Balance... and Soup

First off, I am honored to have been asked to post on Charlotte's blog. I have known Charlotte for a few years now, from that "other" Mom's club, and I am so glad to have met her. She is honest and candid and can laugh at herself (as well as others!) and I love her writing style, it cracks me up. While she really does "have her hands full" with three young kids, I think Charlotte does a great job at being a mom and a wife even more than all of that, she is also such a cool woman. She hasn't lost herself in her kids, which it seems like it is easy to do, and I admire that about her. She completely disproves the "stay home mom's mind goes to mush" theory. You can tell that she is having fun.

My name is Barbara, I am 29 and I have a three year old, Christopher, as well as a 35 year old, Jason. I have a blog here but it is mostly just recipes and a few other random things. I just started working full time again about a month ago, and it is kicking my butt! We are in a sticky situation with our house and it is pretty necessary right now, but I am hoping that it can be temporary. I am also working on my Masters degree and teaching credential, so that hopefully when this is all over, I will be able to find a more flexible, less than full time job, where I can have more balance in my life! That is one of my biggest goals right now- balance- and I am having a really tough time with it. But I have found a few things that work for me, and help me feel at least a little less stressed during the week. It's only reall three tips so far, but here is what I've got:

1. Set aside clothes for Monday through Friday for both me and Christopher. It only takes a few minutes and I stick his clothes in one of those shoe organizer things, and then they are there and ready for the mornings.

2. Use those little pill organizer thinsg for vitamins. I do it all on Sunday morning and that is it for the week.

3. Try to plan meals somewhat in advance. This has been one of my goals for at least a year or so, and lately, I feel that I am FINALLY making some headway. So far, I try to do the following:

- Heat and Eat Monday. This can be anything that you take out of the freezer or fridge and stick in the oven or on the stove. Monday's are hard enough, no need to make it any trickier.

- Taco Tuesday. This just means cooking ground turkey and either doing one of a million Mexican style things, i.e. tacos, taco salad, taco ring made with crescent rolls and taco meat, or doing anything Mexican, like bean and cheese burritos or better yet, easy chimichangas!

- Food Network Sunday. Try something new and adventurous.

Those days are pretty set.

I am debating how to handle the rest of the week, because I want to allow for plenty of variety- but these are some other ideas I am considering:

- Slow Cooker Wednesday. Just because it is easy and also makes enough leftovers that my boys don't end up eating Taco Bell every Thursday, since Thursday is:

- Boys Fend For Themsleves Thursday. I am at school from 4-10 so I end up packing two meals that day for me, and the boys usually end up eating fast food.

- Party Food Friday. Pizza, nachos with beans and cheese, nachos with chili, what else? I don't know what else qualifies as party food but I thought it sounded cute.

So, what do all of you do for food at your house? I would love any feedback people may have, and if you have any ideas, or any witty names for themes, please tell me. I just realized that I dind't actually invent "Taco Tuesday" since a lot of people do that, but I sure think it is clever!

Last thing- before I go, I wanted to share my favorite Slow Cooker Taco Soup recipe. This can count as Charlotte's Less Than 30 Minute Recipe for the week. I have no idea about points, sorry.

This takes about 10 minutes to put together in the morning and it is SO good. And if your chicken is still frozen, it works just as well- in fact I have never made it any other way.

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

1 onion, chopped
1 can pinto beans
1 or 2 cans black beans
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 can or bottle beer (or 12 oz. chicken stock)
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained (I use one can of Rotel and one can of plain diced, so there is a little less heat)
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)
crushed tortilla chips (optional)

Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. It is OK if the chicken breasts are still frozen! Set slow cooker for low heat and let it go all day, for 7 or 8 hours.

Any time after five hours or so, you should be able to remove the chicken breasts, shred them with two forks, and then stir them back in. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.

Enjoy!

A Weekly Weight Watcher's Menu

Ok so I am trying to get back on the Weight Watchers wagon this week due to some chick thinking I was pregnant last weekend.

