wicked noodle

about me

After growing up in central Wisconsin, I moved to California and spent my 20's and part of my 30's there. I've since moved to Maryland (Jan 2006), just outside Annapolis. We moved here mainly so we could live in an area better suited to raising children and closer to family. Although it's an adjustment, we really love it here. My husband and I met in Dec 1998, we were married in Feb 2003 and had our first daughter, Kylie, in Aug 2004. Our second daughter, Katie, was just born in July 2006. I was an HR Director until I became Mom, and I wouldn't trade this job for anything in the world!

I began cooking when I became a stay-at-home-mom, mostly out of necessity. We used to eat out for every meal...and I do mean EVERY meal. When our income was cut in half after my "early retirement", eating out was no longer an option. Therefore, if I was going to continue to eat all the delicious food I was accustomed to, I was going to have to...oh, the horror!!!...COOK IT MYSELF!!! I had grown up baking with my mom, but hadn't actually baked in years and had always left the cooking to her. To my utter surprise and delight (not to mention my husband's SHOCK and delight)...I loved it! Then, to find Recipezaar...well, it's become a much loved hobby and something I'll surely do for the rest of my life!

Favorite Foods:

There aren't many foods that I don't like, in fact, lamb used to be about the only thing I didn't eat, but I've made it a few times for DH because he loves it, and it's starting to grow on me. If we're out to a fancy dinner, I'll occasionally order foie gras, my all-time favorite (occasionally because it's soooo bad for you)! I gravitate toward spicy cooking, probably because of my time in California with all that delicious authentic mexican food! And don't even get me started on the carne asada tacos in Baja, Mexico...I'm salivating just thinking about them!

I've started to get into cooking only very healthy, low-fat dishes in an attempt to keep my family fit and healthy. Once the big 4-0 is in plain sight, you start to realize that it's now or never! Thankfully, Recipezaar has a zillion delicious and healthy recipes to help me on my quest! My most favorite new recipe is Ginger Shrimp With Carrot Couscous - it's soooo yummy and soooo good for you! Honey Ginger Grilled Salmon is another good one that we enjoy at least once a week.

Although I've got a few dishes that I make frequently, I really just enjoy perusing Recipezaar for that next great recipe and trying them out! In my opinion, there is simply no better site than this one, cooking or otherwise! I can spend hours just looking, looking, looking...

Here are a few more favorites that have stood the test of time:
~ Barbecued Beer Can Chicken...so yummy! It's my absolute favorite way to enjoy chicken in the summertime!
~ SALSA!! This isn't posted since it changes every time I make it. I make a big batch every weekend. I should write a book called "The Salsa Diet"...I'd be rich!
~ Southwest Turkey Burgers This is one of mine that was blatantly stolen from Rachael Ray then altered a bit.
~ Carrot Souffle This one came from Cooking Light, and it just rocks! The best part is that my dd's will gobble it right up!

My favorite restaurant would have to be Pascal's in Newport Beach, CA. It's been years since I've eaten there but it was just such an enjoyable experience that I'll never forget it. It's one of those places where it takes a good three hours to complete your meal as you lazily enjoy each wonderful course...
Lacroix in Philly is another one that I recently enjoyed. It might have taken a mortgage payment to eat there, but it was a fantastic experience!

I'm addicted to cooking magazines, and I love anything from Cooking Light, although Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country are also favorites. I recently discovered "Eating Well", a magazine I'd never purchased before but really enjoyed. Fine Cooking is also another good one!

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