Open Face "Steak" and cheese sandwiches

I thought I'd share a last minute dinner idea that has become one of my family's favorites.  It is super simple and I typically have all of the ingredients on hand.

Serves 4

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
4 large thick slices of bread or 2 large sub rolls, halved
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 small onion, chopped
1 small bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup canned mushrooms
5 slices American cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 400.

2.  Heat large skillet and brown ground turkey.

3.  Add veggies and cook until lightly softened.

4.  In the meantime, place bread (tops up) on a cookie sheet and brush with EVOO.  Place in oven and lightly toast bread.  It really doesn't matter if the bread browns, you are mainly making the bread a little hard so that it will hold your toppings.

5.  Once the veggies are softened, drain and then add mixture back to skillet.

6.  Add slices of cheese and seasonings and stir until cheese melts.

7.  Top bread with equal parts of the "steak" and cheese mixture and place back in oven for about 10 minutes.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 188 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 

323

Calories from Fat 

131

% Daily Value^*

Total Fat 

14.5g

22%

Saturated Fat 

5.5g

28%

Cholesterol 

81mg

27%

Sodium 

485mg

20%

Total Carbohydrates 

23.1g

8%

Dietary Fiber 

1.6g

7%

Sugars 

3.9g

Protein 

25.1g

Vitamin A 12%	•	Vitamin C 33%
Calcium 16%	•	Iron 18%

Nutrition Grade C

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

This quick and yummy dinner was lightly revised from a recipe on the back of my container of Philadelphia Santa Fe Cooking Creme.  

Serves 8

1 small onion, chopped

1 medium bell pepper, chopped

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

2 cups shredded chicken breast

1 cup pinto beans, rinsed and drained

14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes

1/2 cup Philadelphia Santa Fe cooking creme

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

8 flour tortillas, 8 inch

Heat oven to 350.

Cook and stir onions and peppers in hot oil in large skillet on medium heat 4-5 minutes or until crisp-tender.  Stir in chicken, beans, tomatoes, 1/4 cup cooking creme and shredded cheese.

Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken mixture down center of each tortilla; roll up.  Place in 13x9 inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray**; top with remaining cooking creme.  Cover with foil.
** for even quicker clean up, line baking dish with foil instead of spraying with cooking spray.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until heated through.


Serve with rice.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size  1 serving (220.1 g)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 392 Calories from Fat  92

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 10.2g 16%

Saturated Fat 4.4g 22%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 45mg 15%

Sodium 655mg 27%

Total Carbohydrates 47.0g 16%

Dietary Fiber 8.1g 32%

Sugars 4.3g

Protein 25.3g

Vitamin A 19% • Vitamin C 44% Calcium 13% • Iron 14%

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Turkey Curry Pot Pie

This was a recipe I kind of whipped up on the fly tonight with leftover turkey from Sunday's dinner.  I am glad I did, because it was DELICIOUS!

Serves 8

Filling:
2 1/2 cups shredded or cubed turkey meat
1 can reduced fat cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup 2% milk (or any milk, this is just what I had on hand)
1/2 cup fat free half and half (or you could do a whole cup of milk, I'm sure)
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon Bell's poultry seasoning
1 16oz bag frozen veggies of your choice.  I used a California mix with green beans, celery, onion, peppers, water chestnuts and broccoli
1 cup frozen peas or veggie of your choice (Teri ;)

Crust:
2 cups Bisquick Heart Smart
1 cup 2% milk (give or take)

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large pot, combine all ingredients for the filling except the veggies.  Heat over medium high heat until heated through and lightly bubbling, stirring occasionally.

Add frozen veggies and stir to combine.  Heat veggies through.

In a medium bowl combine Bisquick and milk.  I wish I did, but I didn't measure the milk, I am guesstimating it was approximately 1 cup of milk.  So just go easy on the milk, adding more if needed.  You want the Bisquick mixture to be pretty thick, like you are making dropping biscuits, maybe a little thinner would be fine too.

Pour the filling into the baking dish and top with Bisquick mixture.  I dotted spoonfuls of the Bisquick mixture on top and spread, that way I was able to cover pretty much the whole surface.

