Christmas Season is here.

Apparently when December started, the Christmas season came on full blast, which meant, I have been forgetting to post my recipes. Sorry about that. Weight watchers also started their new Points Plus program. Which has consumed so much of my time refiguring points that I have forgotten.

For now, I'm still learning their new program, but am liking it. I in 3 weeks I had lost 3 inches around my middle, and anyone that has remotely seen me, knows I am a full on apple shape. So 3 inches off my mid section= a skinnier looking me. Even in the scale didn't budge. I WILL TAKE IT.

The past few years while on Weight Watchers I guess I have always been so worried about what I was going to eat, and what Christmas parties we were going to go to, what they were going to be serving.. The normal "dieters" worries that come with these holidays. That somehow I have always lost weight. Now don't roll your eyes. I wasn't saying it to brag. Simply that if I (a sweetaholic) can somehow manage to lose weight, than I'm pretty sure that most everyone can.

I promise when the new year starts I will bombarde you all with tons of recipes and if you have one that you think I might want to try, post me a link to it online, or e-mail me. I'll try just about anything (barring raw oysters-that's never going to happen again).

Cajun White bean Soup

It was cold over the weekend. I mean like highs in the 50's here. So not cool (pardon the pun), but I wanted a little fall like weather. Somewhere in the upper 60's-70's... at least for a couple weeks. On the upside, I got to pull out this Soup recipe from the Cajun Encyclopedia. It made a HUGE potful, so we had my in-laws over to enjoy it with us.

It was a first for me, buying ham hocks... which for me I had always laughed at the odd pig parts that certain grocery stores carried, only this week to find myself looking for the "best" ham hock of the bunch... YEP, never thought I would have done that one. But it was so worth it.

The one thing about this recipe, is that you have to soak the beans overnight prior to cooking them. So it's not one of those throw together at the last minute recipe. But it's so good and worth the time spent on it.

Cajun White Bean Soup (makes 12 servings)

WW pts: 6 pts a serving

1- 1 lb package of dried great northern beans

2 ham hocks

1 link of smoked sausage, diced

1/3 cup olive oil

2 cups diced onions

2 cups diced celery

1 cup diced bell pepper (I used green)

1/4 cup minced garlic

2- 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes, no salt added

water as needed

1 bay leaf

salt and cracked pepper to taste

Presoak dried beans overnight. Drain and wash beans again before cooking. In a 2 gallon pot (or largest you've got), heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions , celery, peppers, garlic. Saute for 5 minutes, then add drained tomatoes. Add sausage and cook 3-5 minutes more. Then add ham hocks. Stir in beans and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in enough water to cover beans by 2 inches. Bring to a rolling boil, reduce to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally for about an hour. Once beans begin to become tender, mash them against the side of pot to create creaminess. Season with bay leaf, salt and pepper. Simmer approximately 1 1/2-2 hours, continuing to stir and mash beans occasionally. Soup is ready when it has reached the creamy consistency of cream of mushroom soup. I think I let ours cook 5 hours, adding a little more water about 1/2 way through.

I heart face weekly challenge: Orange

I heat faces weekly challenge this week is Orange. When I saw that I instantly knew which picture that I would choose. This has been my desktop picture, well since the day I shot it.

This was my sons first Halloween costume. The first time that I got to choose his costume and just ooh and ahh over those chubby cheeks sticking out from the fuzzy little tiger costume. This picture makes me smile on a daily basis.

For more entries of orange check out:

Greek Spinach Veggie Burger

Better Homes and Gardens is the inspiration for tonight's dinner. My In-laws always give me their leftover magazines. One of the recipes that I thought sounded interesting. I was actually kind of wary about it, but I figured if I could learn to eat brussel sprouts, then I could try a spinach burger... and to my surprise, it was really good.

We put the patties on an Arnold's Sandwich Thin & had roasted potato fries on the side.

Greek Spinach Veggie Burger (makes 4 patties)

WW pts: 6 pts a patty

1/4 cup olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried dillweed

1 cup Stove top stuffing, dried mix

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1- 10 oz. package frozen chipped spinach, thawed and well drained

1/2 cup fat free feta cheese

In Medium bowl, combine oil, garlic, oregano, dillweed and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Stir in stuffing mix to coat thoroughly. Stir in eggs, spinach and feta, mix well.

Shape into 4 1/2 inch thick patties. Heat griddle or large nonstick pan over medium heat. Add patties, cook 3-5 minutes per side or until browned and heated on each side.

I made a mixture of plain fat free yogurt, dillweed, pepper, oregano and garlic salt to go on top of the burgers. Then added a little bit of mustard on top burger too. It was delicious!!!

Jumbo Shrimp in Creole Mustard Cream

If you've read my previous blog posts then you know about the "Cajun Bible" or by it's original name Cajun and Creole Encyclopedia. Every recipe that we've tried or had at our friends house has been delicious. Tonight is no different. I was kind of wary about this recipe, because the original had heavy cream and a whole stick of butter. But reducing both of those, didn't seem to make a difference in taste. But with all the changes it brought the "point value" way down!!!

