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.

 

Down 20 lbs & 5 point Mexican Meatball Subs

I'VE OFFICIALLY LOST 20 POUNDS!!! WOOT!! WOOT!!

So, I FINALLY got around to acutally cooking the Mexican Meatball Subs. I made the meatballs a few weeks ago and stuck them in my freezer, so I thawed 'em out and last night the meal was made.
I calculated each individual meatball to be about 1 point. I used 2 point buns, so 3 meatballs on a bun = 5 points. I sprinkled cheese on mine and used a tiny amount of sour cream. Those 2 items together probably didn't equal 1 point, but I gave myself 6 total points for the sandwich. I didn't like the salsa on it at all - I think I would have preferred it like I do my tacos = with a REAL tomato, diced small. I will make these again BECAUSE MY KIDS ATE THEM!!!   They didn't eat it sandwich style, but they ate the meatballs. My oldest even requested them for lunch today! SCORE!!!!!  I served this with peas (at the request of my youngest), steamed broccoli and a fruit salad with fresh mango and straight-from-Alabama strawberries! I'd also like to note that I made these with ground venison, which is basically 1 point per ounce, and taste VERY similar to 96% Lean ground beef. I'm sure you could easily make them with ground turkey, as well. (and again, I'd like to note that the picture is NOT mine. Its a photo from cullyskitchen.com)

Mexican Meatball Subs

 

1 Lb. 96% Lean Ground Beef (or ground turkey or ground venison)
1 Large Egg, beaten
3 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning Mix
5 Hot Dog Bun, low calorie, 2 points each
5 Tablespoons Shredded Cheddar or Mozzarella Cheese (I used Colby Jack)
5 Tablespoons Salsa
5 Tablespoons Sour Cream, light (I used fat free)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine the ground beef, egg and taco seasoning mix by hand. Divide into 15 meatballs (a little over 1 1/2 tablespoons each).
3. Spray a 9 inch glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Arrange the meatballs in the baking dish so that they aren't touching. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until no longer pink in the middle. If they start to brown too fast on top, you can lay a piece of foil on top of the dish.
4. Once complete, place 3 meatballs inside each hotdog bun. Top each with 1 tablespoon of cheese, 1 tablespoon of salsa and 1 tablespoon of sour cream. You can also top with shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes if desired.

Serves: 5
Per Serving: 254 Calories; 8g Fat (28.2% calories from fat); 26g Protein; 21g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 103mg Cholesterol; 496mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates. WWP: 5-6  (depending on bun)((www.AimeesAdventures.com)

NOTE - Step 2 can be done ahead of time and frozen for later use!

Honey Lime Tilapia and Parmesan Chicken

I tried 2 new recipes this week. Both were good. Nothing SPECTACULAR about either, but they were both easy, had few ingredients, good flavor and were each under 6 points. Not a bad dinner!

The first was Honey Lime Tilapia. Its been on my meal calendar for several months and for reasons I can't remember, it keeps getting bumped. I FINALLY made it and it was good. My 10 year old ate it. My picky-7 year old did not, but she doesn't really eat any kind of fish, though.  I didn't notice the "marinate 1-24 hours" on the recipe until about 2 hours before dinner, so...welll...it marinated 2 hours. I think I would like it to marinate the full 24-hours. I also may try mixing the marinade, adding the fish, then freezing until I need it!

(FYI - neither of the photos below are mine- they came from the websites where the original recipes were written/mentioned)

Honey Lime Tilapia

Serves: 4

Weight Watchers Points Plus: 5

Ingredients

·        For the fish and marinade:

• 4 (4-5oz) tilapia fillets (thawed if frozen)
• Juice and zest of 1 lime
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 Tbsp honey
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

·        For dredging and cooking:

• 1/2 cup white flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1-2 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1. Assemble marinade by combining lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, honey, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a gallon-sized zip-top bag or shallow container with a lid. Add fish and marinate in the refrigerator anywhere from 1 hour up to 24 hours*.
2. When ready to cook, combine flour with salt and pepper on a plate. Remove each fish fillet from the marinade and dredge lightly with the flour on both sides (just a light, light coating).
3. Heat 1-2 Tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook fillets 2 at a time for 3-4 minutes per side or until opaque and browned (this works best if you don't disturb the fish much while letting it cook).
4. Serve with lime wedges or peach salsa.