Bake in oven for approximately 20-25 minutes.  Just until crust is golden brown.

This came out great!  I think in the future I will enhance the flavor of the filling more by using a can of reduced fat coconut milk in place of the milk.  But there were absolutely no complaints as it was served tonight.  It is a little high in sodium, but overall pretty healthy.  Also, more turkey can definitely be used, we just didn't have any more to add.

I hope you try it and enjoy!  :)

Maleeka



Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 227 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories

262

Calories from Fat

46

% Daily Value^*

Total Fat

5.1g

8%

Saturated Fat

1.2g

6%

Trans Fat

0.0g

Cholesterol

36mg

12%

Sodium

525mg

22%

Total Carbohydrates

32.6g

11%

Dietary Fiber

3.6g

14%

Sugars

8.2g

Protein

18.8g

Vitamin A 51%	•	Vitamin C 37%
Calcium 18%	•	Iron 16%

Nutrition Grade A-

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

COUPON CRAZY!

Over the past 4-6 months I have been trying to be a more avid coupon user.  I still am far from a pro when it comes to couponing, but I am impressed with my savings so far.  I have watched Extreme Couponing in total amazement.  Although, I think that most of the people that they feature are totally overboard and greedy.  I just want to buy what we NEED... for damn near nothing.  I don't need to wipe out shelves because I have the coupons to do so.  I would not get items I have no use for just because I can get them free.  I also don't need a whole basement stockpiled with a hundred of every item that we use either. 

This past Monday I went into Stop & Shop after work, with my 2 year old in cart, list in hand, my coupon "organizer" and a separate envelope marked "This Trip".  I have to snicker when I type "coupon organizer" because my organizer is anything but organized.  I tried very hard to keep it straight, but the 13 tabbed sections just are not enough for me.  I had to put two categories on each tab to sort "my way".  I find myself fumbling for my coups in every aisle, clogging up the flow of traffic...basically being that customer I loathe.  I am on the hunt for a bigger better organizer.  In the meantime, I have sorted my coupons into 30 separate envelopes.  I labeled them the way I know it will be easiest and quickest to locate what I am looking for.  I stuffed all of the envelopes into the lame organizer I have now, just to hold them, but it is so jam packed I can't close it anymore, haha!  I must dedicate some time this weekend to finding the best organizer for my couponing needs.  Anyway, I got off track... I was going to brag about how much money I saved, haha!  My order total came up to $298.68, my total savings by using my Stop & Shop card was $92.53, I used 28 manufacturer's coupons totaling $41.46, 9 of which were doubled for another $4.50 off, then a $5.00 "Personal Thanks" credit for purchasing 10 boxes of cake mix that were on sale for $1.00 (that I also had coupons for).  After all deductions and tax added, my final order total came up to $158.63.  Maybe not "Extreme" but quite a bit less than I typically spend at the grocery store.  I also scored gas points!  Not sure if gas points are all over the US, but Stop & Shop gives you 1 gas point for every dollar that you spend.  For every 100 gas points you earn, you get .10 off each gallon of gas at their gas station.  Every week Stop & Shop will have a list of particular items selected for earning gas points, if you buy "x" amount of any of "these" items you get 200 gas points, sometimes 300 points.  I got 200 points for buying 7 cans of  tomatoes for $1.00/each!  I go through canned tomatoes like nobody's business, so this was an extra sweet deal for me.  This past week they also gave 200 points if you bought any turkey.   And as a super surprise, the turkey that I chose had a deal as well, it was $1.49/lb, but if you spent $25.00 you got it for .58/lb!  So my 12.72 lb turkey was originally $18.95 and I got it for $7.38!!   SA-WEET!  Then they gave 300 points if you spent $50.00.  So I racked up 700 points, plus the 159 for the dollars that I spent.  859 gas points earned so I saved .80/gallon on gas when I filled up my tank this week.  Regular price for gas was $3.26/gallon, I got it for $2.46/gallon!!  That is a significant savings!  And I did this just by purchasing items I would have purchased anyway.  Well, I typically would not have bought 10 boxes of cake mix, but with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up I'm sure I will have no problem using them up as gifts and as take alongs to people's houses for the holidays and our work Potluck.

