Personal Scale Success!!!
FINALLY!!! After a month of poor results on the scale (due to my own lack of journalling and self control) I had a personal victory on the scale. I surpassed the 15 pound mark!!! In 9 weeks I've lost a total of 16 pounds. WOOHOO!!! It was a rough weekend following that success, so now I have a lot of work cut out for me to get back there, but it was so nice to finally see something other than a weight that started with two 2's. I'm almost 1/2 way to my June 1st goal and it feels completely attainable right now. Remind me of that when I'm struggling later this month though please!! :)
And I WILL take some new pictures. I'm two months into this journey and completely blew past my one month mark without taking any pictures, so I have to take some for my two month progress report. I also have to do my measurements, which I will at the end of this week because WW online won't let me update unless it's a weigh in day. GRRR!! It just goes to show that if I stick to the plan, it works!
Speaking of plan, I owe you guys a couple of recipes. Here's the first one. It is a recipe straight out of the Weight Watchers recipe vault, so you know the PointsPlus values are accurate.
Slow Cooker Lasagna
Servings: 6
PointsPlus Value: 9
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
1 pound uncooked lean ground beef (with 7% fat)
1 small onion chopped
1 clove of garlic minced
28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
15 oz canned tomato sauce
1 tsp table salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
6 items dry lasagna noodles, no-cook
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, strong flavored like Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano
Instructions
Fry beef, onion, and garlic in large nonstick skillet, stirring frequently. Cook 5-7 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes; simmer 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
Meanwhile, in medium bowl, stir together ricotta cheese and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
Spook 1/3 of beef mixture into 5-quart slow cooker. Break 3 lasagna sheets in half and arrange over beef mixture; top with half of ricotta mixture. Repeat with another layer and finish with remaining 1/3 beef mixture.
Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours. Remove cover; turn off heat and season to taste, if desired.
In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and Paremsan cheese; sprinkle over beef mixture. Cover and set aside until cheese melts and lasagna firms up, about 10 minutes.
Now for my feedback...
I'll give it a C. Basically this has to do partly with my kitchen inadequacies though. First, we used italian flavored ground venison which I don't think had enough fat in it. Plus, we cooked it half way one night and then more the next night which resulted in dry, cardboard like meat and too mushy noodles. So, like I said, could have been my error. I'll try it again to see if I get better results, but not too soon. If you like hotdishes then this may be right up your alley. I'm not a huge fan. If you're looking for a true lasagna taste and texture, move on, you won't find that here! But, I must add that I was the only one of a small group of points-counting friends on Facebook who didn't rave over this recipe. Could just be that I messed it up, so don't let me hold you back from trying it out. And if you do, feel free to come back and leave me a comment. I'm curious to hear how other's tries fared. :)
Either way, stay tuned. I'm back on track and putting together this week's menu. It includes a few new recipes that I hope to share in a much more timely manner than this! I'm also trying to find some friendly recipes for my girls weekend this weekend. We're all following a different plan, so the challenge is on! I'll report back with what I find, if anything.
And I WILL take some new pictures. I'm two months into this journey and completely blew past my one month mark without taking any pictures, so I have to take some for my two month progress report. I also have to do my measurements, which I will at the end of this week because WW online won't let me update unless it's a weigh in day. GRRR!! It just goes to show that if I stick to the plan, it works!
Speaking of plan, I owe you guys a couple of recipes. Here's the first one. It is a recipe straight out of the Weight Watchers recipe vault, so you know the PointsPlus values are accurate.
Slow Cooker Lasagna
Servings: 6
PointsPlus Value: 9
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
1 pound uncooked lean ground beef (with 7% fat)
1 small onion chopped
1 clove of garlic minced
28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
15 oz canned tomato sauce
1 tsp table salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
6 items dry lasagna noodles, no-cook
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, strong flavored like Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano
Instructions
Fry beef, onion, and garlic in large nonstick skillet, stirring frequently. Cook 5-7 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes; simmer 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
Meanwhile, in medium bowl, stir together ricotta cheese and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
Spook 1/3 of beef mixture into 5-quart slow cooker. Break 3 lasagna sheets in half and arrange over beef mixture; top with half of ricotta mixture. Repeat with another layer and finish with remaining 1/3 beef mixture.
Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours. Remove cover; turn off heat and season to taste, if desired.
In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and Paremsan cheese; sprinkle over beef mixture. Cover and set aside until cheese melts and lasagna firms up, about 10 minutes.
Now for my feedback...
I'll give it a C. Basically this has to do partly with my kitchen inadequacies though. First, we used italian flavored ground venison which I don't think had enough fat in it. Plus, we cooked it half way one night and then more the next night which resulted in dry, cardboard like meat and too mushy noodles. So, like I said, could have been my error. I'll try it again to see if I get better results, but not too soon. If you like hotdishes then this may be right up your alley. I'm not a huge fan. If you're looking for a true lasagna taste and texture, move on, you won't find that here! But, I must add that I was the only one of a small group of points-counting friends on Facebook who didn't rave over this recipe. Could just be that I messed it up, so don't let me hold you back from trying it out. And if you do, feel free to come back and leave me a comment. I'm curious to hear how other's tries fared. :)
Either way, stay tuned. I'm back on track and putting together this week's menu. It includes a few new recipes that I hope to share in a much more timely manner than this! I'm also trying to find some friendly recipes for my girls weekend this weekend. We're all following a different plan, so the challenge is on! I'll report back with what I find, if anything.
WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!
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