Menu Plan Monday May 10-16- Crockpot Week!

This week, I'm pulling out my crock pot and letting it do the work for me. Hot weather has already been here in Kentucky and suppose to return to the 80's this week, so crockpotting will keep my house cooler. I am also doing a lot of microwave cooking for breakfast, this will also keep my house cooler. So, here's what's planned at my house.

Dinners

Monday: Crockpot Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti, Low-Fat Bread Machine Italian Bread (made into bread sticks), salad

Tuesday: Crockpot Taco Junk with baked tortilla scoop chips

Wednesday: Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken, crockpot baked potatoes (cooked in bottom of chicken), green beans

Thursday: To Die For Roast, Betty Crocker 80 Calorie Mashed Potatoes, green beans

Friday: Pizza Night

Saturday: Crockpot Chicken and stuffing, Crockpot Baked Potatoes, green beans

Sunday: *New Recipe Night* Pineapple Meatloaf, green beans

Breakfast

Monday: Hungry Girl's All American Egg Mug, strawberries

Tuesday: Hungry Girl's Egg Mug Burger-Rama, grapes

Wednesday: Hungry Girl's All American Egg Mug, strawberries

Thursday: Hungry Girl's Egg Mug Classic, strawberries

Friday: Hungry Girl's Pizza Pizza Egg Mug, grapes

Saturday: Denver Omelette in a Mug, strawberries

Sunday: Hungry Girl's All-American Egg Mug, strawberries

(Note: My kids eat breakfast at school and my little one eats cereal everyday.)

Lunch

Monday: Bacon Tomato Sandwich, grapes

Tuesday: Bacon Tomato Sandwich, grapes

Wednesday: Garden Vegetable Soup

Thursday: Garden Vegetable Soup

Friday: Garden Vegetable Soup

Saturday: Cookout at church

Sunday: Fat Free Hot Dogs, baked chips

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Go here to see more menus.

Fudgy Cocoa Brownies

Fudgy Cocoa Brownies

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

2 egg whites

3/4 cup walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, allowing the foil to extend over the rim by 2-inches. Spray with non-stick spray. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl; set aside. Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan set over low heat. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Whisk in the cocoa and vanilla; let stand 5 minutes. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg, and egg whites to the cocoa mixture, whisk until blended. Stir in the flour mixture until blended. Stir in the walnuts. Scrape the batter into the baking pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging, 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a rack. Lift from the pan using the foil as handles; cut into 16 squares.

Tip: For easier cutting, refrigerate the cooled brownies about 1 hour.

Calories: 140, Fat 7g, Fiber 1 or 3 points per serving

From: Best Ever Desserts

Made without walnuts 2 points per serving

Lorie's Verdict: These were so good. They are rich and very chocolatey! So beware. But that's good because it will be easier not to eat all 16 at once! My kids LOVED them! My husband does not like nuts in brownies and that saved me a point!

No-Bake Granola Bars

These were really good. My lids loved them and can't wait until I can make some more! My chocolate chips still melted a little even though I put them in the freezer, but they were still good!
No-Bake Granola Bars

1.5 cups rice krispies cereal

1.5 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup brown sugar (unpacked)

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup reduced fat peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Line a 13x9 pan with wax paper, they're chewy and it's easier to get them out. Put the mini chocolate chips in the freezer while you're working, they won't melt as quickly when you add them later on. Add oats and rice krispies to a very large mixing bowl. Heat brown sugar and honey in a saucepan over medium heat until smooth. Add peanut butter and vanilla and stir until everything is combined. It will be a thick brown sauce. Don't let it boil. Remove from heat and pour over oat/cereal mix. Work quickly and stir to combine everything. Add the mini chocolate chips at the very end. Press into baking pan and chill for about 30 minutes until solid. Cut into 16 bars. (I lifted them right out with the wax paper and cut them on a cutting board)

