Coconut Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Who doesn't love a fresh salad in the summer.  I have found my new favorite!  This one took a little work and you have to get your hands a little dirty, but it's so worth it!

Nutritional Information:
Servings: 3  Serving Size: salad with 4 oz chicken  Points Plus: 8
Calories: 400 Fat: 11  Protein 26.8  Carb: 32.5  Fiber: 4.4  Sugar 10

What you need:

• 6 (about 12 oz) chicken tenderloins
• 6 Tbsp shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup panko crumbs
• 2 Tbsp breakcrumbs
• 1/3 cup egg substitute or egg whites
• pinch salt
• olive oil spray
• 6 cups mixed baby greens
• 3/4 cup shredded charrots
• 1 large tomato, sliced
• 1 small cucumber, sliced

    Vinaigrette:

• 1 Tbsp oil
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp white vinegar
• 2 tsp dijon mustard

Directions:

1.  Whisk all vinaigrette ingredients; set aside.

2.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees

3.  Combine coconut flakes, panko, breadcrumbs, and salt in a bowl.  Put egg whites or egg beaters in another bowl.

4.  Lightly season chicken with salt.  Dip the chicken in the egg, then in the coconut crumb mixture.  Place chicken on a cookie sheet lined with wax or foil for easy cleanup.  Lightly spray each with olive oil spray and bake for 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through (only took mine about 18 min.)

After baking

5.  Place 2 cups baby greens on each plate.  Divide carrots, cucumber, tomato evenly between each plate.  When chicken is ready, slice on the diagonal and place on top of greens.  Heat dressing in the microwave a few seconds and divide equally between each salad; a little over 1 Tbsp each. 

This salad was fantastic!  And since I'm cooking for myself I have enough chicken to eat this two more times. The sweetness of the honey vinaigrette and the crunchiness and sweetness of the coconut "breading" was an excellent combination.  Give it a shot!!!

Engagement pictures!

I wanted to post a few of my favorite engagement pictures that Ricky and I had take about a month ago.  These are before editing, but they are still great pictures :)  Today marks one month that we have been engaged!  Crazy!   Enjoy these photos :)

Homemade pizza's for one

If there are any of you out there that live alone for whatever reason you have you will probably love this idea (if you haven't tried one like it already).  Even in the last year Ricky and I were dating we didn't eat together too often and I still had to fix meals for just me.  And it isn't always awesome to eat the same meal for a whole week since you have to make so much.

So if you like pizza, but just want one serving and even something healthy, try these.

What you need:

• 1 Sandwich thin or bagel
• 1/4 cup pizza sauce (I used Prego sauce because it was in my fridge)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese (your choice)
• 12 turkey pepperoni slices

Directions:

1.  If you decide to use a bagel put one pepperoni slice in the middle hole just so your toppings won't all through :)

2.  Spoon on your sauce onto your bread and then top with cheese and turkey pepperoni

3.  Stick them in either a toaster oven for the cheese to melt and the bread to become crispy or put them on a non-stick pan and broil them in the oven for about 5-10 minutes.  I just kept checking them until the cheese was all melty and gooey.  

all done!  Look at that yummy goodness!

Wedding Planning!

I've been in full swing wedding planning mode for the last two weeks.  Tearing out pictures in magazines, getting recommendations from people on vendors, and trying to book a couple of key elements.  Picking the venue was pretty simple, the second Ricky and I walked into the door it just clicked.  And the more we learned about the place the more we loved it.  Picking the DJ was pretty simple too, we received TONS of recommendations for one particular DJ in town so we are going straight for them.

Color scheme I'm looking at

Love yellow shoes :)

And now to the photographer.....this has by far been the hardest decision of the wedding planning so far.  By searching the internet, bridal magazines, and friends favorites I started out with about 10 different photographers.   Yes, 10! So what did I do? What I do best, made a list of all the things they offered to compare/contrast them.  This didn't happen until the initial cut of those that were just way out of my price range.  Which narrowed it down to the top 5.  (I feel like I'm having my own April Madness Tournament here)  So after coming up with the Top 5, I made the chart.  Sent a few more emails, asked more questions. And with that I had already cut out one and a half (only because I still like the 1/2 one but he just doesn't offer as much for the price as the others).  So now I was down to three, then I got another recommendation and poof, they were added to the list because they are so awesome!  So now I have the final 4 and the next round includes interviews.  But two of them are in OKC so I'm going to have to find a time to go down there soon.  Other than that dilemma, I've just been looking for ideas on centerpieces, cakes, dresses, and all the other fun stuff.

I have TONS more pictures of ideas, but I can't spoil all the excitement :)  I'm getting married to my best friend!!!!!

Triple-Cheesy Pepperoni Pizza Poppers

This AMAZING recipe is from Hungry Girl.  And if you haven't been on her website, signed up for her daily emails, or boughten any of her books you are missing out!

