Update Post, Grilled Cheese Dunkers with Tomato Soup, Cardio, Banana Bites.

*Quick Updates*

1. I'm falling behind in blogging I know. 
2. My Biology class and lab is stressful, but I know I'll get through it.  
3. My Aunt (Mom's Sister) just found out she has cancer, possible stage 4. We'll know all the details tomorrow after their appointment with the oncologist. I'm guessing we'll get a good idea of what is going to happen and possibly how long she has to live. Its really hurting my whole family, we could use a little prayer or two.
4.  I've been at my mom's house, upstate, for a week. I just got back yesterday. 
5.  Weight loss has been going good, except when I was at my mom's house. I probably gained a little bit. Travis and I had an agreement that when I get back home we are going to change the boy's bedtime to 8 at night instead of 9, so that we can work out together. (We have work out gear in our shed outside.) 
6. I've decided not to weigh myself religiously anymore. It isn't about weight to me anymore but about being healthy. And getting to a point to where I feel good (and look good). In other word as long as I feel as if I look good then I'll be okay. 

So I'll leave you with a few fun things. 

A little something, something to get your blood pumping!

These are so amazingly awesome, freeze banana slices then add peanut butter.

Liam helping mommy make grilled cheese dunkers.

 Grilled Cheese Dunkers and Tomato Soup 

Tomato Soup Recipe (click here). 
Grilled Cheese Dunkers:
Slices of bread
Slices of Cheese 
1 tbsp Butter 

All you need to do is flatten the bread with a rolling pin, add a slice of cheese, then roll it up. Repeat! Add to a pan with melted butter and cook on each side until brown, and cheese has melted.

Note:
The number of slices depends on how many you want to make. You could also take the crusts off and they would most likely look prettier. But I love the crust on a grilled cheese.
 

Day 17 & 18 & 19, A Work Out, and Recipes!

 

 

Day 17

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 18 went something like this.

 The big hits today were a Fried Shallots salad. (Fried in Olive Oil) Super delicious and much better than the store bought fried onions.

For dinner I originallywanted to make Chicken Georgia, but  realized we had a lot of left over pot roast. The guys had that, and I had some Cajun Salmon, green beans cooked in leftover pot roast juice, crinkle carrots, cucumber salad, and a fresh sweet corn cob.

I've had so much pot roast for the past 2 days that I think I am going to blow up. 

The way I make my Cajun salmon is so simple. I make it all the time, seriously! 
Cajun Salmon
1 tsp olive oil
McCormick Cajun Seasoning
Garlic Salt
Ground Black pepper

-Season to taste, and cook until brown on each side. I like my skin side slight black, as you can see. :) 

Day 19

 Breakfast: Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal made with water, 1 strawberry whey protein scoop with 2 tbsp 2 % milk and 3 large strawberries sliced.

Lunch: Fresh Tomato and Corn Salad with Chicken(Recipe Coming soon.)

Dinner: 2 hot dogs sliced with ketchup, mustard, sauteed onions in olive oil, and 1 cup romaine, 1 tbsp Ken's lite creamy Caesar dressing, 1bsp shredded Parmesan.
*Weird combo, I know. I went bun-less *pats self on back* I love hot dogs, my kids love hot dogs, everyone in this house loves hot dogs. Hot dogs do not love me. I wouldn't have bought them when we went grocery shopping but we had like 4 hot dog buns leftover from our camping trip that we needed to use before they went bad. It worked that I went bun-less because Travis could have 2 and the boys had 1 each.

Camping Vacation in North Carolina

Ohmygosh. I really can’t believe I haven’t posted in like a week. I've had my posts written out on my phone for days but it just didn't want to publish. 

First, let me mention that my camping trip was fun with a mixture of miserable. It rained almost the whole time. We left a day early. However we did get a day with about 6 hours of sunlight and we made the most of it. We went hiking, looked at jams and jellies, played games, and played in the pool with the kids. Then it began to rain again and we decided to take the kids bowling. The day before that it rained but we went out to eat for lunch and Big Mike’s in Brevard, NC. I did well, and had a Greek salad with chicken. However, because it rained the whole time I didn’t eat as well as I had originally planned that I would. We had everything planned out where we would be mostly eating whatever we could cook on a campfire, but that was impossible.  I had a lot of processed junk, but this week I am trying to get back on track. Actually today is the first time I really am getting back on trap with keeping up with pictures. Which reminds me, I should mention, I didn’t have time to track my food with my Sparkpeople app or to take pictures to help track.  

