Pepperoni Pizza Cups

                                               My kids LOVED these! One pizza cup is 15 carbs. 

Recipe from:  For the Love of Cooking.net

• Cooking spray
• 1 tube of refrigerator biscuits (I used reduced fat Grands)
• Pizza sauce
• Mozzarella cheese, diced or shredded
• Turkey pepperoni slices
• Parmesan Cheese, shredded
• Dried Basil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat a muffin tin with cooking spray.

Cut each biscuit in half then press the dough into of the bottom and sides of the muffin tin. Repeat with the remaining dough. Spoon sauce into each cup. Place some diced (or shredded) mozzarella cheese into the cups followed by a few slices of pepperoni.

Finally add a bit more mozzarella if desired then sprinkle the tops with Parmesan cheese and dried oregano.

Place into the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese has melted. Serve immediately. Enjoy.

You can use canned pizza sauce or this homemade red sauce recipe that I use for my pizzas. I LOVE this sauce. 

Homemade Red Sauce

1  -14.5 oz can Italian Stewed Tomatoes 

1 small can tomato paste

1 t sugar

1 t dried oregano

1 t dried basil

1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t salt

1/2 t lemon juice

pinch red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients into a small food processor and blend. (I used my blender)

My favorite French Bread

I love making this bread, my friend Julie gave me this recipe years ago.
This is definitely a keeper.

2 Tablespoons of yeast

3 Tablespoons of sugar

2 1/2 cups warm water

Let yeast rise

Add and mix until blended

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 cups flour

1 Tablespoon salt

Add 3-4 more cups of flour until smooth and elastic

Let rise until doubled. Punch down and form into 2 loaves. Make slits across the top about 1 inch apart and brush with beaten egg. Let rise again until nice and big. Bake on stoneware at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Bean with Bacon Soup

I've been tired of all my soup recipes, I found this one on Jaime Cooks it Up. I was surprised how much my kids loved it.  I really liked it too.
1/2cup of Northern beans is 17 carbs. 

Bean with Bacon Soup

www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com Time: 40 minutes Yield: 8 servings Recipe from MyHandsomeHusband   3/4 pound bacon 1 small onion 4 large carrots 4   15 ounce cans Great Northern Beans 4 C water 2 bay leaves 1/4 t pepper 1 T beef bullion 3 T tomato paste 1 t liquid smoke 2 t Worcestershire sauce 2 T apple cider vinegar 1 t salt 1/8 t basil, dried 1/4 t thyme, dried 2 T sugar pinch red pepper flakes 1. Chop up your bacon into chunks.  2. Toss them into a large soup pot and cook the bacon over medium high heat, just until the  edges start to crisp. You don't want it too cruchy, The middle should still be a bit pink.   3. Chop your onions and carrots up into little small pieces.  4. Add the vegetables to the bacon and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the veggies are crisp  tender.  5. Drain the juices of JUST ONE CAN Great Northern beans into the sink.  You want  the juices  from the other 3 cans to go into the soup pot. Add the drained can, and the other three cans to  the soup pot.  6. Add all other ingredients and bring the soup to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and let  it cook for about 30 minutes.

Pumpkin cupcakes

I've been reading this blog called Skinny Taste good. It's a great blog. These pumpkin cupcakes have no oil and eggs. My kids loved them, no need for frosting either:) Regular cupcakes are about 30 carbs a piece, that's without frosting. These cupcakes only have 18 carbs a piece. 

Pumpkin Cupcakes (no frosting)
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 24 • Serving Size: 1 cupcake • Old Points: 2 pts • Points+: 2 pts
Calories: 84.2 • Fat: 0.8 g • Protein: 0.6 g • Carb: 18.5 g • Fiber: 0.3 g • Sugar: 9.9 g
Sodium: 140.9 mg  


Pumpkin Cupcakes with Frosting
Servings: 24 • Serving Size: 1 cupcake • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 3 pts
Calories: 121.1 • Fat: 2.8 g • Protein: 1.4 g • Carb: 23.2 g • Fiber: 0.5 g • Sugar:13.9 g
Sodium: 142.3 mg

Ingredients:

• 18.25 oz Betty Crocker Golden Vanilla Super Moist Cake Mix*
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup canned 100% pure pumpkin
• 1 cup water

For the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 8 oz Philadelphia 1/3 fat cream cheese (do not use fat free)
• 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin (canned is fine)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 5 tbsp packed brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake wrappers.

Combine cake mix and pumpkin spice in a large bowl. Add pumpkin puree and water, mix about 2 minutes.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake about 20 - 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
 For the frosting, combine the cream cheese, pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and brown sugar until smooth. You can use a spatula to ice the cupcakes or pipe them which may require making more frosting. 

Makes 24

Bread Bowls

These are delicious! The recipe says you can get 6 bread bowls out of this recipe, I wanted mine bigger so I divided the dough into fours. 

82 carbs when dough is divided into 4 bowls.  When dividing the dough into 6 pieces it is 55 carbs per bowl. The smaller bowls are great for the kids, even for adults if you want to cut back on your carbs. 

