Not shockingly, if you work the Weight Watcher program, it actually works. 😀  I had my planned splurges, which included a giant 20 point lunch on Monday with my Mom and sister, but I balanced it out with a low point breakfast and dinner.  I only went to the gym twice, but I got 10k steps every day except one.  I limited my wine intake (still working on the water!) and my working the plan paid off with a 2.4 pound loss this week.

Now the plan is to have a loss two weeks in a row. 😀   If you follow me on Instagram, I now have a highlighted video on how I get my corn tortillas crispy.  

 

I hung out with my new friend Jen after Weight Watchers.  She goes to the 8:30 meeting and finally had the courage to say hello to me after following me for a while.  So glad she did, because she super nice and fun.  We went to Planet Fitness after our meeting and walked for 45 minutes, talking the whole time, so it felt like five minutes.  Then went to the discount meat bin at Jewel.  She doesn’t cook all that often, so I am hoping to help her get out of her comfort zone in the kitchen.  I suggested a cooking class after our meat bin trip at her house (she has a gorgeous kitchen), so we’ll see. 😀

I also ran into my friend Erin (old field hockey friend!) at Walmart of all places.  We run into each other, say “we need to hang out!” until the next time we run into each other.  I’m going to text her this week for burgers and beer at our local hangout – I know that life keeps rolling along, and if you don’t put something on the calendar, it will never happen.

I scored on cubed butternut squash.  I will always pay more to have it prepared – it is so hard for me to cut, even with microwaving it to make the skin soft.  Hannah loves Jessica’s Butternut Squash queso, so I made some for our appetizer before dinner on Saturday.  The bonus of only eating two meals on the weekend is that I could indulge in this queso and chips and it fit into my daily points.

I lightened up Jessica’s recipe here, but I switched up the recipe because I didn’t want to heat my oven – I simply microwaved that bag below for 3 minutes, and continued on with the recipe.  It was ready in about 6 minutes.

That cheese though!  I used Cabot Extra Sharp cheddar cheese – if you use the good stuff, you can get away with using less cheese.  And even if you don’t like butternut squash, trust me, you will love this dip – I add canned chipotle peppers so its the perfect balance of sweet and heat.  

I scored a two pound sirloin steak for $3.24 cents from the discount meat bin.  I did a wet rub which was a teaspoon of grape seed oil and two teaspoons of Code 3 Spices 5-0 seasoning.  Grilled to medium (the grill was hotter than I thought!), but still tender and delicious.  I roasted carrots in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then finished them on the grill.  So good.

Jacob is starting his masters program, so he had a couple papers to write, so Hannah and I were footloose for a couple hours.  We spent way to much time at Ross and the Dollar Tree, but had so much fun.  She’s just like me – we have to go down every aisle and pretty much touch everything.

I am loving this Nicole Miller lunch bag – my other one was getting gross no matter how many times I tried to wash it.  This was only $8 at Ross.

I also bought a new pair of sheets – $12 on the discount rack – I felt like a 12 year old girl buying these milk and cookies sheets.  Once the bed is made, no one will know 😀

I have a couple recipes to share this week – later this week I adapted Laney from Life is But a Dish chicken parmesan chicken meatballs.  This whole skillet, including the cheese is only 11 points.  I plan on having this dish over pasta one night, stuffed into zucchini boats, and then a meatball sub for lunch one day – cook once, eat three times!

My next blog for The Chopping Block I think will post later this week – I made this farmers market inspired corn and potato soup – only 4 points for 2 cups!  It’s light, and because I used a baked potato (just peeled the skin) in the recipe, this was ready in 10 minutes.  I’ll share the link when it goes live on their blog. 

It was Jacob’s Dad’s birthday yesterday so we invited him over for a BBQ.  I did grilled chicken thighs ($2.28 for the whole package!), a shaved Brussels Sprouts saute (my MIL would be proud – Bonnie loves Brussels sprouts!) and macaroni and cheese, because Hannah has the taste buds of a six year old.

I sauteed a bag of shaved Brussels sprouts in a teaspoon of grape seed oil, two tablespoons of bacon bits, and then at the end, tossed it in a tablespoon of Italian dressing.  I liked this!

And because Hannah believes shaped pasta tastes better, I made her this cork screw pasta.  

Happy Monday my friends!  I hope your weekend was spent with family, friends, shopping and good food.  Know that every day you can make your day better by setting your mindset for the day.  I nearly bought this at Ross, but in the end, Hannah and I paired back on the stuff we were buying – but I love it.

So chose to be fabulous today!  

Make it a great day