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!  :-)

Eating More Plants

Happy August!  I can't believe it's August already... once August hits, it always seems like the summer is going fast (even if it's not).  I think this summer has felt very long, partly because I've been staying home with my sweet baby girl and she's grown so much!  We've been keeping super busy, too.  It almost seems like we are busier than we were during the school year, thought I know that can't possibly be true. 

On that note, I'm sure it will seem like summer is even longer than it already has been when I don't go back to school this year.  I'm a pretty lucky girl to be able to stay home.  <3

Anyway, with summer in full swing, I've been trying to eat more plants.  Plants are tasty!  Good for roasting, grilling, salad-making, etc.  I've been thoroughly enjoying corn-on-the-cob, which I've never really appreciated before this summer.  Why?  I don't know.  It's delicious! 

Spicy Black Bean Burger, Corn-on-the-Cob, and Grilled Eggplant

I also have a new appreciation for veggie burgers.  I know, right?  Who am I?  What have I done with Alissa?  Veggie burgers?  What's the world coming to?  Yeah... so, Morningstar products (at least the ones I've tried) are pretty good. 

You're probably wondering how I cooked everything.  I'm glad you asked!  I cooked it all on my grill pan.  Have I told you lately how much I love my grill pan?  I have?  ;-) 

The picture below is dinner I made tonight.  I'm not even sure what to call it... I kind of threw some things in a pan and cooked them up.  It consists of ground chicken, cream of chicken soup, pinto beans, frozen corn, garlic, and some seasonings (cumin, cayenne pepper, poultry seasoning, red pepper flakes, and a touch of garlic salt).  It's scooped over some brown rice and next to some grilled potatoes and mushrooms. 

I must also say that that's the saddest salad I think I've ever made.  It's just baby spinach and tomatoes... but it worked.  Initially I was debating about adding the spinach and mushrooms to the chicken mixture.  It probably would have been just as good.  By the way, this was a success!  Hubby liked it and even went back for seconds.  :-)  That's always a good sign.

Untitled Dinner...

These are just blueberries covered with strawberry yogurt (it's what I had in the fridge) and put in the freezer.  I found this idea on Pinterest.  :-) 

Yogurt-covered Blueberries

I hope you're making something amazing in your kitchen!!!

A Day of Cooking

Ugh.  I came home from work on Friday super frustrated with life.  Don't get me wrong... I have a very full life.  I love my family.  I like my job (most of the time).  Not too many people can say that!  It's just that life is a little too full at the moment.  I am counting down the days until summer vacation.  It can't come fast enough!

So, in order to try to give myself more time each night this week, I did a whole lot of cooking today.  My lovely husband, who does not get nearly enough credit for all that he does, went grocery shopping for me while I watched the baby.  Did I say that I love my family? 

Here's what I made:

Rosemary Lamb Stew with Spring Vegetables

Except that I used beef instead.  Lamb is crazy expensive and we are trying to stick to some sort of a budget here, people.  Plus, who wants to eat lamb?  Lambs are baby sheep!!!  :-(  If you eat them, they won't grow to their full potential and give anybody any wool.  Sheesh. 

Smokey Shrimp and Corn Soup

This is not for those allergic to shellfish *cough* Jimmy *cough cough*.  I'm eating some right now for dinner though and enjoying every bit.  Both of the above recipes were from the infamous WW recipe book that I can never find links to online.  I'll see what I can do. 

Veggie-Stuffed Shells

Absolutely no lactose in those... well, at least right now.  I may add some cheese directly to the top once I scoop some out.  They smelled really good while they were cooking and I'm excited to try some this week.  I love all things pasta.  There's also no meat, by the way.  Completely vegetarian. 

MORE Barley with Spinach and Asparagus

Yeah, I made this last week and it was so amazing that I made it again.  I didn't even take a new picture.  It looks exactly the same except that I accidentally added more onion than last time and I did add some leeks (on purpose) because I had one to use.  I like leeks. 

Anyway, if I have to cook this week, then there's something wrong.  Our refrigerator currently has a lot of yummy, healthy choices in it!  Go me!  :-)

Ugh, just ate a spoonful of onion.  I think I chopped/sliced/diced too many onions today. 

Casseroles for Baby

With baby on the way, I started making casseroles... I figured at least if I could freeze a few casseroles for later, we wouldn't starve.  Here are some pictures! 

Beef & Tater Bake

Who doesn't love tater tots?  I'm a fan.  Remember, though, I am in general a fan of things all jumbled together in a yummy mess.  Plus, I was pretty pregnant when I made that.  Regardless, it was tasty.

This next casserole is for any fan of pizza.

Spiral Pepperoni Pizza Bake

A little warning... either don't fill your dish quite so full of mozzarella OR put the dish on a cookie tray so that the cheese doesn't bubble all over your oven.  I love my darling husband who cleaned our oven!  <3

This last casserole is completely designed by me! 

Alissa's Mexican Polenta Bake

Alissa's Mexican Polenta Bake
1 can refried beans
1 roll of polenta, cut into rounds
Corn (canned or frozen)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
Green chiles
1 lb. ground beef, turkey, or chicken (I prefer beef... but you can use what you like!)
Taco seasoning (Packet or make your own!)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 jar salsa con queso
Other toppings... grape tomatoes, black olives, mushrooms, banana peppers, jalapeno peppers, sour cream, guacamole, etc.

Cook the ground beef in a pan and toss in the onion.  Add the taco seasoning.  *Just a side note... I made my own taco seasoning the other day without a packet (because I didn't realize I was out of them).  This works just as well! 

