Hummus III from allrecipies.com

Ingredients:

2 cups canned garbanzo beans, drained

1/3 cup tahini

1/4 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)

1 teaspoon salt

2 cloves garlic, halved

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pinch paprika

1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley

Directions:

1.  Place the garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, salt and garlic in a blender or food processor.  Blend until smooth.  Transfer mixture to a serving bowl.

2.  Drizzle olive oil over the garbanzo bean mixture.  Sprinkle with paprika and parsley.

Tzatziki Sauce II from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

2 cups plain yogurt

2 cloves crushed garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

1 large cucumber - peeled, seeded and shredded

Directions:

1.  Use a cheese cloth to strain the yogurt over a bowl for 3 to 4 hours, until most of the water has drained.

2.  Press excess liquid out of the shredded cucumber.  In a medium bowl, stir together the cucumber and strained yogurt.  Mix in the garlic, salt, pepper and mint.  Chill the mixture for 1 to 2 hours.

boo! Hiss!

I gained this week but that's ok.  It  is all about the journey and even though I gained I know I stayed on plan so that is important also.

So what did I do?  I put a pork roast into the oven and loaded it up with fresh veggies and baked it.  LOL.

I'll be eating off of this for a little bit but now I have roasted carrots and onions to nibble on also.

I found a recipe for hummus that I might try.  Have to figure up the points on it.

I'll post it in a separate posting so it will be easier to find.  Also found another recipe for Tztziki Sauce.  It is similar to the one I made but this has mint leaves in it.  I think I like that better.  I will have to try it.  It too will be added in a separate post so it can be found easier.

Weekend Cooking

Another weekend full of recipes to make.  :)    I will post pictures in the WW page but I wanted to put down the recipe that I made.  It was stuffed poblano peppers.

The original recipe called for poblano peppers, spices to taste, cream cheese and bacon.  I converted it to a more Weight Watcher friendly recipe.

I took one pepper (since I had never had poblano's before and wasn't sure I liked them) and cut it into four sections.  Then I took one tablespoon of  Weight Watcher whipped cream cheese and chive and put it on the peppers.  Topped that off with some Mrs. Dash garlic and herb blend and toasted it in my toaster oven until it started to brown.  It took about 30 minutes.

Talk about YUMMMMMM!

I will defnintely be making this again.  1 tablespoon of the WW whipped cream cheese is 1 point.  So I could eat it all for only 4 points.  Yes!

Try it out sometime.

mushroom-smothered rosemary pork chops

Mushroom Smothered Rosemary Pork Chops - Smart Safe and PointsPlus 4

4 (1/4 pound) boneless center cut pork loin chops, trimmed

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 pound cremini mushrooms, quartered

1/3 cup reduced sodium chicken brother

1 teaspoon whole grain mustard

1.  Sprinkle pork chops with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; rub with 1 clove of garlic and 1 teaspoon rosemary.

2.  Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add pork to skillet and cook until instant read thermometer inserted into side of chops registers 145F, 2-3 minutes per side.  Transfer to platter; keep warm.

3.  Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to skillet.  Add mushrooms, remaining 1 clove of garlic, remaining 1 teaspoon rosemary, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms begin to soften, 5 minutes.  Add broth and cook until most of liquid evaporates and mushrooms are tender, about 3 minutes longer.  Remove from heat and stir in mustard.

4.  Divide pork chops among 4 plates; top evenly with mushrooms.

Per serving:  1 pork chop with 1/2 cup mushrooms)

Cal: 173

Fat: 8 (2 Sat, 0 Trans Fat)

Chol: 47

Sod: 553

Carb: 6

Fiber: 1

Protein: 20

Calc: 31

PointsPlus :  4

Cooks Note:  To make it a meal, serve with these homey chops with steamed green beans and mashed potatoes (1 pound of red skinned potatoes, cooked and mashed with salt and pepper to taste will increase the per serving PointsPlus value by 2).

Potato Puffs

This might not be the best health wise but it sure looks and sound good.

