How to be a rock star in your own kitchen: Part One

Welcome to day five of Food Week on Laughing Through the Chaos - click the links below to catch up if you need to!

Sunday
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Wednesday

On making my first souffle...

This recipe was was one of the very first I tried after deciding to broaden my horizons with new recipes and new ingredients. I didn't even know what a "souffle" was until I saw the movie, Julie and Julia. Now, every time I see the word souffle, I hear, "I'iiiim Julia Chiiiild" in my head. I checked out the ingredients, thought it sounded like they'd taste good together, and figured the directions looked simple enough, so I gave it whirl.

The recipe says bake until "puffed and golden," but, having never made a souffle before, the high level of puffiness was pretty much freaking me out. It looked like it was about to explode all over the inside of the oven. So, I do what any novice cook does - I jumped on Google real quick, where I quickly found out that, not only is it actually a pretty big deal to make a souffle, but the crazy stuff going on in that oven was actually normal.

Anyway - apparently, souffles can be a bit tricky to make. Had I known that, I probably would have chickened out and say, "Hey, honey. Looks like it's Cheerios and toast for dinner again," but I'm so glad I was ignorant up to that point because this is one of my proudest kitchen creations EVER. I made a souffle! And it tasted amazing, and Dennis even loved it! Oh, happy day.

It's great for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner - anytime, really, and the leftovers taste great the next day.

Apple Pancake Souffle
A modification from Weight Watchers' Simply the Best : 250 Prizewinning Family Recipes

Ingredients

1 cup + 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour)
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 c. fat-free egg substitute
2 c. skim milk (I used 2%)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. unsalted stick margarine (I used butter)
6 apples, peeled and thinly sliced (my food processor saved me a lot of time by slicing the apples for me - I also used Granny Smith apples)
3 Tbsp. firmly packed light brown sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon; make a well in the center. Add the egg stubstitute, milk and vanilla; whisk until thoroughly combined.

3. Place the margarine in a 13 x 9" baking dish; place in the oven until the margarine is melted and sizzling, about 3 minutes. Add the apples and mix gently to coat. Bake until th e apples are heated through, about 5 minutes (just an FYI, I forgot this step the first time, and it didn't make any difference at all). Pour the egg mixture over the apples; sprinkle with the brown sugar. Bake until the souffle is puffed and golden and a knife inserted int eh center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Serve at once.

Oh, dear sweet oatmeal chocolate chip pancake...come to MAMA!

Today will not go down in history as one of those days you could consider more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

Nothing monumentally bad happened. In fact, by most standards, it really wasn't a bad day at all.

But, I'm on call this week again, and as luck would have it, my sleeping butt got woken up at 2 a.m. with the buzzing of my pager, beckoning me to come to work. I had so much fun. It was a blast. Not really.

Anyway, I got home at 4:30 a.m. and finally fell asleep. About 15 minutes before the alarm went off, beckoning me BACK to work for my regular shift. Do I really need to explain that I was Miss Pissy Pants all day long, or did you just assume that before I even explained it? Because I WAS a stick in the mud all day. It was one of those one friggin' thing after another days.

And, believe me - I'm thankful to have a job, so I'll take some bad days here and there. But, let's just say my coping mechanisms were malfunctioning.

I ate almost a whole Dove chocolate bar (which, by the way, I do not regret - I fully believe it helped me from going completely mad at times) and I got a mini pizza for lunch, which I haven't done in WEEKS. Didn't feel so hot about those choices, but it was all about the comfort food.

So, I came home and changed into my comfy clothes and got to relax a bit. And even though the plan was to eat some chicken that I cooked up in the crock pot yesterday, it just wasn't going to do the trick for me.

It was definitely a breakfast for dinner kind of night.

Quickly, I cracked open the pages of my Hungry Girl cookbook and got out a mixing bowl and the ingredients for my current Hungry Girl obsession - "Oat-Rageous Chocolate Chip Pancake Minis."

Now, the recipe makes 5 mini pancakes, but I get all crazy with my bad self and just make one huge honkin' pancake. And it is so. GOOD. I'm telling you!

It was total comfort food, and just 3 of my daily 18 Weight Watchers food points. I could indulge and not feel one bit guilty.

