The Pillsbury Doughboy

I was shocked to hear the SAD NEWS - The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes to the belly. He was 71. Dough Boy is survived by his wife Play Dough, three children, John Dough, Jane Dough, and Dosey Dough, plus they had one in the Oven. Services were held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes...

 I read this on facebook and thought it was too cute not to share.  

If you are a fan of the Doughboy, you might appreciate THIS FUN SITE

Teas from Teavana

I recently ordered a couple of the teas from Teavana that I keep reading about. I have to say I was disappointed. For one thing, both teas that I ordered contain sugar. You aren't able to see the full list of ingredients until you receive the product. So buyer beware; especially, if you're dieting and think you're buying healthy, "diet friendly" herbal tea.

The Tazo Tea, I got from the grocery store. It gave me a nice little energy boost in the morning.

I got a an email from Teavana with an advertisement for tea to help allergy sufferers. Since the pollen is so bad, it might be worth trying. I don't think Rooibos tea contains sugar.

If it offers allergy relief without the need for drugs, I'm all for it. I don't have allergies (Thank God), so y'all will have to tell me if it does what it says it will do. Check Out Teavana Here

Ginger Sesame Chicken

o A dozen (2 lbs) boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or about 6 boneless breasts)
o A bag (16 oz) ready to eat, cut baby carrots, cut in half lengthwise
o 2 tablespoons grated ginger root
o 1/2 cup chicken broth
o 1/4 cup honey
o 1 teaspoon minced garlic
o 1/4 cup soy sauce
o 3 tablespoons cold water
o 3 tablespoons cornstarch
o 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seed
o 2 sliced green onions with tops

Spray a 4-quart crock pot with cooking spray. Place chicken in the pot. Add carrots and sprinkle in ginger root. In small bowl, stir honey, oil, broth and minced garlic. Pour over chicken and carrots.

Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

With a slotted spoon, remove chicken and carrots to serving platter; cover to keep warm. Strain cooking liquid; pour into a 1-quart saucepan. In a small bowl, mix soy sauce, water and cornstarch until smooth; add to liquid in saucepan. Cook and stir over high heat until thickened and sauce begins to bubble.

To serve, pour sauce over chicken and carrots. Garnish with sesame seed and onions.

No Calories!

I have lost 12 lbs on my diet and I am very frustrated that it seems that I'm not going to lose anymore. Today is day 30. I knew that food was probably not my problem to start with though; so, now I have to face the inactivity issue. I hate to exercise. I love the outdoors but weekend exercise alone probably won't get it.


In the meantime, I'd like to keep up the good eating habits I've developed in the last month and keep the carbs and sugar to a minimum. I'm really tired of eating the same salad dressing, even though it is good.


1 tablespoon Agave Nectar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 dashes ground ginger
1 dash garlic salt or powder


Toss salad well.


It keeps me from missing the sesame salad dressing so much, but it doesn't do much for my ranch craving.


I'm sure many already know about this website, but I just found it yesterday. I wish I had known about it before.

Check out Walden Farms Here

Asian Chicken Soup

Ingredients
8 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1/4 pound uncooked spaghetti, broken in half
1 cup fresh snow peas, trimmed
2 scallions (green onions), sliced
Instructions
In a crock pot, combine chicken broth, soy sauce, mushrooms, snow peas, water chestnuts, carrot, and chicken. 

Cook on low for about 4 hours or until chicken is done.


Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions. Add to crock pot. Cook on high for 10 more minutes.


Top each serving with a sliced scallion

Irish Stew

Let your crockpot do the work on this hearty Irish stew made with lamb and vegetables. This recipe may easily be converted to oven or stove-top methods.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 hours

Total Time: 10 hours, 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds boneless lamb cubed, browned, and drained
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups water
• 1 small bay leaf
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch slices
• 2 small onions, thinly sliced
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca (optional - see Note)
• 10 ounces frozen peas

Preparation:
Sprinkle browned lamb cubes with salt and pepper. Place lamb in the crockpot along with water, bay leaf, carrots, onions, potatoes, and tapioca. Cover and cook on low for 10 to 12 hours, adding peas to the stew during the last hour.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Note: If you do not wish a thickened gravy, omit the tapioca. 

recipe from about.com

Provencal Butter

½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
2 tbsp finely chopped black olives
1½ teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary, sautèed
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp ground black pepper

Allow butter to soften.
Sautè the rosemary for 10 seconds in a dab of butter; remove and let cool.
Mix all ingredients with a wire whisk until well combined.

Serve with French baguettes or freshly baked sourdough rolls.

