#129: Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

I made these for our Christmas Morning breakfast!  BEST and EASIEST cinnamon rolls ever.  (Okay, maybe not the best, because I've never been to Ann Sather's and she apparently makes the best in Chicago, but they are quite delish for homemade-and-not-rolled-out!)

Ingredients

3/4 cup raisins (I omitted)
20 frozen dinner rolls (I used more like 26!)
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup instant vanilla pudding mix
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted (next time I'd use 1/2 c)


Directions
1. Soak the raisins in warm water for 10 minutes; drain.  (I omitted this step)

2. Place the rolls in a lightly greased 10 inch Bundt pan or a 13x9 inch cake pan. In a medium mixing bowl combine the brown sugar, pudding mix and cinnamon. Sprinkle the soaked raisins and the cinnamon mixture over the rolls. Pour the melted butter over the rolls, cover with a clean damp cloth and let stand overnight at room temperature.
(Next time I am going to try and mix the butter into the topping and then crumbling/pouring over the top of the rolls.  Also, the topping stuck to the towel, so I ended up covering lightly with plastic wrap and then putting a dry towel on top...worked fine for me!)

3.In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Bake rolls for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then turn out onto a serving plate.

I made a glaze of 1 c powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla and 2 tbsp skim milk.  I mixed all the ingredients together and the poured over the top of the cinnamon rolls.  YUM!

#128: Applesauce Cookies

Santa is coming early to our house and I forgot to save any cookies that I made to leave for him tonight.  So I had to quickly whip up something else, so I decided to make these cookies with Allison.  I didn't have all of the ingredients on hand, so I altered them to what we DID have.  I figured we were only giving them to Santa so he wouldn't care!  These turned out puffy and dense, and smell like a cool fall day.  They are soft and chewy and more cake like than I expected.  They would be a perfect breakfast cookie!

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening (I used softened margarine instead)
2 eggs
1 cup applesauce (I used cinnamon applesauce since that's all we had)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves (I used ground nutmeg since we were out of cloves)
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour (I used whole wheat flour)
chocolate chips, nuts, raisins (I used chopped pecans...choc. chips would be really good though!)


Mix the first 5 ingredients together. Then add in the rest of the dry ingredients to it, combining well. Now add your chocolate chips, nuts, or raisins. Scoop onto a baking sheet. The dough will be very soft. It gets plopped on the baking sheet, but will cook up nicely. Bake for 8-11 minutes at 400* or until lightly brown. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

#127: Oreo Cookie Balls

Yummy and Easy.  That's exactly what these cookies are.  Mmmmm...  I made a few alterations to make this even easier to make.  My additions/notes are in red. 

Ingredients

1 pound chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed (Use your food processor!)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 pound vanilla-flavored candy coating, melted

Directions
In a large mixing bowl, combine crushed cookies and cream cheese to form a stiff dough. Roll into balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.  Place in fridge for about 30+ minutes to firm up.  (This makes it much easier to dip into the chocolate).  Melt the candy coating and dip the balls into it and cover completely with chocolate.  Let rest on waxed paper until set.  When the cookie balls are still wet, decorate and top with crushed cookie pieces or colored sprinkles or sugar.  When it dried, I used kitchen shears to cut around the cookie balls so there wasn't so much melted candy on the bottom of each piece and to make them look prettier.

Now I am dying to try these with peanut butter sandwhich cookies and melted semi-sweet chocolate.

#126: Chocolate Sugar Cookies

I was a little leary of trying this recipe from Kraft Foods because it got mixed reviews, but I thought they were good!  I wouldn't call them my favorite cookie, but they made a nice addition to the cookie trays/tins I made up.  The worst part of this recipe was rolling them into balls because they really didn't want to roll.  They ended up crumbling if you rolled them too hard or too much.  I'd make these again though!

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
4 squares BAKER'S Unsweetened Chocolate
1 cup butter or margarine
1-1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add 1 cup sugar, egg and vanilla; mix well. Stir in flour mixture until well blended. Refrigerate 15 min. or until dough is easy to handle. (Don't bother refridgerating, it didn't make any difference in trying to roll these into balls!)

Heat oven to 375°F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in remaining sugar. Place, 2 inches apart, on baking sheets. Bake 8 to 10 min. or until centers are set. Cool on baking sheets 1 min. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

#125: Peanut Butter Snowballs

My friend/co-worker Jenny made some peanut butter snowballs for her treat day at school.  I have no idea if this is the same recipe she used, but they were so good, I knew I wanted to add these to the Christmas Cookie list.  I went straight to Taste of Home and searched for a recipe that looked easy and didn't require too many ingredients.  In the search I found this recipe, so I gave it a try. 

