Accountability

ACK!  Its been almost an entire month since I last blogged. As far as cooking goes, I've not done a lot of it in that month. And if I have, its been recipes that are not new and are already posted here. Its been crazy.  And thanks to that craziness, I allowed FIVE (5) POUNDS to sneak back on! WTH??  I've gotten lazy. I'm not being so strict with my snacks and eating at night. I can guarantee that is the issue. I'm going to try to start tweaking my daily routine today to go back to the way it was!

Losing weight is the EASY part, people. I swear. Maintaining it is what is a killer. And as you know, I hate to exercise. There is no time for it in my life right now. An excuse, I know. But I hate it. So, to maintain, its going to have to be 100% diet and being attentive to what I'm eating and how much. I have to be accountable to myself.

And wouldn't you know it....its almost fall...which means baked goods & comfort food....pumpkin muffins, apple spiced bread, chicken pot pie, chili, pastas...  I will still allow myself to make my favorites, but not everyday and I have to remember that going back for seconds will result in going back to the store for a bigger size pants!

On the menu for this weekend is something grilled (hubby's choice) and Sunday night is Philly Chicken  Cheesesteak. I love this sandwich!  Here is the recipe and here is the picture and it is NOT my pic- its from the WW website:

Its simple and pretty darn tasty. I'll probably serve with raw vegies and a fruit salad.  Its going to be HOT here in KY this weekend, so anything that doesn't require turning on the oven is a winner in my book!

Mango Salsa- Tasty!!

So, I got brave and made my own Mango Salsa to go with the Citrus Tilapia I made last night. It was SOOOOO good with the Tilapia!! And zero calories! The only change I made to the salsa recipe was that I didn't have a red pepper, so I used an orange one. And the only change I made to the Citrus Tilapia recipe was that I put the fish back into the pan after I reduced the sauce and coated the fish (instead of pouring the sauce over the top of the fish). Later in the evening, I finished off what was left of the salsa with some tortilla chips!  It would also be good on blackened fish or with fish tacos....so many possibilities. The recipe says you can use strawberries instead of mango, but I love mango!!

In case you want to read the reviews, here is the recipe I used from www.allrecipes.com.  And FYI, the below picture is not mine, it came with the recipes from the above link.

Mango Salsa

 

 

1 large ripe mango, peeled and diced

½ red bell pepper, diced (or yellow or orange)

2 Tbsp minced red onion

1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded & minced

2 Tbsp lime juice

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Salt& pepper to taste

 

Add all ingredients and toss well. Season to taste with salt and pepper and refrigerate until ready to use.

Dog Days of Summer

Its hot...and humid....and oh so sticky. Not a great time to be slaving away in the kitchen with new recipes. So, last week and this week....its easy dinners. Dinners that don't include turning on the oven.

Last Friday ended up being a kid-free night, so we took advantage and had a night out! Yeah! We had fresh, tableside guacamole and I had fish tacos which were not all that healthy, but better than some alternatives...and I only ate one of the two I was given. (the second was lunch on Saturday!) Unfortunately (or fortunately...however you look at it!), I had 3 martinis, at a whopping 200+ calories each....yikes!

Saturday night we BBQ'ed. I just marinated some chicken breasts in our fave BBQ sauce, threw them on the grill with a few vegie kabobs from vegies at Farmers Market (vegies tossed in olive oil and sprinkled w/ garlic salt), fresh pineapple and strawberry fruit salad...and viola...dinner. Nothing hard. Nothing fancy, but very yummy and an EASY summer dinner.

Sunday was spent cleaning out 8 years of neglect in our garage. Its still not perfect, but better. It was most definitely a good 7 hour work-out!! And last night was my oldest daughter's last night before camp and she requested Breakfast for dinner. It unfortunately required turning on the oven for biscuits, but as luck has it, it was overcast and raining by dinner, so the kitchen wasn't hot at  all.  So, "dinner" was biscuits, bacon, turkey sausage and scrambled eggs...along with a huge fruit salad. It very much hit the spot! 

