Dinner at Our House meets The Art of Couponing

I thought I'd use this post to unite two of my current themes in the blog- eating well and saving some cash.

Today for lunch Tim and I enjoyed salads made with some of the super cheap products we got at Publix yesterday:

My salad: Romaine lettuce, blue cheese, croutons and light buttermilk ranch dressing.

Overall, 5 WW points and much cheaper than a salad you'd buy anywhere else (certainly fresher too). Edit: It could have been 3 WW pts, but I had to have a little extra cheese + croutons :)

I still use the food scale as my secret weapon. It lets me know exactly how much cheese, etc I sprinkle on.

Start taking some of that time where you veg out in front of the TV, and use it to glance over the super market sales. A little planning helps your debt AND waistline shrink.

Eleven in 11: Evaluating March

I don't want to jinx it this early in the game, but 2011 is GREAT! As usual, I want to be accountable to my Eleven in 11 goals.

The breakdown:
1. Volunteer opportunity- This month I attended a YP meeting for servant leadership and I think there are a few opportunities for me to do some volunteer work. Also, at work this week I put my name in to be part of Relay for Life. 
2. The weight loss one- I have lost 14 pounds since January, which means I'm right on track with my goal. Overall, I've lost 31 since October. I've never been so proud of myself. I feel great, my knees are so thankful.
3. Plan and take honeymoon- New plan: Amelia Island in May. I'm so excited!
4. Trying four new recipes- We did four new ones, but I think I left one off the blog because it was only so-so:

• Tortilla Pie/Fiesta Lasagna
• Creamy Basil Chicken
• Baked Onion Rings
• and the one I didn't post, but you can find online- Blondies with Chocolate Chips 

5. Blog three times a week- We've picked right back up and I'm always trying to think of new and somewhat useful or entertaining content. Feel free to make suggestions!

6. Student loan- Check :)

7. Savings!- Check check :)

8. Read 52 books- I'm failing. I did buy the new J.R. Ward book two nights ago. I will finished that one over the weekend!

9. Facebook birthdays- Doing well :)

10. Visit 12 new restaurants- LOVED Old Siam!!! I think we're going to try Woodstone in April- anyone been?

11. Etsy- Def. falling behind, but now that its getting pretty out, and soon I'll have Fridays off, I think I'll get back into this.

Hope your March was eventful and fun! Here's to April!

Dinner at Our House: Baked Onion Rings w/ BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Well, it's getting close to the end of the month and I really need to hit that magic number for trying new things. I thought I'd try something easy. I found this recipe online for baked onion rings and thought it would go well with a burger or some kind of sandwich. When I saw BBQ cause on sale at Publix for B1G1 free I thought, might as well make BBQ Chicken Sandwiches. Mom still had some leftover chicken in the freezer, so this was a pretty cheap meal.

First of all, making BBQ chicken is super easy in the crock pot. You put in frozen boneless chicken breasts, add sauce of your choice, cook on low 6 - 8 hours or high 3 - 4 hours (well roughly based also on how much you put in...). Anyways, that isn't the new that I want to highlight...

I want to tell you about the baked onion rings. I'm not really an onion ring kind of gal. I don't readily eat an onion unless it's cooked in an Asian dish. But, I'm trying to explore new things. So tonight I opted to try the baked onion ring.

Onion rings out of the oven.

Don't you love this paper plate?

They were pretty good. However, when it says out of the oven, it means it. Don't wait around to eat these. When they got colder I ate them with a little ketchup. I did like that they tasted fried, even thought they were baked. They had a very nice crunch and I'm a gal who loves her crunch.

I used the following:

2 medium onions, sliced into rings
1 1/2 cups low fat buttermilk
1 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
cooking spray


First you need to soak the onion rings in the buttermilk for 1 - 2 hours. (Thanks, Mom, for helping with that)
Next, you'll put them into the crumbs and shake them around. I did a few at a time in a plastic container. *tip* Don't use all your breadcrumbs at once. The buttermilk makes it clump up. Use a little at a time to coat the rings.
Lay them all out on a lined pan. Spritz with cooking spray.
Bake at 450 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes depending on how hot your oven gets.
Pop them outta the oven and into your mouth.

Dinner at Our House: Tortilla Pie aka Fiesta Lasagna

 I have to preface tonight's post with a shout out to my friend Megan. I just posted on my facebook that I was making a tortilla pie to which she said: "Megan: I thought you hate pie."

Ha! I do actually hate dessert pies, so she has a point. But, since I altered this recipe I feel I now have the right to rename it, so I'm dubbing it: Fiesta Lasagna.

Anywho, I saw the recipe in my Taste of Home book but thought it looked a little complicated with all the chop this etc. Mondays can be crazy days so I got the idea to substitute a jar of salsa for some of the ingredients. It worked out well. I'll link you the original, but I'll post what I actually did.