Jumbo Shrimp in Creole Mustard Cream (makes 6 servings)

WW pts: 7 pts a serving

3 Dozen Shrimp, peeled and deveined.

2 Tbsp Creole Mustard

3 Tbsp butter, sliced

1/4 cup chopped chives

1/2 cup sliced green onions

1/4 cup diced red bell pepper

1 tsp tarragon

1/2 cup Sherry

2 Tbsp whole wheat flour

1 cup fat free half and half

1 cup Fat free chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

1 lb spaghetti noodles, cooked per package directions

In a large sauce pan melt 2 Tbsp butter, making sure not to brown or burn the butter. Place shrimp and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side, just so they start to curl and turn pink. Remove from pan and keep warm. Add chives, onions, bell peppers and tarragon to pan. Saute 3-5 minutes or until veggies are wilted. Add Cooking Sherry, to deglaze pan (scrape all stuff off the bottom of the pan) and cook until 1 Tbsp of liquid remains. Sprinkle in flour and stir. Whink in creole mustard, whipping cream and chicken stock until sauce thickens. Bring to a boil (low) and whisk in remaining butter. Add shrimp and cook until heated through. On plate, place pasta, then shrimp on top, spooning the extra sauce onto the shrimp.

We served it with a spinach salad, and it was a great compliment to the pasta dish!!!

Still here.

I know it's been a while since I posted a new recipe. But truth be told, we've been eating from recipes that I've already posted and a bunch that have leftovers. Which is great for our monthly budget.

I've also been out of town visiting family, and then playing a single mom while my husband is on a trip. So when trying to cook and feed a little munchkin, I've been lazy about talking to those of you who might actually be reading my little blog.

And speaking of munchkins, I know he's up in the kitchen trying to sneak into his stash of chocolate that he got over Halloween. Somehow I've got to figure out a way not to eat the candy... ok, let's all be honest. I think I've eaten more of his Halloween candy than he has. woops.

Somebody call the Candy police, to make me stop!!! And I promise to get you guys some great new recipes!!!

Judy's Stuffed Cabbage Rolls.

I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com, it's from a lady named Judy, and I've got to give her kudos for this one. It was DELICIOUS. Even Michael liked it. The only thing I would have done differently is probably add more pepper or some garlic salt. But either way, this one is going to be made again!!!

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (makes 4 servings)

WW pts: 6 pts a serving

• 2/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup uncooked white rice
• 8 cabbage leaves
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
• 
  

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Bring a large, wide saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add cabbage leaves and cook for 2 to 4 minutes or until softened; drain.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, 1 cup cooked rice, onion, egg, salt and pepper, along with 2 tablespoons of tomato soup. Mix thoroughly.
Divide the beef mixture evenly among the cabbage leaves. Roll and secure them with toothpicks or string.
In a large skillet over medium heat, place the cabbage rolls and pour the remaining tomato soup over the top (I added a little bit of water too, and it made more sauce). Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring and basting with the liquid often.

My new chef.

I have to admit. When I imagined having kids, I always dreamed of them helping me bake, and cook. Letting them get covered in flour and letting them dig into a batch a fresh batch of cookies that they helped me make.

So today while we had my Homemade Pizza that I had shared the recipe a few months ago. But the difference was that when I went to start the dough, someone woke up from his nap early. So today he wanted to help me make the pizza dough.

So this is my new chef. He looks like a natural doesn't he.

He's really into kneading the dough.

Pretty good technique.

He picked up the spatula and was beating the dough with it. Think it helps?

And then he was done. Juice break!!

After all the days when my patience isn't in sync with him testing his boundaries (aka. being a pain in my butt). I'm still a lucky parent because he is a healthy smart boy!! And for that I'm thankful that no matter what we get to share these experiences with our kids!

Flounder for the first time.

I usually stick to Tilapia when thinking about fish. Because it's mild and not a real "fishy" fish, if you know what I mean. But I have been know to go out of my comfort zone and try something that I would not normally pick...

Tonight being one of those times. I found this recipe in a Low fat/ Low Cholesterol cookbook. It sounded kinda weird, but I thought what the heck... I'd give it a try 1 time.... ok, now maybe more. It was light and the sauce actually came together really nicely and tasted good. The only downside was that flounder is expensive... or at least it was at Publix this past week. OH well. just another thing I will have to watch for on sale.

Flounder with Mustard Sauce over Spinach (makes 4 servings)

WW pts: 3 pts.

4 Fish Fillets (sole or flounder) 4 ounces each

1/4 cup of fat free or light ranch dressing

3 tbsp fat free plain yogurt (I used Fat free sour cream)

1 1/2 Tbsp Plain mustard

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic salt

8 ounces spinach, fresh

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Rinse fish and pat dry. Place in a 13 x 9 pan. In a small bowl, stir together the ranch, yogurt,mustard, pepper and garlic salt. Spoon evenly over the fish.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until the fish is flaky. I did it for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove stems from spinach. Rinse spinach thoroughly. Drain well. Heat non-stick skillet over med-high heat. Cook the spinach until wilted, a minute or two. Arrange spinach in a single layer. Top with baked fish.

We served it with some frozen green beans that I boiled and then sauteed in garlic and pepper.

Chicken Wings and Fries.

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a couple days, but we have had leftover chili and then enjoyed my monthly night out to dinner. So there weren't any recipes to share. But tonight I have a good one!!!

