Pre-Father's Day French Toast

3 slices of bread

2 eggs

cinnamon

powdered sugar

1/4 banana, sliced

2 strawberries, cleaned

whipped cream

syrup

salt and pepper

1. Beat eggs and mix in a pinch of each: cinnamon, powdered sugar, salt and pepper.

2. Dip each piece of bread into egg mixture, coating both sides well, and place in heated skillet (medium heat). Cook until browned on both sides.

3. Cut each slice in half, arrange prettily on a plate, drizzle with syrup, sprinkle with powdered sugar and cinnamon, decorate with whipped cream, bananas and strawberries (I also added a few sprigs of parsley for decoration purposes only).

4. Serve to the most important fathers in your life (except I didn't get to serve it to my Dad, but I will soon if he wants some!).

This is what I served Joe and Wayne yesterday morning, today's breakfast is yet to come. They're still sleeping! I wish my Dad could have been here to enjoy this delicious French Toast, but as I said before, I'll make it for him any time if he's interested!

Hana got to enjoy some, too!

Happy Father's Day!

Fettuccine with Walnut Sauce

This is a yummy Weight Watchers recipe I just served for dinner tonight and boy was it a success!

makes 4 one cup servings

1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp lemon zest
6 oz fettuccine
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
2 tbsps finely chopped fresh parsley

1. In a bowl, combine ricotta, broth and lemon zest; mix until smooth.

2. Cook the fettuccine according to package directions; drain and place in a serving bowl. Top with ricotta mixture, then sprinkle with walnuts, Gorgonzola and parsley; toss to coat.

***FYI: 6 points per one-cup serving, 271 cal, 10 g fat, 3 g sat fat

I served it with homemade garlic toast. I used Nature's Own Whitewheat bread which is 0 points per slice! (of course the toppings add points)

3-Point McMuffin

Well, the diet veered a bit off track with the mourning of the pooch. I have discovered I am a comfort eater. Oh, well. There are worse things I could be, right? As of Monday, I am back on track, the Weight Watchers track that is! Here's a delicious low-point breakfast for all my fellow egg sandwich lovers out there!

1/4 cup Egg Beaters = 1 pt
1 Thomas Light Multi-Grain English Muffin = 1 pt
1 slice Kraft 2% American Cheese = 1 pt

Cook the egg, toast the muffin and assemble. If I hadn't have told you, you would have never known it was only 3 points!

Easy Pea-sy Salad

1 can of peas, drained but not rinsed (or a small package of frozen peas, thawed and rinsed)
3 sticks of Colby-Jack cheese, chopped
1/4 cup diced yellow onion (or less, I really like onion!)
1 to 1 1/2 tbsp mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all in a bowl and enjoy! What a yummy lunch on a hot summer day. Eat indoors, of course, that Texas sun will spoil mayo in no time! =)

Pork & "JuiceCous"

I usually shy away from the barbecue or teriyaki flavored pork tenderloin I see at the store and just stick to lemon garlic, but the last time I went to the store they had a very intriguing flavor: pomegranate basil. Yep, that's right, pomegrantin! LOL It sounded so yummy to me that I just had to have it. But once I brought it home it sat in the fridge for a couple of days and then I made a home for it in the freezer. I was intimidated! What in the world do I serve with it? Then a "friend" of mine - it's funny I say friend because she has no idea who I am, but I feel as though I know her and her family very well. You see, I follow her blog just like you guys follow my primary blog www.watchherasshegrows.blogspot.com. So a while back I was reading her latest entry, which just so happened to be a recipe for what she calls JuiceCous. It sounded so delicious! Then it hit me: This would go wonderfully with that pomegranate basil pork tenderloin! And what a hit it was! My family practically fought over the leftovers! Are you curious? I know you are...

JuiceCous (courtesy of MckMama's blog www.mycharmingkids.net)
(this is the way I made it)
I bought a box of Near East brand couscous and basically followed the directions on the back, but instead of just adding 2 cups water or broth, I added 1 cup water and 1/2 a cup of carrot juice and 1/2 a cup of orange juice. Once cooked, I then added craisins, garbanzo beans and lots of Joe's homegrown cilantro. That's it. And it is delicious. Joe cooked the pomegranate basil pork tenderloin out on the grill, sliced it up and served it right alongside MckMama's JuiceCous. What a perfect combination.

Courtney's Taco Soup

1 lb hamburger meat
Taco Bell brand taco seasoning
1 packet dry ranch
1 can Ranch-Style Beans with jalapenos
1 can butter beans
1 small can white corn
1 can yellow hominy
handful of chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
shredded Colby-Jack cheese

In large soup pan, brown hamburger meat with onion & season with taco seasoning.
Add all beans and veggies, be sure to add their juices too!
Mix in half of the cilantro as well as the dry ranch and enough water to fill the pot close to the top and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.
Ladle it into bowls and sprinkle cheese and fresh cilantro on top. Goes great with tortilla chips, Frito's, cornbread and even white rice!

Two-Egg Sandwich

You know those mornings when you wake up hungry? Or those mornings when you wake up needing comfort food because you had a bad evening/night? This is the sandwich for those mornings.

butter cooking spray or butter
2 eggs
mayonnaise (optional, I use Hellman's light)
salt & pepper
slice of cheese (I use Kraft 2% milk American)
approx 1 tbsp shredded cheese (I use 2% milk Mozzarella)
2 slices of **Nana-fresh bread

Spray a small skillet with butter cooking spray (or grease with real butter) and heat (medium).
Beat 2 eggs in small bowl and add salt & pepper to your liking.
Pour eggs into skillet and let cook in one solid piece, turning only once to cook the other side.
I like to put mayo on on side of my bread. I know, I know, but if you like mayo, you'll love this!
Cut the egg so that it will fit perfectly on the bread and sprinkle shredded cheese on the biggest piece.

Place smaller egg pieces on top of the cheese and cover them with cheese slice. Place on one slice of bread (if you used mayo, place egg on mayo'd side - yes, it makes a difference!). Leave stove top on.

Put the other slice on top to create a sandwich and place the sandwich back into the skillet to brown top and bottom.

As Joe Joe the dog-faced boy would say: "Make sure your mama's not around because this sandwich is so good it'll 'make you want to slap your mama!'"

This sandwich goes really well with Cheetos, or better yet, Flamin' Hot Cheetos! (I know, what happened to the diet?!)

**Nana-fresh bread: Nana ALWAYS has the freshest bread! By Nana-fresh bread I mean bread so fresh that only Nana could have picked it off the shelf!