the recipe post

i spent much of yesterday afternoon in my kitchen. i made all sorts of good, yummy treats... so many that now i really need to clean out my fridge. many of the recipes came from weight watchers, so hopefully they don't mind me sharing their recipes. well, i'm sure they do, but i am giving them all the credit for them. i also modified the recipes just a bit, and adjusted the points as necessary, so technically i made the recipe my own.

yeah, yeah, i know... justifications.

but, just in case i haven't posted it, i have a great salsa recipe that i got from my friend ashley that i would love to share with you, too. as you know, salsa is 0 points, so with some baked tostitos, you can really enjoy it. (i made this first yesterday.)

PICANTE SALSA

1 can rotel brand tomatoes with green chiles (or if you like it hot, use the habanero version)

1/2 tsp. chopped garlic

2 cans stewed tomatoes

2 green onions, chopped

1 lime- juice and pulp

1/8 - 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (more or less to your liking)

fresh cilantro (30ish leaves)

1/2 - 1 tsp. salt (to taste)

1/8 - 1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. tabasco (or more if you like)

tortilla chips

Trim onions, coarsely chop onions; pick off 30 cilantro leaves. Juice lime and get pulp! Add all ingredients EXCEPT stewed tomatoes to food processor with chopping blade attachment. Chop well until onion and cilantro are reduced to small fragments. Add stewed tomatoes but leave them fairly chunky. Serve cool or at room temp.

*i have a small food processor- so i do everything and the rotel first, as the recipe guides, and then put it in a bowl. then i do each can of stewed tomatoes separately and then mix it all together.

after making the salsa, i tried out a WW recipe. they taste a bit like they're missing something... maybe the fat! ha! but they are decent for 2 points each.

GRANDMA'S PUMPKIN MUFFINS

1 spray cooking spray

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. table salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

2/3 c. unsweetened applesauce

1 c. canned pumpkin

2/3 c. sugar

1/2 c. fat-free egg substitute

2/3 c. fat-free skim milk

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Coat muffin tin with cooking spray. Line with cupcake wrappers if desired.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl.

Combine applesauce, pumpkin, sugar, egg substitute and milk in a medium bowl; mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.

Add applesauce mixture to flour mixture and mix until completely incorporated.

Pour batter into muffin tins so each hole is about 2/3 full. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Yields one muffin per serving.

*the recipe states it makes 12 muffins- i got 18 out of it, and that drops the points from 3 to 2 per muffin. i also used 2 1/2 tsp. of pumpkin pie spice mixture instead of the separate spices. oh, and the muffins stuck to the wrappers, so... good luck!

after that, i was inspired to make something yummy to take to work. i really miss chicken salad, so i thought i would try WW's recipe. it's no maggie's cafe/sweet pea's recipe, but it'll do for now. i may continue to try to tweak it a bit.

CHICKEN SALAD

3/4 lbs. cooked chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/2 c. celery, finely diced

1/3 c. dill pickle, finely diced

1/4 c. reduced-calorie mayonnaise

2 Tbsp. reduced-fat sour cream

2 Tbsp. parsley, fresh, chopped

1 tsp. dijon mustard

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. table salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

Place all ingredients in a large bowl; mix until blended. Yields about 2/3 c. per serving. 3 points per serving.

*i did not add the pickles to my recipe and i also used low-fat miracle whip in place of mayo. i also used canned chicken. i may try mayo and fresh chicken next go around. it did satisfy the craving, though.

so, when i bought my pumpkin the other day, the only can left was a ginormous one... so needless to say, i had some pumpkin left over. so, i found my handy dog treat cookbook, remembering they had one with pumpkin in it, too. so, the next course in my cooking extravaganza yesterday was for the dogs. (they were anxiously waiting...)

PUMPKIN DROP COOKIES

1 1/2 c. whole-wheat flour

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

3 Tbsp. applesauce

2 egg whites

1/2 c. solid-pack pumpkin

1 Tbsp. molasses

1/2 c. water

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix together to a cookie-dough-like consistency. Drop by the teaspoonful onto a greased baking sheet, 1 inch apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Cookies should be firm when done. Turn off oven and let cookies cool in the oven to harden somewhat, 1-2 hours or overnight.

*the girls gobble them up!

then i still had a little time, so i made some delicious soup to take to work, too. it is also a WW recipe, but i modified it just a bit, so i will be posting my modified recipe, with modified point value, too. it turned out better than i thought it would.

BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP

2 tsp. olive oil

1/2 c. onion, minced

20 oz. frozen chopped broccoli

29 oz. canned chicken broth

8 oz. light velveeta cheese, cut into cubes

1/2 c. fat-free skim milk

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 c. (cold) water

1/4 c. cornstarch

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook 3 minutes, until soft. Add broccoli and broth and bring to boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer 3 minutes, until broccoli is tender.


Reduce heat to low, add cheese and stir until cheese melts; stir in milk and garlic powder.


Whisk together water and cornstarch. Add mixture to pan and simmer 2 minutes, until thick. Serve hot. Yields about 1 1/2 c. per serving. 5 points per serving.



i still have one more recipe to try out for oatmeal cookies (sans raisins for this girl). i will add it to the list if they're good. have fun trying out these recipes. let me know what you try, if any of them! happy cooking!