Favorite Fall Foods + Bleu Cheese = Bestest Fall Foods

I love pumpkin pie and a good pumpkin cheese cake. I like pumpkin muffins and pumpkin cookies. I really really love a pumpkin black bean soup my friend Mel introduced me to. She found it on Rachel Ray's "30 Minute Meal" recipes on the Food Network site. 

Here it is. Until I made it I had never tried a savory pumpkin recipe. It has become a comfort food staple in my house. I encourage you to give it a go. I really like that it's fast and easy. Love that Rachel chick.

I tried something new with the recipe today. I'm so glad I did because it really cranks up the flavor.

I added a big teaspoonful of bleu cheese crumbles to the top of my soup and zapped it for a few seconds in the microwave. Oh...wow.

Let's back up.

Last year I was determined to like sweet potatoes. I decided I wouldn't turn down a single sample of sweet potatoes and I would try it prepared in as many ways as I could.

I hated all of them. 

Why do people add marshmallows to a vegetable? Bleck!

And maple syrup or brown sugar? 

It was just too sweet. 

And nasty.

So I started tossing some toppings on my sweet potatoes and I found that a little bit of butter, bleu cheese crumbles and salt and pepper work really well together. I also like the Morning Star faux bacon crumbled on top.

It seems I like my sweeter vegetables balanced out with more savory toppings.

I may start adding bleu cheese crumbles to everything.

I'll save the marshmallows for my hot cocoa. 

Oh, my poor car...

After seven days of traveling all over Georgia for work my car is a complete disaster area. I knew it was bad but realized I crossed a new threshold for messiness when I reached into my backseat to find my charger and couldn't fit my hand enough to reach the seat back pockets. 

By my calculations I was traveling with at least fifteen complete outfits, twelve pairs of shoes (boots, heels and athletic), three winter coats along with scarves and hats, two backpacks, two tote bags, makeup bags, hair supply bags and at least one cell phone charger that I haven't seen in weeks. I also suspect there are at least seven or eight water bottles and a couple of Tervis Tumblers. Oh, I think there are two coolers in there too. 

The car smells like gas from the seven gas cans I hauled in the trunk on Sunday night. Which also explains why everything is heaped into the back seat. 

I tried to get dressed yesterday and I realized all of my jeans were in the car. I couldn't find a sweater to wear and just finding my makeup will be a scavenger hunt. 

Until I can tackle the disaster which is the car I'll be rocking this lovely ensemble. 

Uggs and fuzzy pajamas pants.

No makeup.

And a Motley Crue concert t-shirt.

Please don't throw spare change in my coffee cup.

 

JAG and Military Life Questions...Your Comments and Wisdom are Appreciated

There is a tremendous amount of information on the internet about somethings and a lack of information about other things. I thought I'd toss these questions out there in case someone happened to know. Any advice you have can be left in the comments. Lay it on me!

Help me, Yoda...show me the force.

1. When do we move?  He won't get orders until November and we'll meet with the travel office after that. Just looking for educated guesses as I know it can vary. I'm just trying prepare myself. AF Jag used to have two weeks between COT and JASOC but it looks like hubs will finish COT on a Friday and report to JASOC on the following Monday in Feb. I know people have blogged about moving during this two week window. I've also heard of people moving before COT begins and others while the spouse was away. I would appreciate a ballpark idea as well as what your timeline experience was with this.

2. Do lots of people move while the spouse is away at COT and JASOC? I suspect it will be more difficult in some ways but easier in other ways. I'm pretty independent and self-sufficient so it will work out either way.

3. What did you find yourself lugging around that you wish you'd donated? Just wondering if it's on my "OMG...can't forget to pack that" list.

4. Will they let me pack my opened spices if I vacuum seal them and then store them in a seal-able container? I'm very attached.

5. If we find out we're staying CONUS I want an SUV with ample cargo room. Good plan? Will it make moving me and the dogs easier? We live in an area with minimal (less than 1 inch) of snowfall each year. All wheel drive is very appealing since there will be traveling done over the next several years. 

