Witch Finger Cookies

My neighbor was telling me about these cookies they make every Halloween, so I decided I had to make them.  I started researching them, and this is what I found.


Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup whole blanched almonds
1 tube red decorator gel or red icing

Directions

1. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg, almond and vanilla extracts.
2. Whisk together flour and salt in a medium bowl. Add to wet mixture and beat just until moistened. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (or lightly grease them.)
4. Working with one quarter of the dough at a time and keeping the remainder refrigerated, roll heaping teaspoonful of dough into finger shape for each cookie. Press almond firmly into 1 end for nail. Squeeze in center to create “knuckle” shape. Using a small knife, make slashes in several places to complete the look of the knuckle.
5. Place on prepared baking sheets and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until pale golden. Let cool for 3 minutes. Lift up almond, squeeze red decorator gel onto nail bed and press almond back in place, so gel oozes out from underneath. If you want to get really gross, you can also make slashes in the finger and fill them with “blood.”
6. Remove from baking sheets and let cool on racks (and let the red gel set).

Yield: 5 dozen

Cooking Tips:

How to blanch almonds: Place almonds in a bowl. Pour boiling water over to barely cover almonds. Let sit for just 1 minute (if you wait longer than that then the almonds will break apart). Drain, rinse quickly under cold water, and drain again. The skins should slip right off. Pat dry.

What's for Dinner?

Chicken n Dumplings is a regular monthly meal in our house.  It is SOOOOO easy, and I love that it is made in a slow cooker.  So here is the simple recipe for Chicken and the Dumplings.



Chicken n Dumplings

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 14 ounces of Chicken Broth 
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon margarine
• 1/2 cup milk

Directions

1. Place the chicken, soup, and onion in a slow cooker, and fill with broth to cover chicken.
2. Cover, and cook for 5 to 6 hours on High. 
3. About 30 minutes before serving, stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in medium size bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in milk to make a soft dough.
4. Shred the chicken, and drop  spoonfuls of batter into simmering chicken mixture. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes without lifting lid. 

Stream of Consciousness

I am making progress on the weight loss department, even if it is slower than I would like.  I am down to 153 as of this morning.  I am still loving my Vibrams, and I am even thinking about running a half marathon in April!  I ran a 5K this morning after I did 60 minutes on the elliptical, and it felt great!  I could have gone longer, but my left foot was cramping up and burning.  I started a mild colon cleanse today as well, and I hope that will help me drop a few extra pounds as well. It is called Smooth Move Organic tea, and I am drinking it twice a day.  I will update and let you know how it goes.

My Mom and Step Dad will be here in 5 days!  They are coming for Chief's promotion ceremony and the party.  We are so excited, and this one is a very big deal since it is his last promotion.  He cannot go any higher than CW5, and we are so proud of him!  He has worked so hard for this, and he completely deserves it!  We are expecting about 100 people for the promotion ceremony and reception afterward, and then 100 people at the promotion party too!  For the party, I am making Kalua Pork and Cabbage, Teriyaki Chicken, Macaroni Salad, Hawaiian Sweet Rolls, and Chocolate Haupia Pie.  I have friends that are bring side dishes and appetizers as well.  It should be an amazing party! 

It is hard to believe that Chief will be leaving in 5 weeks.  It came up on us so fast, and it is getting harder and harder everyday thinking about him leaving.  It is going to be a long year, but we will make it. I hope it goes by as fast as this last year has!

Healthy Butter?

We are on a big health kick at our house right now after Chief found out that his Cholesterol was a little high.  We have made some healthy lifestyle changes, and I wanted to share one with you.

Almonds are a an excellent source to help lower cholesterol, help prevent cancer, reduce heart attack risk, and is full of vitamins! It also has the good fat unlike the peanut which is most bad fat.  We are going to be eating more Almond Butter instead of Peanut Butter because of these reasons.

I went to the commissary looking for the Almond Butter, and it was $4.79 for a 7 oz jar!! That is $.68 per ounce! I am too cheap to buy that, so I went looking for a recipe. I bought 3 lbs. of raw almonds from Costco for $9.99, making it $.21 per ounce.  I found many different versions of the recipe, so I am posting the healthiest recipe and then my recipe that fit the needs of our family better.

FIRST VERSION (HEALTHIEST)

Ingredients

•   2 cups raw almonds

Directions

1. Preheat the over to 300 degrees.  Place the raw almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast almonds for 20 minutes in preheated oven.  After the 20 minutes, take them out and let them cool for 5 minutes.    Place the almonds in a food processor. Process on high until ground almonds begin to form a ball. Continue to process, stopping occasionally to scrape sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. The whole process takes about 10 minutes. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 month. It comes out to about 82.4 calories per Tablespoon/Serving.

