Reason for the recipes...

My mom has a friend who has a son who is getting married... WE were asked to help with the wedding since the mother of the bride isn't too helpful with the wedding.  So my mom volunteered to bake the cupcakes for the wedding.  This made me SUPER excited, to be able to bake since I LOVE to bake!  But the problem was, what does the bride and groom to be want? 

The groom likes white cake, so I made this massive white cake cupcake recipe, which turned out really REALLY good.  The recipe will be as follows.  The only thing I recommend... DON'T MAKE IT AS CUPCAKES.  Just make it as the cake.  It was not coming out of the wrapper the first day, the second day the wrappers were coming off.  They weren't this beautiful white color that I expected, they were golden brown on the top of it because of the butter in the recipe and toeing the line of JUST enough time to too much time. 

I also made a Magleby's cake recipe as cupcakes, and a Hershey's Chocolate Cake.  The winner of these two chocolate cakes? The HERSHEY'S of course!  The flavor is that RICH chocolate that you want in a cake, and the cupcakes were BEAUTIFUL.  So we are taking them tomorrow for a taste test.  And tonight, what am I doing?

I whipped up a batch of 4 berry compote.  It's SO pretty.  I did it with the 4 instead of the 3 because of the berries that we had in the freezer.  It's a nice purple color because of the Marionberries and blackberries in it.  So the recipes are below, with the links back to where I got them when available.  They are super good, I would do the Magleby's cake recipe as a cake, not as cupcakes as well. The top was crusty, not something a bride wants to bite into.

So the recipes are below. ENJOY!

Easy Big Fat Yeast Rolls

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water
1 pkg active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
3 tbls softened butter
1 egg, beaten
3 1/2-4 cups flour

Directions:

Put water and yeast in large mixing bowl and add next 4 ingredients.  Beat with dough hook until well blended.  Add 3 1/2 to 4 cups flour and mix until soft dough forms (should not be sticky).  Put out onto floured board and knead a few times until smooth.  Place in greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place approximately 45 minutes. Punch down and turn out onto floured board.  Shape into 12 rolls and place in greased 13 by 9 inch baking pan.  Let rise again about 30 minutes.  Bake 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Brush tops of rolls with butter.  Recipe is easily doubled.

Okay, Here's my disclosure:

THESE ROLLS ARE AMAZING!!   My mom made them... and we devoured them in a matter of a day.  We are trying to watch what we are eating, but we couldn't stop eating these!!!  They are SO easy to make, and so good.  We haven't made them again because we don't want to eat them all again... Yay for delicious white rolls!!!

Pumpkin Poppers

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup milk

For Coating:

1 stick unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp. Cinnamon


Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray mini muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and spices in a bowl and whisk until combined.

In another bowl, mix oil, egg, vanilla, pumpkin, brown sugar, and milk.  (Make sure to put the brown sugar in close to last if possible so you don't have clumps of sugar in your batter.)  Pour in flour mixture and mix until just combined.  Fill mini muffin tins until almost full and bake 10-12 minutes.

Melt butter in a small bowl.  Mix cinnamon and sugar in a separate bowl.  After poppers cool for a few minutes lightly coat them in butter.  (I dipped them, but you can brush them with butter.)  Roll them in the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Enjoy!

For these, they taste JUST like little pumpkin pies.  They are SO good, so be careful to not pop a whole ton into your mouth!  I liked them best the next day, after the sugar melted into the butter and you didn't get the granules of sugar crunching on your teeth.  :) But the willpower to wait stinks!!!

4 Berry Curd

This is called a triple Berry Curd from the website Some the Wiser but I used the 3 berry mix from Costco and the Marionberry from Costco as well.  I just used 2 cups of the mixed berries to make up for it and one cup of the Marionberries as it states. ;)

Ingredients:
1 cup frozen blueberries, thawed
1 cup frozen raspberries, thawed
1 cup frozen marionberries, thawed
2/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon butter

Directions

Place the thawed berries in the blender and process until smooth.  Press blended berries through a fine mesh sieve positioned over a medium bowl.  Using the back of a spoon, press and scrape until you have at least 1 cup of puree.  Discard seeds and refrigerate any extra puree for another use.

