Tacoritos...my way

Sorry, that's not the best picture, but we were hungry so I wasn't willing to take lots and lots of photos.  I topped mine w/sour cream and fresh chopped tomatoes.  Next time I'll add olives too. 

Here is the link to the original recipe for Tacoritos from Taste of Home http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Tacoritos.aspx

Although I'm sure the original recipe is absolutely delicious, it is also a whopping 15 points each!  So I had to do some magic and make it a little heathier!  So here's my recipe:

3 tbsp butter (I used I can't believe it's not butter)
1/4 c flour
4 c water
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic salt
3/4 lb ground turkey
1/2 lb bulk pork sausage
1/4 c chopped onion
1 c fat free refried beans
8 flour tortillas (8 in)
2 c reduced fat shredded mexican (or cheddar) cheese
Optional toppings: shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, sliced ripe olives, sour cream

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the beef, sausage and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in refried beans; heat through.

In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth; gradually add water. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Stir in chili powder and garlic salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.


Spread 1/4 cup sauce in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Place 1/8 meat mixture down the center of each tortilla.  Pour 2-3 tbsp sauce mixture over each. Top each with 1/8 cup cheese. Roll up and place seam side down in prepared dish. Pour 2 cups of remaining sauce over the top; sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted. Serve with optional toppings if desired. Yield: 8 servings.
 
Brian and I both gave this 4 stars.  Although we also both said that it was good, we preferred my version of enchilada's better.  : )  I liked the different taste of the two types of meat though.  In order to cut down some points, I did not pour all of the remaining sauce over the top of the shells as the original directions stated.  Next time I will pour MORE (but not all) of the sauce because we felt they were a little too dry.  So like I said earlier, the original recipes is 15 points per tortilla w/meat...mine is 8 each!!  I had one with a bowl of Christine's Chicken Tortilla soup...a delicious dinner!

Zesty Stuffed Peppers... A Guest Post from Jodi

So Curt's away for the weekend and it gives me a chance to eat what I like! I ordered Chinese one night and tonight had Jodi's stuffed peppers. I've had these before but never saw them made...I thought you had to be a rocket scientist to make these things but stuffing them is actually easy to do so this is a recipe that is "doable" for me. There is one left over for Curt to try to see if it's "permissable" for dinner :)

6 medium pepers; top and seeds removed

1 lb ground beef

1/4 c chopped onions

1 can (11oz) corn; drained

1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

1 cup rice, cooked

1/4 c steak sauce

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1. Cook peppers in boiling salted water for 3-5 minutes; rinse in cold water.
2. Brown ground beef and onion; add corn, tomato sauce, rice, steak sauce, salt and pepper.

Mix well

3. Stuff mixture into peppers; place in baking dish.

4. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees until peppers are done and feeling hot.

Yum! Yum! Yum! I would give it 4 stars as well as Jodi. It's super close to a 5 for me but it tasted like steak sauce to me so you could lessen that amount if you don't like steak sauce.

With the meat we used (ground beef 80%, 20% lean) these peppers were 7 points. You could way cut it down with the right meat though!

OVER 100!!

We are over 100 hits already and we've been at this...two weeks or so! Way to go girls!
We would love comments from any of our visitors as we start our healthy cooking quest!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Hi! Christine here. I love Mexican food, but I am trying to watch my calories. This is a great recipe because you get to eat a lot of soup without feeling guilty, and well, I am a quantity eater! I am the only one who ate this soup in my family. Bryan was at grad school, Brad won't eat chicken unless it's a nugget from M's, and it was too spicy for little Sean. (It will probably be too spicy for Jaime too. She's got a weak tongue.) I give it 4 out of 5 stars. For some reason, it came out a bit too salty. Completely edible though. So I cut the salt in half in the recipe below.

