the weekend over already

how did it happen - it is Sunday evening and the weekend is over....

I have 3 different recipes I have tried since I last blogged... ez tomato-basil chicken coming in at 175 calories a serving, the 129 calorie totally pumpin' fettuccine and so-good chocolate chip softies at 88 calories

Let's start with the ez tomato-basil chicken - ez was right - definitely a recipe to keep on hand for short notice... very easy! Although it called for canned crushed tomatoes with basil.... I couldn't find them - I just did the canned petite diced tomatoes and then pulled some basil from our garden and sliced it up and put it in...the hubbie liked this a lot... the daughter just ate the chicken... she isn't into tomatoes...


totally pumpin' fettuccine... was a total bomb.... very blah... no real taste to it...I would pass on this one very quickly....


and unfortunately - I have the same review for the so-good chocolate chip softies.... which were not-so-good - again, kind of blah...the whole wheat and the pumpkin... not such a good combination


This evening I tried the Orroweat Sandwich Thins (100 calories lots of whole grains and fiber) instead of a regular hamburger bun - MOST TASTY! Would highly recommend.










Fun Info: Chocolate had been enjoyed as a drink for centuries in ancient civilizations before Spanish explorers brought it back to Europe. But it wasn't until the early 1800's that companies started producing the chocolate we know and love today!

only one

I usually try to have at least 2 recipes to report on... but since I was out of town and hubster worked last night - I only have one from Monday.... lean bean'n cheese enchiladas... It was good. Just spicy enough... you could probably add hot sauce if you like them really spicy. It was filling. We each had one serving.... and key note here: the hubbie didn't realize that it was all fat free cheese... that's a good thing since he is a cheesaholic. These were super easy to make.

Fun Info: January 6th is National Bean Day.... keep this 187 calorie recipe in mind! Of course you can have them today also!

The spouse still says his favorite is the scoopable chinese chicken salad. I think the turkey reuben quesadillas were 2nd...

Hark - I see polka dots on the neighbors swing set and lo, I hear thunder... means it is time to do some housecleaning....(how do these relate - I have no clue.)

Making the ez tomato-basil chicken tonight!

a week later

I did not drop off of the face of the earth.... my cousin was married in Vermont this past weekend so getting ready and the actual trip took up most of my week.

Although I did find time to test 2 different recipes...

the first was the chicken fajita lettuce cups and I must apologize - I forgot to take a picture - but it was GREAT! something you probably wouldn't really need a recipe for - make fajitas and serve them in lettuce leaves (like the lettuce wraps at PF Chang's). By eliminating the tortilla - you just saved a bunch of calories. Now the recipe called for a little guacamole - I forgot to pick it up at the grocery and I didn't have any fat free sour cream. so in place of those, we used a small sprinkle of cheese. The hubbie loved them, the daughter just ate the chicken and liked it, I liked them... life was good!

Fun Info: The word "fajita" is the diminutive form of the Spanish word "faja," meaning "belt" or "girdle." These fajitas came in at 190 calories a serving...maybe if I eat enough I won't need a faja (girdle)!

Later in the week, we tried the cheeseburger quesadillas. I thought they were good. Not great - but good. Kids wouldn't try them. The spouse thought they were so-so. He preferred the turkey reuben quesadillas to these. These use the boca burger all cut up into pieces and then put on a tortilla with cheese. I dipped mine in a little bbq which I thought made a pretty good dinner.

Fun Info: Denny's Beer Barrel Pub in Pennsylvania has "possibly the world's largest hamburgers" - there is a 15-pound Belly Buster - oh my.... don't even want to think how many calories. These quesadillas came in at 186 calories each!

monday - catch up day

it's a rainy Monday here... a good day to catch-up... although I think I need a month to catch-up on everything....

Last Thursday I made the scoopable chinese chicken salad (see pic below)... while it was easy to make once I had all the ingredients... it was a little tricky to find the dry broccoli slaw mix. Neither my local Price Chopper or HyVee had it... crazy as it sounds... I found it at Costco! I liked it. It is a great easy summer meal. I boiled my chicken breasts and then cut up into cubes... so no heating up the kitchen with the oven. The hubster LOVED it. Had it for dinner and then lunch the next day!





Saturday.... we actually had both kids home for most of the evening...so we decided it was a good evening for steaks... I know... not really under 200 calories - but it seemed like a good time to try a dessert...I made the razzle dazzle chocolate raspberry cupcakes - which were most delicious contrary to what my kids said....they didn't like the raspberries in their cupcakes. Now I will have to try making them again... because the recipe calls for 2 packets of the diet hot cocoa mix.... well, mine had marshmellows in it.. (I didn't realize until I had already poured them in...) the other thing is... if you make this - just go ahead and double the recipe... otherwise you have 1/2 of a cake mix left over... what do you do with 1/2 of a cake mix??

The kids are at school, I have peace and quiet... so I will peruse my cookbook and decide what is for dinner!

