Pastetli

I had a bunch of parsley that I needed to use up, so I looked online to find a good recipe. Parsley salad? Yuck. Couscous? Not for me. But I did find this recipe for Pastetli (which is a Swiss meat pie) that sounded interesting. I mean, the actual recipe is a bit confusing (some mushrooms, some white wine, some brown gravy mix? Just how much is some? Oh, I see later on, 1-2 (to) dl of wine. How much is a dl again? I don't do metric. And the recipe ends with "Set everything aside to finish the rest of the meal." Um, what? How do I finish it when you just ended the instructions right there?). Apparently, the recipe was provided by someone's mother-in-law who is Swiss and did the translating (from what language, I'm not sure. What do they speak in Switzerland? German? French? Italian? Romansh?). So, I used the "recipe" as a starting point, and modified it to work with what I had in the house. Puff pastry? No, of course not, but I did have a package of Pillsbury crescent rolls in the fridge that expired recently. Time to use it up before I have to log it as food waste! Anyhow, dinner turned out pretty well, so here's my version:

Pastetli (Makes 5 servings, 7 WW points each)

• 1/2 bunch of fresh parsley (I used almost a whole bunch and it was too much. But my parsley wasn't as fresh as it should have been, so you may want to use more than 1/2)
• 2 cups of mushrooms
• 1 lemon
• 2 chicken breasts
• poultry seasoning (or paprika and garlic powder)
• black pepper
• 1 small onion
• 3 cloves of garlic (I like garlic and don't believe there is such a thing as too much)
• 1 package of brown gravy mix
• 1 cup of water for the gravy mix (or white wine or half and half)
• 1 package of Pillsbury crescent rolls (or similar)

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

-Chop the parsley leaves (try not to get too many stems). Dice the mushrooms. Place parsley and mushrooms in a small bowl, add the juice from one lemon, stir and set aside.

-Dice the raw chicken breasts. Season with poultry seasoning and black pepper. Place in skillet with onion and garlic. Cook until lightly browned on all sides.

-Make brown gravy mix according to the directions. Or substitute white wine for water if desired, or half and half if you want a richer creamier taste. (I just used water.) Add gravy to the chicken mixture, and add parsley/mushroom mixture. Stir to combine everything.

-Unroll crescent roll dough into one large rectangle on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press into a 13x8 inch rectangle, firmly pressing the perforations and seams to seal (or you could actually buy the seamless dough sheet. Yes, they do make such a thing, who knew?).

-(Okay, confession: this part I didn't really do. I tried to make these into 5 little rolled up chicken things, and although they tasted good, it really wasn't pretty. There's a reason why there's no picture posted with this recipe. So here's what I would do if I made this recipe again.) With the long side of the rectangle placed vertically, spoon the chicken mixture into a 4-inch-wide strip down the center of rectangle. With scissors or sharp knife, make cuts 1 inch apart on long sides of dough rectangle to within 1/2 inch of chicken mixture. Fold strips of dough up over chicken mixture to meet in center; pinch to seal. (To make it even fancier, you can kinda criss-cross the strips of dough, and let the chicken mixture peek out the top. Totally up to you.)

-Bake 18 to 24 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet; cut into crosswise slices. Serve warm. Apparently, peas are a traditional side dish with pastetli. We just heated up some frozen mixed veggies. Yum!

Peanut Butter Cookies

I am reposting this recipe from Premeditated Leftovers because it's about the simplest dessert I could imagine. Cookies made with things I always have on hand- quick, easy, and they turned out yummy.

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

• 1 large egg
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky)
• We added a handful of milk chocolate chips to about half the cookies, although I realize this totally destroys the 3-ingredient name

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease the cookie sheets.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients together until they are well blended.
3. Drop Tablespoon size balls on to the cookie sheet. Flatten the cookie dough with a fork.
4. Bake for 12 – 14 minutes or until golden brown. Place cookie sheet on a cooling rack for several minutes, then remove the cookies and let them finish cooling on the cookie rack. Makes 2 dozen.

Oh, and by the way, I used reduced fat Jif creamy peanut butter since that's what we happened to have in the cupboard. And  I really couldn't tell the difference, so I would call that a success!