Overall, it wasn’t so bad. We had a lot of help with Liam. Sleeping in a tent wouldn’t have been so bad (especially with the air mattress) except it was just so wet and damp in it. My covers felt like they never dried from the first night when I got soak during a storm. Blake loved it but he slept in a cabin with his aunt and cousins the last 2 nights, and in a big tent with his uncle and cousin. He also REALLY liked bowling. So I suppose we will be doing more of that. J He did really well hiking too. We hiked along a trail to triple falls, and he kept up really well. Liam rode on his grandpa’s shoulders for most of the trip and then on mine for the last little stretch. I really wish there were more hiking opportunities as beautiful and neat as the ones in the mountains. We didn’t get a chance to go biking but I really hope that we can go soon.  I think next time we’ll need to rent a cabin too, and then maybe pitch a tent outside. I did have a really great time, and I know it would’ve been a lot better had it not been raining.

As far as eating goes, we just went grocery shopping last night. The days before that after we got home from camping our supplies were low. I had to come up with some off the wall things, which ended up being pretty delicious. I was please. 

Bad things= we lost a goose. Benson. I’m not sure if he just went in to the woods of if something got him. We also lost the baby kitten, and my cat. I think with all the rain and our yard flooding my cat must’ve gotten really worried and ran off. She had her kitten under the house, which was also flooded. We heard it crying when we got home which was pretty late. Travis had to crawl under the house. Apparently the little guy was in a puddle all alone. Travis gave him a bath. We made some pedialytle and milk replacement. But it just wasn’t helping. He was lethargic and not drinking. We made him comfortable and kept trying through the night but he didn’t make it. I haven’t seen my cat since we got home on Saturday so there is no telling where she is. She acts like a wild cat when she is outside.

I’m on my second week of classes. Last week didn’t go so well but it must’ve been from not being able to study.

Good things= My little Liam is saying more sentences.

Day 15:

Honey nut Cheerios with ½ cup milk

Tuna Melt

Cheeseburger pie

Day 16:

Oatmeal

Tuna Salad Sandwich

Barbeque Sweet Tea chicken over Hoecakes, Field Peas and Snap over Brown Rice, Fresh Corn

Day 17:

Large Green Apple with Peanut butter

Leftover brown rice with field peas and snaps, 2 hoe cakes

Hardee’s Chicken Sandwich and French fries

Blake Traveling to NC.

Liam traveling to NC

I always look incredibly rough while traveling, or even on vacation in general. I-d-k why.

The horrible weather we had to drive through.

Camp food prep that we didn't get a chance to eat.

Cucumber Salad in a jar= cucumbers, 1 part vinegar, 1 part zesty Italian,little bit of pepper. :)

Monday Weigh-in and Day 8!

I lost 5.6lbs! :) it's a little Kate to post as Monday, but its 1am and the first chance I've gotten.

Breakfast: peach and blueberry breakfast cobbler 

Lunch: chicken strip salad 

Dinner: roasted tomato soup with grilled cheese Dunkers 

Day 7

 

Breakfast: Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal with a Diced Gala Apple and extra Cinnamon on top

Lunch: Chicken and Zucchini Bake and 2 cups Sauteed Cabbage 

Snack: Granny Smith Apple Slices with 2 tbsp Creamy Reduced Fat Peanut Butter (I'm in an apple mood today.)

Dinner: 4 oz Salmon Fillet and 1 yellow Squash cooked in the pan with 1 slice of bacon, Mrs. Dash Original Blend Seasoning and Salt.

I came up with the Chicken and Zucchini Bake on a whim. (Recipe at the end of this post!) And I submitted to the Sparkpeople's Sparkrecipes. :)

Quick Work out for the night. I didn't feel like doing too much, but wanted to burn at least 100 calories. 

	Chicken and Zucchini Bake
	Ingredients 2 zucchinis, sliced length wise 2 banana peppers sliced 2 baby bell peppers 3 cooked chicken breast, diced 3 med tomatoes, and 4 plum tomatoes pureed in a food processor for sauce with 1tsp basil 1 tsp oregano 1 tsp garlic powder 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese Nutritional Info Fat: 3.1g Carbohydrates: 12.7g Calories:169.3 Protein: 23.6g Layer zucchini, chicken, peppers and sauce ending with sauce. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes, then top with cheese and bake an additional 15 minutes. Serving Size: Serves 4 Number of Servings: 4

Two-fer Buffalo Ranch Chicken Sandwhiches for Dinner, and a Buffalo Ranch Salad for Lunch.

I've talked about making buffalo chicken egg rolls, and buffalo chicken in wraps. But not buffalo ranch chicken on buns, followed by buffalo chicken salad. It's delicious, and easy! I usually make this for just Travis and I. Then I'll make the boys something different. I can't wait until the boys go in to the boy-guy-man phase of liking spicy things. When I make this for just Travis and I we usually have it for dinner and lunch the next day.

