It's all Fine for 2009!

Happy New Year Blogland!!

I can't believe 2008 is all over...it seriously went by SO fast. I got engaged in March and it's crazy to think that it's now the year I am getting married!

This is also the year I started this blog. I can't remember how I stumbled upon my first food blog, but since then I enjoyed reading them so much, that I just really wanted to have one of my own. I wish I had more time to devote to it, but for now I work full time already and so I just blog when I can.

It's been a very busy New Years Eve/New Years Day. I went into for for a few hours yesterday, then hit the gym, and then got a second workout shoveling the driveway, only to finish and realize it was covered in white again. But then I treated myself to a beautiful plate for lunch...I really wanted to enjoy some of the deli meats and cheese mom and I picked up in the North End, and then also have some veggies!

This plate consisted of

• 1/2 of a pita, drizzled in EVOO, dusted with garlic powder, topped with some steamed broccoli, and a little shredded cheddar, toasted! This was AWESOME
• 3 slices of sweet sopressata
• a few slices of prosciutto with fresh cantaloupe
• chunks of aged provolone cheese
• 1 carrot, sliced

This was an incredible comboThen, the roomie, fiance and I headed out into the snow, to head down to our friends (Jen!) dad's house on the south shore. Her dad has an incredible house in a quaint New England town right on the ocean. When we used to come visit during college we'd call it a hotel, and we still do.

This was the gorgeous view this morning from the Kitchencloser to the door:
So peaceful...From the living room...notice the hot tub right outside the window, we didn't make it in last night, I just couldn't bear the thought of being in a bathing suit for even 20 seconds in the cold last night!However, when we finally arrived last night (took over 2 hours for a normal 45min trip), I was on a mission to make a delicious veggie lasagna!For this lasagna I used:

• about 6-7 tomatoes, cut into quarters, tossed with EVOO, and S&P, and baked for about 30 min at 350 (if I had more time I would of baked them at a lower temp for a lot longer)
• whole wheat lasagna noodles (the regular kind, but I don't pre-boil them)
• part skim ricotta mixed with some goat cheese crumbles
• shredded mozzarella and some fresh mozzarella for the top
  
• thinly sliced zucchini and summer squash
• a quick tomato sauce I made when I got there

I don't remember the exact layering but I think it went like this...

From bottom to top:

• sauce
• noodles
• ricotta mixture
• tiny bit of shredded mozz.
  
• zucchini and summer squash
• roast tomatoes
• sauce
• noodles
• ricotta mix
• shredded moz.
• Z and SS
• roast tomatoes
• noodles
• sauce
• fresh and shredded mozz.

Again, I don't know if that was it, but something along those lines.

Cover in foil, place on baking sheet in case of spillage (learned that one the hard way), bake for about 45min at 375. Remove foil, bake another 10min or so until cheese is a little browned :)

LET IT SIT! For about 20min or so...it looks watery at first but letting it sit lets all the water absorb back in. I was a little worried about the noodles just cooking while it baked, but it turned out FABULOUS!

This was most low key New Years Eve I've had in a LONG time. We mostly played Wii Fit!! So fun!!! I want one. I dominated the hula hoop one :) We then crashed at 1 am...man I feel old.

Jen had bought items to make some stuffed french toast! The roomie(Jocy) and I remembered that she likes fake syrup (aka Aunt Jemima)...sorry but this stuff makes me gag. So we set out to buy some REAL maple syrup before breakfast. Of course some places weren't open and convenient stores don't carry it...so our excursion took a little longer than expected but we got it!

Since everyone else had eaten by the time we returned (woops), Jen made ours when we got back.This was my first half serving... She takes 3 slices of light wheat bread, soaks them in the egg mixture, cooks on a skillet with a smidge of butter, then when the are done stacks the 3 with light cream cheese spread in between.

I added some banana and my SYRUP!
This was AWESOME!!! Mmmmm.

I was so relaxed in her dad's house this morning I just wanted to stay in PJ's and relax all day, but finally we got dressed and headed out. Stopped at a few stores, had a delicious dinner (more on that later), and now back to the apt.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful New Years and had time to look back and reflect on 2008. I have a feeling 2009 is going to FLY by...so many weddings this year :) I am also very excited to hopefully improve with my running and actually run a real race this year...that will definitely be a feat for me!

What are you looking forward to in 2009??