Crazy Good Cooking

Skinny Pink Lemonade Margarita

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 21:09:00 +0000

Its been a little while since I posted a recipe to this blog. So long that I have been over analyzing what should be my "come back" recipe. Then, it came to me by accident last night when I went to make margaritas. We were out of the limeade concentrate I usually use. Oh no! AND it was Jersey Shore night. (Yes, I did just openly admit to watching that train wreck of a show... what can I say, they make me laugh!!!) So I decided to get a little creative and the Skinny Pink Lemonade Margarita was born! :-D Lets have a toast... to a wonderful weekend and the beginning of a new year! Cheers!

Skinny Pink Lemonade Margarita

Servings: 4 • Calories: 159 • Fat: 0g • Carbs: 7g • Fiber: 0g • WW Points:3

Ingredients

1 8 serving packet of Crystal Light Pink Lemonade
4 oz Tequila
2 oz Triple Sec
ice
salt (optional)

Dissolve the Crystal Light packet into one cup of water. Quick FYI, use the packet you would normally use to make a pitcher, not the on the go packets. Fill your blender about half way with ice. Pour the pink lemonade mixture into the blender. Measure 4 oz of tequila and 2 oz of triple sec and pour into the blender. Blend and serve in a pretty glass (salt the rim if you so desire). Makes 4 servings. Share with 3 friends... margaritas taste better that way! :)

Moroccan Mahi Mahi and Couscous

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:53:00 +0000

Moroccan Couscous
(Recipe adapted from Woman's Day Magazine)
Servings: 4 • Calories: 193 • Fat: 2g • Carbs: 35g • Fiber: 3g • WW Points:3

Ingredients

1 box Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil Wheat Couscous (Near East)
1 1/4 cup water
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 tsp cinnamon

The first time i made couscous, I couldn't believe how easy it was! It really is just as easy as making a Cup O Noodles soup! Using a large microwave safe bowl, combine water, seasoning packet (inside couscous box), olive oil, cinnamon, and raisins. Cook in the microwave for 5-6 minutes. Remove from the microwave and immediately stir in the couscous. Cover and set aside for at least 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork immediately before serving. (For me, I can barely tell the difference between wheat and regular couscous. Its not like wheat pasta where it is obviously different.)

Moroccan Mahi Mahi
(Recipe adapted from Woman's Day Magazine)

Servings: 4 • Calories: 213 • Fat: 9g • Carbs: 11g • Fiber: 2g • WW Points:5

Ingredients

1 lb mahi mahi (Or any other firm, mild white fish)
4 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup chopped onion
2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin
1 can (14 to 15 oz) diced tomatoes
1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place fish on a pan and drizzle with 2 tsp of olive oil. Sprinkle with the pepper. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until fillets are cooked through.

Heat remaining 2 tsp oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cover. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until tender. Add garlic, cumin, and cinnamon. Cook for a couple of minutes until fragrant. This is such an interesting combination of ingredients, isn't it? :D

Stir in tomatoes and olives.

Simmer for 3 minutes for flavors to blend. Spoon about 1/2 cup of sauce over each serving of fish. Serve with couscous on the side.

Chocolate Almond Marshmallow Treats

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 19:09:00 +0000

This a great "go to" recipe for a quick, easy, and healthy snack sure to cure your sweet tooth. (These have been kid tested and approved.) Using Cheerios instead of Rice Krispies gives you more "nutritional" bang for you "calorie" buck. =) I love the extra level of flavor the almond extract adds to this treat. Although, if almond isn't your thing, you can easily sub in vanilla extract.

Chocolate Almond Marshmallow Treats

Servings: 16 • Calories: 97 • Fat: 1.4g • Carbs: 21g • Fiber: 1g • WW Points:2

Ingredients

6 cups Chocolate Cheerios
4 cups small marshmallows
2 tbsp light butter (Land O Lakes)
1/2 tsp pure almond extract
butter flavored non-stick spray

Place marshmallows, butter, and almond extract in a very large microwave safe bowl. Cook in microwave until melted. (I cooked mine for 2 minutes, stirring half way through.)