I like these, but I think they would be even better with melted semi-sweet chocolate!

Ingredients

1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 pound white candy coating, coarsely chopped

Directions
In a bowl, combine the sugar, peanut butter and butter. Shape into 1-in. balls and place on waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Chill for 30 minutes or until firm.

Meanwhile, melt the candy coating in a microwave-safe bowl. Dip balls and place on waxed paper to harden. Yield: 2 dozen.

From Taste of Home Editor: Dark, white or milk chocolate confectionery coating is found in the baking section of most grocery stores. It is sometime labeled "almond bark" or "candy coating" and is often sold in bulk packages (1 to 1-1/2 pounds). It is the product used for dipping chocolate. A substitute for 6 ounces chocolate coating would be 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet, dark or white chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon shortening melted together.

#124: Peppermint Candy Shortbread Cookies

A big shout out to my sister-in-law Angela for introducing me to this recipe!  She made these for book club/swap last week and as soon as I tried them I knew I wanted to make them to give as christmas treats/gifts. 

Cookies:

1 cup butter softened
1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup finely crushed peppermint candy
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/4 cup cornstarch

Frosting:
1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 TBSP milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2TBSP crushed peppermint candy to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Mix butter, sugar, candy, and vanilla using mixer. Gradually blend in flour & cornstarch.
Form into 1 inch balls place on ungreased baking sheets.
Gently press down each cookie & use your fingers to round into discs.
Bake at 300 degrees for 22-30 minutes or until bottoms begin to brown.
Cool for 5 minutes then remove to wire rack to cool completely.
Combine ingredients for frosting until smooth.
Drizzle cookies with frosting and sprinkle with crushed candy.

#123: Savory Rice

I wanted to try a different/new rice side dish to go with our empanadas and turned right to Becoming Betty to find one.  I found this recipe and decided to give it a try.  Brian was off of school because he's already on Christmas Break, so I had him make this for us...I failed to tell him to use regular rice, instead of minute rice, so it was VERY liquidy.  Personally, this was okay, but not worth the time it took to make it.  Maybe it was the rice that we used, but I didn't think this was anything super special.  : (  If you want to try it for yourself though, let me know what you think of it and if I should try it again! 


1 cup uncooked rice
2 cups boiling water
2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup butter
garlic salt
1 14oz. can chicken broth
Pour 2 cups boiling water over 1 cup rice. Add salt and let stand, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Melt 1/3 cup butter in skillet. Add rice and saute on medium heat until butter is absorbed (5-10minutes). Put rice in 2 quart casserole dish and sprinkle with garlic salt. Pour chicken broth over rice. Cover and bake for 45 minutes at 350.

#122: Chicken Empanadas

This recipe is basically the one I used as a starting off point to make these empanadas (just a few differences in the recipe I looked at).  However, I knew there were many ingredients in it that my family would not eat or enjoy.  So I changed it, and came up with my own recipe!

Here is my version (which the others thought was okay, but I loved and even ate it cold the next day for lunch.  That's how I know if I LOVE a recipe...if I don't need to heat it up to enjoy.)  : )

1 lb ground chicken
1 c Mexican Blend shredded cheese
1 tbsp garlic

1/4 onion chopped
1/2 c picante sauce
2 tbsp taco seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
2C + 4 tbsp reduced fat Bisquick Baking Mix
2/3 c skim milk

Flour (for rolling out the dough)

Cook ground chicken and onion over medium heat, until chicken is browned and crumbly. 
Stir in the garlic, picante sauce, taco seasoning, salt, pepper, and shredded cheese.  Mix well to combine.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together baking mix and milk, until a soft dough forms.  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface.  (I'm pretty sure I used quite a bit of flour so it wouldn't stick!)
Knead the dough 10 times (I did this until it was thoroughly mixed, soft, and my hands got tired).  Cut into 12 pieces (or however many you want!)  Roll each piece into a 4 inch circle (eyeball it!)

Spoon about 3 tbsp of the meat mixture onto one-half of each circle.  Fold the dough over into a half-moon shape.  Press the edges of the dough with the tines of a fork to seal. 

Place the empanada on a very lightly greased baking sheet... (THIS IS WHERE I STOPPED AND FROZE MINE.)  ...and spray with pam cooking spray (you can also brush them with an egg wash, but I was too lazy to do that!)

Bake at 400 degrees.  If baking fresh/thawed, bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.  If frozen, bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown and heated through.
Serve warm (or eat straight from the fridge in my case)

#121: Creamy Raspberry Dessert

I remembered to take a picture after we were eating this...obviously!