How to Make (Healthy and Delicious) Chicken Salad

So, I found yet another blog that I absolutely love. This one is called Life as MOM, and it's written by Jessica Getskow Fisher (a.k.a. FishMama), who is the mom of six kids ranging from about 1-13 years old. (BTW, her first FOUR kids are ALL BOYS, which is precisely the reason that I will not continue to have another kid just to "try for a girl.") What I love about her blog is that she posts several times a day, and has all kinds of useful advice for a mom like me. She is a big proponent of "freezer cooking"- i.e., making food ahead of time and storing it in the freezer for quick and easy meals (which makes a lot of sense if you're feeding eight people, three meals per day). She does batch cooking once a month, throws it in the freezer, and then has her entire menu planned for the month. She also "hosts" frequent recipe swaps on her blog, most recently with recipes for cool foods.

So, from the cool foods recipe swap, I came across a blog from Anne at Quick & Easy, Cheap & Healthy. She shared how she makes a delicious chicken salad using yogurt instead of mayo, and various other ingredients depending on her tastes and what she has on hand at the time. Which means, it's a totally adaptable recipe that anyone can make, and the possibilities are practically endless.

Anyhow, here's Anne's recipe: She has the same "starters" every time: chicken (cubed or shredded, could be substituted with turkey, tuna, or hard boiled eggs), plain yogurt, dill relish (or small finely chopped pickle), and occasionally a splash or two of ranch dressing.
After those main ingredients, here's some possibilities that can be added in:
*celery
*dried cranberries or raisins
*grapes
*chopped or grated apples
*cucumber
*grated zucchini
*shredded or finely diced carrot
*walnuts, almonds or other nuts
*pumpkin or other seeds
*sweet peas
*fresh or dried herbs (parsley, basil, dill weed, etc.)
*spices (garlic salt, freshly ground pepper, etc.)
*possible toppings: lettuce, avocado, red onion, cheese, pickles
*can be served on lettuce, pita, sandwich bread, flat bread, as a wrap, with crackers


Chicken salad is one of my favorite things, but I've never made it before in my life. I'm not sure why- probably partially because I figured it wasn't very healthy for me, and partially because I didn't have a good recipe. But after reading Anne's blog, I figured I'd give it a try. So, here's a recipe for the chicken salad that I made.

Christy's Chicken Salad:

• 2 cooked chicken breasts, cut into chunks (I used leftovers from the night before that I had marinated in Italian dressing and then grilled)
• 4 ounces of vanilla yogurt (I would have used plain, but that's what was in the fridge. And it turned out to be really yummy)
• Montreal chicken seasoning, reduced sodium (I use a lot of this seasoning- yum! But it's mostly a combo of garlic, onion, pepper and paprika)
• Dill weed
• Red grapes, halved
• Dried cranberries
• Roasted almonds, chopped (I would have used slivered, but again, this is what was on hand)

Of course, I should have taken a picture, but instead Chris and I just ate it all up before that occurred to me. But it was quite pretty with the colorful grapes and cranberries. And tasty!

What do you like in your chicken salad?

Green Salad with Sweet and Tangy Dressing

I made salad dressing! And, I liked it! Actually, the dressing wasn't anything fancy, since I picked a recipe that I could make with ingredients that I already had in the house. (In the future, I think I might try out a poppy seed dressing, but I honestly don't even know where in a grocery store you find poppy seeds. With the spices?)

Here's the salad that I made, which was modified from one I found on allrecipes.com.

Green Salad with Sweet and Tangy Dressing

(approximately 4 Weight Watchers points per serving)

• Lettuce: I used a mixture of baby spinach and romaine
• Feta cheese
• Grape Tomatoes (these were just for Chris- I don't eat raw tomatoes)
• Other good additions/substitutions for next time would be dried cranberries or crumbled bacon

Dressing:

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons red wine or balsamic vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)
• 1 tablespoon sour cream (I used light)
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• You can add fresh herbs, grated Parmesan or freshly ground pepper if you like

Combine salad dressing ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake well to combine, then drizzle over salad. Unused dressing can be stored in the fridge for about a week or so.

