Update... Ha!

Here it is, the end of January. That point in which all those resolutions are either still being kept or have already been thrown on a slow boat to China. I realized the other day that I never made any resolutions this past New Year's - probably because I was too busy trying to keep up with the one I vowed to 6 months ago when I started this blog. So without giving away too much useless info, I will give you a short update.

Reaching my goal of having a cookbook written in one year may have been pushing it a bit. Though I have quite a bit done, I had no idea about how much time I would be giving to photography (learning all new things), food blogging, (to keep up with the cyber-world of foodies), and just the process of writing in general. I am certainly thinking about pushing that deadline out a bit. After all, I don't have a staff of editors, photographers or stylists helping me in this venture, right Martha? Moving on...

Weight loss - you know, that silly little thing I mentioned in my profile? Well, little it's not and let me tell you, trying to test new recipes, as well as old ones, has found me in the predicament of trying to see how I can talk myself out of elastic waistbands verses zippers every morning. In short, I have not gained any additional weight, however on the flip side, I certainly have not seen the scale go down either. Truth be told, I am not focused as much on the weight as I am on trying to keep up with life. I know all about balance and making the right food choices and portion control, etc. In fact, I could probably sit down with a nutritionist and surprise her with my knowledge. However, I do find that even though we can be educated in all that is right, we still have to make a conscience, if not proven, effort to walk the walk and talk the talk, right?

So will there be more exercise on my list? Maybe. More portion control in the future? Perhaps. Giving up tasting all that amazing food life has to offer? I certainly hope not! Because after all, if I have to walk the walk, then I'll be walking the aisles of new and exciting grocery stores and farmer's markets. And if it's all about talking the talk, then I will continue to talk about food and how interesting it all is to me. If the scale moves up or down then so be it. If I don't get a page of that cookbook done every day, oh well! Food is supposed to be enjoyed, right? This journey should be fun! Ultimately, stressing out to try to meet these self-imposed deadlines will not help my overall goal of living a balanced life, and isn't that more important? I'm jus' sayin'!

7 Layers of ¡Olé!

Seven Layer Dip - Funny thing about this is that I've eaten this at many parties and have always loved it, but for some weird, cosmic reason, I've never actually made it. Maybe I'm always too busy making other tapas instead of layering cans and containers of items to create a walking "taco". For what it's worth, I needed a dish in a hurry for a church event that I regularly cook for and this popped up on my google radar when I was looking for a dip to feed a crowd with. My daughter, of course, wanted her own individual bowl to feast on and since this is one of those recipes you can move and fudge around with, I found no problem accommodating her. In fact, she thought this mini, walking taco was pretty slammin! This recipe is so easy to follow that including step-by-step "how-to" photos could be considered insulting! That being said, I promise that if you feel like your missing a layer, don't worry! Simply add another right on top of the last layer and no one will know the difference. After being distracted by my pre-teen daughter sharing her day's events, I forgot a layer (salsa) but quickly added it to the border of the large dish. Disaster averted! For my version, I also substituted ground turkey for the ground beef. So my conclusion: when you need an easy, quick and tasty dish to feed both a crowd - and a hungry kid - remember this party favorite and you too will walk away shouting ¡Olé! C'mon, I'm jus' sayin'!



Seven Layer Dip Courtesy of Allrecipes.com