I love my cousins!

A couple of my dear cousins came to visit me last week. It was a last minute, middle of the day visit that lasted late into the night. It's amazing how sharing the same grandparents and great aunts can bond people for life. Even though we rarely see each other, I know I could count on any one of my many cousins if I ever needed anything. Sitting on my couch, and sharing photos and stories brought me back to a simpler time in life. Ahhh. I guess my age is showing. It's hard to imagine a time before cell phones and computers. Technology has completely changed our social life. That is why it was refreshing to hang out in person and spend a carefree day visiting.

And I must say, I was quite impressed with the beautiful fruit plate that my cousin brought with her!

 

 

I am  so sorry that I have neglected Patti's Plate as long as I have. I've just been in a self indulgent pity party mood. I hope to slowly resurrect myself, but I am not going to promise daily writings. Suffice it to say, "Patti has had a lot on her plate lately."

Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls

I'm not going to discuss my lack of posts. We'll hold off on that discussion for another day. Since many of you have wondered what's been on Patti's plate lately, I'll share one dish. I've posted a variation of it before. It's another slow cooker recipe that is low in calories. It is practically calorie free except for the pork meatballs. I only used one half of a pound of meat for this huge pot of soup and it lasted for three days. I even ate it for breakfast twice. I made it with one onion, a whole head of cabbage, the meatballs, chicken stock and a bag of sauerkraut. It sounds like a strange recipe, but it is an easy variation of a stuffed cabbage dish that Tony's family made on Christmas. I like it and it is a low calorie comfort food. (And we all can use some comfort now and then.)

Surprise!

I love coming home to a surprise meal. This morning I put two chicken breasts into the crock pot. Then, I cleaned out the refrigerator; zucchini, onions, mushrooms, jalapenos, celery, and scallions. They all went into the slow cooker. I added a few seasonings, chicken broth and set it on low. By the time I came home from work, the house smelled like I had a secret chef cooking in my kitchen. All I needed to do was skin and remove the bones from the chicken and toss the chicken pieces back in the pot. It didn't even need rice or pasta! By the way, the picture is before cooking and seasonings.

Chicken Tikka Masala

I know I'm not as regular in my posts as I was a few months ago. I'm not sure how to motivate myself again. I lost my momentum; (not omentum, Dr. Oz) , and I can't seem to get it back. I eat really well for a few days, and then spoil any chance for real weight loss by eating a big fattening meal. That works to maintain my weight, but it doesn't allow me to go down another size. Last night was a fattening night. I took what could have been a perfect low fat chicken meal and dipped it in a pool of my high calorie, homemade, delicious chicken tikka masala sauce.  I love food!

 

Ironing

You may be wondering why I have a photograph of freshly ironed sheets on my blog today. I started my day by cooking a fresh pot of cabbage soup. I'm not exactly on "the" cabbage soup diet, but I definitely am eating a lot of cabbage soup these days. Since I posted a picture of it a few days ago, I didn't want to get too boring by posting a picture every time it lands on Patti's plate. (Or bowl) So.....I decided to post a picture of what I can do with my new found time when I am not obsessing about food. Today, among other things, I washed and ironed my  sheets.  zzzzzzzz

Roasted Zucchini

Will I ever be thin? I keep trying to come up with new ways to make vegetables. Some of you thin people reading this may not understand. Food just does not take up that much of your time. You eat a little bit of something healthy for dinner and move on. You are busy with other more important things in your life. "Eaters", on the other hand, obsess about their food. Even when we are on a diet. I guess that's the problem.
Tonight I made chicken and salad, but I added thinly sliced zucchini because I could use my mandolin. (The photo was taken before roasting) I keep trying to make cooking healthy foods more exciting. When I didn't care about the calorie count, my cooking was much more fun and creative.  Obviously I need to replace my food obsession. Tony is able to replace his with music. I guess I need to give this some more thought.