Pork & Tomato Ragout - Crock Pot

This recipe sounds delicious, pork loin, tomatoes, potatoes and other goodies, delish!!! It does take a small amount of prep time with frying the pork and all but I think it will be worth it!

With these amounts it makes 8 servings with approz. 1 & 1/4 cups per serving. At 8 points plus per serving it is a healthy option! **That is if you don't personally finish the bottle of wine you just had to open. lol**

Come back later and as long as I can remember I will post photos.

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds lean pork top loin roast, cut into 1 inch pieces

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 & 1/4 cup white wine (try to share :)

2 pounds red potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch squares (I used russets so I hope that doesn't ruin my recipe)

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained (14 1/2 oz)

1 cup finely chopped yellow onions

1 cup water

1/2 cup finely chopped celery (I did not have any celery so I just left them off)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 cinnamon stick (I was being lazy and didn't want to look too hard for ours, so I substituted for a few pinches of cinnamon)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS

1. Toss pork with flour. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add pork to skillet and brown on all sides. Transfer to crock pot slow cooker.

2. Add wine to skillet; bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits from bottom of skillet. Pour into crock pot.

3. Add all remaining ingredients except parsley. Cover, cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or until pork and potatoes are tender. Remove and discard cinnamon stick. Adjust seasonings, if desired. To serve, sprinkle with parsley.

4. Enjoy!

Skinny Monkey Cookies

So today I am doing a repeat recipe for dinner, yummy Butter Chicken...delish!!! So I thought I would try out a little cookie, well my daughter is really going to be the one making them. They look delicious, sound delicious and at 1 weight watchers point per each, they certainly are tempting!

Going to try this out today during nap time and will come back later with the turn out and some pictures.

Okay, so tried the recipe and they are definately missing something....probably the non skinny part...lol...they need to be sweeter, good heated with ice cream. That said, I did eat my fair share, lol! Will possibly try again but add some agave or Splenda or something the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

3 bananas

2 cups old fashioned oats

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp. vanilla

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Mash bananas in large bowl and then stir in other ingredients

3. Let batter stand for 20 minutes.

4. Drop by teaspoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet.

5. Bake 10-12 minutes.

6. Makes about 30.

FREEZING?

Cool completely, then place cookies in freezer bag.

Nutritional Information:

47 calories; 7.5 g carbs; 1.6 g fat; 1.5 g protein; 1.3 g fiber; 1 WW PointsPlus

Okay, so I admit in this photo they don't look all that appetizing either, but hey for 1 point each they are not too shabby! :)

Easy Sweet & Sour Chicken - Crock Pot

We as a family really enjoy sweet and sour chicken or pork. I have tried a few recipes and this one looked intriguing. With a small list of ingredients and only 1 instruction I thought that I would give it a shot! It is a lightened version and came in at approx. 7 points per serving and 1 serving was approx. 1 cup. Then if you add on your rice, it can add up quickly, but still not bad for those days you are craving Sweet and Sour :)

INGREDIENTS

1 (16 oz) bottle fat free French dressing (we were unable to find fat free French, so we used Fat Free Catalina as they appear quite similar)

1 (8 oz) jar no sugar added apricot jam

1 (4 oz) packet Lipton Onion Soup Mix

1 (6 oz) can pineapple chunks in juice

2 (4 oz) raw chicken breasts (or more if you'd like as this makes a lot of sauce)

1 green pepper ( I used 1 red and 1 yellow)

2 cups brown rice

DIRECTIONS

Combine all ingredients in crock pot (except rice) and leave in there until chicken is fully cooked (in my crock pot it took about 4-5 hours from frozen). Serve over rice! ENJOY!!!

Rainbow Crayons

Okay, so I had SOOOO many broken crayons and thought I know I can heat these up somehow and make new fun colourful, rainbowish crayons so upon checking online I realized it was VERY easy.

So, I started out, 2 preschoolers ready to make rainbow crayons.

