Luscious Lemon Delight

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped pecans, divided
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 (8-ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
• 2 (3.4-ounce) packages lemon instant pudding mix
• 2 2/3 cups milk

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 375F.
• Combine flour, 1/2 cup pecans and butter in a medium bowl and mix well. Press onto the bottom of an 11 x 8-inch baking dish. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Let stand to cool.
• Place cream cheese in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer set at medium speed until fluffy. Add confectioners’ sugar and beat until mixture is light and fluffy.
• Add 1 cup whipped topping to cream cheese mixture and fold in gently. Spread over cooled crust.
• Combine pudding mix and milk in a medium bowl. Beat until thickened. Spread on top of cream cheese layer. Top with the remaining whipped topping. Sprinkle with remaining pecans. Chill, covered, for 1 hour. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Long Boy "Burgers"



Ingredients:
2-4 (6-inch) sub rolls, split in half lengthwise
1 1/4 cup cornflakes, crushed
1/2 small onion, minced
1/2 cup whole or lowfat milk
6 tablespoons ketchup, separated
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds 90% lean ground beef
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Adjust the oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees.

1. Bake rolls, cut side up, on wire rack inside rimmed baking sheet until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes.

2. Combine cornflakes, onion, milk, 4 tablespoons ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, garlic powder, egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in large bowl. Add meat and knead gently until well combined.

3. Top toasted rolls evenly with meat mixture, spreading meat to edges of rolls. Brush top of meat mixture evenly with remaining ketchup and bake until meat registers 160 degrees, 20-25 minutes. Top burgers with cheese and continue to bake until cheese melts, 3-4 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes. Serve.

Pizza Balls

I had a wonderful Christmas spending time with family and indulging on yummy food!!  Today it was back on track with Weight Watchers- tracking what I eat and getting in my daily GHG's.  I didn't do the best today but it is a start. 

I found a recipe called Pizza Balls at one of the blogs linked into http://www.orgjunkie.com/ Monday Menu Plan.  It looked super simple to prepare and I've had a hankering for pizza so I thought I'd give it a try tonight. I used pepperoni and mushrooms since that is our favorite pizza topping. They turned out Great!!

Pizza Balls

1 can biscuits

shredded parmesean cheese

turkey pepperoni

mushrooms

pizza sauce for dipping

cooking spray

1. Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces 2. Cut the pepperoni into 4 pieces 3. Cut the mushrooms into small pieces 4. Take 3 pieces of biscuit and stretch out with hands to form a small circle 5. Place a small amount of pepperoni and mushrooms in the center of the dough.  Form a ball around the filling with the biscuit dough 6. Place each ball into a muffin tin generously coated with cooking spray 7. Top each ball with a piece of pepperoni and some cheese 8. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown 9. Serve with warmed pizza sauce for dipping 10. Enjoy!

Mexicali

This is a recipe my mom used to make when we had an abundance of zucchini but I still enjoy making it all year long. It is very versatile and you can change what veggies or meat you use. This is the original recipe. Sorry I don't have a picture to show how yummy it looks!

I typically don't measure so this is just estimated.

Ingredients:
1lb ground beef (venison)
1/4c diced onions
1/2tbl minced garlic
2-3c zucchini sliced
1 can diced tomatoes (I have used fresh when in season)
1 c corn kernels
chili powder
olive oil

Brown beef in a skillet. Remove from pan and set aside. Add olive oil to skillet, sauté onions and garlic till almost tender. Add in zucchini and sauté till fork till zucchini begins to soften. Add diced tomatoes, beef, and corn. Add chili powder till liking (I like it to have a bit of a kick). Let cook till zucchini is fork tender.

I serve it over brown rice. It is also great as leftovers. Enjoy!

