Cucumber Salad (Keto)

So yummy!  I got this recipe off of Wholesome Yum.  I brought this to a church potluck, and a lot of people said they really liked it and a few asked for the recipe.  Don't put the dressing on until you are ready to serve because over time it makes the salad watery.  Even making the dressing on the side as a dip for cucumbers or other vegetables would be yummy!

Ingredients
6 cups cucumbers, chopped (I used mini cucumbers)
1 small red onion, diced
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tsp dried dill (or 2 Tbsp fresh - I used dried because it's what I had)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions
Cut up cucumbers and onions.  Mix rest of the ingredients for the dressing and add right before serving.

Asian Lettuce Wraps (Keto)

So I usually do 3x-4x this recipe for my family of 6.  It also goes well over rice or mixed with rice if you want to stretch it and aren't concerned about carbs.  If you want to add a little sweetness to it, I use one packet of Truvia when I triple to quadruple the recipe.

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey

1/2 yellow onion, diced 

8 oz canned water chestnuts, drained and finely diced

2 green onions, chopped (optional)

2-3 garlic cloves

3-4 Tbsp soy sauce or liquid aminos

1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar (or white vinegar)

1 tsp dried ginger

1 tsp sriracha

1 Tbsp natural peanut butter 

1 tsp sugar (optional)

1 tsp sesame oil

salt & pepper to taste

butter or hydro lettuce (for wraps)

Directions

Brown ground turkey and onions together.  Drain and return to pan.  Add water chestnuts, garlic, and green onions to pan and saute while you make sauce.  Whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, sriracha, peanut butter, sugar, sesame oil, and salt/pepper.  Pour over top of meat mixture and combine thoroughly.  Serve inside lettuce.

Cheddar Biscuits (Keto/Low carb)

I made these Keto Cheddar Muffins tonight, and they were delicious!  I got the original recipe from the I Breathe I'm Hungry website.  I changed the recipe a little bit, and they were delicious!  I will definitely be making these again!  They are similar to a muffin in texture than a biscuit.

Ingredients

6 Tbsp butter, melted

1 cup superfine blanched almond flour

3 Tbsp coconut flour (or you can use more almond flour)

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 - 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp xantham gum

2 eggs

1/3 unsweetened coconut milk (or almond milk)

1/2-3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease or line a standard muffin pan with 8 muffin cups.  Mix all ingredients together and mix well with a whisk or a fork.  Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin cups, about 2/3 full.  Bake 22 minutes.

Net carbs: 2 grams

Broccoli Cheddar Soup (Keto)

I made this Broccoli Cheddar Soup tonight, and it was so delicious and comforting.  I made it in my Instant Pot, but I know you could make it on the stovetop or your crockpot.

Ingredients
1 small yellow onion, diced
36oz frozen broccoli florets (can use fresh if you prefer)
6 cups chicken broth
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tsp salt
8oz cream cheese
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions
Put onion, broccoli, chicken broth, and cream cheese into Instant Pot.  Put on high pressure for 15 minutes.  Quick release.  Turn Instant Pot onto saute for about 10 minutes.  Stir in heavy cream, salt, and cheddar, sprinkling a handful at a time and stirring it in good.  I used my whisk and then finished it off with the immersion blender but that's optional. 

Kettle Corn

So my sister had made this at a few parties at her house.  It is so delicious!  I don't care for kettle corn popped in a microwave bag, but this I could eat and eat!  I want to try this next time with coconut oil, but I used canola this time around.  I also used white kernels because it's what I had but I'm sure it would be just as delish with yellow.  Originally this came off the allrecipes website, but my sister added the salt to it.  Someone commented you could also use brown sugar instead of white and it will taste like caramel corn.

