One Tiny Pink Kitchen

Easy Supper and Easy Clean Up!

2008-03-09T14:10:00.004-05:00

This is my kind of supper. It was so easy and the clean up rocked. I got this idea from my friend Amber's blog. She had seen this done in the Kraft magazine with a taco flavor. I decided to try this with lemon pepper instead of an Italian theme. It was so good! I would add even more lemon pepper seasoning next time but the chicken was so tender and juicy. It will defintely be tried again.

Foil Packet Chicken
(source: Amber)

2 chicken breasts
2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
1 sliced baking potato
salt and pepper
EVOO
1/2 onion sliced
foil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay out two large sheets of foil. Slice potatoes and onions and place in bottom of foil. Place chicken, seasoned with lemon pepper and salt/pepper on top. Drizzle with oil and fold up in foil. Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes until chicken is no longer pink. Unfold foil and enjoy!

I served this with oven potatoes and onions. I sliced another potato very thin along with the other half of onion. I sprinkled it with salt, pepper, EVOO, and garlic powder and baked them along side the chicken. This gave us a bit more potatoes. :)

Pasta Primavera - 100th Post!

2008-03-09T13:59:00.004-05:00

Well, after 9 months I have finally gotten to my 100th post! I was hoping for my 100th post to be something elaborate and impressive...well, this was a pretty impressive dish but only took about 20 minutes to prepare. I'm fine with that! I am now about 12 weeks pregnant and so cooking is finally starting to become more appealing. Hopefully there will be more frequent blog updates to come. I saw this recipe done on Robin Miller, ironically enough, while I was home sick from work. usually turn the station when Robin comes on, but her line up sounded interesting so I watched it. This is one of our favorite pasta dishes now! It was delicious. So easy, light, and fast to prepare. I have my changes listed in green.

Pasta Primavera
(source: Robin Miller)

1 pound penne pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup sliced carrots *I omitted*
1 cup sliced mushrooms *I omitted*
2 cooked chicken breast halves, diced (about 2 cups)
1 cup diced roasted red peppers
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup freshly chopped basil leaves *I omitted*

Cook penne according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook 3 minutes, until soft. Add broccoli, carrots and mushrooms and cook 3 minutes, until mushrooms soften. Add chicken, red peppers, tomatoes, and broth and bring to a simmer. Stir in penne and peas cook 2 minutes to heat through and season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Transfer mixture to a serving plate and top with Parmesan and basil. I drizzled the pan with a little more EVOO, to help hold it together. She did this on the show but it is not listed in the recipe.

What's Cooking Recipe Exchange

2008-02-12T17:53:00.000-06:00

I participated in a second round of the WC Recipe Exchange and I was very pleased with the results! I received the recipe for Golden Winter Soup, a butternut squash and potato creamy soup that was just delicious! I unfortunately do not have a picture, as my camera is still on the fritz, but I did make this last night and it was amazing! I have only had butternut squash once so I was a little weary on this but it was so creamy and warm, perfect for our -4 degree nights! It was originally in the Cooking Light magazine. The picture is from their website, sorry for not having my own! I am trying to talk my husband into getting us a new camera! :)

Photo taken from Cookinglight.com

Golden Winter Soup
(Source: Cooking Light)

2 tablespoons butter
5 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled russet potato (about 12 ounces)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups sliced leek (about 2 medium)
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half
12 ounces baguette, cut into 16 slices
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
3 tablespoons chopped chives
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Preheat broiler.Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add squash, potato, salt, and pepper to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Add leek; sauté 1 minute. Stir in broth; bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender, stirring occasionally. Place half of potato mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters).

Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining potato mixture. Stir in half-and-half. Cover and keep warm.

Arrange bread slices in a single layer on a baking sheet; sprinkle evenly with cheese. Broil bread slices 2 minutes or until golden. Ladle 1 cup soup into each of 8 bowls; top each serving with about 1 teaspoon chives. Serve 2 bread slices with each serving. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper, if desired.

Guess What?!

2008-02-04T18:53:00.000-06:00

We are expecting a baby in September! This is a lot of the reason why I haven't been blogging much lately. I haven't really had much morning sickness, but I just haven't felt the greatest. We've been cooking alot of easy stovetop meals that just haven't been blogworthy. When not doing that, I have been eating peanut butter sandwiches. I am still trying to cook healthy, although of course not figuring WW points. I can though, so if you would like to know the points configuration, I can do my best. I no longer have a subscription to the WW etools though, I put it on hold until after the baby. My first craving though was Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. I used a recipe from a blog I visit often and they were amazing!! I followed this recipe exactly and will be making them again. As you may have read from my last post, my camera hates me (actually it's about 8 years old and may be time to trade it in) and so I was not able to get a picture of them. They were good though and I will be making them for our trip to Las Vegas next month as a little airplane treat! I am feeling better so I would hope that I will be updating my blog more frequently now. :o)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2008-02-04T18:47:00.000-06:00

Wow! It's been awhile since I last posted on here! It has been a whirlwind of a month and we haven't really been cooking much blog-worthy meals. I am excited that with the WC Nestie Recipe exchange and being a new member of Daring Bakers, it will pick up more! I am also sad to report that my camera has been on the fritzo lately. For some reason it thinks it needs NEW batteries every single time I use it. Because of this, I do not have pics for several of the recipes I am going to post tonight. No worries though! I will be making these recipes again and uploading photos as soon as I can. This soup is delicious and easy. I have never had much luck with soups....they either turn out too thick, too thin or just no flavor. This was not the case with the Chicken Tortilla Soup from the Buon Appetito blog that I visit.

