Easy/Healthy Pumpkin Cake/Cookies/Brownies

15 oz. Pumpkin (you can use pumpkin pie if desired...but just pumpkin is healthier and tastes great)
1 cake mix (Spice cake is really good...but you can use others)

Do not add the oil/eggs/water called for in the cake.  Just mix the above 2 ingredients together.  Spread in a pan for brownies/cake or drop by spoonfuls for cookies, or put in muffin papers for muffins.  Bake according to cake box directions until toothpick comes out clean.  You can also add chocolate chips to the batter if desired.  It is good plain, or you can top with coolwhip or applesauce.

Yummm!

Healthy Soup

This was a quick and healthy soup I made for lunch today...


I had left-over boiled cauliflower from last nights dinner.  I wanted to try making mashed "potatoes" from it like I had heard in my Weight Wwatchers meetings.  It did not turn out as anticipated.  So I used it as a soup thickener as I had also heard about in my WW meetings.

I made a beef broth, added some veggies and some creamed cauliflower all for 0 Points Plus (WW system of tracking food).

Blend cauliflower with some water and salt and pepper in your blender.

In a saucepan:

I used 1 C. water

1 beef boillion cube

peas (left over from last night---but you could just throw in some frozen ones)

chopped mushrooms

add in creamed cauliflower from above to make the soup more creamy.

Because the cauliflower was already cooked it took less than 5 minutes from start to finish.  It was quite good and you could use whatever veggies you had on hand.

Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

These were yummy.

1 medium onion, thinly sliced (I did thin rings cut in half---but my family didn't like the "big" chunks of onion---so next time I will have to dice them to hide them in the sauce)

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 C. ketchup

1/2 C. BBQ sauce

2 T. cider vinegar

2 T. molasses

1 T. yellow mustard

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp cumin (I did scant, because I don't like Cumin)

1/2 tsp garlic pwd.

1/2 tsp. Tobasco (I don't like tobasco, so I did 1/4 tsp cayenne---it was not spicy at all)

1 pinch of salt

Brown the onions (they take longer than the chicken to cook...so they need a little extra cooking time at the beginning). Line the bottom of crock pot with onions.

Trim the chicken breasts and place on bed of onions.

Mix sauce ingredients together in separate bowl. Pour sauce over chicken.

Cook for 5 hours on low, or until chicken is done. When the chicken is falling apart tender, remove chicken from sauce, use two forks to shred the chicken.

Serve on top of split buns or hamburger buns, etc.. I toasted mine first.

It was not spicy at all. I doubled the recipe for my family of eaters and had leftovers, but I don't think 1 recipe would have been enough.

The total weight watchers points plus for the chicken and sauce was 67 point plus. It made (12) half cup servings. Which comes to about 6 points for 1/2 C. Plus the bun. (mine were 5 points for a large hamburger bun, so I only ate the bottom bun and had it open-face with a fork).

ketchup substitution

Taken from

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1661,134183-249198,00.html

This was really runny (but I was using in a recipe...not on hamburgers...so it was OK). It tasted really good. I bet you could mix some cornstarch with water and add to thicken it up.

Ketchup Substitute: For 1 cup ketchup substitute 1 cup tomato sauce, 1/2 cup sugar, and 2 tablespoons vinegar (and a pinch of ground cloves if you have them).

Apricot chops

These were really yummy and everyone in my family liked them.

4 (1 inch thick) pork chops (I did boneless)

1 C. apricot jam or preserves

1 C. catalina dressing (or see below)

1 pkt. italian dressing mix (the original recipe called for dry onion soup mix...but I substituted italian dressing pkt)

1 garlic clove, crushed (or use bottled)

I did not have catalina dressing...so I looked up a recipe on the internet...this is what I did in place of catalina dressing

3/4 C. brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 dash paprika

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 C. white vinegar

1/3 C. ketchup

(the original recipe for the catalina dressing also called for 1 C. vegetable oil and 1/4 tsp celery seed...but I didn't add either)

Place pork chops in a small pan (1 layer of pork chops) (I used a rectangle pan smaller than a 8 X 10). Mix all other ingredients together in a separate bowl. Pour sauce over chops. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.

I served with pears, watermelon, corn on the cob and green beans.

Weight Watchers points plus was 43 points for all of the sauce (as listed with the substitutions above...italian seasoning pkt and the homemade catalina without oil). So for example...I did 3 boneless chops and cut them in half. The chops were 4 points each (before cutting in half), so 2 points after cutting in half. And 1/6 of the sauce was a little over 7 points. But it really didn't need much extra sauce (I didn't use 1/6 of the sauce on my plate). So I only counted 4 or 5 points per 1/2 pork chop.

Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

by Sheryl Punter in the Taste of Home magazine
August and September 2010
Prep:25 min  Cook: 5 1/2 hours
Yield: 9 servings(2-1/4QT)

1 large head cauliflower, broken into florets
2 celery ribs
2 large carrots
1 large green pepper
1 small sweet red pepper
1 medium red onion
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 cups(8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups half and half cream

Place cauliflower in a 4 -qt slow cooker. Chop the celery, carrots, peppers, and onion; add to slow cooker. Stir in the broth, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until the vegetables are tender.
In a blender, process soup in batches until smooth. Return all to slow cooker; stir in cheese and cream. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted.

This soup was really good and easy to make. My family enjoyed. A few things I did different were, substituting red onion for yellow onion, using almost half the amount of cheese, and using whole milk instead of half and half. I probably would have used the right ingredients if I had them all. Enjoy:)

Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce
By BlendTec

2 lbs tomatoes, quartered
1 md onion, roughly chopped
8 cloves garlic
3 T olive oil
2 T fresh oregano
1 tsp kosher salt

Preheat oven to 375 and toss all ingredients in 9x13 glass baking dish. Roast for 1 hour. Remove pan from oven, cool slightly and transfer all ingredients to jar and secure lid. Select "Sauces". Serve or store and refrigerate.

This was the original recipe, but I didn't have all of the ingredients or the time. This is what i did instead and my family loved it.

3-14.5 oz cans Kroger brand stewed tomatoes (with onions, celery, peppers)
1md onion diced
2 T+1tsp garlic salt
3 T olive oil
2 T+1tsp Italian seasoning
2 yellow squash, quartered
1tsp black pepper
1 lb re-hydrated freeze dried chicken

Blend tomatoes 2 T garlic salt, olive oil, 2 T Italian seasoning. In a large pot, simmer sauce for 20 minutes or so.  Saute onion and yellow squash in 1 T oil with 1 tsp garlic salt, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, and black pepper. Add onion mixture and chicken. Cook for 10 more minutes and serve over pasta.

Awesome Baked Potatoes

These baked potatoes were awesome because they were quick, easy, perfectly cooked and didn't heat up the house.

Just wash your potatoes.  Put in a crock pot.  Cook on high for 3 hours.  (You don't need to add water and you don't wrap in foil).  Test with a fork for doneness.

I thought it would be possible...so I Googled it and this is the website I got the instructions from...  http://momonamission.me/?p=4171

I don't think I will ever do potatoes any other way!

Chelsea's Home-made Granola Bars

Chelsea S. sent these to activity days day camp for the girls and leaders and they were AWESOME!!!  We all insisted on having the recipe...here it is...

Awesome Oat Bars

4 cups *quick cooking oats
2 cups crispy rice cereal
⅓ cup wheat germ

Mix in large bowl.

⅓ cup peanut butter (any kind)
½ cup honey
½ cup brown sugar
6 T. unsalted or salted butter

Combine in small saucepan.  Heat on medium until bubbling-- turn to low and stir for one minute.  Take off heat and add 1 tsp. vanilla (optional) and 1 tsp. salt (optional).

Add saucepan ingredients to bowl.  Stir well.   Press mixture into 9x13 pan really, really good.  Let sit for a bit (place in fridge for 30 min. or freezer for 15 min. if you’re impatient) and then cut into 20 (or more) awesome oat bars.  Store in an airtight container and eat often!

Recipe adapted from Lauren’s Latest by Chelsea S.
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Nutella version: decrease butter to 5 T. and add a spoonful of Nutella to pan mixture

Chocolate Chip version: Add ½ to ¾ cup mini chocolate chips to melt chocolate throughout bars or cool in bowl for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally-- then mix in chocolate chips so they’re not melted. 

Add-ins (raisins, nuts, coconut, seeds, etc.) version: I would suggest adding a bit more honey or brown sugar or using 1/3 cup less oats (or same amount as add-ins). I have no experience as of yet with this version but my friend made some with raisins with above recipe and said the bars wouldn’t hold together as well. 

• The sweetness and saltiness of the oat bars will depend on type of peanut butter and butter used and if you add salt.

• If you don’t have wheat germ just add more crispy rice or oats or substitute with an add-in.

