These are good!

I can highly recommend WW Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breasts (in the find & explore recipe section). We had them tonight with Uncle Ben's Whole Grain Rice and green beans. It was very good. And was on the table in about 25 minutes.

I lowered the points (by 1 Point) by using 1 cup of chicken broth instead of the white wine and substituting 3 wedges of laughing cow garlic and herb for the goat cheese.

These are going into regular rotation. The WHOLE meal was 8 points!

Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breast 4 Points
Uncle Bens Whole Grain Brown and Wild Rice Medley 4 Points
Green Beans 0 Points

Point Friendly Corn Dogs

I adore Corndogs. Don't you. They are so good, but not so point friendly. So I made these. They look a little strange, but very good. This is a Rachael Ray recipe that I WW-fied to reduce it to a more reasonable point amount. VERY kid friendly.

Oven Baked Corn Dogs

8 oz. Jiffy corn muffin mix

1/2-2/3 cup FF milk

2 Tbsp butter

2 tsp Tabasco sauce

2 scallions

8 FF hot dogs

1 egg

1 Tbsp Chili Powder

1 tsp Cumin

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a shallow dish, combine muffin mix , then stir in the egg, milk and melted butter. Season the mix with chili powder, cumin, Tabasco and scallions. The batter will be a thick, sticky biscuit dough. Place a hot dog in the bowl of batter and swoosh it around to coat it. Remove coated dog to a nonstick cookie sheet and use your fingers to spread batter on any exposed dog spots. Don't coat it too thick, just shy of 1/2-inch should do the trick. Repeat until all 8 are coated. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until evenly deep brown all over.

NOTE: If it's too thick it will just slide off the dog while it's baking, leaving the dog exposed. If that happens don't sweat it, they will still taste great.

Thank God for the WW Message Boards

I got the basic recipe for the MASTERPIECE from the WW Message Boards. Then I Casey-fied it. I present to you....

Chicken Sausage Bubble Up Pizza Casserole

From the kitchen of CUPPACO

Servings 6

Estimated POINTS® value per serving 8

Course Main Meals

Ingredients
12 oz. flavored chicken sausage (I used Greenwise Garlic/Sundried tomato from Publix)

16 oz. garlic infused tomato sauce

2 Tbsp fresh basil

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 1/4 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 cup baby bella mushrooms

1 red bell pepper, chopped, sliced or whatever you like

1 sweet onion, chopped, sliced or whatever you like

12 lg. olives, pitted

1 can of reduced fat buttermilk buiscuits

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Add 1 Tbsp to skillet and brown chicken sausages in a pan per package instructions.

3. Stir in veggies, tomato sauce, basil, garlic and Italian seasoning.

4. Add quartered biscuits; stir gently until biscuits are covered with sauce.

5. Spoon mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

6. Bake for 25 minutes.

7. Sprinkle with cheese, and bake an additional 10 minutes or until biscuits are done.

8. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

My fiance says the picture looks like visera. Screw him. A+ WITH BONUS POINTS, I so wanted pizza and this was a reasonable substitute. I LOVED IT! I served it with a side salad to get in more veggies!

Robin Miller ROCKS!

Stir Fried Steak with Artichokes, Capers, and Olives

This is an awesome dish from Robin Miller's Quick Fix Meals. I got home tonight from work at 5:20. Dinner was on the table at 5:45. It was so easy to prepare and amazingly healthy. This dish hits several of WW Good Health Guidelines--healthy oils, yummy veggies, whole wheat couscous. It is also a good switch up from regular Asian stir frys. And did I mention that the WHOLE PLATE (big satisfying portion) is 12 points (9 for the recipe and 3 for the cup of couscous).

A+ We're having this again! (Next time, I might add more garlic than the 2-3 cloves called for. We like garlic around here.)

