BLECH! I had my ortho appt today and Dr. Brown and his resident (can't remember his name) were both wonderful. I got good news and bad news.
GOOD: The benign growth on my bone is "normal." Dr. Brown said 95% of cases referred to for this reason are actually experiencing pain for other reasons.
GOOD: I can exercise............
BAD: I can't run anymore.
BAD: I have beginning stages of arthritis in my knee. I have alot of fluid under my knee cap, some swelling, and my knee cap is very loose. The resident said "If I wanted to be a prick, I could probably pop it out without trying very hard." Gee, thanks.
I got a cortizone shot and that was NOT an experience that I'd wish upon my worst enemy - or myself again for that matter. I'm taking tomorrow off work because the pain from the shot is really, really bad. David was worried about me pushing myself too hard at work so I'm gonna sit on the couch and keep my knee up.
I have to wait and see what happens as far as the pain goes. Dr. Brown said it should be MUCH better in a few days, and then I can resume exercising. He said walking, elliptical, swimming, and possibly biking are good options. No running, and no stairs.
I'm not sure what to about our upcoming races. Both the Corporate Cup and Race for the Cure I can walk. But, can I PHYSICALLY do the distance? I'm not sure. I haven't signed up for the Race yet, and I have 3 days to make the decision. I'll see how tomorrow goes and then go from there.
So, there you have it.... I'm sad, but at least I know what's going on. I know I'll get through this hurdle just like I have all the others, but DAMN! I wanted to be able to continue running!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Rocky Road Brownies
Um, YUM! These were really, really rich, but SO good. I'm not sure if they are worth 3 points for the 2-3 bite brownie you get, but we will definitely make them again! And I did take a picture, but I haven't downloaded it yet. Sorry!
POINTS: 3
Servings: 16
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple butter
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini-marshmallows
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350*. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, allowing the foil to extend over the rim of the pan by 2 inches. Spray with nonstick spray.
Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. whisk the sugar, apple butter, oil, eggs, and vanilla together in a medium bowl. Add the sugar mixture to the flour mixture; stir just until blended.
Scrape the batter into the baking pan and spread evnely. Sprinkle with the marshmallows, chocolate chips, and walnuts. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging, 20-25 minutes. (I had problems with this part because the crumbs got lost in the melting chocolate chips. So, I just went by when the marshmallows were browned, but not burned. It worked.) Let cool completely in the pan on a rack. Lift from the pan using the foil as handles, cut into 16 squares.
POINTS: 3
Servings: 16
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple butter
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini-marshmallows
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350*. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, allowing the foil to extend over the rim of the pan by 2 inches. Spray with nonstick spray.
Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. whisk the sugar, apple butter, oil, eggs, and vanilla together in a medium bowl. Add the sugar mixture to the flour mixture; stir just until blended.
Scrape the batter into the baking pan and spread evnely. Sprinkle with the marshmallows, chocolate chips, and walnuts. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging, 20-25 minutes. (I had problems with this part because the crumbs got lost in the melting chocolate chips. So, I just went by when the marshmallows were browned, but not burned. It worked.) Let cool completely in the pan on a rack. Lift from the pan using the foil as handles, cut into 16 squares.
Surf & Turf Pizza
Yet another successful recipe from the new cookbook! The only problem? It's TOO good! I had to put the last 2 portions in the fridge before finishing my portion so that I wouldn't go back for seconds!!!!
POINTS: 7
Serves: 4 (2 slices)
Ingredients
1 tube (13.8 ounces) refrigerated pizza dough
1 (6 1/2 ounces) can minced clams, drained
1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
1 ounce prosciutto, chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup torn basil
Directions
Preheat the oven to 475*.
Unroll the dough onto a pizza pan or a baking sheet, gently pulling on the dough to form a 12 inch circle. (I left it in a rectangle and it turned out fine.) Sprinkle the dough evenly with the clams, zucchini, and prosciutto. (I think next time I will put the zucchini on the bottom, but you can do it however!) Lightly spray the top of the pizza with olive oil cooking spray. (We were out of spray, so I just brushed a little olive oil on.) Sprinkle with the Parmesan and bake until crisp and browned, 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle with the basil and cut into 8 wedges. (I misread the recipe and cooked it with the basil. It turned out great!)
A few weeks ago, someone suggested I take pictures of the food. For the first time, I actually remembered to take a picture before I inhaled! So, here you are:
Next time I'll put the clams and prosciutto on top of the zucchini, but it really doesn't matter in the end. Yummy, yummy, yummy!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Wow!
