#142: Meatball and Stuffing Bake

I found this recipe at Deep South Dish, and I made a few subsititutions to make this easier and more MY family friendly.  As I put this together for dinner my first thought was "I'm going to love this, Brian is going to hate this one."  I was happily WRONG!  He enjoyed it...except for my trying to kill him by putting peas in the dish!  I will definitely make this again.  I loved it!

1 box prepared stuffing (any kind) (I made 2 cups of stuffing for this)
2 cans of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup (I used 1 can light cream of chicken)
1/2 cup of milk (I used 1/4 c skim milk)
2 (one pound) packages of frozen, pre-cooked meatballs (I used 25 homemade turkey meatballs)
2 cups of frozen peas (I used 1/4 c)
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (I used 3/4 c)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray an oblong baking dish with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a small saucepan, sautee onion in non-stick cooking spray.  Set aside.
Meanwhile, prepare stuffing according to box directions.
When done, add the onions to the stuffing. 

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the soup and milk.

Add the meatballs to the baking dish, top with the frozen peas, and pour the soup mix on top. Sprinkle with the shredded cheese, and top with the stuffing mixture. Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, or until casserole is well heated through and bubbly. If you prefer your stuffing to have a crunchy top, cook uncovered and check dish at about 30 minutes.

My version prepared is: 8 meatballs = 6 ww+ pts; 1/4 of pan of stuffing (w/the cream sauce and some peas)= 6 pts

#141: Sausage and Cheese Turnovers

I made these a few days ago and then stuck them in the freezer until we planned to eat them tonight.  While they were cooling on a cooling rack (and I was napping), Allison took THREE of them off  the cooling rack and had herself a little (or big) snack.  These are yummy!  SUPER YUMMY!  I'm still thinking about them since dinner.  Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...................


I found this recipe on a new blog I came across called Cooking during stolen moments...I knew right then and there, this website was meant for me!!


3 cans of cresent rolls
1 lb. bulk pork sausage, fully cooked and drained (I used turkey breakfast sausage patties, cooked, and crumbled)
8 oz. cream cheese, softened (next time I'll only use 6 oz)
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c. sliced green onions (green parts only) (I used regular onions that I sauteed w/the sausage)
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper


In a large mixing bowl, combine fully cooked sausage, cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, green onions, and seasonings. Stir to combine well.

Roll out crescent rolls to make one large sheet.  Cut into 8 rectangles.  Place about 1 tablespoon of the sausage mixture into the center of each section of dough.  Fold over the dough and seal the seams with a fork.  Continue this process with the remaining sections and portions of dough.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.
****I baked these fully before freezing. To reheat, do not thaw first. Just place desired number of turnovers on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees until heated through.

WW+ pts = 6 each

January Freezer Cooking

I FINALLY finished my January Dinner Freezer Cooking Meals/Menu.  I initially planned on spending all day today (Monday) cooking but since almost all of the recipes were new recipes, I figured it would take me a lot longer and I better get started on it sooner.  So when we got home from vacation on Friday I went grocery shopping.  I started cooking that night, did quite a few things on Saturday, a little more yesterday and finally finished the pizza/ground turkey recipes today.  Phew, done!  As you can see there are no planned days out, so I'm sure things will get bumped around eventually, but as of now, I do not have to think about our dinners again until February 11th.  You will also notice that "spaghetti" has shown up several times this month.  It is Brian and Allison's most requested food and we are trying to stay under $400 a month grocery budget this year.  (In 2010 we averaged $500 a month) So far I have $194 left until the end of the month -- or $48.50 a week (that includes diapers, hair/bath products, misc. groceries, produce, lunch/snack items, etc.)  This could be a challenge!!  Stay tuned as A LOT of new recipes will be reviewed and posted this month!! 

#140: Apples and Pears over sweetened ricotta

found this recipe on the weight watchers website, and I LOVE it!  I'm letting the apple/pear mixture cool and plan to take this for my breakfast when school starts up again in a couple of days.  This is yummy!!  (But I love ricotta!)

Ingredients:

1 small apple, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 small pear, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 tsp of your favorite no calorie sweetener like stevia, Equal, Splenda, etc. – adjust for taste
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup fat-free ricotta cheese
splash of vanilla

Directions:
Place apple, pear, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of your favorite no calories sweetener in a small sauce pan.  Cover and cook over medium heat until somewhat soft, about 4 to 5minutes.  (Next time I will microwave this for about 2-3 min to cut down on the prep/mess).
Meanwhile, combine remaining sweetener, cinnamon and vanilla with ricotta in a small bowl.  Serve hot fruit over ricotta.


WW+ pts = 1

#139: Italian Herb Potatoes

These potatoes are YUMMY!  This will definitely be making it on our menu again...this month...maybe more than once!  I didn't have (or want to buy) fingerling potatoes so I just cut russet potatoes into 12 pieces instead. 

