CHOCOLATE ECLAIR CAKE

So yea! Kenny finally got home last night from a loooong work trip. I know you did not know he was gone but he was. I just don't like to broadcast those things over the world wide web you know. Anyway, he was gone for over a week and I missed him like crazy and was so ready for him to come home. He got in pretty late and was exhausted so we went straight to bed. So tonight he and I are grilling steaks and asparagus and I am making scalloped potatoes and I made a Chocolate Eclair Cake.

This dessert was sooooo easy and my friend Susan had actually made it earlier this week and brought some too me so I knew it was going to be delicious. The best thing about it is you can make it seemingly healthy by buying low fat and sugar free ingredients. I will give you both recipes so you can decide if you want to go for the lighter version or the real deal.

CHOCOLATE ECLAIR CAKE (low fat version)
1 (16 ounce) package Low-Fat graham crackers
2 (3.5 ounce) packages Sugar Free Fat Free instant vanilla pudding mix
4 cups milk ( I used my organic reduced fat)
1 (16 ounce) package Fat Free frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (16 ounce) 50% Reduced Sugar package prepared chocolate frosting

Line the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan with graham crackers. In a large bowl, combine the milk and vanilla pudding according to directions on box. Fold in the whipped topping. Spread a layer of the pudding mixture over the graham crackers. Alternate the graham cracker and pudding layers up to the top of the pan. Cook the container of prepared frosting, uncovered in the microwave for 1 minute on half power. Pour over the top of the cake. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours before serving.

CHOCOLATE ECLAIR CAKE ( regular version)
1 (16 ounce) package graham crackers
2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
4 cups milk
1 (16 ounce) package frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (16 ounce) package prepared chocolate frosting

Same instructions.

I literally made this dessert in 10 minutes. And it will have refrigerated for almost 24 hours so the graham crackers will be nice and soft. Can't wait! I love being able to look forward to a yummy dinner.

WORK OUT ATTIRE NEEDED

I need some recommendations. I have now motivated myself to run/jog/walk/workout for the past couple months. I deserve a reward now right!

I need some cute workout clothes. Where do yall get them? I want some cute running shorts.....and some cute tops. I have been running in just some softball shorts and old sorority t-shirts and I just feel so blah. Not to mention that I am working towards a 4 mile event in May. I know only four miles but it is a step up from a 5k. Baby steps. So I want to look cute for that because afterwards there is a good race party that will be fun.

So give me some ideas!

DOUBLE DECKER

This weekend I drove to Oxford, Mississippi home of Ole Miss if you don't know for the Double Decker Festival. Art shows, music, food, shopping. It was all a lot of fun and I thought I would take advantage of my sister's apartment there before she moves here to Memphis for grad school.
My mom and her best friend Susan also drove up for the event. Friday night we went to Volta a Greek restaurant that had really really good hummus. On Saturday morning, we went up and went for a long walk at a really nice park in Oxford before we headed towards Double Decker.

It was a perfect day. It was sunny with a breeze. So the streets were slammed.

My sister and I were on a mission because I need several new cute dresses for my cousin's wedding coming up in July. So we split up from my mom. I tried on at least 30 or so dresses and did not find a single one. Boo. We also browsed the artists booths where I found this:They put them on iron posts and you can put them in their yard. I think they are so cute and I want one!

After walking around a little bit we met up with my mom and Susan at City Grocery and were lucky enough to get a nice spot on the patio. Where I thoroughly enjoyed the mojito I ordered. Mojitoes are my favorite drink in the entire world. A close second is Firefly Vodka.




After our drinks we grabbed some lunch at 208. It was so good and we were starving. We even got a complimentary dessert because our waiter was flirting with Susan my mom's friend. Ha!

Saturday night we were pooped so we pretty much went to sushi for dinner and then came hope and went to sleep. We were tired.

And as if we had not already eaten our way through the weekend; Sunday we went and got breakfast at BottleTree Bakery and then took it to the grove on campus and ate. It was so nice.

