Sandy's Kitchen

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

2012-02-10T12:46:00.000-05:00

These cookies are sure to satisfy your chocolate craving! They are so yummy but then again I like most things that have chocolate in them! Next time I am going to try white chocolate chips or a combination of both chocolate and white chocolate chips. Make sure you have that tall glass of milk handy when eating these! Enjoy!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup softened butter

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup walnuts, pecans or macadamia nuts (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda.

Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in one egg until completely incorporated. Beat in the last egg along with the vanilla. Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts; mixing just enough to evenly combine. Drop by heaped teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake in the preheated oven until the edges are golden, 9 to 12 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Mama's Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

2012-02-08T14:21:00.002-05:00

All I have to say is Wow! I don't know a single person who does not like macaroni and cheese. Who can resit that ooey gooey cheesy taste! This is one of the best creamy mac and cheese recipes out there. Thanks Christy Jordan from Southern Plate! This is her mama's recipe and I am so happy she shared it with us. I have tried a few of her recipes on her website and decided I had to get her cookbook Southern Plate: Classic Comfort Food that Makes Everyone Feel Like Family. This recipe is actually in her cookbook as well. I highly recommend her cookbook. Good old fashioned cooking! As she states in her cookbook, this recipe is easy because all the ingredients are in two's, except of course the salt, pepper and dry mustard I added. I can't wait to try her baked macaroni and cheese recipe next time but this is the recipe all the kids like! Enjoy!

Mama's Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

From Southern Plate

Ingredients:

2 cups Velveeta, cubed

2 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups dry macaroni

1/8 tsp dry mustard (I added this)

1/8 tsp salt (I added this)

1/8 tsp pepper (I added this)

Directions:
Cover Macaroni with water and cook until almost done about 9 to 10 minutes, drain well. In bowl, melt butter in microwave. Stir in flour. Stir in milk. Salt and Pepper to taste. Pour cubed cheese into milk mixture and microwave at 30 second intervals until melted, stirring often. Stir in cooked macaroni. Place in oven safe dish and bake, uncovered, at 350 for twenty minutes. Give it a good stir when done.

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Buttery Rolls for the Bread Machine

2012-02-08T10:38:00.000-05:00

I love eating bread so I decided to try this recipe with my bread machine, but you don't have to have one to make these yummy rolls. You can use your mixer. First you would need to proof the yeast in the mixer bowl with the sugar and milk for 10 minutes. Then add the remaining liquid ingredients. Next, add the flour gradually and knead the dough for about 5 minutes using the dough hook. Place a clean cloth over the dough and let them rise for about 1 hour. Punch the dough down and knead a few more times. Separate the dough into 24 rolls and place them on a greased 9 x 13 pan. Cover the rolls and let them rise for 30 more minutes. Then bake!

I brushed the tops of the rolls with a little bit of butter and sprinkled Parmesan cheese, garlic powder and basil over the top before baking. They were nice and fluffy. They were perfect tasty dinner rolls. Enjoy!

Buttery Rolls

Ingredients:

1 cup warm milk (70 to 80 degrees F)

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 cups bread flour

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions:

1.In bread machine pan, place all ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed).

2.When cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 24 portions; shape into balls. Place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 15 minutes. Brush the tops with butter if desired. Bake at 375 degrees F for 13-16 minutes or until golden brown.

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Tater Tot Casserole

2012-02-06T17:09:00.000-05:00

Here is one of those great one dish casseroles that includes both your meat and veggies. You don't have to add any veggies, except of course the tater tots, but I like to add seasoned canned green beans. Corn, peas and carrots are also nice additions. Season the ground beef with your favorite spices. I like to use garlic powder, onion powder, Cajun seasoning, basil, salt and pepper. The seasoned ground beef and veggies are topped with your favorite cream soup mixture with the addition of milk. Then comes the tater tots and cheddar cheese! This is a delicious Southern dish that can easily be doubled, just use a 9 x 13 inch pan instead. Enjoy!

Tater Tot Casserole

Slightly adapted from http://www.deepsouthdish.com

Ingredients

1 (10-ounce ) can cream of mushroom or chicken soup (I used nacho cheese soup)

1 cup milk

1/2 tablespoon of olive oil

1/2 cup of chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion

1/4 cup of chopped green bell pepper

1 pound of ground beef

1 teaspoon of minced garlic

1 tablespoon of fresh basil ( I used a sprinkle of dried basil)

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

1 can seasoned french style green beans, drained (optional)

1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1 pound package of frozen tater tots

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter or spray a 9 x 9 inch casserole dish with non-stick spray; set aside. Whisk together the cream soup and milk until well blended; set aside.

Add olive oil to a large skillet and saute the onion and bell pepper until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the ground beef and brown; drain if needed and return to the skillet. Add the minced garlic, cook and stir another minute. Stir in the basil and Cajun seasoning; taste and add salt and pepper only as needed. Transfer meat mixture to the prepared casserole dish. Add the green beans over the ground beef mixture and sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the cheddar cheese. Evenly pour the soup mixture over the top. Arrange the tater tots on top and bake uncovered at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until potatoes are nicely browned and crisp. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of shredded cheese on top and return to the oven just until cheese is melted.

Serve immediately with a green vegetable or a mixed garden salad.

~Cook's Notes~

Variation: Add a layer of vegetables (about 1 cup) thawed if frozen, drained if canned. Good choices are green beans, peas, corn and mixed vegetables. Top with the 1/4 cup cheese, followed by the cream soup mixture and tater tots; bake. To make a breakfast casserole, substitute a 1 pound roll of cooked, crumbled breakfast sausage (like Jimmy Dean) and 4 to 5 slices of cooked crumbled bacon for the ground beef. Eliminate the meat to make this a side dish.

Double for a 9 x 13 inch casserole.

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Toffee Cheesecake Bars

2012-02-01T10:46:00.000-05:00

These are a lighter version of toffee cheesecake bars, but you can't tell! I got the recipe from Taste of Home Healthy Cooking magazine. There is a chocolate cookie layer on the bottom and then a cheesecake layer mixed with toffee bits on top. Oh so very good! Hubby and I both ate these up. These are great for sharing! Enjoy!

Toffee Cheesecake Bars

From Taste of Home Healthy Cooking Magazine

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/3 cup baking cocoa

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup cold butter

1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/4 cups milk chocolate English toffee bits, divided

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the flour, confectioners' sugar, cocoa and baking soda. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press onto the bottom of an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until set.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add the milk, eggs and vanilla; beat until smooth. Stir in 3/4 cup toffee bits. Pour over crust. Bake 18-22 minutes longer or until center is almost set.

Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining toffee bits; cool completely. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Yield: 2-1/2 dozen.

1 bar equals 169 calories, 9 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 39 mg cholesterol, 120 mg sodium, 19 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 3 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 fat, 1 starch.

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Catalina Chicken

2012-01-27T21:15:00.000-05:00

Before I share this really easy recipe with you... I wanted to announce the sex of my baby. I am having a boy!!! Hubby and I were both so ecstatic to hear the news. Of course, we would've been happy with either a boy or girl but I think hubby was secretly hoping it was a boy :) Now comes the fun part of shopping and decorating the baby's room! Yay!

This is a very simple recipe that requires only a handful of ingredients. It is one of those recipes that would make a great weekday meal. Not to mention it is very tasty! Hubby and I both loved how it turned out. I know once our baby is born, I will definitely be using these quick and easy recipes. I am sure I will be extremely busy with our baby to spend too much time in the kitchen. Enjoy this recipe!

Catalina Chicken

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

8 oz Catalina Dressing

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine dressing, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce in a medium bowl. Pour dressing over chicken. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly.

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Slow Cooker Pot Roast

2012-01-24T10:40:00.000-05:00

Today I find out whether I am having a boy or girl! I am so excited to find out! Everyone keeps asking me which I prefer to have. This is our first child so either one is fine with me just as long as the baby is healthy :) I can't wait to share the news with you guys in my next blog entry! Now I must share with you this wonderful and easy recipe!

This is my favorite pot roast to make in the slow cooker! It comes out so moist and tender with lots and lots of flavor, considering you use 3 seasoning packets. No additional salt is needed on the roast because the seasoning packets have enough salt in them. I just sprinkled pepper and flour on the roast and seared it in a little bit of olive oil to brown all the sides. Browning helps lock in the moisture inside the roast. The original recipe called for only 1/2 a cup of water, but I thought the gravy would be too thick and much more saltier so I increased it to 1 cup. I left it in the slow cooker for 8 hours and it was fabulous! This is a must try! Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Slightly adapted from www.allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 onion, sliced

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 pound boneless beef chuck roast

ground black pepper to taste

1 (1.2 ounce) package dry beef gravy mix

1 (1 ounce) package ranch dressing mix

1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix

1 cup water, or as needed

5 whole peeled carrots (optional)

Directions:

Spray the inside of a slow cooker with cooking spray. Spread the onion slices out into the bottom of the cooker.

Spread the flour out onto a work surface. Sprinkle the chuck roast with black pepper, and roll the roast in the flour to coat all sides. Using the edge of a small, sturdy plate, pound the flour into the meat. Place the floured roast into the cooker on top of the onions. Whisk together beef gravy mix, ranch dressing mix, and Italian dressing mix in a bowl, and whisk the mixes with water until smooth. Pour over the chuck roast. Distribute carrots around the meat.

Cover the cooker, set to Low, and cook until the roast is tender and the gravy has thickened, about 8 hours.

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Tasty Green Beans

2012-01-20T12:17:00.000-05:00

Ever get tired of the same old boring green beans? Here is a great way to dress them up. I altered the amount of ingredients used in the original recipe a lot! I just didn't think it needed a whole stick of butter to make these beans taste good (although Paula Deen might disagree). I cut the butter to only 2 tbsp which was enough to saute my onions and garlic in. I also cut the soy sauce in half using 1/4 cup and used a 1/2 cup of low sodium beef broth instead of 2 tbsp of beef bouillon granules mixed with water. It just seemed like it would be way too salty. I also added a little bit of sugar as I do with most of my stir frys to sweeten it up a little. I loved how the flavor turned out. Here is the original recipe if you are interested Tasty Green Beans. The original recipe has triple the fat (11.5 g) and double the calories (150). Enjoy this side dish!

Tasty Green Beans

Ingredients:

2 pounds fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed

2 tbsp light butter
1/2 onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/2 cup low sodium beef broth

1/2 tsp sugar (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add green beans and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over high heat. Add onions and garlic . Saute until onions are tender and garlic is lightly browned. Toss in the green beans. Stir in soy sauce, beef broth and sugar. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Servings: 8

Calories: 73 Fat: 3.1 g Carbs: 10.1 g Fiber: 4.1 g Protein: 2.9 g

WW Points: 2

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Dixie Crossroads Corn Fritters

2012-01-19T11:16:00.002-05:00

I wanted to let you guys know that I changed my domain name to http://www.sandyskitchenadventures.com/. It is no longer http://www.lighterrecipes.com/. I felt that since I was cooking a variety of different recipes, a domain name called lighter recipes just did not seem appropriate anymore. This way I could feature an assortment of recipes because I really love to cook all kinds of foods :) If you could pass this along that would be great!

I remember eating corn fritters growing up in a small town in Florida. There was a small mom and pops fried chicken restaurant that we always loved going to called Bonnie Lee's. They would always give you extra pieces of their yummy fried chicken when you ordered and we never could forget their yummy corn fritters sprinkled with powdered sugar. They were so heavenly! I found this recipe at http://www.food.com/ and the taste is pretty close to the corn fritters served at Bonnie Lee's. The person who posted this recipe states they came from a wonderful seafood restaurant also in Florida. They would serve these yummy crispy fritters before the meal. You could purchase their mix already made at the restaurant, but they also gave out the recipe if you wanted to make them from scratch. They aren't exactly the healthiest to eat considering they are deep fried in oil and would definitely expand your waistline if you ate too many so be forewarned! They are still great for an occasional treat! I usually cut the recipe in half. Enjoy!

Dixie Crossroads Corn Fritters

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons white sugar

2 large eggs (beaten)

1 cup milk

4 tablespoons melted butter

1 cup whole corn , from a tin (drained)

powdered sugar , as needed

Directions:

In a large pot or deep fryer, heat your preferred oil to deep fry with to approximately 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine beaten eggs, milk, and butter. Whisk egg mixture into dry ingredients; stir in corn last. Drop by tablespoonfuls into hot oil; deep fry about 5 minutes, or until fritters are golden brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve as soon as possible; best when served very warm.

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Burrito Pie

2012-01-17T11:24:00.003-05:00

This is similar to an Italian lasagna, but has a Mexican flavor to it. My family loves Mexican food so this was a big hit in my house! It pretty much tastes like what the name suggests... a burrito! This would be great for a pot luck because it makes a lot of food! If you don't want a lot of leftovers, divide all the ingredients in half into two foil pie plates or two foil 8 inch square pans. Have one half for dinner and save the other half for later because they freeze great! Just take it out of the freezer (no need to defrost) and bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes until nice and hot. If you use a glass pan from the freezer, you will need to defrost it first. It will shatter if you put it in the oven right away. Not a pretty site! Serve this with your favorite fixings such as lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, or salsa. This is definitely a crowd pleaser! Enjoy!

Burrito Pie

Slightly adapted from www.allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

2 pounds lean ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 (4 ounce) can diced green chili peppers

1 (10 ounce) can rotel diced tomatoes with green chile peppers

1 (16 ounce) jar taco sauce

1 tbsp taco seasoning (optional)

1 (16 ounce) can fat free refried beans
9 (8 inch) flour tortillas

8 ounces reduced fat Mexican Three Cheese Blend shredded cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the ground beef for 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic, and saute for 5 more minutes. Drain any excess fat, if desired. Mix in the green chile peppers, tomatoes with green chile peppers, taco sauce, taco seasoning and refried beans. Stir mixture thoroughly, reduce heat to low, and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Spread a thin layer of the meat mixture in the bottom of a 4 quart casserole dish. Cover with a layer of tortillas followed by more meat mixture, then a layer of cheese. Repeat tortilla, meat, cheese pattern until all the tortillas are used, topping off with a layer of meat mixture and cheese.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheese is slightly brown and bubbly.

Serves 16

(1 - 13x9 inch dish, 2 - 9 inch pie plates or 2 - 8 inch square pans)

Calories: 309 Fat: 9.4 g Protein: 26.8 g Carbs: 30.2 g Fiber: 4.3 g WW Points: 8

(use reduced fat or fat free tortillas to decrease your fat intake)

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Peanut Butter Frosting

2012-01-14T12:52:00.000-05:00

This is my favorite frosting for chocolate cake! I love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. I just baked a 9 x 13 inch chocolate cake and frosted with the frosting. Nothing special I know, but you could really dress up the cake. You could make 2 round cakes and frost as usual. Drizzle a chocolate ganache over the top and let it drizzle over the sides. Then add chopped Reese's miniature peanut butter cups to the top. Or use more icing to make round mounds of frosting around the edge of the cake and place whole Reese's miniature cups on top of each mound. You will have one fancy smancy cake. Sooooo delicious! Hubby even agrees!

Peanut Butter Frosting

Slightly adapted from All Recipes Dinner Tonight Cookbook

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup whipping cream or milk

Directions:

In a large bowl, beat butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in confectioners' sugar. Mix in whipping cream or milk. If necessary, add a little more cream or milk until the frosting is desired spreading consistency.

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Meatballs for Spaghetti

2012-01-09T15:26:00.000-05:00

These meatballs are out of this world even without all the fat and calories of other meatballs. Serve them with your favorite spaghetti sauce, whole wheat spaghetti noodles, and a side salad for a more nutritious meal. Enjoy!

Meatballs for Spaghetti

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef or turkey

1 egg, beaten

1/3 cup Italian style bread crumbs

2 tbsp reduced fat Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp dried sage

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Roll ground beef or turkey mixture into 1 inch balls. Place on cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn meatballs on other side and bake for an additional 10 minutes. When cooked, place meatballs in a medium pot with your favorite spaghetti sauce. Simmer on low for 20 minutes, covered.

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Oven Crisp Chicken Wings and Glazed Chicken Wings

2012-01-08T13:48:00.000-05:00

These wings are a combination of two recipes. First, I used the oven crisp chicken wings recipe so that the chicken comes out crispy without the need of frying them. They came out very delicious and had lots of flavor. They would taste great dipped in your favorite sauce, baked with a sauce, or just plain without any sauce! Sooo versatile! I have made this recipe quite a few times with barbecue sauce, buffalo hot wing sauce, or plain and then using a honey mustard dressing to dip them in. My husband liked the sauce recipe from the glazed chicken wings recipe below so much that I decided to combine the two recipes. I made a few changes to the sauce recipe by decreasing the soy sauce from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup because I thought it might be too much soy sauce. Just try it with 1/4 cup first and add more to your liking. Then I added some ginger, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes to spice it up some. It tasted like Asian style barbecue wings. You could also skip the oven crisp chicken wings recipe and just pour the sauce over the chicken and then bake for about an hour. They still turn out yummy, just not crispy. Enjoy these yummy recipes!

