Friday!!!

I did make the cake yesterday, but Joe is going to have to live with me making something else. I doubled the recipe because it freezes well. The 9inch pan I baked part of it in stuck a bit and the bundt pan I did the rest in stuck horribly! Needless to say, the bundt cake is in pieces in the freezer and the other I coated with a glaze to hold it together! It still tastes great tho! ;) No pictures this time however... I bet the broken pieces will make a fabulous trifle with blueberries and lemon pudding!

I made the Sausage and Peppers again last night and added angel hair pasta. It was outstanding! I even took a pic for the blog! This time I added a small sliced zucchini and the garlic I forgot last time. It was even better! Here's the "official" recipe and the photo:

Sausage and Peppers W/Pasta

4 links Italian sausage

1 large can diced tomatoes

1 red bell pepper, chunked

1 green bell pepper, chunked

1 onion, sliced

1 small zucchini, sliced

2 tsp each dried oregano and basil

1 tbsp minced garlic

Angel Hair pasta, cooked and tossed with EVOO

In an 8x11 baking dish, mix the veggies and herbs. Lay the sausages on top and cover the dish with foil. Bake at 400 degrees for an hour, then remove the foil and bake another 20 minutes or until the sausages brown a bit and are cooked thoroughly.

Serve on top of the pasta and top with a little shredded Parmesan if desired (highly recommended!).

So Dad checked my blog yesterday! Guess he knew I was thinking about him, eh? I can't wait until July when we can take a weekend and go visit them in the new house. It's going to be so nice having them only 4 hours away instead of 14! Sam is very excited about going camping with them sometime this summer. Can't imagine why... His Gramps was the first person to take him camping! We just have to convince Sam that it's okay to camping somewhere other than Arches... That may take time!

Sam took this picture of Miss Charlie last night. She must be part ferret, she is always sitting up like this! I even catch Max doing it too from time to time. They are truly bizarro kitties! I'm very happy that her mark on her forehead isn't fading anymore. The Eiffel Tower is too cute to disappear!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Swimtop and dinner...

I got my swimtop yesterday! It's really nice too! I ended up spending almost $80 after shipping, but it got here in 3 days and I got a free beach bag with it. Here is the link top what I bought, I got the black one- http://www.junonia.com/detail.htm?sid=537005&tl=1&ldid=2&sdid=5 It looks great with the boyshort bottoms I bought at Walmart. I am trying it out today. Sam passed his level in swimming yesterday, so today is a free day and I'm going to swim with him.

Last night I made a pretty tasty dinner. I have a great grilling book and got the chicken recipe from there. They are called "Thunder Thighs"! I also made yummy soba noodles with lots of veggies and some broccoli to have with it. Very good meal!

Thunder Thighs

1 package chicken thighs, boneless & skinless

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup red rooster sauce (Vietnamese chili garlic sauce)

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp sesame oil

Mix everything together in a zipper bag and marinate for about 2-3 hours. Supposed to grill them, but it was raining so I broiled them for about 10 minutes on the first side and 7-8 on the second. Yummy!

Asian Noodles

1 package soba noodles, cooked as directed

1/2 small zucchini, julienned

1 carrot, julienned

1/4 red bell pepper, julienned

1 small onion, thinly sliced

2 large mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 tbsp EVOO

2 tbsp low sugar teriyaki sauce

Saute the carrots and shrooms in the oil about 4 minutes, then add the onion and zucchini. When they begin to soften, add the noodles, pepper, and sauce and toss thru. That's it!

For some reason (maybe been skimping on the water or something?) my weight has been at 190-191 for the last few days. I think I haven't been doing well with my water and know I have had tiny bits of non-friendly foods. It may also be that I haven't been walking lately. Hope today's swimming will help a little.

Have tons to do today, unfortunately nothing I can mention here for now. Let's just say I am baking a Lemon Olive Oil Cake this afternoon for the weekend. I will try to remember to photo it and post the recipe.

Today is my Dad's 56th birthday! Happy Birthday Dad!!

Catching up! Fondue and Focaccia

I know, I know... I haven't been very good the last week or so in posting. Been busy with those calls and other work, sorry!