One thing I love about cooking at home, is that we don't have to sacrifice any types of food, I can just make them healthier than most restaurants. Like Chicken Wings and Fries.... nothing fried, but it still has all the flavor that a restaurant would have, with like half the fat.

I bake my chicken wings and they are always crispy and delicious!! It is the perfect end to a week, and beginning of a fun weekend!!!

Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings (makes 2 servings)

WW pts: 8 pts.

7 total wings (wing and drumette looking ones)

1/2 cup plain Vinegar

1/4 cup Louisiana Hot Sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 Frank's Wing Sauce

1 Tbsp pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. If you need to cut the wing and drumette apart. Place in a single layer on a greased cookie sheet. Place in the oven and let bake 2o minutes then flip and cook another 20 minutes. In a small saucepan combine remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 20 minutes or until sauce has reduced and is thicker. After both sides of the chicken have cooked, drizzle the wing sauce over the wings, or you can dump the wings into the sauce to mix. Then replace on the cookie sheet and let cook for another 15 minutes or until the sauce has baked onto the wings.

We served this with french fries, that I sliced into shoestring type strips then baked in the 400 degree oven along with the wings!!

Pot full of chili for 5.00.

I didn't plan so well with the weather in mind, seeing as next week it's supposed to be cool, and today it was in the 80's. But nevertheless, we did a pot of Turkey Chili. My mom used to make this with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, but since I didn't have leftover Turkey (yet) I used ground Turkey. This chili is so great because it's so cheap and it will be at least 2 dinners and 2 lunches for both Michael and I. The only downside to this recipe is the dried beans, but all you have to do is pour 1/2 lb of dried beans into a pot, cover with water and cover with lid and then let sit overnight.

Ground Turkey Chili (Makes 16 cups)

WW pts: 2 pts a cup

1 lb. Ground Turkey (sale) .99 cents

2- 28 oz. can Diced Tomatoes, drained (BIGI free) 1.28

2 packages store brand Chili seasoning .59 cents each

1/2 lb. Dried Red Beans 1.68 for whole bag

Onion, diced .75 cents

3 stalks, celery diced.

1/2 green pepper, diced, (sale- sliced and frozen) .25

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup mustard

1-28 ounce can filled with water

Brown ground meat if you need to, if you are using leftover Thanksgiving Turkey dice it up into chunks. Drain beans from water. Pour beans and Tomatoes into crockpot. Pour the remaining ingredients, stir to mix. You may need to add more water if it seems thick. The beans will soak up some more of the water, so you can always add extra and it won't be runny in the end. Then turn on for low for 8 hours and go to work or leave it be.

We always serve it with Original fritos and shredded cheddar cheese. And you can always add a little Louisiana hot sauce.

Homemade Rotisserie Chicken.

One thing I like is going to the store and being able to get a whole chicken, already cooked, ready to go. The downside, is I don't honestly know what all they put on it or in it. This recipe comes from Cooks Illustrated. There was an article on how to make the best Rotisserie chicken and to date, homemade has been hands down better than any store bought.

What's your favorite part of a chicken.... for most people, including me it's the skin, when it's crunchy... and that is why I love this recipe. It comes out of the oven and it's smells divine, the skin is crunchy and the meat is so juicy.

I can get 2 whole raw chickens at Sam's for 8-9 dollars, making the whole chicken 4-4.50. And usually we can split a chicken breast (portion wise on a whole chicken 1/2 a breast is a serving). So we get 2 dinners and some 2+ lunches, making it 50 cents - 1.00 for the meat. You can't get plain boneless chicken breast for that cheap... well sometimes, but not usually. If you don't have a Sam's card, look at Wal-mart or your grocery store for sales on the chickens.

We served this with a serving of instant mashed potato and steamed squash and zucchini. If you've never tried this, make some instant mashed potatoes and add a tbsp of dried ranch to it. It gives such a great flavor to the potatoes without add a ton of calories.

Rotisserie Chicken

WW pts: vary on what part of the chicken you eat.

1 Whole Thaw Chicken

2 Tbsp butter

1 tsp Rosemary

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 Tbsp Canola oil

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Place whole chicken with breast side up in a roasting pan or cake pan, in my picture you can see the breast, they will bulge out a little more than the dark meat. Leaving the skin attached, slide you hand to seperate the skin from the chicken breast to create a pocket. In a small bowl combine Butter, Rosemary, pepper, garlic salt cayenne pepper. Take 1/2 of the butter compound and place between 1 side of breast and the skin, on the outside of the skin use your fingers to spread the butter into a layer. Then repeat for other side. It doesn't have to be perfect you just want the flavor to cover the breast and keep it juicy. Take the canola oil and spread it on top of the skin. Rub it in gently with your hand. Then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in oven 20 minutes per pound. Usually around 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes.

To check the chicken use a meat thermometer and when it reads 165-170 degrees it's done. Most thermometers say 180 it's done, but that usually means it's dried out. If you don't have a meat thermometer, you can cut the chicken and see if the juices run clear, if they do, then the chicken is done. If not leave and check 10-15 minutes later. When chicken is done, pull out of oven and let sit for 10 minutes. It will lock the juices into the meat, and it will also make it easier to cut.

The spices can be varied depending on your mood. Here are some of the alternatives we've used in the past:

Lemon pepper

Cumin & Cayenne (mexican flavor)

It's Fall.

