A to Z

I'm not really sure how many people actually check out this blog but I'm boycotting cleaning at the moment. I just did a bunch of stuff and really don't feel like getting to the kitchen yet so her I am not cleaning. Saw this on Liz's blog and thought it'd be fun to do to take a little break.

A. Age: 27.... holy moly it looks weird writing that down.

 

B. Bed size: a sad sad queen that needs to be replaced. Oh how I long for a cali king!

 

C. Chore you dislike: Hmmm... I actually do like cleaning. It's a stress reliever for me. But when I have no stress to relieve I get kinda bored. If anything I think washing the dishes gets old the quickest because sometimes its multiple times a day and standing on hard floor like that is terrible on my ankles, knees and lower back.

D. Dogs: 1...he's cute but he can be a pain when he wants. He's more like our first kid.

E. Essential start to your day:A good day would start with a great big breakfast... healthy breakfast I might add. Maybe a nice big omelet with lots of veggies. Not all days are like that so heck... if I can just eat breakfast I think that's a great start.

F. Favorite color: green in so many different shades. I love green

G. Gold or silver: Silver... but I don't mind a little gold now and then

H. Height: 5'8"

 

I. Instruments you play(ed): Big fat 0. Tried to learn the piano but I hated trying to read music and gave up. I like sports better anyway. I'd rather listen to music than play it.

J. Job title: Homemaker

 

K. Kids: 2 if you count the dog

L. Live: Lovely Tooele, UT.... when you tell most people that they either think you're white trash (those that have heard of it) and everyone else can't even repeat the name of it back to you.

M. Mom’s name: Diane

 

N. Nicknames: Aud, Audie, Audder pop, Potty, Podder pie, Pod... the list goes on and on

O. Overnight hospital stays: I think just when I had Charlotte. Everything else I was released the same day.

P. Pet peeves: In UT... a lot driving stuff. I don't know what these people learned in drivers ed but it was totally backwards from what I learned. In CA... fake people and the competition. Everyone is always competing for the best stuff. Who cares. It's all crap anyway.

 

Q. Quote from a movie: Oh my goodness. I have so many quotes from movies. My life is movie quotes. Half of mine and my husbands conversations are movie quotes. Most recently a lot of them are from Nacho Libre since that's Charlotte's new favorite to watch. Like "Chancho, when you're a man, sometimes you wear stretchy pants in your room, just for fun."

 

R. Righty or lefty:Righty

 

S. Siblings: 1 Brother and 1 Sister

 

T. Time you wake up: Anywhere between 7 and 8 usually. Pretty much whenever Charlotte does

 

U. Underwear: Garments

 

V. Vegetables you don't like: hmmm...not sure if I've ever met a veggie I didn't like. Maybe brussel sprouts. But I'm willing to try them again just maybe prepared differently

 

W. What makes you run late: Usually Charlotte

 

X. X-rays you’ve had: I don't know... quite a few. I had a few for my sprained ankles and some for hurt wrists or badly jammed fingers. Never a broken bone though.

 

Y. Yummy food you make: I think most stuff I make is pretty good. I think Scott likes most stuff I make. I'd have to say I excel in the dessert area. Horrible thing for someone trying to lose more weight.

Z. Zoo animal favorites: All of them. If I had millions of dollars my house would be a zoo with tons of animals for me to interact with. I love animals more than most people. I'm jealous of Noah. That was a sweet deal he had.

Pesto Pizzettas

This was so new for me but I had to give it a chance. You use polenta. What the heck is polenta? Like grits I guess? I was blindly searching for it at the grocery store. I guess they sell it pre made in a tube but I couldn't find that but I just stumbled upon dry polenta so I searched the internet and made it myself. You basically mix it up like you're making malt o meal and then spread it on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and let it cool in the fridge. Then I used a round cookie cutter to cut the shapes. So anyway... here's the recipe. I really liked it and a couple of these can make for a nice snack or you can have like 3 of these with a couple cups of salad and a little fat free dressing and a cup of fresh berries for lunch. Here we go:

Ingredients:

1 (24 oz) tube precooked, ready to heat polenta (usually found refrigerated in the produce dept. or near dried polenta in the pasta isle.... I found mine near like flax seed and whole wheat bran)
1/4 c low fat marinara sauce
2 tbsp bottled pesto
1/4 roasted red bell pepper, cut into thin strips (I used the ones in the jar)
4 artichoke hearts, thinly sliced
3/4 c shredded low or reduced fat mozzarella or Italian cheese blend
Fresh basil or thyme

Preheat oven to 400

Spray the polenta slices lightly with olive oil cooking spray and place them on a baking sheet. Bake the polenta for 8 minutes. While it's baking, place all the toppings in small bowls for quick and easy assembly. Turn the polenta slices over and bake for 8 minutes longer. Remove the polenta from the oven and turn on the broiler.

Top each baked polenta round with 1 tsp of marinara sauce. Add 1/2 tsp pesto, a strip of roasted bell pepper, artichoke slices and 1 tbsp of cheese.

Broil the pizzettas for about 3 minutes, or just until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and light golden. Remove the pizzettas from the oven and top them with the fresh herbs. Serve immediately. Leftovers heat well the next day.

