

Sort of non-cooking, but kitchen or eating-related --
Clean out that mystery cabinet above the fridge. No telling what MIL has in there.
Any kitchen item we haven't used in two years (which would allow for special use holiday stuff) goes in the donation pile.
Stop snacking in front of the computer. Not good for me OR my keyboard.

No resolutions really.... but we are starting a new "plan" to get my boys more involved in the kitchen. They pick a new recipe each month from Bon Appetit magazine and then help me make it. The Little Gourmand has really latched onto this idea and already made the Banh Mi and it was excellent! Soon to follow will be the Picky One making Sriracha-Soy Fried Chicken in Lettuce Wraps (hold the lettuce is his comment, we'll see).....

Alexa
****************************************************
Pork Meatball Banh Mi
The French-Vietnamese hybrid sandwiches called banh mi are great for lunch or a casual dinner.
makes 4 sandwiches
Recipe by Jeanne Thiel Kelley

Photograph by Craig Cutler

January 2010
Ingredients
Hot Chili Mayo
2/3 cup mayonnaise
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon hot chili sauce (such as sriracha)*
Meatballs
1 pound ground pork
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)
1 tablespoon hot chili sauce (such as sriracha)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Sandwiches
2 cups coarsely grated carrots
2 cups coarsely grated peeled daikon (Japanese white radish)**
1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
4 10-inch-long individual baguettes or four 10-inch-long pieces French-bread baguette (cut from 2 baguettes)
Thinly sliced jalape chiles
16 large fresh cilantro sprigs
*Available in the Asian foods section of many supermarkets and at Asian markets.
**Available at some supermarkets and at Asian markets.
Preparation
hot chili mayo
Stir all ingredients in small bowl. Season with salt. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
meatballs
Line rimmed baking sheet with plastic wrap. Gently mix all ingredients in large bowl. Using moistened hands and scant tablespoonful for each, roll meat mixture into 1-inch meatballs. Arrange on baking sheet. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
sandwiches
Toss first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour, tossing occasionally.
Preheat oven to 300°F. Heat sesame oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of meatballs. Sauté until brown and cooked through, turning meatballs often and lowering heat if browning too quickly, about 15 minutes. Transfer meatballs to another rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven. Repeat with remaining meatballs.
Cut each baguette or baguette piece horizontally in half. Pull out enough bread from each bread half to leave 1/2-inch-thick shell. Spread hot chili mayo over each bread shell. Arrange jalapeños, then cilantro, in bottom halves. Fill each with 1/4 of meatballs. Drain pickled vegetables; place atop meatballs. Press on baguette tops.

- Don't "forget" veggies and/or salad last minute just because I don't feel like making them.

- At all times have on hand the ingredients for a decent meal that's quicker to prepare than a drive to McDonald's.

- Join fearlessem with one new recipe a week. I've been meaning to try that for a long time now.

- Use the bread machine (that I shouldn't have ordered) more than compumom has.

I'm going to make some stuff to POOF occasionally. Of course that will require POOFing and discarding some ancient stuff -- wooly mammoth steaks, fish bait, unidentifiable items, etc.

This resolution was inspired by a Seal-A-Meal I received as a gift.

Jim

I don't do resolutions, but DH and I are trying to get more basic. Simple easy small meals. Lots of soup. I cleaned out a lot of the "gourmet" stuff n my pantry and gave it to my sister, who was excited to have it. And no more eating out at work (well, maybe occasionally). That is the real diet killer.

I'm in line with a lot of the above starting with Sherry's "I don't do resolutions". That just sets me up for failure.

I will continue to give critical thought before purchasing something for the kitchen and pantry. I was impressed with myself last Wednesday when coming back from the mountains, we passed not one but two Trader Joe's and I did not stop!!!! Okay, I was having my annual back spasms and was in much pain...but I thought about stopping.

Happy New Year all!

This year I'm keeping a food journal. Writing out the meal for the night as I cook/plan it and make notes after for what worked and what didn't, how to make it better.
We're also going back to eating more wholesome foods, making it a point to build the food from the base up. Few/no processed ingredients.

