The Best Pizza EVER

One week ago today, I was eating the best pizza I have ever eaten and probably ever will eat.  Bocce Pizza is amazing.  I think part of it is that we always order sheet pizzas, and there's something awesome about eating square pieces, but it's also delicious.  Even my dog-niece Zoey Pickles couldn't wait to get some!

I only eat the middle pieces because it allows for the most sauce and cheese, and luckily my family allows me to manhandle the pizza to get my perfect piece.  While I was in high school, my family lived in northcentral PA, and the pizza was subpar.  Whenever they came to visit us, my grandparents would bring us a Bocce sheet pizza every time-- life was good on those days!

While home, I refrained from eating more than 2 pieces that first day, but I did hide some leftovers from my family to take home with me.  Even cold, this pizza is amazing, and I have been able to enjoy it every other day since last Sunday :)  Too bad I only have one piece left....I'm lucky that Bocce ships nationally!

Trader Joe's Brownies

One of my favorite things to do is to bake.  When I'm stressed and have lots to do, baking calms and centers me.  And it's only after I have baked something delicious that I can focus on the other million tasks at hand.  Between work, school, wedding planning, taking care of my house, etc, I had bake tonight.  I also love baking because I have great memories in the kitchen baking with my mom.  Even as a little girl, she always let me be her helper.

With Weight Watchers, I find it difficult to bake savory sweets that are also low in points, so when I saw this brownie mix at Trader Joe's, I threw it in my cart immediately.  

I was very skeptical of the mix-- can fat free anything really be good?  But it was worth of shot to see they were halfway decent.  It also didn't hurt that the brownies were easy to make, just combine the mix with yogurt.  The recipe calls for non-fat vanilla yogurt, but I had half a container of regular non-fat yogurt left in the fridge from the Talapia Masala, so I used that instead.

It's 3 points a brownie using an eight inch pan-- I used a larger pan for 18 brownies.  Now only 2 points a brownie!! And the brownies were delicious.  They tasted more like cake than a typical brownie, but had an awesome chocolaty taste.

They (because I had 2 instead of 1) hit the spot, and I am so excited to have found a great treat that doesn't bust my point bank.

Satisfying a Pasta Craving

I love pasta.  Plain and simple.  I grew up in a household where we had pasta as the main dish or the side dish practically every night.  I struggle with weight watchers, particularly since I crave pasta more than any other food (although chocolate sometimes takes a close second).  My problem is that there are too many points in the amount of pasta that I need (well, need might be an overstatement, but you get the idea).

While wandering around Trader Joe's, I found whole wheat gnocchi in the refrigerated section.  1/2 of a pretty good sized container of gnocchis is only 6 points, and if you're ever had gnocchis, you know that they are pretty filling.  I was psyched to bring them home and test them out!

I paired them with my favorite (and cheap) spaghetti sauce-- Francisco Rinaldi.  I stock up on them when they are 10 for $10.  We cooked the gnocchi a little too long, so the pasta was a little gooey than I preferred, but it definitely hit the spot.

We also added a piece of Texas Toast for each of us (it was in the freezer from our pre-Weight Watchers days, and you can't let good Texas Toast go to waste.  A perfect and simple Sunday dinner.

Point Values- Gnocchi 6, Sauce 4, Texas Toast 4, Parmesan Cheese 1.  

Jambalaya

I went home this past weekend, and while I didn't eat the healthiest, I definitely ate healthier than I normally do when I go home.  My mom and sister are both doing Weight Watchers, so the house was loaded with such delicious and fresh food.  Oh, to live in a house where fresh produce is eaten and doesn't go bad...

Being at home for the weekend was so amazing.  I normally only go home for the holidays, and even then, it's only for a few days and is so rushed.  Especially with wedding planning, going home consists of going from one appointment to the next and doing as much as we can in one visit.

This trip was different.  I booked a flight on a whim because the deal on southwest.com was so great and didn't have any plans.  The weekend was lovely, especially because I was home for almost 4 full days, and relaxation was the ticket.

Day 1:  Spending time with the mommy, running errands and a pedicure.

Day 2:  Ordering my sisters' bridesmaid dresses (my mom also bought her mother of the bride dress and my sister her graduation dress) and massage, shopping, and dinner with my sister Sarah.

Day 3:  Brunch with my wonderful cousin Katherine and watching the Super Bowl.  At my family's Super Bowl party, I got to help celebrate my brother's recent engagement, see my grandpa and all my siblings, and  enjoy delicious food...see pictures and recipe below!

Day 4:  See the bookstore that my mom did a wonderful job revamping, meet with and secure a priest for our wedding, and have lunch with the parents.

I couldn't have asked for a better weekend!

