Lesser Carb Cheddar-Squash Casserole

One quarter of this ENTIRE recipe is under 500 calories for a great dinner in and of itself!  You can also eat a half serving (one eighth of the batch is about 240 cals) for a satisfying, cheesy side dish that is still packed with veggies.

INGREDIENTS:

*2 cans of cream of chicken soup

*1 4-oz can of green chiles

*20-oz bag of frozen squash

*Big bag of broccoli/cauli mix (can't remember the ounces, but I think my bag was about 4 cups of frozen veg.)

*2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

*1/4 box of Dreamfields Spaghetti (I think that's about 3 ounces of dry pasta)

*whatever herbs and spices you like! (I used garlic and dill in mine.)

Preheat your oven to 350 and get your pasta water boiling.  Pour your chicken soup into the bowl.

Next, season that sucker!

I also added a little "hamburger seasoning salt" but next time I will figure somethjngn else out. Between the cheese and the chicken soup, you're looking at over 1K sodium for the dinner serving.

Mix things thoroughly and start adding squash.

Now, just when you think it cannot possibly look more like vomit, add your broccoli mix and half the cheese.

Add your pasta (which should be cooked according to directions -- you can shave off a minute or so, since this is going into the oven).  Add the remaining cheese.

Now it's ready to pop into the oven!  I baked mine uncovered for about 30 minutes, since I defrosted my veg first, and the only real thing was to let the cheese melt.  If you begin with frozen veggies, try cooking it covered for 30-45 minutes, then uncovered for another 15.

Eat and enjoy!  Relax... A big serving is 50 carbs (which isn't bad at all for a pasta meal), and a small serving is just 25 carbs!  If you use Dreamfields like I do, your net carbs will be even less.

The Halloween After October

So, this year, I only carved ONE measly pumpkin!!! Boooooo!!! :(

The problem with pumpkins around here is that the big-ass mamas aren't sold after Halloween. Instead, for November, people have to make do with sugar pumpkins which are nice for making a little pie, but not so nice for making a BIG pie! Or carving BIG designs! Or roasting BIG amounts of seeds!! 

My mother got me a special pumpkin last month, and when I visited for her birthday, she presented me with "tumor pumpkin" or as I like to call him, Bumpkin. We got another at Aldi's and it's sitting here chillin'. So there are 2 more pumpkins to carve.

Update: My friend fluffy came over to hang out and eat lunch. He brought me more pumpkins! Yay! So now I have 4 big ones and a several small sugar pumpkins. Gonna roast some seeds tonight!

Review: LUSH Ickle Baby Bot Bath Bomb

Whoooo, this is a mouthful to say! Try doing it three times fast.

"Ickle Baby Bot" is a bath bomb which was designed with children in mind. Unlike many round bombs, this one has a cute robot shape.  The fragrance is a mixture of lavender, sandalwood, and chamomile which is meant to be soothing and wonderful for a nice relaxing soak.

The price of this bomb is about $4 in the USA, which makes it a bit more economical than some of the other LUSH products.  I love the scent and the cute blue robot theme! Don't let it's child-centric marketing devices cause you to miss out on a great product!

L'Oreal Colour Rays Has Been Discontinued!

Oh, love of my hairdye life!  I'm so sad to see you go.

The "Colour Rays" line has been a staple in my hair coloring repertoire for so many years now.  I would just brush this stuff on and get the easiest root maintenance EVER.  There were no zillion steps to follow, no foiling, no worry that my hair was going to melt and fall out from bleaching, and that formerly mandatory "second step" of adding Manic Panic could be done when I was damned good and ready (or not at all, if I really didn't have the time).  Who can forget the ease and simple beauty of hues such as Red Rays, Way-Out White, and the crown gem of color awesomeness, Fuchsia Flash!  Touted as the one-step hairdye system which is "highly visible on even the darkest hair," L'Oreal Colour Rays has touched my life (and my roots) with easy, perfect, maintainable vibrancy since the mid-2000s. 

Even in the beginning, this miracle of cosmetic wizardry has been elusive and difficult to find; I used to have to import my stash from New Hampshire, and once that connection dried up, scouted the Internet for new sources.  Alas, so many of my bookmarked shops are no longer carrying it that I decided to do a quick bit of research to confirm that my deepest fears have indeed come true. 

