Low Carb Chocolate Pudding Cake

By the way, did I mention that I made it to my diet goal? Well, that's not entirely accurate. I stopped 2 lbs away from my goal. But in my defense, I sat at that weight for 3 weeks without movement. And during this time, I increased my workouts and was super strict.

So, I think that's as far as I can go at this time. Maybe my workouts will continue to improve tone. But honestly? I'm quite happy with my results. So, I don't feel like I'm quitting by stopping 2 lbs short.

The Quest of Sensible Shoes

So, I have this question. Is it possible to wear sensible shoes and still look fashionable? It's possible that because I'm now past thirty that I'm getting 'old foggery' and worry about my feet. I wear high heels to the office and my feet and shins hurt every day. This could be partly because I have flat feet and have foot issues, but I ignore that in the favor of fashion.

Is it possible to still be fashionable?

I think so. I did some serious searching online and looking at pinterest's fashion pages. I got lots of ideas. A lot of it was breaking this idea in my head down that you couldn't look 'businessy' without stilettos. I'm starting to think I was wrong.

The fireman gave me some ideas too, cause men look at women. They know what they like.

He even said he'd go shopping with me last weekend, on Sunday after church. But since I knew I'd try on five kagillion pairs of shoes, I took a test run and went with the girl on Saturday. We stopped at a ton of places and tried on a ton of shoes. Her too, cause it's fun.

This is what  I came up with.

Flax Seed Crackers

One day, a girl and her fireman wanted a cracker, but couldn't because they were on a low carb diet.

So, they made a high fiber cracker with flax seeds and were happy, fell in love, got married and ate flax seed crackers with cheese every day.

The end.

Firehouse Salisbury Steak

You want to make this over the weekend. Believe me.

The fireman made this yesterday and it was some serious good beef.

The supper, not the fireman.

Wait... him too.

Girls' Night Chocolate Chip Cookies

Why are these called Girls' Night Chocolate Chip Cookies?

Because we made them on a girls' night.

Duh.

Baked Turnip Fries

I know, I know.

I have a problem with the turnips. I keep making them.

But, they are sooooo goooood. I just can't get over the flavor of the turnip. How did I not know how good they were? They're all naturally sweet and tasty.

In my defense, the fireman bought 6 turnips the other day, and I made Mashed Turnips last week and had 3 left over. So, I had to make something with them.

I thought about a vegetable beef soup/stew with turnips, yum. I thought about turnip chips, like wedges, and I decided on these turnip fries.

Just Chatting

The fireman took the youngest boy to see Ghost Rider 2 3D. I can't remember what the full title of the movie is. I think they had fun, but the fireman said that it wasn't as good as the first one. It was a little more 'insane', he said. Also, they retold a bit of the original plot. Strange.

I think it's really cool that he's taking time with each of the kids outside of the house. Of course, we try to have time with each of the kids, but to go out and do something together is pretty cool.

The girl and I stayed in Friday and watched DVR'd tv shows and played Racko....she rules.

Crockpot Pork Roast

What is it about roast?

You make a roast and everyone thinks you've done something fantastic.

Ooh! You're having roast for dinner? Did someone win a pulitzer prize?

Nope, we just love to make roasts.

They're easy!

Mashed Turnips

Last weekend, the fireman took the girl to see Journey to the Mysterious Island in 3D. You know? With The Rock? He wanted a Daddy/Daughter day. *AWE*

They had a lot of fun, and he came home to tell me he had 24 pieces of popcorn. He counted. Seriously.

I asked the girl if The Rock was shirtless at all. She said, "ew, no." Then she said, "but he did pop his pecks." Oh, my.

He's also taking the boys to see Ghost Rider 2 this weekend. He's making time with them one on one. I think it's a great idea.

And if it means that I get some extra time to lounge in the bathtub with a book? And maybe some chocolates? Totally fine with me.

My Valentine & Pots de Creme

I'm happy to say that my fireman is still the love of my live. And I don't say that just because he did really good this Valentine's Day.

I say it because he's still my friend. We have fun together. I still have a hard time getting to work on time because we are sitting at the table gabbing. At night, we are up late chatting.

Sure, he makes me all tingly with his manly muscles and that look in his eye, but I enjoy him, and I enjoy spending time with him.

Fireman Love

You should know that the fireman and I are officially an old married couple.

I bought him a coffee pot for Valentine's Day.

But in my defense, we have been oohing and aahing over it for the last couple of months, putting it off since our old one isn't completely dead.

It's a little sad, every time we went to Target, the fireman would check the coffee pot to see if it went on sale.

I think he was just *visiting* the coffee pot.

And in my that's-a-bad-valentine's-day-gift defense. It is red.

