Sloppy Tamale Bake

Ohhhh good Loooord, let me tell you folks, this... this... is delicious!! No joke, both times I have made this, it has disappeared very quickly. My teenage son's friends gobbled it up, too. I cannot urge you enough- tryyyyy iiiit!!

YOU NEED:

●1 and 1/2 lbs learn ground beef
●1 carrot, shredded
●1 zucchini, shredded
●1 onion, diced
●1 bell pepper, finely diced
●2 cloves of garlic, minced
●1 packet taco seasoning
●2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce
●Mexican cheese, shredded

●This gets served on cornbread

DIRECTIONS:

1. Brown ground beef, carrot, zucchini, onion and bell pepper with the garlic, until tender. Drain and cool.

2. Throw in crock pot with the tomato sauce and taco seasoning, stir, and cook on low for 5-6 hours or high 3-4 hours.

3. About 20 minutes before your meat is done, make and bake your cornbread. I usually take a shortcut here and use 2 boxes of Jiffy mix.

4. Top your cornbread with meat mixture and sprinkle on some Mexican blend shredded cheese. Bake at 350º for about 10 minutes.

5. Slice and serve. :)

Skillet Lasagna

Sometimes, I get a wicked taste for lasagna. And more often, I really don't feel like actually making lasagna. And furthermore, my Italian ass (*cough* I'm a mutt and only partially Italian *cough*) is quite picky with lasagna and only use the best ingredients I can afford when making one, soooo lack of money dictates that I don't make one very often.

Those are the times when I break out my recipe and whip up the bad boy. Every bit as delicious with hardly any work at all! Oh, and did I mention, this is actually a pretty healthy dish? Well, it is! Healthier and tasty. Winning combination, for sure!

YOU NEED:

●1 1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
●1 large onion, chopped
●3 garlic cloves, minced
●2 (14.5 oz) cans Italian diced tomatoes, drained
●1/2 cup tomato sauce
●1/4 tsp black pepper
●1 tsp sea salt
●2 tsp Italian seasoning
●1/2 cup skim ricotta cheese
●1/2 cup part skim mozzarella cheese
●1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
●1 cup whole wheat elbow macaroni noodles, cooked
●2 tablespoons parsley (dried or fresh)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook til softened, about 4 minutes.

2. Add garlic and cook til fragrant, just about one minute. Add in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.

3. Cook mixture til it thickens up a bit, about 5 minutes. Add noodles to skillet and stir into the mixture well.

4. Add scoops of ricotta cheese over the noodles and add your mozzarella and Parmesan. Now add the parsley and give that bad boy a good stir.

5. Cook for about 5 more minutes, or til mixture has thickened up a bit. Serve immediately with additional basil or parsley.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!!

Whew!! It has been a looooong and tiring day, but everything turned out very well, and a great time was had by all. I just finished cleaning up the mess in the kitchen and got my homemade turkey stock just a simmering away. My back is aching, my feet are throbbing, my eyes just want to shut and I am heading to bed! Just wanted to hop on here tho, and wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you all had a wonderful day making great memories with friends and family. Our love to all!

I even took a couple before and after cleaning pics. Proof that when I cook, it totally looks like I set a bomb off in my kitchen. ;)

Wait... Did I really just fit in this?

I received this outfit (the red and black outfit on the right of the picture) this evening from an awesome woman on a Pay It Forward Page. I needed something formal to wear for my Mr.'s company Christmas Party in December. I was really starting to freak out because the place that I always found my dresses (on deep Clearance) went out of business. NO WAY was dropping even 100 bucks on a dress for one night an option so close to the Holidays. I mean, I've got 3 kiddies, come on!

Anyways, I thought it was all a size 18 but I was confident I could fit in it and if not, I figured I would only have to drop a few pounds to fit, worst case scenario. I opened the box and just happened to glance at the size and my heart sank. The top was an 18 but the bottoms were a size 14/16. The problem? I wear a size 22!

