Great recipe to share

So I found this recipe and it looked intriguing. When you read through the ingredients you think how could this be good. But the flavors blended nicely. The sausage/butter bean combo was yummy. It was so good and easy to make I decided to share. :)


Skillet Sausage Dinner
2 Tablespoons Fat Free Margarine
1 Cup Chopped Onions
1 (14 oz.) Package Butterball Lean Turkey Smoked Sausage Links
2 (15 oz.) Cans Veg-all Mixed Vegetables, drained
1 (15 oz.) Can Butter Beans, drained
1/2 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
2 Tablespoons Kraft Reduced Fat Parmesan Style Grated Topping

Spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Cut the sausage in half lengthwise and then cut into bite size pieces. Place sausage, onion and margarine into the skillet and cook over medium heat until the onion is tender. Add in the vegetables, beans, seasoned salt, pepper and parmesan topping. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until hot throughout.

Serves: 6 (1 Cup Each)
Per Serving: 250 Calories; 8g Fat (30.2% calories from fat); 14g Protein; 28g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 37mg Cholesterol; 1596mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain (Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates. WWP: 5 (www.AimeesAdventures.com)

I apologize to my blog

I'd like to apologize to my blog. I didn't mean to leave you sitting dormant for a month and a half. I just haven't thought of anything to write. I promise to TRY and update you more often from here on out.

Week one in the books

So I survived the first week of my "lifestyle change". I don't want to say the "d" word. Heheehe

I went to the weight watchers meeting today and I found out that I'm down 1.4 pounds. That's a great start.

I have to admit that I was a little upset and thought the amount was too low. I described it as the "Biggest Loser" syndrome where you're happy that you lost weight but you're upset that it wasn't more. They always say that on the show.

I'm glad I stayed for the WW meeting because it was all about positive thinking. That is just what I needed to hear. I needed to be reminded to think positively. Don't focus on the negative and to celebrate the little things. So I'm happy about my 1.4 now.

So in week one I stuck to the eating plan just fine. Danny and I even went to Olive Garden with some friends and were able to resist some of our favorite Italian dishes and stick to the healthier options. I only had one breadstick. When you look at my daily points total...36...and then think about eating multiple 3 point breaksticks that just doesn't leave many points for the rest of the day. So I could've eaten them and then not eaten much the rest of the day or just have one, savor it, and then be able to eat more later in the day. With WW it's all about choices. You aren't depriving yourself of anything just the choices you make disctate the rest of your day, so choose how you want to eat your way through the day.

The big improvement I need to make for week two is exercise. I've been avoiding it. I know I have to do it and I can't wait for the day that I don't dread working out. :)

Time for change

So today I'm turning over a new leaf. I'm starting a lifestyle of healthy living. What does that mean...I'm going to Weight Watchers. Hopefully this will help me turn things around and lead a happier life.

I've tried WW before and I was successful while sticking to the program. Once I thought that I could do it on my own that is when all the weight I had lost came right back and with more. I can't do it on my own. I need a program to follow and I think WW is the best choice for me.

So today at 12:15 I have to get on their little scale and let them tell me how much I weigh. I'm dreading this part. But from today on...that # will only be getting smaller. :)

Loosing weight is not fun but it is what I have to do. I might hate not being able to eat yummy bad-for-me food and I might hate exercise and working up a sweat but I will love the results.
And for my own motivation a list of reasons why this is what I need to be doing.

- Obviously health reasons but that isn't really motivating for me.
- One day I want to have children and I can't do it safely at this weight.
- I'm tired of not fitting in airplane seats and having to use a seat belt extender.
- I'm tired of being uncomfortable sitting in stadium seats to watch sporting events.
- I'm tired of getting winded by one flight of stairs.
- I'm tired of the excuses I make for myself.

I'm sure I could come up with more but that's all I got for now. Wish me luck.

Seriously? I'm not eating here anymore.