8 POINT Shepard's Pie with Cheddar Spiked Potatoes

My new favorite cookbook: Robin Miller's Quick Fix Meals. Cook on one day, and have HEALTHY meals ready to go all week. This is her Shepard's Pie with Cheddar Spiked Mashed Potatoes. This whole plate (1/4 of the recipe) is one VERY FILLING serving. It is also a budget friendly meal costing under $10 for 4 servings.

I would be cuter if I had little cups to bake it in (as the mashed potatoes are baked on top of the meat mixture), but alas I don't. That would be the one thing I would change for next time.

All I have to say is I am very satisfied, got to eat potatoes, and all for EIGHT POINTS!

Almond Chicken Cutlets with Asparagus in a Scallion Sauce

It looks like fancy resturant food, it tastes like fancy resturant food that costs $22 a dinner. But it was 16 points-before the rice. I blame the scallion-butter-cream sauce, that is oh so good. I saved up all day for this and it was so worth it. The portion is quite large (and so are my new plates) and it was really filling. Recipe is from Rachael Ray's 2, 4, 6, 8 Cooking from Couples to Crowds.

A+ It serves four so I have some leftover chicken that I am going to have to figure out how to work into a salad without running out of points by 2:00 p.m.

Curried Chicken Salad for Lunch

I made some curried chicken salad from Cooking Light magazine. From the tiny taste I had, it is very good (and will only get better in the fridge). I made a wrap with Flatout bread, chicken salad, and spring mix to take to work tomorrow. This is a great recipe if you have leftover chicken breasts hanging around.

Curried Chicken Salad

Cooking spray
2 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar, divided
2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breast
3 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preparation
Heat a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; sauté 5 minutes. Combine sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar, stirring with a whisk until sugar dissolves. Add sugar mixture to pan, scraping pan to loosed browned bits. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature. Combine onion mixture, remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar, chicken, and remaining ingredients. Place about 2 tablespoons chicken mixture on each of 12 bread slices. Top with remaining bread slices.

1/2 cup of chicken salad = 4 points
Solid A - very yummy

I have very lofty goals for this week. I am going to get my 8 GHG 5/7 days this week and I am NOT going to use any WPAs. I have 35 points a day, that is plenty. It is going to be hard, but I've made it through the weekend and I have tomorrow all planned out. So that means a $125 trip to the grocery store. But I first paycheck is coming soon!

I went to the grocery store today (Publix, I finally live near a Publix!) and found several items I am super excited to try.

• Honeycrisp Apples (they are all the buzz on the WW boards about these things)
  
• Wasabi Reduced Fat GourMayo (I have a serious mayonaise addiction)


• Breakstone's Cottage Cheese with Probiotic Fiber and Mixed Berries


• Green Giant Broccolli & Cheese Giant Bites (they look yummy)

No picture tonight... I was too hungry

I didn't realize no photos were taken of the food until I said, "That was good." Was-past tense. It had been eaten.

What we did have was:
Publix Chicken & Broccolli Meal Kit
Country Crock Garlic Mashed Potatoes (finally easy, quick Point friendly potatoes)
Tossed Salad with Homemade Garlic-Olive Oil vinegette

Chicken was good but a little dry. Mashed potatoes are awesome and for 5 pts a cup, they are so worth it.

Easy B after a busy Sunday.

Chicken Dumpling and Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup with a YUMMY Twist

Doesn't that look good? It was...and I have leftovers for lunch this week. It is "Chicken Dumpling and Noodle Soup" from Rachael Ray's Express Lane Meals. It was pretty WW friendly as well. (I substituted 12 oz of whole wheat rotini for the regular 1 lb. of pasta it called for.) I also made a soup dipper, cause Mike ate all my crackers (without putting more on the grocery list). I sprinkled garlic powder, italian seasoning, and grated parmesean cheese on Thomas Light English Muffin (1 pt.) after I drizzled 1 tsp of EVOO (I heart Rachael Ray) on it. Then I stuck it under the broiler for a second. 2 points for TWO of those rounds in the picture!

Solid A -- Only complaint would be that I think you need to rough chop the spinach before you throw it in the soup. Otherwise you have what looks like clumps of seaweed floating around in there. AND the pesto on top is a must, otherwise it is a little bland.

