A new side of me

    I replaced my own brake pads today. It cost a bit to get the equipment I needed, but not that much more than having it done by someone else, and it was a lot more fun. Unfortunately, I stripped one of the bolts so I was only able to do one side, but I'll figure out how to get it off and do that side too. Once I figured out all the specifics it was pretty easy. Here is the website I found instructions at: http://autorepair.about.com/od/fixityourself/ss/brakepadreplace.htm. I found them straightforward and easy to follow. I ran into a bit of confusion over the piston, but I figured it out. Yeah! I also got everything to do my own oil changes so that will be my next project, most likely this weekend.

Quick and nutritious lunch

I just made my own salmon burger for lunch today and it was super yummy, healthy and quick.

Salmon Burger POINTS® Value:   5 Servings:  2 Preparation Time:  5 min Cooking Time:  10 min Level of Difficulty:  Easy Course: main meals Ingredients 1 package Chicken of the Sea Salmon (2.6 oz.)    1/4 cup Italian Bread Crumbs    1 clove garlic 1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded carrots   1 Tbsp Dijon mustard    1 oz Crumbled feta, fat free plain    2 Tbsp lemon juice    2 sandwich thins    1 Tbsp ketchup    1 Tbsp fat-free mayonnaise    1/2 medium tomato, sliced    1/2 cup cooked spinach    Instructions Combine salmon, bread crumbs, mustard, carrots, garlic, feta and lemon juice and mix until it all stays together. Form into two equal sized patties and cook on a low heat until cooked through. Combine ketchup and mayo to make russian dressing. Add all the ingredients to the sandwich and enjoy!

Update on the veggie quest

Maggie HATED the meatloaf. We got her to eat about half of her portion. Maxwell ate half without complaining too much if we drenched it in ketchup. Next time I will leave out the red pepper, that seemed to be the big area of contention. I think the next batch I will try 1 carrot instead of 2 and a bit of squash. That may be an easier taste to drown.

Miriam, Miriam close to delirium how does your garden grow? Part 2

Here is how my garden looks now. As you can see, things have definitely grown much bigger! I have one lone pepper growing on a plant that has a tomato plant on one side and a cucumber on the other. The other pepper plant has an eggplant on one side and zucchini on the other. I have had to give up on weeding since I can't really get in to pull them up. My poor beans have been overtaken by the plants behind them and are no longer growing beans. Of course, the four that still have sun have gotten brown leaves, it almost looks like the intense heat of the past few weeks have burned the plants. Also, a lot of the leaves have been eaten by bugs. I don't know if we will be able to eat the cabbage at all. I have been getting a ton of cucumbers, and so far one eggplant and two zucchini. I was getting a ton of beans until they got buried. Once the tomatoes start to turn red we will have a bunch of those as well. I will have to make pasta sauce and salsa galore!

Miriam, Miriam close to delirium how does your garden grow?

     Here is what my garden looked like just a few weeks ago. Things were starting to look like real vegetable plants. The plants were getting buds and just starting to grow the first signs of fruit. I felt that my plants have done very well for this being my first attempt at gardening. I definitely planted them too close together, and now the larger plants are blocking the sun from the smaller ones. Next year I will plant only one row of plants in the center of each bed. I think that will be much more successful.

More on how to hide veggies

Today I made meatloaf, it's in the oven right now, and I added a few things to the recipe. I used my regular recipe (half lean beef, half ground chicken with Italian bread crumbs and egg white) then I also put in a red pepper and a couple of carrots. We shall see how the family reacts. My guess is that they will have no idea, or they will just notice that the meatloaf has a slight sweet flavor to it. I am excited to try it. I really want to get the kids eating more veggies. I don't really see that it's all that different from putting ketchup in like many recipes call for, except that it is healthier this way.

These pictures are ones I took awhile ago, the last time I made veggie pizza. The one on the left is of just the veggies after they had been dejuiced. The one on the right is the batter after all the ingredients had been added. I meant to take a picture of the finished product but forgot to do that since it tasted so good!

Chicken and Veggies, yum!

		Slow Cooker Chicken and Veggies  POINTS® Value:    4 Servings:  4 Preparation Time:  600 min Cooking Time:  360 min Level of Difficulty:  Easy Course: main meals Ingredients 2 1/2 cup(s) zucchini    1 1/3 pound(s) Chicken breast, skinless, boneless, raw    1/4 cup(s) uncooked barley    2 clove(s) garlic clove(s)    1 Tbsp basil    1 Tbsp parsley    1 cup(s) fat-free chicken broth    1 cup(s) water    1 cup(s) carrot(s)    Instructions Use any squash or various squashes for zucchini. Chop up all veggies to desired size. Put all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high. If desired, add spinach about 1/2 hour before done cooking. Serve with or without the liquid. This is one of my new favorite meals. It is very easy to prepare. There is no need to chop the chicken up beforehand, it falls apart with no effort after it is done cooking. It is very yummy, very filling and very few points!

More about veggie pizza

Here is the mixture of yummy veggies that I put through the juicer to extract all the juice. I used zucchini, summer squash, broccoli stalks (leftover from cutting up the florets I bought for salads), a red pepper that was to wrinkly to eat raw, a few carrots, and two tablespoons of minced garlic. I meant to take a picture of the finished product, but it was too enticing and I forgot. With one cup of reduced fat cheese spread over the crust it was only 4 WW points for 1/6th of the pizza! Yummy.