I'm sure I'm breaking some sort of law by sharing this with you, but I'm feeling fiesty, so I'm going to tell you how to cook up some of these bad boys for yourself...

Oat-Rageous Chocolate Chip Pancake Minis

Ingredients

3 Tbsp. regular oats (not instant)
3 Tbsp. fat-free liquid egg substitute
2 Tbsp. whole-wheat flour
1 Tbsp. light vanilla soymilk
1/2 Tbsp. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. vanilla extract
1 no-calorie sweetener packet
(I also like to add some cinnamon)
Dash salt

Directions

Place all ingredients in a small bowl, except for chocolate chips. Add 1 Tbsp water and stir until thoroughly mixed. Fold in chocolate chips.

Bring a large pan sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat. Pour batter in the pan to form 5 mini pancakes (or one ginormous pancake, like I do). Once pancake(s) begin to look solid, after about 1 minute, gently (or ferociously) flip.

Cook for an additional minute, or until both sides are lightly browned and insides are cooked through.

My favorite toppings? I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray, sugar-free (or sugar-filled) syrup, and/or fat-free Reddi Whip.

Makes 1 serving

Source: Hungry Girl 200 Under 200 recipe book, page 30 - with a few of my own words and variations thrown in here and there.

Random thoughts over a piping hot bowl of popcorn

Took a little blogging holiday, and I must say it was rather refreshing. Now I'm ready for some more talking.

First off, I must say that Orville Redenbacher is a damn genius. I think his 94% fat free butter popcorn is largely under appreciated. It's just so delectable, low in fat, and chased with a couple tall cold ones, totally fills up the belly. Guilt free and oh-so-good. Mmmm.

So - Swedish massages. Last week when I had my "moment" and dropped Kaylee off with mi madre, she slipped me a few extra Washingtons, and so I decided to get a Swedish massage (followed by a spa pedicure). Loved. Every. Minute. If I was physically able, I would have kicked and screamed and threw a fit when the masseuse told me it was over. But, I am not entirely sure I was even half conscious at that point, and I was moving at a snail's pace. I think our family needs to quit drinking milk and eating cereal, and then I can just put that money toward getting a massage every month. I need to start thinking of a way to break the news to Dennis...

My attitude has sucked lately. Ever since we brought Kaylee home from the hospital on the 14th, it was the only thing I could think about. I'd even venture to say I was obsessing about it. Just replaying the events over and over in my head and thinking about how bad it could have been, and that's just not me. I'm not a pessimist. I do my best to see the positive in everything, but the whole thing sort of just shook my world up a bit, and I let it get to me more than I should have.

Along those same lines, I got a call today from the hospital she was at and found out that our bill is $13,000 and that's before the doctors bill for their services - that fine chunk 'o change is just for the hospital facility charges. All I can say is I am SO glad we have insurance so we won't have to pay the entire amount. I guess we won't be having any trouble paying that deductible this year...

So, a while back I told you I was getting back on track. Eating better. Taking care of myself. Reading. Working out. Trying to lose a bit of extra poundage off the badonkadonk. I'm taking the slow route, but I've managed to lose 5% of my body weight since I started Weight Watchers again eight weeks ago. It feels good to fit into my pants again, and - believe it or not - I even have some pants that are loose - what, WHAT!?!?!

Here are some things that have helped me the most with the whole eating better, working out, losing weight thing...

Hungry Girl - namely, her book 200 Under 200, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray (Hello! Zero Fat. Zero Calories. Hallelujah!), Zumba, Pump Iron (group weight lifting/cardio class), of course my dear, sweet Gilad, Mommy and Me class, and eating chocolate every day. Maybe I'll talk more about that stuff another day.

But for now, I'm calling it a night.

And no - I'm not kidding about the chocolate every day. I'm serious. A little bit each day keeps me from totally overindulging. I highly recommend it. Personally, I think it's a pretty genius plan.

Food - it's a love/hate thang

It's once again time for Writer's Workshop over at Mama Kat's Losin' It.



So, here's the question I've chosen to go with this week:

What is an unpleasant experience you had eating?

I'd rather not tell you about specific times I've had unpleasant experiences eating, like the time I realized I'd suddenly developed an allergy to bananas as an adult. Not lovely. Not lovely at all.

