Bestest Hot Chocolate

One 25-calorie packet hot cocoa mix (like Swiss Miss Diet or Nestle Fat Free)
2 tsp. fat-free non-dairy powdered creamer (like the kind by Coffee-mate)
2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

20 mini marshmallows (about 1/4 cup)
2 low-fat honey graham crackers (half a sheet), crushed

Place cocoa mix, powdered creamer, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips in a large mug. Add 1 cup very hot water, and stir until ingredients are fully dissolved, melted, and combined. Top with marshmallows.

Using a kitchen torch, toast the marshmallow layer for 5 - 10 seconds, until slightly melted and cooked to your liking. (Some like their 'mallows golden, some like 'em blackened!) Allow to cool slightly, and then top with crushed graham crackers.

MAKES 1 SERVING

Serving Size: 1 mug (entire recipe)
Calories: 178, Fat: 3.5g, Sodium: 202mg, Carbs: 35g, Fiber: 2.75g, Sugars: 18.5g, Protein: 3.5g, POINTS® value 3*

Shake Superior

Ingredients:
1 Jell-O Sugar Free Creamy Caramel (or Dulce de Leche) Pudding Snack
1/2 cup apple cider (plain, not sparkling)
1/4 cup freeze-dried apple pieces (like Gerber Graduates Apple Mini Fruits)
1/4 cup fat-free vanilla ice cream
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup crushed ice or 5 - 8 ice cubes
2 T Fat Free Reddi-wip

Directions:
Place all ingredients except for Reddi-wip into a blender. Blend until smooth, and then pour into a nice tall glass. (Or even a crummy tall glass. Your call.)

Top with Reddi-wip, stick a straw in it, and enjoy! MAKES 1 SERVING

Serving Size: 1 shake with whipped topping (entire recipe)
Calories: 199, Fat: 1g, Sodium: 250mg, Carbs: 45g, Fiber: 2g, Sugars: 23.5g
Protein: 2.5g, POINTS® value 4*

Mr. Puffy Pumpkinhead Freezy-Cool Whoopie Pie

PER SERVING (entire recipe, 1 "whoopie pie"): 168 calories, 2g fat, 356mg sodium, 31.5g carbs, 7g fiber, 14g sugars, 8g protein -- POINTS® value 3*

Ingredients:
1 VitaTop (Deep Chocolate, Double Chocolate Dream, or Triple Chocolate Chunk), frozen
3 tbsp. Cool Whip Free, thawed
2 tbsp. fat-free cream cheese, room temperature
2 tbsp. canned pure pumpkin
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 no-calorie sweetener packet (like Splenda)

Directions:
Carefully slice VitaTop in half lengthwise, so that you are left with 2 thin round Vita "slices." Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine all other ingredients. Stir until smooth. Spoon mixture into a small sealable plastic bag, and squeeze it down toward a bottom corner of the bag. Snip a tiny bit of that corner off with scissors, so that you have a makeshift piping bag for distributing the filling.

Lay the bottom slice of your Vita flat, with the cut side down. The exposed side will be the "face" of Mr. Puffy -- it is the smoothest, most beautiful surface to work on. Carefully draw a jack-o-lantern face on it with the pumpkin mixture: 2 solid triangles for eyes and a squiggly mouth. (See photo!) Set aside.

Lay the top slice of the Vita flat, with the cut side up. Squeeze ALL of the remaining pumpkin mixture (there will be A LOT!) evenly onto the exposed side. Gently place the other Vita slice -- with the "face" up -- on top, creating a sandwich with a pumpkin-mixture filling.

Freeze until solid, about 1 hour. MAKES 1 SERVING

Chipotle

Amazing how fast it adds up!

Mellow Yellow Cupcakes

Simple, totally guilt-free vanilla cupcakes that you can make in your very own home. Let the vanilla begin!

Ingredients:

For Frosting
1 1/4 cups Cool Whip Free, thawed
1 1/2 tbsp. Jell-O Sugar Free Fat Free Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix

For Cupcakes
Half of an 18.25-oz. box (about 1 1/2 cups) moist-style yellow cake mix
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 cup Sprite Zero (or another diet lemon-lime soda), room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup liquid egg whites or (about 4) raw egg whites

For Topping
3 tbsp. rainbow sprinkles

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the frosting, combine Cool Whip with pudding mix in a bowl, and mix until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until cupcakes are ready t o be frosted.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix with baking powder and stir until free of lumps. Add soda and vanilla extract, and stir or whisk until batter is smooth. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whip egg whites with a handheld electric mixer set to medium speed until fluffy, about 1 - 2 minutes. Gently mix egg whites into the cake batter until thoroughly combined.

Line 9 cups of a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups and/or spray with nonstick spray. Evenly distribute batter among the 9 cups. Cups will be VERY full -- this is okay!

Bake for 15 - 17 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out fairly clean. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

Once cupcakes have cooled, top each evenly with the frosting and 1 tsp. sprinkles.

MAKES 9 SERVINGS

Serving Size: 1 frosted cupcake with sprinkles
Calories: 164, Fat: 3g, Sodium: 293mg, Carbs: 30g, Fiber: 0g, Sugars: 16g, Protein: 2.5g, POINTS® value 4*

Yum Yum Chocolate Cake

PER SERVING (1 slice, 1/12th of cake): 181 calories, 3.5g fat, 357mg sodium, 37g carbs, 2g fiber, 20g sugars, 2g protein -- POINTS® value 4*

Ingredients:
One 18.25-oz. box devil's food cake mix
One 15-oz. can pure pumpkin

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix the two ingredients together in a bowl. Don't add anything else that may be mentioned on the box, such as eggs, oil, or water. The mixture will be very thick, so you might be tempted to add in other things to make the batter smoother. Do NOT do this! Just keep on stirring until completely mixed.

Transfer batter to a 9-inch cake pan sprayed with nonstick spray, and smooth out the top with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Place pan in the oven, and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Allow to cool, and then cut into 12 slices. Enjoy! MAKES 12 SERVINGS

Monkey Business

Gooey. Sweet. Sticky. Delicious. Clearly, these are all good things... especially when they're describing guilt-free monkey bread. Check it out!

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated), divided
2 tsp. cinnamon, divided
2 tbsp. light whipped butter or light buttery spread (like Brummel & Brown)
2 tbsp. sugar-free pancake syrup
2 tbsp. brown sugar (not packed)
1 package Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations Seamless Dough Sheet
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix 1 tbsp. Splenda and 1 tsp. cinnamon in a large bowl or container. Set aside. Spray six x cups of a muffin pan with nonstick spray, and set pan aside as well.

Place a small pot on the stove, but do not heat it. Add butter, syrup, brown sugar, 2 tbsp. Splenda, and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Leave this on the unheated stove, to be melted and mixed later on.

Roll out the dough on a clean dry surface, and sprinkle evenly with baking powder. Gently smooth baking powder into the sheet with your fingers.

Cut dough sheet width wise into six strips equal in size. Cut each strip into four squares. Roll each square into a ball, for a total of 24 dough balls.

Place 12 dough balls in the bowl with the Splenda-cinnamon mixture. Lightly toss to coat, and then place them gently in the muffin pan, with four dough balls in each of three cups. No need to press the dough balls into the pan -- just let them fall naturally. Repeat with remaining dough balls, so that each of the six muffin cups contains four coated dough balls. Set aside.

Bring the small pot on the stove to medium heat. Stirring frequently, heat just until butter has melted and contents are mixed well. Evenly spoon the butter mixture over the dough balls.

Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes, or until puffy and firm. Allow to cool slightly, and then plate and enjoy!

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

Serving Size: 4 pieces (1/6th of recipe)
Calories: 154, Fat: 7.5g, Sodium: 369mg, Carbs: 21g, Fiber: 0.5g, Sugars: 6.5g, Protein: 2g

Casserole in a "Jiffy"

1 pkg Healthy Choice Sausage
1 can Turkey Chili, No Beans
Cheese (Cheddar is good)
1 Box Jiffy Corn Bread (made according to package instructions)


Slice sausage into quarter size discs then layer sausage in bottom of casserole dish. Pour can of chili evenly over top. Add a layer of cheese. Top with Corn Bread batter. Bake according to corn bread package instructions.

Green Beans

Without good old BACON in green beans, well, they aren't as yummy...until now.

This is super simple and very delicious. You roast the green beans in the oven - I like that too.

Fresh green beans prepared for cooking
1/2 large red onion, peeled and sliced into slivers

Combine and place in oven on about 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and pour the following over and cook an additional 10 minutes.

1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced thinly
4 tablespoons basalmic vinegar
ground pepper to taste
1-2 teaspoon brown sugar (according to how sweet you like it-try one first)

After another 10 minutes (total of 20) pull out of oven, add chopped almonds and serve!

Easiest Bread Ever

This is so easy even ... a caveman? ... can do it! No kneading, no waiting for it to rise.

3 cups self rising flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 12 oz beer

Mix all together. Pour into a greased or sprayed bread loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.

Get out the butter!

Gumbo-Made without adding oil for roux!

How far from "Just 4 ingredients" can I get? But this is so great I have to share it.

This is one meal I make that my husband will even eat left overs until they are G-O-N-E.

I make it with whole wheat flour which gives is more bulk and is a bit healthier - but I have used regular white flour. I actually like it better made with the whole wheat but you can make it either way.

Ingredients

3-4 stalks celery, diced
1 large onion, diced
2 peppers, any color (I use one yellow and one red-but green is fine), seeded & diced
2-3 Chicken breasts, boneless skinless, cut into about 1 inch pieces
1 pkg Healthy Choice Sausage, cut into bite size pieces
1 c whole wheat flour
3 T Tony Chachere’s seasoning (I use lite and I don't always use all of it)
3 t garlic
2 Bay leaves
Pepper
File Gumbo
2-32 oz cartons Swanson’s chicken broth, fat free, low sodium

Tip: Chop up everything and measure all seasonings before you turn on the first burner!

Spray skillet with non-stick cooking spay (like Pam) heavy. Add all the vegetables and 2-3 teaspoons of Tony Chachere’s seasoning, and then spray the veggies with the cooking spray also. Cook until the veggies are wilted. Add a little bit of the chicken broth if it gets too dry. When wilted, add diced chicken and sausage to the veggies and continue cooking. (If you don't have a pan big enough, remove some veggies and set aside.)

Meanwhile, add flour to a large, deep pot or Dutch oven. Stir constantly over medium high heat. The flour will turn about two to three shades deeper in color. When that happens add the seasoning (about 2 teaspoons) and continue to stir. DO NOT STOP STIRRING or it will burn. When you feel the color is right (you can tell easier with white flour than with the whole wheat but you can smell the difference) begin to add chicken broth.

Add a little bit at a time. It will first make a paste, just keep adding slowly and incorporate and then add more until you have incorporated an entire carton. Don't panic, just add until you get it to a point that it is more liquid than paste. I use a potato rice to incorporate the flour into the liquid.

When you have the first carton mixed into the flour add in the chicken/sausage and veggies mixture and all juice from the pan. Cook this mixture for about 5 minutes then add the 2^nd carton. You shouldn't need any more chicken stock but you can add more if you like a more thin consistency. I usually simmer very low for about 30 minutes.

Check flavor and see if you need to add any more seasoning. You can add peeled raw shrimp and it will cook very quickly in the hot liquid.

Serve with brown rice if you wish or French bread.

"Laisse le bon temps rouler!"

The Pizzomelet

We make a mean pizza at the house. Jiffy makes a very inexpensive pizza dough (just add water) which we pre-bake (we like crisp dough) and then each of us adds the toppings we like. Needless to say, there are usually left overs and a few weekends back we invented the "Pizz-omelet". It is now very popular for breakfast!

The left over pizza is cut up into small pieces (nickel or so size) and I spray non-stick spray in a cast iron skillet put any skillet that can be placed in the oven will work.

Put the pizza in the sprayed skillet then pour eggbeaters (or real eggs) until just barely covers the pizza. Bake until set.

PIZZOMELET!

Smoked Chicken Enchildas

We smoked a chicken on the grill and I had leftover meat. So I made these. There is a lot of room for variations. I used what I had on hand. I think you can replace the soup with Cream of Chicken with no problem.

Chopped chicken into small pieces (dice)
In a bowl mix the following:
1 can Campbell's southwestern chicken Verde soup
3/4 cup sour cream, nonfat
3/4 cup Pace Picante (or other brand) sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 diced yellow pepper (I had a leftover roasted one, peeled and chopped so I threw it in)
----------------------------------------
Spinach, diced and steamed in microwave
2 cups Monterey jack or extra sharp cheddar cheese or mixture

Heat the corn tortillas in a plastic container in the microwave for a minute or so. When pliable, build as follows: 1 Tablespoon each chicken, cheese and sauce and a little of the spinach.
R0ll like a cigar and place in sprayed casserole dish. This amount of ingredients made about 8-9 enchiladas with enough cheese left to sprinkle on top.

