Creole Chicken Stew....

After work I was hankering for something with a little spice.  I had written a recipe a few weeks ago that I never made...until now.  It is very high in protein and low in calories.
Chiich and I went for another hour long walk around River Oaks.  She was not having it...she looked at me like I was Satin.  When we got home I started on dinner.
The rice...standard process.  I just do half chicken broth & half water.  I just think it is a little more depth of flavor.  The stew was a few stages.  I sauteed the onions & bell peppers until they were translucent and tender.  Transferred that to a bowl.  In the pan I now sauteed chunks of boneless/skinless chicken thighs.  I generally am not the dark meat kind of guy.  I just thought I would try again.
After the chicken browned on all side I added 2 sliced of chopped up turkey bacon and garlic.  Once they were cooked I added white wine..water..chopped tomatoes..thyme..S&P..hot sauce..cumin..after a quick boil I added green beans and let it simmer for 20 minutes.  It made a YUMMY meal.

FOOD -- YUMMY -- FOOD

Last night I had Patrick and Joann over for dinner.  I had a pork loin thawed out that was calling my name.  There were some blue cheese crumbles in my fridge that needed a place to go -- hmmm -- I ended up stuffing the pork loin with figs & blue cheese.  I tied up that puppy and seasoned with S&P, Thyme, Rosemary & Dried Orange Zest.  To try and stay healthy I decided to roast cauliflower and attempt to "mash" it like potatoes.  The roasting was great..S&P EVOO.  After it was good and roasted I put it in a pot with some garlic I sauteed.  I added some No-Fat dry milk to get a little creamy like texture.  I also added some chicken broth.  When that was mixed to my liking I added some Cayenne & Thyme.  It didn't mash well...It really looked more like rice =)  It tasted good though.  The side was plain-ole but very good for you steamed broccoli.

Dessert was next.  I decided I deserved something yummy.  I found some mascarpone cheese that was half the calories than the brand I use normal.  I added a teaspoon of honey and whipped that together.  As it came to room temperature i halved & cored peaches.  I grilled them till they were nice and juicy.  I also added honey to balsamic vinegar to make a yummy syrup.  I put it all together for sheer bliss.....
The best part about dinner & dessert........It was 459 calories for the whole deal...mmmmm

Do We Have To Daddy??

Hola...
So yesterday I went home with an agenda.  I had to get changed and get Chiich out for her walk...also needed to set-up the massage table for an appointment at 6pm.  I got home about 4:08pm from work...like Wonder Woman I twirled and all-a-sudden "dadadana Wonder Woman" I was in shorts t-shirt and sneaks. =)
Chiich and I were off to walk the town.  We walk for an hour again..but a little faster and a little longer.  We went along the school track to Alabama...Down Alabama to Buffalo Speedway...Up BS to Westheimer..Across the street to River Oaks...We went down a few streets and hung a left...After a long walk we hit Weslayan...Then up to San Felipe..turn round...left on another side street and walked all the way to the cross street we originated on...Then up a ways and home....Nice long walk...Chiich stares me down when we get home...Beotch I am not the one who needs the exercise =)
So after my massage I had boring HPLC dinner.  I made rice with seasonings to make it edible...I cooked a chicken breast with garlic/thyme/S&P/cayenne & tossed green beans in the pan to cook and pull in those same flavors.  Whooopie....Tomorrow I will have food pictures and yummy dinner planned...more calories than I am allowed...but oh well.

The Weekend before a Holiday---Fried Olives?? Really??

