Chicken Taquitos

This recipe from Hungry Girl popped up in my email a few weeks ago and I knew I would have to give it a try. These come together really quickly and are very good. I didn't really taste the cheese so in the future I will increase the quantity because I do love cheese!

Ingredients:
8 small (6-inch) yellow corn tortillas
One 9.75-oz. (or 10-oz.) can 98% fat-free chunk white chicken breast in water, drained well (I used 1 chicken breast, cooked and sliced)
1/2 cup salsa
1/3 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese (I used reduced fat)
1/4 tsp. dry taco seasoning mix
Optional: red enchilada sauce, additional salsa, fat-free sour cream, for dipping

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine the chicken and salsa, and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Remove chicken mixture from the fridge, and drain any excess liquid. Add cheese and taco seasoning, and mix to combine. This is your filling. Set aside.

Prepare a baking sheet by spraying with nonstick spray, and set it aside.

Dampen two paper towels, and place tortillas between them. Microwave for about 1 minute, until tortillas are warm and pliable.

Take one tortilla (keep the rest between the paper towels), spray both sides lightly with nonstick spray, and lay it flat on a clean dry surface. Spoon about 2 heaping tbsp. of filling onto the tortilla. Spread it evenly across the entire surface, and roll tortilla up tightly, so that you have a cigar-shaped tube. Secure with toothpicks and place seam-side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.

Bake for 14 - 16 minutes, until crispy. Allow taquitos to cool for 5 minutes. If you like, dunk in enchilada sauce, salsa, or sour cream!

** 4 Weight Watchers points per 2 taquitos

Stir-Fried Shrimp with Spicy Orange Sauce

I love Cooking Light. When I resolved to eat better I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to find lighter recipes that taste good and use real ingredients. Thank goodness for Cooking Light and similar sources. So far everything I have tried has been a huge success. This Cooking Light recipe just adds to my list of successes. John and I both loved this. I will warn you though- it is sooo spicy! If you don't like spicy food this is not for you. If you do- make this soon. You could definitely substitute chicken if you aren't into shrimp.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined large shrimp
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (omitted)
1 tablespoon chile paste with garlic (such as sambal oelek)
2 tablespoons canola oil (Subbed cooking spray with perfect results)
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup chopped green onions

Directions:

Place shrimp in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with cornstarch; toss well to coat. Set aside.

Combine juice, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, and chile paste, stirring with a whisk; set aside.

Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add minced ginger and garlic to pan; stir-fry for 15 seconds or until fragrant. Add shrimp mixture; stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add juice mixture and onions; cook 2 minutes or until sauce thickens and shrimp are done, stirring frequently. Serve immediately.

** 7 Weight Watchers points per 3/4 cup of shrimp

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Muffins

This weekend was beautiful! It was in the mid 80's, sunny, and not humid. Perfect if you ask me. John and I were in the Catskill Mountains for the weekend and we had a great time, ate great food, and just relaxed. Now it's back to reality and that means work tomorrow and eating better than I have all weekend. To jump start this I decided to make a low fat, low calorie muffin to take to work for the week. I am low on fruit and am out of nuts, chocolate, etc... so my choices of muffins were slim. I discovered this recipe for muffins and decided to give them a shot.

Overall, pretty good. What I find with lighter muffins is that they often have a different consistency than the full fat ones. Full fat muffins are usually full of sugar, butter, and egg- making them very cake like. These are slightly more dense on the outside but just as light and fluffy on the inside. When you try to rip the muffin in half it has a little bit more elasticity to it then your normal muffins but it doesn't lack in taste. These will be a great addition to breakfast this week for the two of us.

