Southwestern Succotash

We enjoyed some of my tamales for dinner, so I needed a quick side dish. Working with what I had on hand, this is what I whipped up.


1 Tbsp olive oil
3 green onions/scallions
1 cup frozen corn
15 oz. can of black beans, drained
1 cup leftover grilled bell peppers
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper, to taste

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add the scallions. Once they're softened, add the frozen corn and stir until it comes up to temperature. Add the can of beans and grilled bell peppers. Season with salt, pepper, and cumin, stirring to mix everything. Put a lid on the skillet and let it slowly heat through.

The house is coming along pretty well! My dad and cousin got here Monday and have already finished the drywall job downstairs that Johnny and his brother started. The downstairs bathroom is re-drywalled and the shower gutted. Next comes some tile work for the bathroom and fireplace, then they'll be able to paint! It's exciting to see so much work get done in such a short amount of time.

Friday Firsts - Breakfast Nachos

Happy Friday everybody!

My first for this week was making Biz's breakfast nachos as a midnight snack. Yummy yummy!

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Breakfast Nachos

Truth be told I'm a night owl.

Actually, the more I read about the subject, I think I probably suffer from delayed sleep phase syndrome. This is the inability to awaken and fall asleep at socially acceptable times but no problem with sleep maintenance. Or, where your timing of sleep is off, or shifted. I sleep full nights, I just go to bed way later and sleep in. My peak period of alertness has always begun at about dinner. I feel my most awake from about 8-midnight.

I remember when I was little my parents would tuck me in bed and I'd read book after book after book. It was not uncommon for me to plow through one or two Baby Sitter's Club, Boxcar Children, or Nancy Drews a night. I also had a variety of cassette tapes my mom would play for me, ranging from nighttime prayers, to songs, and sounds of nature.

So it is of no surprise that most of the time I'm up late reading your blogs or snacking on something tasty.

Tonight I finally got around to making a treat I've wanted for a long time:

Biz's Breakfast Nachos!!!!!

Mine are a slacker's version, nowhere near as gorgeous as hers.

I heated some refried beans in a skillet while I scrambled 2 eggs. Then I mixed the two together. I spread this over some tortilla chips and doused everything with taco sauce. Had I been motivated to, I would have added sour cream or perhaps green onions too.

Either way they were delicious! So filling and tasty. I loved them!

I wonder why it took me so long to try them, or why I didn't think of them myself! I love making breakfast burritos - so a breakfast nacho isn't too far of a stretch.

Packing progress! I've gotten all of the clothes I won't need for the next few months packed. Now I'm working on other unnecessary items like books, photos, and knick knacks.

Because we're still working on the house while living in it, it's going to be a wild dance of musical chairs, but in box form. I'm trying to get as much of our stuff out of the way as possible to make this easier. My goal is to leave just the bare necessities of furniture and stuff to "stage" the house, while having the rest of it packed away neatly and out of our way!

PFP Week 10 Update

Hello everybody! Happy Monday and start of spring! It's nice to see some sun and warm weather, even if it's supposedly temporary.

I've kind of got a lot going on in my life right now. I'm finishing up my last class before I get my BS and start working on my MBA. My dad is wrapping stuff up in NC and is headed here shortly to help us finish the house in the next month. We're going to be moving back home to NC, so I've started the first stages of packing. I've also got the wedding planning almost done, with some hiccups along the way (including my dress ordered in the wrong size grrr).

I just want to let you guys know that I still love all of you, still love the blog, the blogging community, etc. but please understand if I'm not as active in the next few weeks with my posting and commenting.

My progress for the week:
I weighed myself mid-week and had gained, but weighed myself now and am 1 pound less than last week's weight. Phew! That's stil a -2lb. weight loss from the start. Enough with this yo-yoing!!! Still holding strong on the "no soda challenge."

Beth (aka Biz) checked in on Facebook:
She's down ANOTHER 2 pounds! A grand total of 8.8, and only .2 lbs from her 5% weight loss award from WW!!

Amanda updates:
She is staying the same, but would like to lose something next week. Her total weight loss is still around 7 lbs!

Menu Plan for the week:
I'm going to take a hiatus from the menu plan in the meantime. I want to work our way through the freezer and pantry before the move, so I'm going to be more in a "throw meals together" mode instead of planning and purchasing specific menu items.

Tip of the week:

There are some really great food documentaries out there. If you have Netflix, quite a few are on streaming, otherwise you can rent them.

Health wise I've watched Killer at Large: Why Obesity is America's Greatest Threat and Food Matters. Both of these really wake you up about some of the goings on in our bad health, FDA rules, food production, etc. Some obvious shock and awe bits, but for the most part they are really informative and compelling.