*Make your own quick cooking oats with regular rolled oats by placing a cup at a time in a blender and pulsing 3 or 4 times.  I take blender off base after each pulse and shake it up and down once.  Measure again for recipe.

Note from Chelsea:  I made the Nutella version for the day camp and used unsalted butter, fresh ground peanut butter (bought in Winco bulk area) and didn't add salt or vanilla.  Making them with normal pb is also yummy but a little sweeter.  I adapted the recipe from Lauren's Latest (http://www.laurenslatest.com/no-bake-chocolate-chip-granola-bars-easy-healthy/) a few months ago and have been testing them out on anyone and everyone (seriously)!  

Jana's Taco Soup

Recipe from Jana A.

She brought this to our family a few months ago and we all loved it.

This is one of those super easy recipes that I almost always have all the ingredients on hand for. Here it is.

1 lb hamburger

1 (15 oz) can EACH of corn, black beans, kidney beans, tomato sauce

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes

1 small can diced chiles

1/3 to 1/2 pkg taco seasoning packet (I use 1/2)

1 (15 oz) can water

Brown hamburger. Add other ingredients and simmer till heated through. Top with tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, and/or salsa if desired.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

Last year we bought a BlendTec blender and we love it! This smoothie is really good and easy to make:) I usually double it and add more honey.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie
by BlendTec

1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 Tbsp peanut butter
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 banana
1 cup ice cubes
Add ingredients to jar in order listed and secure lid. Select "Sauces" and serve.

Crock Pot Taco meat

So yesterday a tried a cool new trick...

I put a chunk of frozen hamburger meat (never cooked) in the crock pot with some water and taco seasoning and it thawed the meat and then cooked it.

It was not faster than cooking it on the stove, but it saved on the dinner-time rush.

2 lbs taco meat (frozen---but I think you could do fresh/thawed also)

1 1/2 C. water

2 packets taco seasoning

Place all ingredients in crock pot about lunch/nap time. Cook on high until dinner. Every few hours break up meat and stir. When ready to eat...drain fat and water.

Here is the blog post I googled and found the info on http://www.aroundmyfamilytable.com/2010/10/slow-cooker-taco-meat/

Onion Soup

p. 29 in my new crockpot cookbook.

3 cups thinly sliced onions (I did 1 1/2 white onions) (Next time I will do yellow...I think the white ones made it too sweet. Or I will do white, but omit the sugar)

half a stick butter

3 T. sugar

2 T. flour

1 qt beef broth (I did 4 cups water and 4 beef boillion cubes)

Cook onions in butter in frying pan. Cover and saute 15 minutes stirring frequently. Add sugar and flour mixing well.

While onions are cooking, put broth in crockpot on high. Add onion mixture to broth.

Cover and cook on LOW 6-8 hours.

Serve topped with toasted bread and grated parmesan cheese (we broke untoasted french bread and grated swiss cheese into ours).

I doubled the recipe for my family of 5 eaters and had a lot left over, I probably shouldn't have doubled.

I gave it 4/5 stars.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

P. 47 from my new crockpot cookbook.

I gave this 4.5 out of 5 stars.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts.

1/2 lb deli-sliced cooked ham (I just did lunchmeat in a package and I chopped it)

1/2 lb. baby swiss cheese (I just did grated swiss cheese)

1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup

1 box dry stuffing mix, prepared according to box directions (I didn't read this...so I put it on dry...Dry was good, but I think this way would be better)

Layer all ingredients in the order listed in your crockpot. cover and cook on low 6-8 hours of until chicken in tender but not dry.

Macaroni and cheese

J gave this 4 out of 5 stars and I gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars. Kids didn't like it as well as the adults.

1 T butter (up to 3 T) (I did 1)

1 1/2 cups uncooked macaroni (I did elbow)

1 qt (or 4 C.) milk (I did skim)

8-12 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese or cubed velveeta (not the low fat kind) (I did 16 oz-1 lb- velveeta because I wanted to get rid of it.)

1/2-1 tsp salt (I did 1/2)

1/4 tsp pepper

Stir everything together in crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours.

Mine took about 5 hours. Do not turn up to high. I tried and it started burning.

Creamy Spaghetti

p. 160 in my new crockpot book

I thought this was OK, maybe 3 out of 5 stars. But my kids went bonkers for it. They had seconds and thirds. I thought it was a lot like hamburger helper...edible, but not noteworthy.

