Recipe Corner: Weight Watchers Pumpkin Spice Cake

Weight Watchers Pumpkin Spice Cake

Serves 20

Points Value: 5

Points Plus Value: 6

CAKE:

3 cups all purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

1 tablespoon pumpkin spice cake

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 (15oz) can pumpkin

4 large eggs

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup fat free milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

GLAZE:

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 10in Bundt pan with cooking spray. Lightly dust pan with flour shaking out excess.

2. To make cake, whisk together flour, sugar, pumpkin spice, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together pumpkin and eggs in a medium bowl until blended. Gradually whisk in oil, milk and vanilla until blended. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until flour mixture is moistened. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 55-60 minutes. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on rack until warm, about 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, to make glaze, stir together powdered sugar and lemon juice in small bowl and drizzle over warm cake.

Recipe Corner: Weight Watchers Cinnamon-Pecan Streusel Cake

	Weight Watchers Cinnamon Pecan Streusel Cake Serves 16 5pp Oh my goodness this was sooooooooooo good; pretty simple to make! I think I might add a little more vanilla next time, it's got a pretty strong cinnamon flavor so if you aren't too big on cinnamon just use a little less than suggested below! Ingredients:
	1 3/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
	2 tsp baking powder
	1 tsp baking soda
	1/2 tsp table salt
	3/4 cup(s) sugar
	3 Tbsp salted butter
	1 cup(s) fat free sour cream
	2 tsp vanilla extract
	2 large egg(s)
	1/3 cup(s) packed light brown sugar
	1/4 cup(s) chopped pecans, toasted
	1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
	1/2 cup(s) powdered sugar
	2 tsp fat free skim milk
	1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Coat an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.
• Combine flour and next three ingredients. Set aside.
• Beat sugar and butter with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add sour cream, vanilla and eggs; beat well. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating just until dry ingredients are moist. Combine brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon in a small bowl.
• Spoon half of batter into prepared pan; sprinkle evenly with half of brown sugar mixture. Spoon remaining batter over brown sugar mixture and spread evenly. Sprinkle remaining brown sugar mixture over batter. Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes on a wire rack.
• Combine powdered sugar, milk and 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla in a small bowl; stir until smooth. Drizzle over coffee cake cut and serve.

Cinnamon-Pecan Streusel Cake

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Source: WeightWatchers.com 

Recipe Corner: Weight Watchers Chicken-Mushroom Hash Casserole

Weight Watchers Chicken-Mushroom Hash Casserole
Serves 4
5pts/6pp

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh whole wheat bread crumbs (2 slices of bread)
3 tablespoons grated Romano cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 small red pepper, diced
1 cup chopped white mushrooms
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 lb skinless boneless chicken, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup fat free milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350, Spray shallow 2 quart casserole dish with nonstick spray.

2. To make crumb topping, mix together bread crumbs, Romano cheese and parsley in small bowl.

3. Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and bell pepper; cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp black pepper. Cook, stirring, until mushrooms give up their liquid and liquid is evaporated, about 5 minutes longer.

4. Add chicken to skillet; sprinkle with flour, thyme, remaining 1/8 tsp black pepper. Cook stirring, until chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in milk; cook, stirring constantly, until sauce bubbles and thickens, about 3 minutes.

5. Spoon hash into prepared casserole; sprinkle evenly with crumb mixture. Baked until golden brown, about 30 minutes. 

Chicken-Mushroom Hash Casserole with Parmesan Green Beans

Serves 4....the cookbook says 1 generous cup, I just cut the casserole into four slices and serve.
Per Serving:
241 calories/ 6g fat/  17g carb/ 7g sugar/ 3g fiber/ 640mg sodium/ 29g protein 

Source: Weight Watchers Complete Cookbook
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Recipe Corner: Healhty Buttermilk Donuts

Hey y'all, it's been a bit since I posted a recipe, I've gotten overwhelmed with family issues lately and I find myself making the same meals a lot, which is fine it works for us as a family....but it makes for some boring blogging. Today my son wanted to go to Dunkin Donuts and believe me it was tempting. I love me some DD iced coffee with either the butter pecan or cookie dough flavoring....but 7pp for a medium coffee isn't a great choice....especially since I had it yesterday.  So I asked him what he thought of making our own donuts...which he loved the idea. He loves baking with me, and I really enjoy baking with him. So I hit google and came across this recipe, I'm a big fan of baking with buttermilk, I love everything I've made with it so far so I wanted to try this one. It is super tasty and very simple to make! I don't have a donut pan so I had to improvise, I used a cake pop pan to make "munchkins" and then I used my mini bunt cake pan to finish off the batter. I really liked them without any toppings but my son and daughter wanted something so we made two quick glazes one almond, one orange, they also liked adding a little creamed honey to them. If you follow the link above to the original recipe they have some other topping options as well. So you can play with your toppings just remember to count what you add!!!!  I hope you enjoy it!


