Warm Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 (9-ounce) package artichoke hearts, defrosted, rinsed and dried
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted, excess liquid squeezed out.
• 1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) Neufchatel cheese (reduced-fat cream cheese)
• 2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook stirring occasionally, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook an additional 3 to 4 minutes, or until onions are light golden but not browned. Remove from heat and cool.

In the bowl of a food processor combine artichoke hearts, spinach, sour cream, mayonnaise, Neufchatel, mozzarella and salt and pepper. Process until smooth. Add cooled onion-garlic mixture to the food processor and pulse a few times to combine.

Transfer mixture into an 8-inch glass square baking dish or 9-inch glass pie plate which has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through. Serve with pita wedges or crudites.

Nutrition Facts

Servings: 12

Per Serving

Calories 100

Total Fat 7g

Saturated Fat 3g

Monounsaturated Fat 1g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6g

Cholesterol 13mg

Sodium 211mg

Protein 4g

Carbohydrates 5g

Fiber 2g

WW Points: 2

Hungry Girl's Yum Yum Brownie Muffins

1 Muffin - 181 calories, 3.5g fat, 37g carbs, 2g, fiber, 2g protein - 4 WW points

This super-simple 2-ingredient recipe is a Weight Watchers Fave!

1 box devil’s food cake mix
1 can solid pack pumpkin (15 oz.)

Directions:
Mix the two ingredients together. Don't add anything else that may be mentioned on the box, such as eggs, oil, or water. The mixture will be very thick and you will be tempted to add in other things to make the batter smoother. DO NOT DO THIS AS IT WILL RUIN EVERYTHING! Place batter into muffin tins (or mini muffin tins) lined with paper, or sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Makes 12 regular or 36 mini muffins.

I was able to get 43 mini muffins at 1 WW point a piece. My calculation came out to one each even if you ate 2 or 3. I think that there are 43 total points so no matter how many you eat they will be one.

If you go to a WW meeting this is a pretty commonly shared recipe....you can use whatever kind of cake mix you want but the points might change slightly depending on the cake mix.

Meatball Stew

40 Regular Frozen Meatballs
1 Cup chopped Celery
1 Medium Onion chopped
5 Medium Potatoes diced
16 oz Baby Carrots
12 oz Canned Beef Gravy
1 can Tomato Soup
2 cups Beef Broth (or to desired consistency)
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 cup water (again pending on how thick you like your stew)
2 beef bouillon cubes crushed
1 tbsp minced garlic

Place the meatballs, carrots, potatoes in the crockpot. Take the remainder of the ingredients and mix them together. Pour the mixture over the ingredients already in the crockpot. Adjust the liquid to your own preference and cook all day on low. I have always done this in the crockpot but I'm sure you could do it on the stove. I have made this up the night before and thrown it in the crockpot the next morning!

ENJOY!!

Servings: 10 (I have a family of 5 and we eat two meals out of it)

WW: 6 points per serving

Ginger's Asian Lettuce Wraps

Asian Chicken (Turkey) Lettuce Wraps
POINTS® Value: 4
Servings: 8

Ingredients
Iceberg lettuce, 1 head
1 tbsp olive oil
1 pound Turkey, ground, 93% lean/7% fat, raw
3 clove(s) garlic, minced
1 cup scallion, green parts only, from one bunch
1 tbsp ginger root, minced and peeled
3/4 cup Hoisin Sauce
4 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp dark sesame oil
3/4 cup water chestnuts, finely chopped

Instructions
1. Using a small paring knife, cut the core out of the head of lettuce and discard it. Rinse the lettuce under cool running water and drain it well on paper towels. Remove leaves one at a time. Set the lettuce aside.
2. Place the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add turkey/chicken, breaking it up with wooden spoon. Add the garlic and cook until the meat is cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Stir in the scallions, ginger, hoison sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, and water chestnuts. Cook the meat filling over medium-low heat until it bubbles and is heated through, 2-3 minutes. Keep the filling warm if you are serving it immediately.
3. To eat the wraps, spoon some of meat into the lettuce leaf, wrap the lettuce up around it and eat the wrap like a burrito.

Spicy Pea Soup

This one is from the Jan/Feb issue of WW magazine.

Ingredients:

• 1 (1-lb) package dried split peas, picked over, rinsed, and drained
• 4 tsp. olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp. curry powder
• 1 (32-oz) carton low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 c. water
• 1/4 lb. lean ham, cut into matchstick strips
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne
• 1/2 c. shredded low-fat Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Bring the peas and enough cold water to cover by 2 inches to a boil in a saucepan. Remove the pan from the heat. Cover and let the peas soak, about 1 hour. Drain.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and curry powder;cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 1 minute. Stir in the drained peas, broth, water, ham, bay leaf, and cayenne; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the peas are tender, about 1 hour.
3. Serve sprinkled with cheese.

Serves 8 - serving size 1 cup

WW Points - 5

Peach French Toast Bake

This is one of my favorite breakfast recipes from my Ellie Krieger cookbook...my brother in law requests it every time they come.

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 large whole-wheat baguette (about 8 ounces) - (I usually get this from Costco)
  
• 4 whole eggs
• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup low fat milk
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups sliced peaches, fresh or frozen
• 1/2 lemon, juiced about 1 1/2 tablespoons
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Spray a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Slice the baguette into 1/2-inch slices and arrange the slices in a single layer in the baking pan. Whisk together the eggs, egg whites, milk and vanilla. Pour the egg mixture over the bread in the pan. In a medium bowl, toss peaches with the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of the brown sugar. Scatter the peach slices evenly on top of the bread. Combine the remaining brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover and bake for 40 minutes.

Serves 6

WW Points : 5