Today for lunch I just had a simple sandwich - whole wheat bread, reduced fat mayo, turkey breast, tomato and lettuce - but on the side I had my new favorite chip - Popchips. I first heard of these from the Hungry Girl Cookbook a pretty neat cookbook if you're eating lower fat these days, but we don't have the Pop Chips available anywhere locally, at least not that I have found yet anyway, so I actually have to order them from Amazon foods online. I have been buying the one ounce single serving sized variety 36-pack, which works out to be about 85 cents a bag, and the single serving size keeps me from overeating them, so worth it to me since I tend to have portion control issues.

Anyway, the case comes with Barbeque, which is my hubby's fav, Salt & Pepper, Parmesan & Garlic, Sea Salt & Vinegar and plain Original, all of which are fantastic! I'm not a big chip eater, but when eating lower fat, well ... baked chips leave much to be desired if ya ask me. These are different. They aren't fried. They aren't baked. They are popped! So they are healthier than the standard chips, yet unlike the dry, flavorless baked chips that are out these days, Pop Chips are loaded with flavor and crunch, and are nice and salty ... but don't make me puff up with water retention like salty foods tends to do to me. A very good alternative and really delicious - you should give Popchips a try sometime. Oh and they come in a corn chip variety pack too, though I haven't tried those yet.

Glazed Baby Carrots

A quick and easy side dish recipe, written for cooking in the microwave with holiday cooking in mind when the stovetop can be otherwise occupied. It can also be done on the stovetop too of course.

Southern-Style Cube Steaks and Gravy

Because they have similar ingredients, folks seem to confuse this dish with Chicken Fried Steak, but like Hamburger Steak with Creamy Onion Gravy, cube steaks are dredged in flour, browned then simmered in a brown gravy until cooked through. Cube steaks and gravy also usually include onion and often mushrooms, for those of us who like them. It's a dish that's been around for a long time.

Chicken Fried Steak is prepared similar to our fried chicken - hence the name - and is dredged in a flour coating similar to what we also use on our classic fried chicken and fried in oil, but it's not cooked in a gravy like cube steaks and gravy. A white milk or cream based gravy is prepared separately and is served spooned over the fried steaks instead and also served on the side.

You also wouldn't often see Chicken Fried Steak cooked with onions or mushrooms either.

You see? There is a little bit of a difference.

Beans and Weenies

The Cajun and I had the munchies tonight (and I wonder why I don't lose weight) sooooo I remembered that when I cleaned out the fridge of the bits and pieces of leftovers earlier today I'd run across some hot dogs I'd forgotten about.

So, beans and franks or beanie weenie as we call it, sounded like a plan. Really I just wanted to put it here so I'd remember what I did, but in case anybody's wandering by, measurements are basically guesstimates. Just taste it and see if you like it. Oh, and grab a yummy yeast dinner roll to sop up the juice for sure. I had a few in the freezer that I meant to serve with dinner, but forgot. Worked out now didn't it?

Whole Wheat Bread

So, I decided to give another whole wheat bread recipe a try. This time I used a 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread recipe at the King Arthur Flour website.

As you see, I had a much better crown this time. Thankfully, this recipe gave the recommended pan dimensions, so I dug into the deep reaches of my pan cabinet and found my old air bake loaf pan that is 9 x 5 inch - as opposed to the pans I recently bought that are 10 x 5 inch. Definitely made a difference I think!