2013 Year in Review!

What a year!  2013 has been so fun for Katie and me as we launched THIS blog!  It was been a dream that became a reality last April when we started out.  We have had fun sharing the blog and hopefully you have all enjoyed the delcious and healthy recipes we have brought you throughout the year!

We are excited about where the blog is headed for next year (more on that tomorrow from Katie...), but let's first take a review of our most popular recipes from 2013!!!!!

1. Tortilla Pinwheels

2. Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
3. Polenta Pizzas
4. Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice
5. Ice Cream Cake
6. Summer Fiesta Bean Salad

7. Mushroom Stroganoff

8. Summer Orzo Salad

9. Sweet & Sour Chicken

10. Mashed Cauliflower

If you like (or have tried) any of these healthy, fun recipes above you should start following our blog!  Just click the follow link in the right hand navigation bar and you will get each new post delived right to your inbox!!!  CHECK it out!

Happy New Year's Eve everyone!  Hope everyone has a safe and happy NYE. Maybe you can try out one of our top 10 recipes for the holiday! :)

XOXO Megan 

Party Skewers

Are you hosting a New Year's party?  Or are you going to one and you don't know what you should bring?  Well these quick and easy little skewers are the perfect party app!

Servings: 10
Serving Size: 2 skewers
Points Plus: 5pp
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: n/a
Rating: 3 stars - Good

Ingredient List:
1 jar green olives
10 oz. Gouda cheese
10 oz. summer sausage
Toothpicks

Directions:
Dice the cheese and sausage into 1/2 oz. pieces (yes they are a little small, but you just need a taste of each ingredient to make the skewer complete!).  Assemble each skewer by starting with sausage, then Gouda, then topping off with a green olive.  Arrange on a serving platter and you're done!

Tip:
You can easily susbsitute in other items if you aren't a fan of summer sausage or Gouda cheese.  You could sub in salami or prosciutto instead of summer sausage and choose your favorite cheese instead!

XOXO Megan

Blackened Salmon + Cobb

Hello everyone!  Today we bring you a versatile, HEALTHY recipe, to help you get back on track after the holidays.  This blackened salmon, and the dish I created to serve it in, is inspired by a fav restaurant of mine here in Mpls., The Capital Grille.  Although a traditional steak place for dinner, they have an amazing cobb salad on their lunch menu.  In a previous life I would lunch their weekly, and almost always got this salad.  You could choose your protein I liked their blackened salmon because it is something I would rarely cook at home, and had an amazing flavorful crust.  This meal was easy, and now maybe I will eat it at home once a week!  

Servings: 2

Servings Size: 2 salads, each with 3 oz salmon, 1 egg, 1 full tomato, 1/2 oz blue cheese and 1 t. olive oil

Points Plus: 10 pp

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Rating: 5 stars - Excellent! 

Ingredients

6 oz raw WILD salmon

2 1/2 T. paprika

3/4 t. cayenne pepper

1 t. dried thyme

1/2 t. garlic powder

1 1/2 t. kosher salt

1 T light butter

1 lemon, cut in half

4 cups of lettuce, washed and chopped

2 eggs, hard boiled and sliced

2 tomatoes, sliced

1 oz good quality blue cheese, divided into two pieces

2 t. olive oil

Salt + Fresh ground pepper

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  In a shallow bowl mix together your paprika, cayenne, thyme, garlic powder and salt.  Cut your salmon filet in half, so that each filet is about 4 oz. In another shallow bowl melt your butter and add a squeeze of lemon juice. Take the first filet and dip it into the butter, and then the spice mixture.  Use your hands to be sure it is completely covered with spices. 

Heat a non-stick skillet and cook the filets on your stovetop, about 2 minutes on each side.  Transfer your filets to an oven safe dish (or use a dish that can be used both on the stovetop and in the oven) and back them for about 8 minutes.

While salmon is baking, arrange your plate! Put down lettuce, and then arrange your egg, tomato and cheese around the outside.  When the salmon is done remove it from the oven and place in the middle.  Drizzle each salad with 1 t. olive oil, a bit of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.