Notes

*If you want to plan this meal in advance, you can prepare the fish and marinade in a large freezer bag and keep it in the freezer. Move frozen fish and marinade to the refrigerator the morning you plan to serve the fish and allow it to thaw in the refrigerator. It will marinate while it thaws!

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Last night, I made Chicken Parmesan.

 

My kids have been bugging me about making spaghetti, so I killed 2 birds with one stone. I boiled some whole wheat noodles and heated up a small jar of spaghetti sauce. I served the chicken atop  (on the side for the kiddos) the noodles and put the sauce on top of it. Just a little bit goes a long way - maybe 2-3 tablespoons. I didn't use the "serving size" of 1/4 cup of sauce on my chicken, but if you do, add 2 points for that. I used about 1/8 cup, so I added 1 point for sauce and I ate about 1/2 of a serving of noodles, so I added 2 points for that. In lieu of typing out the recipe, here is the link to the original recipe. I calculated the chicken to be 5 points. It was pretty yummy and smelled amazing while cooking. I served it with a side of roasted zuccini with a little tiny bit of shredded parmesan cheese on top and a fresh fruit salad.

And to end on a HIGH NOTE- I've officially lost 19.5 lbs!!!  I'm about 4 lbs from my goal weight!! :-) 

3 new dinner recipes - Try them!

Tuesday Night- Almond Crusted Tilapia. Its a new favorite fish recipe, for sure! I've made it once before and it went back on this month's dinner calendar for a reason! YUM!

Almond-Crusted Tilapia

 

*NOTE- this recipe makes TWO(2) fillets- double recipe if cooking for a family of 4!
Weight Watchers Points Plus - 6

 Ingredients:

1/4 cup whole natural almonds
2 tbsp dry breadcrumbs
1 tsp garlic and herb seasoning blend (like Mrs. Dash),
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp canola oil (I use Olive Oil)
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 (6 oz) tilapia fillets

Instructions

Place the almonds, bread crumbs, garlic-herb seasoning, and pepper in a food processor (I used my blender), and pulse until finely ground.
Pour crumb mixture into a shallow dish or plate.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
Brush mustard over both sides of your tilapia fillets.
Dredge the fillets in crumb mixture then place fish in skillet.
Cook for 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes away easily.

Wednesday we had one of my favorite "summer" meals. I say summer because to make it the best possible way, you really need FRESH basil, and since my mom bought a plant last week that had plenty of beautiful basil, I used fresh, instead of my frozen "fresh" basil.  This is a super easy and quick stove-top meal that is easy to throw together!

Pan Glazed Chicken with Basil  

WW – 5 pts each

Ingredients
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts (4 oz. each)

2 teaspoons olive oil
¼  teaspoon salt
¼  teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh (or 2 teaspoons dried leaves crushed) Basil

Directions:
Put oil in a skillet and heat to Medium high. 

Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with a little salt and pepper
Cook chicken on medium-high for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.                          
Flip it over and brown for about 6 minutes or until done.

Mix vinegar, honey and basil and drizzle over chicken and into skillet. Cook about one minute and flip it over for about one minute on the other side.  Very easy and very yummy! 

Thursday I had planned to make Mexican Meatball Subs, but kinks in our schedule prevented it. I did however, go ahead and make the actual meatballs and threw them in the freezer to make the subs later this month!

Friday night- I made a new recipe - Asian Lettuce Cups. It was fairly easy to throw together and was quite yummy. It was a "weird" dinner. Hubby and I ate it - the kids wouldn't touch it. I didn't really serve any "sides" and we just kind of helped ourselves and ate on the sofa while watching the news. Its almost more like an appetizer. THAT being said, I had TWO (2) servings for 9 points and I was NOT hungry the rest of the night!Its not comparable to PF Changs, in my opinion, but still something pretty good and very different than our normal dinner.

Oh - and since I have a freezer stocked full of ground venison, I used it instead of ground turkey. Ground Venison is basically the same points per ounce as ground turkey, so it was an even swap. However, if you choose to swap the ground turkey for ground beef- your points WILL be higher, so be aware of that!  This recipe requires some asian ingredients that most of us are not going to have lying around the pantry, so be aware of that, as well. I will now be investigating other recipes where I can use Hoisin sauce, rice vinegar and roasted red chili paste (sauce).

