My Favorite Pre-Op Dinner... good for Post-Op too! (And an update on how things are going!)

Growing up my mom used to make Hamburger Casserole.  It was simple dish with hamburger, rice, peas and some seasonings... but it was MY FAVORITE!  In my quest for post-op, high protein dinners I realized that my favorite hamburger casserole dinner could be a reality for me here in my post-op life with a few tweaks and changes!

with onions

Here's my new and improved Hamburger Casserole recipe:

• 1lb of the leanest ground beef (or turkey, but I don't care much for turkey in this recipe)
• 1 package of McCormick's Onion Gravy Mix (sometimes this is hard to find, so brown gravy is okay too, but just add some dried onions and onion powder)
• 1 tsp (or so) of garlic salt
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup brown/whole wheat rice
• 2 cups of water
• 1 cup of frozen green peas
• French's French Fried Onions (OPTIONAL and totally not recommended for WLS post-ops! My family loves them on top though!)

1. Brown meat in a large pot.  Drain off ALL grease. 
2. Put meat back in pot and add water, gravy mix, garlic salt, salt/pepper, and rice. Stir together. 
3. Bring to a boil then reduce to low and simmer covered for 20-30 minutes or until rice is cooked and most of the water is gone.  Check every 5-10 minutes that it's not sticking to the bottom of your pan and stir. 
4. Add frozen peas and cook another 10 minutes or until tender. 
5. Add more salt and pepper to taste if necessary.
6. Top with 1 tbsp of crushed up onions (optional).

Post-op serving size: 1/3-3/4 cup.  This is a pretty heavy dish and I know my pouch can only hold about 1/3-1/2 cup at a time of heavy meals like this. But if you don't over cook this casserole, it's pretty moist and goes down easy! I LOVE IT! 

without onions

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So, on an unrelated note... a little update on how I'm doing lately.  Time is moving by REALLY slow. I mean REALLY slow.  Dave is expected to be home by September and the days, hours, minutes are just creeping by super slow.  I'm trying to keep myself occupied and busy, but sometimes, it's just hard to do.  

I've seen some positive changes in how I feel since the surgery... the biggest being that I finally have motivation again.  Pre-op I had NONE.  In the last few days, I've managed to spend several hours in the yard doing landscaping that I never thought I'd have the motivation or energy to do, EVER.  I'm pretty proud of me and Emily for getting it all accomplished too.  

Emily and I weed-wacked the 3 foot tall weeds in the raspberry garden and strawberry garden and then trimmed back the bushes by the well  and off the walkways.  They were over-grown so much 1/2 the walkways were covered!  We filled up the giant brown recycle bin with about 3 hours of work! 

More exciting news too is that Emily is looking FANTASTIC!  I didn't want to weigh or measure her and give her any kind of complex.... but she has been exercising with me and doing yard work with me and has really been eating healthy all the time!  She's starting to feel better, have more energy and her body is really starting to show a difference!!! We were able to shop at Justice this week and she hasn't fit in that store in over a year!  GO EMILY GO!!! I'm so super duper proud of her! 

One sour note... I've got some abdominal pain that I didn't have before.  It's to the left of my belly button and down about an inch.  Sharp pain when I move wrong.  It sucks... makes bending over or sitting/standing up really uncomfortable and painful.  I have an appointment with my surgeon next week, but I'm thinking about calling him tomorrow to see if I can get in this week.  We'll see.  I hope it's nothing, maybe just things are still healing.  

The next time I get dressed and do my make-up and hair, I'll take some pictures and do a before/after.  Everyone says you can really see a big difference already... so I'm anxious to see it in the pictures myself! 

Emily is going to camp this week... so I hope to get started on getting the house ready for Dave to return.  I CAN NOT WAIT for him to get home! :) 

Thanks again everyone for all your love and support... it feels good knowing I have everyone's love and encouragement!