Um, YUM! These were really, really rich, but SO good. I'm not sure if they are worth 3 points for the 2-3 bite brownie you get, but we will definitely make them again! And I did take a picture, but I haven't downloaded it yet. Sorry!
POINTS: 3
Servings: 16
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple butter
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini-marshmallows
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350*. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, allowing the foil to extend over the rim of the pan by 2 inches. Spray with nonstick spray.
Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. whisk the sugar, apple butter, oil, eggs, and vanilla together in a medium bowl. Add the sugar mixture to the flour mixture; stir just until blended.
Scrape the batter into the baking pan and spread evnely. Sprinkle with the marshmallows, chocolate chips, and walnuts. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging, 20-25 minutes. (I had problems with this part because the crumbs got lost in the melting chocolate chips. So, I just went by when the marshmallows were browned, but not burned. It worked.) Let cool completely in the pan on a rack. Lift from the pan using the foil as handles, cut into 16 squares.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Surf & Turf Pizza
Yet another successful recipe from the new cookbook! The only problem? It's TOO good! I had to put the last 2 portions in the fridge before finishing my portion so that I wouldn't go back for seconds!!!!
POINTS: 7
Serves: 4 (2 slices)
Ingredients
1 tube (13.8 ounces) refrigerated pizza dough
1 (6 1/2 ounces) can minced clams, drained
1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
1 ounce prosciutto, chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup torn basil
Directions
Preheat the oven to 475*.
Unroll the dough onto a pizza pan or a baking sheet, gently pulling on the dough to form a 12 inch circle. (I left it in a rectangle and it turned out fine.) Sprinkle the dough evenly with the clams, zucchini, and prosciutto. (I think next time I will put the zucchini on the bottom, but you can do it however!) Lightly spray the top of the pizza with olive oil cooking spray. (We were out of spray, so I just brushed a little olive oil on.) Sprinkle with the Parmesan and bake until crisp and browned, 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle with the basil and cut into 8 wedges. (I misread the recipe and cooked it with the basil. It turned out great!)
A few weeks ago, someone suggested I take pictures of the food. For the first time, I actually remembered to take a picture before I inhaled! So, here you are:
Next time I'll put the clams and prosciutto on top of the zucchini, but it really doesn't matter in the end. Yummy, yummy, yummy!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Wow!
Has it really been 2 weeks since I've done a real post... one other than recipes? Gosh, I go from one extreme to the other!
I guess things have just been really busy and - believe it or not - normal!
The school year has started and I have 14 students right now. They are very, VERY low academically, but decent behavior wise. I can still get 2 more kids, so I'm just waiting for that to happen.... They love Crush & Squirt and we've had several "Turtle Time"s since starting school.
Weigh In was good last week. I lost 1.6 lbs, so I 'm down to 182.4. This is the lowest that I have EVER weighed and I'm less than 2 lbs away from my ultimate goal of 182! I'm hoping I'll be there by the end of September!
I have 9 days before I see the ortho for my knee. I haven't worked out since the 5K - the pain has gotten worse. Walking hurts now, and dancing with my kids - which I do daily - irritates it. So, no working out. I'm still planning on doing Corporate Cup on 9/15 and Race for the Cure on 10/4. Just not sure how much pain I'll be in afterwards and whether or not I'll run the Race for the Cure.
David is back in school and doing well. We're both trying to adjust to the new school-year schedule and it SUCKS. But, at least we're able to spend Friday night's together and we usually go up to Too Far North, our favorite tasting room!
We start our Foster Care classes on Oct 6! We're praying that it all goes well and we will have kids in our home by the end of December.
So, that's about it... I just wanted to give a little update and say hi! I planned a few new recipes this week so look out for a couple more recipes soon!!
I guess things have just been really busy and - believe it or not - normal!
The school year has started and I have 14 students right now. They are very, VERY low academically, but decent behavior wise. I can still get 2 more kids, so I'm just waiting for that to happen.... They love Crush & Squirt and we've had several "Turtle Time"s since starting school.
Weigh In was good last week. I lost 1.6 lbs, so I 'm down to 182.4. This is the lowest that I have EVER weighed and I'm less than 2 lbs away from my ultimate goal of 182! I'm hoping I'll be there by the end of September!
I have 9 days before I see the ortho for my knee. I haven't worked out since the 5K - the pain has gotten worse. Walking hurts now, and dancing with my kids - which I do daily - irritates it. So, no working out. I'm still planning on doing Corporate Cup on 9/15 and Race for the Cure on 10/4. Just not sure how much pain I'll be in afterwards and whether or not I'll run the Race for the Cure.