I was looking for a slightly different version of strawberry pretzel jello to take to my in-laws house for Christmas.  I found this recipe on Taste of Home and decided to give it a try. 

I knew by looking at the finished product that my in-laws would not eat this by presentation alone, so I added some cool whip and pink colored sugar on top to hide the appearance of the origional top layer.  Fortunately this went over well and was enjoyed by some/most!

Ingredients (I made 1 1/2 times the amount for the crust)

1 cup graham cracker crumbs (I used 1 1/2 c)
3 tablespoons sugar  (I used 4 1/2 tbsp)
1/4 cup butter, melted (I used 1/4 c + 1/8 c)

Filling
1 package (10 ounces) frozen raspberries, thawed (I used 16 oz)
1/4 cup cold water
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped (next time I will try 8 or 12 oz cool whip)
Fresh raspberries and mint (I didn't do this step--I topped with light cool whip and pink colored sugar)

Directions
In a bowl, combine the crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar and butter. Press onto the bottom of an 8-in. or 9-in. springform pan. (I made this in a 9x13 in glass pan) Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Cool.

Meanwhile, for filling, drain raspberries, reserving the juice. (I got very little juice out of this until I mashed it in the strainer).  Set berries aside. In a small saucepan, combine the juice, cold water and gelatin. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Cook and stir over low heat until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from the heat; cool for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until blended. Add berries and gelatin mixture; beat on low until thoroughly blended. Chill until partially set. Watch carefully, as mixture will set up quickly.

Gently fold in whipped cream. Spoon into the crust. Chill for 6 hours or overnight.

Just before serving, run knife around edge of pan to loosen. Remove sides of pan. Top with fresh raspberries and mint (or cool whip and colored sugar!). Yield: 10 servings.

#120: Chicken Tortilla Casserole

I made the filling for this on my freezer cooking day and then added the tortillas, chicken and cheese when I was ready to bake this.  (Of course I let the filling defrost in the fridge first). The family was not a fan of this dish, I however really enjoyed this one!!  Brian thought it was too mushy, and it was a little too spicy for the girls to eat.  I, on the other hand, really enjoyed this (with crushed tortilla chips on top).

1 can (10 3/4 oz) 98% fat free 45% less sodium condensed cream of chicken soup

1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles
1 container (8 oz) fat-free sour cream
1/2 cup fat-free (skim) milk
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
8 yellow corn tortillas (6 or 7 inch), torn into bite-size pieces
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped (1 cup) (I omitted)
1 large tomato, chopped (1 cup) (I substituted 1/2 c picante sauce)
1/2 c frozen corn (my addition)
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar or Mexican-blend cheese (6 oz)

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix soup, chiles, sour cream and milk until blended. Stir in chicken, tortillas and bell pepper. Stir in tomato and 1 cup of the cheese. Spoon and spread mixture in baking dish.
2. Cover with foil. Bake 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake uncovered 5 to 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and mixture is bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes.

Nutritional Information
1 Serving: Calories 270 , Total Fat 11g, Dietary Fiber 2g

#119: Guilt free Wendy's Style Frosty

This is not a good picture because I didn't let this set in the freezer for an hour before eating...who can wait that long to eat it??  So it's a bit "melty!"

I've come across several good recipes from favediets.com, and this is no exception.  I love ice cream and of course we can all use a good healthy ice cream recipe.  The girls and I shared this recipe and we were all fighting over it.  :)  It is quite yummy!  This recipe serves 4. 

Ingredients

1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup Nesquik chocolate powder, no sugar added
4 cups vanilla frozen yogurt, softened

Instructions
1. Blend skim milk and Nesquik in a blender for ten seconds on the highest setting.
2. Pulse in frozen yogurt until mixture is combined, but still very thick..
3. Freeze for an hour or more before serving.

#118: WW BBQ Meatloaf

I found this recipe in my Weight Watchers 5 Ingredient, 15 Minute Cookbook.  Since we made meatloaf in the crockpot last week and liked how it turned out I figured I'd try making this one in the crockpot as well.  It was so soft and juicy, and the BBQ sauce really thinned out and almost made a sauce for it.  The edges stuck to the pan and got a little over done, but personally I like the ends, so I thought that was the best part.  I made this on my last freezer cooking day, and froze it in a silicone pan then popped it out when I was ready to cook it.  I let it begin to defrost overnight in the fridge, but it was still mainly frozen when I turned the crockpot on in the morning.  I let it cook all day, and it was ready when we got home from school!