Ingredients:
11⁄4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 cup granulated sugar or Splenda granular
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I used 2- we loooove cinnamon)
• 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 3 heaping tablespoons unsweetened applesauce (chunky or smooth) (I was out of applesauce so I subbed vanilla yogurt)
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 11⁄2 teaspoons vanilla
• 11⁄2 cups fat-free milk
• 1 tablespoon canola oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 ̊F and spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, mix together both flours, sugar, baking powder,
cinnamon, and salt.
3. To dry ingredients, add vanilla, applesauce, oil, and egg.
4. Add milk; mix until all ingredients are moistened (do not over mix; may
need to add slightly more milk if batter is too dry).
5. Fill muffin cups with batter and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden.
6. Let muffins sit 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool or serve
warm.

** 3 Weight Watchers points per muffin

Black and White Cookie Bites

At my bridal shower I received a book entitled "Sweet Food" by Kay Scarlett. For almost a year now I have flipped through this book from time to time, drooling over the beautiful pictures and creative recipes, but never actually making anything. I decided it was time to give the book a try and went with a simple, yet fan favorite, recipe of chocolate chip cookies. However I was in the mood for something more interesting than simple chocolate chip cookies so I made my own spin on these. I used a combo of mini chocolate chips and white chips. Then I decided to bake them in my mini muffin tin rather than simply on a cookie sheet. They came out great and I enjoyed my spin on these cookies.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon of milk
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I used a combo of white chocolate and mini semisweets)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease a mini muffin tin.

Cream the butter and sugar together in an electric mixer. Mix in the vanilla and gradually mix in the egg, beating well.

Stir in the milk. Sift the flour and baking powder, folding into the butter mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Spoon into the mini muffin tins until the cookie is almost touching the top of the cup. Bake 15 minutes, or until cooked through.

Allow to cool in the pan until firm enough to remove. Remove and complete cooling on a wire cooling rack.

Pasta with Bacon, Cheese, and Tomato

This recipe is from "Weight Watchers 20 Minute Recipes" and it was excellent. I did make a few changes as far as quantities of ingredients which affects the points but I am going to post the original because this recipe was excellent and I highly recommend it.

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked pasta
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup fat-free milk
4 center-cut bacon slices
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
3 cups baby fresh spinach
1 pint grape tomatoes (I used plum tomatoes)
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1-Cook the pasta according to directions, drain and set aside.
2- While pasta is cooking, place the flour in a small bowl. Add milk gradually, whisking until well blended.
3- Cook bacon in a medium saucepan. Remove from pan and finely chop.
4- Drain excess grease. Add garlic to the pan, saute 30 seconds. Add milk and cook until thick, about 4 minutes.
5- Remove from the heat. Stir in the Gruyere and seasonings, stir until well combined.
6- Add pasta, bacon, spinach, and tomatoes. Stir until spinach wilts slightly. Top with parmesan.

** 5 Weight Watchers points per 1 cup serving.

Potato-Zucchini Pancakes

When I saw this recipe pop up in my google reader yesterday I immediately changed my meal plan to make these tonight. They were awesome. I slightly altered the quantities of items based on what I had on hand and I omitted the oil. I used cooking spray to keep the calories down (although this is a very healthy recipe even without omitting the oil.) John and I loved these and I think they will be a routine side dish in our house.

I am posting the original recipe along with my changes in bold. I figured out the Weight Watchers points for the variation I made, so if you are counting points and choose to use the original recipe just run it through a recipe builder, such as the one on Spark Recipes or WeightWatchers.com.

Ingredients:

3 medium red potatoes shredded and squeezed dry (I used 2)
2 medium zucchini shredded and squeezed dry (I used 1)
2 eggs beaten (I used 1)
2 1/2 Tbs. AP flour (I used 1.5)
1/2 and onion finely chopped or (1/2 a cup) (I used onion powder)
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
Canola oil (I used cooking spray)


Directions:

Put shredded potato and zucchini in a medium sized bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the canola oil (enough to cover the bottom of the skillet).

Scoop out about 1/3 cup (or more if you want them larger) and put in pan. Flatten with a spatula and let cook until crispy on that side (about 4 minutes).