Has it really been 2 weeks since I've done a real post... one other than recipes? Gosh, I go from one extreme to the other!
I guess things have just been really busy and - believe it or not - normal!
The school year has started and I have 14 students right now. They are very, VERY low academically, but decent behavior wise. I can still get 2 more kids, so I'm just waiting for that to happen.... They love Crush & Squirt and we've had several "Turtle Time"s since starting school.
Weigh In was good last week. I lost 1.6 lbs, so I 'm down to 182.4. This is the lowest that I have EVER weighed and I'm less than 2 lbs away from my ultimate goal of 182! I'm hoping I'll be there by the end of September!
I have 9 days before I see the ortho for my knee. I haven't worked out since the 5K - the pain has gotten worse. Walking hurts now, and dancing with my kids - which I do daily - irritates it. So, no working out. I'm still planning on doing Corporate Cup on 9/15 and Race for the Cure on 10/4. Just not sure how much pain I'll be in afterwards and whether or not I'll run the Race for the Cure.
David is back in school and doing well. We're both trying to adjust to the new school-year schedule and it SUCKS. But, at least we're able to spend Friday night's together and we usually go up to Too Far North, our favorite tasting room!
We start our Foster Care classes on Oct 6! We're praying that it all goes well and we will have kids in our home by the end of December.
So, that's about it... I just wanted to give a little update and say hi! I planned a few new recipes this week so look out for a couple more recipes soon!!
I guess things have just been really busy and - believe it or not - normal!
The school year has started and I have 14 students right now. They are very, VERY low academically, but decent behavior wise. I can still get 2 more kids, so I'm just waiting for that to happen.... They love Crush & Squirt and we've had several "Turtle Time"s since starting school.
Weigh In was good last week. I lost 1.6 lbs, so I 'm down to 182.4. This is the lowest that I have EVER weighed and I'm less than 2 lbs away from my ultimate goal of 182! I'm hoping I'll be there by the end of September!
I have 9 days before I see the ortho for my knee. I haven't worked out since the 5K - the pain has gotten worse. Walking hurts now, and dancing with my kids - which I do daily - irritates it. So, no working out. I'm still planning on doing Corporate Cup on 9/15 and Race for the Cure on 10/4. Just not sure how much pain I'll be in afterwards and whether or not I'll run the Race for the Cure.
David is back in school and doing well. We're both trying to adjust to the new school-year schedule and it SUCKS. But, at least we're able to spend Friday night's together and we usually go up to Too Far North, our favorite tasting room!
We start our Foster Care classes on Oct 6! We're praying that it all goes well and we will have kids in our home by the end of December.
So, that's about it... I just wanted to give a little update and say hi! I planned a few new recipes this week so look out for a couple more recipes soon!!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Frozen peanut butter and chocolate pie
Wow! That's all I have to say. Wow! This was dessert from my "Suzie Homemaker" night, also from the new cookbook. David actually asked if I had really made this -- he said "you're a good cook, but did you REALLY make this?" Yep! I did!!
POINTS: 3
Servings: 12 (small portion, but worth every ounce)
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups fat free milk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup + 1 TBSP reduced-fat creamy peanut butter
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup frozen thawed fat-free whipped topping
1 prepared reduced-fat graham-cracker crust
1 TBSP chopped dry roasted peanuts
1/2 ounce semisweet chocolate, coarsely grated
Directions
Combine the milk and sugar in a medium saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 2 minutes; remove from the heat. Whisk in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Pour into a medium bowl and refrigerate until completely cooled, about 1 hour. (The milk never got really warm before the sugar dissolved so the PB had trouble melting and it didn't take long to "completely cool.")
Gently stir the whipped topping into the chilled milk mixture; spoon into the crust. Sprinkle with the peanuts and grated chocolate. Loosely cover the pie with wax paper, hen with heavy-duty foil. Freeze until completely frozen, at least 4 hours or up to 2 days.
Let the pie soften at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.
POINTS: 3
Servings: 12 (small portion, but worth every ounce)
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups fat free milk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup + 1 TBSP reduced-fat creamy peanut butter
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup frozen thawed fat-free whipped topping
1 prepared reduced-fat graham-cracker crust
1 TBSP chopped dry roasted peanuts
1/2 ounce semisweet chocolate, coarsely grated
Directions
Combine the milk and sugar in a medium saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 2 minutes; remove from the heat. Whisk in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Pour into a medium bowl and refrigerate until completely cooled, about 1 hour. (The milk never got really warm before the sugar dissolved so the PB had trouble melting and it didn't take long to "completely cool.")