This is a slow cooker meal, so drag out your crock pot.
Ingredients for Chicken:
4 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 cup Frank's Buffalo Sauce
1 dry package hidden valley ranch mix
1/2 cup of water

Mix everything together, and cook on lo for 6-8 hours. Shred chicken with fork and serve on toasted buns with a little ranch dressing on top.

Salad ingredients:
1 cup romaine chopped
1 celery stick shredded
1 carrot stick shredded 
1 summer squash shredded
1 small tomato diced
2 tbsp shredded cheese
1/2 cup shredded buffalo chicken mixture
Light Ranch dressing 

Day 6

 

Breakfast: Voskos Wild Strawberry Greek Yogurt with 5 medium sized strawberries sliced and mixed in. 

Lunch: Chicken Salad (Containing- Romaine, Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, zesty Italian dressing, and a baked chicken breast. )

Dinner: Summer Fajitas (recipe follows below) 

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Tonight I was making tacos, and as I'm browning the meat...I'm feeling really grossed out by it. Sometimes I'm very anti-red meat. Plus I wanted to have some leftover meat so that Travis could have Tacos for lunch tomorrow at work. So, I thought to myself no problem I'll just make myself some chicken fajitas with my leftover chicken...except I didn't have any peppers. Then, I was like...who needs chicken? Or peppers? With all the squash and zucchini I have from the Summer crop this makes an easy simple meal. I'm always trying to come up with new ways to use my squash and zucchini. I love it sauteed as a side, but sometimes that gets boring and old. If you're like me, and you have so many tomatoes, squash, and zucchini either from relatives or your garden..(mine are from my relatives). This is an awesome recipe to use some of your Summer veggies. 

I ended up not adding my chicken to this because I checked out  my tortillas, then my veggies and realized nothing else was going to fit in them! But this would be delicious with chicken, or shrimp!

Summer Fajitas 

Serves Two. 

Ingredients:
1 cup diced squash
1 cup diced zucchini
1 yellow onion sliced
1 small tomato sliced
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chili poweder
1/2 tsp cumin 
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp light sour cream
2 flour tortillas (100 cals each or less)

 

Directions: Heat olive oil over medium heat, prepare your veggies while your pan heats up. Swirl the oil around in the pan, then add your veggies to the hot oil. Mix your veggies around with a spatula to coat with oil, then stir in seasoning. Cook, stirring often, until veggies have softened.  Add 1 tbsp of sour cream to each tortilla and top each tortilla with an even amount of veggies. Enjoy.

I like to look through magazine for recipes, workouts, house plans, garden plans, things to do with the kids, or for the kids. Here is an awesome work out I got from Redbook Magazine for your booty. I have a paper copy in a folder BUT I looked on the internet and found it for any readers I may have. Also for my own keeping. :)

Redbook's 15 Minute Best Booty Workout!!!

For Instructions Click Here! 

Day 5

Breakfast: Peanut Butter Belgian Waffle topped with frozen bananas blended in the food processor.

Lunch: Caesar Salad with chopped tomatoes, black olives, Parmesan cheese, and mixed deluxe nuts. 

Dinner: Sautéed Cabbage with Zucchini Cakes.


Just bleeeeeeh on today. We lost a goose , Winifred. So I'm a little sad about it. I would've cried though had it been my Alfred, he's my favorite out of our geese.

Also I keep trying to upload my recipe for homemade tomato sauce, and it isn't working. Promise to get that up soon though!

Day4

Breakfast: zucchini hash browns (recipe coming as soon as I perfect them)

Lunch: squash sliced thinly to act as noodles (sautéed) with one large tomato I put through my new food processor with oregano, basil, garlic, pepper , and red pepper flakes . Sprinkled with Parmesan.

Dinner: 1 slice of sausage pie, and a side salad.

Plus taste tests of waffles and waffle batter lol

I pretty much ate veggies all day so that I could have a slice of sausage pie for dinner. :) Not complaining!

For my sausage pie recipe click here! 

Rise and Shine with Apple-Strawberry Mini Muffins

I've been up since 7am. I'm not sure why Blake isn't sleeping lately. I just hope he isn't a grumpy butt. Thank goodness I made some muffins yesterday because I was NOT up for cooking this morning. Even if I knew I had to wake up early regardless. Today I have to head to a town near-by-ish where my Dad lives, take the boys to him, and then take pictures of a 6 month old for some old friends of mine. I have to leave my house by 11, it is about 8 now.  Luckily I made a set list for my family and a to-do list of things I need to do, mostly before I leave me house.