Here's the official word from L'Oreal Paris in response to a Facebook user's query: "We are sorry to confirm that this line has been discontinued. We do not currently have a replacement product to achieve red or fuschia highlights, but our creative teams are hard at work coming up with new and exciting products. In the meantime, if ever you are interested in a full-head colour, we do offer some high-intensity red and violet shades in our Féria line (http://bit.ly/mRZqFs). For personalized advice and help with shade selection, please don’t hesitate to call our Colour Experts at 1.888.456.7325!"  This is a truly a harsh blow to my beauty regimen, especially since now that I've begun swimming, my hair color fades more easily than it used to.

From what I can see, this product is still available for purchase at the L'Oreal website and a few other places online as well. (I just bought two boxes from Amazon.) Better stock up while they last!

I will be exploring other brands and products, so watch this space for more details!

Fare thee well, Colour Rays, as you escape this mortal coil. Know that your admirers and well-wishers shall always carry a place for you in their hearts!

Breakfast Polenta Recipe

I freaking LOVE to eat polenta!  Usually, I eat it as it's in its mushy state... Instead of a heap of pasta or mashed potatoes, I'll opt for polenta to be the bottom against my sauce's meaty top. Heh heh.

Last week, I had a vegan dinner party and decided to use polenta as a crust for my cottage pie.  (It was yummy and I was lazy!).  I was left with about 2 cups of yummy corny awesomeness to use later.

The first thing that I did was to unmold it and consider my options.

Then I sliced it into pieces, added a little olive oil to a hot pan, and got to work! I think it was about 5 minutes before I needed to flip.

They started looking better!

Not all flipping was successful.

It really started to get awesome after a few minutes on the other side.  A cast-iron skillet is the way to go.

After a tiny sprinkling of salt, I was ready to eat! This was a very filling, happy, and satisfying breakfast that I can't wait to make again sometime.

 (Oops: here's the recipe! Take 2 cups of polenta {1/2 cup of cornmeal stirred into 2ish cups of boiling water; add seasonings of your choice}, pour it in a container & allow to chill overnight or longer, unmold, cut into strips, and cook with about a teaspoon or two of olive oil, high heat, about 5 minutes per side. You can flip again to lock in the polenta-y goodness, but that's optional. Dash with salt, serve, and eat!)

Keeping Those Monster Cereals Fresh!

I'm the type of person who loves Halloween.  I mean, loooooves it!!  (You can tell by all of the cool pumpkin and Halloween-related shit that I post here.)  When the the General Mills Monster Cereals became "restricted" to seasonal items only, I was super sad.  But, when it becomes available once again, I get very happy.

One thing that I do not looooove, though, is trying to reduce my carbs.  I have recently lost about 25 pounds, and I still have many more pounds ahead of me.  So, when the craving for something sweet hits me, cereal can often hit the spot (Count Chocula, I'm specifically looking in your direction!).

My biggest problem with all cereals is that, by the time they get to the end of the box, they're all stale and yucky and gross.  Plus, I hate cereal dust!  I've fixed this problem by biting the bullet & buying plastic "snack bags" for those days when I need to take my food with me.  They work great with cereal, too, for those times when plunging a hand into the cereal box and scarfing down who-knows-how-many grams of sugar just isn't going to cut it.

I am storing my single-serve "100 calorie packs" in the boxes that the cereal came in.  After these are done, I'll get some Frankenberry and maybe even some Fruit Brute!  These will ensure that my breakfast is fresh and spooky for weeks and weeks to come! :)

Review: ZonePerfect Greek Yogurt Bar

I received a nice little treat in my Influenster VoxBox: a raspberry Greek Yogurt bar from ZonePerfect.

Now, one thing you may or may not know is that I love me some bars!  My favorite is Balance Bar, but I've tried zillions of others... Luna, Clif, Power Crunch, Nutrisystem, Pure Protein, Lara, SoyJoy, PopCulture Probiotics... The list goes on, but let's stop there.  I'm only adding these so that you know I know a thing or two about bars!