By the way, here's my jar with a tightly fitting lid. A baby bottle. Hmm, maybe I could invest in an actual salad dressing bottle someday, so that it would look more like the picture at the top.

Chicken and Bok Choy Stir Fry

Chicken and Bok Choy Stir Fry
Serves 4 (Weight Watchers- 6 points per serving)
Total Time: 25m

This recipe is modified from the Real Simple website, mostly to add more veggies that I picked up from the Farmer's Market. I suppose one could argue that it's really not an authentic Chinese recipe if it's using a store-bought BBQ sauce, but it's simple, and made from stuff that I have on-hand. And besides, it's yummy.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of cooked brown rice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 six-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• salt and black pepper
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 4 heads baby bok choy, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup store-bought barbecue sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Cook the rice according to the package directions. (Trader Joe's has an Organic Brown Rice in their freezer section that cooks deliciously in the microwave in just 3 minutes.)

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet (or wok) over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and cook, tossing occasionally, until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

3. Add carrots, celery and garlic to the skillet. Cook long enough to soften the vegetables, about 5 minutes. Add the bok choy and chicken broth. Cover and cook until the bok choy is just tender, about 3 minutes.

4. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, barbecue sauce, sugar and scallions. Add to the skillet and bring to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet and cook, tossing, just until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with the rice.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Makes about 18 muffins (Weight Watchers- 3 points per serving)
Prep Time: 10m

This is a recipe that I have modified from many different ones. The banana taste is not too strong, and there are just enough chocolate chips per muffin- feel free to add more if you like them more chocolaty. The original recipe also included half a cup of melted butter with the other wet ingredients, until I accidentally left it out one time and thought the muffins still turned out to be just as good (and healthier). Add it back in if you want a richer muffin. We go no-nuts here, but that's just because Jake wouldn't touch them if they contained nuts.

Ingredients:

• 2 bananas (well-ripened)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place paper muffin cups in tin, or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Mash bananas in a medium bowl using the back of a spoon. Add eggs, sugar, vanilla and milk, and mix on medium speed until well blended.

3. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in chocolate chips (and nuts if desired).
4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour in the banana mixture. Mix with a spoon until just blended.
5. Spoon the batter into muffin cups until they are about 3/4 full. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes (12-15 minutes for mini muffins). Remove from pan to cool on a wire rack.

I haven't been too impressed with many of the Weight Watchers recipes I've found

Weight Watchers online has a nice feature in that it includes a list of many recipes that are relatively healthy, and generally pretty easy to prepare. Often, the recipe is for something that is generally considered not-so-healthy (like cheeseburgers), but Weight Watchers provides ideas for making it better for you with different ingredients and smaller portions (like using ground turkey, and making smaller "sliders"). I've tried a few of the recipes that were not so yummy (how can a chicken with broccoli and garlic stir fry go wrong?), and I think way too many of them are focused on snacks and desserts to be useful to me (since I'd prefer to save my WW points for the actual meal). But I thought I'd post a few of the recipes that we have enjoyed. 


TOMATO AND FETA FRITTATA
(POINTS® Value: 3)

Servings: 4 (1 wedge per serving)
Preparation Time: 8 min
Cooking Time: 12 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Terrific for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Serve with sliced tomatoes sprinkled with sea salt and fresh basil.

Ingredients

• 2 spray(s) cooking spray
• 1 small shallot(s), chopped
• 2 large egg(s)
• 4 large egg white(s)
• 1/4 tsp table salt, or to taste
• 1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
• 1 1/2 cup(s) grape tomatoes, cut in half if large
• 1/2 cup(s) crumbled feta cheese
• 2 Tbsp dried bread crumbs (Panko are light, coarse bread crumbs available in the Asian section of the supermarket, but other bread crumbs work, too.)
• Fresh basil for garnish, if desired

Instructions

Preheat broiler.

Coat a large heavy-bottomed ovenproof skillet with cooking spray; set over medium heat. Add shallot to skillet; cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, beat together eggs, egg whites, salt and pepper; stir in tomatoes and shallot.

Coat bottom and sides of same skillet with cooking spray; set over medium heat. Pour egg mixture into skillet; cook until almost set, loosening edges of frittata occasionally, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle cheese over eggs; top with bread crumbs.

