RECIPE: Spinach (or Artichoke) Dip Bites (2 points+)

If you like spinach or artichoke dip and fluffy, delightful crescent rolls, then I believe I have a 2 point treat that will "bowl" you over. These were tasty! My wife knocked it out of the park with this one.

Little, filled bowls of yumminess!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Using a blender or mini-prep, blend all  ingredients except crescent rolls, set aside.  This can also be done by hand, but spinach may be stringy.

Open crescent roll package, but do not unroll or separate.

On counter, gently roll back and forth to smooth out dough.

Starting from the center, cut in half.

Cut each in half again.

Continue until you have 16 equal pieces.

Flatten each piece.

Form in a muffin pan.

Fill each crescent with a heaping teaspoon of filling.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and enjoy.

Feel free to get creative with your bowls! My wife had 2 extra bowls without filling, and I suggested she try filling it with peanut butter and jelly. 2 point PB&J Bites! Now that's what I'm talking about! You could also use some apple pie filling....some Nutella...Cookie Butter...you get the idea. Enjoy.

Ingredients you will need:

1 package Trader Joe's or Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls
2 ounces Light Cream Cheese
4 Tbsp Light Sour Cream
20 grams of grated Romano Cheese (about 1/4 cup)
⅛ tsp sea salt
⅛ tsp garlic powder
⅛ tsp black pepper
⅛ tsp paprika
1 cup chopped spinach (or artichoke), cooked and drained well.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Lightly spray mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Using a blender or mini-prep, blend all  ingredients except crescent rolls, set aside.  This can also be done by hand, but spinach may be stringy.
Open crescent roll package, but do not unroll or separate.
On counter, gently roll back and forth to smooth out dough.
Starting from the center, cut in half.
Cut each in half agin.  Continue until you have 16 equal pieces.
Flatten each piece and form in muffin pan.
Fill each crescent with a heaping teaspoon of filling.
Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and enjoy.

RECIPE: Inside Out Chicken Pot Pie (5 points+)

This healthier recipe is absolutely delicious with a tasty combination of chicken, butter-marinated carrots, onions and celery. Top it off with some crispy, seasoned panko breadcrumbs, and you are good to go!

Is that Chicken...or just a delicious Pac-Man?

We all know that original pot pie is delicious. And some taste bud sticklers might harass you about eating healthier foods just isn't the same...and yadda yadda yadda. Who cares?! This is about our lives right? Honestly, we all have no-one to please but ourselves. With that being said, this dish is sure to please even the hardest of cases, and if it doesn't....toss them a pie crust, and tell them they can go to town.

For this particular dish, you will want to give yourself enough time. It will take longer than a Lunchable to prepare, so be ready for that.  Perfection takes time.

 Filling:
 2 tablespoons light butter
 1/2 cup onion, chopped/diced
 3/4 cup celery, chopped/diced
 1 cup carrot, chopped/diced
 2 servings shredded hash brown potatoes (can use fresh or frozen)
 1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour or Whole Wheat White
 1 teaspoon salt
 Black pepper to taste
 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

We know...we know. You see vegetable stock.

My wife didn't have chicken broth in the house, so she substituted it with vegetable stock. While the dinner turned out good, we both agreed that it's at least 3 times better with the chicken broth.

Chicken:
6 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 servings seasoned panko breadcrumbs
4 egg whites

13x9 baking dish,
Olive oil non-stick spray.

Directions:
Spray baking dish with non-stick olive oil spray and place aside.

In a large saucepan, melt butter.
Add carrots, celery and onion, cook until fork tender, 10-15 minutes.

In bowl, whisk flour with chicken stock, salt and pepper.

Whisk it good. Whisk it real good.

Add flour/stock mixture to vegetables.  Cook, stirring occasionally until thickened.

Add hash browns and cook an additional 5 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Flatten chicken breasts between sheets of waxed paper to 1/4 inch thickness or split in half. You can ask the butcher to do that for you.

Season with salt and pepper (Obviously, this step can be omitted if you choose.)
On one side of breast, fill with 1/4 to 1/3 cup of mixture.

Cover with the other side. You may need to use toothpicks to keep chicken closed.

Dip chicken into eggs, and then breadcrumbs to coat.

Gently press down to ensure that the panko sticks.

We are almost at the finish line!