Looks a little messy but it is so so so yum I promise. This is actually dad's plate. He had Spanish Rice and a garden salad.

Ingredients

1/2 pound lean ground beef (93% lean)

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 jar (16 ounces) Salsa (your choice of heat, we used Mild)

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

dash of garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

4 low-fat flour tortillas (8 inches)

1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese

Directions

Season your beef in a large nonstick skillet with the chili powder, ground cumin and throw in a dash of garlic powder.

Cook the beef and chopped onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the salsa. Heat til you get a little bit of a boil then reduce heat. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese.

Place one tortilla in a 9-in. round baking pan coated with cooking spray. Layer with half of the meat sauce, one tortilla, all of the ricotta mixture, another tortilla and the remaining meat sauce. Top with remaining tortilla; sprinkle with Mexican cheese.

Cover and bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.

For those on WW (old points, sorry I'm to cheap to pay for meetings and learn new points) a 1/8 serving is 4 points and a 1/4 serving is 8. Tonight mom went for 1/8 and I went for a 1/4 because I was starved! Either way, for all the yummy gooey cheesy-ness it's a great way to spend the points.  

Snacking at Our House: Yummy Chocolate Cake

When I saw this in Taste of Home magazine I knew it would be delicious. I couldn't wait to try it. Chocolate is my great weakness, but this recipe is light, or at least lighter. When all is said in done one serving is only 4 WW points. Not too shabby.

I wish I could say the process was fun, but it got a little hectic in the kitchen. Problem #1 was the fact we had no cooking spray. I didn't want to try and grease the pan the old fashion way so I thought..hey! I'll make cupcakes instead of the cake. That way I'll also have exactly 16 servings. Sweet precious Tim tried helping me out so I could eat my cooling microwave dinner...and that became Problem #2. Tim did a decent job helping scoop batter into the cups, he just didn't attempt to level the cups. Because there is pudding in the batter, they kind of help some funky shapes and cooked all funny in the oven. Needless to say, I may have flipped out on him a little....ha!

Anyhow, this is the finished product:

Yummy chocolate cupcake.

The icing wasn't as great the first night, but the second night (after being in the fridge almost 24 hours) the icing is much better.

Ingredients

• 1 package (18-1/4 ounces) chocolate cake mix
• 1 package (2.1 ounces) sugar-free instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1-3/4 cups water
• 3 egg whites
• 
  FROSTING:
• 1-1/4 cups cold fat-free milk
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 package (1.4 ounces) sugar-free instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 carton (8 ounces) frozen reduced-fat whipped topping, thawed
• Chocolate curls, optional

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, water and egg whites. Beat on low speed for 1 minute; beat on medium for 2 minutes.
• Pour into a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 12-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
• For frosting, place milk and extract in a large bowl. Sprinkle with a third of the pudding mix; let stand for 1 minute. Whisk pudding into milk. Repeat twice with remaining pudding mix. Whisk pudding 2 minutes longer. Let stand for 15 minutes. Fold in whipped topping. Frost cake. Garnish with chocolate curls if desired. Yield: 16 servings.

Dinner at Our House: Honey Mustard Chicken and MacNCheese Bake

Honey Mustard Baked Chicken Tenders, Homemade Mac N Cheese Bake + "Baseball Peas"

So, I bet you thought I had abandoned my dinner-making duties. And, you are partially right. We've been very busy lately and having to eat out more, or let my mom cook some of the usual. But, have no fear I've got a brand new recipe for you to try, as well as an old-faithful of mine that I don't think I've shared with you all yet.

Tonight we made Honey Mustard Baked Chicken and a MacNCheese Bake. Tim and my parents had peas, but I swore those off long ago as a child, and I opted for a green salad. (Yes, I really do have a serious pea-phobia. Looking at them in the photo is fine, but smelling them in real life makes me gag. Ask my best friend Mel about what I do at the Chinese restaurants where they make fried rice...).

Anyways, let's get to it. I found the chicken recipe on allrecipes.com under one of their low-fat options. We were supposed to use chicken breasts, but we used these tiny little tenders instead. In fact, I have a feeling I might prefer that we used the tenders. Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup prepared mustard
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste, and place in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the honey, mustard, basil, paprika, and parsley. Mix well. Pour 1/2 of this mixture over the chicken, and brush to cover.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn chicken pieces over and brush with the remaining 1/2 of the honey mustard mixture. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Like I said, we used tenders instead of breasts so watch the oven for your chicken's done-ness. Now, I linked you to the MacNCheese Bake as well. But, if you make it their way you are looking at about 6 points of more (still using old school WW points). I make it with lower fat ingredients and change how I mix it up. I think it tastes just fine. So below I'll post how I do it to make it 4 WW points.

