Countdown...

Morning Everyone & Happy Friday!  Can you believe we're almost at the 'One Week Till CHRISTMAS' mark??  My daily count down calender is just taunting me.  A daily reminder of how much I need to get done in a short amount of time.  Thankfully, it's at least all FUN stuff & my shopping is COMPLETE!  Hope you guys are enjoying the hustle & bustle of this time of year.

Anywayssss...so the awesome breakfast I had yesterday morning?  Yes, it was oatmeal again.  But this time it was oatmeal topped with...

...probably one of the GREATEST THINGS I'VE EVER TASTED!! 

I spied this on the back shelf at Trader Joe's (aka-where I think they 'debut' all their new items that aren't mentioned in the Fearless Flyer) and was oh-so-curious to try it out.  What did it taste like???  AMAZINGNESS!  It's purely & simply the only way to describe itJ  It's actually a 'butter' made up of ground biscuit cookies and tastes like a spoonful of cookie dough...without being sickeningly sweet.

It's not one of TJ's more "healthy items"...but suuuccchhh a treat for this time of year.  And what better way to 'lighten up a treat' then to throw it over some healthy oatmeal.  Balance, no??

And much like my lovely eggnog almonds, the butter melted RIGHTTTT into the oats.  So dreamy!  Can't wait to try this butter out on pancakes, waffles...and Ritz crackers!  (which I think would be the ultimate in sweet & salty fabulousnessJ)

And for dinner last night?  It turned out to be one of those great meals that could be twisted from leftovers into an entirely different dinner... 

Part one of this meal was the 'Texas chili' that we made on Sunday.  Since I really gave it 'no love' in my post, here's what we threw into the slow cooker... 

• 2 1/2 pounds of beef chuck (coated with a little brown sugar & browned on all sides)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes
• 1/2 bag of roasted corn
• Chili powder & cumin (as much or as little as you want)
• Worcestershire sauce (to taste)

We let that cook on low for 7 hours and had 2 great big bowls of chili.  What we ALSO did was reserve 3 cups of the beef stew for LAST night's dinner...

...which started by sauteing the rest of the roasted corn in 2 tablespoons butter... 

Once the corn was warmed through, we added in 5 diced scallions and let THOSE saute for a couple minutes... 

Next, I poured the leftover chili in a 9x13 pan and covered it with some shredded colby jack cheese and 1/2 of the corn & scallion mixture... 

And to top it off??  One of my favorites... 

Slice up the polenta rounds and toss them on top of the casserole.  Finish it off with the rest of the corn & scallions and another sprinkle of cheese.   

Pop it in a 450 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Let it rest for 5-10 minutes and WALLAH!  2 meals for the price of one!

We LOVED the chili & we loved 'round 2' just as much.  It was a fun and delicious mix of smoky chili & creamy polenta slices.... 

...not to mention that lovely side of guacamole & CHRISTMAS chipsJ  hehehehehehe...a great way to STREETTCHHH a meal into 2 unique dinners.  

And to round out dinner, I had one of these...

...which may be one of the greatest store bought cookies I've ever tasted.  Period.  (well, I also love a good chocolate chip cookie from Tate'sJ)

They taste like Caramellos on a butter-y shortbread cookies.  Completely, insanely delicious... 

And the GOOD news is that they are SUCH decadent perfection that one REALLY can be satisfying.  And at 53 calories a piece...a total 'worth it' splurge of decadence.  Pick these up ASAP...the store was OUT last year and I had to wait a whole nother 365 days to try these outJ  (Maybe NEXT year I'll FINALLY get to pick up the "Chocolate Covered Joe-Joe's that they speak of and that I believe are a myth.  I've HEARD of them plenty...but have never actually seeeeeen them.  They are the store bought cookie version of Santa ClausJ)

Alright folks...I hope you have some fun & relaxing weekend plans.  I'm off for not one, but TWO days of CHRISTMAS fun...ironically all to be had in:  Pennsylvania!  hahahahhahaahahhahaha  I'm sure I'll have LOTS to show you on my weekend recap! 

Until then, have a good one!

Word of the Day...

