Well, I have been on quite the hiatus!  Through the encouragement of my wonderful housemate, Tanya, I am back to blogging.  At least for now :-)

There's just so much to cover, where to begin!?

I have been doing a lot more cooking now upon moving into the Magnolia house.  Because of this I think I will shift the focus of my blog more to my cooking/baking adventures!  I have had so many greats just in the past week that went undocumented - it's almost a shame that I won't get to share pictures!

I haven't quite realized my potential for creativity in the kitchen.  As such, most of my culinary creations are found in cookbooks, from friends, on Food Network, or ideas that I have pinned on Pinterest.

This week has been our first week back to school for the Spring 2012 semester.  In an effort to keep myself organized, I developed a menu of the week for myself!  I was a little overly-ambitious with my lunch/dinner decisions, and ended up with leftovers that I have eaten the next day for lunch, so some of my choices haven't been made quite yet.  But I was thrilled to have gotten all of my fruits and veggies from the local farmer's market!

I always modify with what I happen to have on-hand.  Even if it's my first time through a recipe.  I figure I can always change it up the next time I make it! The fundamentals remain the same and usually I can gather whether or not I'm a fan of the general recipe :-)

My 1/9-1/13 Meal Plan:

Monday: 

Lunch - Zucchini Salad - I changed this recipe quite a bit.  I added some shrimp, eggplant, bleu cheese, greek yogurt, lemon juice, and sunflower seeds.  It was delicious!

Dinner - Baked Shrimp & Feta (I used Goat Cheese because it's what I had...)

Tuesday: 

Lunch - Ginger Shrimp with Chickpeas & Feta 

Dinner - Roasted Green Beans with Cranberries, Walnuts, and Chicken

Wednesday: 

Lunch - Stuffed Zucchini Rolls

Dinner - Corn Cakes with Avocado & Goat Cheese Salsa -- more on these another time! They were by far my favorite of the week!

Thursday: 

Lunch - Cucumber Feta Boats with Shredded Chicken - this link doesn't go to the recipe, but it's like Pinterest for food! so many great ideas/recipes here...

Dinner - Veggie Tamale Pies

Friday: 

Lunch - Cauliflower Cakes with Salad

Dinner - Steak rolls

Snacks:

Broccoli Bites

ready to bake in the oven!

 

"Brain Balls"

Dried Strawberries

I also made an impromptu Chocolate Fudge Cake with my dear friend and her brother for their mom's birthday! They frosted and decorated it beautifully (and I hear it turned out delicious, despite an initial 1/2 cup salt dumping incident that we won't think too much about) ;-)

As a nod to my new favorite blogger/housemate, Tanya - I too think I will share a song today.  I am missing Steven very much - especially since I have a box full of cake samples waiting to be tasted! (more on that another time...)

THE lovely Jason Mraz - Sleeping to Dream

XO