Thankful Thursday: My Skillet

I am so very thankful for the skillets I have, all varying in size. Think about it - what have you made in a skillet? Eggs? Bacon? Rice? Chicken? Dumplings? Pancakes? I could seriously go on and on and on about the pans that I own. Skillets date back way to the Romans, but one thing I found really interesting is that prior to cooking stoves there was a cast iron skillet called the "spider". It had a handle and three legs so it could stand over the coals of a fire. Neat Right? 



Well, if you read my post from yesterday, you would have saw that I'm on some what of a diet. Ya, you heard me - a diet! I have been using my skillet for pretty much every meal, unless its a salad, and the food has been delicious!

Today I made what I'm going to call the: EVERYTHING BUT THE TORTILLA
It was so yummy that I'm thinking I can even get my hubs to eat this too! But shh, don't tell him there is spinach in it.

Everything But The Tortilla
Ingredients: (this makes enough for 2 meals or 2 people)

1/3 cups frozen spinach
1 can Rotel - with Lime & Cilantro (Rotel can usually be found in your canned vegetable section)
2 green onions
1 chicken breast
Seasonings of choice
Olive Oil (for chicken)
1 can Refried Beans
1/2 can Pinto Beans

Cook chicken in your skillet with a bit of olive oil for about 15 minutes or until cooked throughout. Season with your favorite spices.

Once chicken is cooked, remove from skillet and chop into pieces. Next, add chopped green onions and frozen spinach to pan and saute until a bit browned.




Once browned, add Rotel, 1/2 can pinto beans and chopped chicken and heat until hot.



Prepare your bowl with a bed of refried beans and then cover with chicken salsa mixture. Enjoy and be satisfied.

Woo-Hoo Wednesday: Loosing The Baby Weight

Woo- Hoo It's Wednesday! I am so excited to announce that I am just one pound away from loosing my "pre-2nd-child" weight (about 25 more to "pre-1st-child" and hmmm.....a few more to "Wedding Day Weight"). How did I do it you ask? Well, like many I vowed to get out there and push that stroller  - you know, because it is good for the kiddos to get outside plus all of the benefits of loosing that baby weight would just shed off, right? 

Ya, well, like many of us out there who are not the "I've gotta exercise in order to function" type people, I was functioning just well on my couch with a bowl of ice cream each afternoon. The vow to exercise with the kids quickly dwindled after a few months, I got back into my old "pregnancy" routine and stayed at a consistent weight (over weight) for about 5 months or so. Which in my head was justifiable since I wasn't gaining weight.

But it brought me back to the feeling of being overwhelmed each time I tried to pick out an outfit and trying to hide the extra weight with belly bands and my pregnancy shirts. (and on my way to digging out the dreaded pregnancy jeans) 

Now I am by no means here to preach the word of nutrition or say that my recipes follow all the guidelines of other weight loss programs, but I'll tell ya one thing - It's working for me, so I think I'll stick to it! 

My amazing brother has been staying with us for a few weeks and well, he's always an inspiration to get "get out there and move it!" Let's just say we are pretty much polar opposites when it comes to fitness and here's just one (of many)  examples. When we were younger, when I was feeling under the weather, I'd scoop myself a mug of sherbert ice cream (or not gonna lie, sometimes the creamiest of vanilla's) and turn on a Disney Movie, sure to make me feel better. And every time, my brother would then come into the living room and proceed to do either pushups or crunches every time a song was sung during the movie. Have you ever seen a Disney Cartoon? It's practically ALL singing! Nut-Case! One fit, hard working, perfect bod "nut-case". At least thats what I told myself as I dove in for another  bite of chocolate chip, chocolate syrup milkshake -- oh wait, I mean "sherbert". 

Anyways, he's here now with us and has me on a high protein diet and we have eliminated dairy and sugars. I get to choose a protein, legume and vegetable for each of my meals and although I am craving a few of my old habits - like some ice cream at 2:00 pm when the kids are napping it really isn't that bad. Both of us agree that its a delicious lifestyle if you know how to cook! hah.

Then here's the kicker!  I get a "splurge day" once a week in order to trick my metabolism. Which brings me back to my original thought that I'm not here to preach the right way to loose weight, but I've got to say - loosing 5 lbs last week in just two days, and then 6 lbs this week in two days - I think I'll stick to it. (I do have to mention though that my splurge last week was 4 days while I was in California for my brother-in-laws wedding, so technically this week is the official start week!) 

Ok - now don't start hyper-ventilating.  I am by no means turning to a "Healthy Eating Blog". No way - Have you seen my Pinterest Account? I've got loads and loads of recipes that I want to test out and share with you. But we'll be sticking to those on "splurge day".

The recipe I want to share with you is one of my favorites so far. I'm not going to lay it out in a traditional format, so please follow along.



Chicken:

1 Chicken Breast
A bit of Olive Oil
Seasonings of choice (except salt)

I pan seared the chicken breast for about 15 minutes until cooked through. Just lightly glaze your pan with the olive oil. Coat your chicken with your favorite seasonings (personally I like them a bit on the spicy side). Then cover with a lid and cook till no longer pink on the inside

Pinto Beans:

1/4-1/2 can Pinto Beans

Heat until hot.

Onion Salsa:

1/2 white onion
1 can Rotel with Lime Juice and Cilantro (Rotel can usually be found in the tomato sauce and canned vegetable aisle)
A bit of Olive Oil

Saute onions in olive oil until caramelized.  Next add entire can of Rotel and cover with lid for about 10 minutes or until hot.

Once all ingredients are cooked and hot, chop your chicken and toss in a bowl. Mix together salsa, beans and chicken and satisfy those beautiful taste buds of yours! Enjoy.