Thursday

Day one
weight : 213.2 (big sigh of dismay)

I worked out this morning to a Leslie S. walking DVD. It was only a 30 minute one and I am already feeling muscles screaming out in LOUD protest as to the trauma! LOL

Breakfast: 1 cup kashi Go lean crunch, 1/2 cup almond milk (unsweetened -I add Stevia)

Lunch: 1 slice 2% American cheese on a whole wheat roll, with 1 cup of vegetable soup

snack: 1 pack of almonds, 1 clementine

Dinner: I am not sure have to go out as soon as hubby gets home. I need to make a plan so I stay on target.

I will also drink about 1-2 cups of coffee, and about 5 glasses of herbal iced tea. and 2 water.

Well that is all for today!
Toodles!

Wednesday

Good morning!
Even though this post was done on Thursday it is from Wednesday. We had this for dinner the other day and it was a big hit. I had gotten the recipe from online. It makes a lot but my family ate it all with no leftovers!

Chicken Tortilla soup

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 cans crushed tomatoes
5 cans condensed chicken broth
3 cups water
1 bag frozen corn thawed
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained (I did NOT add these because of allergies)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cups of chopped up chicken (boneless, skinless)

crushed tortilla chips
sliced avocado
shredded Monterey Jack cheese
chopped green onions

Directions
In a medium stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft. Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes, broth, and water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
Stir in corn, chiles,( beans), cilantro, and chicken. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Ladle soup into individual serving bowls, and top with crushed tortilla chips, avocado slices, cheese, and chopped green onion.

Friday

I got this recipe from REE on another blog (PW). I tried it and it was AWESOME! It goes really well with just about any grill meat, fish, or poultry.

Tomato Bread Salad
Prep time: 15 min Cook time: 20 min Difficulty: Easy Serves: 4
Ingredients
2 large tomatoes
½ red onion
2 cloves garlic
1 cup basil,
½ cup cilantro,
½ cup parsley,
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 baguette (small) about 6"
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt½ teaspoon black pepper
4 heirloom tomatoes, (the more colorful the better!)1 cup cherry heirloom tomatoes
1 cup arugula
½ cup small basil leaves

Preparation Instructions

For the tomato water, cut the large tomatoes into quarters and add to a blender. Slice the red onion thinly and set half of the slices aside and add the other half to the blender. Add the 1 cup basil, cilantro, and parsley to the blender along with the vinegar and ½ teaspoon of salt and puree the mixture for several minutes.
Place a piece of cheesecloth over a fine mesh strainer and set it over a bowl. Pour the mixture into a mesh strainer and press it through until all of the liquid is extracted. Set the bowl of tomato water aside.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Cut the baguette lengthwise and drizzle all sides with olive oil. Then rub the baguette on all sides with garlic. Cut the baguette into cubes and place it into a baking dish. Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper and toss. Bake for 20 minutes then remove from the oven to let cool.
Slice the heirloom and cherry tomatoes into bite sized pieces. In shallow bowls, combine ½ cup of tomato water with tomatoes, arugula and ½ cup small basil leaves. Drizzle with olive oil and add a few croutons just before serving. Enjoy!

It is well worth the work!
Toodles!

Friday

There's no dairy in this magnificent sorbet (if you leave out the optional whipped cream).

Smooth, luscious, and so very, very VERY chocolaty*And* made from easy pantry staples.

I'm sharing the recipe from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop
.•Chocolate Sorbet•
In a large saucepan, whisk together:1 1/2 c. water
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. Dutch-process cocoa (please find yourself some good dark cocoa for this--worth it!)
a pinch of salt
Bring to a boil, whisking, and let boil for 45-50 seconds
.Turn off the heat and stir in:6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (I use dairy-free chocolate chips) til melted.
Then stir in:3/4 c. water
1/2 t. vanilla
Now pour it all in the blender and blend for 15 seconds.
Stick it in the fridge until it's quite cold (I mix it up in the morning and freeze it in the afternoon)
.When it's deeply chilled, put it in the ice cream maker.
Then if you want, top it with coffee granita (4 cups of strong coffee, 1 1/2 cups of sugar, stirred together every half hour or so while it freezes in a plastic container in the freezer).

