I'm baaaaack....

I haven't posted since last November and it's what now, June? Okay, I know. I am a slacker but the holidays came and I had an emergency appendectomy... so many things happened and my little blog took a hit and stayed forlornly on the sidelines. But I found myself needing a recipe today and realized that the only place I had recorded it was here on my blog! I started reading all the back postings. I have come so far since I started recording my progress back in April of 2011.

 I have lost 85 lbs. Yeah. Isn't that fabulous? And I did it all by myself... no more surgeries or fancy diets or buying food weekly from a third party or fads or any other means, just me. Well, just me, my supportive husband, my daughter, my family, my friends and my personal trainer... and me. At the end of it all, it all comes down to ourselves. We are the masters of our own domains!

 It got crazy around here for a while: my husband was working a very weird shift, I was working long hours, our daughter had Taekwondo classes and play dates. There just isn't enough time in one day but things are better now, more normal, so I promise to post more often. I am re-discovering cooking. I haven't lost any significant weight in a month now and I think it is because I am straying too far from my mission: eat less processed food and more vegetables. More recipes will be posted... and on that note...

 I am going to post a recipe that includes some processed items!

 There is a method to my madness (sort of, I think). This meal is easy, easy and easily modified to satisfy both the low-carb eater (me) and the eaters of carbs (my family). It is also fast. Many times I'll use the slow cooker but if I don't get around to starting something early, I have to start it late which means I need something that cooks up quickly. We love Mexican-ish food around here so I made this recipe up, modified from a recipe of my sister, Chris. Her recipe uses pork, it is all made from scratch and takes hours. Mine used chicken, uses some processed ingredients and takes 45 minutes in total.

 Chicken Salsa Verde Tacos (or Salad)

 Serves 4

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts - cut into 1" chunks
1 onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, chopped fine
1 14 oz. can green enchilada sauce
1 8oz. can whole tomatillos
Taco sized flour or corn tortillas
Shredded lettuce or cabbage
Pickled jalapenos
Shredded cheddar
Low-fat sour cream

 Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat. Once hot, spray with cooking spray. Saute the chicken chunks (lightly salted) until the chunks get brown on the edges. Set aside.

 Add a little more cooking spray to the hot pan. Add the chopped onion and saute until they, too, are getting just a tiny bit brown. Add the garlic and toss around for 30 seconds.

 Pour in the enchilada sauce. Open the can of tomatillos and using your hands, squish them one at a time into the sauce mixture. Stir well to combine. Add the chicken back to the pan. Stir. Turn the heat down to medium low and simmer about 20 minutes until the chicken is nicely flavored and the sauce has thickened.

For those eating tacos, wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave them for about 25 seconds. Place chicken chunks and a little sauce in each tortilla and some condiments, like lettuce, sour cream and or jalapenos. For those eating a salad, spread the lettuce or cabbage on a large plate. Spoon over the chicken and sauce then add the condiments to your taste.  Serve.

 Ole!

 Fast and easy and for the salad people, very low-carb.

 I'm satisfied. I'm also back. Stay tuned...

Flexibility and tacos...

A post 2 days in a row! I'm en fuego!

Going low/no carb is not always easy when you are trying to feed yourself and feed your family satisfactorily. Usually I will make a soup or a stew or a protein/vegetable combination. Usually they are happy with that... unless my husband is yearning for tacos. He would not be happy with merely a taco salad. That just wouldn't be fitting.

I also like easy and fast. I mean, I have enough to do without making my own tortillas and cunningly fashioning them into a magical Mexican dinner, especially if I don't get to eat them. I cheat and buy grocery store taco shells. I also buy pico de gallo, pre-shredded cheese and bottled hot sauce. I know, I know! But remember this dinner on the fly, in a hurry, one that doesn't come out of a box or a drive-thru.

So, my family happily crunches away on their tacos and I get taco salad. We eat a lot of tacos since it is one of my husband's favorite dinners. I don't mind since it really is easy and pretty nutritious; however, I tire of the same old taco salad sometimes. Occasionally I will mix it up, using shredded cabbage instead of lettuce. Cabbage has a lot more going for it nutrition-wise than regular lettuce. Sometimes I shred up some chard or use shredded broccoli that you can get in bags at the grocery store. However, last night I did something delicious... I caramelized 2 peppers (1 red, 1 green) and an onion and used that as a base for my salad, sprinkling some shredded cabbage on top for crunch. It turned a mere taco salad into something decadent and divine. With some of the taco meat, pico de gallo, shredded cheese, hot sauce and a dollop of fat-free Greek yogurt, I felt like I was eating something amazing.

Sometimes it takes a little imagination, a lot of flexibility and the willingness to try something a little different. It is what keeps me going and (somewhat) sane.