Not bad, eh?!

I wanted to share some of my favorite coupon sites with everyone.

couponmom.com is great!  I love this site because not only can you print out coupons here but my favorite feature is the tab for "Grocery Deals by State".  You click on this, find your state and then click on one of the stores that are listed and it does a little coupon match up for you!  It lists everything that is on sale at the store that week, and it tells you what coupons to use to get even more money off (even what week the coupon came out!) and then gives you a total price after coupon!  I dare you to tell me that is not pure awesome-ness!

sundaycouponpreview.com is a money saver in itself for me.  I subscribed for free and they send me 2-3 emails during the week with a preview of what coupons will be in Sunday's paper.  I do not have the paper delivered simply because it is a waste of money for us.  We read the news online and sometimes catch up on the morning or nightly news.  I only buy the Sunday paper for the coupons (and my little guy like the "funnies" and sales papers).  But there have been many times I have spent $3.50 for the paper and there was not one single coupon that I would use.  That is $3.50 that could have been saved.  So knowing ahead of time what coups will be in there lets me know if it is worth buying that week.  If I will not be saving at least as much as I paid for the paper, no sense in me buying it.

coupondivas.com is another super site.  Coupon matchups by store.  Links to lots of printable coupon databases.

couponnetwork.com is where you can print Catalina coupons.

These three are printable coupon databases:

www.pgesaver.com

www.coupons.com

http://smartsource.com

And also, many stores have coupons on their websites.  Some stores will have a mixture of printable Manufacturer's coupons and store specific coupons that you can double up with Manufacturer's coupons.  Check out the following:

http://coupons.target.com/

http://coupons.walmart.com/

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/coupons/

walgreens coupons

BJ's Wholesale

Oh, and many products will give you a coupon just for liking them on Facebook.  :)

As you may remember, as part of my savings strategy I have been depositing any change I have in my wallet, pockets, couch cushions, (random change I find when cleaning) in to my change jar.  I also deposit whatever money I saved by using coupons into the jar. After 30 days I deposit all of it into my account at the bank.  Me and the little man took a ride to the bank yesterday to do just that.  I ran all my change through the CoinStar machine and took the receipt and the dollar bills that I had saved over to a teller.  Yesterday's total deposit was $126.33.  This is so exciting for me...the non saver!  And it did not hurt to save any of the money either.  I did not miss this money.  Today, I transferred this money to my ING account and I will not touch it.  This is going toward my Emergency Fund.  We came home and I put my jar on the counter and noticed two pennies sitting there so I put them in the jar.  I am on my way to saving more money for next month's deposit.

Hope to get EVERYONE on the couponing kick.  Save some money, people!!  It is a little time consuming, but well worth it.

Thanks for reading :)

Maleeka

Food Journal - Friday November 11, 2011

BREAKFAST
cup of coffee
1 pkt Truvia
1 Tbl Peppermint Mocha CoffeeMate

AM SNACK

LUNCH - Weird lunch, my daughter ate most of my packed lunch overnight.  GRRRRRR!
1 Al Fresco Chicken Meatball (Teriyaki Ginger)
1/4 cup pineapple
3/4 cup brown rice
1 tea Extra virgin coconut oil
1 Bagel
1 tbl Cinnamon Sugar Butter Spread

AFTERNOON SNACK - Surprise, on the HEALTHIER side bday cake at work :)
1 /8 Fat Free Angel Food cake
1/4 cup Fat Free Cool Whip
1/2 cup fresh berries

DINNER
1 serving slow cooker Maple Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

PM SNACK
Homemade guacamole
1 red bell pepper, sliced
2 celery stalks
1 serving Stacy's Multigrain Pita Chips

WATER INTAKE: 48oz       TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE:  1,593

JUST DO IT!

If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not you'll find an excuse.

This statement is true for all aspects of life.  I am really trying my hardest to not make excuses for anything anymore.

If it is important to me to lose weight and be healthier, there should be no excuse, I should just be making the changes needed to be healthier.  I have already made significant changes but I know in order to reach my goals I will need to kick it up a notch.

