September Goals and Housewifery

Well, I wanted to post pictures of the wedding this weekend, but I can't find my camera cord, so September goals will have to do for now.

• Workout 4 times per week. Since I'm starting a new job, I am going to go a little easier on myself in this department. My new job will also be decidedly deskbound, so no counting work as fitness, a la August.


• Really finish putting everything away, hanging pictures, etc.


• Aside from Texas football (which I know is HUGE), get out and participate in or visit two new, unique Austin activities or sites.


• Make one new and interesting recipe per week.

This week I've been home enjoying my final few days of freedom before I start work and I have been living it up housewife-style. Aside from the strange quiet of being home alone in your house all day (except when I have episodes of What Not To Wear and A Baby Story running ad nauseum for company), I could really get used to this lifestyle. Yesterday I cleaned the house, worked out, made a menu plan for the rest of the week, and went grocery shopping. Then I came home, got cleaned up, and made a new Rachel Ray recipe for beanless (Texas-style) chili and a spicy chile cilantro vinaigrette for a garden salad. Off to a good start on the new recipe front!

Today I worked out again, tackled some of the few remaining random boxes in the corner of my bedroom, organized my closet, and then cooked my heart out for about two hours. The spoils included roasted salmon with a cucumber dill sauce, steamed green beans with herb butter, wild rice pilaf (OK, fine, Uncle Ben helped me out on that one), and the most delicious, crispety crunchety, salty-sweet toffee bars. Mmmmm.... Recipe from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

10 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/3 cup confectioners' sugar

2/3 cup chocolate-covered toffee bits (I just bought a bag of mini Heath bars and chopped them up)

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with a foil sling and grease foil. Whisk the flour and salt together in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and confectioners' sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture until the dough becomes sandy with large pea-sized bits, about 30 seconds.

Reserve 1 cup of the dough for the topping. Sprinkle the remaining dough into the prepared pan and press into an even layer with the bottom of a measuring cup. Sprinkle the toffee bits and chocolate chips evenly over the dough and then sprinkle with the reserve topping. Bake the bars until golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. (Mine were done at about 22 minutes.)

Let the bars cool completely in the pan, set on a wire rack, about 2 hours. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil, cut into squares, and serve.

Enjoy!