Leftovers transformed

Repurposing: Transforming leftovers into something equally as yummy. The goal is for them to taste and look so completely different you don't realize you are having leftovers.

This is a must have skill post weight loss surgery since eating out usually results in lots of food coming home.

My world lately has been filled with words like construction, drywall, dehumidifiers, lots of check writing and sweaty workmen, Hmmm OK so not all bad ;) It's not quite over but I'm feeling like I'll be able to get back to my regularly scheduled programming soon. We've been eating on the fly in between water being turned off and on. Friday night after everyone was gone we went to the local Greek restaurant for dinner. I ordered the chicken souvlaki & gyros platter. It came with the typical choice of rice, fries or a salad. I don't do fries or rice post weight loss surgery so I opted for the salad with the dressing on the side. I ate most of the chicken and salad and brought home the gyros and a couple of pieces of chicken which made Saturday's lunch and dinner super easy.

Lunch... Portable Greek 7 Layer Salads. These were delicious. I assembled them in the early AM and then later in the day we were able to just grab one when we wanted.

Shelly's Portable Greek 7 Layer Salad

Ingredients (listed from bottom to top)
Cucumber, chopped
Tomato, chopped
a dollop of Hummus
Leftover Greek Chicken or Gyros Meat, chopped
a dollop of Shelly's Greek High Protein Dip
a couple of Kalamata and Greek Green Olives, chopped
a crumble of Feta Cheese
Optional: plastic cups and plastic wrap

Assemble the layers in regular big bowl or I made portable plastic cup versions and covered with plastic wrap to take outside and escape the noise of the workmen.

They would be great to take on a picnic or to work this way.

Shelly's Greek High Protein Dip

6 Greek Green Olives, pitted
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt (I use 2%, plain)
2-3 Tablespoons Feta Cheese, crumbled
Kosher Salt to taste
a few twists of Black Pepper

Whiz olives in a mini food processor till minced but not pureed. Mix into remaining ingredients. Great for dipping meats or veggies. Cucumber slices, yum!

If you are a major olive lover like me this is a great way to get a lot of olive taste without all the fat and calories that can add up when there is a bowl full of olives around.

Dinner... Still had some leftover Gyros Meat to use up and a Tupperware with about a 1/4 cup of leftover Creamed Spinach (Bird's Eye Steamfresh Bag)

Repurposed they became a couple of delicious tortilla pizzas like this...

Shelly's Leftover Gyros Tortilla Pizza - Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Fajita Size Tortilla, a dollop of leftover Creamed Spinach, Leftover Gyros meat, Red Onion, a few crumbles of Feta Cheese and Greek Seasoning. Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray (or a drop of olive oil.) Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.

More leftover transformations.

Post Weight Loss Surgery Menus: A day in my pouch

Yesterday in post weight loss surgery eating...

Breakfast: Well I woke up to a busted water heater. We thankfully caught it before too much damage was done, water was confined to the garage but uggggh grrrr #&$%ity, #&$% #&$% #&$%! I spent a good part of the morning making phone calls and then waiting for call backs so I had time to make a batch of my Pancake Bites.

I couldn't make up my mind what kind I wanted the original sausage, the bacon, or the fruity version. So I made all three. Sausage are my favorites. I love that sausage & maple combo. My Mum loves the blueberry ones. Let me know what your favs are...



Shelly's Pancake Bites

1/2 cup Multigrain Pancake Mix, dry
1/3 cup Soy Milk (any milk would do)
1/4 cup Torani Sugar Free Caramel Syrup
Assorted Toppings: Cooked Sausage, Crumbled Cooked Bacon, Fruit (I used frozen blueberries but banana slices or apples are yum too)

Mix pancake mix, milk, syrup together till thoroughly combined. Pour batter into a non-stick 12 cup mini muffin tin that has been sprayed with Pam. Fill about 3/4 way up.

