Weight loss challenge week 2

I lost a pound this week! I am a little surprised. I really thought I would lose more since I've been sick this week. I really did eat healthier, but I only got one workout in before I got sick.
I just have to try not to be discouraged & keep trying. Hopefully I will be feeling up to it & I can get back on the treadmill at least this week.

You have to fight...for your right...to party

We had 2 parties this weekend to go to. That's right, 2. A family party and Ashs' friend, Logan, birthday party. We had already agreed to go to Logans' party a few weeks before we got the family party invite so we had to decline that one. I was so excited to be there and see Logan eat his 1st birthday cake! Unfortunately, it's just natural for things to happen when you have plans. Ash and I both got sick this week. My poor baby has had a fever and has a cough. My sore throat, dizziness, chills and all other kinds of fun stuff made me have to cancel on this party too. Boo. I'd hoped we'd be able to kick this stuff before the party. Maybe since Logan missed Ashs' party, I should just make a cake for the 2 of them to share!

Crock Pot Lime Chicken and Rice

I love crock pot meals. I love that I can just dump stuff in there and it'll be ok. Lazy cooking is good cooking! Since I work ridiculously crazy hours to keep Ash home with me, I finish up early enough to be able to start dinner. It still gives me plenty of time to be able to do whatever else I need to do or want to cook. I have a friend that has had some health issues lately and has been eating lots and lots and lots of salads to eat healthier. With my own diet under way I thought of her with this recipe. I do like salad, but I still love food & we all deserve that variety.

Crock Pot Lime Chicken and Rice:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 limes
2 cloves garlic, minced
Mrs Dash Fiesta lime seasoning
Mrs Dash Caribbean citrus seasoning
1 1/2 cups of reduced sodium chicken broth
2 cups uncooked brown or white rice

Cut your limes and squeeze as much of the juice as possible into the crock pot. Place your chicken breasts in pot. Pour in chicken broth. Put garlic on top of the chicken & add as much of the seasoning as you like. Cook on low for 7 hours until juices of chicken run clear. Add the rice during the last 15 minutes. Stir it up and it's ready to serve!

Chocolate Lollipops

I found my love of making chocolate pieces nearly 2 years ago when making a Spongebob Squarepants cake for my sisters birthday. On top of the crabby patty cake was a giant chocolate Spongebob. It was rather intimidating, but I was excited for the challenge.
Though I have not done a big piece like this since, I have made quite a few smaller ones for baby showers and such. A friend of mine really loved the baby shower chocolates and asked me about making chocolate lollipops for her wedding. Of course I am all too happy to do it! Congratulations Sharmaine & Michael!
Chocolate is not hard to work with, but it is very time consuming. Start by making sure all of your molds are scrubbed clean and completely dry. Just a little droplet of water can cause indents in your chocolate. Sometimes, it can still happen, but it reduces your chance.
Melt your chocolate & add to mold until about 1/2 full. If you are doing lollipops then add chocolate to the top portion of the stick portion of the mold. Place the lollipop stick in the mold making sure that a good part of it will go through the backing of the lollipop for good support. Completely cover the stick and finish filling the mold. Smooth out the back as much as possible with a mini spatula.
Let chocolate sit until completely cooled and mold is set. Then you can pop out the piece onto wax paper. You'll be able to use a paring knife to cut off some of the excess chocolate & give it a more finished look.

Once that is done then your chocolate pieces are ready for delivery! I prefer to use bags with a string of ribbon for a better look. I am so glad that Sharmaine, Michael & family are pleased with these chocolate wedding cakes!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Everyone loves chocolate chip cookies & it's always a go to favorite. Sometimes, though, the oatmeal cookie gets overlooked. It's so delicious, I'm not sure how that's possible!

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup chocolate chip cookies

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl beat butter until creamy. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, & cinnamon. Beat until combined. Beat in eggs & vanilla. Beat in flour. Stir in oats & chocolate chips.
Drop teaspoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Let cool & serve.

The death of an appliance

My bread maker committed suicide today. Sob. It just took that leap of faith right off my counter & died on my kitchen floor. Sob.
I received my bread maker as a wedding gift 8 years ago. It was there for me when I really didn't know how to make anything unless it came from a box. It helped me to explore my skills as a baker. Gave me confidence to push myself to try more challenging breads while helping me still bake my favorites.
I just wanted to write a small piece about one of my favorite appliances. Breadman Bread Maker...you will be so missed! Sob.

Judgers

I love food & like to eat. I don't think that's so bad. I don't think it's nice to look at someone, whether skinny or overweight & judge them for what they like to eat or how much. It's rude. I'm sure that there are many things that you do that you would not want someone commenting on or laughing at.
A lot of times, it does end up being cheaper to buy things in bulk or get the larger size of something. However, it does not necessarily mean I intend to eat it all in one sitting.
My husband & I went to the movies over the weekend & opted to just get 2 large popcorns. I love movie theater popcorn the next day. So what if it was 10am! The girl sure had a look when we ordered them. Maybe I'm just being silly. As we took our order, she called out as we were walking away, "you know you get free refills of popcorn when you finish that", with a smirk on her face. Wow. Why not just sing baby beluga?
This is not the 1st time this has happened. Since delivery charges are going up, I like to order several meals at one time & have them for a lazy week. Plenty of things reheat well!
A pizza place once delivered a large order when I still lived in a apartment. This teenager showed up, peeked into my apartment & told me he was sure I was having a party & was surprised to find me alone. Really?!
A deli delivered once saying that he thought he wouldn't find any parking at my house for all the food I ordered & laughed. In my embarrassment, I explained why I order so much. The delivery charge is the same as 1 meal! He said, "if you say so." Just call me a cow, why don't you.
Bless the Chinese food people though, they don't care. They just bring the food & take the money. No verbal judgement. No look that says "Hey fatty, here's your food." Sure they may be thinking it. Who cares? Just bring me the food, keep your pie hole shut & we'll be fine.
Please don't judge others. There could be a ton of reasons why they are ordering all that food or even if they just had a bad day, that's their business.

