Back at it... three new recipes TODAY!

Goodness, my last post was right around Mother's Day and tomorrow is Father's Day! Where did the time go.

We've been traveling a bit lately and that has resulted in our entire family packing on the pounds.  When we travel, eating out at very nice restaurants seems to be part of our entertainment.  It tends to result in high fat, high calorie, and high priced meals.  In April, I traveled to Tucson, Arizona, where I took in a YoYo Ma concert at the University of Arizona.  It was my birthday treat from my husband's dad and his wife, Pam. Just Pam and I went to the concert.  In May, I traveled to the Beaverton, Oregon area, and spent time with my folks.  We ate at some terriffic restaurants.  One restaurant was Mediterranean food and I need to try to make the dish I had (Santorini  Chicken).  In June, my husband, son, and I took two trips. First we went to Glenwood Springs, Colorado, for four days and we love the restaurants in Glenwood Springs.  Then after being home for just a few days, we went up to Fort Collins, Colorado, and also ate at amazing restaurants.

Enough!  We've all been home at this week.  School is out and my husband and I are on vacation (but back for work tomorrow).  We took the week to get a jumpstart on shedding some pounds and getting back on track eating more healthy meals.  And I've been going to the gym and getting a ton of exercise! I KNOW I need that and I am already feeling much better for it.  The boys play tennis together each day.  My husband is also going to the gym and my son rides his bike two and from tennis in his summer program called "Junior Excellence". We are off to a good start.

Today I tried three new recipes.  Without further ado... here they are.

Tortilla Soup from Anna Ginsburg's blog called "Cookie Madness".

The recipe link is here:  http://www.cookiemadness.net/2012/05/tortilla-soup/

This soup is warm, earthy, and yummy.  I made the recipe pretty much as written with two exceptions.  I used leftover grilled chicken breast, chopped into cubes, instead of shredded chicken.  I used fire roasted tomatoes instead of just canned diced tomatoes.  Anna said you can add up to 1/4 tsp. cayenne which I did, but now I am wishing I hadn't.  Perhaps it will be less spicy tomorrow. I found that the spiciness covered up some of the other flavors.  The surprise ingredient in Anna's recipe?  Carrot baby food!  This will be my lunches for the week.

Ranch-O Bacon Chicken from "Hungry Girl"

Next recipe you ask?  Ranch-O Bacon Chicken from the website called "Hungry Girl".  Lisa Lillian also has a cooking show on the Food Network or the Cooking Channel.  I get emails from Hungry Girl; I think you need to sign up to get the recipes but I found the recipe in a text version to share here.  My son had the Ranch-O Bacon Chicken for dinner and LOVED it!  His dad and I had THIS for dinner and enjoyed it, too!  My husband was eyeing the chicken... I know he was.  I liked the Ranch-O Bacon Chicken because it was super easy to make.

The recipe link is here:  http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/text/1950

And finally, recipe #3.  Let's just say I am really excited to wake up to my pre-made delicious and pretty treat.

Muesli Parfaits from Ellie Krieger on the Food Network.  I found this recipe in the cookbook called "So Easy" but I also found the recipe on line. 

The recipe link is here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/healthy-appetite-with-ellie-krieger-/muesli-parfaits-recipe/index.html

So pretty I had to include two photos.

The cookbook and on-line recipe are almost identical. The only exception is that, in the cookbook, the recipe calls for 1/2 cup almonds, and the on-line version calls for 1/4 cup walnuts and 1/4 cup almonds. How ever you make it... delicious!  I am looking forward to breakfast tomorrow!

I suppose I could have made this three separate posts.  Oh well.  It's been a busy day! 
Back to work tomorrow. Vacation is over.  Boo Hoo!