pinwheels

Our lunch today was inspired by this pin on Pinterest.

I used crescent roll dough, rolled out smooth so there were no seams.

I used what we had on-hand...so instead of ham we had buffalo chicken deli slices.

And I am always looking for ways to sneak spinach into our diet so I added some baby spinach leaves too.

This was yummy!!!

The kids only ate one each, but if I cooked only to please our children we would live on ramen noodles and boxed mac & cheese.

There are so many combinations you could do with these! 

Ham & Swiss with arugula.

Roast Beef & Cheddar.

Bell peppers & provolone for the veg lovers.

YOU CHOOSE! :)

Pinwheels Your Way

(All of these ingredients are open to your own taste buds! Pick your favorites!)
1 can crescent rolls
6-8 slices deli meat
handful (or so) fresh baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup (or so) shredded cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Roll out the crescent roll dough with a rolling pin so it's smooth and thin. Put the deli meat over the dough in a thin single layer. Spread the spinach leaves over the meat in a thin layer. Sprinkle on the cheese, salt, and pepper. Roll everything together until you have formed a log, be sure to seal the edge. Using a pizza cutter, cut the log into slices. Bake 15 minutes or so, until the dough is browned and done in the middles.

Spicy Smoked Sausage Mac

(The recipe I am sharing is an adaptation of this recipe.)

This is one of our FAVORITES.
We have it all the time.
We have shared it with other families and they always ask for the recipe.
I hope you love it as much as we do!

Now don't go crinkling up your nose at the turkey smoked sausage...TRUST ME...it is delicious!! The best thing about this recipe is that it TASTES like you're indulging in something naughty while really it's actually quite good for you!

Spicy Smoked Sausage Mac

1T olive oil
1 lb smoked sausage
1 med onion, chopped
garlic powder OR minced fresh garlic clove
1 lb dry elbows (I use a box that is a little less than one pound so watch to make sure you don't need more liquid)
2 cans Rotel (or other chopped chilis & tomatoes) - NOT drained
4c chicken broth
1c nonfat greek yogurt
1c shredded cheese
large handful of chopped fresh baby spinach
salt & pepper to taste

Cut the smoked sausage into bite-sized pieces and cook with the olive oil over medium high heat (I use a large pot). The more color you allow the sausage to get, the more flavor your mac will have. Add the chopped onion and continue cooking until the onion is translucent. Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder or fresh minced garlic. Add the pasta and stir well, let it soak up all the oil and juices from the meat and onion. Add the Rotel and chicken broth. Cover and bring to a light boil. Allow to cook for 7-10 minutes, until the pasta is al dente. Remove from heat and stir in the yogurt. Add the cheese and stir until melty. Add the chopped spinach, stir to combine. Check to see if it needs more salt & pepper....SERVE and ENJOY!

(I use 1 can of mild Rotel and 1 can of original...2 cans of original makes it too spicy for me and Piper to enjoy! So use your own judgment and tastebuds to find the right amount of kick.)

yellow rice with greens & sausage {easy}

This recipe is so simple and so delicious. It's one of our "regulars" in the rotation here at the ol' Baker house.
Before I share the recipe, I want to say a few words about two of the ingredients...

This rice is what makes the recipe so darn easy. AND definitely contributes to the yum factor.
The rice is already seasoned with saffron and other deliciousness so this drastically reduces the amount of time you're going to spend seasoning and tasting and wondering "What's missing??".

Don't do it! Don't roll your eyes and think "Yeah, I've tried turkey sausage and it's CRAP" and then walk away thinking I'm a crazy person. Yes, MOM...I'm talking to YOU! And others like you! We have stopped buying pork sausage and switched over completely to this. Why? Because we're health nuts? If you know us, you know that ain't the case! BUT...we do love to eat and we really don't want to weigh 5343829 pounds so we try to make better choices. This sausage tastes NO different than pork sausage. Seriously. And it has half the calories. So for me...that's a no-brainer right there! Trust me...try it...if you hate it, I will sincerely apologize and never bring it up again. But you just might love it and thank me!

