French Toast with Blueberry Sauce

Sunday night dinner.  I had ambitions to make a veggie pot pie but really just got too lazy! Instead we whipped up this easy recipe using some fresh blueberries that I had bought at the store earlier in the day.  It turned out great and, it is always fun to have brinner! 

Servings: 2
Serving Size: 2 pieces and half of the blueberry sauce
Points Plus: 2pp
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Rating: 4 stars – Very Good

Ingredients
1 cup fresh (or frozen) blueberries
½ T. sugar
½ T. lemon zest
½ T. lemon juice
4 pieces low calorie bread
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 T. fat free milk
½ T. vanilla
Cooking spray

Instructions
Put the first four ingredients in a sauce pan and turn heat to low.  Cook for about 8 minutes, until the berries have broken down and the mixture is a soup like consistency (it is super easy to make a low cal berry sauce that is delish by the way!). Spray a griddle pan with cooking spray. Beat your egg, egg whites, milk and vanilla in a shallow bowl. Carefully dip each piece of bread into the egg mixture to coat, and fry for a few minutes on each side until the bread is golden brown.  To serve, place two pieces of French toast on a plate and top each with ½ of the blueberry mixture, which will be about 1/3 cup.  You could also top with 2 T. fat free cool whip for no additional points plus.

Tip
You could try this with any type of frozen or fresh fruit that you like. Blueberries will breakdown to a great ‘saucy’ consistency, but any fruit will be delish!

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Before learning how to eat healthy I had no clue how easy it was to make yummy veggie soup.  I have tried many recipes over the years that really are just veggies and bullion (or stock), and they almost always turn out amazing!  This recipe from Skinnytaste is so easy and is one of my favs.  I love mushrooms (not everyone does ;), and this soup is great paired with half of a sandwich for lunch.  Also, it is only 2pp per serving.  Pretty amazing if you ask me!

Servings: 5

Servings Size: 1 1/4 cup

Points Plus: 3pp

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredients

3 tbsp flour

4 cups water

3 chicken bouillon cubes

5 oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced

8 oz baby bella, sliced

1 celery stalk

Fresh ground pepper

Raw scallions

8 T. soft goat cheese

Instructions

Put water into a heavy stock pot and bring to a boil.  Add flour slowly, whisking as you go. Set pot to medium heat.

Add celery, mushrooms, chicken bouillon and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until veggies are soft, about 30 minutes. Remove and toss celery.  Using your immersion blender, blend to the consistency that you enjoy.  If you don't have an immersion blender take a few cups of the soup out and put it into your blender, and then return to the pot.  Continue cooking a few minutes longer.  I served my soup with a few raw onions and a dab of goat cheese (because I didn't have any sour cream.  

Tip

Bouillon has a TON of salt and maybe that is why I love it so much (I love salt which is bad, I know).  Don't fear, I am on the hunt for a better bullion.  I have found a few recipes for DIY that I am going to test out in the next few weeks.  I have never found a stock that I think tastes as good as bullion, so if you have one, please let me know what it is and I will give it a try!  Add the bouillon slowly.  If you like your soup less salty you might not need 3 cubes.

Banana Bread Bites

Portion control is REALLY important to being successful!  This recipe is perfect for helping you practice good portion control.  I took a tradtional banana bread and sliced it like usual, but then cut each slice into perfect, bite-sized pieces!  You could serve this for house guests with some fresh fruit for a healthy, low pp breakfast.

Servings:  16 (Assuming 1 regular loaf cut into 8 slices)
Serving Size: 3 banana bites
Points Plus: 3pp
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook/Bake Time: 55-60 minutes
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup ripe bananas, mashed

3/4 cup walnuts, chopped

Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, combine the baking soda, flour and salt making sure it's well combined.  In a large bowl, mix together the butter, sugar and eggs.  Add half the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, followed by half of the mashed bananas; stirring until well combined after each addition.  Repeat with the remaining flour and banana mixtures.  Gently fold in the walnuts with a spatula.  Lightly grease a loaf pan with cooking spray.  Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick will come out clean.  Allow the bread to cool on a wire rack.  Cut each slice of banana bread into 6 bite-sized pieces to get the pp value above.

