It's That Time of the Week Again





 

Do you see what happened on Sunday????? I have logged-in to My Fitness Pal (the system I use to help keep me on-track with my weight loss) for 210. Y'all, that's HUGE in my book! And you can also see that I've lost a total of 33 lbs., which means I've exceeded my weight loss goal. I'm thinking of changing my goal just a smidge....

 

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I've been working on my fitness:

 

 

And this stuff is getting HARD! I know I'm going to see some good results.

 

But I also need to get back to my other fitness stuff: Just Dance on xBox, Zumba Dance Your Abs Off on xBox, & the treadmill!

 

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I decided I needed to start eating something a little more filling in the mornings. I made these this morning:

Homemade Breakfast Pockets

Since I am tracking calories, I used low-cal stuff. The whole pocket was a total of 143 calories.

 

I have also incorporated a morning snack:

 

I need more fruit in my diet & these are low-cal (made with fruit, Sprite Zero, & ice). But I've still got some tweaking to do on these (less of the other fruits & more strawberries OR buy the frozen mix & DON'T use the small mixer....it got named ALMOST smoothie cause I had to pour it over ice, not enough room for ice in that thing).....

 

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How has your weight loss & workout gone this week?

 

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My Post was Linked Up with:

 

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Have a Sunshiny Day,

 

~Tasha Sunshine

Red Sauce Chicken Spaghetti

This was our dinner tonight:

We had a salad with Homemade Croutons, Italian Garlic Toast, & Red Sauce Chicken Spaghetti. NO, I did NOT eat everything on my plate....my eyes were DEFINITELY bigger than my stomach!

 

The main dish tonight was inspired by this dish: 

The Pampered Chef Chicken Parmesan Soup.....but I didn't make it as a soup or exactly like the recipe said. I put a Tasha spin on it based on what I had here. Notice the croutons are in/on the soup.

 

Ingredients

(as listed for the soup & what I actually used)

1/4 of a loaf of French bread

2 tbsp olive oil (I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

3 tbsp Pampered Chef Garlic & Herb Rub, divided (I didn't have this, but I did have Pampered Chef Parmesan-Garlic Oil Dipping Seasoning)

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

2 cups marinara sauce (I made my own...more on this in a minute)

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with garlic & onion, undrained

2 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken breast (I had some left-overs from fried chicken breast the other night)

3 garlic cloves

1 oz fresh Parmesan cheese (yea, I cheated & used what was in a bag)

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

 

 

My Marinara Sauce is simple (I make it cause I haven't found a store-bought one I really like....I'm a little spoiled to actual homemade....this is as close as I  can get): 

1/4 cup Tastefully Simple Mama Mia Marinara Sauce

28 oz can crushed tomatoes

Combine these 2 ingredients in a saucepan; whisk to blend. Bring to a low boil; reduce heat. Cover; simmer 10 minutes. (SUPER simple & I like the way it taste....not the best, but definitely not the worst).

 

1. Croutons (remember, these ingredients were listed above): 

Cut bread into cubes (should have about 2 cups). Toss bread cubes, oil, & 1 tbsp of the rub in the Deep Covered Baker [side note: I LOVE this product from The Pampered Chef....you can cook tons of stuff in it in the oven or microwave. And the stuff from the microwave taste normal, not nasty. And your Pampered Chef Consultant can give you tons of recipes for this thing]. Microwave bread cubes, uncovered, on HIGH 3-4 minutes or until they begin to brown, stirring every minute. Spread croutons over a piece of Parchment Paper to cool.

Now remember, the croutons are in/on the soup. But, I have issues with soggy croutons/bread, so I just made the croutons & used them on the salad.

 

 

2. Stir stock, remaining 2 tbsp rub, marinara sauce, tomatoes, chicken (notice I used about 3 cups...nothing wrong with more chicken), & garlic pressed with Garlic Press [love this Pampered Chef product too!] into baker (yes, the same one I just did croutons in). Microwave, covered, on HIGH 11-13 minutes or until soup is hot. Grate Parmesan using a fine grater (or you get to skip that little part if you're like me & use out of the bag). Carefully remove baker from microwave & stir in Parmesan.

 

 

3. Top soup with half of mozzarella (not pictured here) & sprinkle with half of the croutons (if using in/on the soup). Top with remaining mozzarella. Let stand, covered, 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve soup with remaining croutons.

 

 

 

Now this stuff is good, but the time I've eaten it as a soup, I was still hungry. So I decided when I made it again, I would serve it over noodles as a Red Sauce Chicken Spaghetti.

 

And what goes better with Spaghetti than a salad (with homemade croutons) & Italian Garlic Bread?!?!? 

I sliced some of the loaf French bread, put butter on it, sprinkled Tastefully Simple Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning on it, & broiled it until it was toasted. The 2 pieces without the seasoning were for the girls....they aren't a big fan of it.