** 3 Weight Watchers points per serving (2 pancakes per serving)

Citrus Grilled Chicken

As I mentioned in my last post the weather here has been beautiful all weekend. John and I spent the weekend shopping for patio furniture which put me in the mood for something grilled or barbecued. Unfortunately we haven't found a grill yet so I am still using my grill pan but it does the trick. I decided to go with this recipe for marinated chicken breasts. It was light and well seasoned with a citrus kick. Perfect for a beautiful sunny Sunday.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breast halves, skinned and boned
2 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granule (I used a few tablespoons of chicken broth)
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon rosemary

Directions:

1. Combine all the condiments and juices to make a marinade; mix well.
2. Add the chicken and marinate in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.
3. Grill over medium heat for about 10 minutes on each side (or until fully cooked).

** 3 Weight Watchers points per 3 ounce serving (approximately 1 point per ounce)

Angel Hair with Zucchini and Tomatoes

Today it was beautiful outside! 75 and sunny- the first really nice day of the year. I wanted to make something light and fresh for dinner so I went with this recipe. It was perfect- light, tasty, and a little bit spicy. Definitely worth a try!



Ingredients:

2 zucchini, julienne or cut into ribbons (I only used 1)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 shallots, diced
3 tomatoes, diced
4 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper
crushed red pepper flakes to taste
8 oz (1/2 lb) Barilla plus angel hair pasta
1/4 cup fat free chicken or vegetable broth (I used 1/3 cup)

Directions:

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta according to instructions.
While pasta is cooking, in a large saute pan, heat pan on medium-high flame, add oil when pan is hot. Add garlic and shallots to the pan and saute about 1 minute. Add zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Cook about 2 minutes, add tomatoes, crushed red pepper flakes, parsley, chicken broth and adjust salt and pepper. Stir for another minute. Remove from flame.
Drain pasta when done and mix well with zucchini. Serve with Parmesan.

** 5 Weight Watchers points per 1 cup serving

Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese

This is the LAST recipe from Easter (finally!!) If you have ever hosted a big meal I am sure you can commiserate with me about how difficult it is to cook so many things in 1 oven when everything needs a different temperature, cook time, etc. Not to mention there is just so much space in the oven! I love baked macaroni and cheese but really couldn't handle the thought of putting one more thing in the oven. Therefore I turned to my trusty crockpot. I found this recipe and thought I'd give it a try. It was pretty good. I used a 6 quart crockpot even though the recipe called for a 3.5-5 quart pot. If I were to make this again in my 6 quart crockpot I would cut it down to 2-2.5 hours. I put it in for 3 and it was a little dried out. I feel this was more a result of my crockpot and less a result of the recipe, so therefore would just adjust the time. Even with that fact it was still pretty good, I mean it's still macaroni and cheese right?!

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz.) pkg. macaroni
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (13 oz.) can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup melted butter

Preparation:

Cook macaroni in boiling salted water, following package directions. Drain well. Grease bottom and sides of 3 1/2 to 5-quart crockpot. Toss hot macaroni in slow cooker with the vegetable oil then add all remaining ingredients. Stir gently to combine then cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours, stirring occasionally.

Fruit Pizza

I was going to make a fruit salad on Easter but that sounded a little too plain and unexciting. I then remembered this recipe for fruit pizza was starred in my google reader and decided to go with it. I am so glad I did. For starters it is just so pretty. Plus it looks more impressive then it really is. It came together really quickly and was very tasty.



Ingredients:
1 package (18 ounces) refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 container (8 ounces) vanilla, strawberry or banana low-fat yogurt
Various fruits, cut up (I used kiwi, strawberries, bananas, and blueberries)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Form dough into a ball and place in center of two pieces of wax paper. Roll dough into a 12-inch circle, about 1/4-inch thick. Transfer carefully to a cookie sheet.

Bake 16-18 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 10 minutes. Carefully loosen cookie from cookie sheet; cool completely.
Spread yogurt evenly over top of cookie. Arrange fruit in a circle over yogurt mixture.

Keep refrigerated.

