Google Reader

Good morning.  My name is Camille and I am addicted to Google Reader.

I use Gmail for my email and I LOVE it.  Yes, I love my email!  I use the calendar and reader features to keep up with friends and family and I constantly recommend Gmail to EVERYONE. 

Google Calendars can be shared with other Gmail users; so currently I know the schedules of three of my closest friends, my husband, and possibly you – if you’d like to share your dentist appointments with me!

Beyond the calendar function, Google Reader has changed my life in the last year or so.  The reader is a page accessed when you’re logged into your Google account that lists your blogs, news and RSS feeds you subscribe to.  I constantly change my blog list – usually adding than subtracting blogs – to fit my current interests.  I love when friends recommend new blogs to read.  I have friends who have turned me onto design blogs, cooking blogs, wedding blogs, and NOW – baby blogs! 

Since getting my iPhone – I am even more dedicated to reading because I can access my  expanding list of new postings ANYWHERE!  I usually begin reading my list when I get on the train in the morning and usually browse through the listings as I check my email at work.  Harmless, right?  Before you answer the question, look at my list of subscriptions below.  I don't read every single post but it takes a while even to read their headlines because a third probably post more than once a day.

If you’re thinking of starting to use or adding to your Google Reader, here are my current subscriptions, categorized even! (Some blogs are listed twice b/c they fit more than one category)

Design (Home, Stationery, Decor)

Annette Tatum  

décor8  

Design*Sponge

How About Orange

Project Nursery

Oh So Beautiful Paper 

Ruffled

Queen of DIY 

Lovely Morning 

The Scoop 

Queen of DIY 
Jessica Hische 

Friends Blogs

Jax…Locked up abroad and Loving it! 

The Durtty Bride

The Roberts Family 

The Little Blogdorf
be good and you will be lonesome
Danielle Brown Fine Art

News

CNN 

Baby

LilLuxe

Lovely Morning

Project Nursery

Annette Tatum  

BabySteals 

The Durtty Bride

Being Pregnant

My Chicago Mommy

Weddings and Parties

Ruffled 

The Budget Savvy Bride 

The Durtty Bride

The Scocial Secretary 

Oh So Beautiful Paper 

Wedding Bee
From "I Will" to "I Do"  

Food/Cooking

Smitten Kitchen

For Fun

The Blogs at HowStuffWorks

Happy Reading!

A short life update

Good Tuesday Afternoon!

We’ve lived in our new apartment for 4 weeks now – I can’t believe it!  It is finally becoming more of a home.  We decorated, bought some new furniture and now simply enjoying each other’s company.  The neighborhood is fun too.  We’ve gone out to eat at a couple local places – Paddy O’Splains and Rockwell’s Neighborhood Grill.   Exploring is one of the most fun parts about moving to a different part of Chicago.  We were really spoiled in Wrigleyville; everything was just too convenient.  There were always taxis on the streets, we could buy a jug of milk or a bottle of whiskey on the corner store, my commute was only 40 minutes door to door, and the gym was a quick walk down Clark!   

Although we’ve moved only 3 miles northwest you notice a large difference!  The highlights of our location include the gigantic park across the street – where Nolan and I have been jogging the last couple nights, there is always parking available – maybe a car is in our future, and we love the family friendly atmosphere –no more 3AMers walking home, screaming on our street, well except us!

Having Nolan home is wonderful.  We’ve been working out at the park across the street and he’s cooking!  I love coming home knowing he’s been to the grocery store and something’s smelling delicious as I walk in the door - I am so spoiled!  Last night he made Clam Chowder! 

I enrolled in school.  I want to further my education with some graphic design courses, so as of April I will be in class at the Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago!  I am completely nervous to start back at school – I was so relieved when I finished at UNR.  My excitement surpasses my nerves, this is going to be the best thing for me and I can’t wait to get started!

Sunday Night Dinner

This post is a little delayed, oopsie! 

Sunday, 1/4/10 Recipie: Chinese - Chicken Lettuce Wraps

This Sunday I made:

Sunday, January 31, 2010

From: Martha Stewart online

Farfelle with Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese*

makes about 4 servings

total prep time: 10 minutes

total cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

12 ounces farfalle (bow-tie pasta)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 small red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
2 ounces bar cream cheese, cut into small pieces (plan on using more)
1/4 cup fresh dill, coarsely chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried dill weed (I used fresh rosemary)
2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
4 ounces smoked salmon, cut into bite-size pieces

Instructions:

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, according to package instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. 
Add onion to pot; immediately drain pasta mixture, and return to pot.  (I kept it on a low flame so the onion softened)
Add cream cheese, dill, capers, and salmon to pasta. 
Toss, adding reserved pasta water a little at a time to create a thin sauce that coats farfalle (you may not need all the water). 
Season lightly with salt and pepper. Serve. (I topped it with a little Parmesan!)