1 pound ground round (I used ground turkey)
1/2 cup barbecue sauce, divided (I used about 1 1/4 c divided instead)
1/4 cup frozen chopped onion, pressed dry
1/4 cup Italian-Seasoned dry breadcrumbs
2 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine meat, 1/4 cup barbecue sauce, onion, breadcrumbs, egg whites, and pepper in a large bowl; stir well.  Shape mixture into a 7x5" loaf on a rack in a roasting pan. Spread remaining 1/4 cup barbecue sauce over loaf. Bake at 375°F for 25 minutes or to desired dfegree of doneness. Yeild: 4 servings.
Points: 5

MY VERSION:
Combine meat, 1/4 cup barbecue sauce, onion, breadcrumbs, egg whites, and pepper in a large bowl; stir well.  Shape mixture into a 7x5" loaf.  Place in crockpot.  Spread remaining 1/4 cup barbecue sauce over loaf.  (I used about 3/4 - 1 c)   I would assume if it was not frozen it would cook on low for 4 hours or until cooked through.  For me, it was frozen, and I cooked on low 10 hours. Yeild: 4 servings.

#117: Pop Pot Roast

I HAD to try this recipe, only because it had pop in it!  This was another recipe that was supposed to be cooked in a dutch oven, but I made in the crockpot instead.  It was really tender, and WAY easier than dealing with a dutch oven, so if/when we make this again, I'll totally make it in the crockpot. 

1 14.5 oz can of stewed tomatoes
1 can pop (I used diet coke)
1 pkg dry spaghetti sauce mix
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery (I omitted)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 lbs. beef chuck roast

Break up tomatoes in a large bowl, in their juices. Stir in pop, spaghetti sauce mix, onion, salt, and garlic salt. In a dutch oven on medium high heat, brown meat in oil for 10 minutes on each side. Drain off all fat. Pour tomato mixture over meat. Cover and reduce heat to low and cook for 2 1/2 hrs or until meat is tender. Serve over mashed potatoes.

OR MY CROCKPOT VERSION:
Put chuck roast in crock pot (I did NOT brown it first).  Combine all remaining ingredients and pour over the roast.  Cover and cook on low for 10+ hours or until tender.  (See now isn't that easier?!)

#116: Southwestern Goulash

This recipe got great reviews from TOH Healthy Cooking Magazine, so I decided to give it a try.  We thought it was good, but I have several other recipes similiar to it, so I don't think it was anything super spectacular.  Of course, Brian and I thought it tasted better with crushed chips on top!  
Ingredients

1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean) (I used ground turkey)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (28 ounces) Diced Tomatoes, undrained (I used 1/3 can of petite diced)
2/3 cup frozen corn
1 can (8 ounces) Tomato Sauce
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

Directions
Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven over medium heat, cook beef and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomatoes, corn, tomato sauce, chilies, cumin, pepper and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 3-4 minutes or until heated through.

Drain macaroni; add to meat mixture. Stir in cilantro and heat through. Yield: 6 servings.
Nutrition Facts: 1-1/3 cups equals 224 calories, 6 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 37 mg cholesterol, 567 mg sodium, 24 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 19 g protein.

#115: Snickerdoodles

Okay, this post is late in posting.  I actually made these on Sunday to take to book club...or in our case, book swap.  It was a last minute decision to go to this meetup since I've been so crazy busy and totally forgot it was on the calendar.  And since it was a blizzard warning on Sunday, I had to make something that I had all the ingredients for.  This was just the recipe I needed.  SUPER easy, and quite tasty, I might add!

2 cubes real butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar (I ran out, so I only used 3/4 c)
1/2 cup sugar (I used 3/4 c to make up for the brown sugar)
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Roll into golfball-size balls and then roll in a sugar/cinnamon mixture (1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon). Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 375 for 10-12 minutes, until edges are slightly brown.

#114: Streusel-Crusted Broccoli Florets

Yes I am a dork and joined the Cooking Club of America.  Go ahead, I'll pause for ridicule......

Anyhow, I get a cooking club magazine (which I love!) and this was one of the recipes from it.  My girls (especially Chloe!) and I loved this one.  Chloe even finished the pan!  I forgot about this in the oven, and it got a little over done.  Doesn't matter, it still tasted good!!  The picture above is the recipe halved.
2 lb. broccoli florets (about 10 cups)

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup unseasoned dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Cook broccoli in large pot of boiling salted water 3 minutes. Drain; cool under cold running water. Drain well.

2. Melt butter in medium skillet over medium heat; cook until deep brown but not burnt, stirring occasionally and watching carefully. Remove from heat; immediately stir in bread crumbs. Cool briefly. Stir in all remaining ingredients.

3. Arrange oven rack in upper third of oven. Heat oven to 425°F. Spray 13x9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish with cooking spray. Place broccoli in dish; sprinkle with bread crumb mixture.

