Taco Soup

This is delicious. It is super easy and perfect for a chilly night. It isn't low-cal or ww, but it is so filling that you truly only need one bowl.

yield: ~10 bowls or so

crockpot liner (as I said before, I love these)
1lb hamburger: browned
1/2 block (8oz) of velveeta: cubed
1 can of chicken broth
1 env italian dressing seasoning mix
1 cup of pasta (bite-sized): uncooked
1 can whole kernel corn
1 green pepper: chopped
1 jar of salsa (whatever kind you like)

1. line your crockpot with that amazing crockpot liner
2. mix everything except pasta in crockpot
3. cook on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 6-8 hours (once cheese is melted, you're good to go)
4. add pasta to cook for last 20-30 minutes
5. ENJOY!

We had it with a few crushed doritos as our crackers. Definitely not needed though because this soup is filling enough. Depending on the salsa you choose, it can get a bit spicy, too. I will definitely make this soup again. It was so tasty and we both enjoyed it!

At ten bowls...per serving, this is 5 ww pts.

Yummy Ribs

These were good for some ribs that aren't necessarily loaded with BBQ sauce but have good flavor and you can add whatever BBQ sauce you need in the end.

yield: ~4 servings

1 rack of ribs from the store (I bought the prepackaged kind)
whatever seasonings you like (I used a montreal steak seasoning and garlic salt)
1 pkg onion soup mix
foil
crockpot liner
bbq sauce of your choice

1. the night before you want to sprinkle your ribs with your seasonings and wrap in foil
2. put the liner in your crockpot (I love these things and use them anytime I use my crockpot)
3. pour two glasses of water and soup mix in and stir
4. add ribs to onion soup mixture in crockpot
5. cook 6-8 hours on low heat

These were pretty tasty and most importantly, INSANELY tender from slow cooking in liquid all day. You could make the liquid a myriad of flavors depending on what you like or what you're hungry for. Enjoy :)

Peanut Butter Brownies

A trusty kraft recipe I found online. Once the heath bars were gone I still had to make dessert for our friends so I found this recipe. I'm normally not much of a "baker" but these were easy enough for me - lol.

yield: 24 bars

cooking spray

1 pkg brownie mix (and the ingredients to make it)

1 cup cold milk

1 pkg instant vanilla pudding (I used the SF/FF one)

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup of powdered sugar

one tub of cool whip: unthawed

3 squares of baker's semi sweet chocolate

1/2 cup of peanuts: coarsely chopped

1. preheat oven per brownie directions

2. spray 9x13 baking dish

3. prepare brownie's per package instructions and bake accordingly

4. once brownies are done they need to cool (I did this in the fridge to speed it up)

5. in a bowl, whisk the milk and pudding until blended

6. add peanut butter and powdered sugar, mix well

7. set aside in the fridge to keep cool until needed

8. once brownies are cool, spread the peanut butter mixture over them and set aside

9. melt cool whip and chocolate together for 30 seconds at a time on high, stir in between

10. once the frosting is melted together, pour/spread on top of brownies

11. sprinkle peanuts on top

12. refridgerate 1 hour before serving

These were a big hit. I also used light cool whip but my frosting stuff was sort of runnier than what it should have been I think so that could have been an issue. It didn't taste any different and with the time in the fridge it set up ok...so if you're looking for a couple small ways to take a few calories out - I'd use the SF/FF pudding and light cool whip.

My picture isn't glamorous, but its the real deal :)

Homemade Heath Bars

This one is in the Cook Family Cookbook that my mom put together for Keri and I. It is definitely a staple in our house for all those good recipes that remind you of home. The other day I decided to make these heath bars...they were suppose to be for our friends on Saturday (I made them on Friday) but they didn't quite make them that far, lol!

yield: lots to share

foil
1 box of club crackers (I only ended up using 2 of the 3 sleeves of crackers, though)
2 sticks of butter (real butter, not margarine)
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of nuts of your choice (or not, I didn't use any)
1/2 bag of semi sweet chocolate chips

1. preheat over to 400-degrees
2. cover two cookie sheets with foil
3. line cookie sheets with club crackers (try not to leave any "open" areas)
4. melt butter in pot, add brown sugar and boil 3 minutes
5. pour butter mixture over crackers, use a spatula to even it out if needed
6. bake for 5 minutes (see my note below for a heads up)
7. once they come out of the oven, sprinkle choc chips over and let it sit for 5 minutes
8. once choc chips are melted, spread them out to coat the crackers
9. sprinkle nuts on top
10. once cooled, break apart and enjoy

I tried to bake both cookie sheets at once and the one on the bottom rack (closer to the coil in the oven) burned. So either take that one out at 3-4 minutes or bake them seperately.

Cake Balls

I first heard about this recipe on a mommy forum that I go to. Since then I've seen the recipe a few different times on various websites or in various cookbooks. It is delicious and clearly not a weight watcher recipe or low-cal, lol! Again, it can be as versatile as you want it to be...just make it with the flavors you love.

yield: a lot

cooking spray
1 cake mix, flavor of your choice
1 can of diet soda (sprite/7up for a light colored cake or coke/dr. pepper for a dark colored cake)
1 egg (I used egg beater)
1 can of your favorite frosting (one that compliments your cake choice)
1 pkg of almond bark (white or chocolate per your flavors of choice): melted

1. preheat oven per cake directions
2. spray 9x13 cake pan
3. mix your cake mix, diet soda and egg together
4. pour into cake pan and bake as directed on cake mix packaging
5. when cake is done, cool to room temperature (or close)
6. dump cake (all broken up is fine) into a large bowl and stir in frosting
7. freeze or refrigerate for an hour or so - this way it isn't so sticky to work with
8. scoop out a spoonful at a time and roll into a ball and sit on waxed paper
9. dip balls into melted almond bark (you may need to stop and put back in the fridge for a bit)
10. set on cooling rack or waxed paper for chocolate to dry
11. these are rich, delicious and addicting - ENJOY!

I did chocolate cake with the coconut pecan frosting. Another combination I've heard of is vanilla frosting with strawberry cake. You could do a homemade peanut butter frosting with a chocolate cake...again, LOTS of options on this one :) Oooh...or a carrot cake with a cream cheese frosting...yummy!!