A favorite restaurant of mine used to be Crispers. I was in love with their Oriental Chicken salad. It was to die for. It was a huge bed of lettuce topped with chicken, candied walnuts, pineapple, crispy noodle things. You ate it with a scrumptious honey lime dressing. This is only one of three things I would eat at Crispers. The other two are the broccoli cheese soup or the steak and blue cheese flatbread. By far the salad was my favorite.

On Saturday after shopping, Tina and I went to lunch. I chose Crispers. She grabbed a menu when she walked in and I didn't need to look at a menu because I always order the same thing. I have it memorized. I get up to the counter and state my order only to hear back, "we don't have that salad anymore." Excuse me...what did you just say? You don't have my favorite salad anymore?

I seriously told the lady I don't think I can eat here anymore. She tried to suggest some other "really" great salads and I wasn't having it. I didn't even listen. I ordered my fall back meal of soup and flatbread and wasn't very happy.

She then mentions that they are out of crackers and if we really wanted something to put in our soup we could BUY some of their bread. When half of your menu consists of soup and salad, how can you run out of crackers? That was strike two.

Then it was time to get a drink. I won't bring up the fact that they switched to plastic cups instead of paper, which could be taken home with refills. I have already gotten over that point. After getting my plastic cup I turn the corner to see that the soda machine is now Pepsi. I can drink diet Pepsi but I prefer coke. Strike three.

I will not eat at this dining establishment for a very long time. I just can't forgive them for getting rid of my favorite salad in the world, without evening telling me.

Finally. Finalllly

They finally criticized the awful sounding Scott on American Idol. I can't believe he's made it this far. They finally heard what I've been hearing all along. Screeching.

But Paula just said bravo. Ughhh.

You don't have to be nice just because he is blind. He can take it.

Thankfully Simon agrees with me. We'll see what happens tomorrow night. I really hope he goes.

Why is it so frustrating?

Ever since I got the photo cd for my wedding photos I couldn't wait to get the pictures picked out for my album. I quickly made a favorites folder and put all my favorite photos in there.

The tough and frustrating thing is that I can only pick 80-90 photos for the album. I've weeded out a lot of photos and I have 127 still in the folder. I just keep looking through them and looking through them and I don't want to delete any more. I want all of these.

How do I widdle them down even more? I don't think I can. What's a girl to do?

I thought I could possible create a second album online but then leftover photos wouldn't make a very exciting album and why have two albums with basically the same photos in it.

I just don't know what to do. I have 40 pictures to delete. :( This could take forever.

Picking new recipes

First off. Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. Nothing exciting has happened.

Today I guess I'll share the recipe that I cooked last night for Buffalo Chicken Lasagna. It was very good and Danny really liked it. After his first bite he said, "This one is a keeper." That made me feel good. And after I post this recipe, I get to go through all of my recipes and pick out 8 to 10 for the next two week's dinners.

Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

12 Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles, uncooked
1 lb. Skinless Chicken Breast, cubed
3 Cups Hunt’s Four Cheese Spaghetti Sauce
1 Cup Very Mild Buffalo Wing Sauce
1 1/2 Cups Water
15 oz. Nonfat Ricotta Cheese
1/2 Cup Egg Substitute
9 Slices 2% Pepperjack Cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Cook chicken over medium high heat for 4 minutes or until almost done. Stir in sauces and water. In a small bowl, combine ricotta cheese and egg substitute. Spray a 9X13 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread 1 Cup of sauce in the bottom of pan. Arrange 4 noodles over the sauce. Spread more sauce, then a layer of ricotta mixture. Add another layer of sauce, and repeat the whole process until you end with a layer of sauce. Cover and bake 70 minutes. Uncover and place cheese slices on top, then bake for another 15 minutes uncovered. Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving.

American Idol recap

I had zinfandel and goldfish crackers to keep me company while watching American Idol last night. Danny isn't a big fan so he kept himself busy by playing Word Challenge on facebook. Here are my thoughts.

