5:30am can sometimes be really early especially when you are up until midnight reading a book.   But knowing that I had two ladies waiting for me got me out of bed and hitting the running trail for a great 4 mile run before 7am.   The weather in Wisconsin is currently going through a nice little cool spurt.  I’m a huge fan of fall and can’t wait for 60 degree days to come back!  I know bite my tongue; living in Wisconsin means cold temps 75% of the time and warm temps 25% so I should enjoy the warm weather when it happens but I LOVE cool days.

Pre run I enjoyed a lovely granola bar un-photographed…forgive me it was 5:30am and I had two kitties begging for kitty snacks and I didn’t want to wake my sister.

My other eats were as follows:

Breakfast:

Overnight oats (1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 1 tsp agave sweetener, 1 cup strawberries, dash of cinnamon – all mixed (except the berries) and chilled overnight.)

Lunch:

Tuna salad (2 cups lettuce, 1/4 cup tuna salad, 2 Tbs slivered almonds), 1 cup grapes, 1 cup cooked cauliflower

Afternoon snacks:

10 baby carrots, 1 Tbs peanut butter, Jazz Apple

Dinner:

Grilled chicken wrap, Bread (X 2)

Desert:

Chocolate which was consumed without thought or photograph…:).

Tonight I had a chiropractor appointment so dinner was enjoyed with my mom.  I have the pleasure of experiencing back spasms that take my breath away and will last for about an hour.  When one occurs I can be best described as “A person from the exorcist” quote from my lovely boyfriend.   I don’t really know why the occur but all I know is one quick crack from my Chiro and I’m as good as new.

I’m excited to go rest in bed with my heating pad and my current book obsession…before I go though I want to leave you with one furry face.  My mom’s cat Chip just wanted “Hi”.

Today started with a fun sweat filled boot-camp class at 6am.  Class today involved three weight activities followed by a 1/4 mile run repeated about 5 times with different weight activities ranging from biceps to triceps to squats to my all time favorite burpies.

I had a Granola bar prior to class for some energy but forgot to take a photo at 5:30 am. 

The rest of today’s eats were documented prior to pure enjoyment…

Breakfast:

Fruit parfait (1 green apple, 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1/4 cup blueberries)

Mid Morning Snack:

1/2 apple, 1 tbs peanut butter

Lunch:

Tuna salad (2 cups lettuce, 1/4 cup sliced almonds, 1/4 cup tuna made w/ plain yogurt), 1 cup grapes. 10 baby carrots, peppermint patty

Afternoon Snack:

1/2 apple, string cheese, 18 pretzel twists

I love how my apple slices managed to make a heart shape.

Dinner:

1/2 cup black beans, 3 chicken tenders, 1 cup cauliflower, 1 cup almond milk

Desert:

Chocolate ice cream bar

It always amazes me how eating healthy can make you feel so good about yourself.  I have a run set for the morning so I have to head off to bed.  I’m a morning workout person…I feel that starting your day off on the right foot helps keep me motivated for the rest of the day.

Do you prefer to workout in the morning or night?

Mushroom Cheese Chicken

The ingredients seemed normal enough:

* Chicken

* Flour

* Plain yogurt

* Mushrooms

* Mozzarella cheese

* Bread crumbs

For some reason though the combination of these ingredients was just average.  I have a feeling it was the yogurt that wasn’t quite right.  I want to play around with this one and possibly substitute out the yogurt for sour cream.  I’ll post the actual recipe when I get it figured out.

Do you enjoy tweaking recipes? 

I’m starting to feel a bit more comfortable in the kitchen with what ingredients go well together and what ingredients are missing something.

This dish would even be a perfect substitute for a pasta salad at the next pot luck you attend.

Crab Pasta Salad

 INGREDIENTS:

* 8 ounces pasta

* 1 package (8 ounces) imitation crabmeat, chopped

* 1 cup frozen peas, thawed

* 1 cup fresh broccoli florets

* 3/4 cup fat-free mayonnaise

* 1/3 cup reduced-fat Italian salad dressing

* 3 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook pasta according to directions, drain and rinse in cold water.

