Parts of the Whole

Showing posts with label Taco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taco. Show all posts

Monday, February 4, 2013

Just When You Think It's Safe to Get Back in the Water

We're already into the second month of the new year. How did that happen? It feels like just yesterday Husband was putting away the Christmas decorations (and if I had my way, it would've been yesterday).
 
This past week was definitely different. It was the first official week of being completely in our new home. I even meal planned for the week. We were finally settling into a routine when I noticed that something was quite right.
 
Our Mandie is a creature of habit and prefers sleeping in her "chair" over just about anything else (except food; girl loves her Taste of the Wild). However, the past few nights have seen me getting up in the middle of the night to let her drink and go out potty. I haven't gotten up this many times since Melodie was a puppy.
 
While on our walks (which I have been trying to get better about since Mandie was referred to as roly poly at her last check up), Mandie will pee every two feet. Now for dog owners, we know-this is not unusual. It's all about being top dog and peeing on someone else's territory. However, when I say every two feet, I mean literally every two feet. Waddle waddle waddle squat. Waddle waddle waddle squat (hey she's four inches off the ground, not exactly Giselle like). Today was waddle waddle waddle squat and pee blood. HOLY HECK IN A HAND BASKET!
 
Frantic call was made to Husband via my personal electronic leash, which of course he didn't answer. Then it was home as fast as possible, still with the waddling and the squatting. Got home called the vet, made an emergency appointment and was told we could come in early, though, to see if she could be seen. We showed up early.
 
Of course, Mandie was all peed out, so now she's at the vet being waited on hand and foot while this puppy momma is at home FREAKING out and trying to snuggle Melodie who just wants to play outside. The novelty of a front yard has not worn off for that one.
 
Instances like this make me feel like I'm going to be a terrible mother some day. I had every worse case scenario running through my head and was thinking about the horrible invasive procedures they were going to have to perform. When Mandie was taken to the back, it's quite possible I almost started crying. Worst feeling coming home without her. If we don't hear anything by two, I'm supposed to call them but I don't think I'll be able to wait until then.
 
So while this week showed great potential, I'm calling it as a bust. There was much cooking going on in the kitchen, though. I signed up for Allrecipes.com Pro Membership which includes a super cool meal planner. You just choose the meal you want to cook from your recipe box (which is akin to my Pinterest board in the overwhelming amount of recipes it contains) and drag it onto the menu. It automatically generates a grocery list, which I love, because without a list, I blow my grocery budget every time. Here are pictures of the recipes I made this week:

 
Lasagna Alfredo Roll Ups.
 I was really expecting these to be time consuming. They were not. AND even though they were overwhelmingly vegetarian, Husband ate it with no complaints (when in doubt smother it in Alfredo sauce). Keep in mind when using frozen spinach that you want to rinse it and squeeze out any extra liquid, otherwise interesting is the nicest way to describe the way it tastes. I also sauteed some garlic in with my spinach because, well, I heart garlic.
 


 
Taco Pie.
 Again, another super easy recipe but I had to make quite a few modifications which I'll list below.
 

 
A-Maize-Ing Corn Chowder
Surprisingly, while Husband enjoys corn, he doesn't care for soup, so this wasn't a huge hit, except for the bacon on top. I, however, thoroughly enjoyed it and can't think of any changes that I made to it.


 
Baked Chicken
This was quite easily the yummiest meal of the week. Full of flavor and fat, I would totally make it again, but only after a really really really long run.
 

 
Crescent Pizza Pockets
Meh, not sure I'd made these again. Great idea but the proportions of ingredients to the directions was off. Tasty, but a bit aggravating.
 
 
Taco Pie
(Adapted from Allrecipes.com, originally posted by Stephanie)
Printable Version

1 package refrigerated crescent rolls
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 large onion minced
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 minced clove garlic
8 oz. sour cream
1/2 can refried beans
8 oz colby jack cheese
1 cup crushed tortilla chips
 
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lay crescent dough flat on the bottom of a square cake pan and bake according to package directions. DO NOT UNDER BAKE. Meanwhile, brown the ground turkey and saute onions together in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the taco seasoning and stir together well. In separate bowl, mix sour cream and refried beans together. When dough is done, remove from oven and place meat mixture on top, then layer with sour cream and refried beans and cheese, and then top off with the crushed nacho chips. Return to oven and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted.


