Greek Nachos and Football

Usually I have big plans for football Sunday. But since my Raven's are awesome and clinched our Division last weekend I can kind of relax and watch the game at home. No screaming at the TV, no worrying about all my superstitions, just good old football!

I was still really in the mood for some football party food. I looked through the Weight Watchers "Annual Recipes for Success 2011" and found a recipe for Greek Nachos. Really super easy. Just Stacy Pita Chips, Hummus, Lettuce, Red Onion, and Reduced Fat Feta cheese. They are also supposed to have olives on them, but I don't like olives so I left them off.

I just made one serving size. So I kept it to the normal serving size of everything (9 chips, 2 tbsp hummus, 1 tbsp cheese). Total of 7pp- kind of a lot, but a nice filling snack (I actually made it my lunch). 

Hope everyone's favorite team is doing well. 

GO RAVENS! 

I'm Back! ... and With a New Dinner Recipe!

Clearly my life has gotten too busy! I can't believe that I have not written a blog since December 4th! So much has happened between then and now I couldn't even begin to play catch up. So I will just say Merry Xmas (belated) and Happy New Year!

As most people do around this time of the year, we start to think about 'resolutions' or things we will do different in a new year with a clean slate. For me, I have decided to just think of something I want to do more of or learn to do better. Drum roll...........I want to learn to be a better cook and cook more often!

What better place to start than the Weight Watchers Cookbooks my good friend Amanda let me borrow over a year ago that have been collecting dust on my shelf. So this week I made a plan to make at least 1 recipe each day from the books or weight watchers online. Even if it is as simple as a new side dish.

The first night I decided to go big and make 3 recipes (I have always gone for extra credit :). I went for Crispy Baked Barbecue Chicken from the "Annual Recipes for Success Cookbook 2011", a variation on Pan-Roasted Tomatoes with Herbs from the "Best 5 Ingredient 15 Minute Weight Watchers Recipes" Cookbook, and finally my favorite Creamy Corn recipe from Weight Watchers Online. I'll note here if anyone wants any of these recipes you can email me and I will happily send them to you. I couldn't find copies of the cookbook recipes online and wasn't near my scanner today. :)

So back to cooking. I started with prepping the chicken. The chicken was soaked in BBQ sauce for 10 minutes and then dipped in a mixture of BBQ Baked Lays crunched up and minced dried onion.

I waited until I had the corn prepped and started cooking before putting the chicken in the oven since it takes a little longer to cook. The chicken only takes about 12 minutes plus an extra minute when you top it with cheddar cheese. 

The corn is sooooo good. I've made it before and each time I'm shocked by the fact it is so sweet and creamy tasting. I could probably eat the whole pan of it. Basically it consists of frozen white corn, scallions, fat free milk, a little bit of butter, and a tbsp of flour. 

It takes about 12 minutes to reduce down and thicken which was perfect for timing the chicken. I quickly sliced up and salted with Mrs. Dash Herb seasoning a tomato. I browned some garlic with olive oil in a pan. I added the tomatoes to the pan and flipped them once. Super easy!

Everything was pretty much wrapped up in 15 minutes! I did spill the cup of cheddar cheese on the floor when trying to top the chicken with it. But we won't talk about that little snafu. :) 

Onto my plate it went and very quickly into my stomach! 

It was really good. I took my Mom leftovers and she loved it as much as I did! Plus I had leftover chicken which I ate today with a Squash Casserole recipe I tried today (post coming soon on that).

Overall points- Chicken-8pp, Corn-4pp, Tomatoes-1pp. A big dinner for me, but surely worth it.

I really think I am going to have fun learning to cook this year and sharing about how it goes! Maybe sometime soon I can throw a real dinner party instead of just my appetizers and pre-bought stuff for big dinners. :)

The Power of Healthy Snacks & New Routines

I think everyone knows my love of the Weight Watchers program. Even though I have been struggling on a plateau for who knows why (I have been sticking to my points!), I still believe in the program and stick with it. So I was super excited that Weight Watchers announced a new 360 program. It came at just the right time for me. Now there is an area for your tracking, spaces, and routines! 

My favorite part so far has been the routines. It helps keep me in line. This week my three routines were eat breakfast every day, always have healthy snacks on hand, and get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. The best one for me is to have healthy snacks on hand. 

If you have ever been to my house you know we always have snacks, my roommate is a guy with an amazing metabolism. It's so unfair. Take last night for example. Here's what he came home with from Big Lots. 

Yes, that is a big size bag. Not a normal bag. And its FILLED with chips, and pretzels, and who knows what other types of snacks. So in my house its really important for me to always have healthy snacks on hand. On top of at home, at work its hard too! With the holidays there are always cookies and donuts and all types of treats at the office to have to avoid. 

Last night I stocked up on healthy snacks and brought a bunch to work today. 

A weight watchers string cheese (1 pt), 2 cups of low fat popcorn (no butter- 2pts), a clementine (0pts), and Ready Snax Veggies, Cheese and Ranch Dip (4pts). 

Hopefully this will get me through today! :) Plus, it was exciting to be able to check off that I completed my routines today!