I am not very original...heavy sigh...

I feel the need to make something clear...the recipes found here are not all originals of mine.  I use recipes that I find somewhere and tweek, or "skinny up, "skinny down" whatever the case may be, in  Juliespeak.  I use recipes that other people give me, I use recipes that I make up, etc.  I will certainly try to give credit where credit is due (but a I have a huge recipe collection, I don't always remember).  I am not trying to horn in on anyone else's stuff, harsh anyone's mellow, kill anyone's mojo and all that stuff, got it?  Gooood....now lets have fun!

Deals....Deals...Deals....Don't ya love em!

Here is a site by the fabulous Sarah, a local woman that really knows her stuff when it comes to coupon shopping, stocking your pantry when things are on sale, etc.  Her site/blog is full of recipes, deal alerts and all the info about where to find the coupons you need.  I highly recommend that you check her out!!! Follow her, save money!! Need I say more? Just do it!

http://www.sarahsdeals.net/ 

Look out Col. Sanders, this Oven Fried Chicken is da bomb! (Boy, did I really just say that? How old do I think I am anyway?)

Well it sure ain't KFC, but who can afford the points for that?  Not me that's for sure...I would much rather spend those extras on a cocktail! (or two!)  I found this in my handy dandy, everybody has one, Better Homes and Garden Cookbook (you know the one with the red plaid cover? Although mine happens to be pink plaid for breast cancer awareness, but I digress...) I tried this last night with chicken thighs (bone in, skin off) and it was very good however it had too many points for me to feel like I was getting enough to eat.. The crunchy coating really gave me the, I am having fried chicken feeling (what feeling is that anyway?  New one for me, but you get my drift, right?)  I have changed recipe to boneless, skinless breasts and am going to try it that way next time. I also have a copy cat , WW friendly KFC coleslaw recipe somewhere!  I will try to dig that one up this weekend! 

Oven Fried Chicken

4 Points Plus (4 Points -old system) 8 Servings: Preparation Time:  20 min Cooking Time:  35 or 40 min Level of Difficulty:  Moderate

375

Ingredients

	3 Tbsp fat-free skim milk
	1/2 tsp paprika
	1 tsp Thyme leaves
	1/2 tsp black pepper
	25 cracker(s) Keebler Crackers Town House Original Crackers
	1/4 cup(s) Egg Beaters Egg Beaters
	1 tsp I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! Spray
	4 breast(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 8 halves

Instructions

Beat egg beaters and milk together in small bowl. In shallow dish mix crushed crackers and spices.
Dip chicken in egg mixture then crumbs. Place in sprayed baking dish, not touching. Spray lightly with buttery spray.

Bake at 375 until done.

Holy Heck - down 2.4lbs!!

For a grand total of 20.6!! My arm hurts though...I think it is from patting myself on the back!  Ok here is when I have to be careful...the temptation to reward myself is very great!!  Can anyone relate to that?

Does this scale make my butt look big??

Ok...so does anyone else do this?  On weigh in day, I eat breakfast and then starve myself until after I have been on the scale!  I do this because I am pretty sure if I eat any more food it will weigh more in my belly and affect my "real" weight!!  Is that ridiculous or what????!!! But I can't seem to stop...maybe if I ate something fluffy like angelfood cake...JUST KIDDING...I don't even like cake...I would be more likely to eat cheese don't ya know!!!

Spam...No I am not cooking any of that!

I am wondering if anybody would like to have the blog posts emailed to them as they appear?

Tomorrow is "weigh in" day...I am currently down 18.2 lbs in 13 weeks...

Wish me luck! Feel free to throw some recipes and comments my way!  It is probably pretty obvious by now that I love trying new ones and some feedback is always appreciated as well.  Thanks to my friend Vikki for being my first follower and commenter!  Woot Woot!

Let's spice things up a little...I love spicy food!

One of the great things about this one is...you can make it hot OR not!  The other is that it doesn't get much simpler (and believe you me, simple is good in Julieland!)  Use hot salsa for some kick and mild for a very mellow tomato flavor.  After this cooks down a lot of the spice is gone!  

Salsa Chicken

4 Points Plus (3 Points-old system)

4 Servings

2 Breasts, uncooked boneless, skinless chicken, halved

16 oz salsa, Use your favorite, just watch the fat content

Place chicken breasts in bottom of slow cooker and pour salsa over the top.

Cook on low for 3-4 hours or until you can tell the chicken is done.

