Quick Praline Bars

When I was younger, I loved to go to 4-H camp. I went to North Central 4-H camp in Kentucky. I went there as a camper, teen leader, and then worked for 2 years on staff as crafts instructor while I was in college. One of my fondest memories is a snack that we had called Jean's toffee bars. They were so good! Well, yesterday I found a similar recipe on the Weight Watchers message boards and made some for my kids snack. They were eaten before I even got a picture. I used low fat graham crackers and peanuts because that was all I had on hand. Here is the recipe. I hope you enjoy.

Quick Praline Bars
24 graham cracker squares
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange graham crackers in a single layer on an ungreased jelly roll pan. Heat brown sugar and margarine to boiling in a 2-quart saucepan. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Pour sugar mixture over graham crackers, spread evenly. Sprinkle with pecans. Bake 8-10 minutes or until bubbly, cool slightly, before serving.
Yield: 24 bars
per bar: 95 calories, 6 grams fat
Source: Betty Crocker's Healthy New Choices Cookbook

Not So Big Bad Banana Muffins

I made 4 batches of these today. I tricked the kids with the 50/50 whole wheat and white flour and they loved them. I am freezing the rest for an easy breakfast on a busy morning this summer!

Not So Big Bad Banana Muffins

3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour

3/4 Cup White Flour
3/4 cup Sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

1 Egg

2 Large Bananas, mashed

1/2 cup Applesauce

1/4 cup Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease entire cupcake or muffin tin including the top of the pan with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. In another bowl mix egg, sugar, applesauce, and bananas. Add wet to dryand stir just until combined. (A few lumps are fine.) Fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared tin, filling all the way to the top. Fill unused cups with 1/3 cup water to prevent burning. Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Turn onto a wire rack and allow to cool before serving.

Notes: You can freeze these muffins and pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds for a great, easy breakfast.

Makes 10 servings at 3 Weight Watchers Points each.

Blueberry Pancakes

Blueberry Pancakes for a Family

2 cups Bisquick Heart Smart

1 1/3 cups skim milk

4 tbsp. egg beaters

1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (thawed and drained)

Stir all ingredients except blueberries until blended. Gently stir in blueberries. Pour about 1/4 cups batter onto a hot greased griddle. Cook until bubbles break the surface. Turn, cook until golden.

Makes 20 pancakes at 1 point per pancake

Note: I served with Smucker's Sugar Free Syrup

Note: You can also half this recipe for a smaller family. I like to make this bigger one and we have some leftover to freeze on a day that I don't have time to cook.

RR: These were so easy to make and oh so yummy!

Where have I been?

Well, I guess if you don't see me on here then I probably am not doing very well! I have gained weight each week for the last month. I stopped tracking. I let myself go wild at some events and I just did not exercise. That could probably explain my weight gain! I started off this week yesterday and I am determined to lose weight! I am tracking. My weight watcher leader said once to only track on days you want to lose weight. Why oh why did I not listen to that quote? I also have a group of women who meet from our church. We meet last night and we had a potluck, but everyone had to bring healthy foods. We had a wonderful dinner and then a small lesson on nutrition and then we did The Miracle Mile video by Leslie Sansone. Our husband's stayed and watched the kids after the dinner. That helped me gain some of my motivation back. We only meet once a month and next month we are going swimming so that should be fun! I am determined to lose this week. Having the kids home all day makes it a little harder for me. But, I am trying to do better. I am not perfect. I do love Weight Watchers and the fact that it has changed my life. I just need to get with the program and do it. I will be having more recipes. They motivate me as much as all of you. So, please come back and visit me.

Monterey Chicken

We had this wonderful meal last night. My dh LOVED it! We will be having it again. I got the recipe from Chubbie Chica.


Monterey Chicken

4 (5 oz) Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

1/4 Cup Barbecue Sauce

1/4 Cup Hormel Real Bacon Bits

1 Cup 2% Colby and Monterey Jack Shredded Cheese

1 (14 oz.) Can Rotel (Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies), drained

Sliced Green Onions

Pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F. Pound out the chicken breasts to flatten. Season each with a little pepper. Cook the chicken in a skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray over medium-low heat until no longer pink. Place each breast onto a baking sheet and top each breast with 1 tablespoon of barbecue sauce, 1/4 cup cheese, 1/4 cup tomatoes, green onions and 1 tablespoon of bacon bits. Place into the oven and bake until the cheese has melted (about 5 minutes).

Serves: 4WW

Pts = 6

Easy Pizza Sauce

Easy Pizza Sauce
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
4 teaspoons dried onion flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 cups water
Combine tomato paste, garlic, parsley flakes, onion, oregano, basil and water in 2 quart saucepan. Cook over medium high heat until mixture boils. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. Cool a little and spread on your pizza crust and proceed with remainder of your toppings.
Makes 4 servings
Calories 80 Fat 0.5 Fiber 4.5
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This was really good on the pizza. I don't know about the serving size, but I can get at least 2 pizzas out of this one batch of sauce and maybe a third one.
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Note: This pizza sauce freezes really well too.

Basic Pizza Dough

I have been trying out new recipes and the thing I really like about Weight Watchers is we still have those extra 35 points to spend as we want. Sometimes, we just need to have a "treat." This is one such treat for me. I found this recipe on Mom Advice.

Basic Pizza Dough (from"How to Cook Everything,")

1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus more as needed

2 teaspoons coarse kosher or sea slat, plus extra for sprinkling

1 to 1 1/4 cups water

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil

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To make this dough in food processor: Combine the yeast, flour, and 2 teaspoons salt in the container of a food processor. Turn the machine on and add 1 cup water and the 2 tablespoons of oil through the feed tube. Process for 30 seconds, adding more water, a little at a time, until the mixture forms a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch. If it is dry, add another tablespoon or two of water and process for another 10 seconds. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand a few seconds to form a smooth, round dough ball. Grease a bowl with the remaining olive oil, and place the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and let it rise in a warm draft-free area until the dough doubles in size, 1 to 2 hours. You can cut this rising time short if you are in a hurry or you can let the dough rise more slowly in the refrigerator for six to eight hours.

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To make this dough by hand: Combine half the flour with the salt and yeast and stir to blend. Add 1 cup water and the 2 tablespoons olive oil; stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add remaining flour a bit at a time; when the mixture becomes too stiff to stir with a spoon, begin kneading, adding as little flour as possible- just enough to keep the dough from being a sticky mess. Knead until smooth but still quite moist, about ten minutes. Proceed as above.

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To make this dough with a standing mixer: The machine must be fairly powerful or it will stall. Combine half the flour with the salt, yeast, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and 1 cup water; blend with the machines paddle. With the machine on slow speed, add flour a little at a time until the mix has become a sticky ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl (switch to the dough hook if necessary). Knead for a minute by hand, adding as little flour as possible, then proceed as above.

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To make this dough with the bread machine: Add ingredients as follows- warm water, olive oil, flour, salt, and then add yeast at the top. Turn machine on and select the dough setting. When the machine beeps, you can roll out the dough onto your pizza stone/pan.

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I made this dough in my bread machine. I watched it and it seemed really wet so I added some more flour to it. It was still a little sticky when I took it out of the machine so I added some more flour. This was really good and once I took care of the stickiness, it was easy. I added a sauce, cheese and other toppings and cooked for 15 minutes at 450 degrees. Some people like to pre-bake there crust before putting on toppings and you can do that too.

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If you cut your crust in 8 pieces this is 4 points per slice, but you also have to add points for sauce, cheese and other toppings. Try to stick with filling food toppings to keep this pizza lower in points.