Ingredients

• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup 98% Fat Free
• 3/4 cup skim milk
• 1 pound elbow macaroni [I used shells!]
• 6 oz shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium saucepan, heat soup and milk over medium heat until simmering. Remove from heat. Add shells to your 9x13 baking dish, and stir in the soup mixture. Sprinkle half of your cheese on the mixture and stir it in. Top the dish with your other half of the cheese.
3. Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbly.

Presto! You have pretty delicious, and healthy, dinner for the family. Another option I read is to grill the chicken. I may have to recruit dad and try that one out! Stay tuned for the delicious "Yummy Chocolate Cake" that I made last night.

Restaurant Review: Johnny's Pizza

Tonight was our last chance at squeezing in a "new" place as part of my Eleven in 11. I'll be honest, we tried to go somewhere else tonight in Columbus and it was closed....so needless to say, Mom, Tim and I were in a hunger jam.

We had passed by the Johnny's pizza place and I couldn't remember if it was the same one that is in Auburn (though I'm pretty sure it's Johnny Buscos)...however, upon getting inside and checking out the menu...I'm almost positive I've been to one of these in Carrollton. So, I didn't want to cheat. I wanted to make the geniune effort to try something new. And I did. I opted for the Hawaiian. It always sounds like it could be tasty, but I always grab a calzone. Well, since starting WW, calzones are not really an option. I ordered the slice and a small salad with reduced fat dressing.

All in all it wasn't that bad. It was certainly different. But, not bad. It hasn't become my new favorite, but I'm sure I'd eat it again if we stopped by. I'm very excited that their website contains nutrition facts. ALWAYS a huge plus for me since I'm constantly calculating things. Between the slice, the salad, and the dressing my whole meal was 16 points. Not bad for someone who saves the majority of her points for dinners anyways, and certainly not bad for eating out. (Maybe one day I'll blog about the tragedy that is Applebee's lunch menu- SCARY POINTS!).

If you like the crusty thin pizza, you'll love the place.

I Know What You Are Thinking...

Where are all the recipes this week? Well, I've taken a break from cooking this week. I've left the job all up to mom. Things have been crazy busy at work (since you know, having to finally work on Mondays again). But, rest assured that even though we've taken a break from cooking, we haven't taken a break from being healthy. In fact, yesterday was my 100th day of tracking WW points. I'm quite happy to report my total weight loss is close enough to 22 pounds.

Which, by the way, has sparked a sudden urge to shop. All of my pants have gotten too big that it is to the point of unprofessional to look so baggy. This morning, with pleasure, I unpacked some of my smaller sized clothing. I'm also planning a trip with Tim to Atlanta this weekend (hopefully) to either Mall of GA, Lennox...or both. Any recommendations?

Speaking of shopping. I've been hitting up some online sales. I recently purchased this bathing suit on sale to be my motivation to keep losing into summer:

Has the matching Low Rise Moderate Coverage bottom.

Secret Weapon for Weight Loss

I thought I'd do quick mention of my new food scale. I got it a few weeks back and LOVE it. We often lie to ourselves about our portion sizes. This little gadget keeps me accountable. I can look at the serving size on a package, portion that out with the scale and enjoy!

Every morning I eat a 100% Whole Wheat Bagel Thin with Yogurt Butter. This butter says 14g for a serving.

Using my Sharper Image scale purchased at Bed, Bath and Beyond, I measure exactly 14g.

I then enjoy it on my bagel thins! My breakfast is only 2 WW pts exactly. You'll notice the 14g is plenty to cover the surface area of the bagel thins.

The scale is great to everything. I like to use it to measure out chips, especially once you get to the bottom of the bag and you can't count out the serving size. Do yourself a favor and invest in one of these. You can find a range in price from about $20-$50. My scale was $30

Dinner at Our House: Weight Watchers Chinese Night

I know, I know. I'm probably going to burn out on trying new stuff and not have anything left for the rest of 2011. I promise it'll be old items for the rest of the week. But, tonight I'm thrilled to share with you something we tried tonight that I absolutely loved and it definitely WW friendly. And hey, by the way, just because something is WW friendly does not mean it lacks taste! My husband and father have been enjoying these dishes too. Since they aren't on WW they actually eat more (so jealous- but then again, maybe not because I've lost 19 lbs to date).

Tonight we tried WW General Tso's Chicken. Tim and I LOVE our Asian inspired dishes. Our favorite restaurant is a place in Athens, GA called Doc Chey's. Doc Chey's is amazing and I will never be able to recreate their tasty cuisine, but I can dream. We love to get their spicy version of General Tso's Chicken lovingly called "General Chey's Chicken." Missing out dinner staple we decided to look for a healthy version of the dish. After much time spent on Google I found this one. It looked a little funny making...but it turned out quite well.

