Jamie Eason's Turkey Meatloaf Muffins

This is a recipe I've made countless times, so much so that I don't even think about it when I'm making them.

Unfortunately that means I had finished cooking them by the time I remembered I wanted to share them with you so I don't have many pictures on this one.

You can also find the recipe here.

These are quick, easy and low in points.

My only note of warning, it's spicy.

If you are intolerant of spicy foods then cut down or cut out the crushed red pepper and/or black pepper.

If you like spicy, you'll love this.

Ingredients

2 lbs 99% fat free ground turkey

3 egg whites

1 cup quick cooking rolled oats

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground thyme

2 tsp dry mustard

2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2 Tbsp garlic powder

1 small onion, uncooked and diced

1/2 cup uncooked celery, about 2 celery stalks finely diced

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Spray a 12 muffin tin with baking spray or olive oil spray.

In a bowl combine all of the ingredients and mix together well.

Here's your chance to get messy.  You really just have to get your hands in there to mix it well and to form small balls.

Roll into the size of a racquetball and fill the pan evenly.

Bake for 40 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins.  They are 2 pts a piece!  

I like to have mine with a salad.  They're so easy to store and warm up they're also an easy take along lunch.

Happy Cooking!

Carrie's Zucchini Roll Ups With Butternut Squash and Shrimp

This was another spontaneous recipe.

I was upstairs enjoying time with my family and then I got hit with a craving...

butternut squash and shrimp in a faux pasta bake.

And so this recipe was born.

It's a bit messy but it's so scrumptious it's worth it.


Ingredients

1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup diced shallot(or onion)

1 lb shrimp, small, pre-cooked, tail off

2 medium to large zucchini

8 oz part skim ricotta

1 whole egg

1 Tbsp grated Parmesan

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup Classico Tomato and Basil marinara

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 F.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Cut the zucchini into 1/8 inch slices lengthwise.  This is critically important.  If they're too thick they won't roll well.  After making this I'm thinking of investing in a mandoline.

Place the zucchini on a foil lined baking sheet sprayed with olive oil spray.
Bake for 20  minutes or until well softened.

Let them cool completely so you can handle them without getting burned.

Decrease your oven temperature to 375 F.

While the zucchini are cooling add the shallots and garlic to a non-stick skillet sprayed with olive oil spray and saute 3-5 minutes.

Add the butternut squash to the boiling water and cook for 20 minutes or until soft enough to puree.
Drain the liquid off reserving a cup of the water.  Using a hand blender puree the squash adding water as needed to achieve a smooth, uniform consistency.  You don't want it too runny or watery, just smooth.

Add the squash puree to the shallots and garlic and mix well.

In a separate bowl mix the ricotta, egg, grated Parmesan and a dash of salt and pepper.
Add this mix to the skillet with the squash.  Now add in the shrimp and mix well.

Spread the marinara over the bottom of a a 9 x 13 inch casserole pan sprayed with olive oil spray.

After the zucchini is cool lay one out on a flat surface, add around 1/4-1/3 cup of your squash mix and then roll it up.  Lay it seam side down in the casserole pan.

Repeat until you've filled the pan and used all your zucchini strips and filling.

Note~ there will be leftover filling!!!

After you've finished making the roll ups place the remaining filling over the top of your rolls.

Add the shredded Parmesan, cover loosely and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Remove from the oven and enjoy!

This is 4 pts for 1/6 of the pan.

It's a little bit of work but it's so decadent and and low in points!

This was delicious!!!!!!!!!  I will definitely make this again.

Happy Cooking!

Big @#$ Waffle!!!

Okay, if you've been on WW's Connect or Facebook or Instagram at all you've probably heard of this but it's a first time for me so I'm posting on this.

This recipe comes from mudhustler.

I don't typically swear so you'll have to forgive the title of this recipe.

But if you want to look it up you'll have to search "Big ass waffle".

Again, I'm not fond of the name and didn't come up with that but I have to give you that so you can search for it.

I was a little nervous about making this since my making of his 1 sp doughnut didn't go so well for me.

But, I'm happy to report this came off without a hitch.  :)

This recipe is extremely simple and, for what you're getting, it tastes really good.