For the Super Bowl, my mom and sister were great with menu planning-- there was pizza and wings but also fruit, veggies, fresh guacamole, and jambalaya.  The jambalaya was adapted from Weight Watchers, but my mom (best cook I know) doctored it up to make it that much better!!

Shrimp and Chicken Jambalya

Mom showing off her delicious dish in the world's largest crock pot.

Ingredients

	2 tsp olive oil
	1 uncooked onion, sweet, chopped (about 1 cup)
	1 medium green pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)
	8 oz uncooked boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
	29 oz canned stewed tomatoes, undrained
	12 oz uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined (my mom peeled and deveined the shrimp; I think I would buy it already done)
	1 tsp Italian seasoning, dried
	1 tsp Creole seasoning
	2 cups cooked brown rice

Instructions

• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and pepper; cook, stirring, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in chicken; cook, stirring, until chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in remaining ingredients, except rice; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are cooked through, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in rice; continue cooking until liquid is almost absorbed and rice is thoroughly heated, about 2 minutes.

Beef and Lentil Slow-Cooker Stew

Today was a crock pot day.  I love being able to throw everything into the slow cooker and come home to a cozy house, smelling of cooked food.  Prep is minimal, especially if you buy stew beef (I had an extra section of the roast, so I cut that into chunks instead) and do the chopping of the veggies the night before.

We have a big crock pot, and the stew filled it up.  It makes 6 very large servings (and only 5 points!)-- hearty and delicious.  Austin was skeptical since he is not a lentil fan, but the lentils were soft and didn't open up, so even he ate it up!

Beef and Lentil Slow-Cooker Stew

	1 onion, chopped
	1 clove garlic, minced
	1 large uncooked zucchini, diced (I couldn't find zucchini, so I used two smaller yellow squash)
	16 oz uncooked lean beef round, cut into 1-inch chunks, or 1 pound
	1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
	14 1/2 oz canned diced tomatoes, undrained
	1 Tbsp canned tomato paste
	3/4 cup dry lentils
	4 cup canned beef broth
	1 tsp table salt
	1/4 tsp black pepper
	1/4 cup basil, fresh, slivered

Instructions

• Place all ingredients, except basil, in a 5-quart or larger slow cooker; stir well. Cook on LOW setting for 6 to 7 hours.
  
• Remove cover; stir in basil. Cover and cook on LOW setting for 5 minutes more. Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving. 5 points a serving.

It's Alive!

I bought my first laptop in the summer of 2004, and it served me somewhat faithfully until 2008.  At that point, it decided not to work :( and was stored away until my move to Virginia in August.  So last week, Austin found it in its new storage spot, and he actually turned on!!!

He decided that it was still too slow to be a real computer but would be perfect for a music program.  After wiping my hard drive cleaned and reinstalling Windows 7.  The program is a midi controller that triggers sounds on the computer from a keyboard that he had lying around.  Austin the rock star-- now he can record keyboard parts and add them to what he can do on the guitar.  I was/am very impressed by his tech-savvy.  The computer is alive...yay!

Meanwhile, I was studying diligently for my class (or trying not to fall asleep) while Austin used his new keyboard program :)

Mexican "Beef" over Polenta

The recipe below is an Austin approved dinner.  I was hoping he would like it for 2 reasons.  (1) He didn't care for the delicious tilapia with yogurt, and (2) he injured himself playing basketball :(

Austin enjoying dinner even though an injury!

Again, this recipe was modified from my Weight Watchers E-Tools.  I used ground turkey (one of my favorite substitutes, and in most cases, you can't really tell the difference, or it even tastes better), and polenta bought at Trader Joe's (I bought 3 packs over the weekend).

It was so quick and easy.  Dinner was made, served, eaten, and cleaned up in less than a 1/2 hours.  Great meal if we were on the go...or in this case, on the mend.

Mexican "Beef" over Polenta

Ingredients

	1 pound uncooked lean ground turkey
	1 uncooked onion, chopped
	14 1/2 oz canned diced tomatoes, with chiles, drained, reserve 1 Tbsp of liquid
	1 cup canned yellow corn, drained
	1/4 tsp table salt
	1/4 tsp ground cumin
	1/8 tsp black pepper
	1 container polenta
	1/3 cup fat free salsa
	1/3 cup shredded reduced-fat Mexican-style cheese
	2 Tbsp cilantro, or scallion, fresh, chopped (optional)

Instructions

• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook beef and onion, stirring frequently, until meat is fully cooked, about 5 to 7 minutes; drain off any liquid. Stir in tomatoes and reserved liquid, corn, salt, cumin and pepper; simmer 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
• Cut up polenta and spread on platter/plate.  Cook in microwave for 4-5 minites.
• Spoon polenta onto a large serving plate and top with beef mixture. Top with salsa, cheese and cilantro (or scallion). Divide into 6 portions and serve. 7 points a serving.