Fluffy New Potatoes

This recipe from The Pioneer Woman almost caused me to burn my house down... sigh. Everything was going so well on Easter- the food was all going as planned, everyone was having a good time, and then one of these buggers fell off the pan and onto the bottom of the oven in a place I couldn't reach. Within 10 minutes this little bugger was shooting flames! The fire alarm went off and I thought "Hmm... I guess nobody will want me to host again!" Sure enough the fire burnt itself out and it wasn't an issue, but yikes.

The potatoes are pretty good. I liked them, didn't LOVE them, but thought they were a pretty good side dish. I would try them again... but I felt they were missing something. Not sure what though. If anyone has any ideas please let me know, I'd love to enhance this recipe further. What I did love about it was that I made them on Tuesday, froze them, and then just threw them in the oven on Easter. Nice and easy!

I doubled this recipe:

9 or 10 medium to large new potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup sour cream
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1½ cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1 garlic clove, pressed
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Rinse and dry the potatoes, then place them on a baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes and massage to coat.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Place the sour cream, cream cheese, Monterey Jack, chives, garlic, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl.

Cut each potato in half lengthwise.

With a spoon or melon baller, scoop out inside of the potatoes, leaving a very thin rim of potato inside the skin. Add the potato pulp to the mixing bowl with the other ingredients. Using a potato masher or fork, gently mash the ingredients together until fluffy and smooth.

Spoon the mixture back into the potato shells.

If you are making these for later use flash freeze the potatoes (place potatoes in the freezer uncovered for about 20 minutes, then place in large zipper bags). Reheat at 375 until heated through when ready to be used.

If not making them for later use, place in the oven at 375 until heated through.

Sauteed Green Beans with Tomatoes

This Giada recipe was perfect! I knew I wanted to make green beans on Easter but I wasn't sure how. I didn't want to make the classic green bean casserole- I wanted something lighter, healthier, and more natural. This recipe fit the bill. I originally was going to omit the parmesan crisps because I had so much to do with cooking but I am glad I made them, they really accented the dish well.

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 large shallots, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan Crisps, recipe follows (Be sure to use freshly grated parmesan- not the powder. It won't work with powder)

Directions
Cook the green beans in a large pot of boiling water until just crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water. Drain well; set aside.

Melt the butter and oil in a heavy, large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Add the beans and cook until the juices evaporate and the beans are almost tender, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Stir in the wine and basil. Simmer 2 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl, and serve.

Parmesan Crisps:
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Pour a heaping tablespoon of Parmesan onto a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet and lightly pat down. A silicone baking sheet is highly recommended. Repeat with the remaining cheese, spacing the spoonfuls about a 1/2-inch apart.

Bake for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden and crisp. Cool.

Corn Casserole

This recipe was the hit of Easter dinner! My picture doesn't do it justice, you should really look at Elizabeth's blog to get a better idea of how amazing this stuff is. I assumed it would be good, but I didn't think it would be THAT good. But oooooh it was. I doubled the recipe and it almost all disappeared. I can't wait to make this again!

ngredients
1/4 cup egg substitute or 1 egg
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 (8 3/4-ounce) can no-salt-added whole-kernel corn, drained
1 (8 3/4-ounce) can no-salt-added cream-style corn
1 (8 1/2-ounce) package corn muffin mix
1 (8-ounce) carton fat free sour cream
Cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl; stir well. Pour into an 8-inch square baking dish ( or 9x13 if you double it) coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until set.

Use a spoon to stir and mash the bread until it is the consistency of mashed potatoes (you could slice it and serve it like corn bread but I think it is better all mashed up).

Veggie Pizza

Happy Easter everyone! Today I hosted my first holiday and it went really well! (Well... except when I started a small fire in my oven, but I will tell you that story when I post the potatoes recipe- yikes!) One of the biggest hits was this appetizer. I had seen this appetizer at many parties but never tried it nor made it. I made it today and it was perfect- light and tasty. You can use any vegetables you want to make this pizza. I just used whatever I had on hand. Below is my version- you can find the original here.