Healthy Buttermilk Donuts
Source: Health.com
http://www.health.com/health/recipe/0,,10000002012979,00.html


Serves 14
4pp/3pts

Ingredients

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk (1%)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Lightly coat a doughnut pan with cooking spray.
2. Combine flours and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk.
3. Combine buttermilk, eggs, honey, butter, and vanilla, stirring well with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture; whisk just until combined.
4. Spoon batter into doughnut pans, filling twothirds full. Bake in middle of oven until doughnuts spring back when touched and are golden on bottom (about 8 minutes). Let cool in pan slightly (about 4 minutes); turn out. Coat with toppings (see ideas, below), if desired.

Mini Donuts

Munchkins

• Yield: Makes 14 servings (Serving size: 1 plain doughnut)

Nutritional Information

Calories per serving:	140
Fat per serving:	3g
Saturated fat per serving:	1g
Monounsaturated fat per serving:	1g
Polyunsaturated fat per serving:	0g
Cholesterol per serving:	35mg
Protein per serving:	3g
Carbohydrates per serving:	26g
Sugars per serving:	13g
Fiber per serving:	1g
Iron per serving:	1mg
Sodium per serving:	165mg
Calcium per serving:	59mg

That's how I roll.....

Yesterday I was called somethings that really made me look into my heart and think why would anyone say these things. After a longer discussion I was given a laundry list of things that because of Facebook and the perspective of how things are posted, they could be taken out of context; twisted in a way that it could look like what this person was saying was true. I know, since it's my life and I lived it the truth behind it. Now since I have always believed you should live your life as an open book, be honest and not a hypocrite I have posted most of my life online for my friends to be apart of. Yes some matters are personal and they stay that way but when I'm having a bad day, my kids are going crazy, we over spent, something broke, stress......those things come on Facebook, because I'm not the person to paint a picture of a perfect life because there isn't one. With that being said I feel that since I post most of my life I should explain my thoughts on things.  It is easy to fall into a negative pattern, choosing happiness isn't always easy and the path to doing what's right I honestly feel is never really easy. I also post about my little lovebugs, their love for each other, their laughter, their silly songs, the funny moments of dressup and dancing, power rangers and star wars. Our weekend family outings, the park, the homework...all of it. My children have given me hope in my life, more love than I ever could have imagined and till the day I take my last breathe I would die protecting them and I will always love and encourage them. Do they make me crazy some days, yes, do I lock myself in the bathroom and cry because the fighting and screaming and temper tantrums are overwhelming, yes, at least once a week. Do I have to give up partying every weekend, dates out with my husband, yeah that happens a lot, but in the end, everything....all of it, the good and the bad are worth it. I choose to be a Mom, it's the hardest job I will ever do but it is the most rewarding one. Why is it ok for someone to complain about their job outside of the house and how their co workers or boss drive me nuts but when a mom does it about her kids who are her job it's wrong and they are a bad mom because she is struggling that day?
Alexander has a heart of gold, a sweet spirit and is always repreventive when he makes mistakes, Annabella is a miracle girl in a long line of boys who has  one amazingly strong will, she has a sweet loving heart that shows in how she plays with her babies. Both of my children have amazing manners and they make Stephen and I laugh everyday. To be their mom.....is an honor and I am beyond blessed to have two happy children who know they are loved and share their love with me daily.

