Best time of the year!

It is fast approaching... Yes the best damn time of the sports year! You have March Madness and Opening Day fast approaching!!!! 

Lets start out by choosing the NCAA Tourney....

My Bracket


I did choose Ohio State as my Champion. I have never won any pools in my life. While I have heard about people winning by simply choosing the colors of the teams they like. huh wish I was that lucky!

I am pulling for the Illini of course but I have them going to the 2nd round even though I do not belie they should be in the tourney at all. They should be a 3 seed in the NIT. But gota give them one win...

My final 4 (Ohio St, UCon, Kansas, St. Johns)

I was back and forth on the Ohio St. vs UCon game... Lets hope I chose wisely....


OK now onto MLB!!!!

I am a Cardinals fan but I did not let that deter me from choosing a NL Central Champion.

This year I belive the NL Champs will be the BREWERS...

My predicted order of finish is:


I think the brewers stepped up and got the pitching they needed and have the firepower in their order to do big things this year! More baseball talk later... Predictions of NL Champs/AL Champs, World Series and NL/AL MVP and Rookies all coming soon....

Recipe of the day!!!!!

Creamy Chocolate Dip   PointsPlus™ Value:    2 Servings:  14 Preparation Time:  5 min   Wonderful with fresh fruit but also tasty with a thin layer of peanut butter on reduced-calorie whole wheat toast. Ingredients   1 1/2 cup(s) canned chickpeas, loose skins removed, washed, drained    3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa    1/2 cup(s) sugar    3 Tbsp fat-free sweetened condensed milk    3 Tbsp hot water    Instructions Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender; blend until smooth. Allow to set up in refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Yields about 2 tablespoons per serving.

A Chef in the making....

Sunday Funday got off to a good start!!!! My grandma showed me how to make pierogi!!!!!! I have loved these for a long time. I always wanted to learn to make them and that time came Sunday! I remember going to Toledo, Ohio and having these I think it was Stanleys Market and well My grandma and her sister used to make them all the time also! Its not that hard its just time consuming... Started at 10 am and finished by 12:30. I made a total of 65... Now the hard part is finding the cheese to use. I think I'm going to try the fruit ones too! Now gota go to the store and buy a heavy duty mixer!!!!


In case you dont know what a Pierogi is...

Pierogi- Pierogi are served in a variety of forms and tastes (ranging from sweet to salty to spicy) in Polish cuisine. Pierogi were traditionally peasant food, but eventually spread in popularity throughout all social classes, including nobles. They are served at many festivals, playing an important role as a cultural dish. At the 2007 Pierogi Festival in Kraków, 30,000 pierogi were consumed daily. Polish pierogi are often filled with fresh white cheese (curd, pot cheese), potatoes, and fried onions, which is the most popular variety in North America. In Poland more popular are pierogi filled with ground meat, mushrooms and cabbage, or for dessert an assortment of fruits (various berries, with either strawberries or blueberries being most common). Sweet pierogi are usually served with sour cream, while savory with bacon fat and bacon bits. Poles traditionally serve two types of pierogi for Christmas Eve supper. One kind is filled with sauerkraut and dried mushrooms, another – small uszka filled only with dried wild mushrooms – are served in clear borscht.^[1] Leniwe pierogi ("lazy pierogi") are a different type of food, similar to lazy vareniki, kopytka, or halušky.




Time to get on making me some pierogi!!!! Well if you ask for a recepie you wont get one haha. There is no measuring out ingredients or any of that in the Pollock way of cooking!! It's a little of this add some of that well that looks right don't you think...

So we start out mixing the cheese with a few spices and onions and what not in a large bowl. We used 5 tubs of cheese. Stuff was cold made my hands go numb damn it...


MmMmMm that  the good stuff.... After thats all mixed up you can do 2 things. Keep all the cheese in the bowl and scoop it as you need it or make small balls to put into the dough. I choose the balls since its faster. 



Next comes the fun part making the dough! You have to use a heavy duty mixer! None of those hand mixers the little motors just cant take it...  Add 5 eggs (only thing that was ever fixed in this whole process) then add some flour... I asked how much and got enough but not too much.... WTF haha

So if you add too much flour just add some water. Easy enough... Beat the eggs then add the flour and wahlah i have the dough! This will stuff about 8 or 9 perogi depending on how much cheese you put in them...