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, salt, and cornstarch with a whisk. Stir in 1 cup of berry puree, lemon juice, and eggs.  Stirring constantly with a whisk, bring to a boil over medium heat.  Reduce heat and simmer for 1 minute or until curd is thick, still stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and gently stir in butter.

Spoon mixture into jar or bowl then cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving. Adapted from Cooking Light.



I made it today, and it was a BEAUTIFUL purple color. I'm super excited to see how it turns out.  I put it into little jars, and it made about 2 and 3/4 cups of the curd, and it is super good from what I tasted out of the hot pan. :)  I like how creamy it is, with the seeds being removed from the berries.  Make sure you have a good size sieve to push this through, and a scraper to pull the mixture off the bottom.  :)  I will update how it turned out after I get to taste it tomorrow morning. :)

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water.

Instructions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour 2 (9 inch) round baking pans, or a 9 by 13 pan.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.  Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla.  Beat on medium speed of mixer for 2 minutes.  Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans. 

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes, remove from pans to wire racks.  Cool completely.  Frost.

For cupcakes: Line muffin cups with paper bake cups. (2 1/2 inches in diameter) Heat oven to 350 degrees, and fill the liners about 2/3 of the way full with batter.  Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. 

They have a chocolate frosting recipe you can put on it as well.  That will be posted as well.  This is a YUM cake!!! 

"Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:
1 stick butter or margarine (1/2 cup)
2/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa (or any cocoa you have...)
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:
Melt butter.  Stir in cocoa.  Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on medium speed to spreading consistency.  Add more milk if needed.  Stir in vanilla. 


With this frosting, you need to make sure to follow the instructions.  Just adding the powdered sugar all at once makes the frosting lumpy and disgusting.  The texture is amazing if you do 1 cup powdered sugar, mix it up well and than add 1/3 of the 1/3 cup of milk.  It sounds hard, but if you slowly pour it in until it's just wet, you will do great.  And a pinch of salt to this increases the flavor.  Chocolate frosting needs a pinch of salt and vanilla.  It doesn't taste the same without it. But it's a SMALL pinch of salt, not a large one. :)

The Best White Cake Recipe (Ever)

Serves 12

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 Sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable Shortening
3 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs,  room temperature
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare three 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick baking spray or coated well with shortening or butter and floured, taking care to remove all excess flour.

Cream together butter and shortening until light and fluffy with an electric mixer.  Slowly add sugar one cup at a time, making sure to fully incorporate each cup before adding another. Add eggs one at a time, making sure to fully incorporate each egg before adding another.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add to butter and shortening mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.  Add vanilla extract.  Beat cake batter on high speed for about 5 seconds to fully incorporate all ingredients.  Stop mixer and scrape down sides and bottom of the bowl, making sure to have all ingredients mixed well.

Evenly distribute cake batter between cake pans and place pans into oven.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove and allow to cool slightly in cake pans for about 5 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.

Frost cake as desired. 

(I did them as cupcakes, they did NOT turn out very pretty...)

Magleby's Chocolate Cake Recipe

Magleby's Chocolate Cake Recipe

1 cup butter
1 cup BOILING water
5 Tbsp. Heaping Cocoa
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. Baking Soda (Dissolved in a little water)
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 cup Sour Cream

Mix in butter, water, and cocoa together, then add the dry ingredients.  Mix the eggs, soda, and vanilla in a separate bowl and add to the mixture.  Lastly, gently mix in the sour cream.  Do not overmix.  Bake in two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans (buttered and floured) for 50 minutes at 325 degrees.  Remove from pans and chill when they are baked through.  (Maglbey's freezes theirs.)  Cut the edges off and frost the cake.
(Given to me by my mom, don't have the reference for it.  Sorry...)

Gran's Apple Cake

This is a recipe my Aunt made and we had it when we were visiting.  it was SO good, we had to get the recipe. So here it is...  Totally awesome! 

Ingredients

• 1-2/3 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 cups chopped peeled tart apples
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• FROSTING:
• 4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

• In a bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, applesauce, oil and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; add to applesauce mixture and beat until combined. Fold in apples and pecans.
• Transfer to a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
• For frosting, combine cream cheese, butter and vanilla in a small bowl until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar (mixture will be soft). Spread over cooled cake. Yield: 18 servings.