David is back in school and doing well. We're both trying to adjust to the new school-year schedule and it SUCKS. But, at least we're able to spend Friday night's together and we usually go up to Too Far North, our favorite tasting room!
We start our Foster Care classes on Oct 6! We're praying that it all goes well and we will have kids in our home by the end of December.
So, that's about it... I just wanted to give a little update and say hi! I planned a few new recipes this week so look out for a couple more recipes soon!!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Frozen peanut butter and chocolate pie
Wow! That's all I have to say. Wow! This was dessert from my "Suzie Homemaker" night, also from the new cookbook. David actually asked if I had really made this -- he said "you're a good cook, but did you REALLY make this?" Yep! I did!!
POINTS: 3
Servings: 12 (small portion, but worth every ounce)
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups fat free milk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup + 1 TBSP reduced-fat creamy peanut butter
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup frozen thawed fat-free whipped topping
1 prepared reduced-fat graham-cracker crust
1 TBSP chopped dry roasted peanuts
1/2 ounce semisweet chocolate, coarsely grated
Directions
Combine the milk and sugar in a medium saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 2 minutes; remove from the heat. Whisk in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Pour into a medium bowl and refrigerate until completely cooled, about 1 hour. (The milk never got really warm before the sugar dissolved so the PB had trouble melting and it didn't take long to "completely cool.")
Gently stir the whipped topping into the chilled milk mixture; spoon into the crust. Sprinkle with the peanuts and grated chocolate. Loosely cover the pie with wax paper, hen with heavy-duty foil. Freeze until completely frozen, at least 4 hours or up to 2 days.
Let the pie soften at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.
POINTS: 3
Servings: 12 (small portion, but worth every ounce)
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups fat free milk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup + 1 TBSP reduced-fat creamy peanut butter
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup frozen thawed fat-free whipped topping
1 prepared reduced-fat graham-cracker crust
1 TBSP chopped dry roasted peanuts
1/2 ounce semisweet chocolate, coarsely grated
Directions
Combine the milk and sugar in a medium saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 2 minutes; remove from the heat. Whisk in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Pour into a medium bowl and refrigerate until completely cooled, about 1 hour. (The milk never got really warm before the sugar dissolved so the PB had trouble melting and it didn't take long to "completely cool.")
Gently stir the whipped topping into the chilled milk mixture; spoon into the crust. Sprinkle with the peanuts and grated chocolate. Loosely cover the pie with wax paper, hen with heavy-duty foil. Freeze until completely frozen, at least 4 hours or up to 2 days.
Let the pie soften at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.
Chili-spiced thick oven "fries"
Yep, another recipe from the new cookbook! We served these with the burgers and it was perfect!
POINTS: 2
Serves: 4 (6 fries per serving)
Ingredients
3 large (8 oz) russet potatoes, scrubbed
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450*. Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray.
Halve the potatoes and cut each piece lengthwise into quarters; place on the baking sheet. Drizzle with the oil (I used 1 tsp extra because it didn't look like enough, but probably would have been), and toss to coat. Rearrange the potatoes in a single layer and bake until the bottoms are deep golden and crisp, about 15 minutes. Turn the potatoes onto the opposite cut side and bake until crips, 10-15 minutes longer.
Meanwhile, combine the sugar, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. When the fries are done cooking, sprinkle the seasoning mixture over and toss to coat. (I didn't think that it would be enough seasoning, but it was. You could easily add more if you wanted more seasoning.)
POINTS: 2
Serves: 4 (6 fries per serving)
Ingredients
3 large (8 oz) russet potatoes, scrubbed
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450*. Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray.
Halve the potatoes and cut each piece lengthwise into quarters; place on the baking sheet. Drizzle with the oil (I used 1 tsp extra because it didn't look like enough, but probably would have been), and toss to coat. Rearrange the potatoes in a single layer and bake until the bottoms are deep golden and crisp, about 15 minutes. Turn the potatoes onto the opposite cut side and bake until crips, 10-15 minutes longer.
Meanwhile, combine the sugar, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. When the fries are done cooking, sprinkle the seasoning mixture over and toss to coat. (I didn't think that it would be enough seasoning, but it was. You could easily add more if you wanted more seasoning.)
Cheese-stuffed chicken burgers
Here's another recipe from the Classic Comfort's book. SO yummy!! Someone asked me to take pictures of my food. Sorry, I ate it too fast! Yes, there was 1 left (David had 2), but it didn't look as yummy in the ziploc baggie as it did on my plate with the muffin!
