Poppy Seed Chicken

So a few days ago at work, we were discussing easy recipes that were loved by our families.  One of my co-workers told me about this recipe.  When she first said Poppy Seed Chicken, I automatically thought marinated chicken that was either grilled or baked.  However, when she started telling us the ingredients I knew it was a must try.


I made it and the family loves it.  :)  So yeah for me.  I then knew I had to share with you all.


So what is in this delicious dish?

5 cups of chicken, boneless, skinless
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 cup of sour cream
1/2 package of mixed veggies,  frozen
1 1/2 cups of round butter crackers, crushed
1 teaspoon of poppy seeds
1/2 cup of butter, melted

I started by preheating my oven to 350 degrees.  While the oven was heating, I cut up your chicken into bite size pieces.  I used two chicken breasts and 4 chicken thighs.  Then I seasoned the chicken and cooked it with a little oil.

In a large mixing bowl, I combined the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and frozen veggies.  I also melted the butter.

Combined the chicken with the soup/veggie mixture and placed that into a 9x13 pan.

Right before the dish went into the oven, I combined the melted butter, poppy seeds, and butter crackers in a small mixing bowl.  I mixed until the crackers were coated with the butter.  To complete the dish, I sprinkled the cracker mixture of the top of the chicken.

The dish cooked for 30 minutes.  I made sure the crust was lightly browned and the sauce was bubbly.

I served  on top of yellow rice (saffron rice).

My family asked not just for second but for thirds.

I hope you enjoy it.

Valentine's Day Dinner

This is not your typical Valentine's Day Dinner but it was good and I had a wonderful time eating dinner with Lovey Man and Scooter.

I got home tonight and a nice surprise awaited me.  Scooter had cleaned the house.  She is such a sweet girl.  So to reward her, I made Spaghetti Tacos.  She has been asking for them for awhile and I have been putting her off.  The thought was a bit off putting.  However, now that I have tried them.  They are actually pretty good.

Spaghetti Tacos = Noodles, sauces, and shells

Spaghetti Tacos

3/4 lb. of Vermicelli Noodles
1 lb. of ground chuck
1 pack of crunch taco shells
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
Shredded cheese

Bring a pot of water to boil.  While waiting on the water, preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Once the water is boiling, cook noodles according to package directions.

Cook ground chuck until brown; drain.

Place taco shells on a baking pan and cook in oven for 6-7 minutes.

Return the cooked ground chuck to pan and add all of the sauce.  Cook over med-low heat until sauce is heated all the way through.

Combine meat sauce and noodles; place in small amount in taco shells.  Top tacos with cheese (optional).

Makes 10 tacos

A Pinterest Recipe

Here is my version of this yummy dish.  I did not change the recipe too much.  However, since ricotta cheese is a no no in my house, I had to find a suitable substitute.  My family liked it alot, so I think I found it for us.

Chicken Spinach Lasagna Rolls


9 lasagna noodles, cooked 
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained 
14 oz of cottage cheese 
1 container of Philly Italian Cheese & Herb Cooking Creme
1 1/2 T. sour cream
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese 
1 egg 
salt and fresh pepper, to taste
2 thinly sliced chicken breast, cooked and diced 
32 oz jar of Marinara Sauce 
3/4 c. part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded 

Preheat oven to 350°. Make sure you drain the spinach well. Combine spinach, cottage cheese, cooking creme, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, egg, garlic, chicken, and salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Pour about 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry by patting them with a paper towel. Take 1/3 cup of chicken mixture and spread evenly over a noodle. Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

Pour sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with mozzarella cheese. Cover baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. 

To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll.


Makes 9 rolls.

Cajun Shrimp Linguine Alfredo

So we  love pasta and spicy in our house.  This is the best of both worlds.

12 oz medium shrimp,  peeled and deveined
12 oz linguine, uncooked
1 1/2 T. unsalted butter
1/2 T. olive oil
1 jar of alfredo sauce
salt
black pepper, ground
garlic powder
Cajun spice blend

Place large pot of water on to boil.  While you are waiting for the water to heat up, season the shrimp with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Then season to taste with the cajun spice.  Put on a small sauce pan to heat up the alfredo sauce, place on low to warm up.

Once the water is boiling, salt the water and place the pasta in the pot.  Cook according to package directions.

Heat a cast iron skillet on med-high; add butter and oil.  Add shrimp and cook until pink.

Drain pasta.  Add back to hot pot, add sauce and shrimp.  Toss and serve.

Makes 6 servings.

So embarrassed....

Ok my peeps.. I have been gone a really really long time.  The confession to this is that I have not been on the road even close to weigh loss.  I have stopped tracking my PPs and stopped going to meetings.

I have been embarrassed to admit this to you all.  I will try again.. that is all I can promise for now.

