Yummy & Easy Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:

1.5 cups skim milk

1 large package (2.1 oz) Sugar Free, Fat Free Instant Jello, Chocolate Flavor

1 8-oz container Cool Whip Free

Directions

1) Combine Skim Milk with the Jello. Allow it to set up for a moment.

2) Fold in the Cool Whip

3) Enjoy!

The Breakdown: One 4-oz (By weight) serving:79.2 Calories, 0 g. fat 1.2 mg cholesterol, 344.4 mg sodium, 15.6 g carbohydrates, 0 g sugar, 2.5 g protein.

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Easy Peasy Chicken

(that even my husband loves!)

Rachel Ray's Israeli Spice Chicken:

Step one: Get some chicken. Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast. Proper portion size is about 3-4 oz. per person, but it's high in protein and low in fat so if you want more, you'll probably be okay.

Step two: Mix up the following spices. I like to mix up a biiig batch and save it for the next time I make the recipe. 1 1/2 tablespoons (1 1/2 palmfuls) sweet paprika

1 1/2 tablespoons (1 1/2 palmfuls) ground cumin

1 teaspoon (1/3 palmful) dried oregano

1 teaspoon (1/3 palmful) ground coriander

1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (medium to hot in spice level)

1 1/2 teaspoons (1/2 palmful), coarse kosher salt

Step Three: get a pan. heat it up. use cooking spray to lubricate, or a little oil if you want (I don't need to add, this adds calories and fat)

Step four: Cook the chicken.

Step five: Eat the chicken.

See how easy this is? It's quite flavorful and very, very healthy. Also easy.

Serve it with whatever you like; I'm serving it with saffron rice and broccoli slaw, which is flavored with a dressing consisting of rice vinegar, mayonnaise, and spices.

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Apologies all Around

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I'll forego the excuses since I don't really have any.

Here's my update-- it's a quick one, and just recipes. no pictures, sorry. Maybe I'll add some later! Publish Post

Sinless Pumpkin Mousse

**a warning: this tastes a little bit like raw pumpkin pie. that can be off-putting to people who, well, don't like raw things. I found it delicious, but my husband wasn't as big of a fan. just a heads-up.

1-2 packages (small) of jello instant fat free sugar free vanilla pudding mix. I used one, but two will make it thicker and impart a more vanilla-y flavor.

2 cups of skim milk

1 15-oz can of pumpkin. just pumpkin, not the pie filling

1 8-oz container of cool whip free. (You can use light, too-- it adds about 5 calories per 2 tbsp of cool whop.)

1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (It doesn't sound like much, but it goes a long way. if you find it lacking in flavor, by all means, add more)

Steps:

1) mix the jello and milk as per packet instructions. put in in the fridge for 3-5 minutes.

2) Add everything else. You might want the cool whip to be thawed or you'll have frozen chunks of cool whip in there.

3) enjoy!

Here's the breakdown:

Per 4-oz (by weight) serving: 67.2 calories, .4 grams of fat, 65.6 grams sodium, 12.8 g carbohydrates, 0 grams sugar, 1.6 grams fiber, 2.4 grams protein.

**Note: This is using only one box of the vanilla pudding. although using two boxes won't be that much worse, since it is after all fat free sugar free.

Texas King Ranch Casserole, Improved

12 oz (pre-cooked weight) boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded or cubed.

1 can 98% fat free or healthy request cream of mushroom soup

1 cup Kraft 2% sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 can Ro-Tel Tomatoes (I am going to re-try this dish using fresh tomatoes and jalepenos. I'll let you know)

6 Corn tortillas

1 small bell pepper (about .25 cups)

half of a small yellow onion, finely chopped (note: I didn't use it here because hubby doesn't like onion)

Steps:

1) Soften onion and green pepper in 1 t vegetable oil

2) Add to this chicken, soup, and Ro-Tel

3) Layer in small casserole dish tortillas, soup mixture, and cheese, ending with cheese.

4) Bake at 325 until hot and bubbly (Took me about 20 minutes)

The Breakdown: four servings, each of which has 323.5 calories, 10 grams of fat, 73.1 mg of cholesterol, 980 mg of sodium (yikes-- use healthy request if you're worried about this), 27.4 g of carbohydrates, 3.8 grams of fiber, and 29.6 grams of protein.

The content of the original King Ranch Casserole: 432 calories, 21.8 grams of fat, 11.2 grams saturated fat, 97.3 mg cholesterol, 1,110.5 mg sodium 27.9 g. carbohydrates, 3.5 grams fiber, 2.7 grams of sugar, 30.8 grams protein

What I have cut out is mostly fat and calories from fat. the original recipe called for a 1/4 cup of butter, and, of course, full fat ingredients. I find that the improved version tastes pretty good. I'm worried about the sodium, but making cream of mushroom soup on my own with less salt seems... well, honestly, way too much work! and the healthy request version... I just don't care for.

Hope you enjoy the recipes!