Here is the recipe that I came up with that fit our needs better. If you notice, it is not that much different in calories than the first version.

SECOND VERSION

Ingredients

•   2 cups raw almonds
•   2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
•   2 teaspoons honey
•   1 small pinch sea salt
  

Directions

1. Preheat the over to 300 degrees.  Place the raw almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast almonds for 20 minutes in preheated oven.  After the 20 minutes, take them out and let them cool for 5 minutes.    Place the almonds in a food processor. Process on high until ground almonds begin to form a ball. Add oil, honey, and salt. Continue to process, stopping occasionally to scrape sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. The whole process takes about 10 minutes.  Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 month. If you would like to have the butter a little creamier, add another teaspoon of olive oil in to the butter. It is about 88.7 calories per Tablespoon/Serving.  The recipe should make about 20 servings.

Nutritional Information

Almond Butter

Servings Per Recipe: 16
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 57

• Total Fat: 5.1g
• Cholesterol: 0mg
• Sodium: < 1mg
• Total Carbs: 1.8g
•     Dietary Fiber: 1g
• Protein: 1.9g

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Post Op Plastics 1 year

It is hard to believe that it has already been 1 year since I had my plastics in Monterrey by Dr. Sauceda.  I definitely wanted to share with everyone on my progress and let everyone know how I am doing.  This is one of the main reasons that I started this blog!  I wanted to be able to help people make decisions that were right for them, show my progress, give them the good/bad/ugly/happy/etc......

Overall, I am very happy with my results! I still have swelling after 1 year post op, and I am discussed this with Dr Sauceda.  It is mostly only in my belly and back, and I am so sick of it.  I really wish that would come to an end and SOON! I have my days when I see my imperfections more, but then I look back at my BEFORE pictures.  I have to remind myself that I have had 3 babies, lost 108 lbs, had over 800 stitches in my body from plastics, and I still look decent in a bikini! I am not going to look like a super model, but I do look like a 34 year old Mom that has been through ALOT!  I do need to go back and have some stuffed revised in the future, but that is really farthest from my mind as we gear up for Chief to leave for Iraq.  My small thigh lift needs to be redone, but we already knew that before I left Monterrey.  He went conservative and didn't want to take the chance of any wounds opening.  I also need more lipo on my hips because I have bulges right above my scar line.  My stitches in my belly button ripped while I was in Monterrey, and he will also fix my belly button to make it bigger.  I also may get my belly pulled a little tighter of just some lipo to help streamline that a little more as well.  Dr Sauceda will evaluate that when I go for the revisions.  I also may pay for a small arm lift while I am there because I have a little excess skin that I despise!  I love love that I have a butt now.  It is shocking looking at the before and after of it. 

I don't visit the OH boards much at all anymore because I finally just have normalcy in my life.  It is weird to not have to obsess with how I look, what I need to do next to be nornal, etc.  I still want to lose 20 more lbs, but I am working on that right now.  I am down to 157, the weight I was when I came home from plastics.  I gained some from laying around after surgery and losing so much muscle.  I wish I would have known more about that so I could prepare for that.  I definitely got more flabby, and it is noticeable in the new pictures.  I am working out a lot, watching what I eat a little closer, and I will get that weight off.  I also bought a new Bodybugg, and that is helping me keep track of what I am actually burning during the day and how much activity I am getting. 

Ok, ok, here are the pictures.  I cut my head off in them because I looked awful since we took these right when I got up this morning.

BEFORE

AFTER

 

BEFORE

 

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

 

BEFORE

AFTER

 

BEFORE

Getting down to business!

Well, I have been getting down to business about losing these last 20 + lbs that have been hanging around for the last 1 1/2 years.  I had even gained about 4 lbs, so I finally decided to stop griping and do something more about it!  I was going to the gym, but I needed to mix it up a bit.  I am not a runner and decided I wanted to start.  I kept hearing about the Vibram Five Finger shoes, Sprint Style, that are supposed to mimic barefoot running and make it a lot easier.  They are very hard to find because they are so popular, but I actually found some in my size!