I am proud of myself because I have been sticking to it, and I have been to the gym 3 days in a row. I will go ahead and post my menu for the whole week below. I will fill in the recipes later and tell you if they tasted good or not. According to Weight Watchers I am supposed to eat 23 points a day but I have 35 extra points a week to use and exercise gives you some extra points too.

Monday
Dinner (I already posted breakfast and lunch earlier in this week)
An indescribable chicken and veggie soup. It was like a Mexican Minestrone. It was based on Weight Watcher's 0 points veggie soup but I had to add chicken for my husband the carnivore and beans and rice for me. I cant' do their 0 points soup because I am hungry 5 minutes after eating it and then I get a headache. But with the chicken, beans and rice it only bumped up the soup to 2 points for a giant bowl.

Tuesday
Breakfast= 1 pancake with butter only and a banana= 4 points
Lunch= Leftover soup from Monday
Snack= whole wheat mini bagel with 2 Tbs. of Lite Veggie Cream cheese= 4 points (eaten before going to the gym)
Dinner= Grilled Teriyaki chicken, grilled asparagus, grilled pineapple and brown rice (I didn't grill the rice). I just dumped some Teriyaki sauce over some chicken breasts early in the morning and let it thaw throughout the day. (Ken's Teriyaki marinade is pretty tasty). I grilled the chicken for roughly 4-5 minutes per side, by then the coals had cooled down a little so the pound of very thin and trimmed asparagus took about 4 minutes a side. The pineapple rings (straight from a can with juice not heavy syrup) I grilled on the very outside of the grill and they take about 2 minutes per side. I put salt and pepper on the pineapple (don't knock it until you have tried it). The asparagus I just poured some more Teriyaki sauce over it and those spears were sooooo good! The brown rice was Success boil in the bag for 10 minutes brown rice.

I dumped a palm size piece of grilled chicken, a handful of asparagus, and 2 pineapple rings over a 1/2 cup of rice and it was only 6.5 points and it was filling. I may have had a couple of beers while watching American Idol too. *

Wednesday
Breakfast= scrambled egg white, fat-free cheese slice (on a sandwich ok but I wouldn't eat this straight), and a whole wheat english muffin= 3 points
Lunch= More of the same soup and 1/2 english muffin with f.f. cheese melted on it=3-4 points, leftover asparagus from last night=0 points and a skinny cow popsicle= 1 point (yum!!)
Dinner= Going out to P.F. Changs with a couple of my buddies tonight so I will be eating Chinese food and drinking beer. These 2 friends are skinny though so I most likely won't be pigging out.

Thursday
Breakfast= same sandwich from yesterday
Lunch= Black Bean soup, 2 cups= 2 points (3 cans of black beans 2 of them drained and 1 undrained, dumped into pot with a can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes with juice, 1/2 cup chicken broth, a pinch of anise seeds, a pinch of dried sage and salt and pepper to taste, and Tabasco to taste. Simmer and eat with 2 Tbs of Fat Free Sour Cream, good stuff!
Dinner= Skim milk mozzarella sandwich on whole wheat bread with roasted red pepper strips and 1 tsp. of Pesto. Salad with Italian dressing and steamed broccolli and zucchini. I will give you recipe and points tommorrow or Friday.

Friday
Breakfast= Mini whole wheat bagel with 2 Tbs. lite veggie cream cheese and a cup of cantaloupe= 5 points
Lunch= More black bean soup
Dinner= Turkey burgers with minted yogurt cucumber dressing in whole wheat pitas. I will give points and recipes later when I figure it out.

Saturday
Breakfast= Sandwich, bagels or cereal= all of those are 3-4 points
Lunch= Soup if any is left or leftover turkey burgers or some kind of meat on a stick if we go to the Wind and Art Festival.
Dinner= I am trying to score a date with my husband if I can scrounge a babysitter. If I can't then I will might cook or not. If I cook I will make Tandoori chicken on the grill, with steamed broccoli, brown rice and pita bread. I will let you know.

Sunday
Breakfast= Same as Sat.
Lunch= Same as Sat. we don't know which day we are going to the Passing Wind and Fart Festival (I crack myself up)
Dinner= Same as Sat.

