Category: blog posts

A Test Run

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So this is what it would look like! For breakfast I had a Weight Watcher’s creamy chocolate shake (2 points) with 1 cup of fat free milk (2 points) and frozen strawberries as ice cubes blended. For lunch I had a lunch date with my brother at Margarita’s Mexican Restaurant. I had 24 tortilla chips (yes I counted and broke the big ones in half and counted each half!) for 8 points and salsa for 0. I had a chicken fajita taco salad with no shell, extra lettuce, no cheese sauce, no sour cream, salsa and guacamole on the side (which I just had one bite of) and 1/4 cup of shredded cheese. I count the meat as 5 ounces and add an extra point for any oil they may have used. So 6 points for chicken, 3 for cheese, 1 for the bite of gauc, 10 for the whole salad since lettuce, salsa, and peppers and onions are free. I did the eliptical for 30 minutes and earned 9 activity points (did it for 55 minutes yesterday!). I had a post work out snack of a Special K Honey Nut bar (2 points). I rewarded myself with 3 mini chocolate eggs (1 point total). And then… I went to community group! Wednesday nights will likely always be “bad” as food is provided and not in my control! I guess I could eat at home, but I can be smart! I had 2 pieces of Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza (smallish pieces, I counted as 6 points each), 2 pieces of garlic bread (counted 4 points each). And… I splurged and had a cookie (4 points) and brownie (6 points)! I only allowed it because I’d worked out pretty hard core for 2 days! So to wrap it up I used all of my 41 daily points and 14 activity points! Not the best day, but not horrible either. I will admit, taking pictures made me so much more aware and helped me not have that 2nd cookie! I probably won’t be this wordy every time. Or maybe I will… Who knows :). I would like your feedback on if you hate/love/are indifferent/find it annoying about this. It’s really easy to do now that I have the fancy iPhone!

And while I’m feeling chatty, I’d like to share a story. So today when the brother and I went to Margarita’s for our lunch date, I order the same thing I always do. I’ve ordered it this way at least 15 times. I just ordered it to go last week! And I had a horrible turned into great experience today. I know it’s complicated and I know the waiters and the cooks can’t like it, but I’m on this journey for the long haul! This is a lifestyle change and I’m done being ashamed! I will not be scared to ask for my food a certain way or appear to be a high maintenance or picky eater! So every time, I say the same thing: “Chicken fajita taco salad (comes with fajita onions and peppers), no shell, extra lettuce, guacamole, cheese sauce, and sour cream on the side.” They glop it on there! It’s so much and I like little bites of the sour cream and guacamole but in my control. I KNOW it’s high maintenance, and I was embarrassed the first few times. But, it’s my life and my health! Well today, I confidently say what I want and the waiter looks at me in disgust (evident disgust!). He tells me they can’t do it like that, it’s too much work. I tell him I’ve ordered it that way every time I go there. He literally shakes his head at me as I’ve I’m ridiculous. I told him I’d order something else. And then… I had an emotional break down! My brother arrived at about this time and I just lost it and sobbed in the restaurant! This guy made me feel so ashamed! My brother went into big brother mode and wanted to say something, which of course I wouldn’t let him. But he did ask for another waiter. The second waiter was so, so nice and helpful (and I got my salad how I asked for it). We gave him a $10 tip and I wrote him a thank you note. He asked us to sign it and they hung it on the hostess podium! They also gave us our food half priced. So… bad experience that ended good. BUT GAH! Can you believe that guy?! If you are out there and anywhere on a weight loss or health journey, don’t be afraid! Stand up for yourself and be in control. Don’t let stupid waiters or anyone in your life push you into a corner that makes you feel ashamed. Stay focused and encouraged! We can do this.

Food Diary

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Hello lovely followers. So I have a question for you. I know this is my blog and I don’t have to ask permission to do things, but I’d really like your opinion on something. A friend told me of an idea to do a daily food diary as a part of her weight loss journey. She uses it as a way to keep herself accountable to making better choices and owning the bad choices she makes. Would this bug you? Interest you? Annoy you? Motivate you? I love Biggest Loser. It’s a huge motivation for me. I sob like a baby every time I watch it. This past week I was extra sobby! But something Olivia (I think, could have been Hannah) said really stuck with me! She talked about how ashamed she has been for so long before she started her journey. Too ashamed to even ask for help. And she challenged anyone in a similar place or situation to not be afraid to ask for help. I’ve not been secretive about this journey, but if doing something for me that helps me and could motivate others and help them, I’m all for it! Give me your thoughts!

A Little Glimpse Into My Life

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As you know, on January 3rd I started my new job (aka THE BEST JOB EVER) as a Resident Director at Mississippi College. I had the amazing privilege of getting to serve this semester along side some wonderful, beautiful, hilarious, motivating and inspiring Resident Assistants. We became friends, and yes, I was their boss, but far more than that, we became a family. Their smiling faces and contagious laughs are gone for the summer. The brick lined walls of Latimer-Webb are far too quiet now and my door misses those knocks. To end the semester and appreciate their work, we had an End of the Year Banquet. Each RD got to say a few things about their RAs. In honor of them, I’ll share with you what I shared with them. 


I learned a lot. I grew as an RD from training to every experience I encountered. But those six beautiful girls taught me a lot too. 

