Amazing Salad

We are on Day 5 of the 24 day Challenge and so far its going great!!!! I would eb lying if I told you that I dodn't have any cravings, I sure do.. number one being coffee!! We have gotten the change to try so many new things that we have never made before, and overall I feel so much better, no sluggish afternoons, no upset stomachs... and my skin is looking better!!! Tonight we made a super fab salad that was so tasty, and healthy.. check it out, and if you try it let me know what you think!!!

BBQ Chicken Salad

Bowl full of shredded romaine & spring mix

1 cucumber peeled and sliced then slices cut into quarters

3 eggs boiled then sliced

1 avocado cut into bite sized pieces 

2 grilled chicken breasts cut into strips

sun dried tomatoes cut into slices- the kind in oil ( I LOVE the ones in the Giada line) 

about 1/4 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup sweet BBQ sauce I use a pineapple BBQ sauce blend 

Toss and serve!!!! 

My thought bullet style & Recipe

• Wedding was beautiful, weather was perfect, I had the most adorable baby girl flowergirl on my lap most of the night, who partied 2.5 hours past her bedtime and was pretty nice about it!
• AC froze up the night of the wedding.. had the AC guy here 3 days in a row, finally it's fixed.
• Sister came to visit, we went shopping, made some returns, had a good time.
• I DID NOT weigh in this weekend, b/c of the wedding, lots of food & drink
• planning to go running as much as I can this week to hopefully have a good weigh in this coming weekend!
• Made lots of new recipes recently including this one....

No Bake Cookies

1 3/4 C white sugar

1/2 C milk

1/2 C butter

4 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 C crunchy Peanut butter

3 C quick cooking oats

1 tsp Vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan combine Sugar, Milk, butter, and cocoa... bring to a boil, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter, oats, and vanilla. Drop by teaspoon onto wax paper. Let cool until hardened.

recipe can be found at all recipes.com

I only had 3 of them and then the next morning packaged them up and gave them to my boss for her kids, cant have them around here.. and I really enjoy baking and gifting!

Bacon Corn Chowder w/Shrimp

I tried another great recipe this week, it turned out so good.. The color of the soup is a little strange, but it tastes amazing!

I think next time I make it, I'm going to double the batch then have enough to freeze so I have a dinner already made when I'm gone working late on Mondays. If you decide to make it let me know, I would love to hear how it turns out for you! 

Ingredients

• 6 slices center-cut bacon, chopped
• 1 cup prechopped onion
• 1/2 cup prechopped celery
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 4 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
• 1/3 cup half-and-half
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add bacon to pan; saute 4 minutes or until the bacon begins to brown. Remove 2 slices bacon. Drain on paper towels. Add onion and next 3 ingredients (through minced garlic) to pan, and saute for 2 minutes. Add corn, and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add broth; bring to a boil, and cook for 4 minutes.

• 2. Place 2 cups of corn mixture in a blender. Remove the center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape), and secure lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in the blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Return pureed corn mixture to pan. Stir in shrimp; cook 2 minutes or until shrimp are done. Stir in half-and-half, pepper, and salt. Crumble reserved bacon over soup.

Recipe can be found at Cookinglight.com 

WWW

Time for another Weight Watchers Wednesday update...

I am very excited to tell you all ...

that...

I...

LOST....

3 1/2 pounds this week!

I am beyond thrilled by that amount. It was hard work though.. I counted every calorie I consumed.. thanks to my sweet friend {My Fitness Pal}! I have increased my water intake, smaller portions, and have been eating at home more often then before.

I have realized that it is just not as fun to eat out when you are calorie counting.. you can eat so much more when you make it yourself at home... 

I have been eating lots of fruits & raw veggies...

I also have worked out almost everyday since my last weigh in. 

I also tried this great recipe... it was super easy, very yummy and 280 calories/serving ..

Bruschetta 'n Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

If you try it let me know below is the recipe copied from the Kraft website.

what you need

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained

1-1/4 cups  KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1 pkg.  (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken

8 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (2 lb.)

1/3 cup  KRAFT Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan Dressing

make it

HEAT oven to 350ºF.

1 MIX tomatoes, 1/2 cup cheese and basil in medium bowl. Add stuffing mix; stir just until moistened.

2 PLACE 2 chicken breasts in freezer-weight resealable plastic bag; pound to 1/4-inch thickness. Remove from bag; place, top-sides down, on cutting board. Repeat. Spread chicken with stuffing mixture.

3 ROLL chicken breasts up; place, seam-sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish. Drizzle with dressing. Bake 40 min. or until chicken is done (165°F). Sprinkle with remaining cheese; bake 5 min. or until melted.

{Recipe} & 30DHAC review

This has been one of my go to recipes, its easy, light, healthy, and tastes pretty good too!

What you will need:

• 1 cup reduced fat Bisquick
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1/4 cup egg substitute
• 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed (any style)
• 2 cups boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked and chopped
• 2 cans Campbell's fat- free Cream of Mushroom soup 
• Cooking spray

How to make it:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
• Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with Pam
• Mix together vegetables, chicken and soup
• Pour into prepared pan
• In another bowl, mix Bisquick, milk and egg
• Pour dough mix over the top of chicken mixture
• Bake for about 30 minutes or until crust is golden

Cooking chicken

Smaller portion trick I learned.. make them in loaf pans then you can save the other half for another meal, or give it away to a friend or neighbor, then you wont be tempted to eat too much.

second pan I took to a neighbor

warm and golden

Now for the 30 Day Husband Appreciation Challenge weekly review Link up................

Even though we are only 3 days into this.. I am so thankful

that I decided to take part. Honestly, I am LEARNING to show more appreciation

and respect to my handsome, hard working, tough, but also tender husband.