Cover the counter with flour and roll out the dough and cut it using this old anciet polish cutting tool
(aka a large soup can) ha...







After you get the dough cut into circles add the cheese to center fold and pinch the dough shut!



after you have 5 completed you can boil them until they float.... After they start to float remove with a spoon and rinse under cold water to keep them from sticking to each other!



After rinsing them off set them on drying racks and let them dry till they are no longer sticky. This is the longest part!!! After Drying double bag them and freeze them...





Or fry em up and enjoy!!!




It was a good time making these. I can not wait to make some more, I think I am going to sell them at our garage sell this spring. $10 for 6.... Wonder if I will make any money... Going to try fruit ones sometime soon. You have to deep fry those tho. Top it with some whip cream and brown sugar and it should make for a good desert...

BOY GIRL BOY GIRL BOY GIRL

Well today Ali and I found out the sex of our baby. Well what do Butkus, Singletary, and Urlacher all have in common? They are all Great Chicago Bears Linebackers.... Soon to be followed by our SON... Yep you guessed it a BOY!!! Due July 31st.... 

All along Ali and I have been saying we will be having a boy. For some reason we just knew it... I guess when we surprised my parents with a boy snoopy blanket at Christmas we jinxed it.... For some reason I kept having dreams we were going to have a son. 

When the tech first started the sonogram right away you could tell the baby was a boy. He was not shy about it at all. Wanted to show the world on that little screen.  

More later time to get some stuff done.. 


Leaving you with my favorite chinese dish.

 General Tso's Chicken
 PointsPlus™ Value:    7
Servings:  4

 

Ingredients

	3/4 cup(s) canned chicken broth, reduced-sodium
	1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
	2 Tbsp sugar
	2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
	1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
	1/2 tsp ground ginger
	2 tsp peanut oil
	2 medium scallion(s), chopped
	2 clove(s) garlic clove(s), minced (medium)
	1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or 1 dried chili pepper, minced
	1 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 2-inch pieces
	2 cup(s) cooked white rice, kept hot

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, whisk together broth, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and ginger; set aside.
  
• Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallions, garlic and red pepper flakes; cook, stirring frequently, 2 minutes. Add chicken; sauté until browned all over, about 5 minutes.
  
• Add reserved sauce to pan and simmer until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes.
  
• Serve chicken and sauce over rice. Yields about 1 cup chicken with sauce and 1/2 cup rice per serving.

Another Day Another Dollar!

Weigh In Day...
Today is Thursday, time to weigh in at weight watchers... I was worried abit today because Saturday I went to Mardigras! I tried to track all my food I ate, which I did a really good job (skipped the buffect with prime rib/sushi/crab and all the other goodies and ate a 1/2 lb burger instead with toppings and fries :( 13 points)  But I did drink a few beers and what not. But I did walk around for 6 hours...

So I step on the scale expecting to gain weight.... WOW A LOSS OF 2.2 lbs.

I can not believe it, I did stay within my daily points with the food and beer i drank but just barley. Beer went from 3 pts to 5 pts in the new system so that sucks but oh well what can you do!  I am liking the program of WW, learning that you can eat what you want but being realistic with portion control is nice. My goal is to get down to around 200-215 is what my Dr. and I have came up with is a healthy weight. Doc said I could get down smaller but I would have to cut out some free weights and do more cardio and that does not sound fun to me, so I will shoot for that to be my goal!

One of the guidelines in WW is to drink water and plenty of it. Well water is not very tasty and I would rather be drinking a diet coke or something else.... I like water plain and simple if its ice cold but when your at the gym or what not kinda hard to get that. I have fell in love with WalMart water called Clear American Pomegranate Blueberry ACAL... So Good, yes its a flavored sparkling water but man this stuff taste great! Makes if feel like your drinking Stoli Blueberry and Sprite! I have on a few occasions bought my WalMart out of these. Yes I am that guy that will take up 20 bottles of this to the check out!!!! But at 60 cents a bottle its worth it!!!! If they do not have this water Sams Club is my next best friend, they carry the crystal lite packets in strawberry, strawberry lemonade, pomegranate and plain ole lemonade in a variety pack. I go through those packs pretty fast. But I am getting in my water pretty easily now thanks to those 2 methods!!!