Nothing too entertaining to report from the weekend.  We to Chinatown for dinner Friday night and had a yummy vermicelli bowl with pork/shrimp/egg roll.  Also had 2 spring rolls.  All in all healthy on my HPLC diet...Patrick wanted to go out somewhere light.  Then he twisted my arm a little to go have a few alcoholic beverages.  Sad when you log the vodka (double poured) with a hint of grapefruit (ee gak).  Then another double poured vodka with a hint of diet coke.  I really am strange I guess...I would rather have a properly poured drink that is easy to suck down than a heavy poured lightly "mixer" drink that take awhile to gag down.
I can do it with bourbon just not vodka..and hell it was grey goose.
Saturday I was up early and walking the Chiich.  I went to volunteer a few hours at Pride Houston.  Stuffing envelopes...was actually a fun group of people.  After I went to the Hobbit Cafe and had a yummy grilled Mahi Mahi on a whet bun with dill tartar sauce.  It had field greens on the bun as well.  I opted for steamed mixed veggies and ice tea to compliment.  My night ended with a bang...laundry on a saturday night =)  LOL
Sunday was a good day.  Chiich and I went on a hour long walk in the 94 degree heat.  The breeze was actually nice in the shade.  We walked all up and down the streets of the rich peoples neighborhood near home =)  Before the walk I burned a few calories on the Wii..tennis..baseball..bowling..golf..boxing.  Between the Wii and walking I burned 884 calories.  That gave me lots for the rest of the day...Good thing..
Joann and I went to the Houston Symphony.  We started off with a free perfectly chilled glass of wine.  Then sat with the conductor that was explaining about the show we were about to see.  The first half of the show was complete enjoyment.  The pianist was the largest (tall & broad) man I have ever seen at a piano.  He was going at the keys effortlessly.  Intermission came and the nice lady already had another perfectly chilled glass of wine waiting for us.....We should have stayed right there...the second half was the Symphony without the pianist.  It was probably the worst piece of music I have ever listened to. 
Joann said she needed a drink...I couldn't agree more.  We walked across the street to the Lancaster.  Another glass of wine....geesh 270 calories in my 3 glasses of wine.  There was a strange appetizer on the menu that she needed to try...fried olives stuffed with blue cheese....well we wont be ordering those again any time soon.  Lightly breaded green olives that were stuffed with blue cheese...barley fried...with a marinara sauce to dip in...tasted like an olive...nothing special.
We split a dinner...Seared Sea Bass over risotto....The sea bass was excellent...the saffroned fishy tasting risotto was ok...the liquid used to make it must have been a seafood broth...tooo fishy...nothing like the sea bass.  There were roated cherry tomatoes and black olives as well around the plate.  It was much better than the olives....but a very over priced meal....

Boring Thursday

I don't have pictures of the thrown together dinner from last night.  After work the Chi-Monster and I went for a 3 mile walk at Memorial Park...It was 91 per the thermostat in the car...and that was sitting in the shade.
We planned on 6 miles but she was too hot for that.  After getting our sweaty selves home...I threw a turkey burger together in a saute pan.  I had some blue cheese crumbles to use up...so I put some on there near the end.  I had some extra calories to use since the walk and cleaning gave me a few.  I them boiled a few chicken & mozzarella stuffed raviolis to go with it.  It really only was 520 calories in the end....could have been ALOT worse....I still had 40 calories for the day left when I went to bed =)

 She had a long walk and was tired....

Day 3 of "HPLC" Dinner

Last night was a very boring dinner.  I got home from work and decided to thaw out some sweet potato fries.  I like to saute them until they are crisp rather than bake.  I made a turkey burger with southwest seasoning that I made up.  I threw the SPF & Turkey Burger all in the same saute pan and let it cook on med-low. 

My lovely iPhone app tells me you how many calories are burned from cleaning...so i did the dishes/swept and picked up the laundry.  Then I flipped the food in the pan...walked Chiich (it is the shorter walk) and came back to eat.  I put a tsp of whole grain mustard on the TB and away I went.  It was good...filling...and healthier than other options dancing in my head =)  I kept thinking about the yummy lasagna from Carrabbas sitting in the fridge at the office....

Simple..Filling...Healthy

Last night was "Day 2" of the "HPLC Diet." I have tons of white rice left after my April charity function. I prefer brown or wild, but white will just have to do. Who would have thought that 1 tsp of butter is 50 calories eeeek...I walked 6 miles with Chi-Chi before hand so it helped me have more calories to eat.
I made chicken breast with lemon pepper seasoning. I had to just spray the pan vs. using olive oil. 1 tsp of olive oil is 50 calories. This is sort of an eye opener to me. A lot of the people I know have no need to calorie count, but I struggle with my weight. I am surprised how much is in things. My banana has 90 calories. Good thing I like to cook....I can control the totals.
I am just rambling on....So with the lemon-pepper chicken I also had 1/2 cup white rice & 1/2 cup green peas. The rice was made the day prior. I found that adding the rice and peas to a saute pan with the tsp of butter and a little water works great. I used the same pan I made the chicken in. This picked up any seasoning that might have browned to the pan & the juices. I took a quick iPhone shot of the boring but yummy dinner. In total it was 384 calories for dinner. My daily goal for calories is 1500....If you add the hour of walking Chiich at Memorial Park...I had 1886 calories for the day...I cheated with skinny cow of ice cream sandwich =(....BUT in the end I only used 1354 calories for the day. Do I get to roll over the other 532? LOL
I am also showing the fruity snack i am eating right now...fresh blackberries & raspberries & banana..total 130 calories.