Tip

I didn’t know this until yesterday, but salmon is best right out of the oven (hence reheated salmon is gross J).  So find a buddy to share this salad with, or only cook the amount you will eat fresh.

XOXO - Katie

Champagne with Cranberry Skewers

This holiday cocktail is perfect for Christmas!  The cranberries give a pop of color to your glass of champagne and are sure to put you in the holiday spirit. These could easily be served at a New Year's Eve party as well.

Servings: 4
Size: 1 4 oz. glass of champagne
Points Plus: 3pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 1 hour plus for freezing
Cook Time: n/a
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredient List:
1 bottle of champagne
24 cranberries
Wooden skewers

Directions:
Pierce a skewer with cranberries and layer until you have 6 berries on the skewer.  Repeat to make a total of 4 cranberry skewers.  Place in the freezer for at least an hour to allow the berries to freeze.  Serve champagne and place one skewer per glass for a festive holiday cocktail!

Tip:
Limit yourself on these champagne cocktails to avoid a 'champagne headache' the next day. :)

XOXO Megan

Crock Pot Apple Cider

Merry Christmas! The holidays are a super busy time of year, as we all know!  So I thought today I would post perhaps the simplest recipe of all time, which is also perfect for the holidays AND entertaining.  This cider only calls for three ingredients, and takes under a minutes to make!  Totally perf!  I hope ya'alls had a wonderful holiday! PS: Sorry for the sideways photo :)

Servings: A lot

Serving Size: 1 cup

Points Plus: 4pp

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 1 minute

Cook Time: As long as you want!

Rating: 5 - Excellent!

Ingredients

1 large jug of apple cider

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. nutmeg

Instructions

Put all ingredients into your crock pot and turn on.  That's all!

Tip

You could totally serve this with cinnamon sticks and sliced apples to add some additional festive flair!

XOXO - Katie

Cranberry Bliss Bars

Happy Christmas Eve! We have been doing a ton of food prep in the last 24 hours at our home, in anticipation of hosting Christmas Eve tonight.  It is really quite remarkable how many different things will come out of our kitchen tonight, I am so excited! I have also had some interested food related epiphanies in the last 24 hours.

1. Um, whoever invented the Pampered Chef garlic peeler is a Genius with a capital 'G'.  This kitchen tool has changed my life.
2. Chorizo tastes bad in soup.
3. Check the price of a lamp rack prior to ordering it from the butcher (more on that tomorrow).

4. And finally, there is a reason Starbucks calls today's recipe BLISS bars.  These bars are Incredible (with a capital 'I'). Skinytaste revamped them to make them WW friendly, and I seriously can't believe how good they are.  They would be a perfect addition to your Christmas Day brunch. 5 STARS!!!!!!

Tip
When I turned the pan upside down to make the bars come out, they didn't!  So, I just frosted them in the pan and then used a spatula to remove them.  Worked pretty darn well if you ask me!

Merry Christmas everyone!  See you tomorrow!

XOXO - Katie

Pesto and Roasted Red Pepper Bundles

This is a quick and easy Christmas appetizer that is so festive with pops of red and green! Throw these little bundles in the oven to serve for your family and friends to tide them over until you serve Christmas dinner.

Servings: 8
Size: 1 bundle
Points Plus: 4pp
Level of Difficultly: Easy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10-12 minutes
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredient List:
1 8 oz. Pillsbury Crescent Dinner Rolls, reduced-fat
1/4 cup basil pesto
1/3 cup roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, reduced-fat

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Unroll the crescent rolls from their packaging.  Spread a 1/2 Tbsp. pesto and 2 tsp. chopped roasted red peppers on the large end of each crescent roll.  Sprinkle each with a bit of mozzarella cheese.  Roll each bundle from the large end to the skinniest end, carefully tucking in the edges to contain the pesto, red peppers and cheese.  Place your bundles on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until they turn golden brown.  Serve immediately!