I have been trying to upgrade my computer which turned into me screwing a bunch of stuff up. I'm not meant to be on the Geek Squad, obviously. So it has taken me a few days to fix everything I screwed up and be able to get to my pictures... meaning I'm going to combine this 1 post into the 2 recipes that I wanted to share with you.

You know when you wake up one day and realize that it has gotten like 30 degrees cooler, and the leaves have started to pile up on the sidewalks. When you having to dig through your drawers for a sweater to put on b/c it's that cool out in the morning.... Well all that makes me want to bake. Warm hearty comforting meals and anything with chocolate....

One of the Fall meals that I remember my mom making for Thanksgiving, year after year was acorn squash with a butter and brown sugar. I haven't had this recipe since I was oooh maybe 14-15. So 10+ years later (yeah do the math, I'm still under 30), I saw them on sale and bought acorn squash. I was then surprised that Michael had never had acorn squash. EVER. All the years we have been together, and all the cooking his mom did growing up. So last night I inaugurated him into the acorn squash fan club.... It turned out just like I remember.

Acorn Squash (makes 4 servings)

WW pts. per serving: 3 pts.

2 Acorn squash, cut in half and seeds removed (like you would a pumpkin-leaving the fleshy part)

4 tbsp light butter/margarine

4 tbsp brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a sheet pan, place the acorn squash with cut side down. Bake for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes, remove from oven, turn over and place 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp brown sugar in each 1/2. If the acorn squash seem to slide around on the sheet pan, I take a square of Foil and make a little ring to sent the squash in. Works everytime. Then bake for another 30 minutes.

Really good leftover too!!

The second recipe is a woops on my part. I took out some bison, thinking it was going to be flank steak type. It turned out to be ground bison. So our Bison fajita salad, turned into ground bison taco salad. Still good!!! You can use ground beef for this if you want.

Bison Taco Salad (makes 4 servings)

WW pts: varies, depending on cheese and meat

Ground Meat, browned

1/4 Olive oil

1/4 Vinegar

1 Tbsp Cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp pepper

3 Tbsp Cumin

1 Tbsp Chili powder

1 Tbsp Oregano (mexican if you can find it)

2 Tbsp Lime Juice

1/2 diced onion

1/2 diced red pepper or yellow

Mix all the Oil, vinegar, peppers, cumin, chili powder, oregano and lime juice in a bowl and stir with a fork to mix. Saute the onion and pepper in 1 tbsp olive oil. Then add back the ground meat. To warm, add the mixture of seasonings and let it cook down. Adjust the seasoning to your taste if you want to add other stuff.

Cut lettuce, then top with meat and veggies, and cheese and salsa.

I usually make a dressing to go on it. 1 cup salsa, 1/2 cup fat free sour cream. This dressing also makes a great dip for tortilla chips.

Salmon Burgers.

I know I make most everything from scratch and I like it that way. But a few weeks ago my WW leader Vicki told us about a Salmon Burger that she bought at Kroger individually wrapped and made it. She said it was pretty delicious and at 1.99 each it was still cheaper than if I were to have to buy all the ingredients to make a Salmon burger... So for tonight's gourmet meal.... I put 2 Salmon burgers in the oven while I made Sweet potato fries. The burger didn't have a strong Salmon taste, but let a little lemon-y aftertaste, which was good. It is definitely something that I will buy again. I put ours in the oven b/c I wanted them Crispy, but the package said you could microwave or pan fry it. Then just topped the bun with Lettuce and tomato. Simple and really good.

Each Burger is 4 pts. which is better than some Turkey burgers.

Here is the recipe that I have posted previously for the Sweet Potato Fries. The points vary on how big a potato, but I usually get a large one and count it as 3-4 pts.

Sweet Potato Fries

1 Sweet Potato per person

PAM

Pepper

garlic salt (optional)

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees. With a sharp knife, slice the sweet potatoes into thin slices. Spray a cookie sheet (If they are bigger potatoes, I have to use 2 sheets) with PAM. Spread the sweet potato slices in 1 layer across the cookie sheet, Spray the tops of the sweet potato with another bit of PAM. Sprinkle with Pepper (and salt if you want).

Bake for 20 minutes, flip the potatoes over and you can bake for another 20 minutes, or put the broiler on low and broil them. If you choose to broil them, watch them closely, because they will crisp up pretty quick on you.

Eggplant Parmesan I've missed you.

It's been at least 2 weeks since we have had this recipe... So HELLO what goes on sale at Kroger this week. Eggplants for a dollar a piece, which they are usually at least 3 dollars a piece. So I gladly added it to our weekly menu. I did make the mistake of grabbing Hot Jalapeno's instead of medium... so our sauce was a little spicier, but still!!

delicious

Eggplant Parmesan (makes 6-8 servings)

WW pts: 7 pts per serving or 8 if you eat with 1/2 a serving of Whole wheat spaghetti noodles

2 Large eggplant

1 cup fresh parmesan cheese

Olive oil

flour

Pepper

Rosemary

1 cup diced onion (1 md onion worked fine)

1/4 cup minced garlic

1/4 diced jalapenos

1/2 cup chopped basil

pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Cut Eggplant into 12-14 slices (1/2 inch thick). In a large saute pan, heat enough oil to cover the bottom to brown the eggplant. In a shallow dish mix flour, rosemary and pepper with a fork, then dredge eggplant in seasoned flour. Shaking off excess flour. Saute 4-5 slices at a time, until golden brown on each side. After cooking all the eggplant in same fashion, dump the oil, and add new oil (1 tsp olive oil). Add onion, garlic and jalapeno. Saute a few minutes, then add the tomato sauce that you've been cooking into this pan. Season with pepper and salt if you need to, I didn't need any salt.

