Order up with a side of FMM

     Well...it has happened.  I have become a domestic goddess!  HA  Well, at least maybe one in training!  Thanks to those of you who sent me to some great recipes stops.  I have been pretty successful thus far.  My grocery shop was a little pricier than I had hoped for, but I reminded myself that you pay for quality...and that is what I got, some good, quality food.
     The way the schedule was playing out, I knew that after shopping it was going to be rough to get in the kids activities and prepare something fabulous so I did cheat a bit on the first day in the kitchen...however, I only partially cheated and made sure it was in a healthy way.

pre-made Rotisserie chicken with chicken and herb couscous and fresh green beans

     So I bought a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken and had that as the staple.  The picture above shows it as first plated, I actually take the skin off of my chicken (and share with my pup) but I leave it on in case the hubs decides he wants it.  I am proud of the side dish choices I made.  Couscous...I love couscous, and it's a much better choice than (some) rice or noodle type dishes.  The green beans too.  Our neighbors have quite the garden and they brought us over fresh green beans, which I have never cooked.  Is it sad that all of my green bean experiences before now started with a can opener?  So, I give this start to my healthy cooking decent marks.
     I am VERY proud of my next dish (you can find the recipe in the Daring to Dream tab)...it's one I found online and made my own revisions to "healthy it up."  My dear hubby is a fan of hamburger helper, but we NEVER buy it based on how bad it is for you.  So when I found a recipe for a cheesy beef noodle bake, my first thought was Helper...make a great meal!

my original ingredients stash

    
     Above is the original gathering of ingredients.  I did decide to use tomato sauce instead of the diced tomatoes though once I started mixing, but other than that...pretty good choices right?  I substituted ground turkey for ground beef, used whole grain pasta, and veggied it up with two of my favorite flavorings....onions and peppers.  Okay, I admit I used a little bit of cheese, but honestly it was a little bit.  The recipe I found called for not only cheese on top, but a cheese sauce to be mixed into the actual dish.

final product

     It didn't "stick" together as well as I had hoped (maybe that's why the recipe called for the cheese sauce) but flavorwise...this was FAB!  If anything, I think I would add a few more veggies to my saute...maybe some zucchini next time too!  I served this with a nice salad (more veggies) and it was a hit.  Even the two year old liked it!  PLEASE keep the recipes coming in!  I'm starting to look forward to them..and ask your friends to share too.  A girl can NEVER have too many healthy recipes!

Now....on to a little Friend Making Monday!

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Tech Questions

1.  PC or Mac?  I am a PC person when it comes to my computing needs.  Do I appreciate and like Apple?  Yes of course…I have an iPhone, an iPod and an iPad…but when it comes to user friendliness for a computer, I still feel better with a PC.

2. When did you get your first computer?  I feel like I have had a computer in my life forever.  I remember having games as a kid that I needed to DOS prompt to play.  Barbie, Olympics, cards…oh how I miss you “*”.exe RUN hahahhah NEVER!!!!

3. Do you use cable, DSL or something else?  I have a cable connection.  We had fiber optic for a while with AT&T but their customer service left something to be desired and we switched back to cable.

4. When choosing a laptop, do you think it's more important to choose the fastest one, or the lightest one?  Speed for sure.  My job has me at a computer all day and I would freak out if I had to wait for things.  Think of the extra poundage as a workout!

5. What kind of cell phone do you own?  Do you like it? I have an iPhone and LOVE it.  My hubby has a Droid though and I can see that being nice too.  What I like best about my iPhone is the streaming capability between devices.  I just have to make sure I check my 11 year old iPod from time to time.  Just downloaded Fifty Shades (audio book) to my phone and had to make sure it was NOT on her iPod or the iPad. J

6. How do you carry your laptop when you travel?  I don’t travel much.  If I need to take my laptop somewhere it is generally in my briefcase in the car next to me.

7. How many e-mails do you send on an average day? I don’t think I want to know the answer to this.  A good chunk of the programs I do at work rely on my emailing presenters, students, faculty…it is a never ending process it seems.

8. Do you ever blog using your iPad or similar tablet? Haven’t tried.
9. What do you use more often - a desktop or a laptop?  Desktop.  That is our primary home machine and my primary work machine.

10.  As a blogger, are there other gadgets that you need to get the job done?  If so, what are they?  I rely on my iPhone and its camera very much.  As I am still new to blogging, I haven’t found other devices that are “must use” yet.

Now it's your turn to answer this week's questions on your blog!  Don't forget to come back and link up in the comments! Happy Monday, friends!