I seem to have already hit a plateau in my weight lose although I have only lost 10 pounds.  I was consuming 1700 calories a day, but I have decided to cut out 200-300 of those calories and bring my total daily intake down to 1400-1500 a day.

I also RAN on the treadmill at work last week.  This was SUPER exciting for me.  I have never ever been a runner, but with my injury it just seemed so out of the question.  Granted it was only a 2 minute sprint, but it felt great and not only did I challenge my body, I challenged my mind.  I KNOW that a big part of my limited exercise is mental fear of hurting myself.  But I showed myself that I can do alot more than I give myself credit for.  As a birthday present to myself, I ordered a pair of FiveFingers sneakers.  I've heard great things about these funky little sneaks.  Hopefully I will be able to wear them comfortably on my bum foot and really focus on incorporating at least 10-15 minutes a day running on the work treadmill.  If not, I will return them, get my money back and just wear my old sneakers and do the same.

If it is important to me to be financially stable and also prepare for my retirement and my son's continued education, then there should be no excuse.  I have went from zero savings, no retirement fund, and no college fund to a little over $200 saved over a couple accounts, enrolling in the 401k plan at work and also enrolling in a 529 college fund for my son.  I have cut back on spending, made a plan to tackle and pay off all of my debt, and made my first significant payment towards eliminating debt.  All of this in less than 4 weeks.

I plan to continue in this manner, cutting back even more.  I am anxiously awaiting January, when my contract with Verizon wireless will be up and I can drop them and go with Virgin Mobile as a provider.  I currently pay approximately $60/month with VW, I will only pay $27/month with Virgin Mobile.  HALF!  The money I save I will put toward paying down my debt.

I have been coupon crazy over the past month and have saved over $100, just by clipping coupons and being semi-organized.  I also saved .80/gallon on gas during my last fill up just by carefully planning my grocery shopping at Stop & Shop.  That was very exciting :)  $2.46/gallon!!  I have also been depositing the amount that I save with coupons in to my savings jar.  I will go to the bank this weekend and deposit all that I have saved into my savings account and I WILL NOT TOUCH IT!

If it is important to me to have a clean, presentable and inviting home than I will do what it takes to make it that way.  I will stick to my cleaning schedule and take care of my small daily tasks.  By spending a few minutes everyday I alleviate myself from being stressed out and confined to my house to clean for the entire weekend.  It is important to me to not be overwhelmed by what is on my plate.  If I am overwhelmed and stressed then something needs to change.  I know that if I do not prioritize my time efficiently I do not get anything done and I end up running around like a mad woman and usually have a crappy attitude that I unfortunately subject my family to.  When I take a few minutes to evaluate my surroundings and what needs to be done, everything just falls into place.  I know that I can not do everything in one day, so I prioritize what is most important and take care of that first.

Small changes bring major results!  No more excuses, just get 'er done!

What have you been making excuses for?  How will you overcome and make the changes necessary?  Please share :)

Food Journal - Thursday, November 10, 2011

BREAKFAST:
Yoplait Apple Turnover light yogurt

AM SNACK:
1/4 cup Emerald's Sweet & Salty Mixed Nuts - Dark Choc/PB

LUNCH:
Slow cooker Maple Chicken with Sweet potatoes

AFTERNOON SNACK:
1/4 cup Emerald's Sweet & Salty Mixed Nuts - Dark Choc/PB

DINNER:
4 Al Fresco chicken meatballs
1/2 Johnsonville Chicken sausage (apple)
3/4 cup brown rice
1 tea extra virgin coconut oil

PM SNACK:
slice of devils food cake with cream cheese frosting
1/2 cup chocolate chip ice cream

TOTAL WATER:  48oz        TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE:  1,651

Food Journal - Wednesday, November 9, 2011

BREAKFAST:
Yoplait Raspberry Cheescake light yogurt

AM SNACK:
1 slice Coconut loaf (Devil snacks from work GRRRRRRRR)

LUNCH:
3 oz Rotisserie chicken, breast meat only (store bought)
1 apple

AFTERNOON SNACK:
1 pink grapefruit
1/2 pkt Truvia
Luna Bar - Caramel Nut Brownie

DINNER:
1 serving Slow Cooker Maple Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

