Progress and New Year's Eve!!!

Good morning! I have made so much progress this week (pictures to follow)! This week I have made chocolate chip cookies and chocolate chip muffins both from scratch (are you detecting a theme here?! CHOCOLATE!!!) I will have to post recipes because I can surely not take credit for these masterpieces of deliciousness. One problem though... cupcake liners are not all you need when you make giant deli style muffins... you also need non-stick cooking spray! I was literally bent over my stove scraping the side of the pan (alternating between a giant spoon and a knife- both pretty much sucked) trying to get the crazy muffins out of the cupcake pan. What I was left with was a disappointing, sad looking lump of muffin that was pretty much heaven in my mouth- thank you Nigella from Food Network- it was the first recipe I have written down while I was watching a show... I am pretty sure I missed some sort of ingredient though.  But hey... it is not the looks that count... it is all about the taste!

Last night I tried my hand at homemade Chex mix... oh my goodness... that stuff is not only delicious but really addictive! Tip for you- make sure to cook the Chex mix on 250 degrees for an hour- stirring every 15 minutes. It really makes the mixed nuts toasty and everything really crisp. The recipe typically calls for microwaving the mix for 5-7 minutes... don't do it! Doing it in the oven may take longer, but you will be so happy you did. The best thing is that I have enough ingredients to make another batch once my husband demolishes this batch!

New Year's Eve... well it is a time to reflect on the past year and all the good, bad, and/or ugly things that have happened and be determined to make this next year better. This past year was insane for me. I started a new job, bought a house, got married, and adopted a kitten and a puppy! What was I thinking?! Resolution #1: No more adopting puppies... they are way too much work even though they are adorable... and 1 is more than enough!!! So what are all my resolutions you ask... well let me enlighten you...

1. Already written... no adopting puppies... never... ever... again. I think I can stick with this one.
2. Lose 15 pounds... haha... that is such a lie... never gonna happen! I just started a cooking/baking blog!! How about I resolve to gaining 5 pounds... nothing feels quite as good as success!!
3. Make an awesome blog that people love to read and want to emulate... I am well on the way to this one already.
4. Smile more... laugh more... love more! Everyone could do this!
5. Stop complaining so much... this will be harder to do because now I have a public forum to complain!
6. Live each day to the fullest and make time for romance!
7. Exercise... I wonder if stirring cake mixes and washing dishes counts for this?
8. Bake like there is no tomorrow!!

This year is going to be so much fun!