Tuscan Chicken

This is a little indulgence that is completely worth it. It is just divine.

Tuscan Chicken:

1/2 cup chicken broth

10 cloves garlic cloves, peeled

1 box of whatever pasta you prefer. I like mini pastas

1 1/4 lbs. of boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 package of sliced mushrooms. Portabellos just this a lot more flavor.

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp all purpose flour

2 cups half and half or heavy cream. Half and half if you're looking for a lighter dish

1/2 cup diced, drained sun dried tomatoes packed in oil

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

In a small saucepan over high heat, bring broth and garlic to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and let simmer until garlic is softened. Cook pasta according to the directions on box. Slice chicken horizontally to make 2 chicken breasts. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Grill or broil chicken until juices run clear. In a nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook mushrooms in olive oil for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Gradually add flour, stirring until mix resembles a paste. Slowly whisk in half and half or heavy cream and broth; cook until mix thickens. Stir in sun dried tomatoes, parmesan, chicken and pasta. Heat through, stirring frequently. Serve it up with some garlic bread if desired.

Weight loss challenge week 1

Well, I suppose I should have known that with my husband on vacation that it wasn't the best decision to start the weight loss challenge. At least we both did the same this week. Gained a pound. Womp. Womp.
Now this week, my husband is back to work too so I don't have anyone to place the blame on, much to my dismay. I only have myself to blame.
It doesn't help when I try to rationalize my choices. Popcorn. It's corn! Completely healthy. The butter is technically just another way to add dairy to our diets. Brown sugar. That's like brown rice, right? Chocolate comes from a tree, right? Totally makes it like a fruit or a nut.
Maybe I need one of the things to put a cupcake on the end of it so I can run! Sad, I know.

You've got furniture on your face!

Sigh. My son. My son is teething. I just love when new teeth are coming in. My poor baby is just in pain & all I can do is sit back & hope he feels better soon after teething tabs or tylenol.
He, like many kids, will find anything & everything to chew on. Some of my favorites have been a plastic toy boat captain head, a dog toy, & the couch. My very favorite is now his crib. Ugh. The 1st time I noticed marks in his crib I wondered how the dogs got up there or we had a monster in the room. Little did I know, Ash was the monster!
I went to get him after a nap one day & saw brown flecks on his face. What the heck? It took me a minute to figure it out. I stupidly said, "OMG! You've got furniture all over your face!" he just smiled at me. I have since caught him on the camera gnawing away. I need to figure out some solution to this.
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck?

There's what in my candles?!

  Hi folks. I just wanted to share a few more reasons why I love Scentsy so much....aside from just the fabulous scents.

A Scentsy Bar is a small block of fragrant wax that comes in eight break-apart sections. Using a high-quality, custom paraffin wax blend selected for its superior scent loading capability; melting point and firmness, Scentsy Bars produce some of the most vibrant fragrances possible.
  The type of wax used allows Scentsy Bars to hold more fragrance oils, resulting in a better fragrance “throw.” The amount of fragrance load for Scentsy wickless candles is about 15% oil compared with 5% for regular wicked candles. Additionally, Scentsy Bars are safer than wicked candles because no flame is required for the wax to melt or to release the fragrance. It's just a simple system. No smoke, no soot, no flame. Just pure goodness!

  Burning candles or incense can create soot. Any soot can be damaging to the environment.  Soot is created from the impure carbon particles that are left after the incomplete combustion of the wax. This soot can gather on furniture, carpets, walls and it can be inhaled. Soot is made up of very fine particles and when inhaled they penetrate into the deepest part of the lungs. This means that the particles cannot be easily discharged.
  The amount of soot generated when burning a candle will depend on how cleanly the candle burns. This will depend on the length of the wick, disturbance to the flame such as from a draught, and any scent that may have been added. Paraffin wax candles tend to produce more soot than natural wax candles.

  Trace amounts of chemical pollutants are emitted when paraffin wax burns. The amount of pollutants will depend on any scent or colour that may be added to the wax. Emissions can include acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, acrolein, naphthalene, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PHAs) such as benzo (a) pyrene, dioxins and furans. One study shows that by burning several candles at once, the emissions result in levels of acetaldehyde, formaldehyde and acroletin that exceed United States recommended levels and present a cancer risk.
  With Scentsy, we warm our wax, not burn it. It's safe to smell and won't burn you if you touch it. It's safe for the kids, pets and you. Practice safe scents people! https://nikkicaposello.scentsy.us

Moroccan Chicken with Olives & Lemon

I was looking for something a little different & love green olives so I was excited to come across this. Enjoy!

Moroccan Chicken with Olives & Lemons:

1/2 cup cilantro
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground red pepper
1/4 tsp salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
8 chicken thighs, skinned
Cooking spray
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 14 oz can reduced sodium chicken broth
24 pimento stuffed olives, chopped.
8 lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine first 8 ingredients in large bowl; stir well. Add chicken; toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer in a 13X9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
Combine flour. Juice, broth, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Sprinkle flour mix over chicken to coat. Top chicken with olives & lemons. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour or until thermometer registers 180 degrees.