The top of this recipe says, "Fill your wrappers with pizza toppings, bake, and chew -- you'll never go back to those frozen things from Totino's...."  It fits it perfectly!!!

What you need:

• 1/3 cut light or low-fat ricotta cheese
• 12 slices turkey pepperoni (Hormel's is the best), chopped
• 3 wedges The Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss cheese
• 1 1/2 tsp. tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp. dried minced onion
• 24 small square wonton wrappers
• 12 sprays I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! Spray
• 1 tbsp. reduced-fat Parmensan-style grated topping
• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 cup canned crushed tomatoes
• 1/8 tsp. Italian seasoning

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven at 375 degrees.  Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray and set aside.

2.  In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, chopped pepperoni, cheese wedges, tomato paste, and dried minced onion.  Mix thoroughly and set aside.

3.  Lay two wrappers flat on a clean, dry surface.  Spoon a tablespoon of filling into the center of each wrapper.  

4. Moisten all four edges of each wrapper by dabbing your fingers in water and going over the edges smoothly.  Fold the bottom left corner of each wrapper to meet the top right corner, forming a triangle and enclosing the filling. Press firmly on the edges to seal.  Repeat with all remaining wrappers and filling, gently and evenly placing each "popper" flat on the baking sheet.  

5.  Spritz the top of each popper with a spray of butter spray.  Evenly sprinkle with Parm-style topping and garlic powder.  

6.  Bake in the oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes (I left my in about 15 and they were a little crunchier).  Allow to cool slightly

7.  While they are baking, combine crushed tomatoes and italian seasoning in a microwave-safe bowl.  Stir well.  Microwave for 1 minute, or until hot.  Give seasoned tomatoes a stir and serve with poppers for dipping.  

These are sooo good!  Next time I make them (probably next week because I have all the ingredients I need to use) I'll put more of the tomato paste into the filling.  There was a lot of cheese and not a lot of sauce.  But these will be great for finger foods at a party, or a quick snack to be reheated.  (I'm having the other half of the recipe for lunch tomorrow) They are like little mini pizza's.  

This recipe makes 4 servings with 3 poppers per serving.  And the best part is for one serving (3 poppers) it's only 3 points!!!  And they are really filling!  Try them and let me know what you think!

Donut of Misery

Happy Late Birthday to me!  Yesterday I turned the big 2-6! Shocking I know haha.  I had a pretty low-key day, went to work then had a wonderful dinner with some friends.  I had a big celebration a few weeks ago when Ricky was here :)  


Today I am here to talk about the Donut of Misery.  What the heck is that you may ask? It is essentially a countdown of a soldiers return.  But due to OPSEC rules (See rules here) this is a way I can share how long I have.  I'll be putting these up periodically, but I just wanted to introduce it to you.  

The darker color is what is complete and the light is the length we have to go.  There are TONS of military spouses and families out there that use these.  It's just something to physically show us how long or short we have to go.  As you can tell, we are just getting started.  It also changes based on return dates.  I have a temporary date on there and that's what the graph is based on.  

I want to be 100% honest on my blog here, mainly because I want to be able to look back and remember what I was going through at that certain moment in time.  So the last week has been tough, I was getting so used to him being here all the time and seeing him when I got to my apartment after work.  I do pretty good at holding it together during the day, but I've cried myself to sleep just about every night.  Just out of sheer loneliness and the overwhelming thought of how long I will have to go until I can see him again.  A lot of articles I've read about deployment say you really go through all of the stages of grief.  There is a really good article about it Here.  


But I know "this too shall pass" and "he'll be back before I know it" and "you will both be stronger".....it's just so hard.  


Anyways, enough of the sad post.  I'll put up more Donuts of Misery as time goes along.  

March/April Goals

It's that time, the end of the month where I need to reflect on my previous months' goals and look onto what I would like to achieve the next month.

Review of March goals:
Menu Planning - I did ok at this, I did 2 new recipes I think.  I should have time to do more now that Ricky has left again.

Get down to 180 - yep, totally didn't even get close, well I guess I got down to 186 then Ricky came home and all my healthy eating went down the drain.  So I'm basically starting over again.

Study for LEED exam - yep, didn't start this either.  Man I did a terrible job at my goals this month.

Continue Project 365 - Complete!  (or in progress and up to date) Finally one I did do really good at!!!

Looking back I didn't really work very hard on these goals, so I need to put a little more effort into each of them.

April Goals: 
Menu Planning - I am going to pre-plan my menu for the week each Sunday.  I already have this week planned out.  I also still want to try one new recipe a week.  This week's look really good :)

Get to 185 - this is a more realistic goal.  That's about a pound a week.  I want to lose about 30 lbs before I even go try on any wedding dresses, I have about 6 months until I will have to order one so I should be able to make it if I focus.

Study for LEED exam - this one is still staying on there, I'm not going to be ready for the exam on the 30th (when my testing period is over) but I can re-apply in three months to take it and I hope to be ready for it by then.

