~ Chicken Broccoli & Cheese Casserole ~

CHICKEN, BROCCOLI AND CHEESE CASSEROLE

2 lg. chicken breasts, cooked and cut up
10 oz. chopped broccoli, thawed
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup of skim milk
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/8 tsp. curry powder
8 oz. grated sharp cheddar cheese

Put broccoli on bottom of casserole dish; put cut up chicken over broccoli. Put next 4 ingredients plus 5 ounces of cheese in bowl; heat in microwave for 1-2 minutes. Pour over broccoli/chicken that is in the casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese over casserole. Bake at 350 for approx. a 1/2 hour until nice and bubbly.

~*~ PORK TENDERLOIN CASSEROLE ~*~

This is a wonderful, moist way to make pork tenderloin. My family loves this recipe and I am able to eat it post RNY which is always a good thing! I serve it with Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes and a wonderful salad that has dried cranberries and walnuts in it.

Ingredients:

Pork Tenderloin - I usually buy one that is about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds

Bread Crumbs

1 can Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/2 Cup Skim Milk

2 Eggs

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Start by cutting the pork tenderloin, starting at the end, slice pork into medallions about 1/2 inch thick. Then using a meat tenderizer pound the pork until it is about 1/8 of an inch thick. Set aside.

Prepare an egg wash in a small bowl, by beating 2 eggs and adding a spash of milk.

Place bread crumbs on a plate

Dip pork into the egg wash and then place onto bread crumb plate coating both sides

Get out a frying pan and put about 1-2 tbsp of EVOO and set on medium heat, once it is warmed up place your bread crumb coated pork tenderloin medallions in the frying pan and fry on both sides until they are golden brown. Remove pork from frying pan and place on a plate that has paper towel on it, to absorb some of the oil

In a bowl, mix together the Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup and a half a cup of milk(Cream of Celery is also excellent if you don't like mushrooms)

Using a 2 quart casserole dish, place some of the mushroom gravy into bottom of casserole dish and then a layer of the pork, then a layer of the gravy, repeat until you have used all of the pork, make sure the top of the meat is covered with gravy. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

~ Happy Thursday ~

I have to say that since my RNY Gastric Bypass and continued weight loss I feel like a whole new person. I have so much more energy and have found more joy in my life. The joy was always there......I was just too tired to find it. We had a happy Thursday. Carl, Lily and I went "junking" and found some more treasures to sell on ebay. I also found Lily an adorable Halloween costume. We stopped at Gooseberries Market and I found some good foods that I can eat. I wish healthy food wasn't so expensive, but, I am worth it!

Carl, Lily and I all took a nap when we got home. When I woke I had a ton of energy and made my family a wonderful dinner. Breaded center cut pork chops, twice baked potatoes, and corn. I had crab stuffed baby portabella mushrooms ~ the recipe is a few spots below.

I thought I would post a few pictures of my beautiful family tonight. I am so blessed!

The most wonderful soup!

I made some wonderful homemade soup today! I even impressed my hubby, and he doesn't get too excited about food. I thought I would share the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups of rotisserie chicken - shredded or 2 pounds of hamburger cooked and drained

2 large containers of chicken broth

1 large head of cabbage chopped

1 can of diced tomatoes

3 fresh tomatoes - diced

1/2 an onion - diced

1 green pepper - diced

2 cups of carrots - sliced

2 tbsp butter

Add all ingredients into a big pot and let simmer all day until the veggies are cooked.......
add seasonings to taste: Season salt, pepper, celery salt, and onion powder.

~ 51 pounds lost!! ~

WoW! I promised myself I would only weigh in once a week. I didn't want to start obsessing with the scale..............well, I caved in tonight and weighed myself and I have now lost 51 pounds. I love my RNY Gastric Bypass. This is the best gift I have ever given to myself. I have so much more energy. On the days when my pain is manageable I have been able to go for walks with Lily. I LOVE that!

