Mesa's Place

A little over a year ago this recipe was everywhere I looked on Pinterest and I couldn't resist trying it out.  At the time I was living with my [then] boyfriend and his 2 elementary age boys, one of whom was an extremely picky eater.  Lucky for me, the meal was a hit and they didn't know that I had used healthier ingredients. About a month ago I joined a Beachbody challenge and armed with what I have learned there along with my extensive Weight Watchers knowledge, I made it for myself last night (planning to freeze some of the leftovers for a later time). I make no claims for creating this, I honestly have no idea where the first one came from with all the sites I found that had it listed.  I also do not want anyone to think this is the healthiest version out there, (I know there are several clean eating versions where you basically make pizza sauce from scratch, etc.) but this is the version that works for me, and is fairly quick- you can obviously make chang...

I quickly took these pics last night while getting everything together and posted them on my Beachbody Challenge group wall (Which I plan to talk more about in the future!) in the hopes it could benefit someone else. "Most of my day I'm driving or at work so I pre-cook and pack a day or 2 in advance (like I'm sure a lot of you do!) While getting things ready last night  I thought I'd show you the system I came up with because I was tired of having to remember random items all over the kitchen. I usually do 2 days worth like pictured. I pack each day's breakfast, lunch and 2 snacks in a plastic basket and then pop it in the fridge (even the stuff that doesn't need to be cold) The next morning, all I have to do is put a full basket in one of those canvas shopping bags, which I always have equipped with eating utensils, vitamins, etc. and I'm out the door! Once I get to work I can transfer the stuff that needs to stay cold into the fridge, gr...

A couple months ago I was surfing the webs for recipes involving bacon because, let's face it, to most men it is considered its' own food group and my boyfriend is no exception.  I found this delicious looking recipe for Bacon Chicken Dumplings, promptly printed it out and purchased the ingredients for us to make that night. Long story short, it was delicious... and enough to feed an entire college campus at 2am on a Friday night.  We were juggling pots and pans like the Ringling Brother's Circus !  "But the recipe says a large skillet," Boyfriend had said as we pulled out a third pan to accommodate the growing proportions. The boys (Sauce who is 7 and Pants who is 9) loved it.  Pants is a very picky eater and not usually a fan of chicken unless it is deep fried and covered in ketchup but he devoured his serving and even came back for seconds.  After the overwhelming response, Boyfriend and I decided we needed to make the recipe again but we made some c...