Ingredients
1/4 cup oil (I suggest canola or coconut)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1/4-1/2 tsp salt

Directions
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Once hot, add 3 popcorn kernels and wait for them to pop.  Once all 3 have popped, add the rest of the kernels and carefully sprinkle the sugar over the top.  I found I had to quickly stir it around a little with a spoon before I put the lid on but you might not have to do this.  Cover and shake back and forth constantly over the heat to keep from burning.  Once the popping has slowed to every 2-3 seconds, remove from heat and continue to shake until the popping has stopped.  Open the lid carefully and sprinkle the top with salt.  Put the lid back on and shake around to mix in the salt.  Pour into a large bowl and allow to cool.  Makes about 10 cups.

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I got this recipe off of skinnytaste, a weight watcher friendly blog that I enjoy.  I'm looking through the recipe now and realizing I didn't even make the spicy hoisin sauce to go with it.  Next time I want to try that since I forgot!  These turned out really yummy.  My kids didn't care for them on lettuce, so they instead ate them on soft taco shells.  I changed a few things, so you can click on the link above if you want to see the original recipe. I doubled this recipe for my family of 6, so cut it in half if only serving like 2 or 3 people.

Ingredients
1 lb ground chicken breast
1 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
2 Tbsp soy sauce (La Choy brand is gluten free), divided
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
lettuce leaves to serve in, iceburg or I used romaine for more nutritional value

Directions
Heat 2 tsp sesame oil in large skillet on med-high heat and brown chicken and garlic.  Combine soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and sugar in a bowl.  Add water chestnuts, green onions, and sauce to chicken and blend well and heat through about 1-2 minutes.  Spoon into lettuce leaves and enjoy!

I'm not positive on the Weight Watcher Points since I changed it up a bit, but I think it would be comprable.  She says each lettuce wrap with 1/4 cup of the mixture is only 2 points or 3 points plus.

Crustless Green Chile Spinach Quiche

This is pretty much a gluten/wheat free version of my Green Chile Spinach Quiche which I absolutely love!  I wasn't sure how this would turn out since I love the crust so much in quiche, but this turned out really delicious!  This is also a great low carb option.  This makes 2 pies, but I couldn't find one of my pie plates, so I used 2 2-quart glass bowls.  I also only used 1 Tbsp of butter and I didn't miss the extra butter at all.

Ingredients
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
12 eggs
8oz Colby-Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (I like to use reduced fat if I can)
2 cups 2% low fat cottage cheese
10oz fresh or frozen spinach (if frozen, thaw and drain)
7oz can chopped green chilies
1 Tbsp butter

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt butter in a large skillet and sautee spinach until wilted.  Set aside.  Beat eggs in a large bowl until smooth.  Slowly add salt and baking powder and mix until no lumps remain.  Stir in shredded cheese, cottage cheese, spinach, and green chilies until blended.  Divide between 2 sprayed pie plates or 2-quart dishes.  Bake 35-40 minutes until the quiches are lightly browned and the center comes out clean when you insert a knife.

Hot Spinach Dip

I made this for a birthday party.  I wasn't sure if they would have something gluten free for me to eat, so I brought this with some corn tortilla chips, but you could serve it with veggies or some sort of crackers of bread if you don't need gluten free.  This reheats well too. 

Ingredients
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
10oz frozen spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed out
1 cup sour cream, use light if you like
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp minced garlic
8oz cream cheese, softened

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine all ingredients well and spread into sprayed 9x13 dish.  Bake 20-25 minutes until bubbly.

Banana and Peanut Butter

This is a fun post for me!  :-)  I grew up eating peanut butter and banana, my kids eat it all the time, and it's an all time family favorite for much of my family.  My grandfather eats this every day for lunch, and my oldest son eats this almost every morning for breakfast and now my almost 2 year old does too.  :-)  I am surprised how many people do not know about this amazing combination.  Eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack.  Use crunchy or creamy peanut butter.  I love this meal because it's fruit and protein.  It's filling and satifying.  When my 8 year old was little, he called it "Nonny Butter"  :-)

Ingredients
Banana
Peanut Butter (I like natural for heart healthy)

Directions
Cut up your banana and apply a small amount of peanut butter on each bite.... or if you want it to look more like an "adult" meal, just hold your banana and use a knife to put a small amount of peanut butter on the end, bite it off, and put more peanut butter on your next bite. :-)  Eat with a glass of milk if you like.  :-)