Spray lightly with non-stick olive oil spray, and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

And there you have it! Sure, it may take you a little while for the prep, but just think about it...you'll be getting exercise, and rewarding yourself with tasty food for all of your activity greatness! Let us know if you try it out. Good luck, and have a great weigh!

PRODUCT: Bacon - All Natural, Uncured (1 point+)

Have your bacon, and eat it too!!! When people are watching what they eat, unless they are on Atkins, they tend to believe they have to give up bacon. Sometimes people do the unthinkable, and completely switch over to turkey bacon. Blasphemy! If you like bacon...real good, tasty, mouth-watering bacon, and you want to enjoy it occasionally, without guilt, then this may be exactly what you are looking for.

On Weight Watchers, the points calculate out to 1 point for a serving. That's 2 slices for 1 point! Take note that the nutritional info says "Two Pan Fried Slices". Don't be greedy and fry your eggs in the grease afterwards thinking that your points have already been counted, because the grease is not figured into the nutrition on most bacon packages. If you want to use the grease, measure and count it, and fry away!

This particular brand might have different logo on the center of the package, depending on what store you go to, but everything else is exactly the same. This version is from Trader Joe's, and it is delicious.

Serving suggestion: Chop up the bacon and fry it. Remove the bacon, and drop in the Brussels Sprouts. Fry them up in the left-over oil from the bacon. Once finished, if you choose to, throw the crumbly bacon on top. It is fantastic. Again...make sure you measure the oil before dropping in the Brussels Sprouts, because it is not "free points".  Have a great weigh!

Who knew I would ever eat Brussels Sprouts? My wife...that's who.

RECIPE: Chicken Gyro with Tzatziki Sauce (8 points+)

The other day, my wife made some real tasty Tzatziki Sauce. We sampled it by dipping pita chips into a serving.  It was delicious. I'm not much of a pita chip guy. I like crackers. But fear not, I recently had the pleasure of enjoying Tzatziki Sauce in the ultimately pleasurable way....lovingly placed over chicken, onions and tomatoes inside a pita. This is her recipe. Let me show you how to get some YUM.

Ingredients

Everything you will need.

 · 4 Servings Cooked, Boneless, Skinless Chicken, shredded or sliced. (3 points a serving)
 · 2 Plum Tomatoes, sliced
 · 1 Medium White Onion, sliced
 · 4 Low Carb Pitas.
     (We love Kontos SmartCarb Pita. They are hand-stretched, soft with a great texture.)
     (Pita is 4 points a serving)
 · 1 Serving Tzatziki Sauce (1 point)

Prep Directions

Step 1. Heat pitas in a non-stick pan for 1-2 minutes per side.

And it begins...

Step 2. Place pita on plate, place 1 serving (3 ounces) of chicken down the middle.

Step 3. Add 2-3 tomato slices and some onions.

Step 4. Cover with 1 servings of Tzatziki Sauce. (See recipe from March 10th)

Step 5. Fold and enjoy!

Serving suggestion: Enjoy with Handsome Fries!

This is how the chicken was prepared.

My wife oven “roasted” the chicken in:
½ cup No Salt Added Vegetable Stock
1 tablespoon Oregano
Juice of 1 Lemon
2-3 teaspoons of crushed garlic
½ teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of pepper
½ teaspoon of paprika

Points = 8 per Gyro (not including fries)

RECIPE: Beef and Bean Chimichanga with Cheese (6 points+)

It all started because of this. It was a must purchase.

My wife and I were shopping at Trader Joe's and she spotted this. Her creativity spark began buzzing, and she just knew she had to figure out a recipe for this to be used in. Introducing the Beef and Bean Chimichanga with Cheese. Oh how I love the way her mind works. Bravo dear....bravo.

Enough of my yammering. Let's move on to what you are here for.

Ingredients:

	4 serving(s) 96% Lean Ground Beef
	10 serving(s) Pace Picante, About 1 jar
	8 serving(s) Trader Joe's Nm Hatch Valley Fire Roasted Diced Green Chile, 1 - 4oz. Can
	1 tsp ground cumin
	1 cup(s) Trader Joe's© Refrigerated - Lite shredded 3 cheese blend with mozzarella, monterey jack, & cheddar
	1 cup(s) Trader Joe's© Grocery - Low fat vegetarian refried pinto beans
	1 serving(s) Land O Lakes Butter Spread, Light, with Canola Oil
	8 tortilla La Tortilla Factory Smart & Delicious Gourmet Tortillas, Whole Wheat, Large

Instructions:
Step 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Step 2. Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat, drain excess fat.
Step 3. Add salsa, fire roasted chilies and cumin. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Set aside.

