F i n a l l y!

Ok, this morning I weighed 325 EVEN. That is 11 down total sine 7/1/08! I am just glad the plateau is over. I am definitely not going to weigh in again till Monday and then not again till Friday. Weighing in every day and watching the fluctuations is bad in the beginning for me. As far as food went yesterday:

Breakfast-
5 sausage links (2 carbs)
LC ketchup (1 Carb)
SB Venti Iced Coffee, HC&Splenda (3 carbs)

Lunch-
Cobb Salad w/ avocado and ranch dressing (7 carbs)

Dinner-
3 Chicken wings w/ BCheese (2 carbs)
Weird new chicken sausage and broccoli dish I made (4 carbs)

Ok the Chicken sausage thing I guess I should describe. I have leftovers I plan on eating at lunch maybe. I really liked it, but I will explain why I am partial to it and others may not be.

What is in it?

Ingredients:
5 Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage links (bought in a brat-like package at Meijers)
2 Packages frozen broccoli (the rectangular box kind)
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
Dried Parsley, Oregano
2oz Cream Cheese
3oz Heavy Cream
Red Pepper Flakes
2-4oz Parmesan Cheese
3-4 Tbsp LC Ketchup
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Butter

Goals:
Make a creamy tomato italian sauce to go with the broccoli and italian style chicken sausage. I used the LC Ketchup since I LOVE ketchup (I eat it on sausages) and I knew it was sweet and would counter all the savoy/salty cheeses. You could substitute some splenda and tomato sauce it really didn't take much to give the pinkish color to the sauce and the tomato flavor.

How it was made:
- Set out cream cheese to soften
- Use running water to thaw/get ice off of frozen broccoli
- Brown the sliced chicken sausage 2 minutes per side in the heated olive oil. (medium high heat)
- Season with garlic, salt, pepper, pepper flakes, oregano, parsley
- Add Broccoli and re-season cook w/ broccoli and make sure to stir to prevent burning 4-5 minutes
- Add cream cheese, shredded parmesan, Heavy Cream, oregano, garlic powder, pepper, parsley, LC Ketchup to a microwave safe bowl (I used a measuring cup)
- Stir to combine, and heat in microwave 25-40 seconds just to warm/temper it (better not to shock the fat when you are going to be putting it into the sudden heat)
- Add in this mixture when the broccoli seems softened/done
- Take the pan off the heat and combine cream sauce, add butter at end to add extra creamy love
- Serve as is if you are me

I did this dish with broccoli because I am trying to get rid of our old frozen stuff. They actually held the sauce fairly well. The sauce tasted like a Napoli style sauce of a marinara mixed with alfredo (which is what it was really.) I really liked it, but it is hard to divorce my love of ketchup from it. I think adding in some color would help the dish. Maybe some yellow/red/green bell pepper and/or topping it with fresh parsley/green onion. Overall it was successful, but maybe asparagus would be worth trying as well. Sorry for the lack of measurements I cook so often I always season to taste. To me Italian has strong garlic backgrounds with italian herbs hitting you in the front of your palate. "Season" it till it tastes Italian to you. =) I always try to think, Does this taste too sweet or too salty? Once I have figured that out I used the seasonings to even it out. Too sweet? Salt/Garlic/Vinegar/Parmesan, too salty.. Splenda, tomato paste etc etc. Not Italian enough? More herbs/garlic!

Anyone that is how I do it, little to no training but I love to cook. If anyone has suggestion I am open to them. Try the recipe and change it and let me know how it goes. Next week it is crockpot city!