MardiGras St. Lou Style


This year there were 24 of us roaming the streets of Soulard!!!! It was fun as always, the three B's were there!!! Beer, Beads, and Boobies.... I will have many memories of these pre baby parties haha. I am sure I may get to come down to this after baby too but you never know... I could tell you stories after stories but what goes on down there stays down there i guess..... Tho we did get one 12 year old kid a good show to see. This lady wanted a set of my beads and i told her she knew how to get them lol. But there was a kid next to me. She said but there is a little kid next to you... He spoke up and said let me see them tittys! I about died laughing!!!!!!!!!  So she got the beads and the kid had a nice big smile!!!


Roulet on the Landing:


My new favorite game to gamble on!!!!!! I tried it a few times out in vegas a few years back but only done the red and black bets... Well the landing this weekend was my friend... I have yet to lose at this game, I am sure it is only a matter of time but thats gambling right? :)

I won my fair share saturday night. Hell I even had people betting where I was putting my money! haha whats the saying its only Gambling if you know your going to lose? bwahahahaha. There are many ways to bet on this game and different odds of winning and what not. Below is a chart that helps to learn the odds...

Bet	Pays	Probability Win	House Edge
Red	1	47.37%	5.26%
Black	1	47.37%	5.26%
Odd	1	47.37%	5.26%
Even	1	47.37%	5.26%
1 to 18	1	47.37%	5.26%
19 to 36	1	47.37%	5.26%
1 to 12	2	31.58%	5.26%
13 to 24	2	31.58%	5.26%
25 to 36	2	31.58%	5.26%
Sixline (6 numbers)	5	15.79%	5.26%
First five (5 numbers)	6	13.16%	7.89%
Corner (4 numbers)	8	10.53%	5.26%
Street (3 numbers)	11	7.89%	5.26%
Split (2 numbers)	17	5.26%	5.26%
Any one number	35	2.63%	5.26%

The easy one is to bet red/black or even/odd I like to do this hell you have a 47% chance of winning but it only pays out what you put down... The real fun is when you are betting on numbers and hit :) thats what happened on saturday night!!!

after I had won 7 turns in a row a guy sat next to me. Asked if I liked even or odd..... I thought eh he gona put down $5 on whatever I say so I said even.... GULP he threw down $2100 on even..... I looked at him and didn't know what to say. So the lady rolls the ball and we stare at the numbers........ 31....

SHIT this guy just lost $2100!!!!!!!! I would be throwing up.... He looks at me and says you win some and lose some   he then goes red/black.... This time I said I don't know.... He just said don't worry about it he has plenty... I bet on red he puts down $2300 on red...... spin..... RED...... SHIT we won... I got my mesley $100 and this guy gets an extra $2300... This is the last game I played. I sat around awhile and watched this guy win big money and lose big money...

So this is my new go to game... its fun you should give it a try sometime...


Food choice of the day!
Strawberries with Cream Filling
PointsPlus™ Value:    3
Servings:  6
Preparation Time:  10 min
Cooking Time:  0 min
Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Ingredients

	1 pound(s) strawberries, jumbo-size (about 18 strawberries)
	4 oz light cream cheese, at room temperature
	1/2 cup(s) powdered sugar
	1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• Wash and dry strawberries (leave green caps on).
  
• Using a paring knife, cut a wide v-shape out of the pointed end of each strawberry (like an open mouth); reserve cut out pieces of strawberries. Place cut strawberries on a serving plate, green cap side down so they will be easy to fill.
  
• Using an electric mixer, thoroughly combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl.
  
• Chop reserved leftover bits of strawberries into tiny pieces and gently stir into cream cheese mixture with a spoon.
  
• Fill each cut strawberry with a small amount of cream cheese mixture using a spatula or knife. Arrange filled strawberries on a serving plate, green cap side down. Yields about 3 strawberries per serving.

Notes

• Prepare this recipe the same day you plan to serve it or the strawberries will weep. Refrigerate if not serving immediately.

TOMORROW IS BABY DAY..... IS IT A BOY OR GIRL

The Past 16 Weeks

Well as some of you may know, Ali and I are expecting our first baby on August 7th, 2011. We found out last November and have been busy getting the nursery ready and what not. It got me thinking about being healthy and in shape to be there when my kid is growing up. My family has a history of heart problems so with me carrying all this extra weight it was just a matter of time before I would be feeling the effects too. So I have tried diets and what not before, I have never stuck to one and always say hey I'll start tomorrow. Well tomorrow came 16 weeks ago.