Place skillet under broiler, 4 inches from heat; broil until cooked through and panko browns, about 30 seconds to 1 minute (watch carefully to avoid burning). Remove from broiler immediately and let sit for 1 minute; cut into 4 wedges. Sprinkle with fresh basil if desired.



ITALIAN PASTA AND BEAN SOUP WITH SAUSAGE
(POINTS® Value: 4)

Servings: 9 (about 1 1/2 cups per serving)
Preparation Time: 12 min
Cooking Time: 15 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Packed with beans, sausage and spaghetti, this soup delivers a big hearty taste. Top with minced pickled peppers for extra flavor.

Ingredients

• 31 oz canned white beans, small variety, drained and rinsed
• 2 spray(s) cooking spray
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/8 oz fresh sage, about 3 to 4 medium leaves, finely chopped
• 2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
• 1/2 pound(s) cooked chicken sausage, Italian-style, cut into bite-size pieces
• 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes, with puree
• 1 Tbsp canned tomato paste, or to taste
• 2 1/2 cup(s) water
• 3 cup(s) canned chicken broth
• 1 tsp table salt, or to taste
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
• 3 oz uncooked whole-wheat spaghetti, broken into small pieces

Instructions

Puree half of beans in a blender; set aside.

Coat bottom of a large soup pot with cooking spray. Add oil; heat over medium heat. Add sage and garlic; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add sausage; cook, stirring frequently, until sausage starts to brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Add pureed beans, whole beans, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water, broth, salt and pepper to pot. Bring soup to a boil; stir in spaghetti. Continue cooking soup according to time specified by pasta manufacturer.

Season to taste with salt and red pepper flakes.

 
 
EGG SALAD
(POINTS® Value: 3)

Servings: 4 (about 1/2 cup per serving)
Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 10 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Forever a classic, our egg salad is light and delicious. Made with low-fat mayo, Dijon mustard and chives, it’s perfect as a sandwich filling or served over greens.

Ingredients

• 4 large egg(s)
• 2 large egg white(s), you’ll have to boil these as whole eggs and discard the yolks
• 2 Tbsp chives, fresh, chopped
• 2 Tbsp reduced-calorie mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp table salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
• 1/4 tsp ground paprika for added flavor and color, if desired

Instructions

Place eggs in a medium saucepan and pour in enough water to cover them; set pan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 10 minutes; drain and place eggs in an ice-water bath.

When eggs are cool enough to handle, remove shells. Discard yolks from two of the eggs. Chop remaining whole eggs and whites into bite-size pieces.

Transfer eggs to a medium bowl. Add chives, mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper; mix until blended.

More Delicious (and Healthy) Recipes

Since I included the delicious pasta salad recipe in my last post, I realized that I haven't yet shared a great SUPER EASY recipe from my friend Amy that we've been having at least a couple of times per month lately. French dip sandwiches with sweet potato fries- healthy, yummy and so quick to make- everything I look for in a weekday meal. And since I'm posting this, I also wanted to include Shana's recipe for crock pot pork chops and potatoes, and a yummy pasta version of shepherd's pie. If you guys have other recipes to share, send them this way!

Amy's French Dip Sandwiches
(makes 4 sandwiches, 6 WW points each)

• 1 package sliced roast beef
• 1 can low-sodium beef broth
• Dried onion (optional)
• Pepper, garlic, salt seasoning if desired (I just use Montreal Steak Seasoning)
• 4 sandwich rolls (whole wheat hot dog buns from Trader Joe's are perfect)
• 4 slices of cheese (optional, provolone or Swiss are great)

1. Toast rolls. (I throw them in the oven, and after they are toasted, I add the cheese so that it can melt.)

2. In a small saucepan, bring broth with dried onion and any other desired spices to a low boil. (I actually just do this in the microwave.)

3. Assemble sandwiches by dipping roast beef briefly into the broth (about 30 seconds) and stuffing into rolls.

4. Serve with broth on the side to dip (au jus).

Sweet potato fries make an easy, yummy side with this meal. The pre-cut sweet potatoes from Trader Joe's are perfect for this- just toss with a teaspoon of olive oil and any desired spices (again, I just use a little Montreal Steak Seasoning). Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes (turn them halfway through). They turn out soft and nicely browned, but if you prefer crispy fries, I'm told that you just need to coat them with a little egg whites before baking (I haven't tried it myself).