It was such a great weekend and to top it off I drove our new replacement car home from Oxford so it will be here for Kenny when he gets home. I even got it washed and detailed for him. I am such a good wife.

EMBARRASSINGLY GOOD

So I am a little embarrassed to admit how much I truly enjoyed the Hannah Montana movie that I saw last night. I was with two other girls my age who I will leave un-named to save them any embarrassment, but I am sorry,this movie was cute!

Of course it had its cheesy moments, but the music in it was fun ( guest appearances by Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift, and of course Billy Ray sings too). The movie had a good message and a good plot and we really enjoyed it. Might I even say that I would watch it again. I am a total nerd and already had the soundtrack before I saw the movie. I love her song The Climb and Butterfly Fly Away.

GOODBYE

Kenny and I have been EXTREMELY lucky to not have a single car payment since we have been married. Both of our cars are payed for thanks to our parents. They are not the newest and finest cars but to us not having a car payment was much better than driving around a brand new car.

Yesterday, we lost one to the road. Kenny was riding with our friend Dan in our Camry to furniture market in North Carolina when it died. Kenny had it towed to a dealership where they did not even charge us to look at it. It was that bad! The engine was blown. The car was a goner.

We had a few panicked moments of what in the world we were going to do. They offered to buy the car for scrap. For scrap, which we will probably end up doing rather than paying to have it towed home. It was not the day we were expecting.

Luckily my mom has another Camry that was my grandmother's that is in really good shape that we can use/have. Total God send! It is old but it is in great shape so it will work!

But I think it is time to bite the bullet. We are going to have to start looking. I do not even know where to begin when buying a car. Should be interesting.

HUNGRY GIRL

Yesterday my awesome step mom left a surprise on my doorstep for me to find when I got home. The new Hungry Girl Cookbook 200 under 200. It is a cookbook chock full of easy and simple recipes that are under 200 calories a serving. Cool right!

If you are not familiar with Hungry Girl you can go to her website here. Everyday she recommends different healthy products or gives you new recipes to try that are healthier. And for all you Weight Watchers out there she breaks everything down into points. She really covers all the bases and I love her.

I have already thumbed through the book and can't wait to try some of the recipes.

Along with my cookbook my step mom left me some of these!
Have yall ever tried these? They are 100 calories each (1 Weight Watchers Point) and so filling. They are kind of hard to find so my step mom was nice enough to bring me some to try all the flavors. You keep them frozen and then toast in a toaster. I can't believe how satisfying they are.


I just realized this post sounds like an infomercial. Ha!

FAIRHOPE

This weekend Kenny and I drove the very long drive to Fairhope to visit Kenny's parents who moved there about a month ago. What a great place to retire. That little town is full of charm and so much to do. We stayed so busy the entire time and ate our weight in good seafood.

On Friday, we toured around the town. We went and had a delicious breakfast of breakfast paninis on this amazing sour dough bread at a place called Panini Pete's(I think that was the name) before we walked and shopped at all the little shops downtown.There are so many! Then we went to a little hole in the wall place for lunch where Kenny had some of the biggest fried crab claws I have ever seen.

We also went to the Fairhope Musuem and to the Fairhope Yacht Club where Kenny's parents are planning on joining. It was all so pretty!


On Friday night, we went and ate dinner at a place on the Causeway called The Oyster House. We were lucky and got a seat right next to the window. The view was so pretty. Kenny his mom got this huge steamed seafood platter that had shrimp the size of my hand. Yum!

At the last minute Kenny decided that he wanted to make the short drive over to The Wharf at Orange Beach. Because his favorite band was playing there. So after dinner we drove over to catch the concert and meet up with some friends who had come in town too.
On Saturday, we hit up the outlet malls where I got a lot of cute stuff at J.Crew and then we ate more seafood. Saturday night we went over Kenny's Aunt's house for dinner. Some of his family came over and it was great to visit with them because it had been a while since we had seen them.