2. In a different bowl combine the pasta, crab, peas, and broccoli.

3. In a separate bowl combine the mayonnaise, salad dressing and Parmesan cheese; pour over the pasta mixture; toss to coat.

4. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until chilled.

SERVINGS: 4

RESULTS:

The tangy taste of the dressing on the salad was perfect.  I had this for lunch the next day and the dressing was even stronger but not too overpowering at all. 

A few great substitutions would be chicken instead of crab and add chopped carrots and shredded cheese.

Dinner tonight was supposed to be a spaghetti style chicken dish but after taking two trips to the grocery store and still forgetting some of the ingredients it was time to scrap my original plan and go with a different chicken dish.  I have to admit that I’ve never been a fan of swiss cheese…I’ve always called it the “Stinky cheese” and as a result I was a bit leary to make…

Swiss Chicken Supreme

INGREDIENTS:

* 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

* 1 Tbs dried minced onion

* 1/2 tsp garlic powder

* 1/4 tsp salt

* 1/8 tsp pepper

* 4 slices reduced-fat Swiss cheese

* 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) reduced-fat condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted

* 1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream

* 1/2 cup fat-free milk

* 1/3 cup crushed crackers (about 8 crackers)

* 1 tsp butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the chicken in a 13×9 baking dish coated with cooking spray.

2. Sprinkle the chicken with the minced onion, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Top each piece of chicken with a slice of cheese.

3. In a separate bowl, combine soup, sour cream and milk; pour over the chicken.

4. Toss the cracker crumbs and butter; sprinkle over chicken.

5. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until chicken juices run clear and crumbs are golden.

SERVINGS: 4

RESULTS:

I decided to served the chicken over a bed of peas and it made for a great combo.  This would have been great over rice as well.  If making this recipe I would suggest adding more crackers…the saltyness of the crackers with the creaminess of the soup was perfect.

*Both recipes were from the Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook.

Tonight Kim and I watched Teen Mom on MTV…I don’t know why I watch certain shows…they are just like train wrecks that you can’t help avoid watching.  Do you have any TV shows that you watch but question why you do?

No Phones allowed…

Where is everyone?

Who did we find?

Need a clue?

“Hi Tiger!”…We’ll let you get back to practicing.

The competition is looking stiff!

A final goodbye from previous winners…

Good Luck!

Jeff and I brought with us Lou Malnati’s deep dish pizza and homemade deserts!

Desert 1: Chippy Blond Brownies

Please forgive the Ziploc containers…I made this dish at Jeff’s house so I brought the ingredients along with me.  Being a guy I wasn’t sure he would have flour and brown sugar…:)

INGREDIENTS:

* 6 Tbs butter, softened

* 1 cup packed brown sugar

* 2 eggs

* 1 tsp vanilla extract

* 1-1/4 cups flour

* 1 tsp baking powder

* 1/2 tsp salt

* 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

* 1/2 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one.  Beat in the vanilla.

2. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually add to butter mixture until blended.

3. Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans.

4. Spread into a greased 11×7 pan.  Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until the toothpick test passes.

SERVINGS: 2 dozen

RESULT:

I also made some mini banana muffins as a special request for my brother.  This recipe was super easy and quick.

Desert 2: Banana-chip mini cupcakes

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 package (14 ounces) banana quick bread and muffin mix

* 3/4 cup water

* 1/3 cup sour cream

* 1 egg

* 1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips, divided

* 1 Tbs shortening

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, combine the muffin mix, water, sour cream and egg; stir just until moistened.   Fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips.

2. Fill greased or lined mini muffin cups.  Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes or until the toothpick test passes.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

3. Once cooled, in a microwave safe bowl combine the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and shortening; heat until smooth.  Dip the cupcakes into the chocolate.

SERVINGS: 3-1/2 dozen

RESULT:

Everyone loved the deserts and pizza! 