Tip:
Although I have already lightened up this recipe with reduced-fat rolls and cheese, you can cut even more pp by slicing each crescent roll dough in half to create mini bundles!  If you choose to make the smaller version of this recipe, each bundle is only 2pp.

XOXO Megan

Homemade Peppermint Patties

Although my family has our traditional Christmas cookie favorites, we always like to test out a new recipe every year.  This year we chose this recipe, found on the Blue Eyed Bakers blog. We thought it looked like a bit of a challenge to try and make your own peppermint patties! They turned out pretty well, the only issue we had was making sure to remove as much excess chocolate as possible when dipping and transferring to the cookie sheet to set.  It did get easier with some practice and as mentioned below… key to success is FROZEN patties.  We did shrink the size a bit to offer bite-size pieces and for a lower pp value!

Servings: Recipe will make 44 small, bite-sized patties

Size:  1 peppermint patty

Points Plus: 2pp

Level of Difficulty: Medium

Prep Time: 45 minutes (including time while in the freezer)

Bake Time:  n/a

Rating: 4 stars – Very Good

Ingredient List:

2 ½ cups powdered sugar, divided

1 ½ Tbsp. light corn syrup

2 Tbsp. water

1 tsp. peppermint extract

1 Tbsp. vegetable shortening

8 oz. 70% cacao bittersweet chocolate, chopped

¼ cup peppermint candies, crushed

Directions:

In a medium bowl, beat together 2 ¼ cups of powdered sugar with corn syrup, water, peppermint extract and shortening until just combined. Use the remaining ¼ cup of powdered sugar to sprinkle the counter to prepare for kneading.  Work the dough into a ball and gently knead until the dough is smooth.  Shape the mixture into 2 logs, about 1 inch wide by 8 inches long.  Wrap each log tightly in parchment paper and freeze for 20 minutes; it should be very firm.  Remove the logs and cut each one into slices to form the peppermint patties.  You may need to reshape each one to resemble more of a round shape with your fingers.  Place the peppermint patties on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze again for another 15-20 minutes.  While you are waiting for the patties to freeze, melt the 70% cacao chocolate in a microwavable glass dish for 30 seconds at a time until fully melted.  Line another cookie sheet with parchment paper and remove a small amount of peppermint patties from the freezer for dipping.  Key to this part of the process is making sure the patties are VERY cold.  Dip each peppermint patty in the melted chocolate, making sure to evenly coat all sides.  Shake very gently so any excess chocolate falls off before you transfer to the cookie sheet.  Immediately top with a sprinkle of crushed peppermint candies.  Repeat until all peppermint patties are coated and sprinkled.  Allow the chocolate to harden and set (this will take about an hour) before you put into Tupperware.

Tip:

I cannot stress enough the importance of very firm, frozen peppermint patties when you get to the chocolate coating step!  If you start to have issues, just throw the cookie sheet back in the freezer for a few minutes and take a break.  You can only dip a handful of patties within each window before they start warming up too much!

XOXO Megan

Red Velvet Oreo Truffle Brownie Bars

I don’t know how you could go wrong with Oreos + Truffles + Red Velvet Brownies + Chocolate + Chocolate Chips.  Which perhaps is why this holiday dessert is the bomb?  The red velvet layer gives these bars a fun holiday coloring, and the Oreo truffle layer is, well, super tasty.  These are a treat, with a high pp count, so enjoy and savor every bite! This recipe was originally found here, I made a few changes.

Servings: 40

Serving Size: 1 delicious brownie bar

Points per serving: 5pp

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 22-25 minutes

Level of Difficulty: Medium

Rating: 5 – Excellent!

Ingredients

1 Duncan Hines box Red Velvet cake mix

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 eggs

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 package Oreos

8 ounce package fat-free cream cheese

1/2 package (1/2lb) chocolate bark or about 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips)

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine cake mix, melted butter, eggs, pudding mix, vegetable oil and mix well until thoroughly combined (2-3 minutes on medium of electric mixer).