POTATO PUFFS 

Ingredients

3 cups of mashed potatoes 
2 eggs 
1/3 cup sour cream (optional extra for serving)
1 heaping cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped chives or parsley
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

Lightly grease with butter 8 - 9 of the wells of a nonstick muffin pan. 
In a medium mixing bowl whisk the eggs then mix in the sour cream. 
Stir in both cheeses and the chives. 
Add potatoes and mix well. Spoon them into the pan filling the cups to slightly below the top. 

Bake 25- 35 minutes until they pull away from the sides of the cup and are golden brown. Remove from oven and let them cool 5 minutes in pan. 

Serve with sour cream if desired.

grilled pizza with sausage, onions and peppers - 6 WW pts.

Grilled Pizza with Sausage, Onions and Peppers

Ingredients

	6 oz cooked chicken sausage(s), about 2 links, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced
	1 small uncooked red onion(s), cut into thin slivers
	1 small yellow pepper(s), cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
	1/2 cup(s) store-bought pizza sauce, or tomato sauce
	4 medium whole wheat tortilla(s)
	1 tsp dried oregano
	3/4 cup(s) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Instructions

·         Preheat an outdoor grill to medium (or a grill pan over medium-high heat). Place sausage, onion and pepper on grill in a grill basket; cook, flipping once, until sausage is golden and vegetables start to brown, about 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from grill and set aside until ready to use.

·         To prepare pizzas, spread 2 tablespoons of sauce on each tortilla. Sprinkle each with 1/4 teaspoon of dried oregano and then top each with 1/4 of sausage-vegetable mixture; top each with 3 tablespoons of cheese.

·         Place pizzas on grill (or as many as will fit on grill pan at one time) and cook until edges begin to brown, about 3 to 5 minutes; rotate pizzas. Continue cooking until cheese is bubbly, about 2 to 4 minutes more. Yields 1 pizza per serving.

Notes

·         Cooking time on an outdoor grill may vary slightly from a grill pan.

Crockpot Italian Sausage - 6 WW pts

Crockpot Italian Sausage Stew

Yield: 8 Servings
Serving Size: 1 3/4 cups Per Serving

WW Plus+ = 6 Per Serving

Nutrition Information:
Calories 277, Fat 8 g, Carbs 31 mg, Fiber 10 g, Protein 20 g

Ingredients:

3/4 lb bulk Italian sausage
10 cups chicken broth
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 medium size carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
3/4 cup dry pinto beans
3/4 cup dry navy beans
3/4 cup dry red beans
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained and sliced thin.
Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a 10 inch skillet, cook sausage over medium high heat until well browned,
stirring often to seperate meat. Drain off fat.

2. Into a 5 quart slow cooker place sausage, broth , black pepper, carrots, celery and beans. Mix well.

3. Cover and cook on LOW 7 to 8 hours or on High 4 to 5 hours.

4. Uncover and add the tomatoes. Cover and cook 1 hour longer or until beans
are tender. Sprinkle with the Parmesan.

Busy weekend

Wow, I can't believe that the weekend is almost over.  It was kind of productive.  I ended up planning meals for the week and also decided to do some of the cooking for those meals.

First up was the Sloppy Joe broccoli Slaw.

Then I decided to make the one pot Chicken but realized that I needed to cook than just one chicken so decided to go all out.  I had two thawed cooked chickens and cooked them both up.  If you look at the top of the page at the tabs you'll see a new tab which says Weight Watcher's 3 month journey.  I'll post there on how my weight loss journey goes but also on my thoughts when I make dishes that work in my meal plans.

Go and check it out.

