a sunny day - yeah!! and something good to eat, too

Good afternoon! What a beautiful afternoon! It’s finally sunny here – yeah! But tomorrow it’s supposed to be cloudy again and then rain for the end of the week, this weekend & early next week. I’m going to be optimistic and hope that the weather forecast is wrong.
Yesterday was a really busy day for me. I ended up working late so my wonderful husband offered to cook supper. When I finally made it home, he was in the kitchen, just finishing our supper - crispy fried tilapia. This is one of his favorite things to cook. For a side dish, we each had a big salad, made with prepackaged salad mix & assorted toppings, including cheese. We use a lot of the prepackaged lettuce mixes – lettuce & spinach are both low in net carbs and you can create a salad in a matter of minutes. We each prefer different types of salads, so for most meals, we assemble various toppings, including different types of dressings & different types of cheeses.
Here’s an idea I’d like to share – sometimes breakfast is a challenge for me. I’m usually in a hurry in the morning, fixing my coffee & trying to get out of the house quickly in order to get to work. When we have cooler months, I tend to prefer eggs or hot milled flax seed cereal. But I like to mix things up, so my latest breakfast idea is a couple of spoonfuls of peanut butter & a couple of slices of white Vermont cheddar cheese. I absolutely love peanut butter & cheese – which is why I love this combination so much. I also take cheese for a snack to work.
Well, it’s time for me to go! I hope you have a nice afternoon & a wonderful evening. Take care & I’ll catch back up with you tomorrow!

another rainy day & another pretty quick meal idea

Good afternoon! I hope you had a great weekend. On Saturday, I took my daughter, Lori, shopping for prom accessories – shoes, jewelry and makeup. We also had a practice run at the beauty shop so that she knew exactly how she wanted to get her hair fixed. On Saturday night, I went to watch my husband play at a concert. By Sunday I was so worn out from shopping & cleaning house, that I spent the afternoon on the couch, reading & napping. Our weather has been so rainy & gloomy that I really didn’t have the desire to do anything else. And it’s still raining & very gloomy… I need sunshine!
So yesterday I had to break down and go to the grocery store. I really don’t like to go to the grocery store on Monday after I get off work, but if I wanted to cook anything in my low carb kitchen, I figured I better get to the store. Sometimes when I’m not really in the mood to go to the store, I just grab the essentials and figure out what I’m going to do with them later. So my entrees for this week consist of rib eye steaks, pork chops, chicken and fish. I also picked up lots of eggs & cheese.
After going to the grocery store, I wanted to come up with a nice meal. I also needed something quick because my daughter & husband had waltz practice for prom – so I had a limited amount of time to get everything ready. I decided to fix steaks and a salad. The rib eye steaks were on a special – 6 prepackaged steaks for less than $10. Too good of a buy for me to pass up. They were very easy to fix, too. First of all, they were frozen, so I put them in cold water for 30 minutes. While they were thawing, I boiled 4 eggs for our salad. When the steaks were thawed, I added a little oil to 2 skillets, seasoned each steak with a little salt, pepper & garlic powder, and divided the steaks between the 2 skillets.
As the steaks were cooking, I prepared a simple salad with balsamic vinegar & olive oil dressing. When the eggs were hard cooked, I peeled and sliced them. Then I placed them in the freezer for a few minutes in order to cool them quickly. By the time the steaks were ready, the salad was ready, too. Each of us had a large serving of salad and a steak. Another yummy & quick meal without too much fuss or prep work.
Well, it’s time for me to go. I’ll be back tomorrow with another recipe or two, maybe even three… have a good evening and take care!

