WW Stuffed Shells

OMG these are amazing........

I have been dying to share this recipe for stuffed shells. They are 5 points+ on WW.

1 cup(s) part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup(s) fat-free cottage cheese
1 tsp table salt
1 tsp garlic powder, or to taste
1/2 Tbsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 jar pasta sauce (I used Chunky Ragu Mamas special garden sauce) I think a lot of the flavor comes from this so I cant comment on recipes used with different sauces)
1 pound(s) cooked pasta, jumbo shells, approximately 24 shells
1 box frozed chopped spinach (thawed/drained)



Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Boil Shells, drain, cool.
Mix together cheeses, salt, garlic powder, oregano, pepper, and spinach. (for a slightly more sinfull dish add 1/4 cup shreadded mozz or your other fav italian cheeses)
Spread a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce on bottom of a 9- x 13-inch baking dish.
When cooked shells are cool enough to handle, fill each shell with cheese mixture and place in baking dish. (approx 1 heaping spoonfull) When all shells are in dish, spoon remaining tomato sauce over shells. Cover pan and bake for 20 minutes. Yields about 4 shells per serving. (could also sprinkle more shreaded italian cheese)
4 Shells was perfect for me. Dutch ate 5 and was full. Great paired with a small salad. Dutch LOVES these and they are so low fat. Im making them this week before I got out of town for him to eat off but will add 1 lb. of ground chicken to the cheese mixture. I assume it will increase the filling qty to a point where I can make the entire box of pasta which is about 36 shells.

C25K

*not an actual photo of me running lol

So I decided to jump on the C25K bandwagon after being inspired by my amazing SIL here .

C25k stands for Couch to 5k. It claims it can take almost anyone and have them running by the end of 9 weeks. Each week you alternate running and walking to gradually build yourself up to run 30 mins straight (a 5k)

Well it has its work cut out for it with me. I told Dutch I think I haven't ran in 10 years! lol. We "ran" in P.E. in high school but even then it was more of a run/walk while gossipping with your friends. Since high school I have ran if I was trying to get away from something like a snake or dutch with a hose lol.

This week was week 1 for me. Here's my thoughts for the week.

W1R1 (5min warm up, run 60 walk 90 x 8 times then walk 5 mins)
Monday night after work I was really motivated and had downloaded all of the running podcasts for the program from here. Basically someone has created playlists for each week that have great running music and when it is time to run she says run and then walk etc. Super easy.

So the music stared and it was amazing. Hip hop music by T.I, black eye peas, LL Cool J, P.Diddy, Kanye west etc. The music is what got me through the work out. When I felt I could do another 60 sec. run, Kanye would sing/rap (that doesn't kill me, only makes me stronger/work it faster, harder stronger) and it totally reved me up. However the first ten minutes I spent being too cocky and jamming out to the music too much that half way through I realized it was harder than I expected! Thank goodness suz said this is your second to last run or I would have almost pooped out. After I got off the treadmill I felt great and was pretty jazzed for this entire program.

W1R2 (5min warm up, run 60 walk 90 x 8 times then walk 5 mins)

I did this run Wednesday night after work at about 9pm on our treadmill. It was just as good as the run before. I tried to jam out to the music less to save my energy lol. Pretty much feel like a bad ass after the workout.

W1R3 (5min warm up, run 60 walk 90 x 8 times then walk 5 mins)

This run was Saturday late morning but should have been Friday night. Unfortunately, I decided Id rather have a glass of wine and work on my HBF packing. So Saturday it was so cool outside I thought this would be perfect to run outside! What was I thinking! The sun came out within the first 5 mins and it was HOT. Also, our neighborhood is SOOOO hilly. Killer. I had a hard time keeping a pace. I would run too fast and then walk too slow. I had to call it quits a little more than half way through the work out. I came inside and did the work out on the treadmill with much better results. Its going to take some time to get used to running outside. Still enjoyed the playlists but am ready for the next weeks music just to change it up. Next week we do 90 seconds of running and 2 minutes of walking for 6 times. Wish me luck!!!

my new weakness!!

Chick-fil-A | May 13 is Free Sweet Potato FryDay!

WW Crock Pot Lasagna

As some of you may know I started WW the end of March (after our brisket filled ten day extravaganza in Dallas and Austin) Not because I think I am huge, but I know its easier to loose weight when you are younger instead of putting it off. Id like to loose 20 lbs and have already lost 7.8. Boo ya. I really enjoy just being healthier and more fit. I have been trying a lot of new recipes that are healthier and this is one of our favorites.

Check it out.

1 lb ground chicken

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 (28 ounce) can tomatoes, crushed

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

1 1/2 cups lowfat mozzarella cheese,

6 lasagna noodles

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

box frozen chopped spinach thawed, drained, etc.

In a large skillet over medium high heat cook onion and garlic.

Then add in ground chicken and cook together.

 Stir in tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, spices,  Meanwhile in a small bowl combine ricotta, and 1 cup of the mozzarella. You can add spinach to cheese mix or sauce mix.

Spoon 1/3 of the tomato/beef mixture into crock pot. Break 3 lasagna noodles in half and arrange on top of tomato/beef mixture and top with half of the ricotta mixture. Repeat with second layer. Finish with the remaining 1/3 of the meat mixture.

 Cover and cook on low for 4 hours

 In a small bowl combine remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over meat mixture and set aside for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and lasagna is firm (10 minutes or so).

ENJOY!!!

Sorry I didn't get a finished product pic... you will just have to make it to see. : )

Braves Game!

Dutch and I got to celebrate last weekend with my Bro and SIL at the Braves game. It was super last minute, and thanks to Chris' AAA card we got BOGO seats. (buy one get one) We were able to celebrate Dutchs big news of the new job. The weather was amazing, low 70s that day, clear skys. We lost.... but it was still an awesome night. Fridays they have fire works which were pretty amazing. Check out some of my pics!

Celebrate - The Morgan Recession is over!

Dutch just got a full time job last week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyone who knows this realizes this is a major major major deal. After leaving the real estate industry as a real estate broker owning his own real estate business, the economy hasn't been so friendly. After I got laid of May of 2009 Dutch had been underemployed for over a year. Working part time at UPS has giving us some stability of a steady paycheck and unbelievable health benefits. Dutch worked some day jobs over the past 2 years in turf maintenance and also at the UPS store. This latest job is just what we have been waiting for.

He is working full time at Panmet Group which does international freight forwarding. He will be managing clients, dealing with customs, trade agreements, scheduling flights for freight shipments etc. He has his own desk, works 4 miles from our house, has a very casual dress code, works with 6 guys of similar age, and has great potential for job growth.

He will continue to work at UPS in the evenings until things are settled and especially until he gets his 90 day raise. Only issue is that they don't currently offer health care. So hopefully by the time we feel comfortable with him not working at UPS they will have a plan. Also, if I am able to get into a full time design job again I would most likely have benefits through them.

We are beyond thankful for everyone who has been there supporting us in many ways over the past few years. This has been  long time coming. We have been through a lot, learned a lot, and most importantly, gained a new appreciation for even the smallest things.

We look forward to finally enjoying the summer as a married couple! Maybe we will be able to leave the house some weekends lol. Hopefully there will be more to blog about. Not just because we will have a little more flexibility financially, but because our spirits are lifted.

Stand up Obama

Basically the funniest thing I've seen in a while. No matter what you think about this nations politics, this is funny.

Watch "President Obama at the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner" on YouTube