Sunday, December 26, 2010

SNOWED IN! - Happy Holidays =)

The weather outside isn't really frightful, and I don't have a fireplace that's delightful, but I've got no place to go... so LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW!


These are just for a reference point of what my front yard and back yard looked like at 11:30 this morning.  Pictures of what it looks like now are further down. 



BUT FIRST, the important stuff... THE FOOD!!

I made my family Ginger Shrimp & Vegetables from the Weight Watchers Ready, Set, Cookbook... One serving is 7 PointsPlus, and absolutely worth it.  My mother said I should make this once a week, and it's her favorite thing I've cooked.  My only suggestion: don't go too heavy on the ginger, because I felt it was a little strong. (But then again I didn't truly measure out how much I used.)

The next day I only cooked a side dish, and I let everyone else fend for themselves for the meal.  This is the Provencal Tomato Tart, the recipe for which can also be found in the Ready, Set, Go book.  1/12th of the tart is 2 Points Plus, and I personally don't think it was worth it.  I would have rather just had the vegetables with cheese alone, and I found out the hard way that I HATE olives.  On the other hand, my father loved this... so you just never know.

The other day my friend Michelle was telling me how her mother got an idea at a Weight Watchers meeting for cucumber slices with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.  Since I love me some cucumber anyway, I thought I'd give it a try.  To be honest, I like plain cucumber better, but I may add lemon juice if I'm ever in the mood for a little twist. 

This was probably my favorite thing I cooked all week (Vegetarian Italian Pasta Skillet).  One serving is 6 PointsPlus, completely filling, and absolutely delicious!! My family had mixed opinions about it, since it was quite spicy, and none of us were expecting that.  (The Progresso soup you're supposed to use is what makes it spicy, so maybe switching for a different soup would help.)  I would definitely make it again since it was super easy, but I might try a different soup so my family likes it more.

Once again, I was SOOO excited to eat dinner that I forgot to get a picture before it was gone.

But this is what a half-eaten slice looks like.  Our Christmas dinner was Weight Watchers Roasted Vegetable Lasagna; 1/6th of the whole thing was 7 PointsPlus.  Each serving was a good amount of food, and I always love when that's the case because then I don't feel like I'm wasting my points.  As far as taste, it was just alright to me, but my family really liked it.  It was a lot of work to chop and roast all the vegetables, puree the vegetables, cook the noodles, and assemble the lasagna, but I have to admit I did get help.  The only way I would do it again is if my family helped again, because I would much rather just make pasta with vegetables than put together a lasagna and bake it for 40 minutes.

Since my mom and brother have left New York due to the blizzard, it was just my father and me for dinner tonight.  I wanted to cook something easy, fast, and tasty.  As promised, I am going to make Weight Watchers Roasted Vegetables at least once a week.  Every time I make it, I use different and new vegetables.  This time I tried tomatoes, and it was wonderful! Mmm mmm!

I paired the vegetables with Gorton's All Natural Italian Herb Grilled Fillets.  Usually I make the fillets in the microwave, but this time I cooked them in the oven, and you can totally tell the difference... MUCH BETTER.  It wasn't until I was cleaning up after dinner that I noticed the recipe for roasted vegetables and grilled fish on the back of the Gorton's box!  I guess I must have done ok.  Anyway, the whole plate was just 3 PointsPlus (2 for the fish, and 1 for the veggies).  Once again, extremely filling and absolutely delicious!

Now I'm going to spend the rest of the night snuggled under my nice warm comforter watching TV and sipping tea and hot chocolate because this is what's happening outside:

This is even after my dad shoveled once!!


It's coming down pretty hard, and the wind is CRAZY!

That's it for now... I hope everyone everywhere is nice and warm, and I hope you are all having happy holidays with your family and friends.  Enjoy the food!

Happy Eating,
Steph =)

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