So some of these changes include:

Taking a brisk walk during my 30 minute lunch break (and just eating at my desk while I work).
Hopping on the stationary bike while watching TV in the evening for 20 minutes a few times a week.
Having three Hershey’s Kisses after dinner to satisfy my “dessert” craving.
Eating higher carb meals (like pasta, rice or potatoes) at mid-day, but eating low carb at dinner.

For the past several weeks, my dinners have consisted of Chickett salads in a low-carb pita with a side of fruit salad (and three Dark Chocalate Mint Truffle Hershey’s Kisses – TOO DIE FOR!).  I have been rotating between two different salad recipes, and this week’s menu is the Feta Chickett Salad.

For those of you unfamiliar with Chickett, familiarize yourself with it!  It is FABULOUS!  Hands down better than any fake or real chicken product I’ve ever eaten.  Here’s a little summary of Chickett from my “vegetarian living” page.

On the to-do list is to find more low-carb recipes, but until then I’ll stick to my chickett salads…

Feta Chickett Salad
1 roll Worthington Chickett, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
6 oz container feta cheese
1 cucumber, diced (you can peel or not peel or peel in stripes – what evs!)
1/2 – 3/4 cup heaping cup of light mayonnaise (1/2 cup will be more dry, 3/4 cup will be very creamy)
Pepper, to taste

Directions:
1.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Chill at least one hour before serving.
2.  Serve in a pita, roll, lettuce cup (as shown below) or with crackers.

I will be submitting this recipe to the following fabulous food events:
My Meatless Mondays

During the last year, I was laid off, became a stay-at-home mom, attempted a career in web design, went back to work in local government, gained 15 pounds and neglected my blog.

But also during this time, I got a DSLR camera and an external flash – finally my poor food photography days are behind me!  I have also redesigned my blog (because I can’t stand they way this one looks!).  However, I’m waiting on my phenomenally talented and busy web developer husband to implement the new design into the old site – a Valentine’s Day gift to me!

So with my renewed enthusiasm about the camera and the website I plan to get back into the food blogging community.  I do so miss following my favorite bloggers, discovering new recipes and drooling over food porn!

Additionally, I am extremely motivated to lose those 15 pounds (or more).  I think getting back to my portion-controlled casserole meal-planning and putting exercise first (and side projects second) will help me achieve that goal.

And I have a weight-loss deadline to reach!  On March 30th, my office is a having a Trash-to-Treasure “swap” in which employees bring things such as unwanted, gently used clothes.  My goal is to be down a pants size or two by this date so that I may donate them to the swap!  I DO NOT want to be going to that swap in the jeans I’m wearing now…

I may weekly post my progress on this blog, mainly as a way to keep myself accountable.  I may even post pictures of my body as it (hopefully) transforms!

I look forward to sharing this journey with you and returning to the world of food blogging!

Oh, did I mention I hate onions.  Unless of course they are thinly sliced, breaded, fried and barely distinguishable as an onion.

Also I love pasta…

And I love to reminisce about the past.  Especially when good food and friends were involved!

The pub’s macaroni salad evokes fond memories of time well (and sometimes not so well) spent with my girl friends..talking about heartaches and hopefulness, weekend plans and life lessons learned…always over a beer or a cheap glass of wine.  Sigh…

I eventually found love, started a family and moved away from that town with the great little bar.  I’ve gone back and the macaroni salad is now off the menu.  What a pity, no more memory lane macaroni salad, I thought.

But I was wrong!!!  Thank goodness I was wrong!

I was staring recently at the 50 some odd boxes of pasta sitting in my pantry, realizing I needed to start using this stuff up.  So I did a search for some pasta recipes that included ingredients I had on hand.  What I was most drawn to was the Classic Macaroni Salad.  I found many variations of this recipe and morphed them into something I actually could eat.

The result…a stroll down memory lane.  The macaroni salad tasted surprisingly similar to that old favorite of mine. Apparently, that old favorite wasn’t as proprietary as I had believed it to be.

Cucumber Macaroni Salad
1.5 cups macaroni noodles
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup light mayonnaise
1/8 cup distilled white vinegar
1/3 cup cucumber, diced
1/3 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup carrots, shredded
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
salt and pepper

Directions:
1.  Prepare pasta according to package directions.  Rinse thoroughly and allow to chill in refrigerator before mixing remaining ingredients (to reduce the amount of dressing absorbing into the pasta).
2.  In a large container, mix remaining ingredients.
3.  Gently fold in chilled noodles.
4.  Refrigerate until serving.

