Deviled Egg For 1

Besides Peeps (love them to this day... especially when they are slightly stale) and Aunt Joyce's German Potato Salad, my favorite thing about Easter has always been the delicious deviled egg. I could literally eat my weight in them, I think.
I have loved them so much, that they are no longer just for Easter or summer cookouts. Sometimes I have them as a mid day snack or after a workout. I love that they are so very easy to whip up and that they give me a salty, homey, creamy feeling in my mouth that I find very satisfying.

So when my DH asked me what I was doing this morning, I said, "Making a deviled egg ."
" A deviled egg," he questioned, " as in 1?"
"Yes, dear, just 1."
" Really? Who makes just 1 deviled egg?"
Who? A deviled egg lover like me!  That's who!

Now I know deviled eggs are easy to make, and no one really needs a recipe, but I have never seen a deviled egg for 1 recipe so I'm posting one today.

Deviled Egg For 1

First start with a perfectly boiled egg. Peel it, cut it in half, and put the yellow part in a bowl. Mash it with a fork. Next add @ 1 tsp lite mayo ( or vegan equivalent) and @ 1/2 tsp yellow mustard. Mix well. Using a small spatula so I can scrape the bowl, I put the yellow mixture back in the egg white. Sprinkle the tops with paprika if you like... Or not.

Variations:
While I never use sweet relish like my mom always did, I sometimes use finely diced dill pickle for a little consistency and a little extra tang .
I also sometimes vary the type of mustard. I use. Dijon is good as well as champagne mustard. Experiment and make it your own. Homemade pickles and homemade mustard make all the difference in the world if you are so inclined.

Menu Plan Monday - Using What I've Got

This is a part of  Laura's Menu Plan Monday at http://orgjunkie.com/ . It's the end of the month in my house which usually means I try to use what I've got on hand to feed my family. I try to make my grocery trip the last week of the month as short as possible, and so we eat a lot of leftovers (I hate to throw away food).

T- Breakfast for dinner: eggs, piggies for those who eat them, and pancakes

W- Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, big salad

Th-Pork chops and roasted veggies for the kids; pasta sauce primavera and salad for DH and I

F- Pizza for kids; we are going out

Sat- Lo roast, rolls, green beans, mashed potatoes for kids; LO chili, soup or salad for DH and I

Sun- Easter: My Homemade Chicken fried Rice and Happy Herbivore's Mango Sweet Chili Noodles from Everyday Happy Herbivore



Photo from http://www.pamperedchef.biz/pamperedleanne
 

We don't celebrate Easter since we're not religious, and this year, for the first time, we're not dying eggs or doing Easter Baskets. I am making this cute Brownie dessert, however.
It was posted to a Pampered Chef Online Party that I am attending by a friend of my sister's. She's a great girl, and if you're into Pampered Chef or like cool kitchen cookware and gizmos, check out her website at http://www.pamperedchef.biz/pamperedleanne. I will post my own photo after I make them.

 

Monday- LO rice, fish sticks, veggies, fruit, and salad

Ah...gummy babies: National Water Day

When my first born son was younger, he would hike sometimes with my dad when he and mom would come out to the desert for a visit. Pappaw (my dad) and my son would make water breaks fun and demonstrative. They would take a good swig out of their canteens or water bottles, wipe their mouths with the back of their hands, and release "ah....gummy babies."  That was their thing. It was their "This water tastes so cool and good and my thirst is quenched" moment. I loved it. Anything to make water more fun and appealing, especially to kids.

Today is National Water Day.
Specifically it is about our global water crisis and what we can do to help the crisis as well as cheering for the progress we've made so far. A worthy endeavor for sure.

So, I am spotlighting water today.

Living in a desert, we get very little rain, but oh how I love a good rainy day when we do happen to be so lucky as to get one. I love it all: the feel of the cool rain, especially on a hot day, the smell of it like nature's perfume, and the sound of it hitting the windows and roofs creating the most perfect lullaby. We really appreciate water here in the desert because we get it so rarely.  We do drink a lot of though.