Sunday, we left pretty early to make the long trip back. We managed to get back in enough time to unwind a little bit. I already miss all the fresh seafood.

5 YEARS LATE

Last night I signed up for Facebook.

And in my sister's words and I am sure most of my friends will echo.......It's about time. I know, I know, Facebook is old news. And it is not like I have been living in cave. I used my sister's Facebook account to stalk people. I never really felt like I was missing out on anything.

But the final straw was yesterday when my best friend Stefanie who is pregnant told me that I needed to get on Facebook so I could see her pictures. I in turn told her she needed to have a blog. She said no. So I gave in.

My sister was my first friend on Facebook. Ha! So sad! And the really bad part she says is that Facebook has been around for so long no one is really looking for anyone anymore. So if I want to have friends I have to go find them. I already have a blog.....Facebook is too much work.

P.S. This is in no way a solicitation for Facebook friends. Just thought I would share the big news.

GREEK

I swear this show gets better with every season. Does anyone else watch this show?

It is soo good. I think one of the main reasons I like it so much because I find it to be really true to what being in the Greek system at an university was like. I find myself comparing the pretend fraternities and sororities on the show to the ones that I knew in college.

Not to mention the writing and the actors in this movie are extremely talented in my opinion. The story lines move so well and there are so many one liners that are clever and make me laugh out loud.

I have actually managed to get Kenny watching this with me when it is on. He has laughed at it a good bit this season.

If nothing else set your TIVO for this show. I promise after a few episodes you will be hooked!

SPRING WEEKEND AND MENU MONDAY

Kenny and I had a really nice weekend. I had the day off Friday which was soooo nice. I did some stuff around the house and then Tracy came over to pilfer some music off my ITunes. That night we went to Mexican with Joe and Tracy (yum cheese dip!) and then Kenny and I watched Fireproof. Have y'all seen that movie? I knew what it was about but I told Kenny nothing to see how he would like it.

Needless to say we spend the first 20 minutes or so giggling about how really terrible the acting was but in the end we ended up liking it okay. I would definitely recommend watching it with your husband or wife because it has a really good message.

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early so that I could run in my FIRST EVER 5K RACE!!! (This is big for me. I despise running) Kenny even came to cheer me on. I told you this was a big deal. HA. I met up with one of my friends Megan to run it together. We ended up beating our goal time so we were happy. I had one really terrible picture of me that Kenny took of me crossing the finish line but I forgot my camera. Oh well.

I have to say. I really enjoyed the event. I was really surprised how much harder I pushed myself because you get into the fact that there is so many people there. I might be kind of hooked. I am already planning on signing up for a really fun 4 mile race at the zoo in May.

The rest of Saturday we just ran errands and enjoyed the nice weather. Kenny was also glued to the television the entire weekend watching The Masters. We watched Marley and Me Saturday night. I cuddled with Lena the whole time.

Sunday we went to Easter church and then over to my parents to watch more golf and eat dinner. My step-mom had made an Easter Ham that was awesome. All in all it was a really great weekend. I am looking forward to another 4 day week again. We are going to see Kenny's parents new house in Fairhope this weekend!

Since its going to be a short week and I had to keep boys in mind since our friend Dan is staying with us a couple nights the menu is only three nights.

MENU
Monday: Black Bean Soup served with light sour cream and 2% cheddar cheese (see recipe below)

Tuesday: Cheesy Sausage Meat Loaf (see recipe below) served with green beans

Wednesday: Chicken Cordon Bleu served with brown rice and broccoli florets

BLACK BEAN SOUP
1 pound chicken (I used frozen breast tenderloins)
2 cans, drained and rinsed black beans
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup frozen corn
1 jar prepared salsa (16 oz)
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 cup sour cream (to stir in at the end)
shredded cheddar cheese

Drain and rinse the beans. Add to the crock pot. Put in the chicken, and add the broth and salsa. Pour in the corn and mushrooms, and add the cumin. Stir, but don't disturb the beans---let them stay at the bottom of the pot, closest to the heating element.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-5--similar to normal soup-cooking time.

