Crescent Roll Stuffed Sandwich

 This recipe was floating around facebook this past year and I decided to try it for our Super Bowl party last February.  It was delish!  I made two for our family of 8, and had lots of other food also.  We had no leftovers. :)

Start by opening two cans of crescent roll dough and arranging them in a rough circle like so on an UNGREASED cookie sheet or pizza circle:

 If you like peppers, drain some pre-cooked ones (you don't want any extra liquid inside the sandwich, so pat dry with paper towels to be sure and get all the liquid out) and arrange in a circle on top of the dough.

Layer with meat, such as ham and salami.

Then add cheese.  I used provolone.

Add a second layer of meat and then cheese again.

Fold the flaps over the meat and cheese pile toward the center of the ring, and tuck underneath.  Lightly sprinkle surface of dough with pepper.

Bake in a 375 oven for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.

Here was the rest of our Super Bowl party spread.  As you can see, we were cheering for the Seahawks!!

This was a hit and super easy.  I will definitely make again.

Sugar Fast - Final Update

I completed my 8 week sugar fast some time ago.  I lost a total of 13 pounds JUST from cutting out sugar.  I added no exercise or any other dietary restrictions.  I felt much better mentally and did not have my usual intense afternoon slumps.  During those 8 weeks I intentionally "cheated" 6 times, to demonstrate to myself that I was master of the diet rather than the diet being master of me.

My breakfast was almost always 2 eggs scrambled with mushrooms (and/or any other leftover veggies such as potatoes), cheese, and fresh basil.

Lunch was often something like this:

Since fruit was banned for those 8 weeks (except for blueberries, which are super low in fructose and high in other good things) I ate lots and lots of raw veggies.  So by default I ended up consuming fewer calories, probably heavily contributing to my weight loss.

Since my fast ended I have tried to be "low sugar" but feel the need to do another fast pretty soon.  The main thing the fast did for me was help me to be aware of all the hidden sugar I was consuming, and I see it creeping back into my diet.

The permanent changes have been:

I quit Snapple.

I quit buying sugary cereals for the kids.

Much greater awareness.

So, fast #2 coming soon!

Sugar Update

I am on day16 of 48 days of no sugar.  I *have* had sugar cravings, but they are not overwhelming, especially if I am intentional about getting lots of protein and making sure that most of my carbs are of the complex, high fiber kind.  I have no afternoon "slumps" and have also, serendipitiously, lost ten pounds!!  Yippee!

I have cut out Snapple, sugary cereals, cookies, ice cream, syrup (on pancakes), and sugar in my tea.

I have added eggs for breakfast virtually every day, loads of snacking on raw veggies (my favorite is sugar snap peas), homemade sugar-free chocolate for my sweet tooth cravings, and lots and lots of water.  (I drank water before, but now it is almost all I ever drink)

So far, so good!  Lord, help me to stay the course!

I Quit Sugar - Days 1 and 2 (cross post from my other blog)

Two days ago I quit sugar.

I had been feeling moderately convicted to do it for months, but was ignoring the conviction because, well, I knew it would be hard.  And I am tired of doing hard things.  But the conviction got stronger, and the guilt at telling my children to do hard things while I was unwilling to do so, got heavier.  I signed up for this quitting sugar support group, but they weren't starting until October.  So I decided to just take the plunge and do it now on my own.

What that means is that for the next 8 weeks I am cutting out ALL sugar (as much as possible anyway) from my diet.  No pop or Snapple, no Cheerios, no fresh or dried fruit, no cookies or muffins (at least not the way I am used to making them).  No ice cream or orange juice or lemonade! It DOES mean meat, and lots and lots of veggies, bread, cheese, eggs, nuts, and a new way of preparing snacks and desserts.  After 8 weeks I will slowly add back in some low fructose fruits and see how my body tolerates them.

My timing is somewhat ironic, as we are experiencing warmer-than-normal temps and currently have no a/c in the house, so I am already dragging from the heat.  Now I am also dragging from the sugar crash, or withdrawal, or whatever you call it when your body suddenly realizes it's being deprived of the chemical jolt it was used to getting (multiple times) every day.

Day 1 was not too bad, actually.  I made myself an awesome omelette for breakfast, with two eggs and loads of veggies, a bit of cheese and a touch of fresh basil.  So I was all protein-ed up and satisfied for several hours.  My hardest time came before bed, when I wanted a small snack and didn't think I had any good sugar free options.  After a bit of googling, I came up with toast with peanut butter on it.

Day 2, yesterday, was REALLY hard.  My body just wanted sugar sooooo badly!   I made it through the day, but it required every ounce of will power I had, and I was not a very pleasant person that last hour before dinner.

Today I have dinner already prepared, sitting in the fridge waiting to bake tonight.  I will move our toaster oven out to the porch and cook dinner out there so it will not make my kitchen any hotter.  I am trying my hand at my first naturally sweetened, non-bake dessert.  This no-sugar way of eating is requiring adjustments to the way I plan and prepare for meals, but I like that it is really simple.  There is really only one prohibition so it's really easy to remember!