Most days, I don't have trouble drinking my daily allotment of water. I actually like water because it feels clean when I drink it, like I'm giving my insides a shower. And while I love my decaffeinated iced tea (as a good southern girl should), nothing quenches my desert thirst the way water does.

Now, everyone always offers suggestions for drinking more water like adding natural flavorings like lemon slices to it or drinking it in herbal teas. I have a different suggestion to help you drink water. It may work for you, it may not, but I've always been told there are no bad ideas. On occasion when I do need to drink water and for whatever reason it's just not ringing my bell, I chew a piece of gum. For me bubble mint, spearmint, or cinnamon work the best. I'm not sure if it's the mintiness or the sweetness (even with sugar free gum), but chewing gum makes me want to drink water. It may work for you too. Who knows? But, it's worth it to me if it helps me get my water down.

What helps you to drink your water?

Alphabet Soup : F - Farro with Sausage and Chard

F is for  farro.

Farro is a healthy grain with lots of protein. It kinda looks like puffed rice, and tastes pasta-like.

Tonight I made a farro dish based from a recipe I found on Pinterest.  You can see the original recipe here.

 I followed the recipe mostly, including making my own roasted tomato sauce. My tomatoes were not very sweet though, so after I had my sauce made I put it back on the stove and simmered it with more seasoning, 1 grated carrot (for sweetness), 1 small can of no salt tomato sauce, 1 bay leaf, a small piece of green pepper, and a little beer (maybe 1/4-1/2 cup), I also added a little Splenda because it still was too sour/bitter, It simmered about an hour and then it was good.  Below is my version of the recipe, which is just a little different from the original.  I tasted it, and thought it tasted like a good pasta with sauce, but didn't eat any because I have a sore throat and thought the acidity of the tomatoes might irritate it.. DH really liked it. 

Here is a link to my spoon reviews in case you are
interested. 

Farro with Sausage and Chard

4.25 oz dry farro (half a bag of Trader Joe's farro)
8 oz sliced Jennie-o turkey sausage
4 large chard leaves with stems. Stems chopped & leaves roughly chopped. Keep separate.
1 c or more (I used more) of your favorite roasted tomato sauce or pasta sauce
freshly grated Parmesan


Cook the farro according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

For the rest of the recipe go to A Good Appetite or check out my Pinterest page under Vegetarian/Vegan recipes.

Note:  This would be good with wilted spinach too. The chard, which I had never worked with before, is a little heartier/thicker than spinach and so it doesn't wilt as quickly or easily as spinach does. DH enjoyed the chard, and it is good for you, but spinach is also and option.

I made this with turkey sausage because I had it, and the original recipe called for bulk Italian sausage. I made this healthier change since DH likes turkey sausage and he doesn't eat pork. DH also said that while he liked it with the turkey sausage slices in it, that it probably isn't absolutely necessary given the high protein content of the farro.  Good to know, because I am a vegetarian and wouldn't eat the sausage anyway.

I may try this again adding some vegetables and making it a Primavera Farro with Chard.

F is for farro.

Alphabet Soup ( My Alphabet Food Chgallenge)

Graphic by council.seattle.gov

So I thought I'd try a new challenge for myself: to try to cook 26 recipes, mine or someone else's,  each focusing on a different letter of the alphabet. I planned to call it Alphabet Soup. Then I decide to search the web for  alphabet challenge to see if there was a challenge  similar to what I wanted to do already going on. There are a lot of them actually...and I thought I was being so innovative!

