Raspberry Almond Bars

These bars are super easy to make and taste delcious!  The raspberry preserves helps you save time instead of making a raspberry sauce from scratch.  You could easily substitute in another fruit preserve instead if you prefer something else - strawberry, blueberry, blackberry etc!

Servings: 16

Size:  1 bar

Points Plus: 4pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time:  25-30 minutes

Rating: 5 stars – Excellent

Ingredient List:

1 cup flour

¾ cup oats

½ cup sugar

½ cup butter

½ tsp. almond extract

½ cup red raspberry preserves

1/3 cup almonds, sliced

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly grease an 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan.  In a large bowl, mix together the flour, oats and sugar.  Add in the butter and cut with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in the almond extract and mix well.  Reserve about 1 cup of the oat mixture.  Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan, pressing down firmly to bind the crumbs together.  Spread the raspberry preserves over the top to about ½ inch from the edges of the pan.  Mix the sliced almonds with the reserved oat mixture and sprinkle on top of the preserves; press down gently.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.

Tip:

Not everyone owns a pastry blender!  That’s okay, this recipe can still be made without one.  Use a fork instead to cut the butter into the oat/flour/sugar mixture.  You have to keep working at it, but eventually the mixture will turn into crumbs!

XOXO Megan

Jerk Chicken Salad with Grilled Pineapple

This is an old Pampered Chef recipe for a good summery salad.  If you haven’t tried grilling pineapple before, it’s really fun!  You need a good grill pan to help get the caramelization of sugars from the pineapple.

Servings:  6

Size:  Main course salad

Points Plus:

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time:  10 minutes

Rating: 3 stars - Good

Ingredient List:

Salad:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. Jamaican Jerk seasoning
1 pound chicken breast, cut into strips
1 medium pineapple, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
3 green onions
1 large head of chopped romaine
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
6 slices of turkey bacon

Dressing:
2 limes
1/3 cup mayo, reduced-fat
2 Tbsp. pineapple preserves

Directions:

Wash and chop up head of lettuce.  In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil and Jamaican Jerk seasoning.  Add the chicken pieces and mix well so the seasoning evenly coats the chicken similar to a marinade.  Cut the pineapple up into ¼ inch slices or wedges.  Using a grill pan over medium heat, grill the chicken strips cooking each side about 3-5 minutes.  Cut the chicken into smaller, bite-sized pieces for the salad.  After you are done cooking the chicken, add the pineapple to the pan.  Cook for 1 minute per side, flipping the pineapple wedges over once.  Wash and prep the bell pepper and green onions.  Drain and rinse the black beans.  Cook the turkey bacon according to the directions on the package.  Make the dressing in a small glass measuring cup.  Use the zest of one lime and the juice from both limes along with the mayo and pineapple preserves – whisk together to make the dressing.  Assemble the salad by layering the beans, bell pepper, chicken, pineapple, bacon and green onions and drizzle the dressing over the salad before serving.

Tip:

One of the first things I learned at WW when I joined 7+ years for the first time was a handy little tip to control how much salad dressing you use.  Instead of drizzling dressing over your salad, keep the dressing on the side and just dip you fork into the dressing before you take a bite.  This will really cut down on how much dressing you use and keep the pp value low for the dressing so you can spend more pp on other foods!

XOXO Megan

Island Rum Cake

Today is my birthday!!!  As I celebrate and indulge a bit (it is my birthday after all), here is a fun summer dessert for you to check out and maybe try out at the next time you have company?  This is a Pampered Chef recipe found here.  I made a few slight modifications, but it is basically the same recipe.  Enjoy!

Servings:  16

Size:  1/16 of cake

Points Plus: 10pp
Level of Difficulty:  Medium

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time:  15-18 minutes

Rating: 4 stars – Very good

Ingredient List:

Cake:

1 box of yellow cake mix

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup water

1 egg

1 can crushed pineapple, in juice, undrained

½ cup sweetened flaked coconut

Filling & Fruit Topping:

1 package vanilla instant mudding mix, sugar-free

1 cup milk

2 cups thawed, frozen whipped topping

2 Tbsp. dark rum

1 kiwi, peeled and sliced

1 large mango, peeled and sliced

¼ cup toasted coconut

Syrup:

¼ cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp. dark rum

2 Tbsp. water

1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Use two torte pans (I used Pampered Chef’s version which are 10 ½ inches round) to make the cake in.  Spray each pan with cooking spray and place an 8 inch circle of parchment paper over the center of each pan.  In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, oil, water, egg and pineapple until well mixed.  Fold in the coconut flakes.  Divide the cake batter evenly between the two pans.  Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let the cakes cool before you try and remove them from the pans; let cool on a wire cooling rack.  In a small saucepan, bring the brown sugar, dark rum, water and cinnamon to a boil over medium-high heat to make the syrup.  Whisk the mixture until the sugar is fully dissolved.  Cook for 1-2 minutes until the syrup is reduced to about ¼ cup; remove from heat.  Whisk the pudding mix and milk together to make the filling and add in 1 cup of whipped topping and the 2 Tbsp. rum.  Prep the kiwi and mango and cut into slices for the top of the cake.

Assemble the cake by starting with one torte cake on a round platter.  Brush the syrup topping over the top of the cake.  Using a cake decorating tool, pipe the filling mixture around the edge of the cake and spread evenly across the top of the cake.  Layer on the next cake layer and arrange the slices of mango and kiwi in the middle of the cake. Brush the remaining syrup on top of the fruit slices. Pipe around the edge of the top cake layer with the remaining filling and sprinkle the toasted coconut on top of the filling.

