Cookies N Cream Ice Cream Pie

Do you scream for ice cream!? We do!! This ice cream pie is absolutely divine.  It is deliciously rich and chocolatey so no one will know that this pie has half the fat as a normal pie.  Get ready for an super easy phenomenal ice cream pie that will make everyone beg for more!

Ingredients:

1 store bought chocolate cookie pie crust 

2 squares of unsweetened chocolate 

6 TBS water

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

3 TBS butter

1/4 tsp vanilla 

1 tub of Half The Fat Cookies N Cream Ice Cream (We like Dreyers!)

2 low fat Oreo cookies (Optional)

Directions:

To make the fudge, combine chocolate squares and water into a small sauce pan on low heat.  Once the chocolate has melted, add the sugar and salt and constantly stir until the sugar has dissolved.  Add the butter and vanilla and combine.  Pour the chocolate fudge sauce into the bottom of the pie and carefully spread all over the sides of the pie crust with a spatula so the pie bottom and sides are covered generously in fudge.  Freeze for 45 minutes.  Take out ice cream 20 minutes before the fudgey crust is frozen.  Gently spoon softened ice cream all over the top of the crust.  Put back in freezer until ready to serve.  Before slicing, if you would like, sprinkle 2 crushed up low fat Oreos on top of pie.  Enjoy! :)  

 

Peg & Chelsea's Salad Pizza

Peg and Chelsea are not only our second family, but amazing cooks!  Like us, they like to eat and cook healthy which is why this creation of theirs is featured on our blog.  This salad pizza is great for a lunch, an appetizer, or a dinner.  Everyone, even the men in your family, will love and enjoy this tasty treat!

Ingredients:

1 package of pizza dough (We get ours from the frozen section in our grocery store- we get whole wheat if they have it!)

5 plum tomatoes, chopped and seeded

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

3/4 cup mozzarella cheese

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar 

1 bag romaine lettuce 

1 TBS olive oil 

Parmesan cheese-optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Follow instructions on package and thaw pizza dough.  Take a cookie sheet and spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Carefully spread apart the dough to cover the bottom of the cookie sheet.  (If you want a yummy thick crust, leave the edges thicker than the middle.)  Pour the olive oil in a small bowl.  Take a pastry brush and spread the dough with olive oil.  (You most likely will not use a full tablespoon.  You just want a light cover.)  Chop and seed the tomatoes into small chunks and spread over the dough.  Slice the onion and spread over the pizza, as well.  Bake for 15 minutes or until crust is slightly golden brown.  While the pizza is baking, mince garlic and combine with balsamic vinegar in small bowl.  Rinse and dry the bag of romaine lettuce and place in large bowl.  Pour as much of the vinegar and garlic mixture you would like over the lettuce.  Take pizza out and sprinkle mozzarella cheese evenly over the pizza.  Put back in the oven until the cheese is melted.   Once the cheese has melted, take out of the oven and slice the pizza into as many pieces as you would like.  Put a slice on a plate and scoop as much salad as you would like over the pizza.  If you would like, you can add shards or sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of the salad pizza.  Enjoy! :) 

Lasagna Rolls

When you are craving Italian food, because we all do, this is a great, healthy recipe to turn to.  These lasagna rolls are fairly easy to make and packed with not only delicious flavor, but tons of nutrition.  You will please everyone with this cheesy little roll ups.  

