HungryGirl

Hungry Girl just made my day

I love Hungry Girl’s recipes. I subscribe to her daily e-mails and find myself printing them out more often than not. But it’s rare that I print one and have to try it ASAP.

That’s what happened with the Cara-mellow Coffee Freeze, a swap for the McDonald’s Frappe. I opened the e-mail Thursday night and contemplated hitting up the Super Walmart for the ingredients when I got off work (at 1 a.m.).

Well, I managed to contain my excitement until Friday morning. I did, however, make sure to stop at Walmart on the way home from my chiropractic appointment.

Thus equipped with all the proper ingredients, I sped home to whip one up. I didn’t even put the groceries away first, just started making the coffee drink. (Well, what else do you expect from a Starbucks junkie?)

It was fairly easy to make, especially with my Ninja. I know I’ve raved about my Magic Bullet, but it has nothing on the quad-bladed Ninja. Those ice cubes blended right up in a flash.

And it tasted fantastic … way better than any of my homemade coffee drink creations (which I admittedly thought tasted pretty darn good when I made them).

I’m glad I have plenty of ingredients left to make more.

Given a choice, I’d rather have the mocha Frappe than the caramel one. But that’s not a problem. Armed with HG’s recipe, I can adapt. I bet it’ll taste just as great made with chocolate pudding and chocolate syrup, too.

Anything tastes better in chocolate, right? Have I mentioned the chocolate-covered bacon a co-worker brought in to share?

Fun with butternut squash

Butternut squash has long been one of my favorite foods. Sometimes, I think I missed it more than potatoes when I was doing Atkins.

When I was a kid, my mom used to halve it and bake it with butter in the scooped-out cavity. I usually just poke it with a fork and bake it whole, then scoop the seeds after it’s cooked. (I’m a weakling — I have trouble cutting a raw one.) I sometimes take cooked squash to work as a snack.

I’ve also tried butternut squash fries (yum!) and Hungry Girl’s Butternut Squash Bake (also delicious).

So when I read a blog post earlier this week on the Butternut Squash Enchiladas someone had somewhere (I think it was Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point, at a Scottsdale restaurant while she was on vacation), I knew I had to have some.

Lucky for me, I had leftover squash in the fridge. At lunchtime Sunday, I had the time … and a clean Ninja Master Prep. The result?

Delicious!

In the mix:

2 oz. grilled chicken (from a bag I picked up @ Super Walmart for $2.50)

Red onion

Red bell pepper

Butternut squash

About 2 T juice from leftover canned tomatoes

4 corn tortillas

Tomatoes

Cumin, chili powder, pepper and garlic

I whirred the onion, pepper and chicken in the Ninja, then added the squash and tomato juice and blended some more. That filling stuffed four corn tortillas.

With the enchiladas in the pan, it was time to make the sauce. I threw the tomatoes (left over from a pasta dinner from last week) in the Ninja with garlic, cumin, chili powder and black pepper. A few seconds later, I had a flavorful sauce.

After topping the enchiladas with 1/4 cup RF cheddar, I popped them in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.

The result:

I’m so glad someone gave me the idea, because I couldn’t have asked for a better lunch.

The filling was sweet and savory. Just cheesy enough, and delicious. I’m likely to make them again next time I find myself with leftover squash.

Get a load of that gorgeous filling.

Note: They tasted better at lunchtime than they did when I reheated the other two for dinner. The corn tortillas got kind of mushy in the microwave.

I followed them with half a Honeycrisp apple dipped in caramel Oikos. That’s a match made in heaven, for sure. Who needs sickeningly sweet caramel dip when caramel yogurt is around? Not me!

Dessert never tasted so good. Okay … that may be a slight exaggeration. It wasn’t chocolate, after all.

Speaking of chocolate, I believe I read a blog about putting a handful of chocolate chips in some Oikos caramel yogurt. That’s an idea I’ll have to remember.

After lunch, I went to see “The Dilemma.” I’m proud to say that I said “no” to the movie popcorn.

Oh, it wasn’t easy. In fact, I almost changed my mind and made a run for the concession stand right before the previews started. By then, I was in the mood for a pretzel instead.

Amazing how that works. Those big, soft pretzels flashed on the screen and I started thinking about how I wanted one … how I needed one … how delicious it’d be.

I told myself I could have a pretzel at Barnes & Noble, after the movie, if I still wanted one. (I planned to head there after the movie to do a little editing before work.) Then, once the movie started and my mind was occupied, the pretzel fled my thoughts.

I even forgot about the Nature Valley Granola Thin I’d slipped into my purse to eat during the show … until I ran to the bathroom mid-movie.

