Monday, December 24, 2007

Apple Crumb Pie


I made this pie for Thanksgiving and everyone raved about it, so I'm making it again for Christmas!

9 inch unbaked pie shell
6 cups pared, sliced apples (5-7 apples--I use McIntosh)
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 c. flour
1/3 cup butter

Placed sliced apples in unbaked pastry shell. Combine 1/2 cup of the sugar with cinnamon; sprinkle over apples. Combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar with flour; cut into butter until crumbly. Sprinkle crumb mixture over apples. Bake at 400 for 40 minutes or until apples are tender. Cool.

Cookie Extravaganza Part 2

So I've been baking up a storm. Seriously, I don't know what got into me. I must be channeling Martha Stewart or something because this is so atypical of me.

Best Big Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies (also known as the "BBFCCCs" on TheNest
2 c. all purpose flour
.5 tsp baking soda
.5 tsp salt
3/4 c. unsalted butter, melted
1 c. packed brown sugar
.5 cup white sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 c. semisweet chocolate chips (I used one cup of Reese's peanut butter chips and 1 cup of Hershey's dark chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside
In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 c. at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Red's Ultimate M&M's Brand cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
.5 cup granulated sugar
.5 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
.5 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 12 oz. package of M&Ms (since it's Christmas, I used the red and green kind--ain't I festive?)
3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy; beat in egg and vanilla. In medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt; blend into creamed mixture. Stir in M&Ms. Drop by heaping tablespoonsful about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 13 minutes. Do not overbake. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; cool completely on wire racks. Store in tightly covered container

Makes about 3 dozen

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Cookie Extravaganza

It's Christmas time and I want cookies!!! I have to admit that I've never made cookies myself other than those "place and bake" types, so it was imperative to find some easy recipes for this cookie baking virgin ;)

I have 3 recipes to share and they are NOT WW friendly!!! Drink extra water, run a few laps around the block, and take some fiber tablets to counteract all the taste testing you'll be doing with these recipes.

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies
*The word "easy" is in the title for a reason!*

1 c. peanut butter (I used creamy)
3/4 c. white sugar
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ingredients in a bowl. Roll cookies into 1" balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press down with a fork to flatten. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are brown.

*If the dough looks too runny, just add a bit more sugar. The dough should be stiff.*

Quaker Oats Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I guess you could search high and low for another, comparable oatmeal raisin cookie recipe, but why bother? This one is awesome!

2 sticks butter, softened
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1.5 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
3 c. Quaker Oats (quick or old-fashioned, uncooked)
1 c. raisins

Preheat oven to 350. Beat together margarine and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; mix well. Stir in oats and raisins; mix well. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack. Makes about 4 dozen.

Almond White Chocolate Chunk Cookies
*So rich and good, serve with a glass of milk*

2 sticks butter, softened
1.5 c. sugar
2 eggs
1.5 tsp. pure almond extract
2.25 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
8 oz. white baking chocolate, coarsely chopped (or you can use the morsels)
6 oz. slivered almonds

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer on medium until light and fluffy. Add eggs and extract; beat until well blended. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually beat into butter mixture until well mixed. Stir in chocolate and almonds. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls 1 inch apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake in 375 degree oven for 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let stand for 2 minutes on cooking sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Cranberry and Herb Turkey Burger (5 WW Pts)

Ingredients:
-6 tablespoons whole wheat couscous
-1/2 c. boiling water
-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (I omitted this, but it might help the burger hold up better)
-1 small onion, finely chopped
-1 stalk celery, minced (I omitted this)
-1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (I used ground)
-1.5 teaspoon chopped sage (I used ground)
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1/2 tsp. pepper
-1 can whole cranberries (or you can use 1/4 c. dried cranberries, finely chopped)
-1 pound 93% lean ground turkey