Here's a picture of the various appetizers served today, including the pizza:


Ingredients:
2 cans (8 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 2 cans (8 oz each) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations™ refrigerated flaky dough sheet
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat and nobody could tell)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dip mix
1/2 cup of assorted colored peppers, diced small
1/3 cup finely diced spinach
Cherry tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup shredded carrot
2 tablespoons diced purple onion
1/2 cup shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375°F.
2. If using crescent rolls: Unroll both cans of dough; separate dough into 4 long rectangles. In ungreased 15x10x1-inch pan, place dough; press in bottom and up sides to form crust. If using dough sheets: Unroll both cans of dough. In ungreased 15x10x1-inch pan, place dough; press in bottom and up sides to form crust.
3. Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
4. In small bowl, mix cream cheese, sour cream, and ranch powder until smooth. Spread over crust. Top with vegetables and cheese. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours before serving.

Easter Bunny Cake

I am hosting Easter this year and it is my first time hosting a holiday in my new house! I am so excited. For the next week or so I will be updating with multiple recipes from Easter dinner. The first of these is this cake. I got the idea from my friend Kristen and I loved it immediately. It is not difficult but it can be a bit time consuming. Feel free to use any cake recipe or frosting recipe, I used funfetti cake mix thought because it is my absolute favorite!

Ingredients:

2 9inch round cakes, cooked and cooled cooled
1 tub of frosting
Assorted decorations (I used mini chocolate chips and colored sprinkles)
Food dye pen

Directions:

1- After the cakes are cooled, place one aside. That cake will become the face.

2- Place the second round cake on a flat surface. Using the food dye pen draw two ears, one from each side of the cake. The center part remaining will become the bow tie.


3- Using a sharp knife cut along the food dye lines.

4- Assemble the piece on a flat surface. Use a knife to cut down the ears if they are too tall or don't lay flat with the head.


5- Once all of the pieces are assembled you can then begin to frost the cake.


6- Using mini chocolate chips outline the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Then use candy sprinkles to color in the various pieces of the cake.

Saucy Baked Chicken

This recipe is goooooood. I made it tonight for my family and it was a huge hit. I made about 12 pieces of chicken for 6 people and they all disappeared quickly! I omitted the lemon juice because I was cooking at my parents' house and they unfortunately didn't have lemons like they originally thought they did. It was excellent even without them! I doubled the recipe but kept the olive oil amount the same in an effort to cut back on calories/fat and the taste was still amazing!

Ingredients:

4-6 chicken cutlets
1 medium onion, sliced
8 ounces sliced white mushrooms
1/4 cup olive oil
1 and 1/2 cups chicken broth
4 TBSP all purpose flour
2 TBSP lemon juice
2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1 and 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450.

Pour oil into a casserole dish. Add chicken, onion and mushrooms, turning to coat with oil. Bake 5 minutes; turn chicken over and stir vegetables. Bake an additional 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk flour into chicken broth. Add vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper, stirring well.

When chicken has cooked for 10 minutes, add broth mixture to casserole dish, cover with foil and bake 10 minutes. Remove foil; stir vegetables and bake, uncovered, until sauce bubbles and is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

Heat broiler. Turn chicken over. Place dish 6 inches from heat and broil until chicken just starts to turn golden, about 3-5 minutes. Serve immediately.

**5 Weight Watchers points per 3 oz. chicken cutlet with sauce.

Onion Roasted Potatoes

When John and I first got engaged we held a small dinner party at our place. The problem? I had NO idea how to cook! I searched everywhere for easy recipes. One of the recipes I made that night was this potato recipe. The recipe comes right off the side of the Lipton Onion Soup Mix box. Even though this recipe is incredibly easy it is always a crowd pleaser!

