An oldy but goody

Tonight I made this dessert that I posted back in February. When buying the ingredients, the Nabisco Low-Fat Vanilla Wafers were $3.99 and the store brand regular wafers were $1.99. I went with the store brand.

I'm taking this dessert to my in-laws tomorrow for a bon voyage meal. Hubby's mom and dad are getting ready to take off for Yuma AZ for three months. They are leaving really early this year. So we're having a last meal with them until after the first of the year sometime. Not sure when they are coming back. We won't even see them for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Do you have a favorite dessert recipe that you like to make? If so, make a blog post of it and paste the link in the comment section. Would love to get more ideas of yummy (and healthy?) desserts.

It happened one weekend

I don't know what "it" is, but I thought that was a catchy title! :0)


Hubby left Friday to go hunting. So I was home alone with Cinnamon and Sugar. They weren't too bad. Normally they get pretty antsy when one of us is gone. They'll sit along the back of the couch or at the top of the steps just staring at the door, waiting for our return.


However, at night in bed, it was a totally different story! I don't know what it was that they thought they were hearing, but they kept waking me up. Saturday night, Cinnamon was barking so bad that I even got up, sans PJs, to see what he was barking at. He wouldn't even jump off the bed and go looking with me, he stayed there! The little shit! I looked out our computer room window, didn't see anything, went to the landing over the front door, nothing. I think he was just hearing things. So Sunday night, I closed our bedroom door, and they didn't bark once!


Saturday, my mom, aunt and I went to dinner and a movie. We saw Hereafter. Save your money! It took forever to get to a point. If I hadn't have paid so darn much money to see the dang thing, I would have got up and left it was so boring. About 1/3 of the movie happens in France so they're talking French with subtitles. Ugh, I really do not like reading my movies. I'd rather read a book! Then, in the last 7-10 minutes of the movie, everything comes together and it's all happily-ever-after. To say I was disappointed is putting it mildly. Blah.


We had a potluck at church Sunday. I made a chile rellano casserole and pumpkin spice cupcakes. I expected the rellano to be hot but it was so mild I was embarrassed! I used a bag of mild Anaheim chiles and a bag of Big Jim Anaheim chiles. The Big Jims are supposed to be hot. Not this time! But all of it was eaten so that's good. The cupcakes were a hit too. I posted the recipe over on Grits, Greens and Everything In Between if you're interested.


Sunday evening I got started on cleaning out my bedroom closet of all my too big clothes. My closet is looking pretty good. However, my bed isn't as I threw all the too big clothes on it intending to sort through them and deal with them. Well, I ran out of time before my Sunday night shows started (Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters), so I didn't get back to them. I ended up just moving them over so I could go to sleep last night. I will deal with them tonight when I get home from work. I have to as Hubby will be back from his hunting trip this afternoon and I'm sure he won't be pleased with them piled on his side of the bed!


I have so many really nice work clothes that I think I will end up taking to our local YWCA for women there. I thought about taking them to a consignment shop, but I'd rather donate them to someone who is in need. However, I'm not going to get them pressed. They are all clean, just wrinkled from being tossed to the bottom of my closet.


Hubby did fill his deer tag. He shot a 2x3 buck. I'm sure we'll be skinning and processing it tonight. By we I mean them. I don't cut fresh deer. The last time I did that I about tossed my cookies the smell was so bad. I don't mind cooking it or eating it, but for some reason that fresh smell just turns my stomach.


How was your weekend? Did you get all accomplished that you wanted?

Recipe!

Tonight I made dinner and created a side dish from our garden yummies.

Chopped zucchini sauteed in olive oil with cherry tomatoes, with a bit of garlic powder, salt, pepper and dried basil. Nom nom nom.

Check out this recipe that I posted this morning on Grits, Greens and Everything in Between.

Recipe for zucchini

Hi all, I posted a recipe for fried (or baked) zucchini over on Grits, Greens and Everything in Between. Go check it out!

"White Girl" Chile Rellanos

Tonight I made White Girl Chile Rellanos for dinner. I took pictures and posted the recipe over at Grits, Green and Everything In Between. Go check it out. Here is a teaser for you:

Berry Trifle

I made a Berry Trifle this afternoon. See I told you I need to sew my lips shut! lol

I posted the recipe and photos on Grits, Greens and Everything in Between. Hope you make it and enjoy it!

I'll tease you with one photo, but you'll need to click on the link to get the recipe.

Guest blog post

I was a guest blogger over at Grits, Greens and Everything in Between today. Go and check out the recipe I posted.

