Today I saw the home scale move down again! It was nice to see it keep going down. 3 more pounds down on the home scale and I will be hitting another milestone, maybe by the end of the week. This afternoon Patrick and I did our grocery shopping for the week. Tonight I made Mexican Style Mac and Cheese. I also got ingredients to make an eggplant lasagna and lamb burgers at some point. The mac and cheese turned out excellent.
Mexican Style Mac and Cheese
- 12 oz. of whole wheat elbow macaroni
- 1/4 cup margarine
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cups fat free milk
- 8 ounces Velveeta cheese made with 2% milk
- 1 cup shredded fat free cheddar cheese
- 1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup of salsa
- 1/2 cup of red onion
- 1/2 cup of green peppers
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Multigrain tortilla chips (I really like “All Natural Tangos Multigrain & Flaxseed” tortilla chips) for garnish
Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare macaroni according to package directions. Melt margarine in a large pan. Whisk flour into melted margarine to create a light roux (paste). Slowly whisk milk into the roux, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Allow milk and roux to heat for about one minute, then begin adding the Velveeta. Continue to gently whisk the mixture until all Velveeta has melted, then add salsa and black pepper to taste. You can also add 2 scoops of unflavored protein powder to the cheese sauce at this time. In a skillet, saute onions, peppers, black beans, and garlic in olive oil.
Crush a serving of tortilla chips in a plastic bag and set aside.
Combine cooked macaroni, sauce, and mixture from the skillet. Once the macaroni, mixture and sauce are mixed together, transfer to a 9 x 13 baking dish. Cook uncovered for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle 1 cup of shredded fat free cheddar cheese and crushed tortilla chips, return to oven until melted. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Patrick's huge helping of dinner...and he's the smaller one of us?!
Before dinner we went to my parent’s house for a few hours to visit with my family. My parent’s just got back from Costa Rica a few days ago and they had some gifts for us. I got a beautiful bracelet made out of recycled wood, Costa Rican soap, a wooden owl, handmade butterfly magnets, and a bookmark in Spanish that says “The day of my trouble I will call, for thou wilt answer me. Psalm 86:7. God reached out to me from above, and his hand took me from the immense sea. Psalm 18:16.” While I was making dinner Patrick took down the Christmas decorations and the tree. It’s sad that it is a month after Christmas and we just got the stuff down. Tomorrow is back to work after a 3 day weekend off. I also have a staff meeting after work. Not sure what else we are doing tomorrow, might try to head to our new gym for a bit and at least walk around the track. I have a support group meeting on Wednesday that I am looking forward too. This week should be a good one. Hopefully full of some milestones.
Daily Inspirational Quote: ”The wings of hope carry us, soaring high above the driving winds of life.” ~Ana Jacob
Spending the day off tomorrow shopping for a new car with Patrick and my dad, it’s always fun to spend money that you don’t have! Anyway, I am not due back to work until Monday so I am going to enjoy my weekend with Patrick, though I am not sure what we are going to do yet? I do know that cooking and/or baking will be involved. I made an awesome dish for dinner just using items I had on hand.
