Day 17

AHHHHH!! Today the cravings for meat came down on me pretty hard. I could smell the rotisserie chickens cooking away at the grocery store after work and I could literally TASTE the chicken. I even stopped to look at the chickens, considered buying one...even thought to myself that no one would know if I just did it one time. Then I stopped and said to myself that one time would turn into more than one time and then the whole thing would be thrown off. I've been doing so good and I wouldn't ruin it for a piece of chicken. I'm proud that I walked right past the chicken and bought the makings for the lovely veggie pizza I originally went to the store for, which is baking as we speak.

While I am waiting, I present to you another plate of deliciousness. I admit...I am just too lazy to bust out with the nice camera to take pictures of my food. One of these days I just might. This was smoked macaroni and cheese. It was so good. I have really been working hard on portion control and this is only one cup of pasta. I have been finding I've been fuller on less food, and another weird thing. I've really been appreciating the true flavors of foods like raw veggies. Vegetables are tasting even more delicious to me now than they ever have. I am finding I don't have to load things with as much salt as I did before, which is big for me. But back to the mac...
I started with a basic roux, seasoned it with a bit of fresh garlic, salt and cayenne pepper, then whisked in some milk. Brought it to a simmer until it thickened, added some smoked gouda and havarti cheeses until they were melted, and then poured the sauce over some ziti. Then I topped it with some seasoned panko breadcrumbs and baked the whole thing until it was bubbly and brown. I served it with a lovely salad that I tossed with some sunburst tomatoes, cucumbers, toasted almonds and a little champagne dressing.

Ooo! Pizza's done. Off to eat dinner now.

Days 15 & 16 PLUS a KILLER Tortilla Soup Recipe

Okay so I didn't post yesterday, but I'm here now and good to go. Got busy yesterday and this was my beautiful creation. I'm ashamed of the sloppy plate. Don't judge, 'mkay?

Anyways, this mound of deliciousness is the result of searching through several vegetarian and non-vegetarian tortilla soup recipes. I basically took what I liked from those and tweaked them to get what you see here. My husband gave me one of the nicest compliments he's ever given me about my cooking and said that this was so good it belongs on a menu in a restaurant. My father-in-law, who is SUPER picky when it comes to anything with any sort of spices in it went back for seconds on this. I was very pleased with the outcome. You know it's good when people are silent while they're eating. So without further ado, I present this recipe for your eating enjoyment:

Beth's Wicked Good Roasted Corn and Black Bean Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

For the Soup:
-One green bell pepper, diced
-One small white onion, diced
-2 Tbsp. minced garlic (have I mentioned that I LOVE garlic?)
-Four ears of corn, roasted (you can use frozen if you want, but I LOVE the flavor of fresh roasted corn)
-Two cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
-One 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes
-One small can of green chiles
-One zucchini, diced
-8 cups of vegetable stock
-About 2 tbsp of olive oil for sauteing your veggies
-The spices I added were cumin, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and salt. I was pretty liberal with the spices, though I went easy on the salt. I LOVE the smokiness of cumin and cayenne pepper so I can't really tell you how much I added...I just kept adding a little until it tasted good.

For The Rice:
-2 Cups brown rice
-4 Cups veggie stock (or water...I keep veggie stock handy as I did with chicken broth. It's a WONDERFUL flavor booster and not very expensive. You can even make your own and freeze it.)
-Salt, to taste
-1 tbsp butter (optional...I've always made rice with a bit of butter.)

For the Toppings:
-One ripe avocado, cubed
-Cheddar cheese, (you can omit if you like)
-A handful of crushed tortilla chips
-Lime Wedges

Directions:
(this does involve some prep work, but it is not complicated, I promise)
-Preheat oven to 350, place corn, husks and all on a rack and let roast for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Once cool, remove corn husk and silk and cut the corn from the cobs. Set aside.
-Wash, de-seed the bell pepper, set aside
-Peel the small onion, dice, set aside
-Wash and dice the zucchini, set aside
-Wash and drain the black beans, set aside.
YAY! Your prep work is done! Now it's time to get to the good parts :)
-In a large pot over medium heat, saute the onions, garlic, and bell pepper in the olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and cumin. Cook for about five minutes, until the veggies soften slightly.

**SIDE NOTE** When I make soup, I look at it as a layering process. Every time I add something new, I season a little more, so that by the time I am done, the soup is flavorful and delicious.

-Add the corn, green chiles, black beans, and crushed tomatoes. Season.
-Add your veggie stock. Season.
-Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low to simmer for an hour. Longer is better. Ten minutes before your ready to serve, add in the zucchini, so they don't become squashy (HAHAHA...zucchini will become squashy...yeah...moving on)
-Give the soup one final taste, season accordingly

For the Rice:

-While the soup is simmering, combine rice, stock (or water), butter and salt in a pan, and bring to a boil.
-Cover. Reduce heat to simmer for 45 minutes to an hour (DO NOT TOUCH THIS RICE! Rice is sensitive and needs its personal space.)
-Fluff rice with a fork.

Putting it all together:

-Place a scoop of rice in the bottom of your bowl.
-Top with a serving of the soup.
-Top with avocado chunks, cheese, crushed tortilla chips and a squeeze of lime. Enjoy!

This soup makes A LOT, so it's great for sharing, and keeps well for freezing. My picky husband said it was even better the next day.

Days 13 & 14

Ugh...I SWEAR I will remember to make a real post tomorrow. I have been so busy these last couple of days, combined with getting over this sickness, I have been COMPLETELY exhausted and not wanting to blog at all. I am 14 days strong now on being a vegetarian.

A kind of amusing but kind of sad thought at the same time...I caught myself today wondering what the HELL I am going to eat at Thanksgiving this year. It's only January and I don't know why it popped into my head, but POOF, it was just there. It's my absolute favorite meal of the year, maybe ever, and probably the only thing I could eat every day and never, EVER tire of. I kind of pride myself on being able to make an amazing turkey. It's just absolutely strange that I would think of this.

Anyways...a real post tomorrow for sure and also a weekly weight update. I haven't stepped on the scale since last Sunday, so we'll see what happens.

Day 12

Someone asked me today if I was craving meat at all. Yes...today I wanted a big juicy burger. I wanted it so badly I could taste it but I am committed to my goal 100%.

Feeling better also. The bronchitis is the last to go but I will resume normal posts this weekend with a few wonderful things I've made this week. Can't stay out of the kitchen even when I'm not at my best.

Day 10 & 11

Still sick but still alive and still vegetarian. To be continued...

Day 9

Spent the day home from work sick. I have a combination of strep, bronchitis, tonsillitis, and acute sinusitis. I spent Friday evening and Saturday into early Sunday morning in a fever induced haze, finally made it to the doctor's on Sunday and got some meds. Still not feeling 100%, but I have been up and about a little cooking a few things. Will post pictures and recipes later. Just trying to keep up with the promise I made to myself to post daily.

Oh hello bed...where have you been all day?

Day 8

Still sick, but I thought I would share a bit of good news. I got on the scale this morning and I am ten pounds down already. I've only been doing some light walking, but eliminating the meat seemed to do the trick. My blood pressure has also dropped from 131/98 to 120/90.