1 lb dry spaghetti

1 lb ground beef or ground sausage

1 lb (1o oz) jar spaghetti sauce

1 lb velveeta cheese, cubed

1 (10 3/4 oz) cream of mushroom soup

Cook spaghetti noodles and drain. Place in a large mixing bowl.

Brown meat and drain. Add to noodles.

Add everything else to noodles, mix well. Place in slow cooker.

Cook on low 2-4 hours or until heated through.

Apricot Stuffing and Chicken

p. 46 in my new crockpot cookbook.

1 stick of butter (divided)

1 box of cornbread stuffing mix

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

6-8 oz jar apricot preserves

In a mixing bowl make stuffing using 1/2 stick butter and the amount of water asked for on stuffing. Set aside

Cut up chicken into 1" pieces. Place chicken in bottom of crock-pot. Spoon stuffing over top.

In microwave melt remaining butter with preserves. Pour over stuffing.

Cover and cook on high for 2 hours or on low for 3 1/2 hours or until chicken is tender, but not dry.

The stuffing will not be like stuffing...it will be mushy. It sounds gross, but it was good. I might try next time pouring the jam on the chicken, then put the stuffing on top to see how that tastes. But I liked it this mushy way also.

J gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars. I gave it 4 out of 5.

Honey Mustard Chicken

From p. 33 in my new cookbook

8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 1/2 C. honey mustard dressing (It was exactly 1 bottle of Kens Steakhouse dressing from Smiths) (16 oz)

1/2 C. water

Spray inside of crockpot with non-stick spray. Cut chicken into 2" pieces. (I did whole chicken breasts...but it would have been better to follow the recipe and cut them into pieces...I was just lazy). Place chicken in crockpot. In separate bowl mix dressing and water. Pour dressing over chicken. Cover and cook on high 3-4 hours or on low 6-7 hours.

We gave this a 4 or 4.5 out of 5 stars. Parents liked, kids didn't.

Chicken Delicious

This was on p. 44 from my new crockpot cookbook.

10 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I did less)

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice (I did lemon juice from the fridge...not freshly squeezed)

salt and pepper to taste

2 (10 3/4 oz) cans cream of celery soup (I did cream of chicken)

1/3 C. sherry or wine, optional (I omitted)

1/4 C. grated parmesan cheese (I just did the cheap stuff in the green can)

Place chicken in slow cooker in layers. Season each layer with a sprinkling of lemon juice, salt and pepper. In a separate bowl mix soups and wine. Pour soup over chicken. SPrinkle with parmesan cheese. Cover and cook on Low 8-10 hours or on high 4-5 hours until chicken is tender but not dry.

We gave this 4.5 out of 5 stars. I couldn't taste the parmesan. I would try fresh parmesan next time.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Start with shredded chicken, tuna, or even mashed up spam (thanks for the idea Jan L.) add miracle whip (or mayo) and some mustard. Other things you can add in sweet relish, dill relish (if you use dill, you probably want to add some sugar), chopped celery, chopped grapes, nuts, apples, etc...

Spam and eggs

I had never heard of this, or tried it...Spam and Eggs (or Eggs and Spam...hmmm...which sounds better). Chop up spam and cook in scrambled eggs. Mine was a little heavy on the spam. But really fairly tasty.

Crock Pot Book

So I bought a new cookbook. It is all crock-pot recipes and they all have less than 5 ingredients. At the end of this week I will be 4 weeks straight of doing a crock-pot meal for dinner every day! It has been fun to try new recipes and they are all very simple. I will share some of the best ones with you.

Egg Salad

From Kay

My recipe for egg salad sandwiches is very simple, but good. Just mash your hard-boiled eggs, put some mayo or Miracle Whip in it. Add salt and pepper, the put it on bread to make a sandwich.

Egg Salad anyone?

I am on the search for a good recipe for egg salad sandwiches. My Mom didn't like eggs...so we never had them growing up. How do you do it? (It doesn't need to be fancy).

Sizzler Toast

This is what we call Sizzler Toast because it is similar to the bread they serve at Sizzler.

It is best on Texas Toast (bread) or an artisan bread (slightly crispy on outside) but regular bread works too.

Butter both sides of the piece of bread I use a tub butter because it is easier to spread. Place in a non stick pan or non-stick griddle. Sprinkle top heavily with parmesan cheese (just the cheap kind in a green can). Flip over (before the bottom is cooked). Sprinkle other side (was the bottom, now the top) with parmesan. Allow bottom to cook until cheese is brown and toasty. Flip over and cook until cheese on 2nd side is brown and toasty.