In a 9x13 pan place eggplant and spoon even amounts of the sauce over the eggplant, and then generously sprinkle parmesan cheese and bake until the cheese is completely melted.

I used less parmesan and added some fat free Mozzarella.

Bison.

I know it's a regional thing, since most restaurants in Alabama don't carry Bison/Buffalo burgers. I had seen on my cooking shows the hosts trying Bison burgers and raving about them. Well last week while we were in South Dakota, I decided to "buck up" (pardon the pun) and try something new.... The burgers were fantastic. Not greasy like most hamburgers are, and had great flavor. So before we packed up to head south. My dad nicely filled our cooler full of a bunch of bison goodies. He gave us roasts, strip meat (for fajita style), ground buffalo (hamburgers), and Michael's favorite- Jerky.

So as a thank you to my wonderful in-laws who watched our dogs while we were gone, I am making Bison Stew (thanks to allrecipes.com). Think Beef stew with Bison instead of Beef. So far it's been cooking for 1 hour and it smells delicious. The only downside to the recipe, is I don't know how to convert Buffalo to points I've gotta look that up tonight. So for tonight, you are going to get the recipe, so if you choose to use beef then you can add up the points. But just from looking at the recipe, it can't be too many points for a serving.

*post dinner: This recipe was awesome. I had enough meat to be able to make a whole other batch, which will come in handy in about a month when it's good and cool outside. Perfect soup for a cool winter day. And I actually liked it without the potatoes, which you could add if you wanted.

Bison Stew (makes 6 servings)

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 pounds bison meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 cup minced yellow onion
• 1/2 cup minced celery
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 3 tbsp ground black pepper
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
• 
  
• Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat; brown the bison in oil, 2 to 3 minutes per side; remove bison and set aside. Pour 1 tablespoon canola oil into the Dutch oven; cook and stir the onion and celery in the oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic; cook and stir another 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to coat. Stir in the broth, water, wine, salt, pepper, cloves, tomato sauce, parsley, and thyme to the mixture; bring to a boil. Return the bison to the mixture and stir through. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until meat is fork tender, about 1 hour.

Asparagus Stir-fry.

I'm wondering how many people are going to see the title of tonight's recipe and actually read the recipe.

This is one that I made up tonight, not knowing how it was going to turn out. Asparagus was on sale today at the store, and I couldn't pass it up. We were supposed to have Chicken and Rice with Vegetables on the menu, so I decided to try this this combo. The Tamari sauce is a more concentrated soy sauce, with less sodium. It has a great flavor and I'm almost a complete convert!! The asparagus and green beans were almost indistinguishable in texture.

Asparagus Stir-fry (makes 2 servings)

WW pts: 7 a serving

1 Tbsp Olive oil

1 Chicken Breast, diced into 1 inch chunks

1 bundle of asparagus, cut into 2 inch chunks (cut off and discard dried ends of asparagus)

2 servings instant brown rice, cooked according to package directions

1 cup frozen green beans

2 Tbsp Oyster Sauce

2 Tbsp Tamari Sauce (can substitute soy sauce)

1 tsp sugar

2 Tbsp Rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp garlic, minced

1/2 tsp chinese chile sauce (has red pepper flakes in it-so it add a little spice)

In a small pot or steamer bag, steam the green beans, then the asparagus. Set aside. In a large skillet, cook the chicken. Add the Chile sauce and garlic once chicken in almost finished cooking. While chicken is cooking, in a small dish, mix the Oyster sauce, Tamari, Sugar and Vinegar. Pour over chicken and let cook down for 2 minutes. Then add Green beans and Asparagus, stir to coat. Turn heat up to medium high, until the sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.

To serve you can mix in the rice or serve the chicken, asparagus over the rice.

Cheap but great dinner.

Most of you know that I love anything cheap. So when I get to use coupons and can create a whole meal for $2.69 dollars to feed 3 people... who can beat that. Let's face it, you can't go to McDonald's and get that much food to satisfy your hunger no matter what those commercials say.

Not sure how many people know this, but if you don't already here it comes. Most grocery stores that have a deli, do rotisserie chickens. Well you can only keep said items for sale for a certain length of time, before they "expire". So what do they do if they have leftovers. Well Wal-mart has been known give them away to customers in the checkout line for free (my in-laws benefited from that) vs. throwing them away. Other places like Kroger put their 4-5 dollar chickens on sale for 2 dollars. So here is the breakdown of my made up dinner and how I did it.

I had planned to get a chicken, normal price was 3.99 (it was on sale for that usually 4.99). So I went to Kroger and found one for 1.99 on clearance. I also had received a coupon from Kroger for 1.25 off a whole chicken. Making the whole chicken 75 cents. Which we made into 3 dinners. Making it 25 cents a dinner! The peppers and onions I got on sale for $1. And the diced tomatoes $1.28. Then the pasta I got B1G1 Free, which meant the 8 servings of pasta was 65 cents. Meaning our 2 servings was right at 16 cents.

