delicious dinner and a fun new snack!

Winter has me loving a good crockpot recipe and this has been my favorite to date.  I am a huge fan of skinnytaste and have enjoyed every recipe on her blog that I've tried.  I have irrational anxiety about not pairing a meal with either a cheese or a carb but I know with her recipes I will be satisified without those so without further ado I present Skinnytaste's "Santa Fe Chicken".  It tastes like you scooped out a burrito and only ate the contents, only and its less than 200 calories for a 9 oz serving! Yum!

I modified her recipe a bit as you can see below.  I added spinach (I cooked it the whole time and could barely see it when it was done, so I would add it about an hour before serving next time but if you have a picky eater this might work out well.) Have slightly less chicken and corn and a lot of hot sauce.  

Mine clocks in at 163 per serving, paired it with Tostitos Cantina chips (15 for 150) ~313 meal

Raw, Boneless, Skinless - Chicken Breast, 22.4 ounces	672	0	8	146
Vegetable - Red Bell Pepper, 1 pepper	30	8	0	1
Red Pack - Petite Diced Tomatoes, 1 container (1 4/5 cups ea.)	88	18	0	4
Spices - Cumin, 1 tsp	8	1	0	0
Onions - Raw, 0.25 cup, chopped	17	4	0	0
Goya - Black Beans Premium Drained Rinsed, 1 container (1 4/5 cups ea.)	315	67	2	25
Spinach - Raw, 4 cup	28	4	0	3
Knorr - Chicken Bouillon Extra Large Cubes, 1/2 cube	10	0	0	0
Spices - Pepper, red or cayenne, 1 tbsp	17	3	1	1
Spices - Onion powder, 1 tbsp	24	6	0	1
Spices - Garlic powder, 1 tbsp	28	6	0	1
Corn - Sweet, yellow, canned, whole kernel, drained solids, 0.5 cup	66	15	1	2

 Just a random announcement for a kicking good snack bar.
SUNBELT FUDE DIPPED COCONUT CHEWY GRANOLA BARS.
The fudge dipped bars were only 10 calories more than their undipped counterparts so obviously the right choice was made.  I always feel fancy eating coconut so these bars tasted good and I could wear my tiara without irony while eating them so it was a win-win

Pizza Cravings

Make your very own delicious pizza at home for just 140 calories a slice!

Country Kitchen - Light Italian Bread, 3 slice	120	30	0	6
Hormel - Turkey Pepperoni, 17 slices	70	0	4	9
Sargento - Ultra Thin Slices - Provolone, 2 slices	80	1	6	5
Sargento - Colby-Jack Ultra Thin Slice, Low Fat, 2 slices	80	1	7	5
Prego 100% Natural - Chunky Garden Combo Pasta Sauce, 1/2 cup	70	13	2	2
TOTAL 420

meal for 2 in less than 10 for about $3 a person

I love food, I don't get people that think eating is boring or are super picky because that's not me.  I also love instant gratification I can spend 3 hours completing a task but the best part of it is putting a check mark next to it to show its done.  Thats why I love eating something warm and rich without having to put a lot of time of effort in it. Warning this looks likes I've been paid by steamfresh but I haven't I just love steam-anything!

Here it goes:

(30 cal per 1/2 bag)

(180 cal per serving)

 (80 calories per 1/4 cup)

Start by tossing your couscous and asparagus in the micro for 5 minutes, while you are doing this grab a 1/2 cup measuring tool from your cupboard and measure out your goat cheese.

Take asparagus out and cut it up into 3/4 inch pieces.

Once done toss goat cheese, asparagus, and couscous in large bowl and mix together.

Put in microwave again for 1:30 on 8 and serve! Delicious

Calories: 290

Carb: 36g

Protein: 14.2g

Fiber: 5g

Sodium: 524mg

(The sodium is a little out of control (I'm a salt lover, can't stop wont stop) at  35%.
To reduce it,  add another bag of veggies  to make 3 servings and  make a slightly more reasonable ~23% of your sodium intake,) 

Cheese and crackers swap

who doesn't love cheese and crackers? I know I do, but a block of cheese and a knife is too much of a flirt for me so I need a little imposed self control so I thought why not cheese slices?

