Fit Stanley Done at Last

I know this has been a long time in coming, but fit Stanley will finally be heading off to greener pastures. He helped us plant our garden, cut down trees, and play a little B-ball. He told us he hopes to do some more fun things with the rest of the family.

I found STANLEY!!

I have to admit that my mom gave me Fit Stanley a couple of weeks ago and then I got sick and went to girls camp.  I AM SO SORRY! I FINALLY took some pictures with Stanley yesterday while exercising. He was such a good exercise companion; he is a great motivator! Here are the pictures I took:

Fit Stanley should find his way back to Nevada soon!

Three Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake

My healthy recipe for June was Three-Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake.  I got it from  The Girl Who Ate Everything (her site has tons of awesome recipes!) I thought it was awesome!  The best part about this dish is that I put an entire bag of spinach in it!  It really didn't taste that healthy which is a good thing.  It was 460 calories for a huge serving! Here is the recipe:

Three Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake

Source: adapted slightly from Kraft

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups multi-grain penne pasta, uncooked 
1 pkg. (9 oz.) fresh spinach leaves 
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces 
1 tsp. dried basil leaves 
1 jar (14-1/2 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained 
2 oz. (1/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) Neufchatel cheese, cubed 
1 cup shredded 2% milk mozzarella cheese, divided 
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
Heat oven to 375ºF.

Cook pasta as directed on package, omitting salt and adding spinach to the boiling water the last minute. 

Cook and stir chicken and basil in large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 3 min. Stir in spaghetti sauce, garlic, and tomatoes; bring to boil. Simmer on low heat 3 min. or until chicken is done. Stir in Neufchatel. 
Drain pasta mixture; return to pan. Stir in chicken mixture and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole or 8-inch square baking dish. 

Bake 20 min.; top with remaining cheeses. Bake 3 min. or until mozzarella is melted.

460 calories per serving; Makes 4 servings.

I Miss Stanley

Fit Stanley, in case you forgot who that is.  I sent him off into the cold, cruel world and haven't heard a peep from him since.  I hope he hasn't fallen into a deep ice crevasse during a hike up Mt. Everest or flapped away into the wild blue yonder during the free-fall of a skydiving outing.  Most likely, he's just having such a good time that he hasn't had a spare moment to check-in with the mother ship here.  Which means we should have a plethora of amazing photos of his active adventures once he finally pauses to catch his breath (hopefully very soon, hint, hint).

I was going to name it Nigel.

I wish I could officially annouce the news of the birth of my baby kidney stone, but, it must've scraped (ha, ha, ouch!) on through before I could catch any of the evidence.  Good news:  urine is clear; Unpleasant news:  I'm still having some pain and discomfort in my kidney, so it's off to the Dr. I go just to make sure something weird isn't going on.  But it's nothing like the pain of the first attack, thank goodness.  I absolutely know that it's been the prayers and fasting of you, my family, that have gotten me through this.  I thank you all sincerely and exuberantly for that!

And, finally, I really racked up the points on this Bonus Memorial Day Challenge!  20 big ones for me!!!  I know there were a few of you that earned some as well, because I was also on the receiving end of the challenge, and boy, was that fun!  Thank you so much to my wonderful family who "remembered" me and sent some love my way.  What a boost!

I AM SOOOOO BLESSED AND I HAVE THE BEST FAMILY ON THE PLANET!!! 
THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU!
LET'S HAVE AN UN-LAZY WEEK!