Mexicali Salad

Ntina and I made this when she stayed with me. Huge portion sizes and it is pretty easy to tweak into whatever you want it to be. We had some leftover grilled veggies from the night before that we added. Mmmmm yummy!

Ingredients

3/4 c. salsa
1/4 c. fat free ranch
8 c. chopped romaine lettuce
1 large tomato - diced
1 small jicama - peeled and shredded
1 c. reduced fat shredded cheese
1 c. canned black beans - rinsed and drained
2 c. diced cooked chicken breast
12 baked tortilla chips - broken up

Instructions
1. Stir together the salsa and ranch dressing in a serving bowl. Add the lettuce, tomato, jicama, cheese and beans. Toss to coat.

2. Divide the salad evenly among 4 plates. Top the salads evenly with the chicken and sprinkle with the chips.

Serving size - 3 c. salad, 1/2 c. chicken, 3 chips - 8 points

Ham and Cheese Biscuits

I also made this on Easter morning. They were really simple and pretty good. I ended up serving them with a side of honey mustard to dip.

Ingredients

6oz smoked ham - chopped

3/4 c. shredded cheese

12 oz can buttermilk biscuits

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350. Mix the ham and cheese in a large bowl.

2. Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces. Add to ham mixture and mix lightly. Spoon into 8 muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray.

3. Bake 20 min or until puffed and golden brown. Cool 10 min before removing from pan.

Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

I got this recipe from my future mother in law. Delicious but sinful. I made it Easter morning. It is super easy to make but the picture doesn't quite do it justice. Enjoy

Ingredients

3/4 c. sugar

1 tbsp. cinnamon

2 cans of refrigerator buttermilk biscuits (7.5 oz cans)

1/2 c. butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cut dough into quarters.

2. Mix cinnamon and sugar. Roll dough in mixture to coat.

3. Place half of the dough in a greased fluted tube pan. Drizzle with 1/4 c. of melted butter. Top with remaining dough and melted butter.

4. Top with remaining cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake 40-45 mintues until golden. Let stand 5 minutes then invert onto a plate.

A Few Pictures - I Couldn't Help Myself

Just a few pictures I had to share!

Salem and Ziggy playing WWF in the kitchen!

This is where the Crabby Patty discussion took place. See Crab Cake post.

I think all the playing with Ziggy is confusing Salem. He now prefers to sleep in the kennel.

So Ziggy has a swollen lip. At first we thought he bit it and it would get back to normal. We are a few weeks in now and it's as swollen as ever. I think it adds character.

Baked Crab Cakes

Weight Watchers again. Only 2 points per cake! Nick and I told Ben that they were Crabby Patties a la Sponge Bob. This then turned into a discussion on how Crabby Patties are made with crab and not hamburger even though Nick thought it was hilarious to tell Ben that there are Cowfish and that is what you use in Crabby Patties. This somehow turned into how the Crab Shack in Sponge Bob is owned by a Crab and therefore the Crabby Patties can't be made with crabmeat because that would be cannibalism. At the end of the day I said just eat it to both of them and they both liked them.

Ingredients

3 celery stalks - minced
2 large shallots - minced
1 lb. lump crab meat
3/4 c. fat free mayo
1 3/4 c. dried bread crumbs
1 TBSP dried dill
2 TBSP Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1-2 dashes hot pepper sauce

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400. Spray a large baking sheet with spray.

2. Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray. Set over low heat. Add the celery and shallots. Cook, stirring frequently, until golden and very soft, about 8 min. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool 10 min. Stir in the crab, mayo, 1/4 c. of crumbs, dill, mustard, salt, pepper and pepper sauce. Mix well. Shape the mixture by 1/3 cupfuls into 12 patties.

3. Spread the remaining 1 1/2 c. of crumbs onto a large plate. Coat the patties evenly in the crumbs and transfer to the baking sheet. Lightly spray the cakes with nonstick spray. Bake until lightly browned and cooked through, about 12 min.

