#882: Weight Watchers Taco Soup

 

I'm not sure if this is actually a Weight Watchers recipe or not.  The recipe claims it is but I found it on food.com so it was uploaded by a user.  I made this for a couple day of lunches and this ended up making a HUGE pot of soup.  A little too much for just me so I'm going to try and freeze this for some future lunches before I get sick of eating it. 

 

1 lb extra lean ground beef or 1 lb turkey (I used ground turkey)

1 large onion, diced
2 (15 ounce) cans chili beans
1 (15 ounce) can zesty beans (I couldn't fine these, so I used kidney beans, drained instead)
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can corn, undrained
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15 ounce) can of petite diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups water
1 (4 1/2 ounce) can chopped green chilies
1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning (I used 1/2 of a package)
1 (1 ounce) envelope ranch dressing mix

 

Brown meat and onion, drain and add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.

 

My entire pot of soup was 36 ww+ pts.  This soup got 18 large ladle-fuls which is 2 ww+ pts per ladle.

#881: Guilt Free Wendy's Style Frosty

I love a Wendy's frosty.  (Here's a random, gross fact about me...I used to eat my Frosty with ketchup mixed in.  Shockingly, I've heard other people that have done that too...gross.)  Recently I came across an article that said a Wendy's small frosty is one of the top

So when I came across this healthier version of the Frosty I was super excited to try it.  It is delicious.  Creamy, chocolatey, and refreshing!  The perfect way to end (or start!) your day.

This recipe serves 4.

1 cup skim milk (I used unsweetened chocolate almond milk)  

1/2 cup Nesquik chocolate powder, no sugar added (I used 25% less sugar)  

4 cups vanilla frozen yogurt, softened (I used sugar free)

      

Blend skim milk and Nesquik in a blender for ten seconds on the highest setting.  Pulse in frozen yogurt until mixture is combined, but still very thick.  Freeze for an hour or more before serving.  (Um, no thanks!  Who wants to wait an hour to eat this.  I ate it right away.  For breakfast.  Hey it had my daily dose of dairy so why not?!)

The ingredients I used was 5 ww+ pts per serving.  That's still not super low but a small Wendy's Frosty is 8 ww+ pts, so it's definitely an improvement!

#880: Hot and Cheesy Carmalized Corn Dip

See that gooey pile of cheesy goodness?  Mmm, this was a good corn dip.  I enjoyed it immensely!!  However as the Greek yogurt cools and solidifies, it gives it a shredded chicken texture.  I served it at book club and a lot of people thought it had chicken in it.  Nope.  Regardless it still was yummy.  I would definitely make this again but it is certainly best hot, right out of the oven.  I served mine with scoop tortilla chips.

The only real change I made to this recipe was to cut WAY down on the amount of cheese it called for.  Not that I don't like cheese, but I didn't think it needed 10 oz of cheese! That's a bit much.

4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped (I used real bacon bits)
1 teaspoon olive oil (I omitted)
3 1/2 cups sweet corn (frozen corn that was thawed and completely dry)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
4 green onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 (17 ounce) container of 2% Greek yogurt
5 ounces cheddar cheese, freshly grated (I used about 4 oz of Mexican Blend Cheese)
5 ounces Monterrey jack cheese, freshly grated (I omitted)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add bacon. Fry until crispy and all fat is rendered, the remove bacon and let drain on a paper towel. Add corn to the skillet, cooking and stirring until golden and a bit caramely – about 6-8 minutes. Remove corn and add it to a large bowl. Add olive oil to the skillet, then add onions and red peppers with salt and pepper. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add in jalapeno, green onions and garlic, cooking for just 2-3 minutes. Transfer mixture to the bowl, adding in the yogurt, paprika, bacon and 4 ounces of each cheese. Stir until combined, then top with remaining cheese (I didn't put any extra cheese on top, I just mixed it all in).

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is golden on top. Serve immediately with tortilla chips or crackers.