Sorry to disappoint you  all....

So this is my problem

“It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.” 
~Old Chinese Proverb

Words of Wisdom

“We can do anything we want to do 

if we stick to it long enough.” 

– Helen Keller

You Tuesday.. I really am not a fan!

Dang Snooze button!  Why do you drag me into to the bliss of "Oh just a few more minutes"

Another rush morning... plus I have an errand to run before work.  Dang it all.  Oh well Cupcake got dressed, fed and to school on time.  I was a bit late but oh well.

Breakfast:
-Bacon Egg Cheese Biscuit from McD
-Iced vanilla Latte from McD (nonfat)

Mid-morning Snack:
-Big o cup of coffee

I had a plan for work.  I was gonna get there, do a big thing on my ToDo list and bam! be done with it.  How did that work for me?  Not too well... totally did not that big thing.  Go off on another big ToDo thing and well before I knew it, it was 1pm...

Lunch:
-1 Southwest Turkey Wrap
-1 bag of Baked Lays
-1 c. mixed fresh fruit

So played on my new phone while at lunch.  Finished up and went back to my desk.  Continued the big ToDo list thingy and the Bam! it was 5:30 and definitely past time to leave.  How did that happen?

I stopped on the way home and picked up some really great things to make for dinner.  The peeps in my house are gonna be happy with me.

Dinner:
-1 slice of baked ham
-1/2c. white rice
-1/3c. black eyed peas
-1/2c. baby carrots

I know that I am not writing much about Lovey Man or Cupcake recently.  I will try to include more of them soon.

Time to meet up with three old friends... pillow, bed, and blanket....


Catch you on the turn around .... night my peeps!

Another Monday....

Monday started out with a rush.  I got up a bit later than normal for a work and school day.

But we did it... we got up, dressed, ate breakfast, and made it to both school and work on time.  Yeah Us!

Breakfast:
-3/4c. Cinnamon Pecan Special K
-1/2c. 2% Milk
-Supreme sized coffee

Nothing really appealing at work.  I was not really in the mood for a sandwich, salad or soup.  The things I normally pickup in the cafeteria.  Today I when for the Hot Line.  I actually ate pretty well and did not use that may PP.  (I am still not posted PP this week because I did not start it on Thursday and I am also getting used to my new phone).

Lunch:
-4oz grilled flank steak
-1/2c. tomatoes and orka
-3/4c. white rice
-1/3c/ grilled zucchini

I was driving home after work and thought to myself, self I would really like some ChiliMac.  So when I stopped a the grocery store, that is what I picked up to make.  I did not go by a recipe, I just basically picked up a bit of this and a bit of that, browned the ground beef, boiled the noodles, and dumped it all together.  Everyone in my house loved it.  I will admit for Cupcake and Lovey Man I did add cheese to theirs.

Dinner:
-1 c. ChiliMac
-1/2c. green beans
-1 mini WW ice cream sandwich

Nighty night my peeps.. I am soooo tired!!!  LONG Day!!!

Sunday - day of rest, not at my house...

I'm gonna start by saying that Scooter will now be known as Cupcake.  She does not like Scooter anymore :( and wants you all to know her as Cupcake *sigh

So Lovey Man was first up today and so that means Mommy was up.  It was ok, I guess.  My back was starting to hurt, so I needed to shift or get up... so I got up.  I am not sure if I told you all but last weekend my coffee maker died.  I was devastated.  But luckily I had my expresso maker, so I am still getting my fix.  However, it is a stronger dose but only in one cup.  So it evens out right.

Breakfast:
- 1 1/2 c. Banana Nut Cherrios
- 3/4 c. 2% milk
- 1 Irish cream flavored latte

The Banana Nut Cherrios were better than I thought they would be.  They smelled great and tasted just a good.  However, it is a good thing that Lovey Man, Cupcake, and I had a bowl.  Why you ask?  Well it is because Lovey Man found the box and decided to see how much was left.  He dumped the rest of the box on the floor and so the end of the Banana Nut Cherrios.  Of course, this happened while I was mowing the grass.  Oh well... I will buy more when it is time to restock on the cereal.

Lunch was late because we were just running late today.  It is Sunday after all.  Lunch was Subway.  I did not cook this Sunday.  I need to start cooking on the weekend more.

Lunch:
- 6" Turkey Bacon Sub on flatbread
- 1 bag Baked Lays
- Sweet Tea with Lemonade (aka Arnold Palmer)

After lunch, I got Lovey Man down for name, cleaned the kitchen, cleaned the ceiling fans, and started the laundry.  Cupcake is with her Grandma, so I have had plenty of free time to clean.  Now the question is what to make for dinner.

I did not make dinner.  I went and picked up something.  Oh well, so much for well thought of plans of making dinner.  Actually the time got away from me and so it was just easier that making something that would be way too late to eat anyway.