Sam had a friend spend the night Friday, so instead of fish for dinner we had pizza. It was good, not fabulous, and I ate way too much of it. Oh well, not the end of the world! Of course then we had leftovers Saturday night and Sunday for lunch... It's gone now tho!

I made "stuffed" cod the other night. I have the recipe for the stuffed shrooms from Olive Garden so I used that stuffing and topped the filets. The stuffing was fabulous- full of WG bread, clams, and parmesan cheese! Very tasty filling, the fish was not great tho. Cod has no flavor! Next time I will just stuff portabello caps.

Last night I made fondue for dinner. It was just a classic swiss fondue, nothing fancy. I served it with cut-up carrots, red bell pepper, and homemade focaccia! I also made a quick cucumber salad from part of one of our garden cukes and ranch dressing. All went well with a bottle of Vampire Cab. So good! Here is the recipe for the fondue:

Swiss Fondue

1# swiss cheese, cut small or shredded (I use 2% Kraft)

2tbsp WW flour

1 cup dry white wine

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 clove garlic

Toss the cheese with the flour and set aside to warm to room temp. In a medium saucepan over low heat, heat the wine and halved garlic clove to simmer. At a simmer, remove the clove and add the lemon juice. Slowly by handfuls add the cheese, waiting to add more until the last handful melts. Stir constantly in a figure-8 to keep from burning. It will take several minutes to melt and mix in all of the cheese. When all incorporated, serve with bread and veggies- apples are great too!

I made focaccia to serve with the fondue. This time I split the dough into two loaves so I could top one with the rosemary and onion and leave one plain. I did brush both with a garlic rosemary oil tho. Yummmmm! Here is the recipe for that:

Focaccia

Preferment-

1 cup WW flour

3/4 cup water

Pinch yeast

Dough-

All of the preferment

1 1/4 cup water

3 cups WW flour

2 tsp salt

The rest of the yeast packet

Mix the preferment ingredients the night before in your mixer bowl and cover with wrap overnight. It will look very dry- don't worry!

The next day your preferment will be puffy and wet looking. Add to it the dough ingredients, starting with the water. Mix in the mixer on low speed until it holds together (it should be very slack and wet still, I usually have to add more water). Then mix on low for 2 minutes, then increase to medium for another 4 minutes. The dough will still be soft. Cover it tightly with wrap and let rise 30 minutes. A great place for this is in a cold oven with the light on!

After 30 minutes, turn it out onto a floured surface and pat it down a bit. Flour your hands well! Fold one-thrid of the dough over and then the bottom third- like you are folding a business letter. Brush the excess flour from the dough when you fold, you do not want to incorprate any more into it. Turn the dough a half turn and fold again to make a packet. Put the dough back into the bowl and cover again. Let rise another 30 minutes. Repeat the folding process and again let rise for 30 minutes. Do one more fold for a total of three. Put the bundle onto a well-oiled very large baking sheet (use good olive oil!) after the last folds. Spread the dough to the edges, you may need to let it sit for a couple minutes. Cover the dough after it is spread out and let it rise another 30 minutes. This is the time I oil the loaf with the infused oil.

During this last rise, preheat the oven to 500 degrees (yes! I said 500!). If you have a baking stone, put it in there. Allow this to heat for 30 minutes.

To top the dough, I mixed some olive oil with two cloves garlic and a sprig of rosemary and warmed that and let it steep for an hour. I brushed this oil on both loaves and topped one loaf with thinly sliced sweet onion and finely chopped rosemary. I dimpled the top a bit when I added the toppings. You don't have to add the onion tho, you could just brush it with the oil and sprinkle kosher or sea salt on it!

Reduce the oven temp to 425 and put the baking sheet in right on top of the stone. Bake the bread for 18-20 minutes until deep golden brown. Remove and let cool at least 10 minutes before cutting (use kitchen shears, they work best!).

Been missing me? Yeah, right!