Nutritional Analysis:One piece equals 241` calories, 8 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 32 mg cholesterol, 283 mg sodium, 42 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 3 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 starch, 1-1/2 fat, 1 fruit.

This recipe was from Taste Of Home.  We made it without the frosting, and it was INCREDIBLE.  Honestly, one of my favorite cakes ever.  It is about 5 points per piece...  But with some light whipped topping on it, it is AMAZING!!  

Skinny Monkey Cookies

Mom made these cookies 3 nights ago and I was scared.  I was VERY scared to try them because I am not the BIGGEST fan of a strong banana flavor.  But when they sat for overnight, they were much better. 

What you need:

3 Bananas
2 Cups Old Fashioned Oats
1/4 Cup creamy Peanut Butter
1/4 Cup unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1/3 Cup unsweetened Apple Sauce
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
Dash of Cinnamon (This is optional)

The Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Mash the bananas in a large bowl, than stir the remaining ingredients.  Let the batter stand for about 20 minutes, then drop by the spoonful onto a ungreased cookie sheet.  You can sprinkle them with cinnamon now, should you wish.  Bake for 10-12 minutes. 

These are only 1 point!  And it really kills the chocolate craving IF you don't eat them right out of the oven and you let them sit overnight.  I tried them warm, and I did NOT like them at all.  Tried them just cooled off and I didn't like it either.  Tried them the next day when I was DESPERATE for chocolate, and they were good.  Don't expect them to be sweet like a normal cookie, they aren't.  But they are very good for when you need energy and don't want to use too many points.

Thanks Key Ingredients for this recipe!

Enchilada Stack

Mom found this on Pinterest, and it was listed as 12 points.  She entered the ingredients, and it ended up being 7 points being cut into 8 pieces and was 7 points when it was cut into 6... So it's a good dinner. And it's really yummy!

Ingredients:
1 pound hamburger
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup Frozen Corn
1 package Taco Seasoning Mix
1 can Diced Tomatoes, undrained
1 can 10 ounces Enchilada Sauce
9 corn tortillas, 6 inches in size
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
3 medium green onions, sliced

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a deep dish pie plate with cooking spray.  Now you are ready to get cooking!

Cook the beef and the onions, and than drain the mixture.  Stir in the bell pepper, corn, taco seasoning mix, tomatoes, and enchilada sauce. 

Spread 1/4 of the mixture in a thin layer on the pie plate.  Top with 3 corn tortillas, and overlap it with 1/4 of the beef mixture and 1/3 cup of cheese.  Repeat this layer 2 more times, and end with the cheese on the top.

Bake this for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and slightly brown. 
Let it sit for about 5 minutes before you cut into it, even though this is hard to do.  (Especially when it's 7 at night and you are ready to grab a fork and dive into it even though it's molten lava on your tongue fresh out of the oven...)

Top each piece with sour cream and green onions. Enjoy!

I was skeptical about it, but it was really good.  We used red and orange bell peppers instead, and it really made for a lighter taste than the green which can be aggressive at times.

(While I LOVE to give credit where credit is due, if I get a recipe from my mom I don't know if I can link it back. SO if you find the original site, please let me know so I can link it.  Thanks guys!)

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

Carol Georges gave this recipe to my mom. They are REALLY Yum!  It's easy to make too, just addictive... So be careful.

What you NEED:
1 box Strawberry Cake
(Oil, water, 3 eggs)

Frosting:
2 8oz packages cream cheese
1 packet Kool Aid Lemonade
1 7 ox container marshmallow crème
1/3 cup powdered sugar
8 oz Cool Whip topping

Make the cake as directed on the box.  We did them as cupcakes, but you can do it as a sheet cake, a layer cake, or however makes you happy.  The layer cake is really good, this is how we originally had it and wanted the recipe.

Once the cake/cupcakes (whatever kind you make) are cooked and cooled, than you want to prepare the frosting.

