Product Rec: Jimmy Dean D-Lights Turkey Sausage Croissant

So, I love Breakfast sandwiches...but the calorie/fat value I do not love! So when I heard about the Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches that are lower in calories/fat, I thought "Well, that'd sounds nice...but I bet they don't taste very good!" Well, I take back that thought now! At Kroger yesterday I bought their "D-lights: Turkey Sausage Reduced Fat Croissant" (ie, turkey bacon, egg whites, and cheese on a croissant). I tried it today, and it was very yummy! I could barely taste a difference in this and a normal sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich.

The nutritional breakdown is :
290 cals, 12 g fat, 6 g sat fat, 4 g fiber, 17 g Protein... 6 weight watcher's points

So, are they super healthy?? No. But they ARE better (health wise) than a normal breakfast sandwich, and the taste is still there! So, if you want to indulge, but not over-indulge, then these are for you!

Guilt Free Brownies

So, I haven't had them in a while, but I highly recommend "No Pudge!" Fat Free Brownie Mix. (It comes in 3 flavors--fudge, mint fudge, and raspberry fudge. I've only tried straight up fudge.) Basically you take the mix, blend with fat free yogurt, and what you end up getting is 12** brownies, each containing 120 calories and no fat (= 2 WW points)! But, how do they taste? IMO, pretty yummy! The times I have made them, I have been pleasantly surprised at how good they tasted. Topped w/some fat free cool whip, and you have yourself one tasty treat!

Where to find them? In Auburn, I have found them at Kroger with the other brownie/cakes mixes (usually on the top shelf of that section). To find where they sell them near you, go here. I think I will be buying some on my next Kroger visit.

**They also have a single serving recipe, if you can't trust yourself w/all of them at once. Taken directly from there website, it is: "One of our consumers created this. In a small microwaveable container mix 2 tablespoons of your favorite flavor No Pudge! Brownie mix with 1 tablespoon of non-fat vanilla yogurt. Microwave on high for one minute. Top with fat-free frozen yogurt or whipped topping. Tastes like a warm, fudgy brownie pudding - Yum!!!"

Kitchen Necessities (or at least good things to have)

So, since starting college (back in 2005), I have taken an interest in cooking (since you know, being away from my family, eating meals mean eating out or eating something at home--and while frozen entrees and such are okay for lunch, I really don't want them for all my dinners). I know that this interest in cooking comes as a shock, since I have a recipe blog and all, but it's true ;-). What started out as the occasional spaghetti dinner (store bought noodles, sauce, and bread) eventually led to a desire to try out new recipes, which led to an accumulation of cookbooks (which is still growing). In addition, I have at various times (including now), decided to improve my health, and have tried cooking at home so I could control the calorie/fat/sugar intake. Finally, having gotten married and started Pharmacy school, I have wanted to expand my cooking repertoire so that I can cook for John (not to mention save some money by eating out less). Now, what's the point of telling you all this? Well, my cooking endeavors have necessitated that I get certain pieces of culinary "equipment." Some I use frequently and have been very useful in creating multiple recipes, and so I would like to share what those are here, for anyone who is trying to cook more. If you're interested, read on. If not, sorry you wasted your time reading all this. ;-)


KitchenAid 7-Cup Food Processor
This was a wedding gift from my family, and has been very useful. It has a large capacity, and is often a better choice than a blender. It is good at grinding up chicken for chicken salad, for grinding up nuts, etc. Very helpful.


KitchenAid 5-Quart Stand Mixer
Yes, this is the item on many couple's Wedding Registries, and yes, it has quite a hefty price tag (appx $250, currently). But it really has been very helpful when making fillings, cakes, etc. Whenever you need ingredients mixed very well, it is a dream to have. Even if I mixed something for hours, I couldn't get it as smooth as this does. Of course, unless someone gets it for you as a wedding gift (or your very generous grandmother gives it to you as a birthday present, like mine did), you'll probably have to buy it yourself. But hey, if you set aside $20 every month (only $5/week) for a year, you will just about have enough for one! So if you really enjoy cooking, that would be my suggestion. Save up overtime and get one--you'll be glad you did! (Oh, and it comes in lots of colors...mine is Pink!)


Williams Sonoma's 10-Piece Glass Bowl Set


Yes, even though I love my KitchenAid mixer, I still like these mixing bowls (given to me by my friends the Turners for our wedding). I use them almost every time I make a meal--even if things don't need to be mixed, it is a good way to store and separate ingredients. Of course, you don't need this exact set (it's just the one I have)...I just think that the various sizes are helpful.


All-Clad Stainless-Steel Measuring Cups & Spoons


So, pretty much everyone already has measuring cups and spoons...so why bother recommending these? Well, there is one particular feature I think is neat about these (the cups, specifically): Within each cup, there are marks on the inside indicating other cup sizes. That is, in the "1 cup" cup, there are markings on the inside for 3/4 cup, 1/2 cup, and 1/4 cup. For the 1/2 cup there is a 1/4 cup mark on the inside, and for the 1/4 cup there is a 1/8 cup marking. So basically, you could use just one measuring cup for an entire recipe that called for different amounts of a particular ingredient. And plus, stainless steel is always good. So thanks to the Hurts for getting us these!