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Whoa, Long Time

Wow, it has been quite a while. I’ve been only kinda-sorta busy, so I don’t really have much of an excuse for blowing off the blog for more than a month.
I’ve been trying a host of new recipes, all of which were yummy and repeatable:
Cuban Pork Chops, Tijuana Kitchen Rice, Cuban Beans, Ramen Shrimp Pouches, Artichoke Pasta Salad, and Spinach and Mushroom stuffed chicken breasts were all on the menu.
I was cooking for my nana, who I was taking care of while the parents took the grandchildren to New Orleans. She asked for all of the recipes to give to mom so she could repeat them, which I guess is high enough praise.


I am finished with my internship, and I loved it. The firm is great, and I'm really hoping they make me an offer for a permanent position in September or October. Now I am trying to force myself to continue my research for my Professor. I am a bad, bad research assistant.


Our school's trial advocacy program starts the first week of August. I've got to read the materials, prepare an opening statement and closing argument, learn how to question witnesses and compose direct and cross questioning. And then maybe I've got to think about how to do witness redirect. I'm not so sure I'll be good at this whole litigation thing. Read More......

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Family

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Yet another long and rambling post

Have you ever had the project that just Would Not Die? The one you pour hours and hours and hours of work into, but it is Never Done? The project that makes you want to bang your head into the wall, scream, and gouge your eyes out so that you have a legitimate excuse to never work on it again? That project? Have you had one?


If not, you’re lucky, lucky, lucky. If so, you can empathize with my plight.

I currently have one of these projects. I have put in probably close to 30 hours of work already, and it is entirely possible that I could spend that many more hours working on it. I might not finish before I leave, but was told that it was ok if I didn’t complete it. It’s an interesting project, but after sinking so many hours into it, I am just tired of it! I want to be finished!
PLEASE LET ME BE FINISHED SOON.

In other, non-work related news, this weekend was a blast. It was K & C’s Bachelor/ette party. We ate at Japanese, went to the zoo, some of us ate at another Japanese restaurant, the name of which escapes me now, ate hamburgers and hot dogs, and played Sing Star and Rock Band. The boys played poker, which I missed out on, but since I “stole” (will pay him back for) the poker chips from D, then I guess I’ll have another chance to play.

I’m pretty sunburned at the moment, a product of wearing no sunscreen on a clear 90-plus degree day at the zoo. Rob and I really enjoyed the reptile house. They had a huge king cobra, and two green mambas who were pretty active.

On Sunday after breakfast Rob and I went to my grandma’s to pick up a bread machine and ice cream maker for my mom. My nieces are in town, so Sunday night (after a loooooong drive back home) was spent with them, playing the Wii and letting them look at my fish (and fishing out my dead pleco…what keeps happening??)

This is my last week of work, and I’m both sad about it and eager to be done. The remainder of this summer will be my last real summer—last chance to sleep until noon and do nothing the whole day, last chance to relax without having to work all the time. I want to make the most I can out of it.

In still other news, I have decided to forego the traditional birthday list and instead ask for one of two things: (1) a best buy gift card, or (2) cash. Husband and I have decided that our old, too-quiet, green, and a little wiggly TV has got to go. So I have made a wish list on Best Buy.com that includes a large TV for the living room, a blue ray player or playstation 3, a small tv/dvd combo for the bedroom, and a host of other things, most of which I know there is no way I can afford. Because, really, $3000 washer/dryer set? None of my friends or family are that rich.

I anticipate getting enough money to be able to pitch in a little money of our own to get the TV. The blue ray player can wait, seeing as how we have a DVD player that works.


In other other other news, I saw the apartment for the first time Friday since May 25—okay, that seems like a really long time to me, but I guess it isn’t—and I have to say, props to Husband for the rearranging. The Huuuuge leather sofa pretty much dominates the living room, so there isn’t room for much else. He’s re-arranged the bedroom, putting the bed on other wall and moving everything pretty much around.

There’s only one nightstand now, and since I know he needs an alarm clock I volunteered to take the side with just a floor lamp. I’m going to sew a pouch to put over the base board of the bed so I have a place to put my cell phone, a book, and a couple of pens. The small loveseat that was in the living room is now in the bedroom at the foot of the bed, directly in front of the a/c—a little chilly, but with a blanket I think it’ll be a nice place to sit and read or study.

Just ordered a swimsuit for the trip to Arkansas we’re taking in July—black and white gingham with red trim, and a cute little black skirt. I would have just gone with the one I have in my dresser, but it’s somewhere around 8 years old and I honestly just want a new one. I need to go by Old Navy and get some of their cheap-cheap flip-flops. I mean, really, $2.50 each? Only I can never find black ones…

Okay, today's challenge (as though this is a regular thing): I'm looking for new recipes to try out for dinner and such. So, leave a comment with a link or just type up your favorite.

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That Couch is HUGE!

Husband went scavenging around the dumpster after move-out day at our apartment, and this is what he brought back:

Yeah, it's definitely a leather sectional with a pull-out bed. It's definitely bigger than our living room. I haven't actually seen this thing up close, but the pictures-- well, the pictures say a thousand words. At least we'll have a decent couch to put in our new apartment.

Now, if only someone could scavenge me up some LCD tv's and a blue ray player....

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