Turkey & Apple Paninis

Shaved Turkey Breast
Red Delicious Apple sliced horizontally
Provolone Cheese Slices
2 slices of whole grain bread of your choice
Butter (yes real butter!)

Butter one side of each slice of bread.

Heat grill pan (or frying pan) on medium-lo heat and place one slice of bread butter side down in the pan.  Top with turkey, apple slice(s), provolone, and last slice of bread (butter side up).  Grilled until golden brown.  Carefully turn and press with spatula or if you have a cast iron or other heavy pan place on top of sandwich to squish (like my technical terms? lol).  Continue grilling until 2nd side of sandwich is golden brown.  Enjoy!!  SOOOOOO YUMMY!  A new favorite!!

In place of flour.....

Use ground Fiber One Original cereal!  I tried it this morning with blueberry muffins and they were so yummy and I didn't feel guilty eating them.  However, I may regret feeding them to 4 kids today.

Ham and Corn Chowder

This is another one of my infamous recipes and it is sooooo yummy!  GREAT recipe for leftover ham (Christmas or Easter ham overload anyone?)

Diced Ham (please buy a ham and cut it yourself.  It's way yummier than the pre-diced lunch meat style ham)
Approx 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
4 cans of Cream Style Corn
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Ground Black Pepper
Milk

I do VERY little measuring in this recipe so bear with me and modify to fit your family.

Pour corn in to large pot.  Heat over medium heat.  Add ham, onion powder, garlic powder, and black pepper to taste.  Pour about 1/4-1/2 cup of milk at a time in to the pot until the chowder reaches the desired consistency.  Add the cheddar cheese, one handful at a time stirring VERY often.  You may need to turn the heat down.  If you cook this recipe on too high heat it will make the cheese separate and you'll end up with a very odd texture, so take your time and let the cheese melt gradually.  Once cheese is melted, the chowder is ready to serve :)

Enjoy!  I'd love to hear your opinions on this one.

Yummy New Discovery

So last night I was looking for a little treat.  Something a little new, but needed to be a tad sweet and maybe taste like dessert.  I look in my fridge and of course I have an over abundance of yogurt and it seems to be a staple in so many of my snacks.  Right next to the yogurt was what was left of the canned pumpkin from my breakfast cookies I made last week.  I thought...hmmmmm pumpkin + yogurt + pumpkin pie spice = Yum??  oooooooooh yeeeeeeeeah!  It was soooooo good!  So give it a try.

Approx 1/2 c of pumpkin, 1 c vanilla yogurt, and a generous amount of pumpkin pie spice.  Mix it all together :)

I also topped mine with a handful of Fiber One Original cereal (a new favorite even though it has trace amounts of Aspartame)  Added tons of fiber, no sugar, and left me satisfied.

Snacks and such

A girlfriend of mine and I got in to a discussion about all the little things I do with snacks, etc that I don't really think of sharing....so here are a couple.

Pina Colada Parfait - combine vanilla yogurt and a few drops of coconut extract.  Layer in a bowl with banana slices and crushed pineapple or pineapple tidbits!  YUM!!

Creamy Apple Pie Ala Mode - 1 cup of vanilla yogurt, 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, a generous amount of cinnamon

Apple Dip - Vanilla yogurt, cinnamon, and a handful of granola

Any Fruit Sorbet - your favorite type of frozen fruit tossed in a food processor or blender with vanilla yogurt (my favorite is a mixed tropical fruit combination)

I <3 frozen Mango thawed just by itself (or with yogurt of course)

I'll add more as I think of them :)

Breakfast Cookies!

The kids won't believe you are letting them eat cookies for breakfast, but you'll be happy to know this recipe contains fruit, oats, and all kind of yummy warm goodness!

Original Recipe: Pg 18 of the Hungry Girl 200 Recipes under 200 Calories Cookbook

"Grab and Go Breakfast Cookies"

1/2 c regular rolled oats (NOT instant)
6 Tbsp Whole Wheat Flour I used regular all purpose white flour (I didn't have wheat)
1/4 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original)
1/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetner (granulated) I used regular white sugar
1/3 cup pureed peaches (basically baby food peaches)
1/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
1/4 cup fat free liquid egg substitute I used 2 eggs in place of the "substitute"
1 Tbsp golden raisins I used regular raisins (Great Value Brand) instead of the "golden" variety
1 Tbsp Ocean Spray Craisins (original) I used Great Value dried cranberries because they're MUCH cheaper
2 Tbsp brown sugar (not packed)
2 tsp Coffee-mate Sugar Free French Vanilla powdered creamer  I completely skipped this part
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon didn't measure
1/8 tsp salt didn't measure

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Chop raisins and craisins into small pieces.  Set aside.