Chicken Tortilla Soup
(source: Buon Appetito)

Ingredients

2 skinned and boneless chicken breasts, cubed
1 10 oz package frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2 14 oz cans chicken broth
1 10 ½ oz can tomato puree
1 10 oz can diced tomatoes and green chiles
¾ tsp salt
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 bay leaf

Directions
Combine all in crockpot. Cover and cook on High 6 hours. Remove and discard bay leaf.
Serve with sour cream, tortilla chips and garnish with fresh cilantro.

This averaged out to about 3 points per good sized bowl (about a cup and a half).

Skinny Chimis

2008-01-05T23:50:00.000-06:00

Another great creation from Take Out Tonight! :o) We both liked this recipe, me more so than my husband but I think that with a little extra spice, it would be perfect! Spraying the tortillas with a little Pam made them perfectly crunchy, it was just as if we fried them. Definitely give this one a try if you are looking for a POINT friendly Mexican dish, just add a little more spice to it (chili powder or green chiles). My changes in listed in green.

Skinny Chimis
(source: Take Out Tonight)

1/2 lb lean ground turkey I used 1lb of lean ground beef
2 tbsp diced green chiles I'd add a little more
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder I would add a little more
8 oz tomato sauce
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup low fat cheddar cheese I used Mexican blend
1 garlic clove, minced
4 fat free tortillas
Pam

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook turkey (or hamburger) in skillet that is lightly sprayed with Pam. Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, chiles, tomato sauce and oregano and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens a bit.

On a Pam sprayed cookie sheet, fill each tortilla with a good scoop of goo (I had extra since I used extra meat but try to keep it as even as possible). Roll the tortilla up, pushing in the sides then rolling it. They will be thick and that is ok! Spray the tops of the tortillas so they glisten and bake about 20 minutes or until crisp.

These will be like little saunas inside, very very HOT! They are oh so good though! I served this with fat free refried beans topped with a little cheese. So tastey!

POINTS for Original Recipe with Turkey: 4 POINTS per Chimi
POINTS for My Recipe: 6 POINTS per Chimi

Back on Track! Chinese Food

2008-01-01T20:03:00.000-06:00

So anyone on WW can tell you that Chinese food is one of the hardest kinds of cuisine to stay on track with. Sure you can get chicken and veggies but when compared to sweet and sour chicken, wonton soup, and crab ragoons....hmm, which would you pick?! Tonight we made the first dinner out of my new cookbook, Take Out Tonight.

I got this book for Christmas from my mom. She has loved this recipe book so much that she would not let me borrow it because she uses it so much! We tried the Beef and Broccoli recipe, which my dad just RAVES about. I loved it, my husband not so much. He isn't a big stir fry person though....that said, he told me it was good but not one of his favorite meals. Ok....so here it is though, I would definitely make this again, maybe on a bowling night when my husband eats out with his friends. My modifications are in blue.

Beef and Broccoli
(source: Take Out Tonight recipe book)

3/4 lb lean top round steak, cut into thin strips
2 tbsp corn starch
1/2 cup beef broth - I added an extra 1 tbsp of broth
2 tbsp oyster sauce - I omitted
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce - I added 1 extra tbsp to compensate for omitting oyster sauce
1 tbsp dry sherry - I omitted
1 lb broccoli, stalks cut off - my mom uses frozen and it turns out great
2 tsp canola oil
1 tbsp diced ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced

Directions:

Combine the beef with 1 tbsp corn starch, until evenly coated. Set aside. Combine the remaining corn starch, beef broth, honey, and soy sauce (dry sherry and oyster sauce also if using).

If using fresh broccoli, boil first for several minutes or steam in microwave. If using frozen omit this step.

Heat skillet or wok under HIGH heat. Add oil to pan and swish around to coat. Saute beef until no longer pink, about 3-5 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and saute an additional 2-3 minutes, stirring around frequently. Add liquid mixture and saute until sauce is nice and bubbly.

Serve with rice. Makes 4 servings.

POINTS per serving: 4
POINTS per serving with 1/2 cup white rice: 6

A New Year, A New Look

2008-01-01T15:09:00.001-06:00

My blog has needed some updating for awhile now, so with this new year I decided to revamp my blog to make it a little more user friendly! Thanks to nestie joelen&louis, for designing the new Nestie Blogroll. This replaces the long list of favorite blogs and also includes some new ones that I did not previously have linked on this blog! Yay! I also decided to keep with the drop down menu theme and redesigned the Pink Kitchen Creation Categories and Archive sections. Hopefully this will be less page consuming and easier to navigate!

