White Chocolate Apricot Scones

In my office we have a very nice intern who works holidays and summers and she brought us these wonderful White Chocolate Apricot Scones on her last day over the winter break and I had to have the recipe! I have never been a huge fan of scones because many of the ones I have had were chalky and overly dry. These were delicious and not dry at all and the mix of apricots and white chocolate works very well together. If you are not a big apricot or white chocolate fan you can swap and dried fruit and milk or dark chocolate chips as well.



White Chocolate Apricot Scones: 24 scones

3C Flour - Sifted
2.5tsp Baking Powder
1/2C Sugar
1/2tsp Baking Soda
1tsp Salt
3/4C Butter (1.5 Sticks)
1C Buttermilk
1/2C White Chocolate Chips
1/4C Chopped Dried Apricots

Sift together your flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda and salt, cut in the butter - I normally start by putting chunks of butter into the dry mix and smashing with a fork but I always resort to my hands to really break up the butter and mix into the flour mix. Mix the butter into the flour mix until it resembles coarse meal - ie: wet sand. Stir in the white chocolat chips and apricots, gradually add the buttermilk and with with your hands just until the dough holds together, you do not want to over mix. Drop the dough onto a greased baking sheet (I would suggest using an ice cream scoop to get even sized scones).

Bake at 450° for 10 minutes, serve and enjoy!

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WW: 4 Points Plus per Scone

Cheesy Garlic Shrimp & Veggies

Someday's you just want a big bowl of Mac-n-Cheese right? Well in an effort to be healthy I decided to have mine like an adult...filled with veggies and shrimp so I could call it health food while I indulged!



Cheesy Garlic Shrimp & Veggies: serves 4

8oz Pasta
1lbs Shrimp, Peeled & De-veined
1tsp Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic - Minced
2tsp Butter
1TB Flour
3oz Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/2C Chicken Stock
1lbs Bag Frozen Cauliflower & Broccoli

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add pasta and cook until al dente, drain and set to the side. While the pasta is cooking steam the vegetables - if you do not have a steamer pot just add about 1" of water to the bottom of a sauce pot, add the veggies and cover with a lid, while some will boil in the bottom of the pan the majority will steam.

In a saute pan add the olive oil with the garlic over medium heat for about 45 seconds until the pan is hot and the garlic fragrant. Add the shrimp with some salt and pepper and toss together. Cook for 4-6 minutes until the shrimp is completely cooked through. Remove to the side.

In a small sauce pot melt the butter, add the flour and whisk together to create a roux. Allow it to cook for 30-40 seconds continually whisking so the flour does not burn. Add the stock to the pan and continue to whisk, bringing to a boil. Allow the sauce to thicken to a gravy like consistency, remove from the heat and add the cheese, stirring to melt it into the sauce.

Now that all the parts are done add the veggies and shrimp to the pasta and pour the sauce on top, serve and enjoy!

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WW: 11 Points Plus / serving

Spicy Chicken Udon

In my excitement to find the secret ingredient of my favorite Asian noodle dish when out with friends last Saturday night I knew I would be making it the very next day. While we were in the Korean Market looking for the Vinegared Red Pepper Paste I also picked up a package of Udon Noodles - these aren't a requirement for this dish but I highly recommend it, they are super thick and chewy and add a great element to the dish. This dish is great for people who love spicy foods, if you are not a spicy food fan I suggest using a different sauce as this meal is all about heat.



Spicy Chicken Udon: Serves 4

16oz Udon Noodles
8oz Chicken Breast - Cubed
1/4C Vinegared Red Pepper Paste
1/4C Chicken Stock
1TB Olive Oil
1/4 Head Cabbage - Sliced
1 Onion - Sliced
2 Carrots - Sliced
2C Sugar Peas / Snow Peas
2 Garlic Cloves

In a mixing cup mix the vinegared red pepper paste and the chicken stock and set to the side. In a large wok or heavy bottomed pan heat 1tsp of oil with half of the garlic over medium heat until the garlic turns fragrant. Add the chicken to the pan and stir around, add in 2-3TB of the sauce mixture and cook the chicken until it is fully cooked through - warning - be careful with inhaling the fumes coming from the chicken, I did and instantly had my eyes watering!

Once the chicken is cooked through remove it to a small bowl on the counter and cover to keep warm. Add the remaining oil and garlic to the pan for another 30-40 seconds then add the vegetables (you can use any stir fry veggies you want, the ones above are what I had on hand!). Toss the vegetables in the oil and garlic and stir fry for 7-10 minutes until the vegetables have started to caramelize and still have some crunch to them.