Cook in 350 degree oven for about 30-45 minutes.

Corn Bread Casserole

I haven't taken the time to add recipes lately - life has interrupted. But I do have a couple of new ones to share. This one is quite easy and very good.

Pour all of following into a bowl.

1 can each corn, drained and cream of corn
1 egg or 1 equal to egg eggbeaters
1 cup sour cream, fat free or 1 cup plain non-fat yogurt
1 corn bread mix (I used Jiffy)
1 cup shredded cheddar, optional
1/4 butter (I used the "I can't believe it is not butter" spray[fat free])

Mix this all together and pour into a sprayed casserole and bake at the temperature on the cornbread box for a little longer than stated. It stays soft but it shouldn't be wet or super gooey.

This is delicious and a great side for pork. I even froze it and it reheated nicely.

Peas Dip

Don't let the peas discourage you. It is an excellent, easy, and inexpensive dip and almost like guacamole.

1 bag of frozen peas(defrosted)
1/4 cup of chopped onion
1/4 bunch of cilantro
1 Tablespoon of lime juice

In a blender, blend peas until it is a smooth mixture. Add onions, limejuice, and cilantro. Blend for 1 minute. For tomato eaters, mix in pre made salsa or tomatoes as you get ready to serve it!

Porky

1 pork tenderloin, about a pound
3 tablespoons apricot preserves
5 tablespoons honey mustard

Season tenderloin with salt and pepper; in small bowl stir together the preserves and mustard. Coat tenderloin with mixture and bake at 350 about 40 minutes or until done.

Makes 4 servings.

Mexican Casserole

You can play with many of these ingredients. For instance, if you have no peppers, leave them out. No taco seasoning - use cumin. No canned tomatoes - use fresh with some water.

Cooking spray
1 small white or yellow onion, small dice
½-1 green and/or red pepper, small dice
1 small garlic clove, minced
1-tablespoon fat free chicken broth
1 cup cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts or cooked boneless skinless chicken thighs, shredded or diced small (Can use canned chicken)
1/4 cup fat free chicken broth
3-4 teaspoons taco seasoning
1/3 cup canned pinto beans or black beans or red beans or kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup diced tomatoes, canned with juice
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 package Jiffy Corn Bread Mix
1/2 cup nonfat milk or non-fat milk
1 egg equivalent Eggbeaters or similar product
2 tablespoons soy cheddar cheese (optional) or light cheddar cheese, shredded (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a non-stick skillet, with cooking spray. Add the onions and peppers and cook until soft. Add 1 tablespoon of broth when necessary to moisten.

Add the shredded chicken, chili powder, cumin, and broth and stir until the broth is heated. Now add the tomatoes, corn, beans. Bring the mixture to a simmer and allow to reduce liquid a bit. Transfer to a one-quart casserole.

In a small bowl, prepare the cornbread according to the package. Add the cheese if using. Top the casserole with the cornmeal mixture. Place the casserole on a cookie sheet in case of overflow and place in the oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The cornmeal topping should be puffy and slightly browned.

Serve with any of the following: diced raw onion, jalapeño, shredded non-fat cheddar, picante sauce and non-fat sour cream.

Chicken Salad

This is really great. And so easy as to be ridiculous. I have never bought or used canned chicken before - not sure why - I use tuna. It just never appealed to me but I've changed my tune with this recipe. The bacon is the already made into bits and is like 50% less fat and calories. I bought it at Sam's Club.

1 can of shredded chicken (same size as tuna)
2 T bacon described above
Fat Free Ranch Dressing

Mix all together. Serve with crackers on a bed of lettuce. Very good!

Apricot Chicken

1/4 C. apricot preserves, sugar free if possible
1/4 C. Mustard, any type but Dijon is best
4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless

Mix the apricot preserves and mustard together well in a bowl large enough to place the chicken. Remove half of sauce and hold to the side.

Place the chicken in the bowl and mix all together well to evenly coat the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees. Spray a roasting pan with non-stick roasting spray, arrange the chicken in it and bake for 20 minutes, turning once half way through the cooking process.

Baste the chicken with half of the remaining sauce and broil for 5-6 minutes. Turn the chicken again, baste with the remaining sauce and broil an additional 5-6 minutes.

Serve with couscous and a salad and you have a full meal!

Garlic Butter

By now, I am sure everyone knows this gem but just in case I will share it with you. I usually do a few at a time. It stores very well in the fridge. You can spread it on bread as is but it is also great for cooking, marinades and anywhere you might want a milder garlic flavor.

I the center of a square of aluminum foil place whole garlic pods, in tack (unpeeled). Spray well with nonstick cooking spray (I like the butter flavored but olive oil works too.)

Wrap and seal and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. The garlic should "smoosh" easily when it is done.

Let it cool until you can handle it then squeeze the cloves and collect the soft inside garlic.

You can use this as is or add to a little of the spray no calorie butter.

Tex-Mex Enchiladas

Need a Mexican Food Fix - here it is! These are as good as some you get at the restaurant. I added the veggies because I wanted to get them into my husband but you can leave them out totally. This made 8 generous enchiladas.

8 corn tortillas - I used Mission Extra Thin (1 pt for 2 tortillas!)
can of Wolf Brand Turkey Chili no beans
can of enchilada sauce (I used red Tex-Mex style)
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped (you could use frozen thawed and moisture removed)
1/2 cup carrot, shredded
olive oil, 2 teaspoon
1/2 cup each Cheese, fat free cheddar, extra sharp cheddar, low-fat mozzarella

Spray the pan with nonstick spray. Add olive oil and cook all the veggies except spinach until tender. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Add 1/2 turkey chili and take off the fire.

Spray rectangle casserole type dish. Mix all the shredded cheeses together (save a bit to sprinkle across the finished enchiladas). Take one tortilla and put 1/8 of the cheese in then top with 1/8 of the chili mixture. Roll up and put seam down in the pan. Make the remaining tortillas.

Mix the rest of the chili with the can of the enchilada sauce then pour over the enchiladas and make sure to cover everything. Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serve with fat free sour cream and Mexican brown rice (cook 1 cup rice with 1 can of Rotel style tomatoes and 1 can water).

Buffalo "Wing" Nuggets

This weekend I made Buffalo Wings - well, sort of. My husband kept asking me "These aren't fried?" "Nope." I don't think he believed me but it was a simple "find" at the grocery store that I now share with you!

Shake and Bake - the Extra Crispy one
Chicken, skinless, boneless, and cut into bite size nuggets
Red Hot or any cajun hot sauce (Not Tabasco - it isn't vinegary enough)
I can't Believe it's not Butter, SPRAY
Fat Free Blue Cheese Dressing
Blue Cheese crumbles, the light version

Yes, that's right Shake and Bake worked. If you would rather use Ranch Dressing just substitute it for the Blue Cheese.

Cover the chicken with the hot suace and marinade. I did it overnight. Drain well and pat dry. Follow shake and Bake instructions. I pressed the crumbs in also. Cook in the oven according to the instructions but half way through turn the chicken over. I also cooked mine a bit longer.

Sauce: Mix equal parts of butter with hot sauce. You may want to adjust according to your heat/tang sensitivity. You can either cover the chicken in the sauce or serve for dipping on the side along with the blue cheese.

I added 1 tablespoon of the crumbles to the dressing to give it more of the blue cheese flavor.

I think I can be pretty happy with these the rest of my life. I may even like them better than actual wings!

Blue Cheese Dressing

Ingredients:

1/2 cup non-fat mayonnaise
3/4 cup low-fat blue cheese (I've only seen it in the already crumbled form)
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1/4 cup fat free cream cheese
Garlic, minced very fine
Black Pepper

In a food processor add the cream cheese, sour cream and mayo and garlic and 1/4 c of the blue cheese. Process. Pour into a bowl and fold in the rest of the cheese and add pepper. Refrigerate until served.

At 2 tablespoons a serving this really isn't too bad and tastes better than what they sell in the bottle that is fat free.

The Wrapper

This is wonderfully easy (and low points too especially if you keep it vegetarian). The variety of ingredients you can come up with means you should never get bored.

Under the veggie column you can pick as many as you wish up to a cup. The rest you do have to watch your amounts. Here's what you do - the blueprint so to speak:

Get the whole wheat tortillas (you can also use whole wheat pitas or rice wraps which may be more difficult to find - whichever you use be sure to look for the ones that are not fried, have high fiber, low fat/calories. They need to be big enough to make a wrap sandwich. (Pitas you stuff.)

Now, pick a condiment like fat free mayo (the "point" is to keep it at 1 point or less), if you want add from the "Free" category, then as many veggies as you wish up to a cup in total, 1 item from the Alternative List (at no more than 1 teaspoon preferable) can be added, 1 from the meat and 1 from the cheese. Remember you don't have to have the cheese or the meat, it's all up to your taste buds!

Last, fold one end about a third of the way up, then turn it sideways and roll the whole thing like a cigar. Eat from the open end.

The secret is to keep the higher calorie/fat (point) items to 2 tablespoons or less and keep cheese down also. I chop or dice all vegetables and according to my taste bud for that meal I might cook them a bit or a lot or not at all. I keep meat to a minimum and use low calorie versions like turkey.

TIPS: I add fresh (dry will work too) ground herbs to the cream cheese or mayo to brighten up the flavor.

Mexican version: salsa, fat free sour cream, refried beans, fat free cheddar or veggie queso with onion, raw jalapeño and spinach (either fresh or nuke a bit till it wilts), chicken. So, as you can see I am using both chicken and the refried beans. This means that I have to watch the calories/fat (points) but I can use both. Same with using sour cream and cheese - watch your portions - but you can have both. This is a sample of a higher point wrap but if you a craving Mexican food this will satisfy that urge to splurge!

Free
Salsa, flavored vinegar, mustard

Veggie (Fresh Non-Starchy)
Spinach, chopped, zucchini, squash, cabbage, onion (any type), mushrooms, tomatoes
radishes, peppers, jalapeño (raw), cucumber, mixed greens, lettuce, carrot, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower

Alternative (1 to 1-1/2 teaspoon)
pickles, jalapeño (pickled), olives

Condiment-No more than 2 Tablespoons
Fat Free Mayo, Fat Free Refried Beans, Fat Free Sour Cream
Fat Free Dressing: Ranch, Caesar, Ginger, Honey Mustard, Raspberry, French, Thousand Island
BBQ Sauce, Balsamic vinegar
(you get the idea-just stick with fat free and 2 T. or less)

Cheese
up to 2 slices of fat free cheese, any flavor, Fat Free Cream Cheese, Veggie Cheese (watch these they still have fat)

Protein/Starch
Luncheon Meat, Chicken, Turkey, Edemame, brown rice, boiled shrimp, Black Beans, Corn (mix these two together!), tuna (water packed)

Now, get to wrapping & rolling!

Balsamic Vinegar

At a restaurant recently I ordered one of my favorite, and fairly healthy, salads. Tomato Caprice was the title at this particular culinary eatery. It is the thick "beef eaters" tomatoes, lush fresh moist mozzarella (the kind that comes in the watery milky liquid), red onion, fresh basil leaves and balsamic vinegar. If you have had this more than once and at several restaurants you know that it can vary in quality hugely from locale to locale.

I decided to spend the time and the money to find out what makes it the best it can be. My findings: $20 balsamic vinegar along with freshest ingredients possible make this easy salad beyond anything you can imagine.

The balsamic vinegar really makes the difference. The rich, thick, syrup of the aged vinegar from Modena needed no other addition to take these tomatoes, onion, basil and cheese to the top level in taste. But first you must truly understand balsamic vinegar.

Balsamic vinegar can be anywhere from $3 a bottle to $500.00 a bottle-I am not kidding. But these vinegars are as different as can be from one another. The higher priced vinegars are aged much longer than the thin, light, younger vinegars. Much like wine, it does make a difference in the aging. The more expensive balsamic are used sparingly - drop by drop - rather than poured liberally.

Needless to say I wasn't going to "cough up" the high end $500 so I searched through my gourmet deli's selection of about 50 different varieties for the ultimate middle priced/high quality choice. In doing so I learned also about the "4 leaf" grading system. The more leaves the better the quality.

