Tips and a Recipe

Getting out of bed this morning with everyone else still sleeping didn’t end up being as hard as I’d thought! Seeing as I just had myself to get ready, I was able to catch an extra half hour of zzz’s myself!! I woke up pretty darn hungry, too! There was a half of a banana in the fridge from my hubby’s after hockey smoothie last night, so I used it up!


- ¾ cup unsweetened chocolate almond breeze
-1/4 cup water
-1/2 Quaker oats
-1/2 a banana, mashed up


I just love the combination of chocolate and banana. Actually I love chocolate with almost anything!! **Please excuse the messy bowl! I didn't realize it looked like that until I downloaded the picture!

The office was pretty bare this morning which makes the atmosphere a lot more relaxing! The radio was a little louder and we were all dressed more casual than usual. Still lots of work to do, though!! Mid morning I had this cup of TAZO tea with a piece of my carrot cake baked oatmeal from last nights BSI entry. It’s even better today!!


The crew was home went I arrived for my lunch run so I had some company while sweating it up! I ran a nice, smooth 3.28 miles. The only bummer is it was one of those days where I just wanted to keep going, but I had to stop and go back to work. Oh, the unfairness of it all!! :)

I scrambled a bit this morning where my lunch was concerned. I could have sworn that I still had a Lean Cuisine Panini in the freezer, but could not find it! I ended up throwing together an Arnold Thin with almond butter and cinnamon plum tea jam. Here’s my tower of grown up PB & J!!

A little later in the day I tried my first Oikos yogurt.


I absolutely LOVED it! In all honesty, I couldn’t tell the difference between this and Fage. It was thick, creamy and tangy! I put it in my mug and topped it with black berries and pumpkin granola for my afternoon snackie! YUM-O!! :)


As promised in yesterday’s post, here are a few “did you know” tidbits courtesy of Family Circle magazine. I hope you enjoy them! I found them rather interesting!

-a non flowering green plant, like bamboo, can purify the air in a 10 x 10 room in 24hrs

-chapped lips? Smear a little Vaseline on a toothbrush, then use to exfoliate

-Store freshly baked cookies in a container with a few pieces of bread. The moisture in the bread is absorbed into the cookies helping them stay fresh longer

-Keep your shelves tidier by rolling towel, t-shirts, sweaters and sweat shirts instead of folding them.

-Use leftover twist ties to tame the tangle of TV, computer and cell phone wires.

And there you have it! I love reading about little time savers and such. A few of you mentioned in my comments Friday that you would like the recipe for the dessert my co-worker brought in. She graciously gave it to me!

Stained Glass Windows

1 pkg cherry jello
1 pkg lime jello
1 pkg orange jello

Make each pkg individually as follows: pour pkg of jello in 1 cup boiling water, stir until crystals are dissolved, add 1/4 cup of cold water and let set in fridge until firm - I use pie plates to set the jello - should be wiggly like jello jigglers

1 pkg lemon jello
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup cold water

Add sugar and pineapple juice together and bring to a boil. Once brought to a boil, turn off heat and add lemon jello. Dissolve all crystals and add 1/2 cup cold water. Let this completely cool - will become a little thick (like a creamy soup).

1 pint whipping cream

Whip whipping cream and fold in cooled lemon jello mixture. Fold until mixture turns yellow - should not have any pure white areas.

Cut the coloured jello into cubs and add to whipping cream mixture.

Crust

1 sleeve of graham wafers - crushed
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter

Mix together and spread at the bottom of baking dish - keep about 1/4 cup of crumbs for topping - pour whipped cream jello mixture on top of graham wafer crumbs and sprinkle with remaining crumbs - refrigerate overnight or minimum of 6-8 hours.

Here’s a “reminder” picture of the dessert! Hope everyone that makes it enjoys it!



I had to run a few errands after work so my hubby got dinner going. He made up some chicken with tomato sauce and melted cheese on top. I served my portion with some steamed edamame and butternut squash.

A very satisfying meal...especially since I didn't cook most of it! For my sweet end I ate my last 2 dark chocolate Ferraro Rochers.