Tip:

This recipe will make one regular sized loaf and 2 mini loaves.  Another good tip for portion control is to freeze half of what you make so you aren't eating the full recipe at one time.  Banana bread freezes really well AND it will save you time next time you have company coming into town!

XOXO Megan

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

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

Stuffing Cups

STUFFING! Cake isn't the only food that can be easily portioned by putting them into cup form.  Check out these delicious stuffing cups, originally inspired by Emily Bites with a few modifications.  With only 2pp each you can have as many as your heart desires, or save room for dessert!

Servings: 12 cups
Serving Size: 1 cup
Points Plus: 2pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredients
8 slices light whole wheat bread
1 T. light butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, minced
1/2 cup celery, minced
3 oz. Craisins
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 t. rubbed sage
1/2 t. dried thyme leaves, chopped
Cooking spray

Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 275.  Cut bread into small cubes. Spread them onto a single layer on a cookie sheet.  Spritz with cooking spray and bake for 45 minutes.

Place 1 T. of butter into a skillet and melt over medium heat.  When melted add garlic, onion and celery and cook for about 5 minutes until tender.

In a large bowl mix bread crumbs, veggie mix, 2 eggs, broth, salt, pepper, sage and thyme.  Stir together until combined.

Spritz 12 muffin tins with cooking spray. Split the ingredients evenly between the 12 tins, a little more than 1/4 c. per tin.  Raise your oven temp to 375 and bake for about 25 minutes.  Watch them closely, mine gone a little brown :)

Tip:
I can't WAIT to try these again with a bit of variation!  You could try cornbread, sausage, apples, turkey, additional or substituted spices OR top with a tad of gravy.  Remember to adjust your points plus accordingly!

Fall Mixed Green Salad w. Chipotle Vinaigrette

Welcome to THANKSGIVING WEEK on Eat Me!

Yes, that's right.  This is the week of Thanksgiving and we will be posting some recipes and tips to help you stay on track!  We all have our Thanksgiving favs (mine is green bean casserole) and I know from experience you have to be able to be comfortable indulging in these holiday foods in order to stay in control.  The last thing you want is to skip that green bean casserole on Thanksgiving, and then lay in bed on Thursday night with the green bean casserole in your head saying 'EAT ME, EAT ME'! When you don't indulge you many times end up going out of control.  So, anyways, what better recipe to start Thanksgiving week than a delish and flavorful fall salad.  This salad is anything but boring, easy to put together and low in points - YAHOO!  

Servings: 8
Serving Size: about 1 1/2 cups
Points Plus: 3 points plus
Level of Difficulty:
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: n/a
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredients
Dressing
3 T. olive oil
3 T. balsamic Vinegar
1-2 T. Chipotle
1 T. apple cider
1 t. dry parsley


Salad
1 package mixed greens
1 cup carrots
1/8 cup toasted almonds
1 oz goat cheese
1 apple, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced

This recipe is super EASY! Mix all dressing ingredients in a small bowl of THIS! If you have never tried chipotle peppers you should.  You can find them in your local market in the ethnic foods aisle. For this recipe, you only need to add the sauce.

Heat a tiny sauce pan on the stove and add the almonds.  Sautee them until they are toasted and light brown! Add all of the lettuce to a bowl and toss with the dressing.  Then, add the carrots, almonds, apple, onion and cheese.

Tip:
Do you know what a mandoline is?  Here is a pic!  You can use it to chop your onions into thinly sliced, beautiful circles! Not to mention you can use it for fruit, potatoes and anything else that you need to slice small.

Pumpkin Cheese Fondue

Pumpkin fondue?!?  What a delicious combination of spices, cheeses and of course PUMPKIN!  Fondue is a very fun appetizer to serve when entertaining!  This recipe has a new twist on the tradtional cheese fondue by incorporating pumpkin into it.  Check it out and see what you think.