One leaf is more acidic and each leaf up becomes much smoother. Three leaf Balsamic has a well rounded, full-bodied flavor. The four leaf is of course the one we wanted to try but most were over the $$ we wanted to pay (around $100 at the store we were at.) My $20 bottle has 4 leaves so although not the most expensive, it is the highest quality in its price range. The liquid is thick (as I could see through the bottle during my search) and sweet. (My husband and I debated drinking it.) I now truly understand strawberries served with balsamic vinegar and whipped cream and am looking forward to strawberry season.

True balsamic vinegar is only produced in Italy's regions of Modena and Reggio and is reduction of white sweet grapes that are boiled to a syrup by cooking slowly in copper cauldrons over an open flame until the water content is reduced by over 50%. The syrupy result is called "must" and is placed into wooden barrels (only approved woods are oak, cherry, chestnut, mulberry,juniper, and ash) and an older balsamic vinegar is added to assist in the "acetification".

Each year the vinegar is transferred to different wood barrels so that the vinegar can obtain some of the flavors of the different woods. The vinegar is divided into young (3-5 years), middle (6-12 years) and the very old (at least 12 years and up to 150 years old).

Chocolate Brownie Fluff

Ready for some chocolate? Always!

This is something that sounds like it would be plain weird but it is so yummy and chocolate and rich, you'll love it. The warning - it is still not really low calorie but I hope to fix that when I find a lower calorie cake mix which is where a lot of the calories and fat come from.

The recipe makes a lot - a crockpot full. Served with vanilla ice cream it can probably serve as many as 16, served alone about 8-9 helpings of about 1/2 cup servings I would guess.

Crock Pot
Egg White or Egg Beaters equal to 5 eggs
1 pint fat free sour cream
1 chocolate cake mix
1 sugar free/fat free instant pudding mix
1/2 cup sugar free apple sauce (one of those little one serving size)
1 cup water

Spray the crock pot with nonstick spray. In separate bowl stir all ingredients together. Pour into crock pot, cover with lid and cook on low for 4 hours.

You can add a cup of chocolate chips or pecans or both if you aren't worried about the calories and fat but it is good just like this!

Guess what I Discovered?

..."I can't believe it's not butter" CAN be used for the butter dip with your cooked artichokes! And it's good -really! (We also recently used it with crab legs and it worked too.)

Buy artichokes that are as tightly closed as possible and the darker the green the better too. Like a flower, once the leaves start opening up they aren't as fresh and the leaves get tough. The secret is the boil - this gives the choke the flavor, then you can dip in the "butter" and not miss the fat.

The 'Choke

Just trim the end a little the stalk is actually eatable and very good like the center. If you want to trim the top you can but I usually don't bother.

The Boil

Big pot of water (pot should have a lid). Add the following to boil 4 chokes.

4 bay leaves
1 T cracked black pepper
4 gloves unpeeled garlic
1 t sea salt
Sprig Rosemary
1 c chicken stock (non-fat, low sodium please - you can use bullion cube for ease)
1 lemon cut in half

You want to boil them until you can very easily pluck a leaf off. It can take 45 minutes if they are big - or only 25 if small. You have to check-but they must be tender!

WW - this is almost point free!

Parmesan "Toast" Chips or Cheese Cookies

These little Cheesy-Cookies are very simple and are quite lovely on a simple salad as a "crouton" topping.

As always GOOD QUALITY parmesan grated coursely not fine, about 1 cup. To this add freshly ground pepper and 1 tablespoon of flour. Place by tablespoon on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes in the oven at 350.

Everyone will think you slaved to make these. Top a salad with one cookie and it becomes very special indeed!

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve supper I decided to really go all out. Quail in Port Cherry sauce, Acorn Squash with orange cinnamon "Butter", Cork Screw (whole-wheat) Pasta with Pesto Sauce (I used a total of 2 tablespoons oil in 4 servings!!) and a salad with baked goat cheese in the center that squished out when you cut into it - very yummy. And yes, it was all very low calorie compared to the regular versions.

Here I am going to share the goat cheese "discovery". This salad is one I had a few years back at a local restaurant called Backstreet Cafe where nothing is healthy and everything is devine! It was delicious so I decided it would be a good one to "de-fat". And it was sooo simple. The following makes 4 generous servings.

Mixed salad greens
2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
Granny Smith Apple, diced and sprayed with lemon or dipped in lemon-water (so it doesn't brown)
4 oz. Goat Cheese (I used tube size with garlic and herbs but it doesn't really matter but the tube size is easy to "form")
Sugar Glazed Pecans (you can just buy these rather than making them but to make them wet the pecans and then shake them in Splenda brand brown sugar and bake until glazed. Store in air tight container.)
Good Quality Basamic Vinegar
Good Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
About 6-9 Melba Toast rounds, crushed fine I used the processor)

The goat cheese needs to be divided into 4-1/2 inch pieces that are like a small golf ball that has been squashed. (The normal recipe calls for flouring, dipping it in egg wash, then bread crumbs. I found that crushed melba toasts provided the "crunch" once baked without the added calories and fat.)

So take each piece and cover in the crumbs - sort of press them in -and cover well. Now you have to freeze them before baking so that when you bake them they stay together and don't melt into a puddle. Once frozen, bake at 475 degrees on the top position in the oven for about 10-11 minutes. Oh, I also sprayed them with cooking spray right before sticking in the oven.

While they are cooking, pull together your salad. I place pecans, greens and apple in a big bowl and dress. The dressing is dijon mustard with oil & vinegar mixed well, pour over salad and toss to coat. When you plate you want the cheese underneath the salad sort of like a surprise!

A hint on the pecans. I chopped them up so that a mere tablespoon in a salad seems like a lot more when you are eating the salad.

I know I will never write a cookbook since I never measure anything-but I think you can make this without knowing exact amounts!

For WW- the entire salad is about 5 points according to the amount of oil you use and the number of pecans. You can cut it further by cutting the pecans totally and using the spray salad dressing.

But I think it was worth it!

Cheesecake-Too Good to Believe!

This turned out very well. I carried one of the mini cheesecakes to my Mother and Dad to try and was given raves. You might think, *well, it's her folks*. Believe me, if they didn't love it they would most definitely tell me!

This is my first attempt. I am going to try making a chocolate version and a more limey one and also making a lower calorie/fat crust using Smart Beat. For this I bought the pre-made mini 6 to a package graham cracker crusts.

Filing:

8 oz fat-free cream cheese
2/3 cups egg beaters
1 cup Splenda for baking
1 T lime juice
pinch salt

Place all in food processor and process until smooth. Pour equally into between 6 crusts. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes (firm-not hard-just not jiggly). Once cool refrigerate under cold to serve.

WW-About 4 points-2 of which were the crust. It was actually good enough to cook crustless.

BBQ Shrimp Cajun Style-NO HEAVY diet food here!

I write for a magazine - and yes one of the columns is food. You can't even imagine hot hard that has been since I started Weight Watchers. Anyway, the next issue I wrote about Cajun BBQ Shrimp - which is made with A POUND OF BUTTER AND A CUP OF OLIVE OIL. I have to cook it to take pictures for the article and I had been putting it off because I knew we (my husband and I) would EAT IT ALL!

We were invited to friends for Christmas for dinner. They have a group every year and cook prime rib (very well I might add) and everyone brings a side. Perfect timing! I made the shrimp. I only ate two. Husband only ate two. We survived, copped the pix and everyone else raved about the shrimp! I had the best of all worlds!

This is something that we used to eat in New Orleans when we lived there-I have NEVER EVER seen it on any other menu in any other place other than Louisiana...and they don't share the recipe so I had to figure it out myself. NOW there are a lot of versions on the web-this is one more but I have never made it without getting a friend for life. I am asked to make it constantly and was even asked last night. Since we live near the ocean it is easy to get the biggest freshest shrimp with head on-not so for others-but it is a very important part of the dish so I INSIST you use them with heads on or the results are not guaranteed.

Shrimps, head-on unpeeled-yeah, the whole thing in a 2 inch deep baking dish. They can be crammed in but only one layer please. The fat from the head is part of the richness of the sauce.

Sprinkle with rosemary and crushed garlic.(You need not use fresh herbs it works fine with the jar version.) Take one pounds of butter and cut it in to pieces and place around and on the shrimp.

I take the olive oil and just pour it all over the top-you need not use the entire cup but do drizzle all over.

Now, this is the difficult part and I cannot stress this enough - you must do this to get the sauce right. COVER ALL THE SHRIMP VERY VERY (VERY) heavily with regular black pepper. This is the key to the entire dish.

Bake at 350 degrees until the shrimp are done (pink and firm)and serve in the middle of the table with a lot of good French bread for dipping into the butter/oil sauce. You have to let it cool or it will burn your hands trying to peel it.

Potato Latkes

Potatoes just rock in my world. Between those and cheese, well that's where my thighs came from...well, and Mexican food...and chocolate. Okay, I digress. This recipe is a lighter version of those yummy deep fried latkes. You'll note I have now totally gone to whole wheat flour in my recipes. Honestly I don't taste a difference in this type of cooking but it does give a nutty sort of flavor in some things. In the gumbo I think it actually made it better although I did worry at first taste.

These are yum - yum - yummy although they are still a little bit of a splurge once in a while it is worth it to have something you feel is a little sinful! On the oil, use olive for dinner or a non-flavored oil for breakfast.

UPDATE: I made these again recently and found that if I stick them in the oven at about 400 degrees for about 5 minutes (?) they really "firm" up. I just watched them closely until they were ready. The test is my husband didn't know they were "diet" food - he loved them.

1 lb Potatoes, peeled and grated
1 Onion,grated
2-1/2 Tbs whole wheat flour
2 Egg Whites (I use the egg whites in the carton-I suppose egg beaters would work too.)
1/2 t Salt
1/8 t White pepper (you can use black pepper and the world won't come to a screeching halt)
Cooking spray
1/4 c oil

In a small bowl, combine first 6 ingredients until blended. Spray pan with non-stick cooking spray then heat 1/8 cup of oil in a fry pan. When the oil is hot, scoop a heaping tablespoon of latke batter into oil. Continually turn latkes over until they are brown on both sides and potatoes are cooked. Remove latkes from pan and place on dish with paper towels for draining. Repeat with remaining latkes until all the batter is used adding oil as needed and allowing to get hot.

Serve with fat free sour cream and/or Splenda apple sauce.

Indian Chickpeas

can chickpeas
2 t oil
1 onion, chopped
1 cinnamon stick
1 garlic cloves, squashed
1 t fresh ginger, chopped
1 green chili pepper, finely chopped
2 t ground coriander
3/4 c of chopped tomatoes (from a can)
1 t garam massala
1 T cilantro, chopped
-------------------

Spray a frying pan with non-stick spray and add 2 t oil, fry onion until golden. Add cinnamon stick (or cloves) and cook a few seconds. Add garlic, ginger, chili pepper,
ground coriander and cook 5 minutes, stirring. Add tomatoes, with the juice and cook until all liquid has evaporated.

Add the chickpeas to the pan, mix well, cook 5 minutes. Add water if too dry and simmer for 25 minutes, until all the liquid is gone.

Sprinkle with the garam massala and cilantro.

Great Ways to Lighten Up!

Light Basil Pesto:
Mix 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves, 3 tbsp grated fresh parmesan cheese, 3 cloves garlic and 1/2 cup chicken broth in food processor bowl or blender jar. Cover and process until smooth.

No-Fat Oven Roasted Garlic:

Cut off top of garlic bulb. Spray with no-stick cooking spray like Pam. Wrap in aluminum foil. Roast garlic until softened. Add roasted garlic to mashed potatoes, meat gravies and soups/stews. Roasted garlic is also perfect for making garlic toast or to "butter" your bread.

Corn Muffins:

Use chicken broth instead of milk when preparing your favorite corn muffin mix. Follow package directions, substituting an equal amount of broth for milk.

Moist and Savory Stuffing:

Use broth instead of water when preparing stuffing mix or scratch recipe. Substitute an equal amount of chicken broth for water in your stuffing preparation.


Fat-Free Sundried Tomatoes:
Soak dry-pack tomatoes in hot chicken or vegetable broth. Add tomatoes with some of the liquid to salads and pasta dishes — you'll never miss the oil. This trick also works well when rehydrating dried fruits such as apricots, raisins, dried fruit blends, cranberries, and cherries, for a savory dish like soup, stuffing, or rice pilaf.

Italian Salad Dressing:
Cut half the fat by using a package of dry Italian salad dressing mix and substituting seasoned chicken broth with roasted garlic for half of the oil. Chill until thickened.

Hamburger Patties:
Make your hamburger patties plumper and juicier by adding 1/4 cup beef broth and 1/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs for every pound of ground beef. Also great with ground turkey.

