White Chocolate Raspberry Muffins

I want to start out with an apology. I apologize that there has not been a post or a new recipe in quite some time. My life has been a little crazy, but it has been good. My fiancé, Craig, was recently offered a job back in our home state. After a lot of discussing and praying, he decided to accept it! A week later, we loaded up a Penske truck and he moved the 600+ miles back home. I followed a few days later and now we are back! I've been job searching, interviewing, looking for a house, and wedding planning (the big day is only a little over 2 months away!). The past month has been a whirlwind but we are both really excited to be back!

I wanted to give you all a really great recipe as my apology for lack of posting in the past month so I decided to share this White Chocolate Raspberry Muffin recipe. As you may have noticed, there are a lot of berries at the grocery store and a lot of them are at a good price right now so it is an excellent time to make something with berries. These muffins are fantastic! Craig thought they were great and I hope you enjoy them too because they are "berry" delicious! :)

White Chocolate Raspberry Muffins

Ingredients

1 egg white

2 cups Heart Smart Reduced Fat Bisquick

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2/3 cup fat free skim milk

1/2 white chocolate chips

1 cup fresh raspberries

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 12 muffin tin with cooking spray or line with 12 paper lines.

2. In medium bowl, beat egg white slightly. Stir in bisquick, sugar, vegetable oil, milk, and white chocolate chips until moistened. Gently stir in raspberries.

3. Divide muffin batter evenly among cups. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until done.

4. Cool 5 minutes and then remove from pan. Enjoy!

Servings: 12 muffins • Serving Size: 1 muffin • Weight Watchers Points+: 4

Hash Brown Casserole

I love this casserole because it tastes good and it is so easy to make. Sometimes it is hard to stay on a healthy eating plan when you either don't feel like cooking or you don't have a lot of time. This casserole is great because it can be whipped up really quick. It does take a while to bake but when I am crunched for time, I try to get other things done while it is baking. If you are looking for something easy to make and delicious to taste, this is the casserole for you! I hope you enjoy it!

Hash Brown Casserole

Ingredients

1 pound 95% lean ground beef

1 16 ounce container fat free sour cream

1 10 3/4 ounce can of Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of Chicken Soup

1 3/4 cup 2% milk cheddar cheese

1 bag frozen Ore-Ida Hash Browns Southern Style Potatoes

1 cup cornflakes

Instructions

1. Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Brown ground beef.

2. In a large bowl, combine sour cream, cream of chicken soup, cheddar cheese, hash browns, and ground beef. Mix well.

3. Put hash brown mixture in 9x13 pan. Evenly spread cornflakes over hash brown mixture.

4. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until done. Cut into 8 pieces. Enjoy!

Servings: 8 Pieces of Casserole • Serving Size: 1 Piece of Casserole • Weight Watcher Points+: 8

Wheat Buttermilk Quick Bread

It seems that I am constantly buying ingredients for new recipes I want to try and then having a lot of excess after I make the recipe. I made this bread because I had buttermilk left over from something I made earlier in the week. I also have had whole wheat flour left over for a while so this was the perfect thing for me to try! It is a small loaf of wheat bread with a grainy texture (Craig compared it to the texture of cornbread). The bread tastes good, it's quick and easy to make, and you get a decent sized slice for 2 points plus. I think it would be great for breakfast with a little jam or a nice addition to dinner. I hope you enjoy it!

Wheat Buttermilk Quick Bread

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 cups low fat buttermilk (1% milkfat)

1 egg white

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x5 loaf pan with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, combine whole wheat flour, salt, baking soda, and sugar.

3. Stir the buttermilk and egg white into the flour mixture and mix well. Place mixture in loaf pan.

4. Bake for 35 minutes or until done. Enjoy!

Servings: 12 Slices of Bread • Serving Size: 1 Slice of Bread • Weight Watchers Points+: 2

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut butter and chocolate is one of my all time favorite food combinations. It is really hard to go wrong with something that contains peanut butter and chocolate. I was craving some cookies but was having a hard time finding a recipe that was points plus friendly. I decided to combine a couple of recipes and tried a batch. They still weren't quite right so I changed a few things and wa-lah! I created these delicious peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. My mom and sister introduced me to Peter Pan Whipped Peanut Butter, which I used in this recipe because you can use more for less points plus. I don't like it as well to just eat but it does work nicely in these cookies. Each cookie is only two points plus so it is a perfect little after dinner dessert or quick afternoon snack. I hope you enjoy them too!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup Peter Pan Whipped Peanut Butter

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg white

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter, peanut butter, sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer until creamy. Add egg and vanilla and mix until well blended.

