Trials of a Long Haired Girl

Happy Monday friends!  I hope everyone had a great weekend!  I thought I'd take a moment to share my meal plan for this week. Spaghetti, salad and garlic bread Veggie Pizza Lentil Tortilla Soup Veggie Plate Fried Rice Cod, Broccoli and roasted potatoes As always, this plan is subject to change without notice.  I made a pancake bake and will likely make another or a breakfast casserole to get me through the rest of the week.  I am determined to make it a good week!  What's on the menu for you this week?

Happy Hump day friends!  It's time again for a What's Cooking Wednesday!  Today I am sharing with you how I changed up this  S low Cooker Sausage and Potato Casserole .  Between trying to use up stuff in my freezers, pantry and fridge and allergies for those in my house, I modified the recipe to make it fit better for us.   I modified it as follows: 1 Can (10.5 oz) of Campbell's Condensed cream of chicken soup 1 13 oz. pkg of Eckrich Skinless smoked turkey sausage , chopped 1/2 cup(s), Diced  uncooked onion(s) 1 cup  Silk Cashewmilk, Unsweetened, No Sugar Added 1 Can (10.5 oz) of   Campbell's Cheddar cheese condensed soup 2 cup(s)  Our Family French cut green beans, fresh frozen 32 oz  Ore Ida Diced potatoes Combine hash browns, smoked sausage, onion, and 2 cups of the cheese in a greased slow cooker. In a separate bowl, combine cream of chicken, cheddar cheese soup milk, salt and pepper. Pour over hash brown mix. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on hig

Happy Hump day friends!  It's time again for a What's Cooking Wednesday!  Today I am sharing with you how I changed up this  Easy Slow Cooker Taco Pasta  for the crockpot.  Between trying to use up stuff in my freezers, pantry and fridge and allergies for those in my house, I modified the recipe to make it fit better for us.   I modified it as follows: 1 cup uncooked bell pepper(s), d iced 3 Tbsp  reduced sodium taco seasoning 12 oz.  uncooked whole wheat pasta 1 cup,   uncooked onion(s), c hopped 20 oz  uncooked ground bison 3 cups h omemade chicken stock (skimmed of fat) 15 oz can of  Simple Truth Organic black beans 1 cup of  Trader Joe's Mexican style shredded cheese Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef and season with salt and pepper. Cook the meat, stirring often, until browned. Drain and then transfer beef to slow cooker. Add the bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, salsa, taco seasoning, and broth or water. Stir. Cook on low for 5-6 hou

Happy Monday friends!  I hope that you have had a wonderful weekend!  I was determined to have 5 Blue Dot days this past week.  I had a loss of 2.8 pounds this week. Unfortunately, while I did make some progress with using some things up, I didn't stop to think about how many servings those recipes would make.  We wound up having leftovers because there was just too much food. I planned the following: Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Recipe - Crockpot Copycat Slow Cooker Sausage and Potato Casserole Slow Cooker Pesto Ranch Chicken Easy Slow Cooker Taco Pasta Crispy Baked Cod with Cheesy Potatoes & Roasted Broccoli Stromboli We had: Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Recipe - Crockpot Copycat Slow Cooker Sausage and Potato Casserole Easy Slow Cooker Taco Pasta Stromboli Here's what I can tell you about the new recipes I tried last week.   The Zuppa Toscana soup was a winner!   👍👍 Easy Slow Cooker Taco Pasta was also a winner!  👍👍 Slow Cooker Sausage and Potato

Happy Saturday friends!  Hope y'all have had a good week!  This week I managed to get 5 Blue Dots this week, which is a good thing.  In focusing on the Blue Dots this week, I managed to see a loss on the scale!  I was a little shocked but I managed to get down 2.8 this week.  Did I hit 16 points everyday this week?  No, I did not.  I was over several days this week, but I did manage to get a Blue Dot Monday through Friday.  Gearing up and trying to focus on staying on plan this week so I will maybe see a loss next week.  If I lose 0.5 this coming week, I will be in a whole new weight decade!  This is an all new low for me since we have been married. I am super excited! 

Happy Hump day friends!  It's time again for a What's Cooking Wednesday!  Today I am sharing with you how I changed up this Olive Garden Copycat Recipe for the Zuppa Toscana for the crockpot.  However, I am trying to use up stuff in my freezers, pantry and fridge so I modified the recipe using what I have on hand and trying to purchase as little as possible. I modified it as follows: Simple Truth Traditional turkey sausage, 16 oz. browned uncooked onion(s),  3/4 cup Kirkland Signature Sliced bacon,  6 slices, diced minced garlic,  1 tsp chicken stock, 4 cups Simply Potatoes Diced potatoes,  1 cup Kale/Spinach Mix - 2 cups Kroger Half and Half - 3/4 cup Cook your sausage in a large skillet and brown over medium heat. Drain and set aside Place your onion and bacon to the skillet and saute over medium heat until the onions are translucent. Place sausage, onions, bacon and garlic in your crock pot along with broth and potatoes. Cook on low for 4-6 hours Add yo

Happy Monday friends!  I hope that you have had a wonderful weekend!  After my gain this week, I'm determined to have a good on plan week!  I have reviewed some recipes and I'm also trying to use up some of the food that we have in the fridge and freezer and pantry before I try to get some meal prepping done later this month.  While I am sharing the recipe links to the ones I'm using, I am modifying some in order to use up some of the foods I currently have in my fridge and freezer.  Admittedly, I will have to buy some things at the store, I don't think it will be a really expensive trip. Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Recipe - Crockpot Copycat Slow Cooker Sausage and Potato Casserole Slow Cooker Pesto Ranch Chicken Easy Slow Cooker Taco Pasta Crispy Baked Cod with Cheesy Potatoes & Roasted Broccoli Stromboli My plan is to make some of the 2 Ingredient Dough bread sticks as shown by Kathy over at  Kathy's WW Journey   I have been hesitant to try the 2

Happy Saturday Friends!  I hope everyone had a great week.  I have been sick this week.  I finally called my allergy doctor when her office reopened after the holiday since she takes care of me from the waist up (to include the lungs) as I have gotten upper respiratory infections and such pretty much every year around this time and I take allergy shots these days to help with this problem.  Thankfully my sweet husband took care of our New Year's Day dinner.   Honestly, most days I was within my points.  However, the night before weigh in, my sweet husband said I still want pizza, can this be a thing?  Yes, we got pizza.  It was very tasty but I ate too much.  I am proud of the fact that I tracked though.   Overall, I'm not sure that this weigh in is a great representation of what I have done this week, but it's okay because it will catch up.   I am also pondering doing 5 nights of dinners or some "freezer meal" or more cook with me/meal prepping videos. Is