Correction! I WORE a size 22, because after convincing myself to try them on, I realized that THEY FIT! They weren't too tight or anything. Can I get a happy dance? Lol All this time I've been wearing size 22's and wondering how in the hell  I stayed the same pants size after dropping so much weight. I could have been in a much smaller size! Who'da thought?

I am SO crazy excited and this just kicked my motivation into hyperdrive! I am so ready to continue forward on my journey, to continue strong.

I just... Well, I just don't even have the words to express my happiness right now! If you feel like giving up, I urge you, keep pushing forward! You will not regret it! I promise!

This NOWvember is dedicated to my Superman...

If you follow my blog you'll know that I have coined the month of November "NOWvember". As in NO EXCUSES and DO IT NOW!

I have been struggling with some vicious panic attacks and non stop bouts of crying. Feeling so tremendously alone and sad. It's coming up on that time of year that I lost my best friend and Superman. My daddy.

I can't believe it's almost been 8 years because sometimes, like now, it feels like I just lost him yesterday. And the heartache I feel this year only rivals in intensity with the heartache I felt when I first lost him. It's insane. What I wouldn't give to hug him again. To hear one of his countless (and endless) stories or just hear him tell me that he loves me.

So I'm redirecting my focus. As hard as this is, as much as I'm hurting, this WILL NOT BREAK ME. I'm using this heartache to fuel me. This month, that I have coined as NOWvember, is dedicated not only to myself but to my daddy. I WILL lose this weight and I will do this for him. 

Because he couldn't and I still can.

This month is for you, my Superman. 

I love you daddy, For forever and a day, 

To the moon and back, you light my way.

Pot Roast Soup

This was the perfect way to enjoy our pot roast leftovers from the night before. It was fairly chilly so this, with some grilled cheese sammies, warmed us up quite nicely!

Super simple to make!

You will need:

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 quarts of beef stock, low sodium
• 2 cups carrots, sliced thin
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp Itali seasoning
• 8 oz whole wheat pasta noodles, I used the elbow macaroni kind
• Leftover pot roast.

1.  In a large pot, heat the oil.
2.  Add your onion and carrots and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add your garlic and cook minute.
3.  Add the stock, tomatoes, and seasoning. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 25 minutes, or until carrots are tender.
4.  Add pasta and cook uncovered for another 10 to 12 minutes, just until pasta is done.
5.  Shred the pot roast, add to soup and top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
6. That's it! You're done! Now sit back and enjoy the delicious fruits of your labor! :)

Happy Birthday to the BEST friend a broad could ever have!

Today is a day that I am truly grateful for. Wanna know why? Because it's the day my best friend in the whole damn world was born!

Brina is one of the sweetest, kindest, most big hearted and generous people that I know. She has a wicked awesome sense of humor, just like I do. Just one of many reasons we get along so well, I suppose. She is an amazing mama and I honestly couldn't have dreamt up a better friend. She is more than my friend, she is my sister. Maybe not by blood, but what we have is stronger than blood. Can you believe in 16 years, we have NEVER had a single fight? No joke. 

And out of all those 16 years, she has been there with me through it all. Thick and thin, happiness and tears. She has gotten me through Hell, and instead of leaving me- she took my hand and walked through it with me. Through my absolute darkest days, she was my light. There were a few times that if it wasn't for Brina, I can say that I would not still be here. 

 So to you Brina, thank you so very much for being there for me, for always staying my my side- giggling "someone's gonna get it!"- and never judging me!

 I got nothin' but love for ya, girl. I hope you have a truly awesome birthday. You deserve it. Sorry I can't be there with you today, but you and me and some beers? That's going down real soon! Love you, sister, with all my heart! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRINA!!!

Mouthgasm alert! You've been warned!

When I was dealing with Gestational Diabetes with my last pregnancy, I had found that surprise surprise- pizza spiked my sugar levels. Lol I know, it should've been obvious that it would, but I was well over 300 lbs and my eating habits weren't good at all. So I truly was surprised. And very upset. Not my pizza! You can't take away my pizza!

