Overheard at the Subway

Yesterday I went to lunch at Subway. There were 3 cute, skinny teenage girls behind me in line. When they got up to the cash register, the following conversation took place:

Girl: Can we get 3 cookies?
Subway dude: No.
Girl: Is that some kind of joke?
Subway dude: No, we are out of cookies.

I found it really funny.

Adventures in Cooking

Recipes, schmecipes.....

I "tried" this one:

Beef and Vegetable Cheese Casserole

POINTS: 7 Six servings

1 sprays cooking spray
2 medium tomato(es), sliced
2 medium zucchini, sliced
12 oz raw lean ground beef
1 large onion(s), finely chopped
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1 cup canned tomato sauce
2 cup fat-free cottage cheese
1 large egg yolk(s)
1/2 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tbsp parsley, oregano or rosemary, chopped
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste

Preheat oven to 500ºF. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and spread tomatoes and zucchini over sheet. Roast vegetables for 10 to 12 minutes.

Meanhwile, in a large, nonstick skillet, sauté beef, onion and garlic until beef is browned. Stir in tomato sauce and bring to a simmer.

Spread beef mixture in a large, shallow baking dish (3 quart or 9 X 13-inches) and top with roasted vegetables. Reduce oven temperature to 350ºF.

Whisk together cottage cheese, egg yolk, cheddar cheese, herbs, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Spoon over roasted vegetables and smooth with a rubber spatula.Bake until very hot and bubbling around edges, about 35 minutes. Cut into six equal pieces and serve immediately. (Note: If preparing casserole in advance and freezing it, make sure to thaw it completely in the refrigerator before baking it. Increase the baking time by 5 to 10 minutes.)

MMMMM... Sounds good right? Well it might just be if you cook it correctly. So, what went wrong? Medium zucchinis are bigger than I think. I blame men. Tomato sauce is something I always have on hand, so didn't buy any. I didn't have any. hmmmm....I did have some spaghetti sauce that my mother made and canned..... But there was 1 1/2 cups of spaghetti sauce, what am I going to do with the extra 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce? Oh, I'll just throw it in. And although I did put cheddar cheese on the shopping list, it did not make it home. Luckily, I had a cheddar/mozzarella blend.

Well, anyway, I ended up with soup. The spaghetti sauce, in addition to being too much, was also a thinner consistency than the tomato sauce.

HOWEVER, I did eat it. It had a good taste. But what to do with the leftovers??? hmmm....well, I boiled up some whole wheat spaghetti noodles and mixed them into what was left. So, now I have 6 servings of leftover stuff. Each serving, about 7 1/2 points.

I will "try" this again. Only make it right.

Pinky Swear

Okay, Jeni says we did a pinky swear that we would update our blogs daily. I thought we did a pinky swear to stay OP. But ya know what??? I'm willing to do both. Ummm, except we did this on Sunday and now it's Friday.... Oh well. I'll get my act together, someday.

I have had an absolutely fan-freekin'-tabulous week. Lisa has walked me every day. I have journalled every bite. Even the mandatory piece of cake at one of my favorite co-worker's retirement party.

Look at how happy I am when I have cake!!! I also had some fruit on there, but I know that wasn't why I was so happy.

I even hauled my lazy butt to the Y this morning for 70 full minutes of aqua jogging.

School has been going good. That test I was stressing about? I got a 29/30. My accounting information systems class has been very informative. I already use excel daily, but now, I can do even more with it. And, I think I just might be the teacher's pet. He always writes really nice things on my homework assignments. One, I had some stuff wrong and he still gave me the full points for it because he could tell I knew what I was doing. I'll take it. I *think* the income tax class is going well. We have only had one assignment that she has returned to us, but I really felt like I knew what I was doing on the Chapter 2 stuff. We'll see....

Oh, and last night was the income tax teacher's birthday so she brought cookies to class. I declined. So unlike me.

And you know what else is not like me? Tomorrow I weigh-in. And I don't even care what the scale says. I'm just feeling so good from eating right and exercising this week.

Stop the Madness

Life has been just nuts lately. I'm so stressed out I can't stand it. School has started again. I'm taking 3 classes. One online, the other 2 live and in person. My house is a disaster. My home computer is having issues. I haven't been journalling. I still have a pile of homework and it's already 4 o'clock on Sunday afternoon. I'm at the office because I needed internet access to do some homework. I should stay and do a test I'm not ready for, but will I be ready for it any other time? I'm having some sort of issue with an ovary (I think). Whatever it is, it sure hurts.

Well think I will go home. I need to stop and get an onion and some beans. I will then have all the stuff I need to make a hotdish and some chili. Then there will be lunches in the freezer. I also am going to make a decent dinner and make a dent in my income tax homework. I have a haircut appt after work on Tuesday, so will stop back at the office after it to do my test. I'll be okay. I just need to keep moving and keep breathing. Wish me luck.

Almond Crusted Tilapia

I belong to a really great group and every week we are encouraged to try something new. Here is my latest experiment - and ooooh baby is it ever delish!!! I found the recipe in this month's Good Housekeeping magazine.

Here is the recipe:

2 lemons

2 Tbls olive oil

4 tilapia fillets (6 oz each)

1/4 c. sliced natural almonds

1 sm. onion, chopped

1 bag (12 oz) trimmed fresh green beans

1 pkg (10 oz) sliced white mushrooms

2 Tbsp. water

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. From 1 lemon, grate 1 teaspoon peel and squeeze 3 tablespoons juice; cut second lemon into wedges. In cup, mix lemon peel and 1 tablespoon juice, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper.

2. Spray 13" by 9" glass baking dish with nonstick spray; place tilapia, dark side down, in dish. Drizzle tilapia with lemon mixture; top with almonds, pressing them on. Bake 15 minutes or until tilapia turns opaque.

3. Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, heat reaming 1 tablespoon oil on medium-high 1 minute. Add onion and cook 5 to 6 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally. Stir in green beans, muchrooms, water, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper. Cook about 6 minutes or until most of the liquid evaporates and green beans are tender-crisp. Toss with remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Serve bean mixture and lemon wedges with tilapia.

Makes 4 servings - 7 points per serving.

I only had small tilapia fillets - so the above photo is of a 3.5 ounce fillet, not a 6 ounce one as called for in the recipe.

This is really easy to make and tastes great! I will be making it again!