At the last minute, my in-laws decided not to come because of the snow storm(s) that we were supposed to get. My mother-in-law didn’t want to take the chance of not being back in time for work or running into it on the way here. And it’s actually a good thing that they didn’t come because they probably would have run into it going through PA on the way here. So, they’re going to come on Easter or maybe sooner. Ah well, what can ya do? It’s been a harsh winter as far as weather goes. We’re definitely looking forward to springtime! I can’t wait to take walks outside again. 
So, without house guests, we didn’t have much planned this week. We went out to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant on Monday. Sodium overload! 
Water weight comes back on sooo easily. I’m up 6 lbs! lol My head has been killing me; either sinuses or migraines, I’m not sure, but I haven’t exercised in a few days, so that’s the biggest reason why I gained so much water weight in a day or 2. *sigh* That’s ok though, it will drop off again. I swear I am going to have a consistent month very, very soon!! 
We ended up getting 8 or 10 inches of snow, plus ice. One good thing was that we have an abundance of yummy food. I haven’t felt like cooking very much, so it’s been a lot of leftovers and simple things. The other night I made a tray of lasagna in my new Rachael Ray oven dishes. DELISH!
We had leftover sauce in the freezer from the last time we made a huge pot, so that made it a lot easier. I made it with:
- Lasagna noodles
- Polly-O fat free ricotta
- Tomato sauce
- Full fat mozzarella cheese
- Dry Italian seasoning (oregano, thyme, etc.)
I layered everything in the odd shaped yellow oven dish. It wasn’t terribly deep, so I just made 2 layers. Sauce, noodles, ricotta, sauce, mozzarella; repeat. I baked it on 425F for about 35-40 minutes. I had mine with a simple side salad of lettuce and tomatoes, plus a piece of garlic bread that I made in the oven after the lasagna was done. YUMMMMMMMMMMY! I looooove lasagna! The ricotta was great, too. It tastes exactly like full fat to me. Mmm, mmmmmmm!
Last week I had the notion to make “salad carbonara.” I am very fond of spaghetti carbonara, so I had a revelation; why not try it on a salad? It sounded delicious and it WAS! YAY!
On the side I split half of a very large NY style bagel with hubby. Full fat cream cheese — how decadent!
Salad carbonara:
- ~3 cups leafy baby field greens
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- Red wine vinegar to taste
- 3 slices Butterball thin & crispy turkey bacon
- 2 large eggs cooked “sunny side up”
- Black pepper
- ~1 TBSP pecorino romano grated cheese
1. Toss lettuce in the EVOO/vinegar, coating it well
2. Cook eggs in frying pan or use hard boiled/poached if you prefer; add black pepper to eggs
3. Cook bacon, chop it up into bite sized pieces
4. Add bacon and eggs on top of the bed of lettuce
5. Sprinkle or shred pecorino romano or parmigiana reggiano cheese on top
I estimate this salad to be between 350-400 calories. It’s WONDERFUL!!! I suggest doing a runny yolk as it makes it seem like a creamy salad dressing. I love pasta but I didn’t miss it at all in this salad. I’ll definitely make this again.
We had a late dinner — or right on time for us 
— that was simple but amazing! I made a huge bowl of tuna salad with:
3 cans Trader Joe’s no salt added tuna
A big scoop of Fage Total 0% plain yogurt
About a quarter cup Hellmann’s olive oil mayo
1 or 2 teaspoons Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
Diced plum tomato
Black pepper
I toasted a large bagel, that barely fit in the toaster. Then I layered each bagel half with:
- Fresh avocado
- Tuna salad
- A couple slices of tomato
- Smoked gouda
I popped both halves under the broiler for about a minute and a half. The gouda was bubbling and looked mouthwatering!
Hubby and I each had one half, which was more than enough…
Mmmmmmmm! Look at that melty, ooey, gooey gouda. HEAVENLY!
On the side I had a small handful of Snyder’s unsalted mini pretzels and 1 Stonyfield Farm fat free peach yogurt topped with 100% fruit juice Del Monte canned peaches and The Baker’s pecan granola:
Isn’t this gorgeous? I love the contrasting colors and the flavors were fantastic! Very filling and somewhat calorie dense, but totally worth it! YUM!!! 
It’s Friday now and we might take a trip to our apartment in PA this weekend, but we’re not sure because the weather has NOT been on our side whenever we plan anything LOL. If we do go tomorrow, expect a nighttime update after we hit up Wolfgang Puck Express. hehe
We have a busy day either way, so I think I’m going to make us lunch. My mother bought some adorable small pears that I’m wanting to sink my teeth into. 
Hahaha, I’m in the midst of reading Twilight — excellent book, BTW — and the comment about sinking my teeth into a pear made me feel all vampire-ish! LOL 
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