Christmas 2013

This year has been very hard for my family, a lot harder than I ever thought it would be. As the holiday season has drawn closer I decided I wanted to make some of my kids' Christmas presents again this year. I wanted to make each child a new hat, mittens, and a doll of some kind. My son decided he wanted his gloves to be Green and Yellow, I think he said that these colors are "Lions" colors (one of the professional football teams). He wanted the main part of the gloves green, then the fingers and thumb sections to be yellow. At this point I had only made 1 pair of finger-less gloves, and 1 pair of mittens (an out of necessity creation which I will post about later). While I knew I could make the mittens, I also knew I would not be able to hide the mittens from the kids since I would need them to try on the mittens to make sure they fit right. I could have avoided this problem but I wanted them to be custom fit to their hands. So after a lot of trial and error, here are my son's gloves.

Detroit Lions Hat and Mittens Set

 Once the gloves were finished, I knew that I needed to also make him a matching hat. It's not the hat he had originally picked, but it matches his gloves perfectly. I think the combination looks pretty dang good. While they may not be my colors, they are definitely his. :-)

Now as my son was picking out the colors for his hat, my daughter started searching through my yarn and pulling out the colors she wanted. She ended up picking, blue, purple, pink, yellow and green. 5 colors for a hat... what to do, what to do??? I had been inspired by a Lollipop Hat that I had seen a while back on the blog Snowcatcher. Here is the hat that I saw:


I think this is the coolest hat!!! Since my daughter wanted a lot of colors in her hat, why not finally make this hat??? So that is what I did. I let her pick the order for the colors, she decided she wanted the colors in pink, purple, yellow, green, then blue.

I started out with 2 stitches of each in the foundation the swirled each color around. I also decided it would be fun to have different colored ear flaps. She didn't want braids or a big poof ball on top :-( but hey, she loves her lollipop hat just the way it is, and that's all that matters. (don't mind the blurry green and yellow. My daughter was being wiggly so my son thought he would try to help. :-p )

 The next task was to make her matching mittens. I decided to put each color in the cuff, then to just make the mittens striped. I wanted the mittens to completely match so for some whimsy I decided to make the thumbs match the ear flaps. My thought was that hopefully that will help her remember which way to put her hat on (I doubt it but it was my goal). One thumb is blue, the other purple, one ear flap blue, the other purple.

Even though they did not get their hat and mittens on Christmas morning, they are still extremely excited for their new winter-wear. I will post instructions for each item in a couple days.

Struggling with School work

Okay, so I know that I have been remiss. It has been a couple of months since I have posted anything, but I do have a great excuse. I started a new job that is just wearing me out completely at night. This is actually the first weekend where I haven't felt like I needed to sleep the whole weekend just to feel human, so progress is being made. I hope you all can forgive me, and I do promise to try to do better.

As a single mom, one of my major goals is making sure my children get a quality education. My son is in 4th grade and he struggles with pretty much all subjects. One of his major problems is that he is afraid to try something new. I think he may be afraid of failure. If he cannot get it right the 1st time, he doesn't want to do it. If he actually tries the new harder work, and starts succeeding, he starts getting cocky and chooses not to pay attention. I recently found a couple of websites that are fantastic. Unfortunately they are not free sites, but they are fantastic non-the-less. These are sites that I do not have any issues with paying because they are just that fantastic. Each site has pros and cons. The first site is called Adaptedminds.com. The other site is called ixl.com. These sites are not worksheet sites. These are sites where the student can work on problems until they have mastered the subject mater. I have been looking for these kinds of sites for years. I do feel that had I known about these sites 4 years ago, my son would not be struggling like he is. Now, back to the Pros and Cons. Adapted Minds is wonderful but it only has work available for 1st grade to 5th grade. They charge $9.95 each for both math and language arts. Ixl has math work available for pre-k to high school. Their downfall is that the language arts part only has work available for 2nd - 4th grade. Ixl charges $9.95 for the math and an additional $2 for each child. But on the other hand they only charged me an additional 6.95 for the language arts portion. Both sites have "rewards" available for the kids to see their progress. My children, especially my daughter, really gets a kick out of earning a new star. That is a huge motivator for her to do work as much as anything else.