Crab Stuffed Baby Bella's

Some of my friends have asked for my Crab Stuffed Baby Bella Recipe so here goes...

Ingredients:

1 package of Baby Bella's (baby portabella mushrooms)

1 - 3.53oz pouch of Chicken of The Sea Premium Crab Meat (drained)

1 8oz package of Reduced Fat Cream Cheese

2 tbsp of Hellman's Light Mayo

1 tbsp of freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

2 tbsp of Mozzarella Cheese

1 pinch of Season Salt

1 pinch of Garlic Powder

Optional: 2 green onions chopped

1-2 drops of olive oil

Prepare cookie sheet by placing 1-2 drops of olive oil on pan and spreading it across pan.
Prepare mushrooms by washing and pulling out stems, set on paper towel to dry

Prepare stuffing by mixing together softened cream cheese, mayo, crab meat, cheeses, and seasoning. Stuff mushroom caps with filling. Place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

I made it an am doing great!

Well, I made it through surgery and am now a little more than a month out and am doing well. I am down 49 pounds and have so much more energy. I am sorry that I have neglected my blog. I did post about my surgery on my profile at www.obesityhelp.com - my user name there is luvey. I have copied and pasted my post from there below.

n August 6, 2008 8:53 pm
Published

I have been meaning to post here since returning home from the hospital last week and just haven't had the energy to do much of anything.

But, here I am ...........wanting to let you know how everything went.

The day of the surgery I arrived at the hospital at 515am. There was a flurry of activity, they weighed me, asked a bunch of questions, started an IV, and I met with the anesthesiologist. At about 7am the nurse came in and put some versed in my iv line to calm me down and she also gave me a shot of blood thinner in the thigh. I was wheeled into surgery at 730am.

I got out of recovery and was taken to my room at 315pm. My surgery was from 730am til' around 11:15am and then I was taken to the recovery room. I spent a little longer in recovery because they had to stabalize my breathing before moving me. I have 5 small cuts in my belly .

I was really out of it when they brought me to my room. I don't remember much of my conversation with my hubby or son. I was on morphine drip and the morphine pca pump for pain. My doctor told my DH that the surgery went great.

The morning following surgery, I was up and walking around, the more you walk the better it is as far as gas pains. I had the blow up compression thingies on my legs following surgery and for the first night. They took them off the morning after surgery. I was taken to xray for a "leak" test. I had to drink some awful tasting stuff and they took pictures of my abdomen. The test went fine - no leaks.

I received another shot of blood thinner and they also tested my sugar each day, it was high so they gave me shots of insulin. I don't have diabetes, so this was quite a surprise. The nurse told me it was just because of the surgery and I wouldn't need the shots after I returned home.

When I got back to my room the nurse brought me my water and little 1 oz medicine cups. I had to sip the water - 30 of those little cups - making each ounce of water last 15 minutes. They also brought me small juice glasses half way full with sugar free carnation instant breakfast to get some protein in.

On the day of my discharge they upped me to full liquids and I was able to have a 1/2 cup of pureed healthy choice soup 3 times a day in addition to the sf carnation instant breakfast they brought.

I was discharged after 2 1/2 days there. I have had NO appetite and no hunger at all. I have to remind myself to eat.I am extremely tired and am on loratab elixir for pain.

I had to go back into the hospital on Sunday because I spiked a fever of 101.4 and they were worried about a leak. I was admitted for observation and they did a bunch of tests. It all turned out fine and they were not really sure why I was running the fever. I was discharged on Monday.

I am still on the liquid diet. 3 small protein shakes a day, 3 meals a day which can be a 1/2 a cup of pureed Healthy Request Soup, Sugar Free Pudding, or Sugar Free Yogurt. I am having a real hard time getting my "meals" in, just focusing on my protein and water for now until I can put more stuff in my tummy.

I still have pain in my abdomen, but it is lessening each day. I am more tired than anything.