Matt - sang Let's Get it On - He's so good. I gave it two thumbs up. I really liked the changes he made to make the song his own.

Kris - sang How Sweet It Is - I've liked him but I never realized what a great voice he had until last night.

Scott - Can't hurry love - It was just ok to me. I'm ready to see this guy go. I think he is still getting the sympathy vote and the judges seem to really like him. I don't see him going anytime soon because of that.

Meaghan - sang For Once in my Life - I really like Meaghan. She looked great but she blew it. It wasn't good. I really hope she doesn't go.

Anoop - sang Oh Baby Baby - The song got better as he went along but I'm tired of slow songs Anoop. Crank it up again.

Michael - sang Ain't to proud to beg - We all know I'm not a big fan. I enjoyed the song but he just doesn't compare to the others.

Lil - sang Heat Wave - I agree with Kara in that she was screaming the song at times. It was good but not what we expect from her.

Adam- sang Track of my Tears - He did a great job. Still doesn't mean I like him. I'll never like him again after he butchered Ring of Fire.

Danny - sang Get Ready - It was good as always. That's what we come to expect from him.

So who do I think is going home. Meaghan. Not who I want but I think Michael will still get the "blue collar" worker vote to stay around another week. Maybe America will surprise me and vote him off. We'll see tonight.

It is fire season

Two signs that it is fire season. You see billowing smoke in the distance and you smell it in the air. Last night leaving work I saw this (photos below) and then this morning when I walked out of my apartment I was hit with the smell of smoke. I couldn't see where it was coming from though.

Time for Spring Cleaning

For the past month or so I kept looking in my closet and thinking, "I really need to clean this thing out." We had clothes jammed in there and I knew I didn't even wear half of it.

So on Sunday it was time to start spring cleaning. I went through my sweaters first. I picked out what I wouldn't wear again and then picked out the heavier ones that I wouldn't wear again next year. That cleaned out two shelves. Then it was on to my pants. Most pants went into the donate pile. I then had one shelf dedicated to sweaters and one to pants. Danny now gets an extra shelf.

Next it was time to go through my hanging shirts. I had the entire left side all to myself. I started in the back. If it didn't fit anymore it was getting donated and if I didn't remember the last time I wore something it was getting donated. So I was able to get rid of a million things. The stack was getting quite high.

I didn't throw much of Danny's stuff out. He doesn't really have a lot of clothes. So this pile below is mostly my stuff that is getting donated. Four bags full ready for Goodwill.

We've got crabs

I meant to post this on Saturday but I never got the picture off my camera. So here it is.

On Saturday night, Danny and I elected to stay in to watch basketball and because I had picked up 4 lbs of crab legs from the grocery store the night before. I had been craving this yummy goodness and just happened to see a bag of it while walking through the store. So I just had to have it. I had never made my own crab legs.

It turned out to be super simple. You just boil them for 5-7 minutes if you don't have a steamer. They were so yummy. Danny and I feasted on it for like an hour and we made sure to finish off every last drop.

Random useless knowledge

At work I decided I wanted to get more involved in our social media efforts. I decided before I did this that I needed to learn more about social media than rely on just what I know from my own personal experience with my personal accounts. So I ordered a few books to read and have been reading articles online. I just came across this interesting tidbit that I felt like sharing.

The term "spammer" - loosely based, unfairly, on Hormel's canned meat - was coined to describe people sending email filled with questionable content.

I had never thought about it like that or put two and two together. I'll let you know what other tidbits I pull out of my reading.

You win some and you loose some

So I was almost right with my American Idol prediction. It came down to Alexis and Michael and I knew it had to be Michael. Well it ended up being Alexis. Too bad for her. She got sent home because of her song choice. Michael got lucky. Oh well at least it'll be easy for me to pick who's going home next week...let's hope Michael.

