Dinner with Danielle

Green Monster Smoothie {5 WW+ Breakfast}

2012-01-20T08:44:00.000-08:00

After the killer smores brownies we indulged in last night I needed a breakfast that was easy to make and full of veggie goodness. My friend CB over at See Cupcake Run had just posted about an awesome smoothie she made with two handfuls of spinach so I knew I could get my leafy greens in. Then when I saw the recipe and it called for peanut butter and bananas I knew I had to try it.

For 5 points, this smoothie is so much more than a cup of spinach. Honestly, I couldn't even taste the spinach. All I tasted was banana and peanut butter. And next time I might shake it up by trying sunflower butter instead of peanut butter. Or maybe lowfat chocolate milk. Although that might have to be saved for dessert due to all of the sugar in chocolate milk. We'll see!

Inspired by See Cupcake Run

Green Monster Smoothie

1 cup 1% milk
1/2 ripe, frozen banana, peeled
2 handfuls organic spinach
1 tablespoon ground flax
1 tablespoon better n' peanut butter
1-3 ice cubes

Add 1 cup of milk to the blender.

Now add in the chia or flax (if using) and nut butter.

Next, add in the spinach followed by the banana on top.

Blend until smooth.

Add in your ice cubes and blend some more.

Serves 1 | 5 WW+ Points

S'mores Brownies {6 WW+ Dessert}

2012-01-19T08:39:00.000-08:00

We were in need of a little sweetness in our home and when my son saw some marshmallows in the cupboard he asked if we could make something with them. Ok, first he asked if he could just eat them but when I turned him down he got creative. When I asked what he wanted to make with them he said chocolate. So I took that to the next level and asked if he wanted to make marshmallow brownies. Of course he was all up for that!

When I went into the cupboard for the chocolate bar my dear friend, Miranda, gave to us from her home in Switzerland when she visited earlier in the week I saw the graham crackers and knew we had to attempt to make smores brownies. The base we used is the classic Dorie Greenspan brownies sans the espresso powder and walnuts and than we just added our toppings. I might try and do this with different ones next time... peanut butter, caramel, the combinations are endless!

And the end product... well, it was totally worth it.

Inspired by a Pinterest search

Smores Brownies

5 tablespoons of butter, cut into 1" pieces
4 ounces of dark chocolate
2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup flour
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup crushed graham crackers (about 4 sheets)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Chop up chocolate. Layer 9" pan with foil (see my tip here) and coat foil with butter.

Place butter in a heat proof bowl and top with chocolate. Place over simmering water and heat until fully melted. Remove from heat.

Mix in sugar (don't worry if it turns grainy, that's normal).

Add eggs, one at a time. Whisk each egg in thouroughly before adding the other. Add vanilla and whisk to combine. Whisk a bit more to make sure everything is well incorporated. Add salt and flour into the mix and stir until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan and top with marshmallows. Then top with graham cracker pieces.

Bake for 30-33 minutes. Top should be lightly browned and puffy.

Let cool completely before removing from pan. Marshmallow topping should settle down a lot while cooling. Then, lift foil and place on cooling rack. Carefully remove foil from edges. Cut into squares (warning: this will be very sticky!) and serve.

Serves 12 | 6 WW+ Points

Buffalo Chicken Chili {5 WW+ Dinner}

2011-11-13T20:49:00.000-08:00

When I saw this recipe it reminded me so much of the buffalo chicken dip I made for a friend's girls night in and I had to try it. Now as soon as I put it on my menu for the week I knew that my husband wouldn't like it. But there are quite a few recipes that I pass on because my husband won't like it. So while doing this challenge I figured why not try a recipe I wanted to eat. Something just for me. And this definitely was that recipe.

I was right. The hubs decided to order a pizza instead of trying a bite of this chili but I enjoyed a huge bowl. It was spicy, flavorful and creamy. I added greek yogurt and frozen corn kernels instead of the original recipe's creamed corn, and I also included some mozzerella cheese to the mix at the end for some added creaminess. I think I might try this again and add more chicken and some cream cheese to the mix . But I'll wait till I have my girlfriends over so my husband won't have to order another pizza.

Inspiration: Taste & See

Buffalo Chicken Chili

2 frozen chicken breasts
1/2 bottle Franks red hot sauce
1 cup corn
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup salsa
2 cans tomato sauce
1 can beans of your choice (I used pinto)
1 can diced green chilies
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1 cup shredded light mozzarella cheese

Add all ingredients except yogurt and cheese to the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours. Take chicken out and shred, add back in and include greek yogurt and cheese to the chili. Stir well and let cook another 15-30 minutes.

Serve with celery, a nice baguette, tortilla chips or anything else you might have on hand. I enjoyed using my celery as a spoon to eat my bowl. Kept me away from the extra carbs...

Serves 6 | 5 WW+ Points

Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings {9 WW+ Dinner}

2011-11-10T18:59:00.000-08:00

What's been great about this challenge so far is the fact that we've had dinner on the table by 6pm every night this week! It's totally awesome. And I know exactly what we're going to have without scavenging through the pantry and fridge to come up with a last minute meal. This has been helpful both in the weight loss department and in the stress department. When all of your family members are hungry at the same time each day and you don't have something to give to them to satiate that hunger you have a lot of whine to deal with.

What's not so great? The lighting in our house now that Daylight Savings Time has entered the picture. I used to be able to get semi-decent shots of my meals without the use of a light box or other contraption. Now it looks like I may have to invest in something in order to bring you delicious looking foods to crave... unless this does it for you. What do you think? Would you make this meal based on the pictures and title alone?

Oh, and a small word about the actual dish we ate... I don't recall ever eating chicken and dumplings before. Chicken pot pie, sure... but not chicken and dumplings (Mom, I'm sure you can confirm or deny this for me) and I have to tell you this was mighty tasty! Creamy, bready goodness. All of the great things about pot pie and biscuits and yummy warmth radiating from this dish. Mmmm!

Inspiration: Rachel Ray Magazine via Campbells

Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 medium Yukon gold potato, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
1 cup whole baby carrots
2 stalks celery, sliced (about 1 cup)
1 can Campbell's® 98% Fat Free Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup water
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cups Trader Joe's all-purpose baking mix
1/3 cup milk

Place the chicken, potatoes, carrots and celery into a 6-quart slow cooker.
Stir the soup, water, thyme and black pepper in a small bowl. Pour the soup mixture over the chicken and vegetables.

Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours* or until the chicken is cooked through.

Stir the baking mix and milk in a medium bowl. Drop the batter by spoonfuls onto the chicken mixture. Increase the heat to HIGH. Tilt the lid to vent and cook for 30-45 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked in the center.

*Or on high for 3 to 4 hours.

Serves 4 | 9 WW+ Points

The difference between daylight pictures and nighttime pictures in my house... The picture above is when I started my slow cooker (about mid-day) and the picture below is when we ate dinner at 6pm. Dark outside and no good light in the home :(

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches {8 WW+ Dinner}

2011-11-09T18:31:00.000-08:00

When I joined the slow cooker challenge I knew I wanted to try out a new pulled pork recipe. Pulled pork is one of those slow cooker dishes that our family just loves. And left overs are met with happy smiles! The reason why I love this recipe so much is the lack of barbecue sauce needed. You essentially make your own with all of the ingredients and are actually left with a little liquid in the cooker when everything is done cooking. This makes for a moist and very tender meat that is absolutely delicious! I usually brown my meat before cooking it to give it more texture but didn't have time and it still turned out great.

Inspiration: Two Peas and Their Pod

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoons black pepper
2 pounds pork loin
8 whole wheat buns

Combine all of the ingredients except the pork and the buns in a large slow cooker. Stir together with a spoon until well combined. Add the pork and place the lid on the slow cooker. Cook for 8 hours on low or until pork is tender and easily pulls apart.

Take two forks and shred the pork. Place the pork back into the slow cooker with the remaining sauce. Stir well and serve on rolls or buns.

Serves 8 | 8 WW+ Points (includes bun)

Slow Cooker Red Wine Braised Short Ribs {6 WW+ Dinner}

2011-11-08T08:38:00.000-08:00

On the last visit to Costco we left with some boneless short ribs in our cart. I have no idea how they got there but knew I had to find a recipe to cook them up. My husband went in search of the perfect recipe and found a great one in our America's Test Kitchen cookbook. He kept mentioning it and finally I was ready to try it out. Too bad I didn't fully read the recipe before commiting to making it. I would have found out that we needed bone-in ribs, not boneless. And I forgot to cut the ribs smaller. And had no celery or carrots on hand. Oy!

In the end, with all odds against me, I was happy with what the end results was. The meat was tender, had amazing flavor, and was the perfect portion. I served the ribs over brown rice and included the veggies with the sauce instead of discarding them because they tasted delicious. But if you try the original recipe with carrots and celery you might want to discard and serve with your favorite steamed or roasted veggie (or a great salad!).

Inspiration: America's Test Kitchen via The Little Kitchen

Slow Cooker Red Wine Braised Short Ribs

2 pounds boneless short ribs, cut into 3" pieces
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onions, chopped medium
1 zucchini, chopped medium
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves

Dry short ribs with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12‑inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown short ribs well on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes; transfer to slow cooker.

Add onions, zucchini, garlic, , tomato paste, and thyme to fat in skillet and cook over medium-high heat until onions are softened and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in wine and vinegar, scraping up any browned bits and smoothing out any lumps. Bring to simmer and cook until reduced to 1 cup, about 5 minutes; transfer to slow cooker.

Stir broth and bay leaves into slow cooker. Cover and cook until beef is tender, 9 to 11 hours on low or 5 to 7 hours on high.

Transfer short ribs to serving platter and tent loosely with aluminum foil. Let braising liquid settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface using large spoon. Strain braising liquid, discarding solids, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in parsley. Spoon 1 cup sauce over short ribs and serve with remaining sauce.

Serves 8 | 6 WW+ Points

A Preview of My #SlowCookerChallenge Menu

2011-11-02T15:34:00.000-07:00

Next week I'll be attempting something I've never done before. Using my slow cooker to make one meal every day of the week! That's right. 7 days in a row. No eating out, no "I don't know what we're going to have tonight." I'll have each day planned out. And hopefully lunch ready for the next day! Each meal will be turned into Weight Watcher friendly options and I'll try not to exceed 10 points per meal unless it's REALLY delicious and worth it.

I thought I'd share my menu with you before the challenge starts. That way if you're inspired and want to join in on the challenge you have time to prepare!The challenge will run from this Monday, November 7th to Sunday, November 13th and if you're interested in joining check out our Facebook group. I'll include a linky with the names of the other blogs participating in the challenge on Monday. You can check out their progress the following Monday when we all update with our results.

Stay tuned to see if I'm able to stick with it! This will be a monthly event so if you're not ready this month but want to participate next month jump on board!

Slow Cooker Challenge #1 Menu

Red Wine Braised Short Ribs
Chicken & Dumplings
Barbecue Pulled Pork
Crock Pot Bacon & Cheese Chicken
Ham and Potato Soup
Slow Cooker Meatloaf
Buffalo Chicken Chili

Do you have any awesome slow cooker recipes to share? I'd love links and recipes to save for upcoming challenges! I've even started to add some of my favorites to my slow cooker Pinterest board.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars {5 WW+ Dessert}

2011-10-11T08:24:00.000-07:00

When Fall comes there is one thing I am most excited about. The return of canned pumpkin on the shelves! I start out small. Buying maybe 4 cans of pumpkin on my first spotting. Then I get a bit crazy. I need to stock up for the rest of the year. How can I not have 10 or so cans of pumpkin in my pantry by mid-October? And what do I use these cans and cans of pumpkin for? Healthier recipes!

Pumpkin is a great ingredient in baking, cooking and no-bake recipes such as this one. It's simple and easy to use and best of all... it's super tasty and healthy! Now I've already been making my pumpkin waffles, pumpkin muffins and even a pumpkin oatmeal shake. But I hadn't yet tried anything with pumpkin and cheesecake before. So this past weekend I decided to try out a no-bake recipe for pumpkin cheesecake bars. And they were delicious. If you have a can of pumpkin lying around you have to try it!

Inspiration: Kraft Foods

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

1 package (8 oz.) neufchatel cheese, softened*
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup agave nectar (or 1/2 cup sugar)
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip Free whipped topping, thawed, divided
1 package graham crackers (about 24), crushed
4 tablespoons light butter, melted

Line an 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish with plastic wrap. Mix graham cracker crumbs and melted butter until the crumbs resemble moist sand. Push crumb mixture into dish with your fingers evenly to create a level crust on the bottom. Make sure to get the crumbs into the corners of the dish as well.

Beat cream cheese, pumpkin, agave and pumpkin pie spice with electric mixer on low speed for one minute. Increase speed to medium and mix for another 3 minutes or until no lumps are visible. Gently stir in 2-1/2 cups of the whipped topping. Cover and refrigerate remaining whipped topping for later use.

Spoon cream cheese mixture into crust and refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Serve topped with remaining whipped topping. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

*How to Soften Cream Cheese
Place completely unwrapped package of cream cheese in microwavable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 10 to 15 seconds or until slightly softened. If you cannot find neufchatel cheese in your grocery store just go for the reduced fat cream cheese. Same thing, different name.

Serves 16 | 5 WW+ Points

Meatball Subs {9 WW+ Dinner}

2011-10-10T07:15:00.000-07:00

A few months back I made a tasty meatloaf parmesan dish. After I made the patties for our dinner for two I formed the rest of the meat mixture into meatballs to be used later. These meatballs became the perfect star to this sub. The sub was tasty, filling and pleasant to look at. And I loved not feeling guilty about eating so much bread since I removed a bit of the inner part to make room for the meatballs and sauce.

The size of this meatball sub was a bit hard to wrap my hands around. I had to smoosh it a little bit to fit it into my mouth. When you have to smoosh a sandwich you know it's going to be good and fill you up! I froze extra meatballs and grabbed them out of the freezer as needed when I wanted my meatball sub fix. Definitely a great way to have an easy meal for later on in the week when it gets busier!

Inspired by my Italian Meatloaf Parmesan

Italian Meatball Subs

18 Italian Meatballs (without the cheese)
2 small baguettes of french bread, some of the insides removed
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce, store bought or homemade
6 slices provalone cheese, cut in 1/2

Slightly toast the french rolls in a toaster oven. Place two pieces of cheese (one whole slice) on one side of the roll and broil until just melted.

Add 1/4 cup of marinara sauce to each roll, either on top of the cheese or on the other piece of bread, and top with three meatballs. Close the sandwich up and enjoy!

For toddlers, just cut the sandwich into thirds so they can fit it in their hands and mouth easier. I know this made it much more easy for my son to eat.

Serves 6 | 9 WW+ Points

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread {4 WW+ Breakfast}

2011-10-09T13:21:00.000-07:00

I love the end of summer. For one it starts to cool down at night and secondly my mother-in-law is always sure to bring over some yummy (but very large) zucchini. Figuring out ways to use up the zucchini is always fun and shredding it to put in baked goods and savory meals is usually the way to go. Especially since my son has a fascination with our food processor.

When searching for a recipe to use up some of our zucchini I stumbled upon a delicious looking muffin recipe. Chocolate and zucchini? Why it's a match made in heaven! This bread tastes exactly like a chocolate cake. My son would have had no clue that there was zucchini in it had he not been the one to help mix the ingredients together. And the mini chocolate chips just add a bit of deliciousness and push this bread over the edge. Next time I might consider adding a few walnuts to the mix. Mmmm....

Inspiration: Meg's Everyday Indulgence

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups unpacked brown sugar
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup regular egg substitute
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups zucchini, shredded
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 2 loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, allspice and cinnamon; set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together the sugar and applesauce. Beat in egg substitute until just combined. Stir in vanilla, buttermilk, zucchini and chocolate chips. Gently stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.

Divide batter equally among the two loaf pans. Bake until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and muffin tops are springy to the touch, 45 to 55 minutes; rotating halfway through baking time. Cool loafs in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 20 | 4 WW+ Points

Side Note: One LARGE freshly picked zucchini from my mother-in-law's garden yielded this much shredded zucchini!

Tuna Noodle Cups {Adventures in Toddler Food}

2011-09-21T19:02:00.000-07:00

Oh how I've missed cooking. For some reason I either forget to take pictures of my new meals or I just make the same meals we know and love night after night. And this wonderful blog gets neglected. Well... I'm going to try and take some time to update over the the next few weeks with the fun recipes we've tried over the summer and the fun inventive ways we've turned our favorites into new dishes.

This tuna noodle casserole is something I make often. However I usually just top with a bit of cheese instead of mixing it in. And I usually make it in a casserole dish. But I received a little inspiration from a blog I've started following called Muffin Tin Mom. And figured it'd be a great way to portion control our meals if we made them in smaller containers. Plus how cool are her muffin tin meal ideas? Genius for toddlers kids!

Inspiration: Dinner with Danielle Original Reworked

Tuna Noodle Cups

8 ounces Wacky Mac Noodles (or egg noodles)
1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup
1 can tuna in water, drained
2 tablespoons 1% milk
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup frozen peas
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
2 tablespoons Smart Balance Light

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cook the Wacky Mac as directed on the package, drain and set aside.

While noodles are cooking open the can of tuna and soup and measure out the milk, cheese and peas. Let your child combine the soup, tuna, milk, cheese, peas and seasoning in a large bowl with a spatula.

Add cooked noodles to the mixture and let the child stir just until combined (or switch kids and let another stir in the noodles). Grab a measuring cup or cookie scoop and let your child scoop the noodle mixture into a muffin tin pan. Sprinkle each "cup" with parmesan, bread crumbs and small pieces of the Smart Balance.

Place in the preheated oven and cook for 20 minutes or until the top of the cups are golden and a little crisp. Remove from the oven and let the noodle cups cool in the pan for 5 minutes. This will allow them to keep their shape when you remove them from the pan. Take a spatula and work around the edges of each noodle cup before removing them from the muffin tin pan.

Serve and enjoy! My son enjoyed his Tuna Noodle Cups with a yummy salad of greens and his favorite ranch dressing.

Serves 13 | 4 WW+ Points

Do you see his little tongue sticking out? He's concentrating!

Homemade Hamburger Buns {7 WW+ Bread/Side}

2011-08-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

I love everything about making bread. The smells, the texture, the taste. It's amazing how creating one little roll or loaf makes me so happy and proud. I did it. I played with yeast and it didn't turn into a rock. So when my husband asked about making buns for an upcoming holiday dinner we were hosting at the beginning of summer I went in search of a great recipe.

I suggested a recipe over on Annie's Eats since Annie has never failed me with her recipes. My husband glanced over it, said ok, and started doing something else. So when it was time to make the buns I was surprised when he announced that he'd be making them. Wait, what? He was going to attempt to play with yeast? Ok, go for it honey!

And boy was I happy that he took over. The recipe he chose was not my suggestion. He went with his trusty King Arthur Flour website and chose a bun recipe from them. The buns turned out great however they weren't as soft as we like our buns to be. So he took it upon himself to search for another recipe (on the same site) and wanted to try it out this weekend after I announced I was making root beer pulled pork for dinner. And he found a recipe that I am sure will become a weekly regular in this house. These buns are perfect for not only hamburgers but sandwiches as well. And boy are they soft and fluffy!