I’ve learned how to spot a diamond from a mile away, where all the worlds largest diamonds are located and way more about presidents than I ever thought I’d know thanks to Leah Frances. But she also taught me what it looks like to expect the best from people and not settle for less than that. I learned that being a ninja is is not an easy job and only people as cool as Kristen can do it (she actually is a ninja and could kill us all with one karate move!). But I also learned from her how to see the beauty in everyone and that each person, no matter how different, is worthy of our efforts. Thanks to Amanda I now know that the sky turns green before tornadoes and I’ve also never had to watch the weather since we had our very own Lat-Webb weather girl. But I also learned how to see the bright and positive side of every situation. I learned that any word can be abbreviated like totes for totally and awk for awkward and that wearing hippy headbands is totes cool thanks to Mary Kathryn and EB. But from Mary Kathryn I also learned to find God in everything and rely on his Word more. And EB by example has shown me that it’s okay to say what you think and feel. I also learned that perfection really is possible, from Katie, who is always on time, always volunteers, and always does her best. But I also learned from her to do things with excellence to reflect the abilities and talents God has given you.


From being a family with these girls I’ve learned that it’s possible to loose at least five pounds from laughing. I’ve learned how to be the church outside the church and with each other. We learned to love God and His Word more. I learned how to see the world and life with fresh hope. We learned how to do the best and be the best at the places God has you and positions he blesses you with. And I learned how to be a family, love, and trust a group of girls who truly are like sisters to one another and little sisters to me. 

I can’t imagine a better RA staff to have the joy and privilege of serving as my first time as an RD! My expectations will forever be high because of the bar you’ve set. I miss you all!

Chicken Likes to Play Dress Up

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Chicken, chicken, chicken, chicken. It’s a lean mean you eat a lot if you try to eat healthy. It can get boring if you’re only making chicken the same ways every time. It likes to play dress up! The possibilities are endless. Challenge yourself to not cook chicken the same way for a month or even 3!


Coconut Chicken
3 (5 oz) chicken breasts cut into 3 tenders (9 tenders)
6 tbsp shredded coconut
1/4 cup crushed puffed wheat cereal crumbs (can also use panko or bread crumbs
2 tbsp crushed bran flake crumbs (can use cornflakes)
1/3 cup egg substitute or egg whites
salt, pepper, chicken magic
olive oil spray


Mix together crushed puffed wheat, bran flakes, and coconut. Season chicken. Dip each tender in egg and then in coconut mixture. Place a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet. Lightly spray the rack and place tenders on the cooling rack. You can place them directly on the baking sheet, but I find when you are looking for a crispy texture using the cooling rack works better. Lightly spray the tenders with olive oil cooking spray. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until cooking through, turning once. 


I mixed together honey mustard and spicy brown mustard for a yummy dipping sauce. It’s only 8 points for 3 tenders. 




Chicken Cordon Bleu
Well, a lighter “fake” version, but supper yummy! And only 3 points per piece.


4 (5-6oz) chicken breasts
24 deli thin slices of ham
6 wedges of lite Laughing Cow swiss cheese
Chicken Magic
Cooking spray
Toothpics


Slice each chicken breast into 3 thin cutlets, which gives you 12 pieces. They should look like the second picture here. My recipe is adapted from this one, do not exact. Mine is less points and less work! And everyone loved it.


Season each side of chicken with chicken magic (or salt and pepper if you prefer). Places two slices of ham on chicken and smear have of a wedge of the cheese on top. Roll the chicken and secure with toothpicks. See third picture of that blog’s recipe for example. If you wanted to do breading at this point you could, but I didn’t. It would increase the point value.


Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish and place chicken seam down. Lightly spray each roll up and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Low Fat Chicken Enchiladas

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Ingredients
1 lb chicken – 15 pts
olive oil cooking spray
1 onion
1 tbsp lime juice
chicken Magic
salt and pepper
cumin
8 low-carb tortillas – 16 pts
1 1/2 cups low fat cheese – 12 pts
1/4 cup Brummel and Brown low fat yogurt buttery spread stuff – 4 pts.
1/4 cup flour – 4 pts
15 oz of chicken broth
1 cup ff sour cream – 4 pts
1 can green chilies

Total = 55 points divided by 8 enchiladas = 7 points per enchilada (big and stuffed enchiladas!)

Directions
Liberally spray pan with cooking spray. Chop and saute chicken and chopped onion. Sprinkle chicken and onion mixture with chicken magic seasoning, salt, pepper, and cumin (I eye ball it, just liberally coat the top of the mixture with each, if I had to guess I’d say start with 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp of chicken magic, 1/8 tsp of cumin). Once chicken is mostly cooked, add about 1-2 tbsp of lime juice (again, I eyeball it, but it’s to taste really. Lime is the secret ingredient than makes Mexican dished taste Mexican).

Allow mixture to cool enough to touch it. Divide mixture into 8 equal parts. It’s usually a heavy 1/4 cup.  Sprinkle 1 1/2 tbsp of cheese (3/4 cup divided) inside each enchilada. Roll the chicken mixture and cheese in each tortilla. Place them seam side down in a 9 x 13 sprayed baking dish.

Let 1/4 cup of the low fat buttery spread melt in a a sauce pan. Add 1/4 cup of flower to melted butter and wisk until smooth (making a roux). Add chicken brown and wisk until smooth. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add 1 cup of fat free sour cream and 1 can of green chillies. Pour sauce over enchiladas. Top with remaining 3/4 cup of cheese and bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until sauce at edges is bubbly and cheese is melted.

These make HUGE enchiladas. One really is enough. If you’re really hungry 2 will for sure fill you and 14 points for two is not bad either for that much food. I’d suggest 1 with a veggie side or even brown rice. You can lighten it even more with fat free cheese instead of reduced fat, but it was too rubbery for me! I also tried making the sauce with just chicken stock instead of flour and water and I do not recommended that!

