Delicious soup!

Charlotte is filled with CIAA talk. That's the big event in town this week. I'm a homebody - so is my family. We stayed home and relaxed. I would have loved to hang out with my friends, but crowds... not for me.
So instead of hanging out, I made a great soup today! Everyone loved it!

Paleo Chicken Cauliflower Chowder

Ingredients
2-3 large boneless skinless chicken thighs (or breasts if you prefer), cubed
3 tablespoons butter - divided
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 large zucchini, cut in small pieces
2 lbs cauliflower (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup arrowroot flour (can substitute tapioca flour or even all purpose for non-paleo)
1 cup coconut milk (can substitute 2% milk for non-paleo)
4 cups bone broth - divided (can substitute for organic chicken broth)
1 large zucchini, cut in small pieces
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp tumeric (optional)
1/2 tsp garam masala (optional)
(you can always add more seasoning to taste)
cooked chopped bacon for garnish

Directions
1. Cook chicken thoroughly and cube in to bite sized pieces. Set aside.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in large pot. Add onion, garlic, carrots, and celery and cook until tender - about 5-6 minutes.
3. In another small pot, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add flour to butter and stir until mixture is tan. Add milk to flour mixture and whisk vigorously to completely incorporate the flour mixture. Slowly add broth - one cup at a time - whisking after each addition. There may be small lumps - they will go away before eating the soup.
4. Add broth mixture to vegetables. Stir in chicken, zucchini and seasonings. Cook on low-medium heat for about 45 minutes. Break up larger cauliflower pieces once they are soft enough.

You can either add bacon directly to the soup or place as garnish.
Enjoy!!

We definitely enjoyed! I hope there's enough for lunch tomorrow...

Let me know if you made it, and how it went.

Thanks!

New day

Today was the first day at my new job as a tutor. I wore a nice outfit because 1. first day, and 2. I had an interview after work for a part time retail mall job.
Bad idea.
I cleaned my office. Since the room wasn't being used, teachers used it as a storage space. Plus my trainer received the wrong start date for me. Since I was eager to get into my room, I rolled up the sleeves to my new sweater and got to work! Dusty, dusty work. With black pants on.  And wedges.
I'm wearing jeans and flats tomorrow.

I really like what I do already, and I don't start the actual work until next week.
Hopefully I'll say the same thing then. Lol!

Since I'm working early, I made a large batch of  almond flour pancakes. I work part time, so I can easily have lunch at home. This will definitely work for my diet. And my budget.

Lawrence has been making pretty good dinners - as always... today was a simple but tasty dish.

Tonight's dish was cubed boneless, skinless chicken with cabbage, red and yellow bell peppers, onions, and carrots. He added some seasonings - garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper. Cooked it in some oil. Easy. And yummy. 

It snowed today - a dusting - and southerners freaked out. I wonder what's going to happen when it snows the 4-8 inches we're supposed to get on Wednesday night... 

Well, I'm going to find a snack (probably some frozen blueberries) and head to bed.

Have a good night! 

Getting over the hump

So it's been over a month, and our weight loss has stalled.
We've also cheated. Maybe that's why we've stalled. Lawrence had his men's day , then we went to Cookout recently... we've been back on track, but we haven't lost anything.
Good thing is, we haven't gained, either.

I start working for the CMS school district next week. I'll be at an elementary school, tutoring language arts to students during the day. I'm excited to start! But now, I need to figure out lunch. I think I'm going to try the mason jar salads:

(Pinterest)

Just need to get the jars. I saw someone selling a few, but I think I missed out. Oh well, I can get some from Walmart.  

I know I haven't posted much lately, but here's a meal Lawrence made yesterday - grilled chicken covered in a spicy citrus tarragon cactus pear sauce. It was delicious, as always.

                                                       

Also, I have decided to thank God for something in my life every day for the next 40 (39 now) days. At the end, I may even call my dad. 

But that's another story for another day. 

Yesterday...

One month ago yesterday, we started on this new way of eating. It's been a great eating experience, and we've loved losing the weight! Although our weight loss has slowed, we are still shedding pounds. 

Lawrence and I both had "cheat days" - Lawrence going out with friends and then church members, me not being able to hold back from a donut.
I've also had times that I've been tempted - when I walk into a convenience store, I want to grab a soda or bottle of tea. Or a candy bar. Or a bag of chips.
But I refrain. And I have almond flour cookies.

I made some today. Actually, I made seven dozen.
They're for my training class... we're having a potluck tomorrow. I'm also making a zucchini salad for myself and the girl who is a vegetarian in the class. Hopefully that's all I'll eat. I'm going to bring a lunch for myself as well... there are going to be plenty of dishes there that I'm not even going to look at... and a few that I might want to peek into. 

Lawrence also has a new recipe! The photo doesn't do the dish much justice - it was amazing! The pork was so tender and juicy... I can't wait until he makes it again! But if you want to make it now - here's the recipe! 

Apple Date Pork Loin Chops

Ingredients
1/2 medium apple - diced

1/2 cup dates - finely diced

1/2 cup sweet onion - finely diced

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

Mix all ingredients well, let stand at least 30 minutes. Marinate 2 - 3 lbs pork chops for at least one hour. Broil or grill chops until desired cooking level reached (medium to well done). 

As I always say, if you try a recipe, let me know how it goes! 

Chicken and a rock

That's all Lawrence needs to create a four-course meal.
Yes, I'm exaggerating, but he has a great gift of looking at random ingredients and making a delicious meal. Even when we don't have much, he can still make an interesting and tasty meal. 

