Anybody here that doesn’t love a good burger?

And what could be better than a little Mexican thrown in! I know I sure do, and I do still enjoy them, I just make sure to only ever buy the extra lean ground beef, you sometimes need to add a little sumpin’ sumpin’, this will ensure that they are not too dry and tasteless and fall apart on you…I haven’t tried these yet, so I am not sure if it is an issue yet…I’ll get back to ya!

Southwest Salsa Burgers
6 Points Plus (5 Points-old system)
4 Servings
Ingredients

1/4 c shallot(s), finely chopped
1/4 t salt
1/4 t ground chipotle chili pepper
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 c salsa, divided
1 spray(s) cooking spray
2 oz Kraft 2% Milk Natural Cheese Monterey Jack Cheese, 1/2 Slice for each burger
4 leaf Boston lettuce
4 slices tomatoes
1 lb cooked ground beef 5-7% fat
2 Arnold Select multigrain sandwich thins, toasted if you like (you actually four needed but WW math was throwing the points value off!)

Instructions

Combine first 4 ingredients, ground beef and 2 tablespoons salsa. Divide mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty.

2. Heat a large skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add patties to pan; cook 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Top each patty with 1/2 cheese slice; cook 1 minute or until cheese melts.

3. Place 1 lettuce leaf on bottom half of each bun; top with 2 tomato slices, 1 patty, 1 1/2 teaspoons salsa, and 1 bun top.

Sufferin’ Succotash….

Does anybody actually know what Succotash is?? Ok, at 46 years old I can say that, I DO, I DO, I DO!  But…I only learned 2 days ago!  I was looking for a recipe online to go with the Edamame I picked up at the grocery store this last week, when I was feeling particularly healthy conscious and happy about my plan…so what if it was that same day that I weighed in and I was feeling just a little bit smug and superior…not over anyone else mind you, just over my regular little (not so little yet) gluttonous self! 

So I have been hearing about Edamame and had no earthly idea what is was…but it is soybeans!  Bravely I bought some and then set to finding something I could make with them.  I bought the packaged, shelled kind in the refrigerator/produce section.  I made this recipe on Monday and actually had some of it leftover for lunch today…I have to say, surprising myself a little…I really liked it!

Edamame Succotash

3 Points Plus (2 Points-old system)

8 Servings

Olive oil spray
½ c diced onion
12 oz shelled Edamame
2 c frozen corn, thawed
2 large ripe plum tomatoes, diced
½ t salt
¼ t freshly ground pepper
1 T dried basil (or 3 T fresh)

1. Spray skillet and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering, but not smoking. Add the onion and cook until softened, 2 to 3 minutes.  Add edamame and corn, and cook, stirring often, until corn is tender, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and cook until heated through, about 1 minute.

3. Off heat, stir in the basil.

Hi, my name is Julie and I haven’t had any cheese in almost 24 hours….

And I am just trying to get through one day at a time…just kidding…it’s not (IT IS SO!) that bad….

This feels like it should be full of cheese…but I am going to wean you (me) off cheese (just today, cuz I know I can’t take it forever!) No really, I think that it would do you (me) a little (a lot!) of good (more than you can imagine) to enjoy (find comfort) food (my drug of choice) that is a little healthier (not oozing with fat and cheese)!  What do you think? Can you (I) do it?  Don’t worry (I am terrified), I will be right here to help (I am counting on you to help me with my grief over cheese)! 

The good news is – I made this one up, so it’s tried and true!  I love it and so did everyone else!  Tip: USE FRESH PARMESAN CHEESE – IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE!

Spinach and Bowtie Casserole 

7 Points Plus (6 Points-old system)

8 Servings

Ingredients

12 oz uncooked bow ties    

26 oz Spaghetti/pasta sauce    

1 medium onions, chopped    

1 c mushrooms, sliced    

2 cloves garlic, minced    

1 c canned tomato sauce    

1 oz FRESH Parmesan cheese, grated and divided    

1 c part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided    

8 oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained

2 servings Jennie-O Turkey Store Lean Italian sausage link, sweet    

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook pasta according to package directions

Brown sausage after removing casing, with onion

Add pasta and tomato sauce to sausage mixture. Add mushrooms and garlic, simmer for a few minutes

Mix all ingredients, including half of the cheeses and bake about 15 minutes

Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake until melted.

Made up by me 11-2-10

Holy Slow Monday! It’s Tuesday already!

Well I am finally getting back to the land of the living!  It would have probably helped if I could stay home and rest, but as a working mom, I feel like I have to save those sick days for when my kiddo is under the weather, you know what I mean!?  Anywhooo…’nuff whining!  Here is a Slow Cooker recipe that I should have gotten you yesterday, but better late than never!  I haven’t tried this one, but I plan on it this weekend!  Let me know if you do!