A Catch Up Involving No Ketchup!

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A. I’m so behind! I have so so so many recipes to share. So in order to catch up, I’m strictly going to post recipe after recipe for a bit, no fluffy commentary. But don’t you worry! Fluffy commentary will be back. 

B. I have nothing against ketchup, I quite like it actually. I’m just currently stuck on mustard. It’s 0 points and super yummy! Currently in my fridge you can find 5 different kinds!  1. Regular Yellow Mustard 2. Spicy Brown Mustard 3. Southwest Mustard 4. Honey Mustard 5. Dijonaise Mustard. 

Okay, down to business! I’m gonna post a few of my new favorite things here that have become staples for me! I’ll try to group recipes in categories for the next few posts so it’s not a huge overload in one post. 


My new favorite way to make Iced Coffee: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/27/dining/276drex.html?_r=1! It keeps longer because it’s cold brewed and it’s sooo worth the effort (which isn’t much). I made a double batch and let it cold brew in a mason jar. I set my strainer over a bowl and lined it with two coffee filters. Strain once, rinse out jar, rinse out the strainer, pour bowl coffee back into jar, set up strainer with two more coffee filters, and strain again. I pour it right back in the jar and kept it that way. To sweeten mine I’m a BIG fan of Splenda sweetened coffee syrups. I plan to collect them all, but only have the sugar free caramel right now. I also tried coffee ice cubes! Take 1 part cold brewed coffee concentrate and 1 part water and freeze in ice trays! No more watered down coffee.


I made my favorite pot roast recipe found in a  previous post again this week. It never fails to be amazing! And good news for Weight Watchers, the only points you count are for the roast! I used some left over roast to make a super yummy roast beef sandwich! Toasted the bread, spread some spicy brown mustard, piled on 4 oz of roast beef, topped with green onions and a little blue cheese. I dipped it in some of the left over juice. So good!  


Spiced Carrots! My new favorite side. Carrots are, of course, 0 points on Weight Watchers. I used to love making “candied” carrots with brown sugar and cinnamon and butter. Well now… I make a just as yummy substitute! I have used frozen crinkle carrots and fresh baby carrots, both work well. I just put the carrots in a pan with some water, not enough to cover them completely, cover them about half way. Then I spray about 20 sprays of Parkay 0 Calorie butter spray. When they start to cooked down I liberally sprinkle cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper, and a few packets of Splenda on them. The perfect side to any meal and 0 points!


My other favorite side that is a staple, particularly when I  cook for my RAs (they always request them!) is Italian Green beans. I buy the steam in the bag whole green beans and cook them per package instructions in the microwave. Once finished, I put them in a heated pan and pour fat free Italian dressing all over them. For 1 bag I’d use about 1/4 of the bottle. Cook them for a bit until the dressing starts to bubble and the liquid decreases. Very flavorful and about 1 point per serving. 


Some other fun staple Weight Watcher friendly products I’m a fan of: 

1. Brummel and Brown Natural Yogurt Spread. It’s only 1 point per tbsp! I sat in the grocery store and measured all the different ones. It’s definitely the lowest and really yummy! Great to substitute for butter or margarine in recipes. 

2. Fat Free Cool Whip: Walmart does not have a generic brand but Kroger does! 

3. Strawberries with melted semi sweet chocolate chips. Such a satisfying dessert fix! Strawberries are 0 points and 1 tbsp of chocolate chips are 2 points. 

4. Cottage Cheese: Okay, so I THOUGHT I didn’t like cottage cheese, but decided to give it another try. I LOVE IT! I love it with pears and peaches, BUT I love it in savory ways too. I love it on my salads! 1/4 cup of fat free cottage cheese is just 1 point. I’ve also tried it on baked potatoes, which is also super yummy! Cheap and you get in one of your dairy servings for the day. 

5. Sugar free pudding and jello: I always keep a made up batch of sugar free pudding of some flavor and sugar free jello mixed with no sugar added can fruit in my fridge. The sugar free pudding is just 2 points per serving. I also often make them into a mousse if it’s the right flavor. The sugar free lemon makes a yummy mousse mixed with fat free cool whip. They have so many flavors! Pistachio, lemon, vanialla, french vanilla, chocolate, cheesecake, etc! Sugar free jello is 0 points! The fruit is 0 also. I like to add fruit because it stretches it and makes it more exciting. My favorite combos are orange jello with pineapples, lime jello with fruit cocktail, and strawberry jello with peaches. 

6. Mandolin: Okay, not a food item, but a life saver! I discovered that if I wash, slice, and store all of my produce when I get it home from the store, it lasts longer! I don’t know if it actually lasts longer or if I just eat it quicker, but whatever the case, it works! Makes preparing a salad or packing a lunch so quick and easy. Last weeks selections were green onions, cantaloupe, apples,  strawberries, and cucumbers. Also had grape tomatoes washed and read in the fridge. 

7. Good tupperware: Again, not food, but vital! It makes storing your produce fun, keeps everything fresh, and makes for easy portion controlled lunches and snacks. I discovered a secret to making the BIG cheaper bag of lettuce from Sam’s last longer. Buy it it’s own big tupperware. Wet and wring out paper towels to line the tupperware with, place lettuce in tupperware, cover with more damp paper towels. My super big bag of romaine (for $2.98 at Sam’s) lasts completely through my two week grocery period. I LOVE my new tupperware. Got it from Sam’s for $19.98. It’s a 50 piece rubbermaid set with the locking lids! The lids actually lock to the bottom of the container.

