Dinner Time Tuesday

Hi everyone!

Thank you to those who responded to my post on Monday.  Your heartfelt thoughts, suggestions, and advice mean so much to me.  I know that I have loyal readers out there.  I'm just in a bit of a funk in the blogging world.

Because of this, Dinner Time Tuesday will be back next week.  I would love it if you could join me!  Sometimes I share a recipe, but I often just snap a picture of what I had for dinner and share it with everyone. 

I started Dinner Time Tuesday because the main focus of my blog is about recipes I try.  I wasn't making/trying a lot of interesting things, and I thought I would share what I was having for dinner once a week.  This way, if it wasn't "interesting" I was still sharing food.  :)

I hope to "see" you next week, and I will be here tomorrow for My Harry Potter Fix with Kim and Tarole!

I also did a button swap with my friend Kristin from Kristin's kNook.  It's on the left side bar.  If you haven't read her blog, you totally should.  She makes amazing desserts and she's super sarcastic, which means she's totally awesome! :)

Monday, Monday....

So I've been kinda of MIA since Wednesday's My Harry Potter Fix.  I've been reading and commenting on others' blogs, though!

Now it's Monday.

I'll be honest.  I'm feeling "blogscouraged."  (Yes, I just made up that word.  It's an adjective.  It means "a feeling of discouragement about one's blog.")

I don't want this to come off as whiny, and please know that is not my intention.  I just want to be open and honest, and so here it goes.

I'm feeling blogscouraged because I feel like things have come to a screeching halt.  In February, Tarole invited her sponsors to participate in a giveaway.  That giveaway really grew my blog in a hurry, and I'm SO glad that I participated.  I know, though, that some people just followed me to gain an entry.  I totally understand that.  I've done it.  I've also unfollowed blogs after the giveaway has ended.  So when the giveaway ended, so did the growth. 

I decided to turn my own weekly "Dinner Time Tuesdays" post into a link-up.  It's often just me.  Kinda defeats the purpose of the link-up, doesn't it?  Even though My Harry Potter Fix doesn't always have a ton of people linking up, at least I'm not alone.  I know that Kim and Tarole will be there, too, and I love reading their answers and interacting with them. 

I'm also not sure that my number of followers to comments ratio is good.  Let me explain.  I know that I don't have time to follow and actively read tons and tons of blogs.  When I follow you, it's because I found something I really liked about you, your blog, your story, or something I learned about you from your blog.  That means I want to get to "know" you.  I'm able to do this through reading your blog.  That also means that I try to comment often....on each post I read, if I can.  What I like most about blogging is the interaction with other bloggers.  I understand that getting comments isn't what blogging is about.  But as I just said, for me it's about interaction.  That happens through the comments.

I started my blog to share the recipes I've tried in my kitchen.  I want to share the good, the bad, and the delicious.  I want to share how I did it, if I made tweaks based on things I had at home, etc.  I want to hear people's thoughts.  I am looking for your feedback and suggestions.  I haven't been doing very well at recipe sharing because I haven't been very good at making things lately.  So that part of my blog has been a vicious cycle of insanity...which I can pretty much blame on Insanity, the workout.

I've also been blogscouraged by the lack of people willing to sponsor my blog.  It can make a person feel a little "blogconscious."  (I'm on a roll with made up words today.)  I definitely know that is not what blogging is all about, but you do question why people aren't sponsoring.  (Am I not funny?  Do people find me boring?  What else can I do?)  Silly, I know, but true.  (By the way, thank you to my two awesome sponsors Ashley & Elizabeth.)

I know that some of you have gone through this before, and I know that many of you understand.  I just wanted to share why I've been missing since Wednesday. 

I also wanted to let you know that if I'm a follower of your blog, I am a devoted reader.  It also means I think you're pretty awesome.  :)

My Harry Potter Fix: Week 28

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for another edition of:

1. Please remember to follow Kim, Tarole, and me.
2. Share the URL to your Harry Potter post.
3. Visit others in the link up, and let them know what you thought of their post!
4. Give us your ideas!  Use this form.

This week, Kim had a great and challenging idea! 

If you had to plan a 7 day Potter-themed vacation to anywhere in the world (maybe multiple somewheres!) where would you go? What would you do? And most importantly...who would you bring with you?

I'll answer the most important question first.  I would CERTAINLY be taking Scott with me.  (Not that he's as obsessed as I am, but we need a vacation.)  If I could, I would also bring my fellow hosts, and their significant others, too!  :)

 

I have always wanted to go to England, and so, I'd have to say that my Potter-Themed vacation would need to start there.  I mean, that IS where the stories take place, after all.  First, I would travel to Northumberland to see Alnwick Castle.  While this place is awesome enough just because of history (it's been recorded on the site for 1,000 years!!), it was also the castle used for some Hogwarts scenes in the first two Harry Potter films.

 

 

 

I also happened to catch a show on the Travel Channel once that talked about places that mostly locals know about in England.  One such place is the inspiration for Diagon Alley.  I would TOTALLY research where this was so I could visit it! 

I would be sure to visit King's Cross Station in London.  Just to see Platform 9 3/4.  :)

 

 

Then there's the obvious.  The first thing I thought of, actually.  The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. 

 

 

Because seeing locations where Harry Potter was filmed would be amazing.  But actually being able to experience Harry Potter in "reality"?  That's even better!