I also added a Contact Me! box. I have received many questions regarding substitutions and portion sizing, especially since posting mostly WW recipes. Now, if you have a question or a comment that you would not like published, just click and send! I will get your email and reply back shortly! Cool, huh? ;o)

There will be more updates to come as it's a new year with new ideas and recipes. Keep checking back for more WW friendly meals! Happy New Year to you and yours! :o)

Pretzels, Ritz and Clusters Oh MY!

2007-12-23T23:38:00.000-06:00

Every year I make clusters and pretzels for my parents. Well since we are all on WW, I still made them but I gave them as gifts to the ILs to add to their holiday gain and not ours. LOL! No really though, it just wouldn't be Christmas if I didn't make candies. Now my candy doesn't look the best. I glob my pretzels and clusters but damn they taste good, so what can you do right?! If I had more patience, I am sure they will look prettier but I am not patient so I glob here and there. The picture is kind of dark but you get the idea.
Peanut Clusters

1 jar dry roasted peanuts
1 bag semi sweet chocolate chips

Melt chips in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Dump jar of peanuts in bowl and mix well. Spoon out the peanuts into clusters on waxed paper. Allow time to set. Store in airtight container. I put mine in the fridge but they stay just fine out of the fridge too!

Pretzels

pretzel twists
almond bark, both white and chocolate

Melt the bark according to the package directions. Dip a few pretzels in at a time using tongs or a fork. Allow excess chocolate to drip off and place on waxed paper to set. Again, I don't have a lot of patience so mine obviously did not get all the excess dripped off, but hey that's ok! Repeat same procedure for white bark should you choose to do that also. My husband prefers the white bark to the chocolate bark...

Ritz Crackers

1 sleeve reduced fat Ritz crackers
chocolate and white chocolate almond bark
peanut butter (creamy)

Spread a bit of peanut butter (not a lot just a bit) over each Ritz cracker. Dip the crackers in the almond bark, covering both sides with melted bark. Shake off excess (I know I know, I should practice what I preach!) and allow to dry on waxed paper.

These were a new find this year, I had never made them before. I heard about them from a friend at work and was excited to try them. OMG they are so good! So very very good! They are very rich too!

Ok, that wraps up the Christmas baking and cooking edition of One Tiny Pink Kitchen. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Pecan Rolo Pretzels

2007-12-23T23:24:00.000-06:00

I found these divine little creations at a candle party before Christmas last year. They were an instant hit, I think I ate like 10 while I was there. I immediately asked for the recipe and this is now a holiday tradition for us. Peter puts the pretzels on the baking sheet, I put the rolos on the middle, then we both squish the pecan on. Ah, togetherness! :o) These were also a hit at the ILs and with Peter's work buddys. They are so easy but they can be a little costly because you need a big bag of pecan halves and the cheap ones just didn't taste right... Make these, your family will LOVE them!!

Pecan Rolo Pretzels
(source: my friend Beth)

Bag of pretzels (I recommend Rold Gold)
Pecan halves
2 bags of Rolos, unwrapped (do this before you start!!)

Preheat oven to 325. Line paper with parchment paper or silicone mat. Line pretzels up on cookie sheet and place a rolo on each pretzel. It's helpful to get the rolo right in the middle, this will be helpful for you later!

Place in oven for 1-2 minutes. You really need to watch them. When they start glistening and sinking just a little bit, they are ready to come out of the oven. This is where extra hands help. Work quickly and squish a pecan half in the middle of each pretzel, smooshing the rolo down over the pretzel. Move to foil or waxed paper to set (this takes about an hour) and repeat. Two bags of rolos gets you about 60 candies, maybe a little more. We eat as we make, so it's hard to say how many you really get! LOL!

I did figure POINTS for these, even though I was eating them as I was making them. For each one, its 1 points, depending on how many you are able to make. I figured it for 80 candies, and I don't know if I got that many...Maybe 2 points per candy to be safe. But hey, it's Christmas, right?! Enjoy!

Taco Dip = Lotsa Happy People

2007-12-23T22:50:00.000-06:00

My mom used to be the salad department manager at a fancy local restauarnt. It was connected to a Holiday Inn and she would design all salads and dips for the restaurant and hotel catering parties. Once she left the restaurant, she took a lot of what she made at the restaurant with her. Luckily one of these dips is the Taco Dip. I know this is no secret recipe, as I have heard others talk about it before on the WC board. However, only my mom would worry about having the right amount of different colors on the dip! I was told I needed a little red, green, orange and black and in a certain order of course! She cracks me up but she does make a great presentation (so good in fact that she did the food for our wedding). This Taco Dip is a favorite among my ILs. They had never seen or heard of this dip before I arrived at their family Christmas eight long years ago (god, was it really that long ago!). This is requested every year and every year my mom calls to make sure I "have enough color" on my dip.

This year, I made it more WW friendly, which was easy to do with this dip! I used FF sour cream, FF refried beans, FF cheddar cheese and low sodium taco seasoning. I was skeptical at first when my mom let me know what I could substitute (she made the same thing for a dinner party last weekend with these substitutions) but I of course listened to my catering knowledge of a mother and made it using all fat free ingredients. You could of course make it with all regular ingredients, no fat free, as I have in the past.