And I leave you with a picture of my OCD organized refrigerator. That’s the big lettuce container guy on the bottom. 1.5 gallon. 


Grilled Cheese and Jesus

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Not to be confused with Glee’s craziness, Grilled Cheesus. Love that show, but not that episode! But Jesus and sandwiches have been a big part of my life lately. My job challenges me daily. My RAs are amazing young women who love the Lord and make me want to love him more and more. We’ve been going through the book of Roman’s together and it’s just been so rewarding.

I love love love my job. I love my life! Being surrounded by a positive atmosphere makes such a difference in my life. Since February 1st I’ve lost 19.6 lbs! I’m a much healthier person all around. I’m LOVING Weight Watchers. It’s somehow like magic to me. It really works! Because they are an easy, light lunch or dinner, I have been eating a lot of sandwiches lately. If you make them right they can be really substantial, not a lot of points, and yummy! I use Sara Lee 45 calorie multi-grain bread. It’s 1 point per slice instead of 2! My bread, and yours, can be a blank canvas for a yummy and satisfying meal!

Some of my favorite additions…
-1 wedge of Laughing Cow Garlic and Herb cheese spread on one side (1 point). Their are also lots of other varieties, Chipotle, Blue Cheese, Sun-dried Tomato and Basil. I intend to try them all! A 3 pack at Sam’s is $6.
-Honey Mustard, Spicy Brown Mustard, any variety of mustard (0 points).
-Slivers of red onion (0 points).
-Thin slices of Granny Smith apple (0 points).
-Lettuce, Tomato, or pickles (0 points).

AND my favorite addition to any sandwich that just seems to take it from a blah sandwich to a perfect meal…

I spray the outside of the bread with Parkay spray butter (0 points), sprinkle the bread with dried parsley, basil, and a little bit of reduced fat parmesan and toast it! I use an electric panini grill. You can use a sandwich maker or just a skillet! I promise, try it! Paint a beautiful picture on the bread canvas. Yes sandwiches are going to be boring and no fun if you eat the same old plain sandwich every day!

Tell me that doesn’t look good?! That whole yummy sandwich is just 5 points! That particular one has lettuce, granny smith apples, red onion slivers, garlic and herb cheese, honey mustard, and mesquite deli turkey with the ungraded bread. Served with a salad of romaine, cottage cheese, tomatoes, green onions, deli turkey, sun-dried tomato dressing, and fat free cheddar and the rest of the granny smith apple on the side. Total meal = 9 points.

Another fun WW friendly recipe I’ve tried recently is an open face tuna melt. It was sooo yummy! I did it exactly like this recipe: Skinny Tuna Melt.

Last favorite tip of the day. A lot of fresh veggies are 0 points. I LOVE 0 point things. But there’s only so many bites of raw broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, or celery you can take before it feels like you are forcing yourself to chew and swallow. So a simple thing I always keep in my fridge now to make fresh veggies an enjoyable snack is fat free ranch dip! Who doesn’t love those veggie trays and dipping your veggies in yummy ranch? If you make it with a dry ranch packet and a 16 oz container of fat free sour cream it’s only 1 point for a 1/4 cup. It may not sound like a lot, but that amount is perfect for a good portion of carrots or celery or broccoli or whatever you like!

A diet can be boring and feel depriving and make you hungry and angry and defeated! Don’t diet. Make simple, yummy, exciting lifestyle changes that you look forward too. A spiced up sandwich and salad really are more filling than any combo meal you can get at a drive thru. Change some things up! Low fat, fat free, or Weight Watcher friendly foods do not mean tasteless, boring meals! Be brave. Be bold. Let food be an exciting adventure. Experiment!

It was the end of a decade, but the start of an age.

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*Plops down and begins to ramble on endlessly about changes, new things, food, and Taylor Swift*

Well, I have neglected you Julie. (In case you forgot, like I did, Julie is the blog’s name. I had to go back and remind myself what I re-named her.) But… in my defense I did move to a new state, live in a new apartment, have a new job, and am eating a new diet. I gave you a pretty make-over! That counts for something right? Okay good. I’m glad we settled that!

In case you haven’t heard, I moved! I was living in Slidell and had been a social work case manager for a year. God definitely used me, I learned so much and grew as a professional and a person. Everything just sort of perfectly (and divinely) fell in to place for the new job. I am now a Resident Director at my Alma mater. Which means I’m the “grown-up” that lives in a female residence hall at Mississippi College. There are a lot more details about the job I could bore you with, but that’s the jest.

Moving was a roller coaster of crazy! I love love love my church and the family I’ve made in Slidell. It was impossibly hard to leave, but God continuously affirmed that this was where he was leading, and continues to do so every passing day. I can’t tell you how many times I listened to this one song on Taylor Swift’s newest cd’s and just cried my eyes out! I even had to pull the car over a few times. I am an expert crier. The song is called Long Live. She wrote it to her band about the night they won several awards at one of those award shows. It captures the perfect sentiment of how I feel about my time in Slidell and just the journey of life and faith in general.


“And you take a moment… Promise me this: That you’ll stand by me forever. But if God forbid fate should step in and force us into a goodbye, if you have children someday, when they point to the pictures, please tell them my name… Long live the walls we crashed through. All the kingdom lights shined just for me and you. I was screaming, ‘long live all the magic we made.’ Long live all the mountains we moved. I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you. I was screaming, ‘long live the look on your face.'” 

