Cupcakes, anyone?

I made cupcakes. Carrot-ginger cupcakes with cream cheese icing. With cinnamon sprinkled on top.
Yum.

They were actually really easy to make, although I would go lighter on the icing next time (it's really rich).

Carrot-Ginger Cupcakes with Spiced Cream Cheese

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: Makes 24 servings, one cupcake each

Ingredients
1 pkg. (16 oz.) pound cake mix
3/4 cup shredded carrots
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
1/2 cup Walnut Pieces, toasted
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened
2 cups thawed Whipped Topping (like Cool Whip)

Preparation
PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Prepare cake batter as directed on package; stir in carrots, ginger, 3/4 tsp. of the cinnamon and walnuts.

SPOON batter into 24 paper-lined medium muffin cups. Bake 15 min. or until toothpick comes out clean.

BEAT cream cheese in medium bowl with wire whisk until smooth. Gently stir in whipped topping. Spread over tops of cupcakes. *For sweeter icing, use more whipped topping and less cream cheese. Sprinkle with reserved 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Nutritional Information
Calories: Calories: 160
Total fat: 9 g
Saturated fat: 4 g
Cholesterol: 30 mg
Sodium: 125 mg
Carbohydrate: 18 g
Dietary Fiber: 0 g
Sugars: 10 g
Protein: 3 g
Vitamin A: 10% DV
Vitamin C: 0% DV
Calcium: 2% DV
Iron: 4% DV

Kraft Desserts, MARCH 2010

Trim It Down Tuesday: Drunken Stir-Fried Beef with Green Beans

Today's recipe is an oldie-but-goodie! This is one of our favorites, and we fixed it last night (so I thought I'd re-post it). We serve ours over rice normally, but it's delicious over rice noodles too.

Drunken Stir-Fried Beef with Green Beans

"Drunken" Paste (You can either make it from scratch, or you can buy it. I always buy it - much easier! I use Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste.)

Cooking Spray

1-pound of flank steak or other type of thin steak cut into small 1/4-inch strips

2 cups of cut fresh green beans (or frozen green beans)

1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes

1 tablespoon of sugar (or Splenda)

3 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1 cup fresh basil leaves

Heat a wok or large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add paste (approx. 1 to 2 tablespoons of store bought) and heat up for about 30 seconds. Add beef and stir fry for about 2 to 3 minutes. Add green beans and stir fry another 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, sugar, fish sauce, and vinegar; stir fry for about 1 minute or until beef is done (it should be done by now). Remove from heat and stir in basil, then serve!

I've slightly modified this recipe from the original because of what I've found out through experience. For example, if you're using fresh green beans, you need to cook them a little longer than the original calls for. Also, as I said earlier, using the store-bought paste is so much easier.

You can serve this over rice, or rice noodles, and it's wonderful with extra vegetables like mushrooms added. We've also used chicken instead of beef, and it turns out just as good!

Yield: 5 servings, serving size 3/4 cup, 202 calories per serving

Trim-It-Down Tuesday: Loaded Twice-Baked Potatoes

Today's recipe comes from Eating Well. Baked potatoes are usually a no-no, and if you're on a low-carb diet, they probably still are. But this is an easy comforting recipe that is filling and low on calories. We fixed these up with a few modifications, and we loved them!

Loaded Twice-Baked Potatoes

Active time: 30 minutes Total: 40 minutes

To make ahead: Prepare and stuff potatoes. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Microwave and serve.

4 medium russet potatoes
8 ounces 90%-lean ground beef (see Variation) **we used 6 Tbsp of low-fat bacon bits instead, which had 125 calories.
1 cup broccoli florets, finely chopped
1 cup water
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 scallions, sliced

**we also used 2 Tbsp of Smart Balance low-calorie margarine

1. Pierce potatoes all over with a fork. Place in the microwave and cook on Medium, turning once or twice, until the potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes. (Or use the "potato setting" on your microwave and cook according to the manufacturer's directions.)