Asian Lettuce Cups

• 1 1/4 lb. fat-free ground turkey

• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1/8 tsp. ground ginger

• 2/3 cup thinly sliced green onions (about 4)

• 1 (8 oz) can sliced water chestnuts, drained and coarsely chopped

• 12 Boston lettuce leaves (I never found these- I used another large lettuce)

• 3 Tbsp hoisin sauce

• 2 Tbsp lower-sodium soy sauce (green top)

• 1 Tbsp rice vinegar

• 2 tsp. roasted red chili paste (what I found was more of a sauce...in a small jar)

• 1/8 tsp. salt

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add turkey, garlic and ginger to the pan and cook for about 6 minutes or until turkey is browned. Stir to crumble. Combine turkey mixture, onions and chopped water chestnuts in a large bowl, stirring well, and set aside.

Meanwhile in a small bowl, whisk together hoisin, soy sauce, rice vinegar and roasted red chili paste and drizzle over the turkey mixture. Toss to coat completely. Add about 1/4 cup turkey mixture to each lettuce leaf, serve and enjoy!

 

Below is the nutritional info that came with the recipe. However, no matter how I calculated it, I couldn't come up with 5 points per serving, I was getting 4.3 = so I said 9 points for 2 servings (or 4 lettuce cups).

 

Servings: 6

Serving Size: Two (2) lettuce cups with 1/4 cup turkey mixture each (so basically -1/2 cup is one serving)

Calories: 182

Fat: 7.5 g

Carbs: 9.7 g

Fiber: 0.6 g

Protein: 19.1 g

Old Points: 4.1 pts

Points+: 5 pts

Here is the original blog post from Eat Yourself Skinny regarding the recipe.

Saturday we ate out- Mexican. I had Portabella and Vegie Fajitas. VERY good....the filling was basically 0 points, but each flour tortilla (3 came with it) was 4 points. I ate 2 1/2 of the tortillas, but I rounded up and went ahead and gave myself 12 points. I also enjoyed a few chips and cheese dip, so I added 6 points for that, as well. I pretty high dinner for me, but that is what the extra weekly points are for, right?

Sunday night, Hubby smoked a turkey! YUM!  Complete with roasted vegies, brocolli and a fruit salad, dinner was only the value of the turkey, which is 1 point per oz- and I figured I ate about 8 oz. It was SOOOO good!!!  I have 2 other meals on my dinner calendar this week that will use some of that turkey - Turkey Club sandwiches and Turkey Tortellini soup in the crockpot (which ironically is for a day that rain and cooler temps are forecasted this week).

And as a weight loss update- I am down 17.5 pounds total. My goal is somewhere between 20-25 depending on how my clothes are fitting. I want to give myself some wiggle room! :-)  Still on pace to hit my goal by Memorial Day (or sooner!)!!!

Down 16 lbs....and a new recipe & 3 point BLT!

Sorry to be MIA for a while - it was spring break!  I am officially down 16 lbs and I am in my size 10 stretch jeans & dresses. I can get INTO and fasten my size 10 khakis and slacks, but I wouldn't wear them in public! Yeah..still a tad TIGHT.  I'd say another 3-4 lbs and I'll be good to go! Although I do have lots of clothes already in that size, I still see a shopping trip in my future the next time we are in Destin (Memorial Day!)!!!

So, since I've been MIA and on spring break, it meant I didn't cook much and we ate out several times. I did make the WW deep dish pizza "casserole". Have I posted that recipe? I also made a new Chinese Chicken Stir-fry. Super easy and pretty good. I may add a few more flavors next time I make it though.The original recipe link can be found here.

Chinese Chicken Stir-Fry

 

 

ingredients:

 

3 chicken breasts - I used 1 lb.

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced - I used 1/2 of a large red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced - I used 1/2 of large yellow bell pepper 

1 stick celery, chopped

3 skinned carrots (or about 10-12 baby carrots)

1/2 white onion, diced

20 edamame (I used sugar snap peas)

2 Tbsp light soy sauce (the green bottle) - I think I used about 3 Tbsp...I just kept adding a dash of it to make it taste more "asian."

3 Tbsp lemon juice - this was about 1 whole lemon.

1 Tbsp olive oil

Dash of salt and pepper

Pinch of red pepper flakes (I used a "dash" of Cayenne red pepper- it was not enough)

 

Chop up all veggies, except for the edamame, and cut up chicken breasts and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Set aside. Heat a skillet on medium heat and add about a tablespoon of olive oil. Throw veggies into skillet and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add chicken, soy sauce, lemon juice and red pepper flakes and cook for about 10-15 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked. Enjoy!