Oven Crisp Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

1/3 cup flour

1 tbsp paprika

2 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp black pepper

1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

3 tbsp butter

3 lbs chicken wings, tips, removed

Directions:

Cut wings at joints. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Be sure wings are thawed and dry them well paper towels.

Combine flour, paprika, garlic salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper in a plastic bag.

Shake to mix ingredients and add wings.

Line a baking sheet with Release foil and melt butter on it. (Makes for easy clean up).

Add wings to pan and turn to coat. Bake for 30 minutes.

Turn wings over and bake for 15 more minutes or until crispy and done.

*When adding a sauce, I reduce temperature to 350 degrees after the wings are cooked and bake for 10 to 15 additional minutes with the sauce.

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Glazed Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs chicken wings

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup soy sauce (I used only 1/4 cup)

1/2 tsp ground ginger (I added this)

Few shakes of red pepper flakes (I added this)

1 tsp minced garlic (I added this)

Directions:

Cut chicken wings into three sections; discard wing tip section. Place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Combine barbecue sauce, honey, soy sauce, ginger, red pepper flakes and garlic; pour over wings. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

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Best Ever Banana Bread

2012-01-06T16:29:00.000-05:00

Nothing beats warm banana bread for breakfast. Yum! What a great way to use up those bananas that are overly ripe. This recipe makes a very moist and delicious loaf. I don't usually have buttermilk in my fridge so I always make my own. You would just need to add 1 tbsp of vinegar or lemon juice to a 1 cup measuring cup. Then add milk so that it fills the cup up. Wait 5 to 10 minutes for the milk to sour and you have buttermilk! The recipe below only uses 1/3 cup of buttermilk so it is adjusted to the right amounts. Also, if you want an extra sweet topping, sprinkle the bread with cinnamon and sugar before baking. I truly think this is the best banana bread I ever tasted! Enjoy!

Best Ever Banana Bread

(Slightly adapted from www.allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

2 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup buttermilk or (1 tsp white vinegar or lemon juice with enough milk to make 1/3 cup; let sit and sour for 5 to 10 minutes)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup mashed bananas

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Spray one 9x5 inch loaf pan with non-stick spray coating.

Blend together the eggs, buttermilk, oil and bananas.

Sift together the sugars, flour, baking soda, salt , vanilla extract and cinnamon (optional). Add to banana mixture and stir in pecans. Mix well.

Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

If desired, top with a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar for an extra crunchy sweet topping before baking!

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Baked Beans

2012-01-06T12:48:00.000-05:00

This is my favorite baked beans recipes that I love to bring to potlucks and barbecues. They are so delicious! You can add a little more ketchup if you prefer or a small chopped onion but I am not an onion fan so I leave them out. Sometimes I add 2 tbsp of my favorite barbecue sauce for barbecue baked beans. I love baked beans! I hope you enjoy the recipe!

Baked Beans

Ingredients:

2 (28 oz) cans Bush's Baked Beans

2/3 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup ketchup

1 tbsp yellow mustard or spicy brown mustard for variation

1/8 tsp garlic powder

4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients in a 3 quart casserole dish.

Bake uncovered for one hour at 350 degrees.

It's best if they set out to cool for one hour before you serve them.

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Peanut Butter Noodles

2012-01-04T12:57:00.001-05:00

This was delicious and so easy to make! I love Asian style noodles. It tastes similar to what you would get in a restaurant. I used whole wheat linguine noodles, but you can use regular linguine or spaghetti noodles. I didn't have any green onions so I left them out. I also used red pepper flakes instead of the hot chile paste. Next time I will add shredded chicken breasts, julienned carrots, broccoli florets and a bit of cilantro for a more complete meal. I will definitely be making this again!

Yum, yum, yum!

Peanut Butter Noodles

(From www.allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup reduced fat/ low sodium chicken broth

1- 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons peanut butter

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons hot chile paste (optional)

3 cloves garlic, minced

8 ounces linguine noodles

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook until tender according to package directions. Drain.

Meanwhile, combine chicken broth, ginger, soy sauce, peanut butter, honey, chili paste, and garlic in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until peanut butter melts and is heated through. Add noodles, and toss to coat. Garnish with green onions and peanuts.

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A little update...

2012-01-01T23:11:00.000-05:00

This is just a little update of why I have been missing in action. Hubby and I just got back from a wonderful trip to Las Vegas which explains why I have not been posting on my blog for nearly 2 weeks! We spent 12 fun filled days in Sin City and although we had lots of fun, no place beats HOME!

About my pregnancy... I am happy to report my pregnancy is going very well! I am now 4 months prego and I am beginning to show! I am one of the fortunate ones who did not experience morning sickness, but boy do I have an appetite! I think I give new meaning to the phrase "Eating for two"! This year I have decided to try to incorporate more healthier entrees as well as adding more fruits and veggies to my daily meal plans. This is for both me and the baby to ensure a healthy pregnancy.

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year! Check back later for more recipes!

Baked Tilapia with Lots of Spice

2011-12-15T11:00:00.000-05:00

I got this recipe from member, ladypit, at http://www.food.com/ who got it from Paul Prudhomme's wonderful "Fork In The Road" lower fat cookbook. It sounds like a lot of spices, but it really makes the fish tastes soooo good. I did decrease the salt and cumin by half based on reviews and I loved how it came out. I will definitely be making this again. Enjoy!

Baked Tilapia with Lots of Spice

www.food.com

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp paprika

3/4 tsp onion powder

3/4 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp basil

3/4 tsp Italian seasoning

4 (4 ounce) tilapia fillets

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

3 tbsp sliced green onions

1 tbsp dried parsley flakes

1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

In a small bowl combine the spices from the salt through the Italian seasoning and set it aside.

In a shallow container mix the bread crumbs, dried parsley, and green onions. Measure 4 tsp of the spice mix and sprinkle that all over the 4 fish fillets.

Add the remaining spice mix to the bread crumbs, mixing well. Add the olive oil to the bread crumb mix, blending it in with your hands. Dredge the fish in the breadcrumbs, coating well. Shake off any excess breadcrumbs. Place the fish on a baking pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake for 6 minutes. Turn over and bake for 4 minutes. Turn over again and bake until flaky, about 4 more minutes. Serve immediately.

4 Servings

Calories: 202; Fat: 6.3 g; Carbs: 11.5 g; Protein: 25.1 g; Fiber 1.2 g

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Broccoli-Cheddar Soup

2011-12-15T10:32:00.000-05:00

Here is another broccoli cheddar soup I found in a Gooseberry Patch Christmas cook book. Very tasty! I am always looking for yummy soups to add to my collection. I added a little bit of chopped tomatoes and some carrots to the soup so I could get my veggies in. You can leave those out if you like. Enjoy!

Broccoli-Cheddar Soup

Gooseberry Patch Christmas in the Country

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups chicken broth

10 oz package frozen broccoli, thawed

2 tbsp light butter

2 tbsp dried minced onion

2 1/4 cup reduced fat milk, divided

10-3/4 oz can cheddar cheese soup

2 cups shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp garlic salt

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1/2 cup carrots, julienned (optional)

Directions:

Combine chicken broth, broccoli, butter, onion and carrots in a stockpot; cook over medium heat until the carrots and onion are tender. Add 2 cups milk, soup, cheese, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and garlic salt; cook over low heat until cheese melts. Stir in flour and remaining milk; heat until thickened. Serves 4

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Apple Crumble Bars

2011-12-10T18:10:00.000-05:00

These are sooo delicious! I got the recipe from Betty Crocker's Fall Baking magazine. It has a shortbread crust with an apple pie filling in the center, and an oatmeal brown sugar crumble on top. It just screams Fall, but would also be great for gift giving during the holidays. Enjoy this yummy recipe!

Apple Crumble Bars

Betty Crocker Fall Baking Magazine

Ingredients:

Crust

2 1/2 cups All purpose flour

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp salt

Filling

3 1/2 cups apple pie filling from two 21 oz cans

Crumble

1 cup All purpose flour

1 cup quick-cooking oats

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

10 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces

Directions:

Heat oven to 375. Grease 13 x 9 inch pan with shortening or cooking spray. In large bowl, beat crust ingredients with electric mixer on low speed until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Press in pan.

Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool about 30 minutes.

Reduce oven to 350 degrees. Spoon pie filling evenly over crust. In medium bowl, mix 1 cup flour, the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the butter; mix with fork or fingers until crumbly. Sprinkle mixture over filling; press lightly.

Bake 40 minutes or until light brown. Cool completely, about 2 hours. Cut into 6 rows by 4 rows.

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Italian Breaded Pork Chops and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

2011-12-07T15:38:00.001-05:00

This is one of my favorite pork chop recipes. I had gotten it from http://www.allrecipes.com/ where I get a lot of my "go to" recipes. The person who submitted the recipe was Sicilian and she said the recipe was in her family for 3 generations! Now I know why! It is delicious! I served it with white gravy and my favorite garlic mashed potato recipe from a Southern Living Cook book. I cheated on the gravy and used a store bought white gravy mix. Nothing like homemade comfort food! Enjoy!

Italian Breaded Pork Chops

From www.allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons milk

3/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons dried parsley

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

4 pork chops

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

In a small bowl, beat together the eggs and milk. In a separate small bowl, mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and parsley. Heat the olive oil in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, and cook until lightly browned. Remove garlic, reserving for other uses.

Dip each pork chop into the egg mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture, coating evenly. Place coated pork chops in the skillet, and brown abut 5 minutes on each side. Place the skillet and pork chops in the preheated oven, and cook 25 minutes, or to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). 4 Servings

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Garlic Mashed Potatoes

From Southern Living Annual Recipes 1992

Ingredients:

4 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cut into eighths (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1/3 to 1/2 cup milk

3 tbsp butter

4 to 6 cloves garlic, crushed

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Directions;

Cook potatoes in boiling water to cover, 15 minutes or until tender; drain and mash. Melt butter in a small skillet. add 4 to 6 cloves garlic, crushed and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 1 minute or until browned. Stir in milk and remaining ingredients. Serve immediately. 4 servings

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Lana's Sweet and Sour Meatballs

2011-11-29T14:07:00.001-05:00

These were very delicious! The meatballs are great even on their own without the sauce! I liked them better than the store bought frozen meatballs. Of course if you are in a hurry, use frozen meatballs :) The only addition I added was ketchup, since I normally use it when making sweet and sour sauces. I didn't measure it, but I used somewhere between 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup. I also cut the meatball ingredients in half and left the sauce the same. The recipe below has my changes. More sauce is always better! These meatballs would make wonderful appetizers for a party or get together and they are so easy to throw together. Hubby and I had them for dinner and just added rice. Sooo yummy! Enjoy!

Lana's Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Slightly adapted from www.allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

For Meatballs

1 pound lean ground beef

1 egg

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

For Sauce

1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained with juice reserved

1/3 cup water

3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup ketchup

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt

1 large carrot, diced

1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a large, shallow baking sheet. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the ground beef, eggs, bread crumbs and onion. Sprinkle with ginger, seasoning salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and sugar. Shape into one inch balls. Place meatballs in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes; set aside.

To make the sauce, mix enough water with the reserved pineapple juice to make 1 cup. In a large pot over medium heat, combine the juice mixture, 1/3 cup water, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar and ketchup. Stir in cornstarch, ginger and seasoning salt, until smooth. Cover and cook until thickened.

Stir pineapple chunks, carrot, green pepper and meatballs into the sauce. Gently stir to coat the meatballs with the sauce. Simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, or until meatballs are thoroughly cooked.

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Super Fruit Smoothies

2011-11-22T12:03:00.001-05:00

Most of you probably already know that I am pregnant! 10 weeks as of this past Saturday! I got this wonderful book called Eating for Pregnancy by Catherine Jones and Rose Ann Hudson that I absolutely love! There are a lot of yummy healthy recipes in that book. One of the recipes I have been making almost daily are the fruit smoothies. They are a great way to get your calcium in ladies even if you aren't pregnant! One smoothie counts for 2 cups of milk and 1 1/2 servings of fruit. I add a full medium banana so that I can get 2 fruit servings per smoothie. Very yummy! I have to say so far my favorite is the Pineapple Banana Smoothie. I add coconut extract which makes it taste like a pina colada. You can change the fruits, extracts and flavored yogurts around in the smoothie but keep the amount of yogurt and dry milk the same. Using the amounts of yogurt and dry milk is equivalent to 2 cups of milk! These are wonderful for breakfast or lunch! Enjoy!

Super Fruit Smoothies

From the book Eating for Pregnancy

Basic Banana Smoothie

Ingredients:

3/4 cup low fat plain yogurt

1/3 cup pasteurized instant nonfat dry milk

1 large ripe banana, frozen if desired

1 tsp apple juice concentrate or sugar to taste

A drop of pure vanilla extract (optional)

1-2 ice cubes

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Serve immediately.

Servings: 1 smoothie (2 cups)

Calories: 385; Fat: 4 g; Protein: 25 g; Carbs: 65 g; Fiber: 3 g

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Ingredients:

3/4 cup low fat plain yogurt

1/3 cup pasteurized instant nonfat dry milk

6 large strawberries (1/2 cup), washed and hulled

1/2 large ripe banana, frozen if desired

1 tsp apple juice concentrate or sugar to taste

A drop of pure vanilla extract (optional)

1-2 ice cubes

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Serve immediately.

Servings: 1 smoothie (2 cups)

Calories: 352; Fat: 4 g; Protein: 25 g; Carbs: 57 g; Fiber: 3 g

Peach Banana Smoothie

Ingredients:

3/4 cup low fat plain yogurt

1/3 cup pasteurized instant nonfat dry milk

1/2 cup canned or frozen peaches (unthawed)
1/2 large ripe banana, frozen if desired

1 tsp apple juice concentrate or sugar to taste

A drop of pure vanilla extract (optional)

1-2 ice cubes

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Serve immediately.

Servings: 1 smoothie (2 cups)

Calories: 351; Fat: 3 g; Protein: 25 g; Carbs: 56 g; Fiber: 3 g

Pineapple Banana Smoothie

Ingredients:

3/4 cup low fat plain yogurt

1/3 cup pasteurized instant nonfat dry milk

1/2 cup canned or fresh pineapple

1/2 large ripe banana, frozen if desired

1 tsp apple juice concentrate or sugar to taste

A drop of pure vanilla or coconut extract (optional)

1-2 ice cubes

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Serve immediately.

Servings: 1 smoothie (2 cups)

Calories: 400; Fat: 3 g; Protein: 25 g; Carbs: 69 g; Fiber: 2 g

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Sweet Sesame Chicken

2011-11-14T13:22:00.000-05:00

It is no secret that I love Asian inspired dishes. I already have a sesame chicken recipe that I love (thanks to Mommy's Kitchen), but I think this one is just as good! This one is a bit more sweeter, hence the name sweet sesame chicken. I got this recipe from one of my Southern Living Annual cook books and you really can't go wrong with Southern Living. The recipes are always tried and true so there are no duds in the bunch! Both hubby and I really liked how this one turned out. You can always substitute the chicken breasts for the already store bought popcorn chicken. I added 1 clove of garlic, minced and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. It turned out phenomenal! Enjoy!

Sweet Sesame Chicken

From Southern Living Annual Recipes 2007

Ingredients:

2 tbsp sesame seeds

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup pineapple juice

1/4 cup honey

3 tbsp lite soy sauce

2 tbsp grated, fresh ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

red pepper flakes, to taste

2 green onions, chopped (optional)

Directions:

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot; add 2 tbsp sesame seeds and cook, stirring constantly, 3 to 4 minutes or until seeds are toasted. Remove seeds from skillet.

Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces. Combine chicken and cornstarch, tossing to coat. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken pieces about 5 minutes on each side or until done. Reduce heat to medium, and stir in 1/2 cup pineapple juice and next 5 ingredients. Bring to a boil, and cook, stirring occasionally, 1 minute or until thickened. Remove skillet from heat.

Remove chicken mixture to a serving platter. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and chopped green onions. serve with warm rice.

4 Servings

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Fudgy Brownie Cookies

2011-11-09T13:04:00.000-05:00

These are sooooo good! They are slightly crispy on the outside with a nice soft fudgy center. They are a lot like brownies but are cookies. You can't see the chocolate chip chunks in the cookies below and this is because I did not let the batter cool enough before adding the chocolate chips so they kind of just melted into the cookie. I may try adding 1 cup chocolate chips to make the chocolate batter and 1 cup white chocolate chips to be stirred in for a change. Try adding walnuts or pecans if you so desire. Hubby and I both loved how these cookies turned out! Enjoy!