Dinner:
-BBQ Sandwich
-8 French Fries
-4 Onion Rings
-Sweet Tea

I might have picked it up but it sure was good.  Yummy Yummy....

Oh well, time to head off to bed.  Another work week and Cupcake's first full week back at school.

Later my peeps

WW mobile

Ok my peeps now that I have my new phome, I plan on trying to use the mobile app for WW.  I will keep you updated on how I like it.

If any of you are using it please let me know how you like it.

Lovely Saturday

This morning started a bot earlier than I wanted it to but oh well.  Love Man got up with me and was causing all kinds oh havoc before 8:30, so far I have lost only one button on my laptop keyboard, the others I was able to pop back on.  Thank goodness!

Breakfast:
-bowl of Cinnamon Pecan
- big coffee with hazelnut creamer

Scooter and I cleaned the house a bit.  She was such a huge help and I really appreciate that she played with Love Man while I finished loading the dishwasher.

We did our normal weekend thing and went out to lunch.

Lunch:
- Cuban Sandwich
- side Caesar salad


We got back home and just kinda hung out.  We did a bit of this and that, just relaxing mostly.  I did get some more of the house cleaned up.  Scooter and I did go shopping really quickly while Lovey Man napped and E stayed at home with him.  I got a new work outfit and Scooter got a new dress, necklace, and watch.  She was excited.  I still need to get her some new loafers for school.  May do that today.

When we got back, I placed the steaks that I picked up in the fridge with marinade and made sure the grill was clean.

Dinner:
- Steak
- Roasted potatoes
- Corn on the cob
- Glass of Shiraz

Oh dinner was really good.

What is so cool about this post.  Most of it was done via my new phone.  Which is my birthday present to myself.

Later my peeps!

(I know the picture is wierd b/c it is sideways - but my first attempt via phone)

It's Wednesday... only 2 days left before the weekend..

Today started ok... got sleep but also hit the snooze 2 times... Last weekday morning waking up and getting ready all by myself.  Tomorrow starts my morning time with Scooter.

Breakfast:
-Chicken Biscuit
-Large Iced Vanilla Coffee

Work was work.  Nothing too exciting.  I did go to the Linen Sale at work and got a set of new sheets.  So that was exciting.  I went with a friend and then we stopped at Einstein Bros Bagels.   I then found my way back to my office.

Lunch:
-Bagel Thin with Tuna Salad, Lettuce and Tomato
-Jalapeno Kettle Chips
-Iced Green Tea

Just a bit after lunch we had a going away party for our intern.  So you know what that means... CAKE!!!

Snack:
-1 slice of Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting

I had to make a couple of stops before I actually headed home.  One stop was to Target.  I had to control myself and only pick up what I had on my list.  Of course, it was really hard to do that.  I love Target.  I mean it has been mentioned that I need a lamp or two in my office and also a few pictures.  So I really need to get those things right... well I did not today.  But I will soon!

I picked up dinner from one of our favorite local restaurants...I had one of the specials for the month.  It was gooooddd!!!

Dinner:
-Fried Shrimp
-Baked Potato
-Side Salad

The day is catching up with me and I am starting to fade.  I know today was not very exciting.  But it was a good day.

Later my peeps.... see you all tomorrow!

Smart little tip from WW on Twitter...

Cut down the PointsPlus® values in your morning OJ. Use ¼ the amount of juice and fill the rest of the glass with ice and seltzer water.

Another good one from WW Twitter...

“Success depends on your backbone, not your wishbone.”

Lovey Man and the Bubble Guppies....

Lovey Man never sits to watch TV.. well not until the Bubble Guppies....

Is it Friday yet?!?!... Dang it is only Tuesday

So today started at 5:30am.... yeah I know WHY was I up at that ungodly hour?!?!?!  Well I had lots to do today and I knew that I would be leaving working early, so I had to get an early start.

By 10am I was one caffeinated woman!

Breakfast:
-1 Chicken Biscuit
-1 LARGE coffee

Then a bit a later another LARGE cup of coffee.

I had an appointment today at lunch time so I had to grab and go.  Well stop get something and eat at my desk while working.  I went to this place that is near work that I drive by everyday and just have never been in.  I got daring and went in today.  I got their Gyro... really good.  I think I will be back to try some of their other selections.  Oh yeah, they are a Pita restaurant...

Lunch:
-1 Lamb Gyro
-1 bag of Baked Lays (sour cream and cheddar)
-1 bottle of Mr. Pibb Zero

So I was all work and no play until I left work.  Then I got in my car and had the thought "DAMN it's hot has hell"... then thought oh wait, I bet hell is not even this hot.  Ridiculous I tell you... heat index reaching 115F...