The WHOLE waffle is 3 pts!

That is crazy amazing!!!

And so I give you mudhustler's waffles~


Ingredients 

4 Tbsp Kodiak power cakes mix

4 Tbsp liquid egg whites

1 scoop salted caramel Quest protein powder

2/3 cup of cold water(I NEVER ADD THIS MUCH WATER!  I usually use 1/2 cup)

1 tsp baking powder

1 packet Truvia


Instructions

***UPDATE:  I've made this several times since I posted this and I want to again say that I never use 2/3 cup water.  I usually use 1/2 cup of water.  

In addition I don't pour all of it in at once.  For me, one batch makes about 1 1/2-2 waffles.***

Whisk all ingredients together and then cook in your waffler maker.

Could it be any easier?  I think not.

I bought both of these products at Hy-Vee.

Important side note here.  I did not use the whole 2/3 cup of water.  

I would add the water slowly, whisking while you go.  

I think if I had added the whole 2/3 cup of water it would've been runny.

I also have what I would call a regular sized Belgium waffle maker but it still overflowed when I put the lid down.

But it still turned out well.  

I gotta say this made me really happy.  

It's so exciting to get a WHOLE BELGIUM WAFFLE for 3 pts!!!!

I love these with fresh raspberries or strawberries and a little light whip cream or, as seen at the top of this page, with blueberries.

My family and I pick blueberries in the summer and I store them in the freezer to eat through the year.  

I usually put a handful in a mug and microwave them until they're not just thawed but hot.  

Make sure to cover the mug because the berries burst which makes a mess but it's oh so good.

It's like having blueberry syrup over your waffle.  

I'm also fond of Mrs. Butterworth's sugar free syrup.

Some people like putting a little Halo Top ice cream or cool whip on them.

My husband and my son both gave these a thumbs up.  

No matter how you serve them they're delicious!

Happy Cooking!

WW's Creamy Spaghetti Squash With Ricotta & Spinach

This is one I saw on the WW site.  

It was relatively easy to make.  I did substitute my caramelized onions for the regular again.  

Instead of microwaving the spaghetti squash I also decided to roast it in the oven ahead of time.  

Ingredients

3 1/2 lbs uncooked spaghetti squash

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 small uncooked onion finely chopped

2 cups grape tomatoes, halved

6 oz fresh spinach

2 cloves minced garlic

15 oz part skim ricotta cheese

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

4 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 cup fresh basil chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 F.  

Put squash halves on a microwave safe plate, cut side down; microwave on high until tender and squash can easily be scooped out with a fork, 10-12 minutes.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; cook onion, stirring occasionally, until golden and tender, 5 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until tomatoes start to soften, 3 minutes.

Add spinach.  Cook just until wilted, about 1 minute.  Remove from heat.

Scoop out spaghetti squash and transfer to a bowl.  Add the ricotta, 1/4 cup mozzarella, 2 Tbsp Parmesan, basil, salt and pepper.  Transfer to the skillet and mix well.

Next transfer to a 9 x 13 casserole dish sprayed with olive oil spray.  

Bake 20 minutes or until cheese is well melted.  

Serves 8, 1 cup servings at 4 pts a piece.  

1. 
   

The original recipe asked you to put things directly into the skillet but I found it easier to use a bowl and then transfer the cheese and squash mixture to the skillet.  

I was a bit distracted when I was cooking and didn't see until later that they had asked you to cut the tomatoes in half.  I kept them whole and it was fine.  I just had to cook them a bit longer.

Truth time~  I added 1 oz of white cooking wine and a little chicken broth since these required more time to cook down.  It basically made a reduction.  Yumm......

I had to get a picture of this because, oh my gosh, it's just so pretty!  Love that beautiful bright green and red!  So healthy and so fresh!!!  Love it!

And the cheese...  Well, I really thought it would look a bit anemic with half the mozzarella in the mixture and the other half on top.  So I put all the Parmesan into the mixture and added all the mozzarella on top.  I'm just really visual and I wanted to see that melted cheesy goodness on top. :)

And it was soooo worth it!

Just seeing melted cheese makes me salivate.  

Eating something with all that gooey cheese definitely feels indulgent, certainly nothing like a diet...

