Weigh in Day

I have finally hit the 20 pound mark.  It has been slow coming.  Maybe with warmer weather on the horizon, I will be out in the yard, cleaning it up and bending over. That should hopefully aid in a more quicker loss.  Tom has lost 27 pounds, I knew he would blow me out of the water eventually with this.  In the next couple of days I will post a picture of us, as I promised, for the 20 pound mark.
Now-on to my next 10 pounds.
May you reach a goal of yours today.

Thanks for checking in....
 

"Red"

I finished my cardinal painting
6 x 6

Weigh In Day

No weight loss this week.  I just was not surprised when I stepped on the scales.  I didn't feel any lighter.  Not that I had a big eating binge...nothing changed.  I documented on My Fitness Pal, ate all the right foods and exercised.  It has been unusually cold this week for this time of the year, maybe my body doesn't want to let go of any of the fat.  It needs it to keep warm.  That's as good of an answer that I can give. The thought as always....at least there was not weight gain. 

A few items I want to share with you this week.

Hobo Dinner Revisited

We pulled out an old favorite this last Sunday.
 Uncooked Ground beef at the bottom (you can't see it).
Corn
Peas
Green Beans
Sliced Potatoes
Bacon it's better if it is cooked
For the liquid-chicken noodle soup
Wrap it in foil so it doesn't leak.  Put another piece on the outside.
If everyone chooses to make their own be sure to put their initials on the outside with a sharpie pen.
Put on the grill at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.  Turning over once.
So good...So easy...So tasty.
 

Found these two books on my Marshalls Shopping Trip.
They are so full of good ideas and recipes.
I don't know about you but books jump start my ideas especially when they get depleted.
It's like gasoline for my mind.
I recommend picking them up from the library and see if they are a help for you too.

This book makes the higher fat versions into lower fat, calorie and sugar recipes.
Many times it calls for a few lesser known ingredients but you can substitute what you have found to work for your recipes, and they can probably be found easier in the grocery.
If anything this book certainly introduces new ingredients I didn't know existed.

Give it a try, it also has may good tips.

Ahhhh, the smell of onions and green peppers together, I love it.  To me this says FAJITAS!
I found a great make your own fajita seasoning recipe.
Packaged seasonings are so full of sodium.  This one has one teaspoon of salt and you can leave it out if you want.
It tasted and smelled so good!

Make it Yourself-Fajita Seasoning

1 T cornstarch
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. sugar
1 crushed chicken boullion cube
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. cumin

Mix together, keep in an airtight container.
Add some and water to cooked steak or chicken for your fajitas.
You will just have to experiment to see how much you like on your meat.

I hope you like it as much as I did.
Enjoy.

Cardinal

Starting a new watercolor painting.
Cardinals are my favorite type of bird.
From their song to their color, I just love them!

Check back by for the finished product. 
 

Flat

How flat can a big cat get?

Pretty flat if you are dead to the world like Mr. Sebastian. 

 

Freshening up

I felt it was time to freshen up the blog and painted a new banner.  It is called "Finally".  Soon the flowers will be popping out of the ground and we won't have a threat of snow.  It is so good to hear the birds chirping outside my window in the mornings.  They still have the "S" word in the forecast, but at least there isn't supposed to be any accumulation. Very, Very soon it will "Finally" be spring. 

I made this dish a few weeks ago.  I had brown jasmine rice on the bottom.  Ground beef, taco seasoning, water, black beans, corn on top of the rice.  Cut up onions along with a cut up jalapeno with no seeds and some lime juice on top and some ready made salsa.  Chopped fresh parsley for the finishing touch. Super good, very easy. 

This is a nice dish that doesn't take too long to make.
Enjoy-thanks for checking in.     

Tuesday Weigh In

Another two pounds have been lost making it a total of 19. 
I contribute this loss to the app My Fitness Pal.
This makes it so easy to document what I put into my mouth.
I am still walking 30 minutes per night on the treadmill at 2.5 mph.
When Tom and I go outside for a walk we are usually gone 45 minutes and walk 2.1 miles around the neighborhood. 
My caloric limit is 1600 calories along with that fats limit of 58 and sugars limit of 35.  That sugars limit is hard to keep low, I have to be especially careful on that one.  With My Fitness Pal, it gives you credit when you exercise.  I regained 150 calories because I walked tonight. 
I have a long way to go yet but every pound lost is an incentive for the next.  I am thrilled with my results so far and I feel so good. 