Healthy Cookie Dough

I LOVE cookie dough!  Seriously!  It's one of those foods I could eat until I make myself sick.  It is one of my ultimate weaknesses.  I went on a search for a healthy cookie dough I could make and divide into portions and only eat a little... or at least that's what I mean to do.  It also had to be eggless since some people have raw egg issues.  :-)  You could make these into cookies by using the original recipe, if you really wanted to, but seriously, I don't understand how people like cookies more than dough!
Ingredients
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp white sugar (or you can use 1-2 Splenda or stevia packets)
2 Tbsp dark chocolate chips
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp milk (I used almond)

Directions
Blend oats, salt, and sugars in food processor or blender.  Slowly add oil and milk and mix well.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Eat!!!   You could also serve this as like a cookie dough dip with graham crackers or vanilla wafers if you like.

Light Chicken Salad

I have started making this for my lunches a lot now, and I love it!

Ingredients

10oz can white chicken, drained well (I actually like to rinse my chicken too to get more of the fat off it)

1 large celery stalk, diced

2 Tbsp green onion or chives, chopped (I didn't have that much for this picture)

2 Tbsp + 2 tsp light mayonnaise (I like Hellmann's)

1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese (optional)

pinch of salt, to taste

Directions

Put chicken in a bowl and shred with the back of a fork.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well. 

I like to serve this on bread as a sandwich.

Weight Watcher Points: 1/2 of the total recipe is only 3 points!

Taco Casserole

This is like a healthy version of nachos.  It is yummy and doesn't taste like you are eating something healthy at all.  I found this recipe on healthy delicious.

Ingredients
24 tortilla chips, plus more for serving if you desire
1 Tbs chili oil (or olive oil and red pepper flakes) - I just used olive oil and a pinch of red pepper flakes)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground chicken
2 tbs taco seasoning (I used half my recipe for my homemade taco seasoning)
1 can black beans, drained
1 cup salsa
1 cup reduced fat cheese (I used Mexican blend)
Optional: other toppings such as olives or jalepenos

Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat oil in a large skillet.  Add onion and garlic and sautee until soft.  Add meat and taco seasoning.  Cook, breaking up meat with a spatula, for about 5 minutes.  Add beans and salsa.  Mix well and continue to cook until salsa thickens.  Line the bottom of a large baking dish with tortilla chips, pressing down to break them up lightly into bite-sized pieces.  Spread the meat and bean mixture over the chips and top with cheese.  Add any other toppings you want cooked on top.  Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melty and gooey.  Enjoy!

Low-Yolk Egg Salad

So I usually avoid eating egg salad while on Weight Watchers because whole eggs plus mayo adds up really fast.  Well, I found this recipe on Skinny Taste, and it is delicious!  I thought I would really miss all the yolks in the eggs, but I didn't.  I also now love the discovery of light mayo!  It's only 1 point for 4 tsp vs 1 point per 1 tsp!  I honestly can't tell the difference, but I know many people don't like light mayo.  I bought Hellmann's because it was on sale, but I've heard different brands taste different.

Ingredients
4 hard boiled eggs, peeled
4 tsp Hellmann's Light Mayonnaise
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
2 Tbsp chopped green onions or chives
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Separate the yolk from the egg whites and discard 3 of the yolks.  Chop up eggs and combine with the rest of the ingredients.  I like to use my potato masher to chop up my eggs.  I think it makes it a lot easier than the back of a fork.