Cranberry Trifile

Pumpkin pie, mince meat pie, pecan ... this year I made Cranberry Trifle. The pound cake is still fat but the way it is done I don't think you end up eating that much of the cake. I guess they call it pound cake because you get an extra pound just eating it ... but see what you think.

You will need a large glass container to compile the trifle in - I used one on a pedestal and it looked very nice.

While you make the 2 liquid ingredients thaw the pound cake, cut it into thirds and then cubes - keeping each third separate since you will make three levels.

Make sugar-free, fat-free vanilla pudding, once made fold in about 1 1/2 cups fat free cool whip. Set aside.

Grate the peel of two oranges and place in boiling pot. Cut all the peel and pith from the oranges then cut the slices from the orange then squeeze the juice out. Toss the skin etc. Add one bag of cranberries and 1 cup splenda and bring to a boil. The berries will pop as they cook. Add 1/8 teaspoon of ginger, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon allspice. It takes about 15-20 minutes. Cool to about room temp. before the next step.

Once it is all ready it is time to compile. Place 1/3 of the cake in the bottom, pour 1/3 cranberry mixture over that and then 1/3 whipped pudding mixture over that. Continue until last layer is done. I sprinkled a couple of raw cranberries on top to pretty it up.

Everyone loved it and it was simple as can be.

Green Beans - WOW~

I made the best Thanksgiving meal considering it was with lots of low-cal sides - it was some good eats.

I will start sharing them starting with green beans.

Now, I am of the school that the recipe for green beans always start with "fry a pound of bacon..." and it took me some time to find a way to get the flavor I wanted without the that extra "pound"! Here is how I did it. And they turned out fabulously!

Pound of fresh beans prepped for cooking
chicken broth, as needed
1 Tablespoon Better than Bullion HAM flavor
Thyme, dry, 2 teaspoons
2 Teaspoons to 1 Tablespoon Olive oil
1 bay leaf
l Red Onion, sliced thin
1 clove garlic

Slice red onion and saute in a little less than 1 tablespoon of the oil with a clove of crushed garlic. (I also sprayed the pan with nonstick spray). Cook the onion until it is carmelized and then sprinkle with the thyme and set aside. In a pot place the beans, bay leaf and bullion and enough chicken broth to just cover the beans. Boil until the consistency you desire - I like them soft. Once they are done, discard the broth and the leaf and add beans to the onion and toss.

Vanilla Milk

At WW we have to get a certain amount of milk in each day and needless to say I seem to have a difficult time with that. Here is something I copied from Starbucks that is wonderful! I use Mexican white vanilla but I am sure you can use whatever you have. I rather not use the type with no real vanilla bean though.

1 cup non-fat milk
1/2 to 1 teaspoon vanilla (to taste)
1 packet splenda

Microwave until very hot. Add 10 mini marshmellows and nuke again for a few seconds or top with 1-2 tablespoons of whipped cream.

Wonderful!

Crab Wontons AKA Crab Rangoon

I think I am going to make this with fat free cream cheese and no oil - I think I can and make it work. So that's the goal for the weekend but here is the original recipe.

cooking spray
2 tsp olive oil
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 medium scallions, minced
2 Tbsp snow peas, chopped
6 oz canned crabmeat, drained
4 oz light cream cheese
2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
24 items wonton wrapper(s), half of a 12 oz package

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, scallions and snow peas and sauté until just tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in crabmeat, cream cheese and soy sauce with a wooden spoon; mix gently to combine.

Place wonton wrappers on a flat surface. Drop crab mixture by teaspoonfuls onto the center of each wrapper. Dip a finger into water and use it to moisten edges of wrapper; fold over one corner of wrapper to make a triangle and press sides together to seal.

Transfer filled wontons to prepared baking sheet and coat with cooking spray. Bake until wontons are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Yields 4 pieces of crab rangoon per serving.

Serve with reduced-sodium soy sauce mixed with chopped scallions or prepared sweet-and-sour or duck sauce, if you want.

Hummus

When you serve it pour just a touch of good quality olive oil on the top and a black olive.
Serve as an appetizer along with cucumbers and pita bread. (I have made this without the fresh parsley and it came out good too.)

Yields: 2 cups

1 - 15 ounce can gabanzo beans, drained
2 to 3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley, stems removed
Salt

Place garlic and parsley in a food processor, and chop fine. Add garbanzo beans, salt, cumin and lemon juice and process until smooth. Use bean liquid to thin if necessary. Serve with baked tortillas, vegetables or toasted pita bread.

Per Serving (approximately1 Tablespoon): 34Calories

Dressings - Blue Cheese

Believe it or not there is a lighter version of Blue Cheese out now and I can't tell the difference. If you can find it - use it.

1/2 cup non fat yogurt
1/2 cup non fat mayonnaise
1 cup fat free sour cream
4 green onions
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
2 tablespoons dried parsley
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
garlic salt to taste

In a processor blend mayonnaise, yogurt, sour cream, green onions, dried parsley, and garlic salt. Bowl into container and mix in blue cheese. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until serving.

Another Crock Pot Chicken Receipe

What can be easier than using a crock pot? This is enough for 3 people but it is so good and such a comfort food you might want to double and freeze the leftovers for a later date.

4 bone-in chicken breast halves (remove skin)
1 1/2 cups cubed potatoes
1 1/2 cups baby carrots
1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 package Chicken Gravy Mix
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon Thyme
1/8 teaspoon Ground Sage
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup non-fat sour cream

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Place potatoes, carrots and onion in slow cooker. Top with chicken, overlapping slightly. Mix the Gravy Mixes, thyme, sage and salt in small bowl. Pour mixture over chicken and vegetables. Cover. Cook for 8 hours on LOW or 4 hours on HIGH until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender.

Place chicken and vegetables on platter or in large bowl. Whisk sour cream into drippings in pot; pour over chicken and vegetables.

IMPORTANT: For best results, do not remove cover during cooking.

Corn Chowder

The weather is cooling off a bit and the time for soups and chowders is upon us. Add a salad and some good bread and it's a meal! This is a fast recipe using frozen corn but if you want to take the time to roast the corn and/or caramelize the onions in a skillet first go ahead. It's up to you!

10-ounce package frozen whole kernel corn
1/2 cup cubed, peeled potato
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon instant chicken bouillon granules or ham bouillon
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cup fat-free milk
2 tablespoon non-fat dry milk powder
2 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup fat-free milk
1 tablespoon cooked turkey bacon pieces or use Bacos or the "fake" bacon
shredded fat-free cheddar

In a large saucepan, stir together potato, onion, water, chicken or ham bouillon, and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes or just until the corn and potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally, then add corn. Heat for a few minutes then stir in the 1-1/2 cups milk.

In a small bowl, stir together dry milk powder and flour. Gradually stir in the 1/4 cup milk until mixture is smooth. Stir milk-flour mixture into corn mixture in saucepan. Cook and stir until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more.

To serve, ladle into soup bowls. Sprinkle with bacon pieces and a little fat free cheese. (If you would rather not use either of these sprinkle with a little paprika and/or cilantro.)

Makes 4 side-dish servings.

Nutrition Claims Explained

You really have to know and understand this information if you want to know what you are eating and control your diet - so here goes:

Low ...
-fat: Contains no more than 3 grams of fat per serving. Tip: Watch portion size. If the claim is based on choosing a serving such as 8 crackers and you eat twice that amount, then the product would no longer be low in fat.
-calorie: No more than 40 calories per serving
-cholesterol: No more than 20 mg per serving
-sodium: No more than 140 mg per serving

Low in saturated fat: Contains no more than 2 grams of saturated fat and not more than 15% of the calories are from saturated fat. Tip: This doesn’t mean a food is low in total fat.

Fat- free: Contains no more than 0.5 grams total fat and not more than 0.2 grams saturated fat and 0.2 grams of trans fat.

"Free": For example: Calorie-, fat-, or sodium-free. The food contains and insignificant amount of that specific item. Be aware though that eating double, triple of more or that food may negate the "Free" element.

Trans fat free: Contains no more than 0.2 grams of trans fat. Tip: This doesn’t mean a food is low in total fat.

Cholesterol free: No more than 3 milligrams of cholesterol per 100 grams of product and it must also meet the definition of “low in saturated fat” which doesn’t mean it is low in total fat. Tip: Cholesterol is only found in animal products such as dairy and meat products as well as some fish and shellfish. All plant products are “naturally” cholesterol free.

Low calorie: No more than 15 calories per serving. Tip: Many low calorie foods may also be low in nutrients.

Calorie reduced: No more than half the calories of the same food in its usual state or 25% lower fat. Tip: This doesn’t mean a food is low calorie!

Light: The term “light” on a label can have many different meanings. For example, light can refer to the colour, texture or taste of the food and have nothing to do with its calorie content. If “light” is part of the common name of the food (i.e. Light Microwave Popping Corn, Light Mayonnaise Dressing) then the product has to be lower in calories than the same product not marked light (i.e. Regular Microwave Popping Corn, Regular Mayonnaise Dressing). This must be clearly stated on the label, for example, 50% of the calories of our regular mayonnaise. Tip: If the term light is not defined on the label, assume it has nothing to do with fat or calories. BUT Basically "Light" food contains 33% less calories or 50% less fat than the regular version (and may contain 50% less sodium).

Lean: The seafood, meat or poultry contains less than 10 g total fat, 4 g saturated fat and 95 mg cholesterol per 3 ounce serving.

Extra Lean: The seafood, meat or poultry contains less than 5 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat and 95 mg cholesterol per 3 ounces servings.

Strawberry Mousse

This is really a great way to have your "cake and eat it too". Not bad calorie and fat wise but fair warning - this supposedly makes TEN servings. It is about 1.5 points based on sugar free whipped cream but I replaced that with the fat free.

1 pkg fat free cream cheese & 1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat these together until well blended and set aside.

1/2 cup boiling water
1 4-serving pkg Strawberry flavored sugar-free low calorie gelatin (A long way of saying Jell-O)
1/2 cold water
2 cups fat free whipped topping
2 cups sliced strawberries

Stir gelatin into boiling water until dissolved completely. Add cold water and stir until slightly thickened. Gradually add the cream cheese mixture and beat until blended then gently stir in 1 1/2 cups of the topping and the strawberries.

Spoon into (TEN!) 10 dishes and refrigerate for about an hour if you can take it. Top with a dollop of the remaining whipped cream.

Mushroom "Nachos"

This is from a cookbook of healthy meals in minutes. Mushrooms instead of high-fat fried chips cut a lot of fat from these “nachos”. Two of the mushrooms equal a serving but you might want to make these as a side dish with your next Mexican Supper. You can also use super sized portabellos and slice in quarters.

16 large fresh mushrooms, stems removed
Olive oil spray
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 cup fat-free refried beans
8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/3 cup fat-free or reduced-fat shredded Cheddar cheese
16 black olive slices

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Put mushrooms stem side down on a nonstick baking sheet. Lightly spray tops with olive oil spray. Sprinkle with chili powder. Turn mushrooms over and spread 1 teaspoon beans over cavity of each mushroom. Place a cherry tomato cut side up on beans; slightly press tomato into beans to secure it. Sprinkle with cheese and top with olive slices.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until warmed through.

PER SERVINGCalories 31Total Fat 0 gFiber 1 g

Tomato & Goat Cheese Sandwich

Although fast and easy, this is delicious and tastes so decadent.

I love the smooth tang of goat cheese. Two open-face sandwiches is a serving and this will make 4 servings. As a side to soup or with a salad it makes a wonderfully satisfying meal.

A couple of tips: freshly ground pepper makes a world of difference, as does good quality balsamic vinegar. Smaller amounts of excellent ingredients will leave you much more satisfied!

4 ounces goat cheese, softened
8 slices sourdough bread about 1 inch thick (1 ounce per slice)(or some think rustic type bread)
2 large tomatoes
2 sprigs of fresh oregano
Freshly ground pepper
Balsamic vinegar
Scant 1/4 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil (optional)

Slice cheese into eight pieces and spread on bread.

Remove and discard seeds from tomatoes, then cut tomatoes into 1/4-inch slices, then put the tomatoes on cheese. Sprinkle with oregano leaves. Grind pepper over each sandwich and drizzle sparingly with vinegar. Top each sandwich with about 3 drops olive oil.

PER SERVING: Calories 249 Total Fat 8 g Fiber 3 g

Tomatoes

This is one on my favorite and easiest ever side dishes. You can use any kind of tomatoes but I love to go to whole foods at the peak of the season and buy all different kinds. Unfortunately I can eat this by the buckets so I still have to be careful. It is great as a side with sandwiches rather than chips.

