Week 15 - “I Heart Desserts” Photo Challenge!

I am really not excited about this weeks theme ... I cannot believe http://www.iheartfaces.com/ is hosting a challenge like this when I am right in the middle of my diet! Who is going to take the blame for the weight gain... How in the world am I going to go visit other blogs to see their pictures... It isn't fair and not a good start to my week! LOL! This will be a good testimant to my self will power... I will let you know how that goes after I finish all the chocolate from my kids' easter basket!

This picture is from my sisters baby shower. I made a 3 layer fondant cake. For all that know me I am a self -taught fondant cake maker who has no idea what I am doing... I thought at first it would be like playing with play-dough.... and after watching online tutorials it was much more then baking a cake and throwing on some icing... I realized that when I first started making the marshmellow fondant what a "sticky" mess I had gotten myself into! LITERALLY! Anyone ever made homemade fondant? It is the messiest event and my kids laways ask why I don't let them help me make fondant! I am sure to a kid it looks like a lot of fun!

This is #5 cake I have made!

To see more great entires go to http://www.iheartfaces.com/ and see all the other great entries and desserts!

Diet - Week 3 -

I am surprised that healthy food can actually taste so good. I have gotten to accustomed to it that now when I have junk food it makes my stomache sick! Last night I veggied in my bed with a Hershey Bar (King sized by the way) and a movie Time Travelers Wife (not the greatest movie... so dissapointed) but anyways is it just me or are Hershey Bars nasty now! Did they change their chocolate like M&M's did? Have you tried M&M's lately? I do not eat them anymore... they are gross!! But I totally would have rather had a carrot over a Hershey Bar!

So the first week I lost 5 lbs... week two (none) and week 3 one pound.... So I am slowly chippin away at these last pounds! Only 10 more to go and I will be so ready for summer! Here are some recipes I have tried lately. Have you heard of http://www.allrecipes.com/. LOVE IT! Type in the ingredient you want to use and it pulls up recipes... you can download shopping lists and create a recipe box! Yes it is my new best friend!

This is called an Israelian Salad
6 Cucumbers, 4 Roma Tomatoes, 1 Red pepper, Cup of parsley, 1/3 cup mint, I threw in somes sweet peppers and some feta cheese, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and sea salt and pepper. Put this in a pita or a flour tortilla.

I liked this... my husband didn't... the first thing he said was "Where's the meat?" So tonight since we have some leftover we care going to throw in some pasta and some chicken.


Chicken and Carrot Salad
so I thought this sounded weird at first but it actually tasted pretty good. Carrots, raisins and walnut salad with olive oil and garlic... chicken had onions on top


9 Layer Dip for the Super Bowl
So good! Not healthy at all! Here is a step by step on the layers.
1) Refried Beans
2) 2 Cups Cheese
3) 1 lb Cooked Beef
4) Sour Cream
5) Guacamole
6) 2 More cups Cheese
7) Tomatoes
8) Olives
9) Green Onion

And we had tons left over so during the week we put this in a burrito! Tasted good pretty darn good! Made me want to go running after!


Baked Chicken and Steamed Asparagus
My husband pointed out that I didn't remove the neck! Hey I am new at this whole eating healthy thing so I didn't know!


Steamed Chicken, Steamed Yams and homemade creamed corn
My husband asked during this meal "Are you pregnant or something because you put feta in the corn." I told him no (cause don't worry I am not!) but i thought it sounded good! And guess what... it did! Feta makes everything taste better! BETTER THEN CHEDDER... that's my new sayin!

Homemade cream corn is so easy 1 Cup Chopped Frozen Corn (I used my handy dandy Pampered Chef Chopper) to 1 Cup frozen Corn... add some honey and seasoning (maybe some feta cheese) and there you go. SOOOOOO much better then canned cream corn!



MY COMFORT FOOD - Roast!
My mother and my sister came over to enjoy this meal with me since my husband worked late and it was pretty good... in fact my mom liked it so much that I had to hide josh's plate of food otherwise she just may have eaten it all! Very easy too... I added worcheshire sauce and vegetable juice to baste it with and it was delicious!