Williams Sonoma's Glass & Stainless Steel Cookbook Holder



So, not only does this hold open cookbooks (believe me, over the years I have discovered this is a very helpful thing to have), but on the side it lists all sorts of cooking measurements/conversions (both US & Metric). This was also a wedding gift, from my mom's cousin Rebecca. Thanks!


Wilton Ultimate Bake and Carry Set

This was given to us as a wedding gift from our Randolph friend, Sara Singhal. It includes a 12 cup muffin bake pan, 24 cup mini muffin bake pan, 13" x 9" bake pan, a 3-piece oblong caddy (to set your baked goods on for transport), and an extra deep cover and locking latches to keeps your desserts safe and secure during travel. I have used it recently when making the aforementioned Hungry Girl Red Velvet Cupcakes for John and myself, and then for his Dungeons & Dragons group.


Anchor Hocking Oven Basics 6-Piece Bake N Take Bakeware Set

So, my mom has had a Pyrex version of this for awhile, and I always thought it was neat. Well, we got one as a wedding gift, and it has been great! The set includes a 3 Quart Baker with a blue plastic lid for travel, a 2 Quart Baker with a blue plastic lid for travel, a convenient baker tote and a Hot/Cold pack to help keep your dishes hot/cold while traveling. I have already used it several times for potlucks/dinners with our Young Marrieds Bible Study.


There are many other gadgets/appliances I have (many of them also wedding presents) that are great, but these are some of my favorites. Hope at least one person found this useful. =)

New Cookbook

My new Hungry Girl Cookbook 2oo Under 200 (200 Recipes Under 200 Calories) arrived today! I am looking forward to flipping through it and getting some meal ideas!

But why I am telling you this? Well, if you click the link above, it will take you to a page where you can see pictures and a brief description of every single recipe in the book (chapter by chapter) as well as their weight watcher's points values. And, while not all the recipes are listed on her website (she wants you to buy the book), a lot of them are. So, if you see a picture/description you like, copy the name of the recipe, go to her main page, and type the recipe name in the search bar...a lot of the time you can find it!

I would also like to add that while this book is by "Hungry GIRL," you don't have to be a girl to get it! She has all sorts of recipes that guys would like--nachos, wings, chicken fingers, potato skins, etc!

More Product Reccomendations

So, I mentioned in my last past that I have a Hungry Girl cookbook (link to her website listed with others links on left)...for those of you who don't know, she has a fab website, great cookbooks, and a daily e-mail newsletter. They are chalked full of yummy recipes (desserts, entrees, etc...but all with lower calories/fat/sugar), dieting tips, new low cal snacks/products, info on restaurant's offering some yummy but healthy dishes, and more. Even if you're a guy, I would recommend going to her site at the least, signing up for her newsletter and/or getting one of her cookbooks. I mean really--she has recipes for cupcakes, cheesecake, chicken fingers, wings, nachos, fondue, etc, etc...all of which you can eat and not feel bad about it! Tonight I will be making her Too Good Twice Baked Potatoes with our meal. Will post more on that after dinner.



ANYWAYS, one product she has recommended before is Guiltless Gourmet Tortilla Chips. Kroger didn't have a big selection (and I had too look in the Organic/Natural section), so I just got blue corn tortilla chips. But apparently there are black bean flavored, nacho flavored, etc. I tried them today with my Smart Ones' enchiladas (more on those below) and some salsa. I will say, they tasted okay (they are low cal), BUT they did give a nice crunch and medium to eat my salsa on. So, if you're looking for chips to eat by themselves, these might not be the best...but if you want to use them for dips and such, they are a good choice. I mean, as far as nutrition goes, you get 18 chips for only 2 weight watcher's points (120 cals ; 3 g fat ; 2 g fiber; 3 g protein for 18 chips)



Finally, I would like to recommend Smart Ones' Chicken Enchiladas Suiza. As far as diet frozen food goes, it was one of the better meals I had. I mean, it's "served in a zesty sour cream and green chile sauce with Spanish rice"! ;-) Really, it was tasty, and only 6 weight watcher's points. For full nutrition, go the link I just mentioned (it has a nutrition label on the page).


That's all for now!

Lemon-Poppy Seed Bread

So, this isn't a recipe so much as a product suggestion. The other day, when at Walmart, I stumbled across a Betty Crocker Lemon-Poppy Seed Muffin/Quick Bread mix. I decided some lemon-poppy seed bread sounded good, so I bought it. The quick bread recipe is on the back (on the bottom, under the muffin recipe); in addition to the mix, it called for eggs, flour, vegetable oil, and maybe a thing or two more. But, you can find the ingredients listed on the back if you buy it yourself. Anyways, since our oven gets overly hot, I cooked it a little bit too long, so it was too done around some of the edges, but it still turned out pretty good. It even gives you a "recipe" for some lemon butter you can put on it!