Hash brown casserole

	6 slice(s) uncooked turkey bacon, sliced crosswise into 1⁄4-inch strips
	3 cup(s) frozen hash brown potatoes, 12 ounces
	1/2 medium onion, diced
	3 large eggs
	3 large egg whites 1/2 diced red pepper * (optional)
	3/4 cup(s) 1% low-fat cottage cheese, small-curd
	2/3 cup(s) low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
	3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
	3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
	3/4 tsp poultry seasoning, or ground sage
	1/2 tsp baking powder
	1/4 tsp table salt
	1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground   Place the oven rack in the center of the oven; preheat oven to 375ºF. Spray a 1 1⁄2-quart shallow baking dish with nonstick spray. Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until nearly crisp, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes. Add the onions and cook for another minute or two until lightly browned, then add the potatoes; continue cooking and stirring until tender, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Beat together the eggs and egg whites in a large bowl until blended. Beat in the cottage cheese, 1⁄3 cup of the cheddar cheese, the Parmesan cheese, flour, poultry seasoning or sage, baking powder, salt, and pepper until combined. Stir in the cooled potato mixture and spread evenly into the baking dish. Bake until golden and set in the center, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining 1⁄3 cup cheddar cheese. Let stand until the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes, and serve hot or warm. Serves 6  (6 pt+)

Cheesy Scalloped potatoes and ham

This is a delicious comfort food that feeds a crowd and is perfect for using leftover ham.
 (you may omit the ham if you prefer)

Cheesy Scalloped potatoes and ham

1 TBSP Butter

2 TBSP flour

2 C milk

1 tsp salt (reduce salt if you are using ham)
1/2 medium onion (finely diced)
1/4 tsp pepper

1 TBSP. Parsley flakes

1 C reduced fat cheddar cheese (grated)

2 pounds red potatoes (thinly sliced)
6 oz ham, cubed

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until onions are translucent. Mix in the flour , and stir constantly with a whisk for one minute. Stir in milk. Add salt, pepper, and parsley. Cook until mixture has thickened (will be several minutes). Stir in cheese and continue stirring until melted, about 30 to 60 seconds.

Add potatoes and stir to mix thoroughly. Then pour mixture into a greased 9x13 baking dish. 

Cover with foil and cook for 25-30 minutes. Remove tinfoil and continue cooking another 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. 


Serves:


6 servings  -  7 pt+  (without ham  5 pt+)


8 servings  5 pt+  (without ham, 4 pt+)

UNDER CONSTRUCTION....my little blog remodel

It's been a long time since I posted--for good reasons, really. (if anyone out there reads this blog anymore!!)

For those of you who don't know me personally or read my family blog, I can tell you it's been a BUSY few months! I had my baby in July, my appendix out in August, school starting in September, my husband gone the whole month of October, and obviously holidays and such in November...lots has been going on.

And on top of that, I've been working like a madwoman to lose some weight that I have been carrying around for WAY too many years! I joined weight watchers at the end of July, and since then have lost 43 pounds to date! I FEEL SO GOOD.

I have a lot of people asking me what I have been eating to lose weight--and the simple truth is, I eat what I already was making...I just know the correct portion size now and have found some ways to make certain dishes with less fat and unhealthy stuff. I personally love food too much to abandon it for salad. :) But finding a happy medium  has been JUST what I needed to be healthier.  The weight loss journey I have been on isn't just to shed the pounds...it's been for my whole family to become healthier overall, so that we can hopefully raise our children embracing a lifestyle of health and wellness--tasty food AND dessert included! :)

While I can't promise each recipe can be remade in a healthier way (sometimes you've just got to splurge!), I DO plan on going back through each of my posts and making each dish according to the recipe I have written and updating them as I make changes (because sometimes I tend to do that without thinking, and the new way is really the easier or better way! :)

Am hoping to be able to put nutrition facts with my meals, as well as portion size--but I will be adding the new WW points plus values to each my my recipes--if for no other reason than my own reference, because we as a family plan on eating healthy for  life! If you know people who are doing WW or plan on joining, send them over! I hope to help prove that you don't need a bunch of frozen diet meals and salad to lose the weight and be healthy--

:) Anyway, please excuse the virtual dust as I make over these recipes (and pictures!!) so it will be a more user friendly (and healthy) place...

Chicken stir-fry and rice

I adapted this recipe from my beef and broccoli recipe, but when I only had chicken on hand. WE LOVED this dish and will definitely make it like this on a regular basis!