Ingredients:
10-12 uncooked lasagna noodles
1-2 jars of your favorite tomato sauce
1/2 tsp of ground pepper
3/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 10 oz package of frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 15 oz container of low fat ricotta cheese
2 cups of shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Boil the noodles until they are al dente (or not fully cooked).  Carefully drain so they do not break.  The noodles will be very fragile.  Lay out noodles on cookie sheet.  Spray a 13 x 9 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Pour half of a jar of tomato sauce on the bottom of the baking dish.  In a bowl, mix together spinach, ricotta cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, salt, and pepper.  Combine all ingredients until they are well incorporated.  Spoon about 2 TBS of the cheese and spinach mixture on to each noodle and spread evenly over noodle.  Start and one end and roll the lasagna noodle up until it is in a roll-up form.  Put seam down into sauced baking dish.  Once all roll-ups are settled in the dish, cover with remaining tomato sauce.  (Add as much of the sauce as you would like, depending on how saucy you like it- we like it saucy!)  Then, sprinkle sauced noodles with remaining cup of mozzarella cheese.  Cover with tin foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Uncover the baking dish and bake for 15 more minutes.  If you want a crunchy top like ours, turn the broiler on for the remaining 3-5 minutes.  Enjoy!
*Adding meat to this recipe would be an awesome addition, but remember meat adds more fat and calories.  This meal is delicious without it! :)

Vanilla Bean Angel Food Cake with Chocolate Drizzle & Vanilla Meringues with Chocolate Candies

Happy Valentines Day!  We wanted to share some love and create two decadent desserts that you can indulge in on this day of love.  Make these desserts for your loved ones and they will surely know how much you care! Not only will you love these desserts, but your waistline will too!  It's Valentines Day, indulge! (And don't feel guilty going back for seconds! :) )


Vanilla Bean Angel Food Cake with Chocolate Drizzle

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean, seeded
12 egg whites

1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract

Chocolate Drizzle:
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup fat-free evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 ounces milk chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Sift together flour and confectioner's sugar in a small bowl.  In different bowl, combine sugar and seeds of a vanilla bean.  (To do this, you must cut the vanilla bean lengthwise, and use the knife to scrape the tiny black seeds out of the pod.)   In a large bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar, salt, vanilla extract, and almond extract until soft peaks form.  Beat in the granulated sugar and vanilla bean mixture slowly, until the mixture creates stiff peaks.  Slowly, fold in the flour and powder sugar mixture. (Fold about 1/2 cup of the flour mixture at a time.)  Pour the fluffy mixture into an ungreased angel food cake pan.  Bake for 40 minutes or until top is golden brown and it springs back when lightly touched with finger.  Once done, invert the pan to cool. (We take three cans- same size- and balance the upside down cake on top of them.) Let cool for 30 minutes or so, and then use a knife to loosen cake onto a serving platter.

Directions for chocolate drizzle:
In a sauce pan, combine cocoa powder and sugar.  Slowly, whisk in evaporated milk until throughly combined.  Once combined, whisk mixture over medium heat until it simmers.  Take off the heat and add vanilla and chocolate chips, until melted.  Drizzle over angel food cake.  Throw in some chocolate covered strawberries and it's time to indulge :)



Vanilla Meringues with Chocolate Candies

Ingredients:
4 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 TBS vanilla extract
Valentine Chocolate Candies (or M&MS- we found red chocolate candies at Sprouts!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 225 degrees F.  In a large bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add granulated sugar and then powdered sugar very slowly.  Add vanilla extract and beat until blended.  Fold in chocolate candies.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Spoon batter into small mounds on baking sheet.  (We made them pretty small- about 40 cookies per batch.) Make sure each mound has chocolate candies in them!  Bake for 90 minutes.  After 90 minutes, turn off the oven and let the cookies cool (in the oven) for another 90 minutes, or until dry.  Carefully remove the cookies- they are very fragile- and eat them up! These cookies are so low fat and low calorie and they definitely satisfy your chocolate cravings :)


HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! WE HOPE YOU FIND LOTS OF LOVE TODAY AND ALWAYS! ENJOY! :)

Nana's Barbeque Sloppy Joe Sandwiches

This recipe comes from Vickie Nelson (aka Nana, our grandmother/mother-in-law).  We revised this recipe by adding more veggies, cutting out excess sodium, and using lean meat.  Although this is a revised recipe, it still tastes the exact same way Nana makes it!  Have fun with this sandwich and don't be afraid to get a little sloppy! ;) Kids and adults will approve!