Inspiration: King Arthur Flour

Homemade Buns

3/4 to 1 cup* lukewarm water
2 tablespoons butter
1 large egg
2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 cups King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon instant yeast
2 tablespoons melted butter, reserved for topping

Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients, except the melted butter, by hand, mixer, or bread machine (we went with the bread machine) to make a soft, smooth dough. Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until it's nearly doubled in bulk.
Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round ball; flatten to about 3" across. Place the buns on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about an hour, until noticeably puffy.

Brush the buns with about half of the melted butter. Bake the buns in a preheated 375°F oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden. Remove them from the oven, and brush with the remaining melted butter. This will give the buns a satiny, buttery crust.

Cool the buns on a rack.

Serves 8 | 7 WW+ Points (and so worth it!)

*For best results (a smooth, slightly soft dough), use the smaller amount of water in summer (or in a humid environment), the greater amount in winter (or in a dry climate); and something in between the rest of the time.

Cranberry Cream Scones {9 WW+ Breakfast}

2011-07-25T17:36:00.000-07:00

I know I've said this before but whenever I need something quick and tasty for either breakfast or dessert I almost always go to scones. How can you not? They're super filling, very versatile and quick to throw together. You can put just about anything in a scone. Have some raisins? Throw them in! Down to a handful blueberries? Why not use those. And while your at it get some fun ingredients together for toppings. Cinnamon sugar, cream, powdered sugar icing, chocolate, strawberry jam... lots of options!

I also love that I can form the scone into any shape I want. I can make them into biscuits. I can cut them into small triangles or big triangles. I could even use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. This will be perfect for an upcoming party I'm starting to plan for a special someone's first birthday. And the best part about this recipe is that they not only taste super good on the day they're made but they taste great the day after as well. The perfect companion to a cup of coffee or tea.

Inspiration: Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking

Cranberry Cream Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons regular butter
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup 1% milk
1/4 cup Vanilla Fat Free Creamer
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and pulse 2-3 times to mix. Add the butter and pulse 7-8 times just until the mixture forms large, coarse crumbs the size of peas. Scatter the cranberries into the dough and pulse until just moist.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured countertop or work space and press it together gently until the dough forms a ball. Pat in a round about 1/2 an inch thick and 6-7 inches wide. Cut the round into 6 wedges*, or use a 3-inch biscuit cutter to cut out rounds. Place the wedges 1 inch apart on the prepared pan.

To make the sugar topping, stir together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Mix the milk and creamer in another small bowl or measuring cup. Brush the wedges with the milk mixture and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.

Bake until golden brown, 13-17 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly and serve warm.

Serves 6 | 9 WW+ Points

* You can cut the wedges into thirds to create smaller scones that are more WW point friendly (3 points each) for a quick snack or treat.

Italian Meatloaf Parmesan {7 WW+ Dinner}

2011-07-23T21:44:00.000-07:00

I had exhausted all of my ground turkey and ground beef recipes and needed something that was different but would satisfy me and the husband. So I went to a blog that I knew wouldn't disappoint. Joelen always has the best spins on recipes. I knew if I tried something from her that I could please everyone in the family. And I was right!

This dish was great! Perfect and flavorful. I may just use this for our new meatball recipe. Plus I can double it up and freeze left over meatballs for future meals! I love being able to do that. Makes dinnertime that much easier with options in the freezer. If you have some ground turkey or ground beef in the fridge or freezer ready to use then try this one out!

Inspired by What's Cookin', Chicago?
Originally from Michael Chiarello

Italian Meatloaf Parmigiana

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 red pepper, seeded, diced
1/2 onion, diced
2 teaspoons (about 3 cloves) chopped garlic
1 pound 93% lean ground turkey
1 egg
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoons dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups marinara sauce (jarred or homemade); divided
1/2 cup part skim shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup fat free shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat and add the peppers, onions and garlic. Saute until just soft, remove to a plate and cool.

When the peppers and onions are cool, combine all of the remaining ingredients together except for the marinara and shredded cheese.

Form 6 large patties* from the meat mixture and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Top with 1 cup of the marinara making sure to spread evenly over the top. Bake for approximately 25 to 30 minutes to ensure it's cooked through.

Remove from the oven and top with shredded cheese; return to oven for 5 minutes to allow cheese to melt. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes.

Toss your favorite pasta with the reserved sauce. Serve meatloaf on top of the pasta.

Serves 6 | 7 WW+ Points (not including pasta)

* You can also form 12-18 meatballs instead of patties if you want a smaller portion of meat. I formed 2 patties and made the rest of the meat mixture into meatballs to use later. Worked out perfectly for lunches the next day.

Peach Upside Down Cake {6 WW+ Dessert}

2011-07-06T14:52:00.000-07:00

I recently held a playdate over at my house for my playgroup and one of the mamas came over with a large carton of peaches in tow to share with everyone. When she left she graciously left the remaining peaches. Now there are a lot of foods I'll eat without a problem but I've never taken well to peaches, nectarines and apricots. Something about them has never been very appealing. So I was very surprised when my son started asking to eat the peaches and could consume a whole, large one on his own for breakfast. But even though he showed an interest in them he couldn't eat the peaches fast enough to go through the whole bunch.

I had to start thinking of a way to use up the excess peaches. And so I went off to Google in search of a good recipe to use for our upcoming 4th of July dinner at my brother-in-law's house. As soon as I landed on this recipe by one of my favorite cooks, Alton Brown, I knew he wouldn't disappoint me. But since I was feeding a larger group and also didn't have the time to prep and bake this dessert at my brother-in-law's house I tweaked the recipe a bit to allow for making larger cakes.

This came out perfectly! And the addition of vanilla bean ice cream took this dessert over the edge. And remember I'm the one who isn't so crazy about peaches! I even ate a piece for breakfast the next day! I'll definitely be trying this with apples the next time I attempt it.

Source: Alton Brown

Peach Upside-Down Cake

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3 medium peaches, peeled
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ice cream for serving, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Divide 4 tablespoons of the butter between 2 8 inch pans. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and set aside. Evenly divide the brown sugar between the pans; sprinkling it on the bottoms. Cut each peach into 12 to 14 pieces. Lay the peaches on top of the sugar; evenly dividing them between the dishes and sprinkle with the cinnamon. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together the sugar, buttermilk, vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir just until combine. Pour the batter over the peaches; dividing the mixture evenly between the two pans. Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the cake reaches an internal temperature of 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer and is slightly golden brown on top.

Remove from the oven to a rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of each pan and turn upside down onto a serving plate. Repeat with each cake. Serve immediately with ice cream if desired.

Serves 12 | 6 WW+ Points

Almond Chocolate Banana Bread {9 WW+ Breakfast}

2011-06-29T20:05:00.000-07:00

We always have a bunch of bananas on our countertops. It's just the easiest way to get breakfast on the go when we're running from one activity or another. So sometimes we're left with a few very ripe bananas that no one is willing to eat. And we have to use them up so I am always looking for a good banana bread recipe. I've finally found one that I think I'll stick with for a while.

The best part about this recipe is that it's so light and airy. The bread is not dense at all. I think the cake flour really helps. And it was a total accident that I used cake flour instead of AP or whole wheat flour because we were out of everything else. I am NEVER out of flour. I mean I use it weekly so we're always buying it but I'm glad I was out. The substitution was great! And the addition of a chocolate bar made the bread even more amazing.

I recommend enjoying this banana bread the same day it's baked for the best results. I found that when I placed it in an airtight container for safe keeping that it lost that delicious crunch to the crust of the bread. And I think that the crust was the other reason why I fell in love with this recipe. But if you must, you can store and serve later. I'm sure it'll be gobbled up quickly though!

Inspired By FamilyFun

The Best Banana Bread

2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 medium-large very ripe bananas (1 cup mashed)
1/2 cup plain non-fat greek yogurt
1 Hershey's Chocolate Bar with Almonds, broken into small pieces

Heat the oven to 325º. Line a 5- by 9-inch loaf pan, preferably one with a light interior, with enough waxed paper to drape over the long sides. This will make the baked bread a cinch to remove and the pan easy to clean. Set the pan aside

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. In a large bowl, cream the butter using an electric mixer. Gradually add the sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Next, add the vanilla extract and blend briefly. Set both bowls aside.

Peel the bananas and place them in a separate bowl. Mash them with a fork or a potato masher and measure out 1 cup. Add the sour cream and stir to blend. Set the bowl aside.

Using a wooden spoon, blend a third of the dry mixture into the butter-sugar mixture. Add the rest of the ingredients in this order, stirring well after each addition: half of the banana mixture, half of the remaining dry mixture, the rest of the banana mixture, the rest of the dry mixture. Next, fold in chocolate pieces.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spoon. Bake on the center oven rack until a tester inserted deep into the center of the bread comes out clean, about 70 to 75 minutes.

Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and cool it in the pan for about 20 minutes. Using the waxed paper, lift the bread from the pan and place it on the rack. Pull down the sides of the paper and allow the bread to cool thoroughly before slicing.

10 Servings | 9 WW+ Points

My Daughter's First Photo Contest {Please Vote!}

2011-06-21T08:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, friends and family in the blogging world, I need your help! I've entered my youngest, Molly, into a photo contest and would LOVE it if she won. My good friend, Tessa, of Grin & Share It Photography is holding a contest for the cutest summertime photo of your child(ren).

I spent a lot of time trying to come up with the perfect photo. I even staged a few mini-shoots including one beach time fun in our sandbox and one picnic scene in Uncle Andrew's back yard. But the best one out of the bunch was of Miss M "gardening" in our front yard. Her favorite thing to do lately is pull all of our weeds out (and try to eat them) so I thought this not only turned out to be an awesome photo but it also captured what she is really into this summer. No sand and water for her... it's all about the dirt and mud!

Today is the last day to vote and voting ends at 2pm PST so if you could follow the instructions below we'd be very grateful!

So to vote please go to Grin & Share It Photography's facebook page and like her page. Then go to Molly's photo (#8 - here) and comment on it with your vote (likes don't count). I really appreciate any and all votes for my baby girl!

The other two I was choosing from (click on photo to enlarge):

Banana Freeze {0 WW+ Dessert}

2011-06-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

I first heard of this over on the Weight Watchers message board. And when I read it I had to go to Google and find a recipe to make sure it was real. Well... it was! And although the results weren't *exactly* like jumping into a pint of Ben & Jerry's it was pretty darn close. And my son couldn't tell the difference. His bowl was cleaned (and licked) within 5 minutes.

Since it's so easy to make I highly suggest you putting some bananas in the freezer now so you can make this in the afternoon. It's summer! You need a light and cool snack to refresh you and this is just the thing. And you might find that making it is pretty fun and kid/baby friendly too. Next time we make this I'm going to play with mix ins. I could imagine a handful of walnuts or some peanut butter chips would knock this treat out of the park!

Inspired By: The Kitchn

Banana Freeze Ice Cream

3 bananas

Peel bananas and dice into small pieces. Place banana pieces in a ziploc bag or a plate and freeze for 1-2 hours. Place frozen bananas in the blender and turn it on. When the bananas go up the sides of the blender scrape them down back into the bottom and wait for the magic to happen.

Once the bananas resemble soft serve ice cream transfer to a bowl, stick a spoon in and enjoy! If you'd like top with some chocolate syrup

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

2011-06-18T20:10:00.000-07:00

I got the idea for this cupcake when I was reading Dorie's Baking from my Home to Yours in search of a great dessert for my family reunion. I was looking in the brownie section at her chipster brownies (great picture here by Brown Eyed Baker) but really didn't want to have to make a couple of batches. So I started thinking of other ways to incorporate these flavors and decided on a cupcake!

This recipe is pretty fun to make and my 2 year old loved helping scoop the cookie dough and place it into each cupcake liner. The best part is that even though I chose to bake from scratch you don't have to! If boxed cake and refridgerated cookie dough are more your style than by all means use that instead and I'm sure you'll end up with the same results. Next time I'm going to make brownie cupcakes!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

1 batch of Devil's Food Cake
1/2 batch of chocolate chip cookie dough
Frosting & chocolate chips to decorate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin tins or line with cupcake wrappers. Place 1 tablespoon of cookie dough in each liner (or use a cookie dough scoop). Add 1/3 cup of cake batter on top of each scoop of cookie dough. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting. Add chocolate chips to the tops of each frosted cupcake and serve!

Serves 24 | No WW+ Info

Pizza Balls {7 WW+ Dinner}

2011-06-08T22:07:00.000-07:00

I really love pizza. And no matter what I do I can't stop thinking about it when I'm watching what I eat. So instead of being tempted to order a pizza from my favorite pizza place I try and make it at home more often than not. So I needed to change things around. Step it up a bit. And I was taken back to a meal that my mom made for us growing up. I had some pizza dough from Trader Joe's in the fridge so I figured I'd try to wing it and hope for the best.

Well my attempt not only turned out good... it turned out better than I remembered! I was so excited to share this meal with Joseph and E and was super happy to find out that their reaction was very pleased. E even asked me to make them again the next day. And he was going to help :) This is now on our monthly rotation as either dinner or lunch and E always helps add the toppings and roll up the pizza dough into balls.

Inspiration: Family meal from my childhood (my mom)

Pizza Balls

1 ball of pizza dough (I used Trader Joe's whole wheat)
1 serving Hormel Pepperoni (14 slices/28g)
1/2 cup Trader Joe's Three Cheese Blend
1/2 cup diced crimini mushrooms
1 1/2 cups spinach, chopped
1 cup marinara sauce, for dipping

Place pizza stone in oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Divide dough into 6 equal pieces and roll out each piece into a 4-5" circle. Place an equal amount of each topping in the middle of the dough circle and bring the edges of the circle up over the toppings. Pinch edges together to form a ball. Repeat with the other circles.

Take pizza stone out of the oven and place pizza balls on stone. Bake for 9-10 minutes or until the pizza balls are golden brown. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving with marinara dipping sauce.

Serves 6 | 7 WW+ Points

Rosemary Corn Muffins {5 WW+ Side}

2011-06-06T18:38:00.000-07:00

Chili is something I throw together quite often. I have posted various recipes on this blog and always seem to be changing it up. The one thing I don't do is spice up the side, usually broccoli or a corn muffin or corn cake. So tonight I had some extra time (read: youngest was sleeping and oldest was playing quietly in his room) to whip up some corn bread muffins with just a little oomph in them.

The rosemary just makes these muffins so much more than corn muffins. And while they are pointy, they're worth it. Plus chili usually doesn't add up to too many points when you add as many veggies in as I do. This time I even threw in some mushrooms I had left over. Yum!

Inspiration: Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours

Rosemary Corn Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup corn meal
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch nutmeg
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon rosemary, finely chopped

3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup buttermilk

1 cup baby corn ears

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prep muffin tin with either cooking spray or liners.

Mix dry ingredients together. If you'd like more rosemary flavor, mix rosemary and sugar and rub together with your fingers. Set aside.

Whisk wet ingredients together (leave corn out) and pour into dry ingredients. Whisk or stir together with a spatula. Don't overstir and don't worry about lumps! Once everything is combined fold in the corn.

Fill muffin tin and bake for 15-18 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack and enjoy with a nice bowl of chili!

WFD? Week of 6/5/2011 {Weekly Meal Planning}

2011-06-05T18:13:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok... I know I've been a HORRIBLE blogger these past two weeks. But the same excuse I use every time I take a little break really is true! I've been super busy with work, the kids, the house and sticking with my weight loss. So far I'm doing pretty well. I'm down just under 14 pounds and finished my first 5K two weeks ago! How awesome is that?

And another thing that's been keeping me busy is that I've been working three days a week vs. my normal two. But that's all about to change soon. Without going into too much detail I have had to quit my job to stay home with my kids. My 6 month old has always refused a bottle but now it's getting way too hard to keep her distracted during the day while I'm at work. So I'll have a bit more time to stick with my menu and keep the recipes coming!

Monday -
Chili w/ cornbread

Tuesday - 7 WW+ Points
Pizza Balls & Salad (made these for lunch on Saturday and they were awesome!)

Wednesday -
Garlic Chicken with maybe a tad less olive oil

Thursday -
Chicken Enchiladas (w/ leftovers from garlic chicken)

Friday -
Eating Out

Saturday -
Pot Roast via Alton Brown

Sunday -
Tomato Basil Soup & Grilled Cheese Sammies via Peppercorn Press

Apple Carrot Nut Muffins {3 WW+ Breakfast}

2011-05-25T08:53:00.000-07:00

I was hosting a playgroup playdate at my house yesterday morning and didn't really have much planned in the form of snacks. I had the usual toddler fair of dried cranberries, cheerios and pretzels but nothing of substance for the mamas. So I asked Ethan what he wanted. And like your typical kid he asked for cupcakes. So I made the next best thing.

I grabbed one of my recipe books and started flipping. And fell upon a recipe that I had all of the ingredients for (sans a few substitutions). And the results were pretty darn yummy. I'll definitely be making these muffins for future get togethers.

Inspiration: Williams Sonoma Essentials of Baking

Apple Carrot Nut Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup bread flour
1/3 cup SPLENDA® brown sugar blend (or 2/3 cup regular brown sugar)
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 egg
1 1/2 cup vanilla fat-free yogurt
1/4 cup butter
2 small apples, 1 shredded and 1 diced small
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup pecan halves, chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease 2 muffin tins or prep with cupcake liners.

In a large bowl whisk flours, sugar, baking powder, soda & salt together until well mixed. In a seperate large bowl whisk eggs. Add yogurt and butter. Stir until combined.

Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated together, about 15 strokes. Do not overmix. Fold in apples, carrots & pecan halves.

Fill muffin tins 2/3rds of the way full. Mix 1 tablespoon sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Top each muffin with sugar blend. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.

24 servings | 3 WW+ Points*

*by omitting the nuts you can reduce this recipe to 2 WW+ points each

A great quick breakfast alternative for those on the go

Roasted Tomato & Asparagus Pasta with Chicken and Feta {10 WW+ Dinner}

2011-05-25T08:35:00.000-07:00

After yet another busy weekend (surprise, surprise) I hadn't yet meal planned for the week (Still haven't! Someone please kick my butt!) and had to scour the cupboards and fridge yet again. Luckily I roasted an extra piece of chicken this weekend so I had one chicken breast to work with. It's kinda hard to make a meal out of one chicken breast so I decided on a pasta dish. That way I could dice up the chicken into small bites and make it go farther with the pasta. Well, it worked!

Along with some roasted vegetables I had left from another dish I made last week and some yummy flavored feta cheese I picked up on sale I threw together one of my more tasty last minute meals. This pasta dish is definitely perfect for the spring season. Simple, tasty and makes the ingredients stretch. Definitely budget friendly.

Roasted Tomato & Asparagus Pasta with Chicken and Feta

2 cups tomatoes, whole (small round varieties like grape and cherry are best)
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1 inch sections
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced (or if you prefer roasted whole with vegetables)
8oz pasta, gemelli or fusilli
1 roasted chicken breast, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup reduced-fat feta, tomato and basil flavor
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place foil on a rimmed cookie sheet and put vegetables on sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes. (Alternative method - roast asparagus for 8 minutes on sheet and tomatoes for 20 minutes in glass dish. I'm lazy and did it all on one sheet).