I went from struggling to run even .5 of a mile to running 1.5 miles in a week!  I had to cut back to 1.25 miles per day because my body needed to adjust to the new shoes.  I can definitely feel a difference and my muscles in my calves were screaming at me for a couple of days.  My feet always go to sleep after I have been on the elliptical for around 45 minutes, but it doesn't happen with these shoes!  Running is getting so much easier, and I am seeing progress on my weight!  I came back from the funeral trip weighing 164 (YIKES!!), and now I am 159 as of this morning. Not too bad since I started this the day after Labor Day, and I had my period this last week (Yes, TMI!) I am tracking everything I eat, and I also am using a Bodybugg.  It tracks every step I take during the day and every calorie I burn.  I had one when I lost all the weight at the beginning, and it really helped keep me motivated and on track.  I just got mine Friday, and I am constantly taking more steps and trying to burn extra calories to make my daily goal.  It is awesome to see the hard work paying off!  My goal is to lose 3 lbs per week, and it puts me at goal around November 17th if I stay on track.  My daily goal is to burn at least 2500 calories per day, take 15,000 steps,  eat less than 1000 calories per day, get more than 100 grams of protein, and eat less than 50 grams of carbs to give me a 1500 calorie deficit per day.  Yesterday, I burned 2970 calories and 17,103 steps. I am running anywhere from 1.25-1.50 miles and getting at least 1 hour of cardio on elliptical and walking.

I have also noticed that my sleeve has become smaller again.  I was shocked that I cannot eat as much as I could, and I am so thankful!  I am not getting hungry at all, and I am back to reminding myself to eat again. Cutting the carbs, especially bad carbs has made a HUGE difference!

Keeping track of this on here is going to keep me motivated as well and also keep me from cheating.  Anyone want to join me in this???

Evil 20!

I know many have heard me complain for awhile about these pesky 20 lbs that I cannot get rid of.  These
evil, stupid, annoying 20 lbs are the only thing standing in my way to make personal weight loss goal!  I have been maintaining my current weight for 1.5 years, and I thought my plastic surgery would get me closer to my goal.........


I WAS WRONG!


After my plastics, I had to lay around and pretty much do nothing for 6 weeks.  I didn't gain weight, but I definitely lost muscle.  Now, I am struggling to get that muscle back.  I am trying to stay under 1200 calories per day, get at least 80 grams of protein per day, drink at least 64 ounces of water per day, and working my A$$ off in the gym.  For the life of me, my weight will not budge.  I am beyond frustrated! My sleeve is still working, but I definitely can eat a lot more than I used to.  I am about to make an appointment with the weight loss Dr here in Hawaii because it is bothering me.  I am at a loss what to do, and I am struggling with my self image because of it.  I know I have come a long way and have lost a ton of weight, but I still see a fat girl in the mirror most of the time.  I still have quite a bit of swelling in my lower back right above my incision and in my belly, and it happens every day.  I was 11 months post op a couple of days ago, and I am shocked that I am still having so much swelling. I hope I can figure this out soon because I feel like I am going to go crazy!!!

What's in your Cabinets?

I love love love color and of course organization!  I am always curious on what other people's cabinets look like, what color their dishes are, how they organize them, etc.  Here is a peek into my cabinets!

Grilled Pesto Chicken with Whole Wheat Penne Pasta

I was looking for a change of pace with chicken, and I was jonesing for some pesto.  This is what I ended up with, and it was so so good!  The kids couldn't eat it fast enough, and they had cleaned their plates within 5 minutes.  This is going to be a regular dish around this house. It was excellent with a glass of Chardonnay.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

 

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package whole wheat Penne pasta
• 2 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/3 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes with italian spices,  cut into pieces
• 1 cup pesto with basil sauce

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Baste chicken with 1/3 cup of pesto.  Cook on grill until done.  Slice chicken into strips.
3. In a large bowl, combine pasta, chicken, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and rest of the pesto. Toss to coat evenly. 
4. Grate 2 tablespoons Parmesan on top.

Missing my Grandmother

I know I have been MIA for awhile, and it is for good reason.  My sweet, wonderful Grandmother passed away on August 24th after living for 86 years.  She has been very sick for quite a while, and I am so thankful that she is not in pain anymore.

She was such amazing person and woman.  I loved the quirkiness about her, her love for life, her love for her family, and her radiant personality.  She always made us laugh, she love Jesus, and she was a HUGE sports fan.

As soon as we found out, we got lucky and found SPACE A military C5 plane leaving Hawaii early Wednesday morning, the 25th.  It flew straight to San Antonio, and we arrived around 6:30 PM on Wednesday.  We jumped in a cab, rented a car, and drove 8 1/2 hours to Pampa.  We arrived around 4:30 in the morning on Thursday, and we were exhausted! Chief returned the rental car in at the Amarillo airport that afternoon. The funeral was scheduled for Saturday, and all of the family started arriving on Friday.

