RR, I know several people who lost weight on Weight Watchers but I'm not one of them. I also stayed the same on the first two weeks of that South Beach atrocity that Amanda wanted me to try with her. As someone who lost a LOT of weight and has managed to keep it off so far, the only way I found to lose weight and keep it off was to eat anything I want. I just eat half of it. Since our American portions are so over-sized, it got me into the habit of just eating less. At Christmas I baked cookies with the grandkids. I ate them too, but just one that day they were freshly baked with a cup of tea and I kept a couple for snacks the next couple of days. I still eat anything I want, including pancakes or bread or dessert, but I only eat half. I have one of those contentious personalities that require me to always want what I'm told I CANNOT have. If I can have anything I want, I can practice enough restraint to just eat enough to satisfy me. I also have to point out that we take in a lot of calories in drinks. Wine has about 100 calories per 5 ounce glass, that's not very much wine. Beer is about the same and a 3 ounce margarita has 170. Have one glass of wine every day and you'll gain a pound a month without doing anything else differently. Fortunately I like vegetables and I love beans, so I eat a lot of those. I eat whole grain bread and pasta occasionally. I don't care much for fruit, so I'll eat apples, pears, occasionally oranges and tangerines, sometimes grapes, but I can't count on those as an afternoon snack, it's more likely hummus and celery for dipping. Eating out adds a LOT of calories, but I'm sure you knew that! Here's one of my favorite recipes, from Cooking Light (who has a great website with lots of recipes, BTW). The same brine works well for chicken too: APPLE CIDER BRINED PORK ROAST 3 cups apple cider 3 cups water 1 bay leaf ¼ cup salt 1 tbls black peppercorns 1 tbls coriander seeds 1 2 lb. Pork loin, trimmed 2 cups cider 1 ½ tsp chopped fresh rosemary 1 ½ tsp chopped fresh sage 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper Combine the first 6 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until salt dissolves. Remove from heat, cool, and pour into a Ziploc bag or container big enough to hold the pork loin. Add pork, seal and let marinate 8 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 350, bring 2 cups cider to a boil over medium high heat. Boil until cider is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 15 minutes. Set aside. Remove pork from bag or container and discard brine. Place pork on broiler pan or baking dish and lightly coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining herbs and bake about 1 hour, until pork is done, basting twice with the reduced cider in the last 20 minutes of baking. Remove from oven, baste with remaining cider reduction. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Serves 8 200 calories per 4 oz. Serving, 6 grams fat Good luck, I want to lose a couple of pounds in the next 6 weeks too, I'll have to wear shorts in Texas.... Annie

Stacy hit the nail on the head : " With new babies and other little ones, we are lucky to get Spaghetti'o's for supper LOL. Add to that we have one,two or three little ones added to DH and I in our queen sized bed every night so understand about the sleep deprevation. " Drake is teething like crazy and was vax'd Thursday and won't go to anyone else and won't play in his exersaucer or on the floor, he has to have momma. That's why I needed a recipe for a whole chicken in the crockpot, I didn't have the time to take it apart, and didn't want to use the oven. Thanks for the recipes, ya'll. Changeling, it's ok. It wasn't entirely you, and I forgive you anyway. I just don't cook the way I used to. It's exactly like Stacy said, some nights I'm lucky to get a can of anything opened for supper. I simply don't have the time or sanity to prepare an elaborate meal. And the forum has changed since I first started posting here, not saying that's bad, just saying that I haven't been able to keep up with the changes because of the direction I've gone with my life. Lyra had it right, too - I come here to visit old friends more than to post about what sides might go with apricot-chili pork loin. I don't have the opportunity to drop in often because of my two little ones. If I'm AWOL, it's because of them. : P

This won't work for tonight.....but good for tomorrow! I didn't note where I got it, so if it's from someone here, please step up and take credit!! And I'll fix my file! Deanna Roast Sticky Chicken 4 tsp salt 2 tsp paprika 1 tsp cayenne pepper 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp thyme 1 tsp white pepper 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp black pepper 1 large roasting chicken 1 cup chopped onion In a small bowl, thoroughly combine all the spices. Remove giblets from chicken, clean the cavity well and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mixture into the chicken, both inside and out, making sure it is evenly distributed and down deep into the skin. Place in a resealable plastic bag, seal and refrigerate overnight. When ready to cook chicken put onion in the cavity and put it in the crockpot and do not add any liquid. As the cooking process goes on it will produce it's own juices. Cook on low 8 to 10 hours and it will be falling off the bone tender.

Here's one from bon appetit, that I haven't tried yet. PORCINI-GORGONZOLA BURGERS WITH VEAL DEMI-GLACE (not my pic) A true demi-glace the luscious sauce made by reducing homemade stock and red wine to a rich concentration needs to simmer for several hours, making it the perfect activity for a lazy winter Sunday. Demi-glace 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 3 1/2 pounds meaty veal bones (such as shank knuckle bones or neck bones) 1 medium onion, chopped 1 medium carrot, chopped 1 celery stalk with leaves, chopped 12 cups cold water, divided 2 teaspoons tomato paste 3 fresh parsley sprigs 2 fresh thyme sprigs 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns 2 cups dry red wine Burgers 2 cups water 1 1/2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms,* broken into 1/2-inch pieces 3 pounds ground sirloin 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter 6 4-inch square or round sourdough rolls, halved horizontally Fresh arugula Olive oil 6 1/4-inch-thick slices Gorgonzola cheese For demi-glace: Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add veal bones and sauté until deep brown on all sides, about 12 minutes. Transfer bones to bowl. Add onion, carrot, and celery to pot. Sauté until browned, about 6 minutes. Add 2 cups cold water, tomato paste, herbs, and peppercorns; bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Add bones with any accumulated juices, then remaining 10 cups water to pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered until stock is reduced to 2 1/2 cups, about 4 hours. Strain into 4-cup glass measuring cup, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Refrigerate stock uncovered 1 hour. Spoon off fat from surface of stock. Place stock in heavy medium saucepan; add wine and simmer until reduced to 1 cup demi-glace, about 25 minutes. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.) For burgers: Bring 2 cups water and mushrooms to boil in small saucepan. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand until mushrooms soften, about 20 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer mushrooms to medium skillet. Slowly pour soaking liquid into skillet, leaving any sediment behind. Boil over medium-high heat until liquid is reduced to glaze, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes. Cool mushrooms. Transfer to work surface; chop mushrooms coarsely. Transfer mushrooms and any juices to large bowl. Add meat, salt, and pepper; mix gently. Shape mixture into six 1-inch-thick patties. Place on foil-lined baking sheet. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.) Preheat broiler. Rewarm demi-glace over medium-low heat; add butter and whisk until melted. Remove from heat. Place rolls, cut side up, on baking sheet. Broil until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Remove rolls; maintain broiler setting. Arrange roll bottoms on plates. Top with arugula. Heat 2 large broilerproof skillets over medium-high heat; brush with oil. Add 3 burgers to each skillet. Cook to desired doneness, about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Top each burger with slice of cheese. Broil burgers until cheese begins to melt, about 1 minute. Place burgers on roll bottoms; spoon some demi-glace over. Cover with roll tops. Serve, passing remaining demi-glace separately. *Dried porcini mushrooms are available at Italian markets, specialty foods stores, and many supermarkets. Makes 6 servings. Bon Appétit January 2004 Great ideas at this site, too, - I will possibly make 2 kinds - one for kids one for grownups.