Tomorrow Jeff and I are heading to the PGA championship in Koehler WI so check back tomorrow for some great pictures from the course.

*Both recipes were from the Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook

Every weekend that Jeff and I are together I can’t wait for morning to come so I can make him a special breakfast. 

Weekend breakfasts are always a special treat because they take extra time to make and are always better than the weekday bowl of oatmeal or yogurt eaten at your desk.

This morning I jumped at the opportunity to make Jeff and I a delicious Ham & Cheese Egg casserole from my Taste of Home cookbook.

INGREDIENTS:

*1-1/2 cups diced ham

*1/4 cup crushed saltines (about 6)

*1/4 cup shredded swiss cheese

*6 eggs

*2 Tbs melted butter

*2 tsp caraway seeds

* 6 ounces plain yogurt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix all the ingredients except the eggs into a bowl.

2. Beat eggs in a separate bowl and then add to the ham mixture, folding the ham mixture into the eggs.

3. Pour into a greased 8×8 pan and bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes until eggs are cooked through.

SERVINGS: 9

RESULTS:

Jeff really enjoyed this breakfast and it did a great job of keeping us full well into the afternoon.  There was a strong caraway seed flavor so if caraway seeds aren’t your favorite I’m sure you could omit them and the dish would still come out great.

I also did some treat baking today for tomorrow’s family dinner…I’ll leave you with a photo of the outcome and tell you more about the Blondie tomorrow.

What is your favorite meal of the day?

I marinated the chicken and steaks for about an hour in the fridge and then cooked them 5 minutes on each side.

I had my sister for moral support as I tackled my fear and the result was pretty good!

 Jeff joined us for dinner and the steaks were actually for him…unfortunatley I over cooked them as he likes his steaks medium and mine were more well done.  There will always be next time.  The chicken was amazing though…perfectly done and extremely juicy!

Tomorrow is my company’s picnic and then date night with Jeff so there won’t be any cooking being done tomorrow…but check back for my attempt at making blondies and mini banana chocolate chip muffins for a family dinner on Sunday.

(From the Taste of Home Cookbook Diet)

INGREDIENTS:

* 1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs

* 1/3 cup crushed cereal

*3 Tbs grated parmesan cheese

* 1/2 tsp salt

*1/4 tsp pepper

*1-1/2 pounds cod fillets, cut into 1-inch cubes

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a shallow bowl, combine the bread crumbs, cereal, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

2. Coat the fish with butter-flavored spray, then roll in crumb mixture.

3. Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

SERVINGS: 4

RESULT:

Everyone loved the result.  I’m starting to feel as though this cookbook is a winner.  After dinner the three of us were on a mission…to find my brother some furniture for school in a few weeks.  We headed off to Ashley Furniture to have a look around.  While we didn’t find anything we did have some fun…

INGREDIENTS:

* 3/4 cup uncooked elbow macaroni

* 2 large tomatoes

* 1/2 cup died deli ham

* 1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

* 2 Tbs chopped celery

* 3 Tbs fat-free mayonnaise

* 3 Tbs reduced-fat sour cream

* 1/4 tsp onion powder

* 1/8 tsp pepper

* Lettuce

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook the macaroni according to the package.

2. Take the top off of the tomatoes and scoop out the insides leaving 1/2 inch shell.  Place the tomatoes upside down on paper towel to drain and dry.

3. In a bowl, combine the macaroni, ham, cheese and celery.

4. In a separate bowl, combine the mayo, sour cream, onion powder and pepper.

5. Combine all the ingredients and place in the fridge for 20 minutes to chill.

6. Spoon the mixture into the tomatoes and serve extra salad over a bed of lettuce.

SERVINGS: 2

RESULT:

This salad totally hit the spot!  Kim even said that this was better than last night’s dinner!

Have you ever watched the show “One Big Happy Family” on TLC?  It is an absolutely hilarious show and I highly recommend it!  Tonight Kim and I have three episodes to watch and so far we have both been laughing into tears on just the first episode.  What a good end to a hot day!