Ha! I just realized I haven't posted in a couple days. Been very busy with those phone calls and my other work. Today was payroll, so it was a long day anyway!
I have been very happy with weigh-in the last two days. I was nervous after the marshmallows, but as of this morning I am back to 189.6! Funny how that seems to be a magic number? So I fully expect next week to be even better. I have been holding myself to one serving of grain- if any- for well over a week and have seen tremendous results. I do not intend to change that much for the time being.
Last night I made a great dinner! We adore pasta (one of the reasons we have some trouble sometimes), and I love to make homemade sauce. Last night I did one that was fabulous, and with a little bit of pasta it made a nice two-night meal! Here's what I did:
Browned 12 oz ground round with one half of an onion chopped and one zucchini chopped. Then add in one large and one regular can of diced tomatoes and Italian seasoning (I have one called simply "marinara seasoning"). I simmered it for about 15 minutes while the pasta cooked and drained, then tossed it with 6oz of pasta (measured before cooking of course). I layered half in a large baking dish and topped it with a container of skim ricotta and some mixed Italian cheese, then put the rest of the pasta mix on top and some more cheese. I baked it for about 30 minutes until it was browned and bubbly. I did forget to take a pic (surprised?), but I can tell you it was delish! We ate half of it last night and finished it tonight. I really was good!
Tomorrow night we're having Sloppy Joe's I think, or maybe fish. I can't remember! I can't promise I will photo it, but I wish I could remember to!
So this weekend we are taking Sam fishing again. He is very happy! He's been taking swimming lessons all week and has then again next week. I am glad he's having fun there too. Monday night his friend's mom called to see if Sam could come over Tuesday and play. He did- all day no less!- and I took him back today. The friend has a big sister who is 20 and she watches him all day. I "hired" her to watch Sam today so I could work. It worked wonderfully! I got to work and give it my full attention, and he got to play with his friend all day. Sounds like a great set-up to me! I have more work to do tomorrow, but can do all of it from home. Every payroll week tho... I think he's got a place to go!
I need to order a new swimsuit soon. My old one is still in great condition, but I have lost way too much to wear it comfortably! I want to get a tankini, and can buy the bottoms somewhere like Walmart (don't plan on needing the same size next year!), but the top is a different story. Those of you who know me know WHY I can't buy tops from just anywhere! GGGGGGGoodness knows! (teeheehee!) Anyway, I have found a great top- one made from chlorine-resistant material- but it's $70! JUST FOR THE TOP!!! Of course, that part of my body doesn't really seem to be changing much, or at least enough that I'll need another top in the next several years (unless the magic reduction-fairy pays me a visit...). Now it's just going to take some effort on my part to convince Joe I really need this one and not the $50 one. I called the company and the lady said the more expensive one is much better support, so that should be enough to do the trick. Wish me luck!
Off to spend time with Joe! Good night!

Camping!

Camping was a blast! It was just the one other family and us, so it was very nice. Not too many people, and we all got along great! Sam and their son had a ton of fun swimming in the lake, fishing with the dads, and trying to avoid the poison ivy. It was really nice to go and see him have fun, and for me to be around another mom to talk to! hahaha! We had a huge meal Saturday night of beanie weenies, smoked sausages, roasted veggies, and lots of chatting. After dinner we roasted marshmallows and of course made S'mores. All the kids had a blast, and so did we! Even Joe was cool with spending half of Saturday without a shower! He agreed to go again this summer, so that's progress. Neither one of us got much sleep. The site was pretty quiet (the surrounding people didn't keep partying) except for the coyotes howling and the wind blowing 20 MPH. All in all, it was a huge success!

I did a pretty darn good job staying on-target foodwise. I did eat several marshmallows, but how do you not when they are black and gooey?! I ate some new potatoes and baked beans, but that's not horrible. Yesterday we had quite a few grains, so today we are backing off a bit. Joe actually LOST weight over the weekend? How is that even possible???

So today's food has been-

Breakfast- slice of ham topped with veggies, two OM eggs, and cheese

Lunch- lemon yogurt (the Weight Watchers stuff is good!), roast beef, cuke salad

Dinner- will be riblets with corn on the cob (yeah, I LIKE IT, sue me!)

For my snack tonight I will probably have an apple and maybe some carrots.

Here are a couple pics from this weekend! Joe caught a big catfish and Sam helped his friend bring in a big walleye! We didn't keep any of the fish they caught tho.