The frosting is done like this:
Set the cream cheese on the counter so it is softened.  You don't want to try to use it cold, it doesn't mix as well and leaves balls of cream cheese in your frosting... not so yum.  Cream together the cream cheese, lemonade powder, and yellow food coloring until it is smooth. (the food coloring makes it the vibrant yellow, if you want it.  If not, don't worry about it.  It tastes good without it!)  Once this is smooth, beat in the marshmallow crème and powdered sugar.  Incorporate this well.  You want to make sure it's smooth too.  Than you want to fold in the whipped cream.  (Mom got mad at me for putting it in the bowl and beating it, but it worked out... It was still smooth and yummy!  But you can "fold it in" should you want to.  I just didn't want to wait.)  

Frost your cake and put it in the fridge.  This will allow the flavors time to mix and be YUM when you serve it. 

If you make cupcakes, you will have a TON of frosting left over.  SO, you can always TRY to make 2 boxes or you can TRY to figure out how to cut the recipe in half.  Not too hard, unless you look at the powdered sugar... I'll put pictures up as soon as I can. :) 

Try these, and enjoy them!  They are REALLY good!

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

These were from the Texas Recipes site on Facebook, from my Aunt. The recipe is as follows:


Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Ingredients:

for the Pancakes:

4 cups all-purpose flour8 tsps baking powder

2 tsp. salt
4 cups milk
4 tbsps vegetable oil

4 large eggs, lightly beaten



for the Cinnamon Filling

1 cup butter, melted

1 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

2 tbsp ground cinnamon



for the Cream Cheese Glaze

1/2 cup butter

4 oz. cream cheese

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla


Directions:


To make the Cinnamon Filling:

Mix the three ingredients together. Place in a disposable piping bag and snip the end off or 

put in a Ziploc bag and snip the corner off.

To make the Pancakes:

Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl. Stir them 

together until everything is moistened leaving a few lumps.


Heat your griddle to exactly 325 degrees. You don't want these too cook too quickly, and 

you won't want your cinnamon to burn. 


Make desired size pancake on greased griddle and then using the piping bag and starting at 

the center of the pancake, create a cinnamon swirl. Wait until the pancake has lots of bubble 

before you try to turn it. You will find that when you turn it the cinnamon swirl will melt. 

The cinnamon will melt out and create the craters which the cream cheese glaze will fill.


(IF You don't want the cinnamon to melt out, cover this with some batter to seal it in.) 

To make the Cream Cheese Glaze:

In a microwave safe bowl melt the butter and cream cheese and then stir together. Whisk in 

the powdered sugar and vanilla. Add a little milk if needed to make

it a glaze consistency. 


Place pancake on plate, then cover with cream cheese glaze.

(The pancakes are 4 points, and the cream cheese glaze is like 2 points for a Tbsp. SO plan
accordingly if you are counting points.) 

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Just because you are trying to be more careful about what you eat doesn't mean you can't enjoy a nice, steaming piece of Chicken Pot Pie. It just means that you will want to eat 1 piece of it, and make it yourself.  That's the key, eat one you made yourself.  Honestly, it's SO much better than anything that I have had from the store.  And I know what has gone into it, so that makes me feel better about eating it.  Here's the recipe and the instructions, we made it last night and it re-heats up FABULOUSLY!!!

Pillsbury Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 box (15 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on the box.

Filling:
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 3/4 cups Progresso chicken broth (from 32 oz carton or a can)
1/2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

Directions:
Heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  Make pie crusts as directed for Two-crust pie using a 9 inch pie glass.
In 2 quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add onion, cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently until tender.  Stir in flour, salt, and pepper until well blended.  Gradually stir in broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and thickened.

Stir in chicken and mixed vegetables.  Remove from heat. Spoon chicken mixture into crust-lined pan.  Top with second crust.  Seal edges and flute.  Cut slits in several places in top crust.
Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.  During the last 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover the crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Tip: Make sure to put this on a foil lined baking sheet. It makes clean up SO much easier to take care of when you're done.  If you seal the crust edges well enough, none will leak out the sides, but some may ooze out of the top.
(We cook the chicken in a pot of boiling water but you can cook it in Chicken broth too, and cut it up to cubes once the chicken is cut.  It allows you to not worry about if the chicken is completely cooked through.)