While vegetables are roasting, boil and cook pasta.

Place roasted vegetables in a large bowl and add garlic, tomato paste and Italian seasoning. Stir to combine. Add pasta, chicken and cheese and toss. Top with fresh parsley and serve.

4 servings | 10 WW+ Points

Chicken Parmesan Bites {7 WW+ Dinner}

2011-05-16T20:02:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to come up with healthy, fun dinners that my toddler would be more interested in. Lately all he's wanted is chicken nuggets so I've been thinking up ways to turn typical chicken dishes into more kid-friendly meals. And I've been craving chicken parmesan for a while so why not make it into parmesan bites? Put a side of noodles and sauce on the plate and I had one meal my son was more than likely to enjoy. Right? Right!

I put a plate of three chicken parmesan bites, 1/4 cup of noodles w/ sauce and a few broccoli florettes in front of him tonight and he went to town! And the best part? I used only one chicken breast to feed my whole family. Isn't that awesome? And budget friendly!

I also only made 5 ounces of spaghetti for the three of us and used 1/4 of a jar of sauce. We were all very full and even had room on our plate for more broccoli. Who doesn't want more broccoli? And I'm sure I could decrease the points a bit if I baked the chicken but I really liked the texture of the outside of the chicken that came with the oil. Totally worth it.

Chicken Parmesan Bites

1 chicken, breast, cut into 1" pieces
2 tablespoons 1% milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg white
1/2 cup Progresso® Italian-Style Bread crumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Place chicken breast pieces in a bowl and cover with milk. Let soak for a few minutes while prepping the other ingredients. Place 1/4 cup of flour into a large ziploc bag. Measure out 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs and place into a container with salt and pepper. Grate parmesan cheese into the same container, stir to combine and set aside. Place egg white in a small bowl.

Take chicken and place in bag with flour. Shake vigorously until the chicken is well coated. Put coated chicken in bowl with egg white and stir to coat chicken. Place bread crumb mixture in bag you just used for flour. Put chicken back in the bag and shake again coating the chicken with bread crumbs.

Heat oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Add coated chicken to the pan and cook until golden brown, about 15 minutes. When chicken is cooked thoroughly remove from pan and serve with spaghetti and marinara sauce. Add some steamed veggies or a nice salad to make this a complete meal.

3 servings* (5 bites) | 7 WW+ Points

* Does not include spaghetti & marinara sauce

Teriyaki Chicken with Green Beans {8 WW+ Dinner}

2011-05-16T11:22:00.000-07:00

I was planning on making something else for dinner last night but really didn't have the time or energy for a more involved meal. So I went with simple and raided the fridge for the last of the food available to us. Yeah... I haven't been to the grocery store in over a week. Bad mommy/wife! Good thing we have a very large pantry filled at all times with spices and sauces.

This meal turned out even better than I expected. I really didn't know where I was going when I started grabbing things from the fridge and pantry but I think I might just add this one to our monthly rotation. It's not only super tasty but fast and easy as well.

Teriyaki Chicken with Green Beans

2 chicken breasts
2 pounds haricot verts
1 small shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup teriyaki chicken
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Cut chicken breast into 1 inch pieces. Heat oil on medium high in large skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Saute shallot and garlic clove. Add chicken and cook until white on the outside.

Add green beans and cook another 3 to 5 minutes or until green beans are cooked to al dente and chicken is browned lightly. Add teriyaki sauce and stir to cover chicken and beans. Top with sesame seeds and serve.

Serves 3 | 8 WW+ Points

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffin Bites {1 WW+ Dessert}

2011-05-16T10:04:00.000-07:00

Joseph was out with a friend for dinner last night so my little man and I decided to bake up some goodies for dessert. I started out making regular muffins but then decided to make them mini instead! I'm glad I did. These things were the perfect size for my toddler and the perfect size for me.

Plus they're only 1 point each so I can control how much indulgence I want and not have to use up too many points. The mini chocolate chips really make these tastier. You get chocolate in every single bite and feel like you're really getting away with something.

Super easy and yummy results! It's a win-win with this recipe :) And if you're making the standard muffin size you should get 24 muffins at 3 WW+ points each (versus my 72 mini muffins). But remember to calculate the points value if you change anything. The original recipe did not include an egg but the egg doesn't add anything to the points value and, I think, definitely adds something to the recipe.

Inspired By: Our Best Bites

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffin Bites

1 package spice cake mix
1 15oz can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 egg
1 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a mini muffin pan with Pam cooking spray. Mix cake mix, pumpkin puree and egg together until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Place 1 tablespoon of batter into prepared mini muffin pan. Place in oven and bake for 8 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

72 Servings | 1 WW+ Point each

WFD? Week of 5/15/2011 {Weekly Meal Planning}

2011-05-15T07:15:00.000-07:00

I have got to get better at sticking with meal planning! This past week was a bit all over the place and as a result I didn't do much blogging :( Well that stops now! Not only do I need to focus on sticking with my meal planning for my weight loss, I also need to stick with it for our budget. Money is getting tight around here and I need to do everything I can to keep everything reigned in with regards to spending.

If anyone has any helpful tips and tricks to stick with a grocery budget (or any budget for that matter) I'd gladly take your advice! I'm already couponing (and love it) but I think I need to step it up a bit.

Week of 5/15/2011

Sunday - 8 WW+ Points
Chicken Teriyaki with Green Beans

Monday - 7 WW+ Points
Chicken Parmesan Bites with spaghetti & marinara

Tuesday -13 WW+ Points
Dinner out - Pat & Oscars BBQ Chicken, Greek Salad w/ fat free dressing & 1 breadstick

Wednesday - ??
Lettuce Wraps

Thursday - ??
Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops lightened up

Friday -
Dinner out

Saturday - 9 WW+ Points
Pesto Salmon Salad

WFD? Week of 5/8/2011 {Weekly Meal Planning}

2011-05-09T12:34:00.000-07:00

This past week was crazy! It not only went by fast but suppers were thrown together with little time to take pictures and even less time to blog. So I apologize for the lack of posts recently. I was hoping to have some recipes up from the baby shower I hosted last weekend but I forgot my camera and haven't received the pictures yet (and don't want to bug my girlfriend for them :)). You guys can wait a bit, right?

So this week I'm going to try a few new recipes. Some from other blogs and others I'll just make up as I go along. Luckily I have a few dishes already prepared and ready to throw in the oven from previous nights (the mac & cheese and the chili). With both Joseph and I working on Thursdays and Fridays it's made dinner something very hard to accomplish in a small amount of time. Preparation is key to staying on track and resisting the urge to pick up take out. But sometimes take out wins...

Week of 5/8/2011

Sunday -
Pick Up Stix - no cooking on Mother's Day!

Monday - 10 WW+ Points
Chicken Bacon Ranch Mac & Cheese

Tuesday -
Chicken Tacos

Wednesday -
Buttermilk Brined BBQ Pork Chops via What's Cookin' Chicago?

Thursday -
Slow Cooker Root Beer Pulled Pork

Friday - 5 WW+ Points
Slow Cooker Three Bean Chili

Saturday -
Barbecue Chicken with Mustard Glaze via Cooking Light

Italian Pasta Salad {4WW+ Appetizer}

2011-05-02T18:19:00.000-07:00

I hosted a baby shower this past weekend (more recipes and pictures to come) and one of the dishes I made was this pasta salad. It was super easy to make and came together quickly. I love that I didn't have to use a packet or mix to put it together. Another bonus was that I had all of the ingredients on hand and didn't have to run to the store to buy anything. I'll definitely be making this again for those summer barbecues and picnics. I just need to figure out what other spices to throw in to make it pop some more. Any ideas?

Inspiration: Brown Eyed Baker

Italian Pasta Salad

1 package Trader Joe's fusilli pasta, cooked and drained
3 ounces Hormel Pepperoni Minis
6 Kraft provolone slices, diced
5 ounces Frigo part skim mozzarella
1 6 ounce can large black olives
1 15 ounce can garbanzo beans (rinsed and drained)
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil

For the Dressing:

1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup olive oil

In a large bowl, toss together the pasta, pepperoni, cheese, olives, beans, tomatoes, parsley and basil.

To make the dressing, whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, honey and salt. While whisking vigorously, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Once combined, pour over pasta mixture to coat and toss. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

Serves 20 | 4 WW+ Points (1/2 cup)

WFD? Week of 5/1/2011 {Weekly Meal Planning}

2011-05-01T18:03:00.000-07:00

This week I've decided to take a step back and revisit a few of the meals I've made in the past. Some I made while on the old weight watcher plan and others I made off plan. So I'm going to re-work them and give them a new spin. Stay tuned for more updates!

Week of 5/1/2011

Sunday - 10 WW+ Points
Italian Turkey Sliders & Pasta Salad

Monday - 10 WW+ Points
Ratatoille & Corn Cakes

Tuesday - 12 WW+ Points (2 slices)
Homemade Pepperoni & Spinach Pizza

Wednesday - 6 WW+ Points (plus spaghetti)
Baked Chicken Parm & Spaghetti via Taste & See

Thursday - ?
BBQ Chicken with Mashed Cauliflower

Friday - ?
Eating Out

Saturday - ?
Pork Chops & Asparagus

Sunday -?
Enchiladas revisited WW style

Crock Pot Lasagna {9 WW+ Dinner}

2011-04-27T21:50:00.000-07:00

I had high hopes for this recipe. I tried it once and kinda screwed up (didn't have ricotta on hand so used cream cheese in a pinch). And the results were not pretty. So I was determined to revisit this dish and try again.

Good thing I did cause this meal was mighty tasty! And filling too. Only one serving plus a side salad filled me up and kept me satisfied all night. I most definitely cannot wait till tomorrow's leftovers for lunch. I'm sure this dish will keep me happy two days in a row.

Inspiration: Two Pink Hippos

Crock Pot Lasagna

1 pound uncooked lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic clove, minced
28 ounces canned diced tomatoes
15 ounces canned tomato sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 cup fat free ricotta cheese
2 ounces fat free mozzarella cheese, shredded
4 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheeses, shredded and divided

6 dry lasagna noodles, no-cook
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

In a saucepan, over medium-high heat, combine beef, onion and garlic. Break up meat with a wooden spoon while everything cooks, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes; simmer 5 minutes more to allow flavors to blend.

In a separate bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, 2 ounces of part skim mozzarella cheese, and 2 ounces of fat free mozzarella cheese.

Spoon 1/3 of beef mixture into a 6-quart slow cooker. Break 2 lasagna sheets in thirds and arrange over beef mixture; top with 1/3 of ricotta mixture. Repeat with two layers and finish with remaining 1/3 of beef mixture.

Cook on low setting for 4 hours. Turn off crock pot.

In a separate bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup of reserved part-skim mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the lasagna. Cover the crock pot until the cheese melts and lasagna firms up, about 10 minutes.

Serves 6 | 9 WW+ Points

Pesto Dill Salmon Burgers {8 WW+ Dinner}

2011-04-26T18:01:00.001-07:00

I had some salmon I froze from dinner last week that I wanted to use up this week but didn't quite want grilled salmon again. So I went in search of a yummy alternative. I went to my trusty google reader, filled with tons and tons of recipes from other food bloggers, and settled on this salmon burger from Beantown Baker.

I wasn't quite sure how I'd like it as I'd never had a salmon burger before but was ready for a challenge. I kinda got grossed out when I put the salmon in the food processor but I got through it. the mix came together really well. Next time I may dice my salmon pieces a bit smaller though. Although it didn't change the taste of the burger, the bigger pieces made it harder for the patties to be formed and stay formed.

All in all I thought this burger was quite tasty. Although I may spice it up a bit next time.

Inspiration: Beantown Baker

Pesto Dill Salmon Burgers

12 oz salmon, diced
2 teaspoons dried dill weed
1 tablespoon pesto sauce
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons mustard
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 Thomas' Light Multi-Grain English Muffin

Toppings

2 tablespoons reduced-calorie mayonnaise
2 teaspoons mustard
1 cup spinach
1 small tomato, sliced

In the food processor, puree half of the diced salmon.

In a medium bowl, combine the pureed mixture with the remaining diced salmon, dill, pesto, mustard and salt and pepper.

Shape into 4 4oz patties. Make an indentation in the center.

Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Coat skillet with oil. Cook the patties for 4-5 minutes per side. Serve on English muffins with spinach and mayonnaise mixed with mustard.

Serves 4 | 8 WW+ Points

WFD? Week of 4/24/2011 {Weekly Meal Planning}

2011-04-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

This week I'm doing things a bit differently. For one, because of the holiday yesterday I wasn't able to set aside time to meal plan so I'm doing that today. And secondly, my printer ran out of ink while I was printing coupons so I'm going to post my grocery list for the upcoming week's meals below the meal plan. That way I can "go green" and use the blog as my list instead of a paper list.

Now don't be deceived. The list below only includes ingredients needed for the week's dinners. It does not include breakfast, lunch or snacks. Those will be carefully planned as well with the help of coupons and sale ads. Maybe if I have time I'll post those later as well.

Week of 4/24/2011

Monday –
Turkey Meatloaf

Tuesday –
Salmon Burgers via Beantown Baker

Wednesday –
Crock Pot Lasagna via Two Pink Hippos

Thursday –
Maple Rosemary Pork Chops via What's Cookin, Chicago

Friday –
Baked Chicken Parm & Spaghetti via Taste & See

Saturday –
Roasted Chicken with Asparagus Risotto via Weight Watchers

Sunday –
Ratatouille with Corn Cakes

Fruit/Veggies

2 Onions

2 Bell Peppers

Tomato

Asparagus

Shallots

Eggplant

Zucchini

Dairy

Low fat shredded cheddar

Part skim Mozzarella, shredded

Part skim ricotta

Parmesan

Meat

Ground turkey breast

4oz Smoked Salmon

Pork chops

Dry Goods/Herbs & Spices

Parsley

Sage

Basil

Dry mustard

Masa harina

Meatballs and Polenta {10 WW+ Dinner}

2011-04-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

Wow. I haven't had as tasty a dinner as last night's in a LONG time. Well, at least one that I made. This meal just hit the spot. Definitely a comfort food meal that's perfect for any time of year. The flavors really melded together and the richness of the meat and polenta was spot on. I've only ever tried the already cooked polenta in the log looking thing. And it just wasn't my cup of tea. Joseph didn't much care for it either. But this meal? Yeah, it was perfect.

I did vary a lot from the original recipe. I don't know what overcame me but as I was looking at the original ingredients I knew I could "one up" myself and make a fabulous meatball. And I did. These were tasty and flavorful. I even froze two thirds of the baked batch to use for future meals. I love making extras to use in the future!

Just serve with your favorite veggies, or a large salad, for a completely balanced meal.

Inspiration: Two Pink Hippos

Meatballs and Polenta

1 pound 99% fat-free raw ground turkey breast
1 pound 85% lean/15% fat raw ground beef
1 egg
1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup fresh parsley, diced
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
15 oz canned tomatoes
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon basil, minced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup pre-cooked polenta, dry
2 cups fat-free chicken broth
1/2 oz mozzarella, shredded, fat free
1/2 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 teaspoon regular butter

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine the beef, turkey, egg, bread crumbs, worcestershire sauce, and herbs & spices in a bowl.

Use your hands to mix the ingredients together. Form meatballs about 2" diameter and place them on a baking pan. (I weighed each meatball at 2 oz and got 19 meatballs.) Bake for 25 minutes.

While the meatballs are baking, dice your onion and mice the garlic and basil. Saute the onion & garlic until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add in the tomatoes and basil. Let simmer.

After meatballs are done bake, transfer from the oven to the sauce. Cook for another 10-20 minutes, turning the meatballs occasionally so all meatballs are coated with sauce.

Place chicken broth in a medium pot. Set to medium high and bring to a boil. Once boiling whisk in the polenta. Continue to wisk for 3 minutes or until thick. Add cheese and salt, to taste, and continue to whisk until the cheese has melted and is combined with the polenta. Remove from heat and divide in half on two plates.

Serve meatballs over polenta. Top with a little chopped parsley and grated Parmesan if desired.

1 2oz meatball = 1 serving
1/2 polenta (roughly 1 cup) = 1 serving

2 Servings | 10 WW+ Points

WFD? Week of 4/18/2011 {Weekly Meal Planning}

2011-04-17T20:51:00.000-07:00

This week is going to be a week of revisiting and reusing. Since starting to regularly blog again (and regularly meal plan) I've found that we sometimes have too many leftovers to eat up for lunch the next day. So I'm going to start being more aware of the components of each meal to see if I can re-use a portion for the next few nights. Chicken made for one dish can go a long way through the week and add to other dishes. For example, the pesto I made last night for salmon will be re-used tomorrow for some chicken and pasta. The rest will be frozen and added to meals later on.

I really do hate wasting food and have been getting a whole lot better on realizing when I'm starting to waste more. I have even caught a few veggies that were on the verge of being "too old" and just cooked them up right away and ate them for lunch. A few weeks ago I might have just let them go to waste and thrown them away. Not anymore!

So if you see a recipe on my line up that you think I can re-use in another dish please let me know and I'll rearrange things to put it on the menu! Oh, and I totally didn't realize that the last three dinners were from the same source. I have been dying to try the meatballs & polenta but had to pass it off to this week and I really want to give the crock pot lasagna a second chance since my first pass at it didn't go so well. I'll try to mix things up next week.

Week of 4/18/2011

Sunday - Dinner Out
Burgers & Sweet Potato Fries at Crazee Burger

Monday - ?? WW+ Points
Pesto Chicken and Whole Wheat Pasta

Tuesday - 7 WW+ Points
Chicken Parmesan and Spaghetti via Emily Bites

Wednesday- 9 WW+ Points
Leftover Teriyaki Salmon I put in the freezer

Thursday - 10 WW+ Points
Meatballs & Polenta via Two Pink Hippos

Friday - 9 WW+ Points
Shrimp & Crab Cake Burgers via Two Pink Hippos

Saturday - 9 WW+ Points
Crockpot Lasagna revisited via Two Pink Hippos

Country Fried Steak with Gravy {7 WW+ Dinner}

2011-04-15T15:33:00.000-07:00

I've finally found a dish I haven't really enjoyed since starting this most recent weight watchers journey. I'll probably try and re-work the country friend steak recipe I've already used to make it more points friendly instead of using this one again. But it was tasty enough to finish the whole meal. I'll give it that much. It just didn't have enough "yum" for me if you know what I mean... and if you don't, sorry.

Inspiration: LaLoosh

Country Fried Steak

1 pound cube steak, trimmed and cut into 4 portions
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup White Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 cup Kashi Go Lean Crunch Cereal, processed finely in food processor
1 1/4 cups fat-free beef broth
1/4 cup low fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon water
2 egg white, lightly whisked
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Place all-purpose flour on a large plate. Place egg whites in a shallow dish. Whisk Fiber One breadcrumbs, whole-wheat flour, the 1/4 cup cornstarch, garlic and paprika in another shallow dish. Season both sides of steak with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Dredge the steak in the flour, shaking off excess; dip in the egg whites, then dredge in the Fiber One/flour mixture.

Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonfat cooking spray, and heat over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and add 2 pieces of the steak; cook until browned on both sides, turning once, 3 to 5 minutes total. Transfer the steak to the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining pieces of steak. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake until cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, add broth to the pan and boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1 cup, approx 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk water and the remaining 1 tablespoon cornstarch until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the left over Fiber One/flour mixture. Return to the heat and cook, stirring, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in buttermilk; season with the remaining salt and pepper. Serve the steak topped with the gravy.

Serves 4 | 7 WW+ Points

Thyme Chicken & Red Potatoes {7WW+ Dinner}

2011-04-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

This is a meal that was pushed back from last week to this week and I'm really glad I didn't cut it. I'm usually hesitant to make crock pot chicken dishes because I've had some really bad experiences in the past (i.e. the chicken was so dry my husband started choking due to the piece being stuck in his throat... but we won't talk about that). So even though the ingredients sounded great I wasn't too thrilled to jump in and make it. But the dish surprised me.

The chicken was moist and flavorful and the carrots and potatoes were sweet and tender. I didn't even need a small sweet for dessert. The fresh parsley and lemon gave a fresh zing to the dish that definitely kicked it up a bit. And while there is a bit of prep beforehand, it's worth it. The sauteed onions and celery just add to the sweetness of this dish.

If I made it again I'd probably stop letting it cook after 6 hours instead of 8 since the chicken was *almost* dry. Good thing I followed my nose and stopped the cooker after 7 hours. The chicken was just right! And next time I'll try and remember to buy sage so I can make the meal according to the original recipe... haha... like I ever do that!

Inspiration: Weight Watchers

Thyme Chicken & Red Potatoes

2 tsp olive oil, extra-virgin
1 large red onion, chopped
5 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup reduced-sodium, fat free chicken broth
2 uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut in half
1 pound uncooked red potatoes, cut into quarters
1 pound baby carrots
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup parsley, fresh, chopped
1/8 teaspoon lemon zest, 1 strip
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Heat the oil in a large nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Add the broth and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Let simmer 1-2 minutes or until thickened.

Put the potatoes, carrots, chicken bay leaf, salt, and pepper (in that order) in a 5–6-quart slow cooker; pour the broth mixture over the chicken and vegetables. Cover the slow cooker and cook until chicken and vegetables are fork-tender, 6-8 hours on low.

Discard the bay leaf. Add the parsley, thyme, lemon zest, and lemon juice to the slow cooker; cover and cook on high until the flavors blend, about 10 minutes.

4 Servings | 7 WW+ Points

Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Mac & Cheese {10 WW+ Dinner}

2011-04-12T22:00:00.000-07:00

I was so surprised with how much I enjoyed this dish. I wasn't expecting much although many of my friends gave it rave reviews. I don't know... I guess I've done mac and cheese so much that one other way just didn't seem exciting to me. But this dish is definitely not your typical mac and cheese. It reminded me a bit of an alfredo almost and was definitely tasty. I think Joseph even approved.

Next time I make this version (and I do plan on making it) I'm going to add some broccoli to the mix as well so I don't have to serve a veggie on the side. It's always easier to make a complete meal in one dish. And it makes the broccoli taste that much better... cheese will do that to a veggie!

Inspiration: Cooking Light, March 2010 issue

Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Mac & Cheese

8 ounces uncooked Fusilli pasta
3 slices pre-cooked bacon, cut into small pieces (reserve 1/3)
8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 breast)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
12 ounces 1% milk
1 can condensed 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup
1 ounce Trader Joe's light shredded 3 cheese blend
1 ounce Trader Joe's organic shredded mozzarella
2 ounces Trader Joe's shredded pepper jack cheese blend, plus 1/8 cup to reserve
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried dill
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

Cook chicken in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add bacon to the pan and warm through. Remove from heat and set aside.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; sprinkle flour evenly into pan. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. Combine milk and soup, stirring with a whisk; gradually add milk mixture to saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat; let stand 4 minutes or until sauce cools to 155°. Add cheese blend, onion powder, garlic powder, dill, salt and pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Stir in pasta and chicken.

Preheat broiler.

Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with reserved bacon and Pepper Jack cheese blend. Broil 3 minutes or until cheese melts.

Serves 6 | 10 WW+ Points

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread {6 WW+ Dessert}

2011-04-11T18:34:00.000-07:00

I was craving sweets yesterday. I needed to bake and it needed to be on-plan. So I went in search of ingredients in the house and found 3 very ripe bananas. And instead of eating them I looked for a recipe that would use them up.

I came across this recipe on the Weight Watcher's website and read the reviews. Most people thoroughly enjoyed this bread so I knew I had to try it. I've tried other banana breads before that were "lighter" but always had problems with the moistness of the bread (I hate that word...). So I added some applesauce to the batter to combat the lack of butter or mass quantities of oil. And I succeeded in keeping this bread tasty! With just a hint of cinnamon and a sprinkle of chocolate chips this was the perfect dessert to enjoy with a cup of coffee.

Inspiration: Weight Watchers

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unpacked brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tsp canola oil
1 large egg, beaten
2 large egg white, beaten
3 large bananas, ripe
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup quick cooking rolled oats

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients. Add oil, applesauce and eggs; mix thoroughly.

In a smaller bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher or fork. Add bananas and oatmeal to batter. Fold in chocolate chips

Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray. Pour batter into pan and bake until top of loaf is firm to touch, 45 to 55 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Flip out and cool on a wire rack for another 10 minutes.

Serves 10 | 6 WW+ Points

Chicken Pad Thai {7 WW+ Dinner}

2011-04-11T18:27:00.000-07:00

Tonight was one of those nights that I forgot to read the recipe for dinner... and therefore I scoured the rest of the week's meals to find a back up plan. I wasn't too sure about this recipe. I really don't eat a lot of Thai food and definitely don't make it at home. Mostly because Joseph won't eat it. He isn't too adventurous when it comes to food. But I'm glad I was pleasantly surprised. I did miss the peanuts and peanut oil but it's better to have a live husband then to indulge in peanuts. And without the peanuts I reduced this meal by 2 points. How awesome is that?

Now back to the dish... it was fresh, flavorful and very... spring like. Yum. I ate my portion in a small bowl that only held one cup because I knew mentally I'd want another bowl and wouldn't be able to afford 14 points for dinner. So when I was done with my small 1 cup bowl I went and got seconds. And I was satisfied. Not overly full; satisfied. The way I should be.

Inspiration: Weight Watchers

Chicken Pad Thai sans Peanuts

7 ounces packaged rice noodles
1 1/8 pounds uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1/4 cup fish sauce, divided
4 cups broccoli, florets
juice of 1 lime, divided
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 teaspoon ginger root, fresh, finely minced
2 sprays cooking spray
1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
1/2 cup cilantro, fresh, minced
2 medium carrots, shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon chili oil

Start boiling a pot of water for noodles and a pot of water for steaming broccoli.

Place chicken in a small bowl and cover with 1 tablespoon of fish sauce and sprinkle with some salt and pepper; set aside. Cut up broccoli, shred carrots, mince cilantro, garlic & ginger root; set aside.

Place noodles in boiling water & steam broccoli until crisp-tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in another small bowl, combine remaining 3 tablespoons of fish sauce, 1/2 of the juice of one lime, sugar, water and ginger; mix well and set aside.

Coat a large wok or skillet with cooking spray and warm over medium-high heat. When hot, add chicken; cook, stirring occasionally until chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and cover to keep warm; set aside.

Drain noodles thoroughly. Off heat, coat same wok or skillet with cooking spray and warm over medium-high heat. When hot, sauté garlic and carrots until garlic is just fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add noodles, fish sauce mixture, and chili oil; cook, stirring, until sauce is mostly absorbed, about 3 minutes. Stir in chicken and broccoli; remove from heat. Add remaining 1/2 of lime juice, bean sprouts and cilantro; mix well. Serve immediately. Yields about 2 cups per serving.

Serves 6 | 7 WW+ Points

WFD? Week of 4/10/2011 {Weekly Meal Planning}

2011-04-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

The best thing about weekly meal planning for me is that I have a stocked house. I know that I will have fresh veggies and fruits stocked up and I'll have a good plan should anything happen mid-week and, say, I forget that I planned a crock pot meal and it's 2pm. This happens a lot. So I switch things up and have pizza on Wednesday instead of Saturday. And it's ok because I already shopped and have all of the ingredients on hand. Right? Well...

Sometimes the dish does change a bit when it gets to the end of the week because I either forgot and used some ingredients in another dish (or for lunch) or I swore I already had something at home and forgot a key ingredient. But I don't panic! I just move on with the next meal I have all of the ingredients for or I improvise.

So sometimes you'll see a recipe from the previous week included in this week's line up. It isn't because I absolutely LOVED it and had to have it again... no, it's more likely that I just didn't prepare it the week before but still want to give it a chance. If I STILL haven't made it that second week than I more than likely just drop it off the menu and save it for another month.

Week of 4/10/2011

Sunday - WW+ Points
Chicken Parmesan and Spaghetti via Emily Bites

Monday - 7 WW+ Points
Sage Chicken & Red Potatoes via Weight Watchers

Tuesday - 6 WW+ Points
Bacon, Ranch & Chicken Mac and Cheese via Cooking Light March 2010

Wednesday - 9 WW+ Points
Chicken Pad Thai (minus the peanuts) via Weight Watchers

Thursday - 6 WW+ Points
Country Fried Steak & Gravy via LaaLosh

Friday - 9 WW+ Points
Pesto Salmon Salad (to go - I have an event tonight so I'll be eating on the run)

Saturday - WW+ Points
Meatballs & Polenta via Two Pink Hippos

Shrimp Marinara {9 WW+ Dinner}

2011-04-08T20:41:00.000-07:00

I think I just found my new go to when we're out of ground beef and I want spaghetti. This dish was fabulous! I tweaked it a bit to add some more veggies and I decided to use my dutch oven instead of the slow cooker (I tend to have MUCH better luck with the dutch oven than with the slow cooker) and this recipe turned out better than I expected. I didn't have fresh shrimp, just a bag of frozen cooked shrimp from Trader Joe's but it worked great. And I can always keep some in the freezer so consider this an official staple meal in this household!

Inspiration: Two Pink Hippos

Shrimp Marinara

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 small onion, diced
1/2 cup carrots, shredded
1 zucchini, shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 ounce can tomato paste
2 tbsp dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
28 ounces can diced tomatoes
1 pound frozen cooked shrimp, tails off
30 ounces organic spaghetti

Start heating a large pot of water to a boil for pasta.

Add oil to dutch oven and cook on medium high. Add onions, carrots & zucchini. Saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for another minute. Add tomato paste, spices, & tomatoes into dutch oven and let cook until boiling. Once it's boiling, turn heat to low and let simmer.

Once pasta water is boiling, sprinkle with some salt and add pasta. Add shrimp to sauce. Cook pasta until done and drain. Shrimp will be warmed thoroughly as soon as the pasta is done. Plate pasta and top with shrimp marinara.

Serves 6 | 9 WW+ Points

Olive, Pepperoni and Bruschetta Pizza {6 WW+ Dinner}

2011-04-07T21:14:00.000-07:00

You know when you have an awesome idea for dinner and crave it all week. And than something happens and you don't get to put your idea into action? Well that happened tonight. And guess what? Dinner still turned out really well.

I made this weeks dinner list in a hurry. We were busy and in the middle of Joseph's birthday weekend but I still needed a plan. So when the week went by in a hurry and Thursday finally came I just opened the recipe link from the blog for my husband and left it at that. He'd figure it out and I'd come home to a yummy dinner of chicken and potatoes.

Well... we both didn't read past the skillet part to the part where we used the slow cooker to finish the meal. Yup. Joseph waited till one hour before I was supposed to be home to look at the recipe again and realized what had happened. So as I was driving home I asked him to grab the dough out of the fridge... I was going to make some pizza! I had wanted to use Italian sausage but we had to use it for the crock pot lasagna we had earlier in the week so I grabbed some pepperonis. This pizza was super yummy! And the best part? Joseph and my son didn't know there was spinach in there! Always a good thing to get veggies in without their knowledge.

Olive, Pepperoni and Bruschetta Pizza

1 ball Trader Joe's Garlic & Herb pizza dough
1 cup spinach, cut finely
2 ounces Trader Joe's Organic Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
2 ounces Trader Joe's Lite Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
6 ounces Trader Joe's Bruschetta
10 (20 grams) Hormel pepperonis
2 ounces sliced olives

Let pre-made or store bought dough rest for 30 minutes before rolling out. While dough rests, place a pizza stone on the bottom of a cold oven and turn the oven to 450 degrees.

Take out all sauce & toppings and have them prepped and ready to go before you start rolling out the dough.

Sprinkle your work space with a little bit of corn meal or flour so the dough doesn't stick.

Take pizza dough and flatten into a disk and then fold the dough into a ball. Start to slowly work and stretch the dough into a flattened circle with your hands. You can roll it out to a larger size with a good rolling pin or continue to use your hands.

Once the dough is to the size you want (I went with 12 inches as suggested on the dough packaging), roll the outer sides inwards to create a thin crust. Brush the crust with a small amount of olive oil.

Once the dough is completely rolled out and the crust is formed take the stone out of the oven. Place the formed dough onto the stone and spoon bruschetta onto the dough and evenly spread it around to the crust rim.

Place spinach, pepperoni and black olives on top of the sauce and then sprinkle the cheese over the toppings. Bake in the oven for 9 minutes or until cheese is bubbling.

Let rest 3 minutes on the stone once it's done and then serve with your favorite salad.

6 Servings | 6 WW+ Points

Marble Cake with Whipped Frosting {10 WW+ Dessert}

2011-04-06T08:24:00.000-07:00

My husband, thankfully, was very specific with what type of cake he wanted for his birthday this year. Marble cake with light frosting. The trouble was I didn't have a tried and true recipe for marble cake and had no idea what type of frosting I should make. So I went to the interwebz. And came up with this from Martha Stewart.

Now her marble cake is supposed to be in loaf form. So I changed a few things, doubled a few ingredients and put the batter into two 9" rounds instead of a loaf pan. I think it turned out rather nicely. I went with a whipped frosting. Something I had never made before. But it turns out that it was Joseph's maternal grandmother's favorite frosting! Guess I made a good decision. Next time I'll make a buttercream or custard for the filling instead of using the whipped frosting because the frosting just kind of got absorbed into the cake even though the cake was completely cooled at frosting time.

All in all it was a good cake. Not as light and fluffy as I would have liked and a tiny bit dry but that just means I'll have to experiment some more to get the perfect flavor. But don't worry, I won't be experimenting any time soon. At 9 WW+ points a serving, this cake will be saved for special occasions. I may just try the loaf version soon so I can play around a bit.

Inspiration: Martha Stewart

Marble Cake

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder plus 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter two 9" rounds and layer with parchment paper; set aside. Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in vanilla. Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour. Set aside 1/3 of the batter. (I forgot to do this and had to add the buttermilk after the flour was incorporated)

In a bowl, mix cocoa and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water with a rubber spatula until smooth. Add the cocoa mixture to the reserved cake batter; stir until well combined.

Spoon batters into the prepared pans in 2 layers, alternating spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate to simulate a checkerboard. To create marbling, run a table knife (or wooden skewer) through the batters in a swirling motion.

Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until a cake tester comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack to cool 10 minutes. Turn out cake from pan and cool completely on the rack. Cake can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

16 Servings | 9 WW+ Points

Whipped Frosting

3 large egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup water
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water, combine egg whites, sugar, salt, and water. Cook over medium, stirring constantly, until sugar has dissolved (or mixture registers 150 degrees on an instant-read thermometer), 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium-high until glossy, stiff peaks form (do not over beat), about 3 minutes; reduce speed to low, add vanilla extract, and beat just until combined. Use immediately.

WFD? Week of 4/4/2011 {Weekly Meal Planning}

2011-04-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

I didn't have a chance to meal plan yesterday due to some birthday festivities for my husband, Joseph, but I got right on top of it this morning and planned out an awesome week of meals! Take a look at what's ahead:

Week of 4/4/2011

Sunday - 14 WW+ Points
Hamburgers & Sweet Potato Fries
Monday - ?? WW+ Points
Dinner out at Benihana's for Joseph's birthday (emailed them to see if I could get nutritional information)
Tuesday - 9 WW+ Points
Crock Pot Lasagna via Two Pink Hippos
Wednesday - 10 WW+ Points
Skinny Italian Spinach Meatballs via Gina's Skinny Recipes
Thursday -7 WW+ Points
Sage Chicken & Red Potatoes via Weight Watchers
Friday - 10 WW+ Points
Crock Pot Shrimp Marinara with Spaghetti via Two Pink Hippos
Saturday - 6 WW+ Points
Homemade Pizza

Teriyaki Salmon {9 WW+ Dinner}

2011-04-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

I'm always up for a good fish recipe to try during Lent. This Lent I haven't been too adventurous. I've been sticking with tuna noodle casserole and marinated frozen fillets from Trader Joe's. It's simple and easy. And when I get home from work on Friday I need simple and easy.

But I've gotten kind of stuck and wanted to get out of this rut. I LOVE trying out new recipes and really like stepping out of our typical meals. Or taking a typical meal and changing it up a bit. This recipe took something I'd normally do with chicken and used fish. And boy was it tasty!

For those readers on Weight Watchers, if you'd like to reduce the points in this meal you can reduce the fish size to 3 ounces. I just prefer a larger portion of fish when points allow so I feel more full.

I'm hoping to try a few more fish recipes before the end of Lent. If you have any to suggest please do!

Inspiration: What's Cookin, Chicago?

Teriyaki Salmon

4 6 ounce salmon fillets
1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon honey
2 minced garlic cloves

Mix all of the ingredients in a ziploc bag and let marinate in the fridge for 6-24 hours. Preheat grill (or grill pan) and spray with cooking spray.

Remove the salmon from the bag and place on grill. Cook on each side until opaque and flakey, about 5 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets.

Serves 4 | 9 WW+ Points

Crockpot Salsa Chicken {4 WW+ Dinner}

2011-04-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

This is the easiest crock pot dish for those just starting out with their crockpot. You don't have to thaw any meat, you don't have to worry about the chicken drying out, you don't have to worry about the size of your crockpot. The ingredients all meld so well together and taste delicious however you serve it up.

I served the chicken with rice and zucchini but you can put the chicken in tacos, enchiladas or anything else you can think of. I'm already planning on using the left overs on Saturday for enchilada lasagna. I was going to go with beef but have more than enough left over chicken to use up so I'm making it easy on myself and saving the beef for another day. Another great way to use this as left overs is to put it on top of a salad or make a soup out of it.

Inspiration: Crockpot 365

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

3 chicken breasts (can be frozen)
1 cup corn
1 cup kidney beans
1 1/2 cups salsa
2 tablespoons dry taco seasoning
Salt & Pepper to taste

Place the chicken in the crockpot and top with the other ingredients. Set the crock pot to cook on low for 6-8 hours or until the chicken is cooked thoroughly. Remove the chicken from the crock pot and shred. Place it back in the crock pot and set it to warm while you prepare the rest of your meal (rice, beans, vegetables, etc).