Chicken Wings and Green Beans

Last night's dinner was good! The wings were fabulous, even if they weren't grilled. I marinated them for two hours in a mix of

3/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp chili garlic sauce

1 tsp spice mix (ginger, garlic, white pepper)

1 tsp sesame oil

and 2 tbsp rice vinegar

Then since it was pouring outside, I broiled them for 10 minutes on each side, brushing them with the marinade (yes Grandma, I boiled it first!). They were awesome, and I will definitely make them again, maybe next time I'll use the whole chicken? The green beans could have cooked a bit longer, but they were good. I sauteed half of a small sweet onion chopped finely with 1 tbsp minced garlic in a bit of EVOO, then threw in the beans and 1/2 cup water. I "steamed" them for about 7 minutes (should have done 10?) and then removed the lid to evaporate the liquid. I then stirred in one packet of Stevia Plus. I drizzled a little tamari on my helping- YUMM!

Yesterday Sam and I made cookies. It was raining all day and he was very bored, so we looked thru my cookbooks and found a recipe for whole grain Snickerdoodles. I used sugar-sub for the sugars IN them, but did use a tiny bit of real sugar for the rolling. They turned out a bit dry, almost biscuit-like in texture? Not bad tasting tho! Yes, I did have one- they were very very small. We made them to take with us today.

Joe brought Sam home a fishing pole last night, he was so excited! He had one already (an old ice-fishing pole, perfect size for him), but it doesn't work very well. They are outside now setting it up for later. We are still going camping, even with the tremendous amount of rain we have gotten the last week. It'll be interesting to see how muddy it is out there. Could be a short trip!

I better get out there and help get everything loaded into the truck. Back tomorrow!

Yesterday...

The shrimp last night were pretty good! I hate cooking them on the grill tho, I never know when they are done and usually end up overcooking them. Not last night tho, I did good! I skewered all of them, then sprinkled some with unsweetened coconut and some with cajun seasoning (paprika, thyme, oregano, cayenne, garlic & onion powders, salt, and pepper). The cajun were the best of course, coconut shrimp doesn't work well without real breading. We ate them with cheesy cauliflower and I finished the broccolini from the other night.

Lunch yesterday consisted of a container of yogurt and then a strawberry-banana smoothie after walking/bike riding. I tried jumping on the trampoline with Sam, but my legs were just too tired!

I did have a snack last night- more nuts, some grapes, and a hard-boiled egg. I also did a terrible job with my water yesterday, only had three of my five huge cups (22 oz each). I will do better today!

Today's food will be-

For breakfast I didn't feel like going thru the hassle of making my omelet. Instead I sauteed the shrooms and onions, put them onto a thick slice of ham and nuked that while frying two eggs OM. I put those on top and topped them with shredded cheese. OH MAN! I may switch to that from now on...

Lunch will be probably a small salad with grape tomatoes, cukes, and shredded carrots.

Dinner is going to be grilled chicken wings (yeahyeahyeah, not overly SB, but we love them!) and green beans.

We were up most of the night last night with pretty strong storms. Monsoonal downpour lasted at least an hour, with constant thunder loud and strong enough to shake the house and keep Joe and I awake. I bet we got at least 2 inches of rain! I can only imagine how happy the garden is right now, but there is more rain on the way this afteroon. Gonna make for some REALLY muddy camping tomorrow! Good thing I packed extra clothes... :)

I got some of my bazillion calls done yesterday. I did come up against a couple people who were, shall we say, less than nice? One woman went so far as to yell at me that she didn't like our boss and wanted me to make sure I never called again! MEOW! This was offset by the one woman who thanked me for calling, and she was so excited about the convention I was calling about. She was very pleasant, and I should have gotten her email address to write her and thank her for being so sweet to me! Why couldn't they all be like that? I mean, is it THAT hard to be nice to people? Granted, I WAS a little rude to the anti-abortion telemarketing/fundraiser guy who called here the other night, but come on! He was asking for it! teeheehee!

Off to call more grumpy people! Good thing I'm getting paid, huh?

TGIFriday!!!

Charlie loves me

Look at her favorite spot!

Another day...