You can use any type of Chicken broth, but Progresso is the easiest to find in bulk. AND At Costco they have pie crusts in a box for like $10 so you can make it over and over again. :)  They freeze WONDERFULLY and will defrost like a dream. :)

If you want to make personal ones, you can in a ramican, with a Grands biscuit for the top instead of a crust and it works great too.  Since everything is already cooked, it is just cooking the biscuit.

With the veggies, you can put them in a strainer and run warm water over them. That helps to defrost them so you have EXACTLY what you want.  We use mixed vegetables with Edamame and carrots, peas, and corn. You can use any vegetables you want.

Low Point Breakfast Sandwich

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so you can either be very ambitious and make something really big and fattening, or you can be more careful and get something very filling and very tasty.

I make this alot, because I like the staying power of the protein and how it fills you up.  I like Costco as well, since it really helps me to get what I want in amounts I can deal with.

So this is what you will need:

1 Multi-grain Sandwich Round
1 Egg
1 piece of black forest ham
1 piece american cheese
Butter (That's right, I said butter. Not margarine, but real honest to goodness butter.)
(You can use a margarine spread that has oil in it, it doesn't really affect the taste.)

Fry the egg in a frying pan.  I like to use Canola Harvest margarine because it has the canola oil in it, and it's really good for you.

Next, fry the black forest ham.  We get the package from Costco and since the pieces are SO big we end up cutting them in half. It works out perfectly that way, and I fry it next to the egg in the pan so I am not making more dishes. (The less dishes, the better.)

Toast your Sandwich Round.  It smells really good when the ham is frying and the Sandwich round is toasting... I swear there is honey in the bread because you can smell it when it is toasting.

Put your cheese on your egg, and than put the ham on top of it.  The cheese melts, and gets gooey and it's fabulous!

Once the bread is toasted, spread a little butter on it and put the egg and ham on it.  Than eat it.  It's so good!

Honestly, this can take 2-3 minutes in the morning and the staying power is awesome.  I make it before work and I am not as hungry as I would be with a bowl of cereal.

Eat this with a piece of fruit, and it really helps you to feel full.  The fruit is also good because we should eat more fruit with our meals.  Start with a banana or an orange, an apple, or strawberries.

And it's only like 7 points for breakfast.  You don't have to eat a snack until lunchtime normally, because it helps to fill you up. :)

Healthy Dinner time

SO tonight I decided to be really really good, and make a healthy dinner.  It ended up being a LONG process (took 2 hours) and it turned out really good. I should have known to time it better, but oh well.

Here's what I did.

I took 6 squash, 3 yellow and 3 green. I cut one of each color in half lengthwise after cutting the ends off.  I sliced them down the middle again, and one more time cut down the middle of the spears.  I should have left it but I wanted to make sure they didn't take forever to cook.  I cut them in half in the middle, and threw them in a bowl. Once the squash was all cut, I poured in about 3 tbsp of garlic (yeah, a lot but it was so good) and about 1/3 cup of oil.  Admittedly there was a lot of squash, as I ended up doing about 2 of each color.  So you can do less, it just helped.  Toss the squash in the garlic and oil, and spread it out on a foil lined baking sheet.  Sprinkle salt and pepper over the squash.  Put in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes.

Take the rest of the squash, and cut it into rounds.  Throw them together, and put them in a steamer basket.  These take about 15 minutes to steam, so you may want to wait until it's almost done to steam them so everything is hot together.

Take 2 boneless Skinless chicken breasts (preferably defrosted) and cut them in half down the middle.  Put them in a hot pan, and sprinkle with lemon pepper seasoning.  Cover and let them steam, turn them over about 4 minutes into the cook time.  They don't take that long to cook when they are cut thin, and it really helps them to stay tender and juicy if you add a little bit of water to the pan after searing both sides.  When you turn them the first time, sprinkle some more lemon pepper on the chicken (to enhance the flavor, not overpower it.)  This takes about 15 minutes to cook.

The carrots are the same as the squash.  I peeled them, cut them into rounds, and put them in a steamer basket. They took about 10 minutes to steam soft, but not gummy.