PM SNACK:
cup of coffee
1 tbl pumpkin spice coffeemate
1 pkt truvia
6 small Maple French Toast French Twist cookies

TOTAL WATER:  48oz    TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE: 1,533

Food Journal - Tuesday, November 8, 2011

BREAKFAST
Yoplait Cherry Vanilla Yogurt (light)

AM SNACK
apple

LUNCH
1 english muffin, toasted
2 tbl Smart Balance Peanut Butter
1 small banana, sliced
4 small pretzel rods

AFTERNOON SNACK
1/4 cup Emerald's Sweet & Salty mixed nuts (Dark Choc/Peanut Butter)

DINNER
1 ham steak
pineapple brown sugar glaze
1 serving Stove Top Stuffing
1 cup green beans (sauteed in EVOO with garlic)

PM SNACK
1 cup Caramel corn

WATER INTAKE:  20oz (POOR)   TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE: 1,447

Food Journal - Monday, November 7, 2011

BREAKFAST
Banana Whey Protein Shake

AM SNACK
apple

LUNCH
Leftover Chicken Burrito
1/4 cup avocado
1/4 cup homemade salsa

AFTERNOON SNACK
Luna bar - Nutz over Chocolate
Grape Gatorade Lite (40 cal for whole bottle)

DINNER
2 BLT's on Whole Wheat with very light Miracle whip lite
3/4 cup homemade mac and cheese

PM SNACK
skipped

TOTAL WATER:  32OZ        TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE:  1,793

Food Journal - Sunday November 6, 2011

BREAKFAST
Pumpkin Breakfast Quinoa
cup of coffee
pkt Truvia
1 tbl CoffeeMate Pumpkin Spice creamer

AM SNACK

LUNCH
Mediterranean Quinoa

AFTERNOON SNACK
skipped

DINNER
Oven baked Maduros (Sweet plantains)
1/2 cup pinto beans
Shredded chicken burrito
  - 1 whole wheat tortilla
  - Pressure Cooker shredded chicken
  - 1/4 cup homemade salsa
  - 1/4 cup avocado

PM SNACK
1 ginger apple
1/2 cup light vanilla ice cream

WATER INTAKE:  32OZ    TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE:  1,607

Food Journal - Saturday November 5, 2011

BREAKFAST  - I WAS STARVING!
Sweet Zucchini Pancakes
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 orange
banana whey protein shake

AM SNACK
Skipped

LUNCH - Busy afternoon, had to eat on the go.
Luna Bar - Blueberry Bliss
Small Mango Pineapple Smoothie from McDonald's

AFTERNOON SNACK
Caprese Salad

DINNER
1 cup Fiber One Honey Clusters
1/2 cup 2% milk

PM SNACK
1/2 cup Friendly's lite vanilla ice cream
1 tbl Hershey's chocolate syrup

WATER INTAKE: 48oz      TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE:  1.897

Food Journal - Friday November 4, 2011

My day started out on the right track.  I knew I was going to my niece's birthday party and had planned to eat my pre-measured dinner at home prior to going to the party, but I instead ate and snacked at the party.  No booze though, so I wasn't too bad, ha!

BREAKFAST
Pumpkin Breakfast Quinoa

AM SNACK
Apple

LUNCH
Mushroom Asparagus Quinoa

AFTERNOON SNACK
Luna Bar - Caramel Nut Brownie

DINNER
1 cup white rice
1/2 cup beans
1 stewed chicken drumstick
4 chicken wings
16 oz Fresca


PM SNACK
approx 20 Doritos
1 slice birthday cake (Happy 4th Birthday, Amiyah!)
1/2 cup ice cream

WATER INTAKE:   48oz     TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE:  2,126

The Holidays

The Holidays are a weird time for me.  I realize that after I write this people will probably think I am a Scrooge McDuck...but I ams what I am.   This time of year makes me think alot about my father who died a week before Thanksgiving when I was a child.  I think about all the years we missed out on together.  I think about how he has never met his grandchildren or my hubby, or seen me grow into a woman.  How he has never tasted one of my home cooked meals.  What I would give him for a Christmas gift if he were here.  Just so many things.  To be totally honest I do not remember one Christmas with Dad.  I do remember birthdays, but for some strange reason I cannot remember a Xmas with him.