Yes, I am a slave to my scale. I admit it! I weigh nearly every morning. Some say not to do that, I am in the other crowd. I feel that is the best way to see how my daily food choices affect me. I can see right away how not drinking enough water or eating too much pasta affects my body. This morning I weighed again, as usual. Could you hear me holler in Germany, D? 189.6 baby! I have officially broken thru the 190s! Now I am fairly certain the S'mores I plan to eat Saturday night will change things a bit, but for now I am ecstatic! If I can get it down a little more before then, well I may not change as much.

Anyway, back to other things!

Last night I made the sausage and peppers for dinner. It really was delicious! Would have been even better with rice, so we'll do that next time. All I did was grill the sausages (Italian) and then "submerge" them in my baking dish full of chunked red and green pepper, onion, and a large can of diced tomatoes seasoned with fresh oregano and basil. Heck, I even forgot the garlic! Needless to say, it was very good eats along with broccoli! Unfortunately the picture looks terrible, so I'll not post it this time.
Lunch yesterday was not what I had planned. I had to go it to work and didn't bring the leftover veggies with me. Joe forgot my soup, so all I ate was a small bag of apple slices. My breakfast was eaten pretty late tho, so I really wasn't overly hungry until dinner.
For my snack last night, I ate some mixed nuts, the leftover sweet potatoes with a little FF sourcream, and some grapes. Sounds like a lot, but really it wasn't.
So I am starting today as every other day, omelet with 2 cups veggies, ham, and cheese. Not sure what lunch will be. Dinner tonight is grilled shrimp- probably with a cajun seasoning- and green beans or cauliflower.

Last night we went out to look at the garden. Our second planting of carrots is up, as are the second radishes. We pulled several of the first radishes and will be taking them Saturday. I have blossoms all over my tomato plants, some even have a few mini fruits. I am curious to see what the "Red October" tomatoes look like since their blossoms are double! My broccoli plants are all leaf and no veg yet, trying to figure that out. I have one blossom on one of my eggplants, and the cukes are getting bigger (have two that are about 7 inches now, tho they will get up closer to 16 inches long and about 8 inches around!) as well as the zucchini plants. My early butternut squash plants are getting very bushy, and I saw some pre-blossoms. The cantaloupe plants are finally growing too! This year I am even trying artichokes! They had one at a greenhouse we went to, and the lady said they were very tasty. They are not suposed to be tolerant of winters this far north, but she said if I can have several other annuals come back year after year then these definitely have a shot! My one plant (all they had left) is getting very big, I am ready for it to send up a stalk. Also my sweet potatoes are looking quite happy in the spopt Joe planted them. Looking forward to those this fall! The onions are actually growing this year, we have never had them do this weel. Come fall I will have tons of sweet yellow onions! All in all, this year's garden seems very happy so I anticipate a very good haul! Wish all of you were closer so we could share in it.

Off to make a million phone calls. The big bossman has me calling about 200 people to remind them about the convention this July, and we aren't even going! I would love to see New Orleans...

Have a great day, all!

190-even!

Guess it's working, eh?

Well, here is my food from yesterday (if you are looking for inspiration, Kate!)-
breakfast was the usual omelet with 2 cups of veggies
lunch was the leftover pork fajita stuff with beans
dinner was that steak meal (soooo good!)
and for a snack Joe and I split a huge apple and lots of grapes.
Today is looking like this-
breakfast is the ever-present omelet
lunch is leftover veggies from last night
dinner is sausage and peppers and probably broccoli!

Kitties are feeling much better. they are rumbling like they always have, and amazingly can still jump into the windows! Max is sleeping at my feet and the moment, charlie is desperately trying to wake him up to play. So cute!

So far we're still planning the campout this weekend. Has rained the last few days tho, so I wonder how wet the ground will be? Sam said yesterday, "If it rains, we can just stay in the tent!" I don't think so! I did buy the last of the supplies yesterday, and true to my nature began packing too. Compulsion, anyone? Hey, at least we won't forget something or be unprepared! Sometimes it's GOOD to be a planning fool.

Better get to work! Ciao!

Tonight's dinner and a kitty update...

Thought I'd go ahead and post this before I forget. Tonight we had grilled ribeyes with roasted sweet potatoes, grilled broccolini, and buttered cauliflower. All went well with a nice glass of cab!