#879: Sweet and Spicy Dump Chicken

Oh I thought I was going to pull one over on my family with this recipe.  I was sure we were all going to like it and I was going to be able to do a happy dance and gloat that I got them to eat apricot jam.  As you can tell where I'm going with this already, that did not happen.  Now I say this and Brian hasn't even eaten it.  He wasn't home for dinner tonight so it was just the kids and I.  No one (not even me) enjoyed this chicken.  The kids didn't like the taste and the last time I had chicken like this I got the flu so as soon as I tasted it I had awful flashbacks to that night.  Lots of chicken thrown in the trash with this one.  :(

PS...I made this in the crockpot instead of in the oven as directed.  So much easier!

1 Package Taco Seasoning Mix
8 oz Apricot Jam
12 oz Salsa
1 1/2 Pounds Chicken Pieces

For immediate cooking: Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Place all ingredients into a
large baking dish, turn chicken to coat. Bake until chicken juices run
clear (45-60 minutes for chicken pieces, or 20-30 minutes for chicken
breasts).

For freezing: Place all ingredients into a 1 Gallon freezer bag. Lay flat
in freezer.

To thaw and cook: Take the bag out of the freezer the night before, make
sure the baggie is completely closed. Place the Bag on a shelf furthest
from the freezer (It works best if the bag is laying flat, although this
may not be the best option with a side-by-side fridge/freezer). Preheat the
oven to 350 F. Empty the contents of the bag into a large baking dish and
bake until the juices run clear (45-60 minutes for chicken pieces, or 20-30
minutes for chicken breasts).

#878: Oven Fried Parmesan Chicken

This recipe was supposed to be make with bone-in chicken pieces but that is NOT my style of cooking.  I don't like bones in my food.  So I made this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead.  It was super easy to make and throw together.  The kids LOVED it and even ate it cold for leftovers one night.  This was a winner in our house.

½ cup refrigerated or frozen egg product, thawed, or 2 eggs, beaten

¼ cup fat-free milk

¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¾ cup fine dry bread crumbs

2 teaspoons dried oregano, crushed

1 teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

5 pounds meaty chicken pieces, skinned (breast halves, thighs, and drumsticks) (I used 4 chicken breasts)

¼ cup butter or margarine, melted (I omitted)

Preheat oven to 375 degree F. Grease two large shallow baking pans; set aside. In a small bowl, combine egg product and milk. In a shallow dish, combine Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, oregano, paprika, and pepper.

Dip chicken pieces into egg product mixture; coat with crumb mixture. Arrange chicken pieces in prepared baking pans, making sure pieces don't touch. Drizzle chicken pieces with melted butter.

Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink (170 degree F for breasts; 180 degrees degree F for thighs and drumsticks). (I cooked our boneless breasts for about 30 minutes.) Do not turn chicken pieces during baking. If desired, sprinkle with fresh oregano.

#877: Slow Cook Beef Tips in Gravy

This recipe has been sitting on one of my Pinterest boards.  This was a delicious and easy recipe.  We all (except for Matthew) enjoyed this dinner.  Chloe kept calling this dinner "Ruby."  I have no idea why that name stuck out to her.  She preferred to eat this as a sandwich.  The rest of us ate it over mashed potatoes. 

In order to let this sit in our crockpot all day I brought the beef stew meat home and cut each piece in half so it was more bite size pieces.  Then I flash froze it on a wax paper lined cookie sheet.  Once frozen I put it in a Ziploc bag and stuck in the freezer until we were ready to eat it.  On the day we were having this for dinner I put all of the frozen meat in a crockpot and poured the other ingredients on top.  It cooked all day and was perfect when we got home...and my house smelled so good!

I will definitely make this again for my family...even my husband who claims he doesn't like "beef stew."

1 1/2 lb. beef tips (or cubed beef stew meat)

1 package of dry Onion Soup Mix
1 can of Cream of Mushroom soup (I used cream of chicken)
1 can of Beef Broth

Add beef to slow cooker.  In a bowl, combine dry Onion soup mix, cream of mushroom soup and beef broth.  Stir to combine and pour over beef in slow cooker.

