My Kitchen Adventures

Easy Apricot Cheesecake Pie

2013-05-21T09:47:00.001-04:00

With the holiday weekend fast approaching, you might be on the lookout for a quick and easy no bake dessert that is diet friendly...

If you are, this cheesecake pie is your answer!

Super easy because it's made with just a few ingredients and a store-bought premade reduced fat graham cracker crust. Quick because you just whip all the ingredients together and chill. The fruit flavor comes from a 10oz. jar of all fruit spread, so you can customize it however you like! I used apricot spread here because that is what I picked up at the store, but any flavor would work. Make sure you use an ALL fruit spread so the nutritional information below is correct.

This cheesecake pie is on the soft side, even after it sets up, so you will want to keep it refrigerated until it's time to slice and eat it.

Easy Apricot Cheesecake Pie

adapted from HERE

Printable Recipe

Servings - 10 Serving size - 1/10th of pie Points Plus per serving - 5 Points+

Calories - 203.8, Total Fat - 8.1g, Carb. - 30.4g, Protein - 3.1g, Fiber - 4.7g

1-9" reduced fat graham cracker crust

8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, room temperature

1-10 oz. jar of ALL fruit spread, any flavor

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)

4 oz. Cool Whip Free (plus additional to garnish, if you wish)

In large bowl, combine the cream cheese and the entire jar of fruit spread with electric mixer until smooth. Fold in Cool Whip Free. Chill in refrigerator for several hours to set. Garnish as desired. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

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Quick, easy and yummy. I will definitely be experimenting with other flavors, maybe even combine some flavors next time and add some fresh fruit.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all who have been touched by yesterday's tragedy in Oklahoma. So sad. Seems like these days, we are constantly reminded of how short life really is. Take the time to tell those you love how you feel and live each day to it's fullest.

Grilled Chinese Pork Tenderloin

2013-05-16T09:16:00.000-04:00

Grilling season is finally here! Is it me, or did it seem to take forever to arrive?? With Memorial day just around the corner, this is an excellent main course dish to make on your grill. Pork Tenderloin keeps it lean and the marinade gives it tons of flavor. I served it with some Asian flavored sesame rice and some grilled zucchini. Yum.

I only marinaded the meat for about 2 hours before I cooked it off...but I can only imagine the flavor being more intense if you marinade it longer. (which would be a good thing) I intend to plan a little bit better and leave it to marinade longer next time I make this.

If you have never used it before, the black bean sauce is a very pungent ingredient. It can be easily found in most Asian sections of the grocery store. It mellows beautifully with the additional ingredients. The sugar in the marinade gives the meat a nice char when you grill it. I didn't alter the original recipe one bit, except instead of cooking it in the oven, I grilled it. And because I was lazy, I used ground ginger and garlic powder in place of the fresh ingredients. You can find the recipe I used HERE.

Pork tenderloin is a great meat because it is so lean. For this recipe, a very generous 8oz. serving is only 222 calories and 5.5g of fat or 5 Points+.

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This was an incredibly easy and very delicious pork tenderloin dish. My youngest said he felt like he was eating in a 5star restaurant when I served it. lol I don't know about that, but it really was restaurant quality food. One word of caution, don't overcook your pork tenderloin. Leaving just a tad of pink in the middle will keep the meat moist and tender. If pink pork freaks you out, use an instant read meat thermometer and cook the meat to around 140 degrees F. Remove the meat from it's heat source, cover loosely in foil for about 10 minutes before you slice it. This will allow the internal temperature to rise to 145 ish and allow the juices to settle. In fact, in recent years the United States Department of Agriculture lowered the safe temperature of pork from 160 degrees F to 145 degrees F.

I managed to pick up some herbs yesterday! yay! Now I just need to find some time to plant them in the ground and pot them. Looks like it's going to be a nice day today, so that is on the agenda. Another thing I need to take care of this week is getting my driver's license renewed. Boo to that. Here in Ohio, that has to be done every 4 years. When I compare photos, I realize just how old I am getting...lol I read somewhere that New York state residents only need to renew every 10 years! Is that true? How long do you go in your state before your license needs to be renewed?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

2013-05-15T10:31:00.003-04:00

What a yummy breakfast treat or a middle of the afternoon pick-me-up!

Made lower in fat and calories with the help of this amazing product...PB2 with premium chocolate! If you aren't familiar with PB2, it is manufactured by Bell Plantation and it is real peanut butter in a reduced fat, powdered form. PB2 reduces fat through a chemical-free process. PB2 and Chocolate PB2 are all natural, preservative free, and contain no artificial sweeteners. One serving of this product is only 1 PP! Click HERE for nutrition information. (Disclaimer: I purchased this product on my own and was not paid or compensated by Bell Plantation to promote this product. The opinions expressed are mine. I personally enjoy it and wanted to share.)

Currently, PB2 is available in limited markets (I found mine at Earthfare) and is available online.

Back to the smoothie...

Simple and delicious. I used my Magic Bullet to make easy work of whipping it up quickly. This smoothie ends up being not too thick, which I like. You could use a frozen banana too...and eliminate some of the ice to make it thicker. The original recipe called for honey, which I omitted. (There is plenty of natural sweetness from the banana.) The entire smoothie recipe comes out to 5PP.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

adapted from HERE

Printable Recipe

Servings - 1 Serving Size - entire recipe Points Plus per Serving - 5 Points+

Calories - 201.4, Total Fat - 2.6g, Carb. - 39.1g, Protein - 9.4g, Fiber - 4.1g

1 medium, ripe banana

2 TBS PB2 with premium chocolate

4 oz. skim or 1% milk

ice

In blender or magic bullet, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth.

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I'm not one to drink my calories, but I admit, I have made this for my breakfast a few times now. It's pretty filling with all the protein and great when I need a quick, on the go, type breakfast.

Life around here has turned SUPER busy again. Just returned from picking my daughter and all her belongings up from NYC, only to get everything ready to move her to Milwaukee next weekend! (She has a summer internship with Kohl's) What a wild and crazy summer this is going to be. I have to admit, moving my college aged kids back and forth has not been one of my favorite things...but I guess it's part of the package of being a parent.

Still having issues uploading pictures from Firefox. Hmmmm....I am just going around the problem and loading pics from another browser. Works ok that way. I don't think everyone who uses Firefox is having this issue though. Lucky me.

I have a jam packed week rest of the week. I'd love to try and get some annual herbs into pots and in the ground this weekend or next week sometime. I love when I can just go out and pick what I need!! I have oregano and chives that come up every year already. I want to pot basil, mint and rosemary and put some parsley in the ground!