Super Easy AppleSauce (from the crockpot)

Warm or cold, AppleSauce is fabulous. And here is a super easy way to make your own. This is just the most basic of recipes. You can add spices and what not, but lets start simple

Get you some apples (and a crock pot)

Peel, core and dice apples.

Place in crockpot with about 1/8-1/4 cup water

depending on how many apples you use.

Cook for about 3-5 hours or until soft.

Stir it up and dump it out.

VIOLA!

Your very own no sugar added AppleSauce.

*Added note, I had a dream that people were telling me this was a bitter applesauce

and I did use tart apples, so if that isn't your deal, please just use your favorite apple :) *

Peanut Butter and Strawberry Sandwich

I am so glad that strawberries are back! So I made them in to a sandwich. My suspicion would be that this would be even better if you had a banana on it to :)

2 slices light wheat bread
1 tablespoon peanut butter ( I used Peter Pan Crunchy Honey Roast)
2 strawberries cut in slices

Make a sandwich? :) Then Eat it!

Yummy! 5 PointsPlus for this Gem :)

Butternut Squash Fries

I must say that I LOVE MY WEIGHT WATCHERS WEEKLIES!!! :)

I got this recipe from the book that is being handed out this week.

First you start with a 2lb Butternut squash

Olive Oil Cooking Spray

1 tsp table salt, or to taste

1/2 tsp chili powder

Preheat over to 450.

Cut the "neck" off of the squash, this is the part you will use for the fries

(I am going to roast the other portion)

Peel the neck portion

cut it in to planks/sticks/whatevers

Place on a foiled lined cooking sheet, sprayed with cooking spray 

(both the pan, then the "fries" once they are on the pan

Sprinkle with Salt and chili powder.

Bake for 14-18 minutes, turning once.

Served with the BBQ Chicken left over from the other night.

This was GOOD. Ed liked it, though he was apprehensive at first

I think next time I make them, I will cut the strips thinner so they can crisp up

some more. And maybe, drizzle with honey once cooked.

YUM!

1/4 of what was cooked here is 1 PointsPlus per serving. (just the fries of course)

Linked at Fit and Fabulous Fridays

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

A quick-ish easy combination of two super yummy things!

I Followed the directions for the Crustless Apple Pie, but I diced the apples,

and drizzled them with about 2 teaspoons of water before nuking them

Make the oatmeal:

1/4 cup quick oats, dash of cinnamon and sprinkle of sweetener of choice. (2-3 PointsPlus, depending on your sweetener) For these, I boil the water in the microwave, add it to my oats and spices until just a bit watery. then i put the oatmeal in the microwave about about 1 more minute. Makes them thick and porridge -ie.

Then Top with the Apples!

Total PointPlus: 3-4 depending on sweetener used!

Eastern Carolina Style BBQ Chicken (in the crock pot)

If you know me...REALLY know me :) You know I love BBQ, Eastern Carolina Style Pork BBQ to be precise. I love the tangy sweetness of the sauce, so much so, this is what we served at our wedding reception (thank you Wanda and BJ's BBQ!!)
So I wanted some, and being in the land of mustard BBQ sauce, its hard to find the good stuff. Annnnnnnnnd I didn't have a pork loin. BUT ;) I did have some chicken breasts.

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast ( I used frozen)
1 can swanson chicken broth
1 cup vinegar sauce*

In your crockpot,  put in your chicken breasts in and add broth and vinegar sauce. Cover and cook for 4-6 hours or until it shreds easily. *sigh* Drain the excess juices and shred chicken using forks

This is soooooooo easy and soooooooooo good. I think I am in love!

1/3 of this is 4 PointsPlus. YumYum.




*this is where all the magic yummy goodness comes in to play.
1 cups apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes


mix all ingredients together and store in a closed container over night or longer to allow flavors to blend. Sometimes when I make this, I add onion or garlic powders. Just play around with is some and see what makes it best for you!


