Singing for a smaller me

First, I want to send a shout out to Rita at The Giggly Bits since it's her birthday. Happy Birthday!!!!

(Now, forgive me as I turn into an infomercial, because - ohmigod - everyone needs one of these things!)




I don't know about you, but I kind of hate buying cooking sprays. They're overpriced, why not use what you have at home, and - hello! - aerosols!! Enter Misto (and chances are everyone and their mom knows about this but me, but I don't care!!!), the reuseable, refillable, oil sprayer.

While moving our friend this weekend, I spied one of her roommates using this ingenious device. While technically there to move our friend, I found a few minutes to ask about it, what it was, and what it did. Get this: Put 1/3 cup of olive oil (or whatever other oil) in the bottle, close it, pump it up, and voila: instant cooking spray. It lasts forever and it's reusable (w00t!).

*insert teen-aged squeeing here* Ooo, unncecessary kitchen device that might even be helpful!! I knew I had to get this. And that's all I could think about the entire time we were moving: getting to Bed, Bath & Beyond and buying one or five of these magical devices.

Cut to dinner and we're not a block from Bed, Bath & Beyond. Yeah, guess where I was going? And what I was getting? Heh heh heh. And I told the hubby too. Something unintelligible like, "OMG, I need this thing because it's superly awesomely awesome and it will change my life and, and, and . . ." Maybe not quite that bad, but you get the point. Glad he's a device person as well, cause after seeing it he went squee too (Yay!).

(BTW it's $10 at Bed, Bath & Beyond - totally worth the cost!)

Of course, I didn't get the chance to use it all weekend long, and all I wanted to do was cook something so I could use my new amazingly magical spraying device of awesomeness. But we ate out all weekend long except for that rushed Sunday night meal which wasn't cooked. Grr.

Finally, last night (after making more of last week's super fabulous Couscous Salad) I knew it was time. Time for Misto to be put to good use. What better than spraying down the pan to make a super tasty veggie wrap?? Two quick sprays and the pan was covered, and I'd used far less than the tablespoon it normally takes to prime a pan. *Happy Dance* Okay, this thing works exactly as advertised. Now to go buy a couple (or ten) more.

Saturday, since Barnes & Noble was just one store over, I dragged the hubby there too. Ostensibly, I was looking for cookbooks, but found myself in the fitness section leafing through body sculpting books. Wound up walking out with two things: the Body Sculpting Bible Express for Women (will likely buy the full version later) and Jillian Michaels Hot Bod in a Box (yeah, it's not a DVD so she won't scare the living sh*t out of me!!). The JM box won't be used for a while, but I thought it was helpful to set it as an aspiration.



I'm trying to establish a more structured and consistent workout routine (and with the hockey season still going, chances of getting the gym membership are low), so I bought the new book to serve as trainer and guide for body sculpting. This week is a test run of Week One of its Six Week Workout plan. If it works for me (as I hope it will since I spent a lot of time looking at books), next week I'll start Week Two and keep going from there.

Finally, I figured I'd share my Fabulous Veggie Wrap recipe from last night (since it used my magical spray of awesomeness and all!):

Teriyaki Veggie Wraps
POINTS® Value: 3
Preparation Time: 2-5 minutes
Cooking Time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients
2-4 sprays cooking spray (Misto!!!!)
1 1/2 cups white onion, sliced
1 10 oz. package mushrooms
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 cup bell peppers, red and greeen
2 wedges Laughing Cow Garlic and Herb Cheese Wedges
4 cups spinach, stems removed
4 La Tortilla Factory High Fiber Large Tortillas

Instructions
1. Spray a frying with two sprays of cooking spray and set over medium high heat.
2. Add onion, mushroom, salt and pepper to pan and saute for five minutes. Spray twice more with cooking oil if necessary.
3. Add teriyaki sauce and saute for another two minutes.
4. Add in bell peppers and saute until mushrooms have reduced, approximately another five minutes. Remove from heat.
5. Spread one tortilla with half a cheese wedge, top with one cup spinach and a quarter of vegetable mixture.
6. Wrap and enjoy.

Yields 4 vegetable wraps.

NOTE: I'm big on buying things pre-sliced and chopped if at all possible to minimize on preparation time - I hate cutting if I don't have to. My onions and bell peppers came in a fajita vegetable mix and I separated the onions out, then threw them in the pan with the bag of pre-sliced mushrooms. All told, this took a total of 20 minutes to prep, cook and plate, and it was delicious.