Taco Dip
(Source: My Mama)

2 cans fat free refried beans (the small cans)
8 oz fat free sour cream
1/2 packet of taco seasoning
fat free cheddar cheese, diced scallions, sliced black olives, seeded/diced tomatoes to garnish with

Spread beans in an 8x8 dish. I always use one of those metal disposable pans so I can just toss it when we go to a party.
Mix the taco seasoning with the sour cream. You may use more or less taco seasoning depending on your tastes. Add a little at a time because it's hard to take out too much seasoning than needing to add more. Trust me, I know this from experience. If your sour cream is bright orange, it has too much taco seasoning in your sour cream and your guests will need some water!! :o) Spread the sour cream over the beans.

Here are the steps my mom stresses for garnishing:
sprinkle cheese over the dip mixture
sprinkle drained black olives next
sprinkle diced tomatoes over next (de seed them so they don't make the dip soggy)
diced scallions last

Of course I won't tell if you go out of order or gasp! add more toppings or decide you don't want to use all of these garnishes. LOL! :o) My mom just really cares abouthow people receive her dishes, and I think that is great! I hope that I make her proud most of the time (please don't tell her I posted pics with paper plates though! LOL!)

I serve this with Tostitos scoops but I also bring celery and carrots too. That keeps points down and gives me my "crunch."

Serving size: a good scoop!
Points Per Serving: 1-2 POINTS per scoop (depending on scoop size of course)

Don't forget to add points for tositos (try baked!)

Oh and while I am thinking about my mom and her food style, here are some pics from our wedding. This is our food table that my mom put together. We loved it! It was perfect.

Here are our salads, watermelon/fruit basket and note the taco dip? :o)

Here is the cheese and meat tray.

Sugar Cookies!!!

2007-12-23T20:38:00.000-06:00

Sugar Cookies from the BHG cookbook (the Betty Book as my mom has always called it) is a definite Christmas tradition we've done for as long as I can remember. My dad would make the dough for my mom and I to bake while he worked nights as a restaurant manager. My mom and I would then choose the colors to the frosting carefully (one of them was always the favorite color of the year. You should have seen my mom trying so hard to make the correct shade of purple!). We then would carefully decorate the first 10 or so. Making the snowman have tophats, buttons, and a scarf. It was after the 10th cookie or so that my mom and I would get tired of decorating and the glopping would begin. We didn't make them look trashy, but instead just wouldn't decorate with such detail as the first 10. After decorating, I would always choose one of those fancy 10 to leave out for my dad to eat when he got home from work and of course Santa's cookies were also carefully selected. Sugar cookies definitely played a big part of my Christmas' growing up. I have tried to pass this tradition of sugar cookie baking down to my husband but he gets bored quickly. I hope to keep the tradition going when we have kids of our own too. While these aren't the best pictures, my fancy 10 are in the tin somewhere! Enjoy and I hope you all have fun with your holiday traditions too!

**I should mention that I always make a double or triple batch of this dough. I makes about 50 cookies with my favorite cookie cutters. The recipe below is the non-doubled recipe. The recipe below is the original, my WW modifications are in italics. You would never know I subbed anything, they are just as buttery and perfect as they always have been, even with eggbeaters and light butter!**

Sugar Cookies
(Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook)

1/3 cup shortening
1/3 cup butter, softened I used light butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Dash salt
1 egg I used 1/4 cup eggbeaters
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon skim milk

1. Beat butter and shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping bowl. Beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill dough for 3 hours or until easy to handle. I always chill overnight.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll half at a time to 1/8 inch thickness. Keep the remaining dough in the fridge until you are ready for it. Using a 2-1/2 inch cookie or biscuit cutter, cut into desired shapes. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree F oven 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned. Cool on a rack. Makes about 36 cookies.

POINTS per Cookie: 2, 3 with frosting (recipe below)

Now we always make chocolate frosting, just the frosting that is on the back of the Hershey cocoa can. It's delicious, but this year I had no cocoa for the frosting, so it was just plain frosting for us this year. The frosting we always make I think is from the powdered sugar container. It's very simple.

2-3 tbsp butter (go by taste, I always use 3 tbsp)

2-3 cups powdered sugar

a couple tsp milk to add moisture to frosting.

2 tsp vanilla

Beat butter (must be very soft) and vanilla with a mixer. Add powdered sugar and then add milk. Go by what the frosting looks like, it's easy to add more milk, not so easy to take it out. I divide this frosting up into 3 bowls and add food coloring to the desired color. This does add more liquid to your frosting, so you may need to add a little more powdered sugar to thicken it up but try not to add too much or your frosting tastes like pure sugar which is not so good. Trust me, I have done this many times! LOL!

A Christmas Classic...Peanut Butter Blossoms

2007-12-23T20:22:00.000-06:00

I seem to only make these at Christmas time and I haven't a clue why! I should make these more often but then I suppose they wouldn't be so special.....right? My husband loves these cookies and he gets so excited when he sees me unwrapping the bag of kisses. I do this instead of buying the pre-unwrapped ones because I am cheap. :o) Today though I got busy in the kitchen before Peter crawled out of bed so he wasn't able to get excited with the unwrapping of the kisses, instead he was greeted with fresh from the oven cookies! What a great breakfast! I did alter the recipe to fit our needs (ie: more WW friendly).

