Thursday, March 18, 2010

Day 10!!!

I am very proud of myself that I am on day 10, thats usually 8 days longer then the norm. The stuffed cabbage was delicious last night, that is definitely going to become a staple. Tonight will be Shrimp Quesadilla's with Guacamole again, the fave around here. Exercise like normal and the two challenges tonight.


Hope you all had a wonderful St. Patty's day.

See you tomorrow!

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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Mid Week Blues: Faerie Flames

I came across these lovely candles that glow different colors. Instead of the normal amber color you can have them glow blue, red, green, pink, etc... You can find them HERE. I love the birthday cake ones, they just look so festive!


I can only imagine how awesome the tea lights above would look in some of our candle holders. Like these... (to see the item click on the picture)





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For St. Patty's Day lets do my favorite Irish Drink


Irish Car Bomb
Add the Bailey's and Jameson to a shot glass, layering the Bailey's on the bottom. Pour the Guinness into a pint glass or beer mug 3/4 of the way full and let settle. Drop the shot glass into the Guinness and chug. If you don't drink it fast enough it will curdle and increasingly taste worse.

*** For a really got treat instead of Bailey's use either Ben and Jerry's Dublin Mud Slide or Haagan Daz Baileys Ice Cream and make a float, mmmmm.

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Day 9

Happy St. Patty's Day! Its such a beautiful day here. A little cold but the sun it finally shining. Sometime I feel like I live in Washington how gloomy and wet its been lately. Yesterday I would up with soup and salad for dinner because I was too lazy to make the stuffed cabbage, but tonight I will make it instead. I did start the push up challenge last night though and I also found a push up one too, I will be doing those 3 nights a week. My stomach muscles are already feeling the pain, my arms don't hurt too much but they do feel good.


Not much to say, just updating. Have a great day!

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Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Days 7 & 8

Hello everyone, hope your having a good week. Working around the house has been non stop and I look around again and see how much still needs to be done. We where told we get to rent our home for another year, so spring cleaning is in order. Yesterday I rushed around like a chicken with my head cut off and make the cornflake chicken again from last week because it was easy. Today is exercise with the Crunch again, some more cleaning, and then I am making stuffed cabbage for dinner.


I always wanted to try it and when it comes around to St. Patty's day all I want is boiled cabbage and potatoes. So I am making this to tide me over until the weekend when we have our official family dinner. Also it has gotten very cold again so comfort food is always the best. I found this recipe in Comfort Food Diet Cookbook which was a special magazine issue for Taste of Home. I will be replacing a few things, instead of turkey I will be using lean ground beef, and instead of the soups I will be using tomato sauce, I just really don't like when my meat has chunks in it which is what the veggie soup would do.

Stuffed Cabbage Recipe
1/3 cup of brown rice
1 head of cabbage
1/2 cup of shredded carrot
1/4 cup of finely chopped onion
1/4 egg substitute
1 can of reduced-sodium tomato soup
1 can of reduced fat vegetable beef soup
2 tablespoons of Italian dressing
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1 pound of lean ground turkey

1. Cook Rice as directed on package. Meanwhile cook cabbage in boiling water until leaves fall off head. Set aside 10 large leaves for rolls. Cut out large vein on bottom of each leaf making a V shape.
2. In large bowl combine carrots, onions, egg, 2 tablespoons of tomato soup, 2 tablespoons of veggie soup, 1 tablespoon of Italian dressing, cayenne, pepper and rice. Crumble turkey over mixture and mix well. place about a 1/3 cup on each cabbage leaf. Overlap cut ends of leaf, fold in sides beginning from cut ends. Roll up completely to enclose filling.
3. Place rolls seam down in a baking dish big enough to hold all of them, coated in cooking spray. Combine the remaining soup and pour over rolls. Sprinkle with remaining Italian seasoning. cover and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes or until cabbage is tender and meat thermometer reads 165.

Makes 5 servings.
2 rolls are 293 calories and 10 grams of fat.