Makes 16 servings

3 points per serving

Crazy Crust Pizza

This recipe was really good. The reason it's called Crazy Crust is because you put all you toppings except sauce and cheese into the batter . The crust is very thin and more of a batter so don't be scared if that happens. I made mine in a 12 inch round pizza pan and it worked fine. You need a pan that has sides. My pampered chef round stone would not work because it does not have anything to keep the batter in the pan. Some people online recommend using a half sheet pan that is 10x15. You can play around with this pizza and add any toppings you like, just make sure you refigure the points. My kids liked it but thought it was too spicy, so next time I think I will leave out the black pepper in the crust all together. I only added the pepperoni to the kid pizza or they probably would not have eaten it. I also thought that the cooking times were too long, so I recommend watching it until you figure out how long it takes in your oven. My oven was about 5 minutes less for both cooking times. On both pizzas, the sides of the dough came up when the crust cooked and made like an area to put your cheese and sauce in kind of crazy like, maybe another reason it's called crazy. Overall this was good and we will make it again.

Note: In the picture, I took it out of my pizza pan after it cooked and put it on my pampered chef round stone and then took a picture. I cooked it in a 12 inch round pizza pan and only had one so I was cooking the other. So know it was not cooked on that stone, the batter will run off the sides.

Crazy Crust Pizza

Dough:

1 cup(s) all-purpose flour

1 tsp table salt

1 tsp McCormick Oregano leaves

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup(s) Egg Beaters Egg Beaters

2/3 cup(s) fat-free skim milk

Toppings (can substitute)

17 slice(s) Hormel Pillow Pack Turkey Pepperoni

1 cup(s) mushroom(s)

1 cup(s) pizza sauce

1 cup(s) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (I used part-skim pizza cheese on mine)

1/4 cup(s) onion(s), chopped

In a small bowl, combine batter ingredients until smooth. Pour into greased and dusted 14" pizza pan (or sheet pan of similar size). Tilt pan so that batter covers bottom. Arrange toppings and bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes or until crust is deep golden brown. Remove from oven and drizzle with sauce. Sprinkle with cheese and return to oven for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce is hot.

Serves 8 at 3 points per piece

Serves 4 at 5 points per piece

Hungry Girl's Corn MegaMuffins

I tried these last week with my favorite chili. They were HUGE. I could taste a little bit of aftertaste from the Splenda, but it was not bad and these were pretty good. My kids like them, but my husband did not. He's spoiled with the real thing! Make sure you use cupcake liners, I did not and wished I had. I don't know how much I will make these because the greek yogurt is kind of expensive.

Hungry Girl's Corn MegaMuffins

Wendy's No Bake Peanut Butter Bars

I have had this recipe for a long time in my "recipes to try" folder. I am so glad I finally tried it! They are really good. I had a hard time with them sticking together, but if you leave them in the refrigerator for the 1 hour they stick fine, although that will be hard, because you will want to eat them! I made them into squares but you could alo make them more like bars, kind of like a granola bar. Thank goodness I had kids to help me eat these. They are so yummy! This is a treat though since they are 4 points each. I don't know how many points one is but I would guess 2. When you cut them into 24 pieces you still get a pretty nice piece if you decide to only eat one.

Wendy's No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars

3/4 cup reduced-fat creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup honey

3 tablespoons light butter, stick

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups crispy rice cereal

2 cups bran buds, I used Kellogg's All Bran

Spray a 9x13 inch baking pan with non-stick spray. Combine the peanut butter, brown sugar, honey, and butter in a large pan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until smooth, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Add the cereals and stir well to coat. Spoon the cereal mixture into the baking pan. Cover with wax paper or plastic wrap and gently press to form an even layer. Let cool completely. Refrigerate, covered, until firm (at least 1 hour). Uncover and cut into 24 bars.

Note: I cut mine into 12 bars(4 points each)as pictured above

Serving size: 2 bars per person (24 bars at 4 points per serving)

From: Weight Watchers Magazine July/August 2008

per serving 2 bars ; 210 calories, 8g fat, 7g fiber

Finger Jello

Angie(a friend from Weight Watchers) made these for a Christmas potluck and my kids and I LOVE them! They are low in points, so keep these in your refrigerator when you have a snack attack.
Finger Jello
3 small boxes of sugar free Jello, any flavor
1 box (4 envelopes) Knox's gelatin
4 cups boiling water
Mix jello and gelatin in boiling water until dissolved. Pour into a casserole pan and place in the refrigerator until set. Cut in squares.
Makes 16 squares at 0 points per square
Makes 12 squares at 1 point per square
(Angie said she put these on the Weight Watcher scale and you could eat 4 squares for 0 points, but she did not know how many servings one recipe made and I ran this through the recipe builder on the Weight Watchers site and got the above points.)
I also learned online you can stack these with different colors to make some cool looking finger jello.