Also, kitties are home. We feel so sad that they are hurting tonight, but know they will feel better tomorrow. Poor Charlie! She ventured upstairs but had obviously tuckered herself out in the process so laid down as soon as she got to the top. When Joe got home she rolled back to see him and rolled/slid down the stairs! She is better now, no harm done. Both babies are enclosed in their room for tonight, we will see them out tomorrow. Both are so pooped anyway, it's probably best to avoid Sam for awhile- he's much too playful with them!

Good night!

Feeling better already...

Well, I did forget to photo last night's dinner! We ate late and by the time everything was at the table we were all pretty dang hungry! I can tell you this tho- it was fabulous! I seasoned the chops with a mix of salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, and chipotle powder and then grilled them to 145 degrees and let them sit 10 minutes while I grilled the veggies. Three huge chops left plenty for lunch today and some to freeze for later! I ate a huge mound of beans with it, along with lots of grilled veggies. Sadly, later in the evening I got the munchies and ate one of those cheesecake cups, a frozen coconut bar (too good, can't buy those again!). and some peanuts. Only one of those snacks wasn't good for me, so I think I did okay. ;)

Breakfast this morning was the usual omelet with 2 cups of veggies, and lunch will be the leftovers from last night. Tonight's dinner will be pretty simple- steak, roasted sweet potato, and probably green beans or broccoli. I go shopping today so I should be able to stock up on fruit to snack on.

These are our new kitties, for those of you who haven't seen them yet. The orange tabby is Max, the black-and-white is his sister Charlie (she was supposed to be a boy!). Our kitties are at the vet today getting declawed (don't hate me, we just think it's best) and Max is getting neutered. The house is so quiet without them today!

Today is also the first "official" day of Sam's summer vacation. The first shopping trip with him in the summer is always a task, so I am very happy he will have a book to read! We have so much to buy this week with the camping trip coming up Saturday, it could be a LONG afternoon! Last year it took until nearly the end of summer to realize that taking a book would be wise, not this year! I bought him tons of books at the library book sale last month so he's well stocked.

I am beginning to get very excited about this camping trip Saturday! Granted we will be with a bunch of people we don't normally socialize with (it's a bunch of boys and their families from Sam's cubscout pack), but this is also the first time Joe and I have been since around our second anniversary! I grew up camping, so I love it. He on the other hand is NOT a big camper. With all that hair and such, he gets testy if he doesn't get a shower within 10 minutes of waking. The place the scoutmaster chose is at a state fishing lake and there are newer bathroom facilities near the camping site. I'm excited that there will be other boys there to play and fish with so Sam won't get too bored. I just missed camping, so this will be nice (unless there are some bad campers next to us like last time!). I will take lots of pictures! It's okay to have a S'more, right? ;)

Better Health Thru Better Eating...

I am trying to get back into blogging my meals, but have not been terribly motivated lately. Well with a comment from my dear hubby yesterday, I decided to start using this space not only for my recipes but also to become more accountable. No, he did not say, "Hey, your butt's looking a bit big today!" or anything of that sort. He is having a hard time jumping back into proper eating habits, as am I. This will be an exercise for both of us to see exactly what we are doing wrong and right and what we can do to help eachother and ourselves.

This is our meal from last night. It represents what we need to eat for the next week or so to get back on track. I grilled strip steaks and topped them with a bruscetta tomato topping, and served them with buttery carrots and garlicky baby beans. It was a delicious meal, paired nicely with a new cab we tried- a Redwood cab. We are going to strive for no grains at dinner this week- at least until Saturday when we go camping... This will be tough, but we both feel a "purge" is neccessary.

Meals yesterday went like this-

Breakfast was two eggs OM and four small PB chocolate chip waffles (wow, these really did taste like a Reese's!) with a little SF syrup

Lunch was an open-faced ham and tomato sandwich with meunster under the broiler

Dinner of course was the steak and veggies

Dessert was a little cheesecake cup I had made and frozen- a mix of LF cream cheese, SF vanilla pudding, milk, and FF CoolWhip. I also ate a small piece of mint-infused dark chocolate!

Today I started out with my usual "western" omelet- one shrooms short as Joe had made himself some scrambled eggs before I woke up! Not sure about lunch, I had salad stuff in the fridge so should prpbably have that! Dinner tonight should be "fajita" pork chops- thick boneless chops with sauteed onion, shroom, and green pepper- along with refried beans (Sam's fave!) and cheese. I will try to remember to photo that!