Servings:  16

Size: 3 Tbsp. (total recipe makes about 3 cups) 

Points Plus: 2pp

Level of Difficulty:  Medium

Prep Time: 10 minutes (if you need to grate the cheese)

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredient List:

1 clove garlic, smashed

1 ¾ cup hard apple cider

¾ cup pumpkin puree

¼ tsp. dry mustard powder

¼ tsp. ground cayenne pepper

¼ tsp. homemade pumpkin pie spice

½ tsp. sea salt

2 Tbsp. flour

2 oz. grated cheddar cheese

1 oz. grated Gruyere cheese

3 oz. Brie cheese (remove the rind)

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Combine all ingredients listed above through the sea salt in a medium saucepan.  Whisk the mixture until well combined; cook over medium heat brining it just to a boil.  Immediately reduce the heat to low.  While the saucepan mixture is heating up, combine the flour with the three cheeses, tossing to coat evenly.  Add the cheeses to the pumpkin mixture in three separate batches, whisking constantly until the cheese in melted before you add the next batch.  Finally, whisk in the lemon juice and pour into a fondue pot that has already been warmed.

Serve the pumpkin cheese fondue with apple slices, cubed multi-grain bread or veggies.

Tip:

In order to stay in control, it would be best to serve this fondue with only apples and veggies and forgo the bread cubes so you are only using points for the fondue and not the dipping pieces.  Although bread is delicious, you can save points for other foods OR eat another serving of the fondue! :)

XOXO Megan

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

This recipe is actually for Pumpkin Spice CAKE, but since I have little self control when it comes to desserts I used the old standby portion trick and turned them into cupcakes! This recipe is so simple and very low in points for a delish pumpkin dessert.  Enjoy!

Servings: 15
Servings Size: 1 cupcake
Points Plus: 3pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 4 - Very Good

Ingredients
1 box of spice cake
1/2 cup water
15 oz canned pumpkin
Fat-free cool whip*
Cupcake liners

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350.  Mix spice cake, water and pumpkin in a bowl.  Scoop cake mixture into cupcake tins and bake for about 30 minutes.  Let cool and top with cool whip.

Tip
Let's face it, fat-free cool whip is not the most 'natural' food out there.  Let's face it, it is 0pp so I don't really care! (I believe that anything is fine in moderation) I also like cool whip on pudding for another low point snack. Also - these freeze good and would make a tasty breakfast with a banana on the side!  And finally!!!! I used my Pampered Chef cookie scoop to put the batter in the muffin tins, it helped them be equal sizes!

XOXO - Katie

We're Baaaaaaaaaaaack! + Stuffed Pork Chops

We're baaaaaaaack!  Eat ME is BACK (and better than ever??) Thank you for being patient as Megan and I took a short break from our blog so we could focus on other life events.  Things have settled down a bit and we are back and ready to cook - just in time for the holidays! In my opinion this is the BEST time of year for food.  Besides holiday cooking, baking and treats there are things like squash and root veggies and pumpkin!  It is also an important time to stay focused, so you can enter 2014 with a bang, and not 10+ lbs heavier.  So stay tuned for some delish recipes and motivational tidbits to help you stay on track this holiday season, while not missing out on any of your holiday favs! So without further adieu...

Anyone who knows anything about eating healthy will tell you to avoid anything stuffed! But sometimes you just, you know, NEED something stuffed.  Stuffed doesn't always have to come with a lot of fat and cheese. Check out these easy and delish stuffed pork chops that are easy, tasty and filling.  I barely ever eat meat, and consequently am not super good at preparing it.  But I am going to change that, starting with this recipe.  This recipe was adapted a bit from this Weight Watchers one.  Also - I needed breadcrumbs for this recipe but didn't have any, so I made my own! Enjoy!