If you'd like to thicken the broth, you can use your immersible blender to blend a bit of the beans and chicken. If you don't have one, scoop out 2 cups of the soup and carefully blend in your traditional blender. Stir the mixture back into the crock pot.

Stir in the 1/2 cup of sour cream before serving, and garnish with shredded cheese and avocado slices.

CHEESY SAUSAGE MEAT LOAF
1 beaten egg
3/4 Cup soft bread crumbs (1 slice)
1/4 Cup Milk
1/4 Cup of finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed or Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 lb ground beef
1/3 lb of bulk Italian Sausage
4 ounces of mozzarella cheese, cut into sticks
1 1/2 cups of Jarred Tomato Sauce

In a large mixing bowl stir together the egg, bread crumbs, milk, onion, oregano, and garlic salt. Add the ground beef and Italian Sausage. Mix well.

Place waxed paper in shallow baking pan. On waxed paper flatten meat mixture into a 10-inch square. Lay cheese sticks end to end near one edge of sides. Beginning with that edge and using waxed paper to lift meat and roll up jelly-roll style. Seal ends well. Place onto pan placing seam side down. Discard wax paper. Bake in 350 degree oven until juices run clear. Let meat loaf stand for 5 minutes. Heat sauce and served with sliced meatloaf.

YUM

So last night the black bean cakes were a hit. We really enjoyed them. The corn muffin mix makes them get really crispy in the oil and they are sweet and savory at the same time. Delicious.

Also I had one of these for dessert last night. Have yall tried them?It was really good and only 150 calories. I have to say that I thought the cone was the best part. It was light and the inside was coated with chocolate and then when you got to the end it was solid chocolate. Pretty good.

However it annoys me that there are only four to a box. There is not enough to have one a night before next weeks grocery shopping. Boo!

TAKE ME OUT.......

I love college football especially when it is an SEC team. I can even handle watching an occasional NFL game on Sunday as long as it does not interfere with my Sunday afternoon nap.

I love March Madness, don't really care to watch NBA games but now the inevitable has begun..................

BASEBALL SEASON. BASEBALL SEASON. I just googled how many games each Major League plays.

163!

There are 30 teams in MLB!

4,890 Games a season!

It is on all the time. And what is worse is I find myself watching the Angels play the Padres (insert ANY team name here) because Kenny's left fielder (insert any player's position here) is playing.

Kenny plays Fantasy baseball and I know he enjoys it so I appreciate that but oh my lordy all the games. And right now we are even getting the free baseball channels. I think that means that there is literally a game on at any time throughout the day.

I looove going to baseball games.  The Redbirds games are one of my favorite things to do during the summer. The food is awesome there and the atmosphere is so fun.  But watching Major League games on television is like watching paint dry.

But I know it is a fair trade because Kenny is so good about letting me watch silly television like, Gossip Girl, Dancing with The Stars, Real Houswives, ANTM, Greek, ..............the list goes on and on.

MENU MONDAY

So woop woop it is a four day week! How was every one's weekend? I am trying several new recipes this week. I will let you know how they turn out.  The sandwiches and the shrimp dish have the links included if yall want to try these recipes.

Sunday - BBQ 'n' Slaw Sandwiches served with corn on the cob.
Edited to add: This recipe was soooo easy and so good. Kenny loved it and it made a lot so we will have enough for another meal.

Monday- I have a Junior League small group meeting tonight so we are going to eat leftovers from when my mom cooked for us Friday night.

Tuesday- Black Bean Cakes with Salsa (see recipe below) served with Mexican rice

Wednesday- Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp served over Jasmine rice

Thursday- BBQ Pork Pizza using leftover BBQ pork from Sunday night (recipe below) served with salad

Friday- Eat out.