6. How much food should I send with him to COT? Any thing you or your spouse wish you had while there? How about supplies or comfort items?

7. Base housing? We think immersing ourselves in the culture will be a good experience. We'd like to do base housing. What was your timeline and experience getting into it.

8. We've been married for almost ten years. We've got stuff for days and a house full of furniture...and three chihuahuas. I'd like to hang on to a respectable amount and donate or sell the rest. From your experience in base housing, will a 0-2 with a wife and no kids get a two or three bedroom? Is there a long wait?

9. Did you inventory your house? Is there a good way to do it? It seems a lot like climbing Mt. Everest to me. (And I wouldn't climb Mt. Everest if it were made of chocolate and cash.)

10. I'm thinking about ditching the older mattresses and getting new once we move. No sense moving old mattresses around. The cost of moving the weight vs. the actual value of the mattress or taking something I'd rather have. We'll really have to reduce our household goods to get below the weight. Happy anniversary to me! (He'll be gone for our 10th anniversary. I want a nice present...something sparkly.) Good idea or am I over-thinking it (the mattress, not the present)?

Thank you for reading this and sharing your wisdom!

L

Smoked Salmon Scramble Recipe

Update: As of today I've lost 17.6 lbs on the Angry Wench Diet! Tomorrow it will be one month since I started the diet. I started it as a rush way to fit into a cocktail dress. I've tweaked it to be less radical but it's still annoying.

I've found the best way to stay on track with my diet is to avoid eating nasty and bland food. I try to liven it up with minimal calories and by adding good stuff with lots of flavor that works within my hair brained diet plan. 

For breakfast I will start with a 1/2 cup of Egg Beaters (I used the Publix brand today) and add a few fun things.

Busted...I am totally eating this off of a paper plate. Fancy, no?

Today's breakfast included:

Smoked Salmon Scramble

1/2 c Egg Beaters (or store brand...I really can't tell the difference)
1/2 tsp capers
1 tsp of diced sun dried tomato
1 tbsp of green onion
2 tbsp of chopped smoked salmon
Pinch of dill
Pinch of seasoning salt
A few good shakes of black pepper

Combine ingredients except for smoked salon, pour into pan sprayed with vegetable spray and cook over medium low heat until it's almost done. Add smoked salmon into egg mixture the last 1-2 minutes and stir to combine.

This recipe is less than 250 calories. I'm showing 170 on My Fitness Pal and I factored in 2oz of salmon.

The smoked salmon gives it a nice flavor. The combination is a lot like other breakfast dishes but without the English muffins, hollandaise and other badness that won't fly on the diet. Who doesn't love the combo of smoked salmon, capers and onion? 

 Penzey's has a seasoning called Northwoods and I added a few shakes to my eggs. Good stuff. If you get their catalog you'll spend an hour dog earring pages. Don't say you weren't warned. They have a store in Atlanta and hubs breaks into a cold sweat whenever I pull into the parking lot. Most of their spices start at about $4-5 dollars and I find 10-15 jars to buy almost every time. 

I'd also like to mention that Egg Beaters travels a lot easier than eggs. These ingredients are portable enough to stash in a cooler and take on getaways, stays with efficiency kitchens, etc. You can even premix everything and put it into baggies or storage containers. If you don't know the trick about making an omelet in a ziploc bag let me know and I'll explain the process. Because the salmon is smoked you don't have to fret as much over it as you would raw fish.

The Gym-free diet...sorta...

I've been dieting for the last few weeks. That means I'm cooking but my kitchen time is spent on providing nutrition within the boundaries of the diet and not going all willy nilly. I keep thinking about blogging my dieting adventures but it starts to get overwhelming when I think of the things I do each day. Please don't confuse that with me actually doing a lot. There are just several different components I've added into my diet and those seem to work for me.