4. Bake in upper third of oven 15 minutes or until topping is browned and crisp and broccoli is crisp-tender.  10 (about 3/4-cup) servings

#113: Perfect Party Pizza

I don't remember how I stumbled upon this recipe, but it was a semi-healthy pizza recipe, and since Brian is always asking that I make either spaghetti or pizza, I figured I would oblige and add this one to our menu.  We all enjoyed this one!  Nothing super special, but yummy none-the-less.  (My half had diced yellow peppers and pepperoni)

Ingredients:

1 package Italian style spaghetti sauce mix
1 tsp. oregano leaves
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper, optional
1-1/4 cups tomato purée
1/4 cup water
2 12 inch pizza crusts
2 cups shredded fat-free mozzarella cheese
Desired pizza toppings

Instructions:
Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl. Spread sauce over each pizza crust to within 1 inch of edge. Sprinkle with cheese and other pizza toppings, if desired. Bake 10 minutes, or until crust is crisp and cheese melted.
Makes 8 servings
3 POINTS per serving (I have not rechecked this, just going off the original post)

#112: Barbecue-Sauced Beef Sandwiches

This is another recipe I found on the WW recipe blog on angelfire.  It looked like a recipe I could make easier...so I did.  This turned out great!  Definitely serve this on crusty bread or rolls.  We used a crusty fresh french baguette.  Delish!

1 - 2 pound boneless beef round steak, cut 3/4 to 1 inch thick and trimmed of separable fat

1 - 14-1/2oz can tomatoes, undrained and cut up (I used 1/3 can of petite diced + the juice)
1 cup chopped onion (I quartered ours)
1 cup chopped carrot (I omitted)
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp. vinegar
1 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
8 hamburger buns, split and toasted  (USE FRENCH BREAD)

You could do the steps listed below in BLUE...or you could make your life 100 times easier and throw it all in your crockpot like I did.  MY directions are in RED. 

In a crockpot combine all ingredients except the hamburger buns.  Cover and cook on low 10+ hours or until meat is tender. 
Remove meat from sauce; shred meat.  Return meat to sauce.  Discard bay leaf. Serve in buns.



1.  Cut meat into 4 to 6 pieces. Spray an unheated Dutch oven with nonstick spray coating.  Add half of the steak pieces; brown each piece on both sides. Remove meat.  Repeat to brown remaining meat.  Drain off fat. Return all meat to Dutch oven.

2. Add undrained tomatoes, onion, carrot, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, chili powder, oregano, 1/8 tsp. pepper, garlic, and bay leaf. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 2 to 2-1/2 hours or until meat is tender.
3. Remove meat from sauce; shred meat. Return meat to sauce. If necessary, simmer, uncovered, for 5 to 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Discard bay leaf. Serve in buns.
Makes 8 servings, 7 points per serving

#111: Chicken Piccata

I found this recipe in my Weight Watchers Take-out Tonight Cookbook.  The worst part of this recipe was pounding out the chicken.  Too time consuming for me!! 

The girls and I loved this one.  Brian gave it 3.75 stars, and anything less than a 4 from him doesn't get made as often again.  WW is crazy if they think you can cook all of this chicken in only 2 tbsp of olive oil.  I needed a lot more than that, and that was just to VERY lightly cover most of the pan.  I also needed 3 x's as much of the mustard/egg mix and breadcrumbs.  So either their chicken is only coated on one side, or I had a lot more chicken.  2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 large egg
1/2 c Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
4 skinless chicken breasts, halved and lightly pounded (I used chicken tenders for this)
2 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp chicken broth
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp minced fresh parsley

To lightly pound the chicken, place each breast between 2 sheets of wax paper and pound to 1/4-1/2 inch thickness with mallet or rolling pin.

Combine the mustard and egg in a shallow bowl.  Place the bread crumbs on a sheet of wax paper.  Dip the chicken in the mustard mixture then in the bread crumbs. 
Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Swirl in the oil, then add the chicken.  Cook until golden and cooked through, about 5 min on each side.  Transfer to a platter and keep warm. 

Add the chicken broth and lemon juice to the same skillet.  Simmer 30 seconds then stir in the parsley.  Pour the sauce over the chicken.  (5 pts per 1 chicken cutlet with 1/4 of sauce)

#110: Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Can you tell we eat a lot of bananas in this house?  I always have some left over that are about to go brown and stick in the freezer until I'm ready to use them.  I'm sure the daycare kids are getting tired of having different forms of banana bread.  While shopping at Jewel yesterday I found some muffin top liners ao I decided to make those for the kids as something just a little different.  I think they turned out super cute, so I hope the kids like them! These were SO moist!  I'd like to think that it's because of the changes I made, but probably not!  I will definitely make these again!

