Beef Pot Roast with Vegetables and Mushrooms

3 pound Chuck, Sirloin Tip or any other lean Beef Roast of your choice.
Seasoned Salt or Seasoned Salt Substitute.
Pepper.
1 medium Onion, chopped.
2 cloves of Garlic, chopped.
3 Beef Bouillon Cubes-low- Sodium.
2 cups Beef Broth, Stock or Water (add more later, if needed).
5-6 large Carrots, cut-up or several Baby Carrots.
5-6 large Potatoes, peeled and cut in quarters or smaller.
1 can sliced Mushrooms, drained and rinsed or 1 small container fresh Mushrooms, cleaned and sliced(optional).
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup.
1 cup Red Cooking Wine (optional).

Season the Roast on all sides.
Brown the Roast, in a large pot, in a small amount of Olive Oil, on all sides.
Add the Onion and Garlic.
Brown lightly.
Add the Bouillon Cubes and liquid.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer gently on medium-low heat, for about 2 hours.
Turn the Roast over.
Add the Vegetables and Mushrooms.
Season them well.
Continue cooking for about another half hour or until Roast is falling apart tender and the Vegetables are tender, too.

I decided to post another yummy dinner recipe, on here. This one goes back to my childhood. My mother used to make this a lot. Usually for Sunday Dinner. Not every Sunday. Sometimes we had Fried Chicken or something else, but we did have this a lot. She would, put it on to cook while we went to church and it would be ready when we got home; with just a little extra, for her to do. I don't remember her using Mushrooms. I added those later on. You don't have to add those, but they are yummy, with it.

                          Baked Whole Chicken with Lemons, Oranges, Onions, and Vegetables.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1 Whole Chicken 3-5 pounds.
1 Lemon cut in fourths.
1 Orange cut in fourths.
1 Onion cut in fourths.
6-8 Large Carrots cut in chunks or 1 pound Baby Carrots.
6-8 Potatoes cut in chunks.
1 pound Green Beans.
Butter or Olive Oil. Seasoned Salt or Seasoned Salt Substitute.
Pepper.

Rub the Butter or Olive Oil on the inside and outside of the Chicken and under the skin.
Season inside and outside with the Seasoned Salt and Pepper.
Place the Vegetables on the bottom of  a 11"x13" baking dish.
Stuff the Chicken with the Lemon, Orange and Onion pieces.
Place the stuffed Chicken on top of the Vegetables.
Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
Uncover and bake for another 30 minutes or until golden brown and the juices run clear.

                             Micah with the waitress where Rachel and Brendan ate in St. Louis today.

When you need to lose a lot of weight it can seem like it takes so long that you wonder if you'll ever get there. But the journey of a thousand miles does start with one step. So the only way to get from where you're at to where you want to be is to take it one step at a time. I decided to try to post at least one recipe a day on here to make our journey a little easier and pleasant. I wrote this recipe a while back to help me lose weight, so maybe it can help you now. Here it is:

                                                              Oven Fried Chicken

Preheat oven to 350 deg.

1 Chicken, cut-up; or legs, breasts, wings, or any pieces you like.
2 cups low-fat Buttermilk.
Hot Sauce; several shakes to taste.
3 cups Panko Bread Crumbs.
1 teaspoon Seasoned Salt or Seasoned Salt Substitute.
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder.
1/4 teaspoon Pepper.
Cooking Spray.

Marinate the Chicken pieces in the Buttermilk and Hot sauce mixture a few hours or overnight.
Mix the Bread Crumbs, Seasoned Salt, Garlic Powder, and Pepper together in a large freezer bag.
Put the Chicken pieces in the bag a few at a time and shake to coat with the Panko Bread Crumb mixture.
Spray the bottom of a baking tray.
Lay the Chicken on the tray and spray it with the baking spray.
Bake in 350 deg. oven for 1 hour or until golden brown and the Chicken is done inside.

