Pampered Chef goodies!

Even though Christmas is right around the corner, I decided to give myself a Christmas gift (or two… or three… ok maybe 4) from Angie’s Pampered Chef party.  As mentioned in an earlier post, my number one item to pick up was the lazy susan:

Here are some of the other items I picked up:

All purpose spreader (my SIL has this and every time I use it at her place I love it):

 

A mini serving spatula (another thing SIL has that I’ve been wanting… seriously, her whole kitchen is Pampered Chef!)

 

This 2 cup prep bowl set with lids:

 

I went home thinking I did a great job but then Dave convinced me to pick up this super cool measuring tube thing which I ordered the following day.

Seriously – sometimes Dave surprises me!  Now I cannot wait for my goodies to arrive!!!

This week I am flying solo since Dave is in Calgary (it seriously makes me so envious that he’s in *my* home province while I’m here).  I placed an order for him to bring me back TWO Vietnamese subs – something you cannot get in Halifax. 

It’s hard to cook for one so I decided to cook up a can of Italian Wedding Soup for dinner.  I absolutely love this soup!  It looks unusual but tastes oh so good!

I sipped some blueberry POM juice mixed with water.

Tonight I went on the lookout for a dress for my Christmas holiday party that my work is having this weekend.  I tried on a few dresses that were so cute on the rack but WAY too short and my rack was falling out!  Hopefully something pops up this week!

Farmgirl gave me a Starbucks gift card not too long ago so I decided to hit up Starbucks since it’s been a while.  I got a tall gingerbread latte (10000103938093809 times better than their caramel brulee drink)  and picked myself up the tumbler I’ve been wanting for forever!

Now I am a happy camper!

A new day

I’ve been a busy bee lately with little time to just sit and chill (and blog!)  Thursday night I was able to finally get a little nap on the couch after work.  I’ve been seriously K-O for the past few days.  It’s time to re-energize though!  Thank- you weekend!!!

First things first… Friday’s WI:

-0.8lbs

I’ll take it!

Now here’s some snippets of the dinner’s I’ve had recently.  Lately I haven’t been capturing brekkie/lunch photos as I don’t have my camera at work… and.. well.. in all honesty you ’d pretty much be posting the same thing every day:  bagel for brekkie (I’m working on this… don’t you worry!), and a spinach salad or Lean Cuisine for lunch (I’m working on the boxed lunches also…).

Thursday’s dinner was sliced chicken breasts marinated with the Honey Hoisin sauce I mentioned in yesterday’s post.  On the side I fried up some mushrooms with Epicure’s minced garlic, and onions.   It all came together with some mashed potatoes (a TBsp of cream cheese is my secret ingredient lol), a couple of shrimp and pickled beets.  yum yum!

Yesterday I was super cranky.  Cranky Lex is never a pleasant sight and unfortunately Dave caught the brunt of it.  Luckily in the morning he and I decided that we’d make our favorite, breakfast for supper.  That dinner can always make even the worst of moods past.  Breakfast foods are my favorite so it really helped me to just chill.  And… since Dave is a wonderful breakfast cooker, he did dinner instead of me!  Such a nice change of pace!

We were going to have maple bacon but we had some chicken bacon in our freezer which neither of us has ever tried before.  It was actually quite good!  Very similar in texture to turkey bacon and has the bacon-y taste of regular bacon!

We used liquid egg whites mixed with onions and peppers, and had some hashbrowns on the side with some ketchup. 

*drools*

Today is a new day – I got to sleep in and just enjoy cuddling with Dave.  He’s going out of town for a week Monday morning so it’s nice to enjoy his company while I can.  Later today I’m heading to Angie’s place for a Pampered Chef party!  I already know what I want… a lazy susan for my kitchen utensils.  Much needed!  We’ll see what other goodies I may pick up!

As mentioned in an earlier post, I have decided to finally get my Epicure business up and running!  For anyone in the HRM area who would like to place an order, please email me!  I can drop off a regular catalog if needed, but I do not have any of the Fall/Winter catalogs on hand.  All of the information and specials can be found on the Epicure website, however. 

For the ladies in the outside provinces, I will be able to take non local orders once I reinstate myself after this first initial order.  I can place the order and ship them directly to you.  That will be in December/January.

 

 

My love for Hoisin!

Phew! Finally I get to sit on my arse at home for a while!  It’s easy to tell when I’ve been a busy bee – the DVR is at 60%+ full!  That never (rarely) happens!  With work + gym + regular errands it feels like I am never at home.  Don’t get me wrong, busy is good, but I need downtime!