Smothered Buttermilk Chicken and Holiday Buttermilk Biscuits

Last night, I made two new recipes, both of which were great! I got some chicken thighs on sale and most of the other ingredients I had on hand. I have been trying to use up some buttermilk and both these recipes helped. I have not found a light biscuit recipe that my kids and husband would eat. They loved these and so did I!




Smothered Buttermilk Chicken
1 pound boneless chicken thighs (see note, I did that)
3 medium carrots, sliced
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons light margarine
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
1 package chicken gravy mix
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons flour
1 cup frozen peas
In a 4 to 6 quart crock pot, combine chicken, carrots, onion, water, butter, salt, pepper and bay leaf; mix well. Cover; cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on high setting for 3 to 4 hours. About 20 minutes before serving, stir gravy mix into crock pot. Remove and discard bay leaf. In a measuring cup, blend buttermilk and flour until smooth. Stir flour mixture and peas into chicken; mix well. Cover, increase heat to high; cover and cook an additional 25-20 minutes or until peas are cooked. Serve with rice or biscuits.
Serves 4 (I served 8 people this meal but added more chicken)
7 points
NOTES: **You can use frozen bone in chicken thighs as well. Just turn up the heat to high for the first hour, then down to low for the remaining 6 hours. Before stirring in gravy mix, remove the skin from the chicken. The chicken will fall apart and meld nicely with the rest of the dish- just be sure to remove the bones before serving.


Holiday Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe
1 cup flour
1/2 cup fat free buttermilk or skim milk
2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise(I used fat free)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a 6 cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Stir ingredients together and divide evenly between 6 muffin cups. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.
Serves:6
1 point for one biscuit, 3 points for 2
Recipe from LaaLosh

Friday Favorites-Deep Dish Pizza Casserole

Friday Favorites is when I post my favorite recipes that have previously been posted on this blog. I hope some of you still find some new to you recipes!

Deep Dish Pizza Casserole
1 pound ground round
1 (15 ounce) can chunky Italian-style tomatoes
Cooking spray
1 (10 ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough
6 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1.Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Cook meat in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned, stirring until it crumbles. Drain, if necessary, and return to skillet. Add tomatoes, and cook until heated through. 3. While meat cooks, coat a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Unroll pizza crust dough, and press into bottom and halfway up sides of the baking dish. Top the pizza crust with meat mixture.
4. Bake, uncovered, at 425° for 12 minutes. Top with cheese, and bake 5 minutes or until crust is browned and cheese melts. Cool 5 minutes before serving. Yield: 6 servings. Each serving is 6 points. You can add other pizza items, just add those points, if any.
5. Serve with a salad mixed field greens and a fat-free or low-fat vinaigrette.

Note: Please check the ingredients that you use because that could affect the points of this dish.

Pizza-Style Meat Loaf

We had this for dinner and it was okay. It was kind of hard to get the seal to stay on the meatloaf, but my kids liked it! I had a piece of 1/2 point bread and green beans with this meal.

Pizza-Style Meat Loaf

2/3 cup pizza sauce, divided

1 1/2 pounds extra-lean ground round
3/4 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs

1/2 cup onion

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 large egg white

2 (1 oz) slices part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine 1/3 cup pizza sauce, meat, and next 8 ingredients (sauce through egg white) in a bowl. Shape meat mixture into an 8 x 12-inch rectangle on wax paper. Arrange cheese slices over meat mixture; sprinkle with red bell pepper, leaving a 1-inch border. Roll meat up jelly-roll fashion starting at short side. Pinch to seal.