I'll let you know how it goes....

Zucchini Pizza Boats

I saw this recipe floating around the internet last week and thought it looked really yummy, so I decided to give it a try.  It did NOT disappoint!  It tasted as good as it looks, unless it doesn't look good to you, and in that case it tasted BETTER!  I wasn't sure everyone in my family would like zucchini as the "crust" of this pizza, but EVERY single person liked it!  Win!  Another winning aspect of this recipe is that prep time is very short and bake time is short.  If you had all the ingredients ready to go, this could be a meal in 30 minutes!

Start by slicing several washed zucchini down the middle length-wise.  Mix one T olive oil with minced garlic and brush over the zucchini.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Then top with marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese (optional).

Layer pepperoni slices on the very top.  I used bigger slices, but you can use smaller ones, too.

Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes, longer if you want crunchier zucchini, and a bit less if you like softer zucchini.

When done cooking, sprinkle oregano on the top, let cool and serve.  YUM!

This was well liked by all and I will definitely make it again.

Supreme Pizza Burgers

This is another recipe from The Pioneer Woman, and it was F.A.N.T.A.S.T.I.C.  Definitely among the best burgers I have ever had in my entire life!!  Again, Ree's pictures and description are way better than mine, so please go check out this recipe on her blog.  You can practically taste the deliciousness through the computer screen!  For my own reference (I do use this blog as my recipe book!) I will include the recipe here too.

This is basically a supreme pizza in hamburger form, which is great because you can customize it depending on what supreme pizza ingredients the members of your family like.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 pound (or more) Italian sausage
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
Sliced Provolone or Mozzarella cheese (2 or 3 slices per burger)
Pepperoni slices
Marinara sauce (won't use the whole jar)
Grated Parmesan cheese
Kaiser rolls or good hamburger buns
Thinly sliced red onion (optional)
Whole green pepper, sliced in rings (optional)
Sliced black olives (optional)
Sliced mushrooms (canned or fresh - optional)


Procedure

Combine ground beef, sausage, and Italian seasoning in a bowl and mix well.  Form mixture into hamburger patties.  Fry the burgers on one side for several minutes.  Flip over and let cooking begin on the other side.  On the top of each burger, place 2 slices of cheese and several pepperoni slices.  Spoon a dollop of marinara sauce on top of the pepperoni and then lay a couple thin slices of red onion on top of that.  Layer the rest of the ingredients or not, depending on the tastes of your family ~ mushrooms, sliced olives, and green pepper rings.

Spoon a bit of marinara sauce on the top of all these ingredients and then layer another slice of cheese on the very top.  Cover with lid and let the burgers cook all the way through while the cheese melts and the toppings get warm.

In a separate skillet, cook the front and back of each side of the kaiser rolls in a good amount of butter.  When one side is done, flip over and on the top (cooked) side put a spoonful of marinara sauce and sprinkle some parmesan cheese while the bottom side cooks.  When the burger is done, lay it on this marinara "bed", top with the other half of the kaiser roll, and.... voila! 

A supreme pizza burger.  Delish!

Chicken Florentine Pasta

I got this recipe from The Pioneer Woman's cooking blog, and it was WONDERFUL!  Very delicious, and it made me feel healthy. :-)  She has much better pictures, and a much better description, so you should just hop on over to her blog and read it there....

but for those of you committed to staying here, here is the list of ingredients:

1 pound of penne
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
2 T butter
2 T olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3/4 cup dry white wine (didn't have any so I skipped this)
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 bag of baby spinach
2 cups grape tomatoes, cut length-wise
4 ounces of parmesan cheese, shaved with vegetable peeler (did not have chunk parmesan, just grated parmesan for spaghetti, so I used that ~ it doesn't look nearly as nice, but it tastes good!)

Cook pasta according to package instructions, drain, and set aside.

Cut the chicken into bite sized chunks, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and add to skillet on high heat with butter and olive oil.  Lay flat in one layer and let the chicken cook on one side for a couple minutes.  Turn chicken over and cook on the other side.  Let the pieces cook through until they are nice and done.  Remove chicken from pan and set aside.   Turn heat down and add garlic to pan, stirring it around so it doesn't burn.  Pour in the white wine (if using) and chicken broth (double the amount of chicken broth if not using wine).  Allow the liquid to bubble up, and then cook so it is reduced by at least half.   Turn off the heat.

Add spinach, tomatoes, chicken, and cooked pasta to the skillet.  Toss to combine.  The spinach will wilt a bit as you toss with the hot chicken and pasta (and this is a good thing).  Add parmesan shavings (or grated parmesan) and toss again.

Voila!  Chicken florentine pasta!  Thank you Pioneer Woman!