Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins - 2 WW Points

So, I am back on the Weight Watchers wagon and currently in my 5th week. It's going pretty well and there hasn't been much temptation - until today. I turned on the television this morning and it is "Chocolate Weekend" on Food Network. Now I've got a chocolate monkey on my back. Luckily, I had the few simple ingredients on hand to make 2-point Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins. My snack tonight was one of these muffins and a cup of skim milk. It hit the spot and took care of that chocolate monkey, too! Here's the recipe - if you could even call it that.


Chocolate Pumpkin 2-Point Muffins
makes 24

1 box Devil's Food cake mix
1 (15oz) can of pumpkin
1 cup of water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Either place paper cupcake liners into muffin tins or spray them with cooking spray.

Blend together all three ingredients, using either a whisk or an electric mixer. Evenly distribute batter in muffin tins.

Bake for 18-20 minutes. Muffins will be extremely moist.

*Can be made with any flavor of cake mix, so experiment to see what you like the best. My family likes spice, chocolate, and strawberry the best.

Saving Money By Going Meatless

Meatless entrees are favorites of my personal chef clients for a number of reasons, including special diets, personal preference, and religious requirements. Vegetarian entrees are also gaining popularity in the current economy as budget stretchers. The recipes below are for a few of the meatless entrees that my clients repeatedly request.

Meatless Stuffed Peppers
Serves 4










1 cup water
1/2 cup uncooked Arborio rice
2 green bell peppers, halved and seeded
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Lightly grease a baking sheet. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Stir in the rice. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside. Place the peppers cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Roast 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until tender and skin starts to brown. While the peppers are roasting, heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onions, basil, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper in oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato, and cook for 5 minutes. Spoon in the cooked rice, and stir until heated through. Remove from heat, mix in the feta cheese, and spoon the mixture into the pepper halves. Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Cheesy Eggplant Lasagna
Serves 6













2 medium eggplant peeled and cut into 1/4" thick, lengthwise slices
2 pinches garlic salt or to taste
8 ounces mushroom, fresh, sliced
1 medium garlic clove, minced
2 cups Marinara sauce, lowfat
6 ounces Mozzarella cheese, lowfat or fat free - finely shredded

Preheat the broiler.
Mist a 13" x 9" glass baking dish with olive oil spray. Set aside. Lightly mist the eggplant with olive oil spray. Place on a medium nonstick baking sheet. Sprinkle both sides with garlic salt. Broil 6" from the heat source for 3 to 5 minutes per side, or until tender. Meanwhile, lightly mist a medium nonstick skillet with olive oil spray. Set over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until there is no liquid remaining in the pan and the mushrooms are starting to brown. Preheat the oven to 350. Place half of the eggplant in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with half of the mushroom mixture, half of the marinara sauce, and half of the cheese. Repeat with the remaining eggplant, mushrooms, sauce, and cheese. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until hot and the cheese is bubbly. Remove and let stand for 10 minutes. Cut into 6 equal portions. Serve immediately.

Southwestern Vegetarian Bake
Serves 6














3/4 cup brown rice, uncooked
1 1/2 cups water
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (11 ounce) can mexicorn, drained
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 cup salsa
1 cup sour cream
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1 (2 1/4 ounce) can black olives, sliced, drained
1 cup Mexican blend cheese, shredded

In a large saucepan, bring rice and water to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 35-40 minutes, until tender. In a bowl, combine beans, corn, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, cheddar, pepper and rice. Transfer to a 2 1/2 quart baking dish coated with nonstick spray. Sprinkle onions and olives over top. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30 minutes. Sprinkle Mexican cheese over top. Bake 5-10 minutes longer, until cheese is melted. Let stand 10 minutes.

Back On The Wagon in 2009

We've all heard, "the cobbler's children have no shoes." In my case, I have helped several of my clients lose weight by preparing meals for their specific diet plans, yet my weight continues to increase. Maybe I need to hire a personal chef too!