Stir all ingredients together. Cook on low for at least 6-8 hours.  (See notes above: I flash froze this on a cookie sheet and then cooked in the crockpot while still frozen for about 10 hours). Serve on top of mashed potatoes or egg noodles.

#876: Slow Cooker Coke Chicken

Holy cow is this an easy meal to prepare.  It isn't however, an easy meal to get out of the crockpot.  Brian and I BOTH do not enjoy pulling the meat off chicken bones.  Brian was so tired (irritated/grossed out) after doing it he didn't even want to eat dinner.  I couldn't eat dinner last night (b/c of Lent) and the girls we so excited it was above 50 degrees outside all they wanted to do was go outside so they inhaled their dinner.  As you can see it wasn't a good dinner day for us. 

With that said, I finally had a chance to eat this this morning and this would make an excellent BBQ pulled chicken sandwich.  Matthew even ate a little bit for breakfast this morning too.  Next time I'm going to make this with frozen chicken breasts and then shred it so we can eat it as sandwiches.  Easy and yummy! 

1 whole chicken

1 Lemon

1 Onion

1 Bottle BBQ Sauce

1 Can Coca Cola (I used Diet Coke)

 

Peel onion and cut into quarters. Cut lemon into Quarters. Place chicken in crock pot. Toss in onion quarters and lemon quarters. Pour in entire bottle of BBQ Sauce and entire can of Coke. Cover and cook on low all day or high 3-4 hours.

#875: Kale, Pineapple, and Almond-Milk Smoothie

Since Matthew is 1 year old now, he is apparently a BIG boy and decided he doesn't like veggies.  Actually if it's not a carb or fruit I have a hard time getting him to eat.  My pediatrician suggested sneaking in his veggies.  Apparently he doesn't know about my blog and that I already try to do that AND that it's awfully hard to sneak a veggie into bread!  Fortunately for me Matthew likes MY smoothies.  I think he just likes that he's taking my stuff.  So I try to make him different green smoothies as often as I can.  I decided to make this smoothie since I had all of the ingredients on hand.

He loved this.  (As you can see from the photo at right).  I had to pry the cup away from him so he wouldn't dump it all down the front of this shirt. Nice smoothie mustache.  He was also mid screech at me!  

1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup packed chopped kale

1/2 cup pineapple juice

1/2 cup diced pineapple

1 banana

Puree ingredients in a blender until smooth.

The entire smoothie is 1 ww+ pt.

#874: Banana and Peanut Butter Smoothie

I just got this recipe this week from my recent Kraft Foods Magazine.  I drink a smoothie (usually with banana in it) almost every day so this recipe is not quite different than some of the other drinks I make.  But this recipe has the addition of Greek yogurt which I almost always have on hand right now for Matthew. 

I threw all of the ingredients into the blender the night before (except the ice cubes of course!) and stuck it in the fridge.  Then in the morning I just had to add that final ingredient and blend away.  This was a really good, thick smoothie.  I enjoyed it a lot!  This will go into my morning smoothie rotation (ok I don't really have a rotation but I definitely have drinks I enjoy more than others).

1/2 c milk (I used chocolate almond milk)
6 oz Greek yogurt
1 ripe banana
2 tbsp creamy peanut butter (I used 2 tbsp PB2 powder)
2 tbsp honey (I omitted)
1/2 c ice cubes

Blend all ingredients except ice in a blender until blended.  Add ice, blend on high until thickened.  Serve immediately. 

#873: Orange Bean Dip

This isn't a very pretty dip.  The photo above looks quite disgusting actually, but I loved this bean dip.  I made it to eat with colored peppers but by the time I made it my peppers were gone so I had to eat it with the next best thing...pretzels!  Not as healthy but surely just as yummy.  This dip would be great served with veggies, pretzels, healthy crackers or those thin pretzel chips. 