I've been away...but I came back with muffins.

Life got crazy. I had to move to another state for my new (great) job. Long story, but I made muffins!

Weight Watcher Pumpkin Spice Muffins
1 Can of Libby's Pumpkin
1 box of Duncan Hines Deluxe Spice Cake Mix
1/3 cup of water

Mix ingredients together well.
Pour mixture into muffin tins (that have been sprayed with PAM)
Bake 20-25 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Makes 24 muffins ~ 2 points each!

Grade: A+

These are so good--you have to watch yourself. Mike liked them too. I topped mine with some fat free Reddi Whip. These are very "fall" tasting. (I've been told you need to store these in the fridge or they will mold fast. Not that they will last that long in this house). Now I want to go carve a pumpkin and open my new Halloween My Little Ponies. I even broke out the ghost Gladware. By the way, when does it get cold in Florida?

What's for Dinner?

A+

Weight Watchers Pan Seared Chicken with Garlic Sauce

Weight Watchers Dijon-Roasted New Potatoes

Green Giant Immunity Boost Vegetable Medley

Chicken was excellent. Sauce was garlicy but sweet.

Dijon-Roasted New Potatoes were good. Could have used a little more salt than what was called for. You can cook both the chicken and the potatoes in the oven at the same time.

I love the new Green Giant Immunity Boost Veggies. They were easy to cook, just 4 minutes in the microwave.

Nothing tasted diet-y, all the flavors blended well together. Very, very good. A+

WEIGH IN DAY!

Wednesday is Weigh In Day!

I lost 8.2 pounds. Yep. That's about 1 gallon of milk.
I'm so happy!

What's for Dinner?

This is last nights super yummy, budget friendly, Weight Watchers approved dinner.

Serves 4 for about $8.00

1 lb. of Thin Cut Chicken Breasts

1 bag of Green Giant Create-A-Meal Teriyaki Stir Fry

1 cup of uncooked Jasmine Rice

Not pictured (because they were gone before I could take a picture) was Market Pantry Mini Chicken Egg Rolls. They are one point a piece and oh so good.

We give this meal an A. It is a staple in our house because it is good, cheap, and good for you. I think that is something everyone looks for.

I didn't know that Green Giant makes other Create-a-Meal Stir Frys. I wanting to try some others, if I can ever find them!

What's For Dinner?

Stuffed Sausage Pizza Rustica

4 Servings

Estimated POINTS® value per serving 10

Course Main Meals

Ingredients

• 1 loaf French bread (with the insides hollowed out)
• 10 oz chicken sausage, raw
• 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 package frozen chopped spinach defrosted and squeezed dry
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 cups fat free ricotta
• 4 Tbsp grated Parmesan
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 cups Kraft 2% Italian Three Cheese Blend
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Split bread lengthwise and hollow it out. Cut in half across, making 4 shells for pizzas.
3. Heat a skillet over medium high flame and brown sausage. Brown and crumble sausage. Add red bell pepper, onion and garlic. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, add spinach. Remove mixture from heat and season with a pinch of salt and black pepper, to your taste. Transfer to a bowl. Combine sausage and veggies with ricotta, and Parmesan.
4. Fill bread shells and top with mounded mozzarella and provolone cheeses. Place in hot oven on cookie sheet and bake until cheese melts and bubbles and bread is super crisp, about 10 to 12 minutes. Top pizzas with oregano and hot pepper flakes.

This is a Weight Watchers adaptation of a Rachael Ray recipe. It was SO SO SO SO good. I loved it. Mike the constant critic didn't like the texture. He said he would rather of substituted brocolli for the spinach. He also said that the onions and peppers need to be cooked before they go in with the sausage. (Take this with a grain of salt, because onions have to be practically burnt for him not to complain. I'll save a seperate post for the extensive list of what Mike will or won't eat (and he has the balls to call me a picky eater)). Its also really good the next day as I had leftovers for lunch.