WW points: 1/2 of the salad = 2 points!  or 81.2 calories

Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup

So I went to go make my other Broccoli Cheese Soup recipe the other day and realized I didn't have a can of diced tomatoes with chilies, so I had to improvise. I love the way this soup came out, and I called it "creamy" because it's thick and creamy. My other recipe is spicy and this one is not, so you can enjoy this one if you don't like spicy foods. I have been enjoying a cup of this with my chicken wrap for lunch almost every day, and I love it! I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients
6 cups chicken broth
2 lb bags of frozen broccoli florets
cooking spray
1 small onion, finely diced
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
10oz reduced fat velvetta cheese, cubed
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup water

Directions
Spray large stock pot with cooking spray and sautee your onion for a few minutes until tender. Add chicken broth, broccoli, garlic, and salt. Bring a boil and then cook on medium for 15-20 minutes. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and 1 cup water until completely blended. Add cornstarch mix and cubed cheese to soup. Bring to a low boil and then reduce immediately to a simmer. Stir constantly until all cheese is melted and soup thickens.

WW points: 1.5 points per cup

Light Swedish Meatballs

I got this recipe off Gina's Skinny Taste, a Weight Watcher food friendly blog. They were very yummy! I wasn't sure if my husband was going to like these, but he did. My kids weren't crazy about them, but they liked the egg noodles I served them over. :-) Next time I want to try these with ground turkey since we like the flavor of ground turkey a lot. I will probably also double the recipe next time and my husband said he wanted more sauce. He likes a lot of sauce on his pasta. I did add some cornstarch and water towards the end because it didn't look thick enough to me, but I don't think I would do that again because it got almost too thick after cooling some.

Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil (I just sprayed my pan instead)
1 small onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 celery stalk, minced
1/4 cup minced parsley (plus some to put on top if you like)
1 lb 93% lean beef
1 egg (or use one of my egg-free options to the right)
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (I used Italian)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp allspice
2 cups beef broth (I just used a can)
2oz light cream cheese

Directions
In a large deep saute pan, heat oil on medium heat, add onions and garlic; saute until onions are translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add celery and parsley and cook until soft, about 3-4 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes. In a large bowl combine beef, egg, onion mixture, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and allspice. Mix well and form meatballs with your hands 1/8 cup each. Add beef stock to pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and slowly drop meatballs into the broth. Cover and cook about 20 minutes. Remove the meatballs with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add to blender with cream cheese and pulse until smooth. Return to pan and simmer a few minutes to thicken, then pour over meatballs. Garnish with parsley and serve over noodles or with toothpicks for an appetizer.

Makes 22 meatballs, 4 servings, 5 meatballs each.

WW points: she says 4 points, but I came up with 5 points, 1 per meatball. Go to her website, link above, if you want to know calories and other nutrition information.

Green Chile Spinach Quiche

This makes 2 quiches, so I made one for me to have for lunches, and I froze the 2nd one, after I baked it and let it cool, in a gallon ziplock bag and then baked it the morning we ate it for 30 minutes at 400 degrees before serving it for a church breakfast. I should have brought 2. It got completely eaten up, and everyone rant and raved about it. It is so delicious! As I'm sitting here typing this, I'm wishing I had the ingredients to make it right now! :-) The recipe called for frozen spinach, which you could use, but spinach is one of the few ingredients I really like fresh and am not so crazy about frozen. You could easily half this recipe and make only one quiche, but you will regret you only made one. :-) Next time I make this, I want to try it with just 2 Tbsp of butter to cut down on the fat some and maybe even use a reduced fat cheese as well.

Ingredients
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
12 eggs
8oz Colby-Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 cups small curd cottage cheese (I used low fat)
10 fresh or frozen spinach (if frozen, thaw and drain)
2 4oz cans chopped green chilies
1/2 cup melted butter
2 deep dish unbaked pie crusts

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. If you are using fresh spinach, melt your butter in a large skillet and sautee your spinach, just until wilted. Set aside. Beat your eggs on medium-high speed in a large bowl until smooth. Slowly add flour, salt, and baking powder until no lumps remain. Stir in the shredded cheese, cottage cheese, spinach, green chilies, and butter until blended. Divide between the 2 pie crusts. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 35-40 minutes until the quiches are lightly browned and the center comes out clean when you insert a knife.

