New Years Resolution still going strong...?

On December 31, I came up with a challenge for me in regards to a new year's resolution (as if weight loss wasn't enough of a challenge). I love baking but I'm not so keen on cooking so my 2012 resolution is to make one thing from all 4 of the magazines I subscribe to every month. The magazines are Good Housekeeping, Midwest Living, Southern Living, and Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. It can be a main dish, side dish, dessert, beverage...anything from these 4 magazines.

I ran into a bit of a hiccup in February with not really having much extra fundage for such an adventure so I decided that I would still hold on to the two recipes left from February (a lighter Ranch dip and a blueberry spinach salad - I think a resolution can be put on hold until blueberries are in season and not $4-5 for a pint) to make in another month (that should still count, right?).

The second hiccup I encountered was..what if there is nothing interesting to make? I ran into that problem in this month's Southern Living. It's mainly focused on spring and flower planting and whatnot while their recipes are lacking or just hold very little appeal. My workaround? To go through the recipes that I've ripped from older magazines and have kept, awaiting the day to try them and to choose something from there. My goal is to have a nice complete recipe collection that I can always go to and make something that I know me and Big A would like. So while March 2012 Southern Living gets passed to whichever coworker finds it in the office kitchen, the Festive Fusilli recipe from Good Housekeeping 2008 gets moved up to the front of the line (yes, I have kept this recipe for that long. I owe its longevity completely to the roasted tomatoes in the recipe. Love me some roasted tomatoes!).

In case you are wondering...tonight's dinner was courtesy of March's Good Housekeeping and it was Smothered Pork Chops (with my own addition of asparagus):


While Big A loved it, the ratio of pork to smothered topping was too much for me (plus I'm not really a mushroom fan..this is an example of me eating it only because they are good for you). I did like the sauce that the flour and the chicken broth made but not enough to keep this around.

While I have read and seen the movie Julie & Julia and I have a huge girl crush on the Pioneer Woman and her sense of humor (and her recipes!), I doubt I will be making this into a food blog but I will probably be sharing my experiences more as this year and this resolution progresses and a photo will always be included!