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large) (I used 2 bananas and about 1/2 c applesauce)
3 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup chopped walnuts (I omitted for the kids)
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
In a bowl, cream butter and sugars. Beat in eggs, bananas and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture just until combined. Stir in the walnuts and chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups half full.
Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 2 dozen. (I got about 21 muffin tops, but my first batch (which was most of them) ended up being a bit over-filled). 

#109: Crispy Chicken

I found this recipe on a WW blog along with several other recipes that we are trying this month.  We all enjoyed this one too!  You will see in the recipe below that you can season your cornflakes with any spices that you like.  I used garlic powder, salt and italian seasoning.  Good choices I think!  I especially liked the Italian Seasoning!

**Update, when Brian reheated this in the microwave for lunch, the thought the italian seasoning was over-powering.  You might want to keep this in mind when adding spices.**

4.5 Points per Serving


4 4oz Skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/4 C. Fat Free Ranch Dressing
1/2 C. Corn flakes-Crushed
Spices of choice (parsly, garlic powder, onion powder, etc)
Salt (optional)
Pam Spray

Preheat oven to 350º. Mix spices, salt, and corn flakes in a bowl and set aside. Dip Chicken in Fat Free Ranch Dressing. Roll chicken in corn flake mixture. Spray cooling rack with non-stick spray and place on a cookie sheet.  Put chicken on cooling rack. Cook until chicken is done, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

#108: Skinny Sloppy Joes

I found this recipe while looking through various blogs, and decided to give it a try.  Although it was ok, we thought it was too sweet and really didn't enjoy this as much as some of our other healthy sloppy joe recipes.  We probably will not be making this one again at our house and will resort back to our Diet Coke Sloppy Joe recipe instead.  My diet coke recipe is easier and we all LOVE that one!  If you want to give it a try though, the recipe for Skinny Sloppy Joe's is below:

1.25 lbs 93% lean ground beef sirloin
1 tbsp steak seasoning or seasoned salt
1 carrot, minced
1 medium onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, minced
4 oz mushrooms, minced
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cups tomato sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste

Chop all the vegetables really fine, using a chopper or food processor.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the meat to the pan and break it up as it cooks. Season with steak seasoning and cook the meat until it browns, then add onion, carrots, mushrooms and red peppers to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and add red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce, cook 5 more minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan, stir to combine. Cover and reduce heat to simmer and cook an additional 5 minutes. 

Servings: 7 • Serving Size: 1/2 cup or 1/4 lb • Old Points: 2 pts • Points+: 3 pts

Calories: 121.8 • Fat: 3.7 g • Protein: 13.7 g • Carb: 9.9 g • Fiber: 2.1 g

#107: BBQ Chicken Packets

Brian was home for work tonight so he put this together for us.  He said it was really easy to prepare.  This turned out really moist, and thinned out the BBQ sauce so it was more like a dressing...so I made mine into a chicken salad.  I am super picky about my chicken, but I loved this one.  We all enjoyed this!  Brian used a yellow pepper, so there wasn't much constrast in color from the peppers and the corn.  (He can be blamed for the so-so photo!)

5 points per packet.  Everything is divided into 4

4 sheets heavy duty aluminun foil
1 cup barbecue sauce -- (ready made store bought)
2 cups frozen whole kernel corn
1 cup chopped green peppers
20 ounces skinless chicken breasts -- (a little over a pound when all trimmed) 4 (5 oz.) each

1. Center chicken breast on a sheet of aluminum foil.
2. Put 1/2 cup frozen corn on top of each chicken breast.
3. Put 1/4 cup chopped peppers on top of corn.
4. Pour 1/4 cup Barbecue sauce over each one.
5. Bring up the sides of foil and double fold, double fold ends to form a packet, leaving enough room for heat circulation inside packet.
6. Grill 14 to 16 minutes in covered grill or bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 22 minutes on a cookie sheet in the oven. (We baked ours for about 25 minutes on 400 degrees...a little high, but Brian put it in the oven for us!)

#106: No meat lasagna

According to the recipe, this is 4 points per serving.  I highly doubt that!  It is either wrong, or I used WAY more cheese than needed.  You can see the original recipe here, but below are the changes I made (I made a lot of changes to make this easier!)  This was YUMMY!  Nothing super special about this lasagna, but it still was good and all four of us enjoyed it!

1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1 package lasagna noodles
1 cup fat free mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup fat-free ricotta cheese


Preheat oven to 350º, lightly spray 11 x 7 inch baking sheet with cooking spray.  (I used an 8x8 pan)
Spoon some of sauce into bottom of prepared baking dish. Make layers of noodles, ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, and sauce (in that order).  I did this two times.  Then topped the lasagna with remaining sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. Pour 1/4- 1/2 c water along the edge of the pan.
(This is where I froze until ready to use!)