Fudgy Brownie Cookies

From Betty Crocker Christmas Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces

12 z bag semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

1/8 tsp salt

Directions:

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. I just lined the cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In 2-quart saucepan, heat butter and 1 cup of the chocolate chips over low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted. Remove from heat; stir in brown sugar. Cool slightly, stirring occasionally. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour, cocoa and salt. Stir in remaining 1 cup chocolate chips (make sure your batter is cool, otherwise your chocolate chips will melt like mine in the photo). Onto cookie sheets, drop dough by tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart.

Bake 10 minutes or until almost set. Cool 5 minutes, remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

Tip: Add a powdered sugar stencil design on top of the cookies to dress them up fr the holidays. Serve warm with a tall glass of milk for the ultimate afternoon treat!

1 cookie has 83 Calories, 4 g of Fat, 11 g of Carbs, 1 g of Fiber and 1 g of Protein

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Jimmy Dean Breakfast Casserole

2011-11-08T18:08:00.000-05:00

My family used to make this breakfast casserole recipe every Christmas morning. My father got it from the back of a roll of Jimmy Dean sausage. He would make it the night before and it would be ready to bake in the morning! Everyone in my family loves it! I will continue to make this recipe every holiday morning to keep up with our tradition :) Enjoy this recipe!

Jimmy Dean Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) package Regular Flavor Jimmy Dean Pork Sausage

10 eggs, lightly beaten

3 cups milk

2 teaspoons dry mustard

1 teaspoon salt

6 cups cubed bread

2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)

1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped (optional)

1/2 cup thin-sliced green onion (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 F. In large skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until thoroughly cooked and no longer pink. In large mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, mustard and salt; stir well.

Distribute half the bread evenly in a buttered 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with half the pepper, half the cheese, half the sausage and half of each optional ingredient. Repeat layering using remaining bread, pepper, cheese, sausage and optional ingredients. Pour egg mixture evenly over casserole.

Bake uncovered for 55-60 minutes, or until eggs are set. Tent with foil if top begins to brown too quickly.

May be assembled ahead and refrigerated up to 12 hours before baking.

Time Saving Tip: One package of 9.6 oz fully cooked Jimmy Dean® Hearty Sausage Crumbles may be substituted for one 16 oz roll of fresh breakfast sausage in most dishes

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Mother's Brownies

2011-11-04T10:51:00.000-04:00

I love Southern Living cook books! I haven't tried a bad recipe in the bunch yet and I have just about every one of their cook books dating back to 1979 from that collection! I was first introduced to the collection by my father who loves to cook and who always refers back to them. He still gets them every year and so do I! Once I moved out of my parents house, I knew I couldn't survive without that collection. I slowly built my collection by buying those books used on http://www.amazon.com/. A lot of the earlier books and even some of the recent ones were only one penny (of course plus the $3.99 shipping per book) but $4 for a cook book that is awesome! My husband loves brownies so I wanted to find a really good recipe in which I had all the ingredients. This recipe was delicious! I mean you can't go wrong when brownies are frosted with chocolate! I left out the nuts and the only other change I made was using milk instead of half and half. Brownie heaven! Enjoy this yummy classic!

Mother's Brownies

From Southern Living Annual Recipes 1993

Ingredients:

Brownies

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Chocolate Frosting

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

2 1/2 tbsp cocoa

2 tbsp butter, melted

1 1/2 to 2 tbsp milk or half and half (until desired consistency)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl; stir in eggs and vanilla. combine flour, cocoa and salt; stir into butter mixture.Stir in pecans. Pour into greased and floured 8 inch square pan. Bake at 325 for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Spread Chocolate frosting over top. Cut into squares. Yields: 16 brownies.

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Cashew Chicken

2011-11-02T14:41:00.000-04:00

I love Asian food and Cashew Chicken is a favorite dish of mine. This tastes like restaurant quality and is extremely yummy! Hubby even approves! The original recipe used 2 carrots sliced, 1 green bell pepper sliced and 2 cups of snow peas. I thought it was simpler to just add a bag of frozen stir fry veggies. The one I had was a mixture of broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, red peppers and water chestnuts but you can use whatever kind you desire. I also added an additional tsp of soy sauce because I thought the sauce tasted too much like ketchup with only 4 tsp. I also decreased the oil by half. I will definitely make this dish again! I served it over brown rice. Enjoy!

Cashew Chicken

Slightly adapted from www.food.com

Ingredients:

For the Sauce

1/2 cup catsup

5 teaspoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more to taste)

1/2 cup 99% fat free chicken broth

For the Chicken

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

For the Stir Fry
2 tbsp cooking oil

1 tablespoons fresh ginger root, minced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 onion, chopped

16 oz frozen stir fry vegetables

1/2 cup cashews

Directions:

Combine Catsup, soy sauce, salt,Worcestershire Sauce, sugar, sesame oil, cayenne pepper, and chicken broth and set aside. In a bowl, combine cornstarch and salt. Toss the chicken with cornstarch mixture. Heat a wok or frying pan to a high heat and add 2 tbsp cooking oil. When oil is hot add chicken. Add ginger root, garlic and onion. Stir fry mixture until chicken is cooked through and opaque. Add 1 tbsp of water at a time if necessary to keep the chicken from sticking to the pan. Add frozen vegetables and stir fry until tender crisp about 5 minutes or until done. Add catsup/soy sauce mixture to chicken and vegetables and cook until it comes to a boil. Add the cashews and serve immediately over a bed of white or brown rice.

6 Servings with 340 Calories, 13.3 g of Fat, 26 g of Carbs, 27.1 g of Protein, 2.8 g of Fiber,

8 Points + (1 cup cooked brown or white rice is 5 Points+ extra)

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Slow Cooker Pulled Pork or Beef

2011-11-01T14:35:00.000-04:00

This has got to be one of my favorite meals when I am craving barbecue. Both hubby and I love this recipe! I could have this at least once a week and it is so easy to make. You got to love those slow cooker recipes. I used beef round instead of pork tenderloin because it was so much cheaper! The pork tenderloin was around $10 and the beef round was around $5 for 2 lbs at my local grocery store! The beef tastes just as good too! You could use diet root beer in place of regular root beer if you desire. Enjoy this recipe!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork or Beef

Ingredients:

1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin or Beef round

1 1/2 cups root beer

1 (18 ounce) bottle your favorite barbecue sauce

8 hamburger buns, split and lightly toasted

Directions:

Place the pork tenderloin or beef round in a slow cooker; pour the root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily, 6 to 7 hours. Note: the actual length of time may vary according to individual slow cooker. Drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce. Cook on low for 30 minutes. Serve over hamburger buns.

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Spaghetti and "Oozing Eyeballs"

2011-10-31T13:26:00.000-04:00

I just got this recipe in my email from Kraft Foods and thought it was soooo adorable for Halloween. I decided to make it for dinner! I have made meatloaf using stove top stuffing before and it turned out delicious so I knew this would be just as yummy. This is very similar except the meat mixture is made into meatballs. The original recipe calls for olives but I didn't have any and I am not much of a fan of them anyways so I used jalapeno slices for the eyeballs. After the meatballs were done baking, I kept half of them out for dinner and froze the other half in a freezer Ziploc bag for another day. Enjoy this yummy dish and have a safe and Happy Halloween!!!

Spaghetti and "Oozing Eyeballs"

By Kraft Foods

Ingredients:

2 lb. ground beef

1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken

1 cup water

2 eggs

1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce, divided

4 sticks KRAFT STRING-UMS String Cheese, cut into quarters

4 pitted large black olives, cut into 4 slices each

1 pkg. (1 lb.) spaghetti

Directions:
Heat oven to 375ºF.

Mix meat, stuffing mix, water, eggs and 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce. Shape into 16 (2-inch) meatballs. Insert 1 cheese piece into top of each meatball, with end of cheese piece just showing at top. Place on baking sheet. Top each with olive slice to resemble eyeball.

Bake 20 to 25 min. or until meatballs are done (160ºF). Meanwhile, cook spaghetti and heat remaining spaghetti sauce as directed on package and jar.

Drain spaghetti. Serve topped with meatballs and sauce.

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Smores Crumb Bars

2011-10-28T12:45:00.000-04:00

If you love smores, you will love this! Nothing beats having ooey gooey marshmallows with melted chocolate centered in between two grahm crackers by the campfire! Well to make these yummy bars, no campfire is required! It is easy to throw together and taste just as good! I know my photo looks like one hot mess LOL, but that is probably because I didn't press it down enough. I think I was too much in a hurry to devour these little suckers! I lightened it up a little by using only 1/2 cup of butter and left the sugar out since I used milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet. It still tasted great to me! Enjoy!

Smores Crumb Bars

By Taste of Home

Ingredients:

3 cups graham cracker crumbs

3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted (I used 1/2 cup)

1/3 cup sugar (I left this out)

3 cups miniature marshmallows

2 cups milk chocolate chips

Directions:

Combine the crumbs, butter and sugar; press half into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Sprinkle with marshmallows and chocolate chips. Top with remaining crumb mixture; press firmly. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately press top firmly with spatula. Cool completely. Cut into bars.

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Peach Whiskey Chicken and Creamy Cheddar Potatoes

2011-10-27T10:18:00.000-04:00

I found this recipe on The Pioneer Woman's website. I knew that any recipe coming from her website would be a success because everything that I have tried of hers always tasted yummy! This was no exception. The chicken was falling off the bone and it was smothered in a delicious sweet BBQ sauce that made the whole house smell wonderful while it was cooking! I will definitely make this again but it made a ton of sauce! I think next time I am going to cut the sauce ingredients in half or double the chicken when I have company! Enjoy!

Peach - Whiskey Barbecue Chicken

From The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

12 whole Chicken Thighs, Bone-in, Skin-on

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons Butter

1 whole Yellow Onion, Diced

1-1/2 cup Whiskey

12 ounces, fluid Barbecue Sauce

1 jar Peach Preserves

1/2 cup Water

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

4 cloves Garlic, Peeled

3 whole Green Onions, Sliced Thin

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Heat oil and butter in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Place chicken thighs, four at a time, in the pot, skin side down. Brown both sides, then remove to a plate and repeat until all chicken is browned.

Pour off half the grease, then return pan to stove. Add onions to pan and stir, cooking for 2 minutes. Pour whiskey into the pot, being very careful if you're using an open flame. Stir and scrape the bottom of the pan, allowing whiskey to reduce for a minute or two. Pour in barbecue sauce, peach preserves, water, and Worcestershire sauce. Throw in garlic cloves. Stir until combined, then return chicken to the pot, skin side up. Cover and put pot in oven. Cook for 1 1/2 hours, then remove from oven.

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This recipe came from a collection of recipe cards called Grandma's Kitchen. I haven't found a dud in the bunch with these recipe cards either. This is definitely comfort food! These potatoes are first boiled, peeled, chopped, and then baked in a creamy cheese sauce. I added some seasoned bread crumbs mixed with a little bit of butter just to moisten the crumbs to the top of the potatoes. Very good!

Creamy Cheddar Potatoes

From Grandma's Kitchen

Ingredients:

3 1/2 to 4 lbs baking potatoes, scrubbed

12 oz cheddar cheese, shredded (about 3 cups)

1 cup milk

1/2 cup whipping cream

` 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp pepper

Directions:

Combine potatoes with enough water to cover in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil until potatoes are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes; drain. let stand to cool.

Coat bottom and sides of a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with butter. Peel the potatoes and coarsely chop. Place in prepared baking dish.

Heat cheddar in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Stir in milk, whipping cream, salt, dry mustard, nutmeg and black pepper. Pour over potatoes. Chill, covered for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the cover from the potatoes. Bake until the potatoes are heated thoroughly and lightly browned, about 35 minutes.

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Homemade Applesauce from the Crock Pot

2011-10-25T11:57:00.003-04:00

I got the confirmation from the doctor yesterday! I am 6 weeks and 3 days pregnant! I can't believe I am that far along. I was thinking maybe only 4 weeks. Hubby and I are so excited to welcome our baby to the world next summer!

With apples being on sale in the grocery stores, this is the perfect time to break out those recipes using apples! Nothing beats apples cooking in the slow cooker during the Fall season. It makes the house smell AMAZING while it is cooking! Homemade applesauce is really so much better than the store bought kind. The best part about making it yourself is that you can vary the taste by using cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. I used 1 tsp pumpkin spice and left chunks of apples in the sauce because I like my sauce chunky. I have also tried 1/2 tsp of cinnamon as a variation. Also, you can make a smoother applesauce by using an immersion blender or just any type of blender to blend out the chunks. Try it and you will love it so much more than the store kind! Enjoy!

Homemade Applesauce from the Crock Pot

Slightly adapted from Skinny Taste

Ingredients:

8 medium apples (use an assortment)
1 strip of lemon peel - use a vegetable peeler
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp light brown sugar, unpacked
1/2 tsp to1 tsp Cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice (Optional)

Directions:
Peel, core, and chop the apples. Place them in the slow cooker. Add the lemon peel, brown sugar and cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice, if desired.

Set crock pot to low and cook for 6 hours. Stir apples occasionally, apples will slowly become a delicious applesauce. Remove lemon peel and use an immersion blender to blend until smooth or if you prefer a chunky sauce, leave sauce intact.

12 (1/4 cup) servings

Calories: 55 Fat: 0 g Carbs: 12.7 g Fiber: 1.0 g protein: 0 g WW Points Plus: 1

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Pumpkin Crunch Cake

2011-10-22T23:24:00.005-04:00

You may have noticed that I haven't been posting any Medifast friendly recipes lately. This is because I found out I am pregnant so I will no longer be doing Medifast anymore! This is hubby and I's first child so we are soooo excited to find out this great news! Even though I may not post Medifast friendly recipes on my blog, you may still find some on my face book page "Sandy's Kitchen: Medifast Friendly Recipes". I post the recipes I have not tried under the "Notes" section. I wish you continued success on your weight loss journey!

This recipe isn't Medifast friendly but this makes a wonderful decadent dessert that is perfect for the Fall season. It tastes like a crustless pumpkin pie with a very yummy crunchy topping that was buttery and sweet! Try serving this instead of the traditional pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. Your guests will definitely go after seconds! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

From www.allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Mix well, and spread into the prepared pan.

Sprinkle cake mix over the top of the pumpkin mixture, and pat down. Sprinkle chopped pecans evenly over the cake mix, then drizzle with melted butter.

Bake for 60 to 80 minutes, or until done. Top with whipped topping, if desired.

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This recipe is linked to Sweet as Sugar Cookies. Lisa hosts Sweets for a Saturday on her blog every Saturday so go check out all the other yummy recipes made from other bloggers! just click the icon below!

Amazing Meatloaf and Golden Parmesan Roasted Potatoes

2011-10-14T22:56:00.001-04:00

I made hubby a wonderful dinner tonight. He loved it so much, I thought I would share the recipes on my blog for those not on Medifast. I adjusted the recipes to our taste by decreasing some of the ingredients in both of the recipes. The first recipe, I decreased the milk by half, the brown sugar by half, the BBQ sauce by 1/4 cup and the salt by 1/2 tsp! I just didn't feel it needed and it wasn't missed. Maybe it is the Medifast in me that is making me look at these ingredients differently. Hubby still loved it and I took a tiny nibble and thought it was wonderful. I already have two meatloaf recipes that I like to make for hubby, now this will be a third variation!

The second recipe was delicious too. Of course, I had a tiny little taste as well since it was my first time making the recipe. I had to make sure it tasted okay :) I thought it was kind of salty with 1/2 tsp salt so I decreased the salt to 1/4 tsp. Otherwise, I left everything else the same. Enjoy these recipes! Again, these are not Medifast friendly!

Amazing Meatloaf

Slightly adapted from Gooseberry Patch's Cozy Country Christmas

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef

1/4 cup reduced fat milk

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp worcetershire sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup dry bread crumbs

1/2 cup BBQ sauce

1/3 cup onion, chopped

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp seasoned salt

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

Mix all ingredients; spread in a lightly greased 9"x5" loaf pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for about 1 1/2 hours. Makes 6 servings.

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Golden Parmesan Roasted Potatoes

Slightly adapted from Gooseberry Patch's Cozy Country Christmas

Ingredients:

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

6 potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges

1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions:

Place flour, cheese, sat and pepper in a plastic ziploc bag; mix well. Add potato wedges; shake to coat. Pour butter into a 13" x 9" baking pan; arrange potatoes in pan. There will be some flour/parmesan mixture left after placing the potatoes in the pan. I just threw away the excess. Bake at 375 degrees for one hour.

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Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

2011-10-14T15:35:00.002-04:00

I am down another pound today! I hope it keeps going down at this quick rate, but I know I will see a slow down pretty soon since I just recommitted myself. I have been adding 40 minutes of walking on the treadmill with an incline every other day so I hope that will help my weight loss too. I actually look forward to working out now which I never thought I would ever say that :) Yay!

