***Plant Update***

They are not dead.  I repeat, NOT dead.  

They are thriving!  :-)

My tomato plant has FOUR tomatoes on it!  Little one has declared them to be "smooth" and "greeeeeeen".

There's one...

...and three more!  (Two are bunched together on the right.)

Look at all of the leaves on my strawberry plant!  There are even some little white flowers toward the top of the first picture and I didn't see any strawberries until I went poking around under the big leaves...

FOUR little tiny strawberries!

Stay back, squirrels.  It'll be time to fight.  You best back up.

In other news, you should know that mini blueberry muffins are delicious and have either half or a third of the calories of regular giant ones (depending on the size of your muffin tins).

You should also know that babies toddlers like little muffins.  And capers.  

Okay, so you probably shouldn't feed your baby OR toddler capers because they are super salty... but if you're like me, you might give them random things just to try and see the fantastic expressions they make.  Or awesome yummy noises.  "Mmmmmmmm!" they'll say!  

Dinner tonight was fresh corn on the cob, grilled zucchini, and salmon seasoned with some lemon pepper and garlic powder... and capers for me.  I heart capers.  They make me think of my honeymoon, where they were served with smoked salmon every day for breakfast.  :-)  

Unfortunately, now I know that my toddler likes capers.  Loves may be a better word.  Except she calls them "kini", which I think she mistook for the zucchini that she didn't like at all.   I had to quickly eat them off my plate because she kept asking for "Momma's kini", "have more?"  *sigh*

(Pre-caper picture)

I hope you ate something healthy and delicious this weekend!  

P.S. Sorry about the caper rant!  Do you like capers?

At Least There Wasn't Any Quinoa...

Dinner was too healthy tonight.  It tasted healthy.  Who wants that?  

I found this recipe for Cornmeal-Dusted Catfish with Quinoa Saute in a Cooking Light magazine.  Sounds fancy, doesn't it?  I've been wanting to try more quinoa (pronounced 'keen-wa') recipes because I feel like I could like it.  It's good for you and something different, right?  So far I haven't been all that impressed with quinoa, but I'm hopeful!  Jimmy, maybe not so much.  He's a good sport though and eats whatever I make (love you, babe!).  Anyway, I thought this recipe sounded like it had some potential.  

It may have been better if I'd actually used catfish.  I don't know, I've never eaten catfish.  Since I didn't have catfish in the freezer, I used tilapia instead, thinking that maybe it would be okay... 

...and then I realized that there wasn't any quinoa in my pantry.  

Uh, what was I thinking here?  

Tonight's dinner became Cornmeal-Dusted Tilapia with Brown Rice and Sauteed Vegetables... which tasted way too healthy for our liking.  Don't get me wrong, we ate it.  It was probably even good for us.  I just won't be making it again.  ;-)

Veggies: Zucchini, Red Pearl Onions,
Shallots, Celery, and Grape Tomatoes

Little one did gobble up some fish, though.  That's something!  

So, as we were eating it, I said to Jim, "At least there wasn't any quinoa..."

His response?  "True dat."

Oatmeal Fail.

I woke up this morning in a grumpy mood, because I have a cold and didn't sleep well.  Little one was excited to see me, but still.  Grump grump grump.

So, we got out to the kitchen and I got her all settled in with breakfast and then realized that I was out of the instant oatmeal I've been eating.  Doh!  I'd been meaning to try to make some oatmeal with oats that I've had in my pantry, so I figured 'Hey, why not?'.

Not.

It may not look half bad, but trust me, it was all bad.  They were old-fashioned oats (which I heard makes a difference because they are thicker than steel cut?) with some honey, sliced almonds, and raspberries.  I took a bite, almost vomited, and then added some blackberries and blueberries as well.  Bleck.  How do people eat this?

Gross.

So, I put it out there on good ole' FB this morning and some lovelies suggested adding brown sugar, cinnamon, apples, pumpkin, raisins, craisins, agave, baby food, sliced bananas, maple syrup, etc.  Apparently steel cut oats are amazing?

You know what I did tonight?  I bought more instant oatmeal.  Rest easy, Alissa, good oatmeal is coming in the morning.  :-)

How do YOU make oatmeal?  What did I do wrong?  Is it really just supposed to be that disgusting?

Anyway...

Dinner tonight!  It was yummy!  Here are some pictures!  :-D

Summer Tomato Soup

I got this recipe out of a book called 1 Stock, 100 Soups by Linda Doeser.  I haven't actually used this book much, but thought I'd venture out into soups again.  There are so many different ways to make your own tomato soup!

Red Onions, Scallions, Celery, and Garlic simmering...

Add Tomatoes...

Cook for a while...

Blend.  Oh!  This might be tough if you don't have an immersion blender...
(Got one for Christmas!)  

Season it! 

