Yo Crunch Knock-Off

I tried these new yogurts. Yo Crunch. They are a great sweet treat at only 100 calories. I thought they were a bit pricey, though. I am not a fan of the 100 calorie packaged items very often since it is just a measured and packaged version of the real deal and they charge you extra to measure it for you. I also have to mention that the cookie crumbs they give you with the cookies and cream yogurt can not be more than one cookie.

So....I decided to make a knock off version. I bought a container of vanilla yogurt and a bag of lowfat chocolate chip cookies. I used 1/2 cup of yogurt and crushed one cookie and put it on top. It was just over 140 calories, more yogurt, and very good. I figured the cost at around 64 cents per serving and there are 8 (1/2 C) servings in the yogurt container. Here was the good part for me: If I only use 8 cookies, that leaves the rest of the pack for the kids, which drives the cost of each yogurt down even lower! Win-Win!

Do you have any Knock-off ideas about food like this? If so, share please!!

Til next time!

Chicken Salad on a Diet!

Some of you already know this, but a bunch of folks at our office are competing in our own version of the Biggest Loser. We started about a month ago and have one more month to go! The person who loses the most percentage of body weight gets all of the losers at their house for a half day to do whatever needs to be done. I do NOT want to lose because I have heard some of them mention painting, weed pulling, cleaning, etc.

I hope having my Hubby in the same competition will give us a better advantage. If I do not win, he BETTER! I really like this version because no one really loses anything but weight if they tried to win. At least no one loses money. Wish me luck!

While on this diet, I have really had to be creative with my food choices. I can not get bored! I found a new way at the grocery store the other night to have something I love...Chicken Salad! I bought these "Flatout" wraps. They are low calorie and loaded with fiber (big bonus).

I bought some canned chicken (70 or 80 calories per serving).

I Mixed the chicken with some of this Mayo with Olive Oil (64 calories per serving).



Once I mixed it up, I added some pepper and wrapped it up. You could add lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, etc. It was really good. The wrap I ate was 224 calories with 9+ grams of fiber. I had made a pot of pinto beans the night before, so I ate 1/2 cup of those for an additional 122 calories. Not a bad lunch and all the fiber had me so full!

Do you have any ideas on making meals you love healthier? If so...SHARE!! I will certainly appreciate it.

Happy Cooking...thanks for looking!!!

Crockpot Taco Soup AND Crockpot Gumbo

TACO SOUP

(picture from the website: crockpot365.blogspot.com)

I know there are alot of Taco Soup recipes going around and I am not sure what the variations are because this is the first one I have made and it was GOOD! I have some left today and need to either freeze it or eat it...hmmm...tough call! I cooked this one exactly as the recipe stated. We loved it. I would call it Taco Chili, though, instead of soup, which is probably why we loved it so much! We LOVE Chili!

Go to her website and check out her recipes. She is great. If you do, come back and tell me what you cook. As I cook, I will post. I dog-eared A LOT of her recipes!

How do you cook your Taco Soup? Just wondering what is different!

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/02/original-taco-soup-crockpot-recipe.html

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GUMBO

(picture from the website: crockpot365.blotspot.com)

I have made several recipes now from this cookbook Mom gave me for Christmas and I have not made one yet that we did not like! So..here is another one! The picture above came from the website, but that is exactly what mine looked like! Thanks, Stephanie, for another great recipe!



Here is the link, but first, one quick note:

Her recipe calls for several different sausages. We had trouble with that part, so I just used two packs of turkey smoked sausage and added creole seasoning, since they were not cajun flavored. It was really good.

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/04/crockpot-gumbo-recipe.html

Have a great day!

Happy Cooking...thanks for looking!

Another Crockpot Recipe "Broccoli Beef"

Well, I found another good one!! Broccoli Beef! The sauce is so good and it really tastes like the Chinese Restaurant version of Broccoli Beef. I really like that. Of course, we ate it over brown rice to make it healthier and you could certainly add or take away items. I got a thumbs up and also a "Yes we would eat it again." from the family! I chose to just link to the Cookbook Author's site when I cook her recipes to make it easier and so you can find other recipes that interest you. In fact, the pic above is hers (figure I should give her credit). Ours looked exactly like that but with brown rice.


http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/03/crockpot-broccoli-beef.html

I am cooking gumbo in the crockpot today! It has shrimp, smoked sausage and lots of veggies with brown rice! 12 servings and the whole pot is just over 3000 calories! I calculated it! Watchin my calories these days for the weight loss contest!

