Dinner at Our House: Garlic Knots

A little more golden than I wanted, but they tasted quite yummy!

These are the side that I made to go with our Christmas Eve dinner at my house. I spent most of the day baking different things so I wanted to make a quick thing to go with dinner. These were very easy to assemble. I highly recommend them for something a little different but still simple. I modified a recipe from here. Because I used the lighter version of the butter it really helps save a point or two if you are on the WW system. Two knots = 3 points! Not too bad :)

Ingredients

• 1 container refrigerated breadstick dough
• 1/4 cup yogurt butter
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Tie the dough into 12 knots and place them onto a cookie sheet. Melt the butter and add in the garlic powder. Brush the knots with the mixture, and sprinkle the rosemary onto the knots. Bake the knots according to the package directions.

Happy Holidays (a little late)

Sorry again for the lack of posting. We have been busy with the holiday season visiting around, shopping and relaxing. I thought I would catch everyone up with a photo update. Enjoy!

Before Christmas, we went to Fantasy in Lights at Callaway.

Toy Solider

Teddy Bear

Tim and I on the Jolly Trolley

IDK what happened but it looks super cool...

Whhhhirrrrr

Snowflakes

Poinsettias

Swans!

My favorite.

Mmmmmm Gingerbread!

The next night was Christmas Eve. I made dinner for my family. I'll make a separate post with the recipe for the Garlic Knots, but it was Baked Ziti with Garlic Knots and salad.

The next morning was Christmas! Wooo! The cats had a lot of fun.

Elliot vegged out by the fridge

Elliot opening her toys from Nana and Papa

Scooby being the present devil

Laser cat Jackson

We also visited Tim's family after Christmas for a few days. All around it was a great break and now we are looking forward to 2011. More on that soon :)

Cat Tube: Ice Water Fun

Just because we found it to be slightly hilarious the other night:

Snacking at Our House: Cupcakes!

Sorry it has been a while. Big project at work going on. Plus, I've started work on our annual holiday letter for family and friends. But, tonight I wanted to share a recipe with you all that I tried. I made Chocolate Cupcakes that are only 3 WW points each.

These were my first attempt at "dusting" any food item with powdered sugar.

My cupcake before it was eaten.

Recipe from here:

Ingredients

• 1  cup  all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
• 1/3  cup  unsweetened cocoa
• 1  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 2/3  cup  granulated sugar
• 1/4  cup  butter, softened
• 1/2  cup  egg substitute
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla
• 1/2  cup  1% low-fat buttermilk
• 1 1/4  ounces  dark (70 percent cocoa) chocolate, finely chopped
• 2  tablespoons  powdered sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir with a whisk.

Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well combined (about 3 minutes). Add egg substitute and vanilla, beating well. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to granulated sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold in chocolate. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups lined with muffin cup liners. Bake at 350° for 18 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.

Fighting the Aging Process: Rock Shows

Last night we did something that we haven't done in a good bit- Tim and I went to a concert with our good friends Mel and Chris. It was AMAZING.

I can remember being younger (I say that as if I'm really old or something- more on that later) and listening to music as loud as I wanted, when I wanted (especially in college with no "supervision"). I know everyone can identify, but I really feel like it is a special part of me. Tim and I "fell in love" at a rock show (yes, debate was an official introduction- but it was chasing our friends' bands that really helped us foster that teenage love). I remember the trips where my parents would drive and drop me off at a local band's show in Peachtree City, GA. R.I.P Flystyl and Tomorrow's Regret.

Anyways, I digress...back to the main idea: I LOVE LIVE MUSIC. There is something absolutely electric about hearing/seeing/feeling it all come together. Lyrics. Guitars. Drum. Bass. The Screaming. The Dance. So last night was totally worth the lack of sleep I got last night (we rolled in from Atlanta at about 12:30 a.m. and I was up getting ready for work at 6:00 a.m).

We saw an opening band I've never heard of, but the bass player looked just like Justin Bieber. It was crazy. The second band is one of my all time favorites (Saves the Day), but I haven't listened to them in ages. It was great that no matter how long it had been Tim and I both remembered all their lyrics. Did I mention that we braved the young crowd of rowdy young ones and were standing in the middle of stage standing area. We were some 6-7 feet back from the front of the stage. It is one of the best ways to experience any concert. You have to be up there dancing to get the full thrill. I only regretted it once, a young sprite of boy went to crowd surf and he kicked me in the hip. Mel, Chris, Tim and I braved the crowd a little longer for the band Say Anything. But, by the end of their set we had moved to the back of the standing area. It actually had a better view. In fact, I had a great view of one of my favorite live bands, Motion City Soundtrack.

