Weight Watchers Brownies!!

Try this trick for brownies! This is the way they taught us to make brownies at the Weight Watchers meeting I attend. Use a can of Black Beans instead of the oil and eggs when making them. Thus, these are just two ingredients! Enjoy!

One box of brownie mix, I used a generic brand from Aldi's
One can 14 oz or so of black beans

Open black bean can, drain and rinse beans, pour them back into can and fill with water. Puree them in a blender, food processor or Magic Bullet (that's what i used), till there are no longer big pieces of beans.

Mix brownie mix and bean puree together in order to make a batter.

Spray baking dish with Pam, pour in batter. Bake at 350 for 35 mis. Yum!

Happy Fall!

Marriott Potatoes

I first learned to make these when I worked for Marriott. I had just started dating my husband and did not really know how to cook at the time. I would go down to the kitchen in the hotel and learn from the sous chef how to make certain things in order to impress him. This was one of my first recipes. They are perfect for dinner accompanying meatloaf, chicken, steak, or pork. You can eat the leftovers for breakfast with eggs and some sort of breakfast meat. Enjoy!

While baking, toss them around just once.
You could use regular idaho potatoes in you did not have red potatoes on hand.

Red potatoes, no need to boil or cook first (one for each person, and one for the pan)
Fresh herbs (Marriott uses rosemary, I used parsley this time)
Olive oil appx 3 tbsp
Montreal steak seasoning appx 1-2 tbsp
Fresh garlic finely chopped appx 2 cloves

All you do here is cut the red potatoes into large chunks, add to a large bowl. Toss in olive oil, montreal steak seasoning, and fresh garlic. Bake in a glass baking dish for 400 degrees for 1 hour. You want them to be crispy on outside, soft on inside.

I serve with greek yogurt with chopped chives mixed in (instead of sour cream).

A blast from my past...

Happy Halloween! I have decided to start a new Halloween tradition in my home, making "pancake soup" for Halloween day. Here is my story and recipe for "pancake soup".

When I was little my German grandmother whom I will call The Queen of Soups made this for me when I visited her out in Colorado. Looking back, I always requested this soup for lunch, or dinner, and always, my Grandmother would make it for me, no matter what. Now I see how labor intensive this soup is, especially when you are as meticulous as my Grandmother was about cooking, everything was chopped very very fine, and her pancake noodles were very thin, and cooked to perfection. Here is my version of her soup, very good, but clearly not as good as the real thing, enjoy!

Lots of Labor, not a lot of ingredients:

Recipe for crepes:
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs beaten
dash salt
2 tsp cooking oil

Chicken broth:
6-8 cups water
leftover rotisserie chicken bones
1 bullion cube
fresh chives
thyme

First, fill pot with water, add chicken bones. Simmer for at least one hour.

After one hour, remove bones, strain well and try to remove any chicken meat left on bones. This soup has some chicken meat in it, not a lot. Really this is to be made after you have eaten most of the rotisserie chicken. Add remaining chicken meat to broth, add bullion cube, stir until dissolved, add thyme. At this point you can continue making the crepe noodles or you can refrigerate broth over night.

For crepe "noodles": Combine ingredients, stir with wire whisk to make a smooth batter. Heat small skillet and spray with cooking spray. Pour appx 1/8 cup batter into hot skillet, swirl batter around and allow to cook for appx 1-2 mins on each side until browned, remove crepe, allow to cool.

Crepes are better brown than  doughy.

Continue spraying, adding batter, swirling and flipping  crepes until batter used up. Stack appx 4 crepes and roll up. Slice them thinly with a sharp knife creating noodles.

Add a handful of noodles to a bowl, pour in broth, top with chives. We are talking super comfort food here. Enjoy!

Apple Crisp with Maple Syrup Drizzle

This is soooo yummy. I'm not kidding you will love this. Plus its perfect for fall! I made this after my mom gave me like a hundred apples from her friend's apple tree in her yard, it is a variation of my mother-in-laws apple crisp recipe that she adds everything to including the kitchen sink! These apples are very tart, perfect for baking. I made two of these for a dinner party I went to. One sans the raisins and walnuts, and one chock full of them. Enjoy!

Perfect for the Fall and company.

You'll need:
Filling:
Tons of peeled, cored, sliced tart apples. (Adjust to size of dessert, I used about 4 pounds)
2 tbsp brown sugar
dash cinnamon/ nutmeg/ salt

Topping:
1/2 stick butter
1 cup old- fashioned oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans
1tbsp flour
dash of cinnamon/ salt/ and nutmeg
2 tblsp maple syrup

Mix apples, brown sugar, and seasonings for filling. Spread apples in baking dish.
Mix oats, brown sugar, flour and spices. Cut in cold butter with a pastry tool, until small crumbles form. Stir in nuts and raisins. Spread topping over apples. Drizzle syrup over topping.

Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes. Check after 50 minutes. You may need to cover dish after 50 minutes if raisins get too dark while cooking.

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Italian clean out the fridge (and pantry) dinner.

Here is what I made for dinner tonight. I was looking for something pretty healthy, and wanted to clean out the fridge and pantry at the same time. Its not gourmet, but its good.

Don't mind the Christmas dishes, in October. 

1 1lb. package ground turkey very lean
1 12 oz package whole wheat pasta (I have rotini)
1 jar spaghetti sauce (low sodium or heart smart is best)
1 can diced tomatoes, rinsed and drained
2-3 cups fresh spinach
1 small can diced black olives
1/4 cup diced frozen onions
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (grated or whatever you have)
2 tbsp bread crumbs

Brown turkey and diced onions together. Add tomato sauce, tomatoes and olives. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain. Add fresh spinach to pasta while steaming, this will wilt the leaves. Add pasta mixture to sauce mixture. Combine parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. Pour pasta and sauce in lasagna pan, shake cheese and breadcrumbs over top of dish.

Pasta before it was baked. 

Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes.

Guiltless BBQ sandwiches

Like the taste of pulled pork BBQ sandwiches but hate the fat and calories that comes along with it? I did some experimenting and created this. My husband loved them, and it really satisfies a BBQ craving without the guilt. It was super easy too. I used a crock pot, but only for 45 mins or so. It did not have to cook all day.

2-3 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup favorite BBQ sauce
1/4 cup diced onions and/or diced green or red peppers
Whole Wheat buns
Cabbage cole slaw mix, no dressing needed

Boil chicken breasts in water until fully cooked. Pull chicken apart using two forks shredding them completely. Add Chicken, BBQ sauce, peppers, onions to crock pot, combine. Turn on high and cook 45 mins. Serve on whole wheat bun, and top with cabbage slaw. You will not miss the coleslaw dressing as the BBQ sauce is saucy enough.

A few good recipes.

Since school has started I have been so busy! Today I am catching up by posting a few recipes we have made the past few weeks. We have not been fasting, just running here and there. Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Pork Chops

Any apples will do with this recipe, except maybe red apples. 

This one is quick and easy, just a little prep and a little cooking and dinner is done. Husbands love this recipe.

2 sliced apples
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans chopped
4 pork chops, boneless or bone in
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 T. EVOO
Dash of cinnamon
Dash of salt and pepper
1 T. Butter

Salt and pepper pork chops and sear on a hot skillet covered in the EVOO. Cook pork about 3/4 done approximately 5 mins on each side. Add sliced apples, brown sugar, nuts, butter and spices. Cook for 5 minutes or until pork completely done on medium heat until sugar becomes the consistency of caramel, and to allow flavors to combine nicely.