Tonight is Citrus Tilapia...another no-oven dish! I have lots and lots of fresh vegies to go with it, and left-over fruit salad, too! I've made this recipe before, but I don't think I've ever posted the recipe. I'm thinking a good "fruit" salsa might go well with it, however I'm terrified of making my own salsa b/c I'm terrified of jalapeno peppers. Silly, I know. But I'm not a fan of them, hence, my slight fear of cooking with them!  Maybe I can buy something yummy....suggestions??

CITRUS TILAPIA
Prep time: 10 minutes / cook time: 10 minutes
4 Servings

Ingredients
2 teaspoons butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 (4 oz) tilapia fillets
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp lemon juice (I used fresh)

Directions
1. Heat butter and oil in skillet over low heat. Season Tilapia with salt and pepper and dredge in flour.

2. Increase heat to medium-high. Add fish. Cook until well browned on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn fish and continue cooking until golden brown and cooked through, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer fish to plates or platter.

3. Pour orange juice and lemon juice into skillet. Boil until reduced by about half, 1-2 minutes. Drizzle sauce over each fillet and serve.

Summer eats!

I love summer food...fresh vegetables and fruit galore!  Farmers Market has been so much fun to browse every Saturday. This week we've had lots of yummy stuff....cantelope, watermelon, peaches, sweet corn, zucchini, squash, peppers, tomatoes, and more. I've made Honey Chicken Kabobs, Baked Tilapia and a new one...Grilled Cheeseburger Wraps, although I didn't grill them...I heated them in my pancake pan! :-) They were good...a "low-cal" version of a cheeseburger. Nobody complained-everyone ate it and said it was good. It was quick and easy and did not require turning on the oven, which is a requirement when its 100 degrees outside!

Grilled Cheeseburger Wraps

from Skinny Mom's Kitchen

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (I used ground venison)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (I used a little more to taste)

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 teaspoon dried minced onion

 

1 teaspoon garlic salt (original recipe does not call for this, but I felt it desperately needed it)

pepper and salt (if needed) to taste

5 flour tortillas (the larger ones)

shredded cheddar cheese

sliced tomatoes

yellow mustard

Instructions
Brown ground beef in large skillet and drain.

Add Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, dried onion, garlic salt and pepper to the beef and simmer for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle shredded cheese down center of each tortilla. Add a few heaping tablespoons of the beef mixture on top of the cheese. Spread some mustard on top of the beef along with some slices of tomato.

Roll up tortilla burrito-style and place wraps on preheated grill.
Grill wraps for about 5 minutes until cheese is melted. Cut on a diagonal and serve immediately.

 

 

I've lost 2 of the 4 lbs I gained on vacation.  Its very important for me to lose them because this is usually where I fail...not losing vacation weight. Hopefully by the end of next week, I'll be good to go!

Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken is on the menu tonight and Breakfast for dinner tomorrow night. I LOOOVE B'fast for dinner, as do the kids, so its another easy, no oven required dinner! Stay cool!

 

Comfort Food-Pot Roast

Ok, so Pot Roast is not exactly "diet" food or even low fat, but its been in my freezer forever and the roast NEEDED cooking!  :-)   So today its in the crockpot. I expect it will feed us for a week! I've had this recipe forever and a day and now I'm seeing it more and more online, on Pinterest, on food blogs, etc. I think I got it from a recipe message board like 8 years ago. Here is just ONE of the thousands of Pinterest pins on it. And there is a reason you see this recipe everywhere- its EASY and YUMMY!  VERY good!  However, if you are sensitive to a lot of salt, you may want to look for a low-sodium version of at least one of the below mentioned mixes or use less of the packet. (And as I type this, I realize I forgot the 1/2 cup of water! Oops - I'll add it at lunch time!)  I added a ton of baby carrots, onions and a few little potatoes. To keep it "healthy", I'll just watch my portion size...that is about all I can do. But sometimes you just need some comfort food. Its probably a better fall or winter "cold weather" recipe, but like I said, the roast needed to be cooked and SOON. I only make pot roast 2-3 times a year, anyway.

And FYI - I've already lost 1 of those 4 pesky pounds! Yeah!

To Die For Crock-Pot Roast

1 beef roast, any kind
1 package dried brown gravy mix
1 package dried Italian salad dressing mix (use ½ packet for less salty taste)
1 package dried ranch dressing mix (use ½ packet for less salty taste)
1/2 cup water

Place beef roast in Crock-Pot.