I will be submitting this recipe to following fabulous food events…
Presto Pasta Night #224 hosted by Anu from Truth Personified
A Little Bird Told Me
Tasty Tuesdays
Cast Party Wednesdays
These Chicks Cooked
Whats on Your Plate

But there was some aftermath. . . it really spiked my diabetic husband’s blood sugar.  For those who are not familiar with diabetes, this is not a desired affect of eating and its usually caused by high sugar foods.

I thought the one cup of jelly was the problem.  But I also learned the chili sauce had quite a few grams of sugar, as well.

I thought that was the end of my husband’s cocktail meatball eating days until I discovered low sugar jelly several months later.

The low sugar jelly, which has 1/2 the carbs and sugar as regular, got me thinking of how I could lighten up this dish so that we all could enjoy it healthily.

I attempted the recipe again with 1 cup of low sugar jelly and I reduced the chili sauce from 12 oz to 6 oz.  And for no particular reason other than to give the recipe a slightly different flavor, I substituted the mustard for lemon juice.

This version still turned out very tasty!  The sauce was considerably more runny than the original recipe, but low-sugar jelly is not nearly as, well, jelly-like as jelly.  And of course, lemon juice is runnier than mustard.

With 1/2 the calories and sugar as the original, this is a much safer alternative.  And although I will continue to use the diabetic friendly substitutions on all vegetarian cocktail meatball recipes, I now have 2 versions.  The one with mustard for fall/winter and spring/summer for the lemon juice.

Vegetarian Cocktail Meatballs (Summer Version/Lightened Up Version/Reduced Sugar Version)
1 cup low-sugar grape jelly
1/2 cup chili sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 packages frozen vegetarian meatballs

Directions
1. Thaw vegetarian meatballs.
2. In a sauce pan combine jelly, chili sauce and lemon juice.
3. Heat over medium heat until the sauce reaches a low boil.
4. Add the thawed vegetarian meatballs.
5. Cover and continue heating for at least 10 minutes.

I will be submitting this recipe to follow fabulous food events…
My Meatless Mondays
On the Menu Monday
Sundae Scoop

What is missing is the infusion of the pepper flavor into the rice and meat mixture. Vegetarian ground beef does not absorb flavor as the real deal does.

Tofu is great for absorbing flavor. I’ve used a tofu/vegetarian ground beef mixture as the stuffing. I’ve sauteed tofu and green pepper together hoping for some infusion. Although tastey, these methods fell short of the goal.

So on my fifth (or so) attempt, I have unstuffed the peppers. The hope was that sitting in an oven for 35 minutes would allow the pepper’s juices enough to time to release and get acquainted with the other ingredients.

Did it work? Almost! Its not quite there, but it made for an extremely easy and delicious…and almost well-infused recipe. If my low-carb dieting husband is willing to cheat for a recipe, I know its a good one!

Unstuffed Pepper Casserole
1-2 green peppers, chopped
1 package vegetarian ground beef
25 oz (approximate) jar or can of pasta sauce
1 cup white or brown rice, uncooked
1 cup shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare rice according to package directions.
3. In a 9×9 or 7×11 casserole dish, mix together all ingredients except reserve 1/2 cup shredded cheese for topping. The rice should be completely moistened by the sauce.
4. Sprinkle top with remaining cheese.
5. Bake 35-45 minutes to ensure some pepper juice infusion!

I will be submitting this recipe to the following fabulous food events…
Lady Behind the Curtain’s Cast Party Wednesdays
This Chick Cooks’ These Chicks Cooked

What is more distressing is that I haven’t been checking up on what’s cooking with all my friends in the food blog world! I feel so empty and (gasp) uninspired! Time to get back on track!

Anyway on to the recipe…

I’m an admitted carboholic. I love carbs. Bread, rice, pasta. I could survive solely on carbs and be content.

Well, my taste buds would be happy but thighs would not be. Carbs tend to burrow themselves into my legs and stay there for a long time.

One day recently when my concern over my jean size was overpowered by a craving for something carb-y, I made a box of macaroni noodles. Currently, I’m the only one in my house eating pasta. My husband is on a low carb diet and my son really only likes pasta covered in red sauce, of which I had none.