Tomatoes
GOOD quality Balsamic Vinegar - flavored if you wish
GOOD quality Olive Oil - flavored if you wish
Sea Salt
Peppercorn, freshly ground

This is the straight forward recipe but I have made it with all kinds of flavored oils and vinegars with never a bad outcome. Tomatoes are very good for you and according to Dr. Oz (Oprah show) the mixture of oil and tomatoes is fabulous.

Chop tomatoes into chunks. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Add enough vinegar that the tomatoes are about half way covered and then add oil. Amounts of these will be according to how much tomato you use. You are going to have to go by sight/taste but always remember: use more vinegar than oil. The oil should be used sparingly. I made this with cinnamon flavored vinegar and a berry flavored olive oil and it was superb. I also have made it with basil flavored olive oil and tarragon flavored vinegar *Yum*!

Mix all and let stand at room temperature if eating soon or in the fridge if for later. It just gets better with time but I prefer it at room temp personally.

Crazy Soup

I had this once at a now long defunct Houston restaurant. I loved it and have since developed my own version based on what I recall.

Most of the work is the garnishes that you allow your guests to choose to add or not to their bowl. Gives everyone the ability to make it to their unique tastes. I choose the garnishes according to what's available fresh, how I feel (Mexican, Italian, etc.)

Garnishes:
Crushed baked tortilla chips
Fat Free sour cream
Chopped green onion or diced red onion
Shredded low fat Monterrey jack cheese or crumbled Mexican Queso Fresco
Lime wedges
Cilantro, fresh chopped
Tomatoes, diced
Cumin Powder
Red Pepper, flakes
Avocados, diced
Chicken breast halves, cooked and diced (about 1 1/2 pounds)

Anything you like! Let your imagination go CRAZY!

Popovers

These are going to make your family and friends really love you. No kidding. I haven't made them with whole wheat flour because you have to add baking powder and I haven't figured that out yet - but the added fiber would lower the points. When I figure it out I will revise this to include the option.

1/2 c plus 2 T self rising flour
2/3 c skim milk
Egg whites (in a carton type equal to 2 eggs-usually a little more than what the container says)*
1/4 c cheddar-sharp, Colby’s 75% reduced fat (you can use regular but remember it adds!)
2 T parmesan (please for heaven's sake don't use the green canned type!)
pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 t ground pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Whisk all ingreds together except cheddar. Divide batter into 4 muffing tins and sprinkle cheddar on top. Bake for 15 minutes, lower temp to 350 degrees 15 minutes longer. I have also made it with the cheese mixed in - works fine that way too.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Breakfast Popovers

Same ingreds minus cheeses, pepper & cayenne. Add instead pinch of cinnamon and packet of splenda.

*can use eggbeaters but double the instructions for what one large egg equals in other words equal to 4 eggs instead of 2 eggs should be put into the batter.

The Perfect Fat Free Tater Sauce

Ok, I believe I have perfected Fat Free Tarter Sauce.

Here's the blue print. Fat free mayo, fat free sour cream and fat free cream cheese with onion and sweet pickles, mixed in the food processor.

The cream cheese added body to the sauce and the sour cream mellows out the tang of the mayo.
The sweet pickles, and I did add about a teaspoon of juice also, added a much more interesting flavor than dill ever did. (But I would still consider dill when making a salmon dish.)

I haven't measured this yet - it's all been by site and feel. But give it a try!

Artichoke & Hearts of Palm Side Dish

8 oz canned artichoke hearts, canned in water
8 oz hearts of palm, drained
2 Tbsp fat free or low calorie Italian salad dressing
3 Tbsp canned pimento
1/2 medium lemon

Quarter artichokes and slice hearts of palm into 1/2 inch circles and place both in bowl. Sprinkle chopped pimentos on top. In a dish, squeeze the juice from the lemon and mix with 2 tbsp of Italian dressing.

Pour over the artichokes and hearts of palm. Marinate at least an hour and serve individual portions on dishes lined with romaine lettuce leaves if you want to be fancy-smancy.

Cucumber Salad

1 cucumber
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup water
2/3 tsp salt

Peel cucumber and slice into circles. (To give the cucumber slices a scalloped edge, score thepeeled cucumber with a fork lengthwise before slicing.)

Mix remaining ingredients and pour mixture over cucumber slices which have been placed in a bowl. Cover and let sit in refrigerator for a day before serving.

Optional - add some sliced onions or sprinkle with splenda or sugar (LIGHTLY) for a touch of sweet to the vinegar.

This recipe will stay fresh for a week at least and it has zero points!

Asparagus Guacamole

Don't get me wrong, I like this and I like asparagus and it is very low fat. But please don't expect it to taste like buttery smooth haas avacado guacamole!

2 cups (approximately 1 pound) chopped lightly steamed asparagus*
1 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice
3 tablespoons chopped onion
1 cup tomatoes, chopped and skinned
3/4 teaspoon salt,
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, pressed or minced
1/4 cup Picante sauce or 1/4 cup green chiles
1/3 cup light (of fat free) sour cream
2 tablespoons cilantro, minced

*If you're using frozen asparagus spears, it is not necessary to steam them, just thaw to room temperature. Or you can use 1 15 ounce can of spears, drained.

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl. Cover tightly and refrigerate several hours or overnight before serving.

Making Fat Free Mayo Delicious!

Roasted Red Pepper Mayonnaise
1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1/4 cup finely chopped roasted red pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Lemon Mayonnaise
1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1-1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel
pinch ground black pepper

Ginger-Sesame Mayonnaise
1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
2 small green onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon minced, peeled fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon Asian sesame oil

Chutney Mayonnaise
1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1/4 cup mango chutney, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Basil Mayonnaise
1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Chipotle Mayonnaise
1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1 finely chopped chipotle chile in adobo
1 teaspoon adobo sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Pesto Mayonnaise
1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pesto in a jar

Horseradish Mayonnaise
1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1 tablespoon bottled white horseradish
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Pickled Jalapeno Mayonnaise
1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 to 2 pickled jalapenos, finely chopped

Reuben Casserole

This is simply simple and quite good. Be sure to rinse and drain your sauer kraut, which many people don't realize should be done. This is like a reuben sandwich but much easier than grilling and much leaner. Really you decide the quanity of the ingredients. I like a lot of dressing not too much meat. You decide how much your "sandwich" should have of each ingredient.

1 can drained & rinsed sauerkraut
1/2 lb. thin sliced corn beef or pastrami - low fat from the deli
1 1/2 c. shredded low fat Swiss cheese or use non-fat slices
Non-fat thousand island dressing
Rye Bread cut into cubes

Spray quart casserole dish with non-stick spray like Pam and spread drained sauerkraut in bottom. Add corn beef and then cheese. Spread the dressing. Top with the cubed bread.

Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Mushroom Patê

You can use whichever kind of mushroom makes you happy but portobello, crimini, or shiitake mushrooms are all excellent choices and each has a distinct flavor of its own. But plain old button mushrooms will work just fine in this low-calorie spread. The most difficult part of this recipe it allowing the pate to marry in the fridge (marry is a cooking term that means "blend together" - I am saying the mushrooms have a wedding.)

2 tablespoon finely chopped onion
Spray such as "Pam" (I cut 2 T butter from this recipe)
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 tablespoon dry sherry (you can use cooking sherry)
Water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cup mushrooms, finely chopped
1/8 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives
1 - 2 cups apple slices
Belgian endive leaves or crackers

Spray 1 quart microwave-safe casserole with a lot of *Pam* and add onion and cover. Microwave, on high for 2 minutes. Mix together flour and sherry until smooth then add sherry/flour, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and mushrooms to the onions. Microwave, covered, on high for 4 to 5 minutes more until onion and mushrooms are tender, stirring once (add a little water if too thick but the mushrooms should give off a lot of liquid). Cool slightly.

Transfer 1/2 cup of mushroom mixture to a blender container or food processor bowl. (Set remaining mushroom mixture aside.) Cover and blend or process until smooth. Combine blended mushroom mixture, reserved mushroom mixture, walnuts, and chives in a serving bowl. Cover and chill for at least 6 hours or up to 3 days. Serve with apple slices, Belgian endive leaves, or crackers. Makes about 1 cup (16 servings).

Simple Low-Fat Enchilda Sauce

2 cups no-fat chicken broth
4 poblano peppers*
8 ounces Fat Free Sour Cream

Place the chicken broth into a blender along with the poblanos and sour cream. Puree until smooth and set aside.

*Roast the peppers or buy the dried and re-hydrate which is what I do.

Pour the pureed poblano mixture into the skillet and lightly simmer for 10 minutes.

Now you can use the sauce to make some enchiladas!

Great Fake Fried Chicken

2/3 cup honey mustard dressing (or make your own by mixing mustard & honey)
1 cup cornflake crumbs
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4 oz pieces

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Place corn flake crumbs in a shallow bowl and place the honey mustard in a bowl reserving about 1/3 cup to serve with the chicken. Dip chicken breasts into dressing, then corn flake crumbs. Place into shallow baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake until chicken is golden and no longer pink, about 15 minutes.

Drizzle remaining dressing mixture (the 1/3 cup that was set aside) over chicken breasts and serve.

Taco Soup

This is another recipe from my Weight Watcher's Leader. I have not made this but everyone says it is good.

15 oz canned black beans
15 oz canned pinto beans
15 oz canned kidney beans
20 oz canned tomatoes with green chilies
1 serving(s) Ranch Dressing Pkg 4 oz
1 oz reduced-sodium taco seasoning
32 oz fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 servings Boca Ground "Meat"

Heat on stovetop until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Or cook in crockpot 6-8 hours on low.

Serve with sides for garnishing: fat free sour cream, fat free cheese and baked tortillas.

Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing

I got this from another blog but it is a wonderful low calories and low point dish. And it couldn't possibly be eaiser unless you left out the celery - which I did but I put in onion. The chicken truly tender and the stuffing was soft, warm and infused with gravy. Delicious!

Serves 4 at about 340 calories a serving or 7 points for WW.

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts. About 4 small pieces.
1 box Stove Top Stuffing mix (I used savory herb)
1 jar Heinz Fat Free Chicken gravy
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chicken broth

Spray the bottom of the crockpot with Pam and lay the chicken at the bottom of the crockpot. Pour the broth over the chicken. In a bowl, mix together the dry stuffing mix, celery, and gravy until slightly moistened. Heap over the chicken in the crockpot. Cook 6-7 hours on low.

Pumpkin Fluff

15oz can pumpkin
1 pkg. fat-free sugar-free vanilla pudding
1 c. skim milk
8 oz. container fat free Cool Whip
2 tsp. pumpkin spice

Using a mixer, blend pumpkin with dry pudding mix and milk. Fold in Cool Whip. Chill.

Apple Crumble

Ok this looks a little more difficult than it really is. It has about 3 points per serving for WW and 245 calories/3 grams of fat. The reduced fat graham cracker crusts can be hard to find - but the points and all are based on that. Yield is 8.

1 reduced fat graham cracker crust
5 cups granny Smith Applicaes, peeled & chopped
3/4 cup brown sugar (if you use Splenda brown sugar the points/calories go down!)
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces fat free sour cream
1/4 cup unflavored dry breadcrumbs
2 tables sugar (Again Splenda cooking sugar works fine)
I can't Believe It's Not Butter spray

Preheat oven 400 degrees.

Combine apples, brown sugar, flour, extract and sour cream. Pour mixture into crust. In another bowl combine breadcrumbs, sugar and toss and then spray with "butter" and toss again. Sprinkle this over the top and bake for 40 minutes. Cool to serve.

You can use margarine rather than the fake butter spray but it increase calories and points.

Healthy Version on Haystacks

Fiber One Haystacks

1 “cashier size” Hershey bar
1 cup peanut butter – I used reduced fat
1 cup Fiber One cereal

Place the peanut butter in a microwavable dish and add the chocolate by breaking it into pieces and standing the pieces in the peanut butter. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and continue to microwave and stir in 10 second intervals until creamy. Add cereal and stir. Place "haystack" spoonfuls on waxed paper and chill.

(WW: 1 "haystack" is one point but 2 are 3 points!)

Stuffed Mushrooms

olive oil cooking spray
1 pound button mushrooms, about 24 large mushrooms
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup sweet red pepper, chopped
10 oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 1/2 slice whole-wheat bread, chopped into bread crumbs
1 tsp Cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp ground turmeric

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a jelly roll pan with cooking spray. Remove mushroom stems from caps and finely chop stems; reserve caps and set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Sauté mushroom stems, onion, pepper and spinach until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and stir in remaining ingredients until well-combined.

Stuff each mushroom cap with 2 tablespoons of filling mixture. Place mushrooms on baking sheet. Bake, uncovered, 15 minutes; serve warm.

Yields 2 mushrooms per serving.