My udon noodles came precooked and shrink wrapped so I just had to open the package and toss them in, if yours are not precooked, by all means - cook them! Once your noodles are prepared toss them in with the vegetables, add the chicken and any juices that settled in the bowl and add the remaining sauce to the pan. Toss it all around and cook until the noodles absorb the sauce and soften slightly. Turn off the heat, serve and enjoy!

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WW: 9 Points Plus / serving

Tilapia Fish Tacos

A few days ago I met some great friends from out of town and we had a phenomenal dinner at a Korean Restaurant. I am still not 100% sure of all we had but what I do know is it was all delicious and wonderful and I cannot wait until they are back in town and we can go again! One thing that was a complete delight to me was when I tried some daikon in a wonderful spicy sauce and it immediately brought me back to my favorite noodle dish with a spicy sauce that I have tried to copy and could never get quite right. Immediately my friend knew it was a Vinegared Red Pepper Paste sauce and he had seen a Korean Market in the same shopping center as the restaurant, it was like the stars aligning for me.

While I will be making that noodle dish ASAP I needed lunch first! I had just picked up some tilapia at the grocery store as well as daikon (a specific radish) and thought that they would go very well together in fish tacos and I'm glad to say I was quite right! And for those that do not have their own Korean Market right around the corner... click here to see the exact sauce I bought.



Tilapia Fish Tacos: Serves 2

12oz Tilapia
3TB Vinegared Red Pepper Paste
1 Carrot - Shredded
3-4" Piece Daikon - Shredded
4 - 6" Tortillas (I use Verole brand)

Brush 2TB of the Red Pepper Paste all over the tilapia and place in a lightly greased skillet over medium heat and cook for approximately 4-5 minutes on each side until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily. Remove to a plate and cover.

While the fish is cooking shred the carrot and daikon and toss with the remaining red pepper paste and set to the side. In a dry skillet add the tortillas one at a time and cook over medium heat until soft and pliable - 1-2 minutes max.

Once all the parts are ready place some fish and vegetable mix in the tortilla, fold, and enjoy!

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WW: 9 Points Plus / serving

Saturday Sunrise Bowl

On Saturday's I am usually a pancake or a waffle kind of girl but today I was out of what I needed for batter so eggs it had to be. I am usually not a big fan of eggs unless in a quiche so today I looked in my fridge and had a genius moment! I bought a bag of Ore-Ida Hash Browns - Country Style Potatoes a few weeks ago at the grocery store. These are just plain shredded potatoes, no seasonings, not pre-fried, potatoes.

This breakfast bowl is a great way to clean out your fridge, you can add any veggies you want (my fridge was sorely lacking...it is obviously time to go to the store!) It also brings back lots of childhood memories...as a kid my dad always called a meal like this "Glump", he would take anything in the fridge....steak, onions, peppers, ham, etc...fry it up, pour some eggs over it, sprinkle whatever cheese was in the fridge then serve it!



Saturday Sunrise Bowl: Serves 1

1 Slice Bacon - Cooked Crisp - Crumbled
1.25C Ore Ida Hash Browns - Thawed (I microwaved for 1.5 minutes)
1tsp Butter
1 Egg
1TB Milk
1/2oz Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Salt & Pepper

Cook your bacon in a skillet, I like to cut my bacon into small pieces before cooking, it cooks faster and seems to not spit grease as much! Once it is cooked remove the bacon to a paper towel to absorb excess grease and discard the grease left in the pan. Put the skillet back on the stove top, add the butter and potatoes with some salt and pepper and cook until the potatoes have started to crisp up and brown.

While the potatoes are cooking mix the egg and milk together with some salt and pepper. Beat the egg with a fork until small bubbles form and the yolk is fully scrambled into the white. Once the potatoes are cooked pour the egg over the top of the potatoes and continue to toss the potatoes and egg with a spatula until the egg is cooked through. Turn the heat down to low, add the cheese and bacon and toss it all together until the cheese melts. Scoop it into a bowl and enjoy!

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WW: 8 Points Plus / serving

Honey Lime Shrimp Stir Fry

I was flipping through recipes the other day online and saw the title "Honey Lime Shrimp" and it stuck with me as I was making dinner. I had shrimp, I had honey, I had lime. Add in some veggies and rice and it was a done deal! What made it great was the sweet and tangy qualities of this stir fry, the rainbow of colors on my plate after a dreary weekend of fog and rain and the extra servings which meant my dinner and lunches were taken care of for the next two days! This would work well with chicken instead of shrimp as well.


