Cola Pork & Apple Slaw

I’m doing this new thing with grocery shopping lately.  Usually I would go to the store for a big shop once every two weeks.  That worked OK except I have this big problem with keeping produce fresh.  We also waste SO much food because things always come up and meal plans go out the window.   So in order to correct these problems I’ve been going to the grocery store every other day on the way home from work and I pick up only what we need for the next few days.  Because the store is right on my way home I don’t waste gas and so far it’s worked out great!   Yesterday I stopped for the ingredients for Apple Slaw and Cola Pork.  Two new recipes I’m trying out.  And, may I say they both turned out amazing!

Click here for the printable version of:   Cola Pork

Click here for the printable version of:   Apple Slaw

Cinnamon Flax Scones

Last Thursday during Life Group, while everyone else was watching LOST (blah!) my little friend Lilli and I decided to make a “cooking project”.   I decided that I wanted to use the milled flax seed I bought at the grocery store several months ago because up until then I hadn’t found a use for it.  A quick Google search came up this recipe for cinnamon flax scones at Bob’s Red Mill.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-3/4 cups White Flour, Unbleached
• 1/4 cup Milled Flax seed
• 1/3 cup Sugar (plus more for sprinkles)
• 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
• 2 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1-1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1/3 cup Light butter
• 3/4 cup Fat Free Buttermilk
• 1/3 cup Raisins

DIRECTIONS:

Thoroughly mix flour, milled flax seed, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Cut butter into dry ingredients until a pea-sized, mealy texture is formed. Add FF buttermilk. Do not over mix.

Place dough on floured breadboard with raisins. Knead 5 to 7 times to incorporate the raisins. Roll until dough is 1/2 inch thick. Cut into triangles 2 inches wide by 4 inches long. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 12 minutes or until done.  Be careful not to over bake or they will be dry!

Serves:  16

WWP:  2

Lilli was so proud of “her” creation.  She told me her favorite part was when I let her use the pasty tool to fold in the butter.  Oh, what fun.

Scones before the bake.  Originally I started with 8 scones, but after they bake they were huge I cut them in half again to make 16.

Into the oven they go!

One of the best things about cooking with a kid is that they love doing the dishes.  I put Lilli right to work, careful to spread several towels on the floor underneath her.

Lilli so proud of herself.

happen’ over at Peanut Butter Boy. 

I decided to enter for 2 reasons:  1) because I love peanut butter and 2) because I desperately wanted to get out of watching the movie my DH brought home from the video store (The Water Horse, ugh). 

I didn’t really have a peanut butter cookie recipe in mind that was figure friendly, so I made one up.  Introducing:  Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies (with Crasins & Sunflower Seeds!).  Oh yes, the name is a little heavy, but the cookies aren’t.  They’re light, sweet, peanut butter-ey, and, well, fabulous at 2pts a piece. 

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 small banana, mashed
1/4 cup unpacked brown sugar
1/4 cup light butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup Hodgson Mill Milled flax seed
1/4 cup oat bran
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, I used Hershey’s Sugar Free Chips
2 Tbsp sunflower seeds

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix first 6 ingredients in a stand mixer until smooth.
2. Mix in dry ingredients and stir until smooth.
3. Fold in dried cranberries, chocolate chips and sunflower seeds.
4. Roll into balls and put on greased (Pam!) baked sheet.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes.  Do not over bake or they will be dry.

Makes 24 2-3″ cookies.
WWP: 2pts per cookie

LINKFEST:

Have WWP’s to spare?  Check out some of the decadent peanut butter cookies recipes I came across last night while trying to avoid the lockness monster.

Baking Bites has a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie recipe that brought a tear to my eye. 

Deborah over at Taste and Tell made some impressive Chocolate Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies.  Oh, come to mama. 

In the mood for something spicy?  Try the Cayenne Peanut Butter Cookies over at Hot Sauce Blog.  Make sure your packin’ some Pepto though.

Living life gluten free?  Gluten Free Journey posted an enticing flour-less GF Peanut Butter Cookie.

Without further ado, the recipe…
Homemade Corn Dogs

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

3. In a shallow pan, combine the Bisquick, cornmeal, Splenda, and milk.

5. Place the flour on a plate.

The bowl was too small, so I transfered the corn mixture to a plate

6. Insert a Popsicle stick, or wooden skewer into each hotdog.

This felt dirty for some reason

7. Roll each hotdog into the flour, then the batter to coat.

8. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Coat each hot-dog with butter flavored nonstick cooking spray.

9. Bake for 5 minutes, and then turn the hotdogs over carefully with a spatula. Coat each one with nonstick cooking spray again, and bake for 8 minutes or until golden brown.

Corn Dogs with Leftover Mac N’ Cheesey
Yes, yes I am getting sick of eating Macaroni & Cheese. As good as it is, I’m so done. Luckily, we finished off the pan tonight. On to better things.

WWP: 2 per Corn Dog

Serves: 8

It seem that there was a little confusion about this recipe in my last post.  I posted recipes for Black Bean Burgers and Black Bean Brownies in the same post:  Black Bean Bonanza.  Apparently it was confusing because I literally got 64,001  e-mails about it (thanks for the feedback!). 