SOOOOOO good ! If you are on a GFCF diet this is a wonderful treat!

Friday

With Speech therapy& occupational therapy as well as HOME ABA therapy for Little Bear, school for our 12 year old, church, life in general we get to be pretty busy. My boys all love Sloppy Joe's. I love how easy it is to make. This is a great summer dish. It goes on a roll and team it up with raw veggies and dip and maybe some baked chips.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CROCK POT Sloppy Joe's

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3 pounds ground turkey or ground chicken
1 medium onion, chopped
1 c chopped celery
1 c chopped green pepper
1 1/2 c ketchup (I use low sugar kind)
2 T Worcestershire sauce
2 6oz can tomato paste
1 c water
2 T apple cider vinegar (or3T if you like a bit more tang)
3 T hot sauce (you can use less we like it spicy)
1 t dry mustard
3 TB of dark brown sugar OR 1/4 cup sweet BBQ sauce
salt and pepper to taste

In a large frying pan cook meat and vegetables. Put this in crock pot and add remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Serve over sandwich rolls.

Toodles!

recipe

Good morning!
Even though it is early and all 4 of my boys are still in zzzzzzzzzzzzland the sun is up, the sky is blue, the birds are singing. What a glorious day the Lord has made! I am so glad because Serve Elyria is today and even though I cannot be a part of serving this year I am so glad the weather is perfect for today.

Later after hubby gets off duty at the airport we are going to head on over for a BBQ / picnic at the home of one family from our flock(Bible study) group.
I am trying to make up my mind if I should make pasta salad or a brown rice salad. hmmmmmm . Well anywhoooo here is the brown rice salad recipe that I might bring over.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Ingredients
4 cups cooked brown rice, cooled
1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained (I will not uses beans today-allergies)
2 celery ribs with leaves, chopped
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 medium bell peppers chopped
1 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing (or any non creamy type dressing)
Directions
In a large bowl, combine the first ten ingredients. Add salad dressing; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Yield: 6 servings.


Toodles!

Nutrition Facts: 2/3 cup equals 162 calories (without beans is 140 calories), 1 g fat (trace saturated fat), 1 mg cholesterol, 522 mg sodium, 32 g carbohydrate, 6 g fiber, 7 g protein. Diabetic Exchange: 2 starch.

Country Baked beans

• Country Baked Beans•

A perfect standby for any picnic, potluck, or cookout.

And all the ingredients are pantry or long-term fridge stable.

Now If you're feeding a small group, say six, you might want two large cans of baked beans. But a larger group might require five cans.

I always buy the vegetarian,

I'm not interested in the little chunk of mystery meat.

Open, and if you're cooking for a crowd, keep opening the cans of beans.

Drain most of the sauce into the sink, then tip the beans into a large pan. Don't worry about every drip of sauce;

When you're satisfied with the quantity of beans in your pan, get out some dry mustard powder. For a small batch, use about a teaspoon (this is all very casual, there *is* no wrong amount); for a large batch, two tablespoons. Dump on top of the beans

And follow with some ketchup, aiming for about 1/4 cup for a small batch, 1/2 for a larger batch.

Same with the brown sugar.

At this point, if you're feeling fancy, you can dice some onion & green pepper.

With a rubber scraper or wooden spoon, fold everything together gently. Lay a few slices of bacon on top.

Slide into the oven.

If you have just an hour, set the heat to 400. If you have longer, use a 350 oven and keep them in til it's time to go. A small pan will need an hour, a large pan twice that. You want them to bake and bake until most of the liquid has cooked off. They will become candied and dark brown, and the bacon will be crisp.

Enjoy ! & God bless!

Toodles!