Servings: 2

Size: 1 chop

Points Plus: 8pp

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredients:
Two 5oz pork chops
1 piece of bread
Cooking spray
Garlic salt
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 white onion, chopped
1 T. dried sage
1 T. dried rosemary
1 egg
Kosher salt + pepper
Tin foil

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Cut bread into small cubes and lay them on a rimed cookie sheet.  Spray them with cooking spray and give them a sprinkle of garlic salt, salt and pepper.  Throw them in the oven and bake about 4 minutes, or until crunchy.

Thaw pork chops and cut a deep pocket in the with a sharp knife (I used a pairing knife and it worked super). Season them with a bit of salt and pepper. When breadcrumbs are cooked put them in a small bowl.  Add the celery, onion, sage and rosemary. Beat your egg and add about 2 T. egg to the breadcrumb mixture and mix to combine.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper.  Stuff each chop with the breadcrumb stuffing mixture.  Heat a skillet on the stove and add the porkchops, browning for about 3 minutes per side.  Put the chops on your cookie sheet and cover with foil.  Toss them in the oven and bake for 10 minutes covered, and then 10 minutes uncovered.  Remove from your oven and recover, letting stand about 5 minutes before eating!

Tip: 
Don't get me wrong, I love my food scale.  BUT, I also love Omaha Steaks. I have found, that when buying high quality meat, it many times comes with each piece individually portioned and wrapped.  This makes it easy to just thaw two chops that I know are 5 oz each without putting them on the scale.  It just makes things easy!

XOXO - Katie

Broccoli Slaw

Here is a yummy summer salad that comes together quick and is full of flavor.  I would call it Asian inspired, as it uses shelled edameme and a touch of sesame oil. This salad is great for parties or company because it is so pretty and full of color!

Servings: 8
Serving Size: 1 cup
Points Plus: 4pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: n/a
Rating: 4 - Very Good

Ingredients:
Dressing
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 T. salt
1/2 T. black pepper
1/8 cup canola oil
3 T. rice vinegar
2 T. toasted sesame oil

Salad:
4 cups brocolli slaw (can purchase at Trader Joes)
1 cup canned corn
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1/2 cup red peppers, chopped
1/2 cup yellow peppers, chopped
1 cup soybeans

Directions:
Mix salad dressing ingredients in a bowl with a fork until combined. Mix salad ingredients in a pretty bowl until combined. Pour salad dressing over salad and mix to combine! haha Refrigerate for a few hours to allow flavors to mingle.  Taste and season with additional salt and pepper before serving.

Tip:
Du du duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. Instead of mixing your salad dressing in a bowl use this Pampered Chef salad dressing thingy!  It is FUN to use and it has some delish salad dressing recipes right on the container!

XOXO - Katie

Homemade Ranch Dressing

Warning: this post contains WEIRD FOOD!  One day in a WW meeting a lady starting talking about her loooooove of ranch.  Everyone knows, if you are going to eat ranch dressing you have to do full fat, because the light variety is nasty. But at 2pp per T., who really wants to waste the points.  Anyways, this lady talked about how she mixed cottage cheese with Hidden Valley Ranch powder in her food processor, and how it tasted like regular ranch dressing and she could eat 1/2 cup of it for 2pp! I had to try it, and you know what, she was right!  I used this ranch as a veggie dip with none other than dragon tongue beans from our CSA! That right - these very odd looking beans taste like regular green beans and you can eat them raw or cooked.  Give them a whirl!

Servings: 4

Serving Size: 1/4 cup

Points Plus: 1pp

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: n/a
Rating: 4 - Very Good

Ingredient List:

1 cup 1% cottage cheese

1 T. Hidden Valley Ranch powder

1 T. skim milk

Directions: 

Mix ingredients in a small food processor and blend! Serve with veggies

Tip:

The more milk or liquid you add the thinner the dressing will be.  I think if you added 2 T. of milk your dressing would be of salad dressing consistency!

