Macaroni and Cheese

The Laughing Cow cheese has become an instant favorite of mine!  I love the Garlic and Herb wedges and use that on my sandwiches now instead of sliced cheese.  I even got my mom hooked after I left the Queso one at her place.  She uses it in her omelets.  When I stumbled across this Hungry Girl recipe for macaroni and cheese, I knew I had to try it since it uses the Swiss Laughing Cow cheese.  This recipe is so creamy and cheesy.  And it's quick too!  Next time I will be adding some protein to this. 

Ingredients: 

• 20 oz. frozen Cauliflower and Cheese sauce (I used the Wegman's brand)
• 2 cups uncooked Ronzoni Smart Taste Penne
• 3 wedges The Laughing Cow Light Swiss
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

1. Cook the pasta al dente. Drain. 
2. While the pasta is cooking, place the cauliflower and cheese in a microwave safe bowl and cover with a paper towel.  Heat in the microwave for about 10 - 12 minutes.  
3. Add the cooked pasta to the bowl with the cauliflower and cheese and stir to coat. 
4. Heat the Swiss cheese wedges in the microwave for about 30 seconds until smooth.  Add the Swiss to the bowl with the pasta and stir to coat.  
5. Season with salt and pepper. 

Nutritional Information (serves 4 -- 1 cup each): 206 calories, 4.2 g fat, 40g carbohydrates, 6.5g fiber, 3.7g sugar, 7.5g protein

Weight Watchers points per serving (1 cup): 5 points plus

Turkey Chili

I plan out our dinner menu for the week so that way I know what groceries I need to get and it's just a lot easier when it comes to cooking dinner! A few months ago my mom bought us this Hamilton Beach crock pot that I have just been itching to use.

So when planning our menu for this week, I decided it was time to break out the crock pot! I found a Turkey Chili recipe from one of my Weight Watchers cookbooks that I wanted to try.  This was one of the easiest dinners I have ever made! If you are on the go and looking for something delicious, I would definitely try this.  It's not very spicy so next time I would probably add some jalapenos.  I also served it over rice.  This is definitely a dish that will be made in our apartment again.  I also can't wait to try more crock pot recipes!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. hot turkey sausage
• 1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, with juices
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes with garlic and tomatoes, with juices
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes with chilies, with juices 
• 1 small onion, diced
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Remove the casings from the turkey sausage and add it to the crock pot.  Break the sausage up with a spoon. 
2. Add the pinto beans, both cans of tomatoes (all with their juices), and the onions to the crock pot.  
3. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. 
4. Season with salt and pepper and serve over rice. 

*Weight Watchers points per serving (6 servings - 1 cup each):  6 points plus

1 cup of rice - 5 Weight Watchers points plus

*If you only wanted to do 4 servings, it would be 1.5 cups and 8 Weight Watchers points plus

Crispy Tilapia with Roasted Tomatoes

This past weekend I was in Dewey Beach, DE celebrating my friend Jaime's bachelorette party, which was a blast!! I am still recovering.  My boyfriend decided to go to Atlantic City for a guy's night on Saturday, so I knew we needed something light for dinner last night to help us recover from all the fun.  I adapted  this recipe from Cooking Light.  I really love tilapia.  It's a such a light and flaky fish and doesn't have a strong fish flavor.  This type of fish really takes on the flavor of whatever it is paired with, in this case it is the tomatoes.  This recipe is just what we needed after a fun-filled weekend!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons capers
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes (mine were pretty big so I quartered them)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup sliced basil
• 1 cup panko
• 1 tablespoon parsley (I used the dried shaker kind, but you can use fresh)
• 4 (6 ounce) tilapia fillets
• non-fat cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a foil lined baking sheet with non-fat cooking spray. 
2. In a small bowl, combine the capers, tomatoes, and 1 tablespoon olive oil with some salt and pepper.  Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. 
3. While the vegetables are roasting, place the panko and parsley in a shallow dish with salt and pepper.  
4. Spray each fillet with non-fat cooking spray and dredge both sides in the panko, once fillet at a time. 
5. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add 1 tablespoons olive oil to the pan.  Add two fillets to the pan and cook on each side for 3 minutes a side.  Repeat with the remaining olive oil and fillets. 
6. Once the vegetables are finished, remove from the oven and top with basil.  Put 1/3 cup tomato mixture over each tilapia fillet. 