Servings: 4
Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 167
Fat: 4 g
Carbs: 8.7 g
Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 21 g
Old Points: 3.3 pts
Points+: 4 pts

I served the Stir-Fry over approx. 1/2 - 3/4 cup of brown rice, for an additional 4 points. (about 1/3 of the "bag" of Uncle Ben's 90 second microwave brown rice! The whole bag is 10 points and its supposed to be only 2 servings, but I can usually get 3-4 out of it. I would have PREFERRED Jasmine Rice, but its several more points a serving.) And just and FYI - my kids did NOT eat this, but I liked it! I will try more pepper and maybe a tad more soy sauce next time.

OH - my new 3-point lunch fave is a BLT. (4 slices of pre-cooked Turkey Bacon - 1 point per 2 slices), on a 1-point wrap, with lettuce and tomato. No mayo required, but if you must, I recommend a Laughing Cow cheese wedge or maybe even Olive Oil light mayo or a 100-calorie guacamole pack (3 points). But its YUMMO, and less points, without any "dressing" in my opinion!!! As always, I eat my wrap with a heaping portion of fresh vegies like fresh cut bell peppers, baby carrots, sugar snap peas, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes and a heaping portion of fresh fruit- like items such as a sliced up mango, grapes, a cut up orange, fruit salad, banana...etc...you get the drift. Its all very filling and satisfies me until about 3 or 3:30 when its snack time! :-)

On the menu this week are a few old favorites like Almond Encrusted Tilapia and Pan-Glazed Chicken and a few new ones to try - Mexican Meatball subs and Asian Lettuce cups. The weekend includes a smoked turkey - so excited!!

My ring, a size 10 dress and chicken pot pie!

Weird title, I know! 

1st and foremost- I GOT MY WEDDING RING OFF!!! (and I prompty put it right back on after a good, thorough cleaning and a squirt of Windex to make it SHINE!)  As some of you may remember, not being able to get my ring off was my main reason for wanting to lose weight because it was beginning to hurt and was dirty! My finger is now permanently warped, though...its weird. It like my finger grew around my ring. Some people have a "tan line" where their ring is- I have a permanent indention!!

 

2nd - I bought a dress today for Easter - a size 10!!!  I have always typically been able to wear a size smaller dress then the size pants I wear, but still....yeah!!!  I'm still about 8-10 lbs away from my overall goal being able to comfortably wear a size 10 in pants/shorts, but that is sooooo do-able! 

3rd- dinner tonight is Weight Watcher's version of chicken pot pie. I haven't made it in YEARS. We'll see.....I have a *different* chicken pot pie recipe (NOT WW) that I LOVE,LOVE,LOVE, so we'll see if this one even compares.

CHICKEN POT PIE-WW

Ingredients
1 cup Reduced Fat Bisquick (I use the Healthy Heart Bisquick)

1/2 cup skim milk

1/4 cup egg substitute (or 3 egg whites)

2 cups frozen mixed veggies, thawed

2 cups cooked, chopped white chicken meat

2 cans fat-free Cream of Mushroom soup

 
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400.

Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.

Mix together veggies, chicken, and soup. Pour into casserole dish.

In another bowl, mix Bisquick, milk, and egg. Pour over the top of the chicken mixture.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until the crust is golden.

 

If  6 servings = 5 POINTS each/ or if  4 servings = 7 POINTS each

This recipe came from the WW Magazine cookbook "6 O'Clock Solutions".

2 lbs in 2 days and 2 more recipes!

I've lost 2 lbs in 2 days! Huh???  I haven't done anything different except just barely get all my points in each day. No extras. So....officially down 12 lbs. and officially "comfortably" in a size 12 (and -tmi-down a bra size, too!)!!  I'm taking my oldest daughter shopping tomorrow for her birthday, and I may have to grab a few new things for me, too, while we are out! YEAH!  I still can't get my ring off, though. What's up with that?

So, the Broiled Tilapia Parmesan we had the other night was SOOO good. I highly recommend that recipe!

Last night we had Chicken Cordon Bleu - a recipe I found years ago, but I've never made. It reminded me a little of the recipe I have where I cook chicken wrapped in bacon in the crockpot with cream of something soup....but this was MUCH healthier. 5 points per chicken "bundle." I served it with steamed broccoli, green peas (my youngest daughter had 3 helpings!) and watermelon. The whole meal was 5 pts, so I finished it off with a 3-pt WW ice cream treat!