Top each muffin with sausage, bacon or fruit. Make all one flavor or a combo. If you set the ingredients out family members and whippersnappers can make their own... banana blueberry bacon surprise.

Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes or until golden. Serve with warmed Sugar Free Maple Syrup.

Lunch: One of my easy go-to favs: Shrimp and Cocktail Sauce.

Dinner: Monday night, in honor of Chinese New Year I made meatloaf. I know what you are thinking meatloaf?! Ummm Eggy that's not very Chinese. Seriously this was yummy, a few Asian flavors transformed this classic American diner food into a delicious dinner fit for an emperor. Leftovers reheated were just as yummy. I served them on Monday with a green salad and the leftovers I served with sauteed onions (like the ones I make for my Faux Spaghetti & Meatballs.)

Shelly's Chinese New Year Meatloaf

6 Large Mushrooms, diced
1/2 cup (1/2 of a small can) Water Chestnuts, chopped (found in the Asian food aisle)
3/4 pound Ground Beef
1/2 pound Ground Pork
1/4 cup Oatmeal, uncooked
1/4 cup Milk
1 Egg, beaten
4 Green Onions, diced
1/2 teaspoon Garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Ginger, grated
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Sherry
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper
Butter/Oil for sauteing

Saute mushrooms till golden. Add water chestnuts. Cook 1 minute more. Set aside to cool. Soak oatmeal in milk for 1 minute. Beat egg. Add egg and soaked oats to ground beef and pork. Add cooled veggies and all remaining ingredients. Mix till combined.

Divide into 8 equal mounds. Form into mini meatloaves or if you have this super groovy pan like me use it (spray with Pam.) Bake for 45 minutes total in a 350 oven. At the 30 minute mark you can glaze the meatloaf with my optional Year of the Dragon Glaze then return to oven to finish cooking.

Shelly's Year of the Dragon Glaze

2 Tablespoons Ketchup
2 Tablespoon Sweet Chili Sauce

Mix together and brush on meatloaves. Continue cooking for final 15 minutes. I use regular ketchup and chili sauce (found in the Asian food aisle, sometimes called Thai Sweet Chili Sauce) they do make low sugar or no sugar ketchup but I just use the real deal. If you dump easily skip this but divided over 8 mini-loaves it's really not that much sugar.

Snacks: Too much coffee and at some point I logged on to twitter and found out it was National Peanut Butter Day so I made a batch of Peanut Butter Swirl Protein Ice Cream. I ate it while I watched Tori & Dean Home Sweet Hollywood (I'm a sucker for reality TV) over the sound of the monstrous dehumidifier unit doing it's thing all night in my garage. Tomorrow a new water heater goes in, in a temporary location while we sort out the drywall damaged area. $$$.

Shelly's Peanut Butter Swirl Protein Ice Cream

1 cup Vanilla Soy Milk (or Regular Milk)
2 scoops Vanilla Protein Powder
2 Tablespoons Torani Sugar Free Vanilla Syrup
1/4 cup Powdered Peanut Butter (AKA PB2, Peanut Flour, Defatted Peanut Butter)

Mix together milk, protein, syrup, powdered peanut butter. I used this gadget to mix it up. It makes it airy and lump free. If you don't have one of those just whiz it on super turbo high in the blender, you want airy. Pour into ice cream maker. Follow your machine's instructions for freezing.

You can eat it right away it is soft serve-ish but I like to put it in the freezer to set for an hour or so to get scoopable. If you leave it longer and it gets too hard just nuke ice cream 25 seconds to soften again. Optional: I took 2 Tablespoons of regular Peanut Butter, nuked 30 seconds, then drizzled it on the soft serve before I put it in the freezer. So each scoop gets a little swirl of peanut butter in it.

Other Eggface Protein Ice Cream flavors
Protein Ice Cream 101

Well, it wasn't a great day in my world but I sure did eat well.

More "A day in my pouch" posts

Hot off the press

A little local press for the donation project. My Mum made me go out in the cold this AM to procure a paper. She saves things like this, still.