Honey Lime Shrimp Stir Fry: Serves 4

1lbs Shrimp - Peeled & De-veined
1C White Rice
2C Water
2 Garlic Cloves - Minced
2TB Fresh Lime Juice
2TB Honey
1TB Olive Oil
1C Chicken Stock
1TB Sriracha
2TB Soy Sauce
1TB Corn Starch
Stir Fry Veggies - I used fresh Bell Pepper, Onions, Broccoli, Carrots & Sugar Peas this time.

First get your rice started! In a pot place the water and rice, bring up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and let cook until all of the water has absorbed into the rice. Fluff with a fork and remove from the heat when all the water has evaporated. For an added splash of flavor you could squeeze some fresh lime juice into the pot as well.

While the rice is cooking we need to marinate the shrimp. Place the shrimp in a bowl with 1TB of honey, 1TB of lime juice and 1 minced garlic clove, set it to the side to do its thing while you finish making the rest of the meal. In a small bowl combine: 1TB honey, 1TB lime juice, chicken stock, sriracha, soy sauce and corn starch - set this to the side, you will use it to season the vegetables after they have cooked.

In a large wok or skillet/pot add 2tsp of olive oil over medium high heat and let it cook for a minute or so to get your pan hot. Add the garlic and cook for 30-40 seconds then toss in the vegetables. Depending on the type of veggies and size that you chopped them in you might need to cook them for 8-15 minutes to get them cooked through but still crunchy when you bite into them. Once they are cooked remove to a bowl and set to the side.

Add the remaining teaspoon of olive oil to the pan and toss in the shrimp with all of the marinade. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the shrimp is completely cooked through and no longer translucent. Remove to a small bowl and set to the side.

Add the chicken stock mixture to the pot and bring up to a boil, continuously stirring. As it heats up it will thicken. Once it has reached a gravy like consistency add the vegetables back to the pot and stir to coat. Remove from the heat.

In a bowl build your stir fry! A scoop of rice, topped with veggies and shrimp. Serve & Enjoy.

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WW: 9 Points Plus / serving

Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli and Bacon

I am always on Pinterest checking out new recipes, seeing crazy things to do with your hair, and more DIY home improvements than I can imagine actually trying...that site can be a dangerous occupier of my time! I am glad to say that it has led me to a few gems and one of them is this great recipe from Kevin and Amanda for Cheesy Chicken Bacon Broccoli & Rice. I have tried a few recipes from them and with some small modifications have made them just a little more weight watchers point friendly for me without sacrificing any taste. I have made this recipe twice in the last week, the first time using the Rotel and the second using just diced tomatoes, both were delicious and both had passing coworkers asking me "what are you eating? that smells absolutely delicious!" as I chowed down at lunch the next day. This is a recipe sure to make your whole family happy.



Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli & Bacon: Serves 6-8

1C Rice
2C Water
8 Slices Bacon
2tsp Olive Oil
1/2lbs Chicken Breast - Cubed
1 Onion - Chopped
1 Large Head of Broccoli - Approx 6-7C Chopped
2 Garlic Cloves - Minced
20oz Rotel Tomatoes & Green Chiles OR Diced Tomatoes
1C Chicken Stock - Fat Free
2TB Flour
2TB Butter
8oz Sharp Cheddar Cheese - Shredded

First get your rice cooking, place the water and rice in a sauce pot, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let it do its thing - covered, until the water is completely absorbed into the rice. Fluff with a fork, set to the side covered to keep warm.

While the rice is cooking, cook your bacon! I like to chop my bacon up before tossing it into the pan to cook, it makes it easier to cook and fit in and seems to splatter less. Once the bacon is nice and crisp, remove it to a paper towel and let it absorb the excess oil. Drain the fat from the pan and return the pan to the stove over medium heat, add a teaspoon of olive oil and the chicken. Salt and pepper the chicken while in the pan and cook for 6-7 minutes until it is completely cooked through. Remove to a bowl and add the bacon in with it and leave it to the side. Add the remaining olive oil to the pan with the broccoli and onions with some salt & pepper. Cook for 8-10 minutes allowing both the broccoli and onions to cook and start to get some color to them. Once they have both cooked, add the garlic to the pan and cook it with the broccoli & onions for a minute or two. Now add the chicken, bacon, rotel (or tomatoes) and rice to the pan, stir to incorporate everything. Reduce the heat to low and let it do its thing while you make the cheese sauce.

If you really want to cut back on points you can stop here and eat and enjoy, the flavors are great but the cheese sauce really takes this to another level.

