Five Question Friday

1. Do you open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

We open presents Christmas morning after Santa comes, of course. We have always begged my Mama to let us open one gift on Christmas Eve but she refuses : )

2. What is your favorite Christmas cookie (or candy)?
Ritz Cracker Cookies- I told you about them the other day on my baking post. Take 2 Ritz crackers and put peanut butter in between. Dip the sandwich in melting chocolate and let harden. Delicious!! I also love Ribbon Candy. So pretty and so yummy.

3. What's the worst Christmas gift you've ever received?

Hmm... I don't think I have ever received a bad Christmas present. I guess you could say I was the most "disappointed" by the Mr. Potato Head I opened in 8th grade from a classmate. We drew names in our homeroom and I was so excited to open my gift and then so disappointed after I did. BUT, that may have been all she had to give and I was thankful for the thought and effort.

4. Christmas song that you love?
Ah man, I have so many! BUT the ones that come to mind are:
"Have yourself A Merry Little Christmas" by Judy Garland, "O Holy Night" by Celine Dion, and "All I want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey.

5. How many trees do you put up?
Our small home only allows us to have one tree, but one day I hope I have a beautiful big formal living room where I can do a great big tree and then another tree in our family den. Christmas literally throws up on our house and I love it! Every room must have something festive! LOL

photographs via here and here.
 
Hope everyone has a blessed weekend!
 
Love, E

WW Wed.

It's been an amazing week on Weight Watchers! I was VERY skeptical about the change they have made lately with the program, but turns out I really love it! I love the fact that fruits and veggies are now free. I don't really have any tricks up my sleeve yet to share with you but here is what I have been eating: For breakfast I have been craving 3 boiled egg whites (1 point for all three) and of course oranges, bananas, and grapes. I get stuffed in the mornings and all for 1 point! That's awesome! For lunch, I just do my usual Smart One or Progresso Soup. I have had so many points left over every night- seems it is impossible to use them all. Especially with the 49 weekly points we get, which I call those "emergency points" because I act as though they do not exist unless I find myself in a position of not being able to count points. I noticed Gina is translating all of her yummy recipes to match the new point system. Here's what I'm cooking this weekend:

Oven Fried Chicken

from Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 1 drumstick • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 4 pts
Calories: 170.7 • Fat: 6.6 g • Protein: 14.5 g • Carb: 14.7 g • Fiber: 3.1 g

6 medium bone-in skinless drumsticks
2 1/2 cups bran flakes
3 tsp kosher salt, less if you are using regular salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
5 tbsp Hellman's light mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Oil spray

Preheat oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with foil and set a rack above. Spray rack with oil.
Crush cereal in a food processor or chopper. In a bowl mix crushed cereal with salt, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Place in a shallow dish or zip lock bag.
Combine mayonnaise and Dijon mustard. Using a cooking brush, brush onto chicken then coat chicken with crushed cereal mixture. Place chicken on wire rack and spray with oil. Bake 35-40 minutes

And you better believe I plan on piling the free veggies on my plate to go with it! If you have any new ideas or recipes please e-mail me! Thank ya :)

Love, E

Deliciousness

Howdy. I don't know about you but the holidays just put me in a baking mood! Over the weekend I baked and baked.... and baked, until my feet hurt so bad from standing so long . I cleared out the kitchen, sent the boys on an adventure (so what if it was just Wal-mart) and got to baking! I usually eat one of everything I make, just to try it, but it's the baking that's fun for me. This is good because I DID NOT translate any recipe into Weight Watchers points. I just baked and gave it away. :) Here is what I made:

Original Toll House Chocolate Chip cookies:

Click ----------------------> here!

Chocolate covered Ritz crackers: best thing to ever be made for the holidays! Just take 2 Ritz crackers, spread peanut butter in between and then dip in melting chocolate. Set on wax paper and let harden. I dipped half in white chocolate and the rest in milk chocolate.

Chocolate drizzled pound cake: I had never made pound cake before so I googled until I found a fairly easy recipe and boy am I glad I did- this cake was so moist and good! Click here for the cake recipe. I used the left over melting chocolate and drizzled all over the cake.

