BLT and HLT Dinners - Easy does it! and Less Calories too! Huh?

Oh okay, I have finally learned that it is fine to have sandwiches for dinner. Just been brought up thinking that sandwiches are NOT for dinner. Dinner was a time for good home cooked meals! Oh well . . . but for the past 2 months, I just ignored the guilt (particularly my Catholic guilt) and just enjoyed the ease and extra time. So sandwich nights are now a mainstay in my family's life.

So what is HLT? My son prefers ham, so instead of bacon ... voila ham it is. (But today, he actually asked for the bacon....)

Heads of lettuce always go to waste in my house. So instead of buying heads of lettuce, I go to Costco and buy their salad bags. They have various salads -- like the Grand Parisian, Ceasar Salad, etc. ... hmmm all great! These salad bags serve two purposes. I use them as the lettuce to add to my sandwiches, then the rest as salad. Saves time (don't have to peel, wash, and dry lettuce leaves) and no soggy lettuce remaining in my fridge.

So counting the calories, what bread do I use? What else but the 100-calorie bagel bread!! (of course, also available at Costco). Toasted ... it's great. We use either light mayo or light miracle whip.

What bacon do I use? The turkey bacon (of course from Costco). The calorie count I believe is just around 30 calories per strip. I just nuke the bacon. (I bought a special tray designed for microwaving bacon. Just a few dollars at Target. Worth the expense!) The thing is our family can't taste the difference between nuked bacon and bacon from a skillet. So nuking bacon is great, easy, and quick. My brother-in-law, however, does not like nuked bacon. (Oh well, can't have everything.)

So while nuking the bacon, I'm toasting the bagel. And in a few minutes (at most 3 minutes) --- a sandwich is ready.

But what is HLT and BLT without the bacon? (Oh okay, today we did not have tomatoes. Did not have them in the fridge... ) But the sandwiches today still turned out great -- easy to make, with little mess, and the most important thing -- they were delicious. The salad -- between being used in the sandwiches and being eaten as a salad ... all gone. Pretty much, dinner can be made (and maybe even eaten) within 15 minutes at most.

Dinner preparation was a breeze . . . Son fed, husband fed, and I'm full and done. Now to do something fun....

Practical Reality of a Working Mom - a start

Ha-ha. Isn't it ironical -- that me who has no time will start doing a blog!

It's not as if I have plenty of time, I am a full-time mom, a full-time attorney working as in-house counsel, I have a 9-year old son, two dogs -- a beagle and a golden retriever, a husband, and an adult daughter..... listed not in the order of time requirement from me.

What is this blog all about? Well, I am a very practical person. Since I have no time, I have learned the art of trying to make my life easier. So my hope is to share some of my secrets. Actually, a few of us want to share our secrets.

I am known as the Costco queen. I usually know what's new in Costco, to see if the new things available at Costco are good and can be prepared in a short span of time. About my other friends, I'll let them speak for themselves.

I also love to travel. I don't mind working, but as a reward for working -- I go on vacations! My husband and I made our bucket list (way before the movie even came on the screen). We realized that we we just don't have enough time. We are not immortal, so if we want to visit all the countries we would like to see -- we better start traveling right away.

I am also a saver. My husband says I make George Washington scream! (the way I stretch my dollar). Don't get me wrong, I don't think I am cheap, but I really hate paying for things that are not on sale -- unless it is absolutely necessary. But where before I saved and saved for the future, now I still do save but yet live in the now.

One of my dreams is to write a book. What better way than to start blogging so I can hone my writing skills.

This is a start ... Marie J.