Homemade Applesauce

My mom's cousin Liz brought this to Thanksgiving and it was a hit!

Recipe
4 large apples, peeled and cored (I used Cortland)
1/2 C. water
1/4 C. brown sugar (give or take, depending on sweetness of apples)
~1/4 tsp. nutmeg (just under)
~1/2 tsp. cinnamon (just over)

Add the apples and water to a large saucepan.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the apples are broken down thoroughly.  Add the brown sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon, then reheat to boiling.  Eat warm or cold.

Comments
 - No need to cut the apples into small pieces before cooking - just throw large pieces (quarters, halves) of the cored, peeled apples into the pan
 - I only cooked the apples for about 15 minutes since I like chunky applesauce.  Also, I skipped the brown sugar since I'm on WW, which kept it at 0 PointsPlus!

Rating
5/5

WW PointsPlus
1 (4 servings; this assumes that you add the brown sugar)

Baked Spaghetti w/ Spaghetti Squash

I like baked spaghetti but since I'm doing WW I thought I'd try a healthier version using spaghetti squash instead of pasta.  Halfway through dinner I couldn't hold in my "secret" any longer and had to tell Mike that he was eating spaghetti squash.  He had no idea!

Recipe
1 medium spaghetti squash, cooked (yields ~ 4 C. of squash)
1 24 oz jar marinara sauce
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1 egg
1/4 C. parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 C. onion, chopped
1 C. part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
Garlic salt

Brown ground beef in a frying pan with the onion and a dash of garlic salt.  Add marinara sauce and combine thoroughly.  Meanwhile, beat the egg and pour over spaghetti squash.  Add parmesan cheese and toss to coat.  Grease a 9x13 pan with cooking spray, pour the spaghetti squash mixture into the pan and spread it out evenly.  Pour the meat sauce over the spaghetti squash, and then sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the top of the dish.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for 15 more minutes.

Comments
 - Next time I make this I'll have to figure out a way to remove some of the water from the squash before starting the recipe
 - This recipe makes 8 servings, which I've calculated to be 5 WW PointsPlus per serving

Rating
3/5

WW PointsPlus
8 (6 servings)

Microwave Baked Apples

I wanted to make just two servings of baked apples and didn't want to use the oven.  Here's a quick, low fat way to make baked apples in just a few minutes.

Recipe
2 medium apples, cut into bite size pieces (I leave the skins on)
1/4 C. old fashioned oats
1/4 C. granulated Splenda (or white sugar)
1/8 C. brown sugar

Coat a glass 8x8 baking pan with PAM.  In a bowl, mix all ingredients thoroughly.  Pour into baking pan.  Microwave on high for about 8 minutes, or until apples are tender.

Comments
 - The oats are still a bit firm after the 8 minutes are up.  If you prefer your oats to be more cooked, use quick cooking oats instead of old fashioned oats.

Rating
4/5

Homemade Chex Mix

I made homemade Chex Mix a few weeks ago for a tailgate party that we threw and received quite a few compliments on it, so I thought I'd share the recipe.

Recipe
3 C. Corn Chex
4 1/2 C. Wheat Chex
4 1/2 C. Rice Chex
2 C. small pretzels
1 C. bagel chips (broken into small pieces) or rye chips
1 C. mixed nuts (optional)
1 1/2 C. butter
4 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 tsp. seasoned salt
1 tsp. garlic salt

Melt butter in the microwave.  Whisk in the Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt and garlic salt.  In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the Chex cereals, pretzels, bagel/rye chips and nuts.  Spread about 1/3 of the snack mix in a 9x13 baking pan.  Pour about 1/3 of the sauce evenly across the snack mix.  Repeat this process in two more layers.  Bake at 250 degrees for about 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.  Add additional baking time if you still have soggy pieces after the 1 hour and 15 minutes are up.  Cool in the pan, stirring every so often so that the mix cools evenly.

Comments
 - You can use any combo of the Chex cereal that you'd like but in the end you'll need 12 C. of cereal

Rating
5/5

Italian Shrimp

Another one from Pinterest (seriously, I just started pinning about a week ago and am hooked).

Recipe
Simple Italian Shrimp

Comments
 - I did not use a stick of butter, but instead used a few tablespoons of olive oil to coat the bottom of the baking dish.  This substitution worked out just fine because I still ended up with quite a bit of liquid (water from the shrimp and juice from the lemon) in the bottom of the pan when this was done.
 - The Italian seasoning packet didn't really do it for me.  Next time I would probably create my own Italian seasoning using dried basil, oregano, plus a bit of salt and pepper.
 - This recipe was really easy and would be great for a weeknight meal

Rating
3/5

Corn Casserole

I saw a version of this recipe on Pinterest and gave it a whirl a few nights ago with my in-laws serving as my recipe guinea pigs!