Spray a 9x13 with nonstick cooking spray. I like the baking variety that has flour in it. Then spread the red velvet brownie layer into the pan.  Don’t be surprised, this mixture is thick like a brownie.  Use a spoon to spread out evenly.

Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Watch very closely the last few minutes.  I actually baked mine for about 25 minutes, but a friend baked hers for 22 minutes and the edges burned.  Let cool completely.

Crush a package of Oreos in a food processor (or in a large plastic bag and rolling pin). Melt cream cheese for 15 seconds in a microwave to soften. Stir together crushed Oreos and cream cheese until blended smooth.

Carefully spread out Oreo truffle mixture on top of baked red velvet brownies. Use your hands to help press it down instead of spreading to avoid tearing the brownies. I then put this in my deep freeze to harden the Oreo layer prior to adding the top layer.

Melt chocolate candy bark (or chocolate chips) and pour over top Oreo truffle layer. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips while still warm.

Let cool completely before cutting into squares, or freeze.

Tip

I keep all holiday treats, and regular treats for that matter, in my freezer.  That way, they are not staring at me in the face.  I actually tend to forget about them!  My plan for all the holiday treats we have posted this week is to serve them for company, as my husband and I are hosting Christmas Eve and NYE.  I saw a great idea on another food blog (which I can’t remember at the moment).  The author suggested putting zip lock baggies by your treat table, and encouraging guests to pack up a bag to bring home with them.  I am for SURE going to do this on NYE, to get the house cleaned out for the start of the New Year.  But for now, enjoy these treats that only come about but once a year!

XOXO - Katie

Sugar & Spice Cookies

These are another one of my favorite Christmas cookies!  They are a perfect blend of sugar and spice... hence the name. :)  Seriously though... if you don't have a gingersnap on your annual holiday cookie baking list, you should add these!

Servings:  Recipe will make 4 dozen

Size:  1 cookie

Points Plus: 2pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time:  6-8 minutes per batch

Rating: 5 stars – Excellent

Ingredient List:

¾ cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 egg

¼ cup molasses

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. salt

½ tsp. ginger

2 cups flour

1 cup powdered sugar (to roll cookies in after baking)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°. In a medium bowl, mix together the shortening, sugar, egg, and molasses.  Next, add in the baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger and 1 cup of flour; mix well.  Add the remaining cup of flour and mix until thoroughly combined.  Roll into walnut sized balls.  Bake for 6-8 minutes in a 375° oven.  Roll in powdered sugar while still warm.

Tip:

 Depending on how warm the cookies are when you roll in powdered sugar, you might need to roll your cookies in two different steps to make sure the sugar sticks to the warm cookies.  The ones in the picture above were rolled twice as a reference point.  However, if you prefer less sugar, only go through this step once!

XOXO Megan

FUDGE

FUDGE!  Did you ever know it was so easy to make??  Well, it is – HURRAY! (or not hurray for those of us trying to stay on track with our eating this holiday season) This fudge is the BOMB!  It is so simply, and can be cut into little squares for great portion (control)? It is rich so you don’t need a lot to satisfy your holiday craving.  This recipe was given to me by a dear friend – one who I send all my ridiculous food questions to. And she is always kind enough to answer my ridiculous food questions, and since she gives me amazing recipes such as this one, I always listen to her suggestions J.  She confessed that she found this recipe here. I added a bit of kosher salt (sea salt of flakes would work too) on top of this and I think it really was a tasty addition.  Also – I used a candy thermometer for this – but the timing came out almost exact.  After the sugar mixture is boiling, let it boil for 4 minutes and it is done. 

Servings: 48

Serving Size: 1 small piece*

Points Plus: 4pp

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Level of Difficulty: Medium

Rating: 5 – Excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ingredients

3 cups sugar

3/4 cup butter or margarine

1 small can (5 oz.) evaporated milk (about 2/3 cup) (Do not use sweetened condensed milk.)