1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 cup orange juice
1⁄4 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, plus extra for garnish
1 19 ounce can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic, peeled

Vegetables for serving: carrot sticks, bell pepper strips, cherry tomatoes

Put the beans, garlic, cumin and salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and put the top on tightly. Process until smooth.

Add the orange juice, chili powder and cilantro and process again until smooth. Taste the dip, and add more of anything if it needs it.

Using the spatula, scrape out the dip into a serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate up to three days or serve immediately garnished with extra cilantro.

#872: Crockpot Lentils and Sausage

I originally saw this recipe posted in a bread bowl.  I'll be honest, that caught my attention more than this soup.  :)  I love bread.  I love soup in bread.  But in an effort to keep this healthier (bummer!) I skipped the bread bowl.  Big sad face. 

Bread bowl aside, this soup is ridiculously easy to make and quite good.  It isn't spicy at all so if you like heat make sure to add in some crushed red pepper or something. 

I enjoyed this soup.  Well, it's probably more like a stew since there really isn't much broth since the lentils soak it all up.  Regardless, it was good and healthy and filling. 

1 (16 ounce) package dry lentils

1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained

2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth

3 cups water

1 carrot, chopped (I added a LOT of carrots)

2 pounds kielbasa (Polish) sausage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 stalk celery, chopped (I omitted)

Rinse and drain lentils, but do not soak. In a slow cooker, stir together the lentils, tomatoes, broth, water, carrot, sausage, and celery.

Cover, and cook on High for 3 hours, or Low for 6 to 7 hours. Stir well before serving.

I halved this recipe and got 3 large servings out of this for 6 ww+ pts each.

Product Review: Kroger Brand Yogurts

If you are a regular follower of my blog you will notice that I do product reviews every once in a while.  This is usually a result of a wonderful opportunity to try a new product for free from BzzAgent.  Have you signed up to be a BzzAgent yet??  If not, head over there right now and check it out! 

Anyhow, on a recent campaign, I was invited to try Kroger brand Carbmaster Yogurt and Kroger Greek Lite Yogurt.  We eat a lot of yogurt in this house so I was more than happy to give these products a try!  I was already a fan of the Carbmaster yogurts.  Who wouldn't be a fan?!  Not only do they taste good but they are healthy and one of the only low-carb yogurts I like!  They have great flavors and are so much less expensive than other brands. 

Thru this particular campaign I was able to try (for free) Caramel Spice Cake (doesn't that just sound delicious!?), Spiced Pear, Cherry and White Chocolate Raspberry Carbmaster Yogurts.  I loved them all.  Spiced Pear was actually my favorite though.  Some of them I ate plain (as is) and others I used in my morning smoothies.  It doesn't matter how you eat these yogurts, they are great for a weight loss/low carb plan as each container is only 60 calories, has 1.5 grams of fat, 4 carbs and 8 grams of protein.  Now that is one great way to start your day.  It definitely kept me full all morning too.


I was also able to try another Kroger Brand yogurt this time too.  I tried their line of Greek yogurts.  Now they have regular (but flavored) Greek yogurt as well as a Greek Lite version too.  I am DEFINITELY a huge fan of the LITE version.  I love the flavors as they aren't as strong or tangy as typical Greek yogurt is.  In this campaign I tried the Pineapple Mango which as 16 carbs, 0 fat and a whopping 16 grams of protein per cup! 

I also tried the Vanilla, Peach and Strawberry flavors of the Greek Lite.  I'll admit, the Greek Lite flavors aren't as exciting as ones such as Pineapple Mango or Caramel Spice Cake, but it was still good.  These are now my go-to choices for feeding my one year old too since he does not like meat.  I love that he loves yogurt and giving him the Greek yogurt gives him a ton of (much needed) protein. 

Here's a little secret too (don't tell him OR my girls!): I've been giving them the Vanilla Greek Lite yogurt and mixing in some of his baby food to make it different flavors.  I get his baby food and protein in at one time.  And they all love it.  The girls have no idea there's baby food in their yogurt either.  (shhhh!) 