I tend to use them as more of meal component than as a snack, but when I tried this one, it wasn't even close to meal time.  I decided to give it a whirl. ;)

What hit me first was the almost perfume-like raspberry aroma.  The yogurt coating seemed consistent with "yogurt coating" that is often seen in snack foods.  It was tasty enough,  it the inner raspberry crunches were really delectable.  There was a slightly vitaminy flavor and a hint of graininess in the crispness and sweetness of the ZonePerfect raspberry Greek yogurt bar, but hey -- if you want something purely decadent, go eat a candy bar and be quiet. ;). Most nutritional bars will have these characteristics, and to me it's not unpleasant at all... Just a fact of life. :)

My one gripe is that at 13g of sugar, this bar might be a little on the high side.  But if you have the wiggle room in your sugar allotment, go for it.  This bar can go all of the places that Greek yogurt can't go, like a crowded bus on a warm day. Or into your backpack until further notice.  Gotta love that!

Grade: B+

[NOTE: Reviewer was given a complimentary sample of this product but was otherwise not compensated in any way.]

Influenster's "Good Life" VoxBox

After hearing about people getting free products to blog about from Influenster, I have decided to give it a go!  Finally, I have qualified for a VoxBox.  This one is called "The Good Life VoxBox" and is filled with products that are dedicated to happiness and health. Since I'm always striving for improvements in both, I guess I've made the cut!  Let's take a look at what's in the box!

1.  New Skin liquid bandage.  I've long been a user of New Skin, because I hate bandages.  It's so convenient to just brush the liquid on and go. This new formula is a spray version!  I can't say that I'm exactly looking forward to the next time I get injured, but I am curious to see how this new spray version works in comparison to the brush-on kind.

2.  90-capsule bottle of Garcinia Cambogia supplement from The Vitamin Shoppe.  Looks like a 45-day supply.  This substance claims to have appetite suppressant properties.  Interesting. I'm not a diet pill user, but I know someone who is -- so they won't go to waste.

3.  Nonni's ThinAddictive Biscotti 100-calorie pack.  Never tried anything from this company but my package had plenty of crumbs and broken bits.  We shall see!

4.  ZonePerfect Greek Yogurt Bar.  This is right up my alley.  Can't wait to try it!

5.  Urgent RX Headache Powder.  Had no idea that "headache powders" were still officially a thing.  I do get headaches on a regular basis, so I'll keep this product at hand.

As instructed by Influenster, I'm to disclose that I received these complimentary items for review purposes.  However, I promise to be honest in all of my reviews! ;). Stay tuned for more!

Chicken Carcass Soup

Last night, I had a delightful rotisserie chicken! (Yay!) But, it was overcooked. (Boo!) It still tasted pretty good (yay!), but quite a bit of it was inedible due to the scorched parts (boo!). I decided to make some bean stew later this week (a la "Recipe for a Snowy Day")... Which is not only a great way to use up those blackened bones and dried-up meat and shrivelly chicken skin, but also a fab way to get the nasties out of the fridge as well!!

I started by picking all of the usable meat off the bones -- I'll eat that for dinner tonight -- and threw all the rest of the carcass into my trusty crockpot. Some of you might be aghast that I didn't toss that tasty browned skin -- but I never do! I always let the skin simmer with my broth, and after everything is strained and cooled, I just skim the fat from the top. It couldn't be easier, and the broth turns out virtually fat-free this way.  And even the littlest bit of extra flavor helps.

I also added the woody stalk pieces to some asparagus that's been staring me in the face a little too hard... (Because, again, it's all getting strained... Why not add what you can't eat?)

... As well as the green leafy ass-end of my beautiful cauliflower.  (Not pictured: the bug I found clinging onto a floret for dear life!)

Then, I grabbed the ass-end of my celery and chopped it up too.  By the way... You know those green and yellow leaves that you toss whenever you chop celery? Shame on you! ;)  I always use mine in broths, soups, and stews for extra flavor. You should try it!

Last (but certainly not least), I gutted the nasty parts out of a sweet potato before coarsely chopping it and adding it to the mix.

Once the veggies were put into the crockpot with my carcass, I added some liquid.  Add whatever makes you happy -- chicken or veggie broth that you already have, water, booze, anything.  I had frozen a couple of cups of "onion broth" which came from my day-long onion simmering session a few weeks back... It will make a tasty addition for sure!  Tonight, I will soak my dry Lima beans and tomorrow we'll have a yummy, healthy, homemade dinner.

That's all for now. Happy broth-making! :)