Stir in chocolate cheerios. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan lightly with non-stick spray. Spread mixture into pan. Spray the back of a large spoon with non-stick spray. Use the spoon to press marshmallow mixture firmly into the pan. Cover and refrigerate at least an hour before serving.

Light and Easy Frozen Key Lime Pie Fix

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 13:59:00 +0000

Arighty, time to show a little bit of Florida love here! Let's talk Key Lime Pie, the official pie of the state of Florida. (Yes, I am a bit of a dork and looked that up, thank you Wikipedia.) Before moving to Florida 12 or so years ago, I hadn't really heard of Key Lime Pie or Key limes for that matter. Key limes are more aromatic and tart than traditional Persian limes. Anyway you want to look at it, its good stuff! If given the chance, you must try the real thing. This can not even compare, but will definitely give you a "Key Lime Fix" with out breaking your belt. If you think Key limes just aren't your thing or you are not able to find any of the canned pie filling, I would imagine other creamy pie filling would be yummy as well. Get creative!

Frozen Key Lime Pie Fix

Servings: 18 • Calories: 85 • Fat: .2g • Carbs: 19g • Fiber: 0g • WW Points:2

Ingredients

1 can Key Lime Pie Filling
16 Reduced Fat Nilla Wafers
1 tub Cool Whip Free (thawed)
Nonstick spray, butter flavored

Place Nilla wafers in a ziploc bag. Make sure it is closed. Now take out your aggression on those naughty little cookies =) Seriously, though... make sure you crush the cookies fine enough to mimic pie crust.

Lightly spray a 9x13 inch pan with non-stick spray. Evenly spread a thin layer of the crushed cookies across the pan.

Carefully drop dollops of the pie filling on top of the crust.

Spread the filling evenly across the pan. Be careful not to disturb the crust. (Try not to "taste" too much while doing this!)

Now, spread the cool whip over the filling. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for a couple hours. I cut it when it was almost completely frozen, but I think i liked it the most when it had thawed out a teeny bit.

Crazy Good Coconut Ginger Chicken 'n Rice

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:06:00 +0000

This whole recipe is cooked in the rice maker. "Shut the front door!" Yes, seriously the whole thing, not just the rice. I found this recipe in Food & Wine Magazine, and I have been so excited to try it out. I must say it exceeded my expectations GREATLY. The chicken was cooked perfectly and stayed moist. The combination is delish and a bit exotic. (Think trendy Asian-Fusion restaurant take out.) Towards the end, the rice maker starts sending out this lovely coconut-ginger steam. For a second I thought to my self, "Who's cooking?"... oh yeah it's me, but I am not doing a thing!!! :D If you have a rice maker, you MUST try this recipe. If not... well, I would seriously consider getting one just for this recipe. (Its that good!) This has definitely inspired me to come up with some of my own creations for sure!

Crazy Good Coconut Ginger Chicken 'n Rice

(adapted from "Rice-Cooker Ginger Chicken and Rice" by Laurent Gras of Chicago's L20)

Servings: 4 • Calories: 399 • Fat: 11g • Carbs: 41g • Fiber: 1g • WW Points:9
** (If you use Lite Coconut Milk ) Servings: 4 • Calories: 343 • Fat: 5g • Carbs: 41g • Fiber: 1g • WW Points:7

Ingredients

1 1/4 lb boneless skinless chicken (cut into 1 inch chunks)
1 cup of rice
1 cup of coconut milk (unsweetened)
3/4 cup of water (hot)
3 cups fresh spinach (packed)
2 inch piece of fresh ginger (peeled and cut into match sticks)
1 chicken bouillon cube
salt and pepper to taste

I was so busy earlier taking about how good this recipe tastes, I forgot to mention the best part. It is so easy! (I mean "crock-pot meal easy" with out having to wait all day for it to cook.) The hardest part is cutting up the ginger. Here's a tip to make it easier: Use a spoon to peel the ginger. (Sounds strange, I know.) Just use the spoon to rub off the skin. I find it so much easier versus using a peeler.