Peanut Butter Blossoms
(Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook)

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup eggbeaters
2 tablespoons skim milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Milk chocolate kisses or stars

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl beat shortening and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour.

2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in the 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate kiss into each cookie's center. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. Makes 54.

3. To store: Place in layers separated by waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

POINTS Per Cookie: 2 POINTS

Monster Bars Times 2

2007-12-23T20:13:00.000-06:00

I have made Monster bars two times since last Sunday. They were a hit at one family's Christmas and so I made them again for my IL's Christmas. I made them exactly the same except I had a little white chocolate chips left over from something else and so I through them in too. I figured these to be about 4 POINTS each, but they maybe a little more/little less depending on the size and what all you throw in there. These are wonderful!

MONSTER Bars!
(source: WW Magazine December 2007)

2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
5 tbsp light butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup peanut butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup M&Ms

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9 pan. Combine oats, flour, baking powder in medium bowl and set aside. Beat butter and sugar in with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add the egg, egg white, vanilla and beat until well blended. Add the peanut butter and beat for about 1 minute. Mix in the oat mixture on low until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and M&Ms until mixed throughout.

Spread into pan. Bake until lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Cool completely, cut into 24 bars.

POINTS per Bar: 4

WC Recipe Exchange - Yummy!

2007-12-16T22:20:00.001-06:00

So on thenest.com's What's Cooking board, a recipe exchange was put together. I was very excited to participate in this! I was a little intimidated though when I received my recipe. It was definitely a recipe for a nice party, which we happened to go to tonight! I really impressed my family with these little pumpkin treasures, as my husband called them. While this recipe looks intimidating, it really isn't. I was able to make most of the recipe in advace (yesterday) and assembled them before going. Now, unfortunatley I was not able to get a picture of this lovlies before going to the party. I had left my camera at school this past week and so I figured I would just take a picture of the leftovers tomorrow. The problem, you ask? There were no leftovers! These were gone in 15 minutes flat! I was very excited about this, but disapointed there would be not picture of these little treasures. Here is a picture though, from the original recipe. I made just a few changes, but the original recipe is under the recipe title.

Pumpkin Custard Profiteroles With Maple Caramel Syrup
(source: epicurious.com and Bon Appetit November 2004)

Maple caramel
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pumpkin custard
3 cups whipping cream
2 1/4 cups canned pure pumpkin
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
9 large egg yolks

Profiteroles
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 large egg yolk

Lightly sweetened whipped cream
1 cup pecans, toasted, chopped

Directions

For maple caramel:
Stir sugars and butter in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until blended and smooth. Whisk in cream. Bring to boil, stirring until caramel bits dissolve. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in bourbon and vanilla; simmer 1 minute. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. I did this the day before)

For pumpkin custard:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Whisk cream and next 6 ingredients in heavy large saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Whisk sugar and egg yolks in medium bowl. Gradually stir hot pumpkin mixture into egg yolk mixture.

Pour pumpkin custard into 8x8x2-inch glass baking dish; cover with foil. Place dish in 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Fill baking pan with enough hot water to come halfway up sides of dish. Bake until custard is set in center, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool completely. Cover and chill until cold, at least 4 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. I made this the night before.)

For profiteroles:
Preheat oven to 425°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Bring 1/2 cup water, milk, butter, sugar, and salt to boil in heavy large saucepan. Stir in flour; cook over medium-high heat, stirring vigorously, until dough is smooth and pulls away from sides of pan, about 1 minute. Transfer hot mixture to standing mixer. Beat dough with paddle attachment at medium speed until slightly cool, about 3 minutes. Add 3 eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Beat in egg yolk until blended.

Spoon 16 mounds of batter about the size of large eggs onto prepared sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Beat remaining egg in small bowl to blend. Brush tops of profiteroles lightly with beaten egg. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 375°F. Continue baking until puffed and dark golden brown, about 30 minutes longer. Transfer to rack to cool completely. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Store in airtight container in freezer. Remove from freezer a few hours before continuing. I made the night before and stored in the fridge.)

Rewarm caramel sauce. Using serrated knife, slice profiteroles horizontally in half. Spoon rounded 1/3 cup filling into bottom half of each profiterole. Cover with top halves. Drizzle with sauce. Spoon dollop of whipped cream atop profiteroles. Sprinkle with chopped pecans and serve.

I did not figure points for this! They were so tastey though! It was great that I could do it all before then we just assembled them right before leaving. My aunts house is just down the street so they were still warm when we got there. They were definitely a hit and I got so many compliments on the presentation of these little guys. The original recipe calls for maple sugar, which I couldn't find. The reviews of the recipe though gave the suggestion of 1 cup light brown sugar/1/4 cup maple syrup and then the cream needed cut back to 1/2 cup. It worked great! I would definitely recommend making these for your next holiday party. They are not as labor intensive as they look, but it did help to make everything the night before too!

Allota Noodles - Lasagna!

2007-12-09T23:31:00.001-06:00

Ok, so maybe not so much a WW friendly meal, but I figured the points anyway...It wasn't too bad since I used lowfat/fat free ingredients. We haven't made this forever, and with it so yucky out, it really sounded good! The whole house smelled like an Italian restuarant! And yes, in case you haven't noticed, we are a proud user of paper plates for most nights. Sometimes when there aren't a lot of dishes for supper, I break out the real plates...sometimes!