So a giant pot of macaroni noodles were all mine. And rather than use all the noodles to make a giant pot of one thing, I decided to divide them up for multiple recipes.

Its summer and I’m avoiding my oven (hence the lack of casseroles lately), so a baked pasta dish was out. But a crisp, cool pasta salad…that was the way to go.

Using whatever ingredients I had on hand, I threw together a fabulously refreshing summer dish. I call it Balsamic Pasta Salad.

The key to this whole operation is the balsamic. More specifically, the balsamic dressing. I used Ken’s Steakhouse Creamy Balsamic. It is over the top, amazingly good. I want to use it on everything! Vegetables, pasta, salads, crust breads and I think these would be good on french fries (like a twist on chips and vinegar). The best part…only 7 grams of fat per 2 tablespoons!

Pick a bottle up and give it a try. It will not disappoint!

Oh and I am in no way endorsed by Ken’s or any company for that matter. My opinions are my own and unsolicited! Promise!

Without further ado here is the recipe. The quantities of veggies, noodles and dressing are completely subjective. So I’ll just list the ingredients I used, with a special note to adjust per preference.

Balsamic Pasta Salad
Macaroni Noodles
Avocado, diced
Tomatoes, diced
Crumbled feta cheese
Cucumber, diced
Dried dill weed
Balsamic dressing

Directions
1. Prepare pasta noodles according to package directions for cold pasta. Drain and rinse thoroughly. If time allows, place pasta in the fridge to chill completely (to avoid the dressing drying out).
2. Once chilled, place all ingredients in a bowl and mix gently. Add more dressing, if not moist enough.

I will be submitting this super summery recipe to the following fabulous foodie events….
Presto Pasta Nights #222 hosted this week by Lavender and Lime
My Sweet & Savory’s My Meatless Mondays (hey that’s everyday for me!)
Stone Gable’s On the Menu Monday
The Tablescraper’s Seasonal Sunday #57

The cucumbers too have been outstanding!

It reminded me of this cucumber salad, my girl friend Amber once made for one of our summer cookouts. So I searched and searched for a recipe which seemed close to her’s. I combined a couple of different recipes and the result was close to what I remembered.

I’m going to have to make a large batch and bring it to my brother-in-law’s Fourth of July picnic!

Cucumber Salad
2 cucumbers, sliced (peeling is optional)
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon dill weed
Salt, to taste

Directions
1. In a large bowl, mix together mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, dill and salt until sugar is well dissolved.
2. Add in the cucumbers.
3. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

I’m submitting this cool and creamy recipe to…
Blessed with Grace’s Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays
This Chick Cook’s Link Party
Rook No. 17′s A Little Bird Told Me

Unfortunately I did not have a pizza pan. Just a 9” pie plate and a serious kryptonite like weakness for cookie dough. So my fruit pizza ended up with deep dish crust. Whatever contents of the roll of sugar cookie dough didn’t fit into the pie plate, went in my mouth – a decision I regretted later. Its probably all in my head, but whenever eat high fat foods, I truly believe I can feel my thighs widening!

So I will be sure to a) share this dessert with as many people as possible and b) keep my portion sizes in check!

Incidentally, this fruit pizza is so awesome that my low-carb dieting husband who has AMAZING self control could not resist it and declared it the best dessert recipe I have ever made!

Fruit Pizza
Sliced fruit of your choice ( I chose kiwi, strawberry and blueberry)
1 roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough
8 oz Neufchatel cheese, softened to room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tbsp apple or apricot jelly

Directions
1. Preheat oven according to the cookie dough’s package directions.
2. Spray a 12” pizza pan or 9” pie pan* with cooking spray.
3. Take pieces of the cookie dough and press it onto the bottom of the pan so as to make an even, level crust.
4. Bake crust in the oven and monitor closely. You may need only 10 minutes for a pizza pan, but the pie pan will require between 15-20 (depending on thickness of the crust).
5. Once baked, allow to cool for at least 1 hour.
6. Mix together the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth.
7. Spread cream cheese mixture over the crust.
8. Arrange fruit on top of the cream cheese mixture.
9. Whip the jelly with a fork so it is spreadable and brush the jelly lightly over the fruit.
10. Allow to chill or serve immediately.

* Note: if using a 9” pie pan, you will have leftover cookie dough. You could press the remaining into a muffin pan and make mini fruit pizzas.

