What's Cookin' and Monday Night Desserts

Last night, much to the dismay of my picky children, I made stuffed peppers for dinner. YUM!

They were pretty tasty and very filling.  Here is the recipe for any that would like to give it a whirl.

Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers

4 large bell peppers, halved
1 lb ground turkey
2 cups cooked rice
10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
8 oz pepper jack cheese, finely shredded
1/2 cup finely diced zucchini
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/3 cup chopped green onion
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp seasoned salt
salt & pepper

Brown ground turkey with salt & pepper to taste.  Cook rice.  Set oven to 350°.

Saute zucchini, onions, and garlic in olive oil.  Add can of diced tomatoes and let cook for 2 minutes.  Add ground turkey, chili powder and seasoned salt.  Add mixture to a large bowl and add the rice and half the cheese and mix well.

Cut each bell pepper in half, I cut mine vertically but you can cut yours however you choose.  Lightly spray baking sheet with cooking spray.  Place each half on the cookie sheet with the skin side down.  Place in heated oven for 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and fill each half with 1/2 cup of turkey mixture.  Return to oven and cook for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and set oven to med-low broil.  Place 1/2 oz of shredded cheese on each half and return to oven until cheese is bubbly and golden.

So yum, I may ramp up the heat level next time, but this was pretty delish as is.  For those of you who want to know, these stuffed peppers were 7 PointsPlus.  Very filling, especially when you add a tossed salad or some fruit.

So now that dinner is out of the way, what's for dessert?  It is Monday night after all.  This week was at our place, so Rachel and I brainstormed in the middle of the grocery store since we forgot to figure it out before we headed to the big city for our weekly grocery trip.  Here is what we came up with:

Mini graham cracker pie shells, sliced strawberries, white chocolate pudding, and semi-sweet chocolate melted and shaped for topping.  Yum! And only 5 PointsPlus. 

Last week was at Tamara's.  She made this bowl of deliciousness for us:

One banana, frozen yogurt, caramel sauce and chopped pecans.  So yummy.  6 PointsPlus unless you opted for a whole cup of frozen yogurt and then it is bumped by only 2 points to 8 PointsPlus.

So much yumminess, so little time to eat it all. :)  Smooches and squishes to you all.

What's Cookin'?

YUM!!  That's is the word that everyone used to describe this soup last night.  Yes, I am still on my soup thing.  I can't help it, it is just so yummy.  This one has been on the list to make for a long while now.  Every time I pull chicken out for dinner the kids ask "Oooo, are you making chicken enchilada soup tonight?"

So last night, I braved it and gave it a whirl.  I will admit, the reason it has been on the list and not in the pot is because I was really nervous about this soup.  I wasn't sure if it was going to turn out as yummy as I was envisioning in my head.  And let's face it, when times are tough, I can't be affording to make a whole pot of something that ends up getting dumped out because it is yucky instead of yummy.

So last night I gave it a whirl, and thank goodness, it turned out wonderfully.  Everyone asked for a bigger batch next time because only one person got to go back for seconds.  With that being said, here is the recipe in case you want to try this scrumptousness yourself.

1 pound chicken
1 large can chicken broth (49.5 oz size)
1 cup finely chopped onion (I used a mix of green and red onions) remember to set some aside for topping
1 jalapeño, finely chopped (adjust to taste, the jalapeños we had were huge!)
1-1/2 to 2 Tablespoons minced garlic (adjust to your taste)
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 cups green enchilada sauce (homemade or canned) I used canned - hot style
1/3 cup water
2 Tablespoons corn starch
1/4 finely chopped fresh cilantro
1-1/4 low fat shredded cheese (I used colby jack mix)
1 roma tomato, diced

Cook chicken in covered pan with 1/2 cup of the chicken broth. Sprinkle both sides with the chili powder.

While the chicken in cooking dice the veggies.  Saute the onion and garlic in 2 Tablespoons of the chicken broth.  Add the jalapeño and saute for 30 more seconds.  Add the remaining chicken broth and the enchilada sauce and let simmer.

Once the chicken is cooked through shred and add to the pot.  Add all the juices from the chicken pan to the soup pot.  Let all ingredients simmer together for 20 minutes.  Mix the water and the cornstarch and add to the soup.  Simmer for an additional 10 minutes.  Add the cilantro right before serving and mix well.  (this preserves the cilantro flavor, adds much yumminess to the soup).

Divide the shredded cheese equally between all servings as a topping.  This recipe makes 10 1-cup servings.  Each bowl will get 1/8 of a cup.  Add any other toppings, I topped ours with cheese, green onions, and tomatoes.  Also yummy would be fresh green cabbage, fresh tortilla strips, a dollop of sour cream anything really that you would want on your enchilada.

And, for those of you keeping track, this lovely soup is 3 Weight Watcher PointsPlus per cup.