Serves 6 | 4 WW+ Points

You can top with your favorite light sour cream and a sprinkle of cheese for just 2 more points! That's what I did and it was delicious! My whole meal was 9 WW+ points total and included a serving of salsa chicken, a tablespoon of light sour cream, a sprinkle of light shredded cheese, a 1/2 cup of brown rice and a cup of roasted zucchini. It was delicious and filling.

Italian Sausage and Peppers Pasta {9 WW+ Dinner}

2011-03-31T08:27:00.000-07:00

I love trying a Weight Watcher recipe from their website and find that it actually tastes flavorful! So many times in the past I've tried one and it's just been waaaay too bland. Maybe it's just me but I always find myself adding lots of herbs and spices to their recipes.

Not this one. It was perfect. The onions and peppers were delicious when paired with the red wine and my son loved that the onions got stained "burple" from the red wine. The italian sausage was definitely the way to go with this meal. I think if you subbed anything else it wouldn't be as tasty without a LOT of spices thrown in.

And while I didn't absolutely love this dish, I'll probably make it sometime in the future. Just not every month :)

Inspiration: WeightWatchers.com

Italian Sausage and Peppers Pasta

2 teaspoons olive oil, extra-virgin
1 green peppers, cut into 2-inch long thin strips
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup red wine
1 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
15 ounce canned diced tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon table salt
fresh black pepper
1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
3 links mild Italian sausage
8 ounces gemelli (or fusilli) pasta

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.

Meanwhile, to make sauce, in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage, stirring and breaking up meat with back of a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes; remove to a plate.

Heat oil in same skillet. Add yellow peppers and onion; cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are lightly colored and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

Add wine and garlic; cook until most of liquid evaporates, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, crushed red pepper, salt and browned sausage; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender and sauce is heated through, about 10 minutes.

While sauce simmers, add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package instructions. Drain pasta; return to pot. Add sauce and basil; toss to mix and coat. Yields about 1 1/3 cups per serving.

6 Servings | 9 WW+ Points

Cranberry Walnut Gorgonzola Dressing {2 WW+ Dressing}

2011-03-30T13:42:00.000-07:00

Best Salad Dressing EVER!

Want to know how to make a low point salad that's super tasty and full of lots of yummy veggies? Use this dressing! A friend of a friend (maybe I can just call her a friend now...) suggested it and could only rave about it so I figured what the heck? And I picked up a bottle of it at Trader Joe's.

I grabbed some spinach, romaine, shredded carrots & sliced cucumber and piled them high in my bowl. I then carefully measured out two tablespoons of dressing and poured it over the veggies. And started eating. I don't think I stopped for a breath after starting because it was soo yummy!

Confession - I even went back and licked the dressing off the measuring spoon...

No need for adding anything else. The dressing has all the flavor you need. Walnuts, gorgonzola AND cranberries!! So perfect. And only 2 WW+ points per 2 tablespoon serving. I tried it last night with my dinner and than again for lunch today.

Even Molly approves:

Baked Peanut Butter and Banana Oatmeal {4 WW+ Breakfast}

2011-03-30T09:29:00.000-07:00

If you're a peanut butter lover AND watching your figure don't walk, run to go make these! They are soo tasty. And super filling. And really, if you look at the recipe, there's nothing "diet" about them. I mean they have butter and real sugar! No skimping out on this one. And if you're like me and eat a hearty breakfast every morning help yourself to two servings piled with bananas on top and non-fat vanilla yogurt on the side for an awesome and very tasty breakfast.

Seriously... go make these now.

Inspiration: Two Pink Hippos (if you don't already follow these ladies you should!)

Baked Peanut Butter & Banana Oatmeal

1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup 1% milk
1 egg
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x13 baking dish. Mix all ingredients in a bowl then spread out evenly in the baking dish. Bake 20-25 until the edges are golden brown.

15 Servings | 4 WW+ Points

Smothered Buttermilk Chicken with Peas {9 WW+ Dinner}

2011-03-29T20:01:00.000-07:00

When planning this week's menu I think that tonight's meal was the one I was most looking forward to. The recipe sounded almost like a chicken pot pie filling over a biscuit and it ended up tasting pretty similar to it! The only thing I'd change is I'd add more spices.

Since I had to work today I had Joseph prepare this meal and he did great. He changed the amount of water added from the original recipe since he didn't think there was enough and he added in a splash of chicken broth to add more flavor. Another change he'd make is to switch the water with chicken broth for more flavor as well.

All in all I loved this meal and will definitely be attempting it again with some more spices. I even had a second helping (don't worry... I had enough points!). Don't get me wrong, one serving would have been more than enough to satisfy me normally but I hadn't eaten since lunchtime due to a busy day at work. I also paired this with a delicious spinach & romaine salad.

Inspiration: Food.com

Smothered Buttermilk Chicken with Peas

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1 1/2 cups carrots, sliced into coins
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1 1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 teaspoons black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 chicken gravy mix packet
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 cup(s) frozen green peas, thawed
6 Trader Joe's refrigerated Buttermilk Biscuits

In a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker, mix together the chicken, carrots, onion, water, butter, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.

During the last 20 minutes of cooking time, stir in the gravy mix.Remove the bay l eaf; mix the buttermilk and flour together; stir flour mixture and peas into chicken mixture. Increase heat to HIGH; cover and cook 10-15 minutes or until peas are hot.

While the chicken mixture is cooking, prepare biscuits as directed on can. Split biscuits; serve chicken mixture over biscuits.

Serves 6 | 9 WW+ Points

WFD? {Weekly Meal Planning}

2011-03-26T15:00:00.000-07:00

Along with joining Weight Watchers again comes menu and meal planning. I haven't been doing it for the past few weeks but now that I'm going into week 9 I feel like I have to be more accountable for what we fix for dinner. Plus, I don't need any excuses to forego a meal at home for fast food or restaurant food that's double what my homemade cooking would cost me in points (as well as money!).

So I'm going to start posting my weekly dinner meal plan for all to see. I may blog all of the dishes, I may blog just one, and I may just be using another meal I already blogged about. But I'll list them all here and will try to review each and every one at the end of the week (if my kids give me the time).

Week of 3/27/2011

Sunday - 9 WW+ Points
Italian Sausage and Pepper Pasta via Weight Watchers
Monday - 10 WW+ Points
Smothered Buttermilk Chicken With Peas via food.com
Tuesday - 5 WW+ Points (plus pasta points)
Skinny Italian Spinach Meatballs via Gina's Skinny Recipes
Wednesday - 9 WW+ Points
Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken via Crockpot 3 65
Thursday - 8 WW+ Points
Enchilada Lasagna via this blog
Friday - 9 WW+ Points
Honey Teriyaki Salmon via Joelen's Culinary Adventures
Saturday -
Disneyland for Joseph's birthday

Fried Rice Revisited {4 WW+ Sides}

2011-03-23T08:11:00.000-07:00

For the past few nights we've been having brown rice as a side to our meals. And since it's just two and a half people eating we always seem to have left over rice. So instead of reheating or putting it into a casserole I wanted to make some fried rice for dinner tonight. Fried rice is awesome... so versatile and you can basically put anything in it and it'll taste good! So I just raided the freezer and pantry to come up with this version.

Luckily Joseph put out some chicken so it wasn't just fried rice for dinner :) I marinated the chicken in teriyaki sauce to add in with the fried rice and it was very yummy! The chicken only added 4 more points for 4 ounces of cooked chicken.

Fried Rice

2 eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, diced
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables (I used corn, carrots & green beans)
3 cups cooked brown rice
2 tablespoons soy sauce (or more to taste)

Heat pan on medium high. Spray with Pam. Scramble egg. Remove scrambled eggs from pan and set aside.

Add olive oil into the pan and saute onions and garlic for about 1 minute. Add frozen veggies into the pan and continue to saute for another 2 minutes. Add in the rice and cook for a few minutes until the rice is heated through.

Add soy sauce and toss everything together to mix well. Enjoy!

6 servings | 4 WW+ Points

Eggs Done Right... Again {7 WW+ Breakfast}

2011-03-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

This has been my go to breakfast when I need something hearty enough to hold me over until lunchtime. It may be a lot of points but it's worth every one of them! So super tasty. And I told you I was making good use of the left over pulled pork we had the other night!

I really think you can't go wrong when you mix eggs with salsa. They just always taste right. And I'm sure I'll start putting more veggies in my eggs. I think zucchini would work really well with this dish if I sauteed a bit before scrambling into the eggs. Or some diced mushrooms... mmmm! The best part is that I can scramble up the egg yolks for my son's breakfast so I don't waste a thing! He likes his with cheese and a side of fruit.

You can also use a La Tortilla Factory Low Carb tortilla and shave off a point from this meal. You can also do without the pork and shave 2 points off this meal. There are so many variations to scrambled eggs. Don't stick with the same ol' same ol'. Spice it up!

Pork and Salsa Egg Scramble

1 egg
3 egg whites
1 tablespoon milk
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 serving pulled pork
1 tortilla
1/8 cup Trader Joe's Lite Shredded 3 Cheese Blend
1/3 cup salsa

Spray non-stick pan with some Pam cooking spray. Blend egg, egg whites, milk and seasoning together with a fork. Add pork to the pan and cook for 1/2 a minute. Add eggs on top of the pork. Scramble and cook until done to your liking.

Place eggs on your plate. Put tortilla in the pan and heat for 1 minute. Flip and sprinkle heated side with cheese. After about 1/2 a minute fold the tortilla in half and remove from pan. Add to plate with eggs and serve with a side of salsa.

Load that tortilla up with some eggs, top with the salsa and take a bite...

1 Serving | 7 WW+ Points

Lobster Lovin' {6 WW+ Points Lunch}

2011-03-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Another fabulous and easy meal from Trader Joe's is their lobster ravioli in the refrigerated pasta section by the cheeses (usually). This pasta is soo good. And if you go off of the nutritional info from the label you'll see that there are 2.5 servings in the package. But if you are neurotic and count how many ravioli are actually in the package you'll see that you can really get 3 servings out of one package and won't even be able to tell the difference because you'll still be full!

So if you go by the package, one serving is 7 WW+ points. But if you divide the ravioli into three portions you are brought down to 5 WW+ points. Plus you can add some olive oil to get in your healthy oils and add on one point to your meal as I did. Pare this with a salad or some grilled or sauteed veggies and you have yourself one delicious pasta dish!

Lobster Ravioli ala Trader Joes

1 package Trader Joe's Lobster Ravioli
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons olive oil

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil and salt water. Add lobster ravioli and cook for 5 minutes (longer if raviolis are frozen). Remove from water and toss with olive oil and seasoning.

You can also enjoy with your favorite sauce. Just adjust the recipe and figure out the adjusted WW+ points.

Enjoy!

3 Servings | 6 WW+ Points

Skinny Sloppy Joes {5 WW+ Dinner}

2011-03-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

I think I've said it before but I love Gina's Skinny Recipes. She is such an inspiration for taking a normal, full fat recipe and making it work for the Weight Watchers lifestyle. Plus everything I've tried from her blog always tastes super good.

I did tweak the recipe a bit as I only had certain things on hand but I still think that this tasted fabulous. And you definitely couldn't tell there were so many veggies in here. My husband may have but he couldn't identify more than onions when I asked him to tell me what veggies he was eating. I served this with a nice green salad and low fat balsamic. But it'd also be perfect mixed with quinoa or brown rice!

Inspiration: Skinny Taste

Skinny Sloppy Joes

1 pound 85/15 organic ground beef sirloin
1 tablespoon Mrs Dash garlic & herb
1 cup baby carrots, minced
1/2 medium onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup Trader Joe's fire roasted peppers & onions, minced
4 oz sliced crimini mushrooms, minced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
salt & pepper to taste
Bun or bread of your choice (not included in WW+ calculation)

Dice all of the vegetables really fine (Gina suggests using a food processor or blender but I just minced them up and sauteed really well).

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the meat to the pan and break it up as it cooks. Season with seasoning and cook the meat until it browns, then add onion, garlic, carrots, mushrooms and red peppers to the skillet.

Reduce heat to medium and add red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce, cook 5 more minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan, stir to combine. Cover and reduce heat to simmer and cook an additional 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste if needed.

Using a measuring cup, pile 1/2 cup of sloppy meat onto toasted buns.

Serves 7 | 5 WW+ Points

Simply Perfect Berry Breakfast {4 WW+ Breakfast}

2011-03-16T13:03:00.000-07:00

I have this for breakfast just about every other day. It's my go to for a simple quick meal that will keep me full until snack time. It's also the perfect meal to give to my son as well (sans the cereal). He LOVES yogurt and he loves fruit so putting them together is just a natural combination. But he gets the plain full fat version while I indulge in the fat free vanilla version. He doesn't know the difference yet so why ruin a good thing?

Yogurt and Berries with a Crunch

1/2 cup Kashi GoLean Crunch
1/2 cup Fat Free Vanilla Yogurt
1/2 cup strawberries (or fruit of your choice)

Mix everything together and enjoy with a hot cup of coffee. I take my coffee with splenda and hot cocoa mix (YUM!).

1 Serving | 4 WW+ Points

Mahi Mahi Done Trader Joe's Style {4 WW+ Dinner}

2011-03-12T10:22:00.000-08:00

We frequent Trader Joe's just as much as we frequent Costco... weekly. And we always like to keep our freezer stocked with their awesome frozen meals. One of those meals just happened to be perfect for Ash Wednesday. This marinated mahi mahi is one of our favorites and I know it'll be one of yours too! And the best part is that not only does it taste good but it's inexpensive as well! I think the one we bought was around $5.

The ingredients include olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, parsley, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper in the marinade and, of course, mahi mahi. And each frozen pack includes 3 fillets at around 4 WW+ points each (depending on weight). It is enough for our family plus a small lunch the next day. I shredded our extra fillet up and put it over a salad for lunch and it was delish!

To prepare it you can do one of four things: bake, broil grill or pan fry. I chose to pan fry them since that's what I was in the mood for and I needed to get my daily healthy oils in. I used about a tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet to cook all three. I set them in the hot pan and set the timer for 5 minutes on the first side, than I flipped and set the timer for 5 minutes on the next side and it was perfectly cooked... not dried out or anything.

Just see how mouth watering this dinner looks... You have gotta try it!

Spicy Pulled Pork Heaven {6 WW+ Dinner}

2011-03-12T10:04:00.000-08:00

We recently went to Costco, a weekly occurrence for this household, and stumbled upon a four-pack of 98% fat free pork sirloin tip roast. I found the cheapest one in the bin (doesn't everyone do that - search the whole pile for the cheapest pack?) and threw it in the cart. I was sooo excited. And I think Joseph was too.

He immediately wanted to make something with it for dinner the next day so I searched for a good pulled pork recipe we hadn't already used. I remembered listening to some show on Martha Stewart radio (don't judge!) about a marinaded pork recipe that you make in the dutch oven so off I went to Google to search. And while I didn't find the recipe on the show I did find this one. And boy was it GOOD! It had this hidden spice to it (enough to make my son not want to eat much) and was just delicious on its own and topped with a little barbeque sauce. Joseph took his in a wheat hot dog bun and I used a sandwich thin for mine.

And since I had some left over I put some in my scrambled eggs this morning for a delicious breakfast. Recipe for my pulled pork breakfast burrito coming up... however there was no picture as a pulled pork breakfast burrito is hard to make look appetizing for pictures :)

Inspiration: Martha Stewart.com

Southern Pulled-Pork Sandwiches

1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Coarse salt and ground pepper
21 ounces boneless pork sirloin
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
4 soft sandwich rolls, split (or other vessel in which to bring the pork to your mouth without dirtying your hands... unless you're into that)
Store-bought barbecue sauce, for serving (optional... but delicious)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in lower and upper positions. In a small bowl, combine sugar, cayenne, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.

Place pork in a 3-quart Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed pot; rub with spice mixture.

In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, garlic, and 1/2 cup water; pour over pork. Cover pot, and place in oven on lower rack. Bake until pork is very tender and separates easily when pulled with a fork, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Transfer pork to a work surface, reserving pan juices. With two forks, shred meat. Transfer to a large bowl, and toss with pan juices to moisten (you may not need all the juices... we did). Pile pork on rolls, and top with barbecue sauce, if desired.

I did not include the barbeque sauce or the rolls in the WW+ points calculation since this varies by type and brand.

4 Servings | 6 WW+ Points

Delicious Peanut Butter Smores {4 WW+ Dessert}

2011-03-09T14:51:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine recently mentioned the delicious low point dessert she made to curb a craving she had. She made some sugar free, fat free white chocolate jello and topped it with strawberries. YUM! So I started thinking about the dessert items I have made to hit the spot. One of them is a delicious smores recipe that uses marshmallow creme instead of marshmallows and uses mini chocolate chips instead of a chocolate bar. You bake it in the oven and within 5-10 minutes a delicious, mouthwatering snack comes out.

I just took that recipe and spiced it up for what I was craving. And while it did come out with a higher points value that's ok! It was so worth it! And I only ate one serving and shared the other with my little man. He was more than ecstatic to help me eat some points so I wasn't tempted to go after the other one. Oh, and if you want to eat both? Don't double the points, Weight Watchers fuzzy math makes 2 servings 7 WW+ points.

Peanut Butter Smores

2 graham crackers
2 tablespoons marshmallow creme
1 tablespoon chocolate chips
1 tablespoon peanut butter*

Preheat oven (or toaster oven) to 350. Place graham crackers on foil lined baking sheet. Spread 1 tablespoon of creme on each cracker. Sprinkle with 1/2 tablespoon of chocolate chips and drop 1/2 tablespoon of peanut butter on each.

Bake for about 8 minutes and take out of the oven. Let cool for 2-3 minutes before biting into heavenly perfection.

Serves 2 | 4 WW+ Points

* If you omit the peanut butter each serving is 2 WW+ points. Much more doable if you don't have the extra 10 points for breastfeeding ;)

Bacon & Parmesan Spinach {3 WW+ Side Dish}

2011-03-07T19:49:00.000-08:00

We purchased a large "tub" of spinach from Costco the last time we were there and I was trying to figure out ways to prepare it. I was just going to use it for spinach salads but for some reason come lunchtime they never seemed appealing to me... so we were left with a large tub of spinach :)

Enter tonight's dinner... I hadn't taken anything out of the fridge and we hadn't been to the grocery store in a while so it was going to be a pantry dinner night. I scoured the pantry, cupboards and fridge to take inventory of what we had and came up with an amazing side that has quite a few wonderful ingredients (including BACON! How can you go wrong with bacon?!).

I searched Weight Watchers online for point friendly recipes and settled on one called Spinach with Parmesan-Bread Crumbs. It looked simple enough... but just didn't have a wow factor. So I decided to spruce it up a bit and am quite pleased with how it turned out. Joseph even ate his portion (with minimal complaints).The original recipe was only 2 WW+ points so if you don't have an extra point just omit the bacon.

Inspiration: Weight Watchers

Bacon and Parmesan Spinach

2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs, chopped coarsely
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
2 cloves minced garlic
3 pieces bacon (I used pre-cooked bacon)
1 1/2 pounds spinach, washed & well-drained

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat; add bread crumbs and cook, stirring often, until golden, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in Parmesan cheese. Spoon bread crumbs into a small bowl; set aside.

