Southwestern egg rolls

Ok, so I realized it has been a while since I last posted. I am sorry but the reason would be because my life got kind of crazy for a while. It has been a juggling at that I much enjoy with working out and work but you have suffered. Now that I understand what I am doing and it's became a routine, I have more time to fit in blogging. YAY!!

Also, big changes since I blogged is that I am now under 200 lbs (even under 190) and I will need to exchange my wedding dress because it has gotten too big! When I started my last size got too big! So I am at least 2 sizes down from when I started!!! 

I know you have not come here today to read about me but instead about the recipe so here we go....

This is a good one too. This is a take on Chili's Southwestern Egg Rolls and the only difference I tasted was that these are not fried. They are so good that my picky eater fiancee went back for another after eating 3! (I did too). 

The egg roll wrappers were hard to find. Walmart did not have them BUT Kroger did. They were in the area right by the bagged salad with the tofu and organic stuff.

I got this recipe from a weightwatchers magazine named "Weightwatchers Five-Star Top-Rated Recipes"

Southwestern Egg Rolls 1 egg roll a serving, 2 WWPP

1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed

3/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained

3/4 cup refrigerated fresh salsa

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon salt-free Southwest chipotle seasoning blend (Ms. Dash)

9 egg roll wrappers

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Cooking Spray

Lime wedges (optional)

Cilantro Sprigs (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl.

 

Working with 1 egg roll wrapper at a time (cover the remaining wrappers with a damp towel to keep from drying), spoon about 1/4 cup corn mixture into center of wrapper.

Fold lower right corner over corn mixture; fold lower left and top right corners over mixture. Moisten top left  corner with egg white; roll up, jelly-roll fashion. Repeat procedure with remaining wrappers, corn mixture, and egg white. Coat egg rolls with cooking spray; place seam sides down, baking sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with lime wedges and cilantro sprigs, if desired.

I had mine with some jalapeno ranch.

Hope you enjoy. Have a great day.

Raspberry-Chocolate Shortbread Bars

These are yummy. Just plain yummy. I will give you the recipe first, then I will put my comments. I got this from "Tastier than Takeout" weight watchers cook book. There will be more recipes from this book to come.

Raspberry-Chocolate Shortbread Bars 30 servings 5 wwpp

2 cups reduced-fat buttermilk baking mix (I used low fat bisquik)
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons fat-free milk
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons chopped pecans
1/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves (I used raspberry preserves with seeds in because I could not find any without and I do not have any problems with the seeds)

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Line 9 x 13-inch baking pan with foil, extending foil over rim of pan by 2 inches. Spray foil with nonstick spray.

Whisk together baking mix, brown sugar, and butter in large bowl.

 Transfer 1/4 cup mixture to small bowl; set aside. Drizzle milk over mixture in large bowl and stir until evenly moistened. Turn into prepared pan and press to evenly cover bottom.

Bake until edges brown, about 15 minutes. (I baked mine for 10 minutes)

Put condensed milk and 1 cup chocolate chips in large microwavable bowl. Microwave on High 1 minute. Stir until chips are melted; microwave 10-15 seconds longer if necessary. Spread evenly over hot crust. Mix pecans into reserved crumb mixture. Sprinkle over filling.

Spoon jam by 1/2 teaspoonfuls over filling, spacing about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips.

Bake until filling is set and jam is bubbly, about 25 minutes.

Cool completely in pan on rack. Lift from pan using foil. Cut into 30 bars.

Now I did say to myself, cut into 30 bars would make small bars and it does. I enjoy the small bars though. It is too sweet when you have 2 (and you shouldn't because it is 10 points!)

I enjoy these a lot but I wish I could separate the raspberry preserves out more because my first bar all I got was chocolate. That was nice because I love chocolate but it kind of bummed me out. When you get a glob of raspberry, it is a lot of raspberry. I would change that.

I do really really like these though. Try them out. :)

Have a great day!

Neon Splash Dash 2013 - My first 5k

Ok, so I asked people on my Facebook and they said that they want to know about my 5k experiences. I am new to 5k(s) or to running, actually.

I tried couch to 5k last year and I got halfway through and I got sick and then never started again. While I was working towards my goal of running a 5k with that program, I saw a Groupon for $25 Neon Splash Dash 5k. It tells you on the program to sign up for a 5k in the future to keep you motivated to end up running a 5k with ease.

Now, I am a penny pincher and Pierce, my fiance, had to run a 5k for his class in college so he signed up too.

We arrived 2 hours early because we didn't know what to expect. There were so many sponsors there. I didn't even really notice that 2 hours had passed because Pierce and I were talking to so many people and seeing so many different things. It really kept my mind off of the fact that I was not prepared to run a 5k.

