30 by 30: The Final Tally

Well, the time has come. I turned 30 yesterday and here's the fall out from my 30-by-30 list:

1. In Process! Bake a cheesecake in my spring-form pan, not from a box mix. - I have the perfect recipe, and made a cheesecake bar that was delicious to try a less intimidating cheesecake situation before I went all in.
2. In Process! Create a Beef Stew recipe that Hubby will eat. - I have the recipe and the ingredients and it's on the menu for this week!
3. DONE! Scour the Internet for a Chicken with Black Bean Sauce recipe reminiscent of the dish at PF Changs. (Hubby's request)
4. DONE! Perfect Snickerdoodles (since they have eluded me thus far!) - Abandoned for delicious Snickerdoodle Blondies and Pumpkin Snickerdoodles.
5. DONE! Bake bread made with yeast.
6. Attempt one Julia Child recipe. - I borrowed a cookbook from the library and went to the Smithsonian to see her kitchen exhibit, does that count for anything?
7. DONE! Bake a Martha Stewart cupcake successfully. - Counting this as done since I made two cupcakes only slightly adapted from Momma Martha.
8. DONE! Reorganize/redesign pantry storage situation (okay, so this will mostly be Hubby, but I can help!) - working with what I have, but moving things around seems to be helping...we'll see if we go for a more long-term solution or not...right now life is good in the pantry...I bought a label maker and as you have probably guessed, I labeled all the things. LOVE.
9. DONE! Discover a delicious beef brisket recipe...smoker or no smoker I need to figure out how to get some tasty brisket into my belly! - This was delicious and most definitely something that has happened more than once!
10. DONE! Get a decent understanding of the book of Revelation. - Last spring I participated in a Beth Moore study on Revelation through our women's ministry at church and it was amazing!
11. In Process! Scripture Memory - complete at least one year of the Living Proof Ministries (Beth Moore's) Scripture Memory Challenge. - I did really well at the beginning of the 2011...I did memorize several verses or have go-to verses that have stuck over the past few years. I think this shall always be (and should always be) a work in progress!
12. DONE and In Process! See Beth Moore live, or attend another women's conference. - I attended a women's conference in the fall, am planning on attending one in March, AND have plans to go see Beth live with my college gals in the fall!
13. DONE! Reacquaint ourselves with a young couples' ministry. - We gave the new group at church a shot, but it didn't work out for us...we are blessed to be surrounded by lots of other young couples who walk with us daily and really, that's what we want/need.
14. In Process! Read through the Bible chronologically...still working on this one, not as quickly as I would have liked. I always seem to pause when I do a more intensive Bible study with my women's group...
15. Watch the Godfather Movies.
16. Eh? Do one of the Oscar days at the movie theater where you watch all the best picture nominations in one day/weekend. - Due to the fact that I finally let myself own the fact that I don't really like movie theaters, this isn't happening. I'd just rather wait and watch movies in our home theater with Hubby and Kitty.
17. DONE! Read more...a lot more. Granted this isn't measurable, so let's say (realistically) 15 books. - My totals are: 2011 27 books, 2012 24 books...I even guest blogged for a friend over at Hooked to Books for a while...AND joined a book club which is having it's one year anniversary next month!
18. DONE! Get a library card to assist in accomplishing #17.
19. DONE! Be better about having Date Nights and actually taking advantage of babysitting offers. - We're definitely less shy than we used to be about asking for help which is a win =)
20. Eh? Become a KCBS Certified BBQ Judge, just like Hubby. - we've found classes this spring that would be convenient should we have a place to stick our 3 year old...we'll see if that materializes.
21. Complete wedding scrapbook.
22. Dine at one of the Top Chef contestants' restaurants...or more ;-) - I have a friend that wants to do this with me, maybe we'll hit it for her 30th later this year!
23. Attempt a Top Chef contestant recipe.
24. In Process! Attain a reasonable/healthy weight and maintain so I can go through my closet and actually get rid of some clothes that are never going to happen again. - I've done really well, lost over 15 pounds since making this list and really only have 5 more to go. Really excited and our BFF is getting married in the spring so I totally have motivation to knock out those last 5 lbs after all the birthday food has subsided ;-)
25. Figure out a plan for the master bath (our master suite is structurally confusing and slowly we're working on it.)
26. DONE! Take a vacation... preferably one that does not require me to cook or clean house although a rental situation requiring such things would be an acceptable second vacation ;-) - in 2012 we hit both Disneyworld AND a kid-free anniversary vacation to Lake Louise in Banff National Park which was heavenly.
27. DONE! WVU Girls Weekend =) Maybe two of them ;-) Or three 0=) - We've gotten together several times and have a date on the books to celebrate our collective 30ths this summer!
28. In Process! Swimming lessons, namely for LJ, but it couldn't hurt me either to become more comfortable in the water. - she turns 3 in exactly one week, so she'll be of age and ready to go! (Yes, I'm 30, she'll be 3, and guess what...Hubby turns 33 this year...2013, ha!)
29. In Process! Go to the eye doctor, probably should happen since it's been since my 2002 Lasik surgery. - We've undergone several insurance changes in the past few years, BUT I finally got some eye doctor recommendations and this spring should finally get myself there! I did pass my eye exam to renew my driver's license which I had to do this month, so...sort of a win?
30. In Process! Figure out what I want to be when I'm not a stay-at-home-mom anymore =P - Are you really ever done with this one?