• 3 TBSP cornstarch
• 1 1/2 C Hot water
• 2 chicken boullion cubes
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce, reduced sodium
• 8 oz. chicken breast, thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1 pound frozen cut broccoli (or fresh)
• 1 C shredded carrots
• 1 can water chestnuts
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 small onion diced
• 1/2 tsp salt (more if desired)
• 1 TBSP olive oil
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Directions

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch, hot water, bullion, and soy sauce. Stir until sugar and cornstarch are dissolved.

In a large skillet or wok over high heat, cook and stir chicken 2 to 4 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add salt and onions and cook until translucent. Stir in broth mixture, ginger, garlic, and vegetables. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Simmer 5 to 10 minutes, or until sauce thickens.

ENJOY! :)

 Serves 7-8 one cup servings (depending on how many veggies you put in)

1 Cup of Chicken and veggie dish is 3 +points
1 Cup of Chicken and veggie dish served with 1/2 C brown rice is 6 +points 

Our PERFECT pizza crust

We make homemade pizza almost every week--and so we have gone through our share of recipes in search of the PERFECT recipe. I think we are to the point of discovering what OUR favorite is--and this would be it! I especially like this because weighing the amount of flour called for, is ALWAYS the perfect amount. I never have too much or too little when I weigh it instead of using a measuring cup. (if you don't have a kitchen scale, get one! They are SO worth it!!) This is SUCH an easy throw together dough! And it tastes and BAKES fabulous!

I originally got this recipe from Annies Eats. But I felt like the directions were way more complex than they needed to be. So we simplified, and changed it up a little, it and it has worked wonderful EVERY time!

I have left out the oil and it's been just fine. So if you're counting calories or don't have EVOO on hand, you'll be fine. :) And I have found this dough actually rises faster than expected--so keep an eye on it.

And ENJOY! :)

ingredients:

1 3/4 cup warm water
2¼ tsp. instant dry yeast
4 cups (22 oz.) bread flour, plus more for dusting
1½ tsp. salt

2-3 TBSP Italian seasonings

2 TBSP. extra virgin olive oil (optional)

Directions:

In a bowl, weigh your flour. After weighing the appropriate amount, add your yeast, salt, and seasonings to the flour and mix well. In a mixer add your warm water and slowly add your flour mixture. Knead on low speed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

Press down the dough to deflate it. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball. (If freezing the dough, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze at this point.) Cover with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no longer than 30 minutes.

To bake, preheat the oven and pizza stone to 500˚ F for at least 30 minutes. Transfer the dough to your shaping surface, lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Shape the dough with lightly floured hands. Brush the outer edge lightly with olive oil. Top as desired. Bake until the crust is golden brown, and cheese is bubbling, 8-12 minutes.

Our "no Jack Daniels" Grill Glaze

• While browsing the internet a few months ago, I came across this copycat recipe for Jack Daniels glaze, like you would order at TGIFridays. While I don't know if it's identical, per se, it's really a great glaze! Not being alcohol drinkers, we omit the actual Jack Daniels....
• 
  
• We love this on burgers, chicken...ALL meat really. Be sure to add sauce liberally. It's delicious! :)
• 
  
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup Kikkoman's teriyaki sauce
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 1/3 cups dark brown sugar
• 3 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 tsp roasted garlic (I just used minced)
• 3 teaspoons minced white onions
• 1 teaspoon crushed pineapple
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. Combine water, pineapple juice, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium high heat. Stir occasionally until mixture boils, then reduce heat to simmer.Add garlic and remaining ingredients to pan and stir. Let simmer for 35-45 minutes or until sauce has reduced by 1/2 and is thick and syrupy.
2. To use, grill meat until almost done, then use the glaze otherwise it will burn.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Recipe found here.

Chocolate Chp Cookie Dough Cupcakes
Printer-Friendly Version

Yield:24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

1½ cups light brown sugar, packed

4 large eggs
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (semisweet or bittersweet)

For the filling:
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tbsp. light brown sugar, packed
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
7 oz. sweetened condensed milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

For the frosting:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
3½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. salt
3 tbsp. milk
2½ tsp. vanilla extract

For decoration:
Tiny chocolate chip cookies
Mini chocolate chips

Directions:
To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners (24 total). In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and brown sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir together to blend. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl on low speed, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing each addition just until incorporated. Blend in the vanilla. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the cookie dough filling, combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, about an hour.

To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture.

To make the frosting, beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy. Mix in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Beat in the flour and salt. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.

Frost the filled cupcakes as desired, sprinkling with mini chocolate chips and topping with mini chocolate chip cookies for decoration.