 

So, this was our dinner tonight:

 



Sweet & Sour Meatballs

Sweet & Sour Meatballs
2 lbs Ground Beef
1 pkg Lipton Onion Soup Mix
Dash of Garlic
5 slices of Bread, crust removed & break up
1 egg mixed in separate bowl before adding
Pepper
Onion, diced
1 lb Grape Jelly
2 jars Chili Sauce
3/4 cup water, divided into 1/4s to go into the 3 jars

 

(In this picture, my jelly is a 2 lb jar cause it's what I have...you only need 1 lb)

 

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine ground beef, Lipton Onion Soup Mix, garlic, bread, egg, pepper, & onion in a medium bowl. Mix with hands.

Roll into balls. Bake on broiler pan (line bottom part with aluminum foil & spray top of pan with non-stick cooking spray) at 350 for 20 minutes.
 

While meatballs are baking, mix grape jelly & 2 jars of chili sauce in crock pot (in this picture, my jelly is a 2 lb jar cause it's what I have...you only need 1 lb). Put 1/4 of water into each jar, shake vigorously, & pour into crock pot. Melt sauces on high, stirring often.
 

After the meatballs have baked for 20 minutes, flip them, & bake 20 more minutes. I know my pictures says 25, but for the size of my meatballs, it was too long....20 minutes would be better.
 

Add cooked meatballs to crock pot & cook on high for 1 hour. Simmer on low while serving.

Special Hot Chocolate

Special Hot Chocolate

1.5 cups Heavy Cream
1 (14 oz) Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups Bittersweet OR Semisweet Chocolate Chips
... 6 cups Milk
1 tsp Vanilla
1/4 tsp Cinnamon

In a large pot over low heat, combine all of the above ingredients. Stir regularly for 30-40 minutes until chocolate is fully melted and incorporated with other ingredients.
If you're making this for a party, you could add all of the above ingredients to a crockpot a few hours before guests arrive. Provide a ladle and mugs and let them serve themselves.

Top with marshmallows, whipped cream, or both. We also had a marshmallow treat with ours.

 

 

Apple Toffee Dip

WOW! This is the THIRD blog I've posted about me making something in a week....but when I get in the mood to make stuff, I'm REALLY in the mood!

 

I got this recipe from a friend's friend. We were both at the friend's Fall Party & I FELL IN LOVE with this stuff. I could LITERALLY (& do sometimes) just eat it with a spoon. And I've gotten to where I ONLY make it in a double batch, so that's how I'll post the recipe.

 

 

Ingredients

2 (8 oz) packages Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup packed Brown Sugar (light or dark)

1/2 cup Granulated Sugar

2 teaspoons Vanilla

2 packages Heath Toffee Bits

[FYI: I have tried the chocolate toffee bits cause that's all our local Kroger has, but I didn't like it as much....guess cause I'm used to the way it tastes as is]

 

Directions

Combine cream cheese & sugars in a bowl.

Mix with a spoon or at medium speed until smooth.

Mix in vanilla.

Stir in toffee bits.

Serve with sliced apples.

Not the prettiest thing, but OH MY GOODNESS it's YUMMY! I take it to MANY functions.



White Chocolate Chip Nutella Cookies

I saw this recipe on Facebook & decided to give it a try....afterall, it's NUTELLA!

 

It was SUPER easy [although painful for me since I BADLY--but not bad enough for stitches--cut the tip of my finger....Use scissors instead of a knife to open the bags].

 

 

 

Ingredients

1 box Devil's Food cake mix (Duncan Hines)

1 cup Nutella

2 eggs

1/3 cup oil

1 bag white chocolate chips

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine cake mix, Nutella, eggs and oil. Mix at low speed with an electric mixer until blended. Stir in white chocolate chips. Using a small cookie scoop (1 tablespoon), drop cookies onto cookie sheets.

Bake 9 to 11 minutes.

 



Small Crowd CrockPot Spaghetti & Bacon Bacon Cheddar Bread

In my attempt to have a healthier lifestyle, I have discovered that I don't eat dinner on Wednesday nights & that is a BAD thing! I have decided that as long as a the girls & I are within an hour of Somerville & no one is sick, we will be at First Baptist Somerville on Sundays & Wednesdays. On Wednesday, I get off at 5 & our activities start at 6. The church does provide a meal on Wednesday evenings that starts at 5:30...but I have 2 girls who REALLY like to take their time & enjoy their time at the dinner table & I don't like to rush them. When activities started up, I started having my mother-in-law (who keeps the girls when they aren't at preschool & while we're at work) feed them something easy for dinner (sandwich or hot dog) before I get home. But I would end up not eating & just eat some junk before I went to bed...again, not good for a healthier lifestyle.