Tip:

A good cake decorating tool can help you to make impressive looking desserts!  I am partial to this version from Pampered Chef.

XOXO Megan

Red, White & Blue-Berry Trifle

Happy 4^th of July!!!  The 4^th is one of my favorite holidays.  I absolutely love fireworks!  I also love summer BBQs and this is the perfect dessert to bring with you to a summer party.  This is a modified version of a berry, cake and pudding trifle.  I’ve adjusted the recipe to pack in extra berries and found substitues for the high pp value items like pound cake, cream, excess sugar, etc.

Servings:  8
Size:  1/8 of the trifle
Points Plus: 4pp
Level of Difficulty:  Easy
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: n/a

Ingredient List:
Angel food cake (store-bought already baked version)
3 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 container Greek fat free yogurt, raspberry flavored
2 packages vanilla instant pudding mix, sugar-free
2 cup skim milk

Directions:
Wash and prepare the berries. In a large bowl, mix together with a whisk the milk, Greek yogurt and instant pudding mixes until the mixture has a thick consistency. In the bottom of your trifle bowl, start layering beginning with angel food cake.  Use 1/3 of the cake and tear off 1-2 inch pieces of cake and fill until the bottom of the bowl is covered.  Next use 1/3 of the pudding mixture, drop spoonfuls on top of the cake layer.  Finally, make the berry layer using 2/3 cup of blueberries and 1 cup of strawberries.  Repeat the 3 layers twice more resulting in 3 layers of each and ending with berries at the top of the trifle.  Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

Tip:

The pudding mixture might be a little dull in color depending on what Greek yogurt you use.  I added about 10 drop of red food coloring to my mixture to bring out a richer pink color to make the pudding layer look more festive!

XOXO Megan

Donut Kabobs

Looking for something FUN to serve at your next brunch?  Donut kabobs are a perfect little treat.  I served these for Easter brunch this year and they were a hit with my family.  These are great to serve at either a wedding or baby shower too.  Easy entertaining!

Servings:  As many as you need

Size:  One kabob

Points Plus: 3 pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: n/a

Rating: 4 stars – Very good

Ingredient List:

Donut holes

Strawberries

Blackberries

Skewers

Directions:

Wash the strawberries and blackberries.  Slice the strawberries in half.  Assemble each skewer, alternating each fruit type along with the donut holes.  Feel free to use whatever type of donut hole you prefer – glazed, cinnamon sugar or powdered (I prefer glazed, and they are the least messy J).

Tip:

Just like the fruit kabobs I posted about a month ago, these kabobs can easily fit the color scheme of your party, shower or brunch.  Switch out what fruit you use to match the colors or theme of your gathering!

XOXO Megan

Fruit Kabobs

If you are looking for something fun, super EASY and healthy to bring to a party… let me introduce you to fruit kabobs!  When you’re asked to bring something to a dinner party or book club or any other social event that is centered around food, it’s best to come prepared and bring something that you know is points friendly. This will help you stay in control because you know you have a guaranteed option to snack on.  These fruit kabobs are perfect for any of those occasions!

Servings:  16 skewers

Points Plus: 0 pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time:  n/a

Rating: 3 stars – Good

Ingredient List:

Toothpicks or kabob skewers (depending on what size you want to make)

2 bananas

Large bunch of green grapes

1 Pineapple

3 kiwi

Directions:

Wash the green grapes and take off the stems.  Cut up the pineapple into small, bite-size pieces.  Peel the kiwi and banana and cut into slices.  Assemble each skewer, alternating types of fruit.  Display on a plate

 Tip:

The picture above shows some fruit kabobs I made for the Packer SUPERBOWL party a few years ago (GO PACK GO!!!).  There are so many options though – you could make 4^th of July kabobs with blueberries, strawberries and raspberries; Luau themed kabobs with pineapple, mango and strawberries; or you can just pick fruits that go well with the color scheme of your party! If you do decide to make these ahead of time for a wedding or baby shower, make sure you save fruits that will brown easily for the day of prep (things like bananas, apples etc) so your kabobs look nice and fresh for your party spread.

XOXO Megan

Banana Bread Muffins

I was really craving banana bread and was in the mood to make a homemade baked good.  I also had some bananas that were well past their prime.  So I thought why not shake up the traditional banana bread recipe and try to turn it into muffins instead of loaves.  We have a family favorite recipe so I took that and adapted it into muffins.  Another perk, one muffin instead of a slice of bread is a great way to cut some points!

Servings:  16

Size:  1 muffin

Points Plus: 4 pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time:  18-20 minutes, depending on your oven

Rating: 3 stars – Good

Ingredient List:

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups flour

¼ tsp. salt

1 cup mashed bananas

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Line a regular muffin tin with paper or foil liners. Cream butter and sugar together, mixed thoroughly.  Add eggs, one at a time and beat well. Sift flour, baking soda and salt, combine in a separate bowl.  Add flour mixture to the butter/sugar/eggs, alternating with bananas.  Fold in nuts (if you prefer).  Scoop the banana bread mixture into muffin tins, filling each about ¾ full.  Bake for 18-20 minutes.  Check with a toothpick to test if they are done!

Tip:

You can easily convert this recipe back into loaves if you prefer slices of banana bread instead of muffins.  Double the recipe above and pour into loaf pans instead of muffin tins.  The doubled recipe will make 3 loaves of banana bread. Bake the loaves for 55-60 minutes.  Adjust the color of your bread/muffins depending on what sugar you used.  I went with white sugar in these muffins, but you could substitute ½ cup of brown sugar to make a darker muffin.

XOXO - Megan