Nutritional Information (serves 4): 317 calories, 13g fat, 82mg cholesterol, 13.5g carbohydrates, 1.7g fiber, 35g protein

Weight Watchers points per serving (1 fillet plus 1/3 cup tomato mixture): 8 points plus 

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

When it comes to chicken, I am always looking for new recipes to spice things up.  A grilled chicken breast is great for dinner, but it gets boring after a while.  The other night I decided to try this Chicken and Broccoli casserole from Cooking Light.  I love making casseroles because they are so quick and easy to make.  This recipe was delicious!  It was so creamy!  I changed the way I cooked the chicken from the recipe because I don't really like boiling chicken.  This recipe is great because it can be made ahead of time and then put in the oven when you are ready to eat it.  I will definitely be making this again!

Ingredients:

• 6 oz. frozen broccoli
• 2 (6 oz.) chicken breasts, cut into cubes
• 6 oz. fat free evaporated milk
• 2 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 cup fat free mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup fat free sour cream
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 
• 1/2 cup 99% fat free cream of Mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Spray an 8x8 pan with non-fat cooking spray and set aside. 
2. Steam the broccoli for about 5 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender but still a little bit crisp.  Set aside in a medium bowl. 
3. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat and saute the chicken breast until the chicken is no longer pink. Be careful not to overcook as it will continue to cook in the oven. 
4. While the chicken is cooking, combine the milk and flour.  Season with salt and pepper.  Once combined, bring to a boil over medium-high heat and whisk constantly.  This will create a roux. Once the mixture thickens, remove from heat and add the mayo, sour cream, sherry, Worcestershire sauce, cream of mushroom, and 1/4 cup Parmesan. 
5. After those ingredients are combined and the chicken has finished cooking, add the chicken and sour cream mixture to the broccoli.  Stir the ingredients so that they are they are mixed well together.  
6. Spoon the mixture into the baking dish and top with the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until the top is a little brown. 

Nutritional Information (serves 4): 276 calories, 7.8g fat, 66mg cholesterol, 18.9g carbohydrates, 2.1g fiber, 31.1g protein

Weight Watchers points per serving: 7 points plus 

Shrimp Scampi

As you can probably tell by now, I really enjoy pasta!  I have another pasta dish to share with you that is my boyfriend's dad's shrimp scampi recipe.  It is so delicious!  It has a little kick to it so if you like spicy, this recipe is definitely the way to go.  I've only ever had their "full fat" version, so the other night, I thought I would try to lighten it up.  This turned out just as flavorful as the original version, even my boyfriend agreed!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. Ronzoni Smart Taste Spaghetti
• 1/4 cup Light I Can't Believe it's Not Butter
• 1 small onion
• 1/2 lb. shrimp (Mine came to 12 shrimp)
• 1/2 cup 99% fat free chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon A-1 Steak Sauce
• 1 teaspoon Frank's Red Hot
• 1 teaspoon tarragon 
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

1. Cook the pasta al dente. 
2. While the pasta is cooking, heat a large pan over medium heat.  Add margarine to the pan and then add the onions.  Saute the onions until they are semi-soft. 

3. Next add the shrimp to the pan and season with salt and pepper.  

4. Once the shrimp start to turn pink, add chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, A-1, Frank's red hot, and tarragon.  Simmer over medium heat until the shrimp are cooked through, careful not to over cook them. 

5. By this point, the pasta should be finished.  Drain the pasta and add the pasta to shrimp mixture.  Serve immediately. 

Nutritional information (serves 4): 284 calories, 6.1g fat, 111mg cholesterol, 43.5g carbohydrates, 7.0g fiber, 1.9g sugar, 17.8g protein

Weight Watchers Points per serving: 7 points plus

Easy Appetizer

I just got back from a wonderful vacation in Fort Lauderdale.  We were visiting my boyfriend's sister and her boyfriend and it was so great to see them! The weather was perfect so we got 3 nice beach days.  Now, unfortunately, it's back to reality!

For this next post, I wanted to share an easy appetizer with you that I came up with recently.  I am a huge fan of goat cheese and when that is mixed with onions, it's the best!  For those of you that haven't tried goat cheese, it's very similar to a cream cheese.  This appetizer is quick and easy and can be ready in about 15 minutes.  Your guests will love it!

Ingredients:

• 1 baguette, cut into 34 pieces
• 1 red onion, sliced into thin pieces
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 4 oz. goat cheese
• olive oil

Directions:

1. Once the baguettes are cut into pieces, brush a little bit of olive oil on each one and place under the broiler for about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. With the onions, saute them with non-fat cooking spray until they are soft.  Add the sugar and stir, allowing them to carmelize.
3. Top each slice of baguette with a thin layer of goat cheese and top with some of the onion.  Place back under the broiler for about 2-3 minutes.
4. Serve warm.