Ok, enough rambling. On to the recipe!

Yellow Rice with Greens & Sausage

1 16oz roll Honeysuckle White Turkey Breakfast Sausage (or your choice of protein)
2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (or a handful of frozen chopped onions if you're lazy like yours truly)
1 16oz pkg Vigo Saffron Yellow Rice
4-5 cups water (or chicken stock)
1 cup (or more) frozen sweet peas
a nice big pile of fresh spinach leaves, chopped
a wad of fresh cilantro, chopped
(those last two ingredients really depend on your own personal taste)
salt & pepper to taste

In a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat the olive oil and brown the sausage over medium-high heat. Season with salt & pepper while the sausage browns. Add the onions and saute until translucent. Pour in the entire contents of Vigo rice. Stir and allow to cook for a few minutes, soaking up any leftover oil and fat from the sausage. Add 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to simmer.

Allow to simmer for 20 minutes or so. Check your rice after 15 minutes and add more water if it is beginning to stick too much to the bottom of your skillet (a little sticking is yummy!). Once the rice is cooked and tender (but not mushy!), add the peas, spinach, and cilantro. Turn the heat down to low and stir just until combined and the peas are warmed through.

Enjoy!

harvest salad {recipe}

Jason and I both like the way we feel when we eat what's good for us.
But Jason and I both LOVE TO EAT.
And most times, a cheeseburger, some pizza, chicken & noodles with mashed potatoes....
THOSE foods...are the ones we adore and crave.
But now that we're both about to climb the hill from 35 to 40,
we have noticed our metabolism can't keep up with our
favorite calorie-ridden foods. BUT neither one of us enjoy eating
raw veggies all the time. It's not something either of us can stick to
for the rest of our lives. And neither one of us enjoy foods that have
clearly had all the fat and yum removed and replaced with "healthy".
SOOOOO
I have been trying to find new recipes, new ways of cooking, etc...
to find NEW foods that we will love as much as our old favorites.
Not that we'll NEVER eat our favorites again...
let's be honest...
that ain't gonna happen, folks.

The first time I made this salad was actually because my sister Korie
and her hubby Chris were coming to stay with us for a few nights.
I know they both enjoy eating food that isn't laden with butter
and fat and sugar and all those things so I was trying to come up with
food that we could all enjoy together...because is there any better way
to enjoy sweet, precious, family time than to share a meal or two??
I think not!
I don't know about Korie & Chris...but the Bakers have completely
fallen madly in love with this salad.

Try it and let me know what you think!
To me, it tastes just like harvest!

Harvest Salad

4 pears - your favorite or a variety
4 apples - your favorite or a variety
1 6oz pkg pecan chips (or walnuts or whatever!)

Dressing:
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 T ground cinnamon
1 T honey
pinch of salt

Clean and core the fruit. Cut it into bite-sized pieces and place in a medium bowl. Add the nuts. Whisk all the dressing ingredients together and pour over the fruit and nuts. Gently fold and lightly stir to be sure all pieces of fruit are coated with the dressing. Taste and add another pinch of salt if needed. May be enjoyed immediately or stored in the fridge for several days!

confetti pancakes

Since Mack started school this year, we have a new tradition. Every Saturday we have pancakes for breakfast. It wasn't an intentional decision...it just kind of happened. But now it's a full-on tradition. So much so that when Aunt Korie and Uncle Chris stayed with the kids in February, Piper had a meltdown when she realized pancakes were not on the menu Saturday morning. Never you fear...Uncle Chris saved the day when he soothed her with chocolate milk. :)

Today I thought it would be fun to add confetti to the pancakes...somehow that just screams Easter! I use a recipe my Aunt Pam gave me for pancakes...I think it's from the Betty Crocker Cookbook?? It's fabulous. Best pancakes ever.

