Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Fried Chicken (a new recipe)

We had fried chicken tonight, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas, and homemade rolls.

Yes, I have given up on the diet well not really given up but just taking a change of course. First, I am giving up the Atkins diet and I will now be eating more fruits and veggies and less fat and sugars, but not before tonight's ice cream binge. I haven't had ice cream in forever and am partaking in that sin tonight.

So on to fried chicken. I took a couple of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and dipped them in egg and water mixture and then dipped in seasoned bread crumbs, then into the cast iron skillet in about 1/4 inch of shortening. Fry for about 6-8 minutes on each side. Yum.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Sweater DONE!!

My son's sweater is done and it looks great. It is a perfect play sweater. Done in Homespun by Lionsbrand, it needs to be washed and dried but at this point I can't get him out of it to wash it. So that will have to wait.

I have started a new one for my youngest. It is the same pattern without the stripes and is going to be in Homespun purply-blue color. I will double knit a pink heart on the front when I am done.

Whitney's Still Not Cooking...

Okay now for the update on the diet. For all who have been keeping in touch and for all the great comments of wisdom and support, I purposefully fell off the wagon this past weekend. I was two pounds away from my goal and just needed a plate of spaghetti. Then we went out of town and pizza was on the menu for Saturday night and then fast food for two more meals. I just figured that it was time to take a break.

I am still at a solid 10 lbs lost and now have 5 to go to goal!! I will get there. Then I will start cooking again.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Diet Update

I have lost 10lbs as of this morning! I am 2/3 the way there to my first goal. I feel like dancing.

Mini Burgers

My kids love hamburgers. But they never eat the whole thing. So I tried something different.

MINI BURGERS!!

I bought some yummy potato dinner rolls which are half the size of the regular hamburger buns and I made mini burgers, about half the size of a regular burger. The kids loved the small size and it was a perfect fit for their mouths. Two of the kids ate two burgers!! Dinner was a success without me fussing at them to eat more and they thought it was fun!

PS: Even my husband said, "hey, these mini-burgers are fun to eat."

Case closed!

New Project, Well Old One Really

I tried the baby blanket two more times. I tried to crochet with the yarn and it still didn't turn out nice. I just don't think I like this yarn. I will use it to make some premie hats but it just doesn't have good weight for a blanket. So I am returning all the rest of it today.

So depressed and disappointed, I went to my stash. I really wanted to buy some more yarn to make the baby blankets but my husband would shoot me (no not literally, but I wouldn't hear the end of it for a while), so up to my closet and to my stash. I really didn't find much that interested me at the time and then I remembered. Yes, that is right. I hadn't finished the sweater I started for my son. So I pulled out that bag with the sweater in it and started working on it last night.

It is a simple stripe pattern that I got off of the LionBrand Homespun inside label on one of the skeins. The problem is that I don't think it will be fitting my son anymore but my daughter will enjoy it, hopefully. I had already finished the back and am now working on the front. Yes, I know the front looks so much skinnier but it is just because it is still on the needles. They are the same width. The stripes are fun and I have three more before I finish with the front and am able to do the sleeves. The pattern calls for only two stripes on the sleeves but I may add a few more for length.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

More Diet Info

Four days into it and I have now lost 7 1/2 lbs. I am on a roll (not one you eat, ha). I am half way to my goal of 15 lbs. I can't wait to step on the scale tomorrow morning to see how much more I have lost. I know the beginning several pounds are easy to drop and it is the last half that takes the longest so I am prepared.

Off to make some sugar-free jello for some instant gratification later. Eggs have become my friends!! This morning I went through the drive-thru at the local Burger King. For $1.58 I bought two sausage patties and one scrambled egg and a piece of melted cheese on top! With such success today and ordering ease I will probably venture there more often.

Tomorrow night we will be eating at Chick-Fil-a for a fundraising event for my children's school. I hope they will have something good for me. I do get sick of salad.

Have you ever...


started a project and then ripped it out? twice?? I just did. I wanted to start a baby blanket for a lady at work. She is in the beginning of her third trimester and she has had complications before in other pregnancies and I wanted to get this done kind of fast. I went out and bought the yarn, Bernat Baby Coordinates Twists in purple, and brought it home thinking it was good for this pattern. Boy was I wrong. It is too thin and too bumpy to see the pattern. So I ripped it out and thought to use the pattern on the inside of the wrapper that came with the yarn. So I began that baby blanket. Yuck. After three evenings working on it and struggling with the pattern it just looks horrible. So I ripped it out again. I wound up the yarn and I am going to take it back.