The Final Tally

14 - DONE!

8 - In Process

2 - Eh? (Abandoned)

6 - Incomplete

So, who wants to come over, make some Beef Stew, watch The Godfather movies, then eat some Cheesecake (preferably a recipe from Julia Child or a Top Chef contestant)?

All in all I'm more satisfied with this list than I originally thought I would be when I set out to update it for my birthday. Not too shabby, not too shabby at all! Maybe I'll finish these WHILE I'm 30 =)

Happy 30th to ME!

For my birthday, go do something nice for someone. Pay for the folks behind you in the drive thru. Pick up some litter. Make a kid giggle instead of scream in the Target check-out line. Or my personal favorite, take stickers and a $5 Starbucks card to the market...find a mom with an unruly toddler, give the toddler some stickers and the mom the giftcard. Smile and tell her "My friend Rachael wants you to treat yourself today, you're worth it!"

"Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 

~1 John 4:11 

(How perfect is it that this is my "verse of the day" today =)

Report back to me by leaving a comment here on the blog. Let's see how many we can get today, okay?

And thanks for all the birthday wishes, I may not have finished my 30-by-30 list (more on that later) but I had a good time trying and took some fun diversions along the way!

Vanilla Eggnog Bundt Cake

My hubby LOVES egg nog. I find it pretty repulsive, but since I'm a nice wife, I grabbed a carton at the grocery store this weekend. Being in a hurry and not the egg nog expert he is, I didn't realize I'd grabbed a carton with a "use by date" that was far too soon and out of character for "usual" egg nog. My bad. Oh well, it gave me a chance to try out a recipe that called for egg nog that I've had saved for a year or so.

Vanilla Eggnog Bundt Cake

Adapted from Smells Like Home

15 oz (3 cups) all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 sticks butter, unsalted and softened

14 oz (2 cups) granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup eggnog 

1 Tbsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and spices; set aside.
3. In a liquid measuring cup, measure out 1 cup of egg nog and add in 1 Tbsp of vanilla; set aside.
4. In a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar.
5. Add in eggs one at a time until combined.
6. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and with mixer running, pour in 1/2 of the liquid.
7. Scrap down the sides, and repeat.
8. Scrape down the sides once more and add the remaining 1/3 of the batter and stir until just combined.
9. Pour/spread into a well greased bundt pan (seriously, grease well, mine did not come out so pretty during this first attempt, delicious, but not pretty!)
10. Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes or until done.
11. Cool for about 10 minutes in the pan before turning out on a cooling rack to finish cooling off the cake.

Chicken and Mushroom Stroganoff

Slow Cooker meals are always a tough sell around my house, but I've been trying to find a good knock-off stroganoff recipe for YEARS. My hubby is obsessed with the Mushroom Stroganoff at Noodles and Company, but that's anything but figure-friendly. I saw this on Pinterest (like I do) and decided to give it a shot, incidentally enough the same day another friend was testing out the same recipe, ha!