I weighed again this morning and am doing good keeping the weight off. I need to work this week on losing another pound, or two, at least. If I've learned one thing, in this process, it's, "Don't quit"! It may seem like, at times, that you're fighting a losing battle, but if you just keep moving forward, with faith and "grace"; you will succeed! I have been getting a little more exercise lately, too. A friend of ours just had knee replacement surgery last week. So we've been going to the hospital to visit her. To get to her room requires a good amount of walking, which has increased our exercise, at least some, lately. Every little bit helps, I guess. Anyway I am posting a recipe again today. Hopefully I will keep this up and post at least one a day, for a good while. That is the plan, at least! So here is my recipe for the day. Try it for dinner, this evening!

                                                                    Meat Loaf

1 1/2 pound Ground Chuck.
1 small Onion, chopped.
1 clove Garlic, chopped.
1 egg.
1 cup Oats + extra if needed.
1 cup Ketchup (can use low-sodium).
1/2 teaspoon Seasoned Salt or Seasoned Salt Substitute.
1/4 teaspoon Pepper(if it's not in the Seasoned Salt).

Mix the ground chuck, onion, garlic, oats, egg, seasoned salt, and 2/3 cup ketchup in a bowl. I use my hands to mix it.
Put it in a loaf pan and shape it.
Spread the remaining ketchup on top.
Bake at 350 deg. for one hour.
Let stand a few minutes before slicing.
6-8 servings.

We took our grandson; Logan to The Fire Department yesterday. Here are some pictures from our visit, there.

Well I weighed this morning and I'm doing good keeping the weight off that I have already lost. What I need to do this week is work on losing at least another pound or two. This adventure seems to be taking a lot longer than I had hoped. I guess what I need to do is actually put some concerted effort in it. Not that I haven't already, but I have been mostly, only relying on grace. Grace is wonderful, but you probably need to apply faith to it, and move forward. I believe that is the key to success, in weight loss. I think maybe I'm starting to understand, the grace helps tremendously, in staying power, but faith is what keeps you moving forward to actually lose the weight. I'm covered in grace, but I walk by faith. So we really must use our faith and move forward, without fear, to reach our goals! Here's a yummy recipe for a good Sunday dinner, that I tweaked, to make it weight loss friendly.

                                                           Chicken Fried Steaks

4 Beef Cube Steaks.
Unbleached or Whole-Wheat Flour.
Salt or Seasoned Salt or Salt or Seasoned Salt Substitute.
Pepper.
Garlic Powder.
Canola Oil. (enough to brown in).
2-3 Beef Bouillon Cubes.
1 Small Onion; chopped.
Mushrooms. Sliced.

Put enough Canola Oil in a large skillet to cover the bottom of it.
Put the Flour and Seasonings in a shallow dish.
Place the Cube Steaks one at a time in the Seasoned Flour.
Coat well on both sides.
Put them on a plate as you coat them.
Place them one at a time in the skillet, keeping the oil warm enough to keep cooking them.
Brown well on both sides.
Remove to a plate.
Add the Onion to the skillet and brown lightly.
Add the Mushrooms.
Add about a Tablespoon of Flour and whisk until it is browned lightly.
Add about 2 cups of Water or as much as needed to make gravy.
Add the Bouillon Cubes and stir until dissolved and well blended.
Add the Cube Steaks back in and simmer until tender and done.
Serve with Mashed Potatoes and a Vegetable and/or a Salad.

                 
                                                                   Salmon Panzanella

I found this recipe on Facebook from Diabetic Connect. If you would like it just follow the links.

The way I've been losing weight seems to be a very long and boring process. I'm beginning to wonder if maybe I should put a little more effort into it and start losing weight faster. I have done that before. One time I went on a Yogurt , Cottage Cheese, and Wheat Thin Cracker Diet and lost 10 pounds in 3 days. I was a lot younger then and it was so much easier to lose weight. Now that I've gotten older I think that diet would be very difficult. I have thought about altering it somewhat though to suit my current nutritional needs. I'm not sure that the original diet would be a good idea for someone with Diabetes. I think I could do basically what I've already kind of done with it; which is to add an evening meal and some extra fruit and vegetables to it. That has worked too; just not as fast. Whatever I do I really need to lose a lot of weight, for my health's sake. Hopefully I can keep at this all summer, with all the baseball games we go to and as hot as it's been it shouldn't be that difficult. Speaking of baseball games we have one tonight. It has been so hot here this week it seems like I should be losing a pound or two a game! I guess that's it for now. I'll post a picture of watermelon to help you feel cooler!