In a food processor or blender, grind Fiber One to a breadcrumb-like consistency.

In a large bowl, combine, oats, flour, Fiber One crumbs, Splenda, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt until mixed well.

In a medium bowl, dissolve powdered creamer in 2 Tbsp hot water.  Add all other wet ingredients (pureed peaches, pumpkin, and egg substitute) and stil until mixed well.

Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients and stir until completely blended.  Slowly sprinkle chopped raisins and Craisins into the batter, making sure they don't all stick together.

Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick spray and spoon batter into 4 evenly spaced circles.  Spread batter out a bit with the back of a spoon.

Bake in the oven for 12 - 14 minutes, until tops of treats are just slightly crispy.  Allow to cool slightly on the cheet.  Grab 'n go!

Makese 4 servings

Per Serving (1 cookie): 154 calories, 1.5 g fat, 166 mg sodium, 32.5 g carbs, 5 g fiber, 10.5 g sugar, 5 g protein

My variations:

When I put the Fiber One in the food processor to grind to crumbs, I tossed the raisins and dried cranberries in there with it.  It chopped them to slightly smaller pieces AND gave them a light dusting of the cereal to keep them from sticking together.  Two birds with one stone? lol.

I also doubled the recipe to make enough for 5 kids, plus myself.  So my doubled recipe was only divided in to 6 cookies instead of 8, because my math skills seem to be lacking today.

The other thing I did differently was combined all the dry ingredients in my Pampered Chef (amazing) Batter Bowl and then added the wet ingredients one at a time to save on dishes.  I thought my recipe was a little too sticky when I had everything combined so I added about 1/4 cup of extra flour at the end and mixed it in well, but the consistency was still not that of regular cookie dough.  Because of my math skills deficiency I had today my cookies were bigger and thicker than I believe they were meant to be, so they DID take a little longer to cook, but still not bad.

These are definitely cake-ier cookies than the traditional bad for you cookies, but VERY tasty.  I even ate one and thought they were delicious!!  The kids absolutely LOVED them too and thought it was so cool to eat cookies for breakfast!

Apologies

My apologies to my followers, I've really been slacking on sharing recipes.  I promise to get back at it THIS week!

Recipe of the Day - Purple Cow Smoothie

1 bag frozen blueberries
1 large container vanilla yogurt
Approx 1 cup of grape juice

Put all ingredients in a blender and let'r rip!  Sooooooo yummy.  If it's too thick add more juice.

The kids loved it and so did I!

Interesting Combination

So this afternoon as I dished up Ants on a Log to the kids I REALLY wanted to dive head first in to the jar of peanut butter, but really need to cut back on my fat in take so I was looking for another way to get a similar treat without the fat.....

1 cup vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup Bead Naked granola
1/8 cup raisins

And then used it as a "dip" for my celery....SO TASTY!  I was a little hesitant about the yogurt/celery combo, but I was pleasantly surprised!

Recipe of the Day - Swedish Meatballs

Original Recipe - pg 130 of The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook
2 slices fluffy whole wheat bread (about 70 calories per slice)
1/3 c fat-free milk
1 large egg white
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
2 Tbsp prepared horseradish
1/2 tsp sugar
1 3/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 pound extra lean ground turkey
3 cups reduced sodium, fat free chicken broth
Olive Oil Spray
3/4 cup light sour cream

In a mixing bowl, soak the bread in the milk until it's absorbed.  Tear the soggy bread into small pieces.  Add the egg white, onion, 1 Tbsp horseradish, the sugar, 1/4 tsp allspice, the salt, and pepper.  Mix, then add the turkey, mixing just until combined.

In a 2- or 2 1/2-quart soup pot, bring the broth and 1 tsp of the allspice to a full rolling boil over high heat.

Roll the turkey mixture into 1 1/2" meatballs.  Boil half the meatballs in the brother for 3 to 7 minutes or until they rise to the surgact and are no longer pink inside.  Transfer them to a serving bowl.

Heat a large nonstick skillet to high heat.  When hot mist with spray.  Add the meatballs, working in batches if necessary and cook, sitrring occasionally, until lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.  Return the meatballs to the serving bowl and cover to keep warm.

Strain the broth through a sieve into a bowl.  Measure out 3/4 cup and add to the skillet.  Place over high heat and boil until reduced by half, 4 to 6 minutes.  Whick in the sour cream, remaining 1 Tbsp horseradish, and remaining 1/2 tsp allspice.  The mixture should have the sonsistency of a smooth, creamy gravy,  If it does not, add a bit more broth to make it thinner or continue to boil, stirring, until it reduces and thickens.  Pour the sauce over the meatballs and serve hot.