Gently stir the whipped topping into the chilled milk mixture; spoon into the crust. Sprinkle with the peanuts and grated chocolate. Loosely cover the pie with wax paper, hen with heavy-duty foil. Freeze until completely frozen, at least 4 hours or up to 2 days.
Let the pie soften at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.
Chili-spiced thick oven "fries"
Yep, another recipe from the new cookbook! We served these with the burgers and it was perfect!
POINTS: 2
Serves: 4 (6 fries per serving)
Ingredients
3 large (8 oz) russet potatoes, scrubbed
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450*. Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray.
Halve the potatoes and cut each piece lengthwise into quarters; place on the baking sheet. Drizzle with the oil (I used 1 tsp extra because it didn't look like enough, but probably would have been), and toss to coat. Rearrange the potatoes in a single layer and bake until the bottoms are deep golden and crisp, about 15 minutes. Turn the potatoes onto the opposite cut side and bake until crips, 10-15 minutes longer.
Meanwhile, combine the sugar, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. When the fries are done cooking, sprinkle the seasoning mixture over and toss to coat. (I didn't think that it would be enough seasoning, but it was. You could easily add more if you wanted more seasoning.)
POINTS: 2
Serves: 4 (6 fries per serving)
Ingredients
3 large (8 oz) russet potatoes, scrubbed
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450*. Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray.
Halve the potatoes and cut each piece lengthwise into quarters; place on the baking sheet. Drizzle with the oil (I used 1 tsp extra because it didn't look like enough, but probably would have been), and toss to coat. Rearrange the potatoes in a single layer and bake until the bottoms are deep golden and crisp, about 15 minutes. Turn the potatoes onto the opposite cut side and bake until crips, 10-15 minutes longer.
Meanwhile, combine the sugar, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. When the fries are done cooking, sprinkle the seasoning mixture over and toss to coat. (I didn't think that it would be enough seasoning, but it was. You could easily add more if you wanted more seasoning.)
Cheese-stuffed chicken burgers
Here's another recipe from the Classic Comfort's book. SO yummy!! Someone asked me to take pictures of my food. Sorry, I ate it too fast! Yes, there was 1 left (David had 2), but it didn't look as yummy in the ziploc baggie as it did on my plate with the muffin!
POINTS: 8
Servings: 4
Ingredients
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
1 lb ground chicken breast
1/3 cup plain dried bread crumbs
1/4 tsp salt
4 light multigrain English muffins, split and toasted
1/4 cup ketchup
4 lettuce leaves
4 tomato slices
12 bread and butter slices
Directions
Stir the cheese and mustard together in a small bowl. Stir the chicken, bread crumbs, and salt together in a medium bowl just until blended. Form into 4 balls. With your index finger, make a deep indentation in each ball. Fill each indentation with 3 TBSP of the cheese mixture (ends up being just under 3 TBSP for each burger). Fold the chicken mixture around the cheese to seal; shape each one into a 3 in diameter patty.
Spray a nonstick ridged grill pan with nonstick spray and set over medium heat. Place the burgers in the pan and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the side of each burger (without touching the cheese) registers 165*; about 6-7 minutes on each side.
Serve the burgers in the muffins topped with the ketchup, lettuce leaves, tomato slices, and pickles (we used cucumbers instead of pickles).
POINTS: 8
Servings: 4
Ingredients
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
1 lb ground chicken breast
1/3 cup plain dried bread crumbs
1/4 tsp salt
4 light multigrain English muffins, split and toasted
1/4 cup ketchup
4 lettuce leaves
4 tomato slices
12 bread and butter slices
Directions
Stir the cheese and mustard together in a small bowl. Stir the chicken, bread crumbs, and salt together in a medium bowl just until blended. Form into 4 balls. With your index finger, make a deep indentation in each ball. Fill each indentation with 3 TBSP of the cheese mixture (ends up being just under 3 TBSP for each burger). Fold the chicken mixture around the cheese to seal; shape each one into a 3 in diameter patty.
Spray a nonstick ridged grill pan with nonstick spray and set over medium heat. Place the burgers in the pan and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the side of each burger (without touching the cheese) registers 165*; about 6-7 minutes on each side.
Serve the burgers in the muffins topped with the ketchup, lettuce leaves, tomato slices, and pickles (we used cucumbers instead of pickles).
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