Weekend Plans!

This coming weekend I'm planning on sticking fairly close to home.

I'm really hoping to get some cleaning and cooking done, and just overall get organized.

I'm by nature an organized person, but that doesn't mean it's like germ-free/sparkling clean.

BF has said he may be coming out to go to a Bike Swap in the area.

He's been all about bikes the last year or so, and this past summer was buying bikes off craigslist to rebuild and resell. 

Although he's not stating it, I get the impression he plans to stock up his working material... meaning less space in his tiny apt to hang out with friends :(.

Anywho, what I'm planning to do, other than cleaning, is cook!

Last Sunday, I hung out with BF's mom who is an amazing, seasoned, instinctual cook.

We specifically were talking about how to make a stock and soup.

Which kind of gave me the itch.

So here's my plan:

I'm going to go shopping tomorrow after work for grocery to make,

1.) Aunt Joan's Chicken Salad (below)

2.) Pot Roast

3.) Homemade Chicken noodle Soup

My hope is two fold. One, that they all come out edible, and two that I can ration and freeze this stuff for meals for the next week or so.

Do y'all have any comfort recipes you enjoy making during these cold winter months or just in general? Please share! I love to cook, but am typically just cooking for myself and stick to simple single serve.

AUNT JOAN'S Chicken Salad

Mix Dressing:        Set aside and pour on salad 1 hour before serving.

2 pkgs of chicken ramean seasoning

3/4 C oil

1/3 C white vinegar

1/4 C Sugar

Salad:

1 12 oz. Broccoli Slaw

2 apples diced

1 C sunflower seeds

1 pkg dried cranberries

1 bunch green onions chopped

1 bell pepper

1 C slivered almonds

1 Rotisserie Chicken cut-up small pieces

2 pkgs noodles crunched up top right before serving.

XOXO, the Prep

I like to Ride my BIKE!

BF has been nagging me to get a bicycle so that we can ride along the lake shore together. At first he wanted me to get a road bike like the one he spent a LOT of $$ last summer for his triathlons...

Thankfully after our little ride two weeks ago (and my long recovery for my sore bum) I convinced him I DEFINITELY needed a cruiser or something with a comfy seat.

I've been pricing them out and reading the reviews. I also was budgeting for just under $200 (I know, seemingly unreasonable with the average bike costing around $350-$450).

I finally settled on one from SEARS! It's the closest I'll come to being able to afford the GORGEOUS Lilly Pulitzer bikes :(

This is the bike all 'tricked out'. I took off the fenders as they were kind of in the way, got more banged up then I would've liked, and made it that much more awkward loading and unloading from the car. I also went to Dick's Sporting Goods and picked up a few things:

1.) Wire Basket to carry all my super important stuff (including future picnic baskets!)

2.) Bike Lock

3.) Bike Tire Pump

4.) (and most important of all) a Bell... so I no longer have to yell 'ON YOUR LEFT'!

I'm super excited as it's BF's birthday this weekend and we have something fun planned. I'll keep you posted with all the details in my weekend recap.

What do you think of my bike? Do you have a bike? Do you use it often?