Crock pot Italian Sausage and Peppers

6 Points Plus (5 Points-old system)

8 Servings

Ingredients

2 medium Spanish onion, chopped    

2 lb Lean Italian sausage link, sweet or hot    

1 medium green pepper, cut into 2" pieces    

1 medium sweet red pepper, cut into 2" pieces    

1 large yellow pepper, cut into 2" pieces    

1 medium yellow pepper, cut into 2" pieces    

2 Whole bay leaves    

4 cloves garlic, minced    

14 oz canned tomatoes, un-drained    

6 oz canned tomato paste    

1/2 c red wine, dry, or water    

1 T dried parsley    

1/2 t dried oregano    

1/2 t dried basil    

1/2 t table salt    

1/8 t white pepper, or black    

Instructions

Cook turkey sausage in heavy skillet over medium heat until browned, turning occasionally. Layer half of the onions on bottom of 3-4 quart crock pot and add half of the peppers. Add all of the browned turkey sausage, then the rest of the onions and peppers. Add bay leaves and garlic.

Combine diced un-drained tomatoes, tomato paste, and red wine in small bowl and mix well, to blend. Pour over mixture in crock pot. Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours.

One hour before mixture is done, mix together parsley, basil, oregano, and salt and pepper. Add to crock pot and stir well. Cover and cook one more hour until sausage is thoroughly cooked and vegetables are tender.

Well, I am feeling better for the most part, thanks for all the well wishes!

I am left with a big pain in the neck, and I mean that literally!  I either slept wrong or my chest cold/flu is just giving me a big pain! 

One of my favorite things about Fall is Pumpkin Pie!  I have been making pumpkin from real pumpkins for about 15 years, because it really is about a hundred times better!  I “skinnied” it down a few years ago during my first foray here into Weight Watchers and it is pretty fabulous for only 3 points if I do say so myself! 

The best way to do real pumpkins is take 2 small pumpkins, scoop out the seeds without being terribly picky about cleaning all strings out and then cut them into chunks, cutting the skin off at the same time.  Boil pumpkin until soft and drain well. Run through the food processor and then freeze in 2 cup portions in a Ziploc bag.  You can also bake or microwave cleaned halves with the skin on it and then scoop out the pumpkin and freeze. 

With this method you can have anything pumpkin throughout the whole year!  Two small pumpkins yields about 8 cups of cooked pumpkin.  Enjoy!

World’s Best Pumpkin Pie

4 Points Plus (3 Points-old system)

8 Servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 cups pumpkin purée, canned or freshly prepared (fresh is best! You wouldn’t believe the difference it makes!)

1 unbaked pie crust (the rolled up kind)

2/3 c splenda
1/4 c egg beaters
2/3 c fat free milk
1/4 t. salt
1 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground ginger
1/4 t grated nutmeg

1/8 t ground cloves

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Prepare pie shell if necessary
3. In a large bowl, combine ingredient and mix well until smooth.
4. Pour pumpkin filling into pie shell.
5. Cover the edge of pie with foil.
6. Bake pie for 15 minutes then remove foil.
7. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking for an additional 35 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
8. Cool slightly on wire rack.
9. Serve warm or chilled.
10. Top with fat free sweetened whipped cream, but add the points!

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!

Back to cheese…and comfort food!

I do know what day it is most of the time!  But another winning combination here!  Cheese in creamy soup!  Yummo!  I love a good bowl of soup or chili on a cold fall or winter day!  You can’t really beat this one at only 1 point a serving!

Cauliflower Cheese Soup 

2 Points Plus (1 Point-old system)

6 Servings

 

Enrich this soup with a little light cream cheese and American cheese, making it a creamy, delicately flavored appetizer soup or a light lunch. 

Ingredients

2 t olive oil    

1 medium leek, (about 6 ounces), cleaned and sliced (white and light green parts only)    

1 medium carrot, finely chopped    

1 medium stalk celery, finely chopped    

5 c reduced-sodium chicken broth    

4 c cauliflower, florets    

3/4 oz Low-Fat, American Cheese Single, slice    

2 T light cream cheese, (Neufchâtel), at room temperature    

2 T chives, Fresh, chopped    

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Add the leek, carrot, and celery. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are very tender, but not browned, about 8 minutes.

Add the broth and cauliflower; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the cauliflower is very tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in the cheeses until melted. 