And here it is! Mmmmmmm

Tonight we had a late dinner because of some errands Dave & I had to run after work.  While he worked on our budget (cash only budget is pretty crazy folks – keeping track of every single penny spent is tedious but I know it’ll be rewarding very soon!) I cooked us up some shrimp and a couple salmon fillets glazed with a bit of EVOO & some Presidents Choice Honey Hoisin sauce.  mmm!

I was introduced to Hoisin sauce almost 15 years ago when I was introduced to Phở.

Phở  is probably my favorite dish of all time!! I LOVE Vietnamese food.  Love, love, love it!  Hoisin sauce is used to flavor the delicious broth.  mmm.  This Honey Hoisin was a nice spin on the traditional sauce.

For the side I had a LOT of veg!  My biggest pan was used to stir-fry some broccoli, cauliflower and bok choi together and it barely fit!

The veg was seasoned with some Epicure minced garlic, a few splashes of soy sauce and a squirt of fresh lemon juice.  Dave said, “I don’t know what you did but this is a vegetable I can eat a LOT of!”  Thumbs up!

This dish was quick, easy and delicious! 

Sooo, after having a few discussions with some people at work I have decided to sell Epicure.  I purchased the start up kit almost a year ago and have done nothing with it (except enjoy the delicious spices!).  Not too long ago I said I was going to start selling it, but seriously what the heck have I been waiting for?!? Listen up folks… December 1st the Epicure order is being placed!  If you want to order something visit the website and email me what you want or if you are local I can give you a catalog!

I will not be hosting parties right now – possibly that’ll be something I do down the road, but not at this time.  Take a peek online and get your Christmas shopping started!   (FYI – I did check online and if I place the order on the 1st, it is scheduled to arrive Dec 14th.)

Aerogarden – I want this!

Sooo – here is a little somethin’ somethin’ that I’ve had my eye on lately.  How awesome would it be to have fresh herbs/leafy greens all year round?  Pretty awesome I’d say!!

Enter Aerogarden:

This bad boy can grow herbs, veggies, salad greens, flowers, you name it!  At any time of the year you will have fresh veggies to nibble at and cook with!

 

How do plants grow in the AeroGarden?

The AeroGarden grows plants without dirt using a unique method of hydroponics called Aeroponics where the plant roots are suspended partially in air and partially in an oxygen infused nutrient solution. Because the roots are bathed with ideal levels of nutrients, water and oxygen, plants grow significantly faster, are healthier and have a higher nutrient content than plants grown in soil.

It has built in grow lights, built in grow pots & chambers where you’d put the pods & seeds for a very clean growing experience!  The smart garden sensor will tell you when to add water/nutrients <– very useful for me, miss.nongreenthumb!

Does anyone have one of these?  Heard of them?  What are your thoughts?

Zumba fun!

Weeeeee!  I am on an adrenaline high right now!! Tonight Angie, farmgirl and Tammy headed to Goodlife to take part in some Zumba action!

So – much – Fun!!

For real!  The class was an hour long and it was non stop fun the whole time!  We got to shake what our mamas gave us, mambo number 5, and merengue like no other!  The class was full of all women of various ages and fitness levels.  I only saw one woman walk out after the first few minutes.  The instructor was fun and upbeat and kept everyone going.

Ang’s HRM said that there were about 430 cals burned (I think?)  which was pretty unexpected.  It was almost equivalent to what was burned at Nubody’s Fit Kick class.

I can TOTALLY see me hitting up this class every week!  It’s too bad that it is the only class offered in Halifax 1x a week.  I’d like to go more often!  I was having so much fun (and sweating my ass off) that I had no idea I was getting a good workout in!

I did learn from yesterday’s rib episode (btw – I had the WORST indigestion last night… it was terrrrrrrible!) and had an eggwhite, spinach, salsa whole wheat wrap before class.  Nice & light as well as filling.

So I am in the market for an HRM.  I have seen some folks with Polar, others with Garmin.  I may just take the plunge and get the Garmin Forerunner 305.

We shall see!

 

Oh and I should mention what a SWEETHEART farmgirl is!! She gave me a lululemon headband and a Starbucks gift card as a thanks for the cake I made her.  What a sweetie!  (and now I have a lulu headband.. YEAH!!!) xoxoxoxo

Off to catch up on some massive DVR action: Young & the Restless, Biggest Loser, oh my!!

More OB Love!

I woke up this morning kind of on the wrong foot – see, I use my BlackBerry as my morning alarm AND I am a bigtime snoozer.  I guess instead of pressing ‘snooze’ I pressed ‘dismiss’ and ended up sleeping in a little.  I had 15minutes to get dressed and go to work.  Yikes! 

