3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

So ... I've been trying to be good. Not buying things to bake. But, I want to bake! (insert whiny voice here)
I finally have my OWN kitchen .. and my OWN Kitchen Aid and all I want to do is bake! :/ Being healthy and craving the baking ... TOUGH STUFF!!

So not having things to bake + having lots of time on my hands ... I found this recipe from Barefeet In The Kitchen for "Old Fashion 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies" 

I cut the recipe down and used:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 Tbsp egg beaters

15 WW points total ... I didn't have to shop ... and I got 6 cookies out of the deal! 3 points each. Umm ... one magically disappeared before I took this pic! No idea where it went ;) ;)

A New Recipe, Zucchini Lasagna - WW Friendly

Hey Guys! Are people actually out there reading this? haha ... 

If you are out there - Are you one of those Pinterest People who pin a million things and never go back and look at them? I usually am. I want to work on that.

The other day I was looking through my Food-Drink Board {do you follow me?} and saw a pin I've been wanting to try for a while. I told Jeff about it ... Zucchini Lasagna! 

The pin was linked to {this site} where I found the recipe. 

The Ingredients I actually used vs. what she said:  

• 1.5 lb 93% lean beef
• 3 cloves garlic
• garlic and onion salt
• 3 small zucchini, sliced 1/8" thick
• 7 oz part-skim ricotta
• 8 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded 
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• Barilla Traditional spaghetti sauce
• 1/4 cup Egg Beaters

I used a 8x8 baker instead of the 9x13 she suggested
(fun fact: I've had this baker for like 10 years and used it for the first time tonight ... I've spent about 10 years, give or take - collecting Pampered Chef items that I knew I would want in my own kitchen one day. I knew that I wouldn't be able to afford all at once, and I was going to lots of parties at the time so I bought one thing at at time and have kept them all stored in my parents basement .. Hi Mom and Dad!) 

I really was pleased! I can't even tell you how yummy this was! Don't forget to salt the sliced zucchini and I layered the slices with paper towel .. and grill them all up before placing in the baker as well. Like she says, you need to get out some of the water the zucchini holds :) 

Mine all measured out and then divided in to 4 HUGE slices, made it out to be 13.5 WW points per slice.

Orange Beef & Broccoli - WW Friendly

We went to the commissary yesterday and this was one of the things I could make in our make-shift kitchen. Weight Watcher friendly and all ... so, I went for it!

This might be an actual Weight Watchers recipe ... I'm not claiming this one, although ... I wish I could! YUM

Sorry for the crappy pictures. I didn't think to post this recipe on the blog until after the fact.. this was my Instagram pic. {Do you follow me? Twillman87}

Here's the recipe! Nice and easy!

12 oz. broccoli
1/3 c. fat free low sodium beef broth
1/3 c. low sugar / sugar free orange marmalade
2 Tbl. low sodium soy sauce
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbl. cornstarch
1 lb. steak (we used sirloin trimmed and cut into thin slices)
cooking spray

Microwave broccoli per directions.
Combine broth, marmalade, soy and salt.
Place cornstarch in shallow bowl and dredge steak in cornstarch.
Heat a large non stick skillet over medium-high heat.
Coat pan w/ spray and add steak and saute 5 mins or until browned.
Add broth mixture, cook 1 min or until thick ... stir in broccoli.

About 6 WW points per cup ... We also made brown rice to go along with it :)

Enjoy! Let me know what you think! Jeff loved it ... that's why I love cooking for him :) He loves everything I make and he always makes sure to tell me he liked it! Love that guy!!

Chicken Marsala With Mushrooms Over Noodles (WW Friendly)

Adapted and perfected by Cathie Sobie!

 

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast (cut into slices)
Lawry's Tuscan Style Chicken Marsala packet
1 1/2 c. sliced mushrooms
1 1/4 c. water
Pam cooking spray
3 c. uncooked noodles (we used egg noodles)

Spray frying pan with Pam cooking spray.
Stir fry chicken about 6 minutes until no longer pink in the middle.
Remove chicken from pan.
Stir fry mushrooms in chicken pan.
Mix water and packet together on the side.
Put chicken, mushroom and packet mix together in pan.
Cook 1 or 2 minutes to warm and sauce thickens.
Cook noodles as package indicates.
Serve chicken and mushrooms over noodles.