(Note: The mushrooms can be stuffed in advance, covered, refrigerated and then baked later in the day to save on last minute preparation time.)

Emergency Fat Free Whipped "Cream"

This will not "keep" so make close to time you want to use it and don't make more than you can use!

1/2 c. instant dry milk
1/3 c. cold water
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. sugar Dry sugar substitute equal to 1/4 cup sugar (optional)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine dry milk and cold water. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Beat chilled milk mixture at high speed for 4 minutes. Add the lemon juice to the whipped milk. Continue beating at high speed for 4 additional minutes. Stir the sugar and sugar substitute together. Continue beating the whipped milk, and gradually add the sugar/sweetener mix to the whipped milk while it is being beaten. Add vanilla and beat until well-blended. Refrigerate immediately and keep chilled until used.

Pineapple Pie

3-1/4 cups fat free whipped topping
16 oz. container pina colada flavored yogurt
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained well
1 ready-made graham cracker pie crust

In a large mixing bowl, mix together whipped topping, yogurt and pineapple. Add to crust. Cover tightly. Freeze overnight.

Fruit Cheese Dip

4 oz. Fat Free cream cheese
1/2 cup Fat Free sour cream
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
2 tsp. honey
1 tsp. lemon or lime juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

In a food processor or blender, combine all ingredients and process until smooth.

VARIATIONS: substitute 3/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries for the strawberries; or use chopped fresh mango and orange juice instead of strawberries and lemon juice.

Zero Fat!

Stuffed French Toast

This turned out better than I expected - it is delicious! I served with some potatoes to which added very low fat diced ham and some fresh fruit.

6-1" French Bread slices (French Bread has no fat)
4-5 tablespoons Fat Free Cream Cheese
2 tablespoons Orange Marmalade
3/4 cup Egg Whites (from the carton)
3/4 c Fat Free Milk
Sprinkle of Cinnamon or 1/4 t vanilla

Mix the cheese with the marmalade. Use a knife to slice a pocket into each piece of the French bread - but be careful not to cut all the way through. Fill the pocket with some of the cream cheese mixture. Beat the egg whites and milk with your choice of "spice" then pour over the stuffed bread. Let soak until the bread is saturated.

Spray your pan with "Pam" type spray and cook the bread slices until golden brown on both sides. Serve with sugar-free syrup.

Believe this or not - this is FAT FREE!! 1 gram of fiber and about 150 calories. And it such tastes better than a bowl of cold cereal!

BBQ Pork Pasta

My husband declares this meal "A Keeper". Luckily I remember the ingredients - sometimes I get to cooking and forget how I got the end result. Since we are on a controlled diet I used high fiber pasta and pork tenderloin but I suppose you could use other meats. I also used splenda brown sugar. Next time I will most likely add more veggies like onions and peppers. It's a great way to feel as though you are getting a lot of meat in your meal!

2 cans diced tomatoes
1 scant tablespoon brown sugar
sprinkle red pepper or to your taste
sprinkle dehydrated onion flakes
About 3-4 ounces pork tenderloin
2 cups cooked pasta

Mix first ingredients and pour over pork. Bake at 350 until pork is done and tender. Let pork cool enough to pull apart with two forks. While pasta is hot mix the pulled pork, sauce and pasta together and serve.

About 2 large servings.

Blender Avocado Soup

1 ripe avacado 1/2 cup cilantro
2 cups chilled water 1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 sour cream (fat free if you wish)

Add all into blender and process until smooth. Transfer to bowls and garnish with one (or more) of following as you wish:

Diced, seeded watermelon crab meat cilantro leaves diced red onion

With regular sour cream:
180 cal/14.5 g fat/2 g fiber

Serves 4

King Ranch Chicken

When I meet someone who has never had King Ranch Casserole, I just plain feel bad for them. But I feel bad for myself when I realized the original version is so high in sodium and fat that I couldn't include it in my diet any longer!

Here is a lower calorie version of the original. This is an easy way to serve a great Mexican style dish at home that takes so little time, especially if you use left over chicken and still can be worked into a healthy diet. I personally prefer corn tortillas but it works with flour - but use whole wheat to keep it healthier.

1 lb. cooked chicken breast, diced (or shredded)
12 corn tortillas (you may use whole wheat flour)
1 cup fat-free cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 can reduced-calorie cream of chicken soup (Low sodium if possible)
1 can reduced-calorie cream of mushroom soup (Low sodium if possible)
1 can Rotel Tomatoes (or like brand)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare casserole dish by spraying with nonstick cooking spray. Mix remaining cheeses together and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together both cream soups and tomatoes. Blend well and set aside.

Put a few tablespoons of soup mixture in bottom of casserole. Tear corn tortillas into pieces arrange one layer of tortilla pieces on bottom of prepared casserole dish. Top that with 1/2 of chicken, 1/2 of soup mixture, 1/2 of cheeses. Repeat. Top with rest of cheese, spray with cooking spray and bake for one hour.

Serves about 8.

Pineapple BBQ Flank Steak

This is a Weight Watchers Crock Pot receipe but it is an easy dish and it turns out very well.

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled & shredded
1-pound flank steak, well trimmed
1 small onion, finely chopped
8-ounce can crushed pineapple in juice
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground dry ginger
1/4 cup reduced-sodium jarred barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
salt & ground pepper to taste

Place potatoes in the slow cooker. Lay steak on top. In a large bowl combine remaining ingredients and pour this mixture over the steak. Cover and cook on high until the steak is tender enough to shred, using two large forks, about 6-7 hours.

Makes 4 servings, about 1 cup each.POINTS® value per serving: 7

Triple Fudge Brownies

4 oz fat-free sugar-free instant chocolate pudding and pie filling mix
1 package dry mix chocolate cake
2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tsp powdered sugar, optional

Prepare pudding according to package directions. Whisk in cake mix. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into greased 15x10 inch pan.

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched. Dust with confectioners sugar if you want to be fancy.

Point Value - 2
48 Servings(!)

Crockpot Pineapple Chicken

Another Weight Watchers receipe for the crockpot. Supre easy and quite tasty. Serve with rice cooked with a bay leaf and a simple salad and you're done!

6 breast uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp paprika
20 oz canned unsweetened pineapple chunks
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 clove garlic clove

Place chicken in the crock pot. In a small bowl combine drained pineapple tidbits, mustard, spices and soy sauce. Pour over chicken. Add minced garlic. Cover and cook on LOW 7-9 hours (if you need to go for the day) or HIGH 3-4 hours (if you just need a nap!)

6 Servings

Basic for Pasta

This is your base then you can make decisions on adding extra ingredients.

Serves 4 to 6

1 can of tomatoes - whole or diced
Anchovy, 1 - use the tube type if you want - it makes no difference in taste
pound linguine
Salt
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving (PLEASE USE THE REAL THING)

Cook linguine in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain; return to pot.

In a large skillet add the tomatoes, anchovy and heat through - the anchovy will "melt" into the tomatoes - trust me - it works. Pour the cooked linguine into the tomotoes, add the olive oil, 1/2 cup Parmesan. Sprinkle with chopped basil right before serving. Divide among bowls, and serve immediately with more grated Parmesan, as desired.

Per serving: (based on 6 servings) 467 calories; 16 grams fat; 15.4 grams protein; 66.6 grams carbohydrates

NOW the fun part - add any one or more of the following along with the tomatoes. OR whatever you think would be good or have leftover in the fridge!

capers, onions, chicken, artichokes, heart of palm, shrimp, chives, broccoli, asparagus (Almost any veggie), pine nuts, goat cheese

You get the idea~

Pork with Cranberries-Crockpot (5)

INGREDIENTS:
1 (2-1/2 lb.) boneless pork shoulder roast
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup cranberry juice cocktail
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. cornstarch

Trim fat from pork shoulder roast. Place in 3-1/2-4 quart slow cooker. Combine cranberries, broth, 1/4 cup of the cranberry juice cocktail, and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Pour over roast. Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours.

When done, place roast on platter and cover with foil to keep warm. Pour juices from crockpot into medium saucepan. Combine remaining 1/4 cup cranberry juice cocktail with cornstarch in small bowl and mix well. Add to juices in saucepan and cook and stir until thickened and bubbly, about 3 minutes. Serve with pork roast. 6 servings
Calories: 330

Italian Style Baked Fish

1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
2 tablespoons each grated Parmesan cheese & grated Romano cheese (or just 4 T of one)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 pound orange roughy fillets or other mild white fish like tilapia
Pam Type Spray
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a medium baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

In a shallow bowl, mix bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, garlic powder, and salt.
Spray both sides of orange roughy fillets with pam type cooking spray and dredge in the bread crumb mixture. Arrange fillets in a single layer in the prepared baking dish, and sprinkle with parsley. Bake in preheated oven 10 to 15 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken

Yield: 6

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup dry bread crumbs or use Japanese bread crumbs (panko)
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

In a bowl, blend the olive oil and garlic. In a separate bowl, mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, basil, and pepper. Dip each chicken breast in the oil mixture, then in the bread crumb mixture. Arrange the coated chicken breasts in the prepared baking dish, and top with any remaining bread crumb mixture.

Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 294
Total Fat: 11.6g
Cholesterol: 76mg
Sodium: 421mg
Total Carbohydrates: 13.8g
Dietary Fiber: 0.6g
Protein: 31.5g

Apricot Chops

Yield 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 (1 inch thick) bone-in pork chops
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup apricot jam
1 cup Catalina salad dressing
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
1 garlic clove, crushed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat oil in frying pan over medium-high heat. Season pork chops with salt and pepper; cook 2 to 3 minutes per side until well-browned.

Stir jam, salad dressing, onion soup mix, and garlic together in a bowl until well-blended. Place chops in a 9x13 inch baking pan lined with foil, and cover with apricot mixture.

Bake in preheated oven approximately 40 minutes, until internal temperature has reached 160 degrees F or pork is no longer pink in the center.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 622
Total Fat: 31.8g
Cholesterol: 37mg
Sodium: 1210mg
Total Carbohydrates: 69.8g
Dietary Fiber: 1.2g
Protein: 16g

Fresh Corn Soup

Yield 8; Prep time: 20 minutes; Total time: 25 minutes

8 ears yellow corn (frozen corn can be used or even canned/drained=5 cups)
2 tablespoons "I Can't Believe It's Not butter"
1/2 tablespoon coarse salt
Baked Tortilla chips (optional)
Lime wedges (optional)
Sliced scallions (optional)
2 cups water

Remove husks and silks from corn. Holding ears in a large bowl, slice off kernels (to yield about 10 cups). When slicing corn from cobs, work in a deep bowl to catch the kernels and any juices.

In two batches, purée kernels and accumulated juices with a total of 2 cups water until chunky.

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, cook puréed corn, butter, water, and salt until soup is heated through, about 5 minutes.

Serve hot, garnished with tortilla chips, lime wedges, and sliced scallions, as desired.

Soup Per serving: 126 calories; 4 grams fat; 4 grams fiber (about 2 points a bowl)

Cilantro Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup firmly packed cilantro leaves
1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon dark rum
1/2 teaspoon curry powder (preferably Madras)
coarse salt and ground pepper

In a blender, purée cilantro leaves, reduced-fat mayonnaise, fresh lime juice, dark rum, and curry powder. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper.

Serve with veggies or chips or whatever you like to dip!

Grillades

Serve with grits and you have a Cajun favorite!

1 lb. Tenderized round steak (you can do this or buy it already done)
Salt & Pepper
Flour for dredging
Water
Oil for frying

Season meat with salt and pepper - use a good amount of salt and twice as much pepper. Dredge well in flour.

Heat about 1/4 cup of oil in heavy frying pan. When hot (sizzle when a drop of water hits) place meat in and brown well both sides. Then, pour water over just till covered. Place lid on pot and cook until tender.

I know this is vague but this is how I do it. Next time I cook it I will measure.

Herbes de Provence

Rub this on pork or chicken. You can make a batch and it will keep for a bit.


Ingredients

1 Tbsp dried basil
½ Tbsp dried marjoram
1 Tbsp dried chervil
1 tsp dried tarragon
2 Tbsp dried thyme
1 Tbsp dried summer savory
1 tsp dried lavender
1 Tbsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried mint
½ tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf

Potato Soup

Servings: 8

64 oz Swanson Natural Goodness Chicken Broth (2 cartons)
1 bag (32 oz) Ore Ida Country Style Hash Browns or Potatoes
O’Brian1 package fat-free gravy mix (I use Pioneer)

Cook hash browns (square ones) in chicken broth for 10 minutes or until tender. Mix 1 package country-style cream gravy mix (fat-free) with 1/2 cup of the hot broth and add to pot. Simmer for 5 minutes

You can serve as is or with regular or fat-free cheese, sour cream, and bacon bits.