Now that I have discussed my son's school issues, it's time to discuss my daughter's issues. She has just started Kindergarten this year. She has picked up most of the Kindergarten work already, but one thing that I have recently noticed is that she is struggling on recognizing her color words. I searched the internet to see if there was anything available that might help, but I couldn't find anything, so since I am an author wannabe, I decided to make her some books to read that focuses on recognizing the colors and also working on some of her site words. I have decided to make a new book for her to read each week that focuses on the different colors. This week we did the color pink. She is doing really good already reading it. My original plan was to print the book in black and white then color the pages my self, but then I realized, "ain't no one got time for that." HAHA. kidding of course, kinda. I decided to color the pictures in paint. Now while my color job isn't the best, mostly because I didn't want to take the time to make the pictures perfect. I kind of like the imperfections in the pictures. I will probably go back later and fix them, but as of right now, I'm okay with how they look. I found coloring pages on the internet to use inside my book, so I want to make it perfectly clear that I did not illustrate the book, I only wrote it.

I would like to share the book with others, but I cannot figure out how to attach it. If anyone has any ideas please let me know.

Book Review/Pattern: Elegance Headband

The Elegance Headband is the perfect accessory for any occasion! It looks great on everyone - from baby to adult. This sweet flower headband makes the perfect photo prop, formal or casual wear accessory, baby shower, birthday or holiday gift.

This crochet pattern is very easy to complete - a great pattern for beginners! An average crocheter can easily complete it in under half an hour. 

Busy Mom Designs patterns are easy to follow and are explained in simple terms so even those new to crochet should be able to read and understand them with ease. 

Patterns may not be copied or shared, but all items made from Busy Mom Designs patterns may be sold by the purchaser - even online!

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I love love love this headband!!!! It is so pretty and easy. It works up really fast. I love that it's a kindle pattern, because this means that anywhere I have my phone or Ipod I can access the pattern. I also love that in Kindle you can take notes and those notes transfer everywhere there is a kindle. I decided for my OCD's sake, I would take notes on the actual length of the starting chain so every headband I make is exactly the same size. It's nice not having to have  kajillion pieces of paper that can easily get lost. I also decided to change up the look just a touch. I am HORRIBLE at colors and matching. I really am. Apparently knowing what colors look good together was a gift that skipped completely over me. So again, for my OCD's sake, I decided to just sew on a button and make button flower so if anyone purchases them, they can get the look they want without having to purchase 500 separate headbands. I plan on posting the pattern for the flower at a later date. I do love the rosette that comes with this headband and I'm still trying to figure out a good way to make them into button flowers, so if anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears.

Book Review: Crush

 Cami Wimberley has a plan, and that plan includes no room for boys--especially the big time party animal, Hunter Wilder, no matter how handsome and charismatic he is. She's beautiful, a senior, extremely talented, gets good grades, and is working her way toward her dream college to be a musical theater major. Everything is perfect.

Hunter Wilder does not want a girlfriend--that would complicate his life way too much right now. He especially doesn't want this girl, Miss-Goody-Two-Shoes, so how come he can't keep his eyes off her? He tries to keep her at arms length, but fate seems to keep pushing them together. Before long, it's obvious to everyone they're crushing on each other. 

As sparks begin to fly, Hunter finds himself sinking deeper and deeper into hot water. Soon he's scrambling to keep Cami from discovering his dark secret--one that can destroy their entire relationship.

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Crush was an interesting book. It actually took me a while to really get into it mostly because I'm not a person that likes the drug scene. In fact, Cami is a lot like me. I was a band geek, choir, love Phantom, etc. Once I got past the drug part and really got into the storyline, I started seeing where the author was going with it. Hunter has a secret that isn't revealed until the last chapter or so, but it is spoken about and hints are given throughout the book. When each of the hints are released, I kept guessing trying to figure it out. I did eventually come to the right conclusion about what the secret was but not WHY he had the secret. Ok, that's not completely true, but so I don't give away any important information, I kind of figured out the why too, I just didn't put them together. 

It was a good book. I did highly enjoy it, and now I'm waiting until I see the next in the series, Smitten, go on sale before purchasing it just because I'm cheap. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did. 

Happy Reading!