Link to the article: TEMECULA: Woman’s donation matches weight loss | Breaking News | PE.com - Press-Enterprise

Anyone want to see my 1st grade report card I bet she has it ;)

Join me!

Losing 158 pounds has been life changing. I feel like I have been blessed with a second chance and I just want to celebrate this healthy new life every day.

Last month, I was thinking it would be fun to celebrate my weight loss by donating one non-perishable food item for every pound I've lost to my local food bank. I set aside a few bucks, collected coupons, trolled sale papers and I'm excited to announce I met my 158 item goal and will be donating all this tomorrow...

This was so much fun. I'm so excited to drop it off. I decided to post about it on the blog in hopes others will want do the same thing or something similar. Think about it... if we each took on a project like this what an awesome impact we would make as a community.

If you don't want to donate food, maybe you could do toiletry items (toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo) or clothing. Maybe cans of dog and cat food to your animal shelter. Maybe donate $1 for every pound lost to a favorite cause. May I suggest the Obesity Action Coalition. Maybe you could donate volunteer hours to your local senior center or hospice or something near and dear to your heart. The possibilities are endless and exciting. I hope you will join me. If you email me a picture or let me know what you've done I'll give it a huge shout out on the blog.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. ~Margaret Mead

A Tale of Two Tortilla Pizzas

Last night I had a Tortilla Pizza Party while watching the Golden Globes.

The highlight of the show was Morgan Freeman accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement award. So many awesome movies. The montage made me want to turn the Globes off and pop in, "The Shawshank Redemption." Probably should have.

My pick for best dressed was Jessica Alba in that pretty lavender Gucci dress and representing the dudes (they have it so easy) my pick was yum George Clooney. I loved the midnight blue color of Sofia Vergara's dress but not the style. I'm not feeling the whole Little Mermaid, fish tail trend. She looked like she should jump in the water and swim off with Tom Hanks.

The show was OK but dinner was awesome...

Shelly's Meatball and Ricotta Tortilla Pizza - Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Fajita Size Tortilla, Leftover Meatballs and Marinara Sauce, dollops of Ricotta Cheese, a sprinkle of Oregano and Parmesan.

Shelly's Philly Cheesesteak Tortilla Pizza - Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Fajita Size Tortilla, Leftover Sauteed Onions reheated with a Tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce, a slice of Boar's Head Low Sodium Roast Beef, and topped with Cheddar Cheese.

The Eggface Pizza Porn Gallery

How to make them: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. I put 1 drop literally of olive oil on the cookie sheet and spread it around. Place tortilla on cookie sheet. Spread the sauce on the tortilla (pesto, marinara, alfredo, bruschetta sauce, BBQ sauce, hummus, ricotta cheese, (peanut butter or ricotta for dessert pizzas.) Put cheese on top of the sauce and then I add any combination of toppings or leftovers I can find bumping around the fridge. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan if desired. Pop in oven. 10 minutes exactly. Have the oven hot before you do the toppings **Do not let them sit. Pop them in the oven right away or the toppings will make the tortilla soggy versus the yummy crispy pizza porn pictured above.

FAQ's:

How much is a serving?

The answer is: serving size can vary. What I eat as a 5 1/2 year weight loss surgery post-op is a very different amount than a 3 month, 6 month, post-op. My standard answer when it comes to portion size is: always go with what your medical posse recommends. For me if the toppings are protein dense like the one's pictured above then I usually eat 2 wedges and call it a day. If they are lighter just cheeses, veggies or pepperoni. I can eat the whole pizza but remember these are 6" fajita size tortilla (not typical size tortillas) If it's lighter toppings and I'm having a scoop of bean salad or a green salad with it I eat 2 wedges.

What's the nutritional value on (insert Eggface recipe)?

