Hello. I'm Liz, a FORMER Couch Potato! I'm a wife and mom, full-time educator, and a Zumba instructor. And I'm working on helping my family to be healthy and active! Here you will find recipes, exercise adventures, food and gadget finds, and a confession or two! Join me on my journey!
So, normally, I wouldn't be posting in the middle of the day. Mainly because I am usually at work! Today is snow day number two of this week. It's pretty cloudy and cold, so not much thawing is happening. In fact, I'd say I might be here again tomorrow.
Anyway, the husband suggested we watch a movie during Sadie's nap time. Hi suggestion: "Clash of the Titans." Have any of you ever seen this movie? Let me sum it up for you: swords, giant scorpions, hands being sliced off, Medusa...
Not my cup of tea. Waste of a good nap time, if you ask me.
I just told him, "Wait till you see what I pick for us to watch tonight. Paypack is coming." Any suggestions??? I am thinking along the lines of "Titanic."
So anyway, while this movie plays on, let me share this quick and easy recipe for Cheesy Spinach Casserole with you.
This is originally from The Four Ingredient Cookbook, but I have lightened it up a bit. If you like spinach, you'll love this dish. It's warm, cheesy, filling, and SO easy to put together. Come on... 4 ingredients?? Yes please! I also think this could be awesome in a pie crust, sort of like a quiche... but I didn't have one here and was feeling too lazy to make one. If you follow the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus, it is 4 points per serving (serves 4).
Ingredients:
8 oz. 2% Cottage Cheese
4 oz. 2% Shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 eggs
1 9-oz. package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed out
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the cheeses and the spinach together. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl, and then mix them with the cheese/spinach mixture. Pour mixutre into a greased caserole dish (nonstick spray works great, too) and bake for 45 minutes.
Enjoy!
Are you snowed in? How are you spending your snow days???
Well, if there were no consequences (like make-up days) then I could get used to this.
The day started with Sadie coming into our room around 7:15, saying, "Mommy! Daddy! It snowed! It snowed!" So cute. I still feel that way when I wake up and look out the window to see the blanket of white. It was Ryan's morning to get up early, so I went back to sleep for a little bit. Then, around 8:30, I started smelling something wonderful. Was that bacon??? And then... the door opened... and Ryan and Sadie brought me breakfast in bed!
And look... he made it into a smiley face. Cute.
We were lazy for a bit, just enjoying the morning, but soon we had to go check out the winter wonderland. It took is about 15-20 minutes to get everyone dressed, bundled, and ready. After 5 minutes, Sadie wanted to come back in. :) We had to warm up and then do a round 2.
At lunchtime, I heated up some of that Veggie Soup I made Saturday. Don't you love soup on a cold, snowy day?
I had never used molasses in anything before. But bread with only 6 ingredients? No messing with yeast packets? No waiting on it to rise? No need for dough hooks? Yes... this is my kind of bread recipe!
I used the yogurt instead of the buttermilk this time, but next time I would try the buttermilk. The batter was extremely thick. More like dough, really. Maybe it would be a little different with buttermilk.
This bread is so good, though! A little crunchy from the corn meal, and slightly sweet, but not dessert sweet. I tried it with a little light cream cheese on it. Oh yumminess. If you divide it into 8ths, it is 6 Points a slice. Higher on the Points, but very filling.
So, we've just enjoyed some sliders, spicy fries, and spinach casserole.
I am so full! This spinach casserole is another really simple but delicious recipe. I'll post about it tomorrow.
Tomorrow is another snow day! I can hear it sleeting right now... EEK! Hope we don't lose power!
Well, this is a first... I have no school tomorrow due to inclement weather... but we have not had any inclement weather yet! Only in the south, right? They are saying we'll be getting a good amount of snow and maybe ice! Eek! I do not mind the snow, but hate the ice! It will be nice to have an extra day at home... but hopefully it will not hang around too long.
I am thinking about making this bread tomorrow. Looks so delicious and perfect for a winter day! I'll have to burn some extra calories so I can enjoy some extra points tomorrow.
Today we celebrated Ryan and his sister's birthdays.
Take a look at those kids. Can you tell they are anxious for some of the cake???
I never used to be a huge birthday cake fan, but now I love it.
Then I made it to yoga. That is the best class to take on a Sunday. Our YMCA has a Yoga class from 4-5:15 on Sundays and when I can make it, I am always so glad! LOVED the instructor tonight. She has recently started teaching yoga and I have had her for other classes, but not yoga. I thought she was great! I think sometimes yoga can be intimidating. Even when a class says "mixed levels," sometimes the instructors cater more to the advanced crowd. Not the case today! Plus, she had awesome music!
Then I came home and made some whole wheat spaghetti.
Now, it's time to settle in and wait for the snow!
This morning, I made some Breakfast Cups. These are so easy to make. I made a new variety today: Spinach and Cheddar Breakfast Cups.
I love making anything that is individually portioned and easy to eat on-the-go. This morning I was not on the go, but tomorrow I will be. (Well, maybe... depending on the weather...) These reheat nicely, too, so you can make several and then keep them in the fridge.
Recipe (makes 6 cups)
Spray 6 muffin cups VERY WELL with nonstick spray. (Use more or less spray depending on how nonstick your pan is.) DO NOT use cupcake liners. The eggs will totally stick. Preheat oven to 375.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 slices of wheat bread
4 eggs
1/8 cup skim milk
6 tbsp cheddar (2%)
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed (so that the liquid is mostly gone)
salt, pepper, and parsley to taste
Cut bread slices into fourths. (You should have 6 fourths.) Press each square into the bottom of the sprayed muffin cup. Then, equally divide the spinach among the 6 cups. Top with 1 Tbsp of cheddar in each cup. Mix well in a bowl with a spout: 4 eggs, 1/8 cup of milk, salt and pepper. Carefully pour the egg mixture over the spinach and cheese until muffin cups are almost full. Bake for 15 minutes or until tops are golden.
Brrrr! It is chilly here in South Carolina!!! This morning it was 15 degrees here! And even though right now I see blue skies...
there is winter weather moving in. We're preparing to be stuck indoors the next few days... I am hoping to go for a walk/run later today and maybe Yoga. But first, we're going to hubby's parents' for lunch. We are celebrating Ryan's and his sister Melanie's birthdays that were on Tuesday. (They are twins, in case you didn't know!) I told Sadie we were going to celebrate their birthdays and she said, "Do you think there might be cake?" LOL.
This morning, Poppy gave us a special treat… homemade waffles! One of my dad’s Christmas gifts was a new waffle maker. He was excited to try it out for the fam this morning. He had a bag of Waffle House waffle mix. I didn’t know that you could buy the waffle batter at Waffle House restaurants! I have been to Waffle House several times but have never ordered a waffle! These waffles were absolutely delicious—very fluffy!