*First of all:  THANK YOU AGAIN TO MY BFF AMY FOR MY AWESOME NEW "CHRISTMAS HEADER!!!!"  Her talents keeps my blog looking oh-so-pretty!  Thanks again, Amy!! *

Sooooo...the word of yesterday???  Any guesses on the name of these little dumplings of spinach & ricotta MAGIC???

GNUDI!  Say it with me:  NUUUUUUUUU-DE!  (Yes, I probably said that roughly 87 times last night while we were making dinner...MUCH to Scott's delight, as you could imagineJ)  And what, pray tell, is so...ahem...GNUD about this dinner??  The dumplings are actually the FILLING of raviolis WITHOUT the pasta! 

And while I originally believed that this dish was created by some carb-avoiding chef in California a few years ago since I HIGHLY doubted my Great Grandmother was whipping up GNUDI in Naples back in the day, I was actually surprised to find out it was a Tuscan dish.  Hmmm...who would have thunk!  This has Dr. Atkins written ALL over itJ hahahahhahahaha.... 

I followed Giada's recipe and these little GNUDI'S couldn't be simpler to whip up (Good thing, since Scott came home STARVING last night....so imagine that coupled with the word gnudi heard in rounds around my kitchen...J)

While you get a pot of salted water beginning to boil on the stove, you simply combine:

• 1 cup ricotta (I used part skim and it worked fine)
• 1 cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1 pound of frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed dry)
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 5 tablespoons of flour
• Sprinkle of salt, pepper & nutmeg

Mix all the ingredients together and you're good to go.  (Looks just like our homemade ravioli filling, huh??)

Next, you hand form the ricotta mixture into little round dumplings and dredge them in a light coating of flour... 

SLOWLLLLY add a few gnudi to your boiling water one at a time, making sure not to over crowd your pot.  After you *GASP* that these things haven't COMPLETELY dissolved in the boiling water, cook for 4 minutes and remove with a slotted spot to a pan of heated gravy to keep warm while you cook up the next batch... 

It took about 3 batches to cook all of the gnudi....which only took about 12 minutes...not too shabby!

And on man, were these soooo yummy!  Cheesy, saucy goodness...but without that 'heavy ravioli' feel (although DON'T GET ME WRONG:  I LOVE ME ALL TYPES OF RAVIOLI!)... 

Great for a QUICK and sorta-on-the-lighter side/but still sorta decadent dinner.  Try making these TONIGHT!!

OK, so it's 8:30am and I've already had an AWESOME breakfast which I will share with you...tomorrow! hehehehehehhehehee  Hope you guys have a great Thursday and stayyyy tunedJ

Breakfast, Lunch & Snack by Trader Joe's...

Sooo after my grocery store ban of the last couple weeks, Sunday we finally ventured out to stock up our kitchen and the first place we HAD to hit was the Trader Joe's.  I was sooooo excited since it was my first trip there since they unleashed ALL of their holiday goodies and I KNEW the first one I wanted to 'attack'...

Oh yes...a 'healthy' almond snack coated in eggnog lusciousness??  Yes, please!

And in an attempt to NOT sit and eat the entire tub, I had to think of a way to enjoy them aside from just popping one after another (after anotherJ)  My solution?  Use em as an oatmeal topper! 

In the mix:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/2 scoop of chia seeds
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• sprinkle of nutmeg
• 3-4 diced Eggnog Almonds

OK, so I knew this would be good.  What I didn't anticipate was just how good when I realized all of the "Eggnog White Chocolate" had MELTED. INTO. THE. OATMEAL.  Oooooooh yes.  A little extra kiss of eggnog from my creamer and this was just soooooooooooo good!

And YES...while I try to only use natural creamer OR plain ole Half & Half throughout the year...from Coffee-mate Pumpkin Spice to Eggnog season, I just can't shake the holiday creamers!  They're made of crack.  It's that simple.

Next up was one that SCOTT tossed in our cart...how proud was I???

OK, OK..it could have been because tortilla chips were on my shopping list and these just happened to be stacked in abundance on the end cap....butttt I'll just let myself believe he got whipped into the holiday spirit via delicious RED & GREEN salty chipsJ

Christmas nachos anyone???