Enchiladas

10 soft taco-size flour tortillas (you can use corn but they have to be softened in either hot chicken broth or nuke them covered)
4 cups Monterey jack and cheddar cheese blend (or whatever you like)
1/2 onion, finely chopped (optional)
1 (19 ounce) can Wolf brand chili, no beans

Preheat oven to 350*. Spray 13x9 baking dish. Fill tortillas with cheese and roll. Place seam side down in baking dish. Pour chili over rolled tortillas. Sprinkle cheese over top and chopped onion.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly. m-m-m. You can mix the chili with a can of red enchilada sauce if you want to but I like it fine without.

Fish Fry Batter

Batter 1:

1 12oz. can of light beer
1 cup of dry pancake mix

Before you batter the fish rub it with mustard - just regular old mustard.

Another tip: marinade in milk to give a fresh flavor to previously frozen fish.

Batter 2:

1 1/4 cup self rising flour
2 teaspoons Zatarains® or Tony Cachere’s® Seasonings
1 eggbeaters
1 cup lite beer (more or less for preferred thickness)

Combine ingredients and mix well. This will batter about 1 lb fish.

Funeral Pie

Also called Raisin Pie and raisin Pie (German for raisin) this pie was served with the meal prepared for family and friends at the wake following a funeral. The reason was that this pie could be made in any season and kept well when prepared a day or two before the funeral. It does not need refrigeration. I promise if you make it and don't say anything NO ONE will know it is made with raisins.

1 cup raisins
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, well beaten
2 tablespoons lemon juice
pie crust

Wash raisins and soak in cold water for 3 hours. Drain. Combine the 2 cups water, raisins, sugar and flour, salt, lemon juice, and the egg. Mix thoroughly and cook over hot water for about 12-15 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally.

Pour into pastry-lined pan. Criss cross with narrow strips of dough, if desired. Bake at 450-F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350-F and bake 30 minutes. Serve with ice cream or with whipped cream.

Fudge - 3 or 4

1-14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 pound semisweet or bittersweet*, coarsely chopped or use chips
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) chopped pecans or walnuts

Spray 8 x 8 x 2 inch pan with PAM type product. Set aside.

Combine the condensed milk, chocolate, and vanilla in a stainless steel bowl and place over a saucepan of simmering water. Melt the chocolate mixture, stirring frequently, making sure the mixture doesn't get too hot or the fudge will be grainy.

Stir the chocolate mixture until smooth (it will be very thick). Remove from the heat and stir in chopped nuts if desired. Spread the fudge into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula. Let stand at room temperature until cool.

* I actually made it with regular old chocolate chips and it turned out great!

Guacamole Sttrreeettttccchhhheeerrr

This is a great way to stretch your avocados in guacamole. I usually add 2 hard boiled eggs for every one avocado but you can go as high as 3 if they are really big. Never use anything except Haas avocados. Remember this is a simple fast recipe. Fresh tomatoes and jalepeno are always best when you have the time and inclination to chop.

avocados, diced
Hard Boiled Eggs, chopped fine whites and mashed yokes
Pace Picante Sauce - heat and style your choice

Mix all. The amounts of each are really according to the taste but you will find that the eggs take on the flavor and consistency of the guacamole. You will have much more salad than just using avocados.

Mesquite Lime Chicken - 4+

1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons McCormick® Grill Mates® Mesquite Seasoning
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts

Mix lime juice, mesquite seasoning, oil and honey in a bowl. Add chicken, turning to coat well. Marinate in refrigerator 15 minutes, or longer for extra flavor. Remove chicken from marinade and grill over medium heat 4-6 minutes per side or until done. Baste with remaining marinade halfway through cooking. Discard any leftover marinade.

Serving Suggestions: For chicken club sandwiches, serve chicken on buns with melted Cheddar, slices of cooked bacon, tomato, lettuce and ranch dressing. Can also cut chicken into strips and serve over salad, or place in tortillas topped with cooked bell pepper and onion strips, and cheese for tasty quesadillas or fajitas.

Orzo(rice-shaped pasta) with Olives and Lemon

If you have never tried Orzo - give it a try - delicious and simple side.

1/2 pound (1 1/4 cups) orzo
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest & 1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup slivered black olives
1/8 cup chopped fresh parsley
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Add 2 cups water and lemon zest, and season with salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cover, and simmer until orzo is al dente and liquid is absorbed, 10 to 15 minutes (if orzo is cooked but liquid remains, cook uncovered to evaporate). Remove from heat. Stir in olives, parsley, remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and lemon juice.

Yield: 4 servings

Cold Sesame Noodles

This has more than 4 ingredients but many can be optional. It is so simple really and is delicious Thai-style noodle dish.

Coarse salt
1 pound spaghetti (can be made with Japanese noodles, such as udon or soba, or Chinese rice noodles. Cook according to package instructions.)
8 ounces snow peas, slivered lengthwise (optional)
1 red bell pepper, cut into long thin strips (optional)
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
2 garlic cloves
1 jalapeño pepper (seeds removed, if desired)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon Salt

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water. In a large bowl, combine pasta with snow peas and bell pepper.

In a blender, purée peanut butter, garlic, jalapeño, soy sauce, vinegar, 1/3 cup warm water, sesame oil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Pour dressing over noodles and vegetables; toss to coat. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Yield: 4 servings

Cauliflower - 4

1 small head cauliflower
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder, or more to taste
1/2 tsp table salt 1/2 tsp black pepper
cooking spray like PAM

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut cauliflower florets into grape-sized pieces. (There should be about 4 cups.) Place cauliflower in a medium bowl; add cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper and toss well to coat.

Coat baking sheet with cooking spray. Spread cauliflower on sheet and bake until cauliflower is tender, but not mushy, stirring halfway through, about 10 minutes. Yields about 1/2 cup per serving.

Fettuccine Alfredo - 3

It's a little bit fattening

2 sticks butter
1/2 pound grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Salt
1 pound fettuccine

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and Parmesan until creamy. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook fettuccine according to package instructions until al dente, about 12 minutes. Reserve about 1/2 cup of cooking water; drain pasta.

Return fettuccine to warm pot. Toss pasta with 1/2 teaspoon salt, cheese mixture, and 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Add more pasta water, as needed. Serve with additional cheese.

Yield: Serves 4

Texas Caviar

This one has a lot of ingredients but for the most part is open, drain and pour - and if you want to leave out the bell pepper and onion it is still good and even easier.

15 oz canned black-eyed peas
15 oz canned black beans
15 oz canned yellow corn
1/2 cup bell pepper
1/2 cup green onion
1 clove garlic clove
1/3 cup fat-free Italian salad dressing
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup red wine vinegar

Instructions

Drain and rinse corn, peas, and beans. Mix with rotel, bell pepper, onions, and garlic. Add liquid. Marinate overnight or up to 24 hours and serve.

12 (1/2 cup per serving)

Mashed Spuds - 4

5-large, high-starch baking potatoes (High-starch is important. Idahos or russets should give you fluffy taters)
1/2 - 3/4 cup whole milk, warm (amount depends on consistency you want add 1/2 then increase if needed)
1/2 stick butter, melted and warm
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut potatoes into quarters (no smaller or they will become watery). Place in large pot and completely cover with water. Boil until tender (about 15 minutes) and break when you poke them.

Drain. Add warm milk and butter. Mash with potato masher or an electric mixer for best results. Add salt and/or pepper to taste. Cover with foil to keep warm.

Yield: 6 Servings

Special Spuds:

Creamy
Instead of using 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk, substitute cream or half and half.

Cheesey
Follow above recipe, changing only the amount of milk, and adding cream cheese:
1/2 cup milk and 1-1/3-cup package of cream cheese (veggie or chive flavored to add even more of a kick)

Low-fat
Use 1/2 to 3/4 cup skim milk and 1/4 cup garlic-flavored olive oil instead of butter OR use fat free chicken broth rather than milk.

Roasted Garlic
Add 1-1/2 teaspoons of minced garlic. If you're feeling ambitious, roast your own garlic. Wrap in foil for 20 minutes at 400°F or if you are careful you can nuke it (BUT NOT IN FOIL!). Use 4 to 5 cloves according to your personal tastes.

Wasabi
For an extra spice, add 1 to 3 teaspoons of wasabi paste. Start out with 1 teaspoon and add more gradually as this does pack a punch.

The Blues
For a deep blue-cheese flavor, add 3-1/2 ounces of Stilton cheese at room temperature. Remove from frig an hour before and remove the rind.)

LIGHT MARGARITAS - 5

1 TUB OF CRYSTAL LIGHT LEMON
4 OZ TEQUILLA
4 OZ FRESH LIME JUICE
8 OZ. WATER
1 PKG ARTIFICIAL SWEETNER

PLACE IN BLENDER. FILL WITH ICE.

Impossible Coconut Pie

Simple and simply delicious!

1/2 cup buttermilk baking mix (like Bisquick)
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 cup coconut
5 Tablespoon margarine


Put into blender in the order listed and blend. Add:

1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups milk

Process a few seconds until mixed. Pour into a greased 9 inch pie pan. Bake at 350 degrees until toothpick comes out clean.

Butters

Here are some flavored butter recipes to make those bisquits extra special or maybe a baked chicken breast or veggies. All receipes should start with soft unsalted butter and add salt & pepper to taste, when applicable.

Basil
1/4 cup fresh basil
1 stick butter
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Blanch basil leaves for a few seconds, remove and pat dry. Blend all ingredients together. Great on green beans, shrimp or burgers.

Lemon Parsley
1 stick unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons parsley, minced

Blend all. Good on roasted potatoes or grilled chicken.

Garlic Oregano
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 stick butter
2 Tablespoons minced fresh oregano or 2 teaspoons dried

Blend all well. Use on steaks, hot pasta or broiled fish.

Orange Chocolate

1 oz semisweet chocolate
2 Tablespoon Grand Marnier
1 stick butter

Melt chocolate in top of double broiler. Add Grand Marnier. Lert cool. Blend with butter. Great with croissants.

Strawberry

1/2 cup freash strawberries, washed & hulled
1 stick butter
1 teaspoon confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon lime

Blend well. Fabulous on muffins, bisquits.

Buttermilk Biscuits-3

2 cups self rising flour
1/4 cup butter or shortening
3/4 cup buttermilk

Cream shortening and flour together. Add milk and stir. Knead about 20 seconds and roll out to about 1/2 thickness. Cut biscuits either into squares or use a floured cutter. Bak at 450 degrees on a greased baking sheet for -10 minutes.

How simple is this!?

Fruit Salad-4

2 cups of mixed fruit, you can use Frozen Mixed Fruit, just thaw & drain
1 cup sour cream
4 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons poppy seeds



Mix together 1 cup sour cream, 2 teaspoons brown sugar and 2 teaspoons poppy seed and toss with fruit. Sprinkle with brown sugar when served.

Fruit Suggestions: pineapple, grapes, cantaloupe, honeydew

The Best Ever Chicken Salad-4

The recipe really cannot be made low cal. I tried and it failed. Use it when you want to enjoy the full fat flavor.

1 lb chicken, diced
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
Equal amount of desert type whipped cream topping and Real mayonnaise
Green and Red Grapes, sweet, sliced in half

Add all ingredients and mix. The amount of dressing needs to be according to how moist you like your chicken salad. Use the real whipped cream topping for best results.

Chicken Tortilla Soup - 4*

The recipe has more than 4 ingredients but is so simple I have to include it.

1 can each cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup and rotel tomatoes and chicken broth
2 teaspoons each cumin, oregano, chili powder
2 chicken breasts, diced

Put all ingredients in cockpot and cook on high for 3 hours. Serve with condiments as desired.

Shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
diced avocado
tortilla chips
fresh cilantro

Oklahoma Baptist Punch-4

1 pkg presweet strawberry koolaid
1 pkg preswwet stawberry jell-o
Large can unsweetened pineapple juice
Ginger Ale

Make koolaid & jell-o per instuctions on package and mix together; add pineapple. Freeze and stir every couple of hours.

When ready to serve stir in ginger ale and sliced strawberries if desired.

Simple Strawberry Desert - 4

2 pints fresh strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
whipped cream, optional


Hull strawberries, cut in half, and place in a bowl.

Add sugar and liqueur, and mix until well combined.

Refrigerate until strawberries are very soft and juicy, stirring occasionally with a fork, about 4 hours.

Serve with whipped cream if desired or on top of ice cream or just alone!

