Pancake Breakfast

It's been a pretty quiet Sunday. I woke up to the sound of rain and Dolly squealing (it's her way of letting me know she needs to go out). She use to bark, now she just squeals. I like barking better. I needed coffee this morning, but still made mostly decaf. I also made pancakes. It's not often I get up in the mood to cook, especially when I haven't had a lot of sleep. Coffee & pancakes, it was a miracle.

I had peanut butter and lite syrup on my pancakes, great with coffee.

Just a little peanut butter and not much syrup, but I did have another small pancake after these two, then I regretted it soon after eating it. I also had another cup of coffee. DH & Lucas helped eat some of the pancakes. I made quite a few.

I had leftover mac & cheese with tomatoes for lunch. I added extra cheese plus a little milk to the macaroni to kick it up a little. It was a good lunch, but I should have drained the tomatoes some.

I found a way of eating the Philadelphia Dark Chocolate Indulgence that was really good. I had it with the strawberries from the garden on vanilla wafers. I also had a couple more wafers with just the chocolate. It's better with strawberries. 

I had a delicious mess for dinner, a nacho grande salad of shredded iceberg, chopped green pepper & onion, rice seasoned with cumin, chili powder, & paprika, spicy Doritos, vegetarian refried beans, cheese sauce, sour cream and salsa. I used Doritos because when Lucas & Dale went out for the stuff to make nachos, they forgot to get tortilla chips. Luckily we had a few chips left, plus some flour tortillas, and a small bag of Doritos. I chose the Doritos. I also need to mix up some more taco seasoning.

The boys picked up more raisins for me. I didn't realize until I got this big container that raisins are suppose to be kept in the fridge. 25 years, I've kept them in a jar or container in the cabinet. Mine don't last long enough to spoil, I guess, but I'll keep them in the fridge from now on. Who knew?

I've stayed up long enough, even if I did have a nap this evening before dinner. I'm thinking I have an early day tomorrow. Have a great night/day!!!

The Birthday Celebration

This morning we are waiting for the rain. We know it's coming. I'm just glad it held off until today. Yesterday was such a nice day, sunny, not too hot and we had a party to attend. Yay!!

The day started off with a peach smoothie in a jar. Not a bad start, huh?

Yum!

 

Since I ate breakfast so early, I had what was left of the sundried tomato and mozzarella pasta salad. I added a little flavor to this bowl with garlic, Italian seasoning, paprika and a sprinkle of salt; much better.

 

I had half a toasted spinach bagel with the pasta and as suspected, couldn't really tell it had spinach in it if you closed your eyes; a good way to get your green without tasting it.

 

 

After getting a little cleaning done and getting a shower, it was on to the party, where we had great food and fun. There was a big pan of rolls and barbecued brisket for the meat eaters.

 

 

There were actually 2 beef briskets.

Also baked chicken.

Potato Casserole

 

Macaroni Salad

Green Beans

Salad & Grape Tomatoes (which didn't make the scene)

 

On my plate I had a barbecued veggie riblet with broccoli casserole(which also escaped the camera otherwise), salad with light ranch and a roll.

 

The birthday we were celebrating was for Lucas (who is the most camera shy one of the bunch). This is the cake. Lovely, huh?

We lit up the cake and sang the birthday song. This is Lexi's favorite part. She was dying for Lucas to blow out the candles.

Can you tell, she's just a little excited and here is the birthday boy!

This is my piece!! :0)

Another shot of the cake. It was yummy!

I also had a cup of hazelnut decaf before leaving. I was still full when we left. After going home and making room in the frig for leftovers, I had a late snack while we watched a movie. I chose the Smart Ones mini cheese pizzas, which I cooked in the microwave again. I'll have to do them in the oven next time, I guess.

We watched "Burlesque" with Cher and Christina Aguilera. I got the movie just out of curiosity. It really turned out to be a great movie. For me this one gets 5 stars. I would watch this again. I loved the story line and Christina was not a bad actress, I love her voice and Cher has always done well in both categories.

 

That was my day and it was a long one. I may need a nap today. Tonight I'm aiming for an early bedtime. Fingers crossed. Happy Monday!! 

Feelin' Fruity

Getting up just a tad bit early this morning seems to have thrown me off my schedule, more time for me to get sidetracked, so I'll be working quickly.

Yesterday I decided to have a fruit & yogurt cereal bowl with vanilla yogurt, ground flax, Special K cinnamon pecan flakes, cheerios, strawberries and pecans.  

 

Scrumdillyicious I tell you.

 

For lunch I had a black bean pineapple quesadilla. I did it a little different this time. I just sprinkled everything onto the tortilla, plus a few extras. This one got a little spinach and tomato as well. I just sprinkled it with the taco seasoning. I don't think it got quite as much, but it was plenty tasty.

 

Just a little messy, but I always say, "The messier it is, the better it tastes."

 

Taco sauce on top is the best. Super yummy.

 

I had good food all day. Dessert was simple and delicious, just a cup of vanilla instant pudding and a nectarine.

 

 

Dinner was no exception. The fruit in this dish was just a little tomato, but whether or not you consider tomato a fruit, it was still good food. I didn't make the chili entirely, but I did make the cornbread.

