Archive | November, 2014

Hot Fudge Cake

24 Nov

I have a long history with chocolate.  It’s a love hate relationship. I love it. It hates my diet.  I grew up with my mom, a true chocoholic…and my best friend, who used to sneak entire tubs of fudge icing into the attic with me, where we’d eat them with 2 spoons.  Chocolate is part of who I am.  It’s one of those “necessary evil’s” I’ve come to accept in life.  There will be chocolate, and I can either hold out for cheat day, or I can find a way to do it without breaking the calorie bank.  So, that’s what I did.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp splenda
  • 1 tsp corn starch
  • 1 tbsp light margarine or butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 egg yolk
  • dash of salt

 Fudge sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon light margarine
  • 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup water

Cake Directions:

1. Mix sugar and splenda together, and divide mixture in half.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, mix 1/2 the sugar mixture, butter, 1/4 cup water, and egg yolk.  Wisk until smooth.

3. In a small bowl, mix flour, corn starch, salt, and cocoa powder.  Stir all ingredients together, and then wisk into yolk mixture until smooth.

4.  In a small bowl, beat egg whites, adding remaining sugar mixture, until stiff peaks form.

5. Fold about half of egg white mixture into sugar and yolk and flour mixture in medium bowl.  Then mix remaining whites into the bowl, stirring lightly until all ingredients are incorporated into batter.

6. Spray the insides of 3 individual ramekins or souffle dishes with nonstick cooking spray (i used square dishes, about 3 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches).

7. Distribute batter evenly among the 3 dishes.  Each one should get about 1/2 cup of batter.

9. Set Souffle dishes on a baking sheet, and bake at 350 for 20 min.

If you really want to kick this up a notch, and you have a few more calories to burn, I recommend making the semi-sweet fudge topping:

Fudge Sauce

In a small pan, on medium heat, melt butter.  Add sugar, cocoa, flour and water.  Wisk all ingredients together, and heat on medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly.  Once it begins to thicken, remove from heat for about 2 minutes before dividing over tops of cakes.

1 cake with fudge= 227 Calories  (appx 6 weight watchers points plus)

1 cake without fudge = 166 Calories (appx 4 weight watchers points plus)

* I went a little extra crazy with these and added 1/2 a scoop of double churn ice cream, which added 55 calories.  Ice cream is not included in the calculated calories above.

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Crockpot lasagna

18 Nov

A coworker recently brought me a recipe she had found for a crockpot lasagna. Naturally I was inclined to take it and use it to experiment on a low cal version. Lasagna is a dish I love to make, but it’s time intensive. This recipe still requires some prep time, but I can do it the night before and just have my husband pop it in to cook.

Ingredients:

– 12 oz lean ground beef (I used 93%)
– 12 oz Italian turkey sausage
– 1 jar prego light smart sauce
– 1 can diced tomatoes
– 1/2 cup water
– 1 medium onion, dice
– 2 TBSP minced garlic
– 15 oz part skim ricotta
– 3 egg whites
– 1 tsp dried oregano
– 1 tsp dried basil
– 1/2 tsp garlic powder
– 1/4 tsp salt
– 9 standard lasagna noodles
– 1 cup 2% shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Sauté beef, sausage, onions and garlic together in a skillet, breaking up meat until it’s all cooked through.

2. Add tomatoes (don’t drain them), prego, water, salt and garlic powder to the skillet and mix until all ingredients are incorporated.

3. In a separate bowl mix ricotta, egg whites, oregano, and basil.

4. Line the inside of your crockpot with aluminum foil. I used one large piece going longways, and one long piece going too to bottom. Press foil down to conform to the shape of the crockpot. Spray with nonstick spray.

5. Pour 1 1/2 cups of sauce mixture in crock and spread evenly across the bottom.

6. Use 3 noodles and lay them side by side across bottom of crock, longways. They’re too long for the crockpot so you’ll need to break the end off to make them fit. Lay the middle noodle down first. The edge noodles may overlap the middle noodle which is fine.

7. Spread 1/2 of ricotta mixture evenly over the noodles.

8. Spread 2 cups of sauce mixture over ricotta.

9. Repeat steps 6-8. Noodles. Ricotta. Sauce.

10. For the The last layer of your lasagna, arrange noodles, too with remaining sauce, and mozzarella cheese.

11. Place lid on crockpot and cook on low about 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

12. Use aluminum edges to carefully remove lasagna and foil from the crockpot. Set the foil and lasagna on a platter and allow to cool 15-20 min.