3 pkg.  (4 oz. each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped

1 jar  (7 oz.) JET-PUFFED Marshmallow Crème

1 tsp.  vanilla

Sea or Kosher Salt (optional)

Instructions

Line a 9-inch square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Bring sugar, butter and evaporated milk to full rolling boil in 3-qt. saucepan on medium heat, stirring constantly. Mixture will grow so be sure you use a large enough pan. Cook about 4 min. or until candy thermometer reaches 234°F, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Add chocolate and marshmallow creme; stir until melted. Add vanilla and mix well.

Pour into prepared pan; spread to cover bottom of pan. Cool completely. Use foil handles to lift fudge from pan before cutting into squares.

Tip

You could top this fudge with a ton of different things. I love the sea salt + chocolate combo but you could use nuts, crushed candy canes or coconut. Adjust pp accordingly if adding additional toppings.

*If anyone would like me to figure out the PP on a larger piece – 1/36 of the pan, please let me know!

Peanut Butter Kisses

We wanted to share some of our FAVORITE Christmas cookies with you this week!  I know that Christmas cookies are not necessarily healthy or low in pp, BUT it is important for you to know how many pp you are eating if you do give in and have a cookie or two over the holiday season!

That said, this is one of my absolute favorite Christmas cookies!  These cookies have always topped the list when my family gets together to bake holiday cookies.  I’m sure you’ve had some variation of this recipe at some point, but like I said earlier, now you know how many pp each peanut butter kiss cookie is!!

Servings:  Recipe will make 3 dozen

Size:  1 cookie

Points Plus: 3pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time:  12-15 minutes

Rating: 5 stars – Excellent

Ingredient List:

4 Tbsp. butter

4 Tbsp. shortening

¾ cup peanut butter

½ cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1 ½ Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 egg

1 ½ cups flour

½ tsp. baking soda

Hershey kisses

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly grease your cookie sheets.  In a medium bowl, cream butter, shortening, peanut butter and sugars until well mixed.  Stir in the oil and egg.  Add flour and baking soda.  Stir until just combined.  Roll into balls and then roll in sugar before baking.  Bake for 12-15 minutes.  Transfer to a wire cooling rack immediately after they come out of the oven and gently press a chocolate kiss in the middle of each cookie to flatten. 

Tip:

Make sure you un-wrap all your Hershey kisses and place in small bowl ahead of time!  Once your cookies are out of the oven you will want to work quickly to place a kiss in the middle of each cookie.

XOXO Megan

GRINCH Fruit Cabobs

Alright people!  Are you ready to see the cutest thing ever as we wrap up ‘Holiday Appetizer Week’ here on EAT ME??? Check out these totally adorable ‘GRINCH’ fruit kabobs!  I saw them on Pinterest and knew I had to try them.  I mean, they are so easy, so healthy, so cute, and perfect for your holiday get together!

Servings: As many as you want

Serving Size: 2 kabobs

Points Plus: 0pp

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Rating: 4 stars – Very Good (if using good quality fruit)

Ingredients

Green Grapes - SEEDLESS

Strawberries

Bananas

Bag of mini marshmallows

Toothpicks

**NOTE: The amount of fruit you need depends on how many kabobs you want to make.  Figure 1 banana will equal about 10 kabobs.**

Instructions

Clean your grapes and remove them from their stems. Rinse your strawberries and cut off their green tops. Slice each banana into 10 slices, about ¼ inch thick.  Open your bag of marshmallows and try to not eat any J.

To assemble: Using a toothpick. Layer on the fruit in this order; grape, banana, strawberry and finally mini marshmallow.  Put them on a pretty plate and serve!

Tip

My sister Jessica brought up a n excellent point.  Grapes and strawberries aren’t really in season during the winter holidays.  My suggestions are to 1. Buy your fruit from a higher quality grocery store with higher quality produce and/or 2. Make ‘GRINCH’ kabobs all year round! I also would like to try these with a mini white chocolate chip as the hat tassel and see what the flavor is like.