Of course I haven’t said “goodbye” to any of them, but it’s a change. I’m probably not the best person when it comes to change. But not all change is bad. Not every move is goodbye. Looking back over the last four years of my life that the body of Christ at Northshore Church invested in and became such a huge part of, I can’t help but to remember it all with such joy! I see the “walls we crashed through.” I see how the “Kingdom (big K of God’s kingdom as opposed to the little k in the song) lights shined on us.” I see “the mountains GOD moved.” I did have the “time of my life fighting dragons with you.” Okay so not literal dragons. But the struggles of life! And the fun times of life. They aren’t over either, just further away. Family is forever. All of life is like this! Being back on a college campus, I can’t help but think of the time I was here with my friends (who are still my best friends!). We too had the time of our lives “fighting dragons” together. We continue to do so every time we reunite. Life is a big, on-going book.

The beginning of the song also says, “it was the end of the decade, but the start of an age.” It was the end of December when I moved, the end of 2010. My new job started on January 3rd, the beginning of 2011. I got so excited as I thought about using that as my “I moved” blog title, thinking it was so relevant and perfect. Then I realized 2010 was not the end of a decade. Duh. I decided to use it anyway in honor of one of my many “oh.. wait” moments. There are no ends though. Just new chapters in the book of life, which luckily is not over yet. Former chapters can always be revisited (and will be in a couple weekends!).

So I’m here, in Clinton, Mississippi at the best college ever! I LOVE my job. I studied women’s ministry at seminary. How perfect is it that I get to live in an all girl residence hall at a college?! I have a nice little kitchen too! I get to cook and bake for people often. I get to invest in the lives of girls. It’s just great. I’ve gotten gas in car once since I’ve moved here! AND my apartment is really cute! Soon I’m going to buy a camera (mine has been broken for a couple years) so I can take pictures of the apartment and my food.

Speaking of food… I started Weight Watchers two weeks ago. One of the wellness benefits of working here is that every two years they will pay for you to do Weight Watchers at Work if you want. There was no way I was passing up that opportunity. In two weeks I’ve lost 7 lbs! I’m actually really enjoying it. The tracking feeds my obsession with organizing nicely. So my recipes will likely all be Weight Watcher friendly now :). It’s a trial and error process as I try new recipes and tweak things. I do have a recipe for you today though! It’s a dessert of course. My weakness will always be sweets. I love baking for others and inevitably when you bake for others you eat some too! I decided to try a Weight Watcher muffin/cupcake recipe I found. They are 5 points for a normal size muffin or 2 points for a mini. Which is really good considering a small piece of cake with icing is 14 points! In case you aren’t familiar with Weight Watchers, based on your height, weight, gender, and age you are a assigned a daily points value. You can eat whatever you want as long as you have the points for it. So obviously you aren’t going to waste half of your points for the entire day on one piece of cake. But don’t get scared! All fruits and most veggies are zero points. It’s such a doable “diet” that doesn’t feel like a diet at all. No starving!

Pumpkin Muffins/Cupcakes

1 box of Spice Cake mix
1 15 oz can of pumpkin

Chocolate Muffins/Cupcakes

1 box of any kind of Chocolate Cake mix
1 15 oz can of pumpkin

Mix. Fill cupcake liners. Bake as directed on box. THAT’S IT! Did I mention how easy they were? The chocolate ones don’t taste like pumpkin at all and the pumpkin ones taste perfectly warm and cozy spicy and pumpkiny. I dusted the chocolate ones with powdered sugar and the pumpkin ones with cinnamon sugar. I tested them on my Resident Assistants today and they loved them too. You really can’t tell they are way less fat and calories. Just make sure you let them cool completely before dusting them and storing them. Mine got sticky. Yummy, but sticky.

If you are looking for low-fat recipes I HIGHLY recommend the blog http://www.skinnytaste.com/. I’m loving this blog right now and intend to try out so many of the recipes. She posts the Weight Watchers point values and nutrition information with each recipe.

In other exciting news, my blog is going to be listed on http://foodieblogroll.com/! I’m really excited. It’s basically a database for all people who have blogs about food. It will maybe give me some publicity and other neat opportunities. Plus it’s a cool community of fellow cooks, bakers, and foodies.

Last thing! I am also blogging at bloggingSHE.com. I am a member of a team called SHE, which stands for Sending Her Equipped. We do quarterly women’s events that are just great! They each have a SHE acronym (Scaling Her Everest, Shedding Her Excuses, Shaping her Expectations, Strengthening Her Endurance, etc.). We are trying to build a SHE community and the blog is really good! Several of our teachers (including me) blog for the site. Check it out if you have time.

I promise to blog more! Or I promise to try. I made one New Year’s Resolution. It was to paint more. As I was packing to move I realized I hadn’t painted anything in the entire year of 2010. I think I want to change it to create more! Paint more, write more, cook more, create more.

Recipes Continued!

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STEWED SQUASH 

I don’t really know the definition of stewed, but we called it stewed in my family!

I use fresh squash from the grocery store, but you could use frozen too. Fresh is better though! Cut of the ends and slice the squash. Cut up a sweet onion, yellow is my favorite with it. If you want it to be REALLY yummy fry two or three pieces of bacon first. If you do that, add the onion and squash then with a little butter or margarine.  If you don’t do bacon, put a little butter or margarine in the pan and just start cooking the squash and onion down. Cook it on high first, tossing it a bit, until the onions start to not be so tough. Add a water and cover it and cook it on low. And as always, add salt and pepper. Don’t add a lot of water, you can always add more but you can’t take out. Just very little, enough so it doesn’t stick to the pan and burn. The squash will be tender and yummy when it’s done.

