#62... and a little diet update...

Well, I did it. I've managed to hit my lowest weight thus far. I don't know HOW I did it? My diet, again, took a major backseat this week. Having come down with strep throat last weekend, I took a solid 8 days off from my workout regime, and was forced instead to take a truly awful antibiotic that ruined me. TRULY RUINED ME. Evidently, I have a much more sensitive tummy than I thought because that pill tore me up... I literally couldn't 1) swallow solid food, much less liquid for a solid two days thanks to my strep throat and 2) couldn't keep solid food DOWN for the following two days thanks to the vomiting the antibiotic induced (awesome discussion for a food blog, yeah?).

ANYWAYS, long story short, you think with my lack of food I would've LOST a ton of weight, right? WRONG, I actually gained enough to be back up to about 136.6 over the course of being sick, which was cruel and unusual punishment on top of everything else. Thankfully after discovering my issues with the first antibiotic, the doctor put me on something a little less strong, and I celebrated being able to eat like a normal person by not only getting DELICIOUS sushi on Wednesday night with Jenna, but also helping myself to both a pineapple mango smoothie and a sausage McMuffin at McDonald's on Thursday morning before parent/teacher conferences because I deserved it. Conferences are HORRIBLE so I NEEDED a treat, and how often are you up early enough to get McDonald's for breakfast, honestly?

So after all of that... I lost weight. I don't understand my body, I probably never will.

Weight on 12/29/2011- 146.6 pounds
Weight as of 3/10/2012- 133.6 pounds
Total weight loss- 13 pounds
Weight to go until goal #2- 3.6 pounds (if I want to hit 130... gosh, who knows anymore, LOL)

The biggest reason I wanted to write this blog though was because I baked. For no real good reason. Well, maybe there was a reason. I came across the most girly, pink cookies, and I needed to make them. NEEDED TO. I have been doing so much chocolate lately, I needed a little break, plus pink is just so springy, it's exactly what we need on this dreary, rainy, windy Sunday morning in the Tri-Cities. Plus, I am hoping it influences some of my future sister-in-laws to make me some more nieces, because this world needs more adorable little girls... or that's what I've decided after seeing WAY TOO MANY adorable little girl items on Pinterest lately. It wouldn't be too premature for me to create a board on Pinterest for baby items, would it? Yes? Dang...

#62: Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting (as found on http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com)

Ingredients:

For the cookies:
1/2 cup of butter, softened
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
One 18.25 oz. box of strawberry cake mix (I used Pillsbury, because I've found it's the cheapest usually, and it makes the fluffiest baked goods. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it)

For the frosting:
1/2 cup of butter, softened
3/4 cup of cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups of powdered sugar

Directions:

Just a heads up, I improvised a lot because I saw the recipe turning out badly if I followed it verbatim, so if you check the original recipe, you'll see many tweaks!

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease cookie sheet with cooking spray. In a mixing bowl combine the softened butter, eggs, vanilla and stir by hand or with a mixer until combined.  Add the cake mix and stir until smooth.  If the dough seems too wet to be cookie dough, add a bit more cake mix, one tablespoon at a time, until it’s less wet. Conversely, if the dough seems dry and it’s not combining, add a tablespoon or two of water.
     - Blah, blah, blah- yeah, I went ahead and just dumped all the ingredients into a bowl, mixed them with my hand mixer until the batter was nice and smooth. I didn't need to add and additional cake mix or water, promise.
     * PS- love her use of the word "conversely" in a food blog. Big-ups to SAT words!


2. Chill dough in freezer for 15-20 minutes, as chilled dough seems to spread less while baking. 
     - Just do it, trust me.


3. Take the dough out of the freezer, and roll into 1-inch round balls (I just used a tablespoon measure, scooped out my batter, rolled it in my hands, and plopped it on the cookie sheet. BOOM! Perfect). Stick cookies in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the cookies are just turning brown along the edges. They may look a bit loose and jiggly after only 8 to 10 minutes, but they will continue to cook on the sheets after you remove the from the oven and will firm up as they cool.  Do not over bake.  Allow the cookies to cool well (on the cookie sheets is fine) before attempting to move them.
     - I actually kept mine in for 12 minutes, and it worked out beautifully. Check these bad boys out.

So cute, and pink, and tasty!... just don't tell anyone I was eating raw dough again...

4. While the cookies are baking, combine the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla in a bowl. Once this mixture is smooth, add the three cups of powdered sugar until the frosting is smooth and forms stiff peaks.

     - I used a hand mixer for the wet stuff, and then a spoon to mix in the sugar, because if there is one thing I have learned, powdered sugar will fly EVERYWHERE if you let it! Here's my AWESOME stiff peaks. Seriously, this is the best luck I have ever had with homemade frosting.

5. Allow the cookies to cool completely prior to frosting. Cover with sprinkles as desired.

    - And desired I did.

So adorably delicious! I know, I know, I know... I have gotten pretty lazy with the cake mix cookies. I promise the next treat I make will require a little more work, scout's honor!