And boy am I walking on cloud 9 today…yesterday was weigh in day and went in with a heavy heart (let’s just not mention my heavy (fill in the blank here) you know what…being that it was my birthday season and I had two dinners out…Red Lobster and Fricano’s Pizza…’nuff said right? Well not so fast my fabulous foodies…I was down 1.8lbs-NO THAT IS NOT A TYPO-and all I can say is that I managed to keep some self control and eat sensibly (WELL OK, MORE SENSIBLY THAN I WOULD HAVE A YEAR AGO, OK?) and it paid off…now I am not recommending this on a weekly basis mind you, and I am still wondering if it might wait a week to catch up to me, but all the more reason to stay on task this week right? How is everyone else doing this week? Any trials, tribulations, challenges or CELEBRATIONS you would care to share?? This isn’t just all about me you know; we are partners in crime here!
Here is a little tip for you that I read in my WW Weekly (YES YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO READ THEM). Maybe it’s just me but sometimes when figuring points on eTools Recipe Builder I am a little stumped by my, say, 1 lb of ground beef, because it comes up two ways, cooked and raw…well you can see my dilemma here (it’s really not just me is it?) umm it starts out raw…but…ok well here is what the WW Weekly says “Raw meat loses about 25% of it’s weight in cooking so 4 oz raw would be 3 oz cooked”, or for me the big light bulb was 1 lb raw is 12 OZ COOKED!!!
And just because I am feeling so good, its bonus day and you get two recipes for the price of one…wait does that mean you are supposed to be paying me???
I LOVE hot spicy stuff so these are one of my very faves and I can eat bunches of them, but if spicy is not your thing…you might want to grab a glass of milk just to read the recipe!
Stuffed Jalapenos
0 Points Plus for 1*
Ingredients
28 oz canned Jalapeno peppers, Make sure to get the whole ones, not sliced!
1 c low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
1 T minced garlic, or more - to taste
1 c fat-free cream cheese, (8oz pkg)
Instructions
First off let me tell you these taste much better with the canned jalapenos, I have tried them with fresh and they are just not the same!
Cut the tops off Jalapeno's over a plate or grooved cutting board so you can retrieve some of the juice and seeds later. Slice them in half lengthwise so they are like little boats.
Mix cream cheese, cheddar cheese and garlic in a bowl. Then add juice and/or seeds to TASTE. This greatly determines how hot these will be!!!!
I then use the Pampered Chef decorator thingy because it works great, to fill the peppers with the mixture, you could probably also use a pastry bag or just spoon it in carefully.
*One big can makes about 50 of these and 1 is 0 Points Plus!
Recipe given to me by Hillary H., but modified by me to be more Point friendly!
And BEEF is what’s for dinner last night:
Beef and Black Bean Enchiladas
7 Points Plus
8 Servings
Ingredients
8 Don Marcos Healthy style Fat Free tortillas
12 oz cooked extra lean ground beef
28 oz canned diced tomatoes
1 C shredded 2% reduced fat cheddar & Monterey Jack cheese
15 oz canned black beans, drained and rinsed
10 ¾ oz enchilada sauce, you choose hot, med or mild!
Preheat oven to 350 and spray 9x13 pan. Brown ground beef - I added some onion, but that is completely up to you - you can also sprinkle with onions when serving or throw some in the enchiladas themselves. Season ground beef with taco seasoning according to pkg directions.
Lay out tortillas and evenly distribute the meat mixture and rinsed, drained beans among them.
Divide half the can of tomatoes among these also.
Roll enchiladas and lay in pan, cover with remaining tomatoes, cheese and enchilada sauce.
Bake until cheese is melted.
One enchilada was pretty filling and I served with baked scoops and salsa (count the points!), green beans and some fruit.
Invented by me 7-21-11
