I had SUCH a wonderful day at work. I am really really really loving it at Intel!

Tonight I made Shrimp Scampi and it was another home run!
This recipe took a max of 20 minutes to prepare, it was so easy! I just cooked shrimp with olive oil, garlic, fresh parsley, salt, pepper, and lemon juice and served it over angel hair pasta! It was so delicious.

I am in the best mood right now. I love work and Casey arrives in two days for fourth of July weekend.

:):):)

OH MY GOSH BURGER!

This is by far one of my favorite things that I have cooked while here in Arizona. I guess I can't say I am surprised, considering burgers are one of my all time favorite foods. And, this is a little bit of a healthy version of a burger with its open face.

Believe it or not, hidden beneath all of those delicious toppings is a ground beef burger, seasoned with worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. The burger is sitting on top of a piece of toasted texas toast, yumm. Then, on top of the burger is sauteed mushrooms, caramelized vidalia onions, and melted swiss cheese. Someone please tell me, is it possible to have a more delicious sounding burger?

It was amazing. I shall make it again. And again. And again.

Oh and the side dish was great too! I sauteed fresh broccoli with a little bit of soy sauce and it tasted delicious and was a super easy side dish to whip up! Shout out to Cindy for this side dish inspiration!

In other news, I did not take a golf lesson over the weekend because I slept in (I know...) but also my golf clubs have not arrived in the mail yet, so it would've been hard to play anyway. BUT I did get to see my best friend Elise this weekend and her family! They took me out to dinner and we had so much fun. It was so great! We went to this restaurant in Scottsdale, about 45 minutes from where I live in Chandler. Scottsdale is absolutely gorgeous! I definitely want to visit there again before I leave Arizona. Also, I hear the golf is great there so once I become a pro, I will have to test my mad skills on a ritzy Scottsdale golf course.

I'm really tired so I am going to make this a short post.

Tonight I made turkey scaloppine and it was pretty good! It is basically just turkey breast cooked in chicken broth and marsala wine, topped with a mushroom sauce. It was extremely moist and very flavorful! However, next time I would buy more thin turkey cutlets, because the meat took a little bit long to cook (longer than it should have I think).

For the side dish, I made asparagus with balsamic vinegar. SHOUT OUT TO GLOR for this delicious recipe!! I love this asparagus and it's so easy to cook! You just cook the asparagus in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, dry the asparagus, then put in a low heat pan with balsamic vinegar for a few minutes.

Tomorrow is Friday which means I have made it through my first week of work! :) What to do this weekend....I need some friends here in Arizona!!!

Tonight I made SUCH a delicious dinner!!!


For the main course, I made barbecued pork chops. The barbecue sauce was homemade using brown sugar, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce. I dry-rubbed boneless center cut pork chops with thyme, garlic salt, and cayenne pepper. Then, I glazed the chops with a little bit of the barbecue sauce and broiled each side for about 6 minutes. Then, I topped the chops with more barbecue sauce. They were SO delicious! The barbecue sauce and the rub together made for an incredible sweet and spicy combination that still tasted relatively light and healthy!

For a side dish, I made a simple green salad with a homemade vinaigrette. The vinaigrette included red wine vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, minced red onion, salt, and pepper.

Both of these recipes were VERY easy to make and did not take much time at all! I will definitely be making both again one day! yumyumyumyumyumyum.

I will not be blogging any specifics about my job here, but I do have one thing to say.


My first day of work was FANTASTIC!! I am going to love working here.

Yummy side dish

I enjoyed leftovers tonight of the butternut squash risotto, and the leftovers were even better than the original! Normally I wouldn't blog about this, but I looooved the side dish I made with my leftovers! And, it was so easy!

I tossed uncooked green beans in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then, I roasted the beans in the oven for 10 minutes and topped the cooked beans with lemon juice. It was so delicious! And so easy!

First day of work tomorrow!!:)

I had my first golf lesson this morning...and it...was....GREAT!