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Friday, March 12, 2010

Day 5-7

Hi everyone! Happy Friday. The lasagna was delicious last night. My husband has a long weekend so the next three days will pretty much be the same thing. We usually eat out a lot or scrounge for what we can find around the house when we get hungry. Nothing is planned. If I try anything new I will let you know on Monday. Exercise wise we will be doing a lot of walking today and Saturday and then yard work on Sunday. It seems that I only lost a pound or two this week, its been fluctuating a lot. Hopefully by sometime next week my body will even out and I will start loosing weight on a constant basis. Also a girl I know posted this today The Hundred Push up Challenge. I am debating on doing it. What can it hurt right?


Well have a great weekend everyone.

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DIY: Cute Spring Chairs


Aren't these chairs adorable for spring? These are another one of Martha Stewart's beauties. You could do this with any size or shape chair back, as long as you can find paper big enough.

Tools and Materials

Chairs (ones in picture are available at Ikea)

  • Craft paper
  • Pencil
  • Craft knife (or scissors)
  • Cutting mat
  • Sturdy patterned paper
  • Decoupage glue
  • Foam brush
  • Bone folder

Decorative Chair Backs How-To
1. Unscrew chair back. Lay it on Craft paper. Trace outline with pencil (press chair back against paper as you trace to account for curve).

2. Cut out template with craft knife, using a cutting mat.

3. Place patterned paper facedown on cutting mat. Place Craft-paper template on top, and trace. Cut out.

4. Attach paper to the back of the chair with glue.

6. With bone folder smooth out and get rid of any bubbles.

5. Let dry.

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Thursday, March 11, 2010

Day 4

So this week doesn't look like I am loosing anything. I actually gained a pound! It might actually by some muscle because my arms look huge but I feel like I am loosing weight. Hopefully the long term results will matter rather then the short term. Otherwise I will have to turn to using a diet pill too, since they always worked really well for me in the past. I decided to do it naturally this time because of all the problems that where happening with the pills. Literally every one I ever used and worked they took it off the market because it was killing people. I went on Hydroxycut a few time and it always worked but the last time I took it over a year ago I was doubled over in pain for 2 weeks. Then they recalled them. Recently I tried Zantrex3 and I had trouble breathing and sleeping so after those 2 experiences I was scared a bit.


But I will push on. I am very excited about dinner tonight. Its the first time I will be making lasagna and this diet recipe looked sooooo good and pretty easy to make. I went out shopping today for the ingredients and forgot the major ones, ricotta, spinach, and a baking pan. But wound up with Edys Real Fruit Bar's in grape. I ate them a lot last summer and they are really good and refreshing. They come in all different types of flavors and they are all pretty good, so try them if you haven't.

It will be raining for the next few days so my husband will most likely be home bugging me for food every 5 minutes. I might be making some breakfast and lunch dishes also. I will post the ones I use the following day, its hard to plan for days like these. Maybe an egg in the hole that I saw on here, that I thought was suppose to be horrible for you with all the butter, but I guess since I use smart balance its ok.

Sorry I wrote so much (guess I was in the talking mood), but I am done now. I am having a bowl of corn flakes for breakfast, and a chicken wrap for lunch. The chicken wrap is just cut up skinless chicken breast, lettuce, tomato, and some fat free honey mustard. Basically my salad in a wrap. Below is the recipe (found on Meals Matter) for the lasagna, I will be making the veggie one with out the turkey sausage.

Ingredients

8 ounces Lasagna noodles, preferably whole-wheat

1 pound Lean spicy Italian turkey sausage, casings removed (see Variation)

4 cups Sliced mushrooms (10 ounces)

1/4 cup Water

1 pound Frozen spinach, thawed

1 28-ounce Can crushed tomatoes, preferably chunky

1/4 cup Chopped fresh basil

Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

1 pound Part-skim ricotta cheese (2 cups)

8 ounces Part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 2 cups), divided

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Put a large pot of water on to boil.

