Recipe: Curried Beef Stew

This is a new recipe I sort of invented yesterday. It's a little spicy, so you can leave out the red pepper flakes or add as much or as little to make it as spicy as you want. And you can add more veggies if you want. I added chicken kielbasa to help up the protein count. hope you like it!

Ingredients:

4 red potatoes (diced)
1 large onion (sliced into rings)
2 tomatoes (diced)
1 container sliced mushrooms
1 lb lean stew meat
1 zucchini (sliced)
1 chicken kielbasa
1 tbs curry powder
1 cup beef broth
flour

Placed all the veggies and meat in a crock pot or casserole dish (if you are cooking in the oven).

melt 3 tbs butter in a medium saucepan. Add curry powder. Add enough flour to get a nice paste and stir continuously for a about a minute. Add beef broth and simmer for a few minutes. Pour into casserole dish or crock pot and add enough water to come just under the top layer of ingredients. Add as much red pepper flakes as you want. I used a pinch. Cook until veggies are tender and meat is cooked through. (at 350 degrees, probably about an hour or two.) I let mine sit in the crock pot for about 5 hours.

Weight Loss Stuff

Okay, a couple of people I know have asked for some tips on weight loss and recipes and stuff. I have lost 76 lbs since I gave birth about a year ago. The biggest change in my life was not so much my daughter, but the fact that my husband had gastric banding and we had to completely overhaul our diets. Not that we were eating a lot of junk before, but we've had to really clean up the few stragglers -- and that means carbs. I've done just about all of the different diets out there, with no success until now. There's a reason that people who have bariatric surgery lose so much weight, and it's not all to do with the decreased portion size. It's the high protein, low fat, minimal carb diet. Do you have to give up everything? Probably not, but the more you do, the more you'll probably lose. So, my first brand name recommendation is for bread....yep, i eat bread...but only 1 slice at a time and only about 2 - 3 times per week. We only buy Martins Whole Wheat Potato Bread. Best for calories (70 per slice), with lower carbs than other breads, and a good dose of protein (6g). I've tried the "diet" bread that's super low carb, and to be honest, you might as well be eating a piece of cardboard. This actually tastes great and has a good texture, plus whole grains. We like to have 1 slice with breakfast (usually with a little sugar free jelly -- my husband does eat regular jelly because he can't stand the taste of the sugar free kind) -- or we'll have a slice with peanut butter as a snack. (another brand name.... we only use Peter Pan whipped peanut butter).

I call my daughter Stinky Butt.

I'm not sure how or why I started calling her this, but I did and it stuck. Now it just comes right out of my mouth and I'm sure I get goofy looks from concerned parents who use traditional nicknames like Princess or Slugger or Kiddo. I think it all comes from my mom, who called us all McFly, and encouraged us to have insult contests in the car. We all have a pretty quick, if sometimes a bit dark, sense of humor and a good dose of self esteem. Personally, I like to think that I'm encouraging her to laugh at herself a little. I mean, I have to laugh every day at the stretch marks and dimples on my body!