The results were pretty tasty. The original recipe called for Cream of Mushroom soup, but I had Cream of Chicken on-hand and while I'm sure Cream of Mushroom would have given this a solid mushroom boost, I was pretty pleased with the flavor. I also used fettuccine instead of egg noodles since that's what I had on-hand, but I'm sure either would be super yummy =)

Chicken and Mushroom Stroganoff

Adapted from Shrinking Jeans

Serves 6

Estimated Point Value: 8 pts

1.5 lbs chicken breast (4 frozen chicken breasts worked for me)

16 oz nonfat plain yogurt

1 can Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of Chicken Soup

1 package Lipton Onion Soup Mix

10 oz Mushrooms, quartered

12 oz Fettuccine (or Egg Noodles, whatever you have/prefer)

1. Spray slow cooker with cooking spray and put chicken breasts on the bottom (I put mine in frozen; me = lazy one who never remembers to defrost).
2. Combine yogurt, condensed soup, and soup mix in a small bowl and pour over chicken.
3. Layer quartered mushrooms on top.
4. Cook for 7 hours on low.
5. Remove chicken, shred, and return to the sauce.
6. Prepare noodles according to the package instructions.
7. Serve noodles topped with stroganoff sauce.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Forget regular Snickerdoodles, I'm sticking with Snickerdoodle Blondies and these new gems and calling it a win!

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Adapted from Annie's Eats

Makes 3 1/2 dozen

3 3/4 c (1 lb 2 3/4 oz) flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 c (7 oz) sugar

1/2 c (3 1/2) light brown sugar, packed

3/4 c (180 grams) pumpkin puree 

1 egg

1 Tbsp vanilla

For rolling:

3 1/2 oz sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

Dash of nutmeg

Dash of cloves

1. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg then set aside.
2. Cream together the butter, pumpkin, and sugars in a stand mixture with the paddle attachment.
3. Add in egg and vanilla until combined.
4. Add in the dry ingredients until combined.
5. Cover and chill for at least an hour.
6. Preheat oven to 350.
7. Mix the rolling sugar and spices in a shallow dish.
8. Roll dough into balls (a generous tablespoon of dough) and roll in the sugar.
9. Bake for 13-14 minutes (the cookies are more cake-y than crumbly, so keep that in mind when judging their done-ness.)

Chicken Salad

So, I have only discovered enjoying chicken salad in the last few months...it's been so hot around here I decided I needed to attempt to make a batch for myself. My recipe contains no nuts or celery like your standard chicken salad, but I find it delicious (and neither of those things would be consumed by Hubby since he's allergic to celery, yes I said celery, and he hates when nuts are mixed into "otherwise perfectly good food"...so there you have it...and don't ever try to give him a brownie with nuts mixed in unless you want to see a combo sad/angry face.)


It may continue to evolve a bit, but I'm pretty stoked with what I've come up with so far!  

Chicken Salad
Serves 4
Estimated Point Value: 4 pts

14 oz deboned rotisserie chicken meat (white meat only)
4 Tbsp Light Miracle Whip*
3 Tbsp dried cranberries
3 Tbsp frozen peas
2 Tbsp fresh parsley
Garlic salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl until combined. Serve over lettuce, in a hollowed out tomato, a red bell pepper halve, or in a croissant (none of those serving options are included in the estimated point value given above.)


*Whatever, I use Miracle Whip because it's delicious, you can use mayo if you want, but I'm gonna think you're sorta gross...well, not really...it'll be delicious, just less...zing! We can still be friends. Promise.

Rice Krispie Treats

Today I discovered that one regular box of Rice Krispie's is actually "meant" for 2 full batches of Treats...obviously this was the intended purpose so I decided to make one batch of regular Treats and one peanut butter.

Brilliance people, sheer brilliance.

Rice Krispie Treats

Adapted from Rice Krispies

Makes one 13x9 inch pan

3 Tbsp margerine or salted butter

10 oz marshmallows (any size)

1/2 tsp vanilla

6 cups* Rice Krispies

1. Melt butter in a large sauce pan or pot on low heat.
2. Add marshmallows and stir frequently until melted.
3. Stir in vanilla.
4. Remove from heat and fold in cereal.
5. Pour into a greased 13x9 inch pan and press into place.**
6. Cool on the counter before cutting.

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

Adapted from My Baking Addiction

Makes one 13x9 inch pan

3 Tbsp margerine or salted butter

10 oz marshmallows (any size)

1/2 vanilla

2/3 cup peanut butter

6 cups Rice Krispies*

1 cup Reese's Pieces

1. Melt butter in a large sauce pan or pot on low heat.
2. Add marshmallows and stir frequently until melted.
3. Stir in vanilla and peanut butter until smooth.
4. Remove from heat and fold in cereal and Reese's Pieces.
5. Pour into a greased 13x9 inch pan and press into place.**  
6. Cool on the counter before cutting.

*This was 160 grams of dry cereal, I found (as I usually do) weighing was the easier way to go here.

**I use a plastic sandwich bag over my hand sprayed with cooking spray to avoid a complete sticky disaster. Call me crazy, but it works!