I don't put the nutritional info on my recipes because frankly that can vary so widely. I use full fat cheeses (the good stuff) others may use low fat or (horror) non fat, the % fat on beef, differences in packaged products, brands of protein, etc. will change the info dramatically. I eat full fat (cheese, butter, olive oil, etc.) Fat = flavor. I eat it in moderation (thanks to my pouch and my lifestyle changes) if I ate Reduced Fat or Fat Free (aka nuclear waste) I wouldn't be satisfied and in an hour I'd be thinking about my next meal. I eat yummy, lip smacking stuff so I never feel like I'm on a diet or suffering in my new life.

What I do when I need to find the nut info is go to a site like fitday.com type in each individual ingredient, this will give you cals, carbs, fats, protein gram totals, then divide by the # of servings you get from the dish. It's not exact but it's close enough for me.

Where do you find the Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Fajita Size Tortillas you use?

I get mine at Albertson's, Vons, Winco, I have seen them at Walmart a few times. If you don't have those stores near you contact the Mission Tortilla web site. Here's another "crust" option I use on occasion.

More Eggface Pizza Porn

Post Weight Loss Surgery Menus: A day in my pouch

My yesterday in post weight loss surgery eating...

Breakfast: Mixed up a protein shake and hit the farmer's market for some veggies and fruit for the week. I didn't get too much this week. I'm trying to use up my freezer stock (casseroles and soup plans this week) so just some onions, mushrooms, garlic, apples, olives and the world best feta cheese from the Greek olive man.

Shelly's Cherry Vanilla Protein Shake

1 cup Vanilla Soy Milk (or Regular Milk)
1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Black Cherry Torani Syrup
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Vanilla Torani Syrup
1/4 cup Frozen Cherries
2-3 cubes of Ice

Whiz in blender till smooth. Top with a squirt Sugar Free Land o Lakes Whipped Cream, optional.

I worked a little in the garage on my never ending organization project. Every day I try and do a little at it. I've made at least 10 trips to the thrift (I have a 2-seater car) and had them come once to pick up big stuff. I'm almost done but every time I say that I see something else. I basically have 2 more floor to ceiling cupboards and a rack of tubs to go through. For those that don't know, I have a degree in Political Science and Child & Family Studies, the plan was to go to law school to become a Child Advocacy Attorney, but alas roads change and at one point in my past I was the Curriculum Director for the largest child care center (infant to 12 years) and private Kindergarten in the state of California. I have several tubs from those days. I can imagine it will mean several more thrift store runs.

Lunch: I packed up my super cool bento box and took it to the beach (my zen zone) I had some errands in the area so it was a little business mixed with a lot of pleasure. I needed to stare at this for a hour or so and recharge...

and enjoy this yummy lunch...

Pink Box (top left): Tomato, Basil, Feta Salad w/drizzle of Balsamic Vinegar
Green Box (top right): Cucumber Slices (my crackers)
Blue Box (bottom left): Salami and Provolone Slices
Orange Box (bottom right): 1/2 a Peanut Butter & Jelly Quest Protein Bar

More Bento Box lunches

Dinner: Took a few of the onions from the morning market haul, sliced them and cooked them low and slow till they were soft and just beginning to caramelize. Served them with Turkey Meatballs, Marinara Sauce and a sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese on top.

Generally I don't like pasta replacements. I don't do wheat or tofu noodles (there's Sicilian law against using those, not really but there should be) but I love to use veggies as a pasta replacement like these "Spaghetti" Onions or my Zucchini Manicotti. I actually prefer them and would choose them over pasta any day.

Snacks: Sugar Free Cinnamon Dolce No Whip Soy Latte, a Cutie Mandarin, and 4 Frozen Protein Drops. I love those little suckers.