I just kind of threw this dish together at the last minute. The beef, cheese, and bacon remind me of a bacon cheeseburger so just throw in some beef broth and a laughing cow cheese wedge to make it a bit more creamier and you have Bacon Cheeseburger Soup! I used 2.5 oz cooked ground beef and 1/2 cup of cheese, but you could use a leaner beef if you like. No need to add any additional spices. The beef broth adds enough sodium and the laughing cow cheese adds some flavor. Also, you may have noticed I used light laughing cow cheese as a condiment rather than a healthy fat. I had asked Nutrition Support if it was okay to use one wedge as a condiment since I was using a lean meat that did not require a healthy fat and they said yes. The light laughing cow garlic and herb cheese is only 1 gram of carb so it fits the criteria of being 1 condiment. I paired it with 2 cups of lettuce and Walden Farms creamy bacon dressing as an additional condiment. Very good soup, especially on those cold days coming up soon! I just love those chunks of diced tomatoes! Enjoy!

Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

Ingredients:

2.5 oz 93% lean ground beef, cooked (1/2 Lean)

1/2 cup 2% reduced fat Mexican Cheese (1/2 Lean)

1 cup low sodium beef broth (1 Condiment)

1 wedge Light Garlic and Herb Laughing Cow Cheese (1 Condiment)

1/2 cup diced tomatoes in juice - with less than 5 g of carbs per 1/2 cup (1 Green)

1 tsp oscar meyer turkey bacon bits

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and cook over medium high heat until cheese has melted.

1 Lean, 1 Green (Need 2 more Greens), and 2 Condiments (No Healthy Fat required)

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Cauliflower "Potato" Salad

2011-10-13T11:00:00.000-04:00

Before I share this recipe, I wanted to share that I lost another pound bringing me to 145 lbs! So far so good! I will be in the 130s in no time!

I got this recipe from Lyn over at Escape from Obesity. She has a lot of great ideas and recipes on her blog that are quite delicious. This is another great one from Lyn that is slightly adapted to make 1 serving. I also made the addition she suggested using onion powder and it tasted delicious. I would have liked to use 2 tbsp of mayo to make it a bit more creamier, but I wanted to have chicken as my other lean so I couldn't afford to have the additional fat. If you have a lean from the leanest group, go ahead and add that additional mayo. Lyn also suggests you could use dijon mustard instead of mustard or adding a chopped dill pickle as your snack. Honestly, I would even take this to a pot luck if I added the additional mayo. It is pretty good to share : ) I love how we can still have substitutes for some of our fave dishes while on the Medifast plan. I have to say, cauliflower makes a great substitute for potatoes! Enjoy this yummy dish!

Cauliflower "Potato" Salad

Slightly adapted from Escape From Obesity

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup cauliflower, cooked and chopped (2 1/2 Greens)

1/4 cup celery, chopped (1/2 Green)

1 hard boiled egg, chopped (1/3 Lean)

1 to 2 tbsp light mayo (1 to 2 Healthy Fats)

1 tsp mustard (1 Condiment)

1/8 tsp salt (1/2 Condiment)

1/8 tsp onion powder (1/4 Condiment)

pinch of pepper

sprinkle of paprika

Directions:

Steam cauliflower until it reaches the same texture as cooked potatoes. Rinse in cold water to cool; pat with paper towel until dry. Chop the cauliflower into small bites. Mix into a bowl with celery and eggs, Add mayo, mustard, salt onion power, and pepper. Mix well. Sprinkle with paprika. Chill for 1 hour.

1 serving with 1/3 Lean (you still need 2/3 Lean such as 4 oz of chicken or 4.7 oz fish, shrimp or 99% fat free ground turkey), 3 Greens, 2 Condiments and 1 to 2 Healthy Fats (use 1 tbsp of mayo when eating chicken or 2 tbsp mayo when eating fish or shellfish)

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Hamburger Cabbage Stir Fry

2011-10-13T00:55:00.000-04:00

This is one my favorite lean and greens, but I have been trying to eat meats from the lean group (93% ground beef, pork, other beef, etc) only once or twice a week to see if it would speed up my weight loss so I can hurry and get to goal! I feel like I have been in the weight loss phase forever so it is time for me to get my booty in gear. Luckily, I re-started yesterday and I am doing pretty good. I am already down 3.2 lbs since Tuesday so yeah... I am one happy girlie! With this recipe, you can really change out the veggies except I would keep the cabbage. I mean it is called hamburger and cabbage stir fry :) I am not fond of mushrooms so I left them out and added 1 1/4 cup of cabbage and 1/4 cup of green peppers. The splenda and soy sauce is really what makes this dish. That slightly sweet taste makes it yummy and stand out so don't skimp on the splenda. All you need is half the packet or just sprinkle a little bit over the meat. I have always been a fan of sweetened meats. That is probably why I gained my weight! The dreaded sweet tooth! Thank goodness for splenda! I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Hamburger Cabbage Stir Fry

(Slightly adapted from Linda at http://www.genaw.com/)

Ingredients:

7.5 oz 93% lean ground beef, should yield 5 oz cooked (1 Lean)

1/8 tsp garlic powder (1/2 Condiment)

1 cup cabbage, shredded (2 Greens)

1/4 cup green peppers, choppes (1/2 Green)

1/4 cup mushrooms, sliced (1/2 Green)

2 tsp soy sauce (2 Condiments)

Pinch ginger, optional

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 packet Splenda (1/2 Condiment)

Directions:

In a very large skillet or wok, brown the ground beef with the garlic powder and a little salt and pepper. Drain the fat, if you like, or just leave it in. Add the cabbage and stir-fry until the cabbage is tender-crisp. Add the remaining ingredients and heat through. Adjust the seasoning to your taste.

1 Lean and Green with 3 Condiments (No Healthy Fat Required)

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Sesame Chicken - Copy Cat Recipe

2011-10-10T23:33:00.000-04:00

This is another great recipe for the family from Mommy's Kitchen. My husband loved how this turned out and it is pretty close to the sesame chicken you would get at a Chinese restaurant. My only change was using chicken strips and cutting them into pieces after being cooked because I did not have any popcorn chicken. For this reason, my photo doesn't look nearly as nice as Tina's but it sure tasted good! I also doubled the sauce as Tina did, but I think next time I will leave it how it is stated in the recipe. Enjoy the recipe!

Sesame Chicken - Copy Cat Recipe

From Mommy's Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 1/2 to 2 pounds of frozen popcorn chicken

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp honey

1/4 cup sugar

Salt (to taste)

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar

a sprinkle of ground black pepper

diced green onion, optional

sesame seeds, optional

Directions:

Deep fry your popcorn chicken and drain on a plate lined with a paper towel. In a wok or sauce pan, combine the remaining ingredients and warm over medium heat. Bring to a boil while stirring and simmer until sauce slightly thickens. In the wok or in a serving dish coat chicken with the sauce. Serve over cooked rice and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.

*For some people the sauce might not be enough so you can easily double the recipe. That is what I usually do.

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Potato Latkes

2011-10-09T16:16:00.001-04:00

Potato latkes are fried pancakes made from grated potatoes, eggs and flour. They are fried in oil and kind of remind me of hash browns. Some people like to top their latkes with sour cream, applesauce or just sugar. I like to eat mine with ketchup :) Now for a little history! Latkes are traditionally eaten by Jews during Hanukkah to celebrate the miracle of oil. The oil that the latkes are cooked in is to commemorate the oil that miraculously provided light for eight days. It was only expected to last one day but it lasted exactly how long it took to press more fresh oil. This is why Jews all over the world eat foods fried in oil on Hanukkah. You don't have to serve them only during Hanukkah. These would make wonderful breakfast treats or a great side dish! Enjoy this yummy recipe!

Potato Latkes

www.lighterrecipes.com

Ingredients:

2 cups peeled and shredded potatoes

1 tablespoon grated onion

3 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup peanut oil for frying

Directions:

Place the potatoes in a cheesecloth and wring, extracting as much moisture as possible.
In a medium bowl stir the potatoes, onion, eggs, flour and salt together.

In a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until hot. Place large spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the hot oil, pressing down on them to form 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick patties. Brown on one side, turn and brown on the other. Let drain on paper towels. Serve hot!

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Cheese Crisps and Mock "Goldfish" Crackers

2011-10-08T14:14:00.001-04:00

These are a great snack if you don't burn them like me! I tried to follow the recipe and bake it 7 to 7 1/2 minutes, but it was just way too long in my oven (hence some of the burnt pieces in the photo). It was still pretty good though. Use your favorite seasoning! I just used Cajun, but you can always use salt, pepper and chili powder like the original recipe suggests. They puff up into weird shapes so mine did not come out very pretty, but the taste was there. Make sure you do not put them too close together or they will combine with the other pieces. Enjoy the recipe!

Cheese Crisps and Mock "Goldfish" Crackers

Recipe courtesy George Stella

Ingredients:

2 slices 2% American cheese (not "cheese food") (1/3 Lean)

1/4 tsp Cajun Seasoning or your fave seasoning (1/2 Condiment)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Stack the slices of American cheese and cut it into 16 small squares. Separate the pieces, and transfer them to a small bowl. Add the salt, chili powder, and garlic powder toss to combine. Arrange the 32 cheese pieces in 4 rows of 8, on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, leaving as much space in between each as possible. (This is important because it will combine with the other cheese pieces!).

Bake both until well-browned and crispy, about 7 and 7 1/2 minutes. As you can tell from the photo, mine were burnt at 7 minutes. I will try 6 minutes next time. Still good though : ) If undercooked, they'll be soggy, so don't be afraid to check them and put them back in for more time, if needed.

Cool the crisps and crackers completely before serving—as they cool, they'll crisp up. Store on the counter in an airtight container for a few days.

1/3 Lean and 1/2 Condiment

(You could also use 1 slice of cheese and use it as your additional 2 oz of protein a day and not subtract from your lean. Nutrition support said we can have up to 2 oz of additional protein a day on occasion and not hurt our weight loss)

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Mexican Style Shredded Pork

2011-10-08T13:02:00.000-04:00

I made this for hubby and I last night. We both loved how it turned out. He had his portion over mashed potatoes and I had mine with the zucchini and tomato skillet I had made the day before. I was afraid it would be too dry (like some crock pot meats that I have tried), but this wasn't dry at all. I did add an additional 1/4 cup water after I shredded the meat to make sure it wasn't dry. It had lots of flavor and I actually got more than 4 servings of meat. I measured out 5 (5 oz) portions which is a good thing because then you are only using 1.6 Condiments and a little less than 1/2 of 1 green per serving. I left the recipe at 4 servings because when Nutrition Support evaluated this recipe, it was evaluated with 3 lbs of pork, which they had calculated to be 6 servings. Since I only had 2 lbs, I figured it would be 4 servings :) What makes this really stand out is the chipotle salsa. OMG I love that salsa. Try not to use regular salsa because there really is a difference in taste. I also froze a portion for later. These would make great sandwiches using the revolution rolls or the tomato soup flat bread. Enjoy this wonderful dish! this is another one of those meals I will make after Medifast!

Mexican Style Shredded Pork

Slightly adapted from Mbher

Ingredients:

2 lb pork loin roast (4 Leans)

1/2 tsp salt (2 Condiments)

1/4 tsp pepper (1/2 Condiment)

1/4 tsp garlic powder (1 Condiment)

1/2 tsp chili powder - original recipe didn't call for this but I added it - optional (1/2 Condiment)

2 - 4 oz cans of green chilies (2 Greens)

1/4 cup chipotle salsa (4 Condiments)

1/2 cup water

Directions:

Rinse pork loin and pat dry with a paper towel. Trim it of all visible fat (mine did not have much at all). Season with salt, pepper, chili powder and garlic powder on all sides. Place in the slow cooker.

Combine green chilies, salsa and water in a small bowl and pour over pork. Cook on LOW for 8 hours. Shred the pork. You may add an additional 1/4 cup of water if desired, to keep the meat from drying out. Cook on LOW for an additional 1 hour.

4 Servings with 1 Lean, 1/2 of 1 Green, and 2 Condiments per serving (No healthy fat required)

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Orange Chicken and Vegetables

2011-10-07T22:10:00.004-04:00

Mommy's Kitchen is one of my favorite blogs for old-fashioned country style home cooking. Tina has tons of great recipes on that wonderful site of hers, which I have been following for the past few years. When I saw this recipe on her website, I knew hubby would love it! I was right... he sure did! The chicken is covered in a flour and salt combo, lightly fried in olive oil, and then mixed with sauteed veggies and a yummy orange sauce to boot! Hubby loved it and it will become a part of our regular dinner menu rotation. I, of course, had only a small bite to make sure it tasted okay since this isn't Medifast friendly. Wowers! Very good indeed! Enjoy this recipe!

Orange Chicken & Vegetables

Slightly adapted from Mommy's Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 lb - boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut 1 - inch pieces

1/2 - cup flour

1/4 - teaspoon salt

1 - tablespoons olive oil

5 - medium carrots, julienned

1 - small onion, cut

2 - bell peppers, red, green or orange, cut into chunks

2 stalks celery, sliced

salt and pepper to taste, to taste

For Orange Sauce:

3/4 - cup fresh orange juice

1/4 - cup soy sauce

1/2 - teaspoon ginger

2 - teaspoon rice vinegar

1/2 - cup brown sugar

1/2 - teaspoon sesame oil

pinch of red pepper flakes, optional

2 - tablespoons corn starch

1 - cup chicken broth

Directions:

Cut the chicken breasts up into 1 - 1 1/2 inch cubes. Combine the flour and the 1/4 teaspoon of salt in a small bowl or large zip lock bag. Toss the chicken around in it until all of the pieces are covered. Heat up a large skillet or wok. When it's nice and hot add 1 tablespoon of oil and then add the chicken. (add in batches of two so the chicken cooks evenly) you don't want to crowd the pan.

Cook your chicken until it is golden all over. (About 10 minutes) While your chicken is cooking up, chop up your veggies. Make sure they are about the same size. When the chicken is golden brown place it on a plate lined with a paper towel. Spray the skillet with cooking spray. Add your veggies and cook over medium high heat until crisp tender...about another 10 minutes. While your veggies cook add all sauce ingredients to a medium sized sauce pan.

Whisk them together until they are all combined nicely. Bring to a boil. Once it boils it should start to thicken. When your veggies are crisp, yet still tender add your thickened sauce and chicken into the pan. Stir the mixture to combine. Serve over rice or Chinese noodles.

Calories: 389 Fat: 10.6 g Carbs: 42.2 g Protein: 30.6 g Fiber: 3.4 g

10 WW Points + (without rice) Add rice for 5 points extra!

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Zucchini and Tomato Skillet

2011-10-06T14:06:00.001-04:00

Don't know what to do with all that zucchini you have in the fridge? How about a quick and easy zucchini and tomato dish? This can be whipped up in a matter of minutes and you will have all your greens for the next three days! Yes! No cooking... well of course you have to still make your lean but at least you have your green. I love the addition of basil and parmesan cheese that gives this dish an Italian taste. I also like the addition of splenda so that it has a slight sweetness to it. Enjoy this dish!

Zucchini and Tomato Skillet

Slightly adapted from About.com Southern Food

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic, minced (1 Condiment)

1 tsp olive oil (1 Healthy Fat)

1/2 packet splenda - optional (1/2 Condiment)

1/2 teaspoon salt (2 Condiments)

1/2 tsp dried basil (1/2 Condiment)

1 1/2 tsp grated reduced fat grated parmesan cheese, divided (1/2 Condiment)

Dash of pepper

3 cups zucchini, unpeeled, sliced 1/2-inch thick (6 greens)

1 1/2 cups tomatoes, peeled and diced or it can be canned with less than 5 g of carbs per 1/2 cup (3 Greens)

Directions:
Cook garlic in oil until until garlic is brown. Add sugar, salt, pepper, basil, and zucchini. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes and cook for about 1 minute or until heated thoroughly. Divide into 1 1/2 cup servings. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp parmesan cheese.

3 servings with all your Greens (1 1/2 cups), 1.16 Condiments and 1/3 Healthy Fat per serving

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Grilled Lemon Ginger Shrimp

2011-10-04T18:43:00.001-04:00

This was an okay recipe. A quick recipe to throw together, but I wish I could have add more lemon flavor. I was already at my condiment limit so I couldn't add more than 1 tbsp. Make sure you marinate the shrimp for the full 2 hours to get the most flavor. I didn't grill my shrimp, but just cooked them over the stove. These would have been better if they were grilled. Next time I will definitely do that. I hope you enjoy the recipe!