2. Meanwhile, brown meat in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. (Or, skip that step if you're using low-cal bacon pieces like us!) Increase heat to high, add broccoli and water to the pan, cover, and cook until tender, 4 to 5 minutes (Our broccoli didn't take this long - watch for it to turn bright deep green). Drain the broccoli; add to the meat.

3. Carefully cut off the top third of the cooked potatoes; reserve the tops for another use. Scoop out the insides into a medium bowl. Place the potato shells in a small baking dish. Add 1/2 cup Cheddar, sour cream, salt and pepper (and margarine) to the potato insides and mash with a fork or potato masher. Add scallions and the potato mixture to the broccoli and meat; stir to combine.

4. Evenly divide the potato mixture among the potato shells and top with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Microwave on High until the filling is hot and the cheese is melted, 2 to 4 minutes.

When you're finished, they'll look like this!

Vegetarian variation:
Replace the ground beef with a soy-based substitute or omit the beef altogether and increase the broccoli to 1 1/2 cups and the cheese to 1 1/4 cups.

Makes 4 servings.

Per serving: 274 calories; 10 g fat (5 g sat, 4 g mono); 52 mg cholesterol; 24 g carbohydrate; 22 g protein; 2 g fiber; 514 mg sodium; 740 mg potassium. Nutrition bonus: Vitamin C (42% daily value), Zinc (27% dv), Potassium (21% dv), Calcium (19% dv).

By Hilary Meyer
EatingWell assistant editor Hilary Meyer spends much of her time in the EatingWell Test Kitchen, testing and developing healthy recipes. She is a graduate of New England Culinary Institute.

Trim-It-Down: Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

Today's recipe comes to us from Southern Living's October 2009 issue. We tried it last week, and it was pretty good. I'm not a huge fan of corn and green peppers in my chili, so it's not my all-time favorite, but we really liked it.


Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 6 hour(s) 20 minutes
Yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients
1 1/4 pounds lean ground turkey
1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (1.25-oz.) envelope chili seasoning mix
1 (12-oz.) can light beer
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 (28-oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 (15-oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce
3/4 teaspoon salt

Toppings: shredded light Cheddar cheese, finely chopped red onion, sliced fresh jalapeños

Preparation
1. Cook first 4 ingredients in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, 8 minutes or until turkey crumbles and is no longer pink. Stir in beer, and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon mixture into a 5 1/2-qt. slow cooker; stir in corn and next 6 ingredients until well blended. Cover and cook on LOW 6 hours. Serve with desired toppings.

Cary Holladay, Memphis, Tennessee, Southern Living, OCTOBER 2009

Christmas Cookie Recipes

Over at the Life Accounts blog, they have SEVENTEEN - 17 - different holiday cookie recipes posted today!!

I know what I'm going to be doing this weekend!

She's got everything from fudge to pine bark to snickerdoodles to the wreaths you see above!

For yummy holiday treat recipes, go here.

Have a great weekend!!!!

Trim-It-Down Tuesday: Special Occasion Lasagna

Today's recipe is actually called "Rachel's Special Occasion Lasagna". I'd love to take credit, but it's not mine. :-(

But, it's very very good, very easy to make (even for a lasagna novice like me), and under 300 calories per serving!! How about some warm cheesy lasagna goodness for a cold night??



Rachel's Special Occasion Lasagna

You can make this dish ahead--just cover and refrigerate or freeze after you've spread the final layer of marinara sauce. Serve with a salad and breadsticks to round out the meal.

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

1 (8-ounce) package uncooked lasagna noodles (about 9 noodles) **I used the no-bake kind, which turned out great!
1 1/3 cups (6 ounces) fat-free cottage cheese
3/4 cup (6 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup (6 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 (26-ounce) jar fat-free pasta sauce, divided
Cooking spray
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.
Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.