Hawaiian Chicken Skewers

These are sooo yummy! They take some extra time to make but they are so worth it. My husband does not care for coconut, and he hates mayonaise, but he likes these. This is one of my mother-in-law's favorite dishes along with an oriental salad I make, so I made it on her birthday a couple of weeks ago. Normally they go on skewers and you can add bell peppers and cherry tomatoes onto the skewers as well, but I just made them with pineapple and chicken this time, and due to time I just spread it all into a sprayed 9x13 dish without the skewers and baked them that way. I hope you try these! I will be posting the oriental salad recipe next that goes really well with these.

Ingredients
-1/2 cup mayonaise
-1 Tbsp Dijon-style mustard
-1 Tbsp honey
-4 cups Rice Chex cereal, crushed to make 1 2/3 cups
-1/2 cup flaked coconut
-1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
-skewers (metal or wooden)
-pineapple chunks
-cherry tomatoes (optional)
-green bell pepper chunks (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine mayonaise, mustard, and honey in a shallow dish. Combine cereal and coconut (I crush these together in my food processor) in another shallow dish or large resealable bag. Coat chicken strips, a few at a time, in mayo mixture, then in cereal mixture. Thread chicken strips onto skewers. Place cherry tomato, pineapple, and green pepper all alternating according to your desire onto each skewer. Arrange in a shallow baking dish (9x13 pan works well, but you might want to spray it). Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in centers. Makes about 25 to 30 skewers depending on how much stuff you put on them.

Chicken can be coated with mayo mixture a day ahead of time and refridgerated and then crush your cereal and coconut and put into large resealable bag to save you even more time.

Baked Bananas

Serve this with ice cream for dessert or as a sweet snack or side dish. I had this a mid-morning snack today, and it was so yummy!

Ingredients
-1 banana
-2 tsp brown sugar
-1/4 tsp vanilla extract
-cinnamon, to taste, about 1/8 tsp

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel and cut banana in half lengthwise. Arrange banana in an oven safe dish. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over bananas and drizzle vanilla evenly on top. Bake 7-10 minutes uncovered. Cook longer if you prefer them softer. I like them more firm.

I baked this in my toaster oven so I didn't have to heat up my whole oven for one banana.

WW points: 3 points

Sweet & Spicy Little Smokies

Ok, so if you look at the ingredients, you might think, what in the world??? I know I've had something like this in the past, and when I remember looking up recipes for it, I thought the same thing. But trust me, these are really yummy and a big hit. If I was on the receiving end, I would think, "Amber, you have lost your mind!" These are sweet and spicy (not hot, just flavorful) and oh so yummy! You can make these with meatballs as well instead of the little smokies. Make your own meatballs or buy them premade. But, if you've never had these, you HAVE to try them. This made a LOT of sauce, so I will put on here what I used, but I think next time, for 4 packages of little smokies, which is a lot, I will use the medium jar of jelly and only 2 jars of chili sauce. I didn't need quite so much for this amount of smokies.

Ingredients
4 packages of little smokies (see note at top about this)
32oz jar of grape jelly
3 12oz jars chili sauceDirections
Drain your packages of little smokies of extra juice, and throw all of them in the bottom of your crockpot. Cover in the jar of grape jelly and spread around a little. Pour chili sauce over top of that, and turn your crockpot on high for the first 2-3 hours and then on low or warm just to keep them warm for your party. You can also do these on the stovetop if you want to get them done sooner, but you might want to throw them in a crockpot on low or warm afterwards to keep them hot for the party's appetizer. Stir well, dip a few out, and eat!!!

Pigs in a Blanket

My husband can't believe I'm posting this meal. I remember my mom making these growing up, and they are so fun and easy to do, I had to post them. :-) I figure maybe someone else will find them as fun as I did as a child and do now as a parent. My boys loved these, by the way!

Ingredients

1 package of little smokies or little polskas
1 package of crescent rolls
Directions

Unroll your crescent rolls and slice into small pieces (I cut each triangle into 4-5 pieces). Wrap your smokies in the pieces, put onto a cookie sheet, and bake according to the crescent roll directions on the package. Serve with ketchup and mustard. So fun!