Ummmm........doughnuts

I was sitting around the other day watching TV....and I flipped it over to Food Network. And there was Everyday Italian. Giada was making Italian Doughnuts! I love all things made with dough. But I am not very good or patient at baking bread, or anything else made with yeast. But when I saw her making these I smiled...because I could do these. So here you go......

Italian Doughnut
from Everyday Italian
I made a few minor changes

1 container/can rolled pizza dough crust(I used Pillsbury Pizza crust dough)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Olive oil for frying (I used all Olive oil)
Vegetable oil for frying
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/2-inch thickness. Using a floured 2-inch cookie cutter, cut out doughnut rounds. Using a floured 1-inch cookie cutter, cut out a hole in the center of each doughnut. Gather the dough scraps and re roll. Cut out more doughnuts.
Whisk the sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl to blend. Set the cinnamon-sugar aside.
Pour equal parts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees F. Working in batches, fry the doughnuts until they puff but are still pale, about 45 seconds per side. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the doughnuts to paper towels to drain. Cool slightly. While the doughnuts are still warm, generously coat each 2 times with the cinnamon-sugar. Serve warm.
Alternately, cool the fried doughnuts to room temperature

I also made a glaze which was just powered sugar and some milk made to the consistency you would like.
Please ignore the Santa platter the doughnuts are on.....it was all I had lying around to put them on.

A pound here, a pound there.......and poof.....

almost half of me is gone! So, two years ago I went to my gyn and she told me that she didn't want me on birth control anymore because I was morbidly obese, my blood pressure was too high, and she was worried about me stroking out on her. Well, I knew I as fat, I knew I needed to lose weight.....but I just had not previously wanted to. So driving home I really started thinking about what she said..and I realized how unhappy I was. I couldn't get the seat belt to buckle around me in my friends' cars, the last time I was on a plane I barely fit in the seat (well to be honest...I didn't fit...I was spilling over into the poor woman sitting next to me seat), and if I went up one more pant size I would not know where to shop for them (Lane Bryant doesn't make over a size 28 as far as I know). I had always been very athletic in school....but I just let myself go once I got into college. I don't really want to say that I saw the light that day driving home....I just decided I didn't want to be fat anymore. So, I changed my diet and started exercising. I waited until I lost the first 30lbs and then I joined the YMCA. I started out taking a beginner step class and wanted to DIE during that first class. But I came back the next night, and the night after that, and so forth and so on. And now two years later I have lost..............................................................


148 lbs.


My weight when I started was 334lbs. I am still losing weight, and I'd like to drop another 30 or 40lbs. I don't want to say that I love being smaller....because to me that's not what it is all about. I will say that I LOVE being active again. I take just about any class at the Y I can go to....but I love step. My beginner step instructor Beth Ann told me recently that I scared the crap out of her when I walked into class that first time. She honestly thought I was going to faint and die right there in class because I looked so bad....and was so fat.


I also love that I will try anything now....I'm not embarrassed to fall on my butt, get hurt, or humiliated. I look for new challenges every day....and I never had that drive or sense of adventure when I was bigger.


So since I figured this blog was not just about cooking, but my life and things I enjoy I knew I had to include this little fact about myself because it plays such a large role in my life now. So, I will open this little post up to any questions that anyone may have for me about my weight loss, what I have done (no I did not have surgery), or basically anything you'd like to comment on. Below you will see my husband and I at our heaviest (for his weight loss see post below).

Ding! Ding! And in this corner.........

Alright, so when my husband was volunteering as an axillary deputy at a local police department he started going to this charity event called Guns N' Hoses. It is a bunch of boxing matches that pit police officers against fire fighters. He started talking after awhile about maybe learning how to box himself. He has always wanted to try boxing, and so now after losing weight he has hit a plateau on his weight loss adventure. He has lost about 80lbs but all he does is run (usually just 2 to 3 miles a few times a week), lift weights, and the cross trainer every once in awhile. I thought he might need a different workout...but he hates going to any of the classes at the Y with me. So I spoke to my favorite aerobic instructor, Shawnta, because she had mentioned something about where she boxes at before. So we have joined The Boxing Gym. And let me tell you what......IT IS SOO MUCH FUN!!! We have been taking boxing classes with Reggie who is a former Army boxer and it is the best workout ever. I take a wide range of classes at the Y(step aerobics, kickboxing, cycling, weight classes, and some water aerobics) and this boxing really energizes me. And talk about de-stressing.....hitting that bag and then doing some combo sparing with Reggie really helps me to unwind and take out my aggression about the day. Brian LOVES IT! He will talk about it for hours after class. Although on the first day after class he couldn't lift his arms!! Will keep you updated on how things go....and who knows, maybe after enough classes we will get to spare with other people in the ring.....scares me a little.....but would be interesting!

What's This? Tomatoes? You know I hate tomatoes!

A little bit of updating:

My husband hates tomatoes. He will literally gag when I ask him to eat just a bite of one. However, I LOVE tomatoes. So I was really surprised when he loved this dish. So to make fun of my husband I have instituted a tomato gag rating for any tomato dish I make that he tries. The rating is as follows:

1=picking 2 to 4 small pieces of tomato out of the dish and pushing them aside

5=coughing/mild gagging throughout the meal, and several rude comments about the amount of tomatoes in the dish

10=flat out retching

Tomato gag rating : 1

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 pkg (6oz) Stove Top stuffing (I used the whole wheat kind)

1/2 c water

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 +1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

1 tsp. dried basil leaves

1 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 4oo degrees F. Mix tomatoes, stuffing mix, water and garlic just until stuffing mix is moistened.

Layer chicken, basil, cheese and stuffing in 13x9 inch or 3 quart baking dish.

Bake 30 min or until chicken is cooked through.

I am so glad to be back to cooking. We have been very busy lately with work and then going out of town for the Labor Day holiday. We went to my parents house in TN for a small family reunion and had a wonderful time. We even got to spend a little time in Chattanooga and had a wonderful dinner after walking around the art district and over the bridge. We went to The Back Inn where I had a fierce Key Lime martini. Here we are posing with these cute sculptures in front of the art museum right by the river.

But now that we are back it is time to go back to cooking. Husband has been asking for cookies for awhile so I decided to give in and make some. I had been eyeing this recipe for awhile now ...so it was time to get Betty out (my Kitchen Aid mixer) and get to baking!!! I don't know if this dessert is all over, or if it is more of a regional dish in the Midwest. I had never heard of the cake until we came to St.Louis. But it is a spin off of the ever popular Gooey Butter Cake.

Gooey Butter Cookies

1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese (i used fat free)

1/2c butter, softened

1 pkg (1 layer size) yellow cake mix

1 egg

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degree F. In a large mixing bowl cream together cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add cake mix, egg, and vanilla. Stir together. Cover and chill for 20 to 30 minutes.

Roll 1 tablespoon of the dough into a ball or use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion dough. Roll balls in powered sugar to coat. Place on greased cookie sheets

Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheet, cool on wire rack.

The dough is sticky, and a little difficult to work with, but overall VERY good. Husband's comments: "This is my new favorite cookie! It has replaced Snicker doodles"!