Week Ten: Day Four

Good morning!

Whew, am I ever sick of bananas...and really looking forward to some ground beef this morning!  What a strange sentence.  Ha, ha!

FOOD/DRINK:  Ate 6 bananas yesterday and could only choke down the soup once.  I drank so, so, so much water.  I didn't feel hungry, really.  Just bored?  Actually, yesterday was definitely NOT boring.  We had a great time running around the house during the day, everyone took at least an hour nap, and I left during dinnertime to get some errands done.  I really do think my mind is changing directions and food is becoming less of the focus for me!  Love it!  So, I have to tell about two things I cooked last night.  First of all, dinner was a huge hit.  Beef Macaroni Casserole.  THEN, I made Zuchinni Blueberry bread.  Oh my.  This house smelled SO good.  Both Shaun and I came out from putting our crew to bed (me with the boys, Shaun with Zoe) and just sniffed in hard.  Mmmmm.  I will work on finding a candle company to "bottle" that scent!  Both recipes will be included below, but I did not figure out the calorie count.  Sorry!!

EXERCISE:  Dude.  I hate this category.  I am taking Zoe for an hour walk today.  If it is too cold outside, we will go to the mall!  I PROMISE.  I was talking to a friend yesterday about how I allow myself an out when I have plans with a friend and they have to cancel for whatever reason.  This does NOT mean I have to cancel on myself!!  I am driving out to see my grandfather this morning with Zoe, and was planning for her to nap in the car on the way home.  She sleeps pretty good in the stroller, so I'll wear her out good this morning at grandpa's and she can half-nap in the car, half-nap during my walk.  Perfect.  Consider it done.

TIPS/ISSUES:  Yeah, I got nothing for banana day tips.  Except, keep yourself busy!!  Keep thinking about the ground beef you get to eat the next day!

BEEF MACARONI CASSEROLE
1.5 pounds ground beef
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 T flour
1/2 cup water
1 cup uncooked macaroni noodles
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Brown meat and onion together.  Drain.  Add crushed tomatoes, flour, and water.  Cover and simmer for 13 minutes.  Meanwhile, boil macaroni.  Drain and combine with meat mixture.  Turn into casserole dish.  Sprinkle with cheese and bake 15 minutes at 400.

ZUCCHINI BLUEBERRY BREAD
(I am going to write the recipe as it's written, in parentheses I will tell you changes I made)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (okay, my dad bakes desserts for a living.  I called him to ask about this and he has never heard of such an ingredient.  I couldn't find it at Kroger, so I just used another cup of all-purpose flour)
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt (just used regular table salt)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 eggs
3/4 cup canola oil (during my conversation with my dad, he said this is the only oil I should ever be buying.  I used vegetable oil because it was what I had.  lol)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly coat the bottom of 4 mini 5-inch loaf pans or 1 9-inch pan with cooking spray; set aside.
In a large bowl combine flours, sugars, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder; set aside.  In another bowl, mix eggs, oil, and vanilla extract.  Add to flour mixture and stir until combined.  Gently stir in zucchini and then blueberries.  (just a note.  This mixture is quite thick.  I used the beaters at first, then switched to a spatula as I was adding in the veggies and fruit.)
Spoon batter into prepared pans.  Bake about 40 minutes for mini pans (this was exactly the right amount of time) or about 1 hour for 9-inch pan or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of each comes out clean.  Allow to cool in pan 10 minutes before removing.  Serve warm or let cool completely before slicing.  Each mini loaf makes 8 pieces (yeah, right), while the large loaf has 12.  Freeze extra mini loaves for up to 3 months.  (My opinion: there is no way you would need to freeze any of these, unless you cook a bunch at one time!  In the first 30 minutes of being awake this morning, my family has gone through one mini loaf and I am thinking I'm going to have to serve the one I was planning to give to a friend.  I am giving one loaf to my grandfather today and Shaun is taking one to a guy at work, so I can give opinions from them, too, later.) 

xoxo