I'd like to clean out my pathetic pantry as well.....

My goal is to have more meals ready to go in the freezer.

I'm tempted to try to cook one new recipe a week, but things are a little too crazy here for that. I can try though....

Happy New Year everyone.

AM

Not really a resolution, but I am going to try and make at least one new recipe a week. My source will be here, the Cooking forum and from the blog world.

Ann

I am resolved to try to make salt-rising bread. I LOVE IT, as do my daughter & my brother, & I miss it a lot. There are a few mail-order sources, but the shipping costs kill me.

This will be quite a challenge as I've never made bread. Sigh.

This is not an in-the-kitchen goal, but my goal is to post here more often. I read this forum religiously and have for a long time. Read it for several years before I registered, even. I LOVE good food and love to cook, and don't know why I just read and don't participate. I'm going to set a goal of posting at least a few times per week.

Judi

My in-the-kitchen goal is to make tamales and sushi. I love tamales and so does my dh, so this is something I should enjoy making. I have the corn husks, the book, everything I need... Just need to do it!

I don't like sushi very much (it's the nori) but would like to make it since he and one daughter, especially, love it. I've had everything to make it for a while now. I have wasabi, pickled ginger, nori, bamboo rolling mat, etc., but just haven't made myself do that either.

Judi

Finish my Kitchen Remodel, making an island a priority. I can then have a great space for rolling out Pie Dough and trying new Pie Combinations.

Well, I hadn't really thought about it until I read this thread.

I have so many cookbooks that I just enjoy reading. I think I'll try a new recipe from one once a week, like so many others here are doing in one way or another. I often try recipes from here as well, but those won't count in my weekly one.

I've just recently discovered some interesting ethnic food shops in "the city". So, when I go into "town" I'll be sure to stop at those places. I try to go into town twice a month. So, maybe this will make it more fun.

And, maybe seafood once a month. No matter how much it costs. There's a fish market in the city that is good but not cheap. We really do need to eat more fish. If I stop on my bi-weekly shopping trips I'm hoping to hit sales and stock up the freezer. Hoping...

Caboodle I'll be watching for you!

I don't so resolutions per se but I am determined to do do two kitchen thinks in 2010.

One is to work through my "to be tried" file and delete recipes That I know I will never use...that one is hard!

My second is to create a "family recipes" cookbook for my kids and nieces. All the dishes we love that are part of our family fabric. The challenge is to document the ingredients and process as I make them. Most of them are Nike recipes...I just do it!

I just need to get out of the rut I'm in and start cooking again. Yes, I've cooked a lot for parties, family dinners, and entertaining the last couple of months. For myself though I've been eating out, getting take out, or just eating junk or sandwiches for way to long. I'm starting tonight with Weed's pork tenderloin with the dijon cream sauce.

I put a good dent in the pantry over the holidays. I'll try not to make to much for parties and company too.....lololol...who am I kidding. Not going to happen!

David

Not really a resolution, but to continue to cook and eat healthier and exercise more.

I'm going to try to improve my weekly meal planning. I think it will help to save a lot of money as well as reduce the amount of stuff we throw out.

I am trying so hard to wrap my head around not making food so important in my life. Living in South Louisiana everything revolves around food. Heck, we sit at the table and talk about our next meal! We still eat well just portion control and more salads. I've lost a little weight doing it that way...but soooo hard during the holidays. Just cleaned out the pantry and now I need to clean out freezers. We could cook/eat for one month and never have to go to the store.

Oh, I guess my resolution will be much the same as the last 20 years...try my hardest to be a better person with the ones I love most. Not food related but...I do cook for my loved ones :-)

I want to do more meal planning (at least four planned meals a week; more is better) and completely rotate the entire contents of my freezer. No shopping until it is half empty!

To give my little guy fresh fruits and veggies and pass on the jarred stuff. I gave him his first bite of real food today and he knew just what to do and not a mess to be made! He's been drooling for the past three weeks when he smells food or sits with us at dinner time. (Baby not dog!) And like I say every year - keep the kitchen more organized. That's a killer one for me. And not waste any meat. I hate wasting meat, it makes me feel guilty.