Sorry, I don't think I can be much more specific than that without violating copyright laws... and I did tweak a few things to make the soup lower calorie when I made it.  You can make your own vegetable stock or buy it, add any kind of veggies (which might make it less of just a tomato soup, but who cares?), and of course season it the way you like.  Experimenting is fun.  :-)

To go with the soup, I may have made some tuna melts... not really Alissa-style because they had celery in them.  I NEVER add celery to my salads.  Why did I this time?  Eh, I figured it was a good way to get some good veggies into dinner... *sigh*  Who am I becoming?  Hehe.

White Albacore Tuna in Water (60 cal per sandwich)
Then I added a teaspoon of light mayo, a stalk of celery,
and I would have seasoned it with Old Bay, but I forgot.

Lay them on a tray and add cheese if you desire it!

Alissa's Tuna Melt

As you can see, I often desire cheese.  I'm working on that.  In the meantime, it was pretty darn delicious and the whole dinner was about 557 calories.  Works for me, but if you need to lighten things up, as I said, there are lots of ways you can do it!

How do you like to eat tuna?  I used to only eat it with pretzels.  Little salty ones.  Oooooh, with dill relish mixed into it.  Mmm... tuna.  ;-)

Four Months Later...

Methinks you'll have to get used to once-in-a-while appearances from me from now on... I just can't keep up like I did before!  It might be a mix between having a toddler and not trying as many new recipes now that I have some cooking skill.

Since Thanksgiving, the hubs and I have been calorie counting and really trying to whittle down our weights.  I've been looking for lots of low-cal, delicious recipes and have tried a few things recently I thought I'd share with you.  So far I've lost about 16 lbs and am officially back down to pre-preggo weight (it sure took me long enough!).

Southwestern Egg Rolls

Alissa's Alfredo Lasagna

Okay, so this might sound like it's not-so-healthy.  It really depends on what you put in it.  I made it with RF ricotta cheese, a TON of spinach, lean ground beef, mushrooms, light alfredo sauce, and no-bake noodles.  If you portion it out, it's delicious and you don't have to feel guilty about it!  :-)

Pretty picture, right?

I have discovered the secret to yummy, light scrambled eggs... and I'm going to share it with you right now.  Are you ready?  Laughing cow cheese.  I've had this lunch almost every day for the past two months and it's filling, full of protein, and worth every calorie.

I use 1/2 c. of egg beaters, 2 wedges of any kind of laughing cow cheese, Old Bay, and pepper.  Sometimes I add mushrooms, spinach, a touch of lean ground beef... really, anything your heart desires in scrambled eggs is okay.  I like to put it on an English muffin (high fiber) with a Mushroom Lover's Morningstar veggie burger on the side.  I'm addicted.

Top with fresh salsa and a little guac or fresh avocado.  Heavenly.

Seriously.

Quinoa Pizza Bites

These were good, but I would recommend using pepperoni slices as suggested in the recipe.  They were good without, but needed something!  I also didn't have a tiny muffin pan, so I just baked them like cookies.

Alissa's Split Pea Soup

I made this with a bag of split peas... which I didn't realize would actually split or explode all over the pot as they started cooking.  I didn't take an after picture, but I should have!  I added potato, corn, chicken/veggie broth, mushrooms, and some spices.  It ended up thick and pretty tasty.

Next up...

Green Smoothies!  I've started having these more often lately.  Usually I add whatever we have in our house... banana, apple, strawberry, blueberry, etc.  Then you load it up with spinach or kale and add ice to get it the thickness you want.  I've been making them with soy yogurt and vanilla soy milk so that Liv can drink some, too.  Always yum.

Tilapia with Salsa and Black Beans

This is exactly what it says.  I made brown rice and mixed salsa into it, added black beans, and topped with tilapia (seasoned however you like).

Homemade Mexican Pizza

We are huge fans of Cheeseburger Pizza and just switched the toppings a bit to make it Mexican.  On this pizza, I used taco seasoned lean ground beef, fresh avocado, grape tomatoes, black beans, corn, and shredded cheese.

Broccoli, Cheese, & Potato Soup

Tomato Soup

I couldn't find the exact Taste of Home recipe that I used for the tomato soup, but there are so many there!  I might have to try some others.  :-)

For Christmas, I got an immersion blender... and it's AWESOME!  Here I am using it!  :-)

Smooth soup!

Sorry that this post was so random.  I'll try to post new recipes as I make them so I don't have to have crazy posts like this one!

Hopefully you see something you'd like to try... enjoy!  :-)

What's the dill-y?

Fish fish fish fish fish fish fish fish... do you like it?  What's your favorite kind?  I think one of my next goals will be to try different kinds of fish.  I am in no way a fish connoisseur.  Maybe I should be.

Tonight I made this:

Chipotle-Sparked Mustard Salmon

It was delicious.  I forgot to add the dill to it (and I even have fresh dill in my fridge!)... so I guess I'll just have to make it again and add the dill.  Oh darn.

;-)  Yum!

Fancy Schmancy

Hello again, blogging world!  What a busy week...  Things are winding down at least for now, so I'm extremely happy that tomorrow is Friday.  I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off between a billion things to do at work and school.  Anybody know what that's like?