So it is March Madness time. With the Gators not being in the tournament, the only thing keeping me interested in all the action is my bracket. Danny and I entered the bracket pool at my work. We had 32 people put in $10 a piece. 75% goes to the winner, 25% to second place, and 3rd place gets their money back. So hopefully one or the both of us will walk away as winners.

Yesterday was the first day of the tournament. I didn't do terrible. I guessed 12 of the 16 games correctly. The only downfall is that Mississippi State and Illinois both lost and I had them both going to the Sweet 16. Oh well. Let's hope my Final Four teams hold on and maybe I can make a run for the money.

Today's action is just starting up at noon so I'll have to start following scores and checking my bracket here shortly.

Very exciting two days

I can't believe I didn't blog yesterday about the exciting news I received. Then today I got another surprise at work so now I must blog about them both.

Most of you probably know that I traveled to 10 tournaments last year and had been planning on doing the same again this year. Well with the "state of the economy" my travel budget was slashed to mere pennies. That meant no traveling for me except for The Solheim Cup in Chicago because that tournament was covering my travel costs.

My coworker Donna knew that I wasn't traveling and had been keeping her eye out for any free travel that might arise. Well it just so happens there was one extra ticket to the RICOH Women's British Open and she threw my name out there as the lucky ticket recipient and it was approved.

I can't tell you how excited I was. I have been to the Women's British Open the past two years and I couldn't imagine missing it. I always take a little European side trip once I'm over there. So this was the best news of the day. The past two years I've taken my side trip to Scotland. I think this year I'm heading to Dublin, Ireland. The only part that stinks is I'll be alone going to Ireland but I'm sure I can find some Irish pubs to entertain me.

Today's surprise was a new blackberry. I can't tell you how old mine was. It was a model that people didn't even recognize. I called it a dinosaur. The screen was black and white and had no camera like the color versions everyone else had. I also couldn't use cool applications like facebook and twitter on it.

Now I have the new BlackBerry Curve and it is beautiful. It has color and I can use facebook and twitter from it. The trackball will take some getting use to but it is worth it in the end.

I'm going home a happy woman today!

Danny's making dinner

Danny didn't have to work today so I enlisted him to make dinner. The recipe I had picked out takes over an hour so if we waited until I got home to cook it, we wouldn't eat until 7:30 or 8:00. That is way to late. So why not let this fully capable man cook. All he has to do is follow the recipe. I think he'll do great. Here's the recipe. I'll let you know tonight how it turns out.

Cheesy Chicken Macaroni & Cheese Casserole

1 cup dry whole-wheat elbow macaroni
3/4 cup fat-free skim milk
10 3/4 oz Campbell's 98% Fat-Free Cream Of Chicken Soup
12 oz cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
4 oz canned mushrooms
1 cup Kraft 2% Finely Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese

Methods/steps

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain.

In a bowl, stir milk into soup. Add chicken, half of the cheese, mushrooms and cooked macaroni; mix well.

Turn mixture into a 2 qt. casserole that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake, covered, for 50 minutes. Uncover and stir. Top with the remaining cheese;

Bake about 5 minutes longer or until cheese melts.

Eventful drive to work

Most days my drive to work is pretty boring. I keep myself entertained with the Bob & Sheri show on the radio. They always have crazy people calling in with entertaining stories. Today I had a few eventful things take place. I was about 15 miles into the drive and I see a cop car at the top of this hill and he is taking up the right lane. I get over into the middle lane and then as I get closer I see that the cop is actually out of his car and standing in the right lane. He's waving everyone over to the far left lane. That looked a little dangerous.

As I came over the hill there were all these cop cars and a firetruck and a big cloud of smoke. A car was on fire. We all slowed down to look (I also took a picture) and you could see that the tailgate of the truck still had flames coming out of it. Scary.



Thankfully for us there isn't a lot of traffic going this way so there wasn't a back up to sit in. We just drove by slowly and then were on our merry way again.

Not too long after that I saw a turkey on the side of the road. Wildlife along I-95 always amazes me.

