Friday is Turkey Day

While the upstairs freezer overflows with food, the downstairs freezer is mostly empty. Aside from many quart bags of tomato sauce and random frostbitten vegetables, there isn't much of interest down there. Well, there was a turkey. A turkey that had been down there since last December. A turkey I kept forgetting about until Tuesday when I thought "Hey! I should really thaw that turkey in the downstairs freezer!" and actually acted on that thought.

I thought I had a hotel-style turkey breast, but it seemed inordinately large as I dragged it up the stairs. Figuring I'd just bought some kind of big-breasted FrankenTurkey, I wrestled it into the fridge and left it to thaw. When I took it out of the fridge today and removed the million layers of shopping bags it was swathed in, it was clear I had a 14 pound turkey on my hands.

There are only 2 people in my house. 2 people and 4 cats, yes, but that's still a lot of turkey. I know I bought it on the cheap a couple days after Christmas and, being me, I probably bought the biggest discounted turkey I could find regardless of the practicality of such a purchase.

Anyway, we had a lovely turkey supper tonight with buttery mashed potatoes, rich gravy, and fresh farm stand corn sauteed in butter. Tomorrow, we will have turkey sandwiches for lunch (and, possibly, breakfast). Sunday, I'm thinking turkey pot pie. Then ... turkey enchiladas with the last jar of salsa verde? And, of course, there's always soup.

Our Candy Cupboard, Let Me Show You It

We like candy, therefore we have a candy cupboard.

We didn't always have a candy cupboard -- candy just free-ranged around the house. This became troublesome when we'd go looking for something particular and have to search the whole house for it. Also, and I'm so ashamed that I cared, I wondered what visitors to our home thought of all the candy we had scattered around! The candy cupboard keeps all our candy tidy and away from judgemental eyes.

We keep lots of different kinds of candy in the cupboard as we never know what we'll want when the mood strikes. I lean more towards gummy and fruity things, but The Husband is a firm believer in chocolate.

We get our candy from many different sources -- local grocery stores, the local Polish import shop, Lindt, Munsons, Food Ireland, Amazon, shops discovered on vacation, etc -- and this can create a problem when we run out of something particularly yummy and cannot remember where it came from. Saving the wrapper helps as, frankly, pretty much all of it can be found on the Internet.

(Would calling it a sweets cupboard sound more posh and properly adult? "Be a dear, dahling, and fetch me down the Bissinger's raspberry yumberry gummy pandas from the sweets cupboard.")

Weight Watchers: A Weight Loss Miracle

I lost 2.2 pounds this past week! I don't really know how I did it as I managed to eat almost all my Weekly PointsPlus Allowance Saturday and Sunday. That's my daily 33 plus the 49 weekly "bonus" points. It was all delicious though -- especially the cherry pie milkshake with read whipped cream -- and I didn't regret eating any of it. I just expected to not lose very much, if any, weight.

But I lost 2.2 pounds! I was amazed. And very happy.

Less happy when I logged my weight at Weight Watchers Online and received this message:

You’re probably excited to be losing weight, but you’re losing faster than is recommended. Although it’s normal to lose over 2 lbs in one week, if you lose more than an average of 2 lbs per week over a 4-week period, this could pose health risks, such as heart irregularities, anemia or loss of muscle mass. Please slow your weight loss; your doctor can help you do this if you’re not sure how.

Gee, thanks. Now I'm not just supposed to worry about health issues attributed to obesity,  I'm supposed to worry about health issues attributed to weight loss!

A Mix A Week: Stonewall Kitchen Peppermint Whoopie Pie

I had planned on baking up a box of King Arthur Flour's Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars this past weekend to keep up with my Mix A Week Challenge, but The Husband complained so bitterly about me not baking anything he could eat (hello? last week's cookies?) that I caved and offered to make up the boxes of Stonewall Kitchen's Peppermint Whoopie Pies mix instead. My offer was not completely altruistic as I realized baking whoopie pies meant I got to try out my new whoopie pie pans!

Aren't they cute? Nonstick, lightweight, and perfectly sized. Stonewall Kitchen sells 'em, but I bought mine off on Amazon -- $13.36 each plus free Prime shipping and no sales tax.

