Who loves bargains? I do!

I have to brag about my new bargains!

Puma sneakers
Price of similar shoes on Zappos.com: $79.99
TOTAL I paid: $6.00


Express Stretch Editor Crop Pants
Price on Express.com: $59.50
TOTAL I paid: $2.00 (yes, that's a 2!)



Victoria's Secret Pink Old School Sweats
Price on Victoriassecret.com: $39.50
TOTAL I paid: $2.00

Beat those great deals!

Loafing around...

Lowfat Spinach & Cheese Meatloaf

Meat mixture:
3 slices bread, crust removed
1/2 c. milk
1 lb. ground chicken
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 egg white
1 tsp. oregano
Fresh ground pepper

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Spray the foil with cooking spray.
Tear bread into 1 inch pieces. Put in a bowl, pour in the milk and mash the bread with a fork until all the milk is absorbed.
In another bowl, mix the chicken, mustard, egg white, oregano and pepper.
Add in the bread mixture and mix well, until creamy.
Press the meat mixture onto the baking sheet so that it covers 1/2 the baking sheet
Place in the refrigerator for at least one hour (up to three hours)

Filling:
1 10 oz. package of frozen spinach
3 green onions, chopped (green part only)
1 egg white
Fresh ground pepper
1 tbsp. olive oil
Parmesan cheese, grated, about 1/3 cup

Thaw and drain spinach. Press out all the water.
Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add the spinach and onion and cook until mixture is somewhat dry and the onions begin to wilt, about 5-6 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow to cool. Mix in egg white and season with lots of pepper.

Preheat oven to 350.
Remove baking sheet from fridge.
Spread the spinach mixture over the meat, leaving 1 inch border all the way around.
Sprinkle the cheese over the top.

Place baking sheet horizontally.
Starting at the end closest to you, use the foil to lift the meat and roll jelly roll style, pushing forward a little bit at a time.

Bake at 350 for about an hour, until a thermometer registers 160. Serve with tomato sauce. We also made some mashed potatoes and gravy to go with it and it worked perfectly together.

Chicken Philly Fun!

I love chicken philly sandwiches and they are so hard to find in restaurants. Why not make my own? I found this recipe from Cooking Light and had to try it.
*See my notes on the final outcome at the end.

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 1 sandwich)

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 3/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into (1-inch-thick) strips
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup red bell pepper strips
• 1 cup green bell pepper strips
• 1 cup vertically sliced onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 4 (3-ounce) submarine rolls (such as Cobblestone Mill brand)
• 4 (1-ounce) slices provolone cheese

Preparation

Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Sauté 5 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken from pan. Add red bell pepper and next 5 ingredients (red bell pepper through garlic) to pan; sauté 6 minutes or until tender. Stir in chicken and pepper sauce; remove from heat.

Slice each roll in half horizontally, cutting to, but not through, other side. Place 1 cheese slice and 1 cup chicken mixture on bottom half of each roll, and gently press roll halves together.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat; add 2 sandwiches. Place a cast-iron or heavy skillet on top of sandwiches; press gently to flatten. Cook 4 minutes on each side or until cheese melts and bread is toasted (leave skillet on sandwiches while they cook). Repeat with remaining sandwiches.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 490 (28% from fat)

Fat: 15.4g (sat 6.5g,mono 6.2g,poly 1.5g)

My notes:
-The sandwich could use a little more flavor. Next time I'm going to double the amount of spices and add carmelized onions.

Going bananas!

(Ignore the missing piece! Someone stole a slice before I got my pic!)

We had some extra bananas this week, so I decided to try to make banana bread using a recipe from a friend. This baking session was also momentous because it was my first experience using the famed KitchenAid mixer that everyone raves about. In the past, my husband has always been my mixer : )

Banana Bread

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup of flour (we use whole wheat) & we also add fiber
Nuts are optional

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix.




Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour.
Cool on a rack.
Remove from pan and slice to serve.

My notes:

-I used 4 bananas so the bread needed to bake for about 8 minutes longer so it wasn't too wet

-I do like the mixer! It's so nice to watch a machine do all the work for you!