Dissolve the chicken bouillon cube in 3/4 cup hot water. I stuck it in the microwave for about 30 seconds and then it dissolved easier. In the rice cooker, add the rice and ginger. Gently toss the two together real quick. Add the chicken, spreading it out to an even layer. Add the spinach. Pour the coconut milk and bouillon broth over the top. Add salt and pepper to your liking.

Close the lid and turn on the rice maker like you normally would. Cook for 45 minutes. (For me the rice cooker switched to warming mode at around the 30 minute mark. I still waited the full 45 minutes.)

Stir up the goodness and enjoy! I love how easy this recipe is. Want a bite?

Skinny Strawberry Rangoons

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:33:00 +0000

These are so good. I love crab rangoons. For those of you not familiar with crab rangoons, they are deep-fried dumplings usually served in American Chinese cuisine. They are stuffed with cream cheese and flaked crab meat. Really good, but sooo not healthy! These skinny strawberry rangoons are their slimmed down distant dessert cousins. Wow, that's a mouth full! LOL If you are wondering about the cinnamon and strawberry, as I once was... so good! I was actually inspired by the fresh cinnamon cake donuts from "Smokey Bones" that are served with a creamy berry dipping sauce. To die for! :) This is another recipe that fills your house with a deliciously intoxicating scent.

Skinny Strawberry Rangoons

Servings: 24 • Calories: 89 • Fat: .5g • Carbs: 7g • Fiber: 0g • WW Points:2

Ingredients

Wonton wrapper dough recipe (I subbed in egg beaters)
(You could always buy the pre-made ones from the store too.)
8 oz block of fat free cream cheese
4 Tbsp Strawberry Preserves
Butter flavored non-stick spray
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Prepare wonton wrappers per recipe provided in list of ingredients. Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Mix and set aside.

Separate the dough into four equal sized amounts. Roll out the dough to be very thin. You will need to get 6 wrappers out of each ball of dough. For me, I rolled out the dough very thin and then used a pizza cutter to cut out 4 equal squares about 3 to 4 inches in size. I then combined the scraps from each dough ball I rolled and repeated the process. In all fairness, I didn't make 24 at one time. I covered and refrigerated the dough for later. If you plan to make 24 at one time... well, you may want to just buy the pre-made wrappers? Just a thought. :)

Cut your block of cream cheese into 24 equal pieces (I cut it 8 x 3). Place 1 of the blocks of cream cheese onto each of the wonton wrappers you are making. Place 1/2 a teaspoon of strawberry preserves on top of the block of cream cheese.

Dab you index finger in some water and gently wipe the perimeter of each wrapper before folding them in half to create a triangle. Try to make sure you do not get any air trapped inside of the wrapper.

Dab your index finger in a bit of water again. This time fold together the 2 outer point of the triangle to make a little envelope. Dab the water on the pieces of dough that touch. This helps hold them together.

Now you should be able to stand your cute little rangoon up. Using the non-stick spray, do 3 or 4 quick sprays to cover the whole rangoon. Gently press the rangoon into the cinnamon sugar lightly coating all sides. Place the rangoon standing up on a cookie sheet. (I suggest using some non-stick foil on your cookie sheet first.) Repeat this process until you have made all the rangoons.

Cook in the over for 10 minutes or until browned. Remove from oven and let them cool off for a couple minutes. Be careful! The outside may be cool, but the inside may still be very hot! These are best enjoyed fresh and hot for sure! (But not too hot.) :D

Apple Cinnamon Raisin Bread Twist

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:06:00 +0000

The smell of this apple cinnamon goodness baking was amazing! It filled my house with a smell Yankee Candle only wishes they could recreate! :D With the start of school and fall upon us, this is a great feel good recipe that you don't have to feel guilty enjoying. Double the dough recipe and make this for an after school snack. Then, use the rest of the dough to make pizza for dinner!