It was great to see cousins that I hadn't seen in 20 years!  We shared many stories about Grandmother and laughed until we cried.  It was great getting to spend time with them and my Dad.  My Dad is coming to visit us in Hawaii in a few weeks, and we cannot wait!  It will be his first visit here, and he deserves a vacation after the year he has had. 

Anyway, Chief rode back with my brother and his family to Amarillo to pick up ANOTHER rental car on Saturday night,  and we left Pampa on Sunday and drove to Stephenville to spend the day with Mookie.  She didn't get to attend the funeral because she was moving in to her dorm at Tarleton State University.  Her dorm is super cute and very very nice.  It is brand new!  It hurt my heart to leave her, and it was definitely not enough time spent with her.  We miss her so much and cannot wait to have her visit during her Christmas break. 

We then drove to Ft Worth and checked in to the Navy Lodging.  Chief drove to DFW airport to return the rental car and then my cousin, Ron, and his wife, Kim,  picked him up.  They brought Chief back to the lodge, and we got caught up on each other's lives.  We went to bed hoping to catch a flight on Monday morning in to North Island Navy Air Station/Coronado Island in San Diego.  We planned on catching a flight from there to Hickam AFB in Hawaii on Tuesday.  We woke up to news that our flight from Ft. Worth had been rescheduled for Tuesday, and the flight to Hawaii from San Diego was rescheduled for Saturday.  We stayed one more night in Fort Worth and caught a C40 Navy plane to North Island on Tuesday.  We rented another car when we arrived on North Island, (thank you Hertz), and drove to my other cousin's, Schaffer, house in Santee.  Him and his wife, Cindy, were gracious enough to let us stay with them until we could catch a flight back to Hawaii.  It had been awhile since I had seen Schaffer, and I hadn't even met Cindy yet! Monkey Doodle and Miss Priss LOVED playing with their cousin, Cody, while we stayed with them.

We found out that there was a C20G, Navy gulfstream IV flying out on Friday with 10 seats on it.  We were hoping and praying to get on that flight! Since we had a few days to explore San Diego, we decided on going to Sea World and San Diego Zoo.  I found a website, www.herosalute.com , that gave 4 FREE tickets once a year to Sea World for Chief being active duty Army.  We took advantage of that and had an amazing time!

Dolphin Show

 

Shamu Believe Show

Sea Lion Show & feeding exhibit

On Thursday, we went to the San Diego Zoo.  We found out that Chief's ticket was free for the zoo as well, and we bought discounted tickets for the rest of us from the Navy Base ITR.  We only spent a couple of hours there because we were all still exhausted from Sea World the day before. We still managed to walk 90% of the zoo in those two hours! 

After the zoo, we packed up and headed to the air terminal because we heard that our plane may be coming in a day earlier and we did not want to take a chance that we would miss it.  We spent about 3 hours talking to the terminal manager while he tried to track the plane.  We were told that our flight on Friday would probably be canceled, and the next flight to Hawaii would be Sunday.  We were completely devastated and started scrambling on trying to make other plans.  We had decided that we would drive 9 1/2 hours to Travis Air Force Base the next morning since they had flights heading to Hawaii on Saturday and Sunday.  The next morning we got up and headed to pick up a different rental car, but we decided to stop at the air terminal to make sure nothing had changed.  To our surprise, our flight was NOT canceled!  Approximately 30 people were waiting to get on that flight, but there were only 10 seats on a 19 seater.  We knew we had a good chance on getting on the flight because we were category III, and we had shipped 40 lbs of stuff home from our suitcases because there was a maximum weight limit of 20 lbs per person for the C20G, Gulf Stream IV.  When the plane arrived, they only had 5 seats available instead of the 10. Since we had left for an emergency funeral, that put us ahead of 1 other person, and we were chosen for the last 4 seats!  One guy was ahead of us, so we were so blessed to get on this flight!

We definitely rode in style on this plane, and it was an amazing 5 hour flight.  We had some beautiful scenery while in the air as well!

Look at the USS Arizona from this view

It is so good to be home! Every time we leave Hawaii, I feel the strong pull to get back as soon as possible.  I have come to realize that I truly love it here and feel like this is home.  

Thank you to everyone that said prayed for us over the past couple of weeks.  It was so comforting to know that we were being lifted up in prayer, and I truly know that the prayers and faith got us home.  I also know that I have a Grandmother Angel with me at all times now as well.