XOXO Katie

Roasted Red Potatoes

A side of oven-roasted red potatoes is a great complement to any meal!  They work as a great side dish, not to mention how delicious they are.  I could eat the whole batch of these if I’m not careful.  Make sure you practice portion control when making these!

Servings: 6

Size:  1/6 of the serving dish

Points Plus: 5pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time:  30 minutes

Rating: 4 stars – Very good

Ingredient List:

3 lbs. baby red potatoes
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Fresh rosemary, chopped
Kosher salt
Black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°. Wash and chop the potatoes into small wedges, about 1-1 ½ inch size.  In a large baking dish, spread out the potato wedges evenly across the bottom.  Brush with olive oil until evenly coated.  Sprinkle the fresh rosemary on top of the potatoes and generously season with salt & pepper.  Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, checking to make sure they are crisping up and browning.  Roast for additional time if desired.

Tip:

You may want to turn the potato wedges halfway through the roasting time to make sure all sides get a nice even brown.

XOXO Megan

Chicken Dumpling Soup

Did you know how easy making homemade chicken soup is?  Like, with a real whole chicken?!? (well it is) This is soup is filling and full of veggies (from our CSA no less!) I tried a new dumpling recipe this time around, and although it wan't as good as my grandma's recipe, it was pretty darn good! The perfect comfort food to help settle my nerves, as I start a new job today!

Servings: 8
Serving size: 1 cup + 4 large dumplings
Points Plus: 5pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour + 30 minutes
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredient List:
SOUP
1 whole chicken, rinsed
1 onion
Salt and Pepper
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup white celery, diced
1 cup scallions, diced
1 can chicken stock
1 chicken bullion cube

DUMPLINGS
1 cup flour + more for rolling
1/4 t. baking powder
Pinch of kosher salt
1 T. butter
1/2 c. milk

Directions:
Put rinsed chicken in a dutch oven and cover 3/4 of the way with water. Add white onion, salt and pepper.  Bring to a slow boil and loosely cover and cook for 35 minutes, or until chicken falls off the bone. When cooked remove chicken from pot and let cool for 30 minutes. After chicken has cooled remove and shred 3 cups, place them back into the pot. Add carrots, scallions and celery, re-bring to a boil.

To make dumplings, mix flour, baking powder and salt.  Cut in butter with a pastry blender or fork.  Add milk and stir to combine.  The mixture will form a sticky ball.  Put flour on a cutting board, place dough on board.  Roll out thin, about 1/8 inch.  Using a knife or pasty cutter, cut into 32 small squares.  Add dumpling squares to your pot of soup, loosely cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Tip:
This recipe only calls for 3 cups of shredded chicken.  Save the rest of the chicken for sandwiches, salads, etc!

XOXO Katie

Cous Cous with Peas & Summer Squash

Here is a delish one pot meal (or side dish) for you! This recipe is a slight mortification of this one, using what I had on hand. The last thing I want to do when it is hot is clean, and clean the kitchen especially.  So I loved that this recipe only required a pot (with a lid), cutting board and knife. Simple!  It also came together really fast, from start to finish probably 10 minutes!

Servings: 4
Size: 1 cup
Points Plus: 7pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredient List:
1 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup uncooked cous cous
1 1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup onion, raw
1/2 cup peas, raw
1 cup summer squash, raw
2 oz. soft goat cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 
Heat 1 T. olive oil in a dutch oven.  Add onion and garlic and sautee for about 2 minutes.  Add squash and cook for an additional 3 minutes.  Add peas and chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Add cous cous and cover for five minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle each serving with 1/2 oz. soft goat cheese.

Tip:
This might sound totally nasty, but I have the tried and true way to prevent tears when cutting onions.  Simply place a piece of raw bread in your mouth while cutting.  It gets a bit soggy but this REALLY works!

Sunday Night Pizza Party!