Remove the soup from the heat and puree with a hand-held immersion blender, or in a food processor or blender, in batches if necessary. Return the soup to the saucepan and reheat. Stir in the chives. Yields 1 1/3 cups per serving.

Notes

A hand-held immersion blender comes in handy in this recipe since it allows you to puree the soup right in the pan, rather than having to transfer it to a food processor or blender.

by Winner's Circle, from Weight Watchers Publishing Group

This is a little mix of Mexican and comfort food in my opinion!

I love meatloaf and I love Mexican, what better than to combine the two!

Mexican Meatloaf 

4 Points Plus (3 Points-old system)

6 Servings

Cook this spiced-up meatloaf on a broiler pan so any excess fat can drip away. Line the bottom of the pan with foil for speedy clean up. 

Ingredients

1 spray cooking spray    

1/2 lbs) raw extra lean ground beef    

1/2 lbs lean ground turkey, breast    

2 large egg whites   

2 oz cornbread stuffing dry mix, (about 1 cup)    

1 medium onions, chopped    

1/2 t chili powder    

1/4 t ground cumin    

4 oz canned green chili peppers, diced    

8 oz canned enchilada sauce     

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a broiler pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix beef, turkey, egg whites, stuffing mix, onion, chili powder, cumin, chilies and half of enchilada sauce together. Shape into an oval with your hands and place on prepared broiler pan.

Cook for 1 hour, top with remaining enchilada sauce and bake for 5 minutes more. Slice into 6 pieces and serve.

Sorry all, I left you hanging on Fiesta Friday; I just didn’t get time to post the recipes!

I have some stuffed peppers – Mexican Style today, I haven’t tried these but they sound yummy.   I love stuffed peppers the “regular” way and since I love Mexican, I am pretty sure I will be all over these!  I think they are pretty kid friendly, but as my 8 year old doesn’t like peppers, I will either let her eat the “goodies” out of it then give me the pepper for an extra veggie serving, or scoop it out before I serve it to her!

Mexican Style Stuffed Peppers 

7 Points Plus (5 Points-old system)

6 Servings

Ingredients

1/3 c onion, chopped    

2 1/2 c cooked white rice    

1 1/4 c salsa, divided    

1/2 c celery, chopped    

1 T canned green chili peppers    

1 t chili powder    

1/4 t table salt    

1 c Reduced Fat Shredded Mexican-Style Cheese    

6 medium sweet red peppers, or green    

12 oz cooked extra lean ground beef    

Instructions

* Cut tops off peppers and discard; remove seeds. In a Dutch oven or large kettle, cook peppers in boiling water for 3-5 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water; set aside.

* In a nonstick skillet, cook the beef, onion and celery over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the rice, 1 cup salsa, chilies, chili powder and salt. Spoon into peppers.

* Place in a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Add 1/4 cup water to dish. Cover and bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until heated through. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese and top with remaining salsa. Bake 2-3 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Light and Tasty magazine

TGIF – Thank God It’s Fiesta! I mean Friday, no actually I mean both!

I love salsa, I mean I LOVE IT!  I can put salsa on most any kind of food!  Do you ever make your own?  If not I have a great secret for making your own instant (or large batches for canning) salsa!  Great tasting, I rarely buy anything else!  The secret is Mrs. Wages (www.mrswages.com)

I use the instant salsa’s mainly, Classic and Jalapeno, sometimes mixing them!  These are both 0 points per serving and are delicious!  I have also used the big envelopes and canned it, but I seem to prefer the instant for a fresher taste.  If you can’t find them in your local store, go to the website and look for a store, or purchase them online (very reasonably priced, about a $1.25 per envelope, I buy them in cases, 12 at a time and then they are about a $1.12 each). 

For the instant salsa you need one envelope of mix and a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes.  Mix and refrigerate for 15 or so minutes at a minimum and voila!  I usually always have some of this mixed up in the fridge! 

Mrs. Wages, has all sorts of good stuff – you should check out the site!  Pickle mix is good also (she has refrigerator pickles – no processing!)

I am struggling with irritation and self blame today – I was up a pound!

I have had trouble the last three weeks staying under my points for the week – YES, EVEN USING ALL MY FLEX POINTS AND THEN SOME!  I am not sure what my issue is, but I have to put it out here for all to see to keep myself accountable…Has anyone else had this trouble?  Care to share?  I put the no shame image up to help me stay focused and encouraged,and also to remind myself (and all of you) that there is no shame in my game here,just simple one day at a time!  I know we all have a bad week,but sheesh, I am still mad at myself! 