If this isn't enough info to get you to run out to your nearest Kroger and stock up on their yogurt then you are definitely missing out.  Good, more for me! 

Head on over to their website for more information and don't forget to follow them on Facebook and Twitter! 

#871: Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

This is a super easy recipe that you can throw into your blender and night and then just have to whip (er, blend) together in the morning.  I got my blender going, then added some ice cubes and it was done.  You can definitely taste the orange juice in this recipe but it gives it a nice sweetness and isn't too overpowering.  This is a thick smoothie, so it's filling.  I like it!  Extremely healthy too. 

Sorry for the bad photo, but I took this literally as I was about to walk out the door.  (No time to put it into a clear cup).

1⁄4 cup orange juice
1⁄4 cup low-fat milk (I used coconut milk)
1⁄2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1⁄4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1⁄2 very ripe banana (peeled and sliced)
a dash of cinnamon and/or a dash of nutmeg
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ice cubes

Put all the ingredients in the blender. Put the top on tightly. Turn the blender to a medium setting and blend until the ice is chopped and the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute.

This is 2 ww+ pts for the entire recipe/cup.

#870: Ham and Corn Quiche

So I couldn't decide what to eat for dinner tonight (we were all doing our own thing since we had a late lunch) so I finally settled on making this quiche to eat for dinner AND to have for breakfast this week at school.  This is a very easy recipe to make!  I think I had it all put together and in the oven in about 5 minutes.  It took a lot longer to cook though.  I like my eggs very well done though, but the middle took a long time to set up.  The directions say to cook for about 25 minutes, but I cooked mine for about 40 minutes. 

Next time I make this I'm going to add in other veggies though.  It doesn't need it but it will only make it healthier! 

 

2 whole eggs (I used 1/2 cup of egg substitute)

3 egg whites

1/2 cup corn, drained and rinsed

1/4 chopped onion

1/2 cup non fat milk

Salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup diced ham (I used 3 oz of Canadian bacon, diced)

1 frozen pie crust

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and place the frozen pie crust on the counter.

 

Spray a saute pan with cooking spray and saute the onions until they begin to become translucent. Remove from heat and let them cool.

 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg white, milk, salt, and pepper until frothy. Stir in the corn, ham, and cheese.

 

Pour the egg mixture into the pie crust. Bake according to the directions on the pie crust – likely 20-25 minutes until the center is firm.

My version was 27 ww+ pts for the entire pie.  That comes down to 3.5 ww+ pts per serving for 8 servings or 4.5 ww+ pts for 6 servings.

#869: Frosty No-Bake Granola Bars

These granola muffins are a snap to throw together.  I made them to have as a snack, for dessert and/or for breakfasts this week.  The only ingredient I didn't have on hand was the Grapenuts cereal.  But now I have a huge box so I think I'll be looking to make/post other Grapenut recipes in the near future. 

These are pretty good.  You can definitely taste the banana so make sure you like bananas if you make these.  I was certain these were going to stick to the muffin/cupcake liners but they didn't!  Also, I cannot stand to eat these directly from the freezer.  I don't like the cold/texture of frozen foods though (I've never been a big fan of Popsicles).  So I had to let mine sit out for a little while to thaw slightly.  These are going to be great for breakfast this week!

2 large overripe bananas
1 cup oats
1/2 cup crunchy cereal (I used Grapenuts)
2 tbsp pure maple syrup (I used 2 tbsp unsweetened chocolate almond milk)
2 tbsp peanut butter or other nut or seed butter (I used 1 1/2 tbsp of almond butter)
2 tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp dried cranberries or other fruit
2 – 4 tsp cocoa powder

Line a muffin pan with paper liners, or use a silicone muffin pan for easy removal. Mash the bananas. Add wet ingredients and cocoa powder and mix well. Add all other ingredients, mix well then press into prepared muffin tin. Freeze at least 60 minutes before serving.

My entire batch was 26 ww+ pts.  I got 13 muffins so they are all 2 ww+ pts each. 