Tonight's the night! Remember that zucchini that is almost as big as my couch?

Update: 

This was delish, it got 4 A++'s and 2 B's!!  I will definitely be making and EATING this again!


Here is my plan for the rest of that impressive hunk of green veggie!  It's gonna be a long night!  (Because I have homework, housework, kids, laundry and all that, what did you think I meant!)  Anywho...wish me luck!

Ground Beef Zucchini Casserole

6 Points Plus (5 Points-old system)

8 Servings

Ingredients

	1 pound(s) 10% fat cooked ground beef
	1 pound(s) zucchini, unpeeled, chopped
	1 medium onion(s), chopped
	1 can(s) Campbell's Low Sodium Soup Cream Of Mushroom
	6 oz Kraft 2% Milk Natural Cheese Sharp Cheddar Cheese
	3/4 cup(s) dried bread crumbs

Instructions

Salt, pepper and seasoned salt to taste.
Saute ground beef and onion; drain. Cook zucchini until tender. Put half of meat mixture in casserole; add zucchini and then remaining meat mixture. Cover with soup and then cheese. Sprinkle with corn flakes. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

This is a great meal, with lots of fiber, so it really keeps you full longer...it does a great job of filling in for pizza.

The family and I went to Michigan's Adventure this summer and ordered Jet's pizza on the way home because we were all so tired and hungry. I really did make one of these the minute we walked in the door and passed on the giant piece of pizza!! I felt good about my choice...am I good or what!? (No really, I think that since I could smell the pizza and eat my Pizza Dia at the same time, I was just able to delude myself into thinking I was really having pizza...just kidding!! These are great, try 'em and let me know!


Pizza Dia
4 Points Plus (4 Points-old system)
1 Serving
Ingredients

2 item(s) Don Marcos Healthy style fat free flour tortillas
2 Tbsp pizza sauce
01/8 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese
9 slice(s) Hormel Pillow Pack Turkey Pepperoni
1/2 each mushroom, portabella, raw
1 oz onion(s)

Instructions
Spray one side of each tortilla with non-stick (no calorie!) spray and lay one down in pan on medium heat. Spread pizza sauce on top. Carefully arrange the other items pizza style (Don't burn yourself!). Put second tortilla on top, sprayed side up. Cook until bottom is golden brown and cheese is melted enough to help keep it together a bit. Flip carefully, cook until the other side is golden. Cut into "quesadilla" style triangles and enjoy!

Ok...lets mix it up a little and talk about cheese...what? Who said that? Lord, it's no wonder I am fat!

Cheese Stuffed Chicken

5 Points Plus (5 points-old system)
4 Servings

4 - 4 oz boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1/8 t salt

3/4 t dried basil, divided

1/4 t crushed red pepper

1/4 c minced green pepper

4 (3/4 oz) part skim mozzarella string cheese

2 T fat free Italian dressing

1/8 t paprika

1/4 c dry bread crumbs

cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400

Pound each breast to 1/4" thick

Sprinkle each breast with salt, basil and crushed red pepper (keeping half basil reserved) and 1 T minced bell pepper

Place 1 string cheese lengthwise down center of each breast.  Roll up jelly roll style, brush with Italian dressing.

Combine paprika and bread crumbs; dredge chicken rolls in mixture, turning to coat.

Place on baking sheet (sprayed). Sprinkle with remaining green pepper and basil.

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until done.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

As Rachael Ray says, "Yummo!"

Since this is my first week at this, I am deeming Tuesday to be "Cheese Day"...

Not being one to buck tradition (never mind that I just started the tradition today! And those of you that know me, there is no need to mention that I sometimes do like to be a little rebellious) I am going to stick with the theme...

Broccoli Cheese and Rice Casserole
4 Points Plus (3 points-old system)
6 Servings

1 C. Instant Rice

1/4 C. Chopped onion

1/4 C. Skim milk

4 oz light Velveeta cheese

2-10 oz bags frozen broccoli, thawed

1 can Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix well.  Put in casserole dish (sprayed) and bake for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

I haven't tried this one yet - but will be soon!

And while we are on the topic of cheese...(maybe it's just me) Have I mentioned that I love cheese! Oh yeah, probably a couple of times....

This is an old one of mine, tried and true, very kid friendly!

Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti
6 Points Plus (4 Points-old system) 
6 Servings

Main Meals |

Ingredients

3 cup(s) cooked whole-wheat spaghetti
10 oz Campbell's 98% Fat-Free Cream Of Chicken Soup
15 oz canned tomatoes with green chilies
1 1/2 cup(s) cooked chicken breast
4 oz Kraft Velveeta Light Reduced-Fat Pasteurized Processed Cheese Product
1/4 cup(s) onion(s)
1/4 cup(s) green pepper(s)

Instructions:

Melt soup and cheese slowly in microwave until nice and creamy. Stir in all other ingredients except spaghetti. Mix cheese mixture into pasta and put in sprayed 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Temptation...

Have I mentioned how much I like food?  So today, my boss, bless his heart decides to buy the guys and I lunch, hands me his card and tells me I can order.  Wellllll.....pizza places are about the only places that deliver around here and so I get out the menus and everybody chooses a Stromboli - BUT ME!!! Because I am gonna stay on plan #*&#%*- it!!  So, I am just patting myself on the back a little because...I would just about crawl through broken glass for a Stromboli...I'm just sayin....

White Lasagna....Easy Cheesy!!

 Ok, so I love cheese...I mean really love cheese...I could sit and eat a block of cheese and think nothing of it...thank goodness I am getting some control over cheese!  I am not a binge eater, but I sure just love the taste of some things and could (and have on more than one occasion!) just gorge myself...anybody feel me here?  Anybody wanna commiserate on our loss of cheese?  No wait, try this recipe instead!  I loved it and it got rave reviews from the other 5 members of my household!  Give it a whirl and tell me what you think!

White Lasagna

6 Points Plus (4 Points-old system)
8 Servings

26 oz canned low-fat cream of mushroom soup

1 cup(s) fat-free skim milk

1 cup(s) water

10 oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

7 oz low-fat sausage, Soy, frozen, or fat-free, thawed and crumbled

1 cup(s) fat-free ricotta cheese

1 cup(s) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

9 piece(s) no cook lasagna noodles

8 1/2 tsp parsley, or flat leave, whole

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with nonstick spray.

To make the sauce, whisk together the mushroom soup, milk, and water in a large bowl; set aside. 

Combine the spinach, sausage, ricotta, mozzarella, and 1 cup of the sauce in a large bowl.  

Spoon 1 cup of the remaining sauce into the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange 3 of the lasagna noodles over the sauce. Spoon half of the spinach mixture over the noodles; top with one-third of the remaining sauce. Repeat layering once with the noodles, spinach mixture, and sauce. Top with the remaining noodles and remaining sauce. 

Arrange parsley leaves on the sauce in a decorative pattern. Cover the lasagna loosely with foil and bake until hot and bubbly, about 50 minutes. 

Let the lasagna stand about 10 minutes before serving. 

Yields 1⁄8 of lasagna per serving.

Ok, I have the biggest zucchini in the history of the universe to use up...

So what to do with this new piece of furniture? (Seriously, it is almost as big as my couch!) I also had some eggplant to use up so I went searching for a recipe to use them both in! I found one on another site and then "skinnied" it up! I loved it! I served it to the five other members of my family and got these results: 2 "loves", 2 "pretty goods", 1 "not my favorite, but I ate it anyway" and 1 "I don't like it Mama" (from my 8 year old and does she really count for this type of recipe anyway?) Here it is: (You could also delete the meat and lose 2 points per serving!) All of this information came when I put it in my Recipe Builder! Let me know what you think!

EGGPLANT ZUCCHINI CASSEROLE
6 Points Plus (5 Points-old system)
8 Servings

Ingredients

16 oz Tomato Sauce, No Salt Added

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp ground basil

1/2 tsp Marjoram, dried

2 clove(s) garlic clove(s)

1 medium raw eggplant

2 medium zucchini

3 medium celery

1 medium onion(s)

1 medium bell pepper(s)

4 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese

2 oz provolone cheese

1 oz Parmesan cheese

16 oz cooked ground beef 5-7% fat

2 oz uncooked fettuccine

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9"x13" casserole dish with oil spray. In a bowl, combine tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, herbs and garlic. Mix well and set aside.

In prepared casserole dish, arrange half of the eggplant slices in a single layer. Top with half of each of the following: zucchini slices, spaghetti, celery, onion and bell pepper. Next, arrange 9 slices of cheese over this, and spoon half of tomato mixture on top of cheese. Repeat layers. Cover and bake 1 hour until vegetables are tender. Makes 8 servings.