Monday Blues

Well,

Monday...

That's all I'm going to say. My sister is safely in Italy so that's a relief! She has her own little blog called Mom I'm Still Alive! Yes, I came up with that title and she stole it, hehe. But that's okay! It's cute! She's settled into her dorm and that makes me happy.

Work is crazy today! I still have one visit left to do that after I write this very brief post, I will be running out to do that. Gotta love late visits...at least it's not on a Friday, right!?

I love this recipe SO much. I love shrimp and this is such an easy recipe. Chop the veggies ahead to make it even EASIER. SOOo good. I add jalapeno and more hot sauce to give this a real kick in the pants spicyness...but I left it mild for wimps! Hehe, <3

Saucy Shrimp Casserole
Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 Green Bell Peppers, chopped
1 Medium Onion, Chopped
2/3 cup celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup uncooked long grain brown rice
1 can no salt added diced tomatoes (drain but reserve the juice)
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Black pepper to taste (approx 1/2 tsp)
1 pound raw medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 325.

2) Heat a large skillet over medium high heat, spray with nonstick cooking spray. Add pepper, onion, celery and garlic. Cook, stirring often for 5 minutes or until vegetables are soft.

3) Add rice and cook 5 more minutes, stirring often. Add tomatoes (no juice), hot sauce, oregano, thyme and black pepper.

4) Add juice of tomatoes to a measuring cup. You need 1 3/4 cups of liquid, make up the difference with water. Add the liquid to the skilled and cook 2 minutes, stirring often.

5) Transfer mixture to a casserol dish (2 1/2 quart). Stir in the shrimp and bake, covered for 55 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.

 

Nutritional Breakdown

 

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Hi all!

I've been up for a while, I made my delicious banana nut loaf ...but I decided to make it in my cute new muffin tin that is actually in the shape of a pumpkin. It turned out SO cute and so yummy!

My sister headed home yesterday afternoon, her boyfriend came up to visit. So I did the housewife workout, got things ready. Tomorrow is the start of a new week, which is always a source of stress. But everything will work out fine. Just taking it one day at a time! I just have to find where I put that darn schedule!

With a week chock full of work and on a beautiful fall day, crock potting is fun! Great recipe with a spicy meaty flair the whole family will love!!

Jambalaya
Servings: 12 (1 cup per serving)

Ingredients

1 pound Polish Sausage (Cut into 1/2 inch rounds)
1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breast (Cut into 1 in cubes)
1 can (14.5oz) low fat, low sodium beef broth
1 can (14.5oz) low sodium diced tomatoes, undrained
2 celery ribs, chopped
1/3 cup tomato paste
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon cayanne pepper
1 pound cooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups cooked brown rice

Directions

1. In a 5 quart slow cooker, combine Polish sausage, chicken, beef broth, diced tomatoes, celery, tomato paste and spices into the crock pot.

2. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or until chicken is cooked through.

3. Stir in cooked shrimp and rice and cook on low for another 15-20 minutes until heated through.

Nutritional Breakdown

YUM!! Enjoy!

Simple Saturday!

I am having a great time with my sister!! Last night we stayed up giggling until midnight after watching a bunch of X-files episodes. When we were kids our mom said that we absolutely COULD NOT stay up and watch X-files. So what did we do? Yeah, of course we did! And we would scare the living crap out of ourselves and end up having to sleep in the same room so no aliens or monsters or ghosts or wierd biological anomalies would get us!!! Now that we're older, the X-files still scares the crap out of us...but we love it!!


Last night we went out to dinner and I had the most delicious Portabella Mushroom sandwich. It was delicious and not too bad on the calories! I did sneak a few fries...and I did have a beer...but it was a very rare occasion for me. I ate very light that morning and afternoon and I tracked every bite of food...and I still met my goals for the day! I didn't go over on anything! So that was a big success for me!!

This morning I got up and ate my Jenny Craig Apples & Cinnoman Waffles. I made my sister some lowfat waffles with veggie sausage and she loved it! We're hanging out, more X-files to come...and I'm making a grilled veggie/chicken salad that I made for my mom the other night that was to die for!!

Today's recipe is Italian in honor of la familia! I have to say that I am obsessed with Dreamfields pasta. It is low carb but doesn't taste awful! It has delicious taste, the texture is amazing--no one can even tell it's low carb, I swear! And they cook up and hold up so well!

So without further ado...

Lo Carb Lasagna
Serves: 12

Ingredients

12 sheets of Dreamfields lasanga pasta
2 clove garlic, minced
2 cup chopped onion
2 cup carrots chopped
3 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 container (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 cups marinara sauce

Directions

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Spray 13x9x3 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.


Directions:
1. Prepare lasagna according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water; drain well.
2. Heat a large skilled at medium-high heat and add nonstick cooking spray; sauté garlic, onion, carrots and mushrooms until tender, about 5 minutes; remove from heat.

To Assemble:
1. Spread 1 cup of marinara sauce on bottom of baking dish.
2. Layer 4 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup veg mixture, 1 cup marinara sauce, 1 cup mozzarella cheese.
3. Layer 4 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of ricotta cheese, 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce.
4. Layer remaining lasagna noodles, ricotta cheese,veg mixture, marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.
5. Cover pan with tin foil and bake for 45-50 minutes. Remove tin foil and bake another 10-15 minutes. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before cutting.

Nutritional Breakdown

Have a wonderful Saturday all!