I used the same pot I cooked the rice in because I didn't want to do any more dishes than necessary.... Melt your butter over medium heat, add the flour and whisk it together and cook for a minute or two to let the flour taste cook out, continue to whisk so it doesn't burn! Add the chicken stock and whisk to incorporate the flour mixture into it. Bring up to a boil while continuing to whisk and you will notice the stock turns thick. Once it has reached a gravy consistency remove from the heat and immediately add the cheese and continue to stir to melt the cheese. Try not to drool as you pour the cheese sauce over the skillet of rice and veggies. Stir to incorporate it all, serve and enjoy!

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WW: 11 Points Plus / serving @ 6 servings
9 Points Plus / servings @ 8 servings

Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo Lasagna Rolls

It has been a while since I may lasagna and I felt the need the other day. While I love my traditional cheese, beef and veggies, I decided to use my alfredo sauce to make a fun chicken lasagna. In an effort to not eat the whole pan and have some sense of portion control I decided to make this into individual rolls, but you could make in a traditional stacked lasagna if you wanted!



Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo Lasagna Rolls: 12 Rolls

Rolls:
12 Lasagna Noodles
1/2lbs Chicken Breast
2 Bay Leaves
1 Small Onion - quartered
Chicken Stock
15oz Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
3oz Parmesan Cheese - Shredded
1/2tsp Basil
Salt & Pepper
1lbs Bag Frozen Broccoli

Sauce:
2/3C Milk
1/2C Chicken Stock
6TB Cream Cheese (1/3 Less Fat)
2/3C Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1TB Corn Starch

First we need to get everything cooked....Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the lasagna noodles (I like to add a splash of olive oil, I find it helps the noodles to not stick together). Cook until they are al dente then fish them out of the water and drop the broccoli into the pasta water for 3-4 minutes to get them slightly tender. Remove from the water and set to the side.

While the pasta and broccoli is cooking lets make the chicken. Place the chicken in a sauce pot, cover with chicken stock, add the bay leaves and the onion and cook until the chicken is completely cooked through and can be pulled apart with a fork. Once it hits that point remove it from the stock and shred.

In a large bowl mix the ricotta, 3oz of parmesan, basil, salt and pepper together. Add the chicken & broccoli (if the broccoli has a bunch of large chunks then cut them down into smaller more equal size pieces). Stir everything together and just let it sit to the side for a minute.

Place all the items for the sauce in a blender and pulse it until the corn starch blends into the liquid. Pour into a sauce pan and cook over medium heat whisking constantly until the sauce thickens to a nice gravy like consistency, add about 1/2C of sauce to the cheese mixture and stir. Now you have all the parts ready to assemble. Turn the oven onto 350° and start assembling!

I laid all 12 of my noodles out onto a sheet of wax paper then evenly distributed the cheese & chicken mixture onto the noodles then rolled them as tightly as I could. Pam a casserole dish and lay the rolls in a single layer. Cover with tin foil and bake for 20-30 minutes. Remove from the oven, uncover and pour the remainder of the alfredo sauce over the rolls, place back in the oven uncovered for 10-15 minutes until bubbly. Remove, serve and enjoy!

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WW: 6 Points Plus / roll

Garlic Shrimp & Spinach Grits

The other day I made some sauteed spinach and decided it would go good with grits and I love garlic shrimp so it was natural for me to put them together. I actually liked this enough that I made it a few times in a row.



Garlic Shrimp & Spinach Grits: Serves 4

16oz Fresh Spinach - Rinsed
1 Small Onion - Diced
Salt & Pepper
2C Water
1C Grits (not instant!)
3C Milk
2tsp Butter
2tsp Olive Oil
2-3 Garlic Cloves - Minced
1lbs Shrimp – Peeled & De-veined

First we need to get the grits cooking! This is by far my favorite way to make them, they come out insanely creamy and buttery without a lot of butter needed. In a sauce pot bring the water to a boil, whisk in the grits and bring down to a simmer, allow the grits to thicken, stirring a few times a minute. Add the milk once the grits have thickened with some salt and pepper and bring back to a low boil/simmer. Continue to stir once every few minutes until the grits have thickened again, taste test to see if you need to add more salt / pepper (I always need more salt!) then add the butter and let it melt into the grits.

While the grits are cooking you can get the shrimp and spinach cooking. In a large saute pan over medium heat add a teaspoon of olive oil with half the garlic and let it cook for about a minute until the garlic is nice and fragrant. Add the shrimp with some salt and pepper and toss in the oil and garlic. Cook for 4-5 minutes until cooked through and the shrimp are no longer translucent. Remove to a bowl and set to the side.