On Sunday everyone joined in and helped with the evening meal.  Here is Sam cooking the ground chicken for a Weight Watchers Mexican Casserole.

The risen dough for our grilled pizza crusts.



Kevin cutting up the chicken for the Shish Ka Bobs.

Weight Watchers Mexican Casserole.

Recipe:
1 lb ground skinless chicken breast
1/2 c onions, chopped
1/2 c bell peppers, chopped
1 clove garlic
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
8 ozs taco sauce
1 c fat-free sour cream
1 c fat-free cottage cheese
1 c low-fat tortilla chips, whole or broken up
1 c low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 c salsa

Directions:

Heat oven to 400. Spray cooking spray on bottom of a 2-quart casserole dish; set aside. In a skillet,
cook chicken, onion, peppers, and garlic clove until tender. Add seasoning mix and taco sauce;
set aside. In a medium bowl, combine sour cream and cottage cheese; set aside. Place half the
broken chips in the bottom of casserole dish. Add meat mixture to cover the chips, then cover the
meat with sour cream mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and remaining crushed chips. Bake,
uncovered, for 30 minutes or until cheese has melted. Top with 3/4 cup salsa if desired.

Makes 8 (1 Cup Servings)

Nutritional Info Per Serving:
287 Calories; 4g Fat; 25g Protein; 34g Carbs; 43mg Cholesterol; 2g Fiber; Points Plus+ 7
Free WW Recipes

Honey Lime Fruit Salad

Strawberrys
Blueberries
Seedless Green Grapes

1/4 cup honey
Juice from two limes
Whisk together and pour over the fruit.

It's very good!

 

Chicken Shish Ka Bobs.  Each Skewer has marinated chicken, Bacon folded up on the skewer, Mushrooms, Pineapple and onion.
Cook for 20 minutes or so, turning frequently. 

Individual Pizzas grilling

Follow this link and it will tell you how to do this.

 

Tom, the outdoor cook, manning the grill.

Pizzas with the toppings. 

I used some whole wheat flour in the dough.  It makes it a little bit heavier. 

We didn't get a movie in this time, but still it was fun. 

 

Drawn to houses

On a recent shopping trip through Marshall's Dept. Store I found this Heartwood Creek house hiding among the soaps.  The blue color, the skinny red door, the Ohio Star Quilt block...etc. etc.
It said pick me up and take me home. 
The name on the bottom is "Three Dormers" Winter Star by Jim Shore. 

There is stone in the front and brick in the back.  Another skinny red door and flowers along the foundation. 
It makes me happy when I look at it. 
I hope you find something that tickles your happiness today. 

Tuesday Weigh In

Today, after having the biggest snow we have had in at least two years I am putting up a spring looking 2.  It will be nice to smell fresh air and see some flowers peeking out.

I have lost two more pounds making a total of 17. 

Tom has lost 1 more pound making a total of 21.

The other morning I was thinking about gym class in the late 1960's and remembered a song we would exercise to.

I found a you tube video with it.  It is sang by Robert Preston if you can't place the voice.
The picture of the record brought back a memory-I believe I had one of those.

Maybe I should have my alarm go off with this playing.
HANDS ON HIPS...READY!
I hope you enjoy.

 

little bit of decorating

I finally decided what to put on top of my cabinet.  I found I had a couple of interesting frames I had picked up a while ago and then forgot about them.  I put a couple of favorite family pictures in them and then the sunflowers in some potter with the right color on it. 

Tom put up this shelf I had gotten from Pottery Barn a year ago.  These kinds of shelves are hard to put up.  I have some blue  favorite items on the shelf and then a block that I had exchanged with from a person in California. 

A little more close up for a better view.

And this one too.  The vase and the house block is from Pewabic Pottery in Detroit.  The tea light candle holder with stars was from my sister in law.  The dolphin my Mother in Law had brought back from Florida.  The little blue bottle on the end I had bought for my Mother.  The little blue candle holder I had received with a gel like candle in it that was homemade.  Fun little memorable items that I like.

The two pictures are just flowers from my garden at a previous house.  The blue and white pot had been my Mothers also.  I have fabric to make a valance for the window.  That's on my to do list for this year. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Weigh in Day

Two more pounds lost for a total of 15.  Tom was also successful with two more pounds for a total of 20. I have some staples that I eat every morning.  I need a good size breakfast.  Like I have quoted earlier.  Eat like a King for breakfast, a Queen for lunch and a Pauper for dinner. 