In the interest of full disclosure, I did have a pretzel when I got to B&N. I paired it with a coconut mocha Frappuccino light. No wonder I didn’t get hungry for dinner until 10 p.m.!

Even then, I ate just soup. The salad I packed for dinner, complete with chicken, spinach and lettuce, bacon bits, cheese, onion, tomato and red pepper, will make a nice lunch tomorrow.

The list

I really need to get back in the blogging habit. Whether I have a lot to share or not, I should check in.

Anyway, the last time I posted, I talked about the list I’m supposed to make — a list of the foods I like to eat. So far, it’s still just in my head,  but that hasn’t stopped me from eating some of the foods on it.

It’s time to make my list a little more permanent. I’ll probably come back and add to it when I think of other favorites, but for now, here goes:

Clementines

Honeycrisp apples

Real bacon

Hummus

Avocado

Bananas

Hamburger & fries

Caesar salad

Overnight Oats (oats, almond milk, handful of dried cranberries, usually with a little PB stirred in)

Pizza (gourmet pizza is better than the cheap stuff)

Oatmeal Scotchies

Mashed potatoes

Biscuits and gravy

Spaghetti

Hershey’s kisses (in pretty much any variety. Those peppermint ones are delicious.)

Corn on the cob

Zucchini

Black bean and zucchini quesadillas (Carb Lovers Diet recipe)

Butternut Squash (including Hungry Girl’s Butternut Squash Bake)

Cake (chocolate, white or especially red velvet)

Coconut cream pie

Chocolate chip cookies with walnuts

Cashews, almonds and walnuts

Peanuts (especially honey-roasted)

Nature Valley Peanut Butter or Dark Chocolate Oat granola bars

Couscous

Greek yogurt (plain or flavored)

Green beans

Potatoes (baked or grilled on George)

Chicken breast

Last-minute lasagna (recipe from Carrots N Cake)

Crock Pot Cider Stew

HG’s slow-cooker BBQ pulled chicken

Star-kist Sweet & Spicy Tuna (usually mixed with a little Miracle Whip and put on RF Triscuits)

BBQ soy crisps w/ salsa

Oreos

Reeses’ PB cups (or Trees or pretty much anything with chocolate and PB)

Jell-O dark chocolate mousse cup (or mint chocolate mousse cup)

SF Jell-O pudding cup

Frappuccino Light (peppermint mocha, coconut mocha, mocha, Java chip, caramel)

Chocolate-covered donuts

Real ranch dressing

Chips with dip made from Greek yogurt & Hidden Valley ranch powder

Tomato soup

Spaghetti squash

Grape or cherry tomatoes

Wildflower Bread Co. butternut squash salad (yum!)

Asparagus

Sharp cheddar cheese

Townhouse crackers (haven’t had these in a long time!)

Deviled eggs

Dill pickles

Many of the Morningstar Farms veggie burgers (Spicy black bean and hickory smoked ribs among them)

Chocolate malt/milkshake (especially from Sonic)

Pulled pork

Onions (especially grilled and/or onion rings)

Mushrooms

Broccoli

Watermelon

Cantaloupe

Crustless pizza (sausage, pepperoni, sauce, mushroom and cheese, baked until hot — a frequent Atkins dinner)

Popcorn (regular and microwave)

Weight Watchers Sweet & Salty bars

Chocolate Fiber One Pop-tarts

M&Ms

Brown rice pudding

Milk (1%, skim, chocolate)

Almond milk (regular, unsweetened … or dark chocolate)

Bagel Thins

Sandwich Thins

Sourdough bread

Pumpernickel bread

Swiss cheese

Sauerkraut (combine this with cheese and bread above, plus a little corned beef, and you have a lovely Reuben sandwich)

Chicken noodle soup

Chili

Bakery donuts

*Pickled beets

*Cabbage (especially made into cole slaw, or sliced into cabbage “noodles”)

*Brussels sprouts (with butter)

*Butter

*Sour cream (real or low-fat)

*Broccoli Crunch Salad (another staple from the Atkins days, it’s broccoli, bacon, cheddar and a dressing made of mayo, vinegar and Splenda. I could probably make it with Miracle Whip and omit the Splenda.)

Uh-oh. I just realized a lot of these foods are sweet treats. Somehow, I don’t think that’s the point of this exercise.

Oh well. It is what it is. Hopefully when I start adding more foods, my mind will no longer be stuck on sweets.

Another thing I noticed? I prefer REAL food … real bacon, real ranch dressing, real cheese (although I can’t tell the difference between full-fat and 2% milk cheese. That fat-free crap is another story, though).

*added later