In the same pan add the remainder of the oil and garlic, allow it to become fragrant, add the onions and cook them for 4-5 minutes until they start to soften, then add the spinach with a healthy pinch of salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and let the spinach wilt down. You may have to put in half the spinach, let it wilt, then add the other half to fit it all in. Once it is all wilted remove the spinach to a colander and push out as much of the liquid as you can. I like to use a large spoon that I push against the edge of the colander.

Once it is all cooked place a large spoonful of grits in a bowl, add a scoop of spinach and top with some shrimp. Serve and Enjoy!

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WW: 9 Points Plus / serving

Jewish Apple Cake

One of my favorite cakes to have is a Jewish Apple Cake, it is like a wonderful moist coffee cake and hits the spot every time. This recipe is a family favorite and I love to have it even though it does give me some anxiety....Not because it is hard to make but because it is sometimes hard to make come out of the pan! When I made this one I named it the "Franken-Cake" as it came out in two layers....not quite how I imagined. It still tasted good, it just wasn't beautiful! My sister tells me I need to get Pam with Flour in it, then flour or sugar the pam on top of it. I'll have to try that next time! My Aunt also let me know that if you make it in a springform pan (often used for cheesecake) it won't stick as much.

Also note that this cake is much better on the second or third day...so if you can make it a few days ahead of time and it will do wonderful things by the time you serve it.



Jewish Apple Cake: Serves 24

3C Flour
2.5C Sugar
1C Oil or 1C Apple Sauce
4 Eggs
1/2tsp Salt
2.5tsp Vanilla
1/2C Orange Juice
1TB Baking Powder
4-5 Apples - Thinly Sliced, tossed with 2tsp Cinnamon, 5TB Sugar
(I like to use Pink Lady Apples)

Mix together the Flour, Sugar, Salt & Baking Powder in one bowl and the Oil (or apple sauce), Eggs, Vanilla and Orange Juice in another bowl. Now in a stand mixer or by hand, alternate the dry and wet and mix together the batter to make it nice and smooth. Place the batter to the side, then peel and slice your apples and toss with the cinnamon and sugar.

Now we need to prepare our cake pan....here is where you start praying if you are me! Get a bundt pan out, and spray with Pam with Flour (my sister swears this is the secret to success!) Now add either sugar or additional flour to the pan and spin the pan around to coat the Pam with the additional flour or sugar.

Next we can start building the cake. Start with 1/3 of the batter in the bottom of the cake pan, then layer 1/3 of the apples, 1/3 batter, 1/3 apples, the last of the batter ending with the last of the apples. Your pan should be pretty full right now!

Place in a 350° oven for approximately 80 minutes. The top of the cake should be nice and golden. Place on a counter to cool and once it is cool start praying again and flip it over onto a nice plate. This is when I normally start going "ut oh" and sliding a butter knife around the edge of the pan. I promise even if it comes out in two ...or three pieces your family will still love it!

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WW: 7 Points Plus / serving - made with oil
4 Points Plus / serving - made with apple sauce

Avocado Pesto Sauce

I love Basil which means I love Pesto Sauce but one thing I do not love is all the oil that goes into a Pesto! It makes me feel guilty for eating something so green which just seems wrong. As you know I did find a lighter Pesto Sauce this time last year (holy cannoli has it really been a year since I had pesto!?!?!) Well I had an epiphany the other day while surfing Pinterest and seeing lots of Avocado Pasta Recipes. It hit me.....hey silly....use the Avocado in place of the oil! It is creamy, buttery, green, healthy and mild tasting that it won't over power the basil! This recipe is pretty easy to make and packs a powerful pesto flavor for any of your favorite recipes. While I served it over pasta (sorry Aunt Rita, you know I love my pasta!) you can add it to anything - shrimp, chicken, veggies, etc.



Avocado Pesto Sauce: Makes approx 4 servings

1 Avocado (approx 4-5oz) - Pitted & Chopped
2-3 Garlic Cloves - Chopped
2-3C Fresh Basil - Cleaned
1/3C Parmesan Cheese - Shredded
0-2TB Water (as needed)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Place everything in a blender/food processor. Blend, blend, blend, scrape the sides, blend some more. If it is really thick then add a tablespoon of water and blend a bit more. Add to pasta, chicken, shrimp, bread, etc. and enjoy!

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WW: 2 Points Plus / Serving
~9-10 Points Plus per whole recipe (depending on avocado size).