You can make a double batch to keep some on reserve and to drizzle some more over your chicken when you serve if you want :)

Crustless Apple Pie Snack Version 1.0

Original Recipe credit goes to:

Spark Recipes

This is so super easy, and I plan on making some alterations, hence the 1.0

Ingredients:

1 apple

cinnamon/sweetner

Super easy prep:

You can either peel or not peel your apple ( I peeled mine)

Core and slice it

I used a corer/slicer, so I cut my slices in half again

Arrange them pretty (or not so much) on a microwave safe plate.

Sprinkle with cinnamon & sweetner and mircowave on high for 3 minutes!

Enjoy!

I LOVEloveLOVE this! I think next time, I will rinse the apple slices with water

to give it more moisture when it is cooking, so it should soften the apple some more.

Great the way it is, but I can't WAIT to try it a few other way!

Depending on your sweetner will determine the PointsPlus Value.

I am going with 1 for mine since I used the grinder!

Kozy Shack CowRageous Pudding Cups

I found another yummy little snack!
At 2 PointsPlus per cup, these are actually really good. I was apprehensive with the whole "gluten-free" thing, but I really like these. I have tried the vanilla and I have some of the chocolate in my fridge. Basically, it is just pudding :) And I like pudding. Plus the CowGuy is really cute.

the chocolate ones are 

Taco Pie

Taco Pie. Yumm. This is super easy to make and only

takes a few ingredients. You can slim it down some using

alternate ingredients, but I was using what I had on hand.

Ingredients:

4 flour tortillas (soft taco size)

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1/3 cup water

1 lb 93/7 ground turkey

1 packet taco seasoning

3/4 cup Sargento PepperJack Cheese

1/4 cup cheese made with 2% milk

Preparation:

Brown Ground turkey in skillet while preheating oven to 375.

Once browned, add water, tomatoes and taco seasoning.

Cook til most of liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat.

In a pie tin or other dish, start by layering one tortilla, about 1/3 of meat mixture

and about 1/4 cup cheese, repeat until top layer is a tortilla, and top with remaining cheese.

Bake in over for about 7-10 minutes or until cheese is melted

for 1/4 of the pie = 10 PointsPlus

linked up over at:

What We're Eating Wednesday

Cinco De Mayo Recipes

From The Box Dinner: Michael Angelo's Eggplant Parmesan

As you know, I am a sucker for a deal, so when this Frozen Dinner went on sale at Bi-lo, I wanted to try it!

PointsPlus per 1 cup serving: 5
Overall Review: Pretty Good. Ed had school tonight so he had cooked it before he left, so I had to reheat my portion in the microwave. I think it would have been even better out of the oven. Filling and yummy :)

Teriyaki Chops with Garlic Ginger Brown Rice

My Bff Lorin sent me a text asking what was in my Ginger Burger, so my loving hubby called her to let her know you could use Teriyaki sauce or.... and that got me thinking about making something else using Teriayki Sauce.

Ingredients:
5 pork chops (boneless, thin cut, about 1.08 lbs total weight is what I had)
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon roasted garlic herb grill mates seasoning (or other garlic herb seasoning)

Prep:
Mix dry ingredients. Place the chops in a shallow dish and evenly sprinkle the dry mix over them.

Drizzle the teriyaki sauce over the top of the chops and spices. I used a brush to make sure it stuck to the meat.

Now, these WERE supposed to go on my grill. But the igniter wasn't working, so I 

cooked them on grill mode in my convection oven.

Took about 19 minutes in my convection oven.

The whole meal:

8 PointsPlus. :) ( 1 chop and 1/2 of rice mixture)

Now for the rice. No pics, pretty self explanatory.

1/2 cup brown rice

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon garlic & pepper grinder

1 cup water.

prepare as directed on rice bag, just add spices to start with. 

And there you go! :)

I have linked this recipe over at Melt in your Mouth Monday!

Black Bean Brownies

When my Weight Watchers leader Wendy mentioned these to me years ago. I thought, "NO!!!!" but, since I am trying new and different things I figured why not. Recipe credit goes to Slender Kitchen though I altered it since I didn't have any Instant Coffee.