Bake for 35 minutes or until bubbling. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.  (I baked frozen for 1 hour)

#105: Bajio Chicken

My mom was coming into town to watch Allison at a cheerleading clinic, so I made this for us to eat for dinner.  It was super easy and we all enjoyed it.  I liked it better w/cheese and lettuce on a tostada shell, rather than wrapped up in a tortilla.  It has a different taste, I can't put my finger on it what it is, but I think that it's just more sweet than you would expect chicken to be (and I really cut down on the sugar).  The salsa and the green chilis really just blend into the meat, so my family couldn't even tell it was in there.  If you try this, let me know what you think of it! 

4 to 5 boneless chicken breasts (I used 7 chicken tenders and there was left overs for Brian to take for lunch AND for us to have another meal).

6 oz. Sprite (I used Diet generic sprite)
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup brown sugar (I used about 1/4 c)
1 Tbs. cumin
1 4oz can diced green chilies

Put all ingredients in crockpot and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Shred chicken and serve.

#104: Crock Pot Beef and Peppers

Not a good picture (round steak doesn't really take center stage in this photo) but here you go anyways!

According to the blog I found this on, this recipe serves 8 and is 6 points per serving.  I made this on my freezer cooking day, and just pulled it out the night before, and let it defrost in the fridge already in the crockpot.  It was BARELY defrosted when I put it in the crockpot and it cooked for 10 hours, so it was totally ready to go when we got home from work.  This was the easiest way I've ever made round steak!  Personally I thought it was a tad dry, but Brian and I both really liked this.  Chloe and Allison however, wouldn't touch it!  If/when I make this again I will probably omit the peppers.  I don't think it added any flavor to this meal, and even though I like peppers, not something worth throwing in. 


2 lbs lean round steak, trim all fat
2 green peppers, sliced thin (I used 1)
2 tbsp. dried onions, (I used one onion cut into quarters and then separated a bit)
1 cup beef broth
2 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. ground ginger (I omitted)
1 clove garlic, minced 


Cut the steak into serving size pieces. Put the vegetables in the bottom of the crockpot, then put the steak in a single layer on top of the vegetables. Pour the rest of the ingreds. over the top. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or high for about 4 hours.

#103: Slow cooked meat loaf

Sorry for the blurry photo!

This recipe came from my TOH Slow Cooker Favorites cookbook.  Brian and Allison LOVED this.  Brian even gave this one 5 stars.  : )  I however, thought it was just okay.  I have to put a slight disclaimer on this though...I'm not a huge meatloaf fan.  So try it and judge for yourself.  This was SUPER moist and broke into small pieces really easily.  You definitely did not need a knife to cut this one (well you did to cut it into appropriate serving sizes.  The carrots were good and soft, but the potatoes lacked seasoning!  Honestly, next time I would probably just cook w/carrots and serve with a side of mashed potatoes instead. 

Ingredients

1 egg
1/4 cup milk
2 slices day-old bread, cubed (I used 3)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion (I sauteed first)
2 tablespoons finely chopped green pepper (I diced mine VERY fine and Brian didn't even notice!)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef (90% lean) (I used ground turkey)
1/4 cup ketchup (I misread this and used more like 1 1/4 cups...I think it needed it though!)
8 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch chunks (I used baby carrots)
8 small red potatoes (I used 5 large red poatoes cut into quarters)

Directions
In a bowl, beat egg and milk. Stir in the bread cubes, onion, green pepper, salt and pepper. Add the beef and mix well. Shape into a round loaf. Place in a 5-qt. slow cooker. Spread ketchup on top of loaf. Arrange carrots around loaf. Peel a strip around the center of each potato; place potatoes over carrots. (I cut my potatoes into quarters...I was not taking the time to peel a strip!)

Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook 7-8 hours longer or until no pink remains in the meat and the vegetables are tender. Yield: 4 servings.

December Freezer Cooking Menu

Here is my menu for December.  All of the recipes except for 2, are new recipes for us to try.  I'm excited about some, nervous about others but hopefully we will enjoy them all!  I tried to find healthier meals for December so the number next to the meal is the approximate weight watchers points value.  I was too lazy to actually figure it out exactly.  It took enough time just to make the meals, let alone disect them all points wise.  Also, this is based on the old points system.  I am not familiar yet with the new ww points system that just rolled out last week.  Besides, all points values supposedly went up, which I don't like! (Although most fruits and veggies are 0 pts now, so that's a huge plus!)  Check back soon to see these recipes posted and reviewed!