Grilled Lemon Ginger Shrimp

Ingredients:

20 ounces jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined when cooked - should yield 2 - 7 oz servings cooked (2 Leans)

1 tbsp olive oil (3 Healthy Fats)

1 tsp sesame oil (1 Healthy Fats)

1 tbsp lemon juice (1 1/2 Condiments)

1/4 tsp garlic powder(1 Condiment)

1/2 tsp ground ginger (1 Condiment)

1/2 tsp coriander (cilantro) (1 Condiment)

1/4 tsp paprika (1/2 Condiment)

1/4 tsp salt (1 Condiment)

Dash of pepper (Optional)

skewers

Directions:

In a medium size bowl combine the olive oil, sesame oil, lemon juice, onion, garlic, ginger, cilantro, paprika, salt, and pepper until blended. Reserve a small amount for basting. Add shrimp, and stir to coat. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat grill to medium heat. Thread shrimp onto skewers, piercing once near the tail and once near the head. Discard marinade. Lightly oil grill grate. Grill shrimp for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until opaque. Baste with reserved sauce while cooking.

Also good with fish baked in foil.

2 Servings with 1 Lean (7 oz cooked shrimp), 2 Healthy fats, and 3 Condiments per serving

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Chocolate Silk Pie

2011-10-04T15:51:00.000-04:00

This isn't exactly the most healthiest recipe, but I thought I would share it anyways so I can save it with all my other recipes online. This is a quick and easy dessert to whip up that I found in the Taste of Home Simple and Delicious magazine. Very delicious! It has a rich chocolate flavor that melts in your mouth! This is sure to please any company you may have coming for dessert! The coffee really brings out the flavor so do not skimp on it. The original recipe called for an unbaked pie crust which you need to bake and then add the filling. Save time and use a store bought graham cracker or shortbread crust. I love the shortbread crust for this particular recipe. Enjoy!

Chocolate Silk Pie

From Taste of Home Simple and Delicious

Ingredients:

1 shortbread or graham cracker pie shell (9 inches)

1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme

1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup butter, cubed

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

2 tablespoons strong brewed coffee

1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

TOPPING:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Chocolate curls, optional

Directions:

In a heavy saucepan, combine the marshmallow creme, chocolate chips, butter, unsweetened chocolate and coffee; cook and stir over low heat until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Cool. Fold in whipped cream; pour into crust. Chill for at least 2 hours before adding the topping.

For topping, in a large bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add confectioners' sugar; beat until stiff peaks form. Spread over filling. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Garnish with chocolate curls if desired. Yield: 6-8 servings.

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Alice Springs Chicken

2011-10-03T23:54:00.000-04:00

This chicken is pretty simple to prepare. I love simple recipes. Add your own favorite seasoning instead of garlic salt and pepper to the chicken and then grill. Top with BBQ sauce, your veggies, crumbled piece of bacon and some cheese! Voila! Dinner in a snap! If you have been reading my blog, you will probably already know my favorite no sugar added BBQ sauce is Smokin Joe Jones which you can order at www.netrition.com. Netrition is a wonderful site for the low carber and it is where I order all my Walden Farms products, BBQ sauce, PB2 (powdered peanut butter) and other low carb products. They charge a flat rate of $4.95 no matter how many products you buy and their prices are really reasonable. The Smokin Joe Jones is 1 carb per 1 tbsp but really all you need is 1 tbsp because the sauce packs a lot of flavor in just a tiny bit! I prefer it over Walden Farms BBQ sauce for just that reason as well as the thickness of the sauce. Pretty good if you ask me :) I also used a few sprinkles of real turkey bacon bits by Oscar Meyer. It has a lot less sodium, fat and calories than regular bacon. It is true, bacon is not recommended on the Medifast plan because of the sodium content, but this particular bacon had the lowest amount of sodium that I could find. A few sprinkles doesn't hurt my losses, but just be aware of the reason why turkey bacon is not recommended on plan. I plugged in the ingredients with the bacon and I still fell in the Medifast plan's nutritional guidelines regarding calories, fat, protein, carbs and sodium. Enjoy this dish!

I used chicken tenderloins since that is what I had. I also left out the mushrooms because I don't like them.

Alice Springs Chicken

Slightly adapted from Linda's Low Carb Recipes at www.genaw.com

Ingredients:

7 oz raw chicken breasts to yield 4.5 oz cooked (3/4 Lean)

1 piece of bacon, cut into pieces or I used a few sprinkles of turkey bacon bits

1/4 cup mushrooms (this is after cooked measurement), sliced (1/2 Green)

1/4 cup sliced green peppers (1/2 Green)

1 tablespoon light butter (1 Healthy Fat)

1 ounces or 1/4 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded (1/4 Lean)

1/4 tsp garlic salt (1 Condiment)

1/8 tsp pepper (1/4 Condiment)

1 tbsp Smokin Joe Jones No Sugar Added BBQ Sauce (www.netrition.com) (1 Condiment)

Directions:

Season the chicken with garlic salt and pepper; grill until just done. Keep the chicken warm. Meanwhile, fry the bacon in a skillet until crisp; drain on paper towels. Sauté the mushrooms and green peppers in butter until tender. Place the chicken on a foil-lined baking sheet. Top chicken with BBQ sauce, the mushroom and green pepper mixture, crumbled bacon and then with the shredded cheese. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly.

1 Serving with 1 Lean, 1 Green, 2.25 Condiments and 1 Healthy Fat

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Cajun Catfish and Coleslaw

2011-09-30T10:58:00.001-04:00

This seems like a wonderful dish to dry if you like Cajun food!

Cajun Catfish and Coleslaw

(Slightly adapted from Better Homes and Gardens 8 grams or Less Low Carb Recipes)

Ingredients:

10 oz wild catfish - should yiled a 7 oz portions cooked (1 Lean)

1 tsp + 1/4 tsp Cajun Seasoning, divided (2 1/4 Condiments)

1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix (3 Greens)

2 tbsp light mayonnaise (2 Healthy Fats)

1/8 tsp salt (1/2 Condiment)

1/8 tsp pepper (1/4 Condiment)

Directions:

Sprinkle both sides of the fish with 1 tsp Cajun seasoning. Arrange fish in a greased baking dish. Tuck under any thin edges. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 min or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl stir together cabbage, mayonnaise, Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper. Cover and chill until serving time. Serve catfish with coleslaw and if desired, hot pepper sauce.

1 Complete Lean and Green Meal with 3 Condiments and 2 Healthy Fats

*If you use farm catfish, you only need 5 oz cooked to make 1 Lean.

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Italian Meatballs

2011-09-30T10:41:00.000-04:00

These meatballs turned out really yummy! They had lots of flavor and I didn't even miss the breadcrumbs. The grated parmesan cheese makes up for it. It works as a great binder, in addition with the egg, and helps keeps the meat moist. These would make perfect meatball subs. You can use the revolution rolls as the buns. Don't know what they are? Well, they are the best thing next to sliced bread! It is actually an Atkins recipe using mainly eggs and cream cheese to form a bread like concoction. It has a slight sweetness to it, due to the addition of one packet of splenda which by the way, would work great in making a cheese danish dessert by adding a cream cheese icing (1 tbsp light cream cheese and an additional splenda packet). The sweetness is subtle, but you can always leave out the splenda and add granulated garlic and a few sprays of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray to the top as Katie Mueller suggested and make them into garlic bread. Spread a bit more garlic over the top! Serve these yummy meatballs over 1 cup of spaghetti squash and you have a wonderful Italian dinner! Now that's amore! Enjoy!

Italian Meatballs

Ingredients:

21 oz 93% reduced fat ground beef - should yield 3 - 5 oz portions cooked (3 Leans)

2 tbsp reduced fat parmesan cheese (2 Condiments)

1 tsp basil leaves (1 Condiment)

1/4 cup egg beaters

1 tbsp parsley flakes (1 Condiment)

1/4 tsp garlic powder (2 Condiments)

1/4 tsp pepper (1/2 Condiment)

1/4 tsp fennel - optional (1/2 Condiment)

1 1/2 cups Italian diced tomatoes - less than 5 grams of carbs per 1/2 cup (3 Greens)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients except the diced tomatoes in a bowl until combined. Form balls from the meat. Bake for 20 minutes or until done. Measure out 5 oz of cooked meatballs and add 1/2 cup of Italian diced tomatoes in a small saucepan over medium heat until heated thoroughly. I like to use a fork and smash the diced tomatoes so it resembles a chunky marinara sauce. Serve with 1 cup spaghetti squash (2 Greens) or make a meatball sandwich with the revolution rolls (1/3 Lean and 1.33 Condiments)! If you eat it with the revolution rolls, make sure you add 2 more greens!

3 Servings with each serving having 1 Lean, 1 Green, and 2.33 Condiments (No Healthy Fat required)

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Marinated Grilled Shrimp

2011-09-28T16:14:00.001-04:00

I am going to start putting up some recipes that I have found and adapted or recipes that were shared on the Medifast forums even if I haven't made them yet. I just want to give everyone an opportunity to make them even if I haven't. There is no need for you to wait for me. I hope you don't mind that some recipes will not have photos. I feel it is important to share the knowledge, so a sharing I will do :) If you happen to take a photo of a dish that I don't have a photo for, please email it to me by facebook or my regular email sandybass26@yahoo.com and I will put it up! Thanks so much!

Photo taken from www.allrecipes.com

Marinated Grilled Shrimp

From http://www.allrecipes.com/

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic, minced (1 Condiment)

1 tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil (4 Healthy Fats)

2 tbsp tomato sauce (1/2 Green)

1 tablespoons red wine vinegar (1/2 Condiment)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (1/16 Condiment)

1/4 teaspoon salt (1 Condiment)

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (1/4 Condiment)

20 oz fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined - should yield 2 - 7 oz servings (2 Leans)

skewers

Directions:

In a large bowl, stir together the garlic, olive oil, tomato sauce, and red wine vinegar. Season with basil, salt, and cayenne pepper. Add shrimp to the bowl, and stir until evenly coated. Cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring once or twice.

Preheat grill for medium heat. Thread shrimp onto skewers, piercing once near the tail and once near the head. Discard marinade.

Lightly oil grill grate. Cook shrimp on preheated grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until opaque.

2 Servings with 1 Lean, 1/4 of 1 Green (You need 2 and 3/4 Greens more), 1.4 Condiments and 2 Healthy Fats per Serving

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Home Fries (Radishes)

2011-09-28T15:57:00.001-04:00

I haven't made this yet, but I plan to this weekend. I need to get some radishes! That is another veggie I haven't tried yet. I hope these taste better than turnips. I wasn't too fond of the turnip fries. I read that the longer you cook these and the thinner you cut them, the better they are. We will see! Thanks Gatita for the recipe! Enjoy the recipe!

Photo taken by Gatita

Home Fries (Radishes)

Posted by Gatita on the Medifast Forums

Ingredients:

1 cup thin-sliced radishes shirnks down to 1/2 cup (1 Green)

1 T diced onion (1 Condiment)

garlic powder, salt, pepper or spices to taste

Directions:
Cook the radishes and onion in a pan sprayed with butter Pam on medium-high heat. They're done when they are translucent and the edges are brown.

1 Green and 1 Condiment per Serving (If you use any of the spices above, subtract from your condiments)

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Haystacks

2011-09-25T22:44:00.000-04:00

I am not sure if you guys are familiar with the candy called haystacks? It is commonly known in the South as a crunchy candy using chow mein noodles, butterscotch morsels, peanuts, and peanut butter. They are delicious! I miss those! Well, these are a variation of that recipe using the Medifast pretzels, hot cocoa or brownie, and peanut butter. I have to say these were pretty good. Definitely not as good as the original haystacks made with butterscotch morsels but these do seem like candy. If you would like them sweeter, try adding a packet of splenda. This will definitely be a great way for me to get rid of my pretzels. You can also try substituting the peanut butter for cream cheese. Enjoy!

Haystacks

Ingredients:

1 MF Hot Cocoa or Brownie Mix (1 Meal)

1 MF Cinnamon Pretzel Sticks, crushed (1 Meal)

3 tbsp water

1 tbsp Peanut Butter (1 Snack)

1 packet Splenda - optional (1 Condiment)

Directions:

Crush the pretzels by opening one side of the bag and squeezing the bag to form crumbs. In a small bowl, combine hot cocoa or brownie mix with 3 tbsp of water to form a paste. Add 1 tbsp peanut butter and splenda; stir until combined. Add the crushed pretzels to the mixture and stir making sure the pretzels are evenly coated. Drop the haystacks on a piece of foil or plate forming 6 piles. Freeze for at least 30 minutes to an hour.

2 Servings with 1 Meal, 1/2 Condiment and 1/2 Snack per Serving

*Try adding 1 tbsp light cream cheese instead of the peanut butter for a different variation.This would be 1/2 Condiment or 1 Condiment if using Splenda instead of 1/2 a Snack.

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Cinnamon Blondies

2011-09-25T14:25:00.000-04:00

I found this recipe on the Recipe discussion board at http://www.mymedifast.com/. It looked pretty good considering this is made from pretzels. The pretzels are one of the few Medifast meals I can't stand to eat. They taste like card board to me but I hate to throw any of my Medifast meals away so I am trying to find ways to get rid of them. I love blondies but these do not taste like the sweet blondies that I have ever tasted. They were okay but I think it needs to be sweetened up some. They had a nice texture but next time I think I will add one packet of splenda and additional cinnamon to the mix. I did try Da Vinci Dugar Free Salted Caramel Syrup but it didn't seem to help much so next time I am leaving that out. I will make it again just because I would rather eat these than my pretzels lol. I think the splenda or additional cinnamon will help alot. I will let you know! Thanks for the recipe Joandaw!

Cinnamon Blondies

By Joandaw from the Medifast Forums

Instructions:

1 packet of MF Cinnamon Pretzels (1 Meal)

1 tablespoon eggbeaters

1/4 teaspoon baking powder (1/2 Condiment)

1 tablespoon water -OR- 1 tablespoon sugar free syrup - I will omit (1/2 Condiment)

1/8 tsp Cinnamon - I am adding this next time (1/4 Condiment)

1 packet Splenda - I am adding this next time (1 Condiment)

Cooking spray (only for blondies made with SF syrup)

Directions:

Pre-heat Oven to 350. As I always say, do NOT skip this step. Baking in a cold oven almost always leads to disappointment.

Open the MF pretzels bag and break the pretzels into small pieces. I do this while the pretzels are still in the bag, just crunching them up by squeezing the bag. Opening the bag first is an important step -- unless you don't mind picking up pretzels pieces when the bag pops. *knowing nod*

Grind the broken pretzels into a powder. The fastest/easiest way is in a personal blender like the Magic Bullet or Bella Cucina. If you have a nut/herb chopper blade, even better. Or you can do this by hand with a mortar and pestle or a rolling pin (for the rolling pin option, place pretzels in a plastic bag and roll over the bag).

Add baking powder and mix thoroughly. I recommend a double-acting baking powder with aluminum -- these are the best baking powders for items that require a lot of mixing post addition of the baking powder.

Add Eggbeaters and mix thoroughly.

Add water or SF syrup (toasted marshmallow syrup works well) and mix thoroughly. You'll end up with a "ball" of dough.

Baking dish prep: first, these instructions are for baking in a GLASS/PYREX baking dish. If you use a metal pan/cookie sheet, I am telling you that you will end up with "blondies" that are not cooked on the inside, but overcooked on the outside. Trust me, you don't want that. *second knowing nod* Use a glass/pyrex baking dish. Please.

Second, if you're mixing your dough with water, you don't need to spray the glass/pyrex baking dish with anything -- these are not nearly as sticky as an item made with other MF products (e.g., shakes). However, if you use SF syrup instead of water, spray the baking dish with cooking spray or you'll be leaving half your blondie in the pan. *one more knowing nod*

Using your hands, form the "dough ball" into a "brownie" square, approximately 1/2" thick and place in a glass/pyrex baking dish.

Bake at 350 (in your pre-heated oven for 15 minutes).

Remove from oven and enjoy!

You can make these one at a time or six at a time (or any number you want). Just increase all the ingredients appropriately (double, triple, quadruple, etc) and when finished baking, cut into the appropriate number of pieces (the number of pieces should be the same as the number of bags of pretzels you used).

Each blondie counts as 1 MF meal. Condiment use varies with your chosen ingredients. If you use water, each Blondie uses 1/2 condiment. If you use SF syrup, condiment use is 1.