Crockpot Sesame Chicken

One of the things I've been recently missing is good Chinese food. And while this is by no means authentic Chinese food, it most definitely is good.

I tried it on Saturday because I wasn't sure how it would cook and I didn't want to leave it in the morning and come home to find it overcooked/undercooked/burning, etc...

Here's what I did.

First I googled sesame chicken to get a few ideas on what goes into the sauce, and then I played around with the ingredients.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

So, while sitting around the kitchen table one night, I asked the kids if anyone had any meal requests. I like to do this every once in a while. The kids often surprise me. This was one of those cases.

The middle boy asked for Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Really?

Really really.

Update on Dark Cocoa Cupcakes

When I finally came to after passing out because I finally succeeded at my low carb, low fat cupcakes, I was so excited to post about them, that I ignored the little error where my mayo wasn't mixed in very well, so I told everyone to beat the wet ingredients.

My mom followed my posted directions, and they didn't work. The cupcake was still dark and lovely, but it didn't fluff up. When I made these, and they tasted wonderful, I barely stirred the ingredients in. And they fluffed up. But I had a few small mayo chunks that didn't blend in.

So.......I have updated the directions online to very lightly mix the egg, just enough to break it up, mix the mayo with the cocoa and sweetener seperately, to get the mayo smooth. Then gently stirring the rest of the ingredients in, only until wet, there will still be a few lumps.

This allows the batter to rise in the oven.

Amen.

And thank you.

Low Carb Dark Cocoa Cupcakes

I've been working on these cupcakes for a month.

At least.

I was seriously dying for something cake-like to put in my mouth without making my diet run for the hills. I came up with a few recipes that I thought were pretty good. But after having children test them, and wrinkle their noses, I knew. It had been a while since I've had a good muffin/cupcake. Long enough that I didn't even realize how incredibly incredible a chocolate cupcake is.

So, here's my last version. What I came up with after trial by....chocolate?

Sausage Confetti

It's important that your food is pretty. It should be colorful. True story!

If your food is appealing to look at, you will feel more satisfied. It works for me anyway.

I like this meal because it tastes fresh. It is low in fat because I use turkey sausage and has lots of steamed veggies. It tastes green. Does that make sense?

Couponing, not really extreme

Couponing has become a thing in our house. It seems with the economy hurting like it is, more stores are offering coupons and discounts to entice new customers and encourage their regulars.

The fireman and I, who don't regularly read the newspaper, have started to get the Sunday paper just for the coupons. This last weekend, I was able to save over $20 with coupons. Now, I am buying groceries for 5, but that's still a lot of savings!

My daughter has started calling me coupon girl...

Superbowl Spread

So, today at work, we are having a Superbowl Potluck. I brought this.

It's Seven Layer Dip and it's super easy and you probably know how to make it, but I'm gonna show you anyway!

Another Foggy Day

It's a foggy foggy foggy day here at the airport. The visibility's too low to fly in. It's thick as mud out there.

Right behind that sign, there's a parking lot. And it's practically full of cars. I am standing just accross the street. Geez.

Random Notes

It's been sunny and warmish the last few days.

Not sure what's going on with Mother Nature. Surely she's confused.

I haven't been doing much baking. I have approximately a week and a half left on my diet. I have 4 pounds to go to my goal weight. Yippee!!

After the fireman and I lost our holiday weight, we each decided to go down a few more pounds than our goal weight last year on the Dukan Diet.

My mom and dad are now on the Dukan Diet and are doing well, as is my sister! Go family!

So, I haven't been baking.

I haven't been cooking all that much either. The hubby's been grilling. It's been so nice outside! And then last night, I made Ham & Pineapple. It was good, by the way. I didn't eat any pineapple....

The fireman made twice baked potatoes for the girl, without the skin. I know, she's strange. She ate it all warmed up and melty in a bowl. Sounds kinda good, actually.

And I had a cold. Boo.

I tried Julian's Smart Carb bread last night. Our local natural foods store has it. It's net 1 carb per slice. It's loaded with dietary fibers from sprouted grains and seeds that are easily digested. I put a slice of it in the toaster oven with two slices of deli ham and a slice of swiss cheese and toasted it.

Oh, yum.

I will get back to the cooking/baking soon. The brick wall is coming along well. I'll be able to update with the backside soon! The fireman is crazy focused on getting it done. I'll probably work on it some tonight.

We're also working on reorganizing our pantry/freezer. It gets stuffed full and then we don't know what we've got in there. I don't like doing the whole, what's for dinner thing. So, we're making a list. A dinner ideas list and a 'what's in the freezer' list.

And just because I got her to sit still long enough. A picture of the kitty, Willow.

 We rescued her from a shelter a year or so ago. She's sweet, she's pretty. She's tiny, about 8 pounds.

She likes to sleep on our clothes.