If you time it all correctly, than it will all come out warm and fantastic together.  I would start the squash in the oven, and about 20 minutes until it's done, start the chicken and get the veggies steaming 5 minutes after you start.  Or you can just eat in shifts, like my poor daddy did.

The end result? A very colorful, VERY healthy dinner. The vegetables were all fabulous, but the steamed squash and carrots needed some butter.  The squash was good with lemon pepper sprinkled on it, and the carrots needed just a tiny bit of salt.

If you time it better than I did, this should only take you about an hour from start to finish.  IF You have 2 steamer baskets and were ready on time... Laughs. I had one steamer basket, and the chicken was frozen when I started so I had to do everything in shifts. It helped to put the carrots in a bowl, and put them into the oven to keep it warm.  Same with the chicken.

Enjoy!

And if you are counting points, this dinner will end up costing you about 4 points.  WOW!! :)  How's THAT for a good dinner? :)

White Beans Chicken Chili

Mom got this recipe off Pinterest, and try as I may I can't seem to find this exact recipe on there!  There are SO many recipes on there, so if you know whom originally posted this PLEASE let me know so that I can give them credit...  Dad made this one...

Regardless, this was SO good.  Spicy, yes. But it was still good.

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder or 2 cloves fresh garlic finely minced
1 Tbsp oil
2 cans (15 1/2 oz) white beans, rinsed and drained
1 can chopped green chilie (4 oz)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground Cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
1 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup whipping cream

Directions:
Saute chicken, onion, and garlic in oil until the chicken is no longer pink.
Add the beans, broth, chilies and seasoning.
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir in sour cream and whipping cream (Not whipped cream) and serve.

This is a really low point dish for those counting, I think it ended up being like 5-7 for a serving.  I will look that up though and let you know for sure. It was good. But I had to have something to tame the heat. The chilies and the cayenne got me.

Old Fashioned Granola

I got this from a friend and roommate Kennessa Malan.  She had this AMAZING granola recipe, and since it's made from scratch you don't have to worry so much about the additives and preserves.  It really is a delicious recipe.  Good with milk as a cereal, as a topping for ice cream, etc.

Ingredients:
8 cups rolled oats
1 cup wheat germ
2 cups shredded coconut
1/8 cup sesame seeds
1 cup nuts
1 cup macadamia nuts
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oil
1 cup honey
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup raisins or fruit (dried)

Directions:
Heat the oven to 300 degrees.

Combine the oil and honey in a bowl, set aside. (You can also just measure out the oil and honey in a measuring cup, if you have one that is large enough.)

Mix the oats, wheat germ, coconut, sesame seeds, nuts, macadamia nuts, and brown sugar well.  Than add the honey and oil mixture.  Mix well.

Spread the mixture on an oiled cookie sheet or in a bundt pan.  Bake for 13 minutes.

Take out the mixture, Mix the mixture well. Return to the oven for 15 minutes.

Remove and stir again, this time adding the vanilla and almond extract.  (Take a deep breath in, enjoy the smell for a moment...)

Put this back into the oven again for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove, and fold in the raisins or dried fruit.  Stir occasionally while you are folding in the fruit to mix the fruit in well.

This makes a large amount of granola, and you can make it with or without the sesame seeds. Store in an airtight plastic container on the counter.

(If you don't want to spend the 4 dollars on a jar of Wheat Germ at the store, try Winco if there is one close to you.  You can get a pound of it for 4 dollars I think.  The rolled oats are the best, not the instant oats.  They have a heartier mouth feel to them.  Instant are just too soft in this recipe.  I have made it once without the sugar, and it's still good though not as sweet.)

I have used slivered almonds and macadamia nuts, as well as chopped Marcona almonds.  For the dried fruit, I got a fruit mix and also used dried cherries. it would be good with anything.  :)

Here's to your health. It's delicious, and really easy to make.  Just takes time to stir it.  And it makes the house smell AMAZING!!!!

Dandy Cake

This cake is SO delicious!  It's chocolatey, peanut buttery goodness!!  It seriously is so good we only make it when we know we will be going somewhere so we can make sure we don't eat it all ourselves. :)   I got this one out of the Hershey's cookbook, and it is SO worth it!

