Desserts!

I love ice cream.  Rocky road is my favorite.  It is just something about the chocolate, nuts and marshmallows that just does it for me.  As you all know, I don't do sweets much anymore.  And by much, I mean never!  There goes my Rocky Road!!!  

I got a great gift for Christmas this past year.  I got an ICE CREAM MAKER!  Now I can make my own frozen-y treats!!!  It might not be Rocky Road, but I can still have my desserts!

I tried this new recipe for some frozen yogurt!!!  It is different and I have to get used to it, but it is kinda tasty!  I made Blackberry Frozen yogurt, it is a really simple recipe.  You DO need an ice cream maker.  That is the only piece of special equipment you HAVE to have!

Blackberry Frozen Yogurt

3 cups fresh blackberries

1 can sweetened condensed milk

3 cups plain greek yogurt (next time I will use the blackberry flavored)

ice cream maker

Puree blackberries and sweetened condensed milk in either a blender or food processor.  Add the greek yogurt and mix well.  Plop it all in the ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions for making frozen-y goodness!!!!

SO not mine, but isn't it pretty!!! :)

Honestly....

I was skyping with my dad today.  Don't you just love technology?!?!?  I think it is FABULOUS!!!!!

Anyway, He was saying something that really rang true for me (He says lots of things that ring true with me, he's that kinda guy :) ).  He said that I was honest about my good and bad days here on this blog.  He's right!

That is one thing I will always be with you.  I will always be real and honest.  Ok, that is two things!  If I can't be honest here, where the heck can I be?!?!?

If my journey and I use that word because I can't think of another.  Personally, I think that word is cheezy and overused, but...  OH WELL!  Sorry, I get sidetracked very easily!  Ooh.. Look!  A squirrel!  :)

Back to my "journey"....  If my struggles or victories can help just one other person that would be cool, but if not, I am not worried!  I mainly write because it is an outlet for me.  It is a stress buster!  I feel so much better after writing about my day, good or bad.  For me, it is a diary, kinda, of my life.  I wanna keep that around.  I wanna remember, EXACTLY, how I was feeling that day or for that period of time.

Honesty and reality is what you will get from me!  I hope you keep reading!!!!

Choices and a recipe!

I have to make a choices all the time, especially regarding what I put in my body, food-wise.  I have to CHOOSE to put good-for-me things in my body.  Let me tell you, it isn't easy all the time.  Take today, for instance... I wanted french fries.  I know I am not suppose to eat them, yet I wanted them anyway.  I had them and they were good.  I didn't eat many, I don't eat much of ANYTHING.  

I am not going to feel guilty about eating them.  You know why?  Because I didn't OVEReat.  I chose to have some french fries, but I didn't have a bucket full of them! I had just enough to kill my craving.  That has to mean something, right?!?  

Through this process, and it is a process, I am learning to make better choices in everything.  I don't always make the right one, no one ever does.  That doesn't mean my day is ruined or that my "diet" is ruined.  It isn't.  I just move on.  

Ok.. Enough HDR (Heavy, deep, and real) and now for a recipe!!!!!

Kelli Ann's version of Beef stew

Diced, cubed beef

1 Guinness

1 can chicken broth

1 envelope Lipton onion soup... I used the onion mushroom version

sliced carrots

1 onion, sliced

1 bunch of celery, sliced... leaves and all!

KSP

some paprika

some flour

I had some veggies in my fridge that were about to go off, so I chopped them up and threw them in the bottom of my Crock-pot!  I had some diced beef thawed.  I threw some flour, some KSP and some paprika into a zipper bag.  Put your diced beef in the zipper bag with the spiced flour.  Moosh it all around until the beef is all coated.  Yes, I said moosh!  It's a technical term!  While you are mooshing, heat up some olive oil in a skillet on your stove.  When the beef is coated and oil is hot, Brown up that beef!!!  You don't have to do this, but it makes it super yummy!  When beef is brown, but not cooked through, dump the whole skillet in your slow cooker.  Make sure to scrape all the brown, lovely, crispy bits into the crockpot!  Dump in a Guinness and your chicken broth then add the envelope of soup mix.   Put it on low for several hours or high for a few less!    Spoon into a bowl an enjoy!!!!  

LOVE my crock-pot!  Make clean up easy by using a Crock-pot LIINER!!!!!!!!

Am I a crazy person?