So our grand total for us was $2.69 cents.

Chicken Spaghetti (makes 2 servings)

WW pts: 7 pts.

4 ounces of Chicken (you can use a chicken breast cooked and shredded if need be.)

4 ounces of whole wheat pasta

1-15 ounce can diced tomatoes, no salt added, drained

1- 15 ounce can tomato sauce, no salt added

1/2 green pepper, diced

1/2 red or yellow pepper, diced

1/2 medium onion diced

1 tsp crushed Rosemary

1 tsp oregano

1 Tbsp garlic, minced

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp pepper

pinch Cayenne pepper (optional)*

PAM

In a pan spray PAM and saute peppers, onions for 5-8 minutes on medium high heat. Add diced tomatoes and let them cook for 3 minutes. Then add tomato sauce, rosemary, oregano, garlic, garlic salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Turn heat down to a simmer.

While the sauce is cooking, cook noodles according to package directions. When noodles are almost done, add chicken to spaghetti sauce and heat through. Mix and serve hot.

Michael added the mozzarella cheese on top, and added more than I planned, so mine was a little cheesier than anticipated. So you will have to determine how much cheese if any you want on there.

*Just so you guys don't think I'm totally insane. The reason I add Cayenne pepper to a lot of stuff, is I read an article a year or so ago that talked about if you add a little extra spice to the food you eat, it causes you to slow down your eating, and you eat less. Plus the spicy foods cause you burn a few more calories than if it were normal. I'm not completely insane (and if any ex-roommates try to tell you differently. I've got Crisco ready for them) there is a reason to my madness. Most of the time.

One other little side note. I'm going to be MIA for a week or so. But when I come back, you better believe I've got some yummo recipes to share with you!!

Chicken Melt.

Eat at Home Cooks brought us another good dinner. I say good b/c I think next time (and there will be a next time) there are a few things I would do different. Overall they Garlic/Basil Mayo was pretty tasty. The only downside is it called for Mozzarella cheese, and I will probably do something with a little bit of heat, maybe a jalapeno pepperjack.

We had it with a side of sweet potato fries. Which was a really good compliment to the sandwich. We also used an Arnold Sandwich Thin b/c it cut out some extra points and was good.

I also had another recipe from Eat at Home Cooks but it smelled so good, that we had eaten half of our dinner before I realized I didn't take a picture, but I have leftovers, so tomorrow when I have it for lunch, you will get to see what it is!!

Chicken Melt (makes 2 sandwiches)

WW pts: 5 pts per sandwich

1 Chicken breast cooked and shredded

1/2 cup low fat/fat free mozzarella, shredded

4 tbsp light mayo (I used Kraft)

1 tsp minced garlic

pepper to taste

1/4 tsp dried basil

Lettuce and Tomato to garnish

Toast the roll or bun you plan on using. Top with chicken and cheese. Place under broiler to toast the cheese. While that is toasting, mix the mayo, garlic, basil and pepper. When the sandwich are nice and bubbly. Place a Tbsp of mayo mixture on each sandwich. It made extra just in case someone wanted more on their sandwich. Top with lettuce and tomato.

I have posted the Sweet Potato Fry recipe before. But just in case you haven't tried them. They are a must. I can even get my picky little eater to ask for them!!!

Eat at home cooks strikes again.

We tried Eatathomecooks.com White Enchiladas tonight. They reminded me of a mexican restaurant enchiladas. Mine came out to be higher in pts, so next time I might use less cheese than what the recipe called for. Since that is where the majority of the points were coming from. I also added a can or Rotel, b/c we like Rotel in this house.

White Enchiladas (makes 10 enchiladas)

WW pts: 6 pts an enchilada

10 flour tortillas (I just look at the nutritional info and pick the one that looks the best)

2 cups jack cheese (I used 2 percent and it was still kinda high in pts)

2 chicken breast, cooked and then shredded

1 medium onion diced, and cooked with the chicken

1 can Rotel, drained

1 1/2 Tbsp butter, light

1 1/2 Tbsp flour (I used whole wheat)

1 can chicken broth

1 cup fat free sour cream

1 can Ortega diced chiles, drained (7 oz)

Preheat oven to 425. Mix together 1 cup of cheese, the chicken, onion and Rotel. Put some mixture into each tortilla, roll and place seam side down in a 9x13 casserole dish.

In a skillet, melt butter. Stir in the flour and cook until smooth and thickened. Add the chicken broth, whisking until smooth and thickened. Stir in sour cream and green chilies. Pour over top of enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes.

The only thing I could think to do different is probably add some diced green peppers into the chicken mixture.

It's Football.

Which in the south means tailgating, food, alcohol... but mostly food. In the low cholesterol, low fat cookbook they had a recipe for toasted ravioli and an Italian salsa. In the past 6 days, I've made it 2 times. That's how good it is. Although the second time I made my homemade marinara which went WAY better with the ravioli then the Italian salsa recipe that came with it.

These suckers are so good, that both times I failed to take a picture of them, because we dug into them so fast. So next time I swear I will take a picture of them. But for now you only get the recipe. It depends on what raviolis you get, so you will have to figure out the points for them if you need to. I went with Publix's brand frozen beef Ravioli.