Shana's Pork Chops a-la-crock pot

• Thick sliced pork chops (number depends on size of crock pot)
• 1-2 packets of Lipton onion soup, dry mix
• Worcestershire sauce (to taste- use liberally)
• Water
• Pepper
• Garlic powder

Place pork chops, onion soup mix, Worcestershire sauce and enough water for gravy (pork chops should be immersed) in crock pot in the morning. Add enough pepper to create a lovely peppery layer at the top of concoction. Leave enough time to cook chops on high for 30 minutes before leaving. After 30-60 minutes, set crock pot on low setting and set timer for as many hours as you’ll be gone (preferably 6-10). Pork chops can be frozen if you plan on leaving them in for a long time, but thawed chops are usually more tender. Shana has also been known to throw in some red potatoes in for the last few hours. Enjoy!

 
Cheesy Italian Penne Shepherd’s Pie
(Serves 6, 8 Weight Watchers points per serving)

From Rachel Ray's website, modified slightly to have less fat- more time consuming than I prefer, but I can make it over the weekend and freeze it for an easy weekday meal. This Italian version of a Shepherd's Pie is so healthy and delish. It uses ground turkey instead of lamb, and has added zucchini and carrots for a veggie boost!

• 1/2 pound mini penne or any mini short-cut pasta
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 medium carrots, diced
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup chicken stock, divided
• 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded provolone

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Place a large pot filled with water over high heat and bring up to a boil to cook the pasta. Once boiling, add some salt and the pasta, and cook until al dente according to package directions. Heads up – reserve one cup of starchy water before draining the cooked pasta. Drain well and transfer pasta back to the cooking pot.

While the water is coming up to a boil for the pasta, place a large skillet over high heat with olive oil. Once the oil starts to ripple, add the ground turkey and break it up into small pieces as it cooks using the back of a wooden spoon or a potato masher. Cook until the turkey is nice and brown, about 8-10 minutes.

Add the veggies and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, 1/2 cup chicken stock, half of the reserved starchy water, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Continue to cook for 10 more minutes, stirring every now and then.

While the veggies and turkey are cooking, place a medium-size sauce pot over medium heat with the butter. Once the butter melts, add the flour and cook 1 minute, whisking constantly so the flour doesn't burn. Whisk in the milk and the rest of the starchy pasta water and chicken stock, bring up to a simmer and cook until thickened. Once thick, turn off the heat, add the cheese to the pot and stir until completely melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cover the bottom of a large, oven-safe baking dish with the turkey and veggie mixture. Meanwhile, add the cheese sauce to the reserved pasta in the pasta pot. Stir to coat then transfer the cheesy pasta to the baking dish. Spread it out to cover the turkey mixture evenly. Place in the oven and bake until the top is golden brown, about 12-15 minutes.

Food Waste Friday and Updates

Here's my food waste from this week. Actually, I don't think it's quite as bad as it looks. About a quarter of container of raspberries- it makes me a little sad that we couldn't get to all of them before they got really mushy and then moldy. I learned that I should not buy fresh fruit right before the weekend (at least nothing that will spoil quickly), because we don't eat enough snacks and meals at home to use it up before it goes bad (seriously, they were gross by Monday). A small scoop of mashed potatoes- I meant to feed those to Brody since I thought he would like them, but apparently forgot about them in the back of the fridge. A slice of pizza- I blame Jake for that since it was his pizza, and he refuses to eat leftovers. He says, "Leftovers make my head hurt."

All of the other little containers were ones that I just recently pulled out of the freezer. As I was packing lunches for Jake and Chris this week, I started to wonder what had happened to all of our little plastic bowls. Then I remembered that a few months ago, I decided to make homemade baby food for Brody. Which he refused to eat. I tried feeding them to him again this week, and when he refused, I tried to get our friend Delaney (who's 17-months old) to eat them. No luck there, either. I guess I am just not a good baby food maker. So, those are the containers of pureed carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, white beans and bananas which the babies would not eat.