STEP 1 - seperate all broken crayons from all non broken crayo

ns, while mommy preheats oven to 350F

STEP 2 - take the paper off all broken crayons (Need a way to get a squirmy child to sit still, this really worked for these 2 girls)

Step 3 - put cupcake papers in muffin tin

Step 4 - take turns choosing crayon pieces to cover bottom of muffin cups

Step 5 - mommy turns off oven and places muffin tins in oven for 10-15 minutes until fully melted

Step 6 - let it harden again (either by leaving it out or placing in freezer)

Step 7 - Enjoy

Stir Fried Shrimp & Snow Peas in Orange Sauce

So, this recipe sounds delicious!!! I love shrimp, love oranges, love snow peas. :) Have I ever cooked with scallions? No! Bean Sprouts? No! Funny story, bean sprouts we could not find at the grocery store. I told hubby that we can just grab green beans instead. He proceeded to tell me that it probably wouldn't work and after finding the bean sprouts I realized that they are VERY different.... Just a little bit about my novice cooking skills. lol.

This recipe sounds super easy to make, just do all the cutting and preparing ahead of time as it sounds like it is going to be fast! Good to read your recipes ahead of time folks (something I am famous for not doing, lol)

So, this recipe serves 4, yields about 1 and a half cups per serving and at 4 weight watchers points per serving, I might have seconds....lol...

Come back later and I will put up pictures and the results.

INGREDIENTS

1 spray cooking spray

4 medium scallions, thinly sliced

1 tbsp. ginger root, fresh minced

1 tbsp. orange zest, finely grated

2 cloves garlic, minced (thank you Costco)

3 cups snow peas

8 oz. shrimp, small, peeled, deveined (36-40 per lb)

2 cups bean sprouts

1/2 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed

2 tbsp. soy sauce

1 1/2 tsp. honey

1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch

1 1/2 tsp. rice vinegar

1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Coat a large nonstick wok or pan with cooking spray; heat to smoking over high heat (about 2 minutes)

2. Toss in scallions, ginger, orange zest and garlic. Stir and toss constantly over the heat for 30 seconds.

3. Add snow peas. Continue tossing until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes.

4. Add shrimp, continue cooking, tossing all the while, until shrimp are pink and firm, about 2 minutes.

5. Add sprouts, orange juice, soy sauce and honey. Toss until bubbling about 1 minute.

6. Meanwhile, combine cornstarch with rice vinegar in a small bowl.

7. Stir in cornstarch mixture; continue cooking until sauce has thickened a bit; about 30 seconds. Remove pan from heat and drizzle sesame oil over dish.

Everything Granola Bars

This is the top looking down and this is about 5 bars as it is quite thick! :) Enjoy

So, I go through a lot of granola bars in my house and I am always on the hunt for new ones, yummy ones, chewy ones, gooey ones, crunchy ones and so on and so on. I came across a recipe on pinterest (my new found social network, lol) for granola bars but it is one recipe that can be made TONS of different ways. I will share the recipe then I will share how I made it.

The kids and the hubs LOVED mine so I may try them again. The recipe says it makes 8-12 bars but if it is only 8-12 bars that would mean the bars are HUGE so I cut them into 24 bars and they work out to be about 4 weight watchers points each and oh so yummy!!!

Basic Granola Bar Formula

1. Rolled Grains (2½ cups)
Suggestions: Oats, Rye flakes, Barley flakes, etc.

2. Nuts, Seeds & Spices (1 cup)
Suggestions: Almonds, Walnuts, Pecans, Pistachios, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Cinnamon, Ginger, etc.

3. Sticky Sweetener (1/3 cup + ¼ cup)
Suggestions: Honey, Agave Nectar, Molasses, Maple Syrup

4. Dried Fruits (1 cup)
Suggestions: Raisins, Apricots, Dates, Figs, Prunes, Cranberries, Pineapple, etc.

5. Binder (1 cup)
Suggestions: Pureed Dried Fruit, Apple Butter, Peanut Butter, Almond Butter, Unsweetened applesauce, etc.

Everything Granola Bars

Yield: 8 to 12 bars, depending on how large you cut them (24 for me)

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Bake Time: 25 minutes (I let the kids measure and stir)

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce & 1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 + ¼ cup honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups rolled oats & 1 cup barley flakes

1 cup chopped almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and flax seed (NOT 1 cup of each, I simply filled up a cup with a combination of everything listed above)

1 cup raisins, craisins and chocolate chips (NOT 1 cup of each, same as above)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the honey, applesauce, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Stir in the oats, making sure that it is evenly mixed and all of the oats are moistened. Mix in the almonds, figs, dates and raisins.