Spread the refried beans into a 13 x 9 pyrex dish.  Sprinkle some of the corn and black beans on top.  Add the polenta rounds spread out evenly.  Add more corn and black beans.  Add the seasoned meat and onions.  Add mushrooms or banana peppers if you're going to do so.  Add more corn, black beans, green chiles, jalapenos, etc.  Top the dish with the jar of salsa con queso. 

Bake in the oven at 350 for about 20ish minutes.  Top with anything else you want!  See... easy.  For all of you who are watching your weight... this was about 9 WW pts for 1/8 of it.  Not too shabby.

Please note that I am writing this almost 6 weeks (tomorrow) after baby arrived! Did I manage to make and freeze these casseroles prior to baby arriving? NO. Baby came 3 weeks early and surprised everyone... especially me and Jim. 

My sweetie at 1 month.  :-)  Love!

Mmm... Cheeseburgers.

If you're looking for a good, easy burger to make... look no further.  Use this seasoning!  It was super fantastic and the burgers were all juicy and delicious.  I think this was the first time that I've actually cooked burgers to perfection.  The packet says you add it to ground beef, but I don't see any reason why you couldn't use it on ground turkey or chicken.  Live dangerously! 

Cheeseburgers are one of my favorite things ever.

All-American Cheeseburgers and
Cumin-Scented Regular Potato Fries

I even made fries to go with our burgers tonight!  It just seemed... right.  Hey, we scarfed it all down.

March Madness!

Happy March everyone!  I can't believe it's March already!  I am pretty excited that it's almost spring.  I've got spring break coming up eventually... and next weekend we "spring forward" and lose sleep, but it will be sunnier in the mornings (I think).  That makes sense, doesn't it?  I could never be a time traveller.  I'd get too confused.

I'm sorry I've been kind of MIA.  Two grad classes is a little overwhelming and I've been really bad about cooking new things.  I have been cooking, so that's a plus.  You just already have links to all of those recipes!  I decided I wanted to cook some new things this week, so I planned it all out.  I also did a lot of cooking this weekend so that lunches and dinners are going to be ready to go throughout the week.  I made Eggplant Parmigiana and Taco/Bacon Noodley Goodness and they are in giant containers sitting in the fridge.  I think you can search for those recipes through my site if you're interested!  Let me know if that works.  :-)

I also discovered that apple cider, when left sitting in the fridge for a while, explodes.  Yep.  Sticky, gooey mess all over everything.  Who knew?

Back to dinner.  Here's what I made tonight:

Maple Pork Chops

Bacon, Cremini, & Brie Potato

...oh, and steamed asparagus.  We drizzled the asparagus with the maple concoction leftover from the pork.  Super yum.  The pork was all tender and sweet.  I think it might be my favorite way to cook pork so far (not that I've tried very many). 

The potatoes were to die for.  I know, you can barely see the potato in that picture!  They are exactly as they sound from the caption.  Unfortunately, I cannot post the link because they are a "member only" recipe on the Taste of Home site.  They do say it all right in the name though.  These were really fabulous.  You know, if you like bacon and cheese.  The mushrooms were a good touch, too.  Baked potatoes are seriously filling.  I always seem to forget that when I sit down to eat one and then remember about halfway through. 

I can't promise I'll be more regular with my posts, but I'll try!  The good news is that I'll be completely done with my Master's degree by July!  Can't wait.  :-)

Seeyas soon!

Potato Battle!

Potato vs. Sweet Potato... who will win?

I got some advice about the sweet potatoes yesterday and thought I'd do a little experiment today.  You know, since we were blessed with another glorious snow day!  :-)  Anyway... I figured since I had some time and some potatoes, it was the perfect opportunity.

Peeling ease... Potato: 1, Sweet Potato: 0

 Slicing ease... Potato: 2, Sweet Potato: 0 (too curvy!)

Then, I started cooking the regular potato on my little grill.  They cooked.  And cooked.  And cooked some more.  And cooked.  ...and they weren't actually cooking.  Seriously, these were on for about 20 minutes and didn't actually get soft.  What's wrong with this picture?

Grill vs. Oven... who will win?

I started the regular potato fries on my grill before I put the sweet potato fries in the oven, but I ended up taking them out around the same time. 

Grill: 0, Oven: Yum!  +1

(I think the sweet potato fries should even get an extra point because they are orange.)

Oven-Baked Cumin-Scented Sweet Potato Fries

These were sooooooo much better than they were on my grill!  They were soft on the inside and crispy on the outside and yummy all over.  Grill fail.  However, now I am very full of all kinds of potato.  I'm not saying it's a bad thing... just the truth.  :-)  I think I'll have to make these again sometime!



Sweet Potato Fries

I have a new quest.  Find a way to make sweet potatoes taste good.  In general, I do not enjoy them.  I'd like to... but I don't.  I'm wondering if it's just because I don't like the dishes they are in with marshmallows (also not a fan), which typically is the way people prepare them, or if they just suck.  I'm hoping it's not the latter. 

Anyway, I made these today:

Cumin-Scented Sweet Potato Wedges (WW recipe)

 1.  Get some sweet potatoes.  Peel them.

 2.  Cut them each into 8 wedges.

 3.  Spray them with EVOO and add some cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper.

 4.  Grill them.

5.  Eat them.

I dipped them in light ranch, which is not good, but all we had in our fridge.  Never get light ranch.  If you're going to go for ranch, get the good stuff.  Just sayin'.  I'd say these were pretty good, but nowhere near the best fries ever (in my opinion).  Keep in mind that I'm not sure I even really like sweet potatoes.  I might try this recipe with regular potatoes and see how they are.  :-)  Maybe I'm on another quest, too.  Create the best fries ever.  Hmmm... maybe my quests will even coincide someday. 

Anybody have a good sweet potato recipe?