We did manage to eat up a lot of other leftovers, though, so I am happy for that. Well, mostly happy- there were a couple more things that maybe should have made it into the food waste picture. Trying out a new recipe, I cooked way too much pasta salad with chicken and veggies at the beginning of last week, right before Chris went to Canada for a few days. (I swear it was really yummy, though- check out the recipe at the end of this post). I just couldn't eat that all myself and grew tired of pasta salad everyday. When Chris returned, I sent the rest of it to work with him in a to-go container, with instructions to find a homeless person to donate it to (he works on Hollywood Boulevard, I'm pretty sure that would be an easy task). I haven't asked him about it yet, but I really doubt he did it. My guess is that it's currently going bad in the refrigerator at his work. (Edit: Chris read this post and was offended. Although I meant to imply that I probably did a poor job by making too much food, and likely wasted more food than I was accounting for, he took it to mean that I thought he did a poor job and wasted the food by not giving it away. Actually, he gave the pasta salad to the janitor (custodian? does that sound better?) at work.)

And then there were some chicken wings from Fresh Brothers, which Chris ate even though they were more than a week old, and had sat out on his desk at work when he didn't eat the lunch that I packed for him one day. That night, he was vomiting and didn't make it to work the next day. I still don't think it was food poisoning since Jake had the same issue a few days before (and threw up on Chris in the middle of the night), and I just had the same problem a few days later. But still, it's making me a little wary of leftovers past their prime.

Along with clearing out leftovers, I've also been cleaning out other clutter lately, namely in my email inbox. I get a ridiculous amount of email each day, and a lot of it is just junk. Which I can quickly delete, but it still takes up time, especially since I compulsively check my email just about every time my phone notifies me of a new message. So, it's been taking far more time than just deleting it, but I've been unsubscribing from all of the lists that I should never have gotten on in the first place. Even the ones that go directly to my "spam" folder, since I also spend time checking that, just to make sure that an important email didn't accidentally get directed there. Hopefully, this will eventually save me time in the long run. But, I'm even more proud of the fact that I have cleaned out the non-junk from my inbox, too! I try to respond to emails pretty quickly, but I have a habit of saving tons of emails- things I want to remember to check into, things that I have found interesting, things that I think I may need to refer back to. And then they just sit there in my inbox forever, and I have to scan through them each time to figure out which ones are ones that I still need to respond to. So, instead I created a few sub folders for emails that I really do need to save, and deleted the rest. Now, I have only three emails in my inbox- two which are work-related things that I need to take care of, and one about plans for this weekend. And I can just open my email and see in a glance what's new and what I need to complete.

Also, an update about my attempt to stop checking email in the car- I have finally made some progress there. I have made it a habit to check my email right before I leave the house, so that I won't be as tempted to do so in the car. And then, if I find myself still tempted, I borrowed a Learn Spanish CD from the library, so I just turn that on to distract me. Honestly, I don't think I'm learning much, but it's keeping me safer.  :)

As for my 10 Personal Commandments, my anal-retentive self decided that I needed more of a reminder, and a way to hold myself accountable for actually following them. So I made a checklist with all 10 of them in columns across the top of the page, and then a row for each day of the month. I checked off 70% of them yesterday. I hope to do better today.

In case you're interested, here's that pasta salad recipe from my friend Debi, with a couple of little things that I altered. I wish I had taken a picture to share with you- it's quite colorful and pretty. It makes A LOT, so feel free to cut the recipe in half to avoid food waste.  ;)

Pasta Salad with Chicken and Veggies
(8 servings, 6 WW points each)

• 1 ½ cups broccoli, florets, steamed
• 1 ½ cups cauliflower florets, steamed
• 1 cup asparagus, steamed
• 1 package (12 oz) vegetable radiatore (spiral) pasta from Trader Joe's, cooked per package instructions (or any other spiral pasta will do, but this three-color one is fun!)
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• ½ cup sweet red pepper (if desired, I may leave this out next time)
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ tsp black pepper, or to taste
• 2 cups cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped
• ½ cup Newman’s Own Salad Dressing, Balsamic Vinaigrette

Steam cauliflower, broccoli, and asparagus. Cook pasta per package instructions. Toss all ingredients together and refrigerate. Makes about 8 servings (1 ½ cups each).