Lasanga
(source: Barilla Noodles Package)

1 box no boil lasagna noodles
1 lb lean hamburger
1/2 chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz crushed tomatoes, with 2 tsp basil mixed in
12 oz 1% cottage cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 eggs
2 cups fat free mozzarella

Preheat oven to 375. Brown hamburger, onions and garlic. Drain. Mix cottage cheese, parm cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese and eggs in a small bowl. Spoon in 1 cup tomatoes in bottom of 13x9 dish. Layer as followed:

4 noodles, 1/3 of cheese mixture, 1/2 meat mixure, 1 cup sauce
4 noodles, 1/3 cheese mixture, 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, 1 cup sauce
4 noodles, 1/2 meat mixture, 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
4 noodles, rest of xheese mixture, 1 cup sauce, remaining mozzarella cheese (spray with PAM to melt FF cheese)

Bake, covered tightly with foil for 55-60 minutes. Uncover and cook 5 more minutes to melt/brown cheese. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

POINTS per serving (serves 8): 9

A Taste of Home for Hubby

2007-12-09T23:16:00.000-06:00

My MIL didn't cook much when my husband was young. He grew up on canned soups, stews, veggies, TV dinners and KFC. A lot of KFC, oh, and Taco John's six pack and a pound. When there was a home cooked meal (excluding holidays), it was actually made by his father. I honestly cannot picture Andy cooking, let alone it being edible, but apparently he did!

Andy's (my FIL) family is from Poland. My husband actually addressed his grandma as Bobsha, which he *thinks* means grandma in Polish. My FIL and his mother would converse in Polish when together and although my husband knows no Polish what-so-ever, he does remember the stew my FIL used to cook. Well, finally my MIL gave us the recipe and so we made it together over the weekend.

It was acutally a lot of fun. My husband peeled the potatoes and carrots while I diced everything. He stirred while I added ingredients. He dried the dishes after I washed them. It was very nice. We haven't worked together in the kitchen for a long time. I hope this is a tradition with this soup we can keep. It was delicious! I wasn't too worried about points for this but when I figured this, it wasn't too bad. Definitely not an every week item but it was very tasty!

Polish Stew
(source: MIL)

1 lb Beef Polish sausage, sliced and boiled before adding to stew
2 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups celery, diced
3 cups potatoes, diced
2 cups carrots, diced
1/2 tsp thyme
dash of salt
2 tbsp vinegar
5 cubes beef bouillon
5 cups water
4 cups shredded cabbage

Boil sliced sausage in about 3 inches boiling water for about 10-13 minutes. In large stockpot, melt butter over low heat. Add sausage, onions and celery and simmer until onions are clear, stirring occaisionally.

Add all other ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots and potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

The recipe states it serves up to 12, but we have appetites so we figured it to be 8 servings.

POINTS per serving: 8

A Little Treat for Me!

2007-12-09T20:52:00.000-06:00

Let Peter have his delicious white cake and brownies, while I eat my 100 calorie packs and WW ice cream. Now I can have my elaborate desserts too! I found the perfect way to satisfy my sweet tooth. These little Keebler pie crusts are perfect for portion control! If you have 3 points to spare, you can enjoy a little parfait!

Pudding Pie Parfaits
(source: me!)

1 Keebler Mini Graham Cracker Crust
1 pkg sugar free pudding (any flavor but I was craving chocolate!)
FF Readi - Whip (or FF cool whip would work too)
1 tsp mini chocolate chips
skim milk according to pudding package

Make pudding according to package directions. Fill pie crusts to just below rim. Allow to set in the fridge for a couple of hours. Top with 1 tbsp readi-whip and chocolate chips.

I made the entire package of Keebler crusts because I had the pudding ready and wanted the crusts to be ready to go when I was craving one. I kept all of the filled crusts in an airlock container in the fridge without the whipped cream. As I wanted to eat one, I put the whipped cream and chocolate chips on top at the time of the dessert. The crusts stayed in the fridge nice and crisp for about 5 days before it started getting mushy.

POINTS per 1 pie: 3

Easy Go To Meal - Pizza

2007-12-09T20:45:00.000-06:00

Tuesday nights are hectic. I always stay a little late at work to work in my classroom and my husband has bowling with the guys from work. Since sometimes he stays and has a few drinks after bowling, I never really know when to expect him home (which is fine, I don't mind that!) and so I always have something that can be thrown together in 15 minutes or less. This has been a regular go to meal lately and it satisfies my pizza cravings!

Canadian Bacon and Veggie Pizza
(source: me)

1 thin premade crust (I used a generic brand from the grocery store)
4 oz tomato sauce with a little Italian seasoning mixed in
1 pkg Canadian Bacon
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 small onion, diced
1 cup ff mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray pizza pan with PAM. Spread tomato sauce on crust, top with fixin's and mozzarella cheese. Spray with PAM (helps the cheese melt). Bake for about 11-14 minutes.

One half of the pizza is 9 points.