Soft Bread Bowls

www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com Time: about 60 minutes Yield: 6 bowls Recipe adapted from Taste Of Home 2 T sugar 1 1/2 t salt 4 C flour (When it says to add the last two cups of flour, I only used 1 1/2 cups) 1/2 C warm water 1 C  milk 2 T butter 1 T yeast 1 egg, beaten    1. Place 2 C flour into the bottom of your stand mixer. Add the sugar and the salt.  Stir it around a bit to combine.  2. Pour your milk and water into one measuring cup. Heat it in the microwave for 1 minute, or until bubbly and hot.   3. Carefully put the butter into the hot liquid and let it melt just a bit.   4. Pour the buttery milk into your mixer. Turn the mixer on to low and let it mix for just 30 seconds or so.  5. Add the yeast and the remaining 2 cups of flour.  6. Mix the dough for 5 minutes.  7. Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray and set the dough out on to it.  8. Using a sharp knife cut the dough into 6 equal parts. likes to be left without a bread bowl. :) 9. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then shape each piece into a ball. Whisk your egg up in a small bowl and  spread the egg over the tops of each  dough ball.  10. Place the pan in a 170 degree oven and let the dough rise until doubled in size. This should take  between 15-25 minutes.  11. Turn your oven up to 350 degrees (leave the pan in the oven while the temperature increases)  Bake the little bowls for  about 15 minutes (depending on how long your oven takes to heat up) or until golden brown.  12. Let the bowls cool for about 10 minutes, then slice the top of each bowl, scoop out the middle,  and pour some soup right on in!

Jeweled Holiday Salad with Honey-Shallot Vinaigrette

Had to share this new recipe, it's a good one from Maryam's cook book. YUM. 

Vinaigrette
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper, to taste

Salad
Mixed greens
Gala apples or firm ripe pears, chopped
Pomegranate seeds
Smoked cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
Candied pecan


Sauté chopped shallots in pan until dark and
caramelized. Deglaze shallots with a few ounces of
vinegar. Cool shallots then puree all ingredients in
blender or food processor until emulsified. Refrigerate.

Cami's Rasberry Lemonade

This is delicious!


2 cans (12 oz each) frozen lemonade, thawed and undiluted
2 packages (10 oz each) frozen sweetened raspberries, partially thawed
2 to 4 T. sugar
2 liters club soda or sprite, chilled ice cubes

In a blender, combine lemonade concentrate, raspberries and sugar.  Cover and process until blended.  Strain to remove seeds.  In a large container combine raspberry mixture, club soda and ice cubes; mix well.  Serve immediately.

Crockpot Chicken Chili

I made this the other night, it was tasty:)

Ingredients: 

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 16-oz can black beans
• 1 16-oz can kidney beans
• 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
• 10 oz package frozen corn kernels
• 2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes w/chilies
• 1 packet taco seasoning(I added two packets)
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 24 oz (3-4) boneless skinless chicken breasts
• chili peppers, chopped (optional)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions: 

Combine beans, onion, chili peppers, corn, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder and taco seasoning in a slow cooker. Place chicken on top and cover. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Top with fresh cilantro. Also try it with low fat cheese and sour cream.

 Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes

Servings: 10 • Size: 1 1/4 cups • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 5 pts

Calories: 203.7 • Fat: 1.4 g • Carb: 33.3 g • Fiber: 10.0 g  • Protein: 16.9 g

Turkey Brine

I've always wanted to try a brine on my turkey to see if it really made a difference with making a turkey more moist. We really enjoyed the turkey it was moist and had a nice flavor. I emailed my friend Maryam to get some extra tips on roasting a turkey and I took her advice as well. I'm going to just add what she wrote so I don't forget her tips for next year....

The bottom line is that there are a million opinions about how to cook a turkey. And everyone's "way" is the best.  

Here are my opinions, for what they're worth:

1) Brining can be a great thing, but seasoning a turkey simply and NOT overcooking can yield just at nice a bird. Plus, many commercial turkeys are already soaked in a saltwater solution––essentially a brine–– and so brining would overdo it. If you brine a turkey, NO ADDITIONAL SALT is needed. Just pepper, herbs, etc. I do brine pork quite often and love it.

2) Blasting a turkey at the beginning of cooking is a bit fussy and too much to worry about on a busy day. I always do a simple 325 degrees the whole time. Works for me.

3) The trickiest part of turkey cooking is getting the bird cooked evenly (the dark meat) without overcooking the breast. A few tricks are to put ice packs on the breast meat area while the turkey is sitting out and coming to room temperature. This allows the dark meat to start cooking while the breast meat is coming up to temperature in the oven. Another one is starting the turkey upside down and flipping the bird after an hour. This allows the dark meat to get a jump start cooking as well. Finally, you can dip several layers of cheesecloth in chicken broth mixed with some melted butter and lay the cloth over the whole bird. This protects the breast meat from cooking too quickly and keeps the bird moist without completely covering it with a lid.

My lovely Brine:)

My bird taking a nice 24 hour bath it's  brine.

My Favorite Turkey Brine

Recipe from the Pioneer Woman blog

Prep Time 10 Minutes Cook Time 15 Minutes

Servings 18

Difficulty Easy

Ingredients

• 3 cups Apple Juice Or Apple Cider
• 2 gallons Cold Water
• 4 Tablespoons Fresh Rosemary Leaves
• 5 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1-½ cup Kosher Salt
• 2 cups Brown Sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Peppercorns
• 5 whole Bay Leaves
• Peel Of Three Large Oranges

Preparation Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Stir until salt and sugar dissolve. Bring to a boil, then turn off heat and cover.

Allow to cool completely, then pour into a large brining bag or pot. Place uncooked turkey in brine solution, then refrigerate for 16 to 24 hours.

When ready to roast turkey, remove turkey from brine. Submerge turkey in a pot or sink of fresh, cold water. Allow to sit in clean water for 15 minutes to remove excess salt from the outside.

Discard brine. Remove turkey from clean water, pat dry, and cook according to your normal roasting method.