Apple Cinnamon Raisin Bread Twist

Servings: 10 • Calories: 187 • Fat: 1.5g • Carbs: 37g • Fiber: 2g • WW Points:3

Ingredients

Quick 'n Yummy Pizza Dough Recipe
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 Tbsp Splenda (or your choice of sweetener)
3 Tbsp I can't believe its not butter (Fat Free)

Prepare Quick 'n Yummy Pizza Dough (recipe here). Preheat oven to 400°F. In a small bowl, combine applesauce, raisins, cinnamon, and Splenda.

Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each ball of dough into long 3 inch wide strips. Spread 1 Tbsp of butter onto each dough strip. Spoon out 1/3 of applesauce mixer onto each strip.

Fold over both sides of the dough and the ends making three dough "ropes".

Carefully place each of the three dough "ropes" onto a greased pan with their seams facing down.

Loosely braid together the three ropes. This does not have to be perfect! Just have some fun here.

Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Allow the bread to cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting. This is over the top when served warm out of the oven. :D

Skinny Pepperoni Bread Roll

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:45:00 +0000

This is a fun recipe to serve as a appetizer when you are entertaining. Make the dough recipe ahead of time to make things even easier. It looks so fancy sliced up on a platter around a bowl of marina sauce. The kids love it as much as the adults, which is always a plus! I adapted this recipe from a Publix Apron's Simple Meals Recipe.

Skinny Pepperoni Bread Roll

Servings: 8 • Calories: 232 • Fat: 5g • Carbs: 37g • Fiber: 1.5g • WW Points:5

Ingredients

Quick 'n Yummy Pizza Dough Recipe
1 Tbsp Light Butter (I used Land O Lakes)
2 Tbsp Reduced Fat Parmesan Cheese Topping (I used Kraft)
1/4 Cup Part Skim Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (I used Publix)
34 Turkey Pepperoni Slices (I used Hormel)
Garlic Salt (Lawry's)
Marina sauce for dipping (optional and not included in nutritional count)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place butter in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH 30 seconds or until butter melts.

Roll out pizza dough flat on work surface dusted lightly with flour. Spread butter evenly over dough. Sprinkle evenly with remaining ingredients.

Fold over one side of dough (about 2 inches wide) and gently pat down folded side. Continue to fold over until seam is on bottom.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden. Let cool for a couple minutes. Serve warm and sliced with your choice of dipping sauces! Mmm! Recruit others to share this with so you do not eat it all!!! :-D

Quick 'n Yummy Pizza Dough

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:33:00 +0000

This a quick (just over 30 minutes) and easy pizza dough recipe that is so versatile. The original recipe is taken from the Kitchenaid Pizza Dough recipe. I shortened it and threw in some sugar. (I wanted to feed the yeast.) If you don't have a stand mixer of sorts, you can do the mixing by hand... the good ole fashioned way. It will be just as good, just takes a bit of muscle.

Quick 'n Yummy Pizza Dough

Servings: 6 • Calories: 251 • Fat: 2.5g • Carbs: 49g • Fiber: 2g • WW Points:5

Ingredients

1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 cup warm water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp olive oil
2 1/2 - 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 3 cups)

Dissolve yeast in warm water in medium sized bowl. Stir in sugar. Set aside.

Add salt, 2 tsp olive oil, and flour to your mixer's bowl. Attach dough hook, pour dissolved yeast and sugar water in to bowl. Turn to speed 2 and mix 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl and turn mixer to speed 2 for 2 minutes. The dough should cling to the dough hook and clean the sides of the bowl. (If this does not happen, you may need to add more flour.)