It has been quite a weekend ya'all! Laying by the pool, celebrating a very special bachelorette, dinner at a few of my FAV restaurants of all time and wine...lots and lots of wine.  I decided, the best way to get back into the swing of things and prep for the full work week ahead was to have a pizza party tonight (just me and my husband mind you)! I had two mini Bobloi crusts in my pantry (so cute!) so created two contrasting pizzas.

Servings: 4
Size: 2 pieces (1/2 mini Boboli crust)
Point Plus: 10pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

White Pizza
1 Boboli 8 inch crust
1/4 cup alfredo sauce, light
Red pepper flakes, to taste
3 oz. chicken breast
3 fresh garlic cloves, chopped
4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, part skim

Buffalo Chicken Pizza
1 Boboli 8 inch crust
1/4 pizza sauce
3 oz. chicken breast
1/4 cup Franks buffalo sauce
1/4 c. blue cheese crumbles
2 scallions, white and green, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut chicken (6 oz. total) into small pieces and saute in a non-stick skillet until cooked through, about five minutes. Remove 3 oz. of chicken from pan and set aside.  Add Franks to the remaining chicken in your pan and cook until warmed.

To assemble - put crusts on a cookie sheet and add respected sauce to each.  Layer toppings in the order listed above. Bake for 10 minutes, until tops of pizza are browned!

Tip:
Using a small pizza crust is perfect for creating more variety!

XOXO Katie

Fresh Green Beans with Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

Fact: I hate balsamic vinegar and roasted tomatoes.  Fact: This recipe made me love both!  And I don't mean like, I mean L.O.V.E.  Who knew!?  Who knew that when you roasted baby tomatoes in olive oil and balsamic vinegar that it created a delicous thick sauce?  Who knew that the combo of roasted tomatoes and green beans is the bomb?  Who knew that goat cheese is great on anything? (I knew that!) Goat cheese is actually a really low fat cheese that I am going to start using more this summer.  Anyways, enjoy this as a side or main dish with your fresh veggies.  Also as a side, it is almost tomato time! (I am so excited)

Servings: 4

Size: About 1 1/2 cups

Points Plus: 3pp

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredient List:

4 cups fresh green beans, trimmed and cleaned

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1 T. olive oil

2 T. good balsamic vinegar

2 oz. goat cheese

Directions: 

Bring a pan with water to a boil and cook beans about four minutes.  Remove from heat and strain. Heat olive oil in pan and sautee tomatoes until soft, about 4 minutes.  Add balsamic and sautee 1 minute more.  Add beans and sautee about 3 more minutes.  Portion you dish and add equal parts of goat cheese to both plates.  Enjoy!

Tip:
You could add the goat cheese to the sautee pan while still on the heat to made a more creamy sauce.  Also, I am sure this dish would be great with garlic and onions but I just wasn't in the mood (which is weird because as you know I love onions)

XOXO - Katie

Sausage Spaghetti Squash

This was my first attempt at cooking a paleo recipe (at least knowingly), and it was so good! First, have you ever cooked spaghetti squash?  Once you roast this unique squash you remove the insides with a fork, and they really do resemble spaghetti.  Anyone who tells you that it TASTES like spaghetti is lying, but it is a fun and healthy alternative to the noodle.  The squash, based off this recipe,  is jazzed up with some spicy Italian sausage and kale, and has a slight Thai twist with the addition of coconut milk.

Servings: 4
Size: 1 1/2 cup
Points Plus: 4pp
Level of Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredient List:
1 Italian sausage (I used 7pp of sausage)
1 Medium spaghetti squash, halved and seeds removed
1 Bundle of kale, roughly chopped
1/2 Red onion
1/3 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. canned coconut milk, light
1 Clove garlic, minced
1 T. garlic powder
1 t. tarragon
1 t. salt (more to taste)
1/2 t. black pepper
1/4 t. ground sage
1 Green onion, white and green part

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Roast squash, cut side down for 40 minutes. When cooked remove, flip to cut side up, and let cool so you can handle it.

While squash cooks, cook sausage, breaking up into small pieces.  When cooked remove from pan and set aside.  Add garlic, kale, onion and chicken broth to pot and stir. Add coconut milk and spices, cover and let simmer about 7 minutes.