As many people do, I've committed to getting back on the wagon this new year. After reaching my goal with Weight Watchers in 2004, I quit smoking and gained back the weight - and then some. Ugh.

This past Monday, I started again - journaling and counting my points. It's not so bad, actually. It's really a stark wake-up call as I again realize that my portion sizes had gotten out of control and my food choices were not the best.

Of the healthy meals that I prepared for my family this week, there were two that I really enjoyed. The first was Garlic-Pecan Mahi Mahi and the other was General Tso's Chicken & Brown Rice. These dishes both have a points value of 6. Add a cup of green beans or broccoli and you have a complete low points dinner that satisfies.

The General Tso's Chicken recipe was found on Recipezaar.com and the Garlic-Pecan Mahi Mahi recipe was adapted from the WeightWatchers.com message boards.

General Tso's Chicken (6pts)
serves 4

3/4 Cup chicken broth (low sodium)
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 Tablespoons soy sauce (low sodium)
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 Teaspoon ground ginger
2 Teaspoons peanut oil
1/4 Cup scallions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 Teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 Pound boneless, skinless chicken breast - cut into 2" chunks
2 Cups cooked brown rice - kept hot

In a medium bowl, whisk together: broth, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and ginger; set aside.

Heat oil in wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add scallions, garlic, and pepper; cook for 2 minutes. Add chicken and cook until browned on all sides - approximately 5 minutes.

Add reserved sauce and simmer until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through - about 3 minutes.

Serve chicken and sauce over brown rice. Recipe yields approximately 1 cup of chicken & sauce and 1/2 cup brown rice per serving.

Garlic-Pecan Mahi Mahi (6pts)
serves 4

1 Pound Mahi Mahi filets
2 Teaspoons unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Ounces chopped pecans

Spray grill and fish with PAM. Grill (or broil) fish until white and flakey.

While fish is cooking, melt butter in small pan. Add pecans and garlic. Saute' over medium heat, stirring frequently so pecans toast but do not burn. When fish is cooked, top it with the garlic pecan butter.

Thank You From Soldiers in Rounds 4 & 5

I received this fabulous thank-you card from one of my Baking Gals team's Round 4 soldiers - Deb Davis - who is serving at a M*A*S*H type unit in Qatar. Check it out!

Team Your Place Gourmet has also received a big THANK YOU email from one of our Round 5 soldiers - Alan Scobel - who is also serving in Qatar.

Kim
Hello! Just wanted to thank you for all the goodies! It was pretty nice, especially being around the holidays. Of course I couldn't eat all of it, so usually I'd just leave a box around our shop (which has about 30 people in it), and within a day or two it was all eaten. All of the cookies & snacks were great! The shop really appreciated it. To all who attempted to make the no-bakes, they were awesome. Tasted like they should have! haha. I'm out of here & going back stateside sometime this month (hopefully the earlier part), so I just wanted to thank you for setting this up, and my shop thanks you as well! I tried to e-mail all who sent packages, if they left an e-mail addy, but most did not. If you could thank them for me I'd appreciate it. Thanks again!
Alan Scobel

To read more about these brave soldiers, check out my previous blog entries.

Decorated Christmas Sugar Cookies

Maybe it's because I only decorate sugar cookies once a year, but I seem to have amnesia for what a pain in the rear it is for me. Not being artistically talented, I find decorating sugar cookies to be challenging. Leaning toward OCD, I'm never happy with the results and it takes me quite a bit of time to do the decorating. Take a look at the picture to the left. There are 19 cookies in that photo. It took me SIX HOURS to decorate those 19 cookies. I have three dozen more, undecorated, in ziplock bags. I am not going to decorate them. Hell, I probably won't even frost them at all. In my opinion, they are just as good with a cup of coffee when not decorated. In fact, maybe they are even BETTER since I don't care about messing up the decoration by eating them. Each year, I swear I won't do decorated sugar cookies again. Then, each year, my "cookie-amnesia" kicks in and I get to rolling and cutting that sugar cookie dough. Maybe next year, I'll re-read this blog entry and it'll all come back to me before I preheat that oven.