The mix was extremely simple to prepare and assemble. It took five minutes to make each batch of batter and only ten minutes for the cakes to bake. Yes, they did have to cool for about half an hour before I could fill and assemble them, but that gave me plenty of time to make the filling and read a little of Emma Donoghue's Inseparable. Indeed, it took so little time to make these whoopie pies that I ended up making both boxes. That's sixteen peppermint whoopie pies -- enough for The Husband and work.

My only complaint was that the mix did not provide enough crushed peppermint candies to properly coat the edges of all the whoopie pies, but this was easily fixed by crushing up some peppermint candy canes I found in the back of our candy cupboard.

Yes, we have a candy cupboard. Doesn't everyone?

Nine baking mixes down, eight to go!

Menu Plan Monday, 26 September

Just as my cupboards are overstuffed with baking mixes, so my upstairs freezer is overstuffed with food. Today, I moved a box of frozen pirogues to get at a packet of frozen sausages and discovered two packets of frozen fruit smoothie mix purchased who knows when. You know what this means, right? It means it's time for another kitchen round-up. Time to go through the freezer and cupboards, determine what's been neglected and needs eating up, and cook it.

Monday
"Seared Herbed Tuna" from Weight Watchers 4 Ingredient 10 Minute Recipes with parsley rice and garlicky green beans with roasted red peppers from Whole Foods. Ingredients: wild caught tuna steaks, Herbes de Provence, salt, black pepper, olive oil, lemon.

Tuesday
Bountiful Pantry's "Farmhouse Chowder" with melon, hummus, and pretzel crisps.

Wednesday
"Green Salsa Chicken" (using boneless pork loin chops instead of chicken) with rice and "Cumin Corn." Ingredients: garden purple tomatillos, boneless pork loin chops, cilantro, lime, corn, cumin, diced bell peppers, onion.

Thursday
Repeat Tuesday -- last of Bountiful Pantry's "Farmhouse Chowder" with melon, hummus, and pretzel crisps.

Friday
Aidells"Red Beans & Rice" with salad. Ingredients: Aidells cajun style andouille sausage, celery, onion, low-sodium kidney beans, low-sodium tomato sauce, roasted peppers, thyme, garlic, low-sodum chicken broth.

Saturday/Sunday
Slow cooker shepherd's pie modified from 101 Things to do with a Slow Cooker. Ingredients: lean ground turkey, thawed frozen mixed vegetables, crushed dehydrated onion slices, parsley, garden basil, low-sodium condensed tomato soup, instant mashed potatoes, shredded Cabot 50% reduced-fat cheddar.

A Mix A Week: Stonewall Kitchen Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

I'm a little behind with my Mix A Week Challenge so I went a little overboard to compensate and made both boxes of Stonewall Kitchen's Chocolate Sandwich Cookie mix this past weekend. Having made the Vanilla Sandwich Cookie mix last month, I felt I'd had enough practice that I was unlikely to ruin a double batch. And, you know, I did pretty good. Almost creamed an egg shell with the butter (don't ask) and burnt my left hand twice, but those were small troubles.

Remembering the domed vanilla sandwich cookies, I smooshed the chocolate ones down much more firmly and the chocolate ones came out pretty flat. Sometimes, going all "Hulk smash!" is a good thing?

The mix says it makes twenty-four sandwich cookies per box, but I only managed twenty. This is perfectly okay with me as I don't really want a lot of cookies hanging around my kitchen -- half of them went to work with me, anyway, and were all eaten up by the end of the day. Several people asked me for the recipe and I happily pointed them at the Stonewall Kitchen website ... only to find out Stonewall Kitchen doesn't sell this mix, anymore.

Seven mixes down, ten to go!

Easy-Peasy Lemon-Curry Chicken Soup

Earlier this week, I made Pillsbury's "Lemon-Curry Chicken & Wild Rice Soup" to take to work all week. It's a very easy, semi-homemade recipe using Progresso chicken & wild rice soup as a base. Curry flavor isn't too heavy and the lemon gives it a nice zing.

Ingredients: Progresso chicken & wild rice soup, Penzeys Maharajah curry powder, plain fat-free yoghurt, lemon juice, whole grain white flour, unsalted butter, parsley.