Directions:
  1. Place couscous in a large bowl. Pour in boiling water, stir and set aside until the water is absorbed, about 5 minutes. If grilling the burgers, preheat grill to medium-high.
  2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add celery; cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add thyme, sage, salt and pepper; cook until fragrant, about 20 seconds more. Transfer the mixture to the bowl with the couscous, add cranberries and stir to combine. Let cool for 5 minutes. Add turkey and stir until combined; do not over mix. Form the mixture into 6 patties.
  3. To cook on the stove top: Coat a large nonstick skillet, preferably cast-iron, with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the patties, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 4 minutes. Turn and cook on the other side for 2 minutes. Cover and continue to cook until lightly browned but still juicy (the juices should run clear, not pink), about 4 minutes more. (An instant-read thermometer inserted in the center should read 165 degrees F.) To grill: Oil the grill rack (see Tip) and grill the burgers for 5 to 6 minutes per side, flipping gently to avoid breaking them. Serve immediately (I put them on whole wheat hamburger buns)
Yield: 6 servings

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Halloween Brownies

Ok, I'll admit that my idea of "baking" usually means stirring up the contents of a package into a bowl and then dumping it into a pan and baking it in the oven for about 30 minutes. This recipe was a little more involved than that.

I wanted something with chocolate, relatively easy to make, and low in points. A quick search on WW and behold! I found it!

SCREAM! CHEESE HALLOWEEN SWIRL BROWNIES
Filling

2 packages (3 oz each) Fat Free cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
4 drops red food color
4 drops yellow food color
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Brownies

1 box Betty Crocker® Supreme brownie mix (with chocolate syrup pouch)
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used vanilla fat free yogurt to reduce the points by 1)
1/4 cup water
2 eggs

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with shortening or cooking spray. In small bowl, beat filling ingredients with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Set aside.
2. In large bowl, stir brownie ingredients until well blended. Spread 3/4 of brownie batter in pan. Spoon filling by tablespoonfuls evenly onto brownie batter. Spoon remaining brownie batter over filling. For marbled design, pull knife through batter and filling in wide curves; turn pan and repeat.
3. Bake 26 to 30 minutes or until set. Cool completely at room temperature, about 1 hour. Refrigerate at least 1 hour until chilled. For brownies, cut with plastic knife into 6 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Quick Fix Cheeseburger Meatloaf (7 points)

Meatloaf is a compound word that I think is weird. Meat doesn't come in loaves. This is wrong. I found this recipe from the Kraft Foods website and I really enjoyed it. The best part is that it didn't taste like meatloaf at all. It tasted like a cheeseburger. Yummy :)

1 lb. lean ground beef
10 PREMIUM Saltine Crackers, crushed (about 1/2 cup)
2 Tbsp. GREY POUPON Dijon Mustard
1/4 cup ketchup
3/4 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese

PREHEAT oven to 375°F. Mix meat, cracker crumbs and mustard until well blended.
PAT meat mixture into 8-inch loaf pan. Bake 40 min. or until cooked through (160°F).
SPREAD meat loaf with ketchup; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 5 min. or until cheese is melted.

Makes 4 servings at 7 points each.

No Fuss Tex Mex Roll Ups

This week's dinners has been taken from the Kraft Foods Website. They have a wonderful feature under the "Dinner" tab called "1 bag, 5 dinners." This is EXACTLY what I need--preplanned dinners for Monday-Friday. Okay, so Friday is always "pizza night" at Kraft Foods, but you can always substitute other meals. Enough chit chat, here's the recipe:

1/4 c. Italian Dressing (substitute a "lite" kind for fewer points--I had to use what I had on hand)
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 c. salsa
2 c. chopped red peppers (about 2 peppers)
8 medium flour tortillas (6-inch)
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 c. light sour cream
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (use Fat Free for lower points values)

Brown meat and drain. Add peppers and chili powder. Cook over medium-high heat until peppers are tender crisp. Remove from heat.

