one small step

Steak and Potatoes, the "diet food" way

nobody@vox.com(girl wonder) — Tue, 12 May 2009 09:47:42 -0700

Lifetime is airing a new cooking show called "Cook Yourself Thin" which shows you how to make all of the foods you love, but in a healthier, lighter and even tastier variation. The idea is that if you can make your favorite foods healthier, then you can stick with changes and therefore see long-term results. Intrigued by this idea, I have decided to give it a shot. There are a ton of recipes on their website already that I really want to try, so it should keep me preoccupied for awhile. Here, I'm going to review a few of the recipes and provide some additional insight and modifications that I did.

Side note: It seems like all I ever write about on here is food, but I'm not sure I am quite ready to bite the bullet and pronounce it a food blog, per say. *shrug* Anyway, on with the deliciousness!

Look Ma, Steak and Mashed Potatoes!

Last night I tried the Steak and Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes. I am pretty sure that I am not eating the right serving size of the potatoes, so I need to measure it and figure it out instead of just slapping two heaping spoon fulls on my plate. It doesn't matter what diet you are on if you ignore portion control. Keep that in mind when you are preparing any Cook Yourself Thin recipes.

LEVEL: Easy, 1hr
This recipe was very easy to prepare, though a bit longer than a recipe I make reguarly. The food processor we have is apparently not very powerful nor big, so I ended up dividing the cauliflower into about 4 different batches. Next time I will put everything into the blender, which should save some time. I also had to cut the flank steak in half because it was too large to fit in my skillet, which also added some minutes. Without those issues, it would have been a more reasonable 30-40 minutes.

I attempted to make the balsamic sauce, but it didn't quite work out in my skillet (let's just say I am glad the fire alarm didn't sound). Instead, I took the juices from the meat and poured them into a small cup and mixed in a little balsamic vinegar and the tiniest drop of olive oil. Whisked it all together with a fork and stuck it in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds. I also used dried rosemary for the salt rub because I don't keep any fresh herbs in the house. I also did not want to have half a head of cauliflower go bad, so I doubled the potatoes recipe and omitted the buttermilk. I also skipped the cherry tomatoes mostly because I just forgot about them and didn't get any in the store.

TASTE: Delicious
Okay, so the potatoes were not quite the same, but it was not necessarily a bad thing. It had the same creamy texture with mashed potatoes, and the hint of butter, scallions, salt and pepper actually flavored it really well. I also sprinkled a tiny bit of shredded cheddar cheese on top (approx 2tsp). The steak was fantastic, but if you don't like medium rare steak you may want to cook it longer. I am typically an A1 girl, but it is seriously not necessary - the rosemary, salt and pepper seasoned perfectly. I typically add garlic to everything, so it was with great restraint that I did not add any garlic in the potatoes or steak, but I may try it next time. I wanted my initial trial to be consistent with the recipe as much as possible, though on the show they encourage you to change the spices out to your favorites and play with some new ones.

OVERALL: Success
Hey, even the hubby liked it, and he doesn't usually like "diet food." He has said before that I can make whatever I need to and he can fend for himself, but I think it's important for him to eat healthy too, even if he doesn't have any extra pounds to lose. My gut (no pun intended) is that most people wouldn't realize it was supposed to be diet food. Now, if I can just make sure to follow the recommended serving sizes I may get somewhere with this.

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Savory Tarragon Chicken Salad

nobody@vox.com(girl wonder) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 10:32:57 -0800

So Publix makes this AWESOME Chicken Salad with Tarragon and Almonds, but it costs like $4 and I can get a large can of chicken at Aldi's for $1.89. Not to mention, Publix's Chicken Salad has a ton of calories because they are quite liberal with the mayo. So, I decided to buy some Tarragon and see if I could make something that tasted similar, but had a lot less calories from using less mayo (or light mayo). As it happens, I had some raw almonds in the pantry. So, I threw together some chicken, mayo, chopped almonds, tarragon and some garlic powder. I was a bit disappointed at first because it didn't seem to taste the same, but after having it for the second time once it had some time to sit in the fridge, it's perfect. It tastes EXACTLY the same. Which is totally awesome because I will never have to buy the expensive $4 chicken salad again. I was so excited about it that I just had to tell you all... and now my phone alarm went off and I have a baby shower to go to that I will be late to. Oops!

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Threadless Submission: Flora

nobody@vox.com(girl wonder) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:42:43 -0800

OK! I'm finally in the running. I'd appreciate any votes. You'll need a threadless account to vote.

Threadless Submission

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Threadless design #1: flora

nobody@vox.com(girl wonder) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:35:01 -0800

Here's my first ever Threadless design. At the moment, I'm just putting it through the critique system to get some feedback on it, but if you generally like the design, please keep an eye out for my blog. Once I submit it, I'd appreciate your scoring. If you don't have a Threadless account (to score and buy and so on), you SHOULD! Threadless is an awesome site. [ check out the critique ]

Flora

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Palin VS Biden (Sims 3)

nobody@vox.com(girl wonder) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 08:12:52 -0800

I thought this was pretty funny. I'm so excited about the Sims 3, but it is bittersweet. I probably won't buy the game if it has Securom DRM on it.

Sims 3 - Palin Biden fight!

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Honeybell Season

nobody@vox.com(girl wonder) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 13:13:59 -0800

Honeybell

Before today, I had never tried a Honeybell before, and if you've never heard of them, they are a mixture between tangerines and grapefruits that are only available during January/February. John's mother frequently watches QVC, and they have really been pushing the Honeybells since they are only in season for this short period. Well, I did not want to buy a whole 10lb box for $28 plus shipping and handling, and the honeybells are grown practically in my backyard here, so we took a trip to Pell's Citrus and Nursery to try some for ourselves, at a much more affordable price tag.