Place meat loaf on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until meat registers 160 degrees. Brush 1/3 cup pizza sauce over meat loaf. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until done; let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Makes 6 servings

Calories 291, Fat 12.6g, Fiber 0.9g

Bean Burrito Casserole

We had this for dinner and it was really good, even the kids ate it! We served it with baked tortilla chips and fat free sour cream. I think this would also be good with corn.
Bean Burrito Casserole
1 medium onion
1 pound lean ground beef
1 packet reduced sodium taco seasoning
3/4 cup water
14 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
5 oz. tomato paste
15 oz fat free refried beans
2 cups fat free shredded Cheddar cheese
4 cups cooked brown rice
Dice onion and saute in a large skillet with ground beef. Add water and 1/2 packet of taco seasoning. simmer until sauce thickens. Add canned veggies, tomato paste, and beans. Spray casserole dish and fill with mixture. Top with 1 cup of shredded cheese. Cover with cooked brown rice. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top. Bake covered at 350 degrees until heated through for 20 minutes. Remove cover and continue baking until cheese is melty about 5 minutes.
Makes: 8 servings at 8 points each or 9 pts each with 2% cheese

Hungry Girl's Sassy Saucy Ribwich

Did you ever try the McDonald's Rib sandwiches or any rib sandwich for that matter? They are so good, but also very high in points. The McDonald's one is 12 points. Oh my! This one is only 6 points! My family really liked this!

Here's the recipe: Hungry Girl's Sassy Saucy Ribwich

Time and Money Saving Breakfast Sandwiches

So, my husband has to be at work at 7 am (he has a 35 minute communte) and he is always running late and never has time to eat breakfast. He has to end up taking something for breakfast with him to eat at work. He loves the biscuits that you buy for the freezer that already have eggs etc on them. He asked me the other day to buy him some more, but those things are expensive and eat into our grocery budget. They also are not the most healthy breakfast in the world. So, one day I was browsing through Heather's cooking videos and found these Easy Breakfast Sandwiches. These are great because you can be creative and put whatever you like on them. They also save time in the morning because you make them ahead and then just toss them in the microwave for a quick and HOT breakfast. My husband loves them and so do I! So, here is a recipe but you will have to figure out points based on the ingredients you choose and you can find low point ingredients out there so get creative. You must have some type of cheese though because it is like the glue that sticks them together.

Easy Breakfast Sandwiches
1 1/2 cup of Egg Beaters (or a generic brand of them)
1 Weight Watchers Cheese Single (or another cheese even fat free)
6 slices of precooked bacon, cut in two(like Oscar Meyer, comes in box)
6 (100 calorie) English Muffins (like Weight Watchers, Thomas' light, or another 100 calorie one) Spray a skillet with cooking spray. Scramble the eggs in a skillet until done. Separate the eggs into 6 equal parts. Cut the cheese slices and bacon slices in half. Open the English Muffins and place one of the separated scrambled eggs onto the bottom of the muffin. Add half piece of cheese on top of this. Next, place your bacon onto the English Muffin side by side (this will be one piece sliced in half which you have previously done.) Then place the other half of the cheese on top of the bacon going the opposite direction of the first piece of cheese. Place the top of the English muffin on top and wrap tightly in a microwave safe plastic wrap. If freezing make sure you place them in a freezer safe container or freezer safe zip lock bag. Don't forget to label and mark the points on your product. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.
To Reheat: Place wrapped sandwich in microwave on a microwave safe plate. Microwaves will differ in times to cook, but I placed my refrigerator ones in for 20-30 seconds and my freezer ones, I put on 50% power for 2-3 minutes.
Makes 6 servings
Point will vary depending on ingredients used. Using my ingredients this was 3 points.
Note: To change this up, I have used different types of meats. I like the Oscar Meyer fully cooked Canadian bacon and lean ham. Be creative and design your own!

Heather makes these in her video here if you want to go check it out.


Hope you enjoy!

SOUPer Thursday-Unstuffed Green Pepper Soup

This is another one of my favorite soups. If you love stuffed green peppers you will love this!