Heat remaining oil in same skillet. Add bacon & garlic, cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds (if using raw bacon, do not add oil & just cook bacon until crisp and set aside... toss with spinach at the end). Gradually add half of spinach to skillet, tossing mixture and adding more spinach as some of it cooks down. Continue cooking and tossing, until spinach is wilted and tender, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from skillet and repeat with remaining spinach.

Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with crumbs. Or toss with half of crumbs and sprinkle remaining crumbs over each serving. Yields about 3/4 cup spinach and 2 tablespoons crumbs per serving.

I served with whole wheat spaghetti & tomato basil marinara sauce. I even added the left over spinach to the left over spaghetti for lunch tomorrow. YUM!

4 Servings | 3 WW+ Points

A New Spin on Chicken & Rice {10 WW+ Dinner}

2011-03-06T19:51:00.000-08:00

I took some chicken out of the freezer yesterday and placed it in the fridge but had no idea what I was going to do with it. I had made a simple meal that night of breaded tilapia, low fat scalloped potatoes and steamed veggies so I knew I wanted an equally simple meal for tonight.

Around mid-day today my husband asked me to make Chicken ala King. I had no idea what this entailed so he went searching through our various cook books to see if the dish he thought he knew was truly what he was envisioning. But his search got cut short when he found this simple chicken and rice dish in our Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook. This cookbook is awesome for a variety of reasons but the most important one being that it is simple and to the point. So I had no problem trying out this recipe... with a few modifications to fit our needs and my Weight Watchers lifestyle.

Oh, and just a note, I almost always dice up a few onions at once and put 1/2 cup portions in baggies to freeze. The onions I used in this recipe were used from the freezer. I just threw them in the pan still frozen and they thawed wonderfully. I also do this with bell peppers and get great results.

Inspiration: America's Test Kitchen

Skillet Chicken and Rice

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in 1/2
salt and pepper
1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 medium onion, minced
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
sprinkle chile powder
sprinkle cayenne pepper
3/4 cup long-grain white rice
1/2 cup water (or dry white wine)
2 1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour to coat and shake off any excess. Heat oil in a 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chicken well on one side, about 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate, browned side up, and set aside.

Off the heat, add the butter to the skillet and swirl to melt. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt and return to medium-high heat until softened, 2-5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and spices and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the rice thoroughly and let toast for about 30 seconds.

Stir in the water (or wine) and let the rice absorb it completely, about 1 minute. Stir in the broth, scraping up any browned bits. Nestle the chicken in the rice, browned side up, and add any accumulated juices from the plate. Cover and cook over medium heat until the thickest part of the chicken registers 160-165 degrees, about 10 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to a clean plate. Gently brush off and discard any rice clinging to the chicken, then tent the chicken with foil and set aside. Return the skillet of rice to medium-low heat, cover, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, 8-12 minutes longer.

Off the heat, sprinkle the peas over the rice, cover and let warm through, about 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice to the rice. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with chicken.

Serves 4 | 10 WW+ Points

Roast Pork with Gravy {10 WW+ Dinner}

2011-02-12T05:55:00.000-08:00

I purchased a pork tenderloin from Trader Joe's at the beginning of the week with the intentions of making pulled pork sandwiches. Well... I never got around to picking up some root beer so it never happened. So I finally decided to make something with it and a pork roast just sounded good. Gravy with that roast sounded even better! Now you can easily omit the gravy making part if you don't want some yummy deliciousness on top of your meat :) Or if you wanted to lessen the points value.

I, for one, thought that the points were totally worth it for this meal. The pork was just perfect and the gravy... YUM! That little splash of wine went a long way. I served this with a quinoa blend and steamed veggies (my favorite frozen Normandy blend from Costco). I think that rice or potatoes would work well with this also. You could even roast the potatoes and veggies with the meat in a separate dish so it all comes out at the same time.

(photo to come soon... my 2 year old got a hold of the memory card and now my computer won't read it :( )

Inspiration: Principia Gastronomica

Roast Pork with Gravy

1/4 cup each finely diced carrot, onion and celery
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1.5lbs boneless pork tenderloin
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 splash white wine

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Finely dice the carrots, onion and celery and set aside.

Heat a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Put your meat fat-side-down in the pan and sear it for 4-5 minutes or until the meat no longer sticks to the pan. Turn the meat over and sear the other side.
Remove the pork from the dutch oven and place it on a plate. Add 1/4 cup chicken stock to the pan and de-glaze, making sure to scrape up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add vegetables to the bottom of the dutch oven and put the bay leaves on top. Put the meat on top of the bay leaf and vegetables in the roasting tray. Sprinkle salt and pepper all around the outside of your meat.

Add about 1/4 of a cup of your chicken stock to the pan around the meat. Put the tray in the oven and roast for about 30 minutes, until a meat thermometer stuck in the middle of the loin registers 145 degrees.

Take the tray out of the oven, then take the pork out of the tray and put it on a platter. Cover the pork loosely with foil and let it sit in a warm place while you make your gravy.

For the gravy, add 1 tablespoon of butter to the vegetables. Stir in 1 tablespoon of flour, then stir everything together. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Add another 3/4 to 1 cup of the chicken broth to the saucepan, along with a splash of white wine. Simmer until the gravy has thickened (5-10 minutes), then season to taste. You could strain out the vegetables if you want a smoother sauce, or you could puree them (after removing the bay leaf!) to get a thicker sauce. I used a slotted spoon to remove the vegetables. A few pieces stayed but were very good!

By the time your gravy is done, your pork will be ready to go. Carve it into medium-thick slices and serve it with the gravy and your favorite sides.

Serves 4 | 10 WW+ Points

Followers...

2011-02-11T07:57:00.000-08:00

Do you read my blog via an RSS feed?

If you're a follower who uses Google and 'likes' my blog would you mind clicking/adding me via GFC on the right hand side of this blog? See the little follow button with the google icon? Just click it and sign in/sign up! I really am curious to see who all follows my blog regularly and would love to support you right back by following your blog!

Tuna Melt {7 WW+ Lunch}

2011-02-08T13:25:00.000-08:00

I'm always looking for a tasty meal for lunch. And not just a turkey wrap or a salad. Something that will taste as rich as the real thing. This tuna melt definitely does it for me. I eat it with a large salad and it fills me up until just before Joseph comes home. Cause I always snack right before dinner. Don't you?

Now you could go even further and reduce the points in this meal by using non-fat mayo and fat-free cheese but come on, what's the fun in that? I also have diced up some pickle and put that in as well but it's not necessary since you have the juice for flavor and the crunch of the celery. And that tiny bit of seasoning really goes a long way. Another great thing to use would be the Trader Joe's Parmesan Rosemary rolls. Now those things are tasty! Just split two in half and you and your lunch companion will be full in no time! Or you can just put 1/2 of the mix in the fridge for tomorrow's lunch...

Tuna Melt

1 can tuna in water, drained
2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayo
1 celery stalk, diced
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash garlic & herb seasoning
1 tablespoon pickle juice
salt & pepper to taste
2 slices of Trader Joe's whole grain bread
1 ounce reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven (or toaster oven) to 450 degrees. Mix the tuna, mayo, celery, spices & pickle juice together until combined. Spread onto a piece of bread and top with cheese. Bake for 5 minutes or until cheese starts to bubble and bread is slightly toasted.

Serves 2 | 7 WW+ Points

Crock Pot 3 Bean Chili {5 WW+ Points Dinner}

2011-02-06T17:24:00.000-08:00

I needed a good recipe for tonight's super bowl dinner and knew the perfect place to go would be to Gina's Skinny Recipes. I always see such great meals posted on her blog and knew this would be a perfect meal for after the game.

Since I only had ground beef on hand instead of ground turkey I made due with what I had. I also added a few more spices to it to make it my own. Next time I plan on adding a few more veggies as well. Some squash maybe. And I don't know about you but I LOVE chili over broccoli. Sooo good!

And I had to add that my husband changed the first ingredient to read "buffalo" when I left the computer so now I know to ALWAY double check the ingredients in my recipes in case he's made any changes to anything. He thinks he's so sly...

Inspiration: Gina's Skinny Recipes

Crock Pot 3 Bean Chili

1 lb ground beef, extra lean
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 16 ounce can tomato sauce
1 4.5 ounce can chopped chilies, drained
1 15 ounce can chickpeas, undrained
1 15.5 ounce can pinto beans, undrained
1 15.5 ounce can kidney beans, undrained
1 tablelspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons ranch dressing mix
1 teaspoon red cayenne pepper

Brown beef, bell pepper and onion in a medium skillet over medium high heat until cooked through. Sprinkle with seasonings as they are cooking.

Drain any fat remaining and transfer to crock pot. Add the beans, chilies, chickpeas, tomatoes & tomato sauce. Mix well. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cook on low 8-10 hours.

Garnish with your favorite chili toppings and enjoy! I personally prefer some low-fat cheddar. YUM!

Serves 12 | 5 WW+ Points

Berry Muffin Revisited {3 WW+ Points Breakfast}

2011-02-06T09:34:00.000-08:00

My son woke up this morning and requested muffins for breakfast. Since we were out of our staple Trader Joe's blueberry fiber muffins we had to make some from scratch. I used a recipe I had used in the past but had to make a few adjustments with what we had on hand since Daddy used some of the last of our baking ingredients last night for chocolate chip cookies (totally not WW friendly!).

These were pretty good. Definitely hit the spot and satisfied my muffin craving! And my son enjoyed them too. I think he loved helping make them more than eating them though. Cracking eggs are probably his favorite thing to do these days. Good thing Mommy and Daddy love to bake!

Inspiration: Adapted from Here

Healthy Berry Muffins

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
1 egg
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 and lightly grease a muffin tin.
In a medium bowl, sift together the whole wheat and all purpose flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a second bowl, beat the egg with the sugar until smooth. Mix in the vanilla, oil, zest, applesauce and buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Fold the berries into the mixture. Don't overmix the batter. Your muffins could become tough and the batter may start turning colors from overworking the batter.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin tin and bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

12 servings | 3 WW+ Points

Spinach & Mushroom Egg Scramble {5 WW+ Points Breakfast}

2011-02-04T08:56:00.000-08:00

When I have the time to make breakfast in the morning (remember those two kiddos under the age of 2?) this is my go-to meal. Its something I can make and know I can forget about being hungry until lunchtime. It satisfies my craving for something hearty without adding fatty foods like bacon and full-fat cheese.

I love that adding mushrooms adds that hearty feel and the cheese still makes me feel like I get that goey, delicious part of a good egg scramble. Plus this recipe is so versatile! Sometimes I saute some onions and peppers as well to add to it. This just increases my daily intake of veggies which is really what my goal is most days (in other words, how do I hide all of these veggies so I don't know I'm eating them!).

I also add a piece of toast and 1/2 a tablespoon of butter for a bit of indulgence. Haha... bread and butter an indulgence. Never thought I'd say that :) But this way I don't think I'm gypping myself. I still get to eat what I normally would eat only I added a bit more "healthy" to it.

Spinach & Mushroom Egg Scramble

1 egg
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon Mrs Dash Garlic & Herb
2 tablespoons 1% milk
1 cup spinach
1 cup mushrooms
1 ounce Trader Joe's Lite Shredded Mozzarella cheese
cooking spray

Spray pan with cooking spray and saute diced mushrooms & spinach until cooked down/wilted. Whisk together the egg, egg whites, seasoning & milk while mushrooms and spinach cook. Pour egg mixture over vegetables and scramble until done to your liking. You can add an extra spray of cooking spray to the pan before adding the eggs if you aren't using a non-stick pan.

Servings 1 | 5 WW+ points

Mushroom & Spinach Lasagna {7 WW+ Points Dinner}

2011-02-03T15:58:00.000-08:00

So I apologize in advance for a. not blogging and b. not snagging a picture of this wonderful meal. I find it so sad when winter comes (or has been here a while) because I have absolutely no good light in my kitchen once the sun heads down. The lights we have are just too harsh and I just don't like the way my pictures turn out so I don't want to post them. But then I'm in a dilemma. Do I not post a picture or do I wait till the next day and post a picture of leftovers? Sometimes I do the later... and I don't tell. Oh well. Do what you gotta do.

But seriously. Take my word for it and make this lasagna. Pretty darn good and I'm proud of it. I've made a few lasagnas in the past. As well as lasagna rolls and even though this lasagna was lacking in the "tons of cheese" factor it made up for it in flavor. I was full from my one slice, large salad & piece of garlic bread. And if I had enough points left I would have went for another one (see how I chose the garlic bread?). I'll definitely be making this one again!

Next lasagna recipe I want to try: Gina's Spinach Lasagna Rolls

Picture to come soon!

Mushroom & Spinach Lasagna

3 teaspoons canola oil, divided
2 cloves garlic
1 cup portobello mushrooms, diced
2 cups spinach, cut
1 pound extra lean ground beef, 15% fat
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley
10 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
1 cup zucchini, shredded
1 jar of Trader Joe's Tomato & Basil Marinara (if using another sauce re-calculate points)
1 tablespoon fresh basil, ribboned (or use 1 teaspoon dry)
1 cup tomato, diced (two small tomatoes)
9 no-boil lasagna noodles
10oz Trader Joe's Lite Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
2 cups Parmesan cheese, shredded and divided in 1/2

Saute mushrooms, garlic & spinach in 2 teaspoons of canola oil and set aside to cool. Brown meat and add oregano & parsley along with some salt and pepper if needed. While meat is browning mix together ricotta, 1 cup parmesan, egg, nutmeg & pepper and set aside. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a sauce pan and add shredded zucchini. Saute until soft. Add marinara sauce to the pan along with tomatoes, basil and drained meat.

In a 9x13 pan put 1/4-1/2 cup of sauce on the bottom of the pan. Layer 3 noodles on the bottom side by side and cover with sauce. Add cheese mixture to the top of the sauce. Put three more noodles on the cheese mixture and repeat twice until you cover the last of your noodles with the remainder of the sauce. Cover sauce with remaining parmesan and the mozzarella.

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until top is golden brown and bubbly. Let sit for 10 minutes so that the noodles absorb the sauce.

Serves 12 | 7 WW+ points per serving

Dessert before Dinner

2011-01-21T09:38:00.000-08:00

For the past few days I've been craving sweet. It's weird because for my whole pregnancy with #2 I only wanted food. Savory food. Not sweets. But now that our new bundle of joy is here I can't stay away from the sweets. And I need to stop. Ya know, in order to loose the baby weight. So I went in search of a Weight Watcher friendly treat that wouldn't add the calories (and pounds) on.

On a message board I frequent another poster posted this recipe from Weight Watcher's website. I was so grateful for the yummy chance to try it and jumped on some free time I had yesterday while Miss M slept. I decided to put these in front of the dinner I had ready to go in the oven so I could enjoy one before I partook in my tuna casserole. Totally worth it!

Now these definitely didn't taste like blondies. I'd call them more of a cookie bar. They're a bit cake-like but delicious none-the-less. If you enjoy a good oatmeal chocolate chip cookie than this is for you!

Source: WeightWatchers.com

Blondies

2 spray(s) cooking spray
1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
10 Tbsp whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp
1 1/2 cup(s) uncooked old fashioned oats, do not use instant
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp table salt
1/2 cup(s) packed brown sugar
1/4 cup(s) sugar
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg(s)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup(s) apple juice, or apple cider
2/3 cup(s) white chocolate chips, or butterscotch chips, chopped

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Coat a 15- x 10 1/2-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine both flours, oats, baking soda and salt; stir to blend and set aside.

In another large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream both sugars and butter until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Alternating in batches, add a little flour-oat mixture and then apple juice to bowl; beat after each addition. When all the dry and wet ingredients are well-blended, fold in chips.

Turn batter into prepared baking dish; smooth top in an even layer. Bake until top is lightly golden, about 18 to 22 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for about 10 to 15 minutes. Cut into 24 pieces and remove to wire rack to cool completely. Yields 1 piece per serving.

Serves 24 | 3 Points Each

Easy Peasy Lasagna

2010-11-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty lax about trying new recipes lately. I think it's because I am craving all the comforts of my tried and true dishes. Or maybe it's because I've become a bit lazy when it comes to creativity in the kitchen. Either way I came out of my funk for a bit to try this dish passed on by a friend.

The original recipe did not call for any pasta as it is meant to be a low-carb dish but if you know me... you know I LOVE carbs. So I couldn't help but add some pasta to the mix to add a bit more. And I think Joseph would have looked at me funny if I served him just the meat and cheese portion.

I want to play around with the spices a bit more on this dish and maybe add some pancetta. But other than a few changes I was really digging how it turned out. Next time I may add the noodles into the layers and bake it all together as well to let the flavors meld together in the oven.

Source: Kendra Maurer

Deconstructed Lasagna

1 pound ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
8 ounces cream cheese
1 egg
1/8 teaspoon pepper
5 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 bag noodle of your choice (or go noodle-less for a low carb meal)

Brown the hamburger with the onion and garlic; drain off the fat. Mix in the spaghetti sauce; season with salt and pepper to taste and heat until bubbly.

Meanwhile, soften the cream cheese in a medium-size microwaveable bowl for about 40-60 seconds. Stir until creamy; beat in the egg and pepper with a spoon until well mixed. Blend in the spinach.

Spread half of the meat mixture evenly in the bottom of a greased, 8 x 8" glass baking pan. Spread the spinach mixture over the meat; top with the mozzarella, then the rest of the meat.

It may not completely cover the top, but that's ok. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. Bake at 350º about 30 minutes until hot and bubbly. Let stand 3 minutes before serving.

Pumpkin Puree

2010-10-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

While out on our weekly shopping trip at Trader Joe's two weeks ago my son noticed the pumpkins they had everywhere and begged me to get one. So I, being the nice mommy I am, said of course! I threw in a pie pumpkin and let him hold it all the way from shopping to check out to the car. He had to place it on the seat when it came time to get his stickers but happily held it all the way home enjoying the "heby" pumpkin.

When we went to Trader Joe's the next week he insisted we buy another one. So of course I obliged and told him that we'd have to bake them up soon so we could make things with the pumpkin. He said "I hep" and I said of course. So I had to let him help me roast these up and puree them. And I'll also let him help when I start baking and cooking with the puree!

This is the exact same thing I did when I pureed pumpkin for him last year when he was eating purees and he LOVED it. You may want to strain it a bit more to get a smoother texture if your feeding it to a younger baby but the consistency of this puree was pretty smooth.

Enjoy!

Source: Ruth Yaron's Super Baby Food

Pumpkin Puree

2 sugar or pie pumpkins
Lemon juice
Water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut both top and bottom of pumpkins off. Cut pumpkin in half and remove seeds and stringy guts. Place seeds aside if you want to bake them up for a healthy, yummy snack for later (or to use as a topping on many pumpkin goodies).

Place cut and cleaned pumpkins in a baking dish with the skin side down. Sprinkle the pumpkin flesh with a little lemon juice (or butter if you prefer). Bake for 30-45 minutes or until flesh is soft and a little golden brown on the tops (very little). I baked mine for 35 minutes.

