weight watcher's king ranch

                 Ingredients

   1 green bell pepper, chopped

   1/2 medium onions, chopped

   1(10 1/2 ounce) cans Healthy request cream of mushroom

   soup or 1(101/2 ounce) cans of healthy request cream of

   chicken soup

   1(10 ounce) cans Rotel Tomatoes

   6 ounces cubed cooked chicken

   4 corn tortillas, torn in pieces

   1/3 cup shredded mexican cheese

                     Directions

   1. Saute peppers and onions in skillet with pam. Add soups, Rotel tomatoes and chicken. Alternate layers of tortillas and soup mix. Sprinkle with cheese on top.

   

   2. Bake at 325%F for 40 minutes or until hot and bubbly.  

   3. Serves 4

   4.ww points: 5 pt.

                       calories 186.4

I found this recipe at www.food.com

                                                                            

dieting continues

We ve had a great weekend our nephew kyle got married saturday.  We now have another neice Melissa .   The wedding was really  beautiful ,  I loved  every minute helping , it was so much fun.

 we have had some great foods this whole weekend. I know i can't eat lke that all the time, or my efforts to get the weight off will be wasted. Today i started back exercising, its hard but it is definally is worth it. I have lost 45 pounds since the last of   January , When i started my diet i weighted 176, Now i weight 132 . I was in a size 12  now im in a size 6.   I hope by telling this people will have courage to lose weight. Maybe my tips will help you .

You just have to take action and make up your mind to loose the weight.
 Now  is my real test, to keep the weight off and not slip back into old habits. Most days it easy, but sometimes  its hard. there are so many temptations out there, cookies calling my name.

we've ate good for days, and i mean really good. Now its time to get back to watching my diet. certain foods i try to stay clear of, High calories foods . Mac and  cheese and homemade baked beans. Oh and pudding and cakes.                                                                                                                                                oh we eat, but not a big feast. we eat simple meals .Tonite we had a grilled chicken patty with a baked sweet potatoes, and some english peas.  i fixed a small portion of mac and cheese for paxton.   I buy single serving to cook for the grandkids. Its hard to cook for two , much less 1. I try to cook some stuff for David , and also make sure its something low calorie for me.                                                                                          Im off to dream of delicious foods to eat Tomorrow.

Super-moist mexican cornbread

                                                     SUPER-MOIST CORNBREAD


                                             1 can [11 ounces] mexican-style corn, drained
                                         
                                              1 package[81/2 ounces] corn muffin mix

                                              1/2 cup Hellman's light mayonnaise

                                               1 egg, slightly beaten


        Preheat oven to 400% f.  In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients until moistened.  Grease a iron skillet on top of the stove melting crisco, pour off excess in the crisco pan. put back on the stove ,pour mix evenly and wait till it bubbles. Then put in the oven to bake  for 25 minutes.
     .

I use to have trouble getting my cornbread not to stick , but this works every time for me. Use only shortening  for your skillet.   Plus only bake cornbread in your cornbread pan.
( My girls will tell you its a no no to use moms cornbread pan.)

                                     Makes 8 servings  with about 235 calories. This is my estimate
             

GRILLED SALMON

                    INGREDIENTS

11/2 Salmon Steaks or 11/2 Salmon fillets


                    MARINADE INGREDIENTS

2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 garlic cloves, minced { the recipe called for 3 cloves} that was to strong.
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2  Tablespoons  olive oil{ the recipe called for 3 Tablespoons]
1 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons cajun seasoning [ the recipe called for 3 teaspoons]
                were not into really spicy,  so i cut down on the spices.

                       DIRECTIONS

1. Mix all marinade ingredients and pour over salmon. marinate for 1 hour. place fillets over medium hot coals.
2. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side.


This recipe is a favorite of ours.  we always eat it with a baked sweet potatoes.[ As you can tell we eat alot  of sweet potatoes.]                                                                                                                                                           

The recipe says the  calories are 449 but our steaks were 4 oz  so the calories would be less.


This recipe can be found at www. food.com 

maintain my weight

                       Im still searching for recipes to cook, and im finding several. Im cooking casserole again but, they have less fat .I like to cook foods like baked pork chops and baked sweet potatoes or  russet potatoes in the microwave.[ These foods are easier to count calories] We like either corn or baked beans in a can as a side.. I just watch my portions very carefully.  Meaning i may not eat but a 1/4 cup of beans or less. Corn on the cob is a favorite too, sometime we even have breaded chicken strips. The calorie count is on the back of the bag. Alot of people ask me where to get the calorie count. alot of things are on the back of the packages. There are web sites on the internet that tell calorie .Fast food is some i have to look up. I do have a book  i bought at walmart called' The calorie king', but i have a old booklet that has calories in it too.                                                    
                         Now when we do vacation, or go out to eat, or better yet have reunion i write all my foods down best i can remember and write at the top over the limit and circle it. I  buy my meats lean , and my soups to cook with are either 98% fat free of reduced fat. the recipes i find use very little cheese , and surprisingly they actually taste good. I cook with pam cooking spray,  and i found a spray butter with no calories too.