My eats today started off okay

bagel & cream cheese in the morning

lean cuisine for lunch (chicken in wine sauce) = 3 Points!

clementines as a snack, 1/2 cup pomegranite jewels & yogurt as another snack

But supper is where it all fell apart.  Yesterday Superstore had back ribs on a huge sale – practically a 2 for 1 price so I *had* to pick them up.  Ribs are seriously one of my most favorite meats (aside from steak) so I was weak – but seriously… they were a great deal!

We ate one slab for supper tonight.  They were simmering in the slow cooker with just some chopped onions and sweet & sour BBQ sauce.  Soooo good!! I still need to figure out my slow cooker timing – when we got home the sauce had burnt/caramalized along the sides and had a very harshly strong flavor.  I cooked it for 6hrs so that it could stay on ‘warm’ for the rest of the day.  Maybe that 6hrs is on a higher heat if I set it to 10hrs?  I am not too sure! 

Tonight Angie and I hit up Nubodys and attended the Fit Kick class once again.  It was hard work but SO much fun.  I freaking love the instructor.  She is so upbeat and friendly and keeps the momentum going!  Today I was hurting a bit in the class.  I got crampy on my sides and thought I’d drank too much water but then I remembered my heavy dinner!  Note to self – no ribs before a workout!!!

After class I went to Booster Juice to get a protein packed smoothie.  Sooooo good as always!

On the agenda tomorrow is  Zumba!  It will be my first time so I have no idea what to expect.  I believe farmgirl, angie, and maybe Lynn, Jaime and Tash will join?

Operation Beautiful Update:

On Friday I found this note on my car as I left work:

(Thanks Christine

The note was sitting in the car over the weekend and gave me a smile each time I saw it.

Today I figured why not pay it forward?   Let someone else enjoy some OB love!

So I took it upon myself to leave it on the mirror at the gym today:

Have a great night everyone!

Recipes to enjoy!

Alrighty, so first things first I want to thank you all for the kind words after Friday’s WI post!  I didn’t think I’d see that loss since I was having so many struggles with my food, however I did manage to hit the gym a few times so I am sure that played into it!  Here’s hoping for the same thing this coming Friday!

Some of you have been asking for my pork chop recipe that I left as a cliffhanger on last post, well here it is!  I got this recipe from here but made some alterations during the way.  There is no thyme in my household so I improvised by using some random Epicure spices I came across in my cupboards.

Honey spiced pineapple pork chops

Ingredients:

4 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp pineapple juice (can also use orange or lemon juice)
1 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp Herb & Garlic Epicure Spice
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4tsp 3 Onion Dip mix

Optional: Can of sliced pineapples

Directions: (pretty much the same as the original recipe)

1) Pour 4tbsp honey in a bowl.  This will be the base of the marinade.

2) Add the pineapple juice, oil, herb & garlic spice, garlic powder, mustard powder, salt, & 3 onion dip mix & whisk until well blended and syrupy.

3) “Fork” the pork chops to tenderize the meat and allow the marinade to seep into the meat.

4) Cover the chops with the marinade and sprinkle some pepper on top.  Let sit for about 5minutes while you warm the grill to med-high heat.

5.5) If cooking pineapple, throw these on first as they take longer to brown. 

5) Place the meat on.  It will sizzle!

6) Flip the pork chops after 2-4 minutes and cook on the other side.  *note: do not go check the interwebs at this point – when you are grilling/cooking with honey.. it burns… fast!

7) Once the pork chops are thoroughly cooked, add some fresh herbs if desired.  Plate & enjoy!

I don’t even like pork chops but these suckers were delicious!  We had the pork chops and pineapple with roasted potatoes and a side of beets. 

This weekend we celebrated farmgirl’s 30th birthday!  Here’s a pic of the Sex in the City cake I made for her!

The martini glass is a strawberry-champagne jello shot!

Strawberry Champagne Jello Shots:

1 package strawberry jello

2 cups boiling water

2 cups refrigerated champagne

Directions:

- Bring water to a boil

- mix 1 package jello mix in the water until completely dissolved

- add 2 cups champagne; mix

- Pour the mix into little disposable cups or a tray or whatever type of serving dish/glass you want.  Refrigerate for at least 4hrs. (I recommend making these at least the day before!)

This was the champagne I used.  It was new on the shelves so I gave it a go.  Definitely a 2 thumbs up! mmmmm!

Tonight for dinner I made curried cauliflower soup and homemade rolls thanks to Lynn’s delicious recipes!  I altered the rolls only slightly by adding 2 cups of whole wheat flour instead of all white. 

Soooo good!

I had planned on going to Costco today to pick up some grub and a running shirt.  Unfortunately I need to renew my membership and this month the budget just doesn’t allow for it  

Tomorrow is gym day so I’ll be hitting the Gym to go to the Fit Kick class again.  It was SO much fun (and hard) last time but I am ready to kick some butt again!