	Chicken Cordon Bleu
	Ingredients: 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast 3-4 wedges The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese, room temperature ( I used about 1/2-3/4 of each wedge on each chicken breast...I used 2 1/2 total wedges) 3-4 oz. (about 8 slices) 97 - 98% fat-free ham slices (I used 2 slices on each one) salt and black pepper, to taste Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put chicken in a large sealable plastic bag, squeeze out as much air as you can, and seal. Using a meat tenderizer or a can (I use the thick end of my ice pick!), carefully pound chicken through the bag until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Remove chicken from the bag, and season to taste with salt and pepper on both sides. Lay the chicken flat and spread the cheese wedge over it. Evenly layer the ham slices on top of the cheese. Starting with one of the longer sides (or any side, if it's square), tightly roll up the chicken breast cutlet, and secure with toothpicks. Place chicken roll in a baking dish lined with foil and/or sprayed with nonstick spray, and then cover the baking dish with foil. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the foil covering the dish. Continue to bake (uncovered) for an additional 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Enjoy!
	Serving Size: 1 chicken cordon bleu Calories: 222 Fat: 4.5g Sodium: 692mg Carbs: 2g Fiber: 0g Sugars: 1g Protein: 40g POINTS® value 5*

 

Tonight I plan to make a recipe I saw on Pinterest for Layered Mexican Chicken -Go HERE to find the recipe.

 

Saturday we will be going out to our local yummy Italian restaurant for oldest daughter's birthday - her choice. On my Sunday night menu is another fish recipe, too....HERE it is. I noticed that the recipe only makes 2 servings, so I'll have to double it. It is not a WW recipe, so I'll have to configure points, but it can't be more than 6-8, maybe less if I don't use so much butter. We'll see. I'll report back on Monday!

 

In the mean time, if YOU have a yummy WW recipe for a meal, snack, dessert, whatever, that is easy, please feel free to send it to me. I love to try new things, as getting bored with the WW recipes I have is one reason I stop making and eating them! Post your recipe in the comments, or if you know me, feel free to email or FB me the recipe!

Fish...its whats for dinner.

I've "officially" lost 10 pounds! Whoop Whoop!!!

Tonight its fish for dinner....one of my favorite recipes. The WW points posted below are the OLD points, not points plus, which I'm guessing are at least 6. I'll serve with leftover vegie spiral from this weekend and maybe broccoli and a fruit salad.

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan
WW points – 5 points per fish

1 pound tilapia fillets (usually 2-4 fillets)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/8 cup butter, softened (I use "light" or low fat)
1 1/2 T mayonnaise (I use low-fat w/ Olive Oil)
1T fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
pinch onion powder
pinch celery salt

Preheat your oven's broiler, and grease a broiling pan, or line with aluminum foil.

In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise, and lemon juice and season with dried basil, pepper, onion powder, and celery salt, mix well and set aside.

Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan.

Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes.

Flip the fillets over, and broil for a couple more minutes.

Remove the fillets from the oven, and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side and broil for 2 more minutes, or until the topping is browned, and fish flakes easily

with a fork.

Be careful not to over cook the fish.

Recipe easily doubles. Do not freeze.

A Weekend Full of Food & Vegie Spiral Recipe

Today marks one month I've been back on Weight Watchers. I've lost 5 lbs, which as I remember, is about right for me. If memory serves, it typically takes me 4-5 months to lose 20-25 lbs. My original goal was 10% of my body weight and I'm over 1/2 way there, however, after going through boxes and boxes of size 10 clothes I am still hanging on to, I believe my goal will be a size 10...however much weight that is, which I suspect will be about 7-10 more lbs than my original goal. But here's the deal. I probably have 3 boxes of size 10 clothes- pants, shorts, dresses, shirts, etc., all in size 10! I can save a ton of money by not having to shop too much when I reach my goal. Most are just plain jeans, khakis, black pants, etc....nothing that goes out of "style". I will probably need new "trendy" summer shirts by the time I reach my size 10 goal, though. SO...my new goal...a comfortable size 10, however much weight that is! (I'm GUESSING about another 15-17 lbs). I am hoping to reach that goal by Memorial Day.

I hosted a lot this weekend...a Slumber Party for my almost 10-year old, which consisted of pizza (which I didn't eat) and FroYo (which I did eat- but it was 'sorbet' with fresh fruit on top!). I ended up eating steamed Chinese "dumpins" or "potstickers" or whatever they are called, for dinner. I probably ate one or two too many, but they were yummy!  I calculated that they were about 5 pts for 4 of them.