Which is why I love WW.  

Real food for real people with real cravings!

Happy Cooking!

Rice Cake Creations

Last week I mentioned to a WW group that I'm a major snacker and that I hoard a chunk of points specifically for after dinner each day.

I look forward to those points and planning for my habit helps keep me on track.

Anyway, I had a nice lady ask me what I usually snacked on.

The honest answer is that it changes all the time but lately I've really been on a rice cake kick so they're the star of today's post.

The plain, unflavored rice cake is 1 pt per rice cake.

If you get chocolate or caramel flavored the points go up.  

I usually just keep the plain ones in the house.

The one pictured above is my sweet treat snack.

Chocolate PB2 powder.  2 Tbps = 1 pt

Mini Chocolate chips.  1 tsp = 1 pt

So that's a 3 pt sweet treat.

The next one is a rice cake pizza.

But first a quick word about turkey pepperoni...

I LOVE THEM!!!!!

One ounce or 14 slices of regular sized turkey pepperoni is only 1 pt!

These cute little mini turkey pepperonis are sometimes hard to find but so worth it. 

I bought these at our local Hy-Vee.   

I put these on my rice cake pizzas or in my egg white omelets or just snack on them plain.

As you can see below 1 oz is really a lot!  

I used much less than half of that on my little mini rice cake pizza and it was a perfect 0 pt treat.

I use 1 Tbsp of Pizza Quick sauce or marinara which is 0 pts at that quantity.

Combine this with 0.5 oz shredded, part skim mozzarella(1 pt) and much less than half an ounce of turkey mini pepperonis(0 pts)

The fun thing with these is that you can come up with all kinds of sweet or savory creations.

Some people spread avocado on there and top with a corn and bean salsa.

Others like putting fresh fruits, veggies or cream cheese concoctions.

My son loves these!  It's a fun after school treat.

I didn't originally offer these to him but when he saw me eating these he asked for them.

These are fun to snack on and even more fun to create with.

Happy Snacking!

Zucchini Fries

This is a WW recipe.  

You can find the recipe link here.  

Although I usually change recipes up as I make them I didn't change much.

This time I more or less stuck to the script this time.

The one small change I made was using half regular seasoned breadcrumbs and half Panko.

Panko just retains that crunch so much better.  It gives everything a nice texture and look.  

This recipe is very easy to follow and it is very good although I would definitely recommend dipping them in marinara or another low point dip.  

Alone they are a little too dry for me.  

Here's a quick peak~

That brings me to another insanely easy recipe, something I love to make with zucchini.

You can cut the zucchini into sticks as above or you can cut long strips lengthwise like you would do if you were making zucchini lasagna.  

I usually do the latter because it involves less work.  

All you do is lay the zucchini on a lined baking sheet as above(with Silpat or foil lined and sprayed with olive oil spray) and then sprinkle them with McCormick's Lemon Pepper Seasoning.

My husband is actually the one who first did this and it's crazy good.

Yup- only two ingredients and really yummy.

I love it when my husband makes these for me.

AND....

They're ZERO Points!!!

Woo hoo!

Lastly, you might check out this post on zucchini pizzas.  They're really easy and addictive!

So, if you just need the crunch go for the breaded sticks

Need a pizza fix?  Maybe the zucchini pizzas will satisfy your craving.

But, if you want a 0 pt snack or side try it sans breading with just the lemon pepper seasoning.

Any way you fix it, it's delish!  

Happy Cooking!

Mexi-Mix

This was another make-it-up-on-the-fly-with-whatever's-in-the-fridge meals.

Ingredients

1 lb 93% lean ground turkey

2 cups of Jasmine rice, cooked

1 15 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes

1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed into 1 inch pieces

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp onion powder

2 tsp cumin

1 Tbsp taco spice

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450 F.

Spray a foil lined baking sheet with olive oil spray.  Roast the squash 50-60 minutes, turning half way through.  There should be a slight char when done.  

Brown the turkey in a oil sprayed skillet.  Add the spices and cook another couple minutes on medium heat.  

Add the tomatoes and let cook for five minutes or so.  Add the rice and take it off the heat.  