POINTS: 8
Servings: 4
Ingredients
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
1 lb ground chicken breast
1/3 cup plain dried bread crumbs
1/4 tsp salt
4 light multigrain English muffins, split and toasted
1/4 cup ketchup
4 lettuce leaves
4 tomato slices
12 bread and butter slices
Directions
Stir the cheese and mustard together in a small bowl. Stir the chicken, bread crumbs, and salt together in a medium bowl just until blended. Form into 4 balls. With your index finger, make a deep indentation in each ball. Fill each indentation with 3 TBSP of the cheese mixture (ends up being just under 3 TBSP for each burger). Fold the chicken mixture around the cheese to seal; shape each one into a 3 in diameter patty.
Spray a nonstick ridged grill pan with nonstick spray and set over medium heat. Place the burgers in the pan and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the side of each burger (without touching the cheese) registers 165*; about 6-7 minutes on each side.
Serve the burgers in the muffins topped with the ketchup, lettuce leaves, tomato slices, and pickles (we used cucumbers instead of pickles).
POINTS: 8
Servings: 4
Ingredients
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
1 lb ground chicken breast
1/3 cup plain dried bread crumbs
1/4 tsp salt
4 light multigrain English muffins, split and toasted
1/4 cup ketchup
4 lettuce leaves
4 tomato slices
12 bread and butter slices
Directions
Stir the cheese and mustard together in a small bowl. Stir the chicken, bread crumbs, and salt together in a medium bowl just until blended. Form into 4 balls. With your index finger, make a deep indentation in each ball. Fill each indentation with 3 TBSP of the cheese mixture (ends up being just under 3 TBSP for each burger). Fold the chicken mixture around the cheese to seal; shape each one into a 3 in diameter patty.
Spray a nonstick ridged grill pan with nonstick spray and set over medium heat. Place the burgers in the pan and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the side of each burger (without touching the cheese) registers 165*; about 6-7 minutes on each side.
Serve the burgers in the muffins topped with the ketchup, lettuce leaves, tomato slices, and pickles (we used cucumbers instead of pickles).
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Cheesy Chicken Carbonara with Fettuccine
Sounds unhealthy, doesn't it? Well, guess what! It's NOT!! I bought the new WW cookbook, Comfort Classics, last night and promised David a home cooked meal tonight. I plan on making LOTS of these recipes, so be prepared for some updates!
This recipe was super easy to make and really yummy! I paired it with homemade cheese bread (slice of 1 pt toast, 1/8th cup reduced fat cheese - 1 pt, and garlic salt) and some steamed veggies. Oh, and a glass of wine (duh!).....
Points: 7
Serves: 4
Ingredients
6 ounces fettuccine
3/4 cup fat-free milk
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
4 slices center-cut bacon, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup chopped cooked chicken breast (I cooked mine on George Foreman while the pasta water started boiling)
(we added 1 red pepper, chopped, and a few mushrooms, chopped)
Directions
Cook the pasta according to package directions, omitting the salt if desired. Drain and keep warm.
Meanwhile, whisk the milk, Parmesan, egg, salt, and pepper in a bowl until blended.
Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the bacon begins to brown, 3-4 minutes. Add the onion and garlic (and red pepper and mushrooms) and cook, stirring often, until the onion begins to brown, 2-3 minutes.
Add the chicken and cook until heated through, 1-2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the fettuccine and the milk mixture. Cook, tossing, until the sauce is thickened and creamy, 2-3 minutes.
This recipe was super easy to make and really yummy! I paired it with homemade cheese bread (slice of 1 pt toast, 1/8th cup reduced fat cheese - 1 pt, and garlic salt) and some steamed veggies. Oh, and a glass of wine (duh!).....
Points: 7
Serves: 4
Ingredients
6 ounces fettuccine
3/4 cup fat-free milk
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
4 slices center-cut bacon, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup chopped cooked chicken breast (I cooked mine on George Foreman while the pasta water started boiling)
(we added 1 red pepper, chopped, and a few mushrooms, chopped)
Directions
Cook the pasta according to package directions, omitting the salt if desired. Drain and keep warm.
Meanwhile, whisk the milk, Parmesan, egg, salt, and pepper in a bowl until blended.
Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the bacon begins to brown, 3-4 minutes. Add the onion and garlic (and red pepper and mushrooms) and cook, stirring often, until the onion begins to brown, 2-3 minutes.
Add the chicken and cook until heated through, 1-2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the fettuccine and the milk mixture. Cook, tossing, until the sauce is thickened and creamy, 2-3 minutes.
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