WARNING: Nearly Meatless Post

Hey y'all! I'd like to start by wishing my mom and soon to be sister-in-law Lisa Happy Belated Birthdays. I hope you had fun celebrating them! I will be heading to Gatlinburg, TN with Lisa tomorrow for her bachelorette trip! It should be a fun time. I am not exactly in strict diet mode right now but I do plan to try not stuffing EVERYTHING in my face this weekend…just mostly everything. I'm about the same as always. I fluctuate the same five pounds back and forth pretty much every other week. When I get back from the trip, I'd like to get in the zone a few weeks to prepare for the wedding, Halloween AND the book release. That's right y'all, My Life With(out) Ranch will be here in a month! I'm so excited!

This week, I wanted to share a recipe with you that took be way back to a time when I actually tried not to eat meat. It's been awhile, but sometimes I like to relive those days and try a delicious veggie dish. This time, I went all the way out on a limb and cooked tofu. I know at this point, some of you have stopped reading. I get it. Tofu can be gummy and it's flavorless…BUT if you prepare it correctly, it can be good. First, and most importantly, you HAVE TO PREP IT. Seriously, if you don't, it will be gross. To prep it, put several paper towels on a paper plate. Place the block of tofu (I get extra firm) on top of the towels, then add several more. Then, add the cast iron skillet to the top and let it sit there for about an hour. Once all the water has soaked into the paper towels, I kind of treat it like chicken at that point. I cut it into cubes and it's ready to go. I popped some steamable broccoli from the freezer into the microwave while I let a pan heat with non-stick cooking spray, a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil and one squirt from my olive oil sprayer. Then, I pile in the tofu and the broccoli. To that I add onions, salt, pepper, garlic, a tablespoon of teriyaki sauce, a teaspoon of brown sugar, a tiny pinch of crushed red pepper and a LOT of low sodium soy sauce. You can play with the measurements but I have to go light on anything sugary if I'm counting Weight Watchers points. They don't like sugar y'all. At that point, you just have to make sure the tofu is cooked (I don't think I cooked it long enough still) and that everything is all married together. I just put it in a bowl and topped it with a bit more soy sauce, toasted sesame seeds and green onions. It had great flavor but at the end of the day, I think I'd just rather use chicken. It's free on Weight Watchers and I prefer the texture. It was a good way to knock out a Chinese food craving though.

The other quick thing I wanted to show you was a charred corn and cucumber salad. That seems summer-y but since it's still around 90 in Alabama every day, I can no longer tell what season it's SUPPOSED to be. This is super healthy and tasty and of course, easy. I had Ian grill me up some corn and then I scraped it off the cob and combined it in a bowl with chopped cucumber, light Italian dressing (Olive Garden's brand is pretty good), fat free feta cheese, and bacon bits. This could be totally veggie without those but they add a nice, salty flavor. I love salads but sometimes I just skip right over the lettuce and just have the veggies.

That's it y'all! I'm busy as all get out right now with this semester!

Until next month!

Bye!