I am lucky in the fact that Tony takes excellent care of our cars. We both drive 2001 cars, which have been paid off for almost six years, and we love not having car payments. But at some point, there are just some things that he can’t take care of.
Our Ford Explorer has been sitting in our driveway, because we thought it needed a new transmission. We hemmed and hawed on what to do, and finally bit the bullet and decided to get it fixed. We did some research and figured it was going to cost us around $2500. We don’t have credit cards, so that’s a pretty big chunk of money!
We had it towed from our drive last week (FYI, if you have State Farm Insurance, check and see if you have unlimited towing. It doesn’t matter what the tow is for, they will reimburse you. We paid $69 for the tow, and I faxed it to our agent and two days later we got a reimbursement check!)
Hannah called me yesterday to say the auto repair place called and said the truck was ready. I am not going to lie when I was thinking of writing a check for that sum of money at one time didn’t turn my stomach into knots. So I called the guy back. He’s foreign, Tony and I think he’s either Russian or Ukranian – doesn’t matter, but he’s difficult to understand.
So I hear the work “transmission” and am trying to figure out what else he is telling me, when I stopped him and said “can you tell me how much?” It will be $120. At first I thought “did he mean to say twelve hundred dollars?”
Turns out it was just the line to the transmission that needed to be repaired! Hallelujah! So Tony and Hannah went and picked it up yesterday afternoon and it is back home. Whew!
Breakfast was an oldie but a goodie. I haven’t made it in a while either. 5 oz baked potato (which was half of one giant potato). I scooped out the insides and cooked that with 1 egg and 1/4 cup diced red pepper. I stuffed the egg mixture back into the potato shell, topped it with an ounce of cheese and put it in the toaster oven under broil to melt the cheese.
I realized as I was waiting for the cheese to melt that this would be a great breakfast if you had guests over, because you could do it the day before then just reheat the potatoes and broil the cheese. 😀
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For some reason I just did not want to work out yesterday. I hadn’t worked out since last Thursday, and its amazing how once you take a couple days off, its hard to get back to it. While part of me just wanted to go through the drive thru at McDonald’s (which is right next to the gym by the way!) I ended up doing a 5.3 hill climb on the bike machine. OMG, I was dying after 10 minutes, but I stuck with it. I then did 15 minutes on the treadmill to round out the workout.
My face gets super RED when I work out, so I made my sweaty picture black and white.
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My inspiration for lunch was from another blogger – Kim of Stirring the Pot. But since I think my family would throw up in their mouths a bit at the thought of spicy turkey meatballs, I adapted it for one serving, also using what I had on hand.
Biz’s Spicy Asian Meatballs for One
(268 calories, 9.1 fat, 9.8 carbs, .7 fiber and 34 protein)
- 4 ounces ground turkey breast
- 2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon sriracha sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Szechwan seasoning (mine is McCormick) but crushed red pepper will work too
- 1 tablespoon House of Tsang Szechwan sauce
Mix everything together except for the Szechwan sauce. Heat Pam or oil in non-stick pan over medium heat. Brown the meatballs all over. When they are almost done, pour the tablespoon of Szechwan sauce in the pan and toss to make sure each meatball is coated. Serve with rice and steamed veggies.
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Green Giant has a line of “steamers” out. You just toss the bag in the microwave and call it a day. While I don’t normally buy these products, it was in the 50% off bin, so I couldn’t resist. The one I had was rice with carrots and green beans – 1 cup was 180 calories.
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I am glad I decided to give ground turkey another chance – these meatballs were delicious!
I am happy to say that Tony is starting to feel better! Not 100%, but he’s getting there. So while he had buttered noodles for dinner, Hannah and I had my mock Panera Broccoli soup with grilled cheese sammies.
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And one of my favorite cheese for my grilled cheese sandwich:
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Stats for Tuesday:
- 1409 calories, 131 carbs, 81 protein, 57 fat and 13 fiber
- 37% of calories from fat
- 109 average blood sugar
Who watched Glee last night? It was so good! Alright, I am off to make apple pancakes with nutty topping for breakfast – it will be close to see if I can get it done and out the door on time this morning! 😀
Make it a Great Day!
Those meatballs look fab! Glad your car repair wasn’t horrendous. Transmissions are the one of the worst things to have to repair!
I’m so clueless about cars. A small part of me will be relieved when I move and leave my car behind!
i live for glee! it was definitely one of my faves last night. the meatballs look awesome, isn’t kim great!