Here are some before pictures:

Then we lined up and there were lights flashing all around us and it was becoming very real. This was not just a party, I actually had to complete a 5k or 3.1 miles. Mind blown at that moment as we are getting closer and closer to the starting line. Really, I just wanted to hang out with the vendors and dance to music the whole time. I don't know if Pierce knew this but I was truly scared.

It is our time to start and we start off with a good slow jog, then slow to a walk because I am so out of shape and I cannot do this! In high school I could barely jog a mile! That was at the peak of my fitness! A good friend of mine named Melissa told me that it is all in your head. All those nasty thoughts about you not being able to do it are all up there. Your muscles can carry you 3.1 miles.

Pierce was very patient with me and we made a plan. We started jogging when we saw the color stations. We could walk all the rest of the way if we wanted but we had to jog once we saw the station and that really worked for us. We jogged most to all of the 5k and we felt great doing it!

The color that they sprayed us with was in these big tubs and they had water guns that they would fill up and spray you with. It illuminated under the back lights. It was cold up against the skin, which was great because I was so hot from running.

After we passed the finish line, we took photos and danced to the music and after from a food truck and it was a really great experience. The best part afterwards, in my opinion, would be the Lemonade Day people. If you do not know about what they are doing, it is a great cause for young people and teaching them about being business owners. They were giving away little cups of lemonade. That had to have been the best lemonade I have ever tasted in my life.

It was a great experience. If you think you can't do it, you are so wrong! I know you can! Actually so great that we signed up for a 5k the following Saturday...

Some after pictures:

 

What I need to know from you...

So guess who has been really bad with posting on her blog recently... Yep, that would be me... I am sorry. Would y'all be interested in my experiences doing 5k(s) recently or just recipes? Let me know please.

I can post pictures and talk about the 5k(s) and also about what I do to get fit. Just comment and let me know.

 

Have a great day!

Frozen Peanut Butter Cups

This are awesome! They kind of tasting like ice cream and a peanut butter cup. They are so yummy and only about one point. You really just need to try these.

Frozen Peanut Butter Cups 12 Servings at 1 wwpp

3 Tbsp. Peanut Butter
1 tub of Fat Free Cool Whip (make sure it is thawed)
Lite Hersey's syrup

Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners. Mix together the peanut butter and cool whip. Evenly distribute the mixture into the 12 cupcake liners (a little more than a spoon full each).

Put a little chocolate syrup in each one.

Freeze.

Keep them in the freezer and eat. They are amazing.

Hope you enjoy. Please comment or tell me on facebook how this or any of the recipes turn out. I really want to know.
Have a great day.

Makeover Hash Brown Soup

I took this from Taste of Home Light Slow Cooker magazine. I am in love with this magazine. We got it when we started on Weight Watchers in January but it is amazing. I wish all of you could buy this magazine. I will probably be using a ton of these recipes. This recipe when I made it did not come out like the picture in the magazine though...The picture in the magazine looks more soup-y, whereas mine looks more potatoe-y

Makeover Hash Brown Soup Serving Size 3/4 cup and 5 wwpp

2 green onions, chopped
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 package (28 ounces) frozen O'Brien potatoes, thawed
2 cups 2% milk
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) reduced-fat reduced-sodium condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
6 turkey bacon strips, diced and cooked (We did not use turkey bacon when we used it.)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a small skillet, saute onions in oil until tender.

In a 5-qt. slow cooker, combine the potatoes, milk, soup, and onions. (Of course, I didn't read that the potatoes needed to be thawed so mine sat in the slower cooker for like 30 minutes after adding all the ingredients into the slow cooker)

Cook and cover on low for 6-7 hours or until heated through. (I cooked it for 6 hours). Top each serving with 2 tablespoons bacon and 1 tablespoon cheese.

What I do when I get home from shopping. 1st edition

We do quite a lot when we get home from the store. This is the first part of me showing you what I do. These are the things that really help me stay on my diet.

I love chips. Especially after we made that salsa recipe. Chips and salsa are my favorite part of going to a tex mex resturant. I weigh out the chips according to the serving size. This makes it so much easier because I am the kind of person who will eat an entire bag of chips if I sit down with it.


After weighing all the chips on the scale, I bag them up in little snack sized bags then I write the points on all of the little bags. To save space I put all the little bags into the big bag they originally came in and put all that in the pantry. It works. Really.

Try it, it helps me.

Five-Ingredient Upside-Down Cake

I LOVE this recipe. Trust me, people who are not on weight watchers and do not like anything "diet" love this dessert. This is a weight watcher recipe but it is not one that tastes like it. The edges taste buttery and crunchy and the rest tastes soft and wonderful. It is a perfect after dinner dessert.

