Been a little while...

Sorry I haven't posted on here recently but that's about to change.  Things have been super crazy for me lately but it's starting to calm down a bit.  Let's see, first off I reached another WW goal!  Yippee!  I've been trying out a ton of new recipes- some have been fantastic, some have been not so good and some have been yummy but not so good for me.  

I've been working my butt off trying to get crafts made up for my online shop.  And speaking of that- my shop is now open for business!  You can go visit it at http://cdchurcheydesigns.artfire.com.  I'll be posting more soon.  I've got a million and one ideas floating around in my head of things that I want to make to sell.  You can also head on over to Facebook and like me there at C.D. Churchey Designs.  Once I reach 100 likes on FB, I'll be doing a giveaway there and once I reach 50 followers on here I'll be doing another one!  I'm not telling you what the prizes are yet- mostly because I haven't decided!

We took a little family vacation back on the 9th of June.  Jim and I spent a week down in Myrtle Beach, SC with his parents, sister, her husband, and our 8 month old niece.  I'm still editing photos from the trip but will be sure to share a few soon.  It was so nice to just get away from everything and not worry about a thing for an entire week.  Our condo was right on the beach so we could just pop out on the balcony and look at the ocean.  My first night there I spent reading a book on the balcony, drinking a mojito and listening to Jane's Addiction with the ocean in the background.  So relaxing!  

I've got a project to finish up early in the morning so it's off to bed for me!  

Crispy Caribbean Veggie Wrappers

When I found this recipe in an old 'Healthy Cooking' magazine, I just knew I had to try it.  I had a bit of a problem though.  It called for sweet potatoes and I absolutely hate sweet potatoes.  So I put out a message on Facebook and asked my friends what I should substitute.  Several of the choices sounded really good and I let my husband pick the final substitute- plain old potatoes.  Other suggestions included acorn squash, butternut squash, pumpkin, zucchini, banana, and mashed cauliflower.  I plan on trying some of these in the future but if you try one, let me know what you think of it.  One thing I really like about this recipe was that it was something that I felt I could play around with and change up so here's my modified version.

Ingredients

• about 1 pound potatoes
• 1/2 c. canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/3 c. to 1/2 c. chopped red onion
• 1/4 c. chopped bell peppers- any color
• 2 T. minced fresh cilantro
• 1 T. lime juice
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 tsp. chopped jalapeno pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 package egg roll wrappers (there should be about 20 or 21 in a package)
• cooking spray
• salsa

Step 2

1. Scrub and pierce potatoes and place on a microwave safe plate.  Microwave, uncovered, on high until tender.  Turn once if using larger potatoes (I used five small potatoes).  When cool enough to handle, cut potatoes in half and scoop out the pulp.  Discard the skins.  Mash pulp in a small bowl.
2. Mix together all of the ingredients except for the wrappers, cooking spray and salsa.
3. Lightly brush all four edges of one egg roll wrapper with water.  (Keep your remaining wrappers under a damp paper towel until ready to use.)  Spread approximately 1 T. (or a little more) along one edge of wrapper.  Roll up tightly folding edges in to seal.  Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.
4. Place wrappers seam side down on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.  Spritz wrappers with cooking spray.  Bake at 375 degree F. until golden brown.  Serve warm with salsa.

Step 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 4

Really, quite delicious!

I would have loved to put all of the photos with each step but for whatever reason blogger wouldn't let me insert more than the one in my list.  Sorry about that!  For those of you counting WW points, this recipe clocks in at 1 point per wrapper!  And regular salsa is 0 points so enjoy however much of that you want.  And again feel free to change up the ingredients to fit your tastes.  Maybe you like things less spicy so leave out the jalapenos.  Or maybe you want to kick it up an extra notch with some chili powder or Cajun seasoning.  It's all up to you!  Just remember that if you're doing WW and you change it up, to make those changes in your recipe builder in case your points change.  Let me know what you think down in the comments!