Combine the cottage cheese, cream cheese, and ricotta cheese in a large bowl; stir to blend well. Stir in Parmesan and next 8 ingredients (through egg).

Spread 1/2 cup pasta sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles over pasta sauce; top with half of cheese mixture and one third of remaining pasta sauce. Repeat layers once, ending with noodles. Spread remaining pasta sauce over noodles.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella; bake an additional 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 284 (28% from fat)
Fat: 8.8g (sat 5.2g,mono 2.5g,poly 0.4g)
Protein: 15.7g
Carbohydrate: 34.2g
Fiber: 3.3g
Cholesterol: 53mg
Iron: 0.9mg
Sodium: 657mg
Calcium: 179mg
Sarah Jones, Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2005

Trim-It-Down Tuesday: Slow-Cooker White Chicken Chili

Today's recipe is kind of an adaptation from the back of a McCormick's spice package... I'm not going to lie. But my chicken chili is really good, and very easy!

Slow-Cooker White Chicken Chili

Ingredients
Approx. 1 pound of chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
1 can of Northern beans, or other white beans
1 can of diced tomatoes with chilies
2 cups of low sodium chicken broth
1 cup of frozen corn
1 package of white chicken chile seasoning (such as McCormick's)
green onions, cilantro, low-fat sour cream, and low-fat cheese for garnish

Directions
Add uncooked chicken and all other ingredients - except for garnish - to a crock pot. Set on low and cook for 7 to 9 hours.
Add garnish and serve!
(Simple, right?)

Generally, this recipe will produce about 6 "meal" portions. And as long as you keep your garnishes low-fat and to a minimum, you've got a hearty and healthy chili!

Trim-It-Down Tuesday: the Thanksgiving Edition!

For this week's edition, I'm bringing back one of my favorites - the Potluck Potato Casserole! It's what I plan to make and bring for my side-dish contribution at Thanksgiving dinner.

Re-visit the recipe here.

It's soooooo goooooood!!

Trim-It-Down Tuesday: Steak and Cheese Sandwich with Mushrooms

Today's recipe IS low cal, I swear! But it doesn't taste like it at all. It's very good, filling, and easy to make. Great for a weekend lunch or a casual dinner.

Steak and Cheese Sandwich with Mushrooms

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 sandwich)

Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups presliced onion
2 cups green bell pepper strips
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1 cup presliced mushrooms
3/4 pound top round steak, trimmed and cut into thin strips
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
4 (0.6-ounce) slices reduced-fat provolone cheese, cut in half
4 (2 1/2-ounce) hoagie rolls with sesame seeds

Preparation
1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Add mushrooms to pan; sauté 4 minutes. Sprinkle beef with salt and black pepper. Add beef to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Stir in Worcestershire sauce; cook 1 minute.

2. Place 1 cheese slice half on bottom half of each roll, and top each serving with one-fourth of beef mixture. Top with remaining cheese slice halves and tops of rolls.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 384 (23% from fat)
Fat: 9.8g (sat 4.1g,mono 2.9g,poly 0.4g)
Protein: 32.9g
Carbohydrate: 44.9g
Fiber: 4.1g
Cholesterol: 43mg
Iron: 4.7mg
Sodium: 580mg
Calcium: 231mg

David Bonom, Cooking Light, MARCH 2008

Trim-It-Down Tuesday: Slow-Cooker Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup

Today's recipe is brought to us by Stephanie O'Dea, once again, from the blog A Year of Slowcooking. It is sooooo good. And, when made with fat-free sour cream and garnished with low-fat cheese, it is low in fat and calories.



Slow-Cooker Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup

Ingredients
--1 pound chicken (I used boneless skinless chicken breasts cut up into small pieces)
--1 cup dried black beans (or 2 cans, drained and rinsed)
--4 cups chicken broth
--1 cup sliced mushrooms
--1 cup frozen corn
--1 jar prepared salsa (16 oz)
--1 1/2 tsp cumin
--1/2 cup sour cream (to stir in at the end)
--shredded cheddar cheese, avocado slices, cilantro (all optional)

Directions
(If you know you are going to make this the night before soak the black beans in enough water to cover and another 2 inches overnight. In the morning, drain the water and rinse the beans. If you don't have super hard water or live in a super high altitude, you can quick soak the beans by pouring boiling water over them and let them sit for an hour or two.)