 

So I decided to start putting something in the CrockPot Wednesday mornings, doing all my prep work Tuesday evening. That way the girls are getting a good meal (starting a little before I get home to ensure they have plenty of time) without my mother-in-law having to cook for them (she already does ABOVE & BEYOND when she keeps the girls) AND there is a warm meal for me & anyone else that happens to decide to want one. This Wednesday was Small Crowd CrockPot Spaghetti & Bacon Bacon Cheddar Bread. I have a slightly different recipe for CrockPot Spaghetti if feeding a larger crowd or taking to a Pot Luck. BTW, the Small Crowd recipe fed the girls & I on Wednesday & then Greg & his parents on Thursday evening (while the girls & I had Mommy Bible Study/Kid Play Date at our house with another CrockPot recipe....another blog posting to come).

 

Here are the recipes & steps I used, along with some of my favorite products, indicated by **. I use some of these favorite products just for quickness or cause it's what I already have in the house or I just REALLY LOVE the product. If you want these products & don't know or have a consultant, I can share the info of the onese I use.

 

Small Crowd CrockPot Spaghetti

Ingredients

 

List of Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

2 Tbsp miced onion (I used Tastefully Simple Onion Onion**)

1 tsp garlic

1/2 tsp garlic (I used Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic**)

8 oz tomato sauce

1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (I use Pampered Chef Italian Seasoning**)

3 cups tomato juice

Big can of diced tomatoes

1 small package of spaghetti

 

Bacon Bacon Cheddar Bread

Ingredients

 

List of Ingredients:

Bountiful Bread Mix (Tastefully Simple & Pampered Chef BOTH offer these**)

12 oz of carbonated beverage (Sprite Zero, Beer, Mountain Dew, Coke...whatever you have in your house)

2 Tbsp Bacon Bacon (Tastefully Simple product**)

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

3 Tbsp melted butter (I used 4 Tbsp divided so I could use the whole half stick)

 

My Prep & Steps:

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 & grease 9x5 loaf pan. Featured products: Tastefully Simple loaf pan & Pampered Chef Kitchen Spritzer (healther than spray out of the aerosol can)

 

2. Add bread mix & beveral in a bowl; quickly & firmly stir together 20-30 seconds. Add Bacon Bacon, cheese, & 3 Tbsp of melted butter.

 

3. Spread mixture into loaf pan.

 

4. Spread remaining 1 Tbsp of melted butter on top.

 

5. Bake for 50-55 minutes until golden brown & pulls away from sides.

 

6. While the bread is baking, I browned the ground beef. Featured Product: Pampered Chef Mix & Chop**

 

7. Once the ground beef is brown, I drained it & put it in the fridge till I was ready for it on Wednesday Morning.

 

8. Once the time went off & it looked like this, I pulled the bread out of the oven. You let it set in the pan for 5 minutes.

 

9. Remove from pan & let it cool on a rack (Pampered Chef product**) for 30 minutes. At this point you can slice it, but I put it back in the loaf pan & covered it till we were ready for it.

 

9. Wednesday morning, I got up & put all spaghetti ingredients EXCEPT THE NOODLES into the CrockPot on Low (it can cook at this setting for 6-8 hours).

 

Then I went to work.

 

10. Turn the CrockPot on High the last 45 minutes to hour & add the spaghetti noodles.

 

11. I wanted the bread to seem fresh (warm & just out of the oven); so I sliced what I needed for the girls & myself, spread butter on 1 side, & broiled the slices for 5 minutes.

 

12. ENJOY!

Build Your Own Pizza Night

So tonight was Build Your Own Pizza Night at our house!

 

Get all the stuff you need/want to build your pizza. I use those items pictured above. I still haven't found a sauce that I'm 100% excited about; but this one was better than what we've tried in the past.

 

 Time to assemble the pizza: Put what you're using as your crust down.

 

 Then we spread our sauce....this is a GREAT meal to build with your kids =D

 

 We like to put our cheese on next.

 

 And we like LOTS of cheese! Then add the rest of your toppings how ever you would like.

 

 Place your pizzas on a pan that's safe to cook on. As you can see, we also top our pizzas with cheese (I said we liked cheese =D)

 

 Then place them in the oven for 10-12 minutes at 375.

 

Pull them out, slice, let cool (or vice versa), & serve.

 

The girls LOVE when we have this night. We usually do it when Daddy is out-of-town. If anyone has a FAV store-bought pizza sauce OR super easy recipe for one, please share it with me!

Dinner

I don't get to cook often in this house....sometimes I'm thankful for that; but most times I don't like it. I REALLY like to cook; PLUS, I have TONS of fun tools to use & recipes & cookbooks. Tonight's dinner was cooked per request: Pampered Chef Classic Mini Cheeseburgers with Ore-Ida French Fries. The cheeseburgers are ONLY 220 calories for 2 of them AND I only ate the serving size of fries. You CAN eat whatever you want & still lose weight, as long as you are willing to practice portion control! They are also super quick & easy to make!