Sprinkle pound cake: So... I saw this picture awhile back and saved it because I thought it was the prettiest little cake slices ever. I made up what I thought this cake was and voila! it turned out to be great! Just use the pound cake recipe from above and bake in a loaf pan. Make this glaze here and pour over cake right after it comes out of the oven and is still in the pan. Then cover the top of the cake with sprinkles and pour another layer of the glaze. Let sit until cooled. Carefully dump the cake out and slice into pretty little pieces. Isn't it festive!

 Oh yeah... and I added a few drops of lemon extract to the pound cake batter. :)

I put everything into cute little tins I found at Wal-mart for only $1 and $2 and gave them to the neighbors and our parents. I already have requests for more helpings :) What are you baking this holiday season?

Love, E

Five Question Friday

Hallelujah... hallelujah... it's Friday! That means it's Five Question Friday time!

1. What's on the top of your holiday wish list and why?!

A Kitchen Aid mixer of course! I seriously long for one of these babies, LOL
I want either a Lavender, Iced Blue, or Mint Green mixer. Life would just be so much easier if I had one of these :)

2. What is your favorite Christmas gift from the past?

Oh wow, this is a hard one. I have gotten so many great gifts over the years. I guess the most thoughtful one was a gift my husband bought me for our first Christmas together. I had written a poem when I was in 8th grade and submitted it in a contest and it won. It was published, but for some reason I never received my copy of the book. My husband somehow located it all those years later and had it wrapped for me underneath our Christmas tree. So sweet!

3. If you had life to do over, what would you be when you grow up?

I love my life just the way it is, but if I could do it all over again, I would have moved away right after high school. I would not have let a boy gold me back from doing the things I wanted to do. I would go to all the places I once dreamed of going and see things I will probably never get to see. I am too invested here now. There is a baby involved, so I will probably never leave home now. My parents would kill me, LOL

Sometimes I wake up and can't believe how old I am. I feel like time is slipping right out from under me. Some people think it is silly how I feel like I am old, but I really do. I guess I have an old soul. :)

4. When do you put up your tree?
The day or weekend after Thanksgiving! I want to savor every moment of the Christmas magic! It usually comes down around New Years.

5. What is your favorite Holiday?
Christmas of course, but there is something about each holiday that I love. Christmas is just my favorite because it last the longest :)

So, I was thinking a lot last night about some of my favorite holiday movies. Here are a few of my favorites that come to mind. What are your favorites?

Love, E

Pink & Green Thursday

 If you're not with holiday cheer quite yet, maybe some pink and green Christmas will get you there. I love, love, love this time of the year; EVERYTHING about it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fa la la la la..la la la! HAHA- Cheer up! It's Christmas time!!!!

Love, E

Christmas Wish List

It's December and that means that the school semester is coming to an end. I have final's next week and then I can put the books to rest, break out the hot cocoa and actually have time to snuggle up with my boys and watch holiday movies. The Christmas tree is up and glowing, my shopping is half way done and I am cheerful for the holidays! Here are a few items on my wish list this year :)

#1  Lavendar KitchenAid Mixer.. or in Iced Blue or Mint Green ;)

#2  Magpie 14k GF Charm Necklace from Nest Pretty Things


#3  Mosaic Storage Container Set and Salad Servers by French Bull

#4  Some sort of milk glass or jade cake platter. I think this one is beautiful.


#5 I love the Notebook platter and cup from Fish's Eddy. Thought it would be cute to let it sit on my desk in my classroom one day.


What's on your Christmas list?

Love, E

WW Wed.

My world has been turned upside down! No- seriously!!! Weight Watchers has changed their program and I have been a pro at the original one. I have binders full of points for different foods and now it is all changing. But hey, if they have something that will help me lose even more weight and faster, I am all there! I find out today how many points I get per day, so I am excited about that. Fresh fruits and veggies are now free which is awesome! Here is the new calculator (be sure and save it to your favorites):
NEW WEIGHT WATCHERS CALCULATOR

Also, you join Hungry Girl on facebook for all sorts of tips.

Even though I am not excited about change, I think maybe it is just what I need to jump start my weight loss again. I have been stuck for the past few weeks and I am ready to get on it!!! YAY!
I will have more to say next Wednesday when I know more about the program so bare with me as I learn. Have a fabulous day!

Love, E