Save money - I need to really start focusing on saving money and setting a better budget for myself.  I would like to be close to debt free when Ricky gets back and have saved money for our wedding and lives together.

Ricky and I's Engagement

Finally, the blog post you have ALL been waiting for!  It's been a whirlwind of a week so I'm just now getting a chance to sit down and put into my own words just how amazing it has been.  I should have wrote this while he was here because I'm already crying just thinking about it and him and how much I miss him.  But here goes.

Ricky got on a bus Thursday morning at 6 AM at Camp Shelby in Mississippi and drove all day to get to Claremore.  He finally got there about 7:30 that evening and I drove up there to pick him up.  That evening we just went home and relaxed.  We knew we had a busy four days ahead of us (I just didn't know quite how busy yet).

Friday morning I headed off to work while Ricky left to run a bunch of errands.  He just wouldn't tell me what all the errands were.  See I already knew he had some surprises for me that evening, I just wasn't expecting all that he had in store.  All Ricky told me was to be ready by 6:30 and that was when the limo was coming.  So we got ready and the limo arrived and let me tell you I have never ridden in something so fancy! (That just sounded totally small town hick haha) We climbed into the limo and inside was a bouquet of orange lilies and roses and also a long box (These were for our anniversary).  As the driver headed to the Melting Pot for dinner I opened the box and inside was a beautiful bracelet.  We also enjoyed some champagne that he had put in there.  Once we got into the restaurant and were seated, there was another bouquet of spring mix flowers at the table (These were for my birthday) We enjoyed our wonderful dinner and after the last course the waitress brought out another plate with strawberries shaped as a heart and in the middle it said "I Love you" and had a small box next to it.  At this point my heart was pounding because I thought it was the ring and I had told Ricky that I didn't want a cheesy engagement haha.  So he opens the box and says, "Are you ready?!" I nervously replied , "umm, yes'".  So he opening it and inside was a pair of diamond earrings.  He said my face was priceless, it went from total excitement to a little mad. hahaha If you don't know Ricky very well you don't know how he loves surprises and if he thinks you are on to something he will do things to totally throw you off.  He was doing a very good job at this point.  See I didn't know a proposal was coming, I was really hoping he would but I had no concrete hints to tell me it was really happening.

The re-enactment

So after dinner we walk out of the restaurant (it was freezing by the way) and he was just like, "Let's go walk around".  I was like ok and he seemed to be on a mission haha.  So we walked a little ways down the walk there at the Riverwalk and then he stopped and told me to put the flowers down (the ones from the restaurant).  So I sat them down and he gets on one knee and says, "Jessica, I have wanted to ask you this for quite some time.  Will you marry me?"  Or it went something like that, I was freaking out a little (in a good way of course).  I think I said yes before he could even get all of the words out.  Then I started crying and I could see flash photography going off all around us.  After much hugging and crying (from my part) and kissing, Ricky turned around and goes, "There's Shane.  He's been taking pictures." But Shane didn't get really good pictures in action so we re-enacted it.  Following more pictures we climbed back into the limo and Ricky was talking to the driver.  I knew we were headed somewhere else but didn't know where.  And really I didn't care. I had this gorgeous ring on my finger and the man of my dreams next to me.  So I was furiously texting all these people and well just starring at my ring haha.  We finally pulled up to Dave and Busters and Ricky said "We are waiting on Shane to come in and take more pictures.  So he came in and took some more and then we headed inside.  I didn't know what we were doing there and really I didn't care.  I was on cloud 9.  We head inside and there is a whole room of all the people I love.  It was a surprise engagement party!!!  The most shocking of all was that my parents were there!  I lost it when I saw my mom, I had talked to her about 4 times that day and had NO idea they were on their way to Tulsa to surprise me.  Everyone had known he was going to propose like a month before it even happened.  After mingling with everyone for awhile a bunch of us climbed into the limo and took it for a joyride.

Newly engaged couple!!

My evening was wonderful and I couldn't have imagined a better, more romantic engagement.  The next day we spend the whole time with his and my parents.  My parents were staying the weekend with them.  Ricky and I were already talking wedding stuff.  We had a lot to figure out in the next three days.  So we talked dates and I even called a few venues to see if we could come by Monday to look around.

Monday we took engagement pictures (Ricky and his mom had already set this up) which turned out great!  We also drove around to four different venues and I think we have picked one.  My parents are coming up next weekend so we are going to look at it and hopefully we can book it!!!

My beautiful ring :)

Ricky ended up getting to stay a couple extra days, well in the evenings at least.  So we just spent that time together and I took him back to Claremore Friday morning.  Not knowing when I'll see him again.  But at least I have a wedding to keep me busy :)

This has turned into a REALLY long blog and I could say SOOOO much more.  But I'll stop here for now.  I'll keep you updated with planning and how I'm managing life without Ricky for now.  Thanks all for reading!!!