Eye on the Mass (aka "Watching My Weight"!)

I'm a Weight Watcher for the ummmm... maybe 6th time in my life. Not that it doesn't work; I just start going waaaay overboard with what I should be eating! I have a great recipe to share. It's just a humble ham and cheese omelet, but with an adjustment or two, it has less Weight Watcher points and it is tastier than the ones I usually make.

HAM AND CHEESE OMELET (I always want to spell it OMELETTE, but my computer says that's wrong ...)
(5 Points per serving, and a serving is HALF of the omelet!)

4 large egg whites
2 large eggs
2 Tbs uncooked scallions, minced (I used a white onion because it's what I had)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp hot pepper sauce (I used Tabasco)
1 spray cooking spray
1/2 cup cooked, lean ham, finely diced
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (I didn't have Parmesan. Ended up using 1/8 cup of cheddar.)


In a large bowl, beat together egg whites, eggs, scallions, salt, pepper, and hot sauce.

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Pour in egg mixture and tilt skillet so bottom is completely covered with egg. Cook omelet until eggs are almost set, occasionally lifting egg in skillet to let uncooked egg to move to edges of skillet, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Sprinkle ham and cheese over eggs. Using a spatula, ease up edges of omelet and gently fold in half; cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Yields 1/2 of omelet per serving.


My two favorite things about this recipe: (1) the onions--ahem, scallions--are crunchy! I'm a "saute the onions until clear" kind of girl, so I was skeptical when the recipe called for them to be uncooked. I loved the crunch in this recipe! (2) I would never have thought to add Tabasco, so I just threw in a dash. I really, really liked the small amount of spice. I'll probably do TWO dashes next! Watch out! I'm goin' nuts!!

I do love this new Weight Watchers. I basically haven't been planning too much. It's all online, and I input what I've eaten after each meal, but could do it just as easily at the end of the day. It calculates everything for me. It also has a collection of recipes, restaurant foods, activities, etc. (I do not work for Weight Watchers, so they're not paying me for this plug!) The coolest part, in my opinion, is that I can input any recipe I decide to cook, and it will calculate it to tell me how many points each serving would be. Awesome!

Daily Recipe Challenge

I have challenged myself to try to make a new recipe every day. This morning, I looked through some old recipes and came up with a cookbook from the Groesbeck Study Club, probably published around 1990, that I got from a good friend, Kay Driscoll. I found a recipe for a quiche, but wanted to add a few things. It turned out pretty good, and I will note what I added at the end of the recipe.

CRUSTLESS QUICHE SQUARES

1/2 cup flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
8 eggs, well beaten
3 cups grated Monterey Jack Cheese
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
2 4-oz cans chopped chiles, drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add eggs and mix well.
Fold in cheeses and chiles.
Turn into a greased 9x13 dish.
Bake 40 minutes.
Remove from oven and let stand 10 mins.
Cut into small squares and serve hot.

Looks good, doesn't it? But NO, I had to have MORE. I added about 1/2 cup of sauted onion and 5 slices of cooked bacon, 2 of them crumbled into the recipe, and 3 cut into pieces and laid on top, after it was in the pan.
(If there's ever a time to add bacon to a recipe, my dogs suggest that I do it. They got the two leftover pieces today.)

Tomorrow: Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies! My niece, Reeci, has spoken!

My Favorite Breakfast Daddy Makes

As I've said before, my mom and dad ran a B&B for several years here in Wharton, Texas. The breakfasts they created were varied, and each more wonderful than the last. In fact, if you stayed at the B&B for a full 7-day week, you'd never have the same breakfast twice; even the biscuits were different from one day to the next! And the biscuits weren't canned by that fat doughboy on TV. They were homemade from scratch every morning! Those biscuit recipes may still be closely guarded secrets--I'll look into that one day.

My favorite breakfast is what I'm posting here:

JOHANSEN HOUSE GREEN CHILE EGGS
(from my dad, Royce)

6 eggs, beaten
2 Tbs butter, melted
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup milk
8 oz cottage cheese, small curd is best
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 4.5-oz can chopped green chiles, drained
paprika

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9-inch deep dish pie plate generously.
Combine eggs and butter in medium bowl.
In small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and milk until there are no lumps.
Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture.
Add all the other ingredients and stir.
Pour into the pie plate and sprinkle with paprika.
Cook 10 mins at 400 degrees. (Dad says he usually leaves it in a little longer.)
Reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook 20-30 mins more, until the eggs are set. (I start watching it at 20 mins, and it's usually done in about 24 mins.)
Cut into wedges and serve with picante sauce.