When I got home from work yesterday, Tony asked me to guess what he had for lunch.  He said it was something we had in the house – it’s such a fun game we play (feel free to gag at this point if you wish!).  Anywho, he told me he had some of my schiacciata bread with thinly sliced proscuitto.  I instantly knew I wanted to make a breakfast sandwich with that bread, adding some fresh basil for more Italian flavor.  And then the Irish in me added two slices of corned beef! šŸ˜€

  • 2 ounces of schiacciata, toasted
  • 1 Pam fried egg
  • 1/2 ounce cheddar cheese
  • 2 slices corned beef
  • 2 slices fresh basil

Delicious!!  I also thought that roasted red pepper would be a good addition next time. šŸ˜€

I had this with an unphotographed blood orange – breakfast comes in at 10 Points Plus

So in order to combat my 1.6 weight gain last week, I decided to challenge myself at my lunch workout.  I got on the Expresso bike,  I skipped past basic and moderate, and landed on “challenging.”  I should have known how hard my workout was going to be when the 8 mile route I took was called “Wicked Workout.”

Holy shit.  This about kicked my ass, and I literally contemplated getting off a few times and doing something else.  At three separate parts in the 8 mile ride, there were hill climbs that ended up at 43% incline – I brought my gears down to 8 mph just so I could keep pedaling.  All the while, a little old man is on the bike next to me.  He keeps burping.  Very out loud.  And after each burp he says “excuuuuuuze me.”

Part of me wanted to laugh, but the other part of me was like, really?  Can’t you see I am dying on this run and you keep burping?  It took me 34:45 to finish the 8 mile ride and I spent the next 15 minutes just lightly pedaling to cool down.  I am so happy I didn’t quit!

So I borrowed the America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family cookbook from the library.  They had their take on Tortilla Soup.  I adjusted it a bit, because of course you know I left out the onions, but I also didn’t fry up tortilla strips or use cheese or avocado for garnish – I just used zero point cilantro and lime wedges. šŸ˜€

Chicken Tortilla Soup (adapted from America’s Test Kitchen)

  • Makes 4, 2 1/4 cup servings for 6 PointsPlus

Ingredients:

  • 2 bone-in, chicken breasts (skin removed) or about 1 1/4 pounds (my chicken breasts were smaller, so I used 3)
  • 8 cups chicken broth
  • 4 medium garlic cloves, peeled
  • 8 sprigs of cilantro
  • 6 roma tomatoes, cored and quartered (any tomato will do, but roma tomatoes were on sale – 2 large regular tomatoes will do)
  • 1/4 jalapeno pepper
  • 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • lime wedges
  • fresh cilantro

Directions:

  1. Bring broth, 2 garlic cloves, cilantro and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to boil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven or large pan.  Reduce the heat to low, add chicken, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, just until the chicken is cooked through.  Transfer the chicken to a large plate.  Strain the broth, discard the solids.  When cool enough to handle, shred the chicken off of the bones.
  2. Puree tomatoes, 2 remaining garlic cloves, jalapeno, adobo sauce in a food processor until smooth.  Heat same Dutch oven over high heat and add tomato mixture with additional 1/8 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes.  Stir broth mixture into tomato mixture and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
  3. Add shredded chicken and corn and simmer until heated through, about 5-8 minutes.
  4. To serve, place soup in bowl, crumble 1/2 ounce of tortilla chips (add 2 points), fresh cilantro and a squeeze of 1/4 of a lime.
A delicious 8 point lunch šŸ˜€
try to use bone-in chicken breasts if you can – they have so much more flavor

My co-workers always tell me if a dish makes their Top 5 Biz dishes – it doesn’t matter that they have about 20 favorite things šŸ˜€  When I got back from my workout, here is the note I found on my desk:

I think the tortillas, cilantro and lime pulled this soup all together

I sometimes have to remind myself that I normally cook dinner for just myself and Tony.  But fresh turkey breasts were on sale, and I couldn’t help myself.  Here is how you cook perfect grilled turkey.

  1. Marinate in 1/2 cup Paul Newman’s light balsamic dressing all day.
  2. Heat your gas grill to 350 degrees.
  3. Put your turkey on a cookie rack on top of a cast iron skillet.  The skillet will collect any drippings so you don’t have any flare-ups.
  4. Listen to your husband when you suggest cooking the turkey skin sound down on the grill grate first, and he tells you that the skin will crisp up nicely if you just set it and forget it.  (Thanks Tony!)
  5. Put a meat thermometer in and remove the turkey when it hits 160 degrees.
  6. Let rest at least 15 minutes before slicing.
also multi-task by grilling up pablano peppers for a vegetarian chili I am making for Friday’s lunch
I actually enjoy the charred bits

Serve with mashed potatoes, packaged brown gravy (1 point for 1/4 cup!) and green beans – then enjoy!

Dinner is 9 Points

And also pretend that even though the sunset is gorgeous and you wish it were 70 degrees, realize that you should have worn your winter coat because you were grilling in 30 degree weather. šŸ™

Stats for Tuesday:

  • 33 points (including wine)
  • 33 flex points remaining, 18 activity points earned
  • 35 minute 8 mile wicked bike ride, 15 minute cool down
  • average blood sugar 112

Come back tomorrow for turkey enchiladas (turns out I have a lot of leftover turkey!) for the BSI this week – Salsa! šŸ˜€