3. Turn the mixture out into the baking pan and press into the pan, making sure it is evenly distributed and tightly packed.

4. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the freezer until the bars are firm, at least 1 hour. Remove from the pan and cut into bars. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

RECIPE FOUND ON http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2011/03/01/fig-date-almond-granola-bars/

Mexican Casserole

So, tried this recipe today as I had some tortillas in the fridge that I had to use. I was so excited to try it out, so I searched my cupboards and fridge and found "most" of the ingredients at home. Hubby did have to stop for sour cream as I finished it yesterday. :) Thanks hunny!

This recipe goes into a 9X13 pan and serves 6. At only 8 weight watchers points plus per serving it is great as the serving is rather large as well. I liked it and so did my household. Lucky for you, I even took a picture, didn't get a picture of the finished project but did take one of the sauce. It looks AMAZING!!! So colourful, so smooth, so bubbly, yum!

INGREDIENTS

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 cup onions (chopped)

1/4 cup canned jalepenos sliced, chopped (I did not add these as my kids were eating too)

2 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped OR 15 oz. can diced tomatoes (I used fire roasted with garlic)

1 (15 oz) can corn (drained)

1 (15 oz) can black beans (rinsed and drained)

1 (1 1/4 oz) package taco seasoning mix (I only had sloppy joe mix at home and it worked)

8 corn tortillas (I used Low Carb, High Fiber tortillas)

3/4 cup nonfat sour cream

1/3 cup reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend, shredded (I used regular cheddar)

1/3 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped, to taste (I forgot this....shhh....don't tell my husband:P)

DIRECTIONS

1. Brown ground beef and chopped onions in large skillet; brown 10-12 minutes until thoroughly cooked, stirring constantly. Drain well and rinse with warm water to remove all fat; return beef/onions to skillet.

2. Add corn, black beans, tomatoes, chillies/jalapenos and taco seasoning mix; mix well. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile spray 9X13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cut each tortilla in half; place 8 halves in bottom of sprayed baking dish. (I used burrito sized tortillas so I only needed 3 for my whole recipe)

4. Spoon 1/2 of beef mixture evenly over tortillas. Spoon sour cream over beef mixture; spread evenly. Top with remaining tortilla halves and remaining beef mixture. (Cover tightly with foil/saran wrap and freeze for future OR cook as directed below.)

5. (Thaw overnight if frozen) Heat oven to 350 F. Bake at 350F for 25 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle with cheese. Cover; let stand 5 minutes or until cheese in melted. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve with fresh chopped lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, black olives, etc...

6. ENJOY!

General Tso's Chicken

So, trying to switch it up with this one. Not really sure where I found this, but this is Clinton Kelly's General Tso's Chicken Recipe. Makes 4 servings (that said, we served 3 adults, 2 kids and still had some leftover). If it is split into 4 servings, each serving was worth 6 weight watchers points, more if you have to add the rice. It was relatively easy to make, other than the fact that I had to learn how to blanch and maybe blanched my broccoli too long, but yea. Oh and for some reason, when I followed the recipe the way it was meant to be done, I had A LOT of dirty pots, pans and bowls.

However, it was tasty for everyone. :) I will maybe try it again just do some research and follow a different recipe.

**SIDE NOTE** I plan on starting to add pictures just today was chaos with my kids so not with this one :P

INGREDIENTS for sauce

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 cup cold water

4 garlic cloves

2 teaspoons fresh ginger

3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

1 pound broccoli

INGREDIENTS for chicken

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast (cut into 1 inch pieces)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare rice as per instructions on the package and blanch broccoli.

2. Begin sauce in large bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon corn starch and 1/2 cup cold water until smooth. Add garlic, ginger, honey, soy sauce and red pepper flakes (I did not use these as my kids were eating with us). Set this aside.

3. In a separate bowl, mix cornstarch, salt and pepper together until combined. Add chicken and already blanched broccoli and toss until coated.

4. Heat a large nonstick skillet with vegetable oil. Shake excess coating off the chicken and cook in batches until golden, 4-6 minutes.

5. Add the sauce mixture and cook until the sauce has thickened.

6. Plate with rice. Add scallions and sesame seeds to garnish if desired.

7. ENJOY!