Feeling like a dip? Don’t worry, happens to me all the time…

Ok, well lets just not go there, I could regale you with all sorts of stories about my “dippy”ness, but I really don’t have that much time!…ok there was that one time when my slip fell off in the checkout line at Walgreen’s (true story!), however if I started in on those kinds of things it would entirely change the focus of our time here together!  Let's just say that I am usually my own best entertainment! (FYI - The cow in the picture is supposed to be an "embarrassed cow"...hmmm do you think that happens a lot?)

 I bet those Wonton crisps, spiced with a little Cumin would be good with this dip!

Black Bean and Poblano Dip 

1 Points Plus (0 Points-old system)

12 Servings

Serve this with chips or as a condiment for grilled pork chops or chicken. If you like a lot of heat, add chipotle chili powder or a fresh jalapeño — or both.

Ingredients

2 c poblano chile, fresh, seeded, deveined, chopped (about 4 medium)    

14 1/2 oz canned black beans, rinsed and drained    

1 c cilantro, fresh, leaves (or dried - reduce to 1/3 cup)

1 t table salt    

1 c scallions, chopped    

1 c tomatoes, chopped    

2 T fresh lime juice (or bottled)

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender; process to desired consistency. Yields about 1/4 cup per serving.

It’s feeling a bit “crisp” out there today in my neck of the woods…how about yours?

Speaking of crisp…who doesn’t love crispy chips?  (I do, I do!!)  Now in the not so distant past, I would want the slathered (yes, slathered) in some sort of tasty but truly fattening dip, however, I seem to have gotten my wits about me somewhat...(whew...finally!) Here is an idea for making your own! I would personally cut these in half diagonally so as to get double for my serving – maybe even quarters, depending on the size of your Wonton wrappers!  

Baked Garlic-Herb Wonton Crisps 

3 Points Plus (2 Points-old system)

4 Servings

 

Tired of plain, baked chips? These fresh herb-and-garlic wonton crisps will easily satisfy your need to crunch.

Ingredients

20 Wonton wrappers

2 sprays cooking spray    

1 t minced garlic    

1 T thyme, fresh, chopped    

1 T rosemary, fresh, chopped    

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425ºF.

Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and place Wonton wrappers on sheet in a single layer. Bake for 2 minutes; remove from oven.

Flip wrappers; sprinkle with garlic and herbs. Lightly coat wrappers with cooking spray and bake for 2 minutes more. Remove from oven and place wrappers on a wire rack to cool. Yields 5 “crisps” per serving.

Notes

You can use any combination of freshly chopped herbs in this recipe such as thyme, parsley, rosemary and/or basil.  Make these into your own personal flavor!

Keeping the Faith…or Flavor, my little Calorie Quashers! (and I mean little, cuz we’re all gettin there!)

Since it is Sideways Wednesday lets get off to the side a little before I give you some recipes!  While getting rid of fat and calories sometimes means getting rid of flavor and taste, it doesn’t have to be that way!  I can’t be preaching to the choir on this one my fellow groovy gourmands!  Here is another Julie list of things that you should keep on hand in my, oh so humble opinion.  Here’s to kickin’ it up a notch WW style! (I will give a little explanation where I feel it is necessary!) ALL ZERO, I MEAN 0 POINT ADDITIONS!

Frank’s Red Hot – Ok, not for the heat always, but for the flavor!  You know that commercial where the little old woman says, “I put that *@$# on everything!”?  Here is a for instance:  If you are making something that seems a little bland and you don’t really know what it needs, try a DROP (and I mean DROP) of Red Hot, it somehow brings the flavor up on all different sorts of things!  Now you can experiment with more drops, but let it cook a bit first!  Good for liquids and sauces! (This stuff is not just for making Mexican and spicy dishes, it will work in a white sauce that just needs a little flavor boost! 

Crushed Red Pepper – see above – but for things that are not as “liquidy”  In this medium we are going for a DASH!

Garlic Powder – not garlic salt...need I say more?

Onion Powder – ditto my darlings!

Italian Seasoning and/or Basil, Oregano, Parsley – Great to put on skinless boneless chicken or any other type of meat, to bake up with a good Italian flavor

Grill Seasoning – same principle as above, different flavor!

Lemon juice – great on baked or broiled fish – with some buttery spray for the great taste and no extra points!

Different vinegar flavors – apple cider, red wine, white wine, balsamic and plain old white!  Vinegar helps tenderize meat!

Rosemary – great Italian flavor, try a little in your veggie lasagna to give it a more authentic flavor!

Cumin – anytime you want that Mexican flavor – Cumin is your friend!  Throw a little in your eggbeaters for a little Southwest Breakfast!

Paprika – gives things a little smoky flavor (very mild you can use it just for color, if you baking chicken or fish and it just looks too white and unappetizing!)