Serving size: 2 cakes - 2 points

Chicken with 20 Cloves of Garlic

This is a Food & Family recipe that turned out pretty well. I paired it with roasted carrots and potatoes. Ben liked it. Nick liked it. I liked it. Success.

Ingredients

4 small chicken breast halves (1 lb)

20 cloves of garlic - peeled

3/4 c. chicken broth

1/4 c. caesar dressing

1/4 c. grated parmesan

Instructions

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet on med/high heat. Add chicken and garlic and cook 4 min. Turn chicken after 2 min.

2. Stir in broth and dressing. Cover with lid. Cook chicken 4 min on each side or until done.

3. Sprinkle with parmesan. Remove from heat and let stand, covered for 1 min.

Tex-Mex Turkey Meatloaf and Creamy Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

The meatloaf is a Weight Watchers recipe and the potatoes came from the most recent Food & Family. I just added some green beans and cherry tomatoes that I sauteed with a tiny bit of olive oil and a crazy amount of garlic. The potatoes were incredibly dense if that makes sense. I think the sheer amount of cheese may have had something to do with it. I also messed with the proportions a bit since the recipe serves 10. I am going to include the original recipe so that you can try cutting it yourself. The meatloaf was delicious and incredibly point friendly!

Ingredients - Meatloaf

1.5 lbs. gound turkey breast (if you use lean, I bet it's even fewer points)

1 c. chunky salsa

1 onion - finely chopped

1/2 c. frozen corn kernels

1/3 c. instant mashed potato flakes

1 egg white

2 garlic cloves - minced

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Instructions - Meatloaf

1. Preheat oven to 400. Spray a baking sheet with spray.

2. Combine the turkey, 1/2 c. of the salsa, onion, corn, potato flakes, egg white, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Transfer the mixture to the sheet and form into a 4x9 loaf. Spread the remaining salsa over the top.

3. Bake until an instant read thermometer reads 165 (I don't think I own an instant read and I just sliced it open and it looked done. My thermometer read 145). Approx 45-50 min. Let stand about 10 min before slicing. Cut into 12 slices.

Serving size - 2 slices - 3 points

Ingredients - Potatoes

2 lb. red potatoes (about 8) cut into 1/2 inch chunks

1 c. chicken broth

4 oz. cream cheese - cubed

1/2 c. sour cream

3 TBSP. grated parmesan cheese

Instructions - Potatoes

1. Place potatoes in a large saucepan. Add broth and cover. Bring to a boil on high heat. Simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring after 8 minutes. Uncover and stir potatoes. Simmer, uncovered for 5-6 minutes or until potatoes are tender and most of the broth is absorbed.

2. Add cream cheese and reduce heat to low. Mash potatoes slightly until cream cheese is melted. Add sour cream and parmesan. Mash until potatoes are smooth and heated through.

Master Bedroom

We decided to just keep all of my old stuff for the master bedroom and register for new. Plus, I was getting tired of making decorating decisions so it made life easier. Nick thought he was going to hate the color but turns out he likes it. He is still going to have to build himself a closet since my clothes are presently occupying the entire closet. The room has one of the built in desks similiar to Ben's room so he will just knock that out and build there.

During

(I don't have any before pictures - my mom is gonna be mad since she told me to "make sure you take a ton of pictures.")

I just want to add that painting with the vaulted ceilings was an act of bravery! Nick had a bent ladder and said, "just keep your balance and you'll be fine". Plus half of the room was pretty much out of my reach so I am using paintbrush extentions and standing as high as I can on a janky ladder while on my tiptoes reaching to the ceiling. When peeling the tape off the last room, Nick says to me, "wow, this must have been really hard because I have a foot on you and it's tough for me to reach". Thanks dear.

Our bedroom served as Lego central while we were moving in. Ben was so excited to have ALL of his Legos back in one place again.

Some moving boxes.

After