Sunday, May 23, 2010

Oh the Joys of Gardening!!!

I have been sooooo excited to start a garden this year. I even bought my own barn boots and everything! My parents' garden has lain dormant for quite some time and I have visions of fresh garden produce all summer and Indian summer long.... unfortunately Washington weather is just not cooperating! I think that perhaps May thinks for some reason that her name is March...'cause that's the weather we have been having!

Anywhooo....I am rambling...

I was all set to start planting today but I woke up to rain. MURF. I decided that I still wanted to plant, I would just plant the seeds as starts. So I took some old egg cartons of the cardboard kind and planted bush beans, snap peas, sunflowers and nasturtiums. My mom has always had a nasturtium border around her garden, so in keeping with tradition I wanted to do the same. Did you know that nasturtiums are not only beautiful, they are also edible? :)

I also have my Grammy's Topsy Turvy so I finally planted my 5 different types of tomato plants and my 4 different types of peppers, ranging from red bell to Thai knock-your-socks-off spicy. I'm pretty excited.

I'll post some pictures soon.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Not sure....but feelin' GREAT!

Hello all of my wonderful friends and supporters,

A lot of you have called or texted me to find out what my big number was today....and I'm SOOOO bummed because I'm not at home this week so I don't have my scale to weigh in!!! I'm house/dog-sitting for my cousin Tracy. So I guess I'll have to report to ya'll on Tuesday when I get home. I MIGHT get a chance to sneak up to my place and grab it this weekend.

Anyway, i feel great and am super excited!

Thanks for all of your love and support! Get on out there and enjoy that sunshine!!!

xoxoxo
Katie

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Live My Best Life May 7 Week 18


I'm BACK ON TRACK!!! Whoop Whoop! Thank you to everyone who sent encouraging texts, emails, posts, comments and love my way! It really, really, REALLY did help and I can't believe how far I have come!

Love you all!

Hugs,
Katie


Mama's Mama's Day Scones




I had to celebrate Mama's Day early because I'm heading over to Spokane to play with my sweet little rascals, but I thought I'd post this in case any of you wanted to try it.

I have to say, they were soooo delicious, but I haven't added up any of the points or calories yet. This may not have been THE healthiest recipe, but I did do some substitutions to make it healthier... (and counter-act the chocolate chips..heehee)

Mama's Day Chocolate Almond Scones

2 1/2 C Heart Healthy Bisquick
1/4 C brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 C FF yogurt
2 TBL butter, melted (I DID add this, but you could just add more yogurt instead)
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 C chocolate chips
1/4 C almonds (optional)

**about another 1/2 C of bisquick or flour for the cutting board**

Combine Bisquick and sugar (and almonds if desired). Mix in the egg, yogurt and butter JUST until it clings together. Plop on the floured cutting board and knead the dough about 8-10 times. The original recipe said to form into a 6 inch round ball and divide into 10 pieces (the verdict is still out on that one....) but I rolled it out a little bit smaller and made heart shaped scones by using a cookie cutter. I got more servings that way, and it reduced the calories in each serving. :) Sprinkle almonds and a little bit of brown sugar on top of each scone.

Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 425 until golden. Serves 12 scones.

YUMMMYYY!!!!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Yummy Berry Sangria....and I mean YUMMMM. MMMMM. YYYYYY!!!


So I saw this recipe in a Weight Watchers cook book and it had two of my favorite things in it - red wine and berries. How could one go wrong? So I have had it on my "Must Make Soon" list and finally got around to making it this week. Let me tell you, people...it's so delicious even the stars were aligned the night I made it!

Okay, so maybe I exaggerate. But it's so yummy. So I thought I'd share...


1/2 bottle of red wine (or any wine you love...my mama thought it would taste really lovely with a white merlot...I didn't care, so I just used what we had on hand...I'm not a picky wino ya know?)
2 cups frozen berries (I got a huge bag of mixed berries from Costco, but you can use any kind of berry you love)

2 TBL honey

Mix all in a blender until smooth. Pour into a container and freeze. Scoop out and place in a fancy-schmancy dish or wine glass and garnish with a sprig of mint. YUMMMM. MMMMM. YYYYY!!!!

1 Cup is 2 Weight Watcher points or 100 calories.


Saturday, May 1, 2010

Live My Best Life May 1

Hello Friends,
This blog is not very up-beat like my past videos, but I'm sharing my heart and I hope that you continue to Live Your Best Life.
Each day is a new day, and I want to continue to strive for the best that I can be.
I PROMISE that the next video will not be so "Eeyore-esque".

Love and Hugs,
Katie

Friday, April 23, 2010

BBQ Pizza

This was delish! We had a bit of trouble actually making it on the BBQ (it was raining buckets and my dad detached the propane tank to "weed the garden" which was really a ploy to be a pyro...anyway, I digress.)

Pizza Crust:

Many people have their opinions on pizza crust. I have had pizza on Friday practically every week since January 1, and I have tried my pizza crusts a variety of ways. I have to say I think this is my favorite so far. I found it on www.allrecipes.com. I did change it a little bit, and added some oregano, basil, garlic as well as substituted more whole wheat flour for the white flour and added brown sugar instead of white sugar to the yeast.

So here is my recipe:

1 tsp brown sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (hottest tap water is what I used)
1 TBL active dry yeast
1 TBL olive oil
1 tsp salt
3 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 C Ground Spelt and Wheat Germ mix (or if you don't have that, just add more Whole Wheat Flour)
1 TBL basil
1 TBL oregano
2-3 TBL garlic

This is taken directly from allrecipes.com. You can find the whole thing HERE.

In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.

Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan. Top with BBQ Chicken.

BBQ Chicken Part:
2 TBL garlic
1/2 of a red onion
2 chicken breasts
about a cup of BBQ sauce
about 2 cups of low moisture/low-fat cheese

Slice red onion thinly and saute it with garlic in the pan. Add the chicken until brown. Add about a 1/3 of a cup of BBQ sauce until it looks well-coated. Meanwhile, prepare the pizza dough and spread BBQ sauce on the dough. Add the chicken mixture and then the cheese.

Bake for 16 to 20 minutes (depending on thickness) in the preheated oven, until the crust is crisp and golden at the edges, and cheese is melted on the top.