Ingredients: 
1 cup water
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine (I have used both, and it doesn't alter the flavor but I prefer butter.)
1/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa (Or dutch baking cocoa, whatever you have.)
2 cups All Purpose flour (Just used unbleached sifted white flour, turned out amazing!)
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup dairy sour cream
3/4 cup reese's Creamy Peanut Butter (Or whatever brand you like.)

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 15 and 1/2 by 10 and 1/2 by 1-inch jelly-roll pan. (we use ours as a cookie sheet. They are the long ones with the inch tall edges.)

Combine water, butter, and cocoa in a small saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occassionally until the mixture boils; boil and stir for 1 minute.  Remove from heat, set aside.

Stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.  Add eggs and sour cream mixture.  Beat until blended.

Add some of the cocoa mixture to the bowl, and beat until combined so that the eggs don't turn scrambled.  Once the amount you added has combined, add the rest and beat until just blended.  (The batter will be thin). Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until wooden pick insterted in center comes out clean.  Do not remove the cake from the pan.  Spread peanut butter over the warm cake.  Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.  (If you are impatient like me, you can throw it in the freezer to help it cool.)

Prepare CHOCOLATE TOPPING, carefully spread over the top, covering the peanut butter.  Allow the topping to set before you cut it into squares.  You don't want to wait until it's hard, because than it's harder to cut up.  Just wait until it's set up, and you can cut it without too much of a mess.

CHOCOLATE TOPPING:
Place 2 cups Chocolate Chips (Dark or semi-sweet) and 2 tablespoons shortening (do not use butter, margarine, spread, or oil) in a small, microwave safe bowl.  Microwave at medium heat (50%) for 1 and 1/2 minutes, than stir.  The chocolate probably won't be melted, so keep microwaving at 50% for 15 seconds at a time until the chips are melted when it's stirred.

(This is the chocolate cake with the peanut butter spread out.  I don't use Reese's peanut butter, I use plain old Jiff because that's what we have in the house.  I also don't use Hershey's cocoa, I use the Dutch cocoa you can get at Winco for cheap because it's really good cocoa.  :)  Don't worry about rushing out and buying something specific, use what you have.  And I added a LITTLE more peanut butter because I LOVE the peanut butter.)

I'll post pics of the cake with the chocolate on it, once it has cooled. I don't have room in the freezer, so I am going to have to do the chocolate tomorrow.  Don't put the chocolate on hot... You want to make sure it's completely cooled or else you are going to have a very hard time putting the chocolate on it.  The peanut butter will mess it ALL up if it's not cool!!! (I learned the hard way... I was anxious!!!)


Okay, so it's 10:19 and I HAD to finish the cake. So here are the finished pictures.  I just have to let it set and cut it, but you don't need to see pictures of that! :)

 This is the chocolate in the bowl after it was melted with the shortening. I used Crisco (because it's what we had) and my finger to get all the shortening out. (After I thoroughly washed my hands...)  I stir it with a spatula because that means less dishes. I am ALWAYS about less dishes to have to wash later.

 This is the chocolate just dumped onto the cake.  Usually I will pour it on, try to spread it out before I get the spatula on it but for tonight, I just dumped it on. 

The chocolate is shiny because of the shortening in it, but you can't taste it because there is such a small amount.  I like to do this design in it, but you can do whatever you would like. 

Doesn't matter how you spread it to design it, this looks amazing!  Keep it in the pan, and serve it right out of the pan when you are ready.  It's so great to get all the layers and enjoy EVERY single bite! :) 

And for those watching your waistline, I can list some reasons to eat this: 

1) There is dairy.  (MILK chocolate, and sour CREAM are in it, right?)

2) There is protein. (You have 3 eggs in the batter, and eggs are protein.)

3) There is Peanut Butter. (We all know peanut butter is a great source of protein for energy...) 

4) It's freaking AMAZING!!  (laughs.  You'll have to make it to find out.) 

5) just eat a small piece.  And make sure to take it to work, or give it to a friend so you don't eat it all yourself.  AND there is butter in the recipe, so the oil is good for you.

These are my reasons for eating this. Just don't grab a fork and eat the whole pan yourself.  Invite your girls, grab a movie, and enjoy it together.  