3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt Gradually add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture. The dough may be a little crumbly.

4. Stir in chocolate chips with a spatula.

4. Drop cookie dough by the teaspoonful on to a cookie sheet. With a flat bottomed glass, flatten each cookie before baking.

5. Bake for 6 - 8 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute and then transfer to a cooling rack. Enjoy!

Servings: 32 Cookies • Serving Size: 1 Cookie • Weight Watchers Points+: 2

Hamburger & Noodle Casserole

My mom would make this delicious noodle casserole when we were growing up. I have changed the noodles and the cheese, but have kept pretty much everything else the same. It is something I still love to eat and it is easy to make. I usually make it in a big casserole pot, but unfortunately that was in the fridge with leftovers from another meal. I decided to make this in my glass 9x13 pan and think it actually worked better. It was much easier for me to see the serving size which is great when you are trying to eat healthy. The casserole turned out to be higher points plus per serving than I was hoping for, but one serving does fill you up. It is a tasty and quick meal that I still enjoy even if it is a higher points plus value than some dishes. I hope you enjoy it too!

Hamburger & Noodle Casserole

Ingredients

1 pound 95% lean ground beef

1 box Ronzoni Smart Taste Penne Rigate

2 10-3/4 ounce cans of Campbell's Healthy Request Tomato Soup

Chili powder

1 1/2 cups Kraft 2% Milk Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese

Instructions

1. Cook noodles and brown ground beef.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

3. In a large bowl, combine cooked noodles, ground beef, tomato soup, and chili powder to taste. Put mixture in 9x13 pan. Evenly spread cheese over noodle mixture.

4. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and noodles are hot. Enjoy!

Servings: 8 Pieces of Casserole • Serving Size: 1 Piece of Casserole • Weight Watchers Points+: 10

Meatloaf

After reading the title of this post, I'm sure you will be surprised to hear meatloaf is not one of my favorite things. I am kind of a picky eater and meatloaf often contains ingredients that I do not like. However, my mom makes a meatloaf that I do like. This is a lightened up version of the meatloaf my mom makes. It is delicious and has a good flavor without having too high of a points plus value. I really enjoy this meatloaf and hope you do too!

Meatloaf

Ingredients

1 pound 93% lean ground beef

1 cup canned tomato sauce

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 cup dried plain bread crumbs

2 egg whites

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 7x5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, 1/2 cup tomato sauce, onion powder, pepper, bread crumbs, and egg whites.

3. Evenly spread meat mixture in loaf pan. Spread remaining 1/2 cup tomato sauce over loaf.

4. Bake for 40 minutes or to desired degree of doneness. Cut into 4 pieces. Enjoy!

Servings: 4 Slices of Meatloaf • Serving Size: 1 Slice of Meatloaf • Weight Watchers Points+: 5

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

As you have probably picked up on, Craig and I love pizza! I think I could really eat it every day. Unfortunately, most pizza has a pretty high points plus value per piece. This pizza is only 4 points+ per piece which is great for pizza and it tastes good too! Not only is this particular pizza delicious, it is also easy to make. Delicious, easy, and healthy... What more could you ask for? I hope you enjoy it too!

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Ingredients

1 can refrigerated Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza dough

2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut up in small pieces

3/4 cup barbecue sauce (I use Sweet Baby Rays)

1 3/4 cup 2% cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 15x10 inch pan with cooking spray.

2. Stretch pizza dough to cover pan. Bake for 7 minutes.

3. Top pizza dough with barbecue sauce, then chicken, then cheese. Bake for 15 minutes. Cut into 12 pieces. Enjoy!

Servings: 12 Pieces of Pizza • Serving Size: 1 Piece of Pizza • Weight Watchers Points+: 4