Saturday night we had family over and hubby smoked some chicken breasts. We had 2 different vegie dishes, both really good, as well as cookies, and appetizers (Wholly guac & chips and cocktail shrimp & sauce). I ate way too much Wholly Guacamole, but OMG, its soooo good!!! The dinner was "low points", but the appetizers and dessert...not so much. I knew it was coming, though, so I ate a small points breakfast and a 3-point lunch and I had almost all of my "extra" 49 points to use!

Sunday night, hubby grilled a venison steak. I made this Vegie Spiral from the blog "For the Love of Cooking", to go with it and it was good.

I think I packed the vegies TOO tightly together in mine. I used 2 potatoes and I think one (1) would have been sufficient. I don't think I used but about 1/4 cup of cheese on top, either, so I gave it 1 point per serving to account for the potato slices and scant amount of parm cheese. It was missing  something...which I ultimately decided was BUTTER!  Next time, I may give it a few squirts of "I Can't Belive its Not Butter" spray and see if that improves it. I also think it was TOO garlicky, if there is such a thing. Maybe 1 garlic clove would have been enough? And next time, I may sub bell peppers for the potatoes. I also served a fruit salad and Sister Schubert Parker House style rolls (soooo good- 4 points for 2 of them, but so worth it!).  They talked me into going to DQ for dessert and upon doing a little research on the internet, I settled on a DQ sandwich for 5 points, which was way better and the same size as the 11 points for the mini-Blizzard! YIKES! Although not on the big board menu, they do sell the DQ sandwiches and Dilly Bars (another low point option). The small cones (not dipped) are also low in points if you really need a DQ fix!

Whew - basically the weekend was all about food, but I managed to survive it without gaining any weight. I didn't lose any, but I DID NOT GAIN ANY!  That is a win in my book!

Today is Monday- leftovers for dinner, which probably means smoked chicken and leftover vegies. The rest of the week looks like this:

Tuesday: Broiled Tilapia Parmesan
Wednesdsay: Baked Ziti (from the freezer- prepared months ago before I was on WW- I will have to watch my portion size, as NOTHING about this dish is "diet", but it needs to be eaten soon!)
Thursday: Chicken Cordon Blue, made with fat free ham and Laughing Cow swiss cheese
Friday: Layered Mexican Chicken (from Pinterest- a WW recipe)
Saturday - my oldest daughter's birthday, so its her choice. I'm guessing Spaghetti.
Sunday: Sauted Tilapia w/ Lemon-Peppercorn Sauce

And how is this for motivation- I have to get my Driver's License renewd before 3/30. I would like to drop another 3 lbs by then!!! I think I can...I think I can.....

Pants on the Ground

Remember that funny "song" from a few years ago...Pants on the Ground? That is how I feel today! I am in that weird "in-between" size. Not quite a 14 anymore, but not really a 12 yet either. 14's are way too loose...12's are still a tad snug, with the exception of 1 pair. Ugh. So, I'm still wearing the 14's. I feel like I'm walking around with one hand on my waistband, constantly tugging up my pants! Its a GOOD THING, though! No recipes today, howerver, for your entertainment, I snapped this short video 3 years ago of my THEN 3 1/2 year old (now 6 1/2 year old) singing Pants on the Ground in the bathtub. No worries- she is completely covered up - no indecent content here!!

Birthday dinner last night wasn't TOO bad- I ordered Baja fish tacos, which were ok. One of the side items was dripping in buttery goodness, but oh well! It was my birthday! Which justified the 2/3 of the piece of carrot cake I ate, too, right? Overall, I think I ended up giving myself like 30 points for dinner/dessert last night. I may have over calculated..I may have undercalculated, but who knows. I didn't go completely overboard and I only gained 1/2 lb between yesterday a.m. and this a.m. - small victory! 

I am making Chicken Noodle Soup tonight- not really a WW recipe, but its not really that full of calories or fat anyway and I found some whole wheat "egg noodles" to use in place of regular egg noodles, which will bump up the nutritional content. Hope it taste the same, though!  That is the good thing about WW- you can use your own recipes, just adapt them. Tomorrow I am making an old WW Deep Dish Pizza Casserole that I've had forever and I really like! And maybe some "brownie" bites, which pretty much just consists of a can of pureed pumpkin and a box of chocolate cake mix and a mini-muffin pan. They are GREAT for chocolate cravings and only 1 point each, if I remember correctly. I will re-calculate the points after I buy the cake mix. I will post those recipes tomorrow!