Off to catch up on a weekend’s worth of blog posts!

Have a great start to the new week – and make good choices! 

This week’s WI

162.6: -2.2lbs

I am ok with this

I will have a more detailed post later tonight or tomorrow.  I made some DELICIOUS porkchops last night and I need to share!!!

Learning to Run!

While many had the day off to recognize Remembrance Day/Veterans Day – I was at work.  I quietly observed my own moment of silence at 11am.  To all of the heroes who have served/are serving for our country and our families – we thank you.

Today my WW progress was pretty on par.  By the end of the night I still had 1/2 a point remaining.  Nice!  It is definitely coming down to my lunches it seems.  My lean cuisine’s aren’t too high in points but when you compare them to a salad (which is what I had today) it definitely makes a difference.

Breakfast: 6.5 Points

• Raisin Bran (3) + Milk (2) = 5 Points
• Coffee w/ Cream + sugar = 1.5 Points

Snack: 2 Points

• 1 Cup Pomegranates – 1 Point
• 1/2 Medium Banana – 1 Point

Lunch: 3 Points

• Yummy Spinach salad w/ cucumbers, cherry tomatoes & 1 slice of laughing cow cheese – 2 Points
• 1 Serving Kraft Olive Oil Vinaigrette – 1 Point

Snack: 1.5 Points

• 2 Peak Freans Lifestyle cookies – 1.5 Points

Supper: 4.5 Points

• Asparagus – 0 Points
• Sliced beets – 0 Points
• 1 Serving Chicken Breast – 3 Points
• 1 Serving Campbells Soup – 1 Point
• 1 Cup Chopped Peppers – 0.5 Points
• 3 Tsp Honey Mustard – 0.5 Points

Snack : 3.5 Points

• 1 Cup Pomegranates – 1 Point
• 1/4 Molasses Cookie – 0.5 Points
• Small amount of Dill pickle chips – 2 Points

Here’s a pic of yesterday’s Tomato & Mozzarella salad.  I know this sucker has a name, I just have no idea what it is called!

Tonight’s dinner was freaking amazing.  I ended up following one of the Campbell’s recipes on the side of a can but made some minor alterations.

I browned my chicken in a pan then added 1 Cup of chopped peppers (red/orange/yellow). 

I sautéed those for a while then added a can of cream of chicken soup with 1 Cup water. 

Added in 3 Tsp Honey mustard and let it all simmer for a while until the sauce thickened.

Mmmm mmm – delish!  The honey mustard was a nice addition!

My sides were a bit of asparagus and some beets.  I freaking love beets but for some reason I never buy any!  I am so glad I picked some up the last time I picked up groceries!

After dinner I had to bake some cakes for Dave’s grandmother’s 69th birthday.  I tried a new frosting which tastes pretty good to me, so hopefully it works in the cake!

I was feeling adventurous (and envious of all of the Haliblogger’s talks of running) so I went down to my mini gym at home to go on the treadmill.

Call me weird but here’s how it went:

Dave took me down to the gym.  As soon as the elevator door opened and I saw the gym light on which meant someone was in there.  Immediately, I changed my mind and came back home.

See.. My gym is teeny weeny – and I have a thing about being in a closed area with a stranger… not sure why but it’s just a thing I have!  There is no way I could exercise in my home gym if someone else was in there.  That’s just weird me!

Luckily I still felt adventurous, so about an hour later I went back down and low and behold the light was off so I was clear to go!

Ok peeps – I do not run.  At all.  I had to take it easy so here’s what I did for 20min.

2minutes walk – 1 minute run.

It ended up being 1.5 miles which was pretty hectic for my noobie  (<–I just wrote boobie there) self!

All in all I am pretty happy that I did it.  Hopefully I can turn this into some sort of routine so I don’t end up passing out during our Santa Shuffle in December!

Earlier today I considered moving back to Blogger.  WordPress is nice and all but I really like playing around with Themes etc and I am restricted in a lot that I want to do in terms of editing.  Poopy.  I think I may move back to Blogger, but I want to redo the site and make it all purrdy first. 

Anyway, Off to catch up on some blogs and I’ll be laptop-less since Dave is installing Windows 7.

 

WP vs Blogger

I think I want to move back to Blogger?!

I like some things about WordPress – but I can’t get Google Analytics with it.  There is it’s own stats counter but its weird and confusing to me!

Also, there are limited templates I can use for my blog – I’d need to pay to upgrade to do any CSS changes (which I dont know how to do anyway).

 

gah!

what to do what to do?!