Suppers by Trader Joe's

Everything on this plate (except the cherry tomatoes which came from my garden) came from Trader Joe's. What can I say? I am a convert!

Trader Joe's "Peppercorn-Garlic Boneless Pork Tenderloin" with a mix of asparagus, mushrooms, red onions which I added garden cherry tomatoes to and roasted in the oven at 400°F for about 30 minutes. Served over medium-grain white rice rice I cooked in vegetable broth.

I layered the bottom of my small slow cooker with garden cherry tomatoes, thin-sliced red onion, and crushed dried mushrooms, then I plunked Trader Joe's "Black Pepper Burgundy" boneless lamb leg on top and poured in the last inch from an open bottle of pear cider (probably a scant ¼ cup). Cooked everything on low for 8 hours, plus 1 hour on warm. I served it over medium-grain white rice rice cooked in vegetable broth, steamed green beans tossed with pressed garlic and Brummel, and gravy made from the roast's juices.

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Moving in the Right Direction

Well, it's definitely down from Sept 1 when I weighed 227.4. Another 4.6 and I'll have lost 20 pounds since May! Should I reward myself for losing 20 pounds or is the weight lost and the sense of fitness gained sufficient rewards in themselves?

Also, and this is a bit of a stinker, Weight Watchers Online only tracks my weight loss from the day I signed up. I mean, yes, that makes sense, but it means that my 10% goal is now further away and ... it makes me feel a wee bit frustrated. As if the work I've done doesn't count and I'm starting all over again. I'm trying not to get obsessive with numbers as that isn't why I started I this journey. I wanted to be healthier and more fit and I am getting there so it doesn't really matter what Weight Watchers thinks my goals are as long as I keep mine?

Menu Plan Monday, 19 September

It's been a whole month since I last participated in Menu Plan Monday! Where have I been? Well, there was pre-vacation craziness followed by vacation and then post-vacation laziness. Before vacation it was "I have too much to do before we go on vacation! No time to cook!" and after vacation it was very "Meh! I cannot be bothered to cook when this chair is so comfy and this cat so snuggly!"

But now it is time to resume regular habits. To go back to menu planning and home cooking. So help me god.

Monday
Trader Joe's "Black Pepper Burgundy" boneless lamb leg cooked in my slow cooker on a bed of cherry tomatoes, thin-sliced red onion, and dried mushrooms. Serve with parsleyed rice and gravy made from juices.

Tuesday
Pillsbury's "Lemon-Curry Chicken & Wild Rice Soup" with hummus and chopped vegetables. Ingredients: Progresso chicken & wild rice soup, Penzeys Maharajah curry powder, plain fat-free yoghurt, lemon juice, whole grain white flour, unsalted butter, parsley.

Wednesday
"Turkey Scallopini w/ Artichokes & Tarragon" (recipe modified from Weight Watchers site) over brown rice. Ingredients: chicken cutlets (from freezer), quartered canned artichoke hearts, lemon juice, white wine, low-sodium chicken broth, tarragon.

Thursday
Last of Pillsbury's "Lemon-Curry Chicken & Wild Rice Soup" with hummus and chopped vegetables.

Friday
"Beef-Vegetable Pie" (modified from WW site) with diced cucumbers & garden tomatoes in light Italian dressing. Ingredients: lean ground beef, dry potato flakes, fat-free half and half, low-fat shredded cheese blend, frozen mixed vegetables, garlic, onion, brown gravy from low-sodium sachet.

Saturday/Sunday
"Balsamic Chicken w/ Leeks & Peppers" (modified from WW site) over Israeli/pearl couscous. Ingredients: boneless chicken breasts (from freezer), leeks, red and yellow bell peppers, rosemary, balsamic vinegar, low-sodium chicken broth, Israeli couscous.

Weight Watchers Weigh In: Home

I weighed in Tuesday morning -- the day after I returned from vacation -- and that was a terrible, terrible idea. Jet-lagged, dehydrated, and strung out from too many days with too little sleep, I cried a little when the scale read 231. Oh, I knew I would gain some weight back while on vacation but sliding back into the 230s was more than I could bear. It was so hard to get into the 220s. I never wanted to see the 230s again.

Unsurprisingly, after a few days of more regular living, my weight has slid down to 228 which, while still more than I weighed before I went on vacation, is at least on the right side of 230.