All in all, it was a wonderful evening with people and music that influence who I am.

Tim @ Savage Pizza in Little 5.

Chris realizing his shirt says "EAT"

Saves the Day!

Again...

Yes, this actually happened. Chris had a twin. We told him to settle the "EAT" debate.

Tim and I in the sweaty crowd of folks.

Motion City Soundtrack!

I actually love the lights in this one. 

More Motion City Soundtrack.

So pretty.

We are a little sweaty.

I want to thank you for being a part of my forget-me-nots and marigolds..
And all the things that don't get old..

Dinner at Our House: Sesame Chicken

So I know it has been a bit since we've updated you, but there have been many events going on around (which of course I'll update you on in later posts). I thought I would do an easy one, and food is easy.

Last week I helped out with the cooking and we had Sesame Chicken, but not the fried fatty kind. This recipe is a much lighter version because it is baked. I wish I had made a veggie to go with it to add color to the picture.

Jasmine rice and Sesame Chicken

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the honey, soy sauce, lemon juice and sesame seeds. Dip the pieces of chicken into the sauce to coat, then place in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. Bake for about 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until chicken is cooked through and sauce is caramelized.

from Allrecipes.com

Late Update: Cats on Game Day

Just so everyone is clear on how seriously I take game day:

Elliot is wearing a #34 Tigers Jersey

She loves football. Especially on Papa's TV.

Jackson, named for Bo Jackson.

He loves the Blue.

Brother and sister.

Getting spoiled.

Slightly mooning the camera.

Dinner at Our House: Weight Watchers Italian Night

My mom and I (and somewhat Tim... and thus, by proxy my dad) have all begun Weight Watchers. My mother was a member back around the wedding and lost some 60 pounds! Needless to say we've all kind of let ourselves go a little...that's why this past Monday we started together on the Weight Watchers Point System.

Since this is my first time trying it out, I really want to commit to the "lifestyle" change, and not simply diet. I got very interested in making meals that are WW friendly. I found the greatest resource ever and it's not the Weight Watchers website; it's www.skinnytaste.com.

Tonight we tried the Baked Chicken Parmesan that is worth 5.5 WW points. On a scale of 1-10 it was definitely a 10. So yummy! My mom even surprised us by making the No Bake Cheesecake. On a scale of 1-10 it was an 11. Hands down, yummiest healthy-type dessert I've ever had.

Now it wouldn't be a D@OH post without pictures so no worries, got you covered!

Added a single portion of bow-tie pasta and marinara sauce.

Its tiny but soooo yum.

And we're back...from vacation that is.

Well to be honest we've been back since Sunday, and to be even more honest it wasn't a full blown vacation. Tim's parents were kind and invited us to go to the beach for the weekend. I get off work on Fridays at 3:45 and my office is actually on the way to the beach so Tim met me at work and we left from there. We made great time because we arrived in time for dinner with his family. We ate at the Boatyard. It was good, though I only had a salad because I was still full from lunch.

This is Tim's sister Katie. She is tiny and sprightly. Extremely fit. And here she is eating a giant plate of ribs...

Here is a better view of how large these ribs are.

The next day, Tim asked me what I wanted to do. Of course with it being Fall, there is only one Saturday priority I have- whether I am at the beach or not-- FOOTBALL. Specially, Auburn football. The game was coming on at 2:30 so we spent the morning shopping and then met some old friends for lunch at the beach who live there. They have an adorable baby girl:

Baby Mikayla. Note: She can't help her parents are Georgia fans...;)

After watching the first half of the game with them we returned to the condo to watch the rest of the game. Auburn won so all we well in paradise. Speaking of paradise, these are a few shots from the balcony:

I love the colors.

That's the Pier at Pier Park- SHOPPING!

Pretty nice, right? After being lazy and what not we got ready for dinner and then a walk on the beach. This is what resulted:

Those were from the beach. The next ones are from our grand finale of the evening-- Putt-Putt!