Cheese Wontons

That's right.  I've attempted and perfected cheese wontons.  Yum.  Mee.

• 20 string cheese sticks
• 1 pkg wonton wrappers
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups bread crumbs
• black pepper
• fryer with oil
• marinara and/or honey mustard for dipping

1. have a bowl for bread crumbs (mixed with black pepper to taste)
2. have a bowl for your beaten eggs
3. cut each string cheese stick into thirds
4. place each piece of cheese into a wonton wrapper and roll up
5. once all the cheese is in rolled wrappers, begin to bread them
6. first dip in egg
7. then dip in bread crumbs
8. set aside
9. fry at 350-degrees for 2 minutes

I initially intended to bake these.  And I did try a sample batch via baking...but they were horrible.  So bad that Bryker wouldn't even try the fried version because he insisted they'd be just as bad as the baked ones.  His loss - because they weren't bad at all...in fact, they were incredibly delicious!

Just more proof that most things really are better when fried.

Sticky Buns

• 1 tube refrigerated biscuits
• 3 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup pecans, chopped (optional)

1. preheat oven to 375-degrees
2. spray bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray
3. combine butter and syrup, set aside
4. combine brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts, set aside
5. place half the syrup mixture in the pan, top with half the sugar mixture
6. lay biscuits in pan, slightly overlapping the edges
7. top with remaining syrup and sugar mixtures
8. bake 20-30 minutes, until golden brown
9. cool for a minute or two, invert onto serving plate/platter

Butterfingers

Yes - that's right - homemade butterfingers!

• 16oz bag of candy corn
• 16oz jar of creamy peanut butter
• 12oz bag of milk chocolate chips (or more if you want to coat the entire bar)

1. Melt the candy corn in the microwave...do 1 minute intervals at 50% power so it doesn't burn
2. Mix melted candy corn with peanut butter...warning: it looks disgusting
3. Pour onto a pan that you've lined with parchment paper (I did waxed paper and sprayed it with Pam)
4. Let it harden (a few hours or overnight)
5. Top or coat with melted chocolate chips

Ravioli Bake

• 1 pkg frozen cheese ravioli
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups shredded mozz
• 1 lb ground beef
• garlic powder

1. Preheat oven to 450-degrees
2. Brown ground beef
3. Add in diced tomatoes, spaghetti sauce and garlic powder (to taste)
4. Layer sauce, ravioli and shredded cheese
5. Cover and bake 30-40 mins

Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

• 10 cups water
• 2 pkgs (4.3 oz) long grain and wild rice mix
• 2 envelopes chk soup mix, minus the noodles
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cans cream of chk soup
• shredded chk (we used a rotisserie chicken)

1. Mix all but the rice in and cook on low for 2-3 hours (or longer).
2. Add the rice mix about 45 minutes prior to serving.

Went back to calculate points plus...with 8 servings this comes out to 3-4pts per serving.

Sarah's Cheesey Taters

• 2 cups half-n-half (or milk)
• 24 oz potatoes o'brien, thawed
• 24 oz shredded hashbrowns, thawed
• 1.5 sticks butter
• 2/3 lb velveeta

1. melt butter, velveeta and milk on stove in large pot
2. salt & pepper to taste
3. stir in hashbrowns
4. pour into greased cake pan
5. bake for 1 hour at 350-degrees

Hashbrowns usually come in larger sizes so pay attention to the amount you're using.

French Dips

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 shallot (or small onion), diced
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 2 cans beef consomme
• 1.5 lbs deli sliced roast beef
• 4-6 slices of swiss or provolone cheese
• steak seasoning
• 4-6 hoagie buns

1. melt butter in skillet, add shallot/onion ans saute for 2 minutes
2. add flour to butter, cook 1 more minute
3. whisk in consomme, simmer over low heat (I sometimes thicken with corn starch)
4. pile meat loosely across work surface or cutting board and season with grill seasoning
5. then place meat in buns topped with cheese slice
6. bake 5-10 mins at 400-degrees
7. serve sandwiches with au jus

Ice cream (no-cook)

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2/3 cup half-n-half
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• add-ins (i.e. oreos, strawberry pieces, etc)