Entertainment wise I've also watched Kings of Pastry and Pressure Cooker. These are really awesome if you're into food and competitions. Kings of Pastry follows french pastry chefs fighting for the highest honor in France and Pressure Cooker follows a Philadelphia high school culinary class as the students compete for culinary scholarships to go to college.

There is a HSN Spring Weekend Event being hosted by Bon Appetit March 26-27th. Click here to check out the schedule, which features some well-known chefs, and some of the great products they're offering.

*Disclaimer - I'm receiving a $10 HSN card for posting the above notice and link. I'm going to be selfish and keep it for myself since we have the upcoming move and wedding which require tons of purchases.

Friday Firsts - Lipton's packet

Hi everybody, sorry I'm so late with Friday Firsts this week! After taking a few days off from the blog world while out of town, it's hard to catch up and jump back into things.

I always have some Liptons packets in the pantry. I mix them with sour cream for dip, since the majority of salad dressings and dips have whey in them. This week I used one in a recipe. That is the first time I've cooked with the packet and it turned out pretty good!


To participate in Friday Firsts create a blog post featuring a "first" of yours. Next, link that blog post below and tell us about it! If you don't have a blog or a specific post to link to please tell us about your first in the comment section! Any and all participation is welcome!



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Tuna Noodle Casserole

The inspiration for this recipe is really wacky, so bear with me.

The last night we were in Florida, it was just me, Johnny, and my brother Michael. I was in the kitchen of the rental home cooking fruit filled pancakes and scrambled eggs for our dinner. Johnny and Michael were lounging in the living room talking, with Hoarders playing in the background.

All of a sudden I heard both of them scream "ewwww" and other loud outbursts of disgust. I ran into the room, spatula still in hand, to see what was going on. Apparently, the teenaged daughter of the hoarder had boiled pasta, spooned huge spoonfuls of Miracle Whip in with it, and stirred it together with canned tuna and peas. She put this concoction in the microwave to heat it up, and then they ate in their car, since it was the only place for both of them to sit.

That was Sunday night, and it's kept replaying in my head since. It was so disturbing, especially since both of them were overweight and battling diabetes. I kept thinking "why would they make something so unhealthy?"

I had to make something like it myself, but I wanted to make it healthy. I really don't know why, but I felt like that was the only way I'd be able to get over my disgust of the situation.



1 pound of elbow macaroni
1 cup fat free sour cream
1 packet Lipton's Recipe Secrets mix (I used vegetable)
1 cup frozen spinach
1 cup frozen peas
1 can of albacore tuna, packed in water

Bring a pot of water up to a boil. Season with salt and boil the pasta 2-3 minutes short of being done (very al dente).

While the pasta is boiling, mix the sour cream, Lipton's packet, veggies, and tuna in a covered baking dish. Preheat the oven to 350°.

Drain the pasta and mix with the other ingredients. Put the lid on the baking dish and place in the oven for 30 minutes.

Serves 3-4.

PFP Week 9 Update

Hi everybody! Sorry this update is a day late. I was in Florida for my cousin's wedding and we just got back yesterday.

This is me with my little brother. Michael before the ceremony. The 3 piece suit and shoes he's wearing were my dad's from the 70's.

Here I am with my two cousins at the reception. The one on the left, Michele, is the Maid of Honor, and the one on the right, Alicia, is the bride (duh).

It was nice to be in some sunshine for a few days, I even got a little bit of a burn!

My progress for the week:
I weigh the same as last week. I was a lot more active in the past week with all the walking around airports, out with family, and shopping. I think that countered any of the good food I ate while out of town. I DID have one of those small airplane cups of ginger ale on the flight out. Technically that goes against the "no soda" mini goal, but my stomach hurt and it was such a small serving I went for it anyways. The rest of the trip and the return flight I successfully avoided soda.

Beth's update:
She has not weighed in because she feels like that will trigger some ED thoughts. She has successfully avoided binging and other set-backs!

Beth (aka Biz) checks in to say:
She is down another 1.8 lbs. She also ran her fasted 2 mile at 22:40, or an 11:20 mph pace!

Mel needs some motivation!
She is up another pound, but still down a total of .6. Let's help her out with some motivation here and on the Facebook page!

Laura checked in:
After a month of illness and teen drama, she is back, feels good, and is ready to go! She thought of healthy meals and made them, has been drinking copious amounts of water to cleanse her system, and walked her dogs 40 minutes.

Menu Plan for the week:
tuna noodle casserole (recipe will be posted soon)
New England Boiled Dinner (for St. Pat's)
Taco Pie (also posted here- Revisit: Taco Pie)
Meatloaf (J's request)

Tip of the week:

(Source)

Raw nuts! They're a great, healthy snack that packs a punch of super-filling protein.

Here is a great article about raw nuts (and seeds) here.

I highly recommend NutsOnline.com for all your nuts and seed purchases. Everything I have bought from them arrives quickly and they have amazing prices and quality.