Spiced Cherry Cheese Ball

This might be my favorite holiday appetizer of all time!!!  Every time I make it people are SO impressed too – it definitely gets awesome reviews!  Check it out and impress your next party guests with this holiday favorite.

I know what you are thinking… a CHEESE BALL is a healthy appetizer??  Well, Katie and I both believe that you can’t completely ignore holiday foods, especially your favorites.  If you do they will continue to call your name from across the room at your holiday party… ‘Eat me… eat me...”!  Instead, we believe it’s important to give in a little, but with moderation!  I’ve slimmed down this original recipe found here with 1/3 less fat cream cheese and reduced-fat cheddar.  Also, serve with veggies for a lower pp option!

Servings:  24

Size:  2 Tbsp. + 5 Ritz crackers

Points Plus: 4pp 

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes (+ 2 hours of time in the fridge)

Cook Time: n/a

Rating: 4 stars – Very Good

  

Ingredient List:

1 8 oz. package cream cheese, 1/3 less fat

1 8 oz. package shredded white cheddar cheese, reduced-fat

½ cup dried cherries, chopped

¼ tsp. pumpkin pie spice

½ cup pecans, finely chopped

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese and shredded cheese until thoroughly combined.  Add in the cherries and pumpkin pie spice. Shape into a ball and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Throw into the fridge and let sit for 2+ hours.  Just before serving, remove the cheese ball from the fridge and roll in pecans.  You might need to gently press the pecans in to make sure they stick.  Serve with crackers.

Tip:

One easy way to cut back on pp value with this app is to serve your cheese ball with veggies instead of crackers!!  This cuts down the serving to be only 2 pp for the cheese spread and 0 pp for the veggies! Cucumber slices and carrot sticks (or carrot chips) would work well since they would provide a firm enough base to spread the cheese onto.

XOXO Megan

Baked Potato Soup Cups

Have you walked into a friend’s party on a cold night and wondered how the heck you were going to warm up?  And then the hostess directs you to a table with those Asian soup spoons filledwith delicious warm soup as an appetizer as soon as you walk in the door? And then you sip it down and immediately feel warm, cozy and at home????

Well that has never happened to me, mainly because I don’t own ANY of those cool little spoons (and I guess my friends don’t either)! But I love the idea, and think that tiny portions of soup would be super fun at a holiday cocktail party! (and they are cute) I have a ton of glass votive candle holders leftover from my wedding, and thought these would work perfectly for a soup appetizer that can easily be eaten while mingling.  Disposable short clear cocktail glasses would work super well too. This recipe is inspired by Skinnytaste, and is a lighter version of creamy potato soup. It has the secret ingredient of cauliflower which lightens it up, and you know what guys? You can’t even taste the difference! Have this soup simmering on your stove and when your guests arrive hand them a tiny cup of soup instead of a drink!

Servings: 25

Serving Size: ¼ c.

Points Plus: 1pp

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Level of Difficulty: Medium
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredients 

4 small potatoes

1 head of cauliflower, cut into chunks, stems removed

2 cups chicken stock (I use water with bullion cubes)

1 cup fat free milk

1/2 cup light sour cream

2/3 cup reduced-fat cheddar cheese, shredded

4 slices turkey bacon, sliced into small pieces

1/8 cup chopped chives (I used parsley for color because I didn't have chives, but chives would be ideal!)

Salt + Pepper

Instructions

Poke potatoes with a fork and microwave them on high for 8 minutes, turning half way through. Prepare your cauliflower, and steam it on the stove for about 6 minutes. When potatoes are done let them cool (important!!) and remove skins.  It is OK to keep some skin on, skins are good! 

Add potatoes, steamed cauliflower, stock and milk. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a low simmer.  Let soup simmer for about 30 minutes, allowing the flavors to mix. Then add sour cream and stir to combine. Remove soup from heat and set out your 25 (or however many you have) soup cups.  Top each cup with a pinch of cheese and a few crumbles of bacon.  Because the portions are 1/4 cup, a pinch and a crumble were plenty of toppings for me! Finally, top with a sprinkle of chives.  Put all of your tiny cups on a serving tray and VOILA! You can use normal sized spoons or invest in some tiny spoons, which I want to do!!