I won't tell you about the time I went picking raspberries in the woods with my family as a child and ate a *few* too many and had to lollygag behind everyone, telling them to go on ahead because I had to "pee."

Those things are none of your business.

SO. Let me tell you about my current love/hate relationship with food, and why it's been, in some ways, rather unpleasant lately.

Let me first start off by telling you that I LOVE food. Always have, always will.

I love carbs and I have a killer sweet tooth. I also like some healthy foods, but let's be real - it's way more fun (and therapeutic) to eat things that are bad. Come on - spear of celery or Krispy Kreme donut? Yeah...

In high school, I was 110 lbs. - it didn't matter what type of physical activity I did or did not do. It didn't matter what kind of food I did or did not eat. I could do whatever my little heart desired, and I didn't gain a pound.

The day I turned 18 something terrible happened.

I guess since I was technically a "grown-up" my body decided to start behaving like one. That meant that I could no longer eat anything and everything that sounded good, and I could't expect to stay small by sitting on my butt watching I Love Lucy marathons while eating pepperoni pizza dipped in Ranch dressing.

Sure, my metabolism was changing, but I did alright, I guess. I didn't weigh myself all that much, and I was basically okay with my weight. I took a fitness class each semester in college, and I was being more intentional about choosing healthier foods.

Then I got a miserable job straight out of college. I was on the road the majority of the time, and I was dealing with some really heavy situations that were pretty horific. Add that to the fact that I had ZERO support from my bosses, no way of really dealing with all the stress and sadness I was seeing day in and day out, and I was putting in a good 50 hours/week, but getting no overtime. I was basically volunteering to be an even more miserable person.

You bet your booty I was always helping myself to the donuts, pastries, cakes, and breads that were in the break room.

If I had to sit in my cooped up little office with no windows writing about how children were being abused, I felt absolutely entitled to enjoy a sweet treat whenever I wanted to. They tasted good, and they made me happy, and there was not much else at work to be happy about.

After nearly a year of torturing myself and realizing it was literally going to be the job or my sanity that would have to go, I quit. And I've never regretted that decision. Not for one SECOND.

During my time at that stupid ass job, I gained a lovely amount of weight. I had to buy new clothes because I could not fit into mine anymore. At all. Couldn't even fake it. Quitting did wonders for my mental well-being, and I decided it was time to do something about my physical well-being, too.

I got online, checked out Weight Watchers online (I knew people that had success with the in-person WW in the past, and it seemed like a realistic and healthy way to lose weight), and discovered that I had a pretty wide range of what was considered to be a healthy weight for my age, gender, and height. I was 13 pounds heavier than the heaviest recommended weight.

That might not seem like a lot, but it was to me. I'd never been so unhealthy and felt so crappy about myself. I hated having to buy bigger clothes, and I knew that I was eating as a way to deal with stress.

So, I did the Weight Watchers thing, and it worked tremendously. I loved it. I lost 18 pounds.

By the time I was done, I was actually 2 sizes smaller than the size I'd been happy with before I started gaining weight. I was fit, I was energized, and I felt great about myself.

The Thursday after I hit my final goal weight, I hit up Old Navy and bought the smallest size pants I'd ever worn (well, since I started wearing women's sizes and not girl's sizes anyway). I was ecstatic!

The very next day I found out I was pregnant with Kaylee. Nice joke, huh?!?! I haven't seen the likes of those pants SINCE. :) I thought it was pretty funny.

It was like God said, "Hey! Great job! You're totally skinny now, and now that you've proved to yourself that you can do it, you can just go right ahead and pack those cute capris away in a box in the garage because you probably won't be seeing them again. Uh, EVER."

(Just for the record - Kaylee's totally worth it. She's way cooler than those pants.)

So, all that to say that lately, I've been getting concerned about the numbers rising on the scale, yet again.

I got to my pre-baby weight real fast after having Kaylee, and I think a lot of that can be attributed to breastfeeding - apparently it's supposed to burn a butt-load of calories. But, I was SO over breastfeeding when Kaylee hit 9 months old, and that's when I began to ride the weight roller coaster again.