Black Bean Cakes with Salsa
1 1/2 Cups prepared salsa
1 jalapeno pepper
2 15 oz. cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 8.5 oz pkg. corn muffin mix
1 TBSP chili powder
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/2 TSP chili powder

1. In colander drain 1/2 cup of the salsa. Seed and finely chop half the jalapeno; slice remaining half. In large bowl mash beans with vegetable masher or fork. Stir in muffin mix, drained salsa, 2 1/2 teaspoons of chili powder and chopped jalapeno.
2. In 12 inch skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 cup bean mixture to skillet. Flatten mounds with spatula to cakes. Cook 3 minutes on each side until browned. Remove from skillet. Repeat with remaining oil and bean mixture
3. In bowl combine sour cream and 1/2 teaspoon chili powder. Top cakes with remaining salsa, slice jalapeno and seasoned sour cream. Makes 4(2-cake) servings.

BBQ Pork Pizza

INGREDIENTS
1 store bough pizza crust
1 eight-ounce bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
1 pound boneless roast pork cooked
1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
1 small yellow pepper, thinly sliced
1 small red pepper, thinly sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced

PREPARATION
1. Top pizza dough with BBQ sauce.
2. Top with cooked and diced roast pork.
3. Top with cheese.
4. Top with peppers and onion.
5. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes.
6. Let stand five minutes before cutting.

THE COLOR PURPLE

Despite the terrible weather and the horrible dining experience we had before arriving at The Orpheum, the production of The Color Purple was amazing. The cast was phenomenal!

A couple people who were note worthy, the guy who was playing Harpo was from the original cast and was nominated for a Tony and the girl playing Nettie was Latoya London from American Idol. She was on the season that Fantasia won and was part of the "three divas," Latoya, Jennifer Hudson, and Fantasia.

Man, these people could sing, not to mention the dancing. I would definitely recommend trying to get tickets to this if you are in the Memphis area(although I think it might be sold out) or seeing this if it comes to your area. It was awesome!

SAYONARA

Thank goodness she is finally gone. I honestly don't know if I could of watched her caw and flap her wings through one more episode. Plus I could not stand how she pronounced her words when she sang. She is a cute girl but good riddance!

Tonight I am going to see The Color Purple. I am really excited. I have not heard any of the music except for a couple songs on Oprah. It is rare that I go see a play and know so little about it. I can't wait. I have heard really good things!

BRONZED

Last July I made the choice to stop going to the tanning bed. I was committed to trying to salvage my skin and prevent further damage. I wasn't going to avoid the sun. If we went to the beach I layed out but no weekly tanning bed sessions.

As the months passed I watched my skin get pale to really pale to downright ghostly. It had been so many years since I had seen how truly fair skinned I was. I just feel better with a tan.....who doesn't.

Well this weekend we have a wedding to go too and I just felt too self conscious to get into a dress as pale as I was so I took the advice of a friend and bought some Dove Energy Glow lotion.I have to say I am pretty impressed. You just apply this lotion as you would any moisturizer and it really does not streak to much. I have had a couple issues around my heels but other than than that I feel like my skin has a lot more color to it. I think it looks pretty natural. I made my friend Susan at work promise that she would tell me if I started to look orange and this morning she told me that I had a good "tan" going. So yea!

How great is it to know that I will not be destined for a Spring/Summer of covered arms and shoulders and pants!

EDITED TO ADD: This morning I played a very cruel April Fool's joke on my little sister who desperately wants me to be pregnant. I awakened her from slumber and told her that I need to tell her something that she could not tell mom or Kenny. Of course her poor little sleepy mind jumped to me being pregnant immediately.

"Gasp......are you pregnant!!!!" I told her I think I might be.(I am not by the way)
"Oh my god." And as she started to become elated the guilt set in and I just could not do it to her. April Fools.

"I hate you. That was so mean. I was asleep so I did not have a clue as to what day it was. That was so mean."

Sorry baby bird! Maybe one day. At least I fooled her.