I ran today.  As in RAN!  I started my "Couch to 5k" program today.  I have never ran before.  When I say never, I MEAN, NOT A SINGLE DAY, never!  I ran for 4 whole minutes! I had to keep asking my hubby to check behind me to see if my organs were falling out!

I am DETERMINED to run a 5k in July and this is the only way to do it, right?!

I am pretty pleased with myself.  Today it was 4 minutes, tomorrow it will be 5!

And I didn't look like this toooo much!!!!

Easy, peasy YUMMO din-din!!!

OK!!!!  I shouldn't even be posting this as a recipe because it is THAT easy!!!  Tonight I made foil packet Mahi-Mahi and a cucumber tomato salad!

Here are the recipes:  You'll laugh at how easy it is!!

Foil packet Fish:

Foil
Mahi-Mahi
Olive oil
KSP

Pre-heat your oven to 350.  See easy enough, already!  Take a square of foil big enough to wrap your fish in.  Drizzle olive oil on it.  Plop the fish down and drizzle some more olive oil on the top.  Add some KSP.  Now, just seal the top and sides and bake for 30ish minutes depending on the size of your fish!  SEE... EASY!  Best of all, no clean up!

Cucumber and tomato salad (I had this when I was in Israel a bajillion years ago and  FINALLY found a recipe for the authentic stuff):

Tomatoes, de-seeded and diced
Cucumber, de-seeded and diced
1 red pepper, diced (see a pattern here)
KSP
Olive oil
some lemon juice


Add all your diced veggies to a bowl.  OH, your veg should be at room temp.  It tastes better that way!  Next add your olive oil, lemon juice and KSP to the bowl, all to your taste!  Toss and enjoy!

See, even our "china" is easy peasy tonight!!!  Doesn't this look YUMMY!  Fresh and light and crisp!!!

Comfort food to the max!

When it is cold and rainy out I crave comfort foods.  Warm and saucy pasta to be exact!  One teeny tiny problem with this picture... I don't eat pasta any more.  What is a gal to do without pasta?!?!?!  Well, come up with something else entirely, DUH!

I came up with Veggie lasagna.  No noodles!  Yes, you heard me right!  NO NOODLES!  I used Eggplant, zucchini, and some mushrooms!  I cut them into ribbons, well... that isn't ENTIRELY true... I made my hubby do all the cutting.  Anything with a blade kinda scares me at the moment. I am still trying to re-grow my thumb tip!

Ok here is the recipe...

Tomato Sauce (yes, today I made my own)

1 can San Marzano crushed tomatoes. I like these, you can use whatever you have!
minced garlic (I LIKE TONS, but it is to taste)
one small hunk of butter
fennel seeds
oregano
KSP
parsley flakes
tomato paste
Tapatio

Saute the garlic in the butter (how bad can that be?!).  Add the can of crushed tomatoes and a couple squrits of the paste.  I use the tube-y kind, but you can use the kind in a can.  It adds a richness to the sauce!  Then start adding spices.  I added a couple of dashes of Tapatio because I didn't have red pepper flakes!  This is all about what tastes good to you, or me in this case!  Simmer for about 30 ish minutes while you prep the rest of the stuff!

Now for the rest of it.... Make sure you have a heavy, oven safe pot.  I am using this ADORABLE dutch oven I got.  It is a pink heart!  how cute is that!!?!?!? Then I layered the eggplant ribbons and zuchinni ribbons with some portabello mushrooms, then sauce, then fresh mozzarella cheese!  Make sure you end with cheese on the top.  Pop that baby in the oven!  Cook it on 375 for about an hour.  Take the top off the cook it for an aditional 20ish minutes to brown it all up!

Let it cool for a bit!  I know you are going to want to dive right in, but let it cool and firm up a bit!  No burning mouths, here!!!!

Not mine, but you get the idea.  I couldn't even find my phone to take a blurry pic with, so I googled!!!!

ENJOY!!!!!

8 weeks... Clean bill of Health!

It has been 8 weeks.  I now have clean bill of health.  I saw my surgeon yesterday.  It was quite a trek.  3 hours in one direction, just to spend 20 minutes with him.  However, in those 20 minutes, he told me I was doing well and needed to keep on keeping on.  He also weighed me.  I am officially down 46 pounds!  I have to tell you, I feel so much better already!  I don't know how I carried all that around with me!!!