Zucchini and Shrimp Sautee'

I love zucchini. I mean I really love it! To say it's probably my favorite veggie is probably an understatement. I ADORE it. So I came up with this little dinner thingy...the other night. It was really good and I had a hard time keeping my fingers out of the pot! I'm so not kidding. Make this.....tonight......it's that good!

(i really need to start remembering to take pictures of what I make....but like i said earlier, i love zucchini and well....ate it before i remembered i needed to take a picture. hehe)

Zucchini and Shrimp Sautee'

4 med zucchini's , sliced
2C shredded carrots
2C cabbage, chopped
1 med. onion, chopped
8oz small-med sized shrimp (or more if you like)
1 14oz can diced tomatoes with juice
garlic powder*
oregano*
salt*
pepper *
(*the above to taste-i usually don't measure my spices-i just dump and taste and I go)

Place about 2tbsp veg oil in skillet and cook zucchini, carrots and onion until tender and zucchini is browned. remove to a plate and set aside. Add tomatoes and warm through, then add shrimp cooking only for a couple of minutes until pink. Add other veggies back into pot and season to your liking.

Eat and enjoy! This would be good over rice or a pasta. We ate it as is with a side of fruit cocktail. It was so good! I was seriously licking the pot! ;)

For those who are counting, this delightful meal served 5 and was worth 6 points a serving.

Cheesy Chili Mac

This was really good. 3 out of 4 of us ate it. Not sure why the other one didn't. It was really good, I had a hard time eating my one portion of it!! Yum!!!

This was originally a WW recipe, but I tweaked it with what I had on hand.

Cheesy Chili Mac

29 oz can diced tomatoes in juice (do not drain)
chili powder to taste
cumin to taste
1 pound ground hamburger
1/2 C fat free cheddar cheese, shredded
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 C ketchup
1C cabbage, chopped
1C spinach, chopped
1 can corn, drained
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 1/2C uncooked macaroni (I used shell mac because it's what I had)

In a medium skillet brown beef with onions, bell pepper, spinach and cabbage.
Cook until meat is browned and veggies are soft. Drain excess grease.

In another pot cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain. Add tomatoes and their juice, corn, ketchup, beef mixture and spices to taste. Heat through. Spoon into bowls or onto plates and top with cheese.

This yields about 1 C chili and 1 tbsp of cheese per serving and it serves 8. This made enough (obviously) that we could put the leftovers in the freezer for another night! I love meals that do that!!! Less cooking later. I'm always excited about that fact!!

Points for this meal are 7 per serving.

I must say again, how good this was. As for spicy, this wasn't because we don't like spicy food, but hey, if you love it, add more chili powder. I thought it was perfect!

Tonight for dinner we are having tortilla soup. You can find my recipe for it here. It's really good and the more veggies you add, the better for you.

Here are the points value for this soup per serving (it serves 4):

with sour cream added: 8 points
w/o sour cream: 6 points
with shrimp: 7 points (I added this tonight because I had some frozen in my freezer. You could leave this out.)
with chicken (no sour cream-if you add the sour cream add 2 points) as in original recipe: 8 points

that leaves plenty of room for dessert, depending on how you ate during the day!!


I also added some fresh spinach to mine soup tonight for some extra veggies. I bought some fresh yesterday and I could not resist adding it to the soup.

Enjoy it (again)!

Sugar Cookie-Chocolate Crunch Fudge

Ok so I know this isn't really a "healthy" recipe.....but yesterday was Valentine's Day and I made this for my boys' teachers and their bus driver. I have to say that I haven't eaten any of it (I have enough chocolate that I received to take care of that!) So I was able to pass it out and not feel guilty for making it. But I will give you points at the end in case you are interested.

This recipe is one that is printed in the Pillsbury 2011 Calendar. If you get this calender then it's February's recipe and like me, look at it every day! I made a couple of small modifications for what I had on hand, but otherwise I didn't change the recipe.
Sugar Cookie-Chocolate Crunch Fudge
2 tbsp light corn syrup
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1/4 tsp salt
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk (NOT EVAPORATED)
1 roll ready made sugar cookie dough (in the refrigerated section), cut into chunks
2 bags (12 oz each) milk chocolate chips
5 tsp vanilla extract
6 chocolate chip granola bars, coarsely chopped

In a 3 quart heavy saucepan, cook corn syrup, butter, salt and milk over medium heat 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until well blended. Reduce heat to medium-low; stir in cookie dough chunks (they will melt into the mixture so don't be alarmed). Cook 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and candy thermometer reads 160 degrees F. Remove from heat.

Stir in chocolate chips and vanilla until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Add chopped granola bars; stir until well blended. Cook over low heat 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly until mixture is shiny. Spread in ungreased 12x8in or 13x9in pan. Refrigerate uncovered at least 2 hours or until firm.

Cut into 8 rows by 6 rows. Serve immediately, store leftovers in the fridge.

photo courtesy of Pillsbury