:-)

Anyway, I made a fancy schmancy dinner tonight.  At least it seems pretty fancy schmancy because I can't even really pronounce it.  Isn't that what makes dinners fancy?  These pictures are kind of fail, but my camera was being particularly difficult this evening.  Sorry!


Dilled Salmon Cakes with Tzatziki Sauce



Cucumber and Cherry Tomato Salad
with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Okay, so I can pronounce everything except for "tzatziki"... and I might have that down.  I'll never really know until I meet someone who actually knows how to say that.  ;-)  Or I look it up.  Eh.  I'm feeling kinda lazy.  I should also tell you that the above link for the salmon cakes is NOT the recipe that I used.  Mine were both out of that darn WW magazine that doesn't have anything online.  The salmon cake recipe is very similar though... just use one less egg OR keep the extra egg and maybe yours won't fall apart like this:

Still pretty tasty.  :-)  I might actually add that extra egg next time and see what happens. 

The salad, however... I do not recommend unless you love onions.  I do love tomatoes.

...but not onions.  It's basically a salad made up of tomatoes, cucumber, and onions with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette on top.  Here's Jimmy eating a forkful of onions (cause he'll do stuff like that):

What a good guy.  He even posed for me!  Hopefully the onions didn't burn away his tastebuds!  :-) 

Chop, Chop, Chop!

Don't worry, I'm not super crazy cooking girl today.  Just moderately crazy cooking girl.  Just kidding!  I only made one new thing today (mainly because my fridge is already too full of leftovers) and I didn't even have to cook it.  I'd say that makes me crazy chopping girl today.  :-)

Here it is:

Tuna and White Bean Salad (WW recipe)

Please note that I'm using my red mixing bowl and it's almost too small!  It's times like this that green mixing bowl would have done the job nicely.  *tear*

Did you notice that there's actually a form of meat in this dish?  Yep, meat returns!  Don't worry, meat never really left my kitchen... just the blog for a few entries.  For those vegetarians out there, just ditch the tuna and you're good to go.  This recipe was pretty easy and another one of those from the WW magazine that is apparently not online.  That means no link.  I halved this recipe and only ate a half of that, so, here's what you put in whatever giant mixing bowl you have (I'm sure it's best if it's a green one) to make 4 servings total:

-2 6 oz. cans of albacore tuna, in water
-1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, or other white beans, rinsed and drained
-2 c. grape tomatoes
-1 cucumber, peeled and chopped (I didn't add this because I didn't have it on hand.)
-1/4 c. red onion, sliced
-4 c. fresh spinach
-2 T. white balsamic vinegar (I used regular because I didn't have white.)
-1 T. fresh lemon juice
-1 T EVOO
-1/2 t. pepper
-1/4 t. salt (I used garlic salt... because I <3 garlic.)

Chop, chop chop!  Toss, toss, toss!  Eat, eat, eat!  Yum, yum yum... happy tummy.  :-)

Frittata!

Happy Monday!  Happy MLK Day!  Happy Day Off (if you're lucky enough to have today off...)!  Good day already and it's not even noon.

Guess what I did this morning!? 

I made a FRITTATA!  ...and I used my scary, scary broiler for the first time.  Here are some pictures of my ultimate frittata experience:

Smoked Salmon and Sour Cream Frittata (WW recipe)

Success and frittata was had by all!  :-)

I heart Brussels sprouts.

Not to make you envious, but I'm still in my pjs.  :-) 

I ripped myself away from the mindless television that I was watching to come and blog about what I made for lunch.  Aren't you lucky? 

So, who likes brussels sprouts?!  Me!  Me!  *waves hand around emphatically*  I love them.  I never have them, though.  My grandmom used to make them on holidays for me and my mom (she liked them, too!) and that was the only time I ate them all year.  It's about time I change all of that.  My cousin-in-law (I suppose that's what you would call her!) told me how she makes them and I couldn't wait to try it out.  I love brussels sprouts... and they are ridiculously simple to roast.  If I'm the only one eating them, so be it. 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

All I did was spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, chop the brussels sprouts in half, coat them with a touch of EVOO, and sprinkle them with pepper and garlic salt.  They roasted for about 20 minutes and looked a little brown and crispy in some parts.  Still amazing.  Well, if you like brussels sprouts.  :-) 

I also made an Open-Faced Tuna and Artichoke Melt.  I've never used artichokes before... it's on my to-do list.  I kind of cheated this time because the recipe called for canned artichoke hearts.  Hey, still something new.  Below is the pretty onion I chopped.  I've decided if onion is minced enough, I'm okay with it being in my food. 

Open-Faced Tuna and Artichoke Melt

This was actually a lot better than I was expecting and I somehow had all of the ingredients to make it in my newly organized pantry.  I topped it with a little shredded mozzarella and instead of broiling it, because I was busy roasting my brussel sprouts, I used my fancy schmancy toaster oven.  Next time I'll have to brave the broiler.  I'm still a little nervous about that. 

Happy Tuesday!  :-)