KFC Coleslaw

When I was a little girl, my parents didn't have a lot of money. It was very rare for our family to go out to eat, but they did try to do something fun at least once a month. When we would go out to eat at KFC they would order each of us a 2 piece meal. I was never really that fond of the biscuits (I know, I know, for shame!) or the mashed potatoes and gravy. My sister didn't like the coleslaw. So our solution was for me to give her my biscuit and potatoes and she'd give me her coleslaw. Looking back on the deal now I know my sister made out in the deal better than me, but back then, I thought that was the most awesome deal! 2 coleslaws just for me?? Heck yeah! So you can my excitement when I was given the e-cookbook titled Insider's Recipes Master Edition. This cook book has all the inside secrets for all the big-name products ranging from ice cream, to candy bars, to actual restaurant food. Inside this wonderful cookbook is what folks?? KFC coleslaw! WOOT WOOT! You can bet your bottom dollar that the coleslaw recipe was my first try. And guess what?? It was awesome. So here is that wonderful recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

KFC Cole Slaw
8 cups shredded cabbage
1/4 cup carrot, shredded
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teas. salt
1/8 teas. pepper
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup mayonaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tbls. white vinegar
2 1/2 tbls. lemon juice
Combine cabbage and carrots in a large salad bowl. Mix remaining
ingredients together and combine thoroughly. Pour liquid ingredients
over cabbage and carrots and stir. Refrigerate at least two hours
before serving (overnight is better). Stir well before serving.

**Quick tip, I'm slightly lazy so instead of shredding the cabbage and carrots, I just purchased the preshredded coleslaw pack from the veggie section. worked wonderfully!***

Chicken Parmesan

I've mentioned before that I have found wonderful recipes on the Slimfast website. The Chicken Parmesan has been one of my favorite recipes, but it's a little tricky. One tip I've learned is that the pan needs to be relative to the amount of servings. The recipe is set up as a single serving so my small cast iron pan would work perfectly. If the pan is too big, the chicken is going to stick and it's not going to turn out right. Been there, done that. And now, the star of the show:

Chicken Parmesan

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

·  1 garlic clove

·  1/2 onion, yellow, whole

·  1 teaspoon oil, canola

·  4 ounces chicken breasts, boneless/skinless, raw

·  1 ounce milk, fat free

·  2 tablespoons cheese, parmesan, regular

·  1/4 cup spaghetti sauce, reduced sodium

·  1/8 teaspoon black pepper

·  2 ounces pasta, linguini, uncooked

·  1/4 pound spinach, raw bunch or bagged

·  1/2 tomato, whole, fresh

·  2 ounces dressing, Italian lo cal low sodium

Preparation

·  Peel and mince garlic; place in a non-stick skillet.

·  Chop onion and add to skillet.

·  Add oil to skillet and saute garlic and onions for about 3 - 4 minutes over medium heat.

·  While garlic and onions cook, dip chicken into milk and then coat with parmesan cheese.

·  Brown both sides of chicken in skillet; about 3 minutes per side.

·  Decrease heat to low and add spaghetti sauce, mushrooms and black pepper.

·  Cover and simmer 15 minutes.

·  While chicken is cooking, prepare pasta according to directions and salad.

·  Wash spinach, tear into bite size pieces and place in a large salad plate.

·  Wash and slice tomato and add to salad.

·  Drizzle salad with dressing before serving.

·  Serve chicken with pasta and salad.

Nutrition Information Amount Per Serving Calories 660 Calories from Fat 180 Total Fat 21g Saturated Fat 5g Cholesterol 75mg Sodium 440mg Total Carbohydrate 74g Dietary Fiber 9g Sugars 10g Protein 44g Vitamin A 180% Vitamin C 90% Calcium 40% Iron 40%

Book Review: Gadiantons and the Silver Sword

They came from the past to retrieve something stolen, something evil. . .and only Jim Hawkins stands in their way.

Chris Heimerdinger, LDS master of high adventure, reunites the compelling characters from his best-selling novel, Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites, in an explosive saga that transports you from the familiar settings of Utah and the American West to the deep and shadowy jungles of southern Mexico.

Jim Hawkins, still unable to remember his former adventures among the Nephites, is nevertheless haunted by fleeting images he can't seem to connect with any particular source. Vivid memories are returned to him bit by bit when strange and ancient visitors suddenly interrupt his life — one desperate for his help, others desperate for revenge.

Join Jim Hawkins, Jennifer Hawkins, and Garth Plimpton as they embark upon the most thrilling and hazardous quest of their lives: one that teaches them the true meaning of valiance in these latter days and where every step of the way they are pursued by the darkest of villains. . .

