It took Tony, Hannah and I over 90 minutes to shovel and snow plow our drive and deck.  It actually felt really good, the sun was shining and I really worked up a sweat!  I entered the activity into eTools and discovered I’d only earned 4 activity points – WTF?!

We don’t have a garage, so we had to first dig out the last car in the drive, then move each car after that.  The dog was a bit freaked out by the snow blower but he loved it.  It’s probably the most fresh air he’s gotten in a long time. 😀

Hannah in action
And even ass cancer couldn’t slow Tony down!
this is the front of our house – in some parts the snow drifts were up to my waste!

After we got done, it was time to bake bread!  I made the dough a couple hours before.  I made the Simple Crusty Bread, i.e. Artisan Bread in five minutes.   Although this time since I had time, I decided to try out different washes on each of the 4 loaves of bread it made.  One brushed with butter, one with egg white/water, one with just egg yolk water, and one with nothing.  I sprinkled each loaf with either fresh rosemary and Hawaiian sea salt, or sesame seeds with sea salt.

I really, really love this dough 😀

love all the nooks and crannies 😀

Of all the loaves, I think this one brushed with the egg wash turned out to make a tad crunchier crust, but if I did a blind taste test, not sure I could tell the difference.  I am quite confident that I could sustain myself on bread and cheese!  (um, and wine too 😀 )

I had originally planned for our dinner tonight to be done in the crock pot, but because of our snow day yesterday, I was able to do it in my dutch oven.

Italian Pot Roast (from http://mybizzykitchen.com)

Ø 10 servings: approx.  5 ounces of meat and ½ cup of sauce)

Ø 341 calories, 12.8 fat, 4.2 carbs, 1.0 fiber and 45 protein)

Ø 8 PointsPlus per serving.

Ingredients:

  • 1 three pound chuck roast
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 celery rib, chopped
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 8 oz. mushrooms, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons  tomato paste
  • 1 14.5 ounce can chopped tomatoes
  • ½ cup tomato sauce
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • Salt and pepper for roast

Instructions

1.     Heat oven to 300 degrees.  Pat the roast dry with paper towels, then generously sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2.     Heat oil in oven safe pot over medium-high heat.  Brown roast on all sides, about 10 to 12 minutes.  Transfer to a plate.

3.     Reduce heat to medium-low.  Add celery, carrot, mushrooms, and tomato paste, and cook until softened, about 5 to 8 minutes.

4.     Add diced canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, wine, and garlic.  Cook for 15 minutes.  Using a stick blender, puree mixture.

5.     Add seared roast, any drippings on the plate into the tomato mixture.  Add a sprig of rosemary and the oregano, stir.

6.     Cover and cook for two hours, or until the meat is fork tender.  Serve the meat and sauce over polenta, rice or thick noodles.

make sure to dry the roast, then salt and pepper generously
don’t skip this step – it gives the dish a depth of flavor
I used half a can of tomatoes from a 28 ounce can
here is how it looks after two hours – the sauce is so flavorful and rich
8 points for sauce and meat, 4 points for pasta, 1 point for Parm = 13 point delicious dinner!

Stats for Wednesday:

  • 28 Points (breakfast and lunch were both 7 points)
  • 90 minutes shoveling/snow blowing
  • average blood sugar 121

A huge THANK YOU to Helen – I was runner up in her giveaway – check out all this TaeBo Loot!

Tony found the package in the snow!