Tonight it's the Golden Globes. I love the arrivals to see what everyone is wearing & the last 20 minutes or so when they give away the best actor, actress, the middle of the show is like Charlie Brown's parents talking, "Wahwah wah wah." A snooze fest. Though they serve booze at the Globes and that can make for some interesting speeches. I'm making some snacks with some of the leftovers from above so I'll snap a few pics to share and post later or manana. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Girl Scout Cookie Combat Protein Shakes

It's that time again. There's no getting away from them. Those smiley-angelic faces are everywhere, a sweet chorus of little voices, "Would you like to buy some cookies?" In my neighborhood you can't get in a store or bank without being hit up. The itsy-bitsy Daisies (first level Girl Scouts) are the worst. That should just be illegal, they are too darn cute. How do you say "No" to those?! It's just plain mean.

Ahhh but mean I must be because those little angels are hawking some of my pre-op crack. Not sure they still are packaged this way but Thin Mints boxes used to come with two sleeves of cookies inside. Wasn't that two portions? ;) Seriously though it's way too easy to eat a ton of them so since weight loss surgery they just don't get through my door.

Still jonesing for those iconic Girl Scout cookie flavors. Try these healthier ways to satisfy the urge...

This year in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts, in addition to classic favorites like Thin Mints, Samoas, and Tagalongs, the little whippersnappers will sell a new lemon cookie called Savannah Smiles (Savannah, GA is the birthplace of founder Juliette Gordon Low) so of course I had to make a yummy lemony alternative...

Shelly's Lemon Protein Shake (aka Savannah Smiles™)

1 cup Vanilla Soy Milk (or Regular Milk)
1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Vanilla Torani Syrup
2 teaspoons Lemon Jello Powder, dry
2-3 cubes of Ice

Whiz in blender till smooth. Top with a squirt No Sugar Added Homemade Whipped Cream and sprinkle of Jello powder, optional.

Shelly's Chocolate Mint Protein Shake (aka Thin Mints™)

1 cup Vanilla Soy Milk (or Regular Milk)
1 scoop Chocolate Protein Powder
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Peppermint Torani Syrup
1 Tablespoon Unsweetened Cocoa
2-3 cubes of Ice

Whiz in blender till smooth. Top with a squirt No Sugar Added Homemade Whipped Cream and a shaving of SF Mint Chocolate or drizzle of SF Chocolate Topping, optional.

Shelly's Caramel Coconut Protein Shake (aka Samoas/Caramel deLites™)

1 cup Vanilla Soy Milk (or Regular Milk)
1 scoop Chocolate Protein Powder
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Caramel Torani Syrup
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Coconut Torani Syrup
2-3 cubes of Ice

Whiz in blender till smooth. Top with a squirt No Sugar Added Homemade Whipped Cream, a sprinkle of Toasted Coconut and a drizzle of SF Caramel Topping, optional.

Shelly's Peanut Butter Chocolate Protein Shake (aka Tagalongs/Peanut Butter Patties™)

1 cup Vanilla Soy Milk (or Regular Milk)
1 scoop Chocolate Protein Powder
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Chocolate Torani Syrup
1 Tablespoon Powdered Peanut Butter
2-3 cubes of Ice

Whiz in blender till smooth. Top with a squirt No Sugar Added Homemade Whipped Cream and shaving of SF Chocolate, optional.

Shelly's Peanut Butter Protein Shake (aka Do-si-dos/Savannahs™)

1 cup Vanilla Soy Milk (or Regular Milk)
1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Vanilla Torani Syrup
1 Tablespoon Powdered Peanut Butter
2-3 cubes of Ice

Whiz in blender till smooth. Top with a squirt No Sugar Added Homemade Whipped Cream and a few chopped Peanuts, optional.

Here's a great variety pack that includes the Sugar Free Torani flavors used in the shake swaps.

Ways you can still support the Girl Scouts:

Buy the cookies and leave the boxes with the troop. I'm sure the girls would like a snack (it's hard work selling crack) or can re-sell those boxes to others (double their $) or some troops are collecting cookies for Operation: Taste of Home (cookies for the US soldiers serving overseas)

If your sister, friend at work, neighbor is asking you to buy them from their kids and you feel like you must *cough* emotional blackmail. Tell your sister, friend at work, or neighbor to keep the cookies. They can figure out what to do with them.

