New Recipe, Under the Weather (and Over it)

You guys make me smile! Loved your comments on sweet tooths and ab exercises. Nice combo, right?! Haha My favorite is, “I satisfy my sweet tooth with sweets.” LOL I can see that! I too didn't develop a sweet tooth until later in life - really it was in 2007. haha I just need to figure it out!

Before I get started on yesterday, I want to post this amazing lasagna recipe I made on Sunday night from For the Love of Cooking. OMG I followed her recipe, just adding in some measurements and tweaking a few things here and there – here goes:

Chicken & Roasted Garlic Lasagna for 6

Chicken Mixture:
• 20 oz. chicken, shredded (cooked in garlic powder, dried basil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and minced garlic)
• 2 bulbs of roasted garlic (preheat oven to 350; drizzle with ½ tsp olive oil and seasalt; wrap in foil and bake for 40 minutes)
• 1/4 cup yellow onion, diced finely
• ½ of red, green and orange bell peppers, diced finely
• 6-7 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• Dried oregano, to taste
• Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.

Other Ingredients:
• 1 (32 ounce) container fat-free ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 5-6 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• Dried oregano and nutmeg, to taste
• 1/2 cup reduced fat parmesan cheese
• 9 lasagna noodles, cooked per instructions
• 100 grams fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 cups jarred, low-calorie spaghetti sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a large 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl, add ricotta, egg, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, basil, nutmeg, oregano, sea salt and pepper, to taste. Combine until mixed thoroughly. Meanwhile, cook lasagna noodles per instructions then drain.

Layer a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with ½ cup sauce on bottom. Lay three lasagna noodles in the pan. Spread some of the ricotta mixture on the noodles, then spoon some of the chicken mixture on top. Repeat (sauce, noodles, ricotta mixture, chicken mixture). Finish with a layer of noodles and remaining sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, and a sprinkle of oregano. Spray foil with nonstick spray. Cover dish and bake covered in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before slicing. Nutritional information per serving: 434 calories, 43 carbs, 8 fat grams and 45 protein grams.

My serving - we're still working on getting it to move to plate nicely!

Yes, it took a while but WOW. It was fantastic. I was SO very proud of myself for making it and can’t wait to make another. I love all of the flavorful mixtures and it smelled amazing! Thanks, Pam – AMAZING recipe as always (although Pam used a roasted chicken and her own homemade – she’s my hero)! If I changed anything next time I think I’d just add a bit more sauce – that’s it though, and I don’t think it would affect the calorie count much at all!

On to Monday! In a nutshell: I still felt a bit under the weather. We had a winter advisory but it wasn’t snowing. I went into the office. No one else did. I’m so over this crap weather. It was quiet so I got lots done. I walked 4 miles during lunch (burned 177 calories). I had a new hard drive put in my computer. I went straight home from work, got into bed and took medicine. I didn’t even want to eat dinner. I had “snacks for dinner.” I watched more Big Love. I ended up at 1,723 calories, 220 carbs, 57 fat grams and 90 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

Today I’m still a little under the weather but I’m hanging in there! I plan to exercise after work, we’ll see, and then I plan to take it easy tonight!

Have you ever made a lasagna?

What’s your favorite kind of lasagna? (assuming you like it!)