In your crock pot add:

*a 15 oz. can of corn

*4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

*1 medium onion, chopped

*a 15 oz. can of Mexican style diced tomatoes

*a 15 oz. can of black beans, drained

*6-8 slices of jalepenos (you know, from a jar)

*2-3 cloves of crushed garlic

*6 cups of chicken broth

*2 teaspoons cumin

*2 teaspoons chili powder

*2 teaspoons black pepper

*1 teaspoon salt

*2 tablespoons fresh cilantro

Cook on low for 8 hours. Pull out the chicken, shred with forks, and plop it back in the pot before serving. It shreds easliy. Each serving consists of 2 generous cups of soup, so it will serve 4 people. For those of you keeping track of WW points, eat up! The two cups are only 4 points. Now if you're like me, you will need a little garnish to jazz up your soup. I added fresh tomatoes, fat-free sour cream, some crumbled baked tortilla chips, and just a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese. Oh, and a wedge of lime. If you use all the bells and whistles, your 2 bowls of soup will be worth 7 WW points. Eat this with a large salad, and you have a delish low-cal, healthy meal. I ate 4 hours ago and I don't need a snack right now!

Sausage Rolls

No the peppers aren't burnt, I like them that way!
This is a recipe that I actually got out of one of the WW cookbooks some time ago. I like it because it's only 5 ingredients (I use 3!) and I almost always have it all on hand. I've altered the recipe just a little, but only to make it easier!


Here's the original recipe:
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, sliced
4 low fat italian style turkey sausages
8 (12 x 17 in) sheets phyllo dough at room temperature
1/2 tsp butter, melted


Here's what I use:
1/2 small onion diced (sometimes I just used the dried minced onion flakes)
6 turkey store breakfast sausage patties (1/2 package)
6-8 sheets of phyllo dough (depends on if I grab 3 or 4 at a time)


If you really want the exact directions, email me and I'll post them. But it takes too long; I've made some short cuts!!


Tracy's Directions:
Take the phyllo dough out of the freezer the night before you need it and put it in the fridge to thaw.
In a pan, brown the turkey sausage and onion. Break up the breakfast patties into small, crumbled pieces. Drain off the excess fat when done. (I always do this the night before so it's ready to go when I get home!)
Take 3-4 sheets of phyllo dough and cut it in half width-wise. Do this twice, so you have 4 sets of sheets. Put 1/4 of the mixture onto each roll and roll up around the sausage mix. Put on a lightly greased baking sheet...or save yourself the clean up time and put it on some parchment paper! Spray the tops of the roll-ups with buttered (or whatever you have!) cooking spray.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 12 minutes or until golden brown.


The original recipe serves 4 (1 each) and is 5 pts a piece. My recipe serves 2. (Unless you are really light eaters and only want one sausage roll, but if that's the case, you need to start eating more!) So for 2 sausage rolls it should be about 7.5 pts if you use 3 sheets of phyllo dough and 8.5 points if you use 4 sheets. ~Tracy

Pot Roast (aka the world's easiest meal to prepare)

Please notice that it is 5:30 pm and not only is my dinner made, but we are already done eating and cleaned up the kitchen. That is why I LOVE my crockpot!


Tonight I made Pot Roast...which should also be called "the world's easiest meal to prepare."

I put it all together last night and just put it on the counter and turned it on before I left for work this morning. EASY! Brian gives this recipe 5 stars; Allison gives it a 1 (she ate a few bites of potato); and I give it a 4 (in my opinion, unless it is soft shelled corn tacos from a Mexican restaurant, it probably won't get a 5).


I've had this recipe for a very long time! Sorry that I can't give credit to the original creator because I cut it out of a magazine when I was in college in hopes of preparing it for my future family. Mission accomplished!


It claims to serve 6-8 people...realistically I'd say 4. Either that, or Brian and I are just pigs. It made enough for us both to eat dinner and for Brian to have leftovers for lunch for the next two days.


3-4 lbs boneless beef chuck roast
1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
1 envelope brown gravy mix
1/2 c water
(I also made mine w/potatoes, carrots and onion).