Stir in sour cream and 1/4 c. of shredded cheese. Spoon about 1/3 of mixture onto tortillas. Wrap up and place in a 13x9 inch casserole dish. Drizzle with Italian dressing. Top with salsa and shredded cheese.

Broil 4 to 6 inches from heat source for 3 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Makes 8 tortillas
2 tortillas per serving

*To cut calories and points value, I just had one tex mex roll up (5 points)

Monday, August 27, 2007

Bran Muffins (1 WW per muffin!)

These babies are LOADED with fiber. You can also add fruit to make them more tasty!


1.5c. wheat bran
1.5c. wheat flour
1.25c. milk
2 egg whites
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 c. fruit (juicy--pineapple, raspberry, blueberry, etc).
1/2c. packed splenda brown sugar

mix all the wet ingredients with brown sugar and wheat bran. Let sit 15mins. Mix in flour and baking powder. Put into muffin pan. Cook 18-20 mins (until toothpick comes out clean).

Guilt Free Alfredo (6 WW Points)

After a long summer, I'm back at work and meal planning is key! Tonight I made linguini alfredo and this recipe is definitely a keeper!

1.25 cup chicken broth
3 tbsps. unbleached flour
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/4 c. fat free plain yogurt
8 ounces linguini, cooked (I used the whole wheat kind)
1/4 c. parmesan cheese

In a saucepan, combine broth, flour, salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. Over medium heat, cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add yogurt. Fold in cooked linguini and parmesan cheese.

176 calories, 2g fat, 1g fiber. Makes 6 servings.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Meatballs (5 WW Pts.)





This recipe originally came from the Cooking Light magazine's January 1997 issue, but I got it online somewhere.

1.5 pounds ground round
1/4 cup finely shredded fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1 tsp. dry mustard
3/4 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 garlic cloves, crushed (I used minced garlic)
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Combine all ingredients except cooking spray in a bowl; stir well. Don't be afraid to get in there with your hands and blend it all together! Shape mixture into 30 (1.5 inch) meatballs. Place on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until done.

I went overboard on the crushed red pepper (3/4 tsp.) and garlic (2 big spoonfuls). I made meatball subs out of this meal (topped them with pizza sauce and parmesan cheese and served on whole wheat sub rolls). I'll either keep the leftovers and use them in spaghetti or let Rich make more meatball subs with them for lunch.


Nutritional Info:
5 per serving (1 point per meatball)
228 Calories; 8.8g Fat, 27.4g Protein; 8.2g Carbs; 0.8g Fiber; 73mg cholestrol; 3.4mg Iron; 370mg Sodium; 95mg Calcium

Monday, July 30, 2007

Company Chicken (6 WW points)



I'm not having company over tonight, but this recipe is so good if you want to share. It will definitely be a hit if you serve it at a party. It's also good comfort food. So yummy--cheesy, salty, crunchy goodness. Serves 6.

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
6 slices of fat-free Swiss cheese
1 can 98% fat-free condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup skim milk
pepper
garlic salt
1 3/4 cup herbed stuffing mix (I used Stove Top Chicken flavored mix)

Preheat oven to 350 F
Place chicken breasts in well sprayed cooking pan
Season with pepper and garlic salt to taste (this is optional--the soup, cheese, and stuffing have enough flavor in them, in my opinion)
Place cheese slices on top of chicken
Mix soup and milk together
Pour mixture over chicken and sprinkle with stuffing mix
Bake uncovered for 50 minutes


Sunday, July 29, 2007

Zucchini Bread (5 WW pts.)

What to do with a TON of garden fresh zucchini? Make zucchini bread of course! This recipe was taken from Allrecipes Tried and True Favorites cookbook. It takes 15 minutes to prepare, 1 hour and 10 minutes to cook, and makes 24 servings.

3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
2 cups white sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 tsps. vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
3 tsps. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Grease and flour two 8x4 inch loaf pans

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy. Mix in oil and sugar. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nuts; stir into the egg mixture. Divide batter into prepared pans. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until done.