Toasted Ravioli with Marinara (makes 10 servings)

1 lb. frozen beef ravioli (about 30 pieces)

Vegetable spray (PAM)

1/4 cup fat free light Italian dressing

1/4 cup dry Italian breadcrumbs (I used progresso 1 time and panko the other, but Progresso worked better)

1 1/2 tsp Salt free italian herb seasoning.

Marinara Sauce

1- 15 ounce can tomato sauce, no salt added

1- 15 ounce can diced tomatoes, no salt added, drained

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp garlic salt

pinch of cayenne pepper (optional, but add so much flavor to the sauce)

1/4 tsp rosemary

pinch of ground thyme

1/2 tsp oregano

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Boil ravioli according to package directions. Meanwhile in a small saucepan, mix together marinara ingredients and let simmer on low for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spray a sheet pan with PAM. After raviolis are done, let them cool for 10 minutes, then brush Italian dressing on them with a brush or spoon. In a small bowl, mix breadcrumbs and italian seasoning. Then sprinkle the tops with breadcrumb mixture. And bake 10 minutes, then flip and bake another 10 minutes or until they are crispy.

Serve hot, with hot marinara.

For around 3 raviolis:

Calories: 133

Fat: 2

Fiber 2

This is for the raviolis I bought but might need to be recalculated to whichever you buy.

Honestly these things would be good as a meal in themselves, and not just an appetizer.

Oven Fried Chicken and California BLT's.

Does anyone else remember their mom making oven fried chicken? I know most people in the south are going to gawk at the fact that it wasn't fried in a cast iron skillet. But you know what. That's probably why most southern states are the most obese in the nation... I'm just sayin'. I've attempted to make this dish, using different recipes, which were HUGE failures. So when I saw this in a low fat, low cholesterol cookbook. I thought I would give it one more shot..... and we finally have a winner. I wish I could remember what was different about this recipe than the others, but in all honesty I can't. But this time it worked and it was delicious.

Crispy Oven Fried Chicken (makes 6 chicken thighs or drumsticks)

WW pts: 4 pts per piece

Vegetable oil Spray (PAM)

3 cups Cornflakes, lightly crushed

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

6 pieces of chicken

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray a baking sheet with vegetable oil spray. In a pie pan, stir together cereal and garlic. In a small bowl mix together ginger, paprika, salt, pepper. Sprinkle seasoning on both sides of chicken.

Roll the chicken in the cereal crumbs to coat. Lightly spray the chicken on all sides and put on a baking sheet. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until chicken is golden brown and tender and no longer pink in the center.

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I also made the California BLT's last night, but forgot to post the recipe. My stepdad introduced us to these years ago, and after 1 persuasive dinner. Michael now loves them. I mean Bacon. Guacamole.... what's not to love. They are such a great dinner when you want a cool alternative to the normal BLT.

California BLT's (makes 4 pita halves or 2 whole pita)

WW pts: 5 pts per serving

2 pita bread cut in half circle

6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

lettuce, shredded or chopped

tomato, diced

4 tbsp Guacamole

ketchup (optional)

Cook bacon and crumble. On 1 side of pita pocket, spread 1 tbsp guacamole and ketcup on the other 1/2 if you want ketchup. Then fill with bacon crumbles, tomato and lettuce. I usually squirt just a tad bit more ketchup on top.

Served with chips or side salad.

2 Milestone in 1 day.

So many of you are facebook friends of mine, so you know what this is already about. But I figured I would show a few before and current pictures. Because for honestly without the pictures I probably wouldn't believe it.

My first milestone is today marks 20 months of No fast food. By no fast food, I mean if you can drive thru to get it it's off limits. People have asked me if I go into places. I don't. Before I ever started this journey to lose 100+ lbs. I ate fast food 2 times a day at minimum. I can not even count the number of times that I stopped at multiple places to get food for 1 meal. Just because I wanted a taco from taco bell and french fries from McDonalds..

A lot of people have asked "Why not just make better choices, they offer them"... and here lies the problem. I would always go with the intentions of ordering less food, or something healthier. Get to the little box to order, and go with my "old favorites"... which is what got me to 100 lbs overweight. So for me complete avoidance is easier. No it wasn't always easy. Those first few months I thought about going so many times. But after that, I figured I'd gone all that time, why not go another month and another... and that has turned into 20 months. Don't get me wrong, I do eat out. But it's going to be Subway, or a sit down place. B/C I know that the sandwich I love (and have eaten at least 1 a week for 20 months) is a good choice. Also, If I'm going to go to a sit down place, then it's usually with Michael and we share something.

As for my 2nd Milestone. I finally hit my 80 lbs gone. It has taken me almost 4 months to lose 5 lbs (can you say PLATEAU). I'm not sure what finally gave up the ghost this week. It might be that I quit buying diet cokes. So I only get it 1 a week (when I get Subway) or if we go out to dinner. Or if it's that I'm actually cutting back on how much I workout... I know your scratching your head, thinking. How can you quit working out and lose weight. Well I think part of my problem is that I like to workout so much, that I don't compensate my body with food to refuel it. So my weight loss might have stalled out. Who knows, but I just hope that it keeps up.