I weighed again this morning and so far so good. I also have yogurt still I need to eat. I think that's what I will eat this morning. We've had a lot of ballgames this week with our grandson, Logan. He made the All-Stars Team this year and they've been playing several games  this week. I should be losing weight going to these games. It has been excruciatingly hot here. I'm kind of hoping for rain and a cool-down. Well, my baby grandson just got here, so I'll sign off here for now. Check back later, and I'll try to get a recipe on here.

I'm so glad that I got my weight back down to where I was before. I must pay better attention to what I eat. Grace is wonderful for staying power, but you do have to learn some lessons along the way. The main lesson I have learned is to use grace to help you not to hurt you. If you do find yourself eating too much, just stop, back up, and start over. Remember the best way to lose weight is to change your eating habits and exercise. In other words change your lifestyle!

I weighed again yesterday and had lost all the weight that I had gained back. Yay! Now I can concentrate on going forward and losing more weight. This means that I have lost a total of 20 pounds since I first started keeping track. I got some Yogurt and Wheat Thin Crackers. All the flavors are yummy, but try Strawberry with the Wheat Thin Crackers. It kind of tastes like strawberry shortcake. Yum! Be sure to get the kind with active cultures in it. This makes it healthier. You could also add some low-fat cottage cheese to this and add some protein.
 I also went to the doctor the other day. All of my tests are looking pretty good. I've been trying to be more consistent in eating healthy. I'm sure it helps. I've also started exercising some. I do need to be more consistent, but every little bit helps. I do get some exercise babysitting my little grandbaby. Not really a lot. He's still really small, not very heavy or active. So for right now I'm ok, but as he gets bigger I may start having trouble lifting him. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, though.
I guess for now I will post another recipe. After all we do have to eat. We just need to be wise about it!

                                                                 
                                                                    Taco Salad

1 pound ground Chuck or Turkey.
!Packet Taco Seasoning.
Taco Salad Shells or Flatbread or Nacho Chips.
1 Head Lettuce; chopped or a bag of Combination Salad.
Diced Tomatoes.
Shredded Cheddar or Mexican Cheese.
Taco Sauce.
Sour Cream (low-fat).
Can grate 1-2 Carrots for added nutrition, if you don't use the Combination salad.

Put the Ground Meat in a skillet and brown over medium-high heat.
Preheat oven to temperature in directions for shells.
Add the Taco Seasoning Packet and prepare according to directions.
Put the shells in the oven and bake according to directions. You can save calories by using Tortilla Chips instead of Shells and limiting the amount you eat.
Remove Shells from the oven and allow to cool a few minutes.
Put the Lettuce Salad and Tomatoes in the shells.
Put the Ground Meat Mixture on top of the salad ingredients.
Add the Cheese, Sour Cream, and Taco Sauce to the Salad.
Toss to mix.
Eat and enjoy!

Well, I weighed this morning and have gained a little. About 5 pounds; since I lost the 19 pounds a while back. I'm not quit sure what happened, but I assume I've been eating too much. LOL! I did make fried chicken and hot wings the other night. It was pretty yummy, too. We took them over to our daughter and her family's house. That was nice, but this is Monday, so I need to put that behind me, and move forward this week. I took my medicine, vitamins, fish oil and ate a banana this morning. Bananas are on my foods to avoid list, but I can eat one once in a while. So I did eat one this morning. It was the last one so I probably won't eat another one for a while.
I've been watching Extreme Weight Loss and they put a lot of emphasis on exercise; which is what I think I need to do. Maybe not to the extreme that they do, but a lot more than I have been. The subject seems to keep popping up. From the guy that lost a lot of weight by walking, to the show, it just seems to look like a necessary part of weight loss.
So I think I will get away from this computer and go exercise. Hopefully I can see it through this time. I will report back later.