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Happy 2011 (almost)!! Are you making resolutions for the new year? If so, vow to make them S.M.A.R.T.

SMART goal setting is a way to create goals that will be appropriate for you and specifically tailored to what you wish to achieve. SMART is an acronym: 

• S = SPECIFIC
• M = MEASURABLE
• A = ACHIEVABLE  
• R = REALISTIC
• T = TIME-ORIENTED

So when setting goals for the new year, remember to make them specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-oriented. For example, rather than stating "I want to exercise more next year," make your goal SMART by instead stating, "I will walk for exercise 3 times per week for at least 30 minutes for the next 8 weeks." This goal is specific (type of exercise), I can measure it (did I walk for 30 min 3x/wk?), it is a realistic and achievable goal (I know I can find 30 minutes in my day to walk for exercise), and it is time-oriented (it is not an indefinite goal; at the end of 8-weeks I can revise my goal if necessary). Now you try!

Tonight I made a chicken sausage paella, slightly modifying a recipe from Ellie Krieger's book So Easy. It was delicious and very easy. I served it with a spring mix salad with cranberries, walnuts, tomatoes, feta and my own apple cider vinaigrette dressing (3 parts apple cider to 1 part canola oil plus ~1 tsp sugar per 1/4 cup of dressing). 

Krieger's recipe calls for chorizo and chicken thighs, but I just used chicken sausage instead. I also found special paella rice at Bristol Farms, which worked wonders for the dish. Here is how I made the paella: 

• 1 Tbsp plus 2 tsp olive oil
• Two 6-ounce chicken sausage links, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds (if sausage is raw, it will be easier to slice if you grill it on all sides in a pan first)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 12 ounces frozen peas
• 1 cup uncooked paella rice
• 1 large ripe tomato, chopped
• 1/4 cup sliced green Spanish pimento-stuffed olives
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground turmeric
• small pinch of saffron threads