With my changes: 1 splenda packet, 1/8 tsp cinnamon and omitting the syrup it will be 1.75 Condiments

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Lyn's Peanut Butter Chocolate and Chai Maple Cheesecake Treat Cups

2011-09-22T23:47:00.007-04:00

Oh my goodness! These were sooooo delicious! Lyn had posted these yummy treats on My Medifast under the recipe forums and I quickly had to try the Chai one! I was already familiar with the peanut butter and chocolate treat cups, which I make quite often by just layering the chocolate over the peanut butter or powdered peanut butter, but I have never tried the Chai latte with cream cheese. As Lyn had stated when posting this recipe, it does tastes like pumpkin pie! This will be perfect if you are craving a pumpkin cheesecake for the Fall or Winter season! I tried to make mine as pretty as Lyn's was in the two photos below where they look like perfect dessert cups with the fillings in the center, but mine didn't want to cooperate. Instead, I made mine in a small Pyrex bowl and froze it. I was going to flip it over out of the bowl and slice the treat cup in half so you can see the center, but I had to eat it straight out of the bowl because it just didn't want to come out LOL. Oh well, it still tasted wonderful! I may just spread the chai paste on the bottom of the bowl and then drop the maple cream cheese on top. Swirl it into the paste gently and just refrigerate for a creamy pumpkin cheesecake. Very good! Thanks for the fabulous recipes Lyn!

This is half the Chai paste with the maple and cream cheese dropped in the center. Add the other half of the paste and spread it on top of the cream cheese and then freeze! Or just put all of the paste in the bowl, drop the maple cream cheese on top and swirl into the Chai paste and refrigerate!

Lyn's Treat Cups

Photo taken by Lyn (aka Freedom99) and posted on the recipe forums at www.mymedifast.com

Peanut Butter Chocolate

From Lyn at http://www.escapefromobesity.blogspot.com/

Ingredients:

1 Hot Cocoa (1 Meal)

3 tbsp water

1 tbsp peanut butter (1 Snack)

Directions:

Mix a packet of Hot cocoa with 3T water to make a paste. Take 1 tsp of peanut butter into the hot cocoa paste. Put half the cocoa paste into a nonstick cupcake liner or small container. Press it up ...the sides a bit. Put the remaining 2 tsp of peanut butter in the center. Put the rest of the paste on top and smooth it with a wet finger. Put in a baggie in the freezer for several hours.

1 Meal and 1 Snack

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Photo taken by Lyn (aka Freedom99) and posted on the recipe forums at www.mymedifast.com

Chai Maple Cheesecake

From Lyn at http://www.escapefromobesity.blogspot.com/

Ingredients:
1 Chai Latte Packet (1 Meal)

3 tbsp water

1 tbsp light cream cheese (1 Condiment)

1 tsp Walden Farms pancake syrup (1/6 Condiment)

Directions:

Mix a packet of Chai Latte with 3T water to make a paste. Put half the chai paste into a nonstick cupcake liner or small container. Press it up ...the sides a bit. Mix the cream cheese with pancake syrup and place in the center. Put the rest of the paste on top and smooth it with a wet finger. Put in a baggie in the freezer for several hours.

1 Meal and 1.16 Condiments

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Ranch Baked Tilapia

2011-09-22T15:09:00.001-04:00

I had found this recipe on Linda's website http://www.genaw.com/ and thought this was an interesting recipe to try. I never thought to use ranch dressing to coat the fish, although I have heard of using mayonnaise. The dressing and parmesan cheese gave the fish a great mild flavor. I thought it was going to have an overpowering taste of ranch dressing but it did not. It is amazing how using only a few ingredients will allow something to taste sooo good. You definitely do not need to add any salt because the ranch dressing and parmesan cheese both have enough salt in them so that none is needed. I decided to add black pepper and a little bit of basil. The fish came out wonderful! The hubby even approved! Enjoy the recipe!

This is Linda's Ranch Baked Tilapia. Her photo looks so much better than mine. Doesn't that look delicious!

The fillets with ranch dressing spread on it before being cooked.

Then sprinkle the parmesan cheese, black pepper, and basil over the top. Now it is ready to go in the oven!

This is my photo of four fillets piled on top of each other straight from the oven. I used less dressing and parmesan cheese than Linda to fit the Medifast plan, but the taste was still very good!

Ranch Baked Tilapia

Slightly adapted from Linda's Low Carb Recipes

Ingredients:

10 oz tilapia filets, thawed - should yield 7 oz cooked (1 Lean)

1/4 cup light ranch dressing (2 Healthy Fats)

2 tbsp reduced fat parmesan cheese, grated, (2 Condiments)

1/8 tsp black pepper (1/4 Condiment)

1/4 tsp basil (1/4 Condiment)

Directions:

Place fish on a metal cookie sheet lined with non-stick foil. Spread 2 tbsp of ranch dressing on top of the fish fillets. Turn the fillets over and spread the remaining 2 tbsp of dressing evenly on the other side. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. Bake at 425º 15-20 minutes or until the fish is done. If the top needs browning put the baking pan under the broiler for a few minutes until nice and brown. I broiled mine for 4 minutes. Don't put the pan too close to the broiler element or the cheese will burn. I kept my pan on the middle rack for the baking as well as the broiling.

1 serving with 1 Lean, 2.5 Condiments and 2 Healthy Fats per serving

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Cream of Baked "Potato" Soup

2011-09-21T12:45:00.000-04:00

Desinie Dunn Rushing had messaged me on face book about her idea for a faux potato soup. Thanks Desinie! It sounded sooo good that I had to try it. I love potato soup with all the fixings and so those hubby! As you know from my previous post, hubby had his wisdom teeth pulled yesterday and I thought this was the perfect dish to make him, minus the bacon bits and cheese. It doesn't even need the extra stuff in it to make it taste good although I wouldn't omit the chives. The garlic and herb from the laughing cow cheese adds a lot of flavor so all you really need is a little bit of pepper. I did not even tell him it was made from cauliflower and he loved it! It makes a very large generous serving. This will not fit in a regular size bowl but rather those large ones. I know I will be making this again, especially on those really cold days when you need something to warm your insides. All you need to add is your lean. Next time, I am going to try adding only 2 laughing cow cheese wedges so that it will be only 1 healthy fat. Not sure how much it will change the flavor because I really like it with 3 wedges. If you use 2 wedges then you can have chicken as your lean but if you use 3 wedges then you need to choose from the leanest meats such as fish, shrimp or 99% ground turkey. I would like to eat shrimp with this dish. You would also need to add 1/2 a healthy fat as well. This is one great tasting soup! Enjoy!

Cream of Baked “Potato” Soup

Created by Desinie Dunn Rushing

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup cauliflower, fresh or frozen (3 Greens)

1 cup chicken broth (1 Condiment)

3 wedges laughing cow light garlic and herb - I may try only 2 next time (1 1/2 Healthy Fats)

Sea Salt to taste

1/8 tsp pepper (1/4 Condiment)

1 tbsp fresh chive (1/7 Condiment)

2 tbsp or 0.5 oz 2% reduced fat cheddar cheese (I used this as my additional 2 oz of protein but if you would like to count it - 1/8 Lean)

1 tsp of Turkey Bacon bits (They aren’t on plan because of the sodium content but I added a few sprinkles; Oscar Meyer Brand had only 90 mg of sodium per 2 tbsp)

Directions:
Remove the leaves and thick core from the cauliflower, coarsely chop, and reserve 1 ½ cups. Add the cauliflower and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the cauliflower is very soft and falling apart, about 15 minutes. If using frozen cauliflower just boil for 1 minute until tender.

Remove from heat and place in a blender. Add Laughing Cow Light cheese, salt and pepper. Place the top on the pitcher, and blend on high for 30 seconds or until smooth. Pour into a bowl and add cheddar cheese, bacon bits, and chives. Keep warm until ready to serve.

1/8 Lean, All your Greens, 1.39 Condiments and 1 1/2 Healthy Fats per serving

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Quick and Easy Vanilla Pudding

2011-09-20T23:46:00.002-04:00

Hubby just had his wisdom teeth pulled out. I know! Poor hubby! I feel so bad that he is in a lot of pain. Well, we just went shopping for a few soft food items and I had let hubby pick out what he wanted to eat just for this occasion. Can we say bad mistake?! He picked out only four yogurts, a 1/2 dozen chocolate chip muffins, a few soups and Gatorade. That is all! The soup had chunks of veggies and meat in it and the tomato soup wasn't recommended for the first day because of the acid and spices in the soup. So being that I didn't want to leave hubby his first day after surgery, I looked in my pantry and fridge and decided to make vanilla pudding. Luckily we had everything to make it. This is a pretty basic recipe that you can alter to make chocolate or butterscotch pudding. It is so simple yet makes a pretty darn tasting pudding. Enjoy if you aren't on Medifast! : )

Quick and Easy Vanilla Pudding

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

2 egg yolks, beaten

1/4 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups milk

1 tbsp butter

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until pudding thickens for about 5 to 10 minutes. Keep refrigerated.

Variations:

Chocolate Pudding: Add 2 unsweetened chocolate squares

Butterscotch pudding: use 1/2 cup light brown sugar firmly packed and 1/4 cup sugar instead of 1/2 cup sugar

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Mexican Beef Egg Burrito

2011-09-20T10:36:00.000-04:00

Well, I have good news and bad news. I will start with the bad news first. Silly little me didn't realize I was no longer qualified for the challenge I was doing with the Warriors with a Heart which was the 30 days to stay on plan! I have had a few hiccups in the previous weeks, which I have mentioned before, concerning my late night eating problem. But! I have recently found a solution which is to eat more protein such as cheese sticks instead of any naughty foods. Well, being that I was not completely on plan, I have kicked my booty out of the challenge. Boo hoo! I am not sure what I was thinking! I must have been thinking that it went by how much weight you lost. Well, you may be saying... duh Sandy! The name of the challenge is to stay 30 days on plan not lose the most weight LOL :) Anyways, it isn't completely terrible news because I got two things from the challenge. I lost 10 lbs in the 21 days of the challenge and I realized I need to follow the rules more often ha ha! So my good news is that I have lost 10 lbs which I really don't think I could have done without this challenge. No siree! I am happy with the loss and it hasn't been 30 days yet. I must say that I am still pretending I am in the challenge (which ends next Tuesday) so I can keep myself motivated. So pretend with me and cheer me on! Ha ha! Good luck to those who are really in the challenge and not pretending! :)

I made this over the weekend and I just fell in love with it! I had to make it twice in a row! Yes, it was that good! I took the basic chili recipe that I often use which is ground beef, diced tomatoes, taco seasoning and laughing cow cheese. Mixed it all up and spread it on an omelet. Wrapped it like a burrito topped with chipotle salsa and jalapenos. It was delicious! My father always eats his eggs with picante sauce while most everyone else in my family eats theirs with ketchup. I always looked at them like they were crazy and ate my eggs plain with maybe salt and pepper. I know I am a plain Jane, but now I know what I was missing all those years. Eggs taste yummy with salsa, especially chipotle salsa! Not to mention, this dish does taste like a burrito. Give this a try for a change in the way you eat your eggs. Enjoy the recipe!

Mexican Beef Egg Burrito

Ingredients:

2.5 oz 93% Ground Beef, cooked (1/2 Lean)

1 Light Queso Fresco and Chipotle Laughing Cow Cheese (1/2 Healthy Fat)

1/4 cup Rotel Tomatoes or Diced Tomatoes (1/2 Green)

1/2 tsp Taco Seasoning (.75 Condiments)

1 cup Egg Beaters (1/2 Lean)

1 tbsp Salsa (1 Condiment)

1 tbsp Jalapenos, chopped - Optional (1 Condiment)

Directions:

Combine cooked ground beef with, tomatoes, laughing cow cheese and taco seasoning until combined over medium high heat. Set aside.

Spray a non-stick skillet with cooking spray over medium high heat. Add egg beaters. When one side is done, flip to cook the other side like an omelet.

Place the omelet on a plate. Add ground beef mixture to the center and fold one side over the meat mixture. Then fold the other side over the meat to form a burrito. Top with 1 tbsp of salsa and 1 tbsp of jalapenos. I used chipotle salsa and it tasted delicious!

1 Lean, 1/2 of 1 Green (you still need to add 2 1/2 Greens), 2.75 Condiments and 1 /2 Healthy Fat

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Meat Lasagna

2011-09-18T20:56:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is my official weigh-in day, but being a daily weigher that I am, I already stepped on the scale this morning. I am happy to report I have lost 10 lbs since I started the 30 Day Challenge to stay On Plan with the Warriors Have a Heart Group on Facebook. This is only the third week so I have one more week to go! I have to say that I am already so proud that I have lost 10 lbs on this challenge and I couldn't be happier with the amount of weight I have lost so far. Sometimes we need these little challenges to kick us in the butt and get us going! Thanks DeAnn McAdoo for starting this challenge! I still have 18 lbs left to goal, but it is so close that I can see it just right over the horizon :) Then transition here I come!

Now doesn't that lasagna look delicious! It is already making my mouth drool! Thanks to Martha Maines for sharing her photo of her meat lasagna with us! We so greatly appreciate it! She says the lasagna is blog worthy and delicious so I will go ahead and post this recipe up for you guys! This is a recipe I converted to be a little more Medifast friendly from "Livin' Low Carb" by George Stella. I love his cook books! I can't say enough great things about his recipes! It has no pasta in it which is why we love it because no pasta means less carbs! You can always use some sliced zucchini or cabbage leaves as pasta noodles if you so desire. Honestly, you really won't miss the pasta anyways because you have all that yummy cheese and meat sauce to make up for it! I think cheese makes most everything great! I hope you enjoy the recipe!

Photo courtesy of Martha A. Maines

Meat Lasagna

Slightly adapted from George Stella "Livin' Low Carb"

Ingredients:

10 oz cooked 93% ground beef (2 Leans)

1 cup canned Italian diced tomatoes - less than 5 g of carbs per 1/2 cup - (2 Greens)

1/4 tsp garlic powder (1 Condiment)

1/8 tsp salt - optional (.50 Condiment)

1/8 tsp pepper (.25 Condiment)

Cheese Filling:

4 oz or 1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese (2 to 3 g fat per oz) (1/2 Lean)

6 oz or 1 1/2 cups reduced fat mozzarella cheese, divided (1 1/2 Leans)

3 tbsp reduced fat parmesan cheese (3 Condiments)

2 tbsp egg beaters

1/4 tsp garlic powder (1 Condiment)

1 tsp Italian Seasoning (2 Condiments)

1/8 tsp pepper (.25 Condiments)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add tomatoes, garlic powder, salt and pepper to already cooked and weighed ground beef. Simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Mix the ingredients for the cheese filling using only 3/4 cup of mozzarella.

Fill the bottom of a baking dish with the meat filling and top with the cheese filling. Cover the top with the remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese. Bake for 40 minutes until the top because bubbly. Let cool 10 minutes before slicing (the lasagna will hold together better). Divide into 4 equal portions. These freeze great in those Ziploc containers.

4 Servings with 1 Lean, 1/2 of 1 Green (Still need 2 1/2 Greens), and 2 Condiments per serving

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Rotisserie Style Chicken

2011-09-15T14:37:00.005-04:00

This is my go to rotisserie style roast chicken recipe. I found it at All Recipes years ago and have been using it ever since! It does take a long time to roast because of the low temperature you roast at, but that is what makes this chicken so juicy! The slow cooking process of the chicken keeps the chicken from drying out, yet giving the chicken a crispy outer skin. For me the skin is the best part, but being on Medifast does not allow me to eat it so I take it off and eat the meat alone. Very tasty! You don't have to use the spice mixture in the recipe. You can use whatever spices you like. Try Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb or McCormick's Rotisserie Chicken Spice. Also, Dana's Chicken Seasoning or Memphis Style Dry Rub would be great as well. The possibilities are endless! Notice I didn't add the amount of lean in the recipe. This is because it will vary depending on how much your chicken weighs and whether you eat only the dark or just the white meat. You will need to take the skin off you chicken and remove the bones before weighing. I usually get about 4 servings so I get about 2.3 condiments per serving. Happy roasting!

Right from the oven! A nice golden brown! Delish and very juicy from the low baking temperature. Hubby eats the skin but I take the skin off and weigh only the meat to make sure I get 6 oz of white or 5 oz of dark meat.

Let the chicken marinate in the spice mixture overnight for the best flavor! Sometimes I add a tbsp of olive oil to make the spice mixture into a paste and then marinate.

All ready to be roasted!

Rotisserie Style Chicken

From All Recipes

Ingredients:

1 tsp salt (4 Condiments)

1 tsp paprika (2 Condiments)

1/2 tsp onion powder (1 Condiment)

1/2 tsp tsp dried thyme ( 1/2 Condiment)

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (1/2 Condiment)

1/4 tsp black pepper (1/2 Condiment)

1/4 tsp garlic powder (1 Condiment)
1 tbsp olive oil - optional (3 Healthy Fats)

4 to 5 pound chicken

1 celery stalk, cut into 2 inch pieces

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix all the spices together. You can add 1 tbsp of olive oil to form a paste but it is optional. Remove and discard giblets from chicken. Rinse chicken cavity and pat dry with paper towels. Rub chicken inside and out with spice mixture. Also, rub some spice mixture under the skin above the breast meat as well by loosening the skin at the top of the chicken. Place celery inside chicken. Place chicken in a resealable bag or double wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight or at least 4 to 6 hours.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place chicken in a roasting pan. Bake uncovered for about 3 hours, to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees. Two (4 lb) chickens should take 5 hours. Let the chicken stand for 10 minutes before carving.