Ingredients:

·         3/4 cup canned reduced-sodium chicken broth

·         2 tablespoons cornstarch

·         2 tablespoons sugar

·         2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

·         1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

·         1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

·         2 teaspoons peanut oil

·         2 medium scallions, chopped

·         2 medium garlic cloves, minced

·         1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1 dried chili, minced

·         1 lb uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 2-inch pieces

·         2 cups cooked white rice, kept hot

Directions:

1.    In a medium bowl, whisk together broth, cornstarch, sugar, oy sauce, vinegar and ginger; set aside.

2.    Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallions, garlic and pepper and cook 2 minutes. Add chicken and cook until browned all over, about 5 minutes.

3.    Add reserved sauce and simmer until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes.

4.      Serve chicken and sauce over rice. Yields about 1 cup of chicken and sauce and 1/2 cup of rice per serving.

You too can have all this for just 6WW pts!

Some things we did different. We didn't use scallions, we used the left over cut up onion and pepper from the previous night. We also used jasmine rice instead of white rice. All in all a pretty tasty dinner!

Snacking at Our House: Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

And I do believe this takes us to recipe #4 for the month. I've already made it to a benchmark in my Eleven for 2011! Today I was menu planning for the week and every time we sit down to dinner my dad says "Well, this was good, now what is for dessert?" Nine out of ten times I haven't been making a dessert because let's face it- dessert is not always WW friendly. At least not desserts that my dad and Tim would care for (sugar free, taste free). But, today looking through my handy tasteofhome cookbook from Mom S. I got the idea to make these 4pt treats. I present to you...Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies!

The pan! I wish I had swirled them a little more but it was very thick.

My brownie. I wish I had vanilla ice cream...

Cannot believe this was only 4 WW pts! <3

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup HERSHEY®’S Cocoa
• 1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese

Directions

• Separate two eggs, putting each white in a separate bowl (discard yolks or save for another use); set aside. In a small bowl, beat butter and 3/4 cup sugar until crumbly. Beat in the whole egg, one egg white and vanilla until well combined. Combine flour and cocoa; gradually add to egg mixture until blended. Pour into a 9-in. square baking pan coated with cooking spray; set aside.
• In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and remaining sugar until smooth. Beat in the second egg white. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls over the batter; cut through batter with a knife to swirl.
• Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until set and edges pull away from sides of pan. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 1 dozen.

Happy New Year: Eleven Goals for 2011

Ok, so technically I'm 24 hours and some change late...but I wanted to wish you all a great new year. I thought I might blog about myself some in this post. Tim is still thinking on his, but I have already decided my 11 goals for 2011. I thought I'd share most of them (some are just a little more private than others).

1. Find new volunteer opportunity- I used to do 24 and 48 hour shifts for the rape crisis hotline in Athens and I'm looking for something similar now that we have moved. 
2. Lose X pounds (X by the beginning of July)- I've already lost 17 doing WW and exercising (almost daily). I thought giving myself a deadline of July made me think about it in more realistic terms. I put the Xs to try to keep it somewhat personal :)
3. Plan and take honeymoon- Now this one does involve Tim. We're thinking about possibly going to NYC for a weekend, but we're still thinking out ideas. If you have a suggested for an extended weekend let us know!
4. Try four new recipes a month- This basically equates to one a week but gives us some flexibility too. I hope to chronicle this one on the blog so stay tuned!
5. Blog three times a week- Yes, we know we've abandoned you...but that will change! Today counts as one right? Ha, ha...
6. Pay at least $X off student loan- Again, tried to keep the finances private. It's actually quite gratifying when I make my student loan payments. I'm going in to my second full year of repayment and I love seeing that number go down. :)
7. Put $X in savings- Similar to the one above, but I have sat down and done the math and I've got a number tucked away for safe keeping. 
8. Read 52 books- another one that I hope to blog about (maybe it will help with goal #5). I think roughly one book a week is totally doable.
9. Wish each Facebook friend happy birthday- crap! Typing this I realized I missed today...well I call mulligan on that one...I'm going to start on that as soon as I finish here...yikes...(by the way this goal was inspired by Peter Shankman's seminar in Montgomery...)
10. Visit 12 new restaurants- I'm really looking forward to this one. It can also help goal #5!
11. and finally finish working on my etsy store-  I'm so excited about this one! I need to get to making some jewelry! 

And that, my friends, is the list. I had a recent discussion with someone about new year's resolutions. I don't make them. I like the ideas of small and realistic goals. I started this back in 2009. I had 9 goals for 09 and 10 in 10. Since the creation of X in 20XX, I've done much better than simply saying "I'm going to be a better person," or "I'm going to get fit." So here is wishing you the best on setting realistic goals and working to accomplish them!