1 POINT Stuffed Mushrooms!

At first I thought it was too good to be true, one weight watcher (WW) point stuffed mushrooms? I found the recipe on skinny taste (which is great for WW recipes) and made them for the Superbowl. They were absolutely delicious, I made them again this weekend! I modified the recipe a bit, here it is:
Ingredients:
6 mushrooms with caps removed (keep the caps)
6 chopped mushroom caps
2 gloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of spinach
1/2 cup of grated 2% parmesan cheese
3 slices of turkey bacon, chopped
whole wheat bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350. Place mushrooms on a foil lined baking sheet.
Wilt the spinach on a saucepan, and then remove excess water with a paper towel. Chop spinach, and put in a small mixing bowl. Then saute the garlic cloves and chopped mushroom caps, and add to mixing bowl. Add chopped turkey bacon and cheese to the mixing bowl. Stir together and put a spoonful in each mushroom. Add salt and pepper, and then sprinkle bread crumbs over the mushroom. Spray with light cooking spray and cook for 8 minutes. Serve warm.

Pinterest-Inspired Avocado Spinach Egg Salad

So, I originally saw this post on Pinterest, and was immediately intrigued...  Avacado?  I adore it.  Egg Salad?  There are few foods that take me back to childhood like it!  Put them together?  BRILLIANT!  And, no mayonnaise?  AMAZING!  So, all credit to the original at We Are Not Martha - I hope I have sufficiently expressed how much I love this idea!

Avocado Spinach Egg Salad


Ingredients
6 hard-boiled eggs
2 medium avocados
2 Tbsp reduced fat sour cream
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1 c fresh spinach, torn into pieces with stems removed
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tsp red pepper flakes
Juice from 1/2 lime
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Instructions
Step 1 - read the original post at We Are Not Martha.  For starters, she gives pictures throughout the entire process, but I was so tickled by her description of her husband's expanding palate that I almost spit out my water...  OK, on to the salad...

Peel 6 hard boiled eggs and add to a large mixing bowl.  Use a fork or potato masher to mash them up.

Cut the avocados in half around the large, central seed (pit?  I don't know...), and twist the two halves apart.  Using a knife to dig deep into the pit (seed?  I don't know...) with one good whack, twist the knife to remove the seedpit (there - that works.).  Remove the avocado from the skin and add to the bowl of eggs.  Mash the avocado into the eggs.

Add the sour cream, celery, cilantro, red pepper flakes, lime juice, and salt and pepper and mix all together very well...  Fold in the spinach, and you are finished.

I broke this up into 8 servings, because I plan to eat it on those teeny tiny little tortillas I have clearly become obsessed with...  At this portion size, they are 4 Weight Watchers Plus Points prior to putting on the 1 point tortilla...  So, 5 points each!

Mission Extra Thin Yellow Corn Tortillas

These are magic...  They taste warm and authentic, and are only 1 Weight Watcher's Plus Point a piece.  I thought you may want to know what to look for in the store.  They are really little, at 24 in a package, and no more than 4 inches in diameter...

The Best Chicken Tacos I've Ever Made

And, as insane as it is...  I got the base of this recipe from the Weight Watchers website.  I'm not kidding.  I am pretty sure I uncovered the secret that makes these tacos AMAZING, but the base of this came straight from the Weight Watchers website (which they credit to Hungry Girl, but I'll be darned if I can find it on her site...).

Baja Taco Blitz - EXTRA BAM


Ingredients
Nonstick Cooking Spray
1/2 medium onion, sliced thin
1/2 medium red bell pepper, sliced thin
2 (4 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
6 Mission Extra Thin Yellow Corn Tortillas (This is key.  They are tiny and amazing, and only 2 points.  If you get any other kind, only 4 for two people.)
1 tsp chili powder
Salt & Pepper, to taste
1/4 avocado, sliced or cubed
1 c chopped romaine lettuce
4 Tbsp fat free shredded cheddar cheese
2 tsp Sriracha Chili Sauce (This is key. I warn you, however, that I love spicy... You may want to skip it if you don't.)
4 Tbsp fat free salsa
1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions
Heat a medium skillet on the stove top over medium heat.  Remove from heat long enough to coat with cooking spray, and return to heat.  Add the sliced onions and peppers, and allow to soften some but keep their crisp (about 2 minutes).  Remove the onions and peppers from the skillet, and place the chicken strips into the same pan.  Sprinkle chicken with chili powder, and add salt & pepper to taste.  Cook chicken over medium heat about 5 minutes.  Turn heat to low, and add the vegetables back to the pan.

Meanwhile, wrap your tortillas in damp paper towels and place in the microwave.  When the chicken is about a minute from being done, start the tortillas for one minute in the microwave on high heat.  It steams them nicely without being too much extra work.

Divide the chicken, onion, red pepper, avocado, romaine, cheddar cheese among the corn tortillas.  Top with Sriracha, salsa, and cilantro.  Serves 2.

(Total of 6 points before tortillas.  The Mission Extra Thin ones I specify have 1 point per tortilla.  They make the whole thing send me back to Costa Rica in my mind...  :))

New Year... New Me...

I say me, because it felt weird to speak for anyone other than myself.  But, I'm sure I am not alone in the resolve to eat lighter and healthier as we start 2012.  I know I'm not alone in the resolve to work off a few extra pounds I picked up in 2011, judging by the swelled masses at the gym the last few weeks...

But, that's not the point of this post.  This post is to explain, to anyone that might be paying attention, that the focus of this blog may be a bit different in 2012.  The CSA is over for the season, and these authors are both doing what they can to lighten up, while packing in the nutrients, and not skipping the flavor...  Also, we're counting points, and since this blog is really for us to trade recipes with each other, you'll be seeing Weight Watchers Points Plus totals, as well...

Here's to 2012!

Healthy Potato Soup

This is sooo good that I ate it up before taking a pic! Very easy and you can customize it to your liking!
Ingredients:
4 large potatoes, cubed
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 spicy peppers, finely chopped (optional, I like spicy)
1 container of low sodium chicken stalk
2 cups of water
1 can nonfat evaporated milk
Cayenne pepper (optional)
chedder cheese (optional)
Turkey bacon, chopped (optional)

In a crockpot combine the potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, peppers, chicken stalk, water and cayenne pepper. Cook in high for 3-4 hours. Stir in evaporated milk, and cook on low for 30 minutes. This is optional but I think makes the soup, take an immersion blender and blend the soup to create a thicker consistency. When ready to eat, sprinkle the cheese and crispy turkey bacon and enjoy! If you have any leftover, freeze and save for later.

Easiest Acorn Squash

So, in case you noticed the two acorn squash halves in the background of the soup picture...  We've been getting fresh squash in our CSA deliveries the past four weeks.  And, it was my turn for Acorn, so I broke out an oldie but an EASY!

"Roasted" squash in 7 minutes flat...

Easiest Acorn Squash

Ingredients
1 acorn squash, halved and seeds scraped out and removed
2 tbsp margarine
2 tbsp pure maple syrup

Instructions
Lay both halves of the acorn squash with the cavity facing up.  Use 1 tbsp of margarine on each half, and spread around the cavity.  Drizzle 1 tbsp maple syrup on each half, and cover with plastic wrap tightly.  Put both halves in the microwave and microwave on high for 7 minutes.   Remove from microwave carefully (they'll be really hot!), and cut the saran wrap from around the squash.  Place each half in it's own bowl.  Serve in the bowl, and use a fork to scrape the squash from the skin and into the melted butter and maple syrup to eat!

Mark was scared to death of it at first, but ended up raving about it.  I think we'll have to get more acorn squash...  :)