I plan on making my cheesecake for Christmas Day tonight so it's ready to go when I need it. I also bought the ingredients for the caramel pecan sauce (oh, yeah!!), but I think I forgot the recipe at work so that might have to wait. Other than that, I think I'll watch a few Christmas shows with the kids. I got a couple magazine's in the mail this week so once the kids are dreaming of sugar plums, I think I'll just chill out with them until bedtime. Stay warm, if need be, where ever you are and enjoy the night!

Bye for now!!

Something Old, Something New....

I made the coolest breakfast this morning! After reading a post on Megan’s blog about polenta, I was reminded of a dinner staple from my childhood. My Mom prepared polenta many times and it was mostly used as a base for stews or saucy dishes. But sometimes, if there were a lot of leftovers, she would spread it out on a baking sheet and refrigerate it overnight. The next day she would cut the polenta into pieces and grill it on the BBQ. O.M.G! That was so good! It would get nice char marks on the outside and stay soft on the inside. So I got thinking (there may have even been smoke coming out of my ears!) about how I could do something like this with oat bran for breakfast. So I’d like to introduce….

Grilled Jewel Studded Oat Bran

-1 cup water
-1/3 cup oat bran
-1/4 cup trail mix (the kind with dried fruit & no nuts)
-cinnamon

Prepare oat bran as usual adding the dried fruit. Pour into a container with a fairly large surface area, cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, spray a pan with non stick spray and cut oat bran into desired shapes. Place pieces in pan and heat on either side until light brown in color and “crisp”. Serve with a little butter and maple syrup. Makes 1 serving.



I gave mine a spritz with Becel spray butter and about a tablespoon of E.D. Smith sugar free maple syrup. This meal was the bomb! Seriously! I was a tad worried that it wouldn’t keep me as full as a big bowl of oats, but it held me over quite well. This would be the "new" item today.

I didn’t end up with pears for a snack last night. After I posted I made a big cup of English Toffee dessert tea and dunked 2 small oatmeal cookies in it. No picture as it was a spur of the moment thing. That’s probably the smallest snack I’ve had in a long while! I bet it was the steak that kept me so content.

Although I know I kept very busy Thursday through Sunday, it felt awesome to get back on the treadmill. My run today was extremely invigorating. And I did some small chores around the house so I didn’t have to worry about them when I got home.

Lunch today was more leftovers rummaged from the fridge. I’ve been wondering how in the heck we accumulated so many?! Anyways, I ate the last of the turkey breast with last night’s broccoli and sweet potato fries. This would be the "old" item for today. There’s a dollop of spicy brown mustard on the side for dipping purposes.



I also packed an apple and about 1 cup of stewed pears.



I snacked on the pears at about 4:30. I didn't end up eating the apple, though.

A friend of mine sent me an email with some really cool tips for everyday uses. Here are some of the more interesting ones. Enjoy!

-Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little 'stringy things off of it. That's how the primates do it.
-Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster
-Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!
-Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.
-Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.
-Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.
-Reheat Pizza-Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy.
-Expanding Frosting-When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.
-Reheating refrigerated bread -To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.
-Measuring Cups-Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.
-Conditioner -Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.
-Goodbye Fruit Flies-To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

I thought some of these tips sounded pretty useful!

Tonight was dance night, AKA...fend for ourselves dinner night. I decided that leftovers twice in one day was a bit much (and there’s always lunch tomorrow) so I made an egg white omelet which I folded into a sun dried tomato Flatout wrap with some smoked Gouda and roasted red peppers. On the side was a spinach salad with shredded carrot and some poppy seed dressing.



A couple of bites in....



My sweet end was a chocolate chip All Bran bar. You guys have all seen the picture!

I found this cool article at Good House Keeping magazine. It's about cravings. You choose a food item that you may be craving and click on it. You will be given an alternative to satisfy your "need". Man, I'm just full of information today! Better get it while you can because it doesn't happen very often!

I'm not sure if I'll snack later on. I'm still pretty full from dinner. I hope my tummy stays that way because I'd really like to break the snack habit!

Bye for now!