So I started making tortilla pizzas. Tortilla, sauce, lots of toppings. Just as good! But recently, I didn't have sauce and had a taste for pizza without wasting all my calories. (not to mention all that grease and fat!)

What's a broad to do? Simple! Just don't use sauce. That was a real "duh" moment for me. Haha!! Guess what? I didn't even miss the sauce! Neither did my kiddies, hubby, or my mom. SCOOOORE!!! I'm not listing amounts here, because I don't measure for this. It's really about how much of each ingredient you like.

You Will Need:

● Large whole grain tortillas
● Large tomato sliced on the thin side
● Mozzarella cheese, shredded
● Fresh Spinach, chopped
● Garlic Powder
● Dried (or fresh) parsley
● Nonstick cooking spray or olive oil spray

Check out how crazy easy this is!

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.

2 Spray a cookie sheet with your spray. Place a tortilla on the sheet and give the top side a quick spray. Sprinkle lightly with garlic powder.

3. Lightly sprinkle some cheese on the tortilla. This is to keep the juice from the tomato from soaking through.

4. Place tomatoes across the tortilla. Top with more cheese. Sprinkle on the chopped spinach on and top with parsley. Sometimes I sprinkle a little parmesan on top, too.

5. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

That's it! How freaking easy was that? Now taste it... I'll wait. ..

.... I know, right??  YUM!!! You're welcome! ;)

Back on track! All abooooard!!

I had fallen off the Clean Eating wagon for a while and maaaan is it hard to get back on track after going back to eating crap. We weren't doing fast food, and we weren't eating as bad as before, but we were eating a lot of processed crap.

It still amazes me how much eating the wrong or right foods can affect your body. You eat like crap, you feel like crap. You're tired, sluggish, crabby, bloated...etc. But you eat the right foods to fuel your body properly, and you feel like you can move mountains!

Just one day back on track and I already feel great. It was hard  to have those cravings and not automatically give in to them. But in resisting, my eyes were again opened to the fact that I CAN do this. I can resist. I may not always want to, but I have the power to say "no". Somewhere along the way, I had forgotten that. It all comes down to good old mind over matter. You have to want the end result more than you want the momentary satisfaction a craving, or worse, a binge, will bring. And I want that end result. I want MY end result.

Some of my food today:

Breakfast: Homemade Pumpkin Spice Breakfast Muffin with 1 Tbsp of natural peanut butter and cottage cheese with grapes.

Snack: an apple, sliced, with a Tbsp of warmed natural peanut butter drizzled over it, topped with granola.

Lunch: a salad with lettuce, spinach, chicken breast, feta, shredded carrots, grapes, and a few pine nuts with organic balsamic vinaigrette.

Dinner: Pumpkin  Chili. Ohhhh Lord that stuff was DELICIOUS! And I'm not a big fan of pumpkin. Lol

Pumpkin Chili... wait... WHAT?

I had been seeing a lot of pumpkin chili recipes floating around for a while now. I always just shook my head. Pumpkin in chili?? YUCK! I'm not the biggest fan of pumpkin flavor. I don't like pumpkin in my coffee, I don't like pumpkin pie. I know, I know, I'm a freak. Tell me something I don't know!

Something just kept nagging at me to try it. So tonight, I had planned on making my chili and I threw caution to the wind and threw in some pure pumpkin and some pumpkin pie spice. Holy crap did it turn out delicious! The flavor is quite mellow, not overwhelming at all.

I cannot recommend it enough! Try it! I'll bet you'll be just as pleasantly surprised as I was!

You will need:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 and 1/2 lbs of  96% lean ground beef
• 1 lb lean steak, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 package of chili seasoning of your choice (or make your own!!)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes, in juice
• 1 can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp parsley
• 1/2 cup pure pumpkin
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1. In a large pot, brown your meats with the garlic.