Baked Potato Soup

I love, love, love soup!!!  Unfortunatly my husband doesn't enjoy it as much as I do so we typically only have chili.  My solution, I make a small batch and take it for my lunchs at work.  Here is a lightened up recipe of my favorite soup- Baked Potato

Serving size- 1 cup
Servings- 5
Points Plus- 5 pts

Ingredients:

• 2 russet potatoes, washed and dried
• 1 small head of cauliflower, stem removed cut into florets
• 1 1/2 cups fat free chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups 1% reduced-fat milk
• salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 10 tbsp reduced-fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 6 tbsp chopped chives, divided
• 3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (you can use turkey bacon if you prefer)

Pierce potatoes with a fork; microwave on high for 5 minutes turn over and microwave another 3 - 5 minutes, until tender. Or if you prefer to use your oven, bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes.

Meanwhile, steam cauliflower with water in a large covered pot until tender. Drain and return to pot. On medium heat, add chicken broth, milk, potatoes and bring to a boil. Use an immersion blender to puree until smooth. Add sour cream, half the chives, salt and pepper and cook on low another 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat. Ladle 1 cup soup into each bowl. Top each serving with 2 tbsp cheese, remaining chives, and bacon

Berry Triffle

I love, love, love this dessert!!!  It is so versatile- change the type of pudding used or vary the fruits used.  It feels so naughty to eat but is very points friendly.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

# of Servings: 14

Serving Size: 1cup

Points Plus: 4 pts

Ingredients:

• 10 oz angel food cake, cut into 1-inch cubes*
• 2 pints strawberries, sliced
• 2 pints blueberries

For the cream filling:

• 1 1/2 cups cold milk
• 1 package sugar-free white chocolate instant pudding mix (I also like to use cheesecake flavored)
• 12 oz fat-free frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

Whisk the milk in the pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set; fold in the whipped topping.

Arrange half of the cake in the bottom of a 14-cup trifle dish. Sprinkle evenly with a layer of blueberries. Spread half of the cream mixture over the blueberries and gently spread (I piped it using a plastic bag and cut the corner off). Top with a layer of strawberries.  Layer the remaining cake cubes on top of the strawberries, then add more blueberries and top with the remaining cream mixture. Finish with the remaining strawberries and blueberries, arranging them in a pretty pattern. Cover and refrigerate at least one 1 hour.

Chicken and Mushrooms in a White Wine Sauce

I have not tried this yet but I can't wait to try it out next week!  I think I'll serve it with fresh pasta.

Servings: 4
Points Plus: 6pts per serving

Ingredients:

• 8 chicken tenderloins, 16 oz total
• 2 tsp butter
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour*
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 12 oz sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/3 cup fat free chicken broth
• salt and fresh pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 200°. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge in flour.

Heat a large skillet on medium heat; when hot add 1 tsp butter and 1 tsp olive oil. Add chicken to the skillet and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side, or until chicken is no longer pink. Set aside in a warm oven.

Add additional oil and butter to the skillet, then garlic and cook a few seconds; add mushrooms, salt and pepper stirring occasionally until golden, about 5 minutes.

Add wine, chicken broth, parsley; stir the pan with a wooden spoon breaking up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook a few more minutes or until the liquid reduces by half. Top the chicken with the mushroom sauce and serve.

*I only used 1 tbsp of flour and tossed the rest, so calculations were for 1 tbsp flour only.

Sweet Potato Brulee

I'll be making this for both family's Thanksgiving dinners this year. I love sweet potatoes!!

Serving size: 1/2 cup
# of Servings: 14 
Points Plus: 3pp per serving

Ingredients:

• 5 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and boiled until soft (6 cups cooked)
• 3/4 cup 1% milk
• 3 tbsp light butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup unpacked light brown sugar

Directions:

When the potatoes are cooked and soft, combine them with milk, light butter, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and mash or puree until smooth.  Spoon into a 9 x 9 or 11 x 7-inch baking dish. 
Preheat the broiler. Sprinkle 1/2 cup brown sugar evenly over top. Broil 2 minutes or until sugar melts, careful not to burn. Let it stand until the melted sugar hardens (about 5 minutes).