I decided to join one such alphabet challenge at Brenda Thompson's Meal Planning Magic.  Besides submitting to Brenda's site (if she accepts me), I also will be doing it on my own because I am hoping to get through all the letters of the alphabet by December. Brenda's challenge already started and she does clusters of letters for each month focusing specifically on fruits and vegetables as a main recipe ingredient. I want to do every letter....at least that's my goal. So, hopefully, I will start posting an alphabet recipe to her site next month. Until then, I'd like to go ahead and get started, and I may or may not go in exact alphabetical order.

Check back regularly to see what letter of the alphabet is cooking in my kitchen!

Pickled Tink

My photo of Skinnytaste.com's Chicken and Broccoli Noodle Casserole
 

I am pickled tink!  It is sooo hard to find 1 meal item that all of my family likes and that all of us can eat. I feel like a super hero today, because today, I have done just that. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Gina at Skinnytaste.com for the original recipe below. She has lots of great recipes on her site and I suggest you visit there as well as follow her on Pinterest. I have also made her onion rings, and they too, are terrific.

Here's what I like about this recipe:

• all members of my family liked it
• it is made from ingredients I regularly keep in my pantry/fridge/freezer, so I didn't  need anything fancy to make it
• it is a budget meal (very inexpensive)
• it satisfies all eating styles in my house (nutritarian and plant strong)
• it can be made ahead of time and cooked later
• the cooking time is quick (about 20-25 minutes depending on your oven)
• no canned soups are involved in making this casserole which is almost unheard of

I did make a few changes to the recipe. I used Parmesan cheese in a can, not fresh, and I used cubed not shredded chicken so I could eat it also and pick out the chicken more easily. Also, after I made the sauce and mixed it all up, I realised I needed more sauce. This is probably due to the fact that I didn't measure my broccoli or chicken to specifics. I just eyeballed the amounts. Well, I didn't have anymore chicken broth so I made some with 1 c  no salt chicken bouillon granules, hot water, 1/2 c milk, 1 Tbsp flour (I only use whole wheat flour and whole wheat egg noodles), 1/4 c shredded cheddar cheese and 1/2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese.  The only other thing I did differently is to add 1 more Tbsp each of Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs for the topping.

This one get 4 spoons for sure!

Chicken and Broccoli Noodle Casserole

Skinnytaste.com

Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 1/6th • Old Points: 6 pts • Points+: 8 pts

Calories: 313 • Fat: 9.9 g • Protein: 27.2 g • Carb: 31.2 g • Fiber: 4.4 g • Sugar: 2.6 g

Sodium: 256.7 mg (without salt)

 

 

Ingredients:

 

• 6 oz Ronzoni Smart taste noodles (or no-yolk)
• 2 tsp oil
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
• 12 oz fresh broccoli florets, chopped
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 3 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1-3/4 cups fat free chicken broth
• 1 cup 1% milk
• 12 oz cooked shredded chicken breast
• 4 oz shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar 
• cooking spray
• 3 tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp seasoned breadcrumbs (I used whole wheat)

Go to Skinnytaste,com for the rest of the recipe.

 

Remember to check out Skinnytaste.com for other great recipe ideas!

What My Scale Said Wednesday 6 and Post Challenge Reflections

I'm a little late posting What My Scale Said Wednesday due to an accident I had. I was getting boiling water ready for pasta,  and the water bubbled up and like a volcano, and spewed...all over my stomach! Needless to say, I have a bad burn and blisters. It's healing but still hurts. Because of my accident, this blog and my exercise routine have suffered. I am dying to get back to the gym and hope to go back early next week. We'll see ...



So what did my scale say this week?

 

Consistency is a key I think in weight loss and eating right. It's something I need to work on as I enter this next phase of my healthy eating/healthy life style journey.

 

My Shrinking Jeans challenge ended with me starting my monthly cycle and gaining 3 # overnight...totally negating my loss during the eight week challenge.  I loved the challenge itself, but am not happy with my performance.  I need to make some changes so I can be more successful...just not sure what those changes will be. I am also looking for a new challenge to enter. Whether I lose or not, having a challenge helps me focus, and I need that.