Zucchini Lasagna

Tonight I made zucchini lasagna for dinner tonight, sans noodles. I couldn't believe how good it was! I should note that I am not a fan of lasagna, but this stuff was very tasty. By the way, this takes a while to prepare, and it is definitely creates a lot of dishes to wash. But it is so worth it!

For 9 x 13 inch pan, preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Brown:
1 pound 93% lean ground turkey
3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage.

Add:
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Drain fat, and mix meat mixture with:

1 24 ounce jar favorite spaghetti sauce (I used Traditional Prego)

Saute:

8 ounces sliced baby portabella mushrooms
1 small chopped onion
1 orange bell pepper, julienned
1/3 pound thin asparagus, cut in 1" pieces
1 medium carrot, shredded

Set aside in bowl.

Saute in canola oil spray:

6 zucchini, sliced thinly length wise

Mix in separate bowl:

3 cups ricotta cheese (you choose fat level)
1 egg
4 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese, shredded

Place a single layer of the zucchini in the bottom of the 9 x 13 inch pan sprayed with vegetable oil (such as Pam). Top with 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture, 1/2 of the meat sauce mixture, 1/2 of the vegetable mixture. Repeat. End with zucchini.

Top with 12 ounces of sliced fresh Mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 45-60 minutes until set. Remove from oven, cover loosely with aluminum foil, and let sit at least 15 minutes, 30 minutes preferably. Serve with favorite salad and garlic bread.

This will feed a family of six, or two, with several days worth of left overs.

Easter Challenge

So this morning I weighed myself as I normally do on Monday mornings. Ugh.

I thought about lying and just using my weight as of yesterday for the starting weight for the Easter Challenge, but then I thought, what good would lying do for me, for anyone? And the answer I came up with was it would do absolutely no good.

Therefore, I confess to you that I'm up from yesterday's weight. 249.6

I can say that it was the food I ate yesterday - buffet from Country Buffet that included a little bit of apple strudel and ice cream. Or the dinner last night that I had in Cripple Creek of bacon cheddar guacamole burger (no bun) with a few french fries. Or the ritz bitz with cheese. Or the lack of a BM in the last couple of days. But they're all just excuses.

I didn't get this band to allow myself to gorge on food. I got this band so I can lose my excess weight so that I can have a baby. I tend to forget this at times. I also allowed myself to experiment this last week to see what my weight loss would do if I didn't exercise. Now I know, that without exercise, I lost a measly 0.4 pounds. Unacceptable.

But today is a new day! Today also happens to be President's Day, and I'm off work. I will change out of my PJs here in a few and get my butt to exercising! And I've already have in the crock pot for tonight's dinner a healthy recipe.

Crock pot Ranch Chicken (courtesy of juliansmom2003 from lapbandtalk)

Ingredients
4 serving Chicken breast (boneless, skinless)
8 serving Garlic & Herb Marinade
1 serving Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing Mix
1/4 cup Water

Directions
1. Pour water in bottom of crock pot.
2. Add frozen chicken breasts.
3. Combine marinade, ranch dressing mix and pour over top of chicken.
4. Cook on low for 8 hours.
Serve.
Calories: 171, Fat: 4.5g, Protein: 23g

ETA: After having this for dinner tonight, I doubt I will make it again. Way too salty for me. You may be able to adjust the marinade, but not sure how.

Back to the new weight loss challenge. My goal weight for April 4, 2010 is 230 pounds. That means in the next seven weeks I need to lose 19.6 pounds. I know I'm not going to be able to do it by watching what I eat alone, I will have to incorporate exercise into my almost daily regimen. I will also have to stop my indulgences. I was letting myself eat way too many desserts, even if it was just a fraction of what I ate pre-band. That doesn't matter any more.

I'm up for the challenge. I can't remember the last time I weighed 230 pounds. I know back in the early 90's when I joined TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) my starting weight was 227 pounds, but after losing about 41 pounds then, the weight came back and then some, never to be seen since.

I guess I'm going to have to make some changes in my home life. Ever since I bought my lap top computer, I've spent way too much time on Facebook with all the stupid games. I'm going to have to seriously cut back on those things. Sitting in front of my computer is not a good form of exercise.

For the other bandsters out there reading my blog, would you like to join me in the Easter Challenge? You can comment here or on lapbandtalk with what your goal is. But let me know so that I can come by and support you through the next seven weeks. And if you're not a bandster but still want to lose a few pounds, let me know and I'll offer my support to you as well. Shoot, it doesn't matter how we lose the weight, just that we're doing it.