Operation Baking Gals - Round 5 Has Shipped!

Well, here are a couple of the packages being sent out for Round 5. Each round, I include something in addition to the homemade cookies. This round, it was beef jerky and sunflower seeds. The cookie varieties for this round included requests by the soldiers for: No-Bake Cookies, Oatmeal Raisin, Peanut Butter, and Rice Krispies Treats.

I packaged the cookies in the personal chef meal packaging that I use for my clients. Once packaged in the lidded, plastic containers, I vacuum sealed the containers with my FoodSaver.

My soldier from Round 3 is safely back in the States from Afghanistan. Nick said the guys would get excited whenever they'd see a bunch of boxes being delivered. He also gave me some feedback on the cookies/packaging that worked the best and worst. Nick noted that cookies packaged in plastic containers (gladware, rubbermaid), those that were vacuum packaged, and those containing apple peels or bread, arrived the best and freshest. He said the worst were those packaged in recycled food containers (Pringles cans).

I want to thank the bakers on both of my teams for the time, effort, and resources you have donated to boost the morale of these soldiers. I know how busy everyone is around the holidays. You are appreciated more than you know. Merry Christmas!

One Pot Winter Meals

This is my son’s second year playing a winter sport. Since the games and practices take place mainly on weekdays, we need meals that are quick and easy to avoid the fast food and carryout trap. One pot meals can really fill the bill. Just add a loaf of crusty bread or a salad and you’re all set. One pot meals are also perfect for winter and for busy schedules because they keep warm well on the stove until the end of practice and they reheat beautifully the next day.

Stuffed Cabbage Casserole
1lb. lean ground beef
1/2 cup instant brown rice
1 can tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
4 cups cabbage or cole slaw mix
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Brown the ground beef. Drain. In a large bowl, mix everything else into the meat. Pour into an ungreased casserole dish, cover and bake for 60 minutes.


Chicken & Noodles
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup onions, chopped
10 cups hot water
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder (or soup base)
1 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 to 1-1/2 pound cooked, boneless skinless chicken breast, torn into large pieces
1 (16oz) bag frozen egg noodles

Mix carrots, celery, onions, water, bouillon, melted butter, pepper and chicken pieces in large stock pot.
Bring to a boil, turn to low heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add noodles and simmer on medium-low heat for an additional 10 minutes.
Serves 6-8


Savory Pressure Cooker Pot Roast
3 pound chuck roast
1 tablespoon Season-All seasoning salt
1 tablespoon olive oil (I use Wildtree grapeseed oil)
1 cup baby carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup sliced onions
1-3/4 cup water
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
5 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons beef bullion powder or beef base
2 bay leaves

Coat roast with Season-All. Brown roast in oil, on all sides (I use the pressure cooker base). Add carrots, celery, and onions when meat is nearly browned, add water and Worcestershire sauce.
Place potato halves on top of roast and add pepper, beef bullion powder, and bay leaves.

Lock lid in place and bring to pressure over medium-high heat. Cook at high pressure for 1 hour.

Release pressure naturally – do not use quick release. Test for tenderness. If not done to your liking, return to pressure for 10 minutes, quick release and test again.
When finished, serve with crusty bread for a hearty meal.


One Dish Chicken Fajita Dinner
2 (1-1/4oz) packages of fajita seasoning mix (I use Penzy’s, to taste)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips or chunks
2 red bell pepper, cut into strips or chunks
2 yellow bell peppers, cut into strips or chunks
4 cups cooked rice (brown or white)
Vegetable oil, for sautéing (I use Wildtree grapeseed oil)
Shredded cheddar cheese

Sautee chicken strips or chunks, until almost cooked through. Remove chicken from pan and cover to keep warm.
Sautee peppers for 3-4 minutes.
Add chicken back to pan with peppers.
Add fajita seasoning and 1/2 cup water to pan with chicken and peppers.
Cook until chicken is done.
Serve mixture over rice and top with grated cheese.
Serves 4-6