Drain and rinse the beans. Add to the crockpot. Put in the chicken, and add the broth and salsa. Pour in the corn and mushrooms, and add the cumin. Stir, but don't disturb the beans---let them stay at the bottom of the pot, closest to the heating element.Cover and cook on high for 9 hours. Yup. High. For 9 hours. It took a crazy long time for the beans to soften, but they did. If you are using beans you soaked overnight, canned beans, or pre-cooked beans, you can cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-5--similar to normal soup-cooking time.

For a thicker broth, you can use an immersible blender to blend a bit of the beans and chicken. If you don't have one, scoop out 2 cups of the soup and carefully blend in your traditonal blender. Stir the mixture back into the crockpot. Or, instead of doing that, you can also substitute 1 can of refried black beans for one of the cans of black beans - this is what I did!

Stir in the 1/2 cup of sour cream before serving, and garnish with shredded cheese, avocado slices, and/or cilantro. (For a lower calorie meal, I skipped the avocado slices)

Enjoy!!

Trim-It-Down Tuesday: Hot and Sour Soup

Today's soup is another slow-cooker recipe I found on Stephanie O'Dea's site (which is full of amazing recipes!). Since it is meat-less and has tofu in it, I decided to try it out on a night when Chris wasn't home as he probably would have refused to eat it. But, even though I've never cooked with tofu before, I thought it sounded delicious and low-calorie. A great combination in my book!

Slow-Cooker Hot and Sour Soup

Ingredients

--1 cup cubed firm tofu (I used one full package that I got at Kroger)

--2 cups chicken broth

--2 cups water

--1 package of sliced mushrooms

--1 can bamboo shoots

--1 can sliced water chestnuts

--2 tablespoon soy sauce

--1 teaspoon sesame oil

--2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

--1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes **

--green onion for garnish

Directions

Combine everything in your slow cooker. I used a 5 quart, and I think it was filled about 2/3 of the way full.

Cook on low for 7-9 hours or high 4-5.

Taste. If you need more of the sour flavor, add more rice wine vinegar. If you need more of the hot flavor, add more red pepper flakes.**

Garnish with sliced green onion.

** Warning: Do NOT add more than the 1/4-teaspoon of red pepper flakes at the beginning. I, being a lover of all things spicy, didn't bother to measure the red pepper flakes when I added them. After reading that Stephanie actually added more to her soup (of course, AFTER it had cooked), I just though "Eh, can't be too spicy", so I added about 2 shakes of the little plastic spice container when I was assembling the soup in the morning. BAD IDEA! The soup was so spicy, I had to add another 2 cups of chicken broth to dilute it. And even then, it was still spicy. Please know that if I thought it was spicy, then more than likely your mouth will be on fire. So, in conclusion, don't be a fool like me - take it easy on the red pepper flakes.

Other than that, the soup was really really good! Tasted like restaurant soup, albeit not as salty. It wasn't too mushroom-y, and honestly the tofu didn't bother me - it wasn't too noticeable. This soup would be great to have if you had a cold, or didn't feel well. If you want it to be more "filling", pour it over a little bit of cooked rice. That was what I did for leftovers, which were yummy.

Trim-It-Down Tuesday: Weeknight Pork Chops and Apples

This week's recipe was so good! It doesn't taste like it's low-cal or "diet" at all.


And this week, I took pictures!



Weeknight Pork Loin Chops and Apples

Warm flavors like sage and cinnamon play up the contrast between the juicy chops and caramelized apples. Tart Granny Smiths and slightly sweeter Braeburn apples both work well for this dish.