Ring Salmon Loaf

Ring Salmon Loaf

1 can (440 g or 15 1/2 oz) salmon*
125 ml (1/2 cup) croutons
125 ml (1/2 cup) chopped celery
50 ml (1/4 cup) chopped green pepper
25 ml (2 Tbsp) finely chopped onion
Dash salt and pepper
2 ml (1/2 tsp) grated lemon rind
15 ml (1 Tbsp) lemon juice
2 eggs slightly beaten
50 ml (1/4 cup) sour cream

Drain salmon, crush bones and break salmon in chunks. Mix with remaining ingredients. Press in a greased microwave ring mold or a round casserole with a small glass in the center. Cover and microwave at MEDIUM-8 to 10 min. Let stand covered 2 min. Makes 4 servings.
*or 2 cans 213 g (7 1/2 oz) each salmon

Recipe by Fish for Food



Here's another version:

Salmon Ring w/Cheese Sauce

Salmon Filling:
1 egg
14 oz. salmon, cooked
1/2 cup onion
1/2 cup snipped parsley
1 tsp. celery salt (or one stalk of celery)
1/2 tsp. pepper

Biscuit Dough:
2 cups bisquick
1/2 cup water

Cheese Sauce:
3T butter
1/3 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese

Heat oven to 375. Beat egg slightly. Set 2 T. aside of egg. (Good luck!) Stir salmon, onion, cheese, parsley, celery, salt and paper into remaining egg to create filling. Mix bisquick and water into dough. Roll biscuit dough into rectangle that is 10 by 15 inches. (Make sure it is very floured on the surface you do this on because if the dough sticks when you're rolling it up it's welcome to Screwedville). Spread salmon filling on dough. Roll up beginning at long side. Shape into ring on greased baking sheet. Pinch ends together. Make cuts 2/3 of the way through the ring at 1 inch intervals. Turn each section on its side to show filling. Brush top w/reserved egg. Bake 25-30 minutes. While it's baking, melt butter and flour in saucepan, adding milk when hot and whisking as it thickens. Add melted cheese and whisk more. Serve on top of salmon ring.

I found this one on Momma Tia's blog

Quick Cheese Sauce

2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
2 tsp chicken broth concentrate or bouillon
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup grated medium cheddar cheese

Melt butter; blend in flour. Add chicken broth, milk and salt. Cover and microwave at HIGH-3 min. Stir occasionally. Let stand covered 1 min. Add cheese and stir until melted. Makes 6 servings.

Quick Lemon-Garlic Chicken

This really is crazy! I am on day 17 of my diet and I've lost 12 pounds. My husband doesn't want anything to do with my food. He wants "real" food.

I decided to cook the chicken the way I needed it cooked and I was going to serve him the leftover rice and green beans and corn in the refrigerator. For me it was a serving of microwave cabbage with just a dab of water, sprinkled with chicken bouillon and Molly McButter.

I set the oven to broil and lined a pan with foil and placed the "thinly" sliced chicken breast (3.5 oz for me) on it. I squeezed some fresh lemon juice over the chicken and very lightly sprinkled it with Truvia. I did that to ease the bitter lemon taste. I topped that off with a sprinkling of garlic salt and a little black pepper.

My husband went back for seconds and he said, "I really like the chicken like this. What did you do to it?" He just stared blankly at me when I told him, but he ate the seconds anyway. You see, he WILL NOT eat anything with any sweetener except sugar. He says he hates it! Ha! I guess that just tells you how natural Stevia/Truvia tastes. He can tell with any other other sweetener that it's not sugar. These days, I'm only using Truvia and Agave Nectar.

You know, when you are the only one dieting, meals can be inconvenient to say the least. It's so much easier when you can cook the same thing for everybody! I think I'll work a little harder to make the meals work for all of us. I'll keep you posted.

Spanish Olive Chicken

1 broiler-fryer chicken, cut up
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 large tomatoes, each cut in 6 wedges
3 medium sweet green peppers, each cut in 6 wedges
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1/2 cup white wine
3 tablespoons tomato paste

Put olive oil in a large heavy fry pan or Dutch oven on medium-high temperature. Add chicken and cook, turning, about 10 minutes or until brown on all sides. Drain off and discard oil. Mix together salt, cinnamon and pepper and sprinkle on all sides of chicken. Place chicken in crock pot. Add tomatoes, peppers and olives; pour wine over all. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Remove chicken to a warm serving bowl. Add tomato paste to juice in crock pot (at least 1/2 cup). Set temperature to high and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Pour sauce over chicken, garnish with parsley, and serve with saffron rice. Makes about 4-6 servings.

Alternative: If you prefer, you can do the whole process in the Dutch oven. Cook chicken for about 45 minutes.