Friday, December 21, 2012

Bayou Fish Foil Packet

Folks, the weight loss has not been good around here.  The same 5 lbs keep coming and going - since about August.  UGH.

And it's the holidays.  So that 5lbs has come...and hopefully not more but maybe...so I am personally completely out of whack.  (Hello confessional.)

It's not like I've been making "horrible" decisions, or fallen "completely off the wagon"...it's just that sneaking 1 cookie every day, or sometimes 2 (or 3 or 4 times) a day while at work is really derailing my sense of ROUTINE.

So, in efforts to get back to it a little, I've tried a few new recipes lately.  This one - Jeff and I BOTH loved!!!  So, feed it to your picky eaters, it passed our test!

Oh, and it's completely a Hungry Girl recipe, so if you don't get her daily emails - sign up now!!!

Woohoo! Bayou Fish Pack

PER SERVING (1/2 of recipe, 1 fillet with seasoned beans): 270 calories, 2g fat, 592mg sodium, 32.5g carbs, 9.5g fiber, 8g sugars, 31g protein -- PointsPlus® value 6*
Ingredients:
1 cup canned red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning, divided
1/2 tsp. chopped garlic (or 1/4 tsp dried)
1/8 tsp. ground thyme (optional)
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
Two 4-oz. raw flounder fillets (or other white fish, I used tilapia)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place beans, bell pepper, onion, and celery in a bowl. Mix well and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine tomato paste with 1/4 tsp. Cajun seasoning. Add garlic, thyme, salt, and black pepper, and mix thoroughly. Transfer seasoned tomato paste to the bean-veggie mixture, and stir to coat. Set aside.

Lay a large piece of heavy-duty foil on a baking sheet and spray with nonstick spray. Scoop seasoned bean-veggie mixture into the center of the foil, and spread it out a bit. Evenly sprinkle remaining 1/4 tsp. Cajun seasoning on both sides of each fillet, and lay the fillets side by side on top of the bean-veggie mixture.

Place another large piece of foil over the whole thing. Fold together and seal all four edges of the two foil pieces, forming a well-sealed packet.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the fillets are cooked through and the veggies are tender. Cut packet to release steam before opening it entirely. (Careful -- steam will be hot.)

Serve each fillet with half of the bean-veggie mixture.

MAKES 2 SERVINGS

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Christmas Traditions

Jeff and I have developed several Christmas Traditions in the 8 (!) years we have been married.

A few years ago, when we were within driving distance to our families, and winter was bearing down on us, and the house was freezing and cold, we used to bake tons and tons of Christmas cookies.  Peanut Butter Blossoms, Spritz, and Sour Cream Cutouts were our specialty.

This year we have been so busy we have had to pick and choose what Christmas activities we completed - so my two favorites (which are both healthier) made the list!

1.  Christmas letter and card writing - but to a pared down list AND

2.  Neighboorhood light looking

Jeff completely knocked the light viewing out of the park this year - we saw million dollar homes with both home-made and professional decorated lights.  This one was by far my favorite - and most impressive!

Add to that we stopped by TCBY for a make-your-own soft serve fro-yo treat, and it was a completely successful Christmas preparation!

It makes me *almost* forget about Sour Cream Santas.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving

This year Jeff and I decided we would stay in Georgia for Thanksgiving.  We had just seen his folks, and aunt, my parents were scheduled to come the weekend after, and we are going home for Christmas.

So what better way to spend Thanksgiving (and our anniversary) than on a mini-vacation to Savannah!  With our camper!!


We had a perfect little spot at the Savannah South KOA - right on the lake, at the end, with a great view of all the swans and other waterfowl.

After heading out post-workday on Wednesday (and a super-fast setup, as promised), we spend Thanksgiving morning hiking at Skidaway Island State Park.


We watched little crabs play in the salt marshes, as the tide was out (but coming in) during our hike.  We also got the BEST geocache trackable ever...a GIANT geocoin!  I cannot WAIT to move it on.

After that, it was back to camp for showers and to relax a bit before Thanksgiving dinner.  We went down to the common area where the KOA had prepared a turkey feast!  If you wanted to participate, you just had to bring a dish - we brought pumpkin pies...mmmm....

On Friday we headed into the Historic District in downtown Savannah.  No shopping for us!!!  Just a really great "trolley" tour with a fun narrator, telling us all the history, architectural highlights, anecdotes, and jokes along the various squares of the city.

After our trolley tour it was finally time for lunch.  We had lunch at the super yummy riverfront, reveling in the day's catch.

If Jeff looks super excited and distracted, it's because this is going by:

More walking around, having candy, seeing geocachers (!), and then time for dinner again - this time celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary!!!  LOVE YOU POOKIE

The next day was slated for Tybee Island.  The ocean was BEAUTIFUL, even if a bit breezy and cool.

We wrapped up our day with a visit to the historic lighthouse.

Back to camp, then headed home on Sunday.  What a great holiday weekend!