                        When i eat out my favorite is subway, they have marked the lower fat ones with  6 grams.  If your watching fat or counting calories this is very helpful. Burger king would be my next choice they have the Jr burger and i leave off the cheese and get the small french fry.  I still eat my meal bars, but  i make sure i eat a healthy supper. I  find when i do over eat i pay for it later, it makes me not feel good.                                          

   So i'm off to see what on facebook or pinterest or to look for a new dish.

Green Bean with Ground Beef

                              Ingredients

1 lb of lean ground beef                                     1 Tablespoons honey

1 medium onion ,thinly sliced                              3 cups fresh or canned beans

1 clove of garlic, minced or put thru press           1 Tablespoon cornstarch

3 Tablespoons soy sauce                                    1/4 cup cold water

1 1/2 cups water                                                   hot cooked rice

                              DIRECTIONS

Brown ground beef, onions and garlic in nonstick skillet. drain off any fat. stir in 1 1/2 water, soy sauce and honey. then add green beans and heat to a boiling.reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  blend cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water, stir into meat mix. cook, stirring constantly until mix thickens and boil for 1 minute.    

serve over cooked rice. {can omit the rice]. I did.

serves 4     332 calories[ not counting rice.]  

I divided the recipe in half. I also added salt and pepper to taste. 

chicken and rice bake

                                                CHICKEN and RICE  BAKE RECIPE

        INGREDIENTS

1 can {10 3/4 oz} campbell"s 98% fatfree cream of chicken soup
11/3 c. water
3/4 c.long grain uncooked white rice
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
11/2 lb of  chicken breast

DIRECTIONS

Mix soup, water, rice, onion p, pepper in a 2 quart baking dish. Top with chicken, sprinkle with additional pepper if desired.
Cover and bake at 375% for 45 mins, or until chicken is no longer pink and rice is done.

273 calories   makes 6 servings
 good with corn on the cob  and cornbread . I eat only a half of slice.   Just a little taste.

yogurt greek salad

Yogurt Greek Salad

ingredients:

1 cup green grapes

1 cup red grapes

2 tsps of Splenda brown sugar blend

2 tsps of splenda

1/4 cup of chopped pecans

5.3 oz of Yoplait Greek Yogurt fat free (vanilla)

directions:

mix grapes and yogurt together

sprinkle brown sugar and pecans on top

add splenda on top of pecans

this dish is very tasty!

serves 4 ppl

about 92 calories

pictures before diet and after

 Taken last year on vacation                                                                                                                                                              

                                                                              Taken 9 months later

How my Diet began

   On New years eve our youngest daughter got engaged, so the wedding plans started in January. we started looking for dresses for her and her brides maids.  I decided i needed to go ahead and see what there was for the mother of the bride.   we went to mccomb to looks on January 28, i was very dissappointed to find out how much weight i had  gained. I hadnt bought a dress in a few years.  the size I had to get in was a 14 and some 16. It was an eye opening experience to say the least.  I had about 4 1/2 months until the wedding.
     I weighed 176 and in a size 12-14 pants. My shirt size was large.  So i resolved that day to make a change. So I started doing the same things , i did years before to lose weight.
    First i bought me a little notebook to keep track of my calorie intake, writing all my daily log of foods eaten.
    Second I recorded my weight first thing every morning.
    Third I started choosing smaller portions. I cut out cheese  and mayonnaise on burgers , chose smaller orders of fries when ordered.   we started grilling our foods on  a gas grill.  I cut out alot of foods, biscuits poptarts, crescent rolls , mac and cheese . we ate alot less casseroles and cornbreads.
    fourth i started making changes at the grocery store.  i bought slim fast and special k protein meal bars.i found snack with 100 calories and less. I found bread with 100 calories and less. I bought lean cuisine meals,  
    I bought fruit for snacks. I found special k snack bars with a hundred calories.  I decided I could have two snacks a day, but they had to be 100 calories or less.
   Last I needed to start exercising to get in shape, so just about every day i walked on a heath walker for 30 minutes at nite  to music.  At first I had several people laughing and making remarks. That so made my determination more to get the weight off.  I havent exercised much lately but i need to start back.

dieting still

Im still looking for that next recipe,  or new dish . I have people being really curious to know what im eating. so  here"s my sunday meals.  for breakfast i had a special K protein meal bar. For Lunch i had a turkey sandwich on flat bread with bacon and lettuce and onion and tomato with mustard , and roasted red peppers.
then a half of slice angel food cake.  bridgette and the boys and i went to visit the nursing homes today. when we got home I had a weight watcher ice cream bar. and i cheated and had a tiny piece of chocolate bar at bridgette"s.  then i came home and grilled me and david  a Bq turkey burger with lettuce ,tomato and onion and mustard, baked beans and a dill pickle spear.  Im still keeping track of my weight every morning and writing in my diary.  todays calories averaged about  a little over a thousand.