Recipe
Corn Casserole

Comments
 - I used fat free sour cream and reduced fat cheddar
 - The flavor of this dish was really good, but the consistency kind of threw me off.  It was almost like an undercooked corn bread.
 - Next time I make this I'm going to try cutting back on the amount of butter.  That may cause it to be a bit more dry but that could be a good thing.

Rating
3/5

Arugala with Pomegranates, Blue Cheese & Pistachios

I made this as a trial run for Thanksgiving at my mom's house.

Recipe
Arugala with Pomegranates, Blue Cheese & Pistachios

Comments
 - Instead of using straight arugala I bought a bag of baby spinach and arugala, a 50/50 blend.  I thought this would be better for a group since arugala can be pretty strong by itself.
 - I used reduced fat blue cheese
 - I didn't have any pomegranate juice (and I wasn't about to hand squeeze the arils!) so I just omitted it from the dressing.  I'll add it for Thanksgiving though.
 - Mike turned up his nose (literally, he scrunched up his face!) at the blue cheese but I thought this salad was delicious.  Such a good combo of flavors!

Rating
5/5

Baked Aussie Potatoes

The Pioneer Woman has a great recipe blog but she always makes "full flavor" recipes aka they're usually full of butter, cream, olive oil, etc. I took her Crash Hot Potatoes recipe and doctored it up slightly to try and lighten it up.

Recipe
Baked Aussie Potatoes

Comments
 - Instead of coating a cookie sheet with olive oil, I put down some foil for easy cleanup.  Then I sprayed the foil with olive oil flavored PAM.
 - I brushed the top of each potato with regular olive oil, probably about 1 tsp or so per potato
 - I used regular salt, not Kosher salt
 - I just used salt and pepper to season these since I was making them for the first time, and since I didn't have any fresh herbs on hand
 - Mike really liked these.  They browned up pretty well after baking them for almost 30 minutes.
 - I'd make these again but they do take awhile so they're not ideal for a weeknight meal.  By the time you boil the water, boil the potatoes, then bake the potatoes, you're staring at almost an hour of prep time.

Rating
4/5

Sweet Potato Chips

I saw a recipe for oven potato chips on my Real Simple recipes app and decided to try a version with sweet potatoes.

Recipe
1 sweet potato, peeled
Olive oil
Season salt, regular salt, pepper, etc. - seasonings of your choice

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Slice sweet potato using a mandoline.  Place slices in a large ziplock bag and add a few tablespoons of olive oil, plus any seasonings of your choice.  Seal the bag and shake so that the slices are evenly coated with the olive oil and seasoning mixture.  Bake on a cookie sheet coated with PAM for about 7-10 minutes, or until chips are lightly browned.

Comments
 - I had to bake these in two stages.  After 8 minutes some of the chips were done but others weren't.  Some of the thicker slices took an additional 3-5 minu3es to brown up properly.

Rating
5/5

Beef Stroganoff

I wanted to try some new beef recipes since it seems like the only beef we ever eat is ground beef (burgers, chili, etc.) or filet mignons on the grill.  I love the combo of beef and mushrooms so this seemed like a natural choice!

Recipe
Beef Stroganoff

Comments
 - I didn't have paprika so I googled a substitute and ended up using a dash of cayenne pepper
 - I used fat free sour cream

Rating
3/5

Sauteed Kale

Since I am loving Baked Kale Chips I thought I'd try a different prep method for kale.

Recipe
Sauteed Kale

Comments
 - I used chicken broth
 - I added the vinegar, salt and pepper after the kale was served
 - I made this a second time using olive oil flavored PAM and it was just as good

Rating
5/5

No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies are really easy and really rich.

Recipe
Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Comments
 - Next time around I am going to try to make these with Splenda for Baking instead of sugar
 - I've made these with quick cook oats and also traditional oats...I prefer the latter

Rating
4/5

Pumpkin Fluff

This is a great low fat, low sugar, high fiber dessert!

Recipe

Pumpkin Fluff

Comments

 - I've made this twice...the first time with light Cool Whip and regular instant pudding, and the second time with sugar free Cool Whip and sugar free instant pudding.  They tasted pretty much the same so I think this is a good sugar free swap!

Rating

5/5

Buffalo Chicken Chili I

I plan to try a few different buffalo chicken chili recipes this season.  Here's the first one...

Recipe

Buffalo Chicken Chili I

Comments

 - I made this on the stove, not in the crockpot

 - This calls for 1/3 C. chili powder.  First, I thought that looked like a typo.  Second, I didn't have nearly that amount on hand.  I just used a few shakes of chili powder, to taste.

 - I cut the amount of cumin in half

 - I used Shredded Crock Pot Chicken

 - Next time I would double the amount of Frank's Red Hot Sauce - the buffalo flavor doesn't really come through if you only use 1/2 C.

Rating

3/5