Low Calorie Pumpkin and Cream Bread

If you're anything like me, bread doesn't last long in your house. Especially fresh baked bread. I love baking and I love eating bread. The problem is that is doesn't love me back. Pumpkin and Cream Bread to the rescue. This entire loaf is only 500 calories. That's right the ENTIRE loaf. And even better is tastes as great as it looks.

I found this recipe through pinterest on Sunday Baker. I couldn't get mine to double layer as nice as she did, but at only 46 calories per slice, I'll be trying, trying again.

Yield: 2 loaves (14 slices each)

Batter:

1-1/2 c. pureed pumpkin

1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce

1 whole egg

3 egg whites

1 c. all-purpose flour

2/3 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 c. Stevia Cup For Cup sweetener

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground nutmeg

Cream filling

8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese

1/4 c. granulated sugar

1 T. all-purpose flour

2 egg whites

1 t. vanilla extract

1. For the Batter: With an electric mixer, beat the pumpkin, applesauce, egg, and egg whites on medium speed until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine the flours, Stevia, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Slowly mix the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture.

2. For the cream cheese filling: Beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, egg whites and flour until creamy and smooth.

3. Grease 2 8x4x2" loaf pans. Divide half of the batter between the two pans. Pour half of the filling in one pan and the other half in the second pan and smooth with the back of a spoon. Top with the remaining batter.

4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Don't overbake or your bread will be dry on the edges. Cool and remove from pans. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

One serving (2 slices) = about 100 calories

Chew Low Fat Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

These are YUM. You wouldn't even guess that these aren't the real deal. I found this recipe on skinnytaste.com. This blog has become a new go to site for recipes. Each recipe is low fat and/or low calorie and all of the nutritional information available. And so far, ALL of the recipes I've made have been absolutely delicious. You can also feel free to mix and match the mix ins!

Low Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes 
Servings: 15 • Serving Size: 2 cookies • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 190 • Fat: 6.3 g • Protein: 2.6 g • Carb: 34.2 g • Fiber: 2.0 g • Sugar: 19.3 g

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unpacked brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups quick oats
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°; line two baking sheets with parchment paper or use a silpat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a large bowl, with a mixer, cream together the butter and the sugars on medium speed.  

Add the egg, followed by the applesauce and vanilla extract.

Working by hand, stir in the flour mixture and the oats until just combined and no streaks of flour remain; stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop heaping tablespoonfuls (approx 1 tbsp each) of the dough onto prepared baking sheets, flattening each cookie slightly (I forgot to do this). Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until cookies become light brown at the edges.

Let cool on baking sheet for 3 or 4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container so you don't eat them all in one sitting! 

Makes about 30 cookies roughly 1 tbsp each.

Splenda Lovers: Substitute all the brown sugar with 1/4 cup Splenda brown sugar blend, and all the white sugar for 1/4 cup Splenda sugar blend. Points remain the same.

This recipe makes a good sized batched of cookies, I don't know about you, but I would rather not have all those cookies laying around my house. So the leftover went into the fridge. I laid out a long sheet of suran wrap. Then made a row in the middle of the cookie dough. Shape it into a cylinder and wrap tightly with the suran wrap.

Whenever you're ready (which is always!) for warm fresh baked cookies, just slice off however many cookies you want and arrange on a cookie sheet.

They may need an extra minute or two in the oven since they are colder when they go in.

Roasted Chicken with Red Potatoes and Artichoke Hearts

The sounds that escape your mouth as you open the oven door after that kitchen timer goes off may sound inhuman. Between the smell of the aromatic and delicious veggies and the look of the cripsy chicken skin, you'll barely be able to wait long enough to grab a plate.

 This dish from Rachael Ray's Make Ahead Meals is mouth watering. Although I will be making a few slight changes the next time I make it. The red potatoes I used weren't quite finished. So next time I will roast the veggies for 15-20 minutes before adding the chicken and cooking for the recipe time. Also the artichoke hearts were delicious but the flavor could quickly overwhelm the delicate chicken and potatoes. So I'm going to try cutting them into quarters instead of halves and maybe even cutting the amount in half. Still delicious, and I will always crisp up the skin under the broiler from now on. GREAT tip.

Ingredients

4 skin-on, bone-in chicken drumsticks
4 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
1 whole skin-on, bone-in chicken breast, quartered (separate the breast and then cut each piece in half crosswise)
EVOO, for liberal drizzling
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds baby potatoes
4 to 5 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped
2 small to medium onions, cut into thin wedges with the root ends attached
Handful fresh bay leaves
One 10-ounce box frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, drained and halved, or one 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and halved
1 head garlic, cloves separated and crushed
1 lemon, sliced
1 cup dry white wine
1 bunch black kale or dinosaur kale, stemmed
Freshly grated nutmeg

DIRECTIONS

Drizzle the chicken with EVOO and liberally sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.

In a roasting pan or baking dish, combine the potatoes, rosemary, onions, bay leaves, artichokes, garlic and lemons. Drizzle with about 1/4 cup EVOO, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Arrange the chicken on top of the vegetables.

Position the rack on the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Roast the chicken and vegetables for 45 minutes. Turn on the broiler and douse the pan with the wine. Broil until crispy and brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven.