Confetti Pancakes 

2 cups milk
2 eggs
4T oil
4T sugar
2t vanilla
2t baking powder
1t baking soda
1t salt
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sprinkles

Whisk the milk, eggs, oil, vanilla and sugar until blended. Add the baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk until blended and a little frothy. Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and whisk until smooth and blended (but don't over whisk!). Add the sprinkles and whisk just until mixed in. Use your favorite method to cook the pancakes...I like to use my griddle at 400 degrees...perfect every time!

the green monster

I recently found Katie. She's adorable and I love reading her equally adorable posts. But when she made this post about a smoothie, I said, and I quote, "But that means getting out my blender (do I even HAVE a blender?!) and making a giant mess I will then have to clean up!"

Sweet, adorable Katie emailed me back and said "That's what dishwashers are for!". I chuckled at her cuteness and thought "She hasn't seen my 25 year old blender."

But her words of praise about that smoothie wouldn't go away. They kept nagging at me. And I added to them with thoughts like "You know, you would probably love that smoothie. And you eat too much McDonalds and not enough good stuff...what a perfect way for YOU, Cheeseburger McFriespants, to add some nutrition to your life."

I told Jason about the smoothie, expecting him to laugh along with me at how silly it would be to pull out that old clunker of a blender. But alas. No. When will I learn not to assume what goes on in that head of his?! His response was "Yeah! You should try it! Then I could use my Magic Bullet!"

Ohhh the Magic Bullet. That should have been a post all in itself but I believe the purchase was made in one of my blogging slumps. Here's a quick run-down:

Jason: I want the Magic Bullet and it's on sale at Kohl's and Geoff has a coupon.

Me: Yeah, great plan. It will get used as often as the food processor I thought we "needed". 
(I hope you can detect the sarcasm in that sentence)

Jason: I will use it ALL. THE. TIME. Look! You can make whipped cream and alfredo sauce in it!

Me: I can make whipped cream with my Kitchen Aide and my alfredo sauce ROCKS as it is! I don't need some silly contraption to whirl it around in!

I don't remember exactly how it happened but somehow he coerced me and we own a Magic Bullet. He made whipped cream in it. Once. And maybe a milkshake. Since then, it's been sitting in the cupboard above the stove...the very same cupboard that houses the 25 year old blender.  

Fast-forward to today and my whole purpose of this post...the Green Monster Smoothie...and the fact that THIS GIRL now uses the Magic Bullet every single day. Shhh...maybe he won't remember I never wanted the darn thing.

The author/creator/owner of the Green Monster is Kristin at Iowa Girl Eats and she calls it her "top secret diet weapon". You can see her post and her recipe HERE. I tweaked the recipe a bit since my Magic Bullet is smaller than a blender:

1T Peanut Butter - 90

1/4c vanilla yogurt - 47.5

1/2c 1% milk - 50.5

1/2 banana (frozen) - 50

raw, fresh, baby spinach leaves

(I do not know how much spinach I use...I just cram it in until I can't cram any more in)

238 calories!

I cut my bananas in half, slice them, and freeze them in saran wrap so every day I just grab a pouch and it's ready to go. The supplies you see in the top picture last two whole weeks of me having the Green Monster at least 5 days (that's 10 smoothies in 2 weeks!) for lunch.

I Magic Bullet that stuff until it's liquefied.  It is pure green deliciousness, I PROMISE. It feels like I'm eating dessert.  It tastes like a yummy peanut butter & banana milkshake.  And it fills me up! I don't eat again until supper (unless you count coffee and water). 

Spinach? What spinach?! Leave me alone while I have a milkshake for LUNCH!

{mmmmm}

This is a favorite snack of mine and Jason's.  Graham crackers, split into sections.  Spread on as much or as little peanut butter as you like.  Add chocolate chips, as many or as little as you fancy.

And WALLAH (<---- No. Please, people. Stop the madness. That is not a word!) VOILA (<---- french word, "used to call attention, to express satisfaction or approval, or to suggest an appearance as if by magic") you have delicious yummy-ness.