White Chicken Chili

2007-12-03T23:21:00.001-06:00

This got mixed reviews. I LOVED it, DH hated it. Oh well, can't win them all! I will definitely be making this to take with me to lunch sometime. It was such a nice change from regular chili. I got this chili recipe from a few places. I combined several recipes to suit my needs but I am sorry I didn't bookmark the originals. It really hit the spot though. This was also my first time making white chili, but I think it turned out alright!

White Chicken Chili
(source: not sure!)

2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp olive oil
2 tsp hot pepper sauce (I added a lot more!)
3 cloves garlic
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup flour
chopped chicken breast
6 cup chicken broth
2 cans white beans
4 oz diced chilis
1 1/2 tsp cumin (I didn't have any but it was still good)

Heat oil in pot. Add onion and garlic and saute for a couple of minutes. Add all other ingredients, stirring occaisionally. Thicken with more flour if needed. Simmer on medium low for as long as you need it to! I topped mine with a little reduced fat cheese.

6 servings
POINTS per serving w/o cheese: 4

Chocolate Cake - Happy Birthday Dad!

2007-12-03T22:59:00.000-06:00

Friday was my dad's 45th birthday. He is doing WW as well so I wanted to make him something that he didn't feel totally guilty about but still was special. I found on the WW etools site a recipe for a chocolate layer cake and it had "Dad" written all over it! Despite a frosting mishap and the use of an old reliable friend (Mr. Pillsbury Milk Chocolate Frosting of course!) the cake turned out great! Now it's not completely sin-free at 6 points a slice but compared to a store bought cake, the guilt wasn't as bad. Especially not for us since we left the cake there! :)

Chocolate Layer Cake
(source: WW etools)

6 tbsp fat free margarine
3 large egg whites
6 tbsp fat free milk
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup water boiling
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 oz chocolate chips
1 3/4 cup flour
1 3/4 cup light brown sugar
16 oz powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 9 in round pans with Pam.

Combine flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa, and salt in bowl. Use fork to break up brown sugar.

Melt 4 tbsp butter in microwave. Combine butter milk, egg whites, melted margarine, and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla and mix on low speed until blended. Gradually beat in boiling water and then dry mixture. Beat on low speed until blended.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake about 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

FROSTING: (this is where I flubbed)

Melt 2 tbsp butter in saucepan over medium low heat. Add milk and chocolate chips. Stir constantly and cook until smooth, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, transfer to larger bowl. Stir in 1/2 tsp vanilla, cover and cool in fridge about 15 minutes. Using mixer, mix in powdered sugar and mix until blended.

To assemble, level cakes and spread 1/2 cup frosting on first cake. Top with 2nd cake and frost remainder of the cake. Cut into 16 pieces.

Now, my frosting did not look right. It looked like light brown poo. That is putting it nicely. Maybe I am a chocolate frosting snob but it didn't look right and it tasted...ok. I could only taste the powdered sugar and no chocolate. So after a few tastes from the bowl and my husband pleading with me not to make him taste any more, I tossed it. Luckily I had a faithful standby, Pillsbury Milk Chocolate frosting and there was PLENTY to frost these cakes. I garnished with a few leftover chocolate chips. The great thing, it didn't change the POINTS value at all. Sweet!

Servings: 16 small ass pieces but worth every bite
POINTS per serving: 6

Garlicky Chicken - Emeril Style

2007-11-30T22:13:00.000-06:00

I was watching the Food Network one night and Emeril Live was on. In case you haven't heard, they are pulling the plug on his show. I like it most of the time and this night there was something he called Lucious Garlic Legs. It looked delicious! So I figured the points and gave it a whirl. It was good, but not great... It could use some tweaking, which is why I am posting it. Below is my adapted recipe but you could follow link above for the original...

Garlic Chicken
(Source: Emeril Lagasse)

6 chicken boneless chicken thighs
3/4 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
40 garlic cloves, peeled
1 large onion, sliced
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 tbsp flour
2 1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tsp lemon zest

Directions:

Rinse the chicken leg quarters under cool running water and pat dry with paper towels. Season all over with 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/2 teaspoon of the black pepper.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet and, when hot, add the chicken leg quarters and cook until browned on both sides, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the onions and garlic to the skillet and season with 1/4 teaspoon of the remaining salt and a pinch of the black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have wilted and are lightly golden and the garlic cloves are caramelized slightly, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the flour and stir to combine.

Cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and lemon juice to the skillet and season with the remaining salt and pepper. Return the chicken to the skillet and bring to a boil. Sprinkle the chicken with lemon zest. Cover the skillet and transfer to the oven. Cook for 30 minutes, or until chicken legs are cooked through and tender. Serve immediately, with some of the pan juices ladled over all. Serve with brown rice.