Well that's what's happening around these parts. I want to hear from you now. How did your week go?
 

Friday, March 9, 2012

Food Friday

In February, I signed up for my work's Biggest Loser Challenge. I would say it was to embrace a more healthy way of living, but in reality the grand prize is a $100 gift card once a month for a year. Since Husband has to pay for his own gas for work and I like to eat, I became highly motivated.

Except I wasn't. For the first month, I did okay, but that isn't cutting it as this is a company wide competition and after last week's weigh in, I dropped way below where I wanted to be on the leader board (as in nowhere near being a leader at all). So I've decided it's time to kick it into high gear. With the help of the sparkpeople.com website (find me at coconut85) and my biggest loser buddy, Mrs. Next Door Neighbor, I'm looking to lose 25 pounds by May and bring home the gas.

In doing so, I've had to adjust my eating habits. Part of the SparkPeople process is tracking what you eat and since I'm kinda kickstarting my (overly large) behind into gear, I picked recipes from their sister website, SparkRecipes.com to make. Eventually, I'll figure out how to incorporate recipes from other sources but for now, as I stare down that 25 pounds with my hand hovering above my metaphorical fat blasting gun, I'll stick to what works. Feel free to ask me how I'm doing, what I've eaten or how many times I've gone to the bathroom (eight glasses of water goes right thru me).

Baked Lemon Chicken

 I'm kind of into all things lemon right now. Lemon water, lemon chicken, lemon chiffon cookies....mmm cookies...

Cilantro Chicken Tacos
Added brown rice because apparently I'm a lemming and that's what everyone says to do.
 I promise these tacos were nothing special. Just add taco seasoning, garlic and cilantro to the chicken and voila! Taco. Must remember to put cilantro in EVERYTHING.

Ranch Cheddar Turkey Burgers
That's right baby! The UDG has conquered the grill!
Remember this post? I do. Like it was yesterday, which made tonight's dinner taste that much better. Take that flimsy ignition wires.

So there you have it. Hey that's two posts in one week. I'm doing pretty good for coming off an unexpected sabbatical. But I have decided since I'm now a full time Night Auditor at the Hotel (read: graveyard slave), two times a week is all I can handle. That means I'm scratching the Meatless Monday posts. I promise I'll try to make it up in the other two. Well maybe not promise, more like gesture grandly.

Oh and let me know if you have any tasty, healthy recipes. Emphasis on tasty.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Food Friday

Another action packed week in The UDG casa. Husband's grandfather's health is failing, so Husband flew out last week to be with his family. Upon coming home, he gave me the royal treatment. Not only did I get to take a nap on Sunday, but he whipped up some jambalaya as well. You can be jealous. Sure I cooked the rest of the week, but for one night I got to sit on the couch a la Al Bundy style. I live an excellent life.

 Sunday: Uncle Mark's Jambalaya

Turkey sausage browned and water added.

We Husband used Zatarain's Jambalaya mix and added shrimp meat.

Best meal of the week! Can't wait to have it again.
 Monday: Slow Cooked Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Don't forget to vote for me (#76) on this post
Tuesday: Ground Turkey Tacos w/ The UDG's Go To Rice
Takes all of 30 minutes. Perfect dinner after a double shift.
 Wednesday: Easy and Delicious Chicken
This chicken was so tender is practically shredded itself.

I'm still working on perfecting these rolls but everything else was awesome.

Thursday: Everything in the Potato Soup

Rather than throw things in the trash, I did a fridge purge and threw everything in one pot.
Don't forget to check out the What's Cooking page for all the tastiness.

PS Here's my last shameless plug (for this post): Vote for #76!!

Monday, June 20, 2011

Taco, Tostada, Same Diff

All I wanted was a warm tortilla. This is what a shot in the toaster oven will do.
Lunch: 1
Me: 0