Black Bean Brownies

I know, it sounds kind of strange.  Brownies and black beans?  However, I decided that since I was going to be opening a can of beans for my other recipe, this was the time to try this one out.  I swear that you can't taste the black beans at all.  The good thing about the black beans is that they add a bit more fiber and protein to your brownies so you can pretend that you're eating a healthy treat.  My only complaint with the way these turned out is that the brownies are more cake-like than fudge-like.  This is actually a Weight Watchers recipe- 4 points per brownie.  So here goes!

Ingredients

• cooking spray
• 1/2 c. canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 c. strong black coffee
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 4 oz. (about 1/2 c.) chocolate- the original called for bittersweet but I used semi-sweet chips
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 c. all-purpose flour 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
2. In a blender or food processor, blend beans and coffee until smooth.  Set aside.
3. Melt chocolate and butter together over very low heat.  Stir often.
4. Meanwhile, use an electric mixer to beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.  With mixer on low speed add in melted chocolate/butter.  Incorporate completely.
5. Add black bean/coffee mix, vanilla and salt to bowl and combine on low speed. Mix well. 
6. Add flour to bowl and combine on low speed.
7. Pour into prepared pan.  Bake until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 20-30 minutes.  Let cool for at least 20 minutes on a cooling rack.  Cut into 24 pieces and serve.

kind of looks like it's just floating there, doesn't it?

I will say this, I haven't had one of these cooled completely but they were delicious warm.  You could always add nuts or other spices to the mix to customize it.  Just keep in mind that if you add nuts, this will change the WW point value.  Enjoy!

Goal Reached!

I've been very careful to track my eating this week on my plan manager so I knew I was eating right for the most part.  I'm happy to report that I've reached my first goal measurement!  I did go downstairs to use the elliptical the other day but my efforts were thwarted when I discovered that I needed batteries for the display.  So Jim picked those up from the store and I'm ready to go now.  I figure I'll start off with whatever time frame I feel like I can do when I get on it.  So I'm not going to say that I'm doing 30 minutes a day or 45 or 15, etc.  Instead I'm going to start with whatever works for me that day.  After all, every little bit counts!

Tracking points with WW

So with the new year, I need to do a much better job of tracking my points with Weight Watchers.  In addition, I need to actually start working out instead of just thinking about it.  I've got a goal to work towards.  My in-laws are taking my husband, sister-in-law, her husband, my baby niece and themselves on a vacation June 9th-16th to Myrtle Beach.  The last time I was actually in a bathing suit was back during my senior year of college and I think it's time to work towards fitting into one again.  That's not to say I couldn't fit into one now, but I sure wouldn't look decent in it!  So I tracked my points for today and stayed on target.  My current points goal is 30 a day with an extra 49 for the week.  As I write this, I'm sitting at 28 for Wednesday.  I'm going to do my best to not use up those 49 each week because that will help me out even more.  Also, with WW, you get extra points for doing exercise/activities.  I'm going to try to avoid tapping into those points as well.  I'll weigh myself in the morning since I've been up eating and drinking for the last 15 hours or so.  My points target could also change then depending on whether my weight goes up or down from the last time I weighed myself.  

I think that there will be a few difficult things for me to get used to.  First off, is doing the exercise.  I'm so out of shape right now that it's not the least bit funny.  So I'm thinking I'll start with the walk at home DVDs that I have.  I sure don't want to be out walking with the temperatures what they are and with the snow on the ground!  The next hard thing for me will be weaning myself off of the sugary foods.  I like chocolate and I love Haribo gummy bears.  I'm not really a big fan of dark chocolate but I know if I'm going to eat chocolate, then that's the way to go.  I'm also going to have to work on making separate meals for myself so that I don't consume as much butter and other fats.  I'm going to get back into the habit of eating yogurt twice a day- once for breakfast and once for my break at work.  Oh, and I've got to find some juice that won't put such a dent into my points each day.  I love fruit juice but with all the added sugars, it really adds on the points.  

So at this point, I've covered two of my three main blog topics.  You got a peek at my "needle" earlier with my video post about my quilt.  And then this post definitely touched on my "spoon".  Maybe when I get up tomorrow, I'll see about doing a post about one of my paper crafts to cover the "stamp" aspect.  Guess you'll just have to tune in to find out!  :)