preview of things to come

I've been busy catching up with life, but I've been working on a few side projects. I'll have recipes for Greek gyros (with kick butt lamb) and rice pilaf, a great cake recipe, and I am working on an art project that should turn out fairly interesting.

photography

Here are a few photos from my Portfolio class last semester.

mint.com

If you're like me, you hate balancing your checkbook (well, I assume I would hate it; I never actually have tried). I really enjoy keeping track of my money though; I like to see where my money is going, and that is why I love Mint.com.

With mint.com you can sync all of your banking accounts, credit card accounts, and loans to an online account that keeps track of everything for you.

"In five minutes or less, you’ll see where you’re spending your money, understand how your investments are performing, and set up realistic budgets. Set up email and SMS alerts and you’ll be automatically updated whenever there’s an important change in your finances. Only Mint.com finds you personalized ways to save money, using patent-pending software which analyzes your current spending. The typical Mint.com user finds $1,000 in savings in their first visit."

Mint.com is great because if you have an iPhone or iTouch, you can download their app, which puts lots of great tools at your fingertips. I setup a monthly budget on mint.com and with my iPhone I am able to check my budget instantly before I make any purchases. Every transaction I make with any of my debit or credit cards is automatically categorized and the proper amount is deducted from my budget.

You can also use mint.com to look at handy graphs and charts to see how you're spending your money, and recognize patterns in spending. For instance, November and December are high spending months for me, and I see the largest increase in dining out, drinks, and shopping. I can recognize that beginning with Homecoming in November and running through the holidays, I am more likely to go out with people for dinner, have drinks, buy new clothes, and shop for gifts, and make adjustments to my budget accordingly.

So, if you're into budgeting, or thinking about giving it a shot, go ahead and take a look at mint.com! I think you'll find it is pretty helpful.

30 minute lasagna

Leftovers are key to eating well throughout college. I'll purposefully not finish a meal at restaurants simply so that I can take food home with me. If you're like me, your schedule keeps you running pretty ragged, and the last thing you have time for is making lunch.

Plan ahead. While cooking at home make sure you make enough for leftovers; that way when you have 25 minutes between classes, you can just pop some leftovers in the microwave and you're golden.

Nothing quite says leftovers like lasagna- which happens to be one of my favorites anyway. Who has time to bake lasagna though? Traditional lasagna takes hours to bake and setup, but this simple recipe will have to chowing down in about 30 minutes.

Here's what you're going to need:

1/4 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

4 garlic cloves, sliced

1 1/2 pounds of ripe tomatoes, diced (a can of tomato sauce will suffice if out of season, or you're lazy)

4 tablespoons of chopped basil

2 tablespoons of parsley (and a bit extra for garnish, if you're into that)

Kosher salt

freshly cracked pepper (please just go ahead and buy a pepper cracker, it's so much better fresh)

a large egg

2 tablespoons parmesan cheese (again, more for garnish)

6 sheets of no-bake lasagna noodles (no bake is paramount)

1 carrot peeled into ribbons (this is kind of optional)

3 1/2 cups baby spinach (I love spinach and think it is great in lasagna, give it a try)

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/3 pound mozzarella cheese

Heat the EVOO in a skillet over medium-high heat, once it is heated add the garlic and cook until golden, or about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and a table spoon of basil and parsley, half a teaspoon of salt, and pepper to taste. You're going to let that cook until it becomes saucy, which should take about 5 to 6 minutes; then you're going to transfer it to a blender and puree it. Return one cup of the sauce to the skillet and reduce heat to low; reserve the remaining sauce.

You can substitute the freshly diced tomatoes with a can of tomato sauce and just heat it in the skillet and add the herbs, salt, and pepper, and skip the pureeing process.

While you're working on that, go ahead and mix the ricotta, egg, parmesan, the remaining herbs, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and pepper in a bowl.

Alright, now you're going to put two of the lasagna noodles over the sauce in the skillet. Layer about half of the carrot ribbons, drizzle with some EVOO and season with salt and pepper, layer half of the spinach, half of the ricotta mixture, and a few pieces of mozzarella, and two to three tablespoons of the reserved tomato sauce. Repeat the layers, ending with noodles, and top with the remaining sauce and mozzarella.

Cover and let simmer until the lasagna is cooked and the cheese is melted, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let rest about 5 minutes and then garnish with parsley and parmesan cheese.

college made... simple

Who says that being a college student and being poor go hand in hand? Okay, well maybe most college students have $0.37 in their bank accounts, but that doesn't mean you have to live like you're poor. In fact, your college years are an excellent time to learn how to live well on a limited budget.

I have a passion for food and hosting, so the focus of my blog will most likely revolve around food; sharing recipes I have tried, and some I have created myself. I'll also share some photography projects I've worked on, furniture I have refinished, and any little project I happen upon along the way.

You can also look for my list of 5 Things every Tuesday, where I'll share 5 Things I've learned, listened to, watched etc.

Well, I never really thought I would be entering the blogosphere, but here I am; have patience as I labor along. Hopefully we'll have some fun. = )

simple salmon

Fish has always been a little scary for me when it comes to cooking, but this salmon recipe really couldn't be any easier. All you're going to need are: salmon fillets, butter, lemons, fresh rosemary, salt, pepper, and some aluminum foil.

Go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Simply roll out some aluminum foil, tear it off into two squares. Center the salmon fillet on each square of foil. Go ahead and salt and pepper to taste; I prefer using freshly cracked sea salt and black pepper.

Next you're going to slice off about two tablespoons of butter for each fillet, and place it on top of the salmon. Now we're going to thinly slice the lemon, you can leave the slices as circles, or halve them; I usually halve them myself, but it is really up to you. Place three lemon slices on top of each salmon fillet. Finally, top each fillet with a sprig of fresh rosemary.

Now, you're going to wrap the foil around the fillet, tenting it, so that the fillet isn't touching the top of the foil. Go ahead and put each foil pouch on a baking sheet, and bake for approximately 10 -12 minutes.

This is an incredibly simple recipe that only takes about 10 minutes to prepare, and another 10 minutes to bake, which makes it an awesome dinner for college students. Not only is salmon highly nutritious, containing loads of omega-3 fatty acids, but also has one of the lowest mercury level counts in market available fish.

You can buy fresh salmon fillets at the local market, but you're going to pay a higher price. You can also buy canned salmon, or frozen fillets. I generally buy the frozen fillets, as you can get them for a lower price, and have them in the freezer ready to go on a whim.

Just because you're in college doesn't mean you can't eat well, and it certainly doesn't mean you can't eat fast.

5 Things

1. I'm listening to this cover of "Please Don't Stop The Music" by Jamie Cullum.
2. I'm laughing at the Bitch, Pleeze sketch on Hulu.
3. I'm also laughing at the second Bitch, Pleeze sketch on Hulu.
4. Developing a love hate relationship with this Mississippi winter weather.
5. I'm realizing that the United States Postal Service is the source of all evil.