If the parmesan flavor is too strong...just do one side, or sprinkle more lightly next time. But we like a lot!

Tortillas

My favorite tortillas are the raw ones that you cook yourself. But as far as ones that are already cooked I like the Don Julio Original.

Snack time

I really don't buy snacks or treats hardly at all. This is something my kids like to have for a sweet snack. I call them cinnamon roll-ups. Warm a tortilla in the microwave for about 20 seconds. spray one side with spray butter (like I can't believe it's not butter) sprinkle quite a bit with a cinnamon/sugar mixture. Roll up and enjoy.

Resurrection rolls

From Kristie D.

1 pkg crescent rolls

regular (not mini, not huge) marshmallows

melted butter

cinnamon/sugar mixture

Place 1/2 to 1 marshmallow inside each crescent roll before rolling up. Seal edges (to seal marshmallow in. Roll in meted butter. Roll in cinnamon sugar. Bake according to roll directions.

These rolls have Easter symbolism. The marshmallow is Jesus being wrapped in linens (dough). They used oil (butter) and spices (cinnamon and sugar) on his body. They placed him in the tomb (oven) and when they checked back on Him 3 days later he had disappeared (risen). (The marshmallow will disappear when baking.

Clam Chowder

This is my Aunt Sharon's recipe. I haven't made it before, but I have had the clam chowder before...She emailed it to me and I wanted to post it before it gets lost in my 2,000 emails. I am going to try and make it next week. (*** Note...I did make this, see the attached comments for my opinions)

Clam Chowder

2 cans clams (undrained)
1 onion, diced ) simmer together in clam juice till barely tender
1 c. potatos, raw, diced )
1/2 c. celery, diced )

3/4 c. butter ) blend
3/4 c. flour )

1 qt. half and half, add to butter, cook to thicken, when sauce is nice and thick, add veggies with juice (do not drain) and add
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
pepper to taste

Food Storage Idea

Smiths at 42nd and Harrison up by the pharmacy in some shopping carts they have items on clearance. The one I was most excited about was Spam. It is great for food storage. It was $1.29 normally $2.50 or more.

They also had plain instant oatmeal packets (12 packets) for $.79.

Manwich $.39

Clams $.49

small can diced green chili's $.39

stewed tomatoes and mexican stewed tomatoes

Anyway, It was a good find for me. I'm going to make sloppy joes one night this week, and clam chowder another.

There was lots and lots of spam. It doesn't expire until Dec of 2014.

Good Luck!

Tacos and water

The inside of taco seasoning packets is foil-lined...instead of getting a measuring cup dirty to measure out your water...just fill the empty packet with water before adding it to your meat.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

This is one of my favorite soup recipes:

Boil in unsalted water (about 15 min, or until tender)

4 carrots finely chopped or 1/2 bag of shredded carrots (from Maceys)

4 green onions, chopped (all but roots)

4 stalks of broccoli (chopped, heads only)

SAVE THE WATER YOU BOIL THEM IN!!! (Put colander over a bowl to catch water)

Melt in separate saucepan:

1/4 C. butter (I used real, but you can use margarine)

Stir in 1/3 C. flour with a whisk

Using a whisk stir in:

2 1/2 C. half and half (purchase 2 pints or 1 quart---then measure at home)

1 1/2 C. of your vegetable water (saved from above)

5 chicken boullion cubes

Stir sauce until smooth and thick. Add cooked veggies. When serving, you can top with cheese, but it is good without it also. One recipe (as listed above) will fit in a small crockpot (is that 5 qt?) if you double it, it will fit in a large crockpot (8 qt?).

Coconut Chex Mix

I made this for my New Years Eve Party. I got the recipe from my Mom. She had two different neighbors bring it over to her for Christmas Neighbor gifts.

1 medium box golden grahams

1/2 box rice chex

1 large jar of unsalted nuts

1 C. butter (I used real)

1/2 C. sugar

1/2 C. Karo syrup

1 tsp vanilla

Bring butter, sugar, karo to a boil. Boil for 30 sec. Remove from heat, add vanilla. Pour over cereal or popcorn.

That is the "real" recipe.

This is the way my Mom's friends made it and I made it...

Same as above except no golden grahams, just 1 box of rice chex. No salted nuts. After making the sugar mix pour it over cereal, 1 package slivered almonds and 1/2 bag of coconut.

I loved it, I love anything with coconut in it.