#102: Chocolate chip peanut butter cookies

Since I was buying so many groceries for my freezer cooking meals, I was trying to buy as few things as possible for a cookie recipe.  I already had yellow cake mix on hand, so when I came across this recipe, I decided to give it a try.  I liked these, but I didn't love these.  This is another treat/snack that I'm bringing to school on Monday to share with the teachers...again, I hope these go over well!
Ingredients

2 eggs
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup margarine
1 cup peanut butter
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease cookie sheets.

2.In a large bowl, cream together the eggs, water, margarine and peanut butter. Stir in the cake mix and blend well. Finally, fold in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet.

3.Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

#101: Triple Chocolate Brownies

This is the easiest recipe ever!  I found it on Becoming Betty.  It is a little too soft/doughy for my liking and is more like chocolate cake than brownies.  Hopefully the teachers at school will enjoy it tomorrow. 

1 chocolate cake mix

1 small box instant chocolate pudding
1 bag chocolate chips

Make pudding as directed on box. Stir in cake mix and chocolate chips and mix well. Spread into a greased 9x13 and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

100 Recipes!

I did it!!  I DOUBLED my goal of new recipes.  100 new recipes tried since mid-July!  I'm setting a much higher goal this time....200 new recipes by July.  I hope I can continue my momentum.  I think my family is missing eating some of our tried-and-true old favorites.  I might have to throw some in every now and then.  Please continue to follow my journey of cooking!

#100: Unstuffed Pepper Soup

I had some extra ground turkey left over from my freezer cooking so I decided to make this soup to freeze and have on hand for lunches.  (I will be eating this for lunch today though since it's quite yummy!)  I got this recipe out of my Taste of Home Ultimate Ground Beef Cookbook.

Ingredients

1-1/2 pounds ground beef
3 large green peppers, chopped (I used green and yellow peppers)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) Beef Broth
2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed tomato soup, undiluted (I only used 1)
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes, undrained
1 can (4 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained (I omitted)
1-1/2 cups cooked rice (I used about 1 c)

Directions
In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, cook the beef, green peppers and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the broth, soup, tomatoes and mushrooms. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add rice and heat through. Yield: 10 servings.

#99: Pineapple Banana Bread

I had a ton of bananas in the freezer so I figured I'd make some form of banana bread again for the girls to take to school with them this week.  I THOUGHT I had all of the ingredients on hand, but when I went to go make it I realized I was wrong.  So I made some substitutions and it still turned out well.  Next time I will add chopped walnuts or chocolate chips to make it even better!
Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar (I used 3/4 c sugar and 1 1/4 c brown sugar)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil (I used 3/4 c oil and 3/4 c apple sauce)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained (I pureed/crushed pineapple tidbits)
2 cups mashed ripe bananas (I used 3 bananas)

Directions
1.In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. In another bowl, beat the eggs, oil and vanilla; add pineapple and bananas. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Pour into two greased 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf pans.  (I used one large loaf pan and 3 mini pans)

2.Bake at 350 degrees F for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

#99: Cheesy Pizza Pasta

This is actually a "healthy" recipe that I found at eatbetteramerica.com  I did a bit of adjusting to this recipe so that my family would eat it though!  We liked this one, but it wasn't anything super special that we haven't had before.  I'd make this again though!
12 oz uncooked regular or multigrain rotini pasta (I used Ronzoni)
3/4 lb lean Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
1 large onion, chopped  (I used 1/2 onion)
1 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced (6 cups) (I omitted)
1 can (14.5 oz) Muir Glen® organic diced tomatoes, undrained (I omitted)
1 jar (25.5 oz) Muir Glen® organic Italian herb pasta sauce (I used spaghetti sauce)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
6 oz sliced turkey pepperoni
2 c shredded reduced-fat Italian cheese blend


1 Heat oven to 350°F. In 5-quart Dutch oven, cook pasta as directed on package, omitting salt. Drain; return to Dutch oven.

2 Meanwhile, in 12-inch nonstick skillet, crumble sausage. Cook over medium heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink; drain if necessary.

3 Add onion and mushrooms to sausage in skillet; cook 7 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently, or until vegetables are tender. Stir in tomatoes; heat to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 3 to 4 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in pasta sauce and basil. Heat just to boiling.

4 Add sausage mixture, pepperoni and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese to pasta in Dutch oven; stir until well mixed. Spread in ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish. Spray sheet of foil with cooking spray; cover baking dish with foil, sprayed side down.

5 Bake 30 minutes or until bubbly and thoroughly heated. Remove foil; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake uncovered 5 to 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.