Chris Heimerdinger did it again. The 2nd book in the Tennis Shoes series is a huge hit!!!! From the mystery surrounding the mysterious stranger looking for Jim, to the events that led him to attend a Sci-fi meeting, to traveling through Mexico, the book kept me riveted to the pages. I loved how this particular boo was placed in modern times. While Book 1 made me feel like I was actually on the battle field with the Nephites, this book helped me understand exactly where  the events of the Book of Mormon actually happened. 

One thing that I did want to mention is, this book also showed how subtlety Satan works. He convinces you that a little sin is ok, and soon that little sin turns to a little bigger sin, which leads to a little bigger sin. Before you know it, the path of righteousness that you were once following is no where to be found. But just like Jim, if you really want to change you can do it (this information is for me more than anyone else but if it helps you out, yay!). 

I hope you enjoy this book. Happy reading!

Ladybug Backpack

With school just around the corner, I have started trying to figure out what my children are going to need for back  to school items. My youngest just turned 5 and will be starting kindergarten this year. Of course she needs an awesome backpack to carry her school folder and lunch box. I had seen an adorable lady bug back pack on the redheart website (go here) and thought, this wouldn't be hard to modify for my needs, so I attempted the challenge. I asked my daughter what color she wanted her backpack to be and she said purple and black, so instead of the original red and black it is purple and black. I looked at the measurements for the original backpack which was 8 3/4" x 9". I measured the folder that I was given at Kindergarten Roundup since it is the normal folder size and realized that I needed the backpack to be about 10" x 11". Basically I needed to add about 2 inches wide and 2 inches high. The original directions started with 21 chains across the bottom and built up from there, so I added 10 additional chains along the base to build up. After the row increases the rows stay the same and the height starts to come into play. The original pattern had the last row of Red only stop at row 24, so I decided to increase the height by an additional 10 rows. The next modification came to the ladybug's head. I increased the height of the head by 3 rows. These were the only modifications that I made to the front and back. I know that these changes might sound odd so I will post the pattern with the changes in a moment.

I next decided that her backpack needed to be deeper than the original. The original gusset was only 5 single crochet's across, so I doubled it to 10. I increased the straps from 4 to 5 single crochets to give the straps a little more width and strength. I also made a "hanger" loop on the top so my daughter can hang the backpack on a hook if one is provided. Finally I added a waterbottle holder on the gusset. I'm not completely finished with the backpack yet. I need to get buttons and decide how I'm going to close the flap, but for the most part, it is finished.  Here's my daughter with her backpack on.

Make sure to go to the original pattern to get all of the specific details. I plan to only post the parts where I made changes. The changes for the larger backpack are in parentheses.

Lady Bug Backpack

FRONT

Row 1 (Right Side): With A, ch 21 (31), sc in the back ridge of 

each ch across; turn – 20 (30) sc.

Row 2: Ch 1, 2 sc in next st, sc in each st across to last st, 

2 sc in last st; turn – 22 (32) sc.

Rows 3-8: Repeat Row 2; turn – 34 (44) sc.

Rows 9-24 (34): Ch 1, sc in each st across; turn.

Row 25 (35): Ch 1, sc2tog, sc in next 9 sts, drop A and change 

to B, with B sc in next 12 sts, drop B and change to A

using the small ball of A, with A sc in next 9 sts, sc2tog; 

turn – 20 (30) sc in A, 12 sc in B.

Row 26 (36): Ch 1, sc2tog, sc in next 7 sts, change to B, sc in 

next 14 sts, change to A, sc in next 7 sts, sc2tog; turn – 16  

sc in A, 14 (24) sc in B.

Row 27 (37): Ch 1, sc2tog, sc in next 5 sts, change to B, sc in 

next 16 sts, change to A, sc in next 5 sts, sc2tog; turn – 12  

sc in A, 16 (26) sc in B.

Row 28 (38): Ch 1, sc2tog, sc in next 3 sts, change to B, sc in 

next 18 sts, change to A, sc in next 3 sts, sc2tog; turn – 8 

sc in A, 18 (28) sc in B.

Row 29 (39) : Ch 1, sc2tog, sc, change to B, sc in next 20 sts, 

change to A, sc, sc2tog; turn – 4 sc in A, 20 (30) sc in B.

Row 30 (40): Ch 1, sc2tog, change to B, sc in next 20, change 

to A, sc2tog, change to B; turn – 2 sc in A, 20 (30) sc in B.

Row 31 (41): Continuing with B, ch 1, sc2tog, sc in next 18 sts, 

sc2tog; turn – 20 (30) sc in B.