Donate your saved cookie $ to the Girl Scouts. I was a Girl Scout (photo evidence below) The cookie sales money we made helped us go camping each year. Give them money instead.

Or if you can be strong on the car ride... buy the boxes and drop them off at your nearest food bank.

Dinner & Leftovers Transformed

Repurposing: Transforming leftovers into something equally as yummy. The goal is for them to taste and look so completely different you don't realize you are having leftovers.

This was dinner...

Shelly's Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

1 Sweet Potato
2 Tablespoons (plus a teaspoon for sprinkling) Parmesan Cheese
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Tablespoon Milk
Kosher Salt to taste
1 pound Ground Beef (or Turkey or Sausage)
1/2 cup Frozen Peas
1/4 cup Shredded Carrot
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
a few twists of Black Pepper

Nuke sweet potato till soft about 9 minutes. Peel and mash with 2 Tablespoons Parmesan, butter and milk. Add salt to taste.

Saute beef till no pink is seen. Add peas, carrots, soy sauce and pepper. Mix to combine. Divide mixture equally in 4 ramekins till 3/4 full. Save any leftover meat in fridge for the delicious beginnings of breakfast the next day.

Top each ramekin with the mashed sweet potato mixture. Sprinkle with a little more Parmesan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. I served them for dinner with a simple green salad.

Leftovers repurposed into a delicious breakfast the next day...

Shelly's Leftover Shepherd's Frittata

1/2 - 1 cup remaining meat mixture from making Shepherd's Pie
2 Eggs, beaten
1/4 cup Feta or Ricotta Cheese
1 Tablespoon Parmesan
Fresh Basil

Heat leftover meat mixture in oven proof saute pan till warmed through. Pour beaten eggs over. When egg is almost set, spoon dollops of cheese on top and sprinkle with Parmesan. Place in oven on broil for 5 minutes till top is golden. Sprinkle with fresh, chopped basil before serving.


Mission accomplished. Nom squared.

More Eggface leftover transformations.

Healthy Snacks: Frozen Protein Drops

A quick and easy, weight loss surgery friendly frozen protein snack...

Shelly's Frozen Protein Yogurt (or Pudding) Drops

1/2 cup Greek Yogurt (or Sugar Free Pudding)
3-4 Tablespoons (to taste) of any Protein Powder

Mix together till well combined. Line a baking sheet with wax paper and drop tablespoons of the mixture (yields about 25 drops)


or fill an ice cube tray.

Freeze till solid about 2 hours. Store in the freezer (up to a week or so) and pop a few in your mouth whenever you want a frozen protein treat or add to smoothies for an extra protein boost instead of ice.

In this batch I used Celebrate ENS in Strawberry & Chocolate Milk. I had weight loss surgery in one of the hottest summers on record. I would have LOVED these that summer. I kept hearing the music of the ice cream truck driving by the house and it about drove me nuts.

Do you have an ice cream maker? Try this: Eggface Protein Ice Cream Recipes

National Bean Day and Cosmic Reminders

You know those nights when you get home late and you really don't want to cook but you still want something warm and satisfying. This is the go-to weight loss surgery friendly dinner I make. It is a sort of a quickie cassoulet.

Shelly's Quickie Cannelini Cassoulet

1 Yellow Onion, chopped
1 (15 oz) can Cannelini Beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup Cooked Sausage Crumbles (I use those Jimmy Dean crumbles)
dash of Greek or Italian Seasonings
a few twists of Black Pepper
Crumbled Feta Cheese

Saute the onion till golden. Add drained beans and seasonings. While the drained beans are heating through. Nuke the sausage crumbles for a minute. Leftover Turkey or Beef works great too. Even a chopped up mini meatloaf in a real pinch. Toss sausage (or whatever) together with beans. Stir to combine. Serve warm with crumbled feta on top.