STEWED CABBAGE 

You make this pretty much just like the squash. Chop your cabbage up pretty small. Not like cabbage small, but small. Add some butter or olive oil to the pan. Once it’s warm add one chopped sweet onion and chopped cabbage. Toss it around until cabbage starts to wilt a little. Then add water. With the cabbage you can add more than with the squash, cover the bottom of the pan with water, but just barely. Turn on low, cover, and let it cook! It’s will melt down into yumminess. Add salt and pepper. You can do bacon with the cabbage too if you want.

CROCK POT SMOTHERED PORK CHOPS
 
Totally just made this up because I didn’t want to cook when I got home and wanted to use the crock pot. I cut up two onions, 1 red and 1 yellow and tossed them in the bottom of the crock pot. I rinsed some pork chops (which were actually pork steaks on the label but looked and tasted like chops with a different kind of bone or something) and put them on top of the onion. I poured a can of mushrooms with juice on top and then 1 can of fat free cream of mushroom soup and a half a can of water on top of that. Turned the crock pot on low and let it cook while I was at work. It was really yum! The meat all just fell of the bone and it had really good flavor.

Black Bean and Corn Salad I just threw this together to have a side dish with quesadillas. Simple. It’s nothing magical or fancy, but a good quick, cheap side dish for Mexican meals. 1 or 2 cans of black beans drained and rinsed, depending on the corn to bean ratio you like. 1 can of corn drained. 1 small red onion chopped. Salt, pepper, garlic powder. If you have lemon or lime juice squeeze some of that in. Drizzle just a tad bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar to your taste preferences. Can add up to a 1/4 cup of balsamic. If you don’t have balsamic you could use Italian dressing. Add some cilantro if you like and have it. Let it chill for 15-30 minutes for all the flavors to marry. You can also add green onions and chopped bell pepper if you want, or even some chopped tomato. Use what you have and want! I did mine with just beans, corn, onion, seasonings, olive oil, and vinegar.

STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS

Simple, yummy, and impressive! You can stuff them with whatever you like. I usually do spinach, onions, and Monterey jack cheese. You could do a laughing cow cheese wedge, cheddar, mozzarella, whatever you like. Or no cheese at all! You could really stuff it with anything you like, mushrooms, olives (eww for me), capers (always ew), a sauce, etc. The sky is the limit.

So you need your stuffing stuff and chicken breasts, how every many you want to make. If you want to butterfly the breasts you can, but I’m not very good at that. Knives scare me. So I choose a more fun method! Smash! Pound! I  place a chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap, break out the good ol’ mallet and pow! Pound it until its flattened and thin-ish. 1/2  or 3/4 inch maybe? I’m a horrible judge of inches and such. Sounds right. I mean not paper thin or thin enough to rip, but thin.

Season the chicken on both sides. I use salt, pepper, and Chef Paul’s Magic Chicken Seasoning. You can use whatever you want and whatever flavors work with your stuffing. Next, lay out your stuffing items and roll the chicken breast up tightly. Stick in a tooth pick to keep it secure. Place chicken seam side down in a baking dish. Bake at 350 for 30ish minutes. It depends on your oven. Remove toothpicks before serving. You can serve them whole. For a pretty presentation for entertaining, slice the breast in little rounds. It’s really pretty. You can see the swirl of the yummy stuff inside.

Funny tip: If you use colored toothpicks, your chicken will be pretty and colorful aka look silly. If you aren’t trying to impress and it’s just family, who cares. But just fyi, use non-colored ones if entertaining.

CROCK POT COUNTRY BBQ RIBS 

This is the skeleton recipe I use to make these ribs. I’ve made them using everything listed and leaving some things out when I didn’t have them. I prefer it without the diced tomatoes. It also tastes fine without bell pepper if you don’t have it. I just use regular cider vinegar, I don’t know if it’s different from dark or not, but tastes fine too me. I think it would be fine with any kind of vinegar that you have really, and even without if you don’t have it.

http://www.food.com/recipe/tasty-crock-pot-bbq-country-style-pork-ribs-60052

 
TURKEY NUGGETS 

I try to work in at least one turkey breast cutlet meal in my monthly meals. I was trying to not do the same baked, shake-n-baked, etc, method. The turkey cutlets are cheap and yummy and I love turkey. It’s a good variety to the normal meats we eat and use often. So I sliced the turkey cutlets into little nugget sized pieces. I gave them a milk bath and then a seasoned flour dip. I did a mix of flour, cayenne, bread crumbs, parmesan, salt, pepper, and Chef Paul’s Chicken Magic. Then I coated the pan in about an inch of a mixture of olive oil and vegetable oil, let it get hot and fried them. It wasn’t a deep fry, but not a sauté either. I put them on paper towels to get excess oil off and patted them with another napkin to get even more. Yummy with some homemade honey mustard (honey + mustard is all I use and how I like it, I don’t like it with mayo).

BEEF KABOBS

I actually found premade beef kabobs on sale at my local grocery story and cheated and used those. But it’s simple. Skewers. Beef cut into pieces. Bell peppers cut into pieces. Onions cut into pieces. You can use mushrooms too if you want. I made a marinade of orange zest, lime juice, salt, pepper, worcheshire sauce, and red pepper flakes and let them sit in that for a couple of hours (could do longer if you had it, even overnight). I grilled mine. Before grilling I sprinkled on some steak rub seasoning. I turned them to get the nice yummy grill marks on each side. I ate mine with A1 because I LOVE A1.

ROASTED CHICK PEAS 

These are really yummy as a snack! Just in a bowl like peanuts or trail mix at a party would be great too. I made them with my meal and loved them as well.