13. Peel aluminum edges away and slice and serve your lasagna.

6 servings= 605 calories per serving
Appx 16 weight watchers points plus

8 servings = 455 calories per serving
Appx 16 weight watchers points plus

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Pork chops with white wine and mushrooms

13 Nov

Ingredients:

– 4 (5 oz) boneless pork chops
– 1 TBSP light margarine
– 1 Medium onion, thinly sliced
– 2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms
– 3 TBSP flour
– 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
– 1/4 cup white wine
– 1 TSP dried rosemary
– Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Salt and pepper both sides of your chops.

2. Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet.

3. Place chops in the pan and cook about 4 min on each side.

4. Remove chops to a separate plate.

5. Add mushrooms, onions, rosemary, and a little broth to the pan. Sauté about 5 min, and sprinkle with flour.

6. Stir flour around, incorporating it into mushrooms and onions. Add remaining broth and wine. Stir until Lumps disappear.

7. Replace chops back into the pan with mushroom mixture. Cover pan with lid and summer 10 min.

8. Uncover and cook 5 more minutes until sauce begins to thicken a bit.

9. Allow to cool 5 min.

Makes 4 servings

1 serving= 210 calories

Approximately 5 weight watchers points plus per serving

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Low calorie tuna salad sandwiches

9 Nov

This is your basic tuna sandwich, with a few substitutions to bring down the calorie count and up the flavor. My memories of tuna sandwiches are based on a slightly sweet variety of tuna salad, which is what this recipe is based on. It tastes just like my Granny’s and my Moms. If you prefer a more savory version, you can sub fat free mayo and dill relish for great results and about 5 calories less per serving.

Ingredients:

  • 2 (5 oz) cans of chunk light or white tuna in water
  • 3 tablespoons fat free miracle whip
  • 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
  • 2 tablespoons of onion, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons of celery, finely chopped (optional)
  • 1 egg, hard boiled and chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Drain tuna and mix in a bowl with all other ingredients.

editors Note: Serve with 2 slices of 35 calorie bread for a 140 calorie sandwich!

Makes 4 servings.

105 calories per serving

Approximately 3 weight watchers points plus per serving

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Pork, Sauerkraut and Dumplings

8 Nov

This recipe was handed down from my mother-in-law. It is a comfort food for my husband, who remembers it fondly from his childhood.  I have to admit, I had never heard of sauerkraut and dumplings, and I wasn’t sure about it.  After trying it at my in law’s house, I had a change of heart.  This stuff is pretty good, and, it’s way outside my comfort zone, which, for me, makes it even better.,

 

Ingredients:

– 4 boneless pork chops, 4 oz each

– 1 cup original bisquick mix

– 1/3 cup 1% milk

– Chicken broth, 1 1/2 cups

– 4 cups, or 1 bag of sauerkraut, with juice

– Salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions:

1. Mix Sauerkraut and chicken broth in a crock pot.

2. Salt and pepper pork chops, and add to crock pot, on top of sauerkraut mixture.

3. Cook on low 5-7 hours.

4. Remove pork from crockpot. Pour sauerkraut mixture into a large pan (with lid) and place on the stove, on medium heat until nearly boiling.

5. Mix bisquick and milk in a bowl.  Divide mixture evenly into 4 segments, and use a spoon to drop each one into the pot.

6. Allow dumplings to cook for 10 minutes uncovered.   Cover with lid and continue cooking and additional 10 minutes.

7. Serve Pork with 1 dumpling, and 1/4 remaining sauerkraut.

 

*Note: this is delicious with mashed potatoes

 

Makes 4 Servings: 408 Calories per serving

Approximately 11 Weight watchers points plus

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Crockpot Taco Soup

1 Nov

This is prime soup weather, and it doesn’t get much easier than this delicious soup! Serve with a little 2% shredded cheese , Greek yogurt and tortilla strips if you’ve got calories to spare!

Ingredients:

– 1 lb lean ground beef
– 1 onion, chopped
– 1 envelope Taco Seasoning or 2 tbsp homemade taco seasoning
– 1 envelope ranch dressing seasoning
– 1 can black beans
– 1 can corn
– 1 can chili seasoned beans
– 1 can rotel original
– 1 can petite diced tomatoes
– 1 can diced green chiles
– 1 can beef broth
– 1 small can (6-8 oz) tomato sauce

directions:

1. In a skillet, cook ground beef and onions until done. Drain fat if there is any.

2. Throw all ingredients in a crockpot and mix.

3. Cook on low 6-8 hours.

Makes 10 (1 cup) servings.

215 calories per serving

Approximately 5 ww points plus per cup

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