1 Lb Fingerling Potatoes, cut in half

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tsp Sea or Kosher Salt
1/4 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Tsp Italian Herbs

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Toss the potatoes with the olive oil, salt, garlic powder and herbs on a sheet tray.
3. Bake for 40 minutes or until the potatoes are golden on the exterior and tender inside.

#138: Pumpkin Sloppy Joes

I NEVER thought Brian would 1. eat this; 2. save the leftovers for another meal and agree to take this for leftovers.  Chloe also loved this and Allison thought it was just okay.  I will admit, I tried this right after I made it and you could tell there was something different in this recipe, so I was afraid it was going to be a total bust of a meal, but after sitting (in our freezer for a month), the flavors blended nicely and you could taste the cloves, but not the pumpkin.  It's not my favorite version of sloppy joes so I don't think this is a recipe I'll make all the time, but I snuck in a veggie to my 3 non-veggie-loving eaters so this one will show up on our menu again eventually.  : )   And Brian, when you read this, your portions DID NOT have pumpkin in it!
 1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean) (I used ground turkey)
3 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons tomato juice (I used the drained juice from a can of petite diced tomatoes)
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Dash ground cloves and nutmeg (I didn't have ground clove so I threw a few whole ones in)
Dash pepper
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
hamburger buns or rolls


Directions
In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
Add the ketchup, tomato juice, chili powder, cloves, nutmeg and pepper. Bring to a boil. Stir in pumpkin. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until heated through. Serve on buns.

#137: Banana Oat Chocolate Chip Bars

I recently came across this website thanks to my friend Tracy Lynn from Texas. There are several recipes on my January menu from this site. When I make recipes for the girls to take to school with them, ideally I'd like them to be healthy. That's not always the case (like when I made sausage balls or when I will be making maple-bacon breakfast rolls eventually!), but I do try! I decided not to make these into cookies and follow the bar recipe instead because I was also freezer cooking dinners at the same time and the bars were 100x's easier!


3 Bananas (preferably ripe or spotty bananas) (I used 1 1/2--that's all I had on hand)
1/4 c applesauce (to make up for the lack of bananas)
2 Cups Old Fashioned Oats
1 Cup Dried Dates, pitted and chopped (I used 1/2 c raisins instead)
1/4 Cup Oil
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips, Walnuts or Raisins (I used choc chips)
1/4 Tsp Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mash bananas in a bowl, and mix in the remaining ingredients. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes. Using a mini ice cream scoop or tablespoon, place the batter onto a Silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 25 Minutes. Cool and serve.
** To make into bars – place dough in a greased 7×11 dish (I used an 8x8 foil lined and greased pan), bake for 35-40 minutes then allow to cool. Cut into bars or squares.

**To Freeze: allow cookies to cool after baking then place in a Ziploc bag, label and freeze for up to 3 months.

#136: Crunchy Chicken Balls

I had some leftover cooked chicken from my freezer cooking day, so I quickly searched for a recipe that I could make to use up the chicken.  I was hoping to find a main course recipe but since I was limited to the ingredients I had on hand, this was the recipe I decided to try.  I thought I would hate this...I didn't love it, yet I couldn't stop eating them.  I think it was the pecans...they're addicting!  These are weird.  People are either going to love them or hate them.

1 cup finely chopped cooked chicken
1/4 cup minced green onions (I omitted)
1/2 cup finely shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans or chopped fresh parsley (I used pecans)


Directions
In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients; mix well. Shape into 3/4-in. balls. Roll in pecans or parsley. Cover and chill.

#135: Easy-Five Ingredient Mexican Dip

In the words of Eileen (Mike's girlfriend): "I LOVE the dip, because I speak Mexican."  : )   I enjoyed this too, but it wasn't hot or spicy at all, so a little bit of rotel tomatoes in this would make it perfect!!  This was super easy to make.   I found this recipe on Kraftfoods.

Ingredients:
16 oz Velveeta Cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
8 oz cream cheese
2-15 oz cans of black beans, rinsed
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tomatoes, chopped
cilantro

Combine all ingredients except tomatoes and cilantro in microwaveable bowl.  Microwave on HIGH 5 min. or until Velveeta and cream cheese are melted and mixture is well blended, stirring every 2 min. Stir in tomatoes and cilantro. Serve warm with tortilla chips.

#134: Sauce for green beans

I forgot to take a picture of this, so this photo is courtesy of lowcalorieideas.com

I made dinner for the extended family when we were together over Christmas break.  I quickly googled "sauce for green beans" and found this recipe.  I liked the sauce for this and would definitely make it again.  It even reheated well!