I hit the ball really well and even got a high five from the golf pro! I am very excited about my potential to play golf fairly well, and will definitely continue lessons. This lesson was a beginner's clinic. The clinic covers different topics of golf each week and this week was driving. I hit the ball solidly! It was very exciting. I am very, very close to catching the golf bug but I do not have it yet. Next week is putting. I will definitely go!

Tonight I cooked butternut squash risotto and despite its sad gruel look, it was DELICIOUS!
Along with the obvious butternut squash and short grained rice, the recipe included yellow onion, beef broth, parmigiano-reggiano cheese, and fresh parsley. This dish had so much flavor! I enjoyed it so much. The only part of the recipe I had trouble with was getting the short grained rice to cook. It took much longer than it should have to cook. I think it may be because I substituted the arborio rice for short grain brown rice (I couldn't find arborio rice in the super market). So, maybe I will think twice before substituting different kinds of rice next time! But it was really delicious and I will definitely consider trying to make risotto again.

Tomorrow is my last day to relax because Monday is my first day of work!! I am really excited to start. :)

Leftover Recreation!

While my chicken marsala did not come out perfectly last night, it helped to make a really delicious salad for lunch today. I took the chicken from the chicken marsala recipe (boneless skinless chicken breast breaded with italian flavored panko breadcrumbs, garlic powder, and parmigiano reggiano cheese) and combined it with curly leaf greens, more parmigiano reggiano, salt, and pepper. I used a combination of olive oil and red wine vinegar for the dressing, which I love for a refreshing but tasty salad. Yum!

In other news, I have my first golf lesson (a beginner's clinic) tomorrow morning! Wish me luck!:)

Finally in Chandler

We arrived in Arizona 2 days ago and yesterday Casey left so I am officially on my own (sad, but exciting at the same time because I will now officially become an independent woman!). My apartment is incredible to say the very least. Here are some pictures!

It is really, REALLY beautiful here. Despite the extreme heat, Chandler is perfect. And to be honest, I don't even mind the heat. At first it scared me a lot but now it just feels like a nice hot sauna every time I walk outside.

So today I went to the farmer's market and picked up some fresh ingredients for weekend cooking. And tonight, I made my first recipe in the apartment: chicken marsala. Unfortunately, I forgot to save a picture of the meal, but it was not very picture-worthy anyway. Because I do not have a nonstick frying pan, the breading of the chicken did not stay intact and the meal, while moderately delicious, was not very pretty. So, let's hope for a better meal tomorrow.

Tomorrow, my plan is to find a place to take golf lessons. Let's hope I can get a lesson super early in the morning! Otherwise, I don't think I will be able to stand the heat.

My blogging begins today.

This is my first blog post of hopefully many during my southwestern adventure in Arizona. Now, I am really not the best writer so I am not writing this blog to impress anyone with my writing style. I am writing in this blog because I have a few goals while in Arizona. First of all, I want to cook. a lot. And, I really want to blog about my food. That way I can learn about what I liked, didn't like and I can grow as an amateur chef. My second goal? Golf. I am going to learn golf during my 6 months in Arizona. I plan on playing at least once a week. I am hoping to become good enough to play with my family and with Casey! We will see if that happens.

So, what's going on with me now?
I am all packed. Tomorrow, Casey and I are setting out on our 30 hour journey from Evanston, Illinois to Chandler, Arizona. We are planning on stopping twice along the way, making the trip about 3 days long. If we are lucky, we will make it to Oklahoma tomorrow and New Mexico on Monday. Then hopefully we will arrive in Chandler by Tuesday night. I am so excited! It is going to be a really new experience for me. For the first time, I will be living in a town where I have never been in a state where I have never been. I will be living somewhere where I know noone. I will be providing for myself 100%. I am really becoming an adult. It is so exciting and so frightening at the same time. But it will be great.


Arizona, HERE I COME!! :)