Hot Bacon and Cheese Dip

Hot Bacon & Cheese Dip
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
½ c mayo
1 c shredded Swiss cheese (I use 1 ½ cups)
8 slices of bacon (I use 15 slices – 2 boxes)
1 c crushed ritz crackers
Soften cream cheese in mixing bowl. Add mayo and cream. Add shredded swiss cheese mix well. Transfer to baking dish, top with bacon & crackers. Back at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly.

Recipe from Martha Nicolas

Cheeseburger Hoagie Sandwiches

This is from the Pampered Chef "It's Good for You" cookbook! We had this the other night. The kids even gobbled it up! :) It was great and if you're counting, these sandwiches are 6 Weight Watchers Points! I served with pickles and carrot sticks and fresh fruit! :)

1 package refrigerated French bread dough
4 slices reduced fat American cheese, divided
12 oz ground beef (90% or 95% lean) (you can also use ground turkey)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, pressed (could also be chopped)
1/4 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
1 cup thinly sliced lettuce
1 plum tomatoes sliced

1) Preheat oven to 350. Stretch out bread dough. Cut four portions. Cut three slits on top of each portion. Place seam side down, 3 inches apart. Bake 20-22 minutes, or until golden brown. Immediately remove loaves and cool.
2) Cut two slices of cheese into pieces. Cook and stir beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat 8-10 minutes, or until no longer pink, breaking beef into crumbles, drain. Stir in ketchup, mustard and cut-up cheese until cheese is melted. Remove skillet from heat.
3) Slice each loaf lengthwise,cutting halfway through the center of the loaf, spread open. Fill evenly with beef mixture; place on baking stone. Bake 6-8 minutes or until bread is toasted and meat mixture is heated thoroughly; remove from oven.
4) Cut remaining cheese slices diagonally: top each sandwich with one triangle of cheese. Top sandwiches with lettuce and tomato slices. Serve immediately.
Makes 12 sandwiches.

Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 329.6
Total Fat: 7.4 g
Cholesterol: 51.7 mg
Sodium: 1,045.8 mg
Total Carbs: 45.3 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.1 g
Protein: 27.0 g

Sweet and Sour Shrimp

Since I've recently joined Weight Watchers (again), I am finding new recipes that are (low in points) more healthy. This is a great one from my girl, Buffy and it is indeed delicious! Yummy!

1 (8oz) can pineapple chunks in juice
1 teaspoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons chili sauce
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Cooking Spray
2 teaspoons sesame or vegetable oil
1 medium-sized green pepper, coarsely chopped
1/2 medium onion, sliced
3/4 pound raw, peeled and devained medium-sized fresh shrimp

Drain pineapple, reserving juice; set pineapple chunks aside. combine reserved juice, cornstarch, chili sauce, soy sauce and garlic powder and set aside.

Coat a large non-stick skillet or wok with cooking spray and add oil. Place over medium-high hear until hot. Add green pepper and onion; stir fry 2-3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add shrimp; stir fry 2-3 minutes or until shrimp turn pink.

Stir cornstarch mixture and pineapple chunks into the shrimp mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Serve immediately.

I served this over a bed of brown rice.

Yeild: 4 servings (I ate 2 servings of it! hahaha)

Nutritional info per serving: 177 calories, 4g fat, Protein 18g, Carbohydrate 16.2g, Fiber 0.8g, Cholesterol 129mg, Sodium 397mg Weight Watchers Points: 4 points

Tex Mex Chicken Melts (one of my favorites from Pampered Chef)

Tex-Mex Chicken Melts

1 loaf french bread, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 can (10 ounces) chunk white chicken, drained and flaked
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped (or a couple chicken breasts cooked and chopped)
1/2 cup finely diced green bell pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Pantry Southwestern Seasoning Mix
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 teaspoon salt
2 plum tomatoes, sliced
2 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro or parsley

1. Preheat oven to 375° F. slice bread into 20 slices, about 1/2-inch thick. Arrange in a single layer on Rectangular Stone.

1. Place chicken in large bowl. Finely chop onion. Add onion, bell pepper, 1/2 cup of the cheese, mayonnaise, pressed garlic, seasoning mix and salt to batter bowl; mix well.

2. Using a medium scoop or large spoon, scoop chicken mixture evenly over bread slices; gently flatten filling with back of scoop. Slice tomatoes thinly. Top each bead slice with one tomato slice; sprinkle with remaining cheese.

3. Bake 15-18 minutes or until edges of bread are golden brown and cheese is melted. Remove from oven; sprinkle with cilantro. Serve warm.

Yield: 20 appetizers

I top mine with a little sour cream and some Chalula. YUMMY!!!

Monkey Munch (Recipe)

As seen on Jon and Kate Plus Eight:

9 cup Chex
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Put cereal in large bowl. Melt chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Pour over Chex cereal, put into a large plastic bag with powdered sugar and shake well to coat.

Spread mixture evenly on wax paper and allow to cool.

Paula Deen's Gooey Cake (Recipe)

Double Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake

Ingredients:

* Butter, for greasing pan, plus 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) butter, melted
* 1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix
* 1 egg, plus 2 eggs
* 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 3 to 4 tablespoon cocoa powder
* 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 cup chopped nuts


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch baking pan. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, 1 egg, and 8 tablespoons (1 stick) melted butter, and stir until well blended. Pat mixture into prepared pan and set aside. In a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the remaining 2 eggs, and the cocoa powder. Lower the speed of the mixer, and add the powdered sugar. Continue beating until ingredients are well mixed. Slowly add the remaining 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of melted butter, and the vanilla, continuing to beat the mixture until smooth. Stir in nuts with a rubber spatula. Spread filling over cake mixture in pan.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the cake; the center should still be a little gooey when finished baking. Let cake partially cool on a wire rack before cutting into pieces.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40-50 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Yield: 20-24 servings

Buffalo Chicken Dip (Recipe)

Buffalo Chicken Dip
3 Chicken Breasts, cooked (preferrably grilled) and chopped or shredded
2 8oz cream cheese
1 1/2 Cup of Ranch dressing
3/4 Cup of Buffalo wing sauce (usually in marinade/bbq sauce aisle)
1 1/2 - 2 Cups of Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Mix all of the ingredients together with the cooked chicken breast. Bake it at 350 for about 20 minutes. , Then sprinkle about another 1/2 cup to whole cup of shredded cheese on top and bake another 10 minutes or until the cheese on the top if melted.

Great with corn chips or tortilla chips (or both)!