The first couple time I "as instructed" thanked him for the things he does, and reassured him he was doing a great job as provided, and comforter, and protector... I could see it in his eyes that he enjoyed hearing it.

Which of course made me want to do it more often, there were times when "as instructed" I had to bite my tongue from saying something negative, or complaining about something he did.. But in doing that I am learning that some of the things he is doing that I complain about are not wrong.. just different..  

I did not get him a gift on day two, instead he really wanted a quiet family day at home ( we have been running like crazy super busy all week, and we have a busy today and tomorrow) so I cancelled my plans and we did just that, spent the day together just us, made homemade pita pizza's, went to the pool, had a great time! 

I am looking forward to what this week brings!

Would you like to join in? Its not too late.. head on over to the beautiful Laura's Blog (click on button above) and join!

~Make sure you check back this week, I more great giveaways, including... a cloth diaper giveaway~

Cleaning Schedule

Ever since I posted about my love of lists & schedules I have received a handful of emails about my cleaning schedule, and menu planning so I thought I would go explain them to you a little more.

First of all I do not claim to stick to this schedule have it all together, and with a 9 month old {holy moly how is she 9 months.. wasnt she just making her debut through the birth canal like last week} becoming more mobile by the day.. I will never tell you my house is spotless or always tidy.. but I do not like clutter, or dust, or messes left for a long time. So I will introduce you to ...... 

THE HOLDING TANK

If you don't have one.. get one..

I put E in here surrounded by lots of toys while I am cleaning.. that way I know the mess she is making cannot go beyond those 4 sides of the pen.. unless she throws a toy or two out.. but you just pop it right back in there.. it also doubles as a live toy box.. as you are cleaning any toys you find just throw them in their with the child. It has made cleaning much faster!

The next thing you will need is 

THE TRAVELER

I take a basket from room to room while i'm cleaning, if there are items in one room that don't belong i throw them {hmm seems like there is alot of throwing going on when I clean, i really don't hate it that much} into the basket and as I move from room to room I can redistribute them where they go. 

Now for the schedule..

Pretty much it looks like this

Sunday

nothing

Monday

~Laundry Day~

{I hate laundry, and seeing it in baskets, I know many ppl do one load a day, thats just not for me I do it all in one day. I start first thing in the morning and just keep doing loads until late at night then its done for the week, except for the occasional load because hubs is out of uniforms}

~vacuum~

Tuesday

~Bathrooms ~

~Floors~

Wednesday

~Kitchen~

Thursday

~Bedrooms~

~Dusting~

Friday

~vacuum~

Saturday

nothing

Every night after dinner I clean up the kitchen quickly, the dining room table, and sweep the floor. Every morning after I get ready I have a container of clorox wipes under the sink and I clean down the bathroom quickly. 

Some people like to have "cleaning day", and if that works for you ... Great!!! I prefer to do it this way.. it just fits our life better!

=//=

Now for meal planning...

Its pretty easy, I do 2 weeks at a time.. each week I plan for 1 meal of each of the following

Chicken

Beef

Pasta

Fish/Pork

Quick Meal

{one meal of leftovers}

{a free night for going out, or if something comes up}

Then I look through the cookbooks, and try to do at least one new recipe a week that I have not yet tried. We are not huge pork fans so I usually do one week with a pork dish the other with fish.

I'm thinking about going back to menu mondays and posting my meal plan for the upcoming week along with recipe links. But for now here are a few of our favorite recipes for each of the categories above. 

Chicken

CHICKEN MARSALA
Beef
Fajitas w/ spanish rice & sweet corn cakes
Pasta
MANICOTTI
Fish/Pork
baked tilapia marinated in italian dressing w/asparagus
slow cooker pork chops
Quick Meal
Lettuce Wraps

For what ails you.

I wanted to share a recipe with you all

It's great for the following things

Pregnancy Nausea 

Heartburn

Morning Snack

{with added ingredients} A COCKTAIL!!!

Cantaloupe Crush 

1 C Cantaloupe cubes

1/3 C Pineapple chunks

1/4 C Orange juice

1/2 C frozen or canned Peaches

1 Tbsp Sugar

3 Ice cubes

{opt... 1-2 shots Malibu Rum}

Whirl all ingredients together in a blender until smooth

Chicken Piccata Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned,flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whiskvigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

Recipe courtesy: Giada De Laurentiis

Spanish Roast in the crock pot

Looking for something different to make for dinner, try this recipe its super yummy.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 (4 pound) beef chuck roast salt and pepper to taste 1 cube vegetable bouillon 1 cup boiling water 1 (4 ounce) package sliced pepperoni

1 medium onion, quartered and thinly sliced 1 (15 ounce) can whole black olives, drained 2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes

Directions

	Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, and brown the roast on all sides. Season with salt and pepper, and transfer to a slow cooker.
	Dissolve the vegetable bouillon in the boiling water, and pour into the slow cooker. Mix the pepperoni, onion, black olives, garlic, and tomatoes into the slow cooker.
	Cover, and cook 4 hours on High or 8 hours on Low.

I like to cook this and serve it over rice, and finish it up with home made bread pudding!

found at Allrecipes.com

Peanut Butter Fudge

I made this recipe for a memorial service luncheon they were having at our church

Because it has dairy in it I can't tell you how it is since I couldn't try it.. 

However.... I heard it was really good.. if you try it let me know how it tastes

It was SUPER easy to make!

Peanut Butter Fudge

1/2 cup butter 2 1/4 cups brown sugar 1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup peanut butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and milk. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Pour over confectioners' sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth; pour into an 8x8 inch dish. Chill until firm and cut into squares.

from allrecipes