Unstuffed Green Pepper Soup

1 Lb. 96% Lean Ground Beef, cooked
2 (14.5 oz.) Cans Diced Tomatoes seasoned with basil, garlic and oregano
2 (10.5 oz.) Cans Chicken Broth
1 Large Onion, chopped
3 Bell Peppers, chopped
2 (10 3/4 oz.) Cans Condensed Tomato Soup
1 1/2 Cups Cooked Long Grain Rice
Spray crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Inside the crockpot, Combine the cooked beef, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, onion, bell peppers and tomato soup. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Warm up the rice, stir it into the soup and serve.
Serves: 12 (1 Cup Each)
Per Serving: 141 Calories; 3g Fat (18.2% calories from fat); 11g Protein; 18g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 22mg Cholesterol; 470mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain (Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 0 Fat.
WWP: 3

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was started a long time ago in this country. Our first settlers work really hard and were thankful for the crops that they had and the safety given to them for finally getting to settle in a land with religious freedoms. After probably not having much to eat, they celebrated by eating some of those crops that they had harvested. They had a feast! As I was growing up, we would always have a least one feast. We had a special meal at school and we went and feasted at both grandparents houses. There were things that we had growing up that I want and expect every year! Like yeast rolls, stuffing balls, broccoli casserole, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes with gravy, pumpkin pie, pecan pie and the list could go on and on. I guess you could say I was lucky enough to have two grandmothers who were both fabulous cooks! When I started Weight Watchers, one of the things I really liked about it was that it was a lifestyle change. You could eat anything you wanted, within your points, and still lose weight. It was more about a lifestyle change and Weight Watchers let you live. Thanksgiving is a holiday in this country and people spend it eating. You don't have to give up Thanksgiving dinner to be a Weight Watcher member. You get to live your life. You just need to watch your portion sizes. Last week, we practiced counting points for a Thanksgiving dinner. My dinner was about 30 points, so I would have to use my weekly 35 points to eat it but a Thanksgiving dinner still fit into my Weight Watchers plan. I even got a piece of pumpkin pie. :) I also think that a lot of our Thanksgiving type dishes can be lightened up and still taste good. I have a few recipes that I like to eat at Thanksgiving that are lightened up that I thought I would share those with all of you on this post. Thanksgiving is more than just food, even though we associate food with it. I really like this article that was on the Weight Watchers web page about 7 ways to say you are thankful without eating. I know there are lots of things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving and I hope each of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Now remember I don't eat all of these, but I have tried them all and I liked them. This is just to give you some ideas.

Green Bean Dressing Casserole

1 can French style green beans

1 box Stove Top Stuffing(don't add anything to it)

1 can 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup

Mix all ingredients and place in an 8 X 8 pan Cook in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.9 Weight Watcher points for the whole pan.

(This taste just like stuffing)

Green Beans- I just use canned green beans and add a chopped onion and salt and pepper and bring to a boil and then lower the heat and cook for about 30 minutes. 0 Weight Watchers points

Broccoli Casserole

2 (20 oz) bags frozen broccoli, thawed, cooked and drained

2 cups fat free sour cream

1 pkg. dry onion soup mix

3/4 cup fat free shredded cheddar cheese

1 can mushrooms, drained (optional)

Spray 1 quart casserole with non stick spray. Mix broccoli, sour cream and onion soup mix and mushrooms if you choose to use. Spread in pan and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

6 servings at 2 Weight Watchers points each

Traditional Sweet Potato Casserole

2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, divided

Cooking spray 2 cups miniature marshmallows Preheat oven to 375°. Place the sweet potatoes in a Dutch oven, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes or until very tender. Drain; cool slightly. Place potatoes in a large bowl. Add sugar and next 3 ingredients (through vanilla). Mash sweet potato mixture with a potato masher. Fold in 1/4 cup pecans. Scrape potato mixture into an even layer in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup pecans; top with marshmallows. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until golden.

Yield: 16 servings

CALORIES 186 FAT 5.5g FIBER 2.5g

Impossible Pumpkin Pie

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup Bisquick Health Smart Reduced-Fat Baking Mix

1/2 cup Splenda

1 cup fat-free evaporated milk

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup Egg Beaters Frozen Egg Substitute, or 2 egg whites

Heat oven to 350. Spray 9 inch pie pan with Pam. Mix all ingredients together and pour into pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes till knife comes out clean. Chill and serve with FF Cool Whip.