Usually I don't believe in making resolutions for myself, but I do plan to try to have fish at least once a week. Last week I baked a piece of mahi mahi (Whole Food's frozen) and it was really good. So, last night I bought a piece of fresh tilapia (on sale, only $1.84 for my one fillet). I find when I buy a piece of good fish with the intent of baking it I put more effort into healthy side dishes as well. And I will be buying more of WF's frozen fish portions.

Teresa

Teresa, I recently tried tilapia at the suggestion of the meat/fish guy at the market. I sauteed it in a sprayed with olive oil pan, seasoned it with salt, pepper and fresh meyer lemon. Light and delicious, I'm defintitely putting it on the menu this week! Thanks for the reminder!

New Year's Resolutions? Nope, I try not to make them because I just break them and then I feel guilty.

I do need to lose that 12 pounds, though, so I started a healthier diet this morning. I walk to work, but I'm going to put Pilates back into my schedule at least 3 times a week, I've been skipping my workouts and I don't have any excuse. We don't have any exercise classes here, it's a video in my living room for crying out loud, no excuse for "not showing up".

I need to be better about taking my cholesterol medication and I need to stop drinking so much coffee (says the woman who is drinking her FOURTH cup today). I also need to be better about eating SOMETHING for breakfast, I'm bad at that.

Yes, I ought to try at least one new recipe a week too, maybe I'll try that, and make them recipes that use something already in my pantry/basement/freezer so I don't have to shop so much. I'll never be more organized because I don't care, LOL, so that won't make my list! I figure if I have to spend 10 minutes moving everything in my freezer to find a frozen duck or a package of blueberries, well, it's just extra exercise. Yeah, that's it...

Annie

The only real resolution I made was to stop buying mayonnaise and make my own with olive oil. Last week-end I bought a gallon of Greek EVOO at the Lebanese market For $16 (instead of one quart of Spanish EVOO for $10), and I also bought lemons. I only have tiny baby lemons on my tree so far (but plenty of blossoms), and I look forward to the time when I won't have to buy them, but they are reasonable at the Lebanese market. My brother in Texas reduced his cholesterol significantly by switching to olive oil mayo, but I hate the brands in the stores - too much sugar.

I've made some general resolutions about labeling, using up leftovers promptly, etc., but I don't expect any of those to stick. I'm already doing a better job of keeping organized in my new kitchen, partly because I just got rid of a lot of old items that I had and never used.

Another resolution is to vacuum seal everything possible, and I bought a Food Saver upright last month that I have been using and getting used to. Today I received the attachments for sealing canning jar lids. I've already noticed quite a few benefits from the food saver. I vacuumed sealed quite a few things before our trip to Texas, and they seemed quite fresh when I opened them.

I try to be a bit realistic when making resolutions, and so I don't make very many of them.

Lars

Annie, I believe you said "eat less, move more". That's my resolution.

I'm going to try and not move around so much. Very tough on this body. Just stay sedentary as much as possible. Watch more t.v. and move around less in the garden. Probably want to start eating a lot more fried foods. It sure does taste better than these veggies, and heck. if it tastes better it must be good for you! Not so much EVOO in the diet and try to at least cram a stick of butter into every recipe. Probably should start thinking about drinking more, and earlier in the day. Why wait until noon? Heck, half the day is over by that point.

And, no more dieting, period. If I can't cram a minimum of 8 pounds of food into my gullet my mid-afternoon shame on me! Gluttony is next to Godliness...or do I have that wrong?

And the big resolution is to finally take down that dartboard with LindaC's picture. All the holes in the pic has rendered it useless at this point anyway. (Smile Linda!)

Okay, enough for now. Probably will think of more later.

Duane

Hey Duane,

Your resolutions suite me to a tee. Alright if I use them?

Jim

Mine should be to stop coming here, reading all the recipes, copying and pasting them, cooking them and then eating them. Instead I joined a health club tonight. To say I ache right now is an understatement.