Artichoke Dip-4+

3-6 oz jars artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
3/4 cup mayo
1/2 cup grated mozzerella
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (fresh is best!)
minced garlic
French Bread, cut into chunks

Preheat overn to 350 degrees. Combine all ingridents except bread in 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Bake 30 minutes. Serve with bread for dipping.

Yield: 3 cups

Banana Coconut Snowballs - 4

16 oz sour cream
1 lemon
Bananas, sliced
shredded coconut

Mix one container of sour cream with the juice of one lemon. Slice the bananas and dump into the sour cream - this is just to coat them and the lemon is to keep them from turning brown.

Take one banana slice out and roll in the coconut. Place on a tray and refrigerate until time to serve appetizer.

These are really good and no one ever is able to figure out exactly what they are or how you make them.

Mexican Rice

1 cup rice
1 can mexican style tomatoes or rotel tomatoes
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
water

Add water to the tomatoes to equal 2 cups and bring to a boil. Add Rice and taco seasoning to liquid and return to boil. Cover and turn off heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir and serve.

Pineapple Angel Food Cake - 2

1 box angel food cake - any brand as long as it is the add water only kind
1 large can crushed pineapple

Following the instuctions on the box except replace the water with the pineapple.

Note: This puffs up quite a bit so use the right cooking container.

Cheese & Veggie Soup - 4

10 oz Kraft Velveeta Light Reduced-Fat Pasteurized Processed Cheese Product
2 pound frozen mixed vegetables
10 oz canned crushed tomatoes (or Rotel tomatoes and chilies)
4 cups fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth

Instructions

Mix veggies, tomatoes, and broth together and heat. Add cheese and heat until melted.

CHICKEN WITH WHITE WINE SAUCE

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
1/2 c. whipping cream (you can use fat free half & half)
1/4 c. dry white wine
1 tsp. Dijon-style mustard

Cut each chicken breast half lengthwise into 3 pieces. Cook chicken in not-stick sprayed 10-inch skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally until white. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Heat to boiling over medium high heat. Continue boiling, stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened, about 15 minutes.

BUTTERMILK DROP BISCUITS

2 cup self-rising flour
4 tbsp. butter
3/4 cup shredded cheese
1 cup buttermilk

Cut butter and cheese into flour mixture until it resembles coarse corn meal. Add milk; mix well. Drop by heaping tablespoon on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.

Yield: 2 dozen

Vinegar Pie-7

That' right - vinegar. But trust me if you have a frozen pie crust this is one pie almost everyone will have the ingredients for when you need something fast! believe this is also called Butter Pie in some places.

3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
2 Tablespoons vinegar
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 stick butter, melted
1 uncooked pie shell

Mix first six ingredients and pour into uncooked pie shell. Bake at 300 degrees for one hour.

BBQ Chicken-3

You can do this on the stove or the oven or the slow cooker.

Chicken-about 4 large pieces
1 cup ketchup
1-12 ounce diet or regular cola

Cook until chicken is done.

Viola!

Olive Salad

This is just a matter of measuring and mixing together for the most part. Olives should of course be pitted.

2/3 cup green olives
2/3 cup black olives
1/4 cup pimento
3 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon capers
1/3 cup parsley
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil, extra virgin

Coarsely chop all and let stand one hour before serving. Use as sandwich topping.

Coconut Flan - 4 (Eazier than it sounds)

2 Boxes (3oz.each) Flan Mix
2 Cups Milk
1 Can (14 oz.) lite coconut milk
1 Cup Sweetened Flaked Coconut

Prepare round, 8" x 2" baking dish or pan.

Pour caramel sauce from flan mix into baking dish, tilt to cover bottom.

Prepare flan mix, as box indicates, using milk and coconut milk. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut.

Ladle custard over caramel. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

To unmold: run a thin knife around edge of pan. Place inverted rimmed serving plate on dish. Holding plate and dish together, carefully turn both over.

Lift dish, let syrup run onto plate. Refrigerate until serving.

Top it with toasted coconut flakes if you want to be fancy.

Instant Hot Chocolate Mix - 4

Ingredients

3 cup nonfat dry milk
1 cup McNeil Nutritionals SPLENDA No Calorie Sweetener
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 oz fat-free sugar-free instant vanilla pudding and pie filling

Instructions

Blend together to get a smooth powdery mix. Store in an airtight container. Mix 1/4 cup mix to 1 cup hot water. Marshmellows would make 5 ingredients so I will have to stop short of adding them.

Cranberry Cookies Kisses - 4+

Ok so these have 5 ingredients - cream of tarter shouldn't count since it is very small!

Ingredients

3 large egg white(s), at room temperature (you can use the eggwhites in a carton)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 cup sugar or splenda
1/4 cup canned cranberry sauce, whole berry
1/3 cup dried cranberries, about 80 cranberries

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200°F. Coat 2 large sheet pans with cooking spray or cover with parchment paper.

Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form; gradually beat in sugar until mixture is very stiff and shiny. Gradually fold in cranberry sauce (you can add a few drops of red food coloring at this point, if desired) while beating for 1 minute.

Drop batter by teaspoonfuls onto prepared sheet pans; press 1 dried cranberry into the top of each cookie. Bake for 2 hours. Cool completely before removing from pans. Store in airtight containers.

Yields about 4 cookies per serving.

Baptist Punch - 4

pkg. orange flavored Jell-O
6 oz. can frozen pineapple orange juice concentrate
4 c. apple juice
12 oz. bottle (3 1/2 c.) gingerale, chilled

Dissolve gelatin in 1 cup boiling water. Stir in pineapple orange concentrate. Add apple juice and 3 cups cold water carefully, pour in gingerale. Makes about 25 (4 ounce) servings.

Cheese Stuffed Apples - 4

3 oz. pkg. softened cream cheese
1 1/3 oz. Camembert cheese
1 tbsp dry white wine
4 med. apples

Mix 3 ingredients together in bowl with blender until smooth. Core apples; scoop out inside leaving shells 1/2 inch thick. Fill with cheese mixture. Chill 2-3 hours. Cut in wedges.

BISCUIT POT PIE - 4

1 lb. cooked chicken, diced
9 oz. pkg. frozen mixed veggies
1 can cream of mushroom soup
10 canned biscuits

Mix first three ingredients. Pour into 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Lay whole separated biscuits over dish.

Bake 400 degrees for 14- 16 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown. Serves 4.

Super Quick Salsa - 4

2 cans Mexican Style Tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1 bunch cilantro
1 small onion

All into the blender! Serve.

TIPS

Keep these on hand - they can replace the fresh equivalent almost 100% of the time and they don't go bad ever - well, seriously - they last a very long time.

Powdered egg whites
Canned Milk
Canned Evaporated Milk
Canned chopped or diced tomatoes (low sodium)
Powdered Buttermilk

Porcupine Meatballs

The name comes from the fact that when cooked the rice sticks out of the meatballs. It's another great "party" food.

Combine:

1 package beef Rice a Roni
1 pound ground turkey or chicken
1 egg (eggbeaters)
Water

Mix rice, beef and egg and shape into small balls. Brown in large skillet that has lid. Add 2 1/2 cups water and add seasoning packet from the rice. Cover and simmer for at least 30 minutes (until rice is done).

Bread Pudding

Preheat Oven to 350.

6 slices Stale Bread - I use French bread because it is fat free (or should be) but you can use whole wheat also
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
1/4 cup almonds
1 can each fat free evaporated milk and condensed milk
4 "eggs" (I use powdered egg whites or eggbeaters)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Tear up the bread and place it, raisins, almonds in a deep pan to soak everything. In a separate bowl pour evaporated milk and condensed milk, vanilla and cinnamon and add the eggs and mix very well. Pour over the bread and make sure bread is covered. Soak at least 5 minutes or until bread breaks down.

Pour into 8" casserole baking pan that has been sprayed well with non-stick spray. Bake 60 to 65 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean or top springs up when you push it down lightly. Serve warm. Makes 8 servings.

Optional Topping:

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray (1/2 bottle) mixed with 2 tablespoon Splenda Brown Sugar (according to how sweet you want it) and 1/2 teaspoon rum flavoring (or vanilla). Heat in Microwave to warm. Spoon one tablespoon over a serving.

Sausage Balls

Going to a party and need something easy that everyone will eat but is a little lower in fat? Try this version of those sausage balls you have had before.

1 can Campbell's cheddar cheese soup
1 lb. hot ground turkey sausage
3 c. low-calorie biscuit mix

Brown sausage in frying pan and add cheese. Stir until mixed. Add to biscuit mix and blend well. form into 1" balls. Bake on cookie sheet in 450 degree oven 15 to 20 minutes.

Yield: 3 to 4 dozen

Fruit Pizza

Most of us have eaten this at some kind of function where everyone is supposed to bring a side dish. If you can find sugar cookie dough in a low calorie/fat version is would of course make this a better choice.

Slice and Bake Pillsbury Sugar cookie dough
16 oz. Non-fat Cool Whip
16 oz. softened non-fat cream cheese
A mixture of fresh fruits like strawberries, Kiwi, apricots, peaches, cherries and pineapple

Spray pizza pan with non-stick spray. Remove cookie dough from package and flatten onto pizza pan covering entire pan. Bake as directed for cookies until golden brown. Let cool.

Mix together the Cool Whip and cream cheese. Spread mixture onto cooked cookie evenly. Arrange fruits on top any way you like but try to make it look pretty!

Keep chilled until time to serve.

Basic Meatloaf

You can add to this but this is a good basic recipe. If you want to add more veggies go ahead. Chopped spinach is a great way to get in some fiber. If you want a sauce on the top you can make one with tomato sauce and a little Splenda Brown Sugar.

1 lb ground chicken or ground turkey
2 Eggbeaters eggs (or powdered egg whites)
1 small can tomato sauce
3 slices stale whole wheat bread, processed into crumbs
2 tbsp onion soup mix
1/2 onion, diced

Mix all ingredients very well with your hands but try not to mix all the air out. Place in sprayed deep dish casserole and bake at 350 for one hour.

Breakfast Smoothie

You can go to the Smoothie King or Jamba Juice or just throw some stuff in your own blender and there you go! The number of combination to this are basically infinitesimal. I usually keep frozen peaches, pineapples, blueberries, cherries and a bag of mixed fruit. If I don't have a banana then I forgo it. If I have a flavored nonfat yogurt I might use it. Try your own variation. Surprisingly simple and delicious.

1/2 cup Frozen mixed fruits
1 small banana
3/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
ice cubes
1/2 cup water or orange juice

Blend all but water or orange juice. Add liquid as needed to get desired consistency.

Creamed Spinach

Creamed spinach is really rich and makes a great sauce for chicken or even enchiladas. Here's a version that is still rich but healthy too. If you want to really get healthier use fresh spinach and chop and cook first in a little water and then follow the recipe. That way you get the good stuff without the additives.

20 oz chopped frozen spinach
1/2-1 cup non-fat sour cream
1-2 Tbsp prepared horseradish

Cook thawed spinach in a dry covered saucepan over a medium heat until water evaporates. Stir in sour cream and horseradish. Serve hot.

Yield: 6 Servings

Chicken Liver Salad

Truly lots of people say they hate liver but when they have this - they find they rather like it. Definitely not "diet" food but easy and as good as any Jewish deli makes. And now and then we need a little more iron in our diet, right? Right?

NOTE: Schmaltz is rendered (melted) chicken fat. You can actually buy this in places that sell Jewish and/or specialty foods. If you want to make your own, get some chicken fat and put in a frying pan on low heat. Stir the pieces of fat frequently; if there's lots of fat, you can drain the pan into a container to keep things from splattering too much. The fat will eventually melt down to a tough, dry blob (the griveners) at which point you're done rendering. The liquid fat is the schmaltz. But trust me, buying it is much easier.

1 lb chicken livers
1 onion (large)
2 garlic cloves
3 Tbsp schmaltz
3 eggs, hard boiled

Melt the schmaltz in a large frying pan. Saute the onions and garlic in the schmaltz until the onions are tender and caramelized. Add the chicken livers, and saute until done. (Livers are done when they are no longer red or pink on the inside.)

Chop the cooked livers and onions, along with the hard boiled eggs. They should be fairly coarsely chopped. Season with a little salt, and a little more melted schmaltz if things are dry. The result should be smooth and a tiny bit sweet from the onions. Heaven!

Simple Peanut Butter Cookies

Very simple peanut-butter cookies. They are a little moist but that's fine - just don't burn.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

To make one batch:

1 cup peanut-butter
1 cup Splenda sugar
1 large egg or equivalent to two eggs with Eggbeaters

Mix everything together. Place blobs of cookie dough on a greased cookie sheet in the size you like, and flatten with a fork to make the traditional peanut-butter cookie pattern. Put in oven and bake for 8-10 minutes.