Total recipe is 9.5 Condiments

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Peanut Butter Fudge Balls

2011-09-14T23:18:00.002-04:00

These are soooo good! I had tried a recipe similar to this one using the hot cocoa and chocolate shake but it did not have peanut butter or almond milk. The other recipe also rolled the balls in the chocolate shake rather than mixing the chocolate shake and hot cocoa together. I prefer to mix it together. The other recipe was okay but this one is sooooo much better. The peanut butter really made these even more tastier and the pudding works well in this recipe. It tastes like peanut butter and chocolate fudge! I will definitely be making these regularly. Yum, yum yum! Thanks Kakk68 for finding this recipe!

I just tried halving the recipe and using 1 packet of the vanilla pudding only, 1 tbsp peanut butter and 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk. Mixed it all together and form into 4 balls. Not bad! Kind of like a butterscotch flavor going on. Chocolate peanut butter is my favorite, but I have tons of vanilla pudding to get rid of so this might be one way.

Peanut Butter Fudge Balls

Shared by Kakk68 from the Medifast Recipe Forum

Ingredients:

1 MF choc pudding (1 Meal)

1 MF choc shake/ hot cocoa (1 Meal)

2 T peanut butter (2 Snacks)

1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (NS approved as 1/2 Condiment)

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat until peanut butter melts. Pour batter into 2 small bowls and refrigerate several hours to make 2 meals, each with 1 snack. (I skipped the heating and just combined all the ingredients. I made 8 fudge balls so 4 balls make 1 meal!)

From Kakk68: Seriously....gooey chocolaty peanut buttery fudginess like nothing I've ever been allowed to eat while trying to lose weight. You can only have one a day since each one has an optional daily snack, but you will really only want one.

2 Servings with 1 Meal, 1/4 Condiment and 1 Snack per serving

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Jen's Chicken Parmesan (Crock Pot)

2011-09-14T17:57:00.003-04:00

If you are looking for a really good crock pot recipe then this is it! I got this recipe from the Medifast recipe forum at www.mymedifast.com and it was shared by Jen2011. I love this recipe because it is definitely family friendly. The hubby or wifey and kids are sure to like this one! Not to mention, who doesn't like a great crock pot recipe? You just throw the ingredients in a crock pot and wait until the end of the day and you have a nice hearty meal! Ohhhhh and it makes the house smell sooooo good while it is cooking! Basically, there are no cooking skills required :) Yay! I enjoyed this dish with 2 cups of lettuce and Ken's Lite Northern Italian Dressing (as my healthy fat) while hubby ate his with pasta. Boy, did he chow down! It is so nice to be able to cook something for both myself and hubby so we can enjoy it together. Hubby isn't one to like "diet" food so I am always searching for some recipes that he and I can both eat without hubby going hungry LOL. This is another one of those recipes that hubby put on the "Must make again" list. Thanks Jen for a fabulous recipe!

If you do not want to use the marinara sauce below, there is another one that looks equally delicious with less condiments. I just happened to get it in my email this morning, but I had already made my own sauce last night. The other recipe is from Skinny Taste by Gina called Quick Marinara Sauce. It looks very yummy and is so simple to make. I may try making a large batch of that sauce and store it in the freezer! I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Chicken Parmesan (Crock Pot)

Created by Jen2011

Ingredients:

36 oz raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts - should yield 4 ~ 6 oz portions (4 Leans)

2 cups crushed tomatoes - less than 5 g carbs per 1/2 cup serving *I used a 28 oz can but measured out 1/2 cup to eat per serving (4 Greens)

1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning (1 Condiment)

1 tsp Basil (1 Condiment)

1/4 tsp Onion Powder (1/2 Condiment)

2 cloves garlic (2 Condiments)

2 tbsp Grated Reduced Fat Parmesan Cheese (2 Condiments)

Directions:

Place chicken in a slow cooker. Combine all the other ingredients in a medium bowl. Pour over chicken. Cook on low 6 to 8 hours. Serve with 1/2 cup sauce.

4 Servings with 1 Lean (6 oz Chicken), 1 Green (1/2 cup Sauce), and 1.6 Condiments per serving

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Mousse Treat

2011-09-13T10:58:00.001-04:00

This was given to me by Shari Henderson-Sievenpiper on my face book page. It sounded delicious so I knew I had to try it. I used black cherry jello that I made from the box. I measured out 1/2 cup which was one serving (counted as 1 snack) and combined it with all the other ingredients. It calls for 2 tbsp of cream cheese but I am trying to be more stingy with my condiments. 1 tbsp worked just as good. It was delicious! It really was like eating a light and fluffy mousse-like dessert. The cherry and chocolate go very well together and tasted like black forest cake mousse. Another great combination would be to use strawberry flavored gelatin. Chocolate covered strawberries anyone? Thanks for a fabulous recipe Shari! Enjoy!

Mousse Treat

Created by Shari Henderson-Sievenpiper

Ingredients:

1 packet of MF hot cocoa (1 Meal)

1/2 cup pre-made sf gelatin (cherry/strawberry) (1 Snack)

1 to 2 tbsp light cream cheese - I used 1 tbsp (1 or 2 Condiments)

2 tbsp to 1/4 cup cold water

little bit of crushed ice (about 1/4cup) - about 75% of it.

Directions:

Mix it all in a bullet style blender.

Has a nice rich creamy texture! ENJOY! I ♥ it for a light dessert.

1 Meal, 1 Snack, and 1 Condiment if you used 1 tbsp light cream cheese (2 Condiments if you use 2 tbsp)

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Katie's PB Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches

2011-09-12T11:15:00.007-04:00

I am down 1.4 lbs this week which is great considering my little problem with late night eating. I am finally substituting a cheese stick (sometimes 2!) with whatever I may be craving in the middle of the night. It seems to be working since I had a gain towards the beginning of the week and now I have a loss so I will take that! To celebrate my loss for the week, how about a sweet treat! Say... ice cream sandwiches! This recipe is a wonderful treat if you are craving those yummy ice cream sandwiches! The recipe, with photo explanation and all, was so kindly shared by Katie Mueller who can be found on the Medifast face book page. These ice cream sandwiches are made with peanut butter and whip cream so you get a delicious treat that will be sure to satisfy your sweet tooth! I will be trying this very soon, but unfortunately, I do not have an whip cream! I will definitely need to run to the store now. Enjoy this recipe!

Click Picture to enlarge

Katie's PB Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Created by Katie Mueller

Ingredients:

1 Brownie Mix(1 Meal)

1 Peanut Butter Crunch Bar or any other bar you like such as Smores, Chocolate, etc (1 Meal)

3 tbsp water

2 tsp peanut butter (2/3 Snack)

4 tsp whip cream (4 Condiments)

Directions:

Melt 1 brownie and 1 peanut butter crunch for 20 seconds. Add 3 tbsp water and mix. Spray a plate with cooking spray. Drop 4 spoonfuls of dough on plate. Microwave for 2 minutes. Add 1 tsp peanut butter to each of two cookies and then add 2 tsp of whip cream to each of the other two cookies. Place peanut butter cookie on top of cookie with whip cream. Place stuffed cookies in Ziploc container and freeze thoroughly. Each cookie is one meal.

2 Servings with 1 Meal, 2 Condiments, and 1/3 Snack per serving

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Faux Eggplant Parmesan Re-visited

2011-09-11T22:54:00.004-04:00

When I first say Lana's (aka Winterberry Primitives) Faux Eggplant Parmesan, I knew I had to try it! I am so glad I did! I am really liking eggplant. This was my first time eating it and it was quite tasty. I am sure the tomato sauce and all that extra cheese helped to enhance the flavor, but nonetheless, it was still quite good! Talk about cheese overload though, which is fine by me because I am a huge cheese lover! If you use only 1/2 a cup, just add half a lean later in the day such as 2.5 oz of beef, 3 oz of chicken, 3.5 oz of shrimp or 1 cup egg beaters. I made a few changes to Lana's recipe. I decided to use Parmesan puffs because it had more of the taste I was going for and I didnt need the additional condiment of baking powder. I also used Italian diced tomatoes as a green rather than use the Walden Farms marinara sauce because the Walden Farms sauce is 2 condiments for 1/4 cup. This recipe uses less condiments without sacraficing taste! Because I did not use the entire package of my Parmesan puffs, I will save the other half to eat later in the day so I could still have 6 meals during the day. It is important to eat 6 times a day to regulate and maintain your metabolism. It also prevents you from getting too hungry the more often you eat! Enjoy this wonderful cheesy dish!

Eggplant Parmesan lightly browned with fresh mozzarella cheese, diced tomatoes, and basil!

Eggplant slices dipped in egg beaters and then sprinkled with a combination of crushed Parmesan puffs, Parmesan cheese and garlic salt.

Eggplant sauteed in a pan until tender and the crumb mixture is golden brown.

1/2 cup of Italian diced tomatoes can be used as a great sauce with no additional Italian seasonings necessary but added 1/8 tsp garlic salt!

Spread 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese over the sauce.

Layer the eggplant over the cheese.

Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup of cheese and basil over eggplant slices. It is ready to be baked!

Faux Eggplant Parmesan Re-visited

Ingredients:

1 cup egg plant slices or 99 grams (2 Greens)

1/2 cup Italian diced tomatoes, canned - less than 5 g of carbs per serving (1 Green)
1/4 cup egg beaters - you are allowed up to 2 oz of additional protein (1/8 Lean)

1/2 bag of Parmesan Puffs, crushed (1/2 Meal)

1 tbsp reduced fat Parmesan cheese (1 Condiment)

1/4 tsp garlic salt, divided (1 Condiment)

1/4 tsp dried basil (1/4 Condiment0
2 oz or 1/2 cup 2% reduced fat Mozzarella Cheese, divided - you can use 4 oz or 1 cup if you like but it will be really cheesy! (1/2 Lean)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice and weigh your eggplant. Weighing provides the most accurate results. I weighed 99 grams which is the cooked from fresh weight.

Combine crushed Parmesan puffs with 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese and 1/8 tsp garlic salt in one bowl. In another bowl, put 1/4 cup egg beaters. You will not use the entire 1/4 cup of egg beaters which is why I do not count it as 1/8 lean. Dip each slice of eggplant into egg beaters and let the excess egg beaters fall off the eggplant. Sprinkle Parmesan crumb mixture over one side of the eggplant. Turn over and sprinkle more on the other side. Set down on a plate. Repeat until all the eggplant slices are covered in Parmesan mixture.

Spray a non-stick skillet with cooking spray. Heat the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant and cook on one side for about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip to cook the other side for 2 to 3 minutes. The eggplant is done when it is tender and the crumb mixture begins to brown. Set the eggplant aside.

In a small glass dish (I used a 5" x 7" glass Pyrex dish), coat the bottom with diced tomatoes. I crushed my tomatoes with a fork. Sprinkle 1/8 tsp garlic salt over tomatoes. Spread 1 oz or 1/4 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese over the sauce. Layer eggplant over mozzarella. Sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella, 1/4 cup or 1 oz, over the eggplant slices. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp basil. Bake for 20 minutes until cheese is melted. Enjoy!

1/2 Lean and 3 Greens with 2.25 Condiments (No Healthy Fat Required)
*You will need to add 1/2 Lean more sometime during the day! (2.5 oz beef, 3 oz chicken, 3.5 oz fish or shrimp or 1 cup egg beaters)

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Mexican Chicken

2011-09-10T20:23:00.002-04:00

Gerri over at Less of Me: Medifast Journey has done it again! She always seems to find wonderful recipes for the low carb dieter. This one was also just recently featured on her blog. Of course I had to hurry and try it out! I know I am a copy cat but sorry it looked so good and it was good! This is definitely one of those comfort food meals that is sure to please the entire family. It tastes like the inside of a ooey gooey chicken enchilada. I love Mexican food so you can't get better than that! Be aware of the sodium content that enchilada sauce usually contains which is about 500 mg per 1/4 cup, not including the taco seasoning. We are using 1/2 a cup of enchilada sauce, but dividing it against three meals. If you like, the original recipe used only 1 tsp of taco seasoning but I used 2 tsp. I just love how this recipe uses less than 5 ingredients. The best part is that hubby can eat this too! Actually, he loved it so much, he asked me to make it again! That is great news for me :) It is always nice for him to eat the same food as me even though he isn't on a weight loss plan. Saves me from cooking two meals a day! Gerri originally got this recipe from Linda's Low Carb Recipes which is a comprehensive website with tons of recipes for those who want to watch their carb intake! Check out Gerri and Linda's websites for more delicious ideas on what to make for your next lean and green!

I added a tsp of chopped jalapeno peppers and a few green onions to each packet.

I divided the cooked chicken into three equal portions of 4 oz each. Put a little over 2 tbsp plus 1 tsp of enchilada sauce over each chicken packet tossing until chicken is coated. Spread 1.3 oz cheese over each chicken packet so that my meals would already be divided when they came out the oven!

Mexican Chicken

Slightly adapted from http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/

Ingredients:

18 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts - should yield 12 oz cooked (2 Leans)

1 to 2 teaspoon Seasoning for Tacos -I used 2 tsp original recipe uses 1 tsp (3 Condiments)

Salt - I left this out - Optional

1/2 cup enchilada sauce (Make sure it has less than 5 g carbs per serving. NS recommended using 1/4 cup as 1 Green because of sodium content. I used 1/2 cup) (2 Greens)

4 ounces 2 % reduced fat Mexican cheese, shredded (1 Lean)

1/2 cup Green onions, chopped (1 Green)

Directions:

Sprinkle the chicken on both sides with taco seasoning; grill or saute. Cut chicken into cubes and place in a PAM-sprayed 8x8" baking dish; season with salt to taste. (I divided the chicken into 3 equal portions of 4 oz each in individual foil packets). Add the enchilada sauce and toss to coat chicken. (I added 2 tbsp plus 1 tsp to each foil packet and tossed to coat). Sprinkle cheese over chicken (1.3 oz per packet) and bake at 350º for 10-20 minutes, until hot and bubbly. (I left the foil packets open when baking). Scatter green onions over the top.

3 servings with 1 Lean, 1 Green and 1 Condiment per serving (You need to add 2 Greens per serving for a complete lean and green meal)

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Winterberry Primitive's Faux Eggplant Parmesan

2011-09-09T14:21:00.002-04:00

In the past, I have never been much of a vegetable eater, except for maybe the starchy kinds such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, and peas. Then I joined Medifast! Of course none of those veggies are allowed on plan so I had to resort to other veggies. Now I have officially been exposed to all kinds of veggies that I never thought I would ever eat! Some of the veggies are veggies I never even heard of or just had no clue as to what they looked like such as spaghetti squash. Well eggplant is definitely on the list of my never tried veggies and honestly, I really wasn't planning on trying it. But... after seeing Lana's recipe (who is also known as Winterberry Primitives) for faux eggplant parmesan on the Medifast face book page, I was thinking... hmmmm, that looks really good! I definitely want to try it now! I mean cheese and marinara sauce makes everything good right? Well, almost everything... Maybe that big purple veggie won't be so bad after all. I liked almost all the other veggies I have tried, with the exception of turnips so what the heck? Lana was so kind to share her recipe with us as well as her photos of the entire process of making it. Thanks so much for giving me and everyone else something new to cook in my kitchen! I am always looking for ideas! Enjoy this recipe! I will be making it over the weekend after I head to the farmer's market tomorrow to find some eggplant!

The final masterpiece! Mmmmmm! Eggplant Parmesan! This looks delicious!

Soup chip mixture spread on a glass pie plate ready to be microwaved. Then made into crumbs and then tossed with some parmesan cheese.

Measure out the eggplant slices using a glass measuring cup.

Saute eggplant slices with cooking spray after they have been dipped in egg beaters and then rolled in the soup "crumb" mixture.

All ready to bake!

Faux Eggplant Parmesan

Created by Lana aka Winterberry Primitives

Ingredients:

For "Crumbs" to coat eggplant slices:

1 envelope MF Broccoli soup (1 Meal)

1/2 tsp baking powder - original recipe called for 1 tsp but that is 2 Condiments (1 Condiment)

Garlic powder (Optional)

3 tbs water
2 tbsp reduced fat parmesan cheese (2 Condiments)

For Eggplant Parmesan:

1 1/2 cups egg plant slices (stack in measure cup till they reach 1 1/2 cups) (3 Greens)
1/4 cup egg beaters (1/8 Lean)
1/4 cup Walden Farms Marinara Sauce (2 Condiments)
Garlic powder (Optional)
3.5 oz 2% reduced fat Mozzarella Cheese, divided (7/8 Lean)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix all ingredients for "crumbs" in a bowl. Spray a glass pie pan with cooking spray. Pour the mixture in, spread thin and microwave 2.5 min. Using a metal spatula, gently lift and flip. Microwave 1 more minute. Break up the soup mixture, and crush as fine as you can with a small rolling pin. Add 2 tbsp reduced fat parmesan cheese. Set aside.