Well, off to the store for the veggies for tonight! Enjoy the day off!

Pancakes 4-ways!

I bought the new King Arthur Whole Grain Cookbook recently and love it! This is the recipe for the Homemade Whole Grain Pancake Mix. It makes a ton, which is good because we thought this was fabulous! I made these four ways- Sam likes chocolate chips, Joe likes walnuts, and I like blueberries. That left some batter plain, and those were just as delicious!

Homemade Whole Grain Pancake Mix

3 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats, ground not quite to a powder

4 cups white whole wheat flour

1 cup unbleached flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)

3 tbsp sugar (I used 8 packets Stevia Plus)

3 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp baking soda

3/4 cup vegetable oil

Mix everything in the bowl of a large mixer. With paddle attachment running on low, drizzle the oil in and blend thoroughly. When all the oil has been added, stop the mixer and test the mix. Squeeze a clump of it in your hands- if it holds together it is perfect, if not add in another tablespoon at a time until it's right. Store indefinitely in the freezer.

To make pancakes-

Combine 1 cup mix with 1 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk/soy milk and 1/2 cup plain yogurt, which is what I did), 1 tbsp orange juice (I didn't have any, so I used another tbsp soy milk), and 1 egg. It will seem thin at first, let it sit 15 minutes and it thickens. Cook pancakes as usual, turning when the edges begin to turn from glossy to matte.

Tuscan Lentil Soup

I know I have mentioned a cookbook I love- The Good Carb Cookbook. I saw this recipe and thought it sounded interesting, though I have limited experience eating lentils and that experience was NOT a pleasant one! So today as the weather has definitely changed, I decided would be a great time to try this out on the family. We were not disappointed! In fact, Sam ate two servings (small ones, but hey!) as did Joe and I. Conveniently the store had marked down their foccacia rolls, and they were a match made in heaven! The really nice thing is that this whole meal probably cost less than a latte!
Here it is, I highly recommend trying this one!


Tuscan Lentil Soup

3/4 c brown lentils, picked thru and rinsed
1/3 c brown rice
4oz mushrooms, rough chopped
1 c chopped celery, including leaves (yummm!)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 zucchini, diced (this was my addition, I am trying to get more veggies!)
1 tbsp crushed garlic
beef bouillon granules to make 4 cups broth
2 tsp Tuscan seasoning (I have a little grinder that has sage, bay, basil, marjoram, thyme, and rosemary)
1/4 tsp black pepper
5 cups water
1 quart jar tomatoes, crushed in juices
3 c packed fresh spinach (I used 1 cup frozen and will use more next time)
2 tbsp olive oil
Parmesan or Asiago cheese

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a big soup pot (at least 4 qt) over medium-high heat until rippling. Toss in the chopped veggies (except tomatoes and spinach) and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes until tender, then add in the rice. Cook stirring often for a few minutes to slightly brown the rice, then add in the spices and lentils. Pour in the water and the bouillon and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat to low and cover the pot. Simmer for 40 minutes. Add the undrained tomatoes (and frozen spinach if using) and cook another 20-30 minutes until lentils are tender and the liquid is thick. Add in the fresh spinach and remaining oil and cook another minute or two to wilt the spinach.
Serve topped with grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese and a nice crusty bread! This also paired nicely with a new pinot noir we tried- Scarlet of Paris.

"Musical" Chili

I call this "Musical" Chili for an obvious reason! It was very tasty and -tho vegetarian- it was also very filling! I will be making this many times in the next few months...



"Musical" Chili P1

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1 1/4 cups cooked soybeans
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 small zucchini, diced
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
2 TBSP chopped garlic
1 large can tomato sauce
1 quart home-canned diced tomatoes
2 TBSP cajun seasoning
1 tsp chipotle powder
1 tsp salt, if needed
2 tsp olive oil

Heat oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat until hot. Saute zucchini, onion, pepper, and garlic about 5 minutes until soft. When softened, dump into 5 or 6 quart crockpot set to high. Add all other ingredients except salt, and stir well. Cover and cook on high 2 hours (at this point mine was simmering). After 2 hours, check for seasoning adding salt if needed. Continue cooking on high another hour or two.