QVC showed how the Honeybells are very very juicy, and I kid you not, it is no exaggeration. I resorted myself to hovering over the sink because I didn't want to get my blouse all wet. They were incredibly juicy and flavorfull, and I'm afraid that we may have to just get some more before this month comes to an end, but we also got some regular 'ole navel oranges, and some pineapple oranges, which are small but very tasty.

Overall, I'm very happy that I made a trip over to Pell's. It's actually only about 25 minutes away, so we might make monthly or bimonthly trip over there for some fresh citrus. They also have a trace amount of fresh vegetables at a very affordable price, much better (and much better looking) than what you find at the grocery stores, which is great for me because I am really trying to add more fresh fruits and vegetables to my diet for health reasons.

If you live outside of the Orlando area, you can still order fresh produce right from Pell's through their website. The shipping rates look really affordable... you have to try the Honeybells before the end of the month, because they won't be in season for another year!

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Bye-bye Vincent von Volkswagen.

nobody@vox.com(girl wonder) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:12:54 -0800

Man, it's a pretty good life when all you blog about are things you get. I'm definitely not complaining, I've been very blessed.

After months of discussing it, worrying about it, praying about it, researching it... I finally purchased my second vehicle. My first car was a 1996 Volkswagen Jetta GL, and is not doing so hot. I could go into all of the idiosyncrasies, but almost everybody I know, knows that I needed a new car pretty badly.

Originally, I was looking at the Fit, but I was having a hard time finding something that fit my budget. Miraculously, however, I was able to find a 2007 Yaris Sedan (It's actually pretty hard to find a used Yaris Sedan... they are almost all hatchbacks) at a wholesale price with the original warranty intact. It's not often that you finance a vehicle that is worth more than you are paying for it when you drive it off the lot. It doesn't have a lot of the fancy features like power windows and locks, but niether did my Jetta. However, it's rated to get a lot better gas mileage, that's for sure!

I am aware that it is still a used vehicle, though it is in pristine condition visibly, does not necessarily mean there won't be problems with it, however, I do feel a lot safer driving the newer vehicle, and am pretty happy with the purchase thus far. I can't wait to show it off tomorrow at work & church!

Here are some pictures... and yes, the color certainly is pretty, isn't it?

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Flavor Fusion! Italy meets... New Orleans?

nobody@vox.com(girl wonder) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:12:59 -0800

The other day I was in Sam's Club felt a bolt of inspiration from a package of Chicken sausage with pineapple and bacon that I had found. I decided I was going to make a pasta with it using whole wheat rotini noodles with red & green pepper and sweet vidalla onions. Pretty standard so far, right? But I wanted to bring out the flavors in the sausage, so I bought some fresh mango & peach salsa.

I think this recipe would do well in a lot of different pasta variations. I might get some more mango salsa, ricotta & cream cheese and try a lasanga. Baked Ziti would be nice as well. If you can't find a pineapple and bacon sausage, I think this recipe would do well with any kind of fruit flavors in it.For example, Emeril's makes a chicken sausage with apple. I think that would work wonderfully as well. Likewise for the salsa -- there are different salsas out there you could experiment with. Regarding the sauce -- I am a big believer in jarred sauces for the easy factor, but if you want to make your own sauce, go for it! Just add some of the salsa in there as I do in the Directions below.

(note: I was far too hungry to take pictures, but I do have some leftovers, so I'll get some tomorrow!)

Ingredients

package (5 sausages) of chicken sausage with pineapple & bacon, sliced
jar or tub of mango peach salsa
jar of traditional marinera sauce
box of whole grain/whole wheat rotini or other pasta of choice
tdash of oil
green pepper
red pepper
small vidallia onion

Directions

Prepare noodles as on the package.
Slice your sausage into oblong disks, and cut your peppers and onions in to small 3/4" to 1" squares.
In a medium saucepan on low heat, mix the remaining amount of salsa and jar of traditional marienera sauce and let simmer until ready to serve.
Sautee the sausage with a small amount of oil (as needed). After the sausage starts to cook down add the vegetables and about 1/3 of your salsa. Continue cooking until vegetables are tender, but still crisp and vibrant and the sausage is browned and cooked down.
If it's your preference, add your sause to the sausage and vegetable mixture, or leave them seperate and serve the sauce over the pasta with the sausage & vegetables to the side.

Enjoy!

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End the Federal Reserve Bank!

nobody@vox.com(girl wonder) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 20:23:15 -0800

Chances are, you never heard about this on the news. On the 22nd of November 38 rallies were held at all of the privately held Federal Reserve Banks in protest of the Federal Reserve, in favor of sound currency and accountability.

This is extremely important. We use money every day, our very lives are spent either earning it or spending it. The national debt is not because the government is borrowing from us, it's because it's printing money out of thin are through the Fed and adding to the national debt. This inflates our money, which means that the dollar is worth less because there is more of it out there. Meanwhile, we lose buying power, our savings and retirement funds are worth less. The government is essentially using inflation as a way to TAX us without representation.

I urge all of you to learn more about what the Federal Reserve Bank is, what they do, how they do it, and why their existence makes you poorer every year.

http://endthefed.us/
http://campaignforliberty.com

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Good grief, Charlie Brown!

nobody@vox.com(girl wonder) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:25:09 -0800

We went to the shuttle launch in Titusville today, but it turned out to be a huge mistake. Getting there wasn't so much of the problem, but it took us, literally, four hours to get home AND we took toll roads for the majority of the way. That's pretty miserable considering it should only take around 45 minutes. All of that for about five minutes from take off to looking like a really bright star. When it was over, I just thought to myself, "So that's it?" I just could not believe there were so many people from all over coming to watch that. I will not be doing that again.

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