 

For the chili, I just opened a can of chili beans, no meat of course. I added some tomato, red bell pepper and onion, plus a little water. The canned chili was just a little thicker than I prefer, hence the water. I cooked the tomato, pepper, and onion a little, then added the chili and water to the pot. I let it all simmer while I made the cornbread.

A little cheddar sprinkled on top, a slice of cornbread on the side, and I was good to go.

 

This wasn't my soft cornbread. This was my two egg cornbread, made according to the directions on the cornmeal mix, except using 2 eggs instead of one. I do use the same directions for mixing it up as I do for the soft cornbread though. It makes for a crispy crust which is the best part.

The End

Dinner Canceled Due To Heartburn

I was sleeping good this morning when my alarm went off and although I got to bed by 11pm, I still wasn't anxious to get up. I took a few deep breaths and got up anyway. I do think the extra sleep did me good. I just need a few more days of it.

Yesterday I had a strawberry pineapple smoothie in a jar. I save salsa jars for storage containers. This one was the perfect size for my smoothie. They're also perfect storage for nuts, raisins, and mac & cheese. I love jars for food storage. You can see at a glance what you're looking for and you can get them for free from foods you already purchase. I like to save any wide mouth jars for storage etc. and I also save small jars. Plastic storage containers have become so expensive, why bother if you don't need to. Glass looks much nicer.

 

I had the rest of my sweet & sour vegetables for lunch. I was looking forward to it and I had lunch early because of it.

 

 

I love this dish and it goes so well with brown rice.

 

I had a cup of peach mango green tea with honey & cinnamon, just before Lindsay arrived with the girls. They were coming to stay with their Mimi for a little while.

The girls were a handful yesterday. I think both were in need of a nap. We still had a pretty good time. I fixed them both a late lunch and then made vanilla pudding for them. Lexi had chocolate pudding in her Kid Cuisine meal, but she still had a few bites of the vanilla. Mary really liked the vanilla pudding. I got a few blurred pictures of them. Taking pictures of people is not my thing. For some reason they almost never turn out good.

A little before the girls went home, I got a case of heartburn. It got worse as the evening went on. I took several antacids, but nothing seemed to help. I'm not sure what the problem was, but it lasted for hours. When the heartburn finally settled I still didn't want anything to eat, for fear of it coming back. I did give in and have a few baked potato chips before going to bed, but only a handful. The good thing was that I got to bed early. Hopefully the heartburn won't return today. Happy Saturday

Blame It On The Doritos

Is it just me or does 7am come earlier every morning? I made the mistake of weighing in early this morning. I was down half a pound yesterday morning, but up a pound and a half today. I blame it on the Doritos. I'll get to that shortly.

Every time I lose a little, I do something to sabotage myself. I had a Chocolate Monkey smoothie for breakfast. I left out the peanut butter. I figured the chocolate was enough and it was. It was good though.

 

 

I was babysitting yesterday. I had Lexi and Mary for a few hours. They both did really good, but they still kept me busy enough that I didn't get photos. I was just able to keep up with them...barely. Usually they wear me out. I didn't get a chance to eat lunch until Lucas gave me a break. I quickly scarfed down this Stouffer's tuna noodle casserole. It was pretty good. Mine is better of course, lol, but since nobody will help me eat it, I hardly ever make it. I may have to see how well it freezes. I also had a piece of everything bread toasted to go with.

 

It was mostly gravy, I think, but underneath there were wide noodles, tuna and a few peas with some bread crumbs on top.

 

We had a storm while the girls were still here. Just before Lindsay got back. The lights flickered on and off, but finally stayed on. There was one loud crack of thunder which looked like it came right from the front yard. Lexi said it sounded like a balloon popped really loud. She does alright in the house, but is terrified outside in the yard if she hears thunder. After the storm, they went home and you could hear thunder rumbling in the distance. Lexi was not happy about it.

After relaxing for a few minutes, I had a piece of the apple cake out of the freezer. I could have warmed it a little, but I liked that it was really cold. It felt so hot in the house after the storm.

 

For dinner I had a strawberry spinach salad, a slightly different version of my Strawberry Mandarin Spinach salad. I had some strawberries that needed to be eaten, not to mention the other salad ingredients, I've been ignoring. I need to eat more salads, less desserts.

 

What's in the salad?

Spinach

Yellow & Green Pepper

Red Onion

Sliced Strawberries

And Fruit & Fitness Trail Mix

I missed the feta, but it was still pretty good.

I watched a movie last night called "Up In The Air", with George Clooney. I like George Clooney. I suppose that is why I picked it. I don't always like his movies though, as was the case with this one. I should have known. It wasn't a bad movie, I have seen worse, but the first part was very boring for me, later it got a little more interesting and showed some hope, but in the end, all hope was lost. I felt it was a waste of my time. The worse part is that while watching it, I sat mindlessly grazing on Doritos, right out of the bag. What was I thinking? I never eat out of the bag, especially while watching television. This is a major no-no and I knew it. Oh well, I will just have to do better today. At least I have Zumba to look forward to.

Now you see why I blame it on the Doritos. Have a great day! Wish me luck.