Cheeseburger bombs — & Thanksgiving Dinner Prep

I tried a new recipe from the WW app last weekend: Cheeseburger Bombs.

Messy but delicious!

My verdict: They’re really tasty, but a pain in the butt to make.

The recipe calls for dividing a batch of 2-ingredient dough into six equal pieces … but that leaves very small pieces to stuff.

I think next time I’ll cut the dough into quarters but stuff with the same 2T cheese, 1 T cooked beef & 1 tsp each mustard and dill relish. That should give me more dough to work with, making it easier to make each “bomb.”

Anyway, last week was a good week on the scale — I managed to lose 2.2 pounds. Could the struggle bus be pulling away from the station without me?

I certainly hope so. IF I can keep it up, I might FINALLY get out of the 250s in the next few weeks.

That, of course, is a BIG if, because this is a holiday week—and a holiday that centers on food, no less.

Thanks to COVID risk, we aren’t going to Doug’s parents’ house (even though we live in basically the same town). Not only do we want to avoid putting his folks at risk, my work has asked that anyone who fails to follow CDC recommendations to not celebrate outside your home quarantine and work from home for 14 days after celebrating …

And I DO NOT want to work from home for two weeks after Thanksgiving dinner. Some people might think WFH is their jam, but I’ve discovered I’m TERRIBLE at it. I can’t focus and feel like I’m getting absolutely nothing accomplished.

No thank you. I’ll work from home if forced to, but I’m not going to do so voluntarily.

This means I’m in charge of our Thanksgiving dinner for two. We’re having roasted turkey breast, Stove Top, mashed potatoes, jarred gravy, green bean casserole and a lower-Point version of Peas and Crayons’ Speedy Stovetop Cranberry Sauce. (I use artificial sweetener instead of the large amount of honey her recipe calls for.)

Cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie cupcakes about to be chillin’ in the fridge for tomorrow.

Doug’s mom is dropping off some of their pumpkin pie and the traditional fruit cup today.

I also made a batch of Pound Dropper’s Crustless Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes. I’m about to enjoy one for an afternoon snack, because I got 18 of the suckers out of the recipe. I misread the directions & filled each muffin cup 1/3 full instead of filling each one with 1/3 cup of batter as instructed.

Oops. I’m sure it’ll still be delicious … and still only 1 WW Point per cupcake (all in the flour).

Roasted veggies rule

Most vegetables taste better when roasted, if you ask me. Brussels sprouts especially benefit from time in a 400-degree oven.

And any technique that makes it easier to consume more veggies is A-OK with me.

That’s why I was eager to try Emily Bites Sweet & Spicy Roasted Cauliflower

The result was worth the (fairly minimal) work involved.

My Midwestern — read “wimpy” — taste buds could probably do with a little less spice, so when I make this recipe again, I’ll cut the sriracha to 1 teaspoon instead of 2. (I used 1 1/2 tsp and that was a tad on the “too hot” side for me.

Still, it was delicious — and a good-sized serving is just 3 #mywwblueplan Points.

Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Or, if you’re up for a different kind of adventure, try roasted radishes. They too are surprisingly tasty.

Still on the Overnight Oats train?

Are you on the Overnight Oats train? I am! I love cold oats more than their warmed-up counterparts.

That shouldn’t surprise me, since I also prefer to drink iced coffee year-round–unless I have a hankering for a hot latte.

Most recently, I’ve been enjoying my version of Apple Pie Overnight Oats.

It starts with rolled oats, of course, along with almond milk and 2 teaspoons of chia seeds.

But the star of my breakfast is homemade cinnamon applesauce.

I had some aging honeycrisp apples in the fruit bowl, and rather than toss them in the trash, I opted to peel, core and roughly chop them.

They went into to crockpot with 2 teaspoons of water and about a cup of water. After they cooked all day — making the apartment smell fantastic– I mashed the apples with my potato masher.

Why not? The masher doesn’t see much action otherwise.

Voila…homemade applesauce. It’s delicious — and the perfect addition to my overnight oats.

Never looks like much, but take my word for it. Yum!

Scale-wise, things are still bouncing around. Lost 3.1 two Saturdays ago, then regained most of it last Saturday.

I weighed myself this morning and have managed to take some of it back off. Hopefully by this Saturday, I’ll be able to enter the 240s.

Fingers crossed!

I’ve decided September is going to be my month of tracking. I want to track my eats–honestly, rather than tracking breakfast and lunch and then not finishing dinner & snacks.

I can do it, as long as I take it one day at a time.