2 more

well, today the kiddos started school... the youngest (P-Man) putting his books in his desk last night as they got to go up to school and see their classrooms and meet their teachers.... although in 6th grade - he is almost too cool for this....


so I am getting to sit and type this in peace and quiet...oh no, I hope my kids aren't my muse and all of my creativity will have left without them here....

last night for dinner we had...
bbq mango tilapia and cheesy cauliflower casserole - the hubbie told me I needed to add a little parsley or such to the picture...I was just glad I remembered to take a pic.

Let's start with the bbq mango tilapia. The hubbie and I both liked it. It was sweeter than I thought it would be... very mellow bbq taste. I might have liked just a touch more bbq. The daughter - who usually likes fish - did not like it at all. It was a lighter meal which was good because the cauliflower casserole with all of the cheese was much richer and heavier. I tried to convince the kids it was cheesy potatoes... but couldn't quite pull that one over on them. The hubster and I both liked the cauliflower a lot. He had 3 helpings.... so much for the 117 calories a serving. I will just remind myself of how many calories it would have been if it was cheesy potatoes...

Tonight, if I can find the broccoli salad mix, we are going to try scoopable chinese chicken salad. I will say this... so far, it has been all basic ingredients that I have had at home or could easily find at the grocery. This broccoli salad mix is the first that wasn't at my local Price Chopper. Let you all know how it goes tomorrow!

another day, more recipes

Oh shucks - I just realized I did not take pictures - I will have to work on making sure I take pictures of the made recipes...

Today I tried - cheesed-up pepperoni pizza scramble.... scrambled eggs with turkey pepperoni and diced tomatoes... how can you go wrong? yum yum! and only 173 calories. This is one that I would definitely make again!

turkey reuben quesadillas....pretty good.... and easy. which is always a plus! The son tried it... ate about half and then said he didn't like the dressing (Thousand Island) which really wasn't a surprise - he doesn't do creamy dressings... he is the only kid in the United States that doesn't like Ranch dressing. Surprisingly enough - absolutely no complaints about the sauerkraut....the daughter on the other hand.... took one bite and asked why there was lettuce in the quesadilla. The hubbie really liked them. I did use a little more cheese than the recipe called for which probably brought mine up to about 230 calories each instead of the 186. But as a dinner... 230 calories isn't bad at all!

One of the fun things about this cookbook are the little interesting "facts" she includes.... so I am going to plagiarize and share some....Today's fact: the Arby's Roast Turkey Reuben Sandwich has 594 calories! Yikes....

Have a great day! Tomorrow - I will make an effort to remember to pull out the camera!

Blueberry Muffins and Pizza

First comment - no I didn't eat these together... had the blueberry muffin for breakfast and the pizza for lunch.

big fat blueberry muffins. if you made the recipe as listed 137 calories each.... I didn't have any applesauce (already added to my grocery list) and I can't do Splenda (gives me headaches). So I used good ole oil for the applesauce and part sugar part sweetnlow for the splenda. I calculated that mine came out at 177 calories each. Did you know the Starbuck's blueberry muffin has around 500 calories and 19 grams of fat!

Easy to make... only makes six though....but since my husband informed me that he doesn't like blueberries (who knew?) and the kids each tasted them and said - "eww... too many blueberries" six was probably fine for us. Personally, I like blueberries.... and don't they give you brain power or something??? Overall the muffin was good.... since it is made with whole wheat flour - it definitely has the whole grainy taste. Kept me full for the morning!

superb-y herby sauce-exposed pizzas. Followed the recipe to the t. SUPER EASY! I don't know what kind of english muffins she uses... but she indicated that the recipe has 6 grams of fiber... and my english muffins (Thomas BetterStart Light) have 8 grams. So my calories may be a little higher than what they have listed also. But I am guessing by only 10 or 15.

Most tasty! Next time, I might even consider adding some turkey pepperoni... I am not usually a english muffin fan... but these tasted just like a pizza crust. My son tasted one and said it was pretty good. Daughter did not try one. Took the hubbie a turkey wrap for lunch... but I think if I added some veggies and the turkey pepperoni - he would like these!

We had several families over from church last night so we have left-overs that we will finish up for dinner tonight....

so tomorrow I am looking at trying the turkey reuben quesadilla and maybe an egg dish for breakfast!

Have a great Monday!

I am back....

So I took off from blogging for quite a while. Frankly, I felt I had said all the witty things I had to say.... life has been a typical mom's life... so not a lot to tell....

Then I read the book - "Julie and Julia"....you have heard of it - because it is coming out as a movie here soon. About a gal named Julie who decides to spend a year trying to cook everything in Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and blogs while she cooks. I found the book quite entertaining....

and it got me to thinking.... well, there is no way that I am going to even attempt Julia's French cooking.... but I did recently buy a new cookbook....




I am also not willing to try to cook the whole book in a year.... but I am definitely willing to try recipes from this book.... blog and let you all know what is good... what is yucky... and what you need to try...and what you can skip.

So - the book has 200 recipes that are all under 200 calories a serving... it covers all of your majoring cooking groups - breakfast, desserts, main dishes, snacks/dips, wraps, etc.

Looking forward to sharing my thoughts on the Hungry Girl cookbook!