Happy Friday all...

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am still under the weather and hang in there with me, I will be back to my old posting self soon!  Hope everyone has a great weekend and I am going to get some rest and try to feel better soon!

Can I get a Hallelujah??

I stayed well within my points range this week and earned a few (very few - like 4) activity points.  BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS...I was down 5 pounds!! Can you believe it??  I said to the lady "FIVE POUNDS!! DO YOU MEAN THIS WEEK??" She said well ummm yes...I am walking on Sunshine today friends!  How about you guys, care to "weigh in" on the subject?

I don’t know about you, but I now wear Bi-Focals, in contact lens form thank you very much, I am evidently still too vain to put the darn spectacles on!

No age cracks please…I am very fragile!  Ok, ok, so that isn’t exactly true…but I still have a feeling or two left!!  Boy do I know how to segue or what? 

My point, (I think), is that spinach is rich in a chemical called Lutein, which is good for eye health!  Spinach is rich in Niacin and Zinc and is also a good source of Vitamin’s A, C, E and K, thiamin, riboflavin, B6, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, copper, potassium and manganese, NOT TO MENTION FIBER!!!  And also in the trivia department, Spinach has long been linked to prosperity. Eat spinach and increase your chances of making more money!

Spinach is a favorite of mine, not only is it great in salads, it is fabulous when added to pasta dishes to give a little more volume and not a bunch of extra points!  (I am all about that my friends!)   I actually made up another recipe last night for dinner (involving spinach of course) and it was scrumptious!!  know it is Sideways Wednesday, (It is Wednesday, right?) but maybe I will post that today as well even though it is a Main Dish, the heck with it, I am just gonna go ahead and break the rules today! Dare me? Huh, do ya?

This recipe is a "Julie" original, the spinach wasn't all the way dry the first time I made this and so the kids thought that it already had dressing on it and didn't use any extra! They were practically licking the bowl clean on this one.

Spinach Salad 

1 Points Plus (1 Point-old system)

8 Servings

Ingredients

2 c tomatoes    

1/4 c part-skim mozzarella cheese    

1/2 c Hormel Bacon Pieces    

1/4 c cheddar, shredded fat free    

5 c spinach, fresh    

Instructions

Rinse spinach and dry well. Toss all ingredients in salad bowl and serve. Count points for your dressing.

Warm, Melty cheese – is there life after cheese by the way?

Can I get an Amen on that one?  All kidding aside, I am not really that obsessed with cheese am I?  ONCE AGAIN a rhetorical question, no need to confirm my fears here!  I must be the queen of comfort food, but now my focus is changing (that’s a good thing) and I want the most taste for the least points!

I heard in a meeting one time in regard to putting cheese on things like tacos, “if you can’t taste it, don’t waste it”.  Meaning, for instance, that on a taco, with the right other ingredients you can’t really “taste” the cheese, you just want it, so why waste the points!  Brilliant, I say! 

Philly Chicken Cheese Steaks 

8 Points Plus (6 Points-old system)

4 Servings

 

Philadelphia's favorite street food with a twist—lean chicken instead of fatty beef. We used reduced-fat American cheese but any light cheese can be used in its place.

Ingredients

 1 T vegetable oil    

 1 medium onion, thinly sliced    

 1 lbs uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, pounded, cut into strips    

 1/2 medium sweet red pepper, thinly sliced    

 1/2 t table salt    

 1/8 t black pepper    

 4 reduced-calorie hot dog buns

 4 slices 2% Milk Singles Reduced-Fat Pasteurized American Cheese Food, or other brand    

Instructions

In a medium nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Saute onion until browned and very soft, about 10 minutes. Add chicken and pepper and saute until chicken is golden brown and cooked through, about to 5 to 8 minutes; season to taste with salt and pepper.

Toast buns; spoon chicken mixture down center of each one. Place a slice of cheese in each bun and and close bun to help cheese melt slightly.

Yields 1 cheese steak per serving.

Say Cheese! I love to say cheese...

Ok, not really, cuz I am absolutely not thrilled with having my picture taken!  But I am hoping that will change in the not so distant future!  What about you?  Do you wanna say cheese...or EAT CHEESE?  I am going with the former and you come along if you like...(you know you want to!)  I found this on our very own site here, but I added mushrooms, because I love those almost as much as I love cheese!  I also think they will give you a little more punch for your points!  (I just made that up, I almost said "a little more bounce for your ounce" but that seemed a little contradictory to our mission here!)