I started to do Weight Watchers, which I thought I'll just do the online thing and not go to the meetings and what not...

First weigh in: 291 lbs.... WOW I know college was 7 years ago but I was 194 my Sr. Year of college.... BUT 291.... eeekk...

The first week I tracked and done my own thing. Came time one week later to step on the scale... 291..... a few FThe first week I tracked and done my own thing. Came time one week later to step on the scale... 291..... a few F$&# and S$%*^ later I decided to try the meetings....
amp;# and S$%*^ later I decided to try the meetings....

I go on Thursdays at 9:30 am every day. Wear the same clothes use the same scale blah blah blah.... Didn't take it too seriously the first week or 2... I tracked but I would guess what a serving was and BOY WAS I WRONG!!!!

After about 2 weeks my weight pretty much stayed the same, I wasnt really tracking like I should and what not. My leader started to talk to me about tracking and exercise and told me to start bringing my food logs in and really keep track and weigh my foods out...

I did exactly that for 1 full week, Weight everything, measured out cubs or teaspoons or what not... I also started a woorkout schedule which included free weights and cardio...

Workout I am on:
Mondays - Free Weights: (chest & back) • Cardio: Usually a bike or elliptical.
Tuesday - Couch to 5k (amazing) • ABS
Wednesday - Free Weights: (biceps & Triceps) • Cardio: Stairstepper or Basketball
Thursday - Couch to 5K • ABS
Friday - OFF Day
Saturday - OFF Day
Sunday - Free Weights (Legs & Shoulders) • Couch to 5k

When I started the couch to 5k I could barley run the 90 seconds without my shins cramping up and my knees hurting... I would be out of breath and sweating like a pig! It has taken me a few times of going back and repeating weeks to be able to get in the correct running and walking but now I can run 15-20 min without walking, my shins do not hurt but on very few occasions, annnd i still sweat like a pig! but hey ill take it I have not ran a mile in under 10 min since highschool!!! So I am doing pretty well right now!

So after putting together a plan of workout and recording my food I went for my weigh in... LOST 4 LBS... NICE

Well it went good and bad for the next few weeks. I would lose then gain and then lose... While I was talking with my leader which is a great weight watchers leader, she keeps it fun and knows alot of what shes doing. She and her actual leader came to the conclusion I was NOT EATING ENOUGH....

WTF not eating enough? I am allowed 58 points a day, I would eat around 48 or so... Fruits and Veggies are 0 now!!! I eat alot of fruit now... and yes Green Beans... not canned green beans but fresh ones!

They and my Dr. Came up with the conclusion that with weights and running that I need to eat my full 58 points and my 49 bonus weekley points and more to keep my metabolism burning... While that sounds weird to me that I was not losing but eating under my total I was gaining on average of 60 points extra a week from my workouts...

I have since started to eat more of the healting cuts of meats, veggies, fruits, grains and getting all my water in and I started to lose gradually every week.

Last week 3/3/11 I weighed in at 274.2 :) makes me happy that I have started to lose but have been keeping steady, Just now got to know this is a lifestyle change and not a diet... At least I have been told.

Here is a recipe that has helped me get through with my sweet tooth. Its a weight watchers recipe and I LOVE KEY LIME PIE so if you do too try this..

Key Lime Bars
4 Points Plus per serving
Makes 16 Servings




Ingredients
3 Tbsp margarine, softened
3 Tbsp fat-free cream cheese
1 1/2 cup(s) sugar
1 large egg yolk(s)
3/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp powdered sugar
1 large egg(s)
1/4 cup(s) fat-free egg substitute
1/3 cup(s) fresh lime juice, or to taste, from Key limes

Instructions

* Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.

* To make the crust, beat margarine, cream cheese and 1/2 cup of sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk and gradually add 3/4 cup of flour. Spread into baking dish using your hands (coat hands with 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar to prevent batter from sticking). Bake until crust is lightly browned, about 15 minutes.

* To make the filling, beat egg and egg substitute in the same bowl used to make crust. Add remaining 1 cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of flour; beat on low speed until blended. Add lime juice; beat on low speed until blended. Pour onto warm crust and bake 15 minutes more.

* Cool on a rack. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar and cut into 16 pieces.


I will start to update regularly now on... Friday is the big day we get to find out if we are having a boy or girl!!!!!!!!!!