My New Years Resolution.... better late then never right!

So after the twins I still have some extra pounds left around that just need to go... no more excuses, no more complaints.... just action now!

So I told my husband we are going on a diet... and he was not thrilled. In fact he keeps sneaking junk food. He asked why he had to be on a diet too... and I said because we are in this together and I don't want to do this alone! Plus why make separate meals! If he doesn't like it he can make his own food... LOL!

So here are some recipes I have tried out of a book called 100 Healthiest Foods given to me by my FIL ... which is amazing and includes many recipes. So far so good... in about a week I went from 125 to 119. And actually the food isn't bad at all... even my husband said that for "Healthy Foods" It's pretty good

This is a Mexican Salad with...
Romaine Lettuce
Yellow Onions
Black Beans
Avacado
Steamed Chicken Breast
Salsa
Fat Free Cheddar Cheese (definately not regular Cheddar but doesn't taste horrible)
Roma Tomatoes

Healthy Sauteed Shrimp with Salad

Shrimp was sauteed in Vegetable broth (healthier then cooking in oil) and then added fresh minced garlic, sea salt and cracked pepper. Then after done cooking drizzle olive oil and lemon juice on top

Salad: Romaine lettuce, yellow onions soaked in vinegar for flavor, walnuts, feta cheese, sea salt and pepper. The dressing was a mix of olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and minced garlic.

I am sure after the holidays lots of people have a few pounds to lose! These recipes are worth trying. If you want a detailed recipe let me know. I can email to you! Even if not trying to lose weight, these are just great recipes for just healthy eating.

Tis the Season of Sharing!

Tis the season of giving right! And well since I am not rich enough to give everyone a vacation or a present I will share some recipes!

I hate to cook... actually I take it back... I like to cook but cannot seem to find the time to make healthy homemade meals. But what I do love to do is during the winter when there is no time for playing in the park and more time to play indoors... I enjoy taking a few days and cooking in bulk and then freezing for later. SOUP, CHILI's, ROAST! All great freezer meals.

I LOVE this website for recipes called http://www.allrecipes.com/. What is great about them is you can list your ingredients that you have or dont have and what you want to make and it will find you a recipe. SO WONDERFUL! And since I am not a very organized person I find recipe keeping way to inconvenient. I figure that is what the internet does for me already! And I enjoy trying new things so I always seem to try different recipes anyways!
So this is a family recipe on the Roper's side! Of all people... Josh's brother Matt showed me how to make this! He is a wonderful cook believe it or not! I miss him living with us!

VERY SIMPLE, QUICK, HEALTHY AND CHEAP!

Bag Red Potatoes
Fresh Green Beans
Onions
Ham Hocks or Pork Hocks
Water
Salt and Pepper

I don't follow any amounts of the above... but all I do is add these ingredients to a pot of boiling water, turn down the heat to low and then cook for the day. SO EASY! And so good! And even Adda loves this recipe because she gets to chew on the bone after!

Who doesn't have a turkey carcass left over during the holidays! The other day I made a HUGE pot of Turkey Soup.

Here is the recipe. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/After-Thanksgiving-Turkey-Soup/Detail.aspx Oh my gosh it was sooooo good! Extremely healthy (I have weight to lose this winter... so healthy is important to me right now!) And it is so nice to have soup in the freezer when you are sick.... and Cambell's just isn't good enough! Nothing beats homemade!

And while we are talking about food. Jacob for school had to make a gingerbread man out of any items other then crayons and markers with the family. So we used food! :D The kids enjoyed eating the craft more then they did making it! But it was so much fun doing this with the family.

And even the glue was edible! Can you believe this mommy of three kids had a bazillion markers in the game closet but not one ounce of glue. So we made homemade glue! Here is the recipe... FLOUR AND WATER! And as hard as that sounds.... it is very easy!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

AND I CHALLENGE EVERYONE TO SHARE ONE FAMILY RECIPE WITH US THIS WEEK ON THEIR BLOG!