Chipotle-Rubbed Flank Steak

I really don't like cheese except maybe melted mozzarella. Sorry Doug Dingel, I don't get too excited when you bring your plate of cheese to parties. It's just not in me. But every Cooking Light recipe that has had Blue Cheese or Gorgonzola as an ingredient I've loved, including tonight's Chipotle-Rubbed Flank Steak I loved the chipotle and I loved the Gogonzola sauce. It was delicious. The meat was a little tougher than I'd have liked. I wasn't crazy about the cut of meat I got. Because the guy in the meat department didn't have flank steak, he talked me into skirt steak. I think it was thinner than flank steak would have been and so the meat got a bit overcooked. I hate it when that happens. Next time, and there will be a next time, I'll simply hold out for flank steak. In a couple of days I've got Pork Tenderloin with Blue Cheese and Pears scheduled again. I'm looking forward to that.

Pork Chops with Herbed Goat Cheese Butter and Green Beans and Oatmeal with Poached Egg

I know it's been a while since I've posted anything, but I've been overwhelmed with papers and dogs. I still have my dad's dog, Heidi due to an unexpected bout with tape worm-infested cat poop. You don't want the gory details. However, I've been keeping up with this diet and cooking different meals. The most recent one I tried was tonight's supper, Pork Chops with Herbed Goat Cheese Butter and Green Beans It was ok, but I'm not a big fan of green beans. I like them best when they are French cut. I have the tool to do it, but I was following the recipe. If I choose to try this again, I will be French cutting them. In the picture, all that green is not green beans. I also had asparagus. I try to have at least two vegetables per meal. The best part of this meal was feeding Teddi and Heidi green beans. Teddi loves them, but Teddi loves most vegetables. Heidi on the other hand, not so much.

One of the things I've discovered while on this adventure is that sometimes I need more protein than what I'm getting with the recipes. A while ago I was just craving poached eggs. It was driving me crazy. The way I usually eat poached eggs is on toast, and bread is a major calorie problem. So I thought about it for a long time, and one morning, I made oatmeal, but rather than adding fruit and a little sweetner, I added sauted shallots and a poached egg. It was really good and satisfying. I haven't had it since, but I've been putting an egg into the rice cooker with the oatmeal. I've found that helps out a lot.

I've learned a lot while on this diet. I think one of the biggest things I've learned is the value of small amounts. I learned to cook for my family as a kid. I've always cooked by adding a lot, which means I eat more. With this diet, I find myself measuring an 1/8 of a teaspoon a lot, and rather than 2 tablespoons of butter, 2 teaspoons of butter. Seriously, when I put maple syrup on my oatmeal in the morning, I add two teaspoons of it. You can afford to buy the good, real maple syrup when you measure it out that way.

If you're wondering, I've lost 22 pounds since I started this almost a month ago. I had started working on losing weight earlier in the year, but not as effectively. I've actually lost 32 pounds since then.

I'm still enjoying this, but I'm getting creative as well. I thought breakfast was going to be a problem, and it's not. My problem meal has been lunch. I've since found a few good recipes I like from the diet, but I also make wraps on some days. I'm making things like BLTs and Tuna salad in a wrap. Like I said, bread is a killer, and tortillas make so much more sense. I'm sure as I go, I'll create a lot more changes, but it's been a lot of fun so far.

Spinach and Mushroom Omelet

The Cooking Light Spinach and Mushroom Omelet has become one of my favorite breakfasts. I usually alternate between it and either a oatmeal concoction or a quinoa concoction, but I really do like the omelet. I haven't written about it before because I couldn't take a decent picture. Although this isn't perfect, it's the best I've done so far. Previous attempts looked more like scrambled eggs with spinach and mushrooms tossed in. What did it for me this time is that I sprayed cooking spray around the base of the frying pan. The recipe doesn't call for it, but I can't imagine that just a little spray is going to add all that many calories. Calories be damned. I was able to get a picture this time.

I think what really makes this dish such a winner is the addition of a small amount of chopped garlic, chopped shallots, and a sprig of thyme. That thyme really makes a difference with the flavor.

If you go to the link for the recipe, you'll find that the original recipe serves 4. I tried just halving it and eating the left overs the next day; however, reheated eggs are not very good. So instead, I quartered the recipe. It was sort of difficult to accurately quarter some of these ingredients, but I figure if I'm long on garlic, shallots, spinach or even mushrooms, it will make no caloric difference. These ingredients are almost calorie free. However, I am exacting on the fats (with today's exception) and eggs. With a cup of coffee, this makes a great morning starter.