lord of the rings

I finally finished the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy last night (yeah, yeah...cue the "you're about 5 years late" comments), so naturally I felt the need to blog about such a momentous occasion by sharing my thoughts about LOTR.

1. I have a crush on roughly 90% of the characters in Lord of the Rings. Aragorn? Yup. Legolas? Yup. Boromir? Yup. Frodo? Absolutely not. I hate Frodo & the majority of the scenes that he's in, but that's another story.
2. Frodo sucks. I'm sorry, but it's true. I understand that he was taken over by the powers of the ring, but I really, really don't like him & every time they went to a scene with Frodo I wanted to fast forward. In reality, we all know it was Sam who really got the ring to Mordor. Let's be honest with ourselves here.
3. Any scene when Gimli & Legolas are battling & counting how many people they killed = awesome. Especially in "Return of the King" when Legolas awesomely takes down the oliphant & Gimli says "That still counts as one." Awesome.
4. I shed tears over this movie - I really did. I was so sad when Pippin was going away with Gandalf & he wasn't sure if he would ever see Merry ever again. Ultimate bromance. 
5. & finally, for the grand finale, Aaron Fagan's favorite scene. I almost want him to do a guest blog post about LOTR since he's a huge fan. This YouTube video is absolutely horrible quality, but it's all I could find.

Well that's all for tonight. I wish I could say I'm going out & going crazy, but I have a cold & will be doing homework. 

dear paula deen...

more food!

Gosh I have really been slacking in the blogging department! Getting back in to the swing of things with school & work has certainly taken its toll because I'm sick (which is why I am now writing this blog post). Anyways, I made something really great last week that I'd never made before. I got it from this cookbook:

Weight Watchers One Pot Cookbook

So I recently purchased this cookbook (& you can too if you follow the link above) and decided to try the Pork Tenderloin in Sour Cream-Paprika Sauce and it was so good let me tell you. I absolutely adore grilled or sauteed vegetables, I really can't get enough of them, and this recipe includes pork tenderloin AND sauteed peppers and onions. It really doesn't get much better than that until you add in the sour cream, chicken broth, egg noodles and paprika to make a truly amazing meal! If you enjoy cooking and want to lighten up on the calories, definitely invest in this cookbook. I love it!

a bit of a rant.

I was on my tumblr about...oh, I don't know...30 seconds ago & was looking for fitness inspiration blogs. Sometimes I need that extra push to get me to go for a run, but what I found was downright depressing. There were girls on there putting up pictures with tags "thinspiration," "need2bthin," etc. & even a few posts about people going on cleanses or going on diets that only allow a person to eat 400 calories a day. 400 CALORIES PER DAY?! Now I'll be the first to admit that I'm not completely happy with my body, but I do have goals in life other than being thin & I think it's important to learn to love your body. How happy can a person be by only eating 400 calories a day? What about dinners or drinks with friends? I truly believe that becoming skinny is NOT going to make someone happy, what will make someone happy is learning to love themselves, taking care of their mind & body & surrounding themselves with people they love & who love them in return....& a Giants win today.

Happy New Year!

I realize I'm a few days late with this post, but better late than never! I had a great New Year's - laid back, spent time with family then watched the Giants beat the Cowboys for a spot in the playoffs. Can't ask for more than that! Here's a list at some of my resolutions:

• live a healthier lifestyle : I decided not to put a goal weight for this resolution because I just want to feel healthy & a lot of times a number doesn't mean anything. Although I'd like to lose weight, I'd like to just eat healthy, drink less (or lower calorie drinks) & work out more.
• spend more time being happy than sad/angry : I think one of the most important things in life is how we perceive life - if we are miserable or let something get to us, then our whole outlook on life is going to reflect upon that. I want to focus on the positive this year, rather than the negative.
• read more : sometimes I get so caught up in watching crap TV that I don't pick up a book & read as much as I'd like to. This year I'd like to cut out the reality TV & pick up a book or a really great TV series or film.

Those are just a few of my New Year's resolutions. What about you? Have you kept yours so far or even decided what yours are going to be?

Oh yeah, one more thing...

GO BIG BLUE!

influenza.

I'm starting off this post stating that I have the flu not so anyone will feel sorry for me (although sympathy won't be turned away), rather it's to excuse myself for the amount of TV I've been watching. I've talked about recipes & books a little bit on here, but now I feel like I absolutely need to talk about "The Wire." "The Wire" is an HBO show that started in 2002 & ran until 2008. I was watching HBO programs at this time so I really have no excuse for letting all this time go by without seeing at least one episode. Time & time again I've been told that this show is amazing & that I'll love it, but I never got around to renting it & it was never really something I wanted to purchase for myself...until this Christmas came around. My mom bought me the complete series for Christmas & I'm already on the second season...woops. It's that good. I really can't say much other than it focuses on the criminal underworld as well as the police department in Baltimore & it is epically good. It's definitely not for everyone, but if you like a good drama series (as well as some stone cold foxes, i.e. Dominic West & Idris Elba) watch this show! Now...back to "The Wire." Good night!

Jamaican Me Hungry

Picture it: Christmas Day 2011. I open up one of my gifts & realize it's a cookbook I've been asking for (Perfect One-Dish Dinners by Pam Anderson). So my mother & I are talking as I'm looking through the cookbook & she goes & pulls out her own copy of Anderson's cookbook! I mean, great minds think alike blah blah, but we decided that we had to try out a recipe while I was home. We decided upon Jamaican Jerk Chili, Mango Guacamole & a spinach salad. First, I just want to say I really love this cookbook. Anderson does a good job by pairing main meals, an appetizer & a dessert together by using like ingredients. For instance, anyone who knows me knows how annoyed I get when recipes call for fresh herbs because then I use 2 tablespoons & basically have enough cilantro for 10 more batches of the same meal. Anderson uses cilantro in the main meal, the salad and the guacamole so while there was some left over, it wasn't an obscene amount where I felt pressured to make something with cilantro the very next day. As for the recipes, they were really wonderful & it was time well-spent with my parents. We were talking & joking while making a delicious meal, which then made it even more enjoyable when we were eating it because we could discuss how it came out.

The mango guacamole was really delicious & it was so simple to make. Avocados, mango, cilantro then some spices to taste. We just ate it with tortilla chips, but I think it would be great on tacos or even mixed in with a taco salad. As an appetizer, I'd happily make this on its own.

The Jamaican Chicken Chili was really an interesting dish - it had chili powder & black beans, but at the same time had cinnamon & semisweet chocolate in it. I love when recipes call for ingredients that you wouldn't think go together. This came out really well, but, unfortunately, I was so full from the salad & the guacamole that I couldn't finish the small bowl I took for myself.

Overall, I would definitely recommend buying this cookbook & making this recipe from it!