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp worchester sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp vinegar
red pepper flakes to taste

Combine all ingredients except butter in a small sauce pan. Add the butter and heat slowly, stirring occasionally until butter has melted. Pour over steamed veggies. Enjoy!

#133: Sausage Pinwheels

Sorry, the only picture I took was the one on my plate before I ate it.  : )

My recipe definitely looks better than the one in the original picture.  This was EASY and I think it was enjoyed by all who ate it.  I know my nephew Logan liked it!!  I liked this recipe because I could make it earlier in the day, stuck it in the fridge after they cooled on a cooling rack, and then just let warm up to room temperature to serve.  Yep, I'd make this again.

Ingredients

1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls
1/2 pound uncooked bulk pork sausage
2 tablespoons minced chives
I added about 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese

Directions
Unroll crescent roll dough on a lightly floured surface; press seams and perforations together.  Roll into a 14-in. x 10-in. rectangle.  Spread sausage to within 1/2 in. of edges (I mainly sprinkled, and spread around).  Sprinkle with chives and shredded cheddar.  Carefully roll up from a long side; cut into 12 slices (I cut mine into 16).  Place 1 in. apart in a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan.  Bake at 375 degrees F for 12-16 minutes or until golden brown.

#132: Quick Lasagna

Why do I love freezer cooking and having meals prepared in the freezer for when we need it?  Because we were supposed to go to Auntie Mar's house for xmas eve and was unable to because of the weather.  So after we drove 10 miles and then turned around, I came home and needed to make something semi-special for Christmas eve dinner, and THIS was sitting in the freezer.  Thank goodness...dinner was ready and I just needed to pop it in the oven.

Although we like our lasagna with a little ground beef in it, this still was quite a yummy cheesy lasagna.  I would make this again! 


Apparently this recipe is from Richard Simmons.  Don't know why, but that makes me laugh.  : ) 


30 ounces nonfat ricotta cheese
1/4 cup nonfat parmesan cheese -- divided
1 large egg
28 ounces low-fat spaghetti sauce -- divided
1/2 package lasagna noodles -- divided
2 1/2 cups part skim milk mozzarella cheese -- divided, shredded


Heat the oven to 375 º.  In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, 2 tablespoon of the parmesan cheese and the egg.  In a 13 x 9" baking dish, spread 3/4 cup of the sauce. Top with 3 noodles, then 1/2 of the ricotta mixture and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese.  Repeat all the layers (sauce, noodles, ricotta mixture, mozzarella), then top with the remaining noodles and sauce.  Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.


Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes longer, until the noodles are tender. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

This claims to be "5 Points Per Serving"

#131: Phyllo Dough Baklava Concontion

This is actually an original recipe created by me!  I had some leftover phyllo dough from the sausage roll-ups I made for dinner and I didn't want to throw them out so I decided to make my own version of Baklava with whatever ingredients I had on hand.

I did not pour any syrup over the top when it came out of the oven, like a regular baklava recipe calls for, so the top layers just pulled/flaked off and I ended up tossing most of the top layers.  The bottom layers were pretty yummy though.  Next time I make this, I'll definitely make the syrup to go over it.  I'll post  the syrup recipe below in case you are interested. 

20 sheets of phyllo dough
3/4 c chopped pecans
1/3 c flaked coconut
3 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp melted butter
non-stick cooking spray
Combine the pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and melted butter.  Set aside.  In an 8x8 pan, spray bottom with non-stick cooking spray.  Layer about 10 sheets of phyllo dough that has been cut in half (vertically) so that it fits nicely inside the pan.  As you lay the sheets down, spray each one with cooking spray so all of the sheets stick together.  Next, pour the pecan mixture on top of the phyllo dough and spread out.  Continue layering the remaining phyllo dough on top of the pecan mixture, and spray each sheet with non-stick spray just as you did the bottom layers. 

Bake 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Pour syrup (recipe below) over the top and let cool.  Cut into squares and serve.

Syrup:
In a saucepan, combine 3/4 cup sugar, 3/4 c honey, 1 cup water, and 1 tbsp lemon juice; bring to a boil. Boil baklava syrup for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until syrupy. Cool and pour over baklava.

#130: Simply Fruit

I made this recipe for our Christmas Morning Breakfast for the girls and I.  Chloe enjoyed eating the yogurt more than she did the fruit.  I enjoyed this though and would make it again. 

Ingredients

2 medium navel oranges, peeled and sliced (I used canned mandarine oranges)
2 kiwifruit, peeled and cubed (I substituted fresh pineapple)
1 medium firm banana, sliced
1 cup seedless red grapes
1/2 cup reduced-fat vanilla yogurt
3 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions
In a large bowl, combine the oranges, kiwi, banana and grapes. Divide among six serving bowls. Combine yogurt and brown sugar; dollop over fruit. Serve immediately.

#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.