Strawberry and Spinach Salad

I love salad.  I eat one every day at lunch and never get sick of them.  So when my Aunt Cassie sent me over her recipe for a Strawberry and Spinach salad, I knew I had to try it right away! My boyfriend was having a work dinner last night, so I was cooking for one.  I was having two pieces of sausage and feta chicken sausage and thought this salad would be the perfect compliment to that! I never used to be a huge fan of fruit in my salad but the balsamic really brings out the flavor of the strawberries in this recipe.  I really enjoyed it and will definitely be making it again in the future!

Ingredients for the dressing:

• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1.5 teaspoons sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

Ingredients for the salad:

• 2 cups spinach, rinse and dried
• 1 cup strawberries, quartered
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onions

Directions:

1. Once the spinach is cleaned and the strawberries and onions are cut, place them on a plate.
2. For the dressing, heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat and add the balsamic.  Bring the balsamic to a boil.
3. Once the balsamic is boiling, add the sugar and stir.  Cook until the consistency is that of a syrup, about 3 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and add the extra virgin olive oil.
5. Once the dressing has cooled a bit (you still want it to be warm, just not hot), drizzle it over your salad.

Nutritional information (serves 2): 99 calories, 4g fat, 0g cholesterol, 15g carbohydrates, 3g fiber, 11g sugar, 2g protein

Weight Watchers points per serving: 1 points plus

Breakfast Casserole

I have to be honest, I am not a huge breakfast person.  My friend Kristin and I were just having this conversation on the way home from the shore the other day and I was saying how I would much rather have lunch.  But, when we had guests over the other weekend, I knew we would need to have something ready for breakfast, so I went with a casserole!  I like casseroles because they are quick and easy!  They incorporate the main breakfast ingredients into one dish and they always end up tasting delicious, like the one I adapted from here.

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. turkey breakfast sausage
• 2 cups 1% low-fat milk
• 1.5 cups egg beaters
• 1/2 cup egg whites
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 3 large eggs
• 16 slices white bread, crusts removed and cut into bit size squares (I used Wonder's Smartwhite -- I love this bread!)
• 1 cup reduced-fat cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Coat a 9 x 13 inch pan with non-fat cooking spray and set aside.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and coat pan with non-fat cooking spray.  Add turkey sausage to the pan and saute for about 5 minutes, until the sausage is a little browned (at this point, I broke them up into bite size pieces).  Remove from heat and let cool.
3. In a large bowl, combine the milk, egg beaters, egg whites, dry mustard, salt, pepper, ground red pepper, and eggs.  Stir all the ingredients so they are combined.
4. Add sausage, cheese, and bread to the mixture and stir to combine.  Pour the mixture into the 9 x 13 baking dish, making sure it fills it evenly, and cover.  Refrigerate overnight. 
5. Remove the casserole and uncover it 30 minutes prior to when you are going to put it in the oven. 
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
7. Bake the casserole for 45 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.

Nutritional information (serves 12): 202 calories, 7.2g fat, 79mg cholesterol, 18.0g carbohydrates, 3.4g fiber, 5.2g sugar, 20g protein

Weight watchers points per serving: 5 points plus

Chicken Enchiladas

Mexican food is definitely one of my favorite types of foods.  I think it mainly has to do with the fact that I love sour cream and that's used in pretty much everything Mexican!  However, I am always looking for alternatives to reduce the fat and calories in my food and have found that the perfect substitute for sour cream is non-fat plain Greek yogurt.  I figured this out when I tried this Chicken Enchilada recipe that I absolutely love! I have probably made this 15 times in the last 3 months because that's how good it is.  I still haven't found a way to fully cut out sour cream -- I put a little on top of each serving!

Ingredients for Filling:

• 9 Mission Carb Balance Medium flour tortillas
• 12.5 oz. can 99% fat free chunk chicken breast, packed in water
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped green peppers
• 1/2 cup Non-Fat Plain Greek Yogurt
• 1/2 cup reduced fat 4 cheese Mexican Cheese

Ingredients for Sauce:

• 3/4 cup salsa
• 1/4 cup Non-Fat Plain Greek Yogurt
• 1/4 cup reduced fat 4 cheese Mexican Cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with non-fat cooking spray

2. Spray a large pan with non-fat cooking spray and saute the chicken, peppers, and onions until the onions are softened.