Make it. Love it. Stuff it in your mouth. (and please, for the love of Pete, stop saying "Wallah")

Hot Corn Dip?!

I saw this floating around Pinterest and thought it looked like something the Bakers would thoroughly enjoy. Last night we had some friends over so I decided to try it out. It's wonderful!!

The original recipe can be found HERE. I cannot take any credit for this...not even for the picture! :)

Hot Corn Dip:

2 cups shredded chedder cheese

1 cup shredded Montery Jack

2 tbs chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, diced small

1 small can (4oz) diced green chilies, undrained

1/2 cup Mayo

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 11oz can of corn, drained

1 small tomato

2 tbs cilantro, chopped

2 tbs green onions, sliced thin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the cheeses, chiptole and green peppers, mayo, garlic powder and corn together. Pour into an oven safe dish. Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Top with diced tomatoes, green onions, and cilantro. Serve immediately with tortilla chips.

I know "Hot Corn Dip" sounds really weird...but trust me, you'll love it! The kids ate it with forks like a side dish. HA

More Pinspiration

I really really love Pinterest. It has introduced me to so many new ideas, recipes, tips, tricks and fashion. The latest pinspiration is this Slow Cooker Cream Cheese Chicken Chili from Plain Chicken (incidentally, I've tried several of her recipes and have yet to be disappointed!) I digress. This chili is FABULOUS and will be a new staple in the Baker house.

The recipe:

1 can black beans
1 can corn, undrained
1 can Rotel, undrained
1 package ranch dressing mix
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 8 oz package light cream cheese
2 chicken breasts

Drain and rinse black beans. Place chicken at bottom of pot, then pour out whole can of corn (undrained), rotel, and black beans. Top with seasonings and ranch mix. Stir together. Place cream cheese on top. Cover with lid and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Stir cream cheese into chili. Use 2 forks to shred chicken. Stir together and serve.

Could it BE any easier?! I think not.

And it was DELICIOUS. We had zero leftovers, so next time I will more than likely double the recipe. Yep. We like to eat...no surprise there! :)

We put a little cheese and crushed tortilla chips on top when we ate it. That's the only change to the original recipe I made. Seriously...TRY IT!

(Sorry for the horrible pictures. I didn't know where the camera was and I was too hungry to go searching for it so I just used my phone. I think you get the gist of it!)

Christmas Munchies

Holiday Blend - roasted pecans, dried cranberries and dark chocolate M&Ms. It is simple. It is delicious! We are hooked on the stuff this holiday season!

Pinspired Again!

I kept seeing pictures of these little deep dish pizzas...but couldn't find a recipe. So I thought "I'll just wing it!" and I'll be darned if they didn't turn out pretty stinkin' yummy! :)

Mini Deep Dish Pizzas

1 pkg refrigerated pizza dough

pepperonis

tomato sauce

cheddar cheese

onion powder

garlic powder

Italian seasoning

olive oil

cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 450. Liberally spray your muffin pan with cooking spray. Unroll the pizza dough and cut in half, put half back in the fridge for another day. Lightly coat each side in olive oil. Sprinkle on seasonings, to your liking. Cut the dough into 12 squares. Push the squares into the muffin pan...you may want to stretch them out a bit with your fingers. Put a spoonful of tomato sauce on each crust. Top with 2 pepperonis and fill with cheese. Add another pepperoni to finish. Bake for 10-15 minutes (or longer...depending on how you like your crust). Enjoy!

(P.S. I may or may not continue the play on the word "Pinterest"...it depends on how nerdy I feel! ha!)

Adventures In Cooking

Remember Adventures In Cooking? No? I don't see why not...we were going to do it every week and only did it once...that's no excuse for you to not remember! haha :) This time we did Beef & Three Cheese Ravioli with Roasted Tomato & Garlic Sauce! This was the best ravioli I have ever eaten!!