Mix together the dried mixes in a bowl and sprinkle over roast.

Pour the water around the roast.

Cook on low for 7-9 hours.

Back to Basics

After a month of hopping from Kentucky to Florida to Kentucky to Nevada to Kentucky back to Florida....I am finally home....with 4 additional pounds to show for all the fun and eating out! Blah. So, its back to basics to lose those 4 lbs because if I don't do it NOW, well...we all know what happens. So, its back to Weight Watchers. I am mentally counting points, but if I don't shake these 4 lbs in 2-3 weeks, then I'll start journaling again. But, I'm glad I lost all the weight before going to Vegas - man was it HOT out there and I didn't feel self conscience in my tank top and shorts!

Inside Hoover Dam

Earlier this week I made a yummy, light, EASY summer chicken....its stove top, so you don't have to turn on your oven and heat the kitchen...and it uses fresh basil, so if you have a basil plant that is out of control, its a great way to use some. I posted the recipe back in April, so here it is. The only ingredients you need are chicken, basil, balsamic vinegar and honey. See- easy peesy!

And tonight its a light Tilapia recipe. I can't believe I haven't posted this one before. Its easy and quick and again...stove top so no turning on the oven in this July heat! (although I will probably still do so in  order to roast fresh vegies so hubby doesn't have to grill in 95 heat!) Usually, in the summer, my "side items" consist of "plain" fresh vegetables that are roasted or grilled (tossed in a small amount of olive oil and sprinkled with garlic salt) and a side of fresh fruit...either a mixed fruit salad or just one fruit, like sliced oranges, a bowl of strawberries or mangos, etc. VERY rarely do I make rice or bread. We get out "grains" in during the day and I don't feel the need serve it at dinner.

Tilapia Almondine

4 (old) WW Points per fish- probably 5-6 points on new system.

4 tilapia filets (3-4 oz. each)
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
4 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp slivered almonds
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Rinse and pat tilapia fillets and sprinkle with salt and pepper and a slight dusting of flower.

In a saute pan, heat only 1 Tbsp butter and saute tilapia for about 2-3 minutes on each side until cooked.

Remove fish and add the other Tbsp butter, almonds and lemon juice.

Cook a few more minutes until almonds are golden and pour sauce over filets (it won't be MUCH sauce...just enough for some additional flavor)

 

 

Grilled Brushetta Chicken - the best EVER!

This recipe is by far one of my all time favorites- of ANY kind of food! I've made this recipe now for probably 8+ years and I love it each and every time its made. Its LOW in points and a healthy, fresh recipe for summertime! I grow a basil plant JUST for this one recipe!! And I get my tomatoes from farmer's market! Copy this recipe and put it on your dinner calendar NOW! Its worth it!

Oh- and FYI - I've hit my "goal" and my STOP weight. I am now MAINTAINING. (and the hard work begins!)

Grilled Bruschetta Chicken

 from Kraft Food & Family

 Ingredients

1/4 cup KRAFT Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette Dressing, divided

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)

1 medium tomato, finely chopped

1/2 cup KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp. dried basil leaves (use fresh - always use fresh!!!)

 

Directions 

PLACE large sheet of heavy-duty foil over half of grill grate; preheat grill to medium heat.

Pour 2 Tbsp. of the dressing over chicken in resealable plastic bag; seal bag.

Turn bag over several times to evenly coat chicken with the dressing. Refrigerate 10 min. to marinate. (or however long you like- I usually do several hours, but you can do only 10 minutes and it pretty much has the same taste!)

Remove chicken from marinade; discard bag and marinade.

GRILL chicken on uncovered side of grill 6 min. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, cheese, basil and remaining 2 Tbsp. dressing.

TURN chicken over; place, cooked-side up, on foil on grill.

Top evenly with tomato mixture.

 Close lid. Grill an additional 8 min. or until chicken is cooked through (170ºF).

 

 

 

*NOTE - I have a hard time finding the sun-dried tomato vinaigrette dressing now days. This is the ONLY brand my grocery carries of sun-dried tomato vinaigrette. Based on the origin of this recipe, I'm guessing that maybe Kraft makes a version of this dressing as well, but I've never been able to find it.