2. When the meat is almost completely  cooked through, add remaining ingredients, stir well, and bring to a boil.

3. Cover and simmer over very low heat for 1 hour.

I served it topped with a little parmesan cheese, a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese and a couple crispy tortilla strips. Mmmm Mmmm Mmmmm!

Clean Pumpkin Spice Breakfast Muffin

I found this recipe while surfing the web and thought surely it was too good to be true. It was not! Tho it said it was an english muffin, the texture is most definitely has more of a regular muffin texture. Which is fine by me. It was still beyond scrumptious. And clean! Woooo Hooooo! This makes 2 muffins.

You Need:
2 Tbsp almond flour
2 Tbsp ground flax
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp pure pumpkin
1 Tbsp raw honey

Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray two 4" ramekins with non stick spray or olive oil spray.

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl til well combined.

Pour half of the batter into each ramekin.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or just til done.

Remove from oven and let cool. Remove from ramekins, split in half, toast if desired, top with your topping of choice and eat! :)

NOWvember.

How many times have you planned on making changes to become healthier? How many times have you said "I'll start Monday"? Or you'll wait till the first of the New Year? Or you start on your journey and slip up and eat something you shouldn't have and you say to yourself "Well, today is blown to hell. Might as well eat what I want and restart tomorrow".

Here's the problem with that. Tomorrow never comes in those terms, does it? You plan to start tomorrow and tomorrow becomes today and then you plan to start tomorrow. See what I'm saying? It's a vicious cycle.

And waiting for Monday? You don't need to wait for a Monday! Every single day of the week is equally great for committing to a better you!

Waiting till tomorrow to start fresh after a screw up is not necessary either! Guess what? There are 86,400 seconds in each day. That means you have 86,400 opportunities EACH DAY to start fresh and do better!

I'm guilty of much of this myself, but NO MORE! I am reclaiming November. I'm coining it NOWvember. As in NO more EXCUSES! DO IT NOW! I'm grabbing the bull by the horns and making this month my bitch! Are you with me??

Cauliflower? Rice? Where have you been all my life?

Growing up, I was never a fan of cauliflower. It really wasn't until today that I found a love for it. If you are watching what you eat, doing clean eating, or paleo eating, or weight watchers, and I'm sure even more than that, then you've probably heard about Cauliflower Rice. It is super easy and quick to make and is rather mild in taste.

So of cooourse that meant I had to tweak it. ;) The result? Garlicky Spinach Feta Cauliflower Rice. Oooooh yeeeah!

You will need:

•  1 head of cauliflower, outer leaves and the core discarded.
•  1 tsp butter
•  1 tsp coconut oil
•  1 clove of garlic, minced
•  2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
•  2 to 3 Tbsp feta cheese, chopped into smaller pieces
•  2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

1. With a box grater/cheese grater, grate your raw cauliflower into pieces that are about the size of a grain of rice. For me, this was the section on my grater with the next to biggest holes.
2. In a large pan over medium high heat, add your butter and coconut oil. (I use a mixture of coconut oil and butter because, well, I like a little taste of butter. Sue me. lol You can use all butter, no coconut oil, or you can use all coconut oil, no butter. Whatevs. Do you. :)
3. Once melted, add your garlic and cook a minute or til fragrant.
4. Add your cauliflower to the hot pan. Cook over medium to high heat for about 4 minutes, stirring often so it doesn't burn.
5. Toss in your spinach and give it a good mix. Let cook for another minute or two until the spinach starts to wilt down. (I usually hit it with a lil garlic powder at this point to, but that's just me.)
6. Add your feta and parmesan cheese. Stir well and cook for just another minute or two. This is your dish that you have to eat. Don't be shy! Dig in there and taste a piece!! Is it tender enough for your liking? Seasoned enough? Great! You're done. If it's not tender enough for you (I like mine quite tender and it's usually done by now) then cook til it is! If it's not seasoned enough for you, season it up some more! Make it yours. :D