Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Meatloaf

Growing up I was not a meatloaf fan at all, until I tried this recipe. It's a bit sweeter than the one I grew up with and doesn't have green peppers, of which I am also not a fan.

Meatloaf

2lbs Hamburger
2 Eggs
1/2 - 3/4 sleeve crushed crackers
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
Sprinkle of onion powder
Ketchup to top

Mix first 7 ingredients together and form into a loaf. Place in a baking dish and cover with ketchup. Bake 1 hour at 350.


* The recipe above makes a larger meatloaf than the one shown. I used it to make stuffed peppers and then baked the rest of the meatloaf.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Taco Casserole

Taco Casserole

1 lb Ground Beef or Turkey
1 tube Refrigerated Crescent Roll Dough
1 pkg Taco Seasoning (or the equivelent if using homemade)
1 bag Doritos, crushed
1 c. Sour Cream
1/4 c. Ranch Dressing
Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook meet until browned and drain off fat. Add taco seasoning and water called for on seasoning packet.

Mix sour cream and ranch dressing. 

Spread the crescent roll dough in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Cover the rolls with 1/2 of the crushed chips. Sprinkle with taco meat. Cover meat with sour cream mixture. Cover with cheese then the rest of the chips.

Bake for 35 minutes and enjoy!

Monday, February 27, 2012

WW Week 53 & 54 Update!

I didn't do very well the last few weeks. I didn't really track at all or exercise and I'm paying for it. I was out of town last Monday so I didn't weigh in and I forgot about it until the week was almost over. When I weighed in this morning I had gained 4lbs since my last weigh in :( This week I am getting back on track.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Valentine's Decorations!

A peek of our Valentine's decorations!

Top on entertainment center.




Close up of the Picture frame. The black words spell out 1 Corinthians 4.

Close up of candles. The red in the vase candles are red hots.

Left side of entertainment center. The roses are darker red than they show up on the picture.

Angled view of entertainment center.

Foyer decorations. The LOVE is wire wrapped with yarn.

I made the rosettes with ribbon and shaped them into a heart.

Heart garland I crocheted to put around the upstairs banister.

Close up of garland.

Corner cabinet. The vase on top shelf is filled with Conversation Heart candies.
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Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Red Velvet Cookies with Cheesecake Filling!

I took these cookies to the office today for Valentine's Day and they were a hit! They aren't really hard, but are quite detailed. But in my opinion they look super cute and the taste is worth the work. DELICIOUS!!!


Red Velvet Cookies with Cheesecake Filling
For the cookies:
 1 box Red Velvet Cake Mix
 2 tbsp Flour
 2 large eggs
 1/2 c. oil
 1 tsp vanilla

For the filling:
 4oz cream cheese
 2 c. Powdered Sugar
 1 tsp vanilla

For the Topping:
 White chocolate chips or almond bark

1. Mix cake mix and flour. Whisk until all lumps are gone.  Mix together cake mix/flour mix, eggs, oil and vanilla until smooth. Wrap dough in plastic wrap. The dough will be oily. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

2. Using a mixer combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Using a 1/2 tsp scoop out mix and form into balls. Place balls on a plate and put in freezer for at least 2 hours.

3. Preheat the oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Take about 1/8 cup of cookie dough and flatten into your hands. Place a ball of filling in the center of dough and wrap it around the filling and roll into a ball. Make sure their are no holes for it to leak out.

4. Place onto baking sheet. The cookies will spread so space them out. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until they start to look "crackled". Let them cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes. They will be all puffy when you take them out of the oven but will flatten & firm up while they cool. After 5 minutes transfer them to a cooling rack.

5. Once cooled, drizzle with melted white chocolate if desired.

I think these would be good using any cake mix. You could customize it to whatever theme you wanted. I forgot to get a picture of what the inside looks like but it's just cookie with a bit of white filling in the middle. They are SO yummy!

Monday, February 13, 2012

WW Week 52!

Can you believe tomorrow is 1 year of doing weight watchers! WOW what a year it's been. I will try to get a picture taken tomorrow to compare.

This week I lost 1.6lbs!!! WHOO HOO!!! I worked out each day Monday-Friday, I stuck to my points pretty closely all week so I had plenty to eat out a few times this weekend and still be ok. Plus I had exercise points I could've eaten too, but didn't have to. I'm getting closer to getting back to my smallest.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

52 Weeks To A Better Me...Week #6 - Exercise Routine!

This week's project was to exercise everyday. I did take a break today, but I exercised Monday-Friday without skipping a day! I hope this makes a difference with my weight watchers results soon!

Monday, February 6, 2012

WW Week 51 Update!

This week I lost 3.2lbs! Whoo - Hoo! I'm not exactly sure how it happened. I did track points, but I also ate out quite a bit too. I guess it doesn't really matter, I'm just happy with the results!!!

Saturday, February 4, 2012

52 Weeks To A Better Me - Week #5...Monthly Menu

This weeks project is a menu for the whole month. The way we all get paid it works out easier if we go grocery shopping in one big monthly trip rather than several smaller ones. In order to do that easier I made up a menu of all the foods we will be making/eating for the month. I'm going to try to post the recipes as we make them or maybe in a weekly recipe post and in my month end review I will try to post all the recipes for the month. Here is what is on the menu for February.

Taco Soup
Fish Stick Casserole
Corned Beef Hash
Taco Casserole
Beef Pot Pie
Swedish Meatballs
Chicken Tacos
Teriyaki Chicken
Fiesta Chicken & Rice Wraps
Fiesta Chicken Pie
Sloppy Joes
Chicken Nugget Casserole
Crispy Chicken Salad
Cheesy Enchilada Bake
Bar - B Cups
Lemon Butter Fish
Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese
Caesar Pockets
Stuffed Peppers
Meatloaf

I can't wait to see how it works!

Friday, February 3, 2012

52 Weeks To A Better Me - Month 1 Review

Each month I'm going to update how I'm doing with each weekly habit.

Week #1- Homemade Make-up Remover Wipes - Still loving them! Even if I don't have make-up on I try to use a wipe each night to just clean my face. They make my face very soft and I haven't noticed any breakout problems at all.

Week #2 - Cleaning Routine - I haven't been very consistent with this at all. My goal is to keep trying to stick with it.

Week #3 - Homemade Beeswax Lotion - I have used up all of my jar and loved it. It made my skin feel so soft and really helped with the dryness. I could tell an immediate difference when I used it and then when it ran out. I need to make more. It is very thick and quite greasy, I do have a few variations I can add to the recipe to make it thinner and not as greasy that I may try when I make more, I will let you know.

Week #4 - Homemade Granola - We loved this and would have made a second batch but didn't have all the ingredients on hand. Next time I make it I'm going to replace the walnuts with an extra cup of almonds and the sunflower seeds with an extra cup of oats. I think that will suit our tastes better. I will update the original post with the results.

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