Serves 8 at 2 Weight Watchers Points each

Pumpkin Roll

1 Angel Food Cake Mix - the 1 Step

1 cup cold water

1 can (15oz) pumpkin

1 TB pumpkin pie spice

Filling:

1 (8oz) FF Cream cheese

1 (3 oz) SF FF Cheesecake pudding mix

1 (8 oz) FF Cool Whip

Pumpkin pie spice to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan with waxed paper. Spray lightly with Pam. Beat the cake mix and water together in a bowl for 2 or 3 minutes. Fold in pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cake springs back when touched gently in the center. Let cool for 5 minutes. Put powdered sugar on a clean dish towel and flip the cake onto the towel. Carefully peel off the wax paper. Roll the cake and towel together on the longer side (get more slices for less points). Let cool for 5 or 6 hours. Beat Cream cheese and slowly add Cool Whip in portions. This keeps the filling from getting lumpy. After this mixture is well blended, add the dry pudding mix and pumpkin pie spice. Carefully unroll the cake, spread the cream cheese mixture on the top. Gently roll the cake back up. I frosted the pumpkin roll with Cool Whip and a sprinkled with cinnamon. Very moist and doesn't taste low fat at all.

Master cook says 107 calories, trace fat, trace fiber15 servings

Pumpkin Fluff

1 (16 ounce) can pumpkin

1 (1 1/2 ounce) box sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix

1 (8 ounce) container fat-free cool whip

pumpkin spice(to taste)

Combine all ingredients in order. Chill for 2 hours.
Serves 4 at 2 WW points per serving

Crustless Pumpkin Pie
15 oz canned pumpkin
12 oz fat-free evaporated milk
1/2 tsp table salt
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup Splenda Granular
3/4 cup Egg Beaters Frozen Egg Substitute
Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth. Pour into a 9" sprayed pie pan. Bank at 400 for 15 minutes and then at 325 for 45minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Makes 8 servings at 1 Weight Watchers point each.

Honey Bun Cake

1 package yellow or white cake mix

4 egg whites

1 cup (8 oz) reduced-fat sour cream

2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoons fat-free milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a mixing bowl, combine dry cake mix, egg whites, sour cream and applesauce. Beat on low speed until moistened. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Pour half (about 2 1/4 cups) into a 13x9x2 baking pan coated with non-stick cooking spray. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over batter. Cover with remaining batter; cut through with a knife to swirl. Bake at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. For glaze, combine confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla. Drizzle over warm cake. Cool on a wire rack.

Yields: 20 servings

From Master Cook: Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 180 Calories; 3g Fat (16.0% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 36g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 1mg Cholesterol; 187mg Sodium.

Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

10 medium potatoes, red (about 2 1/2 lbs)

1/2 cups buttermilk, warmed

3 tbsp Parmesan cheese, strong-flavored, grated

1/4 cups chives, chopped

1 tsp table salt

1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, or to taste

Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with an inch of water; bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer and cook until fork-tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and return potatoes to pot. Mash potatoes with a potato masher. Stir in remaining ingredients and mix well to combine.

Yields about 2/3 cup per serving.

Serves 8 at 2 Weight Watchers Points Each

Buttery Yeast Rolls:I have to have the real thing in rolls! Here's what I use Buttery Bread Machine Rolls. These are 3 points each.

Spicy Black Bean Soup

I made this today, it is so good!

Spicy Black Bean Soup
1 sprays cooking spray
1 medium onion(s), finely chopped
4 medium garlic clove(s), minced
45 oz canned black beans, undrained, divided (three 15 oz cans)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 tsp ground cumin
14 1/2 oz fat-free chicken broth, or vegetable broth
10 oz canned tomatoes with green chilies, such as Rotel Tomatoes
11 oz canned yellow corn, drained
Coat bottom of a large stockpot with cooking spray. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are soft but not brown, about 5 minutes. Place one can of beans in blender; add sautéed onion mixture, red pepper flakes and cumin. Cover and blend on high until smooth, about 30 seconds. Pour mixture back into stockpot. Place second can of beans and broth in blender and puree until smooth; add to stockpot. Stir third can of beans (do not puree first), tomatoes and green chilies, and corn into stockpot. Bring to a boil, lower heat to medium and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
Yields about 1 1/2 cups of soup per serving. Serves 8 (3 Weight Watchers Points per serving)

Homemade Fat Free/Sugar Free Hot Chocolate

I drank a lot of Hot Chocolate while I was sick and so I wanted to find one that was more point friendly and tasted better. I hate the diet one at the store but this one is so good, its my new hot chocolate! Homemade is so much better!