Dress the kale very lightly with about 1 tablespoon EVOO and season with salt, pepper and a few gratings of nutmeg. Spread the kale on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Broil until very crispy, about 10 minutes.

Divide the kale among plates and top with the chicken and vegetables.

Cook's Note: You can prepare the chicken and vegetables ahead of time. Cover and store on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator until ready to roast.

Baked Hash Browns

I found this recipe on foodnetwork.com. I was looking for a way to make hashbrowns that wouldn't take over my stove since I needed the burners for other things. These came out a little browner that I would have liked but I got distracted doing other breakfast items. It was still really good and had wonderful flavor. This is a great way to prepare hashbrowns when you've got other items on the stove that need tending too. Just don't forget about them like I did ;)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
• 1 cup bacon lardoons
• 1 medium shallot, sliced
• 1 egg white
• 4 green onions, roughly chopped
• 2 sprigs thyme, leaves picked
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Peel potatoes and wash. Use a mandolin, or food processor with the grater attachment, to finely shred potatoes. Place in a kitchen towel and squeeze dry.

Take a 9-inch oven proof skillet and add bacon and sliced shallots. Set over medium heat and render fat, 4 to 5 minutes. Shallots will caramelize. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon and shallots and put in a large mixing bowl (reserve the bacon fat and pan) with potato slices, egg white, green onions, and thyme leaves and season well with salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Spoon mixture into the hot pan with the bacon fat. Pack it in well pressing down with a large spoon to compress the mixture a little. Drizzle the top with some extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. When it starts to get golden brown and crispy around the edges flip the hash brown over and pop into the oven to bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before running a knife around the edges and then inverting the potato onto a cutting board. Slice into wedges, garnish with chopped flat leaf parsley and serve.

S'mores Bars

This recipe is just a flat out share of one I saw on pinterest. S'mores are one of my all time favorites desserts. This recipe is so easy that I had to stop keeping the items to make it in my pantry.

The bottom and top layers are a soft shortbread made with crushed graham crackers. The middle is just 2 giant hershey bars and a jar of marshmallow fluff.

Incredibly easy and incredibly addictive.

The original post is on this Blog.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 king-sized milk chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
• 1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.
3. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together).
4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Another great pinterest find. The original blog post can be found HERE.

I made a slight modification though. The original recipe called for what I thought was more than enough swirl and icing. So instead I double the batter amount and kept the swirl and icing portions the same. I still ended up with alot of swirl left over. The following recipe is doubled batter, halved swirl and the same icing. It makes just about enough for my, hubby and my two sons (who each eat twice as much as I do!)

Ingredients

PANCAKES:
2 cup all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 Tablespoons canola oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

CINNAMON FILLING:
1/4 cup butter, melted
3/8  cup brown sugar, packed (half of 3/4)
1/2 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

CREAM CHEESE GLAZE:
4 Tablespoons butter
2 ounces cream cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Directions:

1. Prepare pancake batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in milk, oil and egg, just until batter is moistened (a few small lumps are fine).

2. In a medium bowl, mix butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Scoop the filling into a small zip baggie and set aside. You don't want this to remain super-liquidy. It's best if it becomes a consistency similar to toothpaste.

3. In a medium, microwave-safe bowl- heat butter and cream cheese until melted. Whisk together until smooth; whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla extract; set aside.

4. Heat large skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with nonstick spray. Scoop about 3/4 cup batter onto the skillet. Snip the corner of your baggie of filling and squeeze a spiral of the filling onto the top of the pancake. When bubbles begin to appear on the surface, flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until browned on the underside, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a baking sheet or platter and keep in a warm oven until ready to serve.

5. When ready to serve, spoon warmed glaze onto the top of each pancake.

Tips:

*Keep the heat low or your pancakes might cook up too quickly. Don't flip them until you see those bubbles starting to pop on top. Flip them with a wide spatula so you can grasp the whole thing without batter and filling dripping all over the place!
*It's best if you pour the batter onto your skillet, wait a minute or so and then swirl the cinnamon onto the batter. That'll give it a chance to set a little before you add the swirl.
*If your baggie of filling begins to get too thick, just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it up again. On that same note, it shouldn't be too runny. The consistency of soft toothpaste is perfect. If it's melty and runny, it will tend to run all over your pancakes. Once you micro it, let it sit on the counter at room temp for a while until it thickens slightly.

The ingredients and directions were copied from the original blog. This tends to make a big mess, so make sure you either use a good non stick griddle or put your pans and utensils in hot soapy water before washing for easier clean up.

Cream Cheese Won-ton Cups

One of my favorite treats are cream cheese filled won-tons. But the classic version is alot of work and is best made in small batches. I wanted to convert so that I had a shorter prep time and I could make all of them at once.

Ingredients

8 oz cream cheese, softened
24 won ton small square papers
ginger to taste
1 chopped green onion

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix cream cheese and green onions. Grate ginger into the cream cheese mixture and continue tasting until you get the flavor that you like. I prefer having a bit stronger ginger flavor and I think I used about 1 tablespoon of grated ginger.

Transfer the cream cheese mixture to a piping bag or a ziploc bag.

Put one wonton paper in each cup of a mini muffin tray.  I used a shot glass to push the papers down into the cups.

Squeeze about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese into each cup.

Bake for 8-10 minutes until the tips are golden brown. Serve warm, and try not to eat all of them yourself.