I am so disappointed because the yarn looked so cute and it felt so nice and soft but I just think it is too thin. Hmmm...maybe I will try to crochet with it. Perhaps that will work better. Maybe two strands at the same time will work.


Oh back to the drawing board...

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Diet Progress and Pizza Burgers

I promised I would keep you up to date with the progress. During the first few days I am obsessed with the scale. Wait, I am obsessed with it all the time but I don't normally do anything to make the scale go down just watch it go up.

Anyway, as promised I hopped on this morning and I had lost a total of 5 lbs so far. My goal is 15 lbs, so I am 1/3 of the way there.

I am heading out to dinner with some friends tonight and have looked up the menu on line so I am prepared to order when I arrive. I will be having the side salad, 6 oz filet cooked medium rare and steamed broccoli instead of the standard baked potato. No dessert but I will have a cup of coffee with sweet-n-low(how I drink it normally)

Tonight the rest of the family is having pizzaburgers! They are very easy. Brown hamburger and diced onion and then add your favorite spaghetti sauce but make it thick not juicy like for spaghetti. Then place a dollup of the sauce and meat on a hamburger bun and top with mozzerella cheese and put under the broiler until the cheese melts. Serve.

Diets Suck when you have to Cook

I am back on the wagon again. I have chosen the Atkins diet again and will keep you all (one of you, maybe...) posted on my progress.

What sucks is the fact that I still have to cook for the family, keeping in mind that I am the only one who is dieting. I am in the "induction" phase where you aren't supposed to eat more than 20g of Carbs a day. That is like NOTHING white!! No bread, sweets, fruits, rice, pasta, etc. Hey Lel, don't you have some great no carb options for me? Oh, I digress...

So two days on the diet and last night we had pork roast, broccoli, salad, and baked potato. I could eat everything except the potato AND I was very good. Tonight, we had cheeseburgers and I sauted some onions too. I ate it smothered with the onions and cheese without the bun!!! Yummy.

I hopped on the scale tonight after dinner and, ready for this, I had lost TWO pounds, AND knowing that it was night and not the morning and when I had weighed myself the initial weigh in, it was morning. So tomorrow morning I will hop on again and that will be the first official weigh in!!

I'm psyched!

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Two Scarves Pictures and Pattern

This is a super easy pattern for new knitters and uses both the knit and purl. It is called the seed stitch because it gives you a bumpy texture like little seeds.

Pattern:
With Thick and Quick Lionbrand Wool-Ease and size 15 needles, cast on 15 stitches.
Row 1: K1, P1 across.
Row 2: K1, P1 across. (you are knitting the purls and purling the knits from the row before)

Continue until length is 52" or longer as desired. It usually takes me 1 1/2 skeins of yarn.

Shown in the picture is the navy and black wool-ease.




Friday, January 11, 2008

Two scarves

I bought the Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Thick and Quick size in both navy blue and black. Okay let me back up a bit. I first had one skein in my stash in navy blue and thought, hmm, I am going to make a scarf with this. So I begin knitting on size 15 needles, casting on 15 stitches. I did the knit one purl one pattern throughout the entire scarf giving it a seedy bumpy feel. I was going to give it away and when it was almost done my husband asked, "who are you knitting that one for?". I asked if he wanted it and he said "YEAH!" So it became his.

The next night my mother and step-father were over and my mom picked up the scarf and said "Who's is this?" and I told her my husband had already claimed it and she said it looked very manly and that maybe she would make one for a nephew. It got me thinking that I hadn't knitted anything for my step-father and had planned on making him a scarf in a brown and black varigated yarn but thought he might really like one of these in black.

So Wednesday I had to take my husband to the dentist to have some work done on his mouth and while I was waiting I ran over to the yarn store and grabbed two skeins of this wool-ease in black and came back and whipped out 3/4 of the scarf sitting waiting for my husband to be done in the dentist. I finished it last night and it looks great!! I can't wait to give it to him tomorrow when I see him next. But, before I give it away I will take a picture of it and post!!

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Chocolate Muffins

Okay, so not your perfect "I want to lose weight and start the new year on the right foot" kind of recipe, but thought I should share.

My older daughter, was surfing the net this morning and she came across a recipe she wanted to try. It is from the Holly Hobbie website. So we tried it and they are delicious and thought you all might want to try it too.

Chocolate Muffins

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease or line a cupcake pan.
2. Combine dry ingredients and stir. Add wet ingredients and blend until moistened. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Pour into cupcake pan about 2/3 full. Bake 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack before topping or serving.

Top with icing, chololate chips, peanut butter, or not at all!