Roasted Tomato & Garlic Sauce

2 pints grape tomatoes
10 cloves garlic
2T olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste
1T Italian Seasoning
1T Oregano

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Crack the garlic cloves but do not remove the skins. Put the tomatoes and garlic on a cookie sheet, coat with oil and season with salt & pepper. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes...watch the garlic...mine got crispy...oops! When the garlic is soft, mash it up and some of the water your pasta is cooking in. Add the tomatoes and seasonings and mash everything until blended well. The thickness of your sauce will depend on how much water you add. This sauce is sooo easy and sooo delicious.

Beef & Three Cheese Ravioli

1 pkg wanton wrappers
1 lb lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1c freshly grated parmesan cheese
3/4c grated mozzarella cheese
1c low-fat cottage cheese
1T Italian Seasoning
1T Oregano
salt & pepper, to taste

Cook the beef over medium heat until almost browned. Add the onion and cook until tender. Mix with the remaining ingredients and fill each wanton wrapper with 1 tsp filling. Put the filling in the center and using your finger, wet the border with water and fold over, sealing it with your fingers. Drop the ravioli in salted boiling water for about 4 minutes.

Chicken Vegetable Soup

I recently began counting calories. So I've been very conscious about what I'm cooking. Tonight for supper, I started out with some chicken I had cooked earlier in the week in the crock pot that was all shredded and sitting in about a cup of the broth it cooked in. I thought that sounded like a great start to a soup! So....that's what it became! It was SO GOOD I wanted to share.

13 oz cooked, shredded chicken breast
2c chicken broth
16c water
3 potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 can white beans
2 cans Rotel
4c frozen mixed vegetables
2c uncooked whole wheat penne pasta
Italian Seasoning
2 Bay Leaves
Dried Basil
Dried Onion
2 cloves garlic
Garlic Powder
Salt & Pepper

I just got the chicken, water and broth boiling then added the potatoes, let them cook for a few minutes then added everything else! I was just throwing things in the pot as I found them in the cupboards or freezer. (Sorry there aren't any measurements for the spices...I really do just throw things in the pot and I have no clue how much I used. You'll just have to taste as you go and add as you see fit)

It was AWESOME!!! Mackinley ate TWO WHOLE BOWLS and Jason said "Babe, I'm pretty sure this is the best soup I've ever eaten".

The kicker?? It's only 134 calories per cup!!! You can literally pig out on this stuff and not feel guilty! The whole entire pot has like 2100 calories! (I have the exact number written down but that's in the kitchen and I'm finally sitting down today so I'm not getting up to get it. haha)

Cheesy Mashed Potato Bake

I whipped this up (haha) tonight for supper and it was so good I wanted to share! You know I don't use recipes...but I can tell you how I did it! I peeled and boiled potatoes, then mixed them in my stand mixer with cream, butter, salt and pepper. I added ricotta cheese, mozzarella, parmesan and cheddar, and a little garlic powder. Mixed that all up, spread it in a greased baking dish and topped it with more of the shredded cheeses along with some butter chunks and baked it until the cheeses and butter were melted and the potatoes hot. It was AMAZING!!! No...it is NOT diet food so if you're dieting for the New Year, don't make it. :)

Pumpkin Muffins

This is my Mom's Pumpkin Bread recipe, I just put the batter into muffin cups instead of loaf pans. :) This will make either 2 loaves of bread, or about 28 muffins.

Pumpkin Muffins

3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
4 eggs
1 can pumpkin
2t baking soda
2t salt
1t baking powder
1t nutmeg
1t allspice
1t cinnamon
1/2t ground cloves
2/3 cup water
3-1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar and oil until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, blending well between each one. Add the pumpkin and mix until blended. Sprinkle in the soda, salt, powder, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves and mix until blended. Alternately blend in the flour and water.

Put the batter in muffin cups in a muffin pan (I use my ice cream scooper...it gives you the perfect sized muffin every time!). Bake for about 20 minutes...check with a toothpick at 16 minutes and remove when the toothpick comes out clean! (If you're making bread instead of muffins, they'll bake for about an hour...start checking with a toothpick at 45 minutes)

Mexican Lasagna

I used to call this enchiladas. Then Jason said "You know, you should call this Mexican Lasagna because that's really what it is". He's so right!! In my defense, I called it enchiladas because I used to actually roll each tortilla with the stuff inside, then I got lazy. HA!