Monday
Breakfast=Same as Sunday
Lunch= Leftovers
Dinner= It's Memorial Day and points be damned! I am going to hit the gym all weekend so I can enjoy a good bbq!

Grilled beef burgers with all the fixings (mayo, catsup, mustard, horseradish, cheese, lettuce and grilled sweet red onions) on huge sourdough buns
French Fries
Hot dogs
Baked Beans
Strawberries with whipped cream
Lots of ice cold beer




* Look I don't mind telling you how many beers I drink, but there are some chicks who read this blog even though they don't like me. They come from an old mom's club I was a member of and I try not to give them too many things to talk about when it comes to my lifestyle choices. Of course it doesn't seem to occur to them that the wine and martinis they swill have more alcohol than my beers..........

Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #16

Let me explain my header picture. We are coming up on Mother's Day and seated in that picture is 4 generations of women. Starting with the youngest we have my wiggly 3 year old Rebekah Hazel, and then comes me, Charlotte Noel, at the ripe old age of 38, next would be my mom, Louise Ann, 61 years and the cherry on top is my grandmother Hazel Louise (Bekah's middle name came from her) she is 85 years old.

So I was racking my brain for a Mother's Day type recipe that is less than 30 minutes and semi healthy. Not happening. Ok, sure you can stick with an egg-white omelet and a slice of cantaloupe, but it's Mother's Day!! So I am just going to list the points values for favorite Mother's Day munchies. My source is the Weight Watchers Complete Food Companion, don't worry I am not making this stuff up as I go along.

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries = One point per yummy strawberry, my husband was being an ass and didn't believe me so I had to set him straight. I sent him a bazillion links proving me right.

Eggs Benedict (my fave) 2 english muffins, 2 poached eggs and a 1/4 cup of Hollandaise sauce= 16 points. I love to sprinkle Tabasco all over, yummy.

Mimosa 6 fluid ounces (that's a big one)= 2 points. I will have 12 of those thank you very much.

Bacon= 1 point each. Real bacon, crispy and yummy.

Deviled Eggs, 2 halves= 4 points

Doughnut, the good kind with frosting= 7 points

Cinnamon, 1 large,=6 points

My husband wants to have sex with me so I need to stop this post and go to bed.

Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #15

OK I am going to continue to plagirize myself. I wrote an email a year ago to my old mom's club, before I blew it up, that was all about easy grilling recipes. My goals are: easy, fast, and healthy.

Grilled Mexican Chicken
1 cup favorite salsa
3 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup or less chopped cilantro
4 palm size chicken breasts
desired amount of lettuce

Stir salsa, cilantro and vinegar together. Reserve 1/2 cup for later. Pour other 1/2 cup over chicken breasts. Marinate for 2 hours or not. Pre-heat grill to med-high heat. Discard marinade so you don't die. Grill breasts 3-5 minutes per side. Slice against grain and serve over lettuce with remaining sauce. Per serving= 4 Points! Add some cheese or chips if you can have more points. Drink a beer with lime. A lite Mex. beer with lime is 2 points. Happy Cinco De Mayo.

Weekly < 30 minute Recipe #14

So last year I started reading this blog that had a brand new crock-pot recipe everyday! And I thought, "Hey I can do something like that but every day is too much so I will post one recipe a week. And I will have pictures too!". Uh, no. Once again I am behind so I owe you 2 recipes this week. I did get around to posting a pic of chocolate covered strawberries though if you want to check that out.

Let me tell you that food photography is almost as hard as taking pictures of children. I would take a picture and look at it and think, "Ewww look at that stain on my counter.". So I would wipe that up and take another picture, "Oh shit I left that knife laying in the background.". So I put the knife in the sink and take another picture, "Uh, if somebody showed me this picture it would not make me hungry.". So I try a different angle, etc. etc.

Anyways, my awesome friend Barb sent me a list of grilling recipes that I typed up and emailed a year ago! And forgot about! So now I can plagiarize myself and just figure out the Weight Watchers points.