#868: Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala

Don't judge this recipe by its photo.  No, it does not look pretty.  And no, this photo does not do the recipe justice.  It's much better than it looks.  Personally I enjoyed my chicken cut up into little pieces and mixed into the rice with some mixed vegetables added to it.  The sauce was really good too, and even the girls enjoyed it.  I would make this again for our family. 

Unfortunately though, my husband claims to be allergic to mushrooms so I had to leave them out...even though I know mushrooms are 1 of the 2 ingredients that make a recipe "Marsala" AND it would have made it taste so much better.  Okay I also substituted chicken broth for the Marsala wine.  Basically I made chicken and rice.  :)

I made this recipe on my freezer cooking day, placed it all in a Ziploc bag and froze.  Then I put the entire thing FROZEN in the crock pot and cooked it on low for about 10 hours. 

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I omitted)

8 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 jars (6 oz each) Green Giant® sliced mushrooms, drained (I omitted)

1 cup sweet Marsala wine or Progresso® chicken broth (I used chicken broth since I had it on hand)

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup cornstarch

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (not in photo)

 

Spray 4- to 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In cooker, place garlic and oil. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; place in cooker over garlic. Place mushrooms over chicken; pour wine over all.

Cover; cook on Low heat setting 5 to 6 hours.

Remove chicken from cooker; place on plate and cover to keep warm. In small bowl, mix water and cornstarch until smooth; stir into liquid in cooker. Increase heat setting to High; cover and cook about 10 minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened.

Return chicken to cooker. Cover; cook on High heat setting 5 minutes longer or until chicken is hot.  To serve, spoon mushroom mixture over chicken breasts; sprinkle with parsley.

#867: Cream Cheese Frosting

I made this frosting to go with the vanilla star wars cupcakes I made for the kids' birthday party.  This was definitely an easy frosting to make and I loved it.  My nephew surely didn't as he cried as he ate his cupcake, but I thought it was delicious.  I would definitely make this recipe again. 

8oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup butter
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1-1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat together the cream cheese and butter. Slowly add the confectioner’s sugar, then the vanilla.

#866: Vanilla Cupcakes

Yeah, these don't look like vanilla cupcakes do they?!  It's hard to tell with the decorations and frosting on top.  I promise, they are indeed vanilla cupcakes though.  I made these for my 6 year old and 1 year old's birthday party this weekend.  Obviously (or I should say hopefully) you can see that they wanted a star wars themed birthday.  I didn't want to make a boxed cake mix cupcake so I made real cupcakes.  Personally, they weren't any better than the boxed stuff.  I thought these were a little dry/tough/chewy.  Maybe I over baked them.  I don't know, but these surely weren't knock-your-socks-off cupcakes. 

3/4 cup butter
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla (add more for a super-vanilla taste)
1 1/4 cups milk
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Prior to starting, get the eggs and butter to room temperature. Grease and flour two cupcake/muffin pans, or add cupcake wrappers to trays.

Stir together the salt, baking powder, flour.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat butter in an electric mixer on high for 30 seconds. Add sugar and beat until combined. Continue to beat and add the eggs. Beat well and add vanilla.

Add part of the flour mixture then part of the milk, then beat on low. Repeat until all of the milk and flour mixture have been added. Combine and spread batter into cupcake pans.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the cupcakes are golden brown and toothpick comes out clean from the center. Cool for at least 15 minutes then remove from pans.

#865: Crockpot Minestrone Soup

I cannot believe I forgot to take a picture of this recipe.  How could I have let that happen?!  I hate when I do that.  I found this recipe at SkinnyTaste.com, so head on over there and look at what this is supposed to look like! 

This was a very easy soup to make and was very, very good.  It's super healthy and filling so I will definitely make this again.  Even my dad liked it...which makes me happy!

1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can white beans, drained, rinsed (cannellini or navy)
3 cups fat free chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarians)
1 oz chunk of good Parmesan cheese rind
1 fresh rosemary sprig
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
salt and fresh pepper
1 medium zucchini, chopped
2 cups chopped fresh or frozen (defrosted) spinach
2 cups cooked small pasta like ditalini or elbows (al dente)
extra parmesan cheese to top (extra pts)

Rinse and drain beans. Puree beans with 1 cup of the broth in a blender.