What I thought:
I think I'll use baked salmon next time.  The idea is on the right track and the flavors are great but the smoked salmon is a little over powering.  I didn't get seconds, lets put it that way!
You'll want to eat the dish right away - if it sits it becomes sticky, so you can either use more pasta water or more cream cheese to keep it saucy!  

*I was lazy and forgot to download my photo, so I used the one from the Martha Stewart website

New Series: Sunday Night Dinners

When I was in college I loved Sunday nights!  

Sunday usually meant recovering from Saturday's rugby game and Saturday night's rugby party.  In the evening when we'd come back to life, my roommates and few friends would join us as we made dinner and watched ABC's Sunday night lineup. At the time, the lineup included: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Grey's Anatomy, and Desperate Housewives.

These days, I simply reminisce about past Sunday Nights.  I continue to cook, not as often as I used to, but now the dinner is for one - maybe three if Jackie and Nolan are around.  Time to change that.  I've decided to venture into new cookbooks and find fresh new recipies to spice up my Sunday nights and enjoy them as much as I did once upon a time! 

For Sunday Night Dinners, I'll include a recipe, a photo, and a critique!  Enjoy!

Sunday January 24, 2010

 From Magazine: Cuisine at Home: Slow Cooker Menus

chinese-chicken lettuce wraps 

makes 6 servings - great for an appetizer or meal

Total prep time: 20 minutes

Total cook time: 3ish hours

Ingredients:

Chicken:

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

2 lbs. ground chicken or turkey

1 Tbsp. minced gingerroot

1/4 cup dry sherry

1/2 cup hoisin sauce (where you'd find soy sauce)

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. chili garlic sauce (I just used chili sauce)

1 8oz. can of sliced water chestnuts (drained and coarsely chopped)

2 Tbsp. rice vinegar

Salt to taste

Wrap:

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

1/4 cup minced chives (I used green onions because I am more likely to use them than chives in the future)

2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

12 small Bibb lettuce leaves (I used butter lettuce)

Instructions:

Heat oil in skillet over med-high heat.  Add chicken, cook for 10 minutes, breaking up chunks.  Add gingerroot, cook 2 minutes. Deglaze skillet with sherry, cook until liquid has evaporated.  Transfer to slow cooker.

Combine hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and chili sauce and stir into meat mixture.  Cover and cook on high heat for 2-3 hours or low heat for 3-4 hours.  Stir in water chestnuts, vinegar, and salt.

To serve, spoon 1/2 cup portion of meat mixture into lettuce leaf, top with red pepper, chives, and sesame seeds.

ENJOY!

What I thought:

I ate 3 leaves of Asian goodness and was full.  A serving is 2 leaves which according to the magazine equals 306 calories, 15g total fat.

It was more effort than I would have like to put into a "crock pot" meal but it turned out delicious.  I like that you can prepare it early and have time to do other things while it absorbs flavor!  The meat is really tasty - sweet and tangy.  The red pepper and chestnuts give it a satisfying crunch.  Overall I give it a B+.

I also used our new food processor to make ground chicken - I used 2.5 lbs of chicken thighs and it was fun to make such a fresh ground meat!  Plus, it was cheaper than ground meat!

Quality Time - Cooking

Newport Hostel Meals! (a series in the making)

Newport Hostel, as the residence fondly refer to their apartment as, serves an array of delicious meals.


Nolan was an avid cook long before we met. I've heard rumors of a home video featuring a fictional cooking show that where he and his sister "hosted." I am not entirely sure what to think of this except that I would love to see it!

Things haven't changed much. Nolan still loves cooking, experimenting with food, and eating food! I can't tell you how enjoyable it is to walk into the house after a long day to the smell of fresh bread or dinner! It still amazes me that I found a man who loves to read and loves to cook! Due to the nature of Nolan's job, he has 3 weeks to devote to his cooking experiments. I reap the benefits, so does Jackie!!

Jackie loves to cook - her Pilipino influence brings in a little bit of culture every now and again. She doesn't have as much time as Nolan but she occasionally enjoys whipping up adobo or a mean shrimp Cesar. Jackie is a non-recipe cook. She bases her meals off the triumphs and failures of her past; I've yet to dislike any of her meals!

I'd like to consider myself more of a baker than a cook. I continually get made fun of for having the least amount of cooking experience in the house. (I'll notice the sticker on the whisk before I notice the burnt gravy the whisk is in). Not that I mind because they can't get enough of my baked goods.

Here are a few Newport Meals:

Corn Dogs - Nolan

Batters - plain, jalapeno (from the garden), and chipotle

First dip in the HOT TUB

Sizzle!

Nolan had the biggest craving for corn dogs and it didn't take him long to look up a basic batter recipe and modify it to his liking.  He loves flavor so he used what was in the fridge to create a few different variations.  They were tasty!

Look for more Newport Hostel Meals soon!