I know it's not out of control at this point, and realistically, I've just got a few pounds to eliminate. In my book, I am happy with my body when my clothes fit, and the number on the scale doesn't matter quite as much (although, of course, it still matters a little bit), as long as I am confident in my clothes, and as long as I feel healthy and fit.

That has NOT been the case lately. Pants - oh, how I've missed my favorite pants. The pile-on of extra poundage happens so quietly - one day you just wake up and it's like, "DANG. When did THAT happen."

So, I've decided to do something about it, and I'm really taking it seriously. Last week I went to the gym 5 times - did some Mommy and Me classes, aerobics, and just some basic cardio stuff followed by some light weight training. It felt fabulous. I felt skinnier when I left (even thought I wasn't), and I felt really good about myself. Just knowing that I'm consciously choosing to do something to have a healthier self makes a huge difference.

So, last week I jumped back on the exercise bandwagon, but even for that whole week, my hang up continued to be with food. I didn't want to say no to the three dinner rolls and lemon cheesecake at my mother-in-laws (along with a few other side dishes and the main dish). I was willing to work out, but I wasn't willing to give up the decision to eating anything that tasted good, and however much of it that I wanted.

But - finally, my stubborn self has come around, and I'm going to be eating healthier, too.

No more "grazing" on snacks all day. No more "just one Hershey's kiss" that turns into 17 Hershey's kisses (seriously - 17). No failure to plan healthy lunches. No more. NO. MORE.

Today I ate a salad with leafy green lettuce (not the non-nutritive iceberg crap), sliced turkey (97% fat free, thankyouverymuch), and dried cranberries, with that sweet spritzer salad dressing that has 1 calorie per squirt.

It was GOOD. It was full of flavor, and it even satisfied my sweet tooth. I was still hungry when it was gone, so I ate an apple, and I was good. to. GO. until dinner time.

I can DO this. I've done it before, and I can do it again. I know I can.

Let's just hope I don't get knocked up after I hit my goal weight and get back into my skinny pants this time...

This Turkey is Stuffed

Well, Happy Thanksgiving to ya. I've been skimpin' on the posts a bit this week due to the holiday and my work schedule, so as soon as the holiday weekend comes to a close, I'll be posting regularly again.

We spent the day with my side of the family today, and it was real nice. I stuffed my face. And I don't even care.

Normally I try to be very good with my portions. I generally try to eat healthy foods, but I don't really have anything that's off limits. My general rule of thumb is just to select healthy portions of whatever it is I'm eating.

Before I got pregnant, I lost 18 pounds by doing Weight Watchers online, and I loved it. It really helped me to learn what healthy portions are, and now that I'm back at my goal weight after having Kaylee, I just try to eat appropriate amounts of food.

But, not on the holidays. The holidays are a free for all. Especially when you have my mom and my mother-in-law cooking for you. The holidays are really the one time a year when we have a really big, special, traditional dinner, and I want to enjoy it all. Today I felt completely stuffed - not a feeling I'm particularly fond of, but it was totally worth it.

We ended the night with Dennis and I teaming up against my dad and brother for a good old game of Bash Five. My brother cheated, but we're not quite sure how - he wouldn't give up his secret. But, it doesn't matter because Dennis and I won the championship of the world game - we beat 'em 2 out of 3.

Well, I know this was a rather boring post, but I'm sort of gorked out on food right now - this is the best I can do right now.

Are you going shopping on Black Friday? I'm planning to hit a couple stores in search of some sales after lunch sometime. I miss enough sleep as it is these days, though - so you won't find me at those crazy 4 a.m. store openings. Thanks, but no thanks.

Feel free to come back and share your good Black Friday deals or crazy shopping stories.

Microwave Apple and Pear Crisp

Microwave Apple and Pear Crisp

Makes 4 servings

The first time I ever made this recipe was the same night we had the girl's night at my friend's house and made the Glaze of Glory pork tenderloins. I was in charge of dessert, and when I found the recipe, I thought the ingredients all sounded delicious, so I was just hoping it would turn out yummy. The recipe makes 4 servings, and between the 4 of us girls that were there that night, there was not a crumb left when we were done. I also made this for my family the night we had the pork tenderloin, and I didn't have pears, so I just used extra apples instead.

The recipe is from the Weight Watchers' Simply the Best : 250 Prizewinning Family Recipes cookbook.