Ingredients:

1 Envelope Lipton Recipe Secrets Onion Soup Mix
2-4 lbs. of potatoes- cubed (I used red potatoes this time)
1/3 cup Olive Oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

In 13 X 9 baking or roasting pan, combine all ingredients. (I use a plastic cooking bag to shake up the oil, seasoning, and potatoes together before emptying contents of bag into the pan)

Bake, stirring occasionally, about 50-60 minutes or until potatoes are tender and golden brown

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

This recipe from Lauren was another great recipe! I took it to a family gathering tonight and it was the first dessert to go. It was delicious and I can not say enough about it- make it and enjoy it!



Ingredients:
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
Serve with ice cream (optional)
Preheat oven 325 degrees F.

Beat eggs in large mixer bowl on high until foamy.

Beat in flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in butter.

Stir in morsels and spoon into pie shell.

Bake for 55-60 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Corn Muffins

I love corn muffins. They are by far my favorite type of muffin. I particularly love them toasted with cream cheese (hey- don't knock it until you try it!) I wanted to make some type of bread to go with dinner and decided to go with corn bread. I made corn muffins so they would be perfectly portioned. I got this recipe from Lauren so I knew it would be excellent. She definitely has my favorite food blog and I constantly use/bookmark her recipes. These were really very good. My husband and I both loved them. The directions say 20-25 minutes but mine were a tiny tiny bit over done at 20, next time I think I would do 18 minutes and check them then. Overall very good and I will be making these again!

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used apple sauce to make them lighter)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray or lightly grease a 12-cup muffin pan.In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir in egg, milk and vegetable oil until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

** 2 Weight Watchers points per muffin when made with applesauce and 2% milk

Garlic Rice Pilaf

I love rice pilaf. However I often feel like it is missing something. Growing up my mom would always make the Lipton's rice sides and my favorite was rice pilaf because it had orzo in it. I would always stir in a bit of garlic powder, making it much more appealing to me. I decided to try and recreate the Lipton's version. I just made it up as I went along and this was excellent. It was one of the best side dishes I have made. Also, it is extremely low in calories/WW points because the seasonings and chicken broth don't add many calories at all. I highly recommend this recipe and will be making it time and time again.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:
1/4 cup white rice (not instant)
1/4 cup orzo
1-1.5 cups of chicken broth
Garlic powder to taste
Onion powder to taste
Cooking spray

Directions:
Spray a small saucepan with cooking spray. Add the orzo and rice.

Allow the rice mixture to lightly brown. Pour in the chicken broth and seasonings. Turn the heat down low, cover the sauce pan. Allow it to cook until the liquid absorbs (about 20 minutes), stirring occasionally.

** 2 Weight Watchers points per 1/2 cup serving.

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

I found this recipe on SparkRecipes and was so excited to try it. If you are unaware of SparkRecipes it is an excellent website for people who love to cook but are trying to watch their weight. They have a recipe calculator that allows you to import the ingredients of a recipe, tell how many servings, and then they tell you the nutritional information of the recipe. I love it and use it very frequently. Aside from the calculator there are also many recipes on the site. This was one that I bookmarked and we both loved it. The chicken was so tender and it wasn't overly sweet.

I did add 1/2 cup of Fat Free chicken broth to the pan once the chicken was cooked but before I added the brown sugar. I then scraped up the brown bits and allowed the chicken to sit in the pan sauce while the brown sugar melted. Overall a must try!

I halved this recipe for the two of us:

Ingredients:
Brown Sugar, 4 tsp unpacked
Chicken Breast, no skin, 12 ounces
Garlic, 1 clove (I used 2 cloves... we love garlic)
Butter, salted, 2 tbsp
Salt, 1 tsp
Pepper, black, 1 dash

Directions:
This makes four servings, 3 oz per person
1. Melt the butter in a frying pan
2. Brown the garlic in the butter
3. Add chicken breasts to garlic and butter and cook thoroughly, adding salt and pepper as you like it.
4. When chicken is fully cooked add brown sugar on top of each breast (1 tsp per breast)
5. Allow the brown sugar to melt into the chicken (about 5 minutes)
6. Serve with your favorite carb, and veggie or salad.