Tonight was no exception. Serrano-lime chicken and shrimp over zoodles.

He had his with avocado... of course. 

Unfortunately, there's no recipe.

Zoodles??

Yes, zoodles. Or zucchini noodles. They're made with this gizmo we purchased on Amazon for Christmas one year - and just pulled it out today. It makes these great curly spaghetti type strips. I think I'm going to use it to make spaghetti noodles out of squash and not use spaghetti squash next time. 

I also made very easy muffins today. I don't have a blender, so I just used my mixer. Worked just as fine. I did leave the muffins in a little longer than they should have been left, so they turned out a little dark, but they were good. I liked the chocolate chip ones better than the plain. They're very versatile.

                                      

The recipe is from Happy Healthy Mama. They really took 20 minutes max to make. Good, easy snack. 

I have to sleep now... 5:30am gets here rather quickly.

Have a good night! 

There's another me out there.

And I'm not happy about it.

I had my identity stolen. Someone used my name, address, and SSN to file a tax return. I don't know who - I was applying for small business loans and jobs. I don't know when - had to be before 2/3/15.
What I do know is I've completed paperwork to make sure the person is prosecuted for it. I don't care if it's my mother... I'd just visit her in jail. I just hope it wasn't overseas... and no, it wasn't Turbo Tax.

Anyway, this is a warning... file as early as possible, check your records, and keep your paperwork close to you. And save your money so you won't need a loan.

Now, onto food. Today was Lawrence's "cheat day", so he went to a restaurant called Bacon, Inc. in Gastonia with a few friends. Other than the service being slow, he said everyone loved the food. I was with Janiyah and her friend for a late birthday outing. We went to the mall. The girls had pizza while I ate a fruit cup and had an unsweetened iced tea.

For dinner, I just had leftover almond flour pancakes from this morning. Crappy eating today. I haven't had enough fruits or veggies in the past few days. Although I did eat the fruit cup this afternoon and the mango this morning, I haven't been eating enough. I'm going to change that.

Last night, Lawrence made a great dinner - spicy ginger blood orange glazed pork loin, and coconut curry cauliflower. It was amazing! He even posted the recipe...

Spicy Ginger Blood Orange Pork Loin

Glaze/Marinade
Ingredients:
4 blood oranges juiced (approx. 3 cups)
3 tbs ginger
3 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp vidalia onion finely chopped
2 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 cup honey

Directions:
Mix all ingredients except honey until well blended. 
Separate 1/2 of the mixture, and wisk in 1/4 cup of honey (marinade).
Pour remaining mixture into a small saucepan, heat on low medium until mixture begins to boil. Reduce to 1/2 original volume, and add 1/2 cup of honey, and simmer until glaze begins to thicken.

Marinate 2-3 lbs pork loin for at least 30 mins. Grill or roast pork loin until internal temperature is 160°. Cover roast with 2/3 of the glaze. Grill/roast until caramelized. Let rest, slice, and drizzle with remaining glaze.

Coconut Curry Cauliflower

Ingredients:
1 can coconut milk (full fat, approx. 14 oz.)
1 head cauliflower cut into bite sized florets
3 tbs curry powder
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbs vidalia onion chopped
2 tbsp minced garlic
4 tbsp butter

Directions:
Refrigerate coconut milk for at least 1 hour to allow coconut cream to separate, and thicken.
In a large saucepan, melt butter, add onion, garlic, and cauliflower. Simmer untilfrlorets begin to become translucent, stirring often. Add curry powder, and stir until well incorporated. Stir in coconut cream, and allow moderate melting before adding the remaining coconut milk. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, until cauliflower is al dente.

Please let me know if you try it. You won't be disappointed!

That's it for tonight. Have a great one!

A waste of ingredients

Well, not a complete waste. Lawrence says it's not too bad. I, on the other hand, can't even think about being happy about this dessert.

What is it? A raw carrot cake.
I found the recipe on Pinterest. The blogger who posted it said it was really good. So... why not try it?

First issue I had was there was no pre-heat setting. Then there was no cook time. I should have stopped right there, but I really wanted to try it. I haven't had much dessert lately, and Snicker bars at work are starting to dance around my head, so I need something I can take with me to fight off those evil candy bars.

I made the "batter". As I was mixing everything in the food processor, it didn't seem right... but hey, I didn't think it was too bad. The batter didn't even taste too bad...

Then I put it in the pan - that's when I got nervous. I mean, who is going to eat something that looks like this:

Okay, so yes, there are things that don't look great before they're baked, but this was really interesting. It was mushy... but, why waste the ingredients... off it went into the oven. 

And came out like this:

To be fair, it didn't have a piece cut out of it - that was me.
It was still mushy. After 40 minutes. The edges started getting brown, so I thought it would be time to take it out.

I tasted it.
It's gross. 

It's bad tasting carrot mush. I can't even use it to make something different.
Well, maybe I can mush it up again and put bits in a real cake for the kids... 

The recipe? It's from Gimme Some Oven. Maybe I made it wrong. Maybe I didn't mix it correctly. I don't know, but I'm NOT going to try again.

If you try it, please let me know. 

I'm BACK!

Hi all!
My goodness! Who would have thought waking at 5:30am, sitting in a long (and sometimes boring) training class, and not going to bed until after 11pm would wipe a person out (hehe)!! Not to mention cooking and running errands in between. I am BEAT!

But it's not bad. And other than a couple of small bumps in the road (crackers and fig bars), I've kept up with my diet.

I don't have much to post today - just that I'm still here, and I'll be posting daily again.

Missed you guys!