Pour 1/2 tsp olive oil in a large oven safe bowl. Evenly coat the bowl. Place the dough in the greased bowl, turning to grease the top. Turn you oven on to 350 for 1 minute and turn it off. I set the timer so I don't over do it. You do not want to cook the pizza dough, just put it in a warmed oven.

Cover the dough (I used a clean dish towel) and place in the warmed oven for 30 minutes or until the dough has doubled in bulk. Punch down dough. Makes two 14 inch thin crust pizzas or 1 thick and puffy 14 inch pizza. Top with your favorite toppings and bake in the oven at 450 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Get creative here, the sky's the limit! :D The other night I used some marina sauce I had on hand, some part skim mozzarella, and topped it with fresh basil when it came out the oven. MMMMmmmm!

To Die For "Diet" Chocolate Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:18:00 +0000

Okay, so a cake MUST be "to die for" if it is so good by itself it doesn't even need frosting, right? Right! I took my favorite chocolate cake recipe and slimmed it way down. You wouldn't even know it was "diet" unless someone told you, that is for sure. It is a very moist and dense cake full of chocolate flavor with a hint of almond. (Almond not your thing?... just sub in vanilla extract.) If you are looking for a healthy chocolate cake recipe, look no further!

To Die For "Diet" Chocolate Cake

Servings: 16 • Calories: 213 • Fat: 6g • Carbs: 34g • Fiber: 1g • WW Points:5

Ingredients

1 box Devil's Food Cake
1 (3 oz) box sugar free instant chocolate fudge pudding (Jello)
2 cup fat free sour cream (16 oz tub)
1 1/4 cup Egg Beaters egg substitute
1 tsp almond extract
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
4 tbsp unsalted butter melted
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding, sour cream, egg substitute, almond extract, butter,and applesauce. Using a hand mixer, beat on medium until well blended. Heads up, the mixture will be very thick.

Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into a bundt pan sprayed with non-stick spray. Smooth out cake batter taking care to not get any on the sides of the pan. Bake in the oven for 55-60 minutes.

Allow the cake to cool for about 10 minutes. Using a butter knife, gently make sure none of the cake is stuck to the pan. Place your serving dish on top of the cake pan. Holding the plate to the pan tightly, flip over and remove the cake from the pan onto the plate.

Allow to cool completely. To finish it off, dust with powdered sugar. Makes 16 yummy servings.

Easy Peasy Creamy Marinara Rotini

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:26:00 +0000

This dish is deceivingly delicious. It is just so darn easy it really should not be so good! Now let's take a minute here and discuss mascarpone cheese. This stuff is heavenly. It is very creamy and decadent. Luckily a little goes a long way here. For those of you who aren't sure what it is... well, it is a key ingredient in tiramsu. If you are still lost, it is almost like a buttery cream cheese. It is good stuff, but it can be a bit hard to find. I usually find it in the deli by the specialty cheeses. (I usually can not find it by the cream cheese and packaged cheeses.) Trust me, it is worth the hunt!

Easy Peasy Creamy Marinara Rotini

Servings: 8 • Calories: 323 • Fat: 8g • Carbs: 52g • Fiber: 4g • WW Points: 6

Ingredients

1lb box of rotini pasta
2 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes
4 oz mascarpone cheese (half the tub)
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
fresh basil
low fat parmesan cheese topping (ex. Kraft)
garlic salt (ex. Lawry's)

Cook the box of noodles as directed. In a large pan spray some non-stick spray (or use some olive oil for additional calories / points) and cook onions at medium until almost translucent. Add the garlic and cook another couple of minutes. Pour in both cans of tomatoes and let simmer for 3-5 minutes.

Add the mascarpone cheese to the tomato, onion, and garlic simmering in the pan. This will melt like butter making the tomato sauce a pretty orangey pink. Continue stirring until all the cheese has been melted.

