Friday, June 14, 2013

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Muffins


Those raspberry cheesecake suckers hooked me! Cream cheese in muffin batter is a MUST TRY for everyone!! These guys were very similar but I changed up the flavours a little. I also remembered baking soda so they weren't as stubby as the first round of raspberry ones.

To be honest, I'm not even a huge fan of lemon or blueberry but I think that is changing because these were out-of-this-world good!!!

INGREDIENTS

5 oz low fat cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoon butter, softened
3 tablespoon unsweetened applesauce
1 ½ cups sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup low-fat buttermilk (keep reading for a substitute)
4 tablespopon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 cups blueberries

NOTE - My heart always sinks when I find a recipe that calls for buttermilk. Since it is only available in a larger container (and I don't bake THAT often) it means it always goes to waste. A quick and easy substitute is one cup of milk (whatever you have on hand) and one tablespoon of vinegar. Combine the two and let it sit for at least 5 minutes while the milk "sours", then use whatever you need from that for your recipe.

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line 24 muffin cups with cupcake liners.

2. In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, butter and applesauce and beat with an electric mixer until blended. Add sugar and beat until combined. Add vanilla, eggs and egg whites and beat until blended.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour (lightly spoon into measuring cups and then level with a knife), baking soda, baking powder and salt and stir together. In the bowl containing the wet ingredients, use the mixer on a low speed while pouring in the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Add the lemon juice, zest and buttermilk and beat until blended. Add the blueberries and fold in gently.

4. Spoon the batter evenly into the liners. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Here's a rather unflattering shot of the inside of one of these bad boys...look at all that blueberry goodness!!!

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serving Size - 1 muffin
WW Points - 3
Calories - 137
Carbs - 23g
Fat - 4g
Protein - 3g
Fibre - 1g


Monday, June 10, 2013

Chicken Parmigiana Casserole

This was another weekday lunch make-ahead meal. Although it has few ingredients and is really quite simple it was still really yummy and I enjoyed eating it five days in a row.

The major pro of this dish is that it is minimal on all fronts. Only some basic chopping and the oven does the rest of the work. No browning things ahead of time, adding ingredients in stages…just chop it up, throw it in the pan and bake away.

This would be a REALLY easy weeknight dish….as I’m typing this I’m trying to make a mental note to remember this fact!!

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ t crushed red pepper flakes (or more to taste if you want it hot)
¼ cup fresh basil, finely chopped
2 cups marinara/pasta sauce
1 ½ cups light shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
2 oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated divided
1 package garlic croutons, roughly crushed, leaving some larger pieces (I found a multigrain variety that worked quite well)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Spread the cubed pieces of chicken across the bottom of the baking dish in a single layer. Sprinkle the minced garlic, red pepper flakes and basil evenly over the chicken. Spread the sauce evenly across the top. On top of the sauce layer, sprinkle ¾ cup of the Mozzarella and one ounce of the Parmesan evenly across the dish. Sprinkle the crushed croutons across the top and follow with the remaining cheese.

3. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.


NUTRITIONAL INFO

8 Servings
WW – 8
Calories – 303
Carbs – 15g
Fat – 11g
Fibre – 1g
Protein – 37g

Ham & Egg Cups


Who doesn’t love an edible bowl? These guys come together really quickly, can be adapted to a large crowd, or enjoyed at a breakfast party of one. Plus they are really filling.

Mom came home with “breakfast ham” the other day and after realizing that all that meant was ham sliced into strips to somewhat resemble bacon it seemed less exciting. Although, lets be honest, it wasn’t THAT exciting to begin with.

Anyway, I decided to make it more appealing by crisping it up in the oven and then baking some eggs and cheese in it. Very yummy and probably could even be made ahead of time and then re-heated…although fresh out of the oven was pretty damn good!!
INGREDIENTS (can be adapted to your own desired quantities)

Ham (breakfast ham, deli sliced ham…its all good)
Cheddar Cheese, grated
Eggs
Green Onions, chopped

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tin with oil.

Line muffin cups with ham (its ok for them to hang over or stick out) and place in the oven while it is preheating.

Once oven is hot, place a small amount of cheese in bottom of each ham cup, crack an egg into each cup and season with salt and pepper. Bake until desired doneness. I baked for about 15 minutes but we prefer our eggs hard.

Remove from oven, sprinkle with remaining cheese (if there is any) and green onions.

 

NUTRIONAL INFO

WW – 3 per cup
Calories - 128
Carbs – 1g
Fat – 7g
Fibre – 0g
Protein – 14g