I don't know why, but my body craves yogurt. The only thing is that my body is picky. It  wants  yummy yogurt. My mind wants yogurt  without all the SUGAR and carbs. My body and my mind battle each other over..... yogurt?

Then I  discovered Yocheese. I saw it posted at Linda's site  http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/yocheese.html. I use Dannon's plain yogurt (not low fat or non fat). I use the  coffee filter in the old colander. I put my bowl with the colander/coffee filter/yogurt in the fridge, covered for at least 3 hours. Then I spoon the yogurt back in the original container. This stuff is CREAMY.  This method reminds me so much of Fage greek yogurt that I don't feel the need to go across town and pay $2 for a small container.  The big container of Dannon's is a little over $2 and I get several servings out of it. Plus, I can get Dannon's yogurt at my nearest  grocery store.

I recently tried to make my own yogurt and I was very disappointed. I decided to buy my yogurt--kinda like my decision to always buy my husband's flour tortillas.  It's not worth it to try to make those suckers.

My favorite way to eat this yocheese is with my Sugar Free Peach Preserves and DeVinci's SF caramel syrup. Iit!

Yesterday I ate some yogurt flavored with DaVinci's SF Vanilla syrup on top of my last piece of Grandpapa's Strawberry pie.  OMG!!!

I've read that draining the yogurt like this lowers the carb count......yippeee......

I decided to try a wrap sandwich kit by South Beach living--weighing in at 8 net carbs for 2 wraps.  At first glance, the tortillas look pretty small-but it was satisifying.  There was plenty of chicken.

This is a miracle. That's all I can say about this.  We had a note from FedEx on our front door yesterday. I called them this morning because I knew that nobody would be home when they tried to deliver today. They attempt to deliver 3 times and then send the package back.  I asked them who the package was for and where it was from.  I explained that I wanted to find out the details before we made the trip across town to pick this up. They were very nice and told me the package was for my husband and that it was from the Passport office in South Carolina.  At this point, I was thinking, time to go pick up Danny's paperwork, his birth certificate and documentation that we sent in. We had pretty much accepted the fact that he would be rejected. I called Danny and we decided to go this evening and pick it up. We had been discussing the possibility of starting another passport application for him and making an appointment at the Houston Passport office.  We would have all the paperwork ready to go. Anyway, we made the trip to the FedEx office and stood in line not even thinking about a passport actually being in the package. We finally got the envelope and Danny just handed it to me and said something like check to see if they returned everything. I felt the package and felt a small rectangular shape that felt like the size of my passport and thought ...hum......at that point I ripped open the package and saw the beautiful blue color of the passport. I grabbed it and started knocking on the car window. Danny was still trying to unlock the door. I started waving the passport at him through the window.  What a big smile we both had!!! We starting laughing and couldn't believe it. We both said. "Thank you God!" Then I said, time to book us Danno!! Cruisin is back!!

I named this -Grandpapa's SF Strawberry Pie- in honor of my Dad.  Before he got too disabled to drive, he used to take me out to lunch every Friday.  We would share a piece of Strawberry Pie when strawberries were in season.....memories.

Wow-Walmart has some SF strawberry pie glaze!!! The glaze has a little after taste-but not bad! I was thinking maybe a name brand wouldn't have an aftertaste.

The crust isn't bad either.  It's made with almond meal-I ground up some almonds.

Here's the recipe:
4 ounces almond meal/flour, 1 cup
2 tablespoons whey protein powder-vanilla flavor
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/16-1/8 teaspoon salt

Blend all of the ingredients in a small bowl and spread in a greased 9" pie plate. Bake at 350º 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring the crumbs after half the time. Watch closely the last couple minutes; they will brown very quickly. Cool completely before using.

I will make this crust again!!!

THE SAN ANTONIO SPURS PLAY TODAY!!! GO SPURS GO!

Here's  Jessica portraying Miss Margaritaville during a fiesta activity at her work.  Each department made a mini float and they had a competition . Her department won 1st place!

I made some eggbites mexican style for fiesta.I will post the recipe later!!