Set aside and let cool. Once cool to the touch remove skin from flesh with either a peeler or a pairing knife. I find it easier to use a pairing knife. The cooked pumpkin's skin should come off easily. Dice flesh up into cubes.

Place cubed pumpkin into a food processor and pulse until smooth. You may have to add a little water to get things going. I added about 1/4-1/2 a cup depending on the batch and how many cubes were in the processor at once.

Once the pumpkin is very smooth place it in a mesh strainer over a bowl and let sit for about 30 minutes to an hour to remove excess water from the puree. Once this is done the puree is ready to use! You can use it to make pies, muffins, and other sweet or savory dishes.

My little helper making sure he was a part of the whole process...

Seeds of Love

2010-10-25T16:54:00.001-07:00

After we gutted (or shall I say I gutted) our pie pumpkins we discarded the stringy mess and saved the yummy seeds. I knew this would be a great snack for me to munch on as we made our way to Halloween. You know, so I'd stay out of the candy :)

The seeds were yummy and just a little salt went a long way! I'm hoping to use some to top pumpkin muffins or pumpkin bread if I get the chance to make it.

Source: Ruth Yaron's Super Baby Food

Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin seeds, cleaned and dried off
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 325. Lay out pumpkin seeds in a single layer on an un-greased rimmed cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt and bake for 25 minutes. Take out of the oven and let cool.

Make sure you watch you little one or else they may try to come up and steal some while you aren't looking :) I caught my little guy doing exactly that...

Pumpkin at its Best

2010-10-24T15:45:00.000-07:00

I'm always in search of fun changes to my go to pumpkin muffin recipe. I just knew that this one would be a hit since it came from the Smitten Kitchen. I've loved most everything I've made from her website. Super delicious!

So I started in on making these and for some reason had it in my head that the recipe called for 4 eggs. Nope... just two! I wondered why I had so much batter and why it was thinner than most pumpkin batters I've worked with in the past. I already had the cupcakes in the oven before reading over the ingredients again and realizing my mistake. Oh well!

With just an hour of time left to finish and frost the cupcakes I had no choice but to suck it up and hope that they were good. I was lucky and had a few taste testers on hand to test out the cupcakes before I took them to the party I was going to. My BILs, SIL and nephew all loved them so I thought they were good enough to take. And boy was I right! These were delicious! And even better when left in the fridge overnight and eaten for breakfast the next morning with a hot cup of coffee ;)

Source: Smitten Kitchen (with a few adaptations)

Pumpkin Cupcakes With Maple–Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for greasing pans (unless using liners)
1 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs (I accidentally added 2 more!)
1/2 cup buttermilk mixed with 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin

Frosting

Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup heavy whipping cream (I added)

Preheat the oven to 350° (175°C). Line a cupcake pan with 18 liners.

Cupcakes:
In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and pepper into a medium bowl.

Add the eggs 1 at a time to the mixer, scraping down the sides after each addition. Alternate adding the flour and milk mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat in the pumpkin until smooth. Scoop the batter among the cupcake liners — you’re looking to get them 3/4 full. Rap the filled pans once on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on racks completely.

Frosting:
In a stand mixer beat all the ingredients on medium until fluffy but firm. Frost the cupcakes using either a spatula or a pastry bag w/ a large tip. Refrigerate the cupcakes for 30 minutes to set up frosting.

Root Beer Alternatives

2010-10-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

Joseph had a mini keg of Virgil's rootbeer left over from our son's 1st birthday party and he wanted it to get used up before it went bad. So he requested some pork. Last time I made pork with root beer I made pulled pork sandwiches so this time I wanted to do something a little differently.

I also made a yummy side of veggies and potatoes by boiling the potatoes and than sauteing them with olive oil, butter, green beans, baby carrots, rosemary and salt and pepper. YUM! Everything pulled together nicely. Sadly we started eating quickly after I made the food so I wasn't able to get a pretty shot of the sauce on top of the meat. It was tender and juicy... pure perfection!

Source: The Feast Within

Rootbeer Braised Pork Tenderloin

* 1 pork tenderloin, silver skin removed
* 1 Tablespoon crushed garlic (I used chopped garlic)
* 2 Tablespoons olive oil for marinating plus a little extra for searing the tenderloin
* 1 12ounce bottle of Virgil’s Rootbeer
* 1 white onion chopped (I used 2 small shallots)
* 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
* 2 Tablespoons Port Balsamic Vinegar

Remove the silver-skin from the tenderloin. Place in a shallow pan or a Ziploc bag and rub with the olive oil and garlic. Let marinate in the fridge for an hour or so. Remove from the fridge and let warm up a bit while you prepare the rootbeer sauce. Place the rootbeer and the onion in a small heavy bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer until reduced by half.

Heat a cast iron skillet or other heavy oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add a little olive oil to the pan and then try to remove any garlic clinging to the tenderloin so it doesn’t burn and sear the tenderloin on all sides. Brush a little rootbeer from the sauce pan on the tenderloin and cover and place in a preheated 300 degrees oven for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile add the mustard and vinegar to the reduced rootbeer onion mixture.

After the 10 minutes remove the skillet from the oven and add the rootbeer to the pan, replace the cover and return to the oven for about 25 minutes or until the interior temperature of the pork tenderloin reaches about 155 degrees. It will reach the safe temperature of 160 degrees while it rests.

Remove from the oven and let rest for a few minutes. Slice into medallions and serve with the sauce from the pan.

Adventures in Toddler Food: Apple Carrot Sauce

2010-09-27T10:12:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago the family went up to pick apples at an apple orchard just east of us. We brought home about 6 pounds worth of apples and I knew I wanted to make two things: applesauce and apple pie. Well, I made the applesauce yesterday and the dough for the pie is in the fridge for today!

Instead of keeping the applesauce as just apples I added some carrots in as well to give it more nutrition. My son LOVES apple carrot crushers from Trader Joe's and I just knew he'd love this mix. And guess what? I was totally right!

Source: A Year of Slow Cooking

Apple Carrot Sauce

8 small/medium or 4 large apples, skinned ,cored, and cut in quarters
6 carrots, trimmed, cleaned & cut into coins
Juice from 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup water

Skin, core, and cut your apples into quarters. Clean, trim and cut carrots. Add the pieces of apple and carrot into your crockpot. Add the juice from the lemon, and the water. Pour in the vanilla, and add the cinnamon and brown sugar.
Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. When the apples and carrots are super tender, mash with a potato masher or large fork. Place the mash into a food processor or blender to blend into a smooth consistency (you do not have to do this but I like the texture of the blended sauce).

Serve and enjoy!

My son trying to lick the bowl before asking for more...

Cheesy Chicken

2010-09-20T15:21:00.000-07:00

As most of my readers know I'm always looking for an easy, quick meal to please my family. But I also want something a bit healthy as well. Sometimes I make an exception... While this meal isn't super bad for you it sure tastes like it is. The buttery flavor you get with the melted cheese is heavenly! I served it with a simple side of rice and carrots that I just threw into my rice cooker with a bit of chicken broth & spices. Definitely a meal I'll be making in the future!

Baked Cheddar Chicken

16 buttery crackers (like Ritz) crushed (about 3/4 c.)
6 oz. sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
salt and pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter-melted

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine crackers, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl.

Dip chicken in melted butter and then press gently into cracker mixture.

Place on foil lined baking sheet. Sprinkle remain cracker mixture and butter on the chicken. Bake 25-30 minutes.

Adventures in Toddler Food: It's in the Pudding

2010-08-23T18:50:00.000-07:00

So a few girls on a message board I frequent brought up the recipe book Deceptively Delicious and I was inspired to try and find a recipe to test out on my 18 month old tonight. I've had the book for quite some time and haven't opened it in a few months. But I figured it was time. I mean, hey, I am trying to get some toddler-friendly food on this blog anyway...

I had an almost over-ripe avocado on the counter so I decided to try the chocolate pudding. At first I was pretty skeptical. I mean... avocado... in pudding? But I followed through. And I'm glad I did. While this wasn't my favorite pudding it sure was tasty. And my toddler had no idea that there was a difference (partially because he's never had pudding). I also felt a bit better giving him some dessert when it had a healthy ingredient in the mix.

Maybe there's more to this book than a nice decoration on the cookbook shelf... next week I'm going to try the tofu nuggets :) For my son, of course!

Source: Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld

Chocolate Pudding

1/4 cup soft margarine (I used spreadable butter w/ canola oil)
1 cup pureed/mashed avocado
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup corn starch

In a medium saucepan melt margarine on low. Add avocado, sugar, cocoa, and vanilla and stir well to incorporate. Use a spatula to mash avocado more so that everything is smooth. Cook for 3-4 minutes until thickened.

Take pudding off the heat and add corn starch. Stir well. Serve pudding warm and enjoy!

What is this, Mom?

Oh, it's pretty good!

Adventures in Toddler Food: Fruit/Veggie Muffins

2010-08-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

As you're probably aware from the previous posts about toddler food I'm always trying to figure out new ways of getting vegetables into my child without him realizing it (and than spitting it out or throwing it on the ground). A great way to get these veggies in is by putting them in muffins & pancakes. I love muffins. What's not to love? The fluffiness, the flavor, the versatility. And the convenience.

I also love using natural sweeteners in place of pure sugar. In this recipe we do use a bit of brown sugar but only 1/2 a cup (for 15 muffins!). To sweeten it a bit more we add applesauce. The bananas also add their sweetness as well. You can also replace all of the oil with applesauce as well but I don't mind a little oil if my child is going to eat the whole muffin. Sometimes calories are needed on picky food days.

This muffin isn't super sweet but gives just enough flavor to entice little ones. It was good enough for this little man to devour almost a whole one! And he's only (almost) 8 months old! Mommas like them too so it's a win-win.

Source: Edible Ventures

Banana Zucchini Muffins

1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 eggs
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 medium zucchini, shredded & moisture squeezed out
2 ripe medium bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 375. Line a muffin tin with reusable (or not) muffin cups or grease and flour the pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, applesauce, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Make a well in the center and add the wet ingredients. Stir until just blended. Then stir in the grated zucchini and mashed banana.

Divide the batter among the 12 muffin cups (an ice cream scoop works well). Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in a muffin comes out clean. Let cool about 5-10 minutes, then remove from pan and eat!

Simple Suppers

2010-08-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

I've been guilty of easy meals lately. I've been exhausted after either a full day with my toddler or a full day of work. And the last thing I want to do is make an elaborate meal. I used to love doing this but keeping it simple is the way to go if I don't want to end up with take out.

I had some chicken in the fridge and was trying to think of a good/different way to prepare it for our dinner. So I searched around and found that I was really wanting to either do a casserole or a one dish meal. I took a look in my pantry and saw that we had some cream of mushroom soup so I started to look specifically for cream of mushroom and chicken meals. This is one I found.

And I'm glad I found it. Super easy. And I can modify it as I go if I want something different. I'm thinking of adding broccoli or spinach in with the rice and maybe coating the whole thing with a sprinkle of cheese next time!

Source: Cambell's Kitchen

One Dish Chicken & Rice Bake

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 cup water
3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)

Stir the soup, water, rice, paprika and black pepper in a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Top with the chicken. Season with additional paprika and black pepper. Cover the baking dish.

Bake at 375°F. for 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender.

Caramel Decadence

2010-08-16T15:30:00.000-07:00

On one of the mommy message boards I frequent there is this recipe floating around that EVERYONE is talking about. So I set out to make it. And failed. Miserably :) I mistook 1 box of cake mix to mean one box of cake mix prepared using the instructions on the box.

But never fear... I continued with my mishap and ended up with a fabulously rich and decadent dessert. My 18 month old gives it two thumbs way up! Just make sure you have a huge glass of milk to go with it.

And if you're interested in the original recipe... I'll post that next week in my second attempt to make the brownies :)

Source: Lata's Grandma's Famous Chocolate Caramel Brownies

Chocolate Caramel Brownie Cake

1 box German chocolate cake mix (prepared w/ ingredients on box*)
2/3 cup evaporated milk
3/4 cup butter softened
12oz caramels
6oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix prepared cake mix, 1/3 cup evaporated milk, and butter. Spread 1/2 of batter on greased 13 X 9 pan and bake for 8-9 minutes.

Meanwhile melt caramels and remaining 1/3 cup evaporated milk. Top the baked layer with 6oz chocolate chips and pour the caramel mixture on top. Take the remaining 1/2 of batter and pour it on top of the caramel, lightly spread around so it's even.

Bake another 25 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!

Tips:

You have to let them cook completely before you cut them, they are a HUGE ooey gooey mess until they firm back up, when you take them out they will look like they aren't done but they are, just let them cool.

Adventures in Toddler Food: Veggie Bites

2010-08-11T12:42:00.001-07:00

My son has been pretty bad at eating his veggies lately. With the vast fluctuation day by day of his appetite we have had very little luck getting the greens in him. He's much more interested in the colorful fruit we've been bringing home this summer. A little too interested...

So I went out in search of a good veggie bite recipe and found a lot online. I got bits and pieces from a lot of different recipes and kinda pieced them together to form this one. And I am quite happy to say that it was a recipe my child loved.

He ate 2 veggie bites for lunch today! I froze the rest of the bites for a quick re-heat later as needed. This will make lunch time a lot easier on those days I don't have time to cook/bake for him.

Source: My Head

Veggie Bites

1 bag frozen broccoli & cauliflower, steamed & chopped
1/3 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
2/3 cup shredded cheddar
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix chopped veggies, bread crumbs, cheese & eggs together until moist and able to form. Using either a small cookie scoop, a spoon or your hands form about 20 small balls the shape of a chicken nugget. Place on a foil lined cookie tray and bake at 20-25 minutes. Turn over after 15 minutes and press down with a spatula to evenly brown.

Cool a bit and enjoy! If your toddler needs their bites cut up (like mine did) just cut into 4s before serving.

Veggie bites prepared into balls and placed on the tray to bake

All cut up and ready for lunch

I don't know about this, Mom...

Ok, maybe they're kinda good...

Mmmm... better than the chicken nuggets

After 2 minutes of eating he had eaten 1.5 veggie bites, 1 cut up piece of chicken nugget & 2 sweet potato fries. He polished off the rest of the veggie bite pieces and called it a day for lunch. Oh, the finicky toddler. One day he'd polish off a plate full of food and the next just bits and pieces.

Simplicity in Chocolate

2010-08-11T12:31:00.001-07:00

We were craving something chocolaty. Something simple and good. We were craving cake.

So I went out in search of a simple chocolate cake recipe in hopes that I could find something where I didn't have to a. melt chocolate or b. deal with multiple bowls and multiple steps. Simple was the word. And than I remembered a post I had starred in my Google Reader. I quickly searched through the recently starred items and came upon this recipe.

Simple, check. One bowl, check. Have all the ingredients, double check! And I was on my way. The first time I tried to make it I left the butter on the counter to soften. Than we went to run errands and I forgot about it. And we forgot to put the dogs outside. So, yup, the dogs (I think it was Scout) got a stick of butter wrapper and all!

Than the second time I did the same thing... you'd think I'd learn. Or at least put the butter in the microwave or oven for storage.

Third time was a charm. I made sure the dogs were outside, let the butter soften and I was on my way. I even made the recipe simpler by putting all of the dry ingredients right into the sifter instead of mixing separately and than putting them into the sifter. Easy peasy! And the results were pretty good. I mean... it wasn't amazingly fluffy and light but it wasn't a mug cake either. This is something I'd whip up for friends coming over for dinner. I could probably even add chocolate chips, peanut butter or bananas to the mix to spice things up...

Source: Smitten Kitchen

Everyday Chocolate Cake

1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (6 7/8 ounces) firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (4 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (6 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (2 5/8 ounces) Dutch cocoa powder* (see below for a natural cocoa adjustment)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter and lightly flour a 9×5x3-inch loaf pan, or spray it with a butter-flour spray. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat well, then the buttermilk and vanilla. Don’t worry if the batter looks a little uneven. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt together right into your wet ingredients. Stir together with a spoon until well-blended but do not over mix. Scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in pan on a rack for about 10 to 15 minutes, at which point you can cool it the rest of the way out of the pan. Serve with whipped cream and fresh berries, if you’re feeling fancy.

*If you only have a natural or non-Dutched cocoa, you can still use it, but you’ll want to use 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and no baking powder.

Fabulous Fettuccine

2010-08-03T18:19:00.001-07:00

After a long hiatus I think I'm back! This pregnancy has definitely been different than my last. I am still getting nauseous and sometimes I just don't have the energy to cook. When I do cook, it's tried and true recipes from this blog.

Last night we had taco salad and on Sunday we had meatloaf (with beef instead of turkey) and both dishes were fantastic but I don't want to repeat meals I've already made on the blog. So I've finally gotten some creative juices going (at 23 weeks pregnant... about time!) and came up with this fabulous yet simple creamy sauce for the basil oregano fettuccine I bought at Harry & David (on clearance).

This dish was a great summer pasta dish. Not too heavy and definitely bowl licking good :)

Source: My Head

White Cheese Sauce with Basil Oregano Fettuccine

1 package Harry & David Basil Oregano Fettuccine (or your favorite pasta)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil

4 tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
1 clove garlic
2 cups milk
4 cups parmesan, grated
1 1/2 cups fontina, grated
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of nutmeg

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil for the pasta. Once boiling add salt, olive oil and pasta and cook as directed on pasta package.

Pour milk into a small pan and heat on low just to get it slightly above room temperature (so it doesn't curdle when added to the roux).

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Once melted and a little toasty (browned) add the flour. Cook until the flour doesn't have a raw flour taste (about 3-4 minutes). Add garlic and cook another minute stirring continuously. Put a little of this mixture in the milk and stir. Remove butter/flour mixture from the heat and add milk. Stir like crazy so lumps don't form.

Put sauce back on low heat until almost boiling. You'll know it's done when you put the back of a spoon in the sauce, run your finger through it and the sauce doesn't fill in the gap you just made. Take the pan off heat again and add cheeses while stirring. Add in the salt, pepper & nutmeg to taste.

Drain pasta and add to sauce. Toss in sauce thoroughly and serve. Enjoy!

Pampered Chef Party

2010-06-14T09:49:00.001-07:00

I had a FABULOUS time on Saturday hosting a Pampered Chef party for the first time. I made a dish and our consultant made a dish. Both tasted fabulous. Sadly I forgot to take pictures! So I'm hoping that I can recreate the dish the consultant made once I get my deep covered baker.

I am posting the link to the show in case anyone else needs some fun kitchen tools:

Danielle's Pampered Chef Host Link

The show "ends" tomorrow :)

I'm seriously considering becoming a consultant myself but need to give my husband a bit of time to look it over... most likely this will happen sometime next year so keep a look out!

Savory Egg Bites

2010-03-08T14:02:00.000-08:00

The first time I tried these cups my friend Rachel made them for our friend Amanda's baby shower. These cups were fabulous! So yummy and flavorful with every bite. I think I might have consumed 3-4! Well recently I had a playgroup get together at my house and I changed up the original recipe a bit to use the ingredients I already had at home. They were a hit! All the kids loved them and so did the mommies.

Last weekend at a baby shower for our friend, Alanna, Rachel made her version of these cups for everyone. So good. And since I didn't take a picture of them when I made my version I just snapped a photo of hers. I hope no one minds.