I started my diet on 9/13. It's 10/6 and I've lost 16.3 lbs as of yesterday morning.

Here are some things I'm doing...

1. Avoid the gym and all exercise. Seriously!!! I had to get traction with my food intake and portion control. I'm bad about letting things slide because I can justify anything if I went to the gym that day. 
2. Once I can get my intake and portion control under control the numbers start moving down. Unless I can get the numbers moving by diet alone the rest is doomed. 
3. I weigh myself every day before I have breakfast (do it with minimal clothing) and I write down my weight and log it online. Screw what other people say. I weigh, I weigh often and I want to see those numbers going down. I have been known to weigh myself 3 times in one morning...removing everything to my skin to see how low the number will go.
4. I took pictures...I want to see the results as other people do. 
5. The first two weeks I did the Total Body Cleanse by Whole Foods. It's just a high fiber supplement taken in the evening...no crazy diet pills. I've found that at least a few pounds should have been "dropped" a long time ago and it's just weirdness clinging to my colon. Besides, I want all of the nutrients of the food I'm eating. 
6. After 3 weeks the numbers stopped sliding downward. They aren't going up, just hanging out. Not cool. I'm sticking to my dieting plan but I'll add in exercise to bump this plateau. Not crazy exercise...walking. I'll try to walk 2+ miles a few days this week.
7. Forget cheat days! I give myself one cheat meal a week. It's Saturday morning breakfast. Next week it will be Saturday morning breakfast and next month it will still be Saturday morning breakfast. If you want to hang out, grab a beer and eat chocolate with me...meet me for Saturday morning breakfast. If I let my cheat meal float I'll have 4 within 2 weeks and use every gathering as a justified cheat. I have turned down amazing meals these last few weeks. I'm bitter and cranky but I'd rather be a bitch than get those 16 lbs back. 
8. You gotta count calories. I keep mine under 1200. 
9. I only drink water (Not really--I don't like plain water so I only use it to take my vitamins), green tea (I make a gallon of iced green tea and take bottles with me everywhere), and coffee. 
10. No artificial sweeteners unless it's Stevia. That means no splenda or nutra-sweet and especially no diet colas.
11. No sugar...none! Not a single cookie or piece of candy. 
12. No carbs...no rice...bread...potatoes...nada.
13. No meat
14. You're scratching your head at those last two, eh?
15. I eat 1-2 servings of fish a day. Not fish breaded or covered in sauce...go for fish with dry rubs and a touch of EVOO or a light marinade that isn't loaded with juice and sugar. Most of my fish is usually baked or out of a can.
16. I eat vegetables...lots of vegetables that are low in carbs. Lots of green leafy stuff and nothing beany or white...except cauliflower. 
17. I make a big batch of vegetable soup and boil some cabbage on the weekends. I make many meals and sides with it or make huge salads with fun vegetables.
18. I carry a cooler almost everywhere that contains: Several water bottles full of iced green tea, Baby carrots, Hummus, Celery, Cubed cheese of a good quality and 1-2 String cheeses of questionable origin, 2 Snack bags: One with almonds and one with pistachios (these usually go in my handbag), Via coffee packets in cast I get a caffeine headache.
19. If there is any chance I'll be someplace that might not have diet approved items I pack an additional plastic container with a salad of some sort (tuna, straight up veggies or maybe a salad with some salmon on top). I'll sometimes add a half an avocado sliced with a teaspoon of Cesar dressing on top of it. These tuna wraps work well...just use a toothpick to keep them from unrolling.
20. I'm cranky and I glare at people who eat yummy food and openly bitch about my hate of diets. Then I eat my celery or nosh on my almonds.
21. I avoid restaurants
22. I eat lots of egg beaters in the mornings and have come up with some pretty yummy breakfast solutions that are about 100 calories each. This recipe is also handy.

I'll post more later including some meal plans and shopping lists.

Now I'm going to make myself a nice veggie burger topped with onions and bleu cheese along with a lovely side salad.