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Happy Thursday!!! Boy it was a rainy one!! Wow...I haven't seen rain like that in a long time!

Breakfast was Fage yogurt with a tablespoon of sugar free strawberry jelly and a half cup of Fiber One cereal and some strawberries.

I took the kids to school and got completely soaked in the process. Ugh. But my spirits were soon lifted when I arrived at Great News for another cooking class! Today's class was on Home Style French Bistro Cooking with my favorite instructor Phillis Carey.

First up was French Onion Soup with Gruyere Croutons. How could this be bad?

The next two were served on the same plate: Roasted Garlic and Gruyere Cheese Souffle (outstanding) and Seared Scallops with Tarragon Butter Sauce (also amazing).

Next was Provencal Pork Chops Braised with Tomatoes, Capers and Fresh Rosemary with Celery Root and Potato Puree. This was incredible. I may make this soon for the hubby except using chicken instead of the pork.

Dessert was Crepes Isabella with Sour Cherries and Orange Sauce. This was just ok to me. Everyone around me was oooing and ahhhing over it but it didn't do it for me really.

I went straight from class over to Lisa's house for Day 8 of P90X. The week started over today so it was back to the Chest/Back video followed by the Ab Ripper. I am really starting to dislike the ab video. It's 16 minutes of crazy, intense ab work. Today's workout really pooped me out...not sure why....maybe it was because I was doing it in the afternoon versus the morning....or could it be all the French food in my tummy? :)

When I got home, I had a LARGE handful of these babies:

I. Love.These.

Then I just vegged on the couch for awhile watching the rain and drinking some gingerbread tea. When 5:00 rolled around, I decided it was time for a glass of this:

And I stuck with just one. Good for me!

Dinner was a recipe for Beef, Cheese and Noodle Bake from Cooking Light. Before baking:

Here's the finished product with a salad with light dressing:

I put some cholula on the noodles and it was pretty good. About 6 points for around a cup of it and it was pretty filling.

Recipe:

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)
Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) package small elbow macaroni
Cooking spray
1 cup prechopped onion
1 cup preshredded carrot
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1 pound lean ground sirloin
1 cup tomato sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup fat-free milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) 2% reduced-fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese (such as Cracker Barrel), divided

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Lightly coat pasta with cooking spray.
Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and carrot, and sauté 4 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add ground beef; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add tomato sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes or until most of liquid evaporates.
Add pasta to beef mixture in pan, stirring to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
Place milk, flour, nutmeg, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan; stir with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat 2 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add 1 cup cheese, stirring until smooth. Pour cheese mixture over pasta mixture; stir. Top evenly with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information
Calories:
283 (24% from fat)
Fat:
7.7g (sat 4.2g,mono 2.4g,poly 0.7g)
Protein:
22.3g
Carbohydrate:
30.1g
Fiber:
2.1g
Cholesterol:
46mg
Iron:
3.1mg
Sodium:
622mg

And I'm out.