Mediterranean Three-Cheese Lasagna

7 Points Plus (5 Points-old system)

8 Servings

A hint of sweet spices (cinnamon and nutmeg) and a generous amount of feta cheese give this vegetarian lasagna a distinctly Greek air.

Ingredients

15 oz fat-free ricotta cheese    

10 oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry    

2 c shredded fat-free mozzarella cheese    

4 oz reduced-fat feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)    

1 large egg(s), lightly beaten    

1 tsp dried oregano    

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon    

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg    

26 oz Italian tomato sauce, with mushrooms and olives    

9 piece(s) no cook lasagna noodles    

2 C sliced mushrooms

Instructions

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

Combine the ricotta cheese, spinach, mushrooms, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, the feta cheese, egg, oregano, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl; mix well.

Spread one-fourth (about 3⁄4 cup) of the tomato sauce over the bottom of the baking pan. Top with 3 of the lasagna noodles. Spread half (about 2 cups) of the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Spread with one-fourth more tomato sauce. Repeat the layering once more with 3 noodles, the remaining half of the ricotta mixture, and one-fourth more tomato sauce. Top with the remaining 3 noodles, one-fourth sauce, and 1 cup mozzarella cheese.

Cover the lasagna with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese melts and the lasagna is heated through and bubbling, 10–15 minutes longer. Yields 1/8 of lasagna per serving.

Notes:

The no-boil lasagna noodles and jarred sauce make it decidedly easy. You can even make it ahead. Simply assemble the lasagna (don’t bake it), cover it with foil, and refrigerate for up to two days or freeze for up to three months. Then bake as directed (if frozen, first thaw in the refrigerator overnight), adding a few minutes to the cooking time to compensate for starting with a chilled dish.

To prevent the lasagna from sticking to the foil, spray the foil with nonstick spray before using it to cover the dish.

Lasagna  by In One Pot, from Weight Watchers Publishing Group

Since I am still struggling with my cold…this sounds good to me, something with some flavor and not much work!

I haven’t tried it and I have to say I haven’t used ground chicken yet – has anyone else?  Any feedback?  Is it hard to find, or do I need a meat grinder?

Barbecue Chicken Chili 

7 Points Plus (5 Points-old system)

8 Servings

 

Ground-meat chili dishes with plenty of seasonings are terrific cooked in a slow cooker.

Ingredients

1 lbs uncooked ground chicken breast    

1 large onion, chopped    

1 medium green pepper, seeded and chopped    

3 medium garlic clove, chopped    

31 oz canned kidney beans, rinsed and drained    

15 1/2 oz canned pinto beans, rinsed and drained    

14 1/2 oz canned diced tomatoes    

12 oz chili sauce    

4 1/2 oz Ortega Diced Green Chiles, or other brand    

1/4 c chili powder    

2 T Worcestershire sauce    

1 T molasses    

1 T packed brown sugar    

1 T ground cumin    

Instructions

Place the chicken, onion, bell pepper, and garlic in a slow cooker; stir with a fork to blend. Add the kidney and pinto beans, tomatoes, chili sauce, green chilies, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, molasses, brown sugar, and cumin; mix well. Cover and cook until the flavors are blended and the chili thickens slightly, 4–5 hours on high or 8–10 hours on low.

Yields 1 1/4 cups per serving.

Notes

Dark-colored seasonings, such as molasses, brown sugar, and chili powder, compensate for the lack of browning of the meat before simmering.

You can mix all the ingredients for this chili in the insert of the slow cooker the night before and pop it in the refrigerator. The next morning, simply place the insert into the slow cooker and set it on low before going to work.

In One Pot, from Weight Watchers Publishing Group

Sorry about yesterday!

Being Halloween, I figured it might be sweet enough already!  Well in all reality, I am getting a cold and the day was incredibly busy and exhausting, so I skipped it!  Hope everyone had a good spooky day and that the scary stuff didn't pertain to your food intake!  I will grab us a couple of good slow cooker meals later on and all will be well, they just might be missing a little of my sparkling humor, due to the giant pounding in my head!  I have to say that this morning my eight year old said "Mama, I just want to stay home today", as we were getting ready leave for work and school....my, my, my but wasn't that tempting....but alas, I am at work, thinking of my bed!