Wash the potatoes and cut into quarters, or relatively large bite size pieces. If you cut them too small you will pretty much be eating mashed potatoes with dinner. I cut 3 pretty big potatoes, but put in whatever you want. I also cut up carrots (again don't worry about being too big) and threw those in too, but a handful (or bag!) of baby carrots would be fine and super easy.


Throw the potatoes and carrots into the slow cooker. Quarter an onion and toss it in for extra flavor. Place the chuck roast on top. Now if you are preparing this the night before, stop here! Do the rest in the morning.


In a small bowl combine the salad dressings and gravy mix. Stir in the water. Pour over the meat. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until tender. (I cooked mine for over 9 hours, so don't worry if you'll be gone longer).


That's it! It'll be ready when you get home from work. Brian said when he got home he was going to the mailbox and smelled some one's dinner. He thought it smelled good...and was happily surprised when he walked in and realized that delicious dinner was coming from our house! Aah, I love him more for that!

WW points: I count this as 2 pt per oz (for the meat). When I serve it, I cut off every possible piece of fat, so I'm not worried about that. In my opinion, carrots = 0 (I don't care if WW changed their minds on that a while ago). And the potatoes are usually 2 pts per. Enjoy ~Tracy

Diet Coke Sloppy Joe's

This is one of our favorite meals. It is quick, healthy, freezes really well, and is great as left-overs. And I always have all of the ingredients on hand. Everyone, including Allison, give this one 5 stars! Sorry there is no picture this time, but I left my camera at school by mistake!

Diet Coke Sloppy Joe's, serves 6
1 lb extra lean ground beef/turkey
1 small onion, diced
1 c ketchup
1 can Diet Coke
about 1 tbsp minced garlic (I don't measure, I just throw it in!)
salt and pepper, to taste
light hamburger buns

Brown the meat and onion. Add the ketchup, diet coke, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Cook on low med-high heat for about 20 minutes or until the "sauce" has reduced down and thickened. (I love green peppers, but my family doesn't so I don't put it in, but I think it would taste GREAT added in!)

WW points: (if using light buns) 3 per sandwich! ~Tracy

Enchilada Casserole

I made this tonight, and will admit is a regular on our dinner menu. This is partially my own recipe. I altered/changed a similar one I found in a magazine and changed it to fit our tastes and preferences.
Enchilada Casserole, serves 41 lb ground beef (we use 94% lean ground turkey)
1/4 c chopped onion
8 oz tomato sauce
1/3 c picante sauce (can use salsa)
1/4 c water
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/3 c frozen or canned corn
1 c fat free shredded cheddar cheese
flour or corn tortillas cut into quarters
Black beans and Sour Cream are optional

Brown meat and onion. Add tomato sauce, salsa/picante sauce, chili powder, and water (and corn if desired). Cook on low-medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until thickened.

This is what the meat looks like before you layer it.

In 4 medium ceramic pyrex dishes layer flour/corn tortilla to completely cover the bottom. (It usually takes our pyrex 1/2 flour tortilla or 3/4 of a corn tortilla) Top with 1/4 C meat mixture, 1/4 c cheese. (Add a handful of black beans if desired). Cover with another layer to tortillas, 1/4 C meat mixture and 1/4 c cheese. Repeat once more.

Cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until heated through. Top with sour cream if desired. (It is also good topped with fresh diced tomatoes and crushed tortilla chips too)

We both gave this 4 stars. We usually serve it right out of the pyrex dishes (I make one for each of us) but I took it out this time so I could snap a picture. We both felt it stayed much hotter when we ate it from the pyrex! Something to consider if/when you make it! I also serve this with our "poor man's version" of Spanish Rice (brown rice and chili powder).

WW points: 9.5 - 10 pts per seving. The meat mixture w/corn should 16.5 points for the entire batch. (4 points per serving). The Fat Free cheese should add 3 points per serving. If using flour shells, we use 1.5 shells per person (3 pts) or 2.5 shells if using corn (2.5 points). You could easily cut down the points by not adding as much cheese. I also typically add black beans and then don't use/need as much of the meat too. ~Tracy

One We Agree On!!!