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

This was taken off the Taste of Home website.  It is a family favorite and has been made MANY times.  It is so deliciously rich, thick, and flavorful.  You can take out the cayenne pepper if you need to for your kids to be able to eat it, and I think it's just as good.  :)  My dad doesn't agree with me though. He thinks it's better with Cayenne pepper. It takes about 25 minutes to prep the meal. 

Ingredients

• 6 ounces uncooked fettuccine

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed

• 1 small onion, chopped

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 4-1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

• 1-1/2 cups fat-free half-and-half

• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed

• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

• Cook fettuccine according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the chicken, onion, salt and cayenne in butter until chicken is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in flour until blended.

• Gradually add the half-and-half, peas and cheese. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Drain fettuccine; toss with chicken mixture. Yield: 4 servings.

This is a picture from their website as well, and it really is just amazing!  And as you can see, it's actually quite healthy as well!! :) 

Nutritional Facts

1 cup equals 425 calories, 8 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 75 mg cholesterol, 577 mg sodium, 49 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 36 g protein.

Fabulous Pumpkin Pancakes

Mom found this recipe on Pinterest, and try as I may I could NOT find the link to give the credit back to whomever came up with this recipe.  It's SO incredible though, felt like I had to share the numminess with everyone else who may want it. :)

Ingredients:
3 cups Flour
3/4 tsp Salt
2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 can pumpkin (smaller, regular size)
3 cups buttermilk
3 eggs

Instructions:
Mix flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and brown sugar.  Combine them well.  Than add the pumpkin, buttermilk, and eggs to the dry ingredients and gently mix it together.

Heat your griddle to medium heat, grease lightly.  (We use butter on the skillet.)

Scoop 1/3 cup of the batter onto the skillet, and cook for about 3 minutes or until it is lightly brown.  Turn over and repeat.

These are fabulous right off the griddle.  We eat them with either syrup, or even better, whipped cream.  The pumpkin is amazing, and they freeze fantastically.  We make the entire (large) batch up, and freeze half of them.  The rest go into the fridge, and we will take them out every morning until they are gone.

For the syrup, I like home made syrup better.

Syrup:
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1/2 tsp mapeline

Boil the sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the mapeline.  YUM!!!

Hope you enjoy, here's some pics of the fabulousness!!!!

 This is what the batter ends up looking like.  We used 1/4 cup instead of the 1/3 cup. It worked out amazing!  And they were SO delightful. 

 They are cooking up, yay!  Love the smells that come out of these... 

Fresh off the griddle and ready to eat!  

Getting ready for the whipped cream, just a LITTLE bit of syrup to help the flavor come out. 

Ready to enjoy! 

Lunch Lady Brownies

Just made this tonight, didn't add the frosting because I didn't want to have the additional sweets on top of it. I'm sure it will be amazing, I will try them tomorrow and let you know the verdict! :)

Lunch Lady Brownies:

Ingredients: 
1 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
4 tsp vanilla
1 cup nuts (optional)

Melt butter, add cocoa powder. Mix together until smooth.  Add flour and sugar.  Beat together, than add eggs, vanilla, and nuts.  Mix until combined, do not over-stir.  Pour into greased and floured 9x13 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

(I cut the recipe in half, we didn't need a huge pan of brownies sitting around the house.  Not with a diabetic... Not so much.)

For the frosting: 
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
Dash of Salt

*Side note: If you are like me, softened butter means to melt it completely. This is ok, just make sure to combine the butter and cocoa powder first. Than put 1 cup of powdered sugar in the mixer (you don't want to mix this by hand), mix it VERY well, and than add a tiny bit of milk to thin it out (1/3 of the 1/4 cup).  Keep doing this with the sugar and the milk, don't just dump it all in the mixer.  It will make a lumpy mess if you do. And if you want to, you can add an 1/4th of a teaspoon of vanilla to the chocolate frosting. I just love what the flavor does.

Wait about 10 minutes before you frost them, after you take them out of the oven.  Use as much frosting as you would like. :)

Thanks Saltbox House for this amazing recipe!

                                 Don't they look incredible? I am thinking tomorrow can't come fast enough! :)