Dip eggplant slices in egg beaters and then into the "crumb" mixture. Spray a large non stick skillet with cooking spray, and brown the slices on one side then flip and brown other side.

In a shallow casserole pan, put marinara sauce in pan to coat the bottom. Sprinkle garlic powder (if desired) and half of mozzarella cheese over marinara sauce. Add your browned slices of eggplant and top with the remaining half of mozzarella. Sprinkle with reduced fat parmesan cheese for extra flavor but it would be more condiments. I also spooned the leftover "soup" crumbs over the top because I didn't want to waste my nutrients from that MF meal.

Bake at 450 for 30 minutes till browned and bubbly.

Mangia~ That's Italian!

1 Medifast Meal, 1 Complete Lean and Green Meal with 5 Condiments (No Healthy Fats required)

*Since this dish contains 1 MF Meal and 1 Complete Lean and Green meal, I would divide the dish in half. This enables you to still have 6 meals a day.

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Jambalaya

2011-09-08T09:58:00.002-04:00

Oh the ups and downs of weight loss. I am emotionally exhausted and drained from trying to deal with the nighttime munchies. I can't seem to grasp why I can do so well with staying on plan all day and then something happens to me at night! I transform into the Munchie Monster at midnight! Seriously, I mean I guess it could be worse... I could turn into a werewolf or a vampire (sorry I have the Halloween spirit in me, can you tell?)... they all do not have control on what they become. I, on the other hand, have the control somewhere inside of me, but I just haven't found it yet. It is just hard when this has been a habit of mine since I was little. Yes, THAT long! As they say, habits are hard to break just as quitting smoking. I try to address the problem and then I give up and succumb to the world of high carbs. This is the main reason why I have been dealing with my weight for long. It is actually very strange. As soon midnight to 1 am rolls around, I wake up and go to the kitchen and indulge. For instance last night I had a hot dog and chips. I have had stranger in the middle of night. Luckily I did not gain from my 7th meal, but I did not lose either. Normally, I wouldn't have these types of food in the house which is why I would do so well on Medifast in the past, but since hubby is home from deployment, I am surrounded by junk food galore! My husband is such a sound sleeper that he does not even hear me get up to go to the kitchen at night. His solution to the problem... handcuff me to the bed! Oh yeah, that may help me with my eating disorder (Night Eating Syndrome) but he sure won't be happy when the bed is wet because we all know being on Medifast means being friends with the toilet! I am not giving up on my weight loss but I need to find a solution to my problem. Does anyone suffer from this or have any solutions? From searching on the Internet, I found some tips which are good for more than late night eating but cravings as well.

9 Tips to Stop Late Night Eating

1. Be sure to eat 3 good meals during the day with 1 or 2 between meal snacks. Most people try to eat too few calories during the day only to binge late at night. A good insurance policy is to eat most of your calories before 6 PM.

2. When you feel the urge to eat late at night, try drinking 2 or more cups of water. You can also make a cup of herbal tea sweeten with honey or artificial sugar. Hot liquids have a soothing effect on emotions and appetite.

3. Remind yourself that it's normal to feel hungry late at night due to habitually eating late. Breaking this habit is like learning to quit smoking. Remind yourself of your goal to lose 20 or 30 pounds and the key to losing this weight is to STOP late night eating.

4.Much of late night eating after dinner can be avoided by hiding the junk food. Put foods that you're prone to eat late at night out of sight. Better yet, don't buy junk food at all, though this may not be possible if you have kids.

5. Suck on hard candy. Most hard candy have only a few calories and they give you the satisfaction of snacking.

6. Keep a written copy of your diet plan in view, which will keep your goal of losing weight firmly fixed in your mind. The temptation to snack late at night will not be as great if you don't give into the urge for several weeks.

7. Some people have great success by simply brushing their teeth late at night. This method has been known to curb late night eating for many people.

8. The most vulnerable time for eating late is 1 hour after dinner right up to bedtime. Keep your life interesting by working on a favorite hobby and NOT watching TV. The ads on TV can subconsciously trigger the impulse to eat. Boredom is your biggest danger to late night eating.

9. Psyche yourself for the battle. You know that you will feel tempted to snack late at night. It's an artificial feeling that will go away when you go to bed. The next morning, you probably won't be hungry .... eat breakfast anyway .... it's the most important meal of the day.

I am going to try some of these tips out and see if any will help me because I know the Munchie Monster will return but this time I am going to try to be ready for him!

I found this recipe on the recipe discussion board at http://www.mymedifast.com/. It was posted by Eilinel and I knew I had to try it because I am a big fan of Jambalaya. I remember eating it while growing up in Louisiana during my elementary school years when my dad was stationed at the Air Force Base in Alexandria, LA. I mostly remember it containing rice, but this dish still satisfies the craving for one of my old time favorites. I think next time (and there will be a next time!), I am only going to add a 3/4 cup of diced tomatoes instead of 1 cup and add 1/4 cup of grated steamed cauliflower. The cooked and grated cauliflower makes a great substitute for rice and will be sure to solve my craving for the higher carb option. Also, when it comes to sausage being on plan or not, it is generally not recommended because of the sodium content. However, if you choose to add it to your plan, do so on occasion. This is why I only added 2 oz of smoked sausage and used a more approved lean such as shrimp to complete the lean. I looked at the nutrition info for the Hillshire Lite Smoked Sausage and shrimp I had on hand and this is the nutrition info combined:

258 Calories, 10 g of Fat, 40 g of Protein, 0 g of Carbs but 1,192 mg of Sodium! Eeek!

You should not exceed more than 2,300 mg of sodium for your daily intake so that takes up almost half of your daily limit.

Your lean on plan should be the following:

250-300 Calories, at least 10 g but less than 30 g for your overall lean and green, more than 25 g of Protein, and less than 15 g of Carbs

As you can see, the 2 oz of sausage and shrimp fit into plan but make sure you drink a lot of water to wash down that extra sodium : ) The extra 1 tsp of olive oil adds an additional 5 g of fat bringing it to 15 g of fat.

For the leftover sausage, I cut up them up in 4 oz serving sizes to store in the freezer to have on occasion. When I am craving sausage, I will be eating this with a 1/2 cup of egg beaters. This would give me 280 calories, 16 g of fat, 2 g carbs, 30 g of protein and 1,220 in sodium. Overall, this was a delicious meal! I doubled the recipe so I would have some tomorrow! Enjoy!

Jambalaya

Recipe created by Eilinel from the Recipe Medifast Forums

Ingredients:

2 oz Hillshire Lite Smoked Sausage (1/3 Lean)

4.5 oz Shrimp, cooked or 4 oz Chicken, cooked (2/3 Lean)

1/4 cup Green Peppers, chopped (1/2 Green)

1/4 cup Celery, chopped (1/2 Green)

1 cup Canned, Diced Tomatoes - less than 5 g carbs per serving (2 Greens)

1/2 cup Water

1/2 tsp Paprika (1 Condiment)

1/4 tsp Oregano (1/2 Condiment)

1/4 tsp Thyme ( 1/4 Condiment)

1/4 tsp Garlic Salt (1 Condiment)

1 Bay Leaf

Hot Sauce to taste

1 tsp Olive oil - I added this since I used shrimp and it needs a healthy fat (1 Healthy Fat)

*You could also do 3 oz of chicken and 3.5 oz shrimp which Nutrition Support recommends over sausage

Directions:

Saute green peppers and celery in olive oil until tender. Add tomatoes, water, and spices. Cook until the liquid has pretty much boiled off. Stir in shrimp and sausage until combined right before the liquid is mostly gone. This will eliminate minimal shrinkage of the meat unless you are using raw meats but I used already cooked meats.

1 Lean and Green Meal with 3 Condiments and 1 Healthy Fat

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Dottie's Carne Guisada

2011-09-07T17:38:00.006-04:00

Oh my goodness! Doesn't that look Delicious with a capital "D"! This photo was taken from Gerri's blog at Less of Me Medifast Journey whose blog has always been a personal favorite of mine. She always seems to find the BEST recipes. Some of her current recipes may need a little bit of tweaking to fit the Medifast plan, but this is one I already ran through Nutrition Support at My Medifast and it is definitely on plan. Currently, this particular recipe is featured on her blog so go check her out and show her some support during her weight loss journey! I personally plan on making quite a few meals from her blog in the future! This one will be on my menu next week! There are two ways you could make this recipe. Either by a dutch oven or crock pot. I plan to use my handy dandy crock pot like Gerri did. I love crock pot recipes and they are perfect for when you have a busy day and just don't have the time to stick around a hot stove. Throw that sucker in the crock pot and by the end of the day you will have a scrumptious meal! Also, I know th epic can be a little misleading but leave out the sour cream and guacomole! A little bit of extra cheese is okay :) Enjoy the recipe!

Photo from Gerri at www.lessofmemedifastjourney.blogspot.com

Dottie's Carne Guisada

Ingredients:

2 pounds chuck roast, trimmed, and cubed (Should yield ~4 Lean Servings (5oz/each)

1/2 cup chopped green chilies (1 Green Option)

2 cups beef broth (2 Condiments)

1 1/2 cups canned, diced tomatoes, undrained (3 Green Options)

1 tbsp jalapeño peppers, chopped (1 Condiment)

1 tbsp chili powder (3 Condiments)

1/4 tsp garlic powder (1 Condiment)

1 tsp onion powder (2 Condiments)

1 tsp cumin (1 Condiment)

1/4 tsp salt (1 Condiment)

1/2 tsp pepper (1 Condiment)

Directions:

Add all of the ingredients into a crock pot. Cook on low 8 to 10 hours.

Add all ingredients to a dutch oven; bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer 2 hours or until the beef is very tender. Remove the lid and raise the heat. Simmer until the liquid has thickened, about 10 minutes.

4 Servings with 1 Lean, 1 Green, and 3 Condiments per serving ( No Healthy Fat required)

*Don't forget to add 2 Greens per serving to complete your Lean and Green!

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Caprese Salad

2011-09-05T18:57:00.038-04:00

This yummy recipe was given to me by Larry Gordon when I was searching for what to bring to a picnic that hubby and I were having over the weekend. Although I didn't bring it to the picnic, I knew I definitely wanted to try it another day. It turned out delicious! If you want something other than meat for your lean and green, this would be perfect. Your lean is entirely made up of fresh mozzarella. I could eat this stuff all day! I found my mozzarella at Wally World (Wal-mart) right next to the cream cheese. I thought it would be difficult to find fresh mozzarella that was less than 6 grams of fat per oz, but it wasn't. I got the one that was made with part-skim milk. This one was only 5 g of at per oz and only 100 calories with 0 carbs. It sure was mighty tasty! I still have some cheese left over so I am going to shred the rest and put on my cauliflower pizza crusts I have stored in the freezer. Then back in the freezer it goes until another day! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I have! The only change I made was that it called for 1 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar but I used Walden Farms balsamic vinaigrette. This is because with the type of cheese used, no healthy fat is required. Thanks for sharing this recipe Larry!

Caprese Salad

Slightly adapted from Larry Gordon

Ingredients:

4 oz fresh mozzarella between 3 to 6 g fat per oz, cubed (1 Lean)

1 cup baby spinach (1 Green)

1 cup or 180 g Roma or heirloom tomatoes, sliced (2 Greens)

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (1/4 Condiment)

1/8 tsp salt (1/2 Condiment)

1/8 tsp pepper (1/4 Condiment)

2 tbsp Walden Farms Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing (1 Condiment)

Directions:

Place a bed of greens on a plate. Season tomatoes with pepper and salt then layer them over spinach. Add mozzarella on top of tomatoes. Drizzle dressing over tomatoes and cheese. Top with fresh chopped basil. Enjoy!

1 Lean and Green with 2 Condiments - No Healthy Fat required

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Caesar Chicken Wraps by Norman's Son

2011-09-04T22:55:00.000-04:00

This recipe was shared on the Medifast face book page by Norman Walker. It was his son's own personal creation! I haven't tried this recipe yet, but I wanted to share it with you guys because it had gotten so many requests! By the photo alone, this recipe looks delicious! Not to mention, I am a huge fan of the original Caesar chicken wraps that aren't on plan! You know the ones with those higher carbed tortillas. Yeah, that would be the one! Now I can satisfy my craving for those yummy wraps and not fall off plan! Thanks to Norman's son! These would also be wonderful on the revolution rolls as a sandwich! I will be making them soon, but here is the recipe in the meantime! Enjoy!

Caesar Chicken Wraps

Created by Norman Walker's son

Ingredients:

24 to 27 oz raw, boneless, skinless chicken breasts - should yield 18 oz cooked (3 Leans)

2 Tbsp Walden Farms Caesar Salad Dressing (1 Condiment)

1/2 tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper (1 Condiment)

1/2 tsp Salt (2 Condiments)

1/4 tsp oregano (1/2 Condiment)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil (3 Healthy Fats)

8 to 12 Romaine lettuce leaves

1 1/2 Tbsp Grated Reduced Fat Parmesan Cheese - optional (1 1/2 Condiments)

Directions:

Slice chicken into strips (to cook quicker) and sauté in olive oil until done.

Put all remaining ingredients, except lettuce, with chicken in food processor and pulse about eight times, being careful not to chop too finely.

After processing, weigh out 6 ounces of prepared chicken and fill lettuce leaves. Sprinkle each wrap with 1/2 Tbsp of Parmesan cheese.
Feel free to adjust seasonings to taste.

3 Servings with 1 Lean, 2 Condiments, and 1 Healthy Fat per serving

*Be sure to weigh your romaine lettuce and subtract from your Green!

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Sunday Pot Roast

2011-09-04T11:10:00.000-04:00

I have always liked a good hearty pot roast with tons of veggies! Nothing says home as a yummy traditional pot roast. Of course all the veggies I added to this one are not on plan, but that is okay because I won't be eating them. Hubby will have no problems devouring any veggies I can not eat on plan :) The only vegetable I could eat is the celery, but I just left all the veggies for hubby and ate only the meat. Then I made some roasted green beans for me as my green. Yum, yum, yum! This is an excellent meal that is sure to provide you lots of left overs since it has 5 servings! Not to mention it is a great meal the whole family will enjoy! Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

Sunday Pot Roast

(Grandma's Kitchen)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs beef chuck pot roast - I used bottom round because it is leaner - should yield about 25 oz cooked (5 Leans)

1 tsp salt (4 Condiments)

1/2 tsp pepper (1 Condiment)

1/2 tsp garlic powder (2 Condiments)

3 medium baking potatoes, unpeeled - do not add add eat on Medifast

2 large carrots - do not eat on Medifast

2 large celery stalks - I didn't eat this but you can if you wish 1/2 cup is 1 green per serving

1 medium onion, sliced - do not eat on Medifast

2 Bay leaves - do not count since not being consumed

1 tsp rosemary (1 Condiment)

1/2 tsp dried thyme (1/2 Condiment)

1 cup beef broth (1 Condiment)

Directions:

Trim any excess fat from beef. Discard fat. Cut beef into serving-size pieces; season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Scrub potatoes. Cut scrubbed potatoes into quarters. Cut carrots diagonally into 3/4" slices. Slice celery into 1 1/2 to 2 inch pieces. Place potatoes, carrots, celery, onion and bay leaves in slow cooker. Sprinkle rosemary and thyme over vegetables.

Arrange beef over vegetables in slow cooker. Pour broth over beef. Cover slow cooker and cook pot roast on LOW about 8 1/2 to 9 hours or until beef is fork tender. Remove beef to a large serving platter. Arrange vegetables around beef on platter. Remove and discard bay leaves. Add any additional salt and pepper as desired. Serve pot roast with juices from slow cooker or with gravy.

5 servings (5 oz of beef) with 2 Condiments per serving (No additional healthy fats needed)

Don't forget to add your greens!

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Soft Serve Cookies

2011-09-03T16:34:00.001-04:00

I heard about these cookies from a number of different people so I decided to give them a try. I actually like all the soft serves, but what the heck... I'll give them a try. They were decent, but they were more like little pancakes. They never got hard, but that is to be expected since they came from a soft serve mix. They travel well, but I think I will stick with the traditional soft serve when possible. If you want to try a different variation of the soft serve, then give this a try. I hope you enjoy!

Soft Serve Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp baking powder (1 Condiment)

2 tbsp egg beaters

3 tbsp water

1 soft serve (1 Meal)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine ingredients and stir until blended. Drop cookies by spoonful. Bake for 12 minutes. Let cool.

Makes 7 Cookies

1 Meal and 1 Condiment

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