birthdays, cravings for sweets & chicken with bacon & ranch

Good afternoon! Hope you’re doing well. I didn’t get a chance to blog yesterday. We had a busy day and then we went to my brother-in-law’s house to celebrate my niece, Brayden’s 7th birthday. She is so darn cute. My son Bradley spied her practicing with her presents – she would hold up a present and say “thank you so much”, then she’d put that present down & pick up another & practice saying “thank you” again. Brayden also met each female, whether they were old or young, at the door with a beaded necklace for them to wear during her party. When it came time for her to open presents, she was so excited and her thank-you practicing really paid off – she would thank everyone so nicely for their gift – even if she didn’t quite know what it was!
And yes, I will admit, I had a piece of birthday cake. It was about 3 or 4 bites of cake. I used to eat 2 pieces of cake but now just a sliver goes a long way. I haven’t had a piece of cake this year, I’m sure. Last year, I might have had a couple of pieces but I’m not sure – maybe I didn’t have any. That’s truly living a low carb lifestyle! But I don’t miss it, either. If I’m craving a dessert or a sweet, I’ll make one of the low carb dessert recipes I’ve posted or I’ll have a piece of low carb chocolate.
Okay, time to get back to recipes. My latest low carb concoction that I came up with, in my low carb kitchen, was inspired by an advertisement I saw for a chicken, bacon, ranch sandwich at a local fast food restaurant. My little twist was to add cheese because I love cheese and as you have probably noticed, I tend to use it a lot! I just cooked the chicken in a skillet, then added bacon & a little olive oil. When it was finished I added ranch dressing & cheese. Here’s the recipe if you’d like to give it a try.
Well, it’s time for me to go. Gotta run – hope you have a nice evening. Take care & see you tomorrow!

busy as a bee, prom, tuxedos & menu planning

Good afternoon! Hope you’re doing well! Busy as a bee – that’s how I feel. Sometimes we just have so much to do… I guess that's because we’re getting ready for prom, graduation, graduation parties and college stuff. Speaking of prom, we met my daughter’s date for the prom last night and helped him pick out a tuxedo & accessories. He seems like a really nice guy!
When we finished taking care of the tuxedo, everyone was hungry and we only had about 45 minutes until waltz practice for the prom. I was really glad that I was able to whip up something in a hurry in my low carb kitchen! On Sunday, I made a bacon wrapped pork loin. When I picked out the pork loin, I made sure to get one that would be large enough for 2 meals. For supper last night, I decided to slice the remaining pork loin into about ½ to ¾ inch slices. Then I browned the meat until it was a deep golden brown in melted butter in a skillet. While the pork was cooking, I opened 2 cans of green beans, drained the liquid and cooked them on the stove with butter & pepper. The meal turned out really good and everyone had seconds, except me.
So tonight, I need to come up with a plan to make something that will work for a meal tonight & tomorrow. I’m thinking some kind of chicken but I’m not really sure. My husband will be in a hurry tonight, tomorrow & Thursday for band practice. Tomorrow we have my niece’s birthday get together & my daughter has church youth group. I think possibly on Friday, we might be able to enjoy a quiet evening at home without everyone having some place to be in a hurry.
Whew! The weekend – I can hardly wait. Although, at this time, we don’t have a very good weather forecast for later in the week and the weekend but as we know, that’s always subject to change. Well, it’s time for me to go. Have a great evening and I’ll catch back up with you tomorrow. Take care!

roadtrip snacks & bacon wrapped pork loin

What an awesome weekend! My husband & I took my daughter, Lori, to NKU to accept her scholarship and register for fall classes. I can’t believe our baby will be leaving home in August. I am going to miss her so very much! But I really like the school and the program she is getting into. We left late Friday afternoon – we were supposed to leave as soon as Lori came home from school, but we wanted to look at her yearbook first. She has been on the yearbook staff each year since she has been in high school & this year she was honored to be chosen as the editor. Her work is only just amazing! From the scheme to the layout & design – I don’t think it could be any better!
We stopped on our way out of town to pick up some low carb treats – diet drinks, water, peanuts, cheddar cheese sticks and string cheese. Oh, and of course, chocolate. Low carb chocolate treats! We had plain milk chocolate bars, caramel pecan clusters & chocolate covered toffee.
Then we munched on low carb snacks, while driving in the pouring rain for 3 & ½ hours. By the time we ended up in Cincinnati, the rain had stopped. We stayed in the middle of downtown & watched as the kids dressed for prom walked by. They looked so cute. We ended up getting a bite to eat at the hotel and then retired for the night.
The next morning we had to be at the college early, so we stopped at a Subway for a quick breakfast – bacon, eggs & cheese. Lunch was served at the college in an Italian restaurant. When I found out they were having an Italian lunch, I thought that we’d be having pasta. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized we’d have a nice low carb selection – chicken breast, steamed veggies & salads. It was a really good lunch.
Yesterday, I was glad to be back in my low carb kitchen! For lunch we had what I call a bacon and egg skillet – chopped bacon, fried with eggs and cream cheese – yummy! About mid afternoon, while we were working in the yard, I cooked a bacon wrapped pork loin. I only spent a few minutes in the kitchen, prepping and browning the pork loin – then into the oven it went so that when we were ready for supper, it was ready, too. We also had slices of Vermont sharp white cheddar cheese. A nice, simple, low carb meal without a lot of fuss. Actually, I think we were too tired to eat anything else after spending so much time working in the yard and cleaning house!
Well, it’s time for me to go. I hope you had a nice weekend & a good Monday, too. See you tomorrow! Take care!