So this is what I do all summer. I marinate some meat during nap time (or not) and then after nap time I drink beer (or iced tea) while monkeys play in the yard with the hose and then I grill meat while supervising them. Then I cut the meat in slices and serve over lettuce. Simple. Kids get to play, I get to cook, husband gets to eat, it's a win-win.

Grilled Mediterranean Chicken

Work with me on this one. It requires mixing salsa and spaghetti sauce, I know that sounds weird but I am not asking you to add raisins or anything so just trust me.

1/2 cup salsa, ( I am using Ortega thick and chunky salsa to obtain points, but most salsas are the same)
1/2 cup jarred spaghetti sauce ( I am using Bertolli Marinara because it does not give me garlic burps, a 1/2 cup is 2 points and not all jar sauces are the same so check your label)
4 palm size chick breasts
desired amount of lettuce

Mix salsa and spaghetti sauce in bowl scoop out a 1/2 cup of mixed sauces and reserve for later. Pour other 1/2 cup over breasts and turn to coat, you can marinate for 2 hours or not. Set aside and pre-heat grill to med-high (work fast to make this under 30 minutes). Grill each breast 3-5 minutes per side.(discard marinade so you don't die) Slice on the grain and serve over desired lettuce with remaining sauce. You can have sauce chilled, room temp., or warmed up. If you have time add chopped Basil leaves and lemon slices on side.


Ooops I published this without points, so here we go again. 1 serving of breast with sauce on top of lettuce is 4 points!! That's really low. You can have some wine, beer or even pasta or rice.

Weekly < 30 Minutes Recipe #1

I need to look smoking hot for my 20 year high school reunion, or at least luke warm. So I need to lose weight. So I need to eat healthy. Fuck Rachel Ray, I need recipes that are less than 30 minutes. Erik and I eat usually eat after the kids are in bed, so I need something that I can make in less than 30 minutes because I am just too damn tired to remain standing any longer than that.



I was half-heartedly following this woman's blog where she made 365 crockpot recipes. One for every day of the year. That is super cool. I am not that organized. How about I promise at least one less than 30 minute recipe a week?

This first one I made the other night and it was super tasty! Bacon-Cheese-Turkey-Burger with Special Sauce. I figured out the Weight Watcher's points for it as well, if you are into that kind of thing.

Bacon-Cheese-Turkey Burger with Special Sauce

Sauce:

1 Tbs. Mayonaisse

1 Tbs. Fat free Sour Cream

2 Tbs. ketchup

1 tsp. sweet pickle relish

Dash of Tabasco

Dash of Apple Cider Vinegar

Stir all together and throw in fridge, until you need it.

Burgers:

1.25 lb. package Lean ground turkey meat

1 Tbs. bacon bits (real bacon I used Hormel brand found in salad dressing aisle)

1/4 cup Garlic-Herb bread crumbs

1 tsp. onion soup mix (optional)

1 egg beaten

As much chopped lettuce as you desire.

1 Tbsp of gratted cheddar or cheddar colby mix cheese per person

Make the sauce and toss in fridge. Beat egg in large bowl, add ground turkey meat, add bread crumbs, onion soup mix (or salt and pepper), and bacon bits. Take off rings and mix with your hands and form into 4 patties.

Toss onto a hot frying pan, brown both sides, maybe 2 minutes each side or more. Reduce heat and cook, covered if you want, until center is no longer pink. I am bad at times because I cook from my brain, sorry.

So if you serve this on lettuce with 2 Tbs. special sauce spooned on top and cheese sprinkled on top, you are looking at 5.5 pt.s This is for one patty and 2 hefty Tbs. of Special Sauce. I ate a patty on my fave sliced sourdough bread which is 6 points per slice! That's a lot! That means I was looking at 11.5 points per serving! So I would reccomend serving this over a bed of lettuce.

My husband loved it and ate 2 patties and 2 slices of bread earning him 23 points!!! That is more than I am allowed to eat on Weight Watchers for the whole day, asshole.