Makes 4 cups of chicken, mushrooms and sauce together.

If you don't like mushrooms you can use any other kind of veggie - for example: onions, red peppers etc.

Weight Watcher Points Total:
5 - 1 c. noodles

6 - 1 c. chicken/mushroom/sauce

0 - broccoli on the side

For more Healthy / Weight Watcher Recipes CLICK HERE :) 

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cookies

I have a confession to make ... I really like cheesecake.
I have another confession to make ... I love cookies.. SO:

I found this recipe online (link at bottom) and had to try them .. a combonation of my two favorite things. Here's the recipe, we ate them up like crazy!!

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large egg
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. With an electric mixer cream butter and sugars until nice and creamy. Add cream cheese and continue to mix until all lumps are gone and it is nice and smooth. Add vanilla and egg and mix.
3. Mix flour, baking soda and salt and then slowly add flour mixture, one teaspoon at a time.
4. Turn off your mixer and add the chocolate chips, folding by hand with a rubber spatula.
5. Scoop cookie dough by the rounded tablespoon onto a cookie sheet
6. Bake in your oven for 9-11 minutes, I had to bake them for a few mins longer.
7. Cool on a rack and once they are all the way cool put into a plastic bag or container and keep in the fridge!
8. Since they have cream cheese in them you don’t want them to spoil!

I found this recipe here. 

They look like regular cookies but taste a lot creamier.

Four Cheese Stuffed Shells

Anyone interested in learning how to make this? 

4 Cheese Stuffed Shells!

Looks hard. Looks intimidating. Tastes great. SUPER easy to make. 

I promise!

Great to make for someone you want to impress ;)

I'm telling you it's pretty awesome if I do say so myself!

 Start with Mozzerella, ricotta, parmesan and asiago cheeses.

I used around 8 oz. mosserella, 25(ish) oz. of the ricotta, 2-3 handfuls of Parmesan, 5oz. Asiago and stir.

 My lovely mom made this sauce and put it in the crock pot all day .. boy was it good. She just doctored up a jar of spaghetti sauce which makes it ohhh so much better - but really, use whatever sauce you want.

 Boil the jumbo shells (I used 1 box of Barilla jumbo shells) - this was somewhere between 30 and 40 shells. Cook to the "pre bake" directions .. on this box it was 9 mins. The shells aren't quite done, that's okay!

Stuff the shells with the cheese mixture that you have stirred together.  

Tip: I found that it was easiest to open the shell if you pinch the short ends to open it up :)

 Place enough of the sauce you have chosen on the bottom of the casserole dish to cover it. Then put your stuffed shells in the casserole dish with the seam side down.

 At the end I had this much left over .. don't panic! We won't be wasting that stuff.

Cover the tops of the shells again with the sauce ... 

 Mix whatever amount you want of mozzarella and asiago. I used about 3 handfuls of each and mixed ..

 Added the cheese to the top of the sauce / shells. I also put the left over cheese mixture from the inside of the shells .. on top - why not?

Baked in the oven ... now I did 450 for 10 mins and it wasn't as hot as I wanted. I would do 350 for 30 mins next time :)

Enjoy! 

If you make this let me know how it goes - I would love to hear from you!

Pistachio Bread!

Fall is here .. and I've officially started baking.

This is an awesome thing for my mind ... and a terrible thing for my waist ;)

Here are some pics of my pistachio bread ... and the receipe! Feel free to try it and let me know how it goes .. it's SUPER easy and SUPER delicious!

Fresh out of the oven ...

Ready to eat!

Recipe:

 1 pkg Butter recipe cake mix (Hines has one)
4 eggs
8oz (1 cup) sour cream
1/4 c. Water

Mix all ingredients and then add in 1 large instant pistachio pudding.
Set aside.

In a separate small bowl mix:
1/2 c. Sugar
1/2 c. Chopped walnuts (I use pecans instead)
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

I make mine in a bunt pan ..

Grease pan, sprinkle 1/2 sugar mix on the bottom of the pan. Pour batter in the pan and then sprinkle the remaining 1/2 of the sugar mixture on the top of the batter.

Bake at 350 for 30-40 mins (keep checking until firm ... mine took a little longer than this)

Enjoy ;)
Let me know what you think! :)
T