Makes 4 (10 meatball) servings

Per Serving: 244 calories, 35g protein, 18g carbohydrates, 5g fat (2g  saturated), 60 mg cholesterol, 2g fiber, 698mg sodium

My Version
I pretty much follow this recipe to a T, except that I used ground beef instead of turkey (because it's what I had on hand) and I didn't have horseradish so I just left that ingredient out.  Otherwise I followed it pretty closely and YUUUUUUMMMMMM!  The kids gobbled it up and so did I!

*I enjoyed mine with baby carrots and apple slices.
*The kids had theirs served on top of buttered macaroni noodles and apple slices on the side.

Paradise Sorbet...IF YOU MAKE ONE THING, LET IT BE THIS!!!

This is absolutely my all time favorite recipe and I just came up with it today.  It is ABSOLUTELY and utterly AMAZING!  If you are going to choose ONE recipe from my blog to make....MAKE THIS ONE!!!

1 large container vanilla yogurt
Approx 3 cups Great Value Frozen Tropical Fruit (combination of peaches, strawberries, mango, & pineapple)

Add all ingredients to food processor and process, scraping the sides as needed.  Serve immediately.  I HAVE froze the leftover and it's equally as tasty, but the texture is not near as enjoyable as fresh out of the food processor.

TO DIE FOR!

Make Your Own Tortilla Chips

Using a pizza cutter, cut your favorite tortilla (I used Don Pauncho's whole wheat tortillas) in 8th or smaller if you choose.  You could also use cookie cutters and make the "chips" in to fun shapes.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 4 minutes.  TA-DA!  You have healthy, unfried, unoily, unsalted tortilla chips.  Goes perfectly with my Black Bean Dip or your favorite salsa!

Recipe of the Day - English Muffin Melt

1 light multigrain or whole wheat English muffin (8 grams fiber per muffin; I used Thomas'), halvved and toasted

1 oz (1/2 cup) finely shredded Cabot's 75% Light Cheddar Cheese, or your favorite low-fat Cheddar

2 (1/4" thick) slices beefsteak tomato

Preheat the broiler.  Line a small metal baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Place the muffin halves on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle evenly with the cheese.  Place 1 tomato slice on each muffin half over the cheese.  Broil until the cheese bubbles and begins to brown in spots, 1 to 2 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Makes 1 serving

Per serving: 168 calories, 15 g protein, 26 g carbohydrates, 4 g fat (2g saturated), 12 mg cholesterol, 8 g fiber, 374 mg sodium

My Version
This is a really simple recipe.  I did a couple things differently as far as products go.  I had a coupon for Thomas' original english muffins (which I did toast prior to the oven), so that's what I used.  In the interest of avoiding a mess I used slice cheese (one per half muffin) rather than shredded cheese and I didn't have tin foil, so I had to scrub my pan afterward, but that wasn't a big deal.  I also put my muffins in the oven (preheated to 500 F) instead of the broiler.

I did not try this particular recipe myself, because I don't eat english muffins, but the kids DEVOURED them (after they pulled the tomatoes off of course) lol.  Enjoy!

*The kids enjoyed this with some slices peaches.

Recipe of the Day - Mandarin Orange Chicken

Original Recipe - pg 111 of The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook
3 Tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
3 Tbsp lower-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp freshly minced garlic
1 Tbsp hot sesame oil
1 tsp chili garlic sauce or chili paste (found in the international section of most major grocery stores)
1/4 c canned unsweetened mandarin oranges in juice
6 (4 oz) trimmed boneless, skinless chicken breasts

In a large, resealable plastic bag or container, mix the juice concentrate, soy sauce, garlic, oil, and chili sauce or chili paste.  Gently stire in the oranges and their juice.  Add the chicken, submergining it in marinade.  Seal the bag or container and marinate in the refrigerator at leart 6 hours or overnight, rotating once or twice.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Transfer the chicken to an 11" x 7" glass baking or casserole dish (or the equivalent) in a single layer and pour the remaining marinade on top.  Cover the dish with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink inside.

Makes 6 servings

Per serving: 183 calories, 27g protein, 7g carbohydrates, 4g fat (less than 1 g saturated), 66 mg cholesterol, trace fiber, 282 mg sodium

My Version
I follower the directions on this one pretty closely.  I did NOT measure the mandarin oranges.  I dump in one whole plastic jar of them (and their juice).  I also did not make my chicken breasts 4 ozs.  Chances are they were closer to 5 or 6 ounces a piece and there were about 5 of them.  I would say it is essential to have the sesame oil (though I did not use a hot version, mostly because I couldn't find one), I think it gives it the asian flavor this recipe is supposed to have. 

Either way, YUMMY!

*I served mine with steamed mixed vegetables and pineapple tidbits.