Oh well, got in my car and headed home.  I have a very important event this evening.  Scooter and I went to Open House of school.  Yeppers, she starts on Thursday.  I can't believe it, she will be in the 3rd grade.  I can remember the first day of day care and preK and Kindergarten ... why does time have to move so fast.  She is really excited and she is also excited about her new teacher.  She was hoping for her teacher from last year but no, she got another great teacher tho'.  So we are happy!

I picked up dinner on the way home from picking up school supplies... Larry's Giant Subs... yummy yummy...

Dinner:
-1 Mighty Mitch sub (roast beef and ham)
-1 bag of Monteray Jack and Sundried Tomato Sun Chips
-1 dark chocolate raspberry cheese cake WW ice cream

So now I relaxing, trying not to go to sleep.  Gotta stay up for a bit longer...

Oh the Bubble Guppies are starting and Lovey Man is dancing.   Sooooooo Cute.

I hope you all have had a super great day!

Talk to you all later my peeps!!!!

WW on twitter...from July 27

Avoid snacking amnesia. Log the snacks you eat immediately—or better yet, record ones you plan to eat, then check off as you do.

Beef Stew (CrockPot Version)

-1 1/2 lbs of stew meat (beef)
-2 c. baby yukon potatoes
-1 1/2 c. baby carrots
-1 bell pepper, cut into strips
-1 large sweet onion, cut into wedges
-1 small package of button mushrooms
-1 pkg beef stew seasoning
-2 c. water
-Salt and pepper to taste

Place the veggies in the crockpot.
Then salt and pepper the stew meat.
Add the stew meat to the crockpot on top of the veggies.
Mix together the water and the beef stew seasoning, pour over meat and veggies.
Cook on low for about 11 hours or on high for about 5 hours.

Holy Sugars.. It is Monday again!

Oh so today started and seemed non-stop until about 2:30 but it really did not slow down that much.. just got more manageable.

I got up this morning with my alarm and heard that someone else was also up.  I figured it might be Scooter and I was right.  I thought she got up really early and was kinda ok with it because she starts school on Thursday.  My thinking was that she could start getting used to being up that early.  But NOOONNNOOO she stated that she did not just get up, she stayed up all night.  Oh my goodness, E is not gonna be happy because she is gonna crash and then no help from her.  Luckily she went to sleep after I left and so was help for E.  Yeah!

Breakfast:
-1 1/2c. FiberOne Honey Squares Cereal (80 calories per serving)
-3/4 c. 2% milk
-1 Quad Venti Iced Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte

I am so happy to be finished with that box of cereal.  It is another one that sounded good and being only 80 calories per serving.  But each time I ate it, it got harder and harder to finish the bowl.

Love me some Starbucks.  I had to pickup some things from the Office Supply store that was really near my favorite Starbucks, so I had to go in right.  I mean it just would not be a good thing to not go in, it was just right there and everything.  :)


From the time I got to my office until well after lunch time, it was go go go or I had someone in my office for one thing or another.  But that was fine, at least I got several of the things on my ToDo list done.  So yeah me!

Lunch:
- Egg Salad Sandwich (wheat bread, tomato and lettuce)
-1 bag of Garden Salsa Sun Chips
-1 small cup of fresh fruit (melon, grapes, pineapple)
-1 Large bottle of Water

Lunch was eaten in shifts.  The sandwich, then a bit later the chips and finally after about an hour after the sandwich, the fruit cup.  The water was drank off and on until I left work.  So not too bad.  No snack due to lunch taking forever to finish.  I will admit that I was a bit hungry on the way home.

Dinner:
-1c. Beef Stew
-1/2c. white long grain rice
-1 fresh ear of corn
-1 glass of red wine

I was really smart today.  I put the beef stew in the crockpot before I left for work.  Yeah me.  So all I had to do was make rice and cook the corn.   Woohoo!  It was really good also.  Oh man, I should have taken a picture.  Maybe next time.

The red wine is one that has the dark chocolate flavors in it.  Ok I love red wine and chocolate but together, Not a fan.  I am beginning to think that I am a purist when it comes to chocolate.  I am not a fan of Mocha's or chocolate flavorings mixed in with things.  Give me the actually chocolate and I am a very very very happy woman.  My preference is dark chocolate, I like the slight bitter with the sweet that dark chocolate gives.  Somedays milk chocolate is just a bit too sweet for my taste.

So that was my day.  I know I know... I did not put PP points again.  I haven't been keeping track, it has been hard enough just being able to eat right.  Oh well, I will soon!

Almost forgot to mention, on Friday the Intern in our office brought us cupcakes, as a thank you.  She got them from Back in the Day Bakery, here in Savannah.  If you are ever here in Savannah, YOU MUST GO to Back in the Day Bakery.  They are awesome!!!!!!