I am not a religious person so the religious significance of Christmas means nothing to me.  Growing up we were not religious either.  Christmas meant "GIMME"!...which I am ashamed to admit.  Like most children, I would jot down all the things I wanted for Christmas and hand the list to my mom, totally expecting everything I wrote.  Just ridiculous.  My mother always cooked a large meal which I always loved and miss very much now that we live so far apart.  Our family is not very tight knit, and would pretty much only come together for Thanksgiving or Christmas, weddings and funerals.  This was  normal to me, since I knew nothing else.  But it's pretty sad when I realized that most families are not this way.  I do wish that my family was closer.  My mom's whole family lived pretty close but we never really got together to do much of anything.  I was younger than all of my cousins so I didn't have too much of a relationship with them.  My dad's family all lived down south.  I visited for a few weeks in summer some years, but have no idea what kind of tradition they had for Christmas.  Just typing that really made me think.  There must've been some great traditions!!  My father was the oldest of FOURTEEN children.  And my grandmother loved to have all of her kids and all the grandbabies over her house any day of the week.  She would cook up a storm just on a random Tuesday.  So I know the holidays must've been really special.  I'll have to inquire with one of my aunts that I am in contact with and find out what the holidays were like when Grandma was alive.  It would be awesome to incorporate some of my Grandmother's old school traditions into our family's.

Back to the gifts.  We were allowed to open one gift on Xmas eve.  I would scan the bottom of our tree every day to see which one I would choose to open on Eve night.  Before we went to bed, we would put cookies on a plate for Santa and carrots for his reindeer.  Then on Xmas morning we would open all of our gifts.  We sometimes would get in the car and drive around to more affluent neighborhoods to see their beautiful decorations and lights on their huge homes.  Which as a child was nice, but now that I am the broke parent, I am all set with seeing how "rich" everyone else is, while I am living pay check to pay check.  But that's just me.  But I suppose it's not really for me, it's for the kids.  By the way, when I say "we", I mean me, haha  it was just me and mom.  She always hung stockings but I don't recall there ever being anything in them.  Just decoration.  (She's going to kill me when she reads this, Hi Mama, I love you!!)  This was all normal to me until I was about 10 or 11 and was over a friends house on Xmas eve.  My friends family was large and they had a tradition that they could open one gift on xmas eve as well, but the parents chose the gift and the gift was always new pajamas.  The kids all wore their new pj's on xmas eve, and the annual Polaroid was taken.  The kids all made cookies with their mom and decorated them with icing and sprinkles to leave out for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.  When the kids woke up in the morning their stockings, which were all hung down the staircase, were all stuffed with candy, new underwear and socks and small toys.  They all sat in front of the tree and opened all of their gifts and played with their new toys for hours with each other while their mom cooked some side dishes and desserts to bring to their grandparent's house for the big dinner where the rest of their family would all gather.  They would spend the entire afternoon and night together.  Laughing, talking, playing games, eating, sharing stories.  Just enjoying the company of their family members and the delicious food that everyone contributed.  They always had mistletoe hung in the doorway to the living room.  I remember the phone was on the wall right there and if anyone was caught under the mistletoe they got a peck.  

After that holiday I spent with them I told myself that when I had my own children that we would have some sort of tradition for the kids to look forward to every year.  Well, sadly I have failed.  We have less tradition then my mom and I had!!  I have vowed this year to make a change.  I had my daughter when I was young and I was so hell bent on never depending on anyone for anything and not being that teen mom.  I worked my arse off and didn't have a lot of time left over to do alot of things I now wish I had.  I mean, we had fun, but I just wish that I spent more time building tradition and lasting memories with my daughter.  I was more focused on earning more money so I could buy her more.  She no doubt knows that I love her with all my heart.  But if I had to do all over again, she would have received less material items and received  more of my quality time and built traditions that she looked forward to every year.  I guarantee you she can not remember one xmas gift she has ever received; which is sad because that is what I chose to give her instead of putting more time and effort into creating memories through time we have spent and building family tradition.  My daughter is now 17 years old.  I know that in just a few years she will be moving out on her own but we are starting to do more as a family NOW!  It's never too late.  I want her to WANT to come home for the holidays after she is living on her own.  