A Little Breakfast Treat for Mama

So this morning as I preparing the Apple Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal, I was wondering how I could enjoy a similar flavor, but without the oatmeal (I don't eat oatmeal) and I figured it out and MAN was it good!  It was a wonderful breakfast, but could also be a yummy dessert for any meal.  Healthy to boot!  Who could ask for more?

1 c. low fat vanilla yogurt
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
Cinnamon

Stir all ingredients together and enjoy!  Soooo easy and sooooo yummy!  It almost tastes like it should be really bad for you, but it's not!

Apple Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal

This was not a recipe in any cookbook, but came straight out of my head.  I don't buy my kids instant flavored oatmeal for the simple fact that to get it to taste good there is sooooo much crap added to it.  So I buy the plain old fashioned oats (think the big Quaker can).  I've mixed in brown sugar before, but today I was looking for something different.  This fabulous invention of a recipe kills two birds with one stone.

Old Fashioned Oatmeal
Raisins
Cinnamon
Unsweetened Applesauce

Cook the oatmeal as directed on the can adding a generous amount of cinnamon about half way through cooking time.  Seperate in to bowls, top is COLD unsweetened applesauce and raisins.  If you mix it all together it creates a yummy breakfast treat the kids love AND you don't have to wait for it to cool, because the applesauce does that for you....BONUS!  Enjoy!

Veggies are in the Christmas Mood too!

As I was cutting up the red bell pepper for the black bean dip today I cut the top off and there is a little bitty green pepper growing INSIDE the red one.  I even cut it open to make sure it WAS actually another, completely seperate bell peppers.  Just thought it was kinda cool!

Recipe of the Day - Black Bean Dip

Original Recipe - pg 96 of The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook
1 (15-ounce) can 50% less sodium black beans, drained
1/4 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. chopped green bell pepper
1 large clove of fresh garlic, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp lime juice, preferably freshly squeezed
1 Tbsp lemon juice, preferable freshly squeezed
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp ground red pepper, or more to taste
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 cup diced fresh tomato

In the bowl of a large food processor fitted with a chopping blade, combine the black beans, onion, bell pepper, black pepper, and salt.  Pulse the ingredients untilthe mixture is paste-like and creamy but still slightly chunky, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary.  Transfer the dip to a small, deep bowl and top with the tomatoes.  Serve immediately or refrigerate in an airtight plastic container for up to 3 days.

Makes 7 (1/4 c.) servings

Per serving: 42 calories, 3 g protein, 10 g carbohydrates, trace fat (trace saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, 3 g fiber, 169 mg sodium

My Version
1 16 oz bag of dry black beans
1 chopped sweet yellow onion
1 chopped bell pepper
5 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
2 generous squirts of lime juice
2 generous squirts of lemon juice
Chili powder
Cumin
Ground Red Pepper
Black Pepper
Salt
Diced Tomatoes

Night before: Rinse and sort beans.  Combine black beans with 6-8 cups of cold water and let soak overnight.

Boil beans over med-hi heat for approximately 2 hours until tender. 

Put all ingredients, except tomatoes, in a food processor with a chop blade.  Process until to the desired consistancy.  Mine was pretty thick like the original recipe suggests.  At one point it seemed a little on the thick side, so I added more lemon and lime juice (that's where the two squirts came in).  I didn't measure the spices, so mine came out a little spicy for the kids, but to me it was really good...VERY garlicky, but all the ingredients can be adjusted to your family's tastes.

*I ate mine with celery and carrots, but you can also use your favorite chips or crackers, or even better...MAKE your own chips! mmmmmm

Recipe of the Day - Grape "Granita"

Original Recipe - Pg 196 & 197 of The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook
2 cups seedless grapes, frozen (red and black grapes make this pretty)
2 tsp honey

Place the grapes and honey in a food processor fitted with a chopping blade.  Process, scraping down the bowl of the processor if necessary, until the grapes are very finely chopped and mostly smooth in texture.  Divide between 2 chilled martini glasses or dessert bowls and serve.

Makes 2 (generous 3/4 cup) servings

Per Serving: 135 calories, 1 g protein, 27 g carbohydrates, less than 1 g fat (trace saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 3 mg sodium

My Version
I basically just didn't measure, otherwise I did everything the same as the recipe.  However I highly recommend measuring the honey at least.  It was ok, but I wasn't crazy about the combination of honey and grapes, but I'm not a huge honey fan anyway.  I may completely forego the honey next time and see what happens.

Yogurt Parfait

This isn't a recipe from any cook book or anything.  It's just a little something a threw together and it was YUMMY!  Thought I'd share.

1 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup Bear Naked fruit and nut granola
1/4 cup dried mixed berries

Layer and enjoy :)  I had mine for breakfast, but it could easily be a healthy dessert option too!