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 pork chop and 3/4 cup apple mixture)

Ingredients
1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon butter
4 cups (1/2-inch) slices peeled Granny Smith apples (about 4 medium)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash of salt

Preparation
Combine first 3 ingredients, and sprinkle over the pork. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add pork; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. **Note: It took me much longer than 3 minutes per side to cook these. More like 5 minutes per side at least! Just make sure to cook all the way through.

Remove the pork from pan. Cover and keep warm. (Please note that because our pan tips forward on our stove a bit, all the oil and juices kind of flood the front of the pan. But next time, I would use less oil than I did this time.)

Here is a photo of Chris peeling and slicing the apples. What a nice husband!

Melt butter in pan over medium heat. Add apples and remaining ingredients, and cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.

Serve the apples with pork.

I served ours with mashed potatoes and a side salad of field greens with balsalmic vinegrette. Granted, mashed potatoes aren't really "diet".... but they were the splurge of the meal.

As I said, these turned out really really well. The apples were so good! The only thing I would say is to make sure the pork is thoroughly cooked through, which took me longer than the 3 minutes per side on medium heat.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 251 (30% from fat)
Fat: 8.3g (sat 3.1g,mono 3.3g,poly 0.9g)
Protein: 24.1g
Carbohydrate: 20.2g
Fiber: 2.3g
Cholesterol: 67mg
Iron: 0.9mg
Sodium: 388mg
Calcium: 38mg

Abby Duchin Dinces, Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2003

Trim-It-Down Tuesday: Slow Cooker Veggie Chili

I have to be honest here... I haven't tried this recipe yet. BUT, we are trying it tomorrow night, and I'll be back to report on how it turned out. Slow cooker recipes tend to turn out pretty well, so I'm going ahead and posting this one.

***Edit*** This recipe is fabulous!!! Really very tasty and filling. My sister subbed one can of Rotel to spice it up a bit - yummy!

Slow Cooker Veggie Chili

Prep time: 25 mins.
Cook time: approx. 8 hrs.

Add a dash of your favorite hot sauce for some extra heat, and use a variety of your favorite beans if you wish.

Yield
Makes 15 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients
2 large carrots, diced (1 cup)
2 celery ribs, diced (1/2 cup)
1 medium-size sweet onion, diced
Vegetable cooking spray
2 (8-oz.) packages sliced fresh mushrooms
1 large zucchini, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
1 yellow squash, chopped (1 cup)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon seasoned pepper
1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce
3 cups tomato juice
2 (14 1/2-oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
4 (15-oz.) cans pinto, black, great Northern, or kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn

Preparation
1. Sauté first 3 ingredients in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat 10 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add mushrooms, zucchini, and squash; sauté 3 more minutes. Add chili powder and next 2 ingredients, and sauté 5 more minutes.

2. Stir together tomato sauce and tomato juice in a 6-qt. slow cooker until smooth. Stir in diced tomatoes, next 2 ingredients, and carrot mixture. Cover and cook on LOW 8 hours.

Note: Cool leftovers, and freeze in plastic freezer containers or zip-top plastic freezer bags for up to 2 months.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 124 (0.0% from fat)
Fat: 0.8g (sat 0.1g,mono 0.1g,poly 0.2g)
Protein: 7.4g
Carbohydrate: 24.5g
Fiber: 7g
Cholesterol: 0.0mg
Iron: 2mg
Sodium: 566mg
Calcium: 63mg

Trim-It Down Tuesday: Cabbage Patch Stew

Today's recipe comes from my Mom. It's one of those recipes that she made when we were growing up, so it brings back those warm fuzzies whenever I make it - perfect for those chilly nights!
Unfortunately, since this is an older family recipe, I don't have any caloric information for you - but knowing the ingredients, it's not going to be high-calorie.