We now have an almost 3 year old son.  He has brought a lot of joy and laughter into our home.  I am 17 years older than I was when I had my daughter.  I have matured tremendously (not just in age) and I was more prepared to be a mom than I was at 17.  We have a more comfortable home and more luxuries than we did back then.  And most importantly, the most amazing man is his Daddy!  I still work full time, but I no longer live to work.  I know now that I have nothing to prove to anyone.  I know that I am a great mother and if anyone disagrees...screw ya.  How do ya like those apples??!!  Haha!  I love watching my son and how amazed he is by everything.  I love to hear him say, "WOWWWWW!!"  He loves lights, the taste of new foods, the smallest cheapest thing is a source of hours of entertainment. He makes me want to love the holidays.  See, I really don't hate Christmas.  It took my toddler's total amazement to all things shiny, tasty and free to make me take a much needed breath and realize I don't hate the holidays.  I hate all of the insane hustle bustle, I hate the "GIMMIES", I hate the stress and the holiday traffic.  This year, I resolve to be less stressed.

I want to teach my kids to be appreciative of their family and friends and for everything that they have.  I want to teach them charity.  It may be too late for my daughter in these areas.  She truly is a very selfish and unappreciative person.  Which infuriates me because we are not this way and we have not raised her to be.  But maybe when she sees that her brother as small and young as he is, can give away toys that he no longer plays with to children with less than he, she will see how easy and rewarding it can be to be charitable.  

I want my children to WANT to spend the holidays with their family, not do it because it is expected and if they don't mom will be sad.

Last year I made homemade Advent calendars for both of my kids and the hubby.  My daughter's and the hubstah's were handmade envelopes I made from Christmas book pages (from Dollar Tree).  I stuffed each envelope with a little card that was either a reason why I love them, or an activity for the day, or a card to cash in later for Breakfast in bed or Girls Only Breakfast or something along those lines.  I hung a line I made with ribbon and used clothespins to hang the cards from it.  For the little guy, I painted toilet paper rolls and hot glued some white feathery material to the rims and hung them all from a line of ribbon with clothespins as well.  His I stuffed with Hot Wheels, little Toy Story toys I found at Dollar Tree, mini dinosaur figures, the occasional lollipop and hershey kiss.  I was VERY proud of my Martha Stewartness and my attempt at making a new holiday tradition.  Well.... No one gave a crap except the 2 year old.  Days would go by before the girl or Hubby would even open the next envelope.  It obviously wasn't that exciting if I have to remind you about it.  My son was reminding me, haha!  He loved it.  So needless to say, I will only be doing the boys Advent calendar this year.  

I have been searching online and have come across lots and lots of great ideas for holiday tradition that people have shared.  Some of the ones I am going to start with my family are:

• sending the kids to bed.  Preparing hot chocolate and popcorn and then waking them up and pack everyone in the car with the goodies and drive around to look at the lights.
• PJ's for Xmas eve gift opening.
• hanging mistletoe in the doorways.
• making cookies together for Santa.
• We will continue our stocking stuffing as we do every year.
• Christmas brunch.  All family members will make something.
• Playing boardgames after opening gifts.

Please share any traditions you have. I would love to hear them and maybe add them to my Holiday Family Tradition!!

Thanks for reading :)

Pressure Cooker "Spanish" Chicken

• Serves 6
• 
  
  • Ingredients
  • 1 bell pepper, minced
  • 1 onion, minced
  • • 4 garlic cloves, minced
    1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 3 envelopes sazon seasoning (1 1/2 tablespoons)
  • 1 tablespoon adobo seasoning
  • 1/4 cup sofrito sauce
  • 1 tablespoon chicken base
  
  
  Directions:
  1.  In a food processor add green pepper, onion, garlic and cilantro. Pour in oil and mix well. 
  