I get this great goat's milk feta from the farmer's market but really any cheese will do (feta, ricotta, ricotta salada, goat cheese, queso fresco, cotija, even Parmesan in a pinch)

I've had a ton of these nights lately. One of the causes is a huge cleaning and organization project in the garage. It's resulted in 5 thrift store donations (by car, darn 2-seater only holds so much) and 1 truck pick-up. I was going to have a yard sale. I kept shoving stuff off to the side to have one. I could have really used the $$ but I finally just thought, "That's it, it's going. I'll hope for some good karma for putting it all back out into the universe for free." I gathered it all up and donated it. Then as I was moving boxes I found this...

There you go. The sign I already was rewarded and anything I can do to pay that blessing forward I will gladly do. I have been rewarded. Thank you universe for the cosmic reminder.

Back to the Bean Day celebrating. Here's some other favorite Eggface bean dishes...

Shelly's BBQ Baked Bean Casserole
Shelly's "Award Winning" Jazzy New Orleans Muffaletta Salad :)
Shelly's Savory Garbanzo Bean Crepes
Shelly's Chick Pea Fritters
Shelly's Mexican Beef & Bean Bake
Shelly's Cannellini Bean Mash
Shelly's Italian Beef & Bean Soup
Shelly's Cannelini Bean Soup
Shelly's Black Bean Soup
Shelly's Chickpea Deviled Eggs
Shelly's Chicken & Chickpea Salad
Shelly's Greek Three Bean Salad
Shelly's Italian Bean Salad
Shelly's Kidney Bean Soup
Shelly's Greek Bean Salad
Shelly's Chicken Cacciatore with Beans
Shelly's Roasted Chickpeas
Shelly's Beef & Bean Bites
Shelly's Greek Hummus Rounds
Shelly's Burrito Peppers

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year
May 2012 be your BEST year yet!
☆ ✮ ☆ ✮ ☆
It was a quiet night well until I tested out my collection of vintage tin noise makers. I've been cleaning the garage and finding all sorts of stuff. I noshed on some weight loss surgery friendly snacks and watched Ryan Seacrest, Gaga & the Biebster :x

Shelly's Shrimp Cocktail with Two Dips

Cheated and bought a tray of cooked shrimp at Costco. I did mix up a couple of yummy dips. It was a delicious protein packed way to usher in the New Year!

Shelly Lemon Dill Yogurt Dip

3 oz. Greek Yogurt (I used 2% Fage Plain)
1 Tablespoon Mayo
1 Tablespoon Fresh Dill, chopped
Squeeze of fresh Lemon Juice
Kosher Salt to taste
a few twists of Black Pepper

Mix till well combined. Can be refrigerated a couple of days. Great as a dip for fish and veggies.

Shelly's Healthier Remoulade Sauce

3 oz. Greek Yogurt (I used 2% Fage Plain)
1 Tablespoon Cocktail Sauce
1 Tablespoon Prepared Horseradish
a few dashes of Hot Sauce (I used Cholula)
Kosher Salt to taste
a few twists of Black Pepper

Mix till well combined. Can be refrigerated a couple of days. Great as a dip for meats, shrimp and veggies.

Dessert was my traditional raisins.

For new readers... every New Year I toss 12 raisins, one at a time, toward my mouth at the stroke of midnight. The idea is for every raisin that you get in your mouth that will be one month of good luck in the coming year. I've done this now for several years. Thankfully my aim has gotten better since the first year. The first year... first raisin I tossed SCORE right in the mouth, second raisin BAM right in the eye. This raisin thing is pretty accurate because that was an INTERESTING year.

It's going to be a GREAT 2012... 10 out of 12!

P.S. Sending cyber xxxx's to those of us that were kiss-less last night when the ball dropped. Silver lining: a single kiss can exchange between 10 million and one billion viruses. Cootie heads ;)