Ingredients:

2 lbs. lean low-fat ground beef (We use 96/4 lean beef)

½ cup yellow onion, chopped

¼ cup red pepper, chopped

¼ cup green pepper, chopped

½ cup celery, chopped

1 12 oz. bottle No Salt ketchup

1 12 oz. bottle chilli sauce

1 TBS brown sugar

1 TBS white vinegar

½ tsp garlic salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

1 ½ TBS worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Brown and drain ground beef in a large pot or dutch over.  After draining the meat, put meat back into pot and add all of the remaining ingredients.  Stir to combine.  Bring the beef mixture to a boil and let simmer for 30 minutes until warm.  Serve and enjoy!!  

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Baking can be healthy too! Indulge your sweet tooth with this revised chocolate chip banana bread recipe! By using applesauce in this recipe, instead of using all oil, you are keeping the bread moist, but cutting out a lot of the fat that a normal banana bread has.  No one will even know that this bread is healthy because it is just so, so good! 

Ingredients:

2 eggs

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 very ripe bananas, mashed

¼ cup applesauce

¾ TBS vanilla extract

¾ TBS vegetable oil

1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

¾ cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup of pecans or walnuts, chopped (We prefer pecans!)

Topping:

1 TBS granulated sugar

1 ½ tsp brown sugar

½ tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking/baking spray.  Beat eggs and granulated sugar in a large bowl for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy.  Add in bananas, applesauce, vanilla, and vegetable oil and beat together.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Slowly add the flour mixture to the banana mixture, beating just until combined.  Fold in all of the chocolate chip morsels but only ¾ cup of the nuts of your choice.  Pour batter into the greased loaf pan until half full. (It will overflow if poured any further than half way.) Sprinkle on top of the batter, the ¼ cup of leftover nuts.  Stir sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a separate bowl and sprinkle over top of the nuts and batter.  This will create a delicious crust/streusel on top of the bread. Bake the loaf for an hour until golden brown and when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  So yummy!

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia with Roasted Garlic Broccoli and Cauliflower

Coming from a family that does not eat much fish, this recipe is a family favorite.  This is a light, yet filling meal, that satisfies your taste buds.  Since fish is so good for you, we were in desperate need to find a recipe that incorporated fish but was delicious as well.  We hope you enjoy this easy, healthy meal that is promisingly divine.  

Ingredients for Parmesan Crusted Tilapia:
4 tilapia fillets
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 TBS sea salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
4 egg whites
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1 TBS (or to taste) fresh italian flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Olive oil

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Set up a dredging station of three dishes.  The first dish should contain: flour, salt, and pepper.  The second dish should contain: egg whites, hand beat until foamy.  The third dish should contain: Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, and parsley.  Set up a cookie sheet, covered with tin foil, at the end of the three dishes.  On top of the cookie sheet, place a cooling rack to hold the fish and spray with non-stick cooking spray.  (This will allow the fish to get crunchy on all sides.)  First, take one fillet of tilapia and cover it in the flour mixture.  Shake off excess flour.  Next, dip the floured fillet in the egg whites and coat.  Take the fillet and lather it with the cheese/breadcrumb mixture.  Place the finished fillet on the cooling rack.  Repeat with the other 3 fillets.  Drizzle each fillet with a light amount of olive oil.  Bake the fish for 20-25 minutes, until brown and crispy on the outside and flaky on the inside.  Enjoy! :)

*We like to serve this fish with a boxed risotto of your choice! Compliments the fish well! :)

Ingredients for the Roasted Garlic Broccoli and Cauliflower:
1 head of cauliflower
4 cups of broccoli florets
Olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Sea salt, to taste

Directions: 
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.  Chop the cauliflower and broccoli into bite-sized pieces and spread on cookie sheet.  Drizzle olive oil over the pieces of broccoli and cauliflower.  Add the chopped garlic and sea salt to the broccoli/cauliflower mixture and mix with your hands to coat every piece.  Roast the mixture for 20 minutes until slightly browned.  Serve as a side dish with any of your favorite entrees.  Yum!