Mexican Lasagna

10 burrito-sized tortillas (flour or corn...whichever is your favorite)
1 can Rotel tomatoes & chilis
1 small jar salsa (your favorite)
1 can Campbell's Nacho Cheese Soup
1 can diced green chilis
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
cilantro
salt & pepper to taste
ground coriander
hot sauce
4 cups shredded cheddar or Fiesta Blend cheese

This recipe is kind of difficult to share because everytime I make it, I change it up a bit. I don't ever measure anything, I just start dumping stuff in until it's what I want. So...I'm sorry I don't have measurements for the spices.

Saute the onion in the oil until tender, add the garlic and cook for a minute or so...be careful not to burn the garlic. Add all the other ingredients, except the spices and cilantro. Cook and stir everything together until blended and bubbly. If it seems too thick, add water or milk until you get the consistency you desire. Add salt, pepper, coriander and hot sauce to your taste. Once you get the flavoring right, turn off the heat and add chopped cilantro (as much or as little as you like).

In a casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray, spoon some of the sauce into the bottom. Layer 2 tortillas side by side on top of the sauce. Spoon enough sauce to just cover the tortillas and sprinkle cheese on top of the sauce. Repeat this layering until you're out of tortillas or out of sauce, whichever comes first. If you run out of tortillas and still have sauce, just dump it all on top. Cover the top well with cheese, making sure the tortillas are completely covered. Bake in a 350 degree oven until the cheese is melted and everything is bubbly. Serve with sour cream, lettuce, olives, tomatoes...anything you like! :)

Chicken & Noodles With Mashed Potatoes

Chicken & Noodles with Mashed Potatoes

Chicken & Noodles:
1 whole rotisserie chicken
1 container chicken stock
1 package noodles (I use No Yolk Broad noodles)
salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
water

Remove the chicken from the skin and bones and shred it with your fingers. Add the chicken and the stock to a large soup pot. Add water...the amount is going to depend on how much stock you're using and how "soupy" you want your noodles. I usually use just enough liquid for the noodles to boil in without getting mushy. Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Once the liquid is boiling, add the noodles and cook until tender. Serve over mashed potatoes!

Mashed Potatoes:
I have always peeled and chopped potatoes to make mine. But this last time I used the new potatoes that you steam in a bag in the microwave and they turned out really good!! You just put them in the microwave in their bag for 10 minutes, take them out and mash them with milk and butter. (SOMETIMES I use cream and butter...they're sooo good!! But so bad for you which is why I only do this sometimes...usually only for Thanksgiving! hehe)

Jerked Chicken Kabobs with Mambo Rice and Mango Salsa

1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon cinnamon stick
1 red onion, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup fresh thyme sprigs
1 lime, juiced
3 garlic cloves
1 Scotch bonnet pepper
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled
Salt and pepper
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
Mango Salsa, recipe follows

In a food processor, combine all ingredients except chicken; puree until smooth. Add all but 1/4 cup of the mixture in a 1 gallon plastic sealable bag. Add the chicken to the bag and let marinate in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours.

Heat grill to medium-high. Skewer chicken pieces and grill on 1 side for about 5 minutes. Flip and grill the other side until cooked through and grill marks appear.

Top with the Mango Salsa and serve with 1/4 cup reserved (unused) marinade as a dipping sauce.

Mango Salsa:

2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 mango, diced
1 English cucumber, diced
2 green onions, diced

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, lime juice, hot sauce, and ginger. Mix thoroughly and add the remaining ingredients. Toss and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Mambo Rice:

2 cups water
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 cups rice
1 cup chopped Italian parsley
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
4 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt, to taste
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Add water, chicken stock and rice to a rice cooker. Cook until al dente.

Combine all other ingredients in a bowl.