Sloppy Joe Stir-Fry Slaw by Hungry Girl

Sloppy Joe Stir-Fry Slaw PER SERVING (1/4th of recipe, about 1 cup): 140 calories, 4g fat, 455mg sodium, 13g carbs, 3g fiber, 7.5g sugars, 13.5g protein -- PointsPlus®value 3* Sloppy Joes are goooood... but SO sloppy! This scoopable salad is fork-friendly, loaded with veggies, and ready to be fed to your face. Ingredients: 8 oz. raw lean ground turkey One 12-oz. bag (about 4 cups) dry broccoli cole slaw 1 cup Hunt's Manwich Original Sloppy Joe Sauce Directions:Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat on the stove. Add turkey and use a spatula to break it up. Cook and crumble until browned and fully cooked, about 8 minutes. Add slaw and sauce to the skillet and stir to mix. Continue to cook for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce is hot and slaw has softened. Serve and enjoy! MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Carrots

Caramelized-Onion Galette

While I was getting my oil changed in my car, I looked at one of the magazines in the waiting room.  There was a couple of recipes that I thought I'd share with you.  The first one has carmelized onions which is a fav of mine.  These pix were snapped with my cell phone but I think you can still read it.  Here goes nothing....

Separating Egg Yolk using a Water Bottle

I finally tried it.  I saw this on facebook and just HAD to try it.

You just start out with your egg(s), two plates or containers, and a small empty water bottle.

Break open your egg and put the egg on one of the plates.

Now take your water bottle and put it next to the egg yolk and gently squeeze.

The egg yolk will be sucked up into the bottle.  What is nice is that you can put more than one in the bottle at a time if you want.

So now you have the yolk in the bottle but now you need to get it out.  Put the bottle with the yolk on the empty plate and gently squeeze again.  This will expel the egg yolk. It's that simple.

If you have more than one egg yolk in the bottle, just repeat the process until they are all expelled.  Don't try to expel them all in one shot.

I noticed that my egg whites didn't have any yolk in them (and it was really quick to do) but that some of the egg white came up with the egg yolk but that didn't bother me.

Then I looked at my separated egg and wondered what to do with it since I didn't want to throw it out.....so I combined them again and cooked it in the microwave and had an egg and cheese sandwich for dinner.  :)

Minestrone Soup (serves 10) from Hungry Girl

	Mmm-mmm Minestrone PER SERVING (1 generous cup): 105 calories, 0.5g fat, 512mg sodium, 19.5g carbs, 4.5g fiber, 4g sugars, 5g protein --PointsPlus® value 2* Need a big pot of soup PACKED with veggies (not calories!), but don't want to spend forever chopping? This recipe is a DELICIOUS shortcut to Soupville! Ingredients: Two 14-oz. cans (3 1/2 cups) fat-free vegetable broth Two 14.5-oz. cans diced tomatoes, drained One 15-oz. can cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained and rinsed One 10-oz. package frozen spinach, mostly thawed 1 cup frozen cut green beans 1 cup frozen peas and carrots 1 cup uncooked whole-wheat-blend rotini or penne pasta 1 tbsp. dried minced onion 2 tsp. chopped garlic 1 tsp. Italian seasoning 1 bay leaf Salt and black pepper, to taste Directions: Combine all ingredients in a large pot on the stove. Add 1 cup water and stir it up. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and allow soup to simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve! MAKES 10 SERVINGS

IOne Pot Mardi-Gras Gumbo from everydaydiabeticrecipes.com

Once your crew gets a whiff of this gumbo, your kitchen just may become a stop on the Mardi Gras parade route! And why ruin the celebration by telling them this is a healthy all-in-one meal? Have fun!

Serves: 10

What You'll Need:

·         1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks

·         1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks

·         1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

·         1 (15-1/4-ounce) can whole-kernel corn, drained

·         1 (16-ounce) package frozen cut okra, thawed

·         2 (14-ounce) cans reduced-sodium chicken broth

·         1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce

·         1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke

·         1 teaspoon black pepper

What To Do:

1.     In a soup pot, combine all ingredients over high heat and bring to a boil.
 

2.     Reduce heat to medium and simmer 40 to 45 minutes, or until no pink remains in chicken and gumbo thickens, stirring occasionally. 

Serving Suggestion

This festive Mardi Gras dish needs just a small scoop of cooked rice to help us sop up all its flavorful juices.