Five-Ingredient Upside-Down Cake. Serves 10 WWPP 4

What you need:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, divided
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 pound canned pineapple rings in juice (I just get the normal can with the pineapple rings in juice.), reserve 1/4 cup juice
1/4 pound unprepared vanilla cake mix, a little less than a cup
1 large egg
Preheat oven to 375˚F. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 9-inch round, flameproof, aluminum pan over medium-low heat (make sure to cover entire pan bottom); sprinkle sugar over top. If you see, I have a problem with putting the pan right on the stove top, so I put a skillet on the heat and then put the pan on there. Works great.

Carefully place pineapple rings in a single layer in bottom of pan.

Increase heat to medium-high and cook until pineapple caramelizes, flipping once, about 2 minutes per side; remove pan from heat.

Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter on stove top or in microwave. In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat egg with remaining melted butter. Add cake mix and reserved pineapple juice; combine well.

Pour batter over pineapple;

I take a spoon and spray the back of it with PAM then spread the batter across the pineapple slices

Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes.

 Allow cake to cool for about 15 to 20 minutes; when still warm, loosen sides with a knife and invert cake onto a serving plate.

Slice into 10 pieces and serve. I use a pizza cutter to slice it.

 That it great. Have a great day. Thank you for stopping by the blog. Please share with your friends if you like. As always please comment if you like, or dislike.

Salad-in-a-jar

I hate salads. I HATE salads. I HATE SALADS!

Ok now that we have that out of the way, I have to admit, I like french fries more. Here's the reason, french fries are easy to make. Salads I have to cut the vegetables, and wash the vegetables, and measure the dressing. If it's not fat free you are looking at 4 points, easily. Which is no fun because I LOVE ranch dressing.

I LOVE salad-in-a-jar. The reason why is because you can easily make it ahead of him. So I do not have to worry when I have days I have to sub because I have a full lunch ready for me. I have read that you can make it ahead of time, up to 4 days. I have not let it stand for 4 days because that is kind of long time to have a salad prepared. The salad in a jar works great because the lettuce never gets soggy, which is part of the reason I hated salads in the first place. One jar makes 1 big salad OR 2 side salads.

This is the side salad version

Full size salad after I ate a bit of it

The way you have to layer it is...
1. Dressing on the bottom
2. Mushrooms, squash, cucumbers (anything that needs to be marinated because it will be drowned in dressing)
3. Broccoli
4. Tomatoes
5. Spinach
6. As much lettuce as you can fit in there. I mean pack it in good. I do.
7. In this one I tried pecans on top because I like crunch in my salad but I did not love the pecans in there. I make it without now.

All you have to do is shake the bottle up and when you are ready to eat it and it's done. Really it is great when you are in a rush in the mornings.

I will next buy plastic jars because these glass ones scare me when they are in my lunch box.

Also, wide mouth jars would be more convenient because you can get things in and out easier.

Chocolate chip Walnut Apple Oatmeal Cookies

I have made these last week and I cannot stop eating them. I took this recipe off of pinterest but I cannot remember whose blog it is from. Sorry.

If you are interested in any of my recipes, want to try, try and love or try and hate please let me know. Comment on here or on facebook. I always want to know what your thoughts are.

My one complaint about this recipe is that the cookies are WAY too small. You drop a tablespoon onto the cookie sheet and that is what you get out of the oven. They do not expand at all. Next time I bake these, and their will be a next time, I will put 2 tablespoons and make 8 cookies and take the 2 or 3 points per cookie.

These are great if you have kids and they love cookies because this is a healthier way to present a cookie, they are darn tasty, and you can have them for breakfast. This is how I eat them most of the time BUT I eat them 4 at a time.

These cookies are totally customizable. The base recipe is 1 cup quick oats and 2 ripe bananas. (These would be great even with over ripe bananas, those that are getting a bit too bruised for your taste.) You can add what ever you want to them. (Of course the points will change on what you add and do not add) Chocolate chips, walnuts, dried fruit, I use my favorite oatmeal that is in packets that I eat almost every morning. So on with my recipe.

Chocolate chip Walnut Apple Oatmeal Cookies Yields 16. 1 wwpp each

What you will need:
2 packets of Quaker Oatmeal, Apples and Cinnamon
2 Tbsp Walnuts
2 medium ripe bananas
2 Tbsp Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Dump the packets of oatmeal in a bowl with the two bananas.

Smash the oatmeal and bananas together without your extra stuff in there.

 Then add in your chocolate chips and walnuts and stir.

Grease your cookie sheet. On the blog I took this idea from it said, that you will regret not greasing the cookie sheet.

Drop Tbsp full of the cookie dough on the cookie sheet.

Pop in the oven for 15 minutes.

Take them off your cookie sheet onto the cookie cooling rack.

These are really wonderful. I love eating them, my fiancee loves eating them and there is not a boxed mix going into them. Again, I would be dropping 2 tbsp for each cookie next time so that they would not be so small but they are really great.

Have a great day!