And if I'm not 'lunching' on microwaved tortilla chips & cheese, I've been LOVING a 'sampler lunch' lately.  And for this weeks 'rounds,' I picked up this:

Not NEARLY as fantastic as the Tzatziki I had at "It's Greek to Me" a couple weeks ago (WAYYY not enough garlic!!), but it made for a fun, dippable lunch sided up with a little Garlic Naan... 

And some cucumbers.  I've been OBSESSED with cucumbers lately.  Not the WORST 'craving' in the world, I figuredJ 

And one last holiday treat from Trader Joe's???  Oh yes...it's the: 

Sweet, salty ANDDDDDDDDDDD drizzled with just a bit of dark chocolate??  Oh yes...it was gooood...

All get my stamp of approval!  (Especially those almonds & tortilla chipsJ)

Oh seesh...and what did I realize I forgot to write about for not one, but TWO days???  My workout schedule from last week!  And after 2 weeks of slacking, I FINALLY had a week I was thrilled with!  Here ya go for a new category: The "Motivated MIDWEEK":

Monday:  Bethenny Yoga + Arms & "Booty Blast"

Tuesday:  1 hour "Yoga for the Warrior"

Thursday:  3 mile "Walk away the pounds" with 4 pounds + 1 round of weights with 8 pounds

Friday:  45 minutes "Body Slimming Yoga"

Sunday:  45 minute walk

I felt SOOOO good last week that I'm trying to replicate this schedule THIS week!  Believe me, it's TOUGH to get motivated to start a 1 hour power yoga DVD or a 3 mile walk...but the results are always so gratifying that it's hard to ignore.  Not to mention the working out really helps keep my 'holiday snacking' a bit more 'in line.'  It makes it soo much easier to 'put the breaks on' and be satisfied with just a littttle chocolate covered kettle corn or 1 to 2 cookies (not...10!)  Weight loss is 97% a mental game and this is just another example.  Working out sets my brain on the 'path' to make better choices and it all just works hand-in-hand for me...as much as I'd hate to admit it sometimes!J hahahahhahahaha

Alright, well that's all I got for you today!  Happy (Motivated) Mid-week!

Should be more than once a year...

Put down what you're doing.  No, for real.  Put down what you're doing right now & go throw 4 baked potatoes in the oven for an hour. 

Why, you ask? 

Because you're having soup tonight.  And not just any soup...you're going to have THE MOST FANTASTIC Baked Potato Soup ever!!!

And once you pop those 4 potatoes out of the oven, dinner goes from this...

...to THIS in a SNAP!

Seriously one of the best recipes ever for VERY LITTLE EFFORT.

First you whisk together 2/3 cups of flour with 6 cups of 1% milk and let it simmer for 8 minutes until it's thick & bubbly.  Next in goes the 4 cooled, peeled & mashed baked potatoes...

...and 3/4 cups of cheese, salt & pepper to taste.  Stir to melt the cheese and turn the heat to low.

Next in goes 1 cup of low-fat sour cream...

...and 1/2 cup of diced scallions.

Let the soup simmer on low for 10 minutes until warmed through and WALLAH! 

HOW EASY IS THAT???????

Finally, gather up the rest of your 'baked potato toppings':  bacon crumbles, shredded cheese & more diced scallions...

...ladle your soup, top with the goodies & DIG IN!

Why, oh why, does it seem I only make this soup once a year???  I FORGET how simply fantastic this soup is.  It's SOOOO flavorful and sooo creamy from the sour cream (NOT actual cream!) with alllll of the flavors of a loaded baked potato.  But ya know what's missing???  That big pat of butter!  Not ONE DROP of oil, butter or cream goes into this soup which makes it even BETTER!

This recipe is PERFECT for those cooool winter nights we've been having.  Can anyone even BELIEVE that winter actually starts a week from today???  I mean, HUH??  Why does summer stretch ETERNAL but Fall to Winter simply skyrocketed by.  It's insane.

 

Annnnyways...stay warm & Happy Tuesday!