When you can handle squash pull it apart with a fork (de-thread).  Add squash and sausage back to pot and mix well.  Top with onions and serve!

Tip:
I packed this in my lunch today, this is a really big deal!  I never pack my lunch, ever!!  I divided up the leftovers into individually portioned glass pyrex so it was easy to grab this morning.  If anyone has any tips for packing a lunch please PLEASE let me know! I feel like when I pack my lunch it doesn't make me full, but when I go out to my normal, WW friendly lunch spots it does!  I think it is all in my head...

XOXO - Katie

Portuguese Kale Soup

What better to do when it is 100 degrees outside than make soup!  I am not sure what I was thinking besides that I needed to try my hand at duplicating Au Bon Pain's Portuguese Kale Soup ASAP.  So I did! I love this soup (at any time of year apparently).  We got kale in our CSA last week and this afternoon the wheels in my brain got turning.  I realized I had all the ingredients for this (very) hearty soup on hand, so completely made up this recipe which turned out to taste really similar to my chain favorite.

Servings: 4
Size: 1 cup
Points Plus: 5pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredient List:
1 medium size rustic potato, chopped small
3 cups raw kale, de-stemmed and rinsed
1/2 cup red onion, chopped small
1 cup navy beans, rinsed
2 links Trader Joes garlic turkey sausage, cut into small pieces
1 T. olive oil
32 oz. chicken stock
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 bay leaf
1 T. fresh garlic, chopped
Dash of red pepper flakes, to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat 1 T. olive oil in a large stock pot.  Add potatoes and onion and sautee about 10 minutes. Add garlic and sausage, stir. Add kale and cover for 2 minutes, allowing kale to slightly wilt.  Add stock, navy beans, bay leaf, red pepper, salt and pepper to taste.  I added an additional bouillon cube because I like salt and I don't love the taste of canned or boxed stock.  Bring to a slow boil, set a lid on so that the pot is covered but not sealed.  Cook about 45 minutes, until kale is cooked through. Put in your favorite soup bowl and enjoy!

Tip:
I LOVE this soup cup! (as seen above)

XOXO - Katie

Sausage & Yellow Pepper Breakfast Tacos

These breakfast tacos are not only tasty, but after I made them I realized they have almost EVERY color of the rainbow in them.  They are so pretty!  You can put whatever you have on hand in breakfast tacos (or regular tacos for that matter). For these I choose to use some yellow pepper, mixed greens, spicy sausage and queso fresco and chipotle laughing cow cheese.

Servings: 2

Size: Two tacos

Points Plus: 7pp

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Rating: 4 starts - Very Good

Ingredient List:

4 eggs

4 corn tortillas

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 yellow pepper

1 scallion

1 garlic clove

1 spicy turkey sausage

1 wedge queso fresco and chipotle laughing cow cheese

1 squirt Sriracha

1 splash of milk

Mixed greens

Salsa

Salt & pepper to taste
Cooking spray OR MISTO of EVOO

Directions:

The timing of this recipe is a little tricky and you have to do stuff fast.  Cutting and prepping everything before you start will make this recipe stress free! Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Chop pepper, scallion and garlic clove. Heat oil in skillet and add chopped veggies, cooking on low heat. (is garlic a veggie??).  Chop turkey sausage into small pieces and add to veggie mixture after about five minutes.  In the meantime, beat four eggs, add a splash of milk, a squirt of Sriracha and salt and pepper to taste.  Spray a second skillet and add eggs, cooking them on very low heat. When your oven is preheated, throw in the tortillas for a few minutes to warm.

To assemble:
Remove tortillas from oven and spread each with a quarter wedge of cheese. Equally distribute eggs and veggie mixture onto each, then top with salsa and lettuce.  Enjoy!

Tip:
Cooking eggs at low heat makes them more fluffy.  Give it a whirl!

XOXO Katie