Ingredients
1 can black beans
1 box of brownie mix ( I used Pillsbury, family size)
1 tablespoon PB2 (powdered peanut butter)


Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 (or whatever temp your mix tells you!). Drain can of black beans and rinse (both beans and can) Put rinsed beans back in can, can fill to the top with water. Dump this in your blender or food processor and blend until it has an even texture. Mix the powdered mix, pb2 and black bean puree together until smooth. Pour in to a 9x13 baking dish that has been sprayed with PAM and bake as directed.

before blender

after blender

Using what I used, makes 20 brownies, each having PointsPlus value of 4!

These are good. Seriously. My husband asked what I was making, Brownies I said. When they were done baking, Those smell really good, he said. He ate one, then went back for another. Deceptively Delicious?? I think so!!!
.

***recipe side note*** after these cooled, i cut and froze them. they are good for a nice warm snack, just pop one in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds!

Linked at : Recipe of the Week: Brownies!

Caesar Salad with Egg

I have about 3 dozen eggs just hanging out in the fridge so I hard boiled some this morning before work.
Hence, the salad :)

Ingredients:

about 1.5 cups romaine lettuce
1 tablespoon Kraft Classic Caesar Dressing
1 tablespoon 4C Parmesan/Romano grated cheese blend
2 tablespoons Texas Toast Croutons
1 hard boiled Egg, sliced

Combine and serve!

5 PointsPlus :)

Linked up @ Wanted: Salads

Yellow Morning Sunshine Smoothie

This thing deserved a better name than yellow smoothie, hence the "special" adjectives above.

I wanted a smoothie but didn't have kale. HOWEVER :) I did have the left over Butternut Squash from last night.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup mashed butternut squash, with brown sugar & cinnamon
1 frozen banana
1 cup frozen peaches
2 dole pineapple rings (canned in its own juice)
about 1 cup of water

I put the squash on the bottom and topped with other ingredient. Give it a nice spin in the blend.

It is PERFECT. Thick and smooth.

2 Points Plus for this! that is including the brown sugar I put on the squash.

About My Recipes...and a Challenge :)

Good Morning :) As I was sitting here looking at more recipes online and other food blogs, I was just thinking that maybe I should point out a simple fact. The recipes I have been making (with the exception of the just fruit and veggies) are all made with things I have around the house. I am sure (most definitely) that most of them can lightened up further. All of my tortilla recipes could be made with a wheat tortilla but I just don't have those laying around and all of the eggs could be substituted with egg beaters. I am a bargain shopper and I am working on bringing the two sides of my life together in a healthy union.

That being said, have you tried any of my recipes ? If you haven't because you are worried about the PointPlus values, I want to challenge you to lighten them up, or work on a variation of it to work for YOU. After all, that is what this whole thing is about. A LIFESTYLE change that YOU can live with! And I promise, making adjustments to a recipe to make it your own isn't that bad. Sure there may be a flop here and there but it all lends  to helping you feel more confident with yourself and what you put in your body.

If you try and do something new, please share :) I would love to hear what is working for you!

<3 Angie

My First Experience with: Butternut Squash

I have a new found mission to try some things that I have never had, or haven't had in a LONG time. So I figured I would take the different ways my friends suggested cooking it and mix it all together.

Preparation:

First you buy the squash :) This is a 1.5 lb squash

Cut off the end, I was intrigued by the juices!

Cut it in half

Scoop out the "yuck"

Place in baking pan, lined with foil, lightly sprayed with 

Pam and add about 3/4 cup water.

Bake in over preheated @ 400 Degrees

( I only cooked mine for about 40 minutes, definitely needs longer!)

All pretty and roasted up

Sprinkled with Brown sugar, cinnamon & spray butter

The review: Not too bad. Needed to be cooked longer, maybe about 10-15 minutes.

It wasn't quite as sweet as I thought would be based on other recipes I had read. But I really think that just lends to further flexibility with spices and flavor combinations. I will definitely make this again!