Dump in the cooked rotini noodles and stir well. Turn off the burner and get ready to plate it up! That's it, you are already finished. It doesn't get much easier than this in my opinion.

I feel it is the finishing touches that really make this dish. Top each plate with low fat parmesan topping, garlic salt to taste, and fresh chopped basil. My two picky eaters love this recipe as well. Although I must admit, they do go sans basil.

Crock-Pot Root Beer Pulled Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 18:21:00 +0000

I love crock-pot recipes, don't you? I mean it is almost as good as when someone else does the cooking in my book! The root beer in this recipe gives a bit of depth to the final flavor and the crock-pot makes the chicken super duper moist and easy to pull apart. This an easy "go to" healthy meal. Don't be intimidated by the amount of servings this creates. I just dish out the left overs into serving size containers and freeze them.

Crock-Pot Root Beer Pulled Chicken

Servings: 12 • Calories: 199 • Fat: 1g • Carbs: 25g • Fiber: 0g • WW Points:4

Ingredients

3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
16 oz root beer
1 18 oz bottle barbecue sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)

Place the chicken breast in the crock-pot. Pour the root beer over the chicken. Place the lid on the crock-pot. Let the chicken cook for 6-8 hours on low. I would guess you could also do 3-4 hours on high, but I have not tried this.

Remove chicken breast from crock-pot. Remove and save liquid from crock-pot. Shred the chicken breast using two forks. Place the shredded chicken back into the crock-pot.

Squeeze the entire bottle of barbecue sauce on top of the chicken. Add 1/2 cup of the reserved liquid back into the chicken. Stir the shredded chicken mixture. Add additional reserved liquid until desired consistency is achieved. Replace lid on the crock-pot and let cook another hour or so. Serve on your choice of buns for additional calories / points.

Guiltless Grilled Portabella Pizza

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 21:12:00 +0000

The birth of this recipe happened while reading my daily "Hungry Girl" newsletter email. I was checking out her "Pizza-Bellas" recipe when I looked up and saw a TV chef personality grilling a pizza. That's when the light bulb went off! The marriage of those two ideas, plus my choice of ingredients have created an extremely satisfying low calorie, almost gourmet side dish or light meal. It is fabulous eaten by itself, but I picture it being extremely delish on a bun as a sandwich as well. You can really get creative with the toppings. Every time I make it, I tell myself this, and every time I make it, I can't bring myself to stray away from the recipe. I guess it is kind of like ordering the same thing every time from a restaurant. :)

Guiltless Grilled Portabella Pizza

Servings: 1 • Calories: 105 • Fat: 4.5g • Carbs: 9g • Fiber: 3g • WW Points: 2

Ingredients

1 large Portabella mushroom cap
1 Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss wedge
2 Tbsp diced tomatoes, canned (drained well)
2 Tbsp fresh baby spinach
1 Tbsp shredded mozzarella (low fat / part skim)
1 tsp reduced fat Parmesan cheese topping
olive oil spray (or extra virgin olive oil)
garlic salt (to taste)

Using a damp cloth or paper towel, wipe down mushroom cap. If there is a stem, carefully remove and discard. Spray both sides of the mushroom cap with oil (or lightly brush with evoo). Preheat grill to medium heat. Cook on grill gill side down for 5 minutes with the lid open. Flip and cook another 5 minutes. Remove and bring back to the kitchen.

Sprinkle cap with a little bit of garlic salt, and get ready to top your Portabella! (This is not an exact science and will vary based on the size of mushroom caps you were able to find.) Add drained tomato, ripped spinach leaves, chopped up laughing cow cheese, and mozzarella cheese. As you are building your "pizza" try to evenly mix the ingredients on top of the mushroom. (See picture above.) Top with parmesan and garlic salt.

Carefully place the "pizza" back on the grill. Cook with the lid closed for about 10-15 minutes. (Again ,this will vary depending on the size of your final masterpiece.)