To Do List 

• Recipe Blog Post 
• Feed Chickens
• Feed Rabbit 
• Feed Dog 
• Feed Kids (lol) 
• Start Chicken Gumbo in the Crock Pot 
• Find Crochet Tomato Hat and Box 
• Find Picture Frame Clean basket and Owl 
• Charge Camera Battery 
• Get Dressed 
• Get Makeup on 
• Load up the Truck with the Above 
• Load up the Truck with Donations to Goodwill
• Pack a Bag for the Boys
• Pack Camera Bag

 Yeah, I need some motivation to get started. I have some really cute ideas and I believe the mommy and daddy of the 6 month old does too. Should be super CUUUUUTE! And I'll try to share a sneak peek on here later. For now though, I will leave you with a muffin recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour (or 1 cup all purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour)
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup milk (low fat or whole cow’s milk, almond, rice or soy milk will work)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce or canola oil
• 1/2 cup honey or agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 cup strawberries, diced
• ½ of a gala apple, peeled and deseeded then shredded with a cheese grater

Directions

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk egg and add milk, applesauce, honey, vanilla, and lemon zest and stir.  I used my standing mixer but you can use your hand and spoon as well to slowly combine the dry ingredients with the wet until incorporated. Stir until just mixed, try not to over mix. Add the strawberries and shredded apples to the batter.  Line or grease muffins tins and fill 2/3 of the way with batter. Bake for 16 minutes or until toothpick tester comes out clean.

 I swear, muffins never last between my boys and my hubs. These are practically all gone now. I just made them last night!

Breaded Pork Chops. Dinner to Lunch

Breaded pork chops with stuffing, corn, and green beans.

First, let me explain... a little thing about Travis, that I've probably explained before. Travis is super picky, I'm pretty sure that might be where Liam gets it from. The WHOLE time we lived in Montana we NEVER ate pork chops because he said he didn't like them, because he didn't like the way his mom use to make them. WHAT??? Yeah. So, fast forward a few years Travis and I are both back in SC in the middle of remodeling our house so staying between parents. I'm at my dad's house making dinner for everyone and I make BBQ pork chops. Then, I remember Travis doesn't like pork chops. Then, I think to myself..oh well if he doesn't eat them he will starve. Travis eyeballs them and I can tell he's like ewww but he won't say anything in front of my parents. We sit down and eat, and what do you know? Travis loves them. We've moved up since then to breaded pork chops. I try not to fry much these does so when I bread them, I bake them.

Another husband funny, he doesn't eat veggies. The past week and a half I've been cooking for just us..so I make our food and then I make a veggie on the side for myself. The other night I made some mini meatball subs for us with french fries for Travis and carrot fries for myself. He eyeballed my carrots and asked if he could try one and guess what...he LIKES them. The same thing happened the other night when I sauteed some summer squash, he asked if he could try them, liked them, and wouldn't get off my plate. Haha. SOO, yes! Wife win!

Breaded Pork Chops
6 pork chops
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
2 eggs, beaten
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs
4 Tablespoons olive oil

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse pork chops, pat dry, and season with garlic powder and seasoning salt to taste. Place the beaten eggs in a small bowl. Dredge the pork chops lightly in flour, dip in the egg, and coat liberally with bread crumbs. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the pork chops 5 minutes per side, or until the breading appears well browned. Transfer the chops to a 9x13 inch baking dish, and cover with foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour.

And in good two-fer fashion this is how I turned leftovers in to a delicious salad for lunch. :) 

I tried to change the title on this after I realized that it is *sorta* fried...I'm going to let it go since its with olive oil. LOL

For the salad I did:
1 Cup Spinach
1 Cup Romaine
1/4 Cup Corn
1 Red Onion Slice
2 Slices Chopped Tomatoes 
1/4 Cup Reduced Fat or 2% Shredded Cheese

Any Dressing of your choice works, a light ranch is nice here though.

Salmon with Cucumber and Strawberry Relish

Salmon:

4 salmon fillets

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp ground mustard

½ tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil

Relish:

¼ tsp dried basil leaves

1/2 tbsp extra light olive oil

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1/8 tsp sugar

1 cup finely chopped strawberries

1 small cucumber, deseeded and finely chopped 

Directions: In a small bowl, mix the first 5 ingredients with the salmon, rubbing mixture on salmon. . Refrigerate, covered, for 1 hour. For relish in another bowl mix together the chopped strawberries, cucumbers, basil, oil, lemon juice, and sugar.

When cooking the salmon you may grill it accordingly. However I personally cooked it in a pan on medium heat, just spray the pan with a little cooking spray and cook until brown on both sides.

These pictures really do not give this recipe justice...but it was a really great mixture of sweet. Typically I don't like anything sweet but the combination of strawberries and cucumbers really works. I have more relish than necessary on my salmon because...I really liked it. :) I used some leftovers on top of yogurt..SO GOOD.



Now I am off to register my baby for pre-k. WAHHHH! I might cry. I just might.