Apples and Pears over Sweetened Ricotta

I found this recipe on the weight watchers website, and I LOVE it!  In fact, I'm eating this right now.  I love it! This is yummy!! (But I love ricotta!)


Ingredients:
1 small apple, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 small pear, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 tsp of your favorite no calorie sweetener like stevia, Equal, Splenda, etc. – adjust for taste
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup fat-free ricotta cheese
splash of vanilla

Directions:
Place apple, pear, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of your favorite no calories sweetener in a small sauce pan. Cover and cook over medium heat until somewhat soft, about 4 to 5minutes. (I microwaved this for about 2-3 min to cut down on the prep/mess).

Meanwhile, combine remaining sweetener, cinnamon and vanilla with ricotta in a small bowl. Serve hot fruit over ricotta.

WW+ pts = 1

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

Yum, Yum, Yum!!  I found this recipe on Becoming Betty, but it was originonally a Rachel Ray recipe.  http://becomingbetty.blogspot.com/2010/03/pepperoni-pizza-puffs.html

These were ridiculously easy to make and delicious!!  Double the recipe though!

3/4 cup flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 cup whole milk (I used 2%)

1 egg

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1 cup diced up pepperoni

pizza sauce for dipping

fresh basil, finely chopped

Whisk together the flour and baking powder. Then whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in mozzarella and pepperoni. Let sit for 10 minutes. Stir again and then divide batter into a greased mini-muffin pan (24 muffins). Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes until golden. Heat up pizza sauce and add 1 Tbs. basil to it and stir. Sprinkle puffs with basil. Dip and eat!

Nacho Popcorn

This one is from my Weight Watchers pamphlet this past week. It's online as well.

12 cup(s) 94% Fat Free Butter Flavor Microwave Popcorn
1/4 cup(s) light butter
2 tsp reduced-sodium taco seasoning
3/4 cup(s) Reduced Fat Shredded Mexican-Style Cheese

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 300°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Place popped popcorn in a large bowl; remove any unpopped kernels. In a small microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter until melted; stir in taco seasoning mix. Pour mixture over popcorn; toss until evenly coated. Spread popcorn on prepared baking sheet; sprinkle with cheese. Bake until cheese melts, about 6 to 8 minutes. Yields about 3 cups per serving.

*If desired, set out 1/4 cup each sliced jalapenos, sliced olives and diced tomatoes to be used as toppings for the popcorn. Serve with small bowls and spoons

(will increase POINTS value to 3 per serving).

Curt gave this 3 stars and that's what I said myself but I'm thinking about it not and would love to have it again so I'm going to give it a 4. It was definetely different because the popcorn was a bit soft from the cheese but I loved the taco seasoning on it. I enjoyed it just as much with the little extras too... a different spin on nachos but still just as good just not crunchy :(

Cheeseburger Mini Muffins

Tonight I decided to make dinner for tomorrow so I can see how this recipe reheats, since that is most likely how I would do it during the school year.  Well that was stupid because tomorrow is Friday and since it is still lent, I can't eat this tomorrow.  At least I was able to try it tonight though. 

Brian is mad that he still has to eat this tomorrow (which I won't make him), but I don't know if that's because he truly doesn't like it, or because it's slightly orange in color (from the Ketchup) and is called "Cheeseburger Mini Muffins" and HE DOES NOT EAT CHEESEBURGERS. I intended to hide the name from him.  I was going to tell him they were sort of like doughy mini meatloafs, but he saw the recipe so my cover was blown.  Whatever...big baby.  : ) (I hope he's reading this!)

Anyhow, Allison, Chloe and I liked these.  They are actually an appetizer, but I think with the right side dishes, this could very easily be a main meal.  You can taste more of the dough than you can the meat...but that's probably why I like them.  (And I haven't figured out the points yet though, so we'll see if it's worth it at the end).

Don't judge the picture...these are NOT burnt!  It looks like it in the picture, but they are not!!! And the white circles on the front ones, that's the ff mozzarella showing through. 

Cheeseburger Mini Muffins (I halved this recipe since I had 1/4 lb ground beef left over from the skillet ole)
Makes 5 dozen mini cheeseburgers
1/2 lb ground turkey
1 small onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3/4 c ketchup

3/4 c milk (I used skim)

1/2 c butter melted (I used I can't belive it's not butter light)
2 eggs

1 tsp prepared mustard

8 oz shredded cheddar cheese (since Brian will only knowingly eat mozzarella, I used ff mozzarella instead)

In a large skillet cook the beef and onion over medium heat until no longer pink.  Drain.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  In another bowl combine the ketchup, milk, butter, eggs and mustard.  Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened.  Fold in the beef mixture and cheese. 

Fill greased mini muffin cups 3/4 full.  Bake at 425 degrees for 15-18 min or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.  Refrigerate leftovers. 

So this came out to be 1 pt per mini muffin.  If you sit down and eat the whole pan, then that's a lot of points, but like I said before, if you served this with the right low point sides, this wouldn't be too bad.