Do you know that UK scales measure weight in stones? Yes! Just for kicks, I weighed myself on my in-laws' scale and it said "16 3" and I was all "what the flying fish sticks?" at my husband who very kindly condescended to explain stones to his ignorant American wife. I weighed 16 stone 3 pounds which, when calculated into pounds was about right as 1 stone = 14 pounds. Of course, for the rest of the day, I found myself singing my own version of "16 Tons."

You weigh sixteen stone what do you get
Another day fatter and bigger in butt.
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the chip butty man.

Anyway, for the next two weeks, my plan is to get back on track -- eat properly, ease back into activity, and focus on my January goal. I can do this. I've been doing it for months now, after all.

And just for kicks, here's me a year ago:

And here's me last week:

Well, I see a difference and it's more than a haircut and new glasses.

Friday Night Delicious: Crunchy Turkey Cutlets w/ Sauteed Tomatoes

First proper meal we've eaten since we returned from England and, I must say, an excellent recipe for easing back into regular cooking habits. Don't like lemon? Use a salt-free Italian seasoning blend and fresh basil. A little crumbled fresh goat cheese might be also nice, mixed in with the sauteed tomatoes.

Crunchy Turkey Cutlets with Sauteed Tomatoes

Ingredients
2 cups small-fruited (currant) tomatoes
1 pound turkey breast cutlets
½ zested lemon
black pepper
salt
olive oil
egg white
squeeze of fresh lemon juice
salt-free lemon-pepper seasoning blend
cornmeal

Directions
Toss the tomatoes and lemon zest together with salt and pepper and set aside.

In a shallow dish (pie plate works well), whisk together the egg white and lemon juice. In another dish, combine cornmeal and salt-free lemon-pepper seasoning blend. Heat  a splash of olive oil in a large frying pan.

Dip a cutlet in egg, then in cornmeal, and cook until golden brown on each side. Remove cooked cutlets to a warm oven. Add tomatoes to hot frying pan and cook for a few minutes, stirring often, until tomatoes begin to crack.

Serve tomatoes over cutlets.

Sweets from Abroad

Lest you think we spent all our vacation time eating, let me also just say we certainly spent some of it buying food to bring back with us. Yes. And we were doing pretty good until we wandered into the Wigan Thorntons shop. Until then, we'd only acquired a few boxes of Mr Kipling cakes and a couple small bags of chocolate. Thorntons was our undoing. We walked in ...

... and we walked out with a carry-on's worth of chocolate.

(Doesn't include all the chocolate we bought as gifts ... or ate before arriving home!)

Vacations are for Eating

1. @ The Pie Shop, 2. Hot Chocolate w/ Whipped Cream & Marshmallows, 3. English Breakfast,
4. Soup!, 5. Salmon & Dill Cakes, 6. Jacket Potato

To be fair, we also saw family, shopped, and visited several cultural venues. But, really, we went to England expecting to eat all the foods we'd been missing these past five years. While I mostly succeeded, I do regret not eating a chip buttie/barm while I had the chance. Fish and chips and mushy peas with lashings of salt and malt vinegar are all well and good, but a chip buttie ... well, that's a kind of carbohydrate lover's heaven.

Oh, chip buttie, I'll see you in 2016.

Proper Jacket Potato

Jacket potato with tuna, sweetcorn, and mayonnaise! Also, a little salad and "English" coleslaw on the side (it's the Heinz salad cream that makes the difference).

Weight Watchers: Fine About Failure

Today is September 1st and the end of my short-term challenge to lose 17 pounds in 17 weeks. I didn't lose any weight since my last weigh-in -- still at 227.4 -- so I missed my goal by 1.4 pounds. I could, I guess, be upset by this, but I am not. I still managed to lose 16.4 pounds in 17 weeks and that's nothing to sneeze at. No one else may see the difference 16.4 pounds makes, but I certainly see and feel it.

When I return from vacation, I'll sign back up with Weight Watchers (probably monthly this time as there's a "get one month free" special on through Sept 17) and start plugging away at my next short-term goal -- 215 by January 31. It's doable, I think, and if it's not ... there's the rest of my life. The weight, health issues, and lack of fitness all came on gradually and that's how they're going to go away.