We ate ours topped with shredded white cheddar cheese and FF sour cream. This makes a couple meals-worth, and freezes well!

5:4 Challenge #9- Beef, Potatoes, Peas, Legumes, and Tomatoes!

This is my dish for the latest 5:4. I know it's not terribly creative, but the cool snap has me thinking warm, comfort-foody thoughts! This definitely fit the bill!



Hash P2-3

8 tiny yellow potatoes, scrubbed and chopped
1 quart home-canned tomatoes with their juice
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 cup cooked soybeans
1 1/2 cups cooked ground beef
1 TBSP beef boullion granules
1 TBSP chopped garlic
3/4 cup water
1/2 TBSP olive oil
1 small onion, chopped

Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat, add the oil and potatoes. Cover and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the onions and cook another 5 minutes, adding some of the water as neccessary. Sprinkle with beef granules and add the beans and tomatoes with more water if needed. Cook covered for about 10 minutes until potatoes are cooked. Toss in the peas and garlic, and cook uncovered for 3-5 minutes to heat thru and slightly cook the garlic (I like the bite of raw garlic!).That's it! Simple and delicious!

Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

As I said, I am now trying other flavors of bread pudding. The one comment Joe made about the cranberry one was that he thought it needed chocolate chips! Well, I didn't want to use the last of that bread for it, so I used some homemade Whole Wheat Oat Bran Bread I made the other day. It was drier, so it soaked up more milk and was moister in the end. Very good! I have also found that my local Walmart is now carrying Ghiardelli Bittersweet Chips! Yay! No more breaking up my bars! Notice the piece taken out, that wasn't like that when I put the pan away last night...




Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding P2

8 cups cubed WW or WG bread, preferably homemade
3 eggs, beaten
½ cup brown sugar substitute
1 can evaporated skim milk
1 ¼ cup skim milk
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup SF Kahlua syrup
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)
Cinnamon/ fructose mix

Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8x11 pan well.
Mix the wet ingredients and sugar substitute together well, and toss with the bread. Let this sit 20 minutes.
Mix in the chips and pour everything into the sprayed pan, making sure to level the top. Sprinkle with the cinnamon fructose.
Bake for 45 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Let cool 45 minutes before cutting.

Cranberry Bread Pudding

My hubby has always said he liked bread pudding- I had never had it! We tried the fried ones at Applebee's recently, and though they were good they just weren't healthy! I had that Cranberry bread, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Yummo! It's inspired me to try other varieties too!

Cranberry Bread Pudding P2

3 large slices WW Spiced Cranberry Bread, cubed
2 eggs, beaten
3 TBSP fructose
1 can evaporated skim milk
2 tsp cinnamon
Cinnamon/fructose mix, optional

Mix the fructose, eggs, and milk together in a large bowl. Toss in the bread cubes and let soak for 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350. Place ramekins into 9x13 pan and pour hot water around them (water-bath).
Divide the mixture among sprayed ramekins (I used four large), pouring the juices evenly in them. Sprinkle lightly with the cinnamon fructose if desired.
Bake for 25-35 minutes until knife inserted comes out clean. Let cool 20 minutes before eating (if you can!)

I made a little "sauce" for mine with 1 TBSP SF apricot jam and 2 tsp spread, nuked. I poured this over the top and added a small dollop of Cool Whip. Heavenly! Did have it last night without the sauce, it was just as good.

Stuffed French Toast

I made that cranberry bread the other day, and thought it would be fabulous like this- I was right!

Stuffed French Toast P2

2 slices WW Spiced Cranberry Bread
1 beaten egg + 1 egg white
¼ tsp vanilla
Pinch cinnamon
2 TBSP cinnamon cream cheese
SF maple syrup

Mix together the egg and white, cinnamon, and vanilla. Set aside.
Heat griddle to 300 degrees. Grease or spray lightly.
Dip each piece of bread into the egg mixture and let sit 2 minutes. Cook the bread on the hot griddle4 minutes on each side or until nicely browned. Remove to a plate and spread the cream cheese on one side of one slice, top with remaining slice. Return to griddle and cook another 2 minutes or so to warm the filling. Plate with syrup!