Drain 2 cans of chick peas then spread them out on some paper towels. With another paper towel dry them. Just run it over, rolling them around, getting them as dry as you can. Cover a cookie sheet in tin foil and transfer chick peas to the cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil and toss the chick peas around to coat them in the olive oil. Sprinkle with Tony’s or Greek Seasoning or cayenne pepper, you can  use whatever seasoning you like. Roast them in the over on 400 for 10 – 15 minutes. Check them every five minutes. They can burn easily and quickly. You want them to have a slight crunch.

BEST GRAVY EVER

I was so so so proud of this gravy. I’ve made gravy, but never this good. It really is all about the elbow grease and perseverance. The best method is to use the pan you used to make some sort of meat and use the drippings. I wasn’t making meat, so I decided I try “seasoning” the pan by frying up some onions I’d use in the gravy. I coated the bottom of the pan with olive oil just barely and sliced up two onions. I sautéed them down REALLY well. I let the pan and the onions get caramelized. I took out all the onions to save for later. I added two heaping tablespoons of flower to the pan and began to wisk. And wisk. And wisk. And wisk. Elbow grease. Keep going and going and going. Let your flour brown, not burn! But brown. Not light brown, but a medium to dark brown. When you think it’s brown enough, go a little longer! When you really are happy with the browningness (yes, I made up a word), keep wisking and start to slowly add broth. You can use whatever, I used chicken because it’s what I always have on hand. You can use water as well if you don’t have broth. Slowly add it so you can dissolve all your yummy browned flour. Add a can of broth, or about 1 cup and 3/4ths. I added just a tad of beef bullion granules since I used chicken broth. Salt and pepper to taste. Taste it! Add what it needs. I added a little parsley too. I then added the onions back. Was the best gravy ever!

POTATO SALAD 

I have no measurements. I just tasted and made it how I like it to taste. I washed and quartered red potatoes, leaving the skins on. Boiled them until tender, but not super mashed potato worthy tender, a little more stiff than that. I drained them and let them sit in the drainer cooling so they kept a little of their shape. Once cool, I put them in a bowl and added some mayo, a  little mustard, some sour cream, chopped some sweet and dill pickles, grated some onion in, added some dried dill, salt, and pepper. It’s all about you and what you like. Like it creamy? Add more mayo or wet stuff. Like more mustard? Add it. Don’t like pickles? Don’t add them. Make it your own! I like it with red potatoes, with skins, chunky, and not too creamy.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CUPCAKES WITH BANANA BUTTERCREAM 

These are so yum! The have great depth and texture from the addition of crunchy peanut butter and chocolate chips. I made the cupcakes exactly like this recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/chocolate-peanut-butter-cupcakes-264752. The only difference was I made mini cupcakes because they feed more people usually are are just cute!

You could top them with a cream cheese icing, or just a buttercream icing or chocolate icing. I was really hooked on the idea of a banana icing. The idea of chocolate, peanut butter, and banana made me just so excited! But I couldn’t find a banana icing recipe. The icing was trial and error and will probably be for you too, BUT I think I got a recipe down. I haven’t tried it again since “perfecting” it, but I think it should work well. If it doesn’t, do you own trial and error and have fun eating the mess ups!

What ended up working the best was taking a buttercream recipe and altering it a bit to add the banana. It wouldn’t make it until second day, but it was soooo good first day.

1 banana
1/2 cup butter, softened (you can use margarine but the flavor will not be the same)
2 2/3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/3 cup half-and-half (can use cream and milk or just cream or just milk)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
banana chips (optional)

Ok cut the banana into thirds, or big pieces, and mix it until it’s mush. I just put it in my stand mixer and let it mix. Could easily do it with a hand mixer as well if you don’t have a stand mixer.
Cream butter with banana. Blend in remaining ingredients until desired consistency. If it’s too runny, add more powdered sugar. Spoon icing into a ziplock back and snip off the end. Pipe icing unto cupcakes. You can top with pieces of banana chips. Crowd pleaser! Everyone that had them loved them. The banana compliments the chocolate peanut butter flavors soooo well!

S’MORES BARS

My cousin Marissa and I made these a couple years ago and just LOVED them. I mean it really is s’mores without the fire. I make it just like the recipe usually, but I do prefer dark chocolate bars to milk chocolate bars. The milk chocolate is a little too rich for me. The dark chocolate is more bitter so not as sweet. This time I also used homemade marshmallow fluff in place of marshmallows. But you can do it either way. It’s a perfect end of summer beginning of autumn dessert. Also would be great for a rainy, cold day inside with hot cocoa.

http://www.food.com/recipe/smores-bars-169114

Recipes, Recipes, Recipes

2 Comments

More recipes! My lovely friend, Sam Jones, has requested quite a list of the listed recipes. I could just email them to her… Or I could post them here for everyone to enjoy! I chose that option.

Chicken Ranch Cheeseball

  • Difficulty: EASY
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INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 big can of canned white meat chicken
  • 1 package of dry ranch dressing mix
  • 1 package of cream cheese, softened
  • 1 small package of nuts (I liked chopped pecans or sliced walnuts best)

DIRECTIONS:

Drain chicken and shred in a bowl with a fork, it comes out of the can in chunky pieces. Mix thoroughly with cream cheese and ranch mix. I use a fork and just stir and smash and stir and smash until it all looks the same. Now… get messy! Scoop all of it up with your hands and roll it into a ball. Roll the ball up in plastic wrap and let chill as long as you can. You can do it as little as 30 minutes or as long as overnight. Roll it in the nuts before serving. If transporting roll in nuts and cover with plastic wrap again. Serve with crackers or toast.