The good points:
1) The cheese (being 2%) doesn't taste rubbery or fake. I didn't tell Mike I was using 2% cheese or FF ricotta and he couldn't tell the difference.
2) SAUSAGE!
3) You can stuff A LOT of veggies in this pizza. Next time, I'm thinking mushrooms and fresh tomatos along with the onions, peppers, and spinach. Oh yeah, and a "special one" for Mike with brocolli.

Can I turn my homework in late?

Sunday Overview

Yes, its a bad way to start off a DAILY blog. Not updating for 2 days is really bad.

Ate a Chili's for lunch with my future mother in law. I got the Classic Chicken Fajitas. Then Mike's buddy Ron came over where 1) we could cheer him up or 2) he could make us miserable. It was a toss up. He is really down about being single and dying alone. Or something like that. We watched Britney's disasterous VMA performance and then I was forced to eat out AGAIN. We went to Firehouse Subs, where I got the Hook & Ladder. Then we played GLOOM (I told you I was a geek) and Mike won (the bastard). I went over 7 points on Sunday, but had the weekly flexies to cover. I didn't feel like taking picture of the non-WW food I consumed. I also felt sick the next morning. I don't think my body likes me pumping all that grease into it. Go figure.

About 11:00 at night, Mike and I took Suzie out for a walk. So I actually got all my healthy checks in for Sunday. That was a miracle. Mike talked about starting a walking routine and supporting my new healthy life style. I love him. (No, I'm not sharing).

What's For Dinner?

We're having:

Dijon Pork Cutlets (5 points)
Cauliflower-Broccoli Bake (1 point)
Knorr's Sides Plus Roasted Garlic, Olive Oil, and Broccoli Rotini (6 points)

TOTAL = 12 points

(I am not nor have ever claimed to be a "food stylist". I usually leave my photography stylings for hocking my wares on ebay. It doesn't translate that well to food. Anyway, ENJOY!)

The Review:
Weight Watchers Dijon Pork Cutlets: B+
These were good. I might go 1/2 teaspoon on the red pepper flakes next time, cause it was a little hot for my taste. It didn't taste "diety". Mustard sauce was GREAT! Would be good on chicken too.

Knorr's Pasta Stuff: B
Its seems like a lot points. But it is pasta and you get 1 cup, so you have to consider that. There is a whole serving of veggies in there. Seemed kid-friendly way to make them choke those down.

Weight Watchers Cauliflower-Broccoli Bake: B-/C+
I liked it, Mike didn't. I didn't have a lemon and omitted the lemon zest. That was a mistake. It really needed that. We ended up squirting some lemon juice on it. Mike said it was "edible". We much prefer Rachael Ray's Spicy Garlic Roasted Broccoli.

Overall, I'd give it a B. I think we'll be seeing the pork cutlets and pasta again. I might take another stab at the veggie bake in a month or so.

Yep, Even the Cat is a Geek

That's our needy cat, Duendecito. She's named after a Goya woodcarving. No, our vet can't pronounce it or spell it correctly on her chart. I put the SMART, in smart ass.

She wanted to play some D&D, so we did. Instead of cleaning. You can note this by the massive amount of crap in the background. We live like 14 year old boys who been left to their own devices.

Diary of a Fat Girl

Okay, so this is the first entry. I don't exactly know how to start this thing. I know that when you get rolling and build a rapport (I'm not even through the 3rd sentence and there is an SAT word), it seems to be more natural. I'm going to shoot for this not sucking by Halloween.

So, I guess this is really about me. (Like most everything else in my world). I'm a girl, not yet a woman. (Oh shit, somehow Britney Spears has crawled into my head--damn photographic memory). I'm 25. I'm chubby (well, fat but I'm in denial). I'm engaged to Mike (you'll hear much more about him later). He's great, we're getting married. When? That's currently TBA, although he doesn't want to wait much longer.

