What goes on in a Weight Watcher meeting

Starring the best Weight Watcher buds ever!  Keith, Anne, Mary Jo and Gwen! I wish I could add all the wonderful people in my meeting but there isn't room!  Patty, Becky, Laura, Janet, Ellen, Marlene, Rosemary, Shirley, Larry, Donna, Colleen, Jo, Jody, Rhonda, Casey and on and on and on!

Apple-Pear Crumble

Apple-Pear Crumble
1/2 of recipe (about 1 cup): 188 calories, 3.5g fat, 48mg sodium, 39g carbs, 5.5g fiber, 21g sugars, 2g protein -- PointsPlus® value 5*

Dessert in a foil pack? For realsies!

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped pear
1 cup chopped apple
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar (not packed), or HG Alternative
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1 tbsp. whole-wheat flour
1 tbsp. light whipped butter or light buttery spread (like Brummel & Brown)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay a large piece of heavy-duty foil on a baking sheet and spray with nonstick spray.

In a medium bowl, mix pear with apple. Add cornstarch, 1 tbsp. brown sugar, and 1/8 tsp. cinnamon. Stir until evenly coated.

In another medium bowl, combine oats, flour, remaining 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar, and remaining 1/8 tsp. cinnamon. Add butter, and stir until well mixed and crumbly.

Distribute fruit mixture onto the center of the foil. Evenly top with oat mixture.

Place another large piece of foil over the fruit. Fold together and seal all four edges of the two foil pieces, forming a well-sealed packet.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until topping has lightly browned and fruit has softened.

Cut packet to release steam before opening entirely.

MAKES 2 SERVINGS

HG Alternative: If you like, use Truvia Brown Sugar Blend in place of the brown sugar. Just use half the amount: 1/2 tbsp. in the fruit mixture and 3/4 tsp. in the oats mixture. Then each serving will have 174 calories, 37g carbs, and 17g sugars (PointsPlus® value 5*).

I made this tonight.  It is from Hungry Girl.  It was pretty good, not overly sweet.  I will make this again.

Red Beans and Sausage

Red Beans and Sausage

2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium green pepper, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1T canola oil
2 cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
½lb turkey sausage, sliced
¾c water
1tsp Cajun seasoning
1/8 tsp hot sauce
hot cooked rice, optional

Saute garlic, pepper and onion in oil until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add next 5 ingredients and bring  to a boil.  Reduce heat and cook for 5-7 minutes or until the sausage is heated throughout.  Serve over rice.

I made with 13 oz of smoked turkey sausage and figured the points at 7 for 4 servings.  1 cup of rice is 5 points.

This was really good and I will definitely make it again!

 

Chicken Cabbage Stir Fry

 

 

 

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Chicken Cabbage Stir Fry

 

3 Chicken breast halves

1 tsp vegetable oil

3 cups green cabbage, shredded

1 T corn starch

½ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp garlic powder

½ cup water

1 T soy sauce

 

Cut chicken into strips.  Heat oil in frying pan.  Add chicken and stir fry over medium-high heat, turning constantly until browned.  Add cabbage and sauté 2 minutes until cabbage is tender. 

 

Mix cornstarch and seasonings; add water and soy sauce and mix until smooth.  Stir sauce into chicken and cabbage.  Cook until sauce has thickened and chicken coated, about 1 minute.  Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

 

It needs salt and I added sweet red pepper.  Next time I will add a little onion and fresh mushrooms.  I over cooked the cabbage, I would have liked it to have a bit of a crunch, not limp.  It was pretty good and I will definitely make again.  The points for this is 1 point for the oil and then what ever the chicken weighs divided by your servings.  This is found on cooks.com. 



Hummify Me!!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

 

	30 oz canned chickpeas (undrained)
	7 oz roasted red peppers (packed in water), bottled, drained
	3 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s)
	3 Tbsp canned tahini
	1 Tbsp olive oil
	6 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
	1 tsp curry powder
	1/2 tsp ground cumin
	1/2 tsp ground coriander
	1 1/4 tsp table salt
	1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground   Drain chickpeas, reserving 1⁄4 cup of liquid. Place chickpeas, reserved liquid and remaining ingredients in a food processor; process 2 minutes or until very smooth. Cover and chill 2 hours. Serve with pita wedges or baked tortilla chips (need to count POINTS values for pita or chips). Yields about 1⁄4 cup of hummus per serving.  This hummus is even tastier after being refrigerated overnight.  2 points per serving. The second batch I made I left out the cumin, curry and coriander.  I liked it much better.

Struggling thru the Holidays

This is the link to my You Tube video, "Struggling thru the Holidays!"  http://youtu.be/7GXpjWa1zDo

Baked Ziti with Turkey Sausage

8 servings @ 8 PointsPlus Value

 

3/4 pound(s) uncooked turkey sausage(s), spicy-variety, casings removed

1 medium uncooked onion(s), chopped

1 medium green pepper(s), chopped

28 oz canned diced tomatoes

10 oz frozen green peas, thawed

2 Tbsp canned tomato paste

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp fennel seed

1/2 tsp table salt, or to taste

1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

12 oz uncooked whole wheat pasta, ziti, cooked according to package directions

6 oz shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

 

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.

 

Crumble the sausage meat into a large saucepan and brown over medium heat, stirring often,about 4 minutes. Drain off any fat, then add the onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, peas, tomato paste, oregano, basil, thyme, fennel seeds, salt and pepper.

 

Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and cook uncovered 5 minutes, stirring often.

Stir in the cooked pasta and half the cheese. Spread evenly into a 9"X 13" baking pan. Top evenly with the remaining cheese.

 

Bake until the cheese has melted and the casserole is bubbling, about 20 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes at room temperature before slicing into 8 pieces.

 

Weight Watchers Mexican Rice is delicious and 19 points for the whole recipe.  Kitch Me is the blog that it comes from.  I will make this again and again. 

 

 

I made these wonderful breakfast "muffins" and took them to our family Christmas.  A slice of thin deli ham tucked into the muffin pan, crack an egg into the cup the ham makes and bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes until the egg doesn't jiggle anymore.  Take it out of the oven and lay ¼ of a slice of the Sargento Ultra Thin Pepperjack cheese on top to melt.  It is so good, so easy and I figured 3 points per muffin.  My Mom loved them so much she called all her girlfriends to come over for brunch and she made them.  Great to make a few to throw in your meals you pack to go to work!

 

Taco Spaghetti Squash Boats

My cousin sent me this recipe and it sounds great.  As written the total is 34 points and if you served as is it for 4 servings it would be 9 points per serving.  I think you could cut the turkey in half and find a lighter version of the cheese and shave 9 points total.  I want to try this because it is packed with yummy ingredients.

1 spaghetti squash cut in half
1 can black beans 15oz (7pts)
1 lb ground turkey 16oz (12pts)
1 roma tomato
5 mushrooms
5 sweet peppers
1/2 cup spinach
Taco seasoning packet
1/2 cup pepper jack cheese 4oz (12 pts)

3 t. olive oil (3 pts)
Spices to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Cut and shell out the seeds of the squash. Drizzle some olive oil over the squash and bake for 45 min.
Put ground turkey in a pan with a tsp of olive oil and brown. Throw in all veggies, drained and rinsed black beans and taco seasoning. Sauté  until veggies are tender and meat is cooked through. 

Once squash is done, fluff the edges of it pulling the strands away from the sides but not removing it. Load the turkey mixture into each boat and top with even amount of cheese. Bake for another 10 min and serve hot.