So now for some photos..... I know that's why you've let me ramble on for so long.

This was on our Honeymoon in June 2004. Probably at my heaviest.

This was at my friend Erin's wedding. Loved that dress, just not on me. (thanks erin, I borrowed it).

Left is the day I joined WW. Right is me today! Excuse me, but does anyone actually start to see my collarbones (who knew).

Left is the day I joined WW, Right is me today.

Meatloaf Muffins and S'more Pie

Yes that is a weird combination but I would say a completely kid friendly meal. We found the Meatloaf Muffins on Aimee's Adventures. Anyone who is trying to lose weight should check out her site, she's lost like 140+ lbs and has a TON of recipes on her site. That is where we found the Mexican meatball subs. Everything we've tried off her site has been awesome including these muffins. They are perfectly portioned, and just a great version of meatloaf.

As for the S'more pie, if you guys remember I had wanted to do a S'more Pie for Michael's birthday in May, but I ended up doing cupcakes. Well apparently Tiffany at EatatHomeCooks must have read my mind, because she made up this recipe, and just reading the recipe my mouth was watering!!! So tonight I am doing a S'more Pie.

please ignore the "seasoned" look of my muffin tin. It has been good to me.

Meatloaf Muffins (makes 12 muffins)

WW pts: 4 pts a muffin

1 lb Extra lean ground beef or Ground Turkey

1 small Zucchini, unpeeled and shredded

1 egg

1 cup Ore Ida hasbrowns, Frozen (I used 1 small potato shredded)

1/2 cup Fat Free Shredded Cheese

1/2 package of Stop Top Seasoned Stuffing mix

1/4 reduced Fat Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

1/4 cup Ketchup

1/2 medium onion diced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients together. Divide evenly into 12 sprayed Muffin tins (I used a 1/3 cup measuring cup). Bake 30-40 minutes or until done.

You could make these into hamburgers and they would be good, just patty them out, and grill or bake.

S'more Pie (makes 8 servings)

WW pts: 4 pts a slice

Reduced fat graham cracker crust

1 box Chocolate cook and serve pudding mix (I used the instant)

1/4 cup Nutella

1/2 cup Marshmallow fluff

3/4 cup Mini Marshmallows

Make the pudding according to the directions. While it cools put a layer of the marshmallow fluff in the bottom of the pan (we both had problems with the crust crumbling-so just be gentle). Spread Nutella over Marshmallow fluff. Pour Pudding over nutella. And let cool 10 minutes. Sprinkle the mini marshmallows over the top, so all the pudding is covered. Put the pie under the broiler just until the marshmallows toast. Watch it so it doesn't burn. Cool the pie and cover and refrigerate.

My Lemon Pepper Chicken

We had Chicken and vegetables on the menu for tonight. But I didn't put down how I wanted to cook it, so I decided I wanted Lemon Pepper chicken, but something a little different. So I made up this recipe, and it's definitely a keeper for us.

Lemon Pepper Chicken (makes 2 servings)

WW pts: 4 pts a serving (2 drumsticks)

4 Chicken drumsticks, skin removed

1/4 cup Lemon juice

2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning

1 tsp pepper

1 Tbsp Garlic, minced

2 tsp Olive oil

2 Tbsp Cornstarch

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a shallow pan, spray with PAM. In a small bowl add lemon juice, lemon pepper, garlic and pepper together. Then whisk in olive oil to combine. Then whisk in Cornstarch. Place chicken drumsticks into shallow pan, and spoon lemon pepper mix over chicken drumsticks. Cook for 30 minutes, turn over and spoon lemon pepper mixture that is on the bottom of the pan onto the drumsticks. Then finish cooking about 20 minutes or until no longer pink in the center.

We served it with fresh Squash and Zucchini and Brussel sprouts. The cornstarch is what makes my recipe different than any that I've found. It makes the "marinade" more of a gravy, with out all the extra calories!!

Surprise dinner.

I love when your cleaning out the freezer and find something that you didn't know you had. Ok so that applies to anything in life. Money in your pocket, cute shoes in your closet, chocolate in the freezer. But today it was a chunk of ham that we had over Christmas 09.. Yes I realize that is sad, but who cares. It was still edible.

So I decided to make a Ham and Potato casserole. Get rid of 2 things at once, since I had some "older" potatoes sitting in the cupboard. I forgot how good a simple dish like this is.

Ham & Potato Casserole (makes 6 servings)

WW pts: 4 pts a serving

2 Tbsp light butter

1/2 medium onion, diced

3 Tbsp whole wheat flour

1 tsp Pepper

2 1/2 cups fat free milk

5 medium potatoes, sliced

2 cups ham, visible fat cut off, cut into chunks

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom of a casserole dish with PAM. Melt butter in a saucepan, then cook onion 3-5 minutes. Stir in flour, pepper. Cook stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat. Add milk. Return to heat, bring to boiling, stirring constantly for 1 minute.

Slice potatoes and ham, them mix together in the bottom of casserole dish. Then pour milk mixture over ham and potatoes. Cover with foil and place in oven for 30 minutes. Then remove foil and cook for 1 hour or until Potatoes are tender.

We made green beans to go with the casserole.

*The only thing that might have made it better was maybe some velveeta melted into the milk mixture to make it "cheesy"... but I didn't have any on hand.