I am linking this recipe up to the following fabulous events…
Prairie Story’s Recipe Swap Thursday #42
Sweet as Sugar Cookies’ Sweets for Saturday #23
Design’s by Gollum’s Foodie Fridays

I think my failures are due to my being too busy (lazy) to pre-simmer the squash before putting it in the casserole – as many squash recipes require.  I really, really don’t want to take this extra step or dirty up that extra dish!  And besides my squash casseroles always look soooo unappealing with the mushy, unshapely slices. . . a guaranteed rejection from certain food photography sites that will remain nameless!

So I have come up with two work arounds for my next two squash recipes.

1)  I will suck it up and soften the squash via pre-simmer, but then make a mash of it rather than use soggy slices.

2) I will shred the squash so that they will soften using only the shear heat of my oven!

The irony of both methods is that indeed the number of dishes needed will increase, but I will sacrifice for the sake of snapping a decent photograph!

Anyway, I used the latter method for my version of this Summer Squash Casserole from KraftFoods.com.  I also omitted the onions because I hate them.  And used Panko crumbs seasoned with any dark colored spice I could find and tossed with melted butter.  I am sure the blah color of panko topped on the similarly blah color of squash would be immediate grounds for rejection due to composition, so I had to make the panko more photogenic.

In hindsight, Kellogg’s Cornflake Crumbs would have had the right color palette which is what I’d use next time.

Summer Squash Casserole
2 summer squash, shredded
2 zucchini, shredded
1 egg
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/4 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 – 1 cup of cornflake crumbs
1 – 2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix together squash, egg, dressing, sour cream and salt and pepper into a 9 x 9 or 11 x 7 casserole dish.
3. Melt butter and add cornflakes (the amount is based on your preference*), set aside
4. Bake casserole for 30 – 40 minutes, until the center squash pieces reach the desired “doneness.”
5. Top with cornflake crumbs and return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes.

* If you prefer less crumbs, mix 1 tablespoon melted butter with 1/2 – 3/4 cups cornflake crumbs.  Mix 2 tablespoons melted butter with 1 cup or more of cornflake crumbs.

The snafu that started it all…

I made a batch of Duncan Hines brownies using the 3 egg version for a more cake-like brownie.  I was unimpressed.  Perhaps it just cooked too long, but I want a gooier brownie.  I also did not want it to go to waste.

Instead, I decided to soak the brownies in coffee and make a trifle out of it!  This was my first trifle, the first time using Nutella in a recipe and couple that with the fact that I needed to make it perfect or it wouldn’t photograph well – and the experiment took longer than expected.

But you will not have to suffer through the experimentation process, should you decide to make this.  I can give you a quick rundown…without all the fumbles.

In this very first edition of Beyond the Brownie Mix, I have taken a brownie prepared cake-like, soaked it in coffee and layered it with Nutella and low fat whipped cream.

And let me just say, the Nutella Trifle is divine!  Its super rich and I think I can actually feel my thighs expanding as a eat the gobs of Nutella cream.  So I’ll only eat a few spoonfuls at a time. . .and then go for a long walk!

Nutella Trifle
1 box brownie mix
1/2 cup coffee (cold)
1 cup Nutella
1/2 cup low fat whipped topping
2 tablespoons milk or soy milk
1 – 1.5 cups low fat whipped topping

Directions
1. Prepare brownie mix per the cake-like directions (if your box has them) in a 9×13 pan.
2. Allow them to cool.
3. Once cooled, leave them in the pan and slice them into one inch cubes. Evenly and lightly soak the brownies with the cooled coffee. Be sure not to over-saturate that you will not be able to pick up the brownie pieces!
4. In a separate bowl, mix together the Nutella, 1/2 cup whipped topping and milk until smooth and well blended. This mixture should be viscous enough to be poured and spread easily over the brownies. Mix in additional milk if necessary.
5. Layer the bottom of your trifle container with enough brownie cubes to at least cover (you can add more if you wish), layer the Nutella mixture, then more brownie cubes and finish with a layer of whipped topping.
6. (Optional) If you have any leftover Nutella mixture, you can drizzle that over the whipped topping layer.

You can serve immediately, or allow to chill in the fridge for several hours.

Enjoy!

I’m submitting this post to:

Food Trip Friday #115
Prairie Story’s Recipe Swap Thursday #41
Designs by Gollum’s Foodie Fridays