Remove rice from cooker and toss, separating with fork. Once rice is separated, slowly add the blended mixture.

Rice can be served hot or cold.

If you know us, you know our TV is on Food Network A LOT. One of our favorite Food Network chefs is Guy Fieri. The above recipes came from his show, "Guy's Big Bite". They are AWESOME!!! There were a few changes I made, one being I used a jalepeno instead of a scotch bonnet because I don't like my food to be THAT spicy. Also, we don't own a rice cooker so I just made minute rice and used chicken stock instead of water. All three of these recipes are delicious!! I don't know the nutrition facts, but I put the recipes into my recipe builder on Weight Watchers.com and the chicken is 7 points per serving, the rice is 6 points per serving, and the salsa is 1 point per serving. Let me also add that my husband HATES cucumber and he ate several servings of the salsa. I thought there was a tad too much ginger in the salsa, so next time I'll be adding about half what I did last night but it was still sooo yummy! You HAVE to try this meal!

Zucchini Parmesan Crisps

Cooking spray
2 medium zucchini (about 1 pound total)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (3/4-ounce)
1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1/8 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Slice the zucchini into 1/4-inch thick rounds. In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini with the oil. In a small bowl, combine the Parmesan, bread crumbs, salt, and a few turns of pepper. Dip each round into the Parmesan mixture, coating it evenly on both sides, pressing the coating on to stick, and place in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake the zucchini rounds until browned and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove with spatula. Serve immediately.

Per Serving:
(serving size, 1/2 cup) Calories 105; Total Fat 6g (Sat Fat 2g, Mono Fat 2g, Poly Fat 0g); Protein 5g; Carb 8.5g; Fiber 1.5g; Cholesterol 1mg; Sodium 222mg Excellent Source of: Molybdenum, Vitamin C Good Source of: Calcium, Manganese, Vitamin B6, Protein


Well I have started Weight Watchers. I have 30 pounds to lose! So I've started watching "Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger" on Food Network. She makes yummy food without all the fat and calories. These crisps are SO GOOD. They're crunchy and taste like fried zucchini. Look at that nutrition info!! A 1/2 cup is A LOT of these little doozies. And it figures out to be only 2 points per serving! Perfect snack for movie night instead of greasy chips or buttered popcorn. I'll be sharing my favorite healthy recipes because I know I'm not the only person alive who wants to eat yummy food and not starve to death when trying to lose weight. So stay tuned for more deliciousness!! And if YOU have an awesome recipe that I would love...PLEASE share it!

Ham, Cheese, and Veggie Frittatas

2 sprays cooking spray
1 pound frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
4 large egg(s), beaten
1 Tbsp fat-free skim milk
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
2 oz cooked lean ham, finely chopped
1/8 cup sweet red pepper(s), finely chopped (2 Tbsp)
1/8 cup green pepper, finely chopped (2 Tbsp)
2 Tbsp onion(s), finely chopped
1/2 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 8 muffin tin holes with cooking spray. Spread potatoes around bottom and press potato up sides of each muffin hole; place in oven and cook for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, beat eggs and milk together in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper. Add ham, peppers, onion and cheese to bowl; mix to combine.

Remove potatoes from oven (after cooking for 10 minutes) and press potatoes down firmly with a spoon so that they are spread out like mini piecrusts (potatoes should cover bottom and sides of each hole). Pour about 1/4 cup of egg mixture into the centre of each muffin hole.

Return pan to oven and cook until potatoes are crisp and golden, and the egg mixture is set, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit about 5 minutes before serving. Yields 1 frittata per serving.


These are AWESOME!!! I made them on the suggestion of my friend Heather. They're only 2 points each! And when you add two pieces of Healthy Life or Weight Watchers bread, you have a nice sized breakfast for 3 points! Very satisfying and you have no clue you're eating healthy, it feels like you're eating a yummy omelet! I highly recommend you try these!!! Keep them in the fridge and you have breakfast (or any meal for that matter!) ready in a flash!