Week 2 Done and I'm Still Smiling :)

I just had my weigh in for week 2 and I'm down 1.2 pounds.  I was of course hoping for a bigger number but what with me still struggling with my Vodka coolers I'm not surprised!

I'm using the new app to track all my meals and weight.  It's been relatively easy to remember to track, I even used it at the grocery store last night to scan UPS codes to choose foods with the least points.  I love that feature!  There was such a difference between bacon, the points ranged from 7 up to 12 for just 2 pieces (gone are the days of me eating 6 pieces of bacon for breakfast :o )  Now I can easily find out which is the better choice.

I picked up a new cookbook on the weekend and I'm so happy with the purchase.  'Weight Watchers Family Meals'.  I had a hard time decided what meal to cook from the book so in typical Jo-Al fashion, I cooked for 6 when it was just boyfriend and I eating lol.

I choose the Warm Spinach Salad with Bacon, Chicken and Feta (5 points) with a plate of Sweet & Spicy Drumettes (4 points) along with a side of Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Moroccan Spice (1 point).

Seriously, would you have been able to choose from those three? 

I've always wanted to try roasting a whole cauliflower and it couldn't have been easier!  I tried finding a recipe I can link here for you but they all had far too many steps.  Here's what I did...I just peeled the outer leaves off, cored it, and topped it with a mixture of 1/3 cup of greek yogurt and 2 TBSP Moroccan spice.  I baked it at 400 for just under an hour. Depending on the size of your cauliflower it may need longer to cook, just stick a knife in it to check if it's done.  I mixed the yogurt and spice together and spooned it on top.  You can actually use any spice you enjoy if you don't have Moroccan spice.  

It was so tasty I wanted to share the photo again.

This coming week I'm going to continue working on my water intake and keep up with my meal tracking.  I feel a good Week 3 is coming.  

Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole

There's nothing nicer to warm up to this time of the year than this hot, quick and easy home made meal.  My Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole will surely become be a favorite as soon as you try it!

I like this recipe because it uses ingredients I always have in the house.  Anything I can make without having to hit the grocery store first is good for me.

1 1/2 c. uncooked Wild Rice - this Lunberg CountryWild rice is delicious!  It smells amazing when cooking and has great colors that will make any dish you're cooking look even tastier.

1 Yellow Onion, chopped
3 Celery stalks, diced
1 Tbsp Butter
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1/3 c Sour Cream or cream cheese, whichever you have on hand
1/2 c Chicken Broth + more to cook your rice
3 Chicken Breast, cut into small, bite sized pieces
Parmesan Cheese to sprinkle on top.
Salt & Pepper
Thyme or Rosemary, whichever you prefer


Cook the rice according to the package but replace the water with chicken broth, it will give your casserole a richer flavor.
With about 15 minutes of cooking time left on your rice you can begin cooking the chicken and the other ingredients.
I use 2 frying pans and get everything done at once.  Chicken cooking in one pan and the rest cooking in the other pan.

Sauté the onions and celery in the pan with the butter until soft, about 12 minutes.

In your second frying pan cook the chicken with a little splash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. ( if you only have one pan to use, cook the chicken first)

Add the chicken to the celery mixture.  Mix in the soup, sour cream, chicken broth, salt and pepper, and seasoning.  Stir together well.

Once it's all combined, add to your casserole dish.  This lovely orange le creuset dish is our yard sale find from a few years back!  It gets used a lot in the winter.

Preheat the oven to 400

Before it goes in the oven sprinkle the dish with Parmesan cheese.  These cheese petals from Costco are a treat if you can find them.

You can never have too much cheese.





30 minutes later...

Quick, easy, delicious.
Enjoy!