Wow, that’s awesome about the car repair! I had the opposite earlier this summer – went in for an oil change/filter change/tire rotation and walked out nearly $2k poorer. 🙁 Such an awesome feeling though when the opposite works out for you!!
oh man, you must be SO relieved about your car! finding out something costs way less than what you have already anticipated is definitely one of life’s little joys 🙂
by the way, i’ve already starred the meatball recipe. it looks easy and delicious!
I love the meatball recipe. I didn’t know you didn’t like ground turkey… I love it!
I’ve made a similar meatball with part Italian sausage and part ground chicken that turned out totally deluxe.
Glad Tony is feeling a bit better – hope he’s fully recovered soon!
Nice job on your workout and blood glucose levels! 🙂 And those meatballs? Look divine!!!
Glee was uhhh mazing!
Phew! I’m so happy for you about the car repair! We don’t use credit cards either so I feel you!
Those meatballs look so yummy! Gotta try them out on my family soon!
PS…be proud of your full eyebrows! Some of us have to draw ours in! 😉
I am definitely going to make those meatballs. YUM! And what a great idea for breakfast.
So how much time do you spend cooking per day anyway? Curious. 🙂
A big congrats on the car repair. Now is the time to go out and buy a lottery ticket. 😀
Not as much as you would think during the week – maybe 30 to 45 minutes a day overall. On the weekends its usually more – especially when its cold outside!
Not as much as you would think – maybe 30 to 45 minutes a day total? More on the weekends, especially when its cold outside!
I was SO HAPPY to read that about your vehicle, it made me a little emotional! How nice to get a break, especially this time of year.
Ground turkey… love it for some things, not so much for others.
Paid off cars and no credit cards… the road to real wealth!
Never heard of sriracha sauce… is there a close equivalent??
Here is a link with the picture – you should be able to find it either with hot sauces, or in the Asian aisle.
http://www.theperfectpantry.com/2009/05/sriracha-recipe-asian-broccoli-slaw.html
Those meatballs look amazing, but I can’t bring myself to eat ground turkey 🙁 So happy for you that your car repair only ended up costing your $120, that is a great surprise!
I’m a HUGE Glee fan, and last night was one of my favorite episodes. I’m also a huge Christmas music fan, so naturally I had already bought the Glee Christmas album the day it came out 🙂
You shouldn’t have pointed out your eyebrows, Biz, we never noticed! Now your gonna have to start plucking. 😉 I really have never done mine either and I don’t care enough to–don’t sweat it–they’re fine! What a relief on the car repair! Surprises like that are nice. Those meatballs and the grilled cheese have my tummy growling. Oh, and I have been buying those steamers lately for convenience and usually eat the whole pack b/c the ones I get are just around 150 for the whole thing and I find them so tasty! My favorite is the broccoli and cheese. 🙂
I am actually going to be getting them threaded – soon! I have super sensitive skin, and while threading my eyebrowns hurts like a son of a bitch – the pain is short lived and it doesn’t look as if someone just punched me in the eyes like when I get waxed! 😀
Thanks goodness your car repair did not cost as much as you thought. What a relief. Those meatballs look yummy!
Those meatballs made my mouth water! Good for you for getting the workout in–I could use some motivation in that department!
So happy for you and that sweet car repair bill!!! I hate hearing the word “transmission” – and unfortunately I’ve heard it several times. 🙁
Yum to the meatballs! I recently made some spaghetti sauce using ground turkey and it was really, really good – I’m with you…when did ground turkey become so tasty?!?
That is awesome about the car. Jack always says that a repair is cheaper than car payments! I’m with you about cars…if it can get me from Point A to Point B (safely, of course) it’s all good.
I go to the YMCA near our house and I love it once I get there…getting there is the problem. Am going to try those meatballs and I just looked up the recipe for the pancakes…boy, those look good, too.
Wow those meatballs look awesome!! I might have to try them sometime.
I want to you know that I tried to channel you yesterday at the gym. I am always impressed by the ability to walk at 4.0 mph up a 10% incline for 45 minutes.
Well, I couldn’t do that, but I did do 7% and 3.5mph for 20 minutes. My knee just couldn’t take anything steeper or faster.
Well reading your comment pushed me at my lunch workout today – so we are even! 😀
Hi Biz,
BIG phew that the car repair wasn’t too horrible!!! And the meatballs for one look amazing!! I’ll be bookmarking that one! Have a wonderful day!