Add the squash to the meat mix when it's out of the oven and serve.

This serves 4 big servings at 7 pts each.  I decided to add another 1 pt for a wedge of Laughing Cow chipotle cheese.  

You can also drop the points by using the 99% fat free meat.  

Sooooo yummy!

Happy Cooking!

Truffle Infusion

This one is quick and easy.  

I got Oprah's new cookbook from the library and let's just say the woman is crazy about all things truffle.

Since I can't begin to afford them I went with something a bit cheaper.

Oprah recommended this gift bag that comes with truffle salt and truffle zest, the latter of which I'd never heard of.

So I splurged and ordered it because curiosity got the best of me.  

I spent about $43 after tax and shipping.

This is the cute bag it came in.  

Sabatino is the brand name Oprah recommended.  

These folks are undoubtedly quite thankful for her recommendations by now.  

These products have a very strong garlic smell to them which kind of surprised me but it's pretty good.

This was a case of "what do I have lying around the house to use this stuff on because I don't have a specific recipe in mind" kind of thing.

Here's what I did~

I roasted cubed butternut squash with small chunks of fennel bulb sprayed with olive oil spray and sprinkled with truffle zest.  

I roasted these at 450 F for nearly an hour turning halfway through.  

I love fennel but I think it needs something moist to go with it so you may just want to try the squash alone first.  

Oprah says she puts it on her popcorn which I tried last night and it was pretty tasty.  

I think this stuff is good, not so good I'd buy it again, but good.

I'm glad I tried it because trying something new is a good thing to do.

If you like garlic you'll probably like this truffle zest and salt.  

I may consider trying truffle oil at some point but the obvious down side there is that oil is high in points.  

But, a little flavored oil goes a long way, toasted sesame oil is a great case in point.

Anyway, if you want to feel a little decadent you might give it a try.

If you have other things you've put it on or recipes you have to share let me know!

I'm open to new things.

Happy Cooking!

Carrie's Smoky Shrimp Alfredo Over Zucchini Zoodles

I have to say, I'm proud of this one.

I made this up myself and, though it's a bit of work, it turned out really good.

And, the portions are huge!

I stayed strong again today, turning down more junk food when we went to watch my son sing the National Anthem at a college basketball game.

They were announcing that they were selling frozen custard sundaes for $1 and I was STARVING!!!

BUT I didn't do it!

I stayed strong because I believe in myself and I want it that bad.

Let me first say that I make my caramelized onions in a big batch in the slow cooker.

I then measure them out into 1/4 cup portions and freeze them to use later.

They boost the flavor in any and everything you cook them in.

You can check out the recipe here.

Without further ado, here is my latest recipe~

Ingredients  

1 large head of cauliflower cut into small florets

1 lb of small sized shrimp(I bought it with the tail off and precooked)

3 medium sized zucchini, spiralized

1/4 cup of caramelized onion

12 oz of portabella mushrooms, sliced

8 oz of fat free evaporated milk

4 oz of skim milk

2 Tbsp white flour

1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp Hormel real bacon bits

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 pinch of cayenne

1/3 tsp salt

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 oz Marsala wine

4 oz chicken broth

• Preheat the oven to 450 F. Spray a foil lined baking sheet with olive oil spray.
• Place the cauliflower on the pan and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp smoked paprika. Roast for 50 minutes. It will appeared slightly charred.  Alternatively, if you have a steamer you could steam it.  

• Spray a skillet with olive oil spray and saute the mushrooms and onions. Add Marsala, chicken broth and zucchini zoodles.  Cover and cook for 5 more minutes. Take off the heat.

• Strain out veggies, saving the juice. 
• In the same, now empty skillet, add both the skim and evaporated milk and let it gradually warm. Add the flour and whisk to mix in.  Add in the cayenne, garlic powder, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, salt, pepper and cheese. Gradually bring up the heat to medium high and add 1/2 cup of the reserved juice from the veggies. Let it cook, stirring constantly, until it's thickened up a bit, around 5-8 minutes.

• Add in the bacon bits and the shrimp. Immediately turn off the heat.

Plate up your zoodle mix.  Top with cauliflower and then the shrimp and sauce mix.

• Enjoy!