Row 32 (42 - 45): Ch 1, sc in each st across; turn.

Row 33 (46): Ch 1, sc2tog, sc across to last 2 sts, sc2tog; turn 

– 18 sc.

Rows 34-36 (47-49): Repeat Row 33; turn – 12 sc.

Row 37 (50): Repeat Row 32; do not turn.

Complete original edging.

BACK

Work as for FRONT through Row 50, turn.

Begin Flap

Row 38 (51): Ch 1, sc in front loop only in each st across; turn 

– 12 sc.

Rows 39-42 (52-57): Ch 1, sc in each st across; turn.

Row 43 (58): Ch 1, sc in back loop only in each st across; turn.

Row 44 (59): Ch 1, 2 sc in next st, sc in next 10 sts, 2 sc in last 

st; turn – 14 sc.

Row 45 and 46 (60-61): Ch 1, repeat Row 44; turn – 18 sc.

Row 47: Ch 1, 2 sc in next st, sc in next 5 sts, ch 1, skip 

next st, sc in next 4 sts, ch 1, skip next st, sc in next 5 sts, 

2 sc in last st; turn – 18 sc and 2 ch-1 button-hole spaces.

Row 48: Ch 1, sc in next 7 sts, sc in ch-1 space, sc in next 

4 sts, sc in ch-1 space, sc in next 7 sts; turn – 20 sc.

 *** Alt directions***

(62-65): sc in each across

Row 49 (66): Ch 1, sc2tog, sc in each st across to last 2 sts, 

sc2tog; turn – 18 sc.

Rows 50-52 (67-69): Ch 1, repeat Row 49; turn – 12 sc.

Row 53 (70): Ch 1, sc in each st across; do not fasten off.

Complete back edging

Complete spots and center seam like original pattern.

Lower straps, start with 6 beginning ch's instead of 5.

The next part is where it gets a little tricky.

Upper straps

ch 4, sc in each across for 25 rows. To attach, sc around sc's of row 38. Follow original pattern instructions just remember there are an additional 5 stitches on each side. So at this point you should have one end of the strap attached with 3 single crochets, sc, sc in to the other end of the strap and around the next 3 stitches from row 38 to make a total of 7 stitches. turn.

sc in first 4 sc, turn (***)

2 sc in 1st sc, sc in each (5 sc)

sc in each stitch, turn

(follow the rest of the instructions from pattern.)

for 2nd strap, rejoin yarn in 4th sc from row 2 (***), sc in last 3 sc, turn

2 sc in 1st sc, sc in each (5 sc)

sc in each stitch, turn (follow the rest of the instructions from original pattern)

Gusset

ch 6, sc in each sc for 112 rows, follow pattern instructions

Waterbottle holder

join yarn in row 32 and sc around each stitch (10 sc)

sc in each across, turn for 10 rows, finish off.

rejoin yarn in 1st stitch on the right and sc in each around putting 2 sc in each corner, turn

Netting

Row 1: ch 1, sc in same stitch, *ch 3, sk 2 stitches, sc* around the 3 non connected edges. ch 1 turn

Row 2: ch 1, sc, *ch 3, sk 2 stitches, sc* ch 1 sc in last sc, turn, ch 1

Rows 3- 10: repeat rows 1 and 2 for desired height.

Row 11: sc in each sc and put 2 sc in each ch 3 space, turn, ch 1

Row 12: sc in each sc, finish off.

When connecting the gusset to the backpack start with the side that doesn't have the waterbottle holder. It is easier to connect all 3 layers and not stretch out the netting in the process.

I hope you can understand my directions and enjoy making this cute backpack for your own child.

Good luck and Happy crocheting!

Sugar Cookies

Can you guess which cookies I frosted and
which ones my kids frosted? lol

Growing up I have always loved to bake. I've made many different sugar cookie recipes but they have always turned out the same way, hard and crunchy. When I discovered the large soft sugar cookies that can be bought by the dozen at the store I pretty much decided that I was done making sugar cookies. Even though they are a blast to make and decorate I am not a big fan of crunchy cookies. I love my cookies to be soft and chewy. This week I have decided that I was going to start doing more baking and teach my children how to bake at the same time. My daughter decided sugar cookies would be our first project. I looked through my recipes, and found a recipe that I had added to my recipe book on allrecipe.com. Here is the link to the recipe. I read through the reviews and saw that all the reviews were very positive so I decided to go ahead and attempt this recipe. The results were fantastic!!! The cookies were so soft and chewy. The original recipe did have a buttercream frosting recipe to make but I already had some store-bought frosting and decided to use it. I do plan on using the buttercream recipe at a later date and I will let you all know how it went. For those that do not want to click the link, here is the recipe. Oh, and even though the recipe says it makes 5 dozen cookies, I only got about 2-3 dozen cookies. I'm not sure if my cookies were cut too large or thick but I just wanted to let you all know.