Cabbage Patch Stew

Ingredients:
1 to 2 pounds of lean ground beef (I'm sure you could also sub in turkey)
1 head of cabbage, roughly chopped (but not into too small of pieces)
1 onion, either white or yellow, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 can of diced stewed tomatoes
Approx. 1 cup of ketchup (feel free to use the low-sugar kind)
1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper flakes (or more if you like things spicy!)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Brown the ground beef with the chopped onions and celery. I like to add some salt and pepper as well. Make sure to cook it until the celery is tender.
Drain the fat from the beef mixture.
Add beef mixture in a large pot with the remainder of the ingredients. Cover with water - until just the tops of the cabbage are covered. Some will pieces float, but you don't want chunks of cabbage sticking out from your soup. You will need a really large pot for this, and depending on the size, you may need to subtract some of the cabbage.
Bring up almost to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about an hour or until cabbage is tender.

Feel free to add additional ketchup to your bowl of soup, to your taste. This soup will easily feed a family of 5 for dinner - it makes a lot of soup!

This is one of my favorite cool weather recipes! Hope you enjoy it too!

Trim-It-Down Tuesday: Pumpkin Pie Sundae

As the days and nights get cooler, I'm sure I'm not alone as I gravitate towards those traditional "comfort" foods. Pumpkin pie is definitely a seasonal food for me - I really only have a want for it at this time of year. Unlike Jenny (who I totally stole this recipe from!), I don't have an abiding love for the pumpkin pie. But at this time of year, it just sounds and tastes delicious to me. So, I was really excited when I saw this recipe. You see, I DO have abiding love for sundaes! I can get 2 fixes in one here, and not spoil my diet in the process.

I present to you, the Pumpkin Pie Sundae:

PUMPKIN PIE SUNDAE

PER SERVING (entire sundae): 136 calories, 1g fat, 98mg sodium, 30g carbs, 3.5g fiber, 16.5g sugars, 3.5g protein -- POINTS® value 2*

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Breyers Double Churn Free Creamy Vanilla fat-free ice cream

1 tbsp. canned pure pumpkin

1/8 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

2 low-fat honey graham crackers (half a sheet), lightly crushed

4 tbsp. Fat Free Reddi-wip

Directions:

Place ice cream in a small dessert bowl, and allow it to thaw just slightly (a few minutes). Then stir in the pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice until thoroughly mixed. Place bowl in the freezer for 30 minutes to allow the ice cream to firm up. Then top with the Redd-wip, followed by the crushed graham crackers. Enjoy!

MAKES 1 SERVING

Trim-It-Down Tuesday: Potluck Potato Casserole

Now that fall is here, I crave warm comfort foods. Cheesy casseroles are pure goodness, but not alway calorie friendly. This is a recipe that I ran across last week when I was preparing to host a football watching party at our house Saturday night. I needed something that was easy to make (you know I love easy-to-make dishes!), calorie friendly, but still appealing to the bunch of guys that would be invading my house. Celery and carrots were just not going to do it.

Since many of the reviews talked about it having a lot of sour cream, I decided to cut it down by about 1/2 a cup and increase the amount of cheese. I probably could have added about 1/4 cup more sour cream, but it still turned out well. Also, I decided to add green onions (1 bunch) instead of the regular ones, and some turkey bacon chunks. Those did add to the calories somewhat, but not too much as it was turkey bacon.

This was a real winner for us - everyone commented on how good it was!

Potluck Potato Casserole
The crunchy topping on this side-dish casserole gives way to a cheesy interior, resulting in a comfort food winner. A bonus with this dish is that you can make the casserole ahead--assemble and refrigerate it until time to bake. Sprinkle the cornflakes over the casserole just before baking.

Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups fat-free sour cream
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) finely shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons minced fresh onion
5 teaspoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (30-ounce) package frozen hash browns, thawed (such as Ore-Ida)
1 (10.75-ounce) can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup (such as Campbell's Healthy Request)
Cooking spray
1 cup coarsely crushed cornflakes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine first 10 ingredients in a large bowl; spread evenly into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle cornflakes over potato mixture.
Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until bubbly. Sprinkle with fresh parsley.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 194 (30% from fat)
Fat: 6.4g (sat 3.7g,mono 1.8g,poly 0.4g)
Protein: 7.9g
Carbohydrate: 27.1g
Fiber: 1.5g
Cholesterol: 21mg
Iron: 1.5mg
Sodium: 283mg
Calcium: 166mg

Lenna Watson, Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2005

Trim it Down Tuesday: Beef and Orange Stir Fry

This week, I took pictures!! (Yay!)

I found this recipe off Yahoo, listed as a simple meal with few ingredients. Ding!! I hate recipes that call for 100 ingredients, spices, and steps. I'm all for simple and easy food, so this immediately appealed to me. After reading the recipe, I saw that it's only 371 calories per serving, so I decided to road-test it for our Trim it Down Tuesday.

Beef and Orange Stir-Fry

Ingredients
3 oranges
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 pounds trimmed boneless sirloin or rib eye, cut into 1/2-inch-thick strips
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon canola oil
6 scallions, green parts only, cut into 1-inch lengths

Directions
Into a small bowl, finely grate zest and squeeze juice from 1 orange. Add garlic and soy sauce.



With a sharp paring knife, peel remaining 2 oranges. Slice oranges crosswise 1/2 inch thick, then halve slices; push out, and discard any seeds. Set aside. (*note: I just peeled the oranges with my fingers, old school style!)



In a medium bowl, toss meat with cornstarch until coated. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Working in batches (adding more oil if needed), brown beef on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes; remove from skillet and transfer to a plate. (*note: I left out the cornstarch, and all was fine. Also, I cooked all the meat at once. I used the thin cuts of sirloin/top loin.)

Pour juice mixture into skillet, and boil until syrupy, about 1 minute. Return beef to skillet; add orange slices and scallions. Toss until coated and heated through. Serve hot. (*note: I forgot to get scallions at the store!! )

Nutritional Info

Per Serving
Calories: 371 kcal
Carbohydrates: 19 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Fat: 19 g
Protein: 30 g
Sugars: 12 g
About: Nutrition Info
Powered by: ESHA Nutrient Database

I served this over brown rice, and while I probably had about 1/3 of the batch (instead of 1/4), I was very full afterwards. It's really really good - the sweetness of the oranges is balanced nicely by the soy sauce, and I imagine the scallions if you were to include them. It was really easy to make, and all in all, the meal cost me under $10 and should feed 4. A fabulous deal!

I will definitely make this again.

Trim It Down Tuesday: Grilled Apple Salad

While I don't know the exact calorie content of this, I know it's not too high. This is an easy and delicious salad. Try it with Balsalmic Vinegrette instead of making the dressing (I did, and the balsalmic was yummy!), and if you can't find white cheddar use the blended cheddar instead. You could also use feta cheese for a more intense flavor.

This could be a nice dinner salad, in which case this would serve 4.

Grilled Apple Salad

Yield
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients
1 cup pecan halves
Vegetable cooking spray
4 Gala apples (about 1 1/2 lb.)
1 (6-oz.) package baby spinach, thoroughly washed
1 (5-oz.) package spring greens mix, thoroughly washed
3 ounces extra-sharp white Cheddar cheese, shaved
Salt and pepper to taste
Brown Sugar-Cider Vinaigrette

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 6 to 8 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring after 4 minutes.
2. Coat cold cooking grate of grill with cooking spray, and place on grill. Preheat grill to 350° to 400° (medium-high) heat. Cut apples crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rings, cutting from one side through the other.
3. Grill apple rings, covered with grill lid, 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until crisp-tender. Arrange spinach and spring greens mix on a serving platter; top with apples, cheese, and toasted pecans. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with Brown Sugar-Cider Vinaigrette.

This recipe is from the September issue of Southern Living. You can go here to see it online.

