I had a leftover baked potato 5 ounces), so I scooped out the insides and scrambled that with 1/2 cup egg whites, baby spinach, 1 ounce of ham.  When I got to work, I put the empty potato shells in my convection toaster oven for a few minutes while I reheated the scrambled eggs.  Then I stuffed them, sprinkled with 1 ounce of cheddar cheese and put them under the broiler.  I really love this toaster oven we have at work!

with some canteloupe: 363 calories, 40 carbs, 27 protein, 10.5 fat and 4.8 fiber

This surprisingly kept me full for a long time!  I went to the gym, did a bike machine trail that I thought was going to be easy, but it turned out to be really hard, which is a good thing!  I mean, if I am making the effort to go, I may as well give it all I have, right?   At one point, a sign on the imaginary road I ride on said “heads up, 1.8 hill climb ahead!”  In all with the warm up and cool down, I biked just over 8 miles.

Lunch was more red beans and rice leftovers!!  Except instead of using tortilla chips to dip, I used sliced cucumbers, and it was a great combo.

perfect bite, and I realize I need a manicure – stat! 395 calories, 45 carbs, 28 protein, 12 fat and 9.5 fiber

Does anyone get Cuisine at Home Magazine?  I don’t think I’ve ever really subscribed to it, but every once in a while I get a complimentary issue.  This month’s issue had a recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole.

here is how it looked in the magazine
adding the apple juice and chicken broth to make the sauce

I bought two sesame kaiser rolls.  After chopping off the top and removing as much bread on the inside as possible, I got two 2 oz. rolls.

after all the ingredients are incorporated – ready to stuff
1/2 ounce ham on the bottom
stuffed
1.5 ounce thick slice of mozzarella on top
my plate out of the oven 😀
delicious!

I absolutely loved the thyme sauce around the side, um, Tony?  Not so much!  He had visions of a cheese sauce while I was making it, so first bite he didn’t really like it.  He liked the inside, except next time, no broccoli for him 😀

Here’s the kicker though.  After putting it through caloriecount to see the nutrtion after I ate it I realized the nutrition was already in the book!  Ready for it?  My serving: 820 calories, 39 fat, 41 carbs, 3 fiber and 73 grams of protein! No wonder it was so good!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Rolls

I reduced the amount of butter to 1 tablespoon and omitted the scallions.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
12 ounces boneless chicken breast
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoon grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup broccoli
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of pepper
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
4 ounce rolls
2 ounce deli ham
3 ounce mozzarella cheese

Directions

  1. Melt butter. Add diced chicken and cook for 5 minutes until slightly browned.
  2. Blanch the broccoli in boiling water for one minute, drain and set aside.
  3. Add flour to chicken and stir for 1 minute. Add chicken broth and apple juice, stirring constantly.
  4. Stir in cream, Parmesan, mustard and thyme. Simmer until sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes.
  5. Add broccoli, salt, pepper and cayenne, reduce heat to low.
  6. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Hollow out the rolls. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove and place ham on the bottom of the roll, split chicken mixture in half (reserving the sauce) into each roll. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake for 5-7 minutes.
  7. Finish under the broiler for 3 – 4 minutes until the cheese is all melty.
  8. Serve sauce evenly around each bowl.

Stats for Tuesday:

  • 1613 calories
  • 131 carbs
  • 131 protein
  • 62 cat
  • 17.6 fiber
  • 45 minute 8.2 mile bike ride/warmup/cool down

Remember the crack pretzels I talked about yesterday?  No wonder they are so good!  Here is the recipe:

  • 3 pound bag of pretzels
  • 1 bottle Orville Redenbacher butter oil
  • 1 package hidden valley ranch mix
  • 3 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder

You mix everything together, and over the course of two days, you just keep tossing it every couple of hours.  The oil and seasonings absorb into the pretzels, and my friend says at about day 3 they become the crack pretzels.  Boy are they good!

Happy Hump Day!