Monday's Meal

Happy Monday! (Yeah, right.) 

Since I've been eating clean, I spend a LOT of time searching for recipes that don't include butter, sugar and other no-no items.  The best recipes I've found have been thanks to Instagram and Pinterest.  There are many great accounts posting fitness motivation and recipes.   

I have designated Mondays as recipe day.  Each week I'll share a new recipe that I've found and tried.  Up first: 

Garlic & Lemon Chicken

 posted by Key Ingredient on Pinterest 

Ingredients
4      chicken breasts
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 lemons, 1 thinly sliced, 1 juiced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ pound trimmed green beans (I used 2 cans)
6       red potatoes, cubed or quartered

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a large baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Arrange the lemon slices in a single layer in the bottom of the dish or skillet.
In a large bowl, combine the remaining oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper; add the green beans and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the green beans and arrange them on top of the lemon slices. Add the potatoes to the same olive-oil mixture and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, arrange the potatoes along the inside edge of the dish or skillet on top of the green beans. Place the chicken in the same bowl with the olive-oil mixture and coat thoroughly. Place the chicken, skin-side up, in the dish or skillet. Pour any of the remaining olive-oil mixture over the chicken. Roast for 50 minutes. Remove the chicken from the dish or skillet. Place the beans and potatoes back in oven for 10 minutes more or until the potatoes are tender. Place a chicken breast on each of 4 serving plates; divide the green beans and potatoes equally. Serve warm.

This recipe is super-easy and something that takes very little prep time.  Best part: it was DELICIOUS! Even Hubs and the kiddos were fans.  I only ate two bites of potato, but had my fill of the green beans.  

If you try it out, let me know what you thought! 

Christmas

I hope everyone (and I'm talking to my lone follower over there.  Hi!) had a wonderful, merry Christmas.  I had a great day spent with a wonderful family.  I'm thoroughly exhausted and my dining table is covered in presents I have yet to go through.  


I live in the South, which means all holidays, special occasions, football games and pretty much every day revolves around food.  We celebrate big and we eat big.  My grandmother, as mentioned before, is one of the best cooks in the history of forever.  Literally everything she cooks tastes fantastic.  Which, of course, means all of her food is so very bad for you.  Well, maybe not all.   A good 96% though.  


We have Christmas at my grandmother's house every year, with my grandparents' kids and their kids and their kids, and grandma's siblings and their kids and grandkids join us as well.  It's packed and loud, and we wouldn't have it any other way.   


Everyone who comes brings a dish or two, and then we all just dig in buffet-style.  There was so much food:  turkey, ham, creamed corn, candied yams, broccoli casserole, artichoke casserole, green bean casserole, bread rolls, dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce, salad, and then the deserts.  Oh, the deserts.  Four different types of pie, banana pudding, sour cream pound cake, some kind of white chocolate ball things, on and on.  We could have fed a small country.  For about a month.  


I knew Christmas day would be a test for my willpower, simply because I love to eat, and this food was so good.  I surprised even myself, though, once time to eat rolled around.  I only sampled a few of the provided dishes, and in very small portions.  I didn't even fill my plate.  I did eat one small slice of coconut creme pie, because who wouldn't?  I drank water all day long, and afterwards I kept myself away from the kitchen.  


I felt like I had accomplished this huge goal.  I managed to attend Christmas at my grandmother's without gorging myself until I was miserable only to feel awful about myself later because of my piggish behavior.   I did it!  Turns out I have willpower, after all.  

My wonderful, evil grandmother

I've been doing really well on this new path to Skinnyville. I've cut out sugar, snacks, fried food, fast food and all things junk. I even walked past the bakery in Walmart today without a second glance. No bread for me, thanks.


I was feeling pretty dang smug today, proud of my newfound willpower. That is, until I stopped by my Grandmother's house after work. I'm one of ten grandchildren and eight great-grands, but I'm pretty confident that I'm the favorite. I now know this for a fact, because when I walked in the door my grandmother excitedly pushed me into the kitchen where she unveiled a fresh batch of peanut butter fudge, made especially for me.


My grandmother is the best cook in the world so I know this is the best peanut butter fudge in the world. She forced me to take the entire pan home "so no one else will eat it all". I couldn't tell her no, because making fudge is no small feat.


So, now I sit in my living room, glancing towards the kitchen every few minutes, with that fudge taunting me. It's practically screaming "EAT ME!" It's finally happened. My grandmother has joined the ranks of Doritos and sour cream.