I bring this to almost every potluck or party food type thingy I go to. So easy and EVERYONE loves it.

SCALLOPED POTATOES

I didn’t change this recipe in the slightest. I know it sounds weird and not like traditional scalloped potatoes and like it won’t be cheesy but oh my stars it’s good! Don’t change it! The thyme and nutmeg make it. It’s so good! Perfect for a Thanksgiving side dish. AND I mean… hello… Tyler Florence made it! My once-upon-a-time-future-husband-until-I-realized-he-was-married made it!

Please DO NOT try to slice all these potatoes by hand! I started doing that, and then realized my cheese grater has a slicer on the slide. Use a slicer! There is no way you can get them as thin as they should be by hand plus it is way quicker!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/scalloped-potato-gratin-recipe/index.html

Stuffed Turkey Burgers

  • Servings: 2-3
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INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 lb of ground turkey
  • seasonings
  • 1 egg
  • bread crumbs (or crushed crackers)
  • sliced onion
  • sliced mozzarella (or any cheese you like)
  • spinach leaves
  • mushrooms
  • whatever you want to stuff with!

DIRECTIONS:

1 lb makes two BIG burgers or 3 medium burgers. 4 are doable, but they are really small and hard to form with the stuffed stuff (that’s fun to say). Mix meat and what ever seasonings you like (I used Tony’s, red pepper flakes, onion powder, garlic powder, and parsley flakes). Use seasonings generously. Turkey is blander than ground beef. Mix in the egg and a little bread crumbs to make it stick and hold. If you are making 2 burgers, separate meat into 4 equal sections. If you are making 3 burgers, separate into 6 sections. Flatten our each section. Take one section and top with a slice or wedge of cheese, sliced onions, spinach leaves, etc. Don’t use too much! It won’t close if you do. Take another flattened section and place it on top. Fold and mash the edges together until all the stuffed stuff goodness is packaged inside the meat. You can grill these or bake them. I’ve done it both ways. If you bake, bake at 350 for 30ish minutes. You have to judge your oven. Turkey is poultry so make sure it is done, but don’t overcook. Just watch it close. On the grill 7-10 minutes on each side. Yummy on a bun or without! I like them with A1 too. Good with homemade onion rings or sweet potato fries or potato salad!

THE SECRET LIFE OF HUMMUS

So… I LOVE hummus. Like, I know you say you love hummus, but I REALLY LOVE hummus. The Sabra brand in the store and one other are the only ones that compare to real Mediterranean hummus (or the restaurant versions I’ve experienced). They are supper yum and I could eat the whole container with a spoon, BUT it’s still not as good as the restaurant one. I’ve attempted to make hummus before, and it was okay, but just not as good. I discovered a year or so ago that tahini is the secret to hummus. Since that discovery, I have been on the hunt for tahini. Who knew it was so hard to find where I live?! I finally found it at a gas station, of all places, in Slidell that sales Mediterranean food. It looks like a jar of liquidy peanut butter. I followed the recipe I found exactly except for one fun fact the guy at the gas station told me!

This very nice Mediterranean man told me the secret to great hummus! It sounds crazy… but it works! So follow the recipe but make two small adjustments. Before you dump the chick peas in the food processor, heat them up just a little bit. Maybe like 45 seconds. Just enough to give them a little warmth. And then… the secret! Add 1 cup of ice. Yes ICE! It sounds crazy but somehow it works! It makes is silky smooth just like they serve it in Mediterranean restaurants. Mix all the ingredients with the ice in the food processor until all the ice is crushed. It should be a creamy, smooth, velvety texture. Drizzle a little olive oil on top and sprinkle with paprika or salt and pepper to make it all pretty! Serve with warm pita bread or pita chips or spoons! Okay well only serve it with spoons if I’m there. I told Mr. Nice Mediterranean man that I’d keep the secret, but he gave me permission to share.

http://www.food.com/recipe/hummus-11424

Roasted Pinenut and Feta Couscous

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: EASY
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INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup of couscous
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • salt
  • olive oil
  • 2 ounce bag of pine nuts
  • 1/4 cup of feta cheese
  • juice of two lemons (4 tablespoons)

DIRECTIONS:

Bring chicken stock, salt, and olive oil to a boil. Add couscous, stir, and remove from heat. Cover for 5 minutes then fluff with a fork. Add pine nuts (you could toast them first if you wanted), lemon juice, and feta.

TWICE BAKED POTATOES

 Instead of using 4 big potatoes I used 8-10 small red potatoes. I did it exactly like the recipe. Be careful when you scoop not to break the shell/skin since it holds the filling. I also used Real Bacon bits instead of bacon. These are really good! They are really pretty as well. I topped mine with green onions.

http://www.food.com/recipe/best-twice-baked-potatoes-79595

Hashbrown Casserole

  • Difficulty: EASY
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INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 pounds frozen hash browns
  • 1/2 cup melted margarine
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 cup minced onion
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup
  • 1 pint sour cream
  • 2 cups grated cheese (I use sharp cheddar)

DIRECTIONS:

Thaw potatoes. Mix first 8 ingredients together and place in a 9×13 casserole dish. Add topping. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour. You can use low fat soup and sour cream and 2% cheese for a lower calorie casserole.

This recipe makes a lot! Perfect for a potluck or side disk. I made it for me with baked apples for dinner. I ate leftover MANY times and still had quite a bit to freeze.

Stay tuned! More recipes requested by Sam (and posted for everyone to enjoy) to come!