Flat Cookies and Food Waste. Yum?

Jake decided that he wanted to bake something this afternoon. (Yes, I realize that the above picture is not the most appetizing if we're talking about baking, but bear with me, I'll eventually get to the explanation.) If you know me, you know that I don't often bake. Not until the end of the year, that is, because the holidays are baking time, in my mind at least. It's not that I don't like to do it year-round. It's just that I don't want to eat too much of a not-so-healthy food (and that's the only stuff worth baking), and then we don't often finish off whatever it is before it's gone bad/stale, and then I feel bad about eventually throwing it out. So, I feel guilty if I do eat it, and I feel guilty if I don't. But Jake is really into baking (I think at least partially because they do it so often at preschool), so we pulled out a cookbook this afternoon and sat down to decide what we should make together. After a little deliberation, we settled on chocolate chip cookies. I didn't actually go with the recipe in Jake's Betty Crocker Kid's Cook!, but instead went with my all-time favorite cookies, Martha Stewart's recipe for Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (2 Weight Watchers points per cookie).

Now, since I don't often bake, I needed to check the list of ingredients to figure out what we had on hand, and what I needed to pick up from the store. I picked up the flour container, and it felt heavy enough that I knew we had plenty for cookies. But on a whim, I decided to actually open it up and check on the flour inside (since last time I baked anything was probably before Christmas). Sure enough, I opened up the bag to see hundreds of tiny black dots moving around. Apparently, these little bugs are known as flour weevils and are usually present as larvae inside the bag of flour even before you get it home, so that's how they manage to grow and multiply inside a sealed container. Gross. A trip to the grocery store was a definite necessity before the baking would commence.

Anyhow, this discovery reminded me of one of my new favorite blogs, The Frugal Girl. Every Friday, she posts her Food Waste Friday blog, which includes a picture of the food that she throws out each week, in an effort to hold herself accountable for reducing the amount of waste. If you look back at the earlier blogs, you can see that she was wasting what was probably less than the average household, but still a lot compared to what gets wasted now (she often has weeks with no waste at all).

Okay, so you guessed it. The picture at the top is my own Food Waste Friday, er, make that Saturday.

-About a quarter of the bag of flour.

-A relatively small amount of salt. I know, you're probably wondering how salt goes bad. Well, when you've had it so long that it clumps up, and even when you beat the container against the counter, you can't seem to break it down enough to get the salt to pour out the top, then it's gone bad. That's my definition, at least. The only way that I could have gotten the last big chunk out would have been to somehow tear the top off of the container to access it, and that just seemed like way too much work, especially considering that I already had another unopened container in the pantry. (It's actually a small cabinet where we keep the food, but I like to think of it as a pantry. It feels fancier. But, I digress.) 

-Most of a very small can of tomato paste. (What do you do with the rest of it when the recipe only calls for a tablespoon or two? No, those aren't marshmallows in there, it's mold. Yes, that one had been in the fridge for awhile.)

-Half of a container of grape tomatoes (I'm not a big tomato fan, so I find it hard to finish those off before they become wrinkly and gross).

-The rest of a can of enchilada sauce.

-About a dozen pepperoni.

-Most of a jar of pizza sauce. I guess I should freeze the tomato-based products in smaller, usable quantities after I open them, huh?

Anyhow, I don't even think this was that bad of a week for me, but I am wondering if I already threw out other stuff earlier in the week that I didn't document. Hmm, I think I should try to do this regularly and see what comes of this little experiment.

But maybe I need to take a step back for a minute to tell you why I even care. Recent studies have shown that the average U.S. household wastes approximately 14% of their food purchases, or that a family of four throws out $590 per year in just meats, fruits, vegetables and grain products. This is a waste of the water, energy and oil that went into producing, packaging, transporting and selling the food, even if it does get composted. If not, it goes into the landfill, where yes, it decomposes, but that's part of the problem because it causes a release of methane, which is about 23 times more damaging than carbon dioxide in trapping heat in our atmosphere. Every bit of food wasted contributes significantly to increasing our overall carbon footprint.