***Note*** I made the buttercream frosting from the recipe today and it turned out really well. The only change I made from the recipe was using the butter flavored crisco over the regular shortening and adding butter flavor. I think it was a huge hit.

Sugar Cookies with Buttercream Frosting

Rated: Submitted By: Diane Photo By: CookieDough Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 5 Minutes Ready In: 2 Hours 20 Minutes Servings: 60

"These cookies are melt-in-your-mouth delicious. They are simple to make and kids love to lick the frosting off the tops. Butter flavoring is in the buttercream for added flavor. You can find it in most supermarkets, in the baking aisle, where there are other flavorings such as vanilla."

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup butter 1 cup white sugar 2 eggs 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shortening 1 pound confectioners' sugar 5 tablespoons water 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon butter flavored extract

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a large bowl, mix together butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; gradually stir flour mixture into butter mixture until well blended using a sturdy spoon. Chill dough for 2 hours.
2.	Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3.	Bake for 4 to 6 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove cookies from pan and cool on wire racks.
4.	Using an electric mixer, beat shortening, confectioners sugar, water, salt, vanilla extract, and butter flavoring until fluffy. Frost cookies after they have cooled completely.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

I received an email from the biggest loser club with one of the best recipes I've tried in a very long time. Chicken Cordon Bleu. The recipe is from the Biggest Loser Quick & Easy Cookbook. It was reprinted in Prevention so I don't feel guilty for sharing the recipe. Because of this recipe I did purchase the whole cookbook. Now, by request..

Photo from Prevention Magazine

Ingredients2 (4-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, visible fat removed, pounded to 1/2" thickness
Olive oil spray (propellant free)
Sea salt, to taste
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
2 ounces thinly sliced lean, nitrate-free ham
1 ounce thinly sliced all- natural reduced-fat Swiss cheese
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves, or more to taste

InstructionsPreheat the oven to 350°F.

Lightly mist the chicken with olive oil spray on both sides. Sprinkle evenly with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Place a medium ovenproof, nonstick skillet over high heat. When it's hot, lightly mist it with the spray and add the chicken. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown on the outside.

Remove the pan from the heat. Top each chicken breast with half of the ham and half of the cheese, making sure they do not hang over. Sprinkle each evenly with the thyme. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside.

Per serving: 193 calories, 36 g protein, 1 g carbohydrates (0 g sugar), 5 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 90 mg cholesterol, trace fiber, 337 mg sodium

Here is a picture of the finished product. 

Weight Watchers Points Plus - 6 pts.

**Note** The first time I made this I didn't have any swiss cheese and substituted colby jack cheese. I also put the cheese between the 2 meats to help the ham stay on the chicken. The 2nd time I made it I used swiss cheese but cut the slice in half and placed half between the meats and the other half on top. Both versions were extremely delicious. :)



Click here for the link to the Prevention page:

Terrific Tacos

For many years I have tried to loose weight. I have joined several fitness/weightloss sites hoping to find the program that would work best for me. After my son was born, I advised a doctor and was told to try the Slimfast method, so I did. I was highly surprised at how wonderful the food was. One thing I really like about the recipe is that it lists everything for the meal: Main dish, side dish and dessert. It's really nice. The thing I don't like about the recipe is that each recipe (then) was only set up for 1 person. So depending on the recipe it sometimes gets a little tricky adjusting the recipe for more than 1. This recipe was pretty easy to adjust. Here's some very Terrific Tacos. I hope you enjoy!