I live in South Alabama. Not the intellectual hub of the U.S., but it is nice here. You can impress people by using words that have a French orgin. I am a geek. I went to a magnet high school. I was in the college honors program and had a full academic scholarship. I graduated with multiple honors and went to exclusive private law school. However, I would like to mention I didn't fit in at law school. I'm from a blue collar family and wasn't a socialite girl. I wasn't in law school to land a Mrs. degree and I wasn't there because my daddy, granddaddy and uncle are lawyers/judges. I went for the intellectual stimulus and the acquisition of knowledge. I was the girl wearing a My Little Pony t-shirt, funky sneakers, glasses (of course), a D20 necklace, hair in pig tails, and who knew all the answers. Much to the disgust of my soroiety sister, prada bag toting classmates with their tiny dog accessories. (Please note the My Little Cthulhu t-shirt in the picture. I love that one.)

Okay, back to where I was going somewhere up the page. I am a geek, specifically a gamer geek. We're higher up on the geek hierarchy. Although it started with video games, Mike has dragged me into the word of CCGs, CGMs, and every other game imaginable. We just got back from Dragon*Con 2007 with a half-dozen new games. Yes, really. I also am an AVID (ravenous) collector of My Little Ponies. And my collection is currently in the hundreds.

Anyways, I have high hopes for this. (And not just because I read several articles about how blogging can get you are book deal). This is going to be my outlet about 1) daily trials and tribulations 2) my weight and 3) my crazy family. (You're going to love that last one). I'm not in the mood to go into the specific familial breakdown, suffice it to say they are crazy and many conversations end in "Oh god. Really? You'd never think that would happen to the same person ever. So that is the second time this month. I'll be damned." This is also going to serve as my accountability for what I put in my mouth. NO! Your mind's in the gutter. I'm not that kind of girl. Ask Mike.

Back to the fattness, I'm using this as part of Weight Watchers. You (if anyone is actually reading this) will hear about what I'm actually eating, what I wish I was eating, and whether I've hit a pit of dispair where I'm close to eating the cat's treats. Weight Watchers is the only weight loss program that I think really works long term. That's kinda hypocritical because I've tried it. I'm still fat. But that's my own fault not Weight Watchers. They didn't make me fall in love with a resturant manager and force feed me Poptarts. Weight Watchers and I have a long history. I went to my first Weight Watcher meeting at age 9, because my mom thought I was "plump" (early bloomer). I've been very conscious of my weight since I was in 3rd grade. That's thanks to a bulemic mom and anorexic grandmothers. (Yes, really.) Apparently you don't have self-worth unless you hate yourself and wear a size 4. I never bought into that, and fattness was my teenage rebellion. Hell, they looked miserable, but I was fat and happy. But that isn't good either. The fat part, not the happy part. I was at my heaviest when I graduated high school. Probably about 325 lbs. (I'm 5'3" mind you). I was hitting wide = tall status. I wasn't all that happy, but did nothing about it. I'm now a svelt 280 lbs. Hee, hee. Yes, its bad for me. Yes, I'm doing something about it. Yes, I want to weight less than my fiance. Yes, I want less back fat.

So, I'm back to WW after a 6 month absence. I lost 25 lbs. in the beginning of '07, but was derailed by the Alabama Bar Exam. So, I gained about 7 lbs. back and decided to STOP IT before the whole 25 came back on. I guess that is a victory of sorts. Pants were getting tight and INSTEAD of pulling back out the fat(er) pants, I went back to WW. I've never been so stressed in my life as I was with the Bar exam and yes I turned to my old friend -- food (my specific downfall is the dairy group). But, I caught myself and it could have been much worse than the 5 lbs. I gained. Oh those other 2 lbs. were fun vacation pounds-I readily admit that. Dragon*Con 2007 baby! (It is actually my goal to de-chub for next year where I can go in costume as 1) hot school girl or 2) hot Anime chick).

My short term goal is to be UNDER 250. There we go, I set a goal.

P.S.: If you're wondering why the background is black, everybody looks better in black. Its slimming.