** 4 Weight Watchers points per 3 oz chicken breast.

Shrimp with Tortellini and Spinach

This recipe almost never made it to the blog. I have been having issues with my camera lately. It has been very slow, unfocused, etc. I thought it was because the camera is older and that I needed a new one. Well... low and behold the issue was not the camera but the memory card. I made dinner tonight, photographed an awesome picture of dinner (honestly one of my best pictures!) tried to upload it, and nothing happened. So my husband and I messed with it for an hour, got no where, and bought a new SD card reader and new memory card. After much messing around I lost my beautiful picture of dinner. I decided to take a picture of the leftovers but it just doesn't do this justice. There were no shrimp left over so you will just have to believe me that they were there and they were awesome. Blech- technology is annoying. But anyway- below is my original blog post prior to my camera mess:


I bookmarked this Kraft recipe and was excited to give it a try. I made it tonight and we both loved it. It was very light and tasty. If you can't find the Roasted Red Pepper Italian dressing you could substitute any Italian dressing and get a very similar taste.

Ingredients:
pkg. (9 oz.) refrigerated cheese tortellini
1/4 cup KRAFT Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan Dressing
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
3/4 lb. cooked cleaned medium shrimp
1 bag (6 oz.) baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
Cook tortellini in large (4-qt.) saucepan as directed on package. Drain in colander; set aside. Heat dressing in same pan on medium-high heat. Add garlic; cook 1 min. Add tomatoes and shrimp; mix well. Bring just to boil. Stir in spinach; cover. Simmer 1 to 2 min. or until spinach is wilted, stirring occasionally.

Stir in tortellini and basil; simmer, uncovered, 3 to 4 min. or until sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally.

Serve topped with the cheese.

** 7 Weight Watchers points for 1.5 cups

Roasted Garlic and Spinach Pizza

YUM YUM YUM! Did I say yum?? This is so good that I insist you try this immediately. I got this amazing recipe from Rachel Ray and it is by far my favorite recipe of hers to date. My only comments on this recipe are that I used only a fraction of the garlic paste and ricotta cheese and it was still extremely flavorful.

Ingredients:
12 cloves garlic, unpeeled
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil (I used 2)
1 tablespoon cornmeal (omitted- I didn't use fresh dough so it wasn't needed)
12 ounces refrigerated pizza dough (Used Boboli individual crusts)
2 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
One 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (Used fresh)
Salt and pepper
1 cup ricotta cheese (I used much less)
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Place the garlic on a sheet of foil; drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon water. Seal and bake until soft, about 30 minutes; let cool slightly. Squeeze the garlic cloves from their skins into a small bowl; add 2 teaspoons olive oil and mash into a paste.

2. Meanwhile, grease a baking sheet with the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil; dust with the cornmeal. Stretch the pizza dough into a large rectangle and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes; stretch again to almost fill the pan. (Skip this step if using pre-baked crust such as Boboli)

3. Preheat to 425°. In a medium skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat, stirring often, for 5 minutes; drain and transfer to a plate. Add the spinach to the skillet and cook over low heat until warmed through; season with salt and pepper.

4. Brush the pizza dough with the garlic paste. Top with the spinach and dollops of ricotta. Sprinkle with the bacon and mozzarella. Bake for 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 400° and bake until the cheese is brown and bubbling, about 10 minutes.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Stir Fry

This recipe was really good. I liked the flavor of it a lot. It was definitely a little spicy. I served it over rice with veggie egg rolls and it was excellent. This recipe is from Kraft.


Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Tbsp. oil
3 cups chopped mixed fresh vegetables (I used red and green bell peppers, broccoli)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup Kraft Catalina Dressing (I used light)
2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

Directions:

Cook and stir chicken in hot oil in large skillet on high heat 3 min.

Add vegetables and garlic; cook and stir 5 to 6 min. or until chicken is lightly browned.

Stir in remaining ingredients; cook an additional 2 min. or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally.

** 5 Weight Watchers points per 1 cup serving