1. whisk sugar and cream
2. whisk in half-n-half and vanilla
3. churn in ice cream maker, add add-ins in last five minutes

Ice cream (requires cooking)

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup half-n-half
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup flavor (i.e. peanut butter, hot fudge, etc)

1. beat sugar and eggs with electric mixer for about 3 minutes, set aside
2. in a saucepan, bring milk to a simmer over low heat
3. gradually whisk in egg mixture
4. cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon
5. do not boil
6. remove from heat and whisk in flavoring
7. whisk in the remaining ingredients (sweetened condensed milk, half-n-half, vanilla)
8. refrigerate until chilled
9. pour into ice cream maker, church until ready

Sweet Corn

• a dozen ears of sweet corn, shucked
• 1 stick of butter, softened
• 1 pkg of real bacon pieces
• 2 Tbsp small shallot or onion, minced
• 2 Tbsp sun-dried tomatoes
• 6 ears yellow corn
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp flat-leaf parsley, minced (I used dried)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp fresh thyme, minced (I didn't use any)
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (I didn't use any)
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• salt & pepper to taste

1. brush corn with olive oil
2. grill for about 15 minutes, rotating sides
3. while grilling, combine butter with all other ingredients
4. serve mixed butter on corn fresh off the grill

 

Enchilada Soup

yield: ~10 bowls or so (3 ww pts each)

• 10 oz precooked chicken, diced
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 cans enchilada sauce (mild or hot, whichever you prefer)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 can chopped green chilies
• 1 jar Old English cheese spread (5oz, sold by Velveeta)
• 10 oz frozen corn (or less)
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 2 cans chicken broth
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp seasoning salt (didn’t use)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 Tbsp dried cilantro (I used some fresh, too)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1. Combine all ingredients and put on medium heat for an hour or so.
2. Serve with crushed tortilla chips, sour cream, avocado, cheese…whatever!
3. (You also can do this all day long in the crock pot.)

This taste exactly like Chili’s enchilada soup!!!  We really liked it!  I was a little hesitant to count out the points on it because it was THAT good…after doing so, we’ll have this again…and again…and again!

Menu

 

Hello?  Is anyone even reading/using this?  :)

Fri	meatloaf & mashed potatoes
Sat	BLTs w/ chips
Sun	flank steak stir-fry
Mon	bbq turkey, corn & mango quesadillas
Tue	tuna cakes w/ veggies
Wed	free night
Thu	enchilada soup
Fri	gyro pizza
Sat	out w/ friends
Sun	chili
Mon	turkey burgers & salad
Tue	quiche of some sort
Wed	ham & cheese sandwiches w/ veggie
Thu	family date night

Skinny Tuna Noodle Casserole

yields 6 servings (6pts each)

• 6 oz egg noodles
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 medium onion, finely minced
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1 cup milk
• 1 can mushrooms
• 1 can peas
• 2 cans tuna in water, drained
• 4 oz shredded cheese
• 2 Tbsp parmesan, grated
• 2 Tbsp breadcrumbs
• cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 375-degrees, spray 9x13 baking dish
2. Cook noodles to al dente, set aside
3. Melt butter in large, deep skillet and sauté onions until soft
4. Add flour and a pinch of salt, stir well on med-low heat
5. Whisk in chicken broth, add milk and bring to boil – whisking constantly
6. Once at a boil, add mushrooms and peas, adjust spices to your liking and simmer on medium heat about 6-7 minutes until it thickens (I had to thicken with cornstarch and water mixture)
7. Add tuna once thickened
8. Remove from heat, add cheese
9. Stir in noodles
10. Pour into baking dish
11. Top with parmesan and breadcrumbs
12. Spray with cooking spray on top a little to help the breadcrumbs brown in the oven
13. Bake 20-25 minutes, broil for 3 minutes and enjoy

We really enjoy tuna and noodles so to find a healthier way to make it was great news for us!  If you like some crunch – add celery.  Also…I wouldn’t cook the noodles to al dente even, I’d pull them off heat before that next time…ours got a little mushy.

