The End

So we stopped our vegetarian diet yesterday. It had been 22 days. I was feeling like it was bad stewardship to ignore the food we already had in our freezer and spend money on other things just so we could keep on with this challenge. So, we had some chicken yesterday.

I'm really grateful for this experiment! It has taught me a lot about being creative and using other forms of protein besides meat, and learning to love vegetables. I never actually hated them, but now I can honestly say I like them a lot! One thing I never could get my taste buds to like was tofu. I tried. Honest! It just was a strange texture and had an odd after-taste. I only liked it in Pad Thai - that was because I fried it within an inch of its life!

I think we will continue to do more vegetable/legume meals, but still have meat here and there. I think it will help with our grocery budget to know I don't HAVE to buy meat each week, but if it's on sale then I can grab some. Plus I really like some kinds of meat and it would be sad if we never had them. ;)

I must go attend to my child who is spreading oatmeal everywhere. Happy Tuesday everyone!

What day is it?

Oh yes, it's day 19. :)

Today I am excited to announce that I actually ran 3 miles today!! Never thought it would be possible. Thank you Jesus for that extra push (aka. road work guys in my normal route so I had to go around).

So I made corn and chickpea patties for dinner tonight and loved them! I added a bit too much salt, but they would work great on a bun with some cheese. Yes, lots of cheese...I'd post the recipe, but I'm too tired and lazy right now.

Josh is going to a men's breakfast tomorrow morning, so I will be getting up early to make his casserole. It's not really that early since Annie wakes up around 7:30 each morning. I decided to drag my friend into the mix and wake HER up early so she could keep me company while my husband is away. I bribed her with pancakes and she graciously offered to bring Starbucks. I should bribe people with pancakes more often!

Pretty Much Amazing

So I tried this recipe today: http://www.tammysrecipes.com/spinach_rice_casserole

And it was seriously tasty! I didn't use Worcestershire, used less spinach, and added a little more chopped onion. I am going to have to arm wrestle Josh for the leftovers.

We were on Oklahoma visiting family last weekend and they tried some new recipes out on us. We liked the nut/rice loaf and the orzo salad - thanks guys! I love anything pasta, so the orzo was my especial favorite. Someday maybe Josh will take me to Italy. Here's hopin'!

Dinner

I mentioned experimenting on a chickpea curry for dinner yesterday. I found a really great recipe online, so I didn't have to do much "experimenting".
I love how the spices are all different colors.
sauteed together
all done!
I made normal rice but put tumeric in it with some peas to make it look special.

The recipe I followed is here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chickpea-Curry/Detail.aspx?prop31=1

Lunch

Here's what I had for lunch yesterday:
Veggie burger with laughing cow swiss cheese, tomato and toasted bread.
Salad with tomato and Italian dressing

Yummy!

Day 11

I finally got to try the cheese pizza recipe last night! The sad part was the crust...I made a mental note never to use Pillsbury pizza crust again. The homemade is a lot better! The rest of it was good, though. I just mixed some salt, pepper, and oregano into some tomato sauce, spread it over the crust and topped with sliced mozzarella cheese. I told Josh last night the flavor I think I am missing is Provolone. Another mental note to try that next time.

Breakfast: I had the traditional oatmeal this morning. If you every wonder how to make oatmeal please go here: It has nearly a million (not literally) oatmeal recipes that look delicious! http://www.katheats.com/kaths-tribute-to-oatmeal/

Lunch: I have been craving spinach so I think I'll make a salad along with veggie burgers.

Dinner: Going to experiment with a chickpea curry.

Indian food has been sounding amazing lately. That and french fries. After a long struggle on the drive home from an errand I almost went to McDonald's today, but resisted the urge. YAY!

Day 8

Things have been going well on the veggie home front. :) We've found that Morningstar Farms makes a great "chicken" patty for sandwiches. Yummy!

I was hoping to make either cheese pizza for dinner last night or soft tacos but was disappointed. Since our recent power outage my mozzarella died, and so did my veggie crumbles! So we made bean and cheese burritos. I made up a list of around 15 vegetarian dinners, so I am cycling through those along with other ideas that strike.

This weekend I had a serious craving for cupcakes. It must have been from the baby shower I attended. I had to leave early with Annie, since she was starting to get squirmy. Anyway, I found some cute little mini ones that were perfect!