New Year, New Adventures

Happy 2012! The New Year has started out so wonderfully for me. Well, wait. It initially started out slightly rocky, but turned pretty amazing within a few days. Let me explain:

The movers came and took all of my DC apartment contents on Dec 13th and brought them up to Boston to put in storage. Then I departed on Dec 14th for Minnesota (with a stopover in Indianapolis to catch up with some college friends). I spent two great weeks in Minnesota, enjoying time with friends and family - and Jakers enjoyed Mom's 20 acres to roam on and chase squirrels, chipmunks, birds, and deer.

Christmas Eve with the family!

Then, the morning after my 30th birthday, I hit the road for Boston. We (Jakers, Mabel and I) made it 12 hours on the first day, stopped for the night in Cleveland, then finished the last 10 hours on New Year's Eve. So I get into Boston around 7:00pm on the biggest party night of the year, exhausted and desperate to get out of the car. The only problem: the security guard who was supposed to have my keys to my corporate apartment knew nothing about me. :( There were some mix-ups and there were no keys available for me. NOT OKAY. Luckily, someone from the apartment rental office was able to get downtown and by 9:00 we were settled.

Great, right? Wrong. This old building has old windows. I can hear EVERYTHING happening outside. Oh, and I'm surrounded by bars/pubs. So NYE was the loudest night of my life. All I wanted was sleep, all I got was drunk people, screaming, police sirens, and fireworks.

But I don't mean to dwell -- I've really enjoyed my first week in Beantown, once we got through night 1.
I've discovered Christoper Columbus Waterfront Park a few blocks away. We've taken lots of walks there, along the Boston Harbor.
My first week at the new job has been great. I'm working with some very talented folks and cool clients.
Through my apartment hunting, I was able to see some different neighborhoods -- and find a great place in the Charlestown neighborhood! I'm moving in next weekend!
And I'm looking forward to hanging out with some friends (new and old!) and enjoying some of the restaurants that I've heard a lot about.

Now, let's get onto some FOOD. :) Living in this temporary apartment for a few weeks means I'm limited with my groceries. I've been trying to find easy things to make that only require a few ingredients. This recipe fit the bill, and I knew it would keep well, so I could eat leftovers throughout the week. Perf. My mom used to make this Spaghetti Casserole when I was little, and now that I know how easy it is and how great the vegan version is, I'll be adding it into my rotation as a grown-up. :)

Here's to a great start to 2012 -- new city, new job, new apartment, and hopefully some new adventures!

Spaghetti Casserole(The pix do not do this justice - it looks like a blob o' pasta & cheese - but it tastes oh-so good!)

• 1 box spaghetti noodles
• 1 pkg Daiya vegan mozzarella "cheese"
• 1 pkg vegan pepperoni slices (I used Smart Deli)
• 1 jar of marinara sauce

Cook the spaghetti, then layer half of the noodles in pan, half of the cheese, half of the pepperoni slices and half of the marinara. Repeat. Bake in preheated oven (375-degrees) for 20-30 mins, until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes, then slice and serve.
Enjoy!

(This can be scaled to whatever size pan you want to use - Mom always made it in a 9x13, but since I'm only feeding 1, I used a square 9x9 pan. The ingredients are all eyeballed, anyhow, so just use more of everything if you want to use a larger pan.)