Source: Allrecipes

Egg Cups

* 2 chicken sausage links (I used sun dried tomato)
* 10 eggs, beaten
* 1 (16 ounce) container cottage cheese
* 1 cup Gouda cheese, shredded
* 1 onion, diced and sauteed
* 1 zucchini, diced and sauteed w/ onion

* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup butter, melted
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain and set aside. In a large bowl, combine eggs, cottage cheese, cheese, veggies and cooled meat. Cover and refrigerate overnight

The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove cheese mixture from refrigerator; stir in flour, butter, baking powder and salt. Spoon batter into 24 lightly greased muffin cups.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until puffs are slightly golden on top.

Monkeying Around

2010-03-08T13:56:00.000-08:00

I just recently stumbled across this recipe this past December. Sadly I don't know where I found it but I am so happy I did. I hadn't had a chance to blog about it because each time I make it everyone always pounces on it right away. Yeah, it's super good!

Well this past weekend I had a baby shower to go to for my friend Alanna and her one request for the day was to have Monkey Bread. So my friend Rachel asked if someone could bring it. I responded at once since I love the stuff and it's so easy. And I used up my extra points for the week on it... mmmmmm.

Source: Beantown Baker

Simple Monkey Bread

4 cans Pillsbury biscuit (get the kind that come in a 4 pack, the small ones, not the Grands)

Sugar coating:

2/3 brown sugar - I was running low on brown sugar, so I used 1/3 cup white and 1/3 cup brown
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Syrup topping:

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Spray your angel food cake or bundt pan.

Mix the sugar coating in a ziplock bag (feel free to add more cinnamon and/or sugar if you run out during the coating process). Cut the biscuits into 4 (kitchen shears work great for this). Drop the biscuit pieces into the ziplock bag and shake to coat. Drop coated biscuit pieces into the prepared pan.

Bring syrup ingredients to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, then pour over biscuit pieces. Bake for 35 minutes.

Turn over onto plate and serve while hot.

You don't want to know how many points this is per serving ;)

DeliciousTurkey Meatloaf {6 WW Points}

2010-03-07T18:11:00.000-08:00

I had a pound of ground turkey in the fridge and wanted something lower in points but super delicious. I had been craving meatloaf for quite a while but just never got around to making it. So I searched on Weight Watcher's website for the ideal dish and came across this recipe. Let me tell you... this loaf was heaven! You have to make it :) No, seriously... go make it!

Source: WeightWatchers.com

Best Turkey Meatloaf EVER!

1 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup(s) onion(s), finely chopped
1/4 cup(s) green pepper(s), finely chopped
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1/4 cup(s) low-fat shredded cheddar cheese, sharp
1/4 cup(s) seasoned bread crumbs
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp ketchup
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 large egg(s), lightly beaten
1 1/4 pound(s) uncooked ground turkey breast
1 spray(s) cooking spray
1/2 cup(s) ketchup
1 Tbsp unpacked light brown sugar
1 tsp mustard

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Cool.

Combine onion mixture, cheese and next 6 ingredients in a large bowl; toss to moisten bread. Crumble turkey over onion mixture; stir just until blended.

Pack meat mixture into an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350°F for 35 minutes. Combine 1⁄2 cup ketchup, brown sugar and mustard in a small bowl; stir well.

Spread ketchup mixture over meat loaf and bake an additional 5 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes.

Remove meat loaf from pan. Cut into 10 slices.

Yield: 5 servings (serving size: 2 slices).

I just cut it into 5 thick slices This recipe was so moist and flavorful! I added the italian seasoning in with the onions, peppers & garlic when sauteing them and really liked the results. I also made the onion mixture a bit earlier in the day and put it in the fridge since my turkey hadn't fully thawed.

I think the extra time for the flavors to meld together really added to the taste. I than mixed everything together right before putting it in the oven and cooked for 45 minutes instead of 35. I than topped it with the ketchup mixture and cooked for another 10 minutes.

POINTS® Value: 6
Servings: 5
Preparation Time: 15 min
Cooking Time: 43 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

The Perfect Party Cake

2010-02-28T09:42:00.001-08:00

I just can't believe it. My baby is one! This past year has been the quickest year of my life. And I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful little man in my life. I knew that I wanted to make a special birthday cake for his first birthday and knew exactly where to go for quality and perfection... Dorie Greenspan.

I've made this cake once before and while it tasted awesome... I did not do a good job of decorating it so I didn't show it off on the blog. This time around I was pleasantly surprised with the results. I decorated the cake with some fondant characters I bought from Wilton's website to match the Jungle Animal theme of the party.

This cake was a bit of work but definitely rewarding. And I think most in attendance loved it so I consider it a success!

Source: Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan (p. 250)

Perfect Party Cake

For the Cake
2 ½ cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk at room temperature (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites at room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing
2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans (I used larger pans, a 12 inch and a 14 inch, and doubled the recipe) and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.

Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream. Remove the bowl from the heat.

Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again. On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla. You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.
Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. Spread it with one third of the preserves. Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.

Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream. Then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).

Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top. Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Serving
The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold. Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.

Storing
The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.

Playing Around
Since lemon is such a friendly flavour, feel free to make changes in the preserves: other red preserves – cherry or strawberry – look especially nice, but you can even use plum or blueberry jam.

Fresh Berry Cake
If you will be serving the cake the day it is made, cover each layer of buttercream with fresh berries – use whole raspberries, sliced or halved strawberries or whole blackberries, and match the preserves to the fruit. You can replace the coconut on top of the cake with a crown of berries, or use both coconut and berries.

You can also replace the buttercream between the layers with fairly firmly whipped sweetened cream and then either frost the cake with buttercream (the contrast between the lighter whipped cream and the firmer buttercream is nice) or finish it with more whipped cream. If you use whipped cream, you’ll have to store the cake the in the refrigerator – let it sit for about 20 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Chili in Another Direction

2010-02-01T21:55:00.000-08:00

After trying this recipe it will now be my go-to recipe when I'm craving chili. It definitely hit the spot and tasted WONDERFUL! I couldn't get over how great it tasted. It also kept me pretty full for quite a while. And the left overs taste even better. I had this for lunch almost every day of the week last week! And I hope to make a batch for the Superbowl.

If you're looking for a new/different chili recipe this one's for you!

Taco Soup

9oz ground turkey
3oz lean ground beef
2 zucchini, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 cup corn
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch
3 tablespoons taco seasoning
3.5 cups tomato sauce
1.5 cups water

Saute onions, zucchini & garlic until soft. Set aside mixture. Cook turkey & beef until browned. Drain all the canned goods really well. Mix all ingredients together in a large pot. Simmer over medium to medium low heat for 30 minutes.

Top with 1/4 cup light shredded cheese, 2 tablespoons light sour cream and 1-3 tablespoons salsa and serve with homemade tortilla chips for a low point meal.

Serves 12
2 points per serving of soup (toppings extra)

The Perfect Chicken Dish

2010-02-01T18:33:00.000-08:00

A girlfriend of mine gave me a link to Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes blog and immediately I saw the recipe below. The picture was worth a thousand words and I was drooling from the start. I put it on the menu for the same week but life happened and it got pushed aside. I finally got around to making it.

I started to make it and was a bit worried that it wouldn't be as tasty as it looked since there were some pretty basic ingredients. Let me tell you... this was the best pulled chicken recipe I've had in a LONG time! It was fabulous. I served it with some pinto & black beans seasoned with onion powder, taco seasoning & salt and pepper as well as some rice and broccoli. I'm going to be using the left overs for chicken tacos at the end of the week.

You have to try this recipe!

Source: Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes

Chicken Ropa Vieja

* 3 chicken breast halves
* 1 small onion, quartered
* 1 tomato, quartered
* 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, peeled

* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 1 small onion, thinly sliced
* 1 small green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
* 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
* 1/4 cup dry white wine
* 1/2 cup tomato sauce
* reserved broth
* 1 tsp cumin, or more to taste (I like a lot)
* garlic powder
* salt and pepper to taste

Place chicken, onion, tomato, carrot, and 2 cloves of garlic into crock pot. Add water to cover, and set to high for 4 hours until the chicken is tender. If cooking on the stove, cook on medium-low, and simmer until the chicken is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Place the chicken into a bowl and shred it into strips using a fork; set aside. Reserve the liquid.

In a large deep skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, onions, green peppers, and red peppers. Cook about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in chicken, tomato sauce, white wine, and about 3/4 cup of the reserved broth to create a nice sauce. Season with cumin, garlic powder salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer on low for about 10 minutes more adding more broth and seasoning if needed. Makes 4 cups.

1 cup = 4 ww points

Cool and Refreshing

2010-01-20T20:48:00.003-08:00

As soon as I saw this pop into my google reader over a year ago I knew it'd be good. I just never got the chance to fix it. Well I was searching for recipes to make this week and this one popped up again so I knew I couldn't put it off any longer.

This was an awesome dinner. I haven't really been cooking new meals lately so it's been a nice change to have something refreshing and different for dinner. The cool and spicy balance to this whole meal was great. Starting with the meat. The cumin spiced things up while the paprika sweetened/cooled things down. Than we had the heat from the pita/meat/cheese melt topped with the coolness of lettuce, tomatoes and cilantro cream. And who knew such a simple mix of cilantro and sour cream could make such a yummy drizzly dressing? YUM!

Source: Adapted from Joelen's Culinary Adventures

Mexican Steak "Pitzas" with Cilantro Cream

1 lb beef flank steak, finely chopped
1/2 large onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon southwest seasoning
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 tablespoon canola oil for cooking
4 gyro pitas
1/2 cup shredded mexican blend cheese
1/2 finely diced tomatoes
1 cup shredded lettuce
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup low fat sour cream
2-3 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a skillet over medium high heat, add the cooking oil, onions and garlic; saute until softened. Add the beef and seasonings and cook until browned.

Meanwhile, place your gyro pitas on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes to soften the pitas. Remove the pitas from the oven and set aside.

When the beef has cooked thoroughly, carefully spoon the beef over the warmed pitas to cover completely.

Top the beef with the shredded cheese and bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes until cheese has melted.

While the pitas are baking, prepare the cilantro cream by combining the cilantro, sour cream and water. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

When the pitas are done baking, remove from the oven and top with the cilantro cream and chopped tomatoes & lettuce; serve.

WW - 7pts per pitza (serve with roasted zucchini and carrots and you will definitely be full!)

Sweet and Spicy

2010-01-20T20:48:00.001-08:00

I loved this meal! I started up on Weight Watchers recently and really love when I come across a meal that is very filling and is great to eat the next day (or next two days). This recipe truly fits all of the above requirements PLUS it tastes awesome!

The next time I make it I think I'll use another brand of enchilada sauce or try my hand at making it from scratch. I also think I'll add some shredded carrots and zucchini in with the meat when I cook it to add more veggies. I also will most likely top with salsa as well.

I put the left overs on top of a cup of lettuce and ate it like a salad of sorts... Delicious!

Source: Mallory

Enchilada Lasagna

1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 30 oz can enchilada sauce
1 cup diced cooked chicken
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 cup water
8 corn tortillas

In a pot over high, mix corn, beans, sauce, and chicken. While you wait for it to boil, mix corn starch in cold water. When the sauce is boiling, add corn starch mixture and reduce to simmer. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350.

Add some of the sauce mixture on the bottom of a 2.5qt casserole dish. Place 2 corn tortillas in the dish overlapping in the middle. Add 1/4 of sauce mixture on top. Repeat ending with the sauce mixture on top. Place covered in oven for 20 minutes.

Yields 8 servings
WW- 3 points per serving

Or if you're like me you can make it 4 servings and have a 6 point dinner.

Serve with chopped lettuce, light sour cream, and a tiny sprinkle of cheese.

Fluffy Rice

2010-01-20T20:47:00.001-08:00

I needed a side to serve as both vegetable and starch since I was in a pinch for time. I already had some spinach & dijon stuffed chicken breasts in the oven when I threw some rice into my rice cooker. So I decided instead of dirtying one more pot I'd just throw my broccoli into the rice cooker as well.

With the addition of a few herbs and some garlic I ended up with a yummy smelling meal! I decided to make it even more delicious by adding some cheese into the mix. This rice was fabulous. Even my husband enjoyed it! And my son ate it up bite after bite.

Broccoli & Cheese Rice

3/4 cup white rice
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon ground oregano
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup light shredded cheese

Place rice, chicken stock, herbs, garlic and broccoli in a rice cooker and set to cook. When the rice is done cooking stir in cheese. Serve right away.

6 servings
4 WW points per serving (less if you use brown rice)

Happiness in a Bowl of Cheese

2010-01-20T20:46:00.000-08:00

It was a bit rainy to say the least last week in Sunny So Cal so I added some soup to the mix that would be filling and warm us up. This recipe sure did both. With the heartiness of the potatoes and the fiber filled broccoli one bowl of this soup kept me full all night. Add that with the creaminess of cheese and you have yourself a bowl full of comfort perfect for a rainy night.

I served this with some rosemary garlic focaccia bread from Trader Joes that was super tasty. I toasted it up, rubbed it with garlic and dipped it right into the soup. It's great heated up the next day too!

Potato Broccoli Cheese Soup

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup onions, minced
16 ounces frozen chopped broccoli
29 ounces canned chicken broth
4 ounces Velveeta cheese, cut into cubes, or similar product
1/2 cup fat-free skim milk
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup cornstarch
8 dutch potatoes (the small ones at Trader Joes), diced
1/2 cup light shredded cheddar

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook 3 minutes, until soft. Add broccoli, potatoes and broth and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer 3 minutes, until broccoli is tender.

Reduce heat to low, add cheese and stir until cheese melts; stir in milk, garlic powder, oregano and onion powder.

Whisk together water and cornstarch. Add mixture to pan and simmer 2 minutes, until thick. Serve hot and top with shredded cheddar.

Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving, 4 servings.
7 WW points per serving, omit potatoes and extra cheese to make the soup 4 WW points per serving

Marshmallow Madness

2009-12-26T20:32:00.000-08:00

I finally did it. I made marshmallows from scratch. I've been wanting to make these since I first saw Alton Brown make them on his show, Good Eats. And I'm so happy I got around to it this Christmas. These marshmallows were light and fluffy and perfectly sweetened. They spiced up my cup of cocoa on Christmas and have been making their way into my coffee/cocoa combo in the morning every day since.

I'm going to keep this recipe in my folder and will be pulling it out every time I need some marshmallows in my life. Next time I really want to try dipping them in chocolate and rolling them in some crushed candy canes.

Source: Alton Brown

Homemade Marshmallows

3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 cup ice cold water, divided
12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Nonstick spray

Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.

In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.

Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.

When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Beautiful Bolognese

2009-12-26T10:28:00.000-08:00

I knew exactly what I was going to make for Christmas dinner when my coworker Krista mentioned lasagna rolls that her mom made the night before. They sounded heavenly. And easy! And like something you could make in advance.

So I went searching for an easy recipe online and stumbled across Giada's recipe (yes, in this house we're on a first name basis with Giada). What could be more perfect? Spinach AND prosciutto. Heaven! When I saw marinara sauce in the recipe I knew I'd want to make something more than just a jarred sauce.

So I went to the place I knew I'd find great recipes. The Pioneer Woman. Everyone in the cooking blogosphere talks and raves about her. There are recipes galore that have been tested by just about every cooking blog I read from her site so I knew I could trust her. And I didn't even do a practice run.

The sauce was perfect for these lasagna rolls! And I can't wait to make it again for spaghetti night. The only thing I changed was switching out the ground beef for italian sausage.

My only regret? Not getting a shot of this sauce bubbling on the stove. I thought about it the whole 4 hours it was simmering on the stove but had so much to do in between that I didn't have a moment to stop and take a shot. It was lovely! Looked EXACTLY like the picture in the link below.

And there was only about 1/8 of an inch of room left in the dutch oven. I was sooo worried it'd boil over and we'd lose some deliciousness. Thankfully that didn't happen and all of the sauce was used up.

Source: Pioneer Woman

Bolognese Sauce

1/2cups olive oil
1 1/2 cup grated carrots
1 whole red onion, diced
2 pounds ground Italian sausage
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 cups red wine (plus more for drinking)
2 tablespoons worcestershire
2 28 ounce cans whole tomatoes
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or skillet over medium heat. Add grated carrots and onions and cook for a few minutes. Make a well in the center of the mixture, and then add in the ground sausage. Cook for a few minutes until brown, gradually stirring it into the carrot mixture.

Throw in oregano and basil. Use fresh if you have it; if you don’t, it’s fine. When the meat is browned and combined with other ingredients, make another well. Add tomato paste and let it heat. Add garlic and stir to combine.

Make a well in the center of the mixture and add red wine. Stir together. Add Worcestershire and stir. Add canned tomatoes. Finally, pour in milk, stir, and let simmer for 30 minutes to 2 hours—however long you need.

Serve with pasta and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Compound Perfection

2009-12-26T10:06:00.000-08:00

I am always looking to put a little extra on the dinner table. Make something ordinary a little more. So I went a searching on the interwebs (well... really just in my Google reader) for some different items for Christmas dinner. I knew I saw a recipe for compound butter on Annie's Eats but couldn't remember how far back it was so with a little searching I found it.

This is so easy to do and really makes a difference. I used fresh herbs and I think you could definitely taste that. 1/2 of the butter was gone before we even started dinner since people were spreading it onto the bread sitting out on the table while we waited for the lasagna rolls to come out of the oven.

I highly recommend using this recipe or any other compound butter combo the next time you have bread or rolls on the table. Oh, and I tried to make the butter as pretty as Annie did but had no luck with my pastry bag skills. Gotta work on those... I just scooped it all out of the bag and plopped it into the dish. No one minded.

Source: Annie's Eats

Herb Compound Butter

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1-2 cloves garlic, very finely minced
1 tbsp. fresh basil, finely minced
1 tsp. fresh dill, finely minced
1 tsp. fresh thyme, finely minced
½-¾ tsp. kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well with a spoon until combined and all ingredients are evenly incorporated. To serve, pipe butter into small serving dishes with a decorative pastry tip. Alternatively, place the butter mixture onto plastic wrap, form into a log, wrap tightly and refrigerate until ready to serve. Allow to come to room temperature before serving so it is spreadable.

Cheddar!

2009-10-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

I love an easy side item when it comes to dinner. Some days I ::gasp:: leave out the sides and just serve the main course. I try not to leave out vegetables but some days it's just hard to even get dinner on the table. With the help of a crock pot I had a roast ready to go and with the help of the frozen veggie bags from Costco I had the vegetable but I really wanted something savory and bready to go with my meal

Enter the baking mix from Trader Joes. This stuff is great. It's my normal mix for pancakes (when I don't make my own mix) and has lots of potential for other things like coffee cake and these biscuits!

Cheddar Biscuits

3 3/4 cups Trader Joes Baking Mix
1/4 cup softened salted butter (I always use unsalted)
1 1/2 cups cold milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Add baking mix and butter to a large bowl. Using a pastry knife cut butter into the mix until lumps resemble coarse meal (butter can also be pinched in with fingers)

Add milk and optional ingredients (cheddar in my case) for flavor variations. Stir all ingredients together until moistened. Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, drop dough onto a baking pan. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown Serve warm