Ingredients

2 Empire or other firm apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2 pears, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 c. quick-cooking oatmeal
1/4 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg (I used ground nutmeg)
4 tsp. cold reduced-calorie margarine, diced

Spray a 9" square microwaveable baking pan in nonstick cooking spray.

Place the apples and pears in the pan; with a vented cover, microwave on High, stirring once, until the fruit is tender-crisp, 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the oatmeal, sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the margarine until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit mixture.

Microwave on High, uncovered, until the fruit is tender and the topping is cooked, about 6 minutes.

NOTE: I love using Granny Smith apples for this, and one way to make it even faster and easier is to use a food processor to slice the apples.

(I love Granny Smith apples for this recipe, and using the food processor to slice the apples makes it even easier)

Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread

Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread

I have always loved all things banana. Banana popsicles, banana candy, actual bananas, but I somehow developed an allergy to them as an adult. However, while I can't eat them raw, I have no reaction to foods with bananas that have been cooked. This is lovely because I've always been a huge fan of banana bread - covered with lots of delicious butter - mmmmm! But, banana bread? Eh, not usually incredibly healthy.

So, when someone from our local food co-op suggested this recipe, found at a fabulous little blog called Joy the Baker, I tried it right away and just absolutely fell in love! The loaf makes 10 slices, and each slice is just 4 Weight Watchers points. Not bad at all, man. I've eaten it from time to time as a stand-alone breakfast when I'm running late and don't have time for anything else. It's also a great snack, and Kaylee just goes berserk for it. Gotta love a recipe that is kid-friendly and can serve as breakfast, a snack, or even dessert.

I also highly recommend making it with your kids! Kaylee is almost 2, and she just loved mixing the dry ingredients while I worked on the other parts of the recipe.

Ingredients

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour (I use whole wheat flour)
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3 tsp. canola or walnut oil
1 large egg, beaten (you can eliminate some calories/fat by using egg substitute)
3 large bananas, ripe
1 c. uncooked old fashioned oats (not instant)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a loaf pan and set aside. In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients including the oats and cinnamon.

In a smaller bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher or fork. Add oil and whole egg and mix thoroughly.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Batter will be fairly thick.

In a medium sized bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until medium stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter in three additions.

Pour batter into pan and bake until top of loaf is firm to touch, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Flip out and cool on a wire rack for another 10 minutes. Slice loaf into 10 equally sized slices.

Spicy Turkey-Bean Chili

We love chili in this house - especially on those blistery cold days when you really need something to warm you up. This chili is so stinkin' good! Dennis told me this is the best chili I've ever made. It's another adaptation from the Weight Watchers' Simply the Best : 250 Prizewinning Family Recipes cookbook. The creator of the recipe is Joanie Kensil-Bradsher.

Excerpt from the cookbook:

 "Joanie's favorite way to serve this chili is stuffed in flour tortillas and topped with shredded lettuce and nonfat sour cream. The chili makes great leftovers, and it freezes well, too."

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 lb. ground skinless turkey breast (I used 93% lean ground beef because it's what we had on hand)

3 green bell peppers, seeded and diced

4 onions, chopped

6 garlic cloves, minced (I used the jarred minced garlic to save time)

1 Tbsp ground cumin

2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

3 bay leaves

One 28-ouce can crushed tomatoes (no salt added)

Two 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained

One 15-ounce can fat-free refried beans

One 4-ounce can diced green chiles, rinsed and drained

One 4-ounce can sliced jalapeno peppers, rinsed and drained (I left this out because I'm a weenie.)

Here are couple tips from me:
1. If you're short on time or hate chopping veggies, get your peppers and onions pre-chopped in the freezer section of the grocery store.
2. You can also make this in your crock pot. I've made it once on the stove top as directed by the recipe, and once in my crock pot, and it turned out great both times.

In a large nonstick suacepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil. Add the turkey, bell peppers, onions, garlic, cumin, oregano, cayenne and bay leaves; cook, stirring as needed, until the turkey is browned and the vegetables are softened, 6-8 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, the beans, chiles and jalapenos; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, stirring as needed, until the flavors are well blended, about 45 minutes. Discard the bay leaves.