Life (and Diet Changes) are Like a Roller Coaster...

Alrighty, so yesterday I fell off the wagon at dinner time. I was tired. Nay, exhausted. Like dragging on your feet, not even a direct IV line of straight caffeine could pull you out of it exhausted. I had a headache. Bren had taken a really short and crappy nap. My house was a mess. I had cleaned out the fridge earlier in a frantic search for my tahini paste, so my sink had been taken over by The Metallic Blob again. Words cannot describe the piles of laundry in my bedroom. And then to top it off, one of the decorator pumpkins I had on my bar exploded and left it's nasty, stanky guts oozing all over my bar area. And did it smell. Oh my gosh. When I'm pregnant, the smells KILL me. I can smell things from a mile away and it can either make me very happy, or (more often) make me very nauseous. For example, when I was pregnant for Bren, I went to my parents' house. We were sitting at the table with my sister just chatting and I caught the delectable scent of Molina's Relish. I inhaled deeply and asked my sister if mom had made relish. Her eyes got big and she replied "Umm...yeah. Last WEEK!" Jason then dubbed my pregnant super power "Super Scent". Anyhoo, back to yesterday... Tuesday is BOGO day at Dominio's (SNL's Donald Trump anyone?) so I caved. Since I couldn't find a magic wand to make my dishes magically clean for me, I decided to use the magic internet to have my dinner magically brought to me instead. Needless to say, dinner was NOT healthy. To be honest, it wasn't even good. It was bland. And that Buffalo Chicken pizza they make is gross. Waaaayyyy too much cheese, hardly any buffalo sauce flavor and big hunks of undercooked onion. What the hell does onion have to do with Buffalo Wings?? Left me stumped and unhappy. Cici's makes better Buffalo Chicken Pizza than that and it's way cheaper. Ah well, lesson learned. 


Well, since I didn't get around to my "shout-outs" post yet, I figured I'd post a recipe that I thoroughly enjoy and will be making this weekend. In keeping with my Italian theme here lately, I will post this amazing recipe by Weight Watchers for Pork Cacciatore. It's amazing. It's like this warm homey Italian stew that's easy to make and only takes one pot! (A huge help in the war on The Metallic Blob.) 


Pork Cacciatore
Serves 4

12 oz lean pork tenderloin, cut into 1- to 1 1/2-in chunks

1/2 tsp table salt, divided 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, divided 3 spray(s) cooking spray, divided   3 small uncooked Yukon Gold potato(es), peeled, cut into 1-in chunks 1 medium onion(s), halved and thinly sliced 3/4 cup(s) water, or more if necessary, divided 1 medium yellow pepper(s), cut into 1-in chunks 8 oz mushrooms, halved or quartered lengthwise (about 3 cups) 3/4 tsp dried rosemary, or to taste 1 cup(s) marinara sauce Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Sprinkle pork with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Add pork to skillet, increase heat to medium-high and cook, turning pieces occasionally, until browned, about 6 minutes; remove to a plate. Off heat, coat same skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Add potatoes, onion and 1/2 cup of water; cook, scraping bottom of pan, 1 minute. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Add yellow pepper, mushrooms, rosemary and remaining 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper to skillet; sauté over medium-high heat, until vegetables are lightly browned, adding a tablespoon or two of water if needed to prevent sticking, about 7 minutes. Stir in marinara sauce, pork and 1/4 cup water; bring to a simmer. Cover skillet, reduce heat to medium and cook until vegetables are tender and pork is cooked through, about 7 minutes. Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving. Well, I must cut this one short. Senor Bren-Bren has decided that my attention should be fully focused on him and not my laptop...unless I pull up his Laurie Berkner videos. I'm just not ready for that yet this morning sooo....toodles for now.