3. Mix the chicken mixture with the Greek yogurt and cheese.

4. Fill each tortilla with 1/4 cup chicken mixture and roll into a burrito.  (note -- the picture only shows 7 tortillas because I fill 4 of them for my boyfriend with about 1/2 cup)

5. For the sauce, mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl and pour over the top of the tortillas.

6. Cover the dish with foil and back for about 15-20 minutes.

Nutritional Information (serves 9): 203 calories, 5.3g fat, 22mg cholesterol, 22.1g carbohydrates, 11.7g fiber, 2.2g sugar, 19.1g protein

Weight Watchers points per serving: 4 points plus

**I normally each two for dinner, for a total of 8 points plus and add two tablespoons of fat-free sour cream, to make it a 9 points plus dinner!

Restaurant Review: Villa di Roma

One of the things I like best about having visitors from out of town is that I get to go out and try new restaurants!  My boyfriend's mom and step-dad were craving Italian food when they were here, so what better place to take them then to the Italian Market in Philadelphia! Since I have grown up eating some of the best Italian food made by my family, I am very spoiled when it comes to finding Italian restaurants that I like.  However, Villa di Roma really hit the mark with this dinner! I felt like I was eating at home. 

I am going to apologize in advance that I don't have any pictures!  For the appetizers, we started out with the Villa Salad, which was like a caesar salad, but they had a house made dressing that tasted almost like a thousand island.  The dressing was so good I think I could have drank it!  We also tried the clams casino which comes with 4 clams that are lightly breaded.  These were delicious.

The entrees were my favorite part! My boyfriend definitely got the best one -- it was a chicken liver dish over pasta in a butter sauce with peppers and onions.  I have never had chicken livers so I was a little nervous, but oh my gosh this was fantastic! I mean you can't go wrong with a butter sauce. 

For my entree, I got the veal parmesan which was served with spaghetti.  I really liked their version because it was lightly breaded and was not doused in oil like I've had at some other places. 

My boyfriend's mom has been wanting an authentic piece of lasagna since she moved to Virgina and she was finally able to find it by coming back to Philly! This piece of lasagna was huge!  It was so thick and hearty.  She was lucky enough to have some to take home as leftovers.

My boyfriend's step-dad got the spaghetti and meatballs, which he loved.  He let me test some of the meatballs and they were so good!! Almost as good as my mom's, but no one's beat my mom's :-)  They were a very close 2nd though. 

Lastly for dessert we split some cannolis.  The cannoli shell was cooked to perfection and the cream inside was not bitter.  It was the perfect end to our meal.  I can't wait to go back to Villa di Roma and try some of their other selections!

Monkey Bread Muffins

Sorry for the delay in posts!  I was traveling for work and then had a bachelorette party this weekend for my friend Dina in Ocean City, MD, which was a great time!

I like looking for a sweet dessert that isn't always chocolate and that won't kill my points for the week.  These Monkey Bread Muffins do just that!  I made these last weekend as a breakfast addition when my boyfriend's mom and step dad were in town, but I have been eating the leftovers as a dessert snack after dinner.  They provide the perfect amount of sweetness that really hits satisfies sweet tooth craving!

Ingredients:

• 2 cans reduced fat crescent rolls
• 2/3 cup sugar free maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon light margarine (I used I Can't Believe It's not Butter)
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon, divided
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 12 cup muffin pan with fat free nonstick spray.
2. Separate the crescent rolls and cut each one into 3 pieces (try and make them as equal as possible, although they won't be exact!).  Roll each piece into a little ball.  There should be 48 balls total.
3. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and stir so that they are together.  Roll each ball into the cinnamon so it's fully coated.
4. Once the balls are coated with the cinnamon sugar mixture, place four balls into each muffin cup.
5. In a separate bowl, microwave the margarine until melted.  Add in the syrup and remaining tablespoon of cinnamon and stir. 
6. Spoon the mixture evenly over each of the muffin cups, making sure the balls are coated.
7. Bake for about 15-17 minutes.
8. Once they are finished, transfer for them to a plate.  Top each of the muffins with the syrup mixture that was left in the tins.

Nutritional information (serves 12): 140 calories, 6.4g fat, 0mg cholesterol, 20.6g carbohydrates, .6g fiber, 4.8g sugar, 2.7g protein

Weight Watchers points per serving (1 muffin): 4 points plus