POINTS per serving: 5

POINTS per serving with 1/2 cup brown rice: 7

Turkey Tett...Tettra..Noodles

2007-11-14T20:14:00.000-06:00

I have never been able to correctly spell tettrazini (is that right? I have no idea!). I got this recipe about a year ago from someone on the What's Cooking board on the Nest. After adapting it to our needs, is one of our favorites. The original recipe calls for heavy cream but I have always used Fat Free Half and Half (even before WW) and the sauce is very good and gets nice and thick. Last winter we ate this probably once every two weeks but then as warmer weather came and went, we didn't make it so much. I had about a half pound of ground turkey to use up and so I thought I would make this dish. I usually make it with diced chicken but it was equally tasty with ground turkey. Next time I would add a little extra meat though for my husband because he was "fishing" for meat out of the baking dish! I thought it was fine as is. If you do add a bit more ground meat, make sure you adjust points if you are counting. This time I added some bread crumbs for a little crunch on top and it was so good! I will definitely make that a regular addition. You could also add extra veggies to this dish. We've added peppers or broccoli before for extra nutrition, but we didn't have any on hand tonight.

Tettra...Noodles - Ground Turkey style
(source: inspired from someone on the Nest)

1/2 lb ground turkey
2 cloves garlic
PAM
1 (8oz) whole wheat pasta (I used rotini but any would work)
1/4 cup of light margarine
1/4 cup all purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup fat free half and half (I use Land of Lakes)
2 tbsp. water I used the water from the noodles
1/8 cup part skim mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tbsp breadcrumbs
1 tsp light margarine

Heat Oven to 350. Begin to cook noodles. Brown turkey (chicken, beef whatever you want to use) with 2 diced garlic cloves. Set aside in strainer or additional bowl. While spaghetti is cooking, melt butter in same pan as browned turkey (which is now sitting safely somewhere else) over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, & pepper. Cook, stirring until mixture is smooth & bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in broth & half and half. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly with a whisk to break up flour. This step takes a bit of time, don't crank the heat because the flour will burn. Once it boils, stir continue to cook for one minute. Drain noodles and stir the noodles, water, & turkey, and mozzarella cheese into sauce. Pour noodle mixture into ungreased casserole dish. Sprinkle w/ cheese and breadcrumbs. Drop little bits of the 1 tsp of margarine over breadcrumbs to help brown. Bake 30 mins. or until bubbly in center.

Yields 6 servings about 1 1/2 cup each

POINTS per Serving: 7

Mini Meatloafs=Heaven

2007-11-14T19:55:00.000-06:00

I am all about portion sizes since joining WW in July. Anytime I can buy or make something in serving sizes I am all over it! My husband however isn't thrilled with this new found love of serving sizes. He likes to have oversized portions and he can get away with it...me, not so much! Whenever I have made meatloaf before I know my portion was ginormous. Well, to solve this problem, I decided to make Meatloaf Muffins a la Rachael Ray (gasp I know but sometimes she has good ideas...). We had some leftover, as this made 8 muffins. I figured the points for 2 muffins per person, which I was stuffed about half way through the second muffin. My husband was able to take some for lunch the next day so it worked out great!

I took this recipe from a post on Bakespace. I love this community. Everyone that participates on Bakespace is very sweet and has a common love of food and cooking/baking. I have won a KitchenAid mixer and food processor through a contest this summer, which was awesome and both have been a huge help in the kitchen. I continue to use the site and have found many delicious recipes through my membership (which is free!). I highly suggest checking the site out!

Mini Meatloaf Muffins
(source: adapted from a recipe on Bakespace click link for original recipe)

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. Lean Ground Beef
1/4 cup eggbeaters
1 small onion diced
1/2 green pepper finely diced
2/3 C. Bread Crumbs
1/2 Tbsp. Worchersire Sauce
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 Tbsp. BBQ Sauce
1 8 oz. Can Tomato Sauce which I actually omitted by accident

DIRECTIONS:

1.) Mix all ingredients except for tomato sauce.

2.) Put into a lightly greased muffin pan.

3.) Bake for about 30 minutes at 350

4.) Remove from oven and spread tomato sauce evenly over meatloaf.

5.) Bake an additional 5 minutes. I omitted steps 4 and 5 and they were very tasty.

Yields 8 muffins, 2 muffins per serving

POINTS per Serving: 5

Tis the Season! Pumpkin!

2007-11-11T22:10:00.000-06:00

One thing I miss since being on WW is the seasonal goodies. For example, we didn't raid the candy aisle after Halloween, I haven't had one Pumpkin Pie Spice Latte from Caribou (it's not offered in sugar free) and I didn't have one pumpkin bar or apple crisp! Well, the lack of seasonal goodies is going to end right NOW! I got this recipe from Recipezaar.com, where I have found several WW friendly recipes since joining in July. It is delicious! I added a little cinnamon to the mix also. The house smelled so good after baking! I did make a cream cheese glaze frosting because pumpkin bars are not the same without a cream cheese frosting in my opinion! In one good sized piece I only had to sacrifice 3 points! Yay!

Pumpkin Spice Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
(source: Recipezaar and me for frosting)

1 pkg spice cake mix (I heart Duncan Hines)
15 oz can pumpkin
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup eggbeaters
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. Spray 11x17x3 1/4 jelly roll pan with cooking spray and spread dough in evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes until done.

Cream Cheese Glaze

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
8 oz light cream cheese
a dash of cinnamon (about a tsp)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp skim milk

Mix all together for about 2 minutes with electric mixer. It isn't real thick but is an awesome glaze! Spread evenly over cooled bars. Keep bars refrigerated.

POINTS per bar with frosting: 3
POINTS per bar without frosting: 2