Terrific Tacos

Prep Time: 10 minutesTotal Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

·  1/4 onion, yellow

·  1 garlic clove

·  1/2 bell pepper, green, medium

·  5 ounces ground beef, extra lean

·  1 tablespoon taco seasoning

·  1/8 pound lettuce, romaine, chopped

·  1 tomato, medium

·  2 taco shells

·  2 tablespoons sour cream, fat-free

·  1 ounce cheddar cheese, low-fat

·  1 apple, medium

Preparation

Wash, peel and chop onion and garlic; wash, core and chop green pepper, reserving half for salad. Brown the ground beef, onion, garlic and half of the green pepper in a medium heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the seasoning mix along with 1 to 2 tbsp. of water. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, wash and chop lettuce (1/8 pound is approximately 1 cup) and tomato, and arrange on a serving plate. When meat mixture is done cooking, spoon into taco shells and bake in a 350-degree oven or toaster oven for approximately 5 minutes, if desired, to enhance crispiness. (Alternatively, taco shells may heated without meat mixture.) Top tacos with sour cream (1 tbsp. each), cheese (1/2 ounce each), and prepared lettuce, tomato and reserved green pepper. Eat remaining meat and vegetables as a salad, including everything that falls out of tacos while eating. Enjoy a crisp apple for dessert.

Nutrition Information Amount Per Serving Calories 600 Calories from Fat 200 Total Fat 22 g Saturated Fat 7 g Cholesterol 60 mg Sodium 650 mg Total Carbohydrate 60 g Dietary Fiber 10 g Sugars 26 g Protein 44 g Vitamin A 60% Vitamin C 170% Calcium 30% Iron 30%

Book Review: Nighttime is My Time

Historian Jean Sheridan returns to Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, excited about her twenty-year high-school reunion at Stonecroft Academy. But a dear friend of hers soon becomes the fifth woman in the class to meet a sudden, mysterious end. Then Jean receives a taunting fax about a child she gave up for adoption, whose existence she had kept a secret but whose life may now be in danger. For present at the reunion is The Owl, a murderer on a mission of vengeance against women who once humiliated him...and Jean is his final intended victim.

The Queen of suspense has done it again. This gripping page turner kept me on the edge of my seat and craving for more from the very first page. A deranged maniac decided to take revenge on the popular girls from high school and murdered them off one by one in the order they sat at their lunch table. The only person smart enough to figure out a connection to the murders is high school a newspaper reporter that is craving national exposure. The concept of this book was truly terrifying. I can't wait to read her next book.

Basil Chicken with Tomatoes

This recipe is perfect as is, (well minus the cooked tomatoes). It is very flavorful and if you have a basting brush, it is the easiest way to get the fluid onto all of the chicken and potatoes. As you can see, I highly enjoyed my dinner.

Basil Chicken with Tomatoes

Prep Time: 15 minutesTotal Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

·  8 basil leaves

·  1 fluid ounce chicken broth, fat-free, low-sodium

·  1 garlic clove

·  2 teaspoons olive oil, extra virgin

·  1/8 teaspoon thyme, ground

·  1/8 teaspoon black pepper

·  1/8 teaspoon salt

·  5 ounces chicken breasts, boneless/skinless, raw

·  1/4 pound potato, raw

·  1 tomato, medium

·  2 olives, black

·  1/4 pound lettuce, romaine, chopped

·  1 peach, fresh

·  3/4 dry cup fresh grapes (any color)

·  2 ounces yogurt, fat-free, favorite flavor

·  2 teaspoons almonds, slivered

Preparation

Spray a shallow baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. In a food processor or blender, combine the basil leaves (washed), chicken stock, garlic clove, olive oil, thyme, pepper and salt, and process until pureed. Place the chicken in the baking dish and rub both sides with 1/2 of the basil mixture; set aside. Preheat oven to 425°F. Wash potato and cut into wedges. Place the potato wedges in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Cover the pan and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain the potatoes. Wash the tomato and cut into wedges. Arrange the potato and tomato wedges around the chicken breast and spoon remaining basil mixture over the vegetables. Chop the olives and sprinkle over the chicken and vegetables. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink inside and potatoes are tender. Meanwhile prepare salad. Wash and chop lettuce (1/4 pound is approximately 2 cups chopped) and peach; wash grapes and toss with peach chunks; place mixed fruit on bed of lettuce and top with yogurt and slivered almonds.

Nutrition Information Amount Per Serving Calories 630 Calories from Fat 180 Total Fat 20 g Saturated Fat 3 g Cholesterol 120 mg Sodium 550 mg Total Carbohydrate 61 g Dietary Fiber 9 g Sugars 29 g Protein 54 g Vitamin A 90% Vitamin C 140% Calcium 20% Iron 25%