So, I may not be saving the world by taking a picture of our household's food waste from this week, but at least I'm trying to hold myself accountable. I could do a better job of planning meals around foods that we already have in the pantry or fridge, and at least cleaning out my fridge weekly will help me to see what's lurking in there that should be used up soon before it goes bad. Now, I really should check the freezer...

But again, I digress, because I started out this post talking about cookies.

So, Jake and I spent the afternoon baking chocolate chip cookies, and we had fun doing it. But, every time I have baked cookies in the last six months (which is probably a grand total of four times), they have turned out totally flat. And this time was no exception. Here, see for yourself:

I really don't understand what the problem is that causes my cookies to go flat. They seem fine until the start to bake, and then they just spread. And these last four batches of cookies were made by me in three different kitchens (in three different states, for that matter), with different recipes, different ingredients, different tools and different baking sheets. The only thing they had in common was me. Apparently, I bake flat cookies. But this didn't used to be a problem, so what about me, or my technique, has changed? I honestly don't know. I don’t let the butter melt; in fact I usually have a hard time waiting until it’s room temperature, so if anything, it’s over-chilled. I put the dough in the fridge in between batches, so that it stays chilled. I let the cookie sheet cool completely between batches. The only thing that I can think of is that maybe I over mix the dough? Because the butter is too cold, I have to work harder to mix it with the sugar, which adds more air into the dough, which causes it to spread more and flatten in the oven? I don’t know, but it’s the only theory that I could come up with. I may have to make another batch just to test my theory.

But, I should say, I think I might actually like the flat cookies even better- chewy in the middle and a little crispy around the edges. YUM!

Recipes for Success

So, a couple of friends have sent me some recipes lately, and I wanted to say THANK YOU! If anyone else has a recipe that they would like to share for dinners (or any meal) that are YUMMY, EASY, and QUICK, please leave it in the comments or send me an email.  :)

This was sent to me by my friend Carrie:

Chicken with Lemon, and Garlic

3 bone-in chicken breasts
Several cloves of garlic, whole, not peeled (the more, the merrier)
1 lemon cut in 4 pieces
Several sprigs of rosemary
Olive oil, and salt and pepper

Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry with paper towels. Rub a little olive oil on the chicken breasts and season with a little salt and pepper. I squeeze a little lemon juice over the chicken, not a lot. Then put the chicken, lemon pieces, garlic and rosemary into a 11 by 9 inch baking pan and cover with aluminum foil.

Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes, then remove foil and remove rosemary (it will burn if you leave it in). Then bake for another 10-15 minutes until browned and crispy. Chicken should be moist, but not pink if you cut into one, and juices should be clear.

Serve with garlic, you can squeeze the roasted garlic out of the peel and eat with the chicken, or put it on some bread with olive oil. Yummy! I serve this with a vegetable or salad.

And here's a link for Crockpot Chicken with Veggies (thanks, Shana!)

Addendum: I have to add one more recipe... a super delicious soup that Leora made us awhile back (except she left out the croutons and instead added a side of grilled mozzarella sandwiches, yummy!)...

Ribollita Light (from Sunset magazine, Jan 2009)
Serves about 4
3 Weight Watchers points per serving

3 TBSP olive oil (divided)
1/2 white onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 celery stalks, chopped into 1" pieces
2 medium carrots, chopped into 1/2" pieces
1-1/2 qts vegetable or chicken broth
1 can cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
4 whole canned tomatoes, quartered, plus some juice
2 cups rough chopped Swiss chard
4 C coarse bread, like French or Ciabatta, torn or cut to 1" pieces
Salt & pepper to taste
2 TBSP fresh cilantro, chopped
2 TBSP fresh basil, chopped
Parmesan cheese, grated for garnish

1. Heat 1TBSP olive oil and saute onion & garlic on medium heat 5 mins; add carrots and celery for 5 mins more.
2. Add broth and beans; simmer 15 mins
3. Add chard and tomatoes; simmer 15 mins
(Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 deg; coat bread pieces with 2TBSP olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Toast 10-12 mins)
4. Add salt, pepper, basil & cilantro.
5. Serve soup with croutons and fresh grated parmesan