Good morning friends! How is everyone this morning? It is cold and rainy here. I was up and showered and dressed for work when DS declared he had a sore throat, so we are both staying home. I will take it as a "bonus day" and sit at my scrapbook table most of the day!
QOTD: What cd is in your car right now? Well... I'll have to take a peek.. okay, I have
Cars soundtrack (great for roadtrips!),
Guys and Dolls soundtrack (one of my favorites... and DS is in the musical at school this year)
Phantom of the Opera soundtrack
Shout to the Lord
Journey Greatest Hits (most recent addition)
Lord I Lift Your Name on High
10 Disney Favorites: Songs from the Sea
Abba Gold
Disney's Greatest Volumes 2 and 3 (the rest are in the house and I rotate through them)
Carole King Tapestry
Car Talk (recorded from Audible.com)... love these guys!!
Chicago: The very best Volume 2
Best of the 70's Supergroups
Saturday Night Fever
A wide variety, as you can see. We are in the car a LOT, but it is usually a local radio station when DD is in charge of the radio buttons! She LOVES Taylor Swift right now.
Qotd Tuesday:
What is one of your most embarrasing moments relating to being overweight?
Honestly, I can't think of anything in particular that stands out. I was made fun of for being overweight in middle school, but honestly I wasn't really very overweight then.
Just kids being mean I guess.
I was always uncomfortable in my own skin when I was overweight. I NEVER wanted to be in a situation to meet new people, etc. because I assumed I was being judged by my weight. I even avoided situations where I might see family members I don't see very often. So nothing specific.... just lots of non-specific embarrasing moments.
I made a nice dinner the other night that I would like to share with you all. I didn't really stop and figure out the points/calories, but it was a delicious, relatively healthy fall meal. It is a "made up" recipe, so no real specific measurements, but it was so easy.
Pamela's Harvest Chicken and Sausage
5-8 skinless chicken thighs (you could also use breasts or legs)
4-8 sweet apple chicken sausage links (I can't remember the brand I used, but they were relatively low fat).
Butternut squash, peeled and cubed (I used 1/2 a large squash, but it wasn't enough)
Onion (1-2 large) peeled and cut into small chunks
EVOO
Maple syrup (real or fake or "light"... depending on your needs and tastes)
Poultry seasoning
Apple pie spice
Spray 9 x 13 glass dish with non-stick spray. If you are making a large portion, you may use a larger dish or two dishes.
Place chicken thighs and sausage links (alternating pattern) in dish. I cut the links in half before doing this to make cooking faster and portioning easier.
Drizzle very lightly with EVOO (you may brush it on the chicken thighs more directly if you are concerned about them drying out without the skin). Sprinkle lightly with poultry seasoning.
Top with squash and onion. When I made it, the squash and onion didn't cover the chicken... it kind of just fell into the empty spaces in the dish and some chunks sat on top of the chicken and sausage. Sprinkle all lightly with apple pie spice. (Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves would work also I suppose.)
Drizzle the entire dish lightly with maple syrup. I would guess that I used about 1/4 C of light syrup for a 9 x 13 dish.
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 45 - 55 minutes (you may need to change baking time depending on your choice of chicken parts, etc).
The entire family (well, except for DS with his chicken allergy) loved this. It made excellent leftovers and reheated well. I LOVE butternut squash, so this was great for me. I was also going to add sweet potato, but I'm the only one in the family who likes them, so I didn't bother. I think that you could also add carrots..... I wish I had thought of that when I made it.
I used a store brand of "light" pancake syrup that I have been buying for years. I even watered it down a bit to make it drizzle easier. It worked out fine.
I also made hamburger soup this weekend. I use low sodium V-8 juice for the base, instead of tomato soup. I LOVE that my family likes this soup and they don't realize how good it is for them. I cook the hamburg ahead and drain and rinse it in hot water. I use about 1 lb of meat and it makes enough soup for 1 1/2 meals for the four of us. It is really low fat after I rinse the meat and it has carrots, onions, celery, and potato, so lots of veggies. The original recipe called for corn also, but we are not corn fans, so I skip that. I have put kidney beans in it in the past... they don't love beans except in chili, so they complained (although I thought it was great). But the beans are an excellent addition... especially if you are using very little meat.
Well... guess I will make the most of my "found" time and head to the scrapbook table!..........................P
No snow this morning -- yay! There will be plenty of time for that!
That put a damper on the whole upgrade thing. It had never happened before or since so I am blaming it on an old plane. 
).
(and if theres something you want to know, just ask me!)
- I'm with you - don't like looking pregnant when I'm not. Your embarrassing moment reminded me of one I had apparently blocked out:
I'm glad I'm on the right track now, but it's hard to hear that people think of you as overweight.