I will post back tomorrow on the gumbo!

Happy Cooking....thanks for lookin!

Crockpot Peppercorn Steak

I just finished cleaning the kitchen after trying the first (of many) recipes from my new cookbook my Mom gave me for Christmas. Thanks, MOM! I just had to share this one. I have the ingredients for many of them, so as I love them, I will post about them!

This recipe is called Peppercorn Steak. It has a great sauce that I could actually see using on other meats. It was that good.

Along with the steak, which I WILL be making again, we had corn on the cob cooked in the crockpot, also from the cookbook. I just put it in foil like I would a baked potato and placed it in the crock pot for about 2 1/2 hours on high. It was so good. I will definitely make the corn again, too!

I am just going to link up to the Author, Stephanie O'Dea, since she has a blog. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this cookbook! It has tons of great recipes in it.




Here is the link. Enjoy!

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/07/crockpot-peppercorn-steak.html

Happy Cooking...thanks for looking!!

Neiman Marcus Cookies

I know it has been a while, but I really have not tried many new recipes. We have been very busy lately.

I did try these cookies. I have had the recipe for a very long time in my email and wanted to add to my Homemade gifts some of us are exchanging this week. Four of the six Guinea Pigs in my house liked them alot and I will see what the other two think when they get here. They are easy and smell so good. Here is the recipe for anyone who is looking for a new chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Neiman Marcus Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 Cup light brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder
• 1 & 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

*We had trouble finding the instant espresso coffee powder, so I used General Foods International Coffee Mocha instead.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Cream the butter with the sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy (approximately 30 seconds).
3. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract for another 30 seconds.
4. In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and beat into the butter mixture at low speed for about 15 seconds.
5. Stir in the espresso coffee powder and chocolate chips.
6. Using a 1 ounce scoop or a 2 Tablespoon measure, drop cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart.
7. Gently press down on the dough with the back of a spoon to spread out into a 2 inch circle.
8. Bake for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned aroung the edges (bake a little longer for a crispier cookie).

Enjoy!!

Happy Cooking...thanks for Looking!

Silly String Cake

The name fits, huh?!! I made this pound cake for Halloween to take to my good friend, Patty's house. The cake was just a box of yellow cake mix with vanilla pudding mixed in, but the icing was my favorite part! I used a bag with the writing tip and just went crazy, throwing icing back and forth. It turned out really cute and then I finished it off with little candy pumpkins. It tasted really good, too! I can think of using different colors for Christmas or Birthdays. Cute, huh? Kids love it!!

Have you tried any new recipes lately?

Here is one I found on a fellow Blogger's site. These cookies look delicious!!

http://montrealaise-en-californie.blogspot.com/search/label/cooking

Happy Cooking!

Thanks for Looking!!

Cake Balls

My Aunt Cindy (Marine Mom) made these cake balls at her Church Fall Festival and everyone loved them. People were making their dessert plates before they roasted their hot dogs so they could get some cake balls. They were the talk of the cookout!

Thanks for the recipe, Cindy Lou!!



Happy Cooking...thanks for looking!

Pumpkin Cobbler

You must try this recipe! I found it on a blog and tried it last night for company! It was so easy and so good. The non-pumpkin lovers loved it! Derek said it would be so good with ice cream! We ate half of the cobbler when my Mom realized I did not take a picture, so we fixed it up a bit with her brownies so you could not see the empty half!! It was that good. Click to enlarge all pics if I loaded them right!

TIP: If you like pecans, DO NOT skip putting them on top! They get toasted while the cobbler is cooking and really compliment the dish!

Here is the blog link to the recipe. If you make it, or intend to make it, come back and tell me!

Me and My Pink Mixer

Happy Cooking! Thanks for Looking!

Let's Have a Tea Party

Grandmother Dorothy's Russian Tea

My Husband's Grandmother always had this tea on her stove when we visited for Christmas. We loved it and I always looked forward to not only the yummy tea, but also the smell of it throughout the house.

• 1/2 Gallon Sweet Tea
• 46 oz Apple Juice
• 46 oz Pineapple Juice
• Juice of one Lemon
• 1/2 Teaspoon Powdered Cinnamon
• 3 Cinnamon Sticks
• Sweetened to taste

Mix all ingredients together and bring to a boil. Simmer

My Princesses love Tea Parties!

Happy Cooking.... Thanks for Looking!!

Share some of your favorites! Click on the blog links to the right for other great recipes.