Look at that meaty sea of goodness!

Step 4. Spread a thin layer (1 heaping tablespoon, about 31 grams) of refried beans onto each of the tortillas.

I know this doesn't look appealing yet. Be patient.

Step 5. Top with a scant 1/2 cup (about 100g) of the beef mixture.

There we go. The beef mixture pretties it up.

Step 6. Top with 2 tablespoons (1/2 ounce) of shredded cheese.

Say Cheese!!!!

Step 7. Roll and place them seam-side down onto a greased 13x9 baking dish. For a crispier shell, place on a baking sheet.

Because this is how we roll. Step 1.

Step 2: Rolling right along.

Roll process complete.

Step 8. Brush the tortillas with melted butter.

Light butter spread. Let's get it on.

Step 9. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Suggestion: Serve with lettuce, tomato, salsa and sour cream. Sour cream is additional points.

And there you have it! Dig in and have a great weigh!

Check out our recipe entry at Weight Watchers!

RECIPE: Artichoke Hummus (1 point+)

This Artichoke Hummus is delicious. I'm not giving a biased opinion just because my wife made it. It really is better than any hummus we have purchased at the store. Not that we go around store to store, on a daily basis hoarding up all the hummus, but you get my point....this tastes great!

Let's get it started.

Gather up all of the ingredients

Ingredients:
1 cup canned artichoke hearts packed in water, drained
1/4 cup fat-free, low sodium vegetable broth
1/4 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1½ teaspoons crushed garlic
½ teaspoon dried parsley flakes
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon paprika
15 ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed 

The gathering of the ingredients is the hardest part of this recipe. Now that you got that out of the way...let's make some tasty hummus!


Directions:
Put all ingredients except chickpeas in a blender. (My wife used her Stick Blender)

Using a potato masher or a fork, thoroughly mash the chickpeas in a bowl (again, she used her  stick blender). Transfer to the blender. Puree until smooth, stopping and stirring if blending slows.

For best flavor, cover and refrigerate hummus for several hours.

Serve with fresh veggies, pita chips or crackers.

***The artichoke could also be replaced with roasted red peppers, or olives.  Think of this as a universal recipe for hummus, replacing the artichoke with your favorite ingredient! Don't forget to recalculate the points if you use a different ingredient. I can't be responsible for giving olive eaters a cheating loophole! Calculate!

Serves 8 (about 86g per serving or 1/3 cup) = 1 PointPlus

Check out this recipe on Weight Watchers!

Recipe originally posted by Terri Sinclair.

RECIPE: Turkey Shepherd's Pie - (8 Points+)

Turkey Shepherd's Pie

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"Shepherd's pie", a.k.a "cottage pie" is a type of savory pie made popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is a dish of minced meat with mashed potato on top.

Fun fact: The name "shepherd's pie" was first used in the 1870's, because the dish was ordinarily made with lamb. A shepherd looks after sheep. And now you know.

In our version, we replace the mashed potatoes with steamed cauliflower, saving us points, while still making sure our taste buds are happy with us. Ok, let's do this.

Step 1:    Brown 1 package (20 oz.) of Jennie-O Lean Turkey, 93% Fat Free.

Step 2:    Add carrots and green beans and continue cooking for 5 minutes.

Add carrots and green beans.

Step 3:    Mix 2 cups beef broth with 2 packets of McCormick Turkey Gravy mix.

Step 4:    Add mixture to turkey and vegetable and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until sauce thickens.

Let simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Step 5:   While mixture is simmering, steam 1 head of cauliflower.  You can also use a 16 ounce of frozen cauliflower.

Step 6.    Divide mixture evenly into 4 ramekins or into an 8x8 dish.

Our adorable ramekins.

Step 7:    Once cauliflower is cooked, mash with 2 servings of Land O Lakes Light Butter and ¼ cup Skim Milk.

Step 8:   Spread cauliflower mash over each ramekin and sprinkle with Smoked Paprika. (Maybe use a little salt and pepper to taste. Totally up to you)

Step 9:      Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. 

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

And there you have it. Serve it up hot and fresh. A dish everyone is sure to enjoy. 

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Check out this recipe information on the Weight Watcher's website