Sargento ultra thin cheese.  In my opinion these are the best cheese slices, they are full of that great flavor but thin so you still have a lower calorie cheese slice.  

My second addition would be cereal 

 Yes crackers are buttery and delicious, but we are really just looking for that crunch! Cereal is fortified and usually has air pockets so you feel like you are getting a lot more crunch for your cal.

1 slice of ultra thin colby jack and a 1/2 cup crispix = 95 calories

Great Northern, Spinach and Hummus Dip

I love hummus, in fact every time I buy a container it is gone in days.  Even though its healthy its not eat a whole tub healthy so I figured out a way to make it last a little longer by adding other ingredients to it to make it a meal.  

So above are the ingredients (not pictured: garlic, salt, pepper, EVOO) 

Step One: Microwave spinach, mean while put  can of great northern beans in a skillet with 2 TBS of EVOO add garlic, salt and pepper to taste.

Step Two: Once spinach is cooked start adding to skillet and mixing and mashing with the beans.

Step 3: add 4 TBS of hummus and 2 TBS of goat cheese

Step 4: Microwave on high for 1 minute and mash together one last time

VIOLIA!  This is half of what this recipe will make.  This would be great as a dip for parties  with pita chips & veggies or eat plain as a meal. 

Crafty holiday cards

Now is the time when you exchange cards with co-workers!  This can be a mundane acknowledgement of the holidays or you can make it a little more fun with candy! Lets be honest those are the cards we look forward to!

First Step: Get your materials- sandwich bags, ribbon, cards, scissors, tape and CANDY ( I chose mini kisses and M&Ms)

Second Step: Fill the corners of the sandwich bags with candy, after tie off corners with candy and snip from the bag

Third Step: Tape to cards and you have yourself a holiday card with some thought put in it!

Very Merry Holiday Bargain Tips

I'm a bargain shoppin' woman and you'll rarely find me paying full price for anything!  In America there is always a sale on what you need mark my words.  Here are some of my holiday tips for a Chrismakkah filled with savings!

MUST DO SITES

• www.yipit.com this site is a must do for grouponers and gifters alike!  It combines many discount websites: groupon, livingsocial and crowdsavings to name a few and puts it on one website for you to scope out deals!

TIP: Be a better gifter: A discount for an uber gourmet olive oil and balsamic store in my area had a deal for $10 for a $20 gift certificate, I went in and got $10 worth of free products for a gift that looks like I paid more than I did!

• www.ebates.com this site is great for online shoppers, they have a lot of commercials but don't explain their business that well in my opinion.  You sign up on ebates and shop online in the stores you want by getting linked to them through ebates and get a percent back  from each purchase in a check several times a year. 

TIP: if buying something that's sold in different stores i.e. Steve Madden shoes, if pricing is the same do some comparison shopping and see who gives the largest percent back from ebates.

• www.retailmenot.com - this site shows coupon codes for stores and gives a rating on how well they work for users so you can pick the more reliable codes and get EXTRA savings!

TIP:  Save all the money you can online! You are your own salesperson and cashier when you are online so use every deal you can!

• www.thekrazycouponlady.com - I have mixed feelings about this site, I love coupons but I hate the show 'Extreme Couponing' I don't believe someone who stocks up on 50 free shampoos to store in their house for eternity is doing anyone any favors and its just wasteful but this site does stress responsible couponing and  has great tips for saving at specific stores.

TIP: Even if you might not be shopping at CVS , Target, or Kmart for gifts, its a good website to save money on everyday items so you have more to spend on gifts!

TIP: Set a budget you feel comfortable with, make it realistic and split it how you feel you should spend on each person.  It doesn't have to be set in stone but you shouldn't spend so much on the holidays that you can't enjoy them.

TIP: Gift Exchanges can be a great money saver with friends.  Set a price point and do a Secret Santa through a websites such as www.elfster.com and focus on a great gift for ONE lucky friend!

TIP: If you do shop at the mall, use a good cause to take some stress off your shopping, many charities offer gift wrapping services for donations.  You can feel good about donating your money and get a nice service in return :)

Do you have any tips for holiday shopping?