Fat Free/Sugar Free Hot Chocolate

3 cups instant powdered milk

1 cup Splenda Granular
1/2 cup baking cocoa, like Hershey's

1 sm. Sugar free/fat free Jell-o Vanilla Pudding, instant

Mix all of the ingredients in a gallon size zip lock bag and close bag then mix. Store in air tight container or the zip lock bag.

To make a cup of hot chocolate, use 1/4 cup of mix to 1 cup hot water.

Serves: 18

Per serving: 58 calories, 0 g Fat, 1g fiber (1 Weight Watchers Point)

I think I am giving a small zip lock bag of this mix to my Weight Watchers friends for Christmas.

SOUPer Thursday

Today I want to share with you my favorite chili recipe since being on Weight Watchers. In fact, this is what I have planned for Hallowween dinner.

Crockpot Brown Sugar Chili
8 Servings
240 Calories 4 g. Fiber 6 g.
FatFROM: “Fix it and Forget it Lightly” Cookbook
1 lb. extra-lean ground beef
½ c. brown sugar
2 T. prepared mustard
1medium sized onion, chopped
2 cans (14 oz. each) kidney or red beans
2 c. low-sodium tomato juice
½ t. salt
¼ t. pepper
1 t. chili powder
Brown ground beef and onion in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and mustard. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Cover. Cook on HIGH 2-3 hours. If possible, stir several times during cooking.

I like to serve this with cornbread.

New Recipe Friday

On Friday's, I will be sharing a new recipe I tried recently. This week I tried Sloppy Tacos(which I'll be sharing soon) and we had some baked fries with them that were awesome. I got the recipe from Chubbie Chica. My kids loved this recipe too! I do think it could use less olive oil, like 4 teaspoons. instead of 5 and still be really good. Enjoy!

Oven Fries
Serves 6 @ 3 points
2 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and into 1/2 inch strip
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. sugar
5 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees; spray a nonstick baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, 1/4 tsp. salt and the sugar and cover with cold water. Soak for 15 minutes; drain and blot dry. In another large bowl, toss the potatoes with the oil and paprika. Place in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake, turning the potatoes over as they brown, until cooked through and crisp, about 45 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 tsp. salt. Divide into 6 servings!

I have also linked this recipe Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap. I found a great deal on potatoes... .99cents for a 5 lb bag. So, that's why I went looking for a potato recipe and came up with this one.

So what new recipe did you try this week?

Menu Plan Monday-October 12-18

I've decided to have theme day's on my blog here is the plan for now:

Monday: Menu Plan Monday

Tuesday: Grocery Cart Challenge

Wednesday: My weight loss update

Thursday: During the fall new soup recipes

Friday: New recipes that I have tried

Saturday: New products I've tried (If I have tried any that week)

Come back and see the changes. Here's my menu for this week:

Dinners

Monday- Sloppy Tacos (made with 2% cheese and lean meat on light bun), oven fries

Tuesday- Soft Tacos, Mexican Rice, Corn

Wednesday- Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, Peasant Bread

Thursday- Chicken Sandwiches, green beans

Friday-Homemade Pizza, Salad

Saturday- Spaghetti Casserole, salad, Low-fat Bread Machine Italian Bread

Sunday- We are going to a friend's house who invited us (but I am bringing some fat free hot dogs for the grill

Breakfast

Monday-Eggbeaters Omelet, English Muffin, fruit
Tuesday-Eggbeaters Omelet, English Muffin, fruit
Wednesday-Eggbeaters Omelet, English Muffin, fruit

Thursday- Heart Smart Waffles, sausage links, fruit

Friday- Cereal, yogurt, fruit

Saturday-Heartsmart Pancakes, bacon, (kids and dh will eat with homemade syrup)
Sunday-Cereal, yogurt, fruit

Lunches

sandwiches and soup or leftovers and fruit each day

Snacks
Chex Party Mix, String Cheese, Fat Free Rice Krispie Treats, air popped popcorn, granola bars

Come back and see how my shopping went. for the Grocery Cart Challenge.

Go here to see more plans.