And as promised, Monday nights is our trade yummy dessert night.  Last night was my turn.  Here is what we had:

So yummy.  Chocolate pudding with whipped cream and white chocolate covered raspberries.  I wanted to make cups out of the white chocolate but couldn't do it without adding too many calories or points.  So, that idea was quickly nixed.  So I dipped the raspberries as planned, and spread some of the white chocolate on the inside of the cup instead and then used the remaining chocolate to fill each little raspberry.  So delicious!

So here is the skinny on this dessert.  5 pointsplus for that heavenly glass of dessert up there.  The chocolate pudding is only 1 WW pointsplus for 1 cup.  I used Jello brand fat free, sugar free cook and serve and made it with water instead of milk.  If anyone wants directions on how to do that let me know.  The whipped cream is lite whipped cream and 0 pointsplus for 2 Tablespoons.  Rasperries of course are 0 pointsplus.  So here is where the majority of the points came in.  The white chocolate.  It is 4 pointsplus for 30 grams, melted with 1/2 teaspoon of shortening.  So next time I am only going to do 15 grams with 1/4 teaspoon and skip the chocolate on the glass.  Save a couple of points.  Once it hardened on the glass it was kinda hard to get it off.  Either that or double the amount of raspberries cause those sure were delicious.  Rachel and I decided we could eat rasperries all day long if they were always covered with white chocolate.

So that's what was cookin' this week.  How 'bout at your house?

Blue Potatoes Make the Prettiest Mashed Potatoes

Cameron has been working at a farm close to home.  No, he has not become a famer.  They are building a bakery and he has been working on that.  They are going to be baking organic goods made with ingredients that they are going to grow on their farm.  Pretty neat idea and I can't wait to taste the goods.  Apparently they grow a lot of different potatoes.  Yesterday Cameron came home with a bag full of blue potatoes for me.  So today we used them for garlic mashed potatoes.  So pretty.  It almost looks like frosting.  And they taste deeeeelicious!  Good for you too, blue potatoes have more antioxidants than any of the other colored potatoes.

Isn't it pretty?  One odd thing about these blue potatoes.  The potatoes are a deep rich blue color, when you cut them open they are a vibrant or dark purple.  The water they are boiled in however, is almost a teal color.  Amazing how many colors this one little veggie produces.

In other deeeeelicious food news, this week Rachel and I went over to a friends house to scrapbook.  We are swapping yummy dessert/goodie treats each week.  This is what she made for us this week:

Oh my! SOOOO deeeeelicious.  I couldn't find the nutrition information, but these were very light.  3 pointsplus each for those of you counting Weight Watchers PointsPlus points.  Thank you T!!!!!!!

Last week Rachel made these really yummy meringue cookies.  But alas, they were so delicious, they were eaten before I could take a picture.  Soooo, that means she will just have to make them again. (HINT HINT!!)

Stay tuned for next Monday's goodie.  I promise you will not be disappointed!

Photo of the Week - Week 44 - Finally! The White Stuff!

Week 44 of 52

Location:  Big John Lake, Mi

Subject:  Snow!!

So it finally came.  Yesterday and all night long it snowed.  All day today it continued to snow.  Everything is so beautiful.  Goodbye ugly brown.  This morning I got up and helped Rachel shovel her way out of the driveway so that she could slowly make her way to work.  Ugh, what a job.  Thank you Dad for finding the house with the longest driveway in the neighborhood.  And thank you dear hubby for leaving the tractor with the snow plow and snow blower locked up in the pole barn.

So tonight is for cuddling up with some soup and a movie.  Maybe I can convince Cameron to build us a fire in the fireplace too.

In case it is cold at your house too, try out this Turkey Chili.  Oh so yummy.  I made it last night and actually took the time to write down ingredients as I went so I could make it again.  Very yummy, very spicey, and for those of you who really want to know, only 4 points for one cup on the Weight Watchers PointsPlus program.  That is without the cheese and sour cream of course.

2 t olive oil
1 C chopped red onion
1 T minced garlic
1 large jalapeño, finely diced
1 lb ground turkey
1 15.5 oz can light kidney beans
1 15.5 oz can great northern beans
28 oz low sodium, fat free, Beef Broth
1 small can Rotel Zesty Tomato and Green Chili Sauce
1 small can Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies
1 T corn starch
1/4 cup water

Saute onions in oil for 2-3 minutes.  Add garlic for 30 seconds, then add jalapeño for 30 seconds.  Add ground turkey and brown.  Drain if necessary.  Add beans, broth, sauce, and diced tomatoes, bring to a boil.  Turn hit to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Stir together corn starch and water, add to chili and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.  Add your favorite chili toppings and enjoy.  This makes 10 cups of chili.

I didn't think about it last night but when you toss in the cornstarch some cilantro would be really nice in this also.  If you like a really thick chili then you could also toss in another tablespoon of corn starch.