Chicken Pizza Pockets

Well I spoke too soon, we've had these before and I thought Curt loved them but he gave it only a three and I give it a five, love this soooooo much! I hope you try it!

1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut in 1" pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil-- I used only 1 TBS to save points
1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
16 pepperoni slices--I used the turkey pepperoni slices instead and 1 and 1/2 it
1 small green pepper, julienned-- don't know what julienne means so I cut it small
1 small onion, sliced--I'm lazy so I bought the pre-chopped container and used half of it
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 tea oon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella--this is really to taste and we used the reduced fat cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan --this is to taste as well to lower points

In large bowl combine first 11 ingredients. Coat 4 pieces (12" squares) of aluminum foil with cooking spray. Place 1/4 of chicken mixture in center of each square. Fold foil over mixture and seal tightly. Cook covered over medium-hot coals for 15-18 minutes. Carefully open and sprinkle with tomatoes and cheese. Grill 2 minutes longer.

So we did tried ours in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Then we topped with cheese and tomatoes for another 5 minutes in the oven. That wasn't long enough so I would say 450 degrees for 30 minutes or 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Weight Watchers points for the ingredients I used was about 7 a packet depending on the amount of chicken you use. Chicken breast is about 1 point an ounce so you can easily lower the points that way and totally bulk it up with more veggies you may like. I think this would have one vegetable serving for sure.

Slow Cooker Chicken Dinner

Well I'm not as on top of things as Jaime is, so there are no pictures for this recipe. I'll try to do better next time!!

Last night I made Slow Cooker Chicken Dinner. I put the crockpot on a timer for the first time ever, and had it turn on one hour after I left for the day. For those of you who are leary of doing this, it went just fine. Due to Ash Wednesday, I wasn't able to eat this hot and fresh yesterday. But I did try it for breakfast since I wanted to post my own thoughts on this, and not just rely on Brian. Brian gave it 4 stars and even took the left overs for lunch today (which he said also reheated nicely). Allison gave it 3 stars. She wasn't a fan of the potatoes or the sauce, but she ate the chicken! And neither of them ate the carrots...no shock there!!

Serves 4
Ingredients:
6 medium red potatoes, cut into chunks
4 medium carrots, cut into pieces
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halved
1 can (10-3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 can (10-3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted. (I used cream of celery)
1/8 tsp garlic salt
2-4 tbsp mashed potato flakes, optional (I did not need this!!)

Place potatoes and carrots in the slow cooker. Top w/chicken.
Combine both of the soups and the garlic salt. Pour over the top of the chicken.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
To thicken, if desired, stir potato flakes into the gravy and cook 30 minutes longer.


I used 1 chicken breast per person, as I didn't think the original recipe was going to be enough for us. I used the healthy request "cream of" soups and used cream of celery soup, since Brian is allergic to mushrooms. I also did not need the potato flakes. The sauce was definitely creamy enough! This is defintely going into my "make again" recipe collection...hopefully I'll think to make it on a night that I can actually eat it!

If I figured out the ww points right, it is 7 points per serving.

PS...if you have not gotten/tried the slow cook liners yet, you are missing out!! Clean up is SO much easier with those!!
~Tracy

If You Like Salt on Your Popcorn You May Like This One...

Creamy Ranch Chicken

1 can cream of chicken soup-Healthy Request version
1 cup chicken broth

1 pkg dry ranch dressing- Fat Free version

3 large chicken breasts, cubed

8 oz cream cheese--Fat Free version

1. Mix soup, broth, ranch packet, and chicken in slow cooker.
2. Cook on low for 4 hours.

3. Then stir in cream cheese.

4. Serve over brown rice or wheat noodles.

**taken from 365daysofslowcooking.blogspot.com**

Curt gave this a 3 stars, myself a 2. To me it was super salty and I was drinking my water all through dinner because of it. It's not on my list of make agains but Curt said he wouldn't mind it.

I wonder if Curt and I will come across a recipe that we both rate highly.

Let me know what you think of it if you give it a try, Jaime