What?? Yep, we’ve stepped both feet directly into it! I’ll never understand Chicago weather – we’ll still probably have an 80 degree day in October! But Halloween will always be crappy!
Breakfast was a leftover steak sammie. Two ounces of whole wheat Italian bread, 1 egg, 1.5 ounces 75% reduced fat Cabot cheddar, 1.5 ounces steak and two kiwis.
I got a mixed bag of fruit on the $1 rack – these kiwi were perfect!
Lunch was a cup of my BSI – Broccoli Cheese Soup, 2 ounces of whole wheat Italian bread, 1 ounce mozzarella cheese (for Pam grilled cheese) and a small apple. I brought some of this soup to my co-worker, and we both decided my Homemade Panera Broccoli Cheese soup kicks this soups ass!
I knew today was going to be chilly, and comfort foods hit the spot when its cold! Just to show you how low maintenance I am, I woke up at 7:50, took a shower, blew dried my hair, got dressed, made breakfast, made lunch, and put dinner in the crock pot and was out of my house at 8:30 and sitting at my desk at 8:44 – nice!
I call this 5-minute beef stew, because it can literally be thrown together in that amount of time. I even put the meat in the crockpot in one huge frozen piece!
5 Minute Crock Pot Beef Stew
- 1.25 pounds beef stew meat
- 4 large potatoes, peeled and diced
- 4 large carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 cups good beef broth
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 cup water
- salt and pepper to taste (needed more seasoning at the table!)
- Makes 6 generous servings: 279 calories, 8.3 fat, 22.6 carbs, 2.8 fiber and 27.5 protein per serving
Put the frozen beef on the bottom of the crock pot, add the veggies on top, pour broth overtop (enough so the meat and veggies are covered) sprinkled with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and put the lid on – I set mine for 10 hours. Our crock pot tends to run hot, so I started it out and when Tony got home from a meeting, turned it off, then restarted it at around 3:00. Loved the smell coming in the door!
I scoop out the meat and veggies and pour the broth into a pot on the stove. I bring it to a low boil, then add the 1/4 cup of water that has been thickened with corn starch and stir for 2 minutes until it gets thick. Then put the gravy, meat and veggies together, give it a good stir and dinner is served! I also had a side salad with Annie’s Goddess dressing.
And then I put my Artisan bread in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes to get it nice and warm. I had 1.5 slices of bread, pat of butter and 1 serving of the stew. My camera battery died JUST as I was taking a plate of my stew – I am having it for lunch tomorrow so you’ll get a pick tomorrow night! 😀
Stats for the Day
- 1448 calories
- 52.6 fat
- 109.9 protein
- 149.9 carbs
- 23.3 fiber
- 31% of calories from fat
- 45 minute WINDY walk with my co-worker!
My weigh in isn’t until Wednesday, but I stepped on the scale and was pleasantly surprised to see 160.9! I started my challenge 5 weeks ago at 167.6. Of course, now I have jinxed it and will probably weigh in at 163 on Wednesday! But one thing I realized is that while I am eating around the same calories, my percentage of fat recently is between 28 and 32%. There were some days where 60% of my calories were from fat (thanks cheese!) so maybe that’s the difference?
In other news, BSI is hosted this week by Coco at Balance, Joy and Delicias! She’ll post sometime tonight with the new ingredient this week.
Hope everyone had a good start to their week – see you tomorrow night! 😀
How easy is that beef stew? This is going down as a must-try!!
Oh man, I know how you feel about the weather! It is officially fall (or maybe even winter, ahhh!!!) in Chi-town. Those foods look perfect for a chilly day, though : )
I love beef stew and everything looks so good….hey honey stop by our site soon cause you are our big winner!!!
holy smokes that is freezing!!
I am so obsessed with kiwis right now. Thank god they are 3 for a dollar 🙂
I love beef stew!! Best food for a chilly day. And the days are certainly getting colder.
Hey, I didn’t realize you are in Chi-town too! I was like, wait, that weather sounds an awful lot like mine… 🙂 That kiwi and salad look delish. Yum!
That looks like the easiest beef stew! I love stew!
Yum…breakfast looks like dinner to me! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Chicago!!!! The great windy city. Never been but would love to go. Your food photos looks delicious. Now you have made me hungry.
ooo kiwis!! havent had one in too long!!
hurray for steak sammys too!! i wish i had leftover steak in my fridge RIGHT now! it sounds so yummy.
happy day Biz!!
There is nothing better than crusty Italian bread!! We lived in Italy for 2 years and I miss the food SO MUCH! What a great idea to use it as a breakfast sandwich! Yum! BL tonight!! Are you stoked?? I AM!
-A
Hell’s yeah!! Can’t wait to talk about it tomorrow!
Mmm I love crock pot beef stew!
You are doing awesome! Isn’t it insane how many calories/fat are in cheese? I hate it!
Brrr!!! It’s the same kind of weather in Michigan – boo! I love fall and all but this kind of weather doesn’t make me very pleased!! Stay warm 🙂
Yummie, yummie, looks fantastic! Can you believe hat I got a crockpot and never used? I will definitely take advantage of it this winter 🙂
wow! that’s some delicious looking food 🙂 congrats on powering through the wind on your walk!
Alright, Speedy Gonzalez, you must move incredibly fast in the morning! I don’t think I could even get the crockpot meal put together in that time, much less cook breakfast, get lunch ready – oh and shower? I’m impressed!!!
The stew sounds wonderful – looking forward to seeing the finished picture today.
Hope your weight holds for tomorrow weigh in – whatever shows up, you are doing great!
Down to the 40’s? Already? I am not looking forward to that, I like cool crisp weather but that’s downright cold. Love your beef stew, what a warm comforting meal!
mmm…I love PAnera’s broccoli cheese soup! Oh, and those kiwi do look delicious. I’m recently into kiwi, I’ve been buying them every time I go to the store.
It’s pretty cold here too, but not in the 40’s yet! Nick and I got out the huge comforter last night, fall is here!
ahh! Hooray. Congrats on the weight loss. So many good eats today. I am loving the look of that kiwi. Can’t believe how chili it got there today. Stay toasty 😉