In a crock pot, combine broth, tomatoes, pureed beans, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, herbs, Parmesan cheese rind, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Forty minutes before the soup is done cooking, add zucchini and spinach. Cover and cook 30 more minutes. Add cooked pasta, cook 10 minutes more. Remove bay leaves, rosemary sprig, parmesan rind and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and top with extra parmesan cheese.

According to the original website, 1 1/2 cups of soup is 5 ww+ pts.

#864: Secret Fruit Salad

This fruit salad was so easy to make and was a huge hit with my family/relatives.  HUGE HIT!  I loved it, and so did most of the others.  It was super healthy and a nice, different spin on a regular fruit salad.  I will definitely make this again for my lunches or for another party/event.

1 (29 ounce) can peach slices, undrained
1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks, undrained (I used fresh pineapple)
1 (3 1/8 ounce) box dry vanilla instant pudding mix (I used sugar free)
1 lb strawberry, stemmed and quartered
1 banana, sliced
1/2 pint blueberries
1 bunch grapes 

In a large bowl, combine peaches, pineapples, and vanilla pudding mix.  This includes the juices from the cans.  Mix well until pudding is dissolved.  Stir in strawberries, banana, blueberries, and grapes. Chill.
 
The entire bowl of this fruit salad is 4 ww+ pts!  This makes a HUGE bowl.

#863: Spicy Yoda Ears (Spicy Edamame)

I made these spicy yoda ears for Allison and Matthew's Star Wars themed birthday party.  I personally did not even try them because I don't like heat.  Some of my siblings thought they were very spicy, others didn't think they were spicy at all.  I used half of the amount of spice because I thought it was going to be super hot.  If you like heat, this recipe is apparently for you. 

2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (1-pound) bag frozen edamame, in the pod (green soy beans)

Heat the salt, chili powder, and pepper flakes in a small dry skillet over medium heat, stirring until hot and aromatic, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and crumble in the oregano.

Boil the edamame pods in salted water until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain in a colander and pat dry. Toss the edamame pods with the chili-salt and serve warm.

1/2 cup of edamame is 3 ww+ pts.

#862: Black Bean Brownies (only 2 ingredients!)

Did the name scare you off??  It shouldn't.  These healthy brownies are delicious and chewy and moist.  I love these!  You can tell there is something different to these brownies because of the texture but you sure can't taste the beans in them at all.  I will definitely make these again!

I made a brownie glaze (out of butter, chocolate chips, water and powdered sugar) but I only used a tiny, tiny amount because I thinned it out so much.

15 oz can of black beans
brownie mix (any)

Open the can of black beans, rinse really well. Put the beans back in the can, add enough water to cover beans.  Put in blender or food processor and puree. Add puree to brownie mix, and then bake according to package directions.

You DO NOT add the eggs or oil that the recipe calls for, JUST the black bean puree!
Makes 20 brownies-- 2 Weight Watcher Points each

#861: Buckeye Bars

I made these wonderfully delicious buckeye bars for Allison and Matthew's birthday party.  It is not healthy at all.  NOT AT ALL but they sure are good!  I'm not kidding these are so good I could not stop eating them.  These would be a fantastic as a Christmas cookie for a cookie for a cookie exchange.  Make these! 

1 cup margarine
1-1/2 cups creamy peanut butter, divided
16 oz pkg. powdered sugar
8 oz milk chocolate candy bar, broken up

Melt together margarine and one cup peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl on high setting for about 1-1/2 minutes. Mix well. Stir in powdered sugar; pat into a lightly greased 13x9 baking pan.
Melt together chocolate and remaining peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl on high setting for about 1-1/2 minutes; stir until well blended. Pour chocolate mixture over peanut butter mixture. Chill in refrigerator until firm; cut into squares.