Tip

After you add the sour cream be sure to remove the soup from heat or it will start to curdle. You could do tiny soup appetizers with any soup you like!  And with the small appetizer portions it is a low point way to get your party started! Have FUN!

XOXO - Katie

Tortilla Pinwheels

These are a quick and easy holiday appetizer that will definitely be popular at your holiday party!  A good way to make these look more festive is to use spinach or tomato tortillas instead of plain ones - they you can serve a variety of red and green pinwheels!  My picture below shows plain tortillas, I couldn't find the other varieties at the store.

Servings:  25

Size:  2 pinwheels

Points Plus: 3pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes (Refrigerate overnight or for a few hours before serving)

Cook Time: n/a

Rating:  4 stars – Very Good

Ingredient List:

8 oz. cream cheese, 1/3 less fat (softened)

8 oz. sour cream, light

1 can (4 oz.) green chilies, chopped and drained

1 can (4 oz.) black olives, chopped and drained

1 cup reduced-fat cheddar cheese, shredded

½ cup green onions, chopped

Garlic powder to taste

5 flour tortillas (10 inch)

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, chilies, olives, cheddar cheese, garlic powder and stir until well combined – make sure the cream cheese is softened before you start this as it makes it much easier to mix in.  Spread a light coating of the filling mixture onto the tortilla.  Beginning on one side, begin to tightly roll the tortilla into a pinwheel, trying to make it as tight as possible.  This can be a little tricky, but you’ll get the hang of it after a few.  Wrap each tortilla in plastic wrap and refrigerate ideally overnight or a good 2-3 hours should be enough time.  Just before serving, remove the pinwheels from the fridge and slice on a cutting board.  Make sure to cut off the ends (these will be only partially filled anyways).  Use a knife to cut each tortilla into ½ inch pinwheel slices and arrange on a serving tray or platter.  A sharp knife works best since it allows you to cut without smashing the pinwheels too much.

Tip:

Only spread the filling mixture over two-thirds of the tortilla.  As you roll up the tortilla, the filling will overflow to fill the remaining one-third section.  Practice makes perfect!  Your first tortilla might not be your best. :)

XOXO Megan

Polenta Pepperoni Pizza

Hello everyone!  As you know it is that busy time of year, where food and drinks are the focus and you are too busy to do anything, let alone meal planning!  I don’t know about you but I ate way too many holiday goodies this past weekend (including more pieces of homemade fudge than I care to admit – recipe coming next week)! Are you hosting any holiday get-togethers?  Megan and I thought it would be fun to feature some easy and healthy holiday inspired appetizer ideas this week to make your party planning a breeze.  One of the most popular posts on EAT ME is for our mini polenta pizzas.  I thought I would do a twist on these by making them Christmas colored (red, green and white!) and adding meat.  They turned out really tasty – enjoy!  Also they are extremely easy.  Make these for your holiday party – people will be impressed people!

Servings: 12

Serving Size: 2 polenta pizzas

Points Plus: 3pp

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Rating: 5 stars - Excellent

Ingredient List

1 log of polenta

12 pieces turkey pepperoni

1 cup marinara sauce

¼ cup fat free feta

1 cup arugula, chopped

Italian seasoning

Cooking spray

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Cut polenta log into 12 equal rounds. Lay the rounds on a baking tray and spray them with cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove tray from oven, flip rounds, and layer with toppings, starting with about 1 T. of sauce, then 1 turkey pepperoni, about 1 T. of raw arugula, about 1 t. of feta and a sprinkle of Italian seasoning.  Return the tray to the oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

Tip

Of course you could make these polenta rounds into any type of pizza your little heart desires! I chose these toppings because they were holiday-esk, but experiment! (and let us know what you do)

XOXO - Katie