This is my fiesta shirt that my mom painted for me. It is her original pattern.  This shirt is probably 10-12 years old. I have a purple one just like it. My mom was a very talented artisan. I feel her presence when wearing the shirts she painted.  I have several hand painted t-shirts that I will post. Here we are, having breakfast!!

 

The King William Association  celebrates the history and diversity of Texas’ first historic neighborhood. Stroll past stately Victorian mansions as you enjoy a wide variety of drink and fine ethnic cuisine. Lovingly restored homes provide backgrounds for many of Texas’ best artisans as they offer their creations and demonstrate their artistry. Entertainment includes live music, dance groups and a small parade.

We attended the King William Fair this year. It was fun-VERY CROWDED! We walked at least 5 miles yesterday!

(NIOSA) A NIGHT IN OLD SAN ANTONIO

April 22-25, 5:30-10:30 p.m., La Villita

Each year the historic downtown village of La Villita takes center stage as 100,000 visitors gather to celebrate the city’s unique heritage at A Night in Old San Antonio. More than 240 elaborately decorated food and drink booths and more than a dozen nonstop entertainment stages represent the diverse cultures and customs of the city in 15 heritage-themed areas.

NIOSA, the largest historic preservation festival in the nation, supports the community through the preservation, education and research programs of the San Antonio Conservation Society, providing resources for the restoration and rehabilitation of historic properties in the San Antonio area.

A low carb tortilla filled with homemade ranchero sauce and cheese--it is essentially a quesadilla.  I used my homemade lower carb corn tortillas, but the Mission lower carb tortillas would work. GO SPURS! 

Monday--April 21, 7-9:30 p.m., San Antonio River Walk

Each year hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country line the banks of the San Antonio River to view  the Texas Cavaliers River Parade!

This year’s parade is titled Rio Holiday. More than 40  decorated floats sponsored by local community organizations and military installations drift down the San Antonio River. Spectators party up and down the river to the accompaniment of singers, musicians and live bands. King Antonio LXXXVI reigns over the evening’s festivities.

Low Carb Sangria

3 cups red wine

6-8 cups diet lemon lime soda

1 true lime packet

1 true lemon packet

1/2 splenda quik pack

1 package unsweetened orange kool aid--can use any fruit flavor

 

The Fiesta Carnival is from -April 18-27, at the Alamodome, 100 Montana, Parking Lot C.

Thrills and chills fill the air at one of the best carnivals in the land--now at a new location. Glittering lights, exciting rides and a wide assortment of foods in downtown San Antonio make the Carnival a perennial favorite of Fiesta-goers.

GO SPURS GO!!!!

 

FIESTA OYSTER BAKE - THE HEARTBEAT OF FIESTA

St. Mary’s University Alumni Association

April 18 & 19. Friday & Saturday, St. Mary’s University Campus, One Camino Santa Maria

The St. Mary’s University Fiesta Oyster Bake began in 1916 as a small gathering of alumni. Since that time the event has grown into one of the most popular Fiesta celebrations. The Oyster Bake features more than 100,000 oysters, served raw, baked or fried. Another 50 food booths dish up savory favorites such as fajitas, sausage on a stick, egg rolls, hamburgers and chicken on a stick. A variety of beverages is available to quench every thirst, while continuous rock ’n’ roll, Latin and country music compliment the feast.

 Here's my lower carb puffy taco dinner.Homemade lower carb puffy taco shellswith picadillo and some fresh beans.

Picadillo Ingredients:
1 pound of ground beef
1/2 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 jalapeno peppers or 1/2nbell pepper chopped
1 tablespoon of chili powder
1 tablespoon of cumin
1 tablespoon of Mexican oregano
2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro
1/2 cup of diced tomato 

Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of lime juice

Method:
Heat oil in skillet on medium heat.
Throw in onions and peppers, and cook for about 10 minutes.
Add garlic, and cook for 2 minutes.
Add all the other ingredients except the lime juice, stirring occasionally until meat is brown.
Cover skillet, turn heat down to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in lime juice.

GO SPURS GO!!!!