2. Cook noodles in the boiling water until not quite al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package directions. Drain; return the noodles to the pot, cover with cool water and set aside.

3. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and water; cook, stirring occasionally and crumbling the sausage more, until the sausage is cooked through, the water has evaporated and the mushrooms are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Squeeze spinach to remove excess water, then stir into the pan; remove from heat.

4. Mix tomatoes with basil, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.

5. To assemble lasagna: Spread 1/2 cup of the tomatoes in the prepared baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles on top, trimming to fit if necessary. Evenly dollop half the ricotta over the noodles. Top with half the sausage mixture, one-third of the remaining tomatoes and one-third of the mozzarella. Continue with another layer of noodles, the remaining ricotta, the remaining sausage, half the remaining tomatoes and half the remaining mozzarella. Top with a third layer of noodles and the remaining tomatoes.

6. Cover the lasagna with foil and bake until bubbling and heated through, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on the lasagna. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is just melted but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

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Do You Have $8.6 Million to Spend?



Don't feel bad most of us don't. That's why this 12,500 square foot estate that is up for sale in California made it on the Drool Thursday list this week. It has 6 bedrooms and 12 baths. The outside contains a grotto "water world" as the ad calls it, horse stables, a riding rink, tennis court, sitting areas, and much more. The inside has a movie theater, spa, wine cellar, and game room. Take a look at it for yourself HERE.




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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Why Even Leave The Room?




This beautiful picture is the the Junior Suite with Private pool room at the Mykonos Blu resort in Greece. For the week of July 4th the price is $2,345. There isn't much to say about this place, I think the pictures say it all. If you want to know more visit the link above.


Cocktail
Blue Beach Lemonade
1 oz vodka
1 oz Blue Curacao (for a deep blue) or Hypnotiq (for a lighter blue)
4 oz Lemonade
Fresh mint

Pour all ingredients into a shaker with ice. Shake it up. Pour into a glass. Garnish with mint.

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Day 3

Good Morning! Today is day 3, and yesterdays work out kicked my butt. As much as I don't feel that sore today, I barely made it through the workout and I passed out at 5 for a few hours. But because of that I know its going to work, since I use to only use the Wii fitness and I never felt that I couldn't finish a workout. Today I will be doing it again.

Its suppose to be beautiful here today with temps in the high 60's, so hopefully I will have enough time to clean off my decks and gett ready for this weekends complete overhaul of the yard.

So todays menu consists of the same for breakfast and lunch, but dinner will be one of my specialties.... Shrimp Quesadillas! Its a recipe I found from Rachael Ray but modified to make it better for me.

Ingredients
1 cup of chopped red onion
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Light (enough to coat pan and griddle)
1 pound of large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and Pepper
2 table spoons of lime juice
1/4 cup of parsley
8 large flour tortillas
1 cup of skim mozzarella shredded
1 cup of skim Mexican blend shredded cheese
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 avocados, chopped


Preparation
1. In a pan cook onion in 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes. Let mixture cool and toss with lime juice and parsley.

2. Place tortilla on work surface and sprinkle with 1/4 cups of combined Mozzarella and Mexican cheese. Top with 1/4 cup of corn, enough of the shrimp mixture to cover the cheese and corn. Season with salt and pepper and set another tortilla on top. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

3. On a griddle put enough olive oil (lightly) and lightly brush both side of the Quesadillas with it. Add Quesadillas to pan and cook turning once, until crisp. Repeat with the remaining Quesadillas. Let cool and cut into wedges.

4. (For Guacamole) In another bowl combine the rest of the onion and shrimp mixture with the sliced avocados. Toss with 1/2 tablespoon of lime juice and parsley. Season with salt, pepper and cumin to taste. Chop and mush to desired texture.
(For Salad) In another bowl combined a sliced red onion and slice avocados with 1/2 tablespoon of lime juice. Season with salt, pepper and cumin to taste.

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