So here it is.  The black bean brownie recipe, alone, in all it’s gooey chocolaty gloriousness:

INGREDIENTS:
1 Box Betty Crocker Low Fat Fudge Brownie Mix
1 (15 oz.) Can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1 Cup Water
1/4c. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Puree the beans and water together until smooth in a blender.
3. Stir into the brownie mix until combined.
4. Spray a 9X13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.
5. Pour the mixture into the pan and sprinkle with chocolate chips.
6. Bake for 25-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted 2 inches from the side of the pan comes out almost clean.
7. Cool completely and then cut into 24 pieces.

I PROMISE you can’t taste the beans.  My husband who is the pickiest eater in the world scarfed three of them down before I told him they had black beans in them.  This brownie is more like a dense cake like brownie and is fabulous topped with FREE Cool Whip.

Serves: 24
Points: 2 per brownie

Click here for a printable version of Black Bean Brownies! 

I’m sorry; I couldn’t resist the alliteration.

I was craving a burger today. Real. Bad. I really didn’t want to halt any progress though so I began to look for alternatives. I’m not extremely comfortable with the idea of eating weird vegetarian food quite yet. I get very hot and flustered in “that” section of the grocery store, so I was thrilled when I found a Black Bean Burger recipe online. I actually had all the ingredients too. That never happens! The Result: Burger Heaven

Click “read more” for Black Bean Burger and Black Bean Brownie Recipe!!!

Black Bean Burgers

INGREDIENTS:
1 (15 oz.) canned Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 Cup Dry Italian Breadcrumbs
1/3 Cup Chopped Shallots (or onions)
1/4 Cup Shredded Carrots
2 Tablespoons Cornmeal (I didn’t have any so I used corn muffin mix – totally worked)
1 Egg
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, minced through garlic press
1/4 teaspoon Salt
2 tbsp Salsa
1 tbsp Worchester Sauce

SAUCE:
1 Teaspoon Fat Free Sour Cream
1 Teaspoon Fat Free Mayonnaise
1 Teaspoon Salsa

DIRECTIONS:
1. Rinse and drain black beans and divide in half. Put half of them in a mixing bowl and the other in a food processor. Pulse until you have pureed chunks.

2. Mince garlic and shallots. Shred carrots.

3. Combine whole beans, bean puree, veggies and the rest of the ingredients in a mixing bow. Stir to incorporate. Do not over combine, just enough to mix.

Not exactly appetizing at this point

4. Divide into 4 equal parts

5. Spray grill pan with Spray butter and heat to Medium High. Cook 1-2 minutes on each side or until crispy.

6. Assemble the sauce. 1 tsp Light Sour cream, 1 tsp Fat Free Mayonnaise and 1 tsp salsa.

7. Result? Bean Burger Heaven!

Serves: 4
Points: 3 per patty (does not include bun or sauce)
Click here for a printable version of Black Bean Burgers!

Black Bean Brownies

INGREDIENTS:
1 Box Betty Crocker Low Fat Fudge Brownie Mix
1 (15 oz.) Can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1 Cup Water

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Puree the beans and water together until smooth in a blender.
3. Stir into the brownie mix until combined.
4. Spray a 9X13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.
5. Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 25-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted 2 inches from the side of the pan comes out almost clean.
6. Cool completely and then cut into 24 pieces.

Don’t worry, you can’t taste the beans. This brownie is more like a dense cake like brownie.

Serves: 24
Points: 2 per brownie

Diet Food? Um, Sorta.

It was a looooooong day at work today so I planned to come home and make some cookies for dessert.   I was craving chocolate and Andy has been begging me to make something that didn’t have flax seed or spinach in it.  So I purposely saved enough points throughout the day to indulge just a little while still staying on track.  My plans were deterred however when a friend called who was having a really, really bad day.  We ended up taking her and her daughter to dinner and accompanied them to worship night at church.  We didn’t get home until after 8pm.  Usually the time I turn into a pumpkin (these early morning workouts are killing me).

I succumbed to my husbands desperate stares and ended up making them tonight.  And I’m glad I did!  They are the most delicious 2pt cookie I’ve had!  Small.  Tiny even, but delicious! 

Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/4c.  all purpose flour
• 1c. regular oats
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 granulated sugar
• 1/2c. brown sugar, packed
• 1/3c. butter, softened
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 large egg
• 1 egg white
• 1/4c. chopped pecans
• 1/4 c. mini chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix together first 4 ingredients in seperate bowl.
3. Add remaining ingredients (minus the pecans and chocolate chips) in another bowl and mix until smooth.
4. Slowly add dry ingredients.  Mix until well incorporated.

Add in 1/4c. chocolate chips (I didn’t have any mini)

Chop nuts and add to mixture.

I remember one time when I watching Rachel Ray she said ” Now remember GUYS, keep your NUTS in the freezer when your done with them’.  Ha ha.  Crass, yes!  But so funny!

It should look like this.  Resist the temptation to eat the raw dough!

In order to ensure correct points value per cookie.  I measure the dough and then divide it into three equal balls.

Because the recipe makes 36 cookies, I roll the three equal balls into logs and cut them into 12 equal portion cookies.

12 equal portions

Place on greased cookie sheets and bake for 10 minutes.

Now go buy a lock for the cookie jar. 

Recipe yields 36 cookies.  Each cookie is 81 Calories, 3gm of Fat, .5gm Fiber, 2 points each.