Nutritional InformationServings Per Recipe: 10

·                Amount Per Serving% Daily Value *

o    Calories184

o    Calories from Fat37

o    Total Fat4.2g6 %

o    Saturated Fat1.0g5 %

o    Trans Fat0.0g0 %

o    Protein23g45 %

·              Amount Per Serving% Daily Value *

o    Cholesterol72mg24 %

o    Sodium271mg11 %

o    Total Carbohydrates16g5 %

o    Dietary Fiber3.1g13 %

o    Sugars5.3g0 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Read more at http://www.everydaydiabeticrecipes.com/One-Pots/Mardi-Gras-Gumbo-105427/ct/1#EmoU8F2f4G2fgGW1.99

One pot Classic CHicken in a Pot from everydaydiabeticrecipes.com

You can add other vegetables like potatoes, zucchini, or even garbanzo beans (chickpeas) to give this Classic Chicken in a Pot exciting fresh flavor every time you make it! Just check out what's in your veggie bin, and go for the gusto! It's almost like a homemade chicken soup...but better!

Serves: 5

Cooking Time: 1 hr

What You'll Need:

·         1 (3-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces, skin removed

·         6 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

·         4 ribs celery, cut into 1-inch pieces

·         2 onions, cut into 8 wedges each

·         5 cups water

·         1 chicken bouillon cube

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1/2 teaspoon black pepper

What To Do:

1.     In a soup pot, combine all the ingredients and bring to a boil over high heat.

2.     Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 1 hour, or until the chicken is fall-apart tender. Ladle into bowls, and serve.

Notes

• To make this a gluten-free recipe, use gluten-free bouillon.
   
• You can add other vegetables like potatoes, zucchini, or even garbanzo beans (chickpeas) to give this recipe an exciting fresh flavor every time you make it! Just check out what's in your veggie bin and go for the gusto!

Nutritional InformationServings Per Recipe: 5

·         Amount Per Serving% Daily Value *

·         Calories181

·         Calories from Fat36

·         Total Fat4.0g   6 %

·         Saturated Fat1.0g 5 %

·         Trans Fat0.0g  0 %

·         Protein26g  53 %

·                         Amount Per Serving% Daily Value *

• Cholesterol83mg  28 %
• Sodium577mg  24 %
• Total Carbohydrates9.0g          3 %
• Dietary Fiber2.4g           10 %

• Sugars4.4g       0 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Read more at http://www.everydaydiabeticrecipes.com/One-Pots/Classic-Chicken-in-a-Pot-6713#wLjFKHwwSHrYspbs.99

Ramen Noodle Broccoli Surprise from everydaydiabeticrecipes.com

Budget-friendly and quick cooking Asian-style ramen noodles make for a tasty change of pace in this light and healthy Ramen Noodle Broccoli Surprise. Once you give it a try, we bet you'll keep this recipe close at hand.

Serves: 6

Cooking Time: 20 min

What You'll Need:

• 1 (16-ounce) package frozen broccoli florets
• 1 (3-ounce) package chicken-flavored ramen noodles with flavor pack
• 1 (10-ounce) can 99% fat-free cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts, drained, rinsed

What To Do:

1. In a 2-quart saucepan, cook broccoli according to package instructions. Do not overcook. Drain and set aside.
   
2. In same saucepan, cook noodles according to package instructions and add flavor pack. Stir in broccoli, soup, and water chestnuts; cook just until heated through.
   

Nutritional InformationServings Per Recipe: 6

• Amount Per Serving% Daily Value *
• Calories111
• Calories from Fat30
• Total Fat3.3g5 %
• Saturated Fat1.2g6 %
• Trans Fat0.0g0 %
• Protein4.3g9 %

• Amount Per Serving% Daily Value *
• Cholesterol0.0mg0 %
• Sodium803mg33 %
• Total Carbohydrates18g6 %
• Dietary Fiber3.2g13 %
• Sugars1.4g0 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Read more at http://www.everydaydiabeticrecipes.com/One-Pots/Ramen-Noodle-Broccoli-Surprise-7450#7wEvi4jttFFCJD6y.99