Here Comes the Weekend

Yesterday afternoon I took the dogs out to the farm to visit my in-laws. My MIL talked me into walking down to the creek. I was hesitant because the path gets muddy as the ground freezes and refreezes. It was a challenge going up and down the hill. I am not the most graceful person. In fact, my calves are sore this morning from the extra effort they made to help me keep my balance. It was especially difficult with these two maniacs/Sherman tanks underfoot the whole time. My in-laws new dog likes to stick much more closely to us, so when they play they can't help but bump us.  And 85 pounds of dog bumping you makes standing upright much more difficult. Thankfully, despite the footing and the hounds there was no landing on my hiney :)  And poor Zommie had to be carried for her own protection...she didn't mind.

At least our perilous journey yielded some beautiful views.

Friday morning is my weekly weigh-in. I am definitely happy with this week's result. I am down another 1.8 pounds. That brings me to 9.4 so far for the month. I could use a nice string of months like that!

I am thrilled that Friday is finally here!  It is time for another weekend. Because I am so behind in my posting, I am recapping last weekend as my way to segue into this weekend.

Friday night tends to be our date night. This time we celebrated at our favorite Italian place with a big plate of deliciousness. Yes, it is a TON of food.

My husband was hopeful I would share...

Of course, you can see I did. As you can see, there was still a generous portion for each of us. I love that we do this - such a calorie and money savings :)

Since it was our splurge night, we also decided to order a piece of Snickers pie to take home and share. Sadly, they were out of Snickers pie and none of the other available desserts appealed to us. Instead this may or may not have happened...it is hard to tell in the dark ;)

Saturday morning I got up and cleaned house for awhile. My niece had invited me over to hang out and snuggle the baby, so I might have bailed a little early on the housework ;) I had been wanting to try these Crispy Baked Wontons. I gathered up the ingredients and took them with me to make for our lunch.

Water chestnuts and onion was chopped and mixed with ground turkey/pork and seasonings.

Each wonton gets a couple teaspoons of the filling and is rolled up egg roll style.

As usual, they didn't turn out quite as pretty as the picture on the recipe, but they were tasty. They are only 38 calories a piece. We had 10 for lunch. Then I might have gone back later in the afternoon for another bite or too. They retained their crispiness pretty well even when they were room temperature. We had plenty leftover. I left some for my niece and took some home. The ones I took home I divided up into snack portions...at least that slowed me down a little :)

On Sunday we had a little brunch to celebrate my mom's 81st birthday.  Instead of a cake, I made a giant M&M cookie. I had a piece or two but did not go crazy. To be honest I prefer individual cookies to bar-type cookies, even if it is the exact same recipe.

I was excited to try another new recipe I have been saving Cantaloupe and Mozzarella Caprese Salad for awhile. A birthday brunch seemed like a good occasion. First. I cubed the cantaloupe. I have never been good with the melon baller, which might have made it a little prettier. The melon is combined with mozzarella pearls and shreds of prosciutto.

I had never heard of white balsamic vinegar before this recipe. And now it is in the pantry with the 8 or 9 other kinds of vinegar I own. I cut down on the olive oil a little. I usually like a more vinegary vinaigrette.

Fresh basil was the final ingredient. The recipe also calls for fresh mint, but I always struggle with finding the right kind of mint - not a fan of the spearminty and pepperminty isn't always right either. I've had some delicious Asian mints, but I don't have a good source of them.

It was a beautiful salad. If I were to make it again I would probably just use a good ham. I didn't love the prociutto and it is a little pricey not to be loved.  I think this is an eat right away dish. I did have some of the leftovers for lunch on Monday and it wasn't as fantastic as fresh.

My sister made this yummy breakfast pizza for the party :)  I love brunch!

Because last weekend was the NFL conference championships there was some serious lounging with my husband and pups while watching games. We are happy with the teams that made it through to the Super Bowl.

That pretty much wraps up last weekend and I am ready for this weekend. Tonight and tomorrow will be busy with a wrestling tournament - the last one before regionals. You will notice I didn't mention taking down my Christmas trees last weekend. Maybe Sunday :)  I have to get them down before Super Bowl, right?

What are your weekend plans and how will you stay on track?