Dessert recipe

Here is the recipe of the dessert I made for yesterday's Super Bowl party. You can always substitute non-diet ingredients for the sugar-free or fat-free ingredients if you're not watching what you eat.

1 box low fat vanilla wafers
3/4 stick of butter

Crush wafers in food processor, add in melted butter, mix then pat into 9x13 inch pan, bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Let cool.

1 8 oz fat free cream cheese
1/2 cup Splenda
1 tsp vanilla

Mix and spread on top of crust.

1 box sugar free banana pudding
1-1/2 cups fat free milk

Mix and spread on top of cream cheese. Let set in fridge for about 20 minutes.

3 bananas - sliced thinly, layer on top of banana pudding

1 box sugar free chocolate fudge pudding
1-1/2 cups fat free milk
1 8 oz contain extra creamy cool whip (I don't like using the fat free cool whip in desserts as it doesn't set well)

Mix pudding and milk till dissolved, add cool whip. Spread over bananas. Let set in fridge for 20 minutes.

Top with dollops of cool whip (I used a cake decorating bag with tip) and chocolate curls (use a vegetable peeler on a large Hershey's bar), one curl per dollop of cool whip.

It was such a pretty dessert and really not bad for you at all. I cut it into 24 pieces. Everyone, including my MIL, like it.

Smoked port chops with pineapple

I made this the other night for dinner. I served it with brown rice. It turned out quite good. I used the ham steak rather than the smoked pork chops.

Cooking spray
1 pound lean, precooked smoked boneless pork chops or ham steaks
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons concentrated chicken broth
1/2 cup water
brown-sugar artificial sweetener (1 teaspoon equivalent)
1/2 cup fresh pineapple, diced
1/2 teaspoon chili powder

In a large nonstick skillet, heat cooking spray until hot but not smoking. Saute pork for 2 minutes on 1 side, turn, and cook for 2 minutes on the other. Remove from pan and keep warm.

Add onions to pan and saute for 2 minutes until soft.

Add balsamic vinegar, concentrated broth, water and brown sugar sweetener, and stir to scrape up any brown bits. Stir in pineapple and chili powder, lower heat, and simmer for 3 minutes.

Plate rice, place chop or ham on top of rice, and spoon sauce over chop.

Serves 4.

Calories 154.55
Protein 22.53 g
Fat 5.11 g
Carbs 5.55 g
Cholesterol 51.03 mg
Fiber 0.7 g
Sodium 1650 mg

(This doesn't include nutritional info from rice.)

Tofu Mexicano

I made this for dinner last night. I used ice berg lettuce to make lettuce wraps out of them.

Cooking spray
2 c. onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 pound extra firm tofu, drained and chopped
1 c. bell pepper, seeded and chopped (I used orange)
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 c. tomatoes, chopped (I used Roma)
1/2 c. low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat cooking spray in a large nonstick ovenproof skillet until hot but not smoking. Cook onion, garlic, cumin and chili powder for 3 minutes, until onion is softened.

Add tofu, bell pepper, jalapeno, and tomatoes and cook about 3 minutes until peppers are softened.

Sprinkle cheese on top and place under broiler for 40 seconds or until cheese melts and becomes bubbly. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve as is or in lettuce leaves. Serves 4.

Calories: 308.84, protein 26.72 grams, fat 16.37 grams, carbs 16.97 grams, cholesterol 20 mg, fiber 5.53 grams, sodium 266.99 mg.

I served this with some fat free refried beans, and then made up some ground beef with same spices for Hubby in case he didn't like this recipe. He ended up putting it all in a tortilla and he said it was good.

Mashed cauliflower recipe

Dagny asked me for the recipe for the mashed cauliflower that I had last week. I am happy to share it with all of you.

Mashed Cauliflower

2 pounds cauliflower, cut into florets, about 8 cups
2 tbs heavy cream
2 tbs sour cream
1 1/2 tbs butter
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Boil the cauliflower in a large pot of salted water for 10-12 minutes, or until tender. Drain.

In batches in your food processor, blend the cauliflower until smooth. Add the sour cream, heavy cream, butter, salt and pepper. Mix until butter is melted. Serve immediately.

I plan on making this for Thanksgiving dinner and am going to modify it just a bit by adding some powdered ranch dressing mix. I think this would make it really tasty.

If you try this, let me know what you think. Hubby actually liked it.