Steak Soup

yield ~ 10 cups (3ww pts each)

• 1lb stew meat
• 2 cups frozen corn
• 1 potato, peeled and diced
• 1 cup carrots, diced
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 8 cups water
• 5 beef bouillon cubes
• pepper, thyme, garlic, bay leaves to taste
• corn starch & water (for thickening)

1. brown meat with onion
2. add carrots, celery, corn, water and bouillon
3. simmer all day or in a crock pot or not long at all – it doesn’t matter
4. add potato in about an hour before you’re ready to eat and put eat around a med-low temp
5. season to taste
6. enjoy

Ours was very peppery – just the way we like it!  I hardly did any thyme because I don’t really love it…and we had two bay leaves in it.  I started the soup around 11am and it basically just simmered all day until we ate it around 6pm.  It didn’t require the simmer, but I feel like almost any soup is better with a long simmer…

Cheesey Turkey Enchiladas

6 servings (1 enchilada each ~4pts/serving)

• 6 fat-free small flour tortillas
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 can light kidney beans
• 6 mushrooms, finely minced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 Tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp dried cilantro (I used fresh)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 can cheddar cheese soup
• 1 can fat-free cream of celery soup
• 1 can rotel tomatoes

1. Preheat over to 400-degrees.
2. Brown turkey with mushrooms, onion, garlic, pepper, beans.
3. In another bowl, mix soups, rotel, cumin and cilantro.
4. Spray 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
5. Fill tortillas with meat mixture, place seam-side down.
6. Pour soup mixture on top of enchiladas.
7. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes.

BBQ Turkey, Corn & Mango Quesadillas

serves 6 (2 wedges per serving – 3 pts per serving)

• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup corn
• 6 ounces thin-sliced deli turkey, cut into strips
• 2 Tbsp bbq sauce
• 3/4 cup shredded cheese
• 4 8” tortillas
• 1 mango, peeled, pitted & sliced
• 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

1. Saute the onion and corn together for a bit in a pan to soften them up, set aside.
2. Place turkey in bbq sauce, toss to coat.
3. Place one tortilla in skillet sprayed with non-stick spray and top with cheese, turkey, onion, corn, mango, cilantro and another tortilla.
4. Cook as you would any quesadilla…
5. Cut each quesadilla into 6 wedges.

I don’t have a picture for this but we LOVED this!  We threw it together for a quick meal the other night and really enjoyed all the flavors.  I’m not sure I’d change a thing from this recipe.  A winner for sure!

Menu

Here's my menu for the next two weeks. 

To download any of the recipes go to:
http://www.docstoc.com/Docs/70205918/Recipes-01-27-11
 

So how'd it go?

So how'd your menu planning go?  Was my menu helpful? 

Be honest - it isn't fair to waste your time or mine if it isn't worth me posting it.

We weren't very thrilled with any of the new recipes we tried but we did enjoy a few of the ones we've already had again and were reminded why we saved them!

Our next menu will have a few more new ones to try again, but sorry - I won't have links because they're hard copy (a.k.a. old fashioned) recipes.  Of course, if they turn out good I'll blog them to share!

Well stay tuned!  Another menu is coming soon!

Menu

So here it is…my menu.  I decided against posting a grocery list because…well…it’s hard and I don’t want to make more work for myself.  I’d have to seperate out the recipe stuff from what we need, etc etc etc…it’s just easier for all of us if I don’t post it.  But without further delay…my menu and recipe links.  If there is no link, it’s a “make it up as you go” sorta deal.

All the recipes are WW-friendly.

Feedback is welcome and MUCH appreciated!

 

Fri: date night out w/ Carters

Sat: taco salads w/ quesadillas

Sun: cheesey chicken & shells w/ veggies

Mon: beef & tomato bake w/ salad

Tue: foil taco chicken w/ salad

Wed: think on your toes “free night”

Thu: chili mac w/ veggies

Fri: deep dish pizza w/ salad

Sat: soup & grilled cheese sandwiches

Sun: turkey sausage ziti w/ salad

Mon: taco bake w/ veggies

Tue: beenie weenie pies w/ veggie

Wed: think on your toes “free night”

Thu: family date night out w/ Walderbachs

 

I put the new recipes that we’ve yet to try in italics.

 

Enjoy!