festivals and leftovers...

Good afternoon! What a week… I am so ready for the weekend – how about you? So far, we’re still having beautiful weather and I’m so glad. We’re leaving this afternoon to take my daughter to Northern Kentucky University for a visit. Tomorrow she will attend a welcoming reception with the honors fellows, be honored with a scholarship and register for classes. I am so proud of her! When we’re finished tomorrow, we’ll hurry back home so that we can go to our annual Tri-Fest. Lots of fun, food, music, games, rides, etc. One of my favorite parts of the festival is seeing lots of friends and checking out the entertainment.
I also get a little break from my low carb kitchen. Instead of cooking, we’ll be finding lots of low carb foods to enjoy. I’m sure my husband will get his favorite – polish sausage with a few peppers & onions topped with mustard and hold the bun. Not exactly my favorite! I like the grilled pork chops or the grilled ribeye sandwiches, minus the bun, of course. And the big, juicy burgers – don’t forget to hold the bun. It seems to me they have some kind of fried cheese or jalapenos stuffed with cheese – again, not too bad for the carb count. But there’s lots of other items, too. Like chicken and tenderloins. Okay, I just realized I haven’t had lunch yet! All this talk about food is making me hungry!
One more thing I wanted to talk about today is leftovers. Don’t forget to use your leftovers this week for a quick meal in a hurry. We’ve had leftovers several times this week. One thing we like to do is have a big salad and pull all of the leftovers out of the refrigerator. Then we decide who wants what, warm them up, if needed, and we’ve got a nice, quick meal in a matter of minutes. I’m just saying, again, don’t forget to use your leftovers!
Well it’s time for me to go. I hope you have a great evening and a wonderful weekend! Take care!

festivals and leftovers...

Good afternoon! What a week… I am so ready for the weekend – how about you? So far, we’re still having beautiful weather and I’m so glad. We’re leaving this afternoon to take my daughter to Northern Kentucky University for a visit. Tomorrow she will attend a welcoming reception with the honors fellows, be honored with a scholarship and register for classes. I am so proud of her! When we’re finished tomorrow, we’ll hurry back home so that we can go to our annual Tri-Fest. Lots of fun, food, music, games, rides, etc. One of my favorite parts of the festival is seeing lots of friends and checking out the entertainment.
I also get a little break from my low carb kitchen. Instead of cooking, we’ll be finding lots of low carb foods to enjoy. I’m sure my husband will get his favorite – polish sausage with a few peppers & onions topped with mustard and hold the bun. Not exactly my favorite! I like the grilled pork chops or the grilled ribeye sandwiches, minus the bun, of course. And the big, juicy burgers – don’t forget to hold the bun. It seems to me they have some kind of fried cheese or jalapenos stuffed with cheese – again, not too bad for the carb count. But there’s lots of other items, too. Like chicken and tenderloins. Okay, I just realized I haven’t had lunch yet! All this talk about food is making me hungry!
One more thing I wanted to talk about today is leftovers. Don’t forget to use your leftovers this week for a quick meal in a hurry. We’ve had leftovers several times this week. One thing we like to do is have a big salad and pull out the leftovers out of the refrigerator. Then we decide who wants what, warm them up, if needed, and we’ve got a nice, quick meal in a matter of minutes. I’m just saying, again, don’t forget to use your leftovers!
Well it’s time for me to go. I hope you have a great evening and a wonderful weekend! Take care!