I have my usual banana for potassium.

1 cup of 1 percent milk.

One cup of Great Grains, Pecans, Dates and Raisins.  I get so much goodness out of 1 cup.  protein, iron, fiber.  It does have 13 percent sugar, but for the most part it is natural sugars not processed.  Processed sugar was a huge part of our problem and I think the nations. 

1/4 cup of unsalted cashews



Light and Fit Greek Yogurt.  Only 80 calories, double the protein, just the right consistency...not too thick. 

EACH POUND LOST IS INSPIRATION FOR THE NEXT

Tom only has 10 more pounds to reach his goal!
Thanks for checking in. 



fun dogs

I had been on the lookout for some fun lamps.
I found these at Meijer on clearance and couldn't pass them up. 
A little dogbone on top.

A three dimensional metal painted pooch.
I have it lighting the way in the toilet area in the main bathroom.

It's really cute!

Of course there was this second one that I couldn't leave behind.  I have put it in the guest room.

A little green bone on top.

Pink spots on a lime green body.

May you find something fun in today too!

Really Tasty Healthy Recipe

I follow a blog called The Shrinking Kitchen.  It's great because they post a whole weeks worth of menus to use.  This Chicken Tetrazzini was in this weeks and it was really good!  I made it today for the evening meal. 

Here is the finished product, 12 one cup squares can come out of it. 
Here is the recipe inserted from the posting:

One ingredient I used that was different than the recipe was whole wheat linguini and only one cup of the shredded cheese on top..

A delicious comfort food that makes TWO 8x8" casseroles! Eat one tonight and freeze one for later.

Gather

1 (16-oz.) package vermicelli

1/2 cup lower-sodium chicken broth

4 cups chopped, cooked chicken breasts

1 (10 3/4-oz.) can Campbell's Healthy Request cream of mushroom soup

1 (10 3/4-oz.) can Campbell's 98% fat free cream of chicken soup

1 (10 3/4-oz.) can Campbell's Healthy Request cream of celery soup (I omitted and used a 2nd can of cream of chicken)

1 (8-oz.) container light sour cream

1 (6-oz.) jar sliced mushrooms, drained (I personally omitted)

1/2 cup (2 oz.) shredded Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 cups (8 oz.) reduced- fat shredded cheddar cheese

Step by step

1. Cook vermicelli according to package directions; drain. Return to pot, and toss with chicken broth.
2. Stir together chicken and next 8 ingredients; add vermicelli, and toss well. Spoon mixture into 2 lightly greased 11- x 7-inch (I used 2 8x8s) baking dishes. Sprinkle evenly with cheese.
3. Bake, covered, at 350° for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
4. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.
5. BONUS: I put one casserole in the freezer before cooking. One 8x8 was more than enough to feed my family of 4. Freeze unbaked casserole up to 1 month, if desired. Thaw overnight in refrigerator. Let stand 30 minutes at room temperature, and bake as directed.
Notes: Nutritional information calculated using the recipe as written, not including my modifications and omissions.
To make Feingold Friendly, I used Amy's Organic Mushroom Soup, 2 cans of Cascadian Farms Organic Cream of chicken (no approved cream of celery), and I also used regular organic cheddar. I made sure that the rest of the ingredients were approved items! Current nutritional information does not apply when modified.

Nutrition

WW PP 8; Calories 305; Total Fat 7.4g; Saturated Fat 3.7g; Cholesterol 40.3mg; Sodium 831.9mg; Potassium 316.7mg; Total Carbohydrates 36.9g; Dietary Fiber 2.2g; Sugars 2.6g; Protein 21.4g;

After I cook I have two really good helpers that clean up.

It's a really good deal.
I hope you like the recipe!

Valentine cards

Here is Sam's valentine card.  Couple little cars with hearts exhaust. 

Kevins teddy bear with heart balloons.

Toms card a cute couple.

lily

I wanted to show you these pictures of my pretty Lily.
She will come in the bathroom with me when I am getting ready in the morning.
Next thing I know she is up on the new cabinet watching me put on makeup.
She seems to be a girly, girl. 

I love her little points of hair on her ears. 
She has lots of names....silly lily....willy lily...green eyed lady. 
She has beautiful markings and color. 
That's my gal! The only other girl in the house.