Trim It Down Tuesday: Drunken Stir-Fried Beef with Green Beans

This is one of our favorite recipes, and at 202 calories per serving, it's not one we feel guilty about!

Drunken Stir-Fried Beef with Green Beans

"Drunken" Paste (You can either make it from scratch, or you can buy it. I always buy it! It's much easier! I use Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste.)

Cooking Spray

1-pound of flank steak or other type of thin steak cut into small 1/4-inch strips

2 cups of cut fresh green beans

1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes

1 tablespoon of sugar (or Splenda)

3 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1 cup fresh basil leaves

Heat a wok or large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add paste (approx. 1 to 2 tablespoons of store bought) and heat up for about 30 seconds. Add beef and stir fry for about 2 to 3 minutes. Add green beans and stir fry another 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, sugar, fish sauce, and vinegar; stir fry for about 1 minute or until beef is done (it should be done by now). Remove from heat and stir in basil, then serve!

I've slightly modified this recipe from the original because of what I've found out through experience. For example, you need to cook the green beans a little longer than the original calls for. Also, as I said earlier, using the store-bought paste is so much easier.

You can serve this over rice, or rice noodles, and it's wonderful with extra vegetables like mushrooms added. We've also used chicken instead of beef, and it turns out just as good!

Yield: 5 servings, serving size 3/4 cup, 202 calories per serving

Trim it Down with Two Point Taco Soup (Thursday Edition)

Every girl loves to hear these words when they go to the doctor: "You need to lose some weight."
Yeah.
I know that I loved hearing that yesterday afternoon from my doctor. But, in the end, he is right. I am now the heaviest that I have ever EVER been in my life, and I did not like the number that popped up on the scale. What's worse is that with TWO doctors appointments yesterday, I got to see it come up TWICE! So, no fluke, I really weigh that. (And good luck with trying to get me to tell you what "that" number is!!! Ha ha ha ha ha!!!!)

I know Erin over at Blue-Eyed Bride used to do Weight Watchers Wednesdays, so to not-quite copy her (with love), I am going to start doing "Trim it Down Tuesdays" - a collection of low-cal recipes that I think are delicious, with maybe a few fitness tips thrown in. Yes, I know it's Thursday, but I thought "Tuesday" had a better ring to it, so after today's first edition it will move to Tuesdays. Since there's no time like the present to start watching my diet, I thought I'd start today.This is a recipe that I also originally got off of Erin's website last year:


Two Point Taco Soup

1 large onion, diced
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes & green chiles
1 (11 ounce) canned corn with red and green peppers
1 (15 1/2 ounce) can low-fat or fat-free canned refried black beans
2 cans water (3 1/2 cups)
1 package taco seasoning mix 1 package ranch salad dressing mix (dry)

Sauté onion with vegetable oil cooking spray. When softened, combine all other ingredients and cook until heated through.

Makes 9-10 cups. Serving size is 1 cup. 2 WW points per serving.



This is a really good soup. But Chris complained that there was no meat in it... Uh huh. So, for all the meat lovers out there, here is another version that is evidently the same 2 points!!



Two Point Taco Soup - the Meaty Version


1 pound of ground turkey or lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 package of Ranch dressing dry mix (1 oz.)
1 package of Taco seasoning mix (1 oz.)
1 can of Pinto beans (16 oz.)
1 can of Chili beans, either hot or regular (16 oz.)
1 can of corn with red and green peppers (11 oz.)
1 can of Rotel tomatoes (tomatoes with chili peppers) (8 oz.)
1 can of regular diced tomatoes

Brown the meat and onions and drain the fat. Then, add the Ranch mix and Taco seasoning to meat and onions. Without draining any of the cans, add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 1 hour.

Makes 12 servings. Serving size is 1 cup.


Not all of my recipes will be Weight Watchers. In fact, if you have any delicious "healthy" recipes, leave them in the comments section and I'll try to make them and re-post the recipe in a future post of "Trim it Down"!