 With my fitness journey I've hit a road block, been stuck in it for a year, and since that is one of the only major things going on in my daily life aside from my kids and Stephen, I think about it a lot. I work hard for it, because I love food and the fear of losing control and gaining lots of weight is something I worry about daily, being overweight isn't a vanity issues for me, it's a health issue, lots of sickness in my family line and by being healthy I am knocking my risk down. Is it annoying when I work hard to improve something and I don't see the results, ummmm yes it is.  I have days where I wake up and look in the mirror and I'm like, "whoa I look great, I did it." and then there are days I wake up and all I see are the things I want more improved on. Everyone has good and bad days.....our kids have them, our partners have them, we have them....everyone handles those days differently. Some people feel that posting anything negative is not a good vibe and so they don't, they give you only the best highlights of their lives and that's great for them. I love seeing my friends living happy lives.  For me, I like to keep it real, because I love when I see others who do it too on Facebook. It helps me feel not alone and when it comes to the little ones having bad days, the first thought that comes to my mind is "Oh God why are they doing this, am I being a bad mom, is that why the fighting, hitting and biting are happening? What can I do to fix it?" It has never nor will it ever be a "I hate these kids" thought....its a cry for help when I post the negative moments.....when you're life is consumed by a job like motherhood you lose sight of who you are as a person and for me I take on a lot on a lot pressure because I have been given the amazing oppourinty of being a stay at home mom so I know my kids are molding by me.
In the end, you shouldn't judge anyone, you don't know the struggles, the bad money decisions, the selling of things, the things given up in place of others, why someone was given something, or even why someone chooses to post what they post. It is never our place to point fingers or judge anyone....we have all done it, myself included.
We should all treat each other the way we want to be treated and when you feel that you need something answered you should never let it sit and fester, that only makes it worse. Life throws you all kinds of curve balls, you can have a fantastic month and then a month from hell. Everyday is a blessing, life is short, be kind, love one another, support each other and by all means pray for one another.

We need to quit telling lies on Facebook......

http://www.kveller.com/blog/parenting/we-need-to-quit-telling-lies-on-facebook/

The above link is to a blog by Sarah Tuttle Singer

Everyday I see all the shining details of my friends life on FB. Their pinterest perfect, cookie cutter life. We have some private issues going on that Stephen and I are working hard to deal with, but it's a private family thing and not something that belongs on Facebook but the struggle is real and it is mentally exhausting to say the least. Anyway I came across this article a few months ago and it spoke to me so much. It gave me hope. Every day when I wake up I pray that I am a good mom, that I have the strengthen to make it through the day, that my kids go to bed knowing they are loved and supported. I screw up way more than I should but I take comfort when I see the few other moms that post the real everyday happenings....it helps me feel not alone is a very alone place. People say that one day I will miss these days.....last night as I rocked Bella in the early morning hours I smelled her hair and thanks God that I had her. I laid her back in bed and I walked into Xander's room, his snoring was sweet and I covered him up. I slowly walked down the stairs exhausted but fulfilled because they need me right now. Someone said a few weeks ago, these are the hardest years but they are the years they need you. I have been trying to push past all the hard everyday events and focus on the fact that right now, I am their world and I am lucky enough to be their mom and I am beyond blessed to be able to be here with them day in and day out. It is never easy, the worry, the fear, the anxiety.....I am shaping two peoples lives right now....it's a real panicked feeling....I could screw them up for life. But I try and remind myself, I love them, more than my own life and even when I make mistakes I am quick to say I'm sorry.  The point is I am not perfect, I complain, I screw up and I drop the ball more than I should in many aspects of my life. I have abandonment issues and I have a total fear of well being a failure. But in my heart....my heart.....I only want the best for them, the best for Stephen. In my many days of the same thing over and over again it is easy to forget that life no matter how hard it is....is beautiful. I was lucky enough to find Stephen at a young age and I will grow old with him....knowing that in his eyes I will always be perfect. My fears surround me daily. My mind will always worry but I pray, everyday I pray to be better than I was yesterday.

Recipe Corner: Whole Wheat Beef Enchiladas

 

Whole Wheat Beef Enchiladas

Yield: 8 servings
One Enchilada is 5pts/6pp

 

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 1 can enchilada sauce
• 1 cup reduced fat Mexican cheese
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 small can of green chilies
• 8 whole wheat soft tortilla shells (I used Ortega whole wheat tortillas)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9 x 12 inch pan with cooking spray.
2.  Cook turkey and onion over medium high heat. Drain if needed.
3. Add green chilies and 1/2 can of enchilada sauce and 1/2 cup of Mexican cheese, stir and cook for 1-2 minutes
4. Spoon meat onto center of tortillas and roll. Place tortillas with the seam side facing down into pan.
5. Top with rest of sauce and rest of cheese.
6. Cook for 20 minutes and serve.

 

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