 

 

 

Cascarones

 

Our Fiesta celebration starts today. FIESTA SAN ANTONIO OFFICIAL OPENING CEREMONY is today at 10:00 am. The party  begins in front of the Alamo as the annual Opening Ceremony rings in 10 days of Fiesta excitement. This  event  features a festive atmosphere filled with singing and dancing.  Cascarones are broken and the crowd shouts  “Viva Fiesta!”

 

My fiesta dish for today is STRAWBERRY EMPANADAS

 

 

Made some yummy strawberry filled empanadas...........I used some of my no sugar added strawberry preserves for the filling.

Made some yummy eggbites. This week, we are having pepperoni eggbites!!These are very delicious. I omitted the mushroom-hubby doesn't care for them. This isn't a very good picture-sorry.

I'm working on a Chorizo Eggbite in honor of FIESTA -to be continued.......

 

 

Here's another installment to my reviews of lower carb frozen meals. This one is Lean Cuisine's Steak tips portabello.  The stats are 180 calories, 10 net carbs, for this 7.5 oz meal. It consists of beef rib tips & portabello mushrooms in a burgundy wine sauce with broccoli. The sauce is yummy!!  I ate this with a baby spinach salad.

 

 

 

The !#$%^&* washing machine decided to go haywire on us this weekend. We decided to bite the bullet and call a repair man stat. He could get to the house by 2:00 on Monday.  I decided that it was worth it to take 1/2 day off to get this matter taken care of.  I'm so glad I did because I got so much done.  I left work at 12:00 and stopped at my favorite veggie stop- Chicho Boys.....  http://www.chichoboys.com/  (check out their cute website).  I this place. I got a whole heap of the good stuff for $13.00.

The only things they didn't have on my list were green onions and baby spinach (they had regular old spinach). SO, I then stopped at Super Walmart (I knew the clock was ticken', had to be home by 2:00).  I didn't get to the store over the weekend and needed some essentials. I got out of Walmart $90 poorer(not bad) and 30 minutes to spare. Guess I was racin' down the aisles.

 

The repair man got to my house on time (shock of all shocks) and .... the washer did not act up.  Can you believe that? Just like the car when you take it in to the shop and it doesn't make that noise  or do that thing that it does.  Well, don't you know that I was a little perturbed at that.  The repair man stated that nothing was wrong, but that he could replace some clamps that were missing (?).  He went out to his truck and I noticed that he had moved some knobs on the machine and so I moved them back and guess what-the noise came back!!!!!  He was a little surprised when he came back into the laundry room and heard all the racket. Yep, I told him that it had been making a terrible, horrible noise, but he didn't believe me. So now, things have changed, and my washer now needs a new motor, a new pump, a new hose, and yes, 2 new clamps.  He did not have all the parts with him, so he gave me a quote of $150 (not bad) and a possible return time of after 6:00. He mentioned that he might need to return the next morning if he could not get back that night.  I pleaded with him to please come back that night---didn't want to take another 1/2 day from work.  By golly, he came back!! It was after 7:00, but who cares!  He repaired it in under 15 minutes.  We were very impressed.

 

Since I had some extra time on my hands, I repotted the rest of my veggies, polished my cute little piano, and made dinner.  Wow, I had quite a Monday!

We were on the road this weekend. We went to Bryan-College Station (Home of Texas A&M) for a family funeral.  On the way, we stopped to eat at a great place -Oakridge Smokehouse in Schulenburg, that had no sugar added preserves for sale. You can see that I bought one of each. I can't wait to eat my peach, strawberry, mixed berry, and blueberry preserves. I was able to sample the peach and strawberry, so I know exactly how they taste. I actually ordered the breakfast buffet because I could have bacon, ham, breakfast sausage, and polish sausage with scrambled eggs. It was great. I didn't care that everyone else was eating biscuits and pancakes. I had my protein!

Wow-one of my plants has a  bloom on it......zucchini here we come.

 

I bought the cutest little mini fluted tube pan. I am thinking of a recipe I want to make with this pan-to be continued.

 

 

 I will work on this one--ISANGRIA!!!