  
  2.  Add all ingredients to pressure cooker pot.  Add 4 cups of water.
  
  
  3.  Cover pot with lid, make sure the lid is locked and valve is set and bring to boil over high heat.  
  
  
  4.  Once pressure has been achieved, lower heat to medium and continue cooking for 25 minutes.
  
  
  5.  Remove pot from stove and place under cold running water in sink to bring the pressure down quickly.  
  
  
  6.  Once pressure is released, unlock lid and remove.
  
  
  7.  Shred chicken and serve over rice.  Spoon sauce from the chicken over rice.  Serve with diced avocado and wedge of lime.
  
  .
  
  

Food Journal - Thursday Nov 3, 2011

BREAKFAST
Creamsicle Protein Shake

AM SNACK
Luna Bar - Smores

LUNCH
Pressure Cooker Spanish Chicken
1 cup steamed Jasmine rice
1/4 cup diced avocado

AFTERNOON SNACK
baked Sweet Potato
2 teaspoons extra virgin coconut oil
dash cinnamon

DINNER (Although there were left overs and I made tomorrow's breakfast and lunch that I could have ate some of, I was feeling like some cereal)
1.5 cups Lucky Charms
1 cup (vanilla) So Delicious Coconut Milk

PM SNACK - Sweet tooth tonight :/
1 cup Cranberry air popped popcorn with chocolate chips
1/2 cup Friendly's Slow Churned Light Vanilla ice cream
1 tbl Hershey's chocolate syrup

WATER INTAKE:  48oz      TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE:  1,607

Food Journal - Wednesday Nov 2, 2011

BREAKFAST:
baked cinnamon pear
1 apple cinnamon rice cake

AM SNACK
Beets, Sweet potatoes & Onions

LUNCH
Cilantro Lime Quinoa
Strawberry Whey Protein Smoothie

AFTERNOON SNACK
Roasted Beets, Sweet Potatoes and onions

DINNER
1 cup thai jasmine rice
1 serving spanish chicken
1/4 avocado (diced)

PM SNACK
1/2 cup Edy's Light Peppermint ice cream - not my fav, but I had a hankering for some ice cream and that's what we had :)
1 sugar cone


WATER INTAKE:  64oz     TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE:  1,518

Food Journal - Tuesday Nov 1, 2011

BREAKFAST:
2 slices whole wheat toast
2 tea coconut oil (spread on top)
1 mashed banana (on top also)
cinnamon
Med iced coffee
1 pkt Truvia
1 Tbl Pumpkin Spice Coffee Mate

AM SNACK
1/4 cup almonds

LUNCH
Cilantro Lime Quinoa
Creamsicle Smoothie

AFTERNOON SNACK
Luna bar - Caramel Nut Brownie

DINNER
Slow cooker "Lobster" Mac & Cheese

went to bed at 8pm with a migraine :(

WATER INTAKE:   40oz        TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE:  1520

Food Journal - Monday 10/31/11

BREAKFAST - (This was not hearty enough for me - I was starving 20 minutes  later)
2 slices whole wheat toast
2 tbl Nutella
1/2 cup sliced strawberries (on top)
cup of coffee
1 pkt Truvia
1Tbl Pumpkin Spice CoffeeMate

LUNCH
Quinoa Chicken Waldorf Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

AFTERNOON SNACK
1 serving beets, sweet potatoes & onions
1 serving Cilantro Lime Quinoa

DINNER
2 slices Little Ceasars Cheese Pizza
12 oz ginger ale


WATER INTAKE:  20oz BAD :(     TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE:  1708

Food Journal - Sunday October 30, 2011

BREAKFAST
Sweet Zucchini Pancakes
2 tbl Maple Syrup

AM SNACK
1 cup frozen grapes

LUNCH
Quinoa Chicken Waldorf Salad with Maple Vinaigrette 

AFTERNOON SNACK
skipped

DINNER
4 oz London Broil
Garlic Parmesan Green Beans
Roasted Beets, Sweet potatoes & onions

PM SNACK
3 grilled pineapple rings
1 tea maple syrup
1 tea brown sugar
2 tbl cool whip free (frozen)


WATER INTAKE:  64oz      TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE:  1590