Enjoy your finished product while planning when you are going to run out to the store to get the ingredients to make more! Now proceed to kick yourself for not trying this recipe sooner! :-p

Love To Love Ya Lasagna

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 03:03:00 +0000

I started to call this recipe "skinny lasagna" or "light lasagna", but it just didn't seem appropriate. Yes, it is true, this is a "slimmed down" lasagna, but really, that is not at all what it tastes like! It is just my lasagna I make. Over the years I have tried out different ways to make lasagna, one of my favorite dishes, lighter. I guess it all started by using turkey instead of beef. Most of the time people wouldn't notice until I said something so I just stuck with it. So here it is... my lasagna! Enjoy! :-D

Love To Love Ya Lasagna

Servings: 12 • Calories: 356 • Fat: 7g • Carbs: 34g • Fiber: 3g • WW Points:7

Ingredients

2 jars Barilla roasted garlic pasta sauce
1 box Barilla no boil flat lasagna noodles
1/4 cup egg whites
16 oz fat free cottage cheese
15 oz fat free ricotta cheese
1/4 cup reduced fat parmesan cheese
2 - 8 oz bags of fat free mozzarella cheese
8 oz bag of low fat mozzarella cheese
1lb lean ground turkey breast (99% fat free)
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp garlic salt (ex.Lawry's)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a large pan. Add onions, 1 tsp of garlic salt, and 1 tsp of oregano and saute over medium high heat (6-7 on my stove's dial) for 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute or two being careful not to burn the garlic.

Add the turkey and mash into the onion and garlic mixture. The idea here is to fully incorporate the onion mixture into the turkey before it is cooked.

Using a spoon safe at high heats, break apart the turkey into tiny pieces while it cooks. Continue to cook the turkey and onion mixture until the turkey is no longer pink.

Turn off the stove burner and pour in both jars of pasta sauce. I like to add a tiny bit of water to each jar, put the caps back on, and give 'em a good shake. Pour the remaining sauce into the pan. Stir the sauce and meat mixture and set aside. This is your sauce.

In a large bowl, mix ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, 8 oz fat free mozzarella cheese, 1/8 cup of parmesan cheese, egg whites, 1 tsp of oregano, and 1 tsp of garlic salt. This is your cheese mixture.

Now it is time to put together the lasagna. You will need a nice deep lasagna pan or dish. This can be glass or metal. (I used glass. You may need to adjust your cooking time for metal. Just a thought.) Don't stress too much about putting the lasagna together. Just layer it. I start with a tiny bit of sauce, lay the uncooked noodles down, add some cheese, and start all over. You just want to make sure the noodles are covered good with some type of liquid. What this means is you want to shoot for ending up with sauce on the top layer.

Evenly scatter 8 oz fat free mozzarella over the top, then the low fat mozzarella Finish by distributing the remaining 1/8 cup parmesan cheese. I like to sprinkle a teeny bit of oregano over the top.

Cover the lasagna with tin foil (I like to use the non-stick kind with the nonstick facing down.). Place in 350 degree oven for 55 minutes. Remove tin foil and continue cooking 5 minutes. Allow about ten minutes to cool.

Skinny Banana Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:56:00 +0000

Who doesn't love banana bread? Okay, maybe I feel that everyone does because I myself love it. There is something so comforting about fresh out the oven banana bread. (With the typical recipe calling for a stick of butter and a whole cup of sugar, no wonder it is comforting!) So I took my favorite banana bread recipe and revamped it using only a quarter of the butter and sugar. Unsweetened apple sauce really deserves all the credit here. I still don't quite understand how you can substitute apples for butter, but it works and it is DELISH! It is still SO moist and just as comforting in my opinion. Honestly, I can't really find a good reason to go back to making it the original way. :-D

Skinny Banana Bread

Servings: 10 • Calories: 129 • Fat: 3g • Carbs: 23g • Fiber: 1g • WW Points: 3

Ingredients

3 medium bananas, mashed (best if over ripe)
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 large egg
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Splenda
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp of salt
cinnamon (couple dashes)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan with your choice of non stick spray. (I like to use a butter flavored one.)