(I usally just make enough for what I'm going to eat then since it gives you the measurements of exactly what goes on it so you can do that too)

Vegetable Soup

I'm a big fan of anything with a bunch of mixed vegetables. All the color and flavor... mmm mmm mmmm.... So I made this Biggest Loser recipe. It is so healthy. For a 1 cup serving there are only 70 calories, 3 g protein, 12 g carbs (7g sugars), 2 g fat (no sat fat), no cholesterol, 3 g fiber and 380 mg sodium. It's a nice colorful soup and makes quite a bit. I froze a bunch so I've got lots of leftovers. Plus you can use the veggie scraps to either make your own veggie broth or if you do your own compost you can toss this in the pile and add lots of goodies to your soil. So here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cups chopped yellow onion
1/2 c thinly sliced carrots (about 8 medium baby carrots)
1/2 c sliced celery (medium stalk)
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted tomatoes
1 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
6 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth or veggie broth
1 c. cooked lentils
1 med zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1/4 c. fresh cilantro or Italian parsley
1 tbsp. grated lemon peel

Heat olive oil in a 5 qt saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, or until soft but not browned. Add the carrots, celery, and bell pepper and cook for about 4 minutes, or until vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, but don't allow the garlic to brown.

Add the tomatoes, oregano, thyme, cumin, and chili powder. Simmer for about 5 minutes.

Carefully add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and add the lentils and zucchini. Cook for approximately 4 minutes, or until the zucchini is just tender. Stir in the cilantro or parsley and lemon peel.

More clips

Here's some more clips I made. I've been looking online at other people's stuff and thought, I could make something kinda like that. So I got some feathers to try it out. Here's what I've come up with so far:

New headbands and clips

So while Charlotte napped the other day, I decided to make some more headbands and clips since I have a ton of the stuff to make plenty. So here's some of my new stuff I made.

Peanutty Spread

This one is really yummy if you use it to dip jicama, or celery or even baby carrots. I think jicama is my fav since it doesn't have much flavor to it. Plus it is so nice and cool and crisp.

Ingredients
1 c (about 9 oz) silken tofu, drained
1/3 c peanut butter
4 tsp honey
2 tsp lime juice

Place tofu, peanut butter (I use Jif all natural), honey, and lime juice in a blender or food processor and blend or process until smooth. Add a few teaspoons of water if necessary. Store in the refrigerator.

Makes 12 (2 tbsp) servings (1 1/2 cups)

Per serving: 60 cal, 3 g protein, 4 g carbs (3 g sugars), 4 g fat (.5 sat fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber, 30 mg sodium

Egg Foo Young

This recipe is great breakfast dish. This paired with a piece of Ezekiel toast, a tangerine, some herbal tea and glass of milk is a great way to start the day and fill your tummy up.

Ingredients
1/2 c finely shredded cabbage or fresh bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
1/4 c thinly slices mushrooms
1/4 c thinly sliced or finely grated carrot
2 tbsp finely sliced scallions
2 tbsp chopped red bell pepper
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp chopped fresh ginger
6 large egg whites and 1 whole egg, or 1 1/4 c egg substitute
2/3 c diced lean turkey, chicken, lean pork or cooked shrimp
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro or scallion

Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet with olive oil cooking spray. Over medium-high heat, cook the cabbage, mushrooms, carrot, scallions, bell pepper, garlic, and ginger for about 3 minutes, or until they're almost tender but still bright. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl to cool. Clean the skillet to use again.

Beat the eggs well. Add the vegetables, turkey, and black pepper. Stir to combine.

Again, lightly coat the skillet with cooking spray and place it over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the egg mixture. Cook for 1 minute, or until it is set around the edges. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the eggs are set in the middle. Remove from the heat and allow the eggs to rest, covered, for 2 minutes. Fold the eggs in half, then cut them in half again before transferring to 2 large plates. Garnish with cilantro or scallion and serve hot with low sodium soy sauce.

Makes 2 servings (I usually cut the recipe in half since I'm the only one home eating it)

Per serving: 130 cal, 21 g protein, 6 g carbs (3 g sugars), 2 g fat (.5 g sat fat), 30 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber, 360 mg sodium

Doc's Chili

This recipe is so great. One of my most favorites. It makes a large amount so for our family of 3 I can freeze it and always have extra on hand. It also goes really well with some whole grain tortilla chips. I think between a serving of the chili and the chips its 300 cal or less so not bad at all!

Ingredients
3 cups chopped yellow onions
1 1/4 lbs. 99% lean ground turkey or lean turkey sausage
3 cups diced tomatoes or 1 can (28 oz.) roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans or 1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans or 1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup fat free, low sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp. chopped garlic
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. mustard powder
1/2 c. sliced black olives
1/2 c. chopped scallions or chopped fresh cilantro

Coat large saucepan or Dutch oven with a few sprays of olive oil cooking spray. Add the onions and cook over medium-high heat until they're soft and just starting to brown. Add the ground turkey or sausage and cook over medium high heat, breaking up the meat with a spoon, for about 6 minutes, or until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, pinto and black beans, broth, garlic, chili powder, oregano, cumin, and mustard powder. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Garnish with the olives and scallions or cilantro.

Makes 12 (1 cup) servings (2 1/4 quarts)

Per serving: 150 cal, 16 g protein, 17 g carbs (3 g sugars), 2 g fat (0 g sat fat), 20 mg cholesterol, 5 g fiber, 150 mg sodium