I was supposed to finish the Vlad shawl this weekend...so what happened? I slept on the couch. Yep, lazy the whole entire weekend. I fell asleep sitting up watching some tv with the hubby. I have no idea what happened, one minute we were talking and the next, I woke up a couple of hours later.
We did our major grocery shopping on Friday night and then Saturday I was going to be good and finish the shawl, fell asleep. Didn't even pick the thing up. I did make homemade beef enchiladas...recipe as follows, simple and it is quite tasty.
Beef Enchiladas...what you will need before you make them. Package of corn tortillas, get a package big enough to feed your family and make sure that you get enough for everyone to have 3 or more, they won't be able to get enough of them. Ground beef, I use ground sirloin, less fat. Again get a package big enough to feed your family, ground chuck will work as well. 2 bottles of Pace Picante sauce, I have the huge jumbo bottle because it is a staple in my household but, if you can't find the huge one, then get two of the regular bottles, if you can't stand the heat from jalapenos, get the blue lid, if you can handle the heat, grab the mild green lid or if you want to vamp it up, by all means the yellow or red lid. I use the mild for the most part, you never know who is going to come to dinner. Gary and I love it spicy but, since family comes by every now and then we use the mild for just such occasions. A huge tub of sour cream, not for the lactose intolerant, shredded cheese, I use the Mexican blend since it melts nicely. I usually use 2 packages of this cheese. One package of taco seasoning. One baking pan big enough for your family.
Turn your oven on to 350F. Grease your baking pan with cooking spray. Or if you use Temptations stoneware, you don't even need to add the cooking spray, you can just put the tortillas in and not worry about the extra calories.
Get your cheese ready and stir your sour cream.
Season and brown your ground beef, add the picante sauce, let it cook to let the sauce mix in quite nicely with your beef. I usually turn it down to 4 on the stove and let it simmer for a bit. Mix it so it won't burn. Take your corn tortillas and put them in a sauce pan of hot water to soften them up so, they won't tear, do not leave them in for very long, they will turn to mush, do a dip in the hot water and then start the process of filling and rolling. Before you work with each tortilla they will need a nice dip in the hot water bath. Take your newly moist tortilla and place it in the pan, take a spoonful of your ground beef mixture and place in the tortilla, then add sour cream and cheese, roll it up and place the seam on the bottom of the pan. Take another tortilla and give it a dip in the hot water, then start the process all over again, but, this time, as you place the seam side down, press the tortilla up against the first one and repeat the process all over until your enchiladas are sandwiched in the pan. If you have any sour cream and cheese left over...sprinkle and liberally apply to the top of the enchiladas and if you have any of the beef mixture left over do the same. Cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 45 minutes in your 350F oven.
Let cool for about 10 minutes and then enjoy. If you can't let them rest for 10 minutes, I understand completely, they are fabulous and quite yummy.
That was Saturday night's meal and I was going to be good and grill chicken breasts for Sunday but, I fell asleep on the couch and woke up cranky and not willing to cook. So, we headed out the door to a new Cuban restaurant in the area. It was okay, we have a few more things that we want to try out to see if we will be going there more often than once in a while.
I was bad and had more rice than I should have. The guilt kicked in when I got home. So, today I have to be good and yes, we are going to have the chicken breast tonight grilled with some fresh corn on the cob and a salad. I am using a Trinidad lemon marinade from Penzy's spices. It should be quite tasty.
I also want to go swimming at some point since I have been out of the pool for 3 days but, I have a wicked rash from my pool right now. Specifically the meds I am on are biguanides for the diabetes and my pool has a Nature 2 Express on it and it says do not use biguanides with it. Well, it sucks but, my skin is covered in the rash from hell and so, I have had to stay out of the pool so it could heal. If I swim in the morning, no problems but, in the afternoon with the sun beating down on me, rash...big time. Lately, I have been swimming in the afternoons with my sister and niece. Now that I know better, I need to fix the problem. I coat myself down with zinc oxide ointment to protect all of my spots and hit the pool. No, it isn't a wonderful thing but, I still am able to get in my exercise. One great thing besides being a pre-diabetic is that I was able to lose one of my inhalers for my asthma. Oh that is such a great feeling...this was the freaking expensive inhaler at $249 per pop. Ouch, right. I know.
My goal is to lose enough weight and get the blood sugar so under control I can go back to being normal and off of the meds. My doctor seems to think that in 3 months time if I keep up what I am doing, I will be back to normal and off of the meds. Will I ever go back to sugar? NO! I was telling one of my nieces about what is happening and she asked what I was using...no sucralose for this girl...too many bad things associated with it. I use xylitol. Tastes like sugar, but none of the awful side effects with it. Although, I do have to have a cup of yogurt every day since the sugar alcohols do mess with the good bacteria in the gut. Good thing I like yogurt.
One of my friends when she found out I was a diabetic told me I wouldn't be for long...she knows I am a fighter and not willing to go down without working out something to get myself better. I refuse to let this damn disease win. So, when I told her that I made it to pre-diabetes status...she was happy and asked how I did it. Lots of changes, is the first thing and I know I am on the right track because those hamburger commercials no longer make me a drooling idiot when I see them, I am frankly quite disgusted with them. They do nothing for me. I was drooling in the produce department the other day...I noticed the fresh ears of corn on the cob and the green veggies and my mouth started to water. The fruit also did the trick. I knew I could mow through it and it wouldn't make me feel bloated and weighted down. If you are ever diagnosed with diabetes, do not sit down and take it, go to a dietitian and then start a low glycemic low carb diet. Get rid of all of the pasta and sugar loaded crap out of your life. I gave all my bad foods away to my nieces. I discovered that I actually love kale. It makes wonderful soup and it works well with eggs in omelettes. I refuse to give up my eggs, they are full of so many wonderful things. I used to love bacon, not anymore. I have lost the taste for it. I prefer turkey these days over ham. I never thought I would not like bacon but, I really could care less if it is in the house or not. I don't have to have it. Invest in a fish pill...I have one that is a special order down at GNC. It is lemon based and when you burp it, you don't get the attacks of the ick from the fish oils...nasty! It is a nice lemon burst. It does help with the bad triglycerides which is another item the diabetes likes to contribute. It is a terrible disease. It also contributes to heart disease and if you aren't willing to help yourself, there is vision loss, the possibility of losing your feet. I love my feet and I am willing to fight for them. I am not going down with out a fight. Someone asked me why I was doing what I was doing...why not let the disease do it's thing...oh no..I don't want to be a statistic in this thing. I am willing to research and see what I can find out about it.
I will admit it...I am the food police. I know my sister has been telling me this for a while. I seem to be affecting everyone around me. Sorry people, I know how much you love your breads and fat but, I am trying to be good. I honestly do not want them to go through all the hell and issues I am dealing with. If you had the chance to change your life with your diet being changed, would you do it? I did. It is amazing what I find to be less than tasty these days and what I used to think I couldn't live without. I can live without it and I have.
My biggest down fall used to be cake...don't even think about it much these days. It doesn't thrill me the way it used to. I would look at one and be salivating like crazy. Not anymore. I don't need it, nor do I want it. I can't stand the sugar burn anymore. It hits the back of my throat and it burns like crazy. I bought some cola the other day to use in the laundry and my sister told me that I would be on it like a duck on a june bug. Nope, haven't even opened a can yet. It is sitting in my kitchen waiting for me to use it. I read an article that it will help get grease stains out of clothes. I am more than willing to try that out. I guess we will see if it works or not. The rest of the cans will be saved for our next swim party. I know several kids will be after it. They can have it.
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