I knew that I had to go to the post office before heading to work and about 20 minutes from work I realize that I was a little early for the post office since it doesn't open until 8:30. I came up with the grand idea of going to Starbucks first. I couldn't remember the last time I got Starbucks so this kept me happy until my drive was over.

I got my venti caramel frappuccino and shipped off my package and then off to work I went. What a great way to start the day. Not so great for the person whose truck went up in flames.

American Idol through my eyes

I love American Idol so I thought I'd take notes on tonight's show and share with you. I think the last four that sang stole the show. Here's my rundown.

Michael - He sang Garth Brooks. I love Garth Brooks and the song he sang is a really fun song...Ain't going down till the sun comes up. I'll just say it was better than I expected but it wasn't anything special. I foresee Michael going home soon once his "blue-collar worker vote" runs out.

Allison - I love her voice. I think she did an awesome job with the Patti Loveless song. Randy Travis was right...she has such a mature voice for 16.

Kris - He's from Arkansas so I expected him to do well at country and he did. Simon loved him which thrilled Kris. I see him sticking around till next week.

Lil Rounds - She sang Independence Day by Martina McBride. It was just fine for me. It wasn't bad but it wasn't spectacular. She played it safe because country isn't her thing. I don't think holding back this week will hurt her. Let's hope not.

Adam - All I can say is WTF. Seriously...you're going to do that to a Johnny Cash song. It made me sick. I get what he was trying to do and be unique but not with that song.

Scott - Wild Angels, Martina McBride - I was skeptical. He pulled it off but I agree with the judges. He's got to step up. I don't think his voice is the best. I think his blindness keeps people voting. I'm not sure how long that will last.

Alexis - Interesting song choice. It was a little pitchy as Randy would say. It didn't really keep my attention.

Danny - He's been my favorite since the very beginning. I was nervous when I heard he was singing Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take The Wheel". But I thought he did a great job. The second half was much better but I just love everything he sings.

Anoop - All I can say is welcome back. He did a great job. He got the kick in the butt he needed last week to pull off a stellar performance this week.

Meaghan - Her voice is so unique. I love listening to her. I was pleasantly surprised by her performance. I think she did a great job but the girl has got to stop doing the "twist" move all the time. Dance lessons are in order.

Matt - What a way to end the night. He's another favorite of mine and he did great. Carrie Underwood will be very proud of his performance.

So to wrap things up I think/hope Michael will be going home. I wish it would be Adam for that awful performance but that won't happen.

Puppy fever!

It seems everywhere I go I see a puppy I want. I spent the weekend with my friend Vivian who has two dogs. Watching the play together was so much fun. It made me want a dog.

My friend Christine is getting a puppy. Seeing her post photos of it makes me want one.

Last night we watched a hilarious new show...Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory...and he has a new English bulldog puppy that I really want. We watched three episodes and the whole time I oohed and ahhed at the puppy. See pictures below of how cute it is. It's the one he's holding. It's a girl and her name is beefy. Meaty is the boy sitting. They are sooo cute.

The reality is we can't get a puppy. We probably couldn't afford one right now and with Danny and I being gone from our apartment for 11 hours a day just doesn't work when getting a new puppy. This makes me very sad because I've wanted a dog of my own for forever. I keep dreaming of the day that I don't drive an hour to work so that I can get a dog and come home on my lunch break to let it out.

Oh how I love....

Japanese Steakhouses. I just went to dinner with two of my favorite people...Tina and Daniel. Tina now lives in Jacksonville with her husband Daniel so we get to see each other more often. It's so exciting. We've lived in separate cities for two years or so but now we're back together.

We decided to eat at a Japanese Steakhouse. It is so good. And it is good because of the sauce. Oh the yummy yummy sauce. I could eat that sauce on everything everyday. I even have the chef give me two dishes of that sauce instead of the ginger sauce. I then proceed to pour the sauce over my plate while still dipping it in the sauce tray. If only you didn't come home feeling so stuffed. That's the only problem.