 

So where would your Potter-Themed vacation take you?

 

Next week, we discuss Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.  Feel free to share anything you like about the book and/or film. 

AND don't forget to link up below!

Dinner Time Tuesday 4/23

 

Let me tell you about this deliciousness.

 

It's chili. 

 

That's nothing out of the ordinary.  I love chili. 

 

This is also not ground-breaking news, but to make it healthier, I just took my usual chili recipe and used ground turkey instead of ground beef.

 

I had a 1 cup serving, and 1 slice of cheesy garlic bread.

 

Bowl: Celebrating Home, Simply Summer Collection: Medium Bowls, set of 4

So good.

Do you having anything yummy for your dinner this week?

Menu Planning Monday 4/22

I wish I could say that I was doing better with Menu Planning. 

I'm not.

I don't even think I have any excuses or reasons why.  The meals we have been eating are small simple enough, that they can be put together pretty quickly without a lot of thought.  BUT Elizabeth and Jane said that it doesn't always have to be a weekly meal plan!  We can share recipes.  So here's a healthy take on a chicken salad sandwich that I tried last week, courtesy of Dorothy at Crazy For Crust!

Avacado Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Original Recipe from Crazyforcrust.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of cooked chicken (We buy canned chicken from Sam's Club that I always use for chicken salad.  I used 1 can.)
• 1 medium avacado
• 1/2 c. plain, non-fat Greek yogurt
• 1/4 c. salsa
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• Pita bread

1. Peel the flesh off of the avacado and mash.  (Dorothy said to use a potato masher.  We don't have one.  I'm not sure why....anyway, I used a fork.)

 

2. Add the yogurt, salsa, salt, & pepper, and stir.

3. Then add the chicken and stir to combine.

4. Serve on a whole wheat pita or whatever bread you choose.  :)  I had mine with a little salsa and tortilla chips.

Dinner Plate: Celebrating Home, Simply Summer Collection

Also sharing at Mostly Homemade Mondays.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Shake

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before that I have a deep love for the delightful combination of chocolate and peanut butter.

I've been doing well with cutting back on unhealthy foods and eating smaller portions.  One of the things I have enjoyed is having a shake for breakfast.  We were given a couple of variations with our Insanity diet plan, but I wanted something new.  Therefore, I once again turned to Google.  I don't remember the exact search terms, but basically, I found a couple of ideas and put them together for my own shake.

And it's really so easy, you may have already figured it out for yourself.

But here it is anyway.  :)

Rebeckann's Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Shake
Ingredients

• 1 c. skim (low fat) milk
• 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
• 1 spoonful of peanut butter
• 1/2 a banana
• ice (I use 4-5 cubes)

Toss all of the ingredients into a blender.  I set mine to the smoothie setting and let it go for a couple of minutes until I'm convinced that there are no banana chunks and the peanut pieces from my extra crunchy peanut butter are gone.

I also allow my shakes to sit for a minute to let any foam settle.

I was surprised at how long this shake sustained me.  The other shakes I tried did well, too, but this one lasted a little longer.  I think it's the addition of the peanut butter. 

This is so yummy, and I had it a couple of times this week.  Just don't pull a card from my book and forget to put the dispensing spout on your blender.  I forgot this yesterday, and....well...when I poured the milk in, I ended up with milk all over the counter and floor.  :-p  lol

ALSO, Jane at Pursuit of Poppiness is having a great giveaway!   You could win a $25 Erin Condren Gift Card, a custom blog signature, and large ad space on her blog!  It's a great giveaway that you totally want to enter!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

I've been scouring the internet lately looking for healthier alternatives to things that I really love.  I prefer to think of our new lifestyle changes as getting healthy rather than dieting.  With that being said, life is short, and food is good.  I don't want to give up all of the good things (that might also be bad for me), and I certainly don't like the idea of denying myself something that I really want or crave!

I don't do well with breakfasts like eggs.  I'd rather eat an omlet or scrambled eggs for lunch or dinner.  It takes me FOREVER to eat cereal in the morning for some reason, and it can also be time consuming to drink breakfast in the form of a shake.  Muffins sounded like a good idea, and so I Googled "healthy muffin recipes" and found this one.  I thought this would be a good breakfast option for me.  I share how it went for me below. 

And now, I bring you......

Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 c. warm water
• 1/4 olive oil
• 1 T red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 c. semi-sweet mini chocolate chips, divided

1. Preheat the oven to 400* F.
2.Spoon flour into measuring cups and level with a knife. 
3. Using a whisk, combine flour, brown sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. In another bowl, combine water, olive oil, red wine vinegar, vanilla extract, & egg. 
5. Pour liquid mixture into dry ingredients and add 1/4 c. of the mini chocolate chips.  Stir until just moist.

6. Place cup liners in muffin pan, and spray with cooking spray.  Divide batter evenly among cups.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 c. of mini chocolate chips on top of the batter.

 

Turns out I only had 9 liners left... :)  They all came out just fine.

7. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

 

 

 I was glad to discover that these were pretty good.  According to the website, the serving size is 1 muffin, and each muffin has 191 calories.  They aren't as sweet as you might expect with all of that chocolate, but do keep in mind that brown sugar is the only sugar used, and the cocoa is unsweetened.

Overall, I'm pretty happy to have these as an option for breakfast or a snack for a bit.  :)