Mash bananas to desired consistency. I like chunks in my bread, so I left it pretty lumpy. Add Splenda and mix. Set the banana mash aside.

In a large bowl, mix sugar, butter, and egg on medium. Add apple sauce and vanilla extract to bowl and mix.

Sift in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix on medium a minute or two until well incorporated. Pour in bananas and mix on low or by hand, careful to not over mix banana chunks.

Scrape all the batter into the pan, taking care to not get any on the sides to prevent from burning. Once in the pan, I like to give the pan a quick tap or two to make any bubbles come out and help the batter distribute evenly in the pan.

Cook in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. This can vary greatly depending on your oven.

With all that butter cut out from the original recipe, you have room for just a pat of whipped butter. YUM!

Mason's Chocolate Chips Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:45:00 +0000

I have a little one, who I swear is allergic to just about everything you can image. It always breaks my heart when we are out at dinner or a birthday party and he can't have the cake or dessert everyone else is enjoying. I came up with this recipe originally as an egg and peanut free chocolate chip cookie he can enjoy. What really happened was I found an easy, delicious, and guilt-free chocolate chip cookie the whole family scarfs down.

Mason's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Servings: 24 • Calories: 120 • Fat: 4g • Carbs: 23g • Fiber: 1g • WW Points: 3

Ingredients

1 box Pillsbury Moist Supreme Butter Cake Mix
2/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl combine cake mix and apple sauce. Mix until you achieve a cookie dough like consistency. It will be crumbly at first, keep mixing... don't add more apple sauce. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop cookie dough (roughly golf ball sized ) onto lightly greased cookie sheets.

Bake in oven for 14 minutes. (Note: these cookies stay a bit lighter in color than you may be expecting. Keep an eye on the bottom of the cookies.)

Skinny Strawberry Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Jennie) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 18:53:00 +0000

So moist and full of strawberry flavor, you would never think its been slimmed down. I love to bake banana bread. I am not sure which is better, the smell that takes over the house for hours while and after it cooks, or savoring that fresh out the oven melt in your mouth first piece. Any who, I have been working on a skinny banana bread recipe when today I thought to myself why can't I just use over ripe strawberries and make strawberry bread! Omagosh! I have to say that I like strawberry bread just as much as and maybe even more than banana bread. I used some overly ripe strawberries I had in the fridge, but I think frozen strawberries (thawed) would work as well.

Skinny Strawberry Bread

Servings: 10 • Calories: 107 • Fat: 3g • Carbs: 19g • Fiber: 1g • WW Points: 2

Ingredients

2 cups over ripe strawberries, halved
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Splenda
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan with your choice of non stick spray. (I like to use a butter flavored one.)

Mash strawberries to desired consistency. I like chunks in my bread, so I left it pretty lumpy. The 2 cups of halved strawberries turned into just over a cup of mashed chunky strawberry liquidy goodness. Add splenda and mix. Set aside strawberries.

In a large bowl, mix sugar, butter, and egg on medium. Add apple sauce and almond extract to bowl and mix.

Sift in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix on medium a minute or two until well incorporated. Pour in strawberries and mix on low or by hand, careful to not over mix strawberry chunks.

Cook in a 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. This can vary greatly depending on your oven. (When I make banana bread, it usually takes about 55 minutes in my oven if that helps any.)

Resist the urge to cut into it right out the oven! (Your house is definitely smelling good right now by the way.) Oh and if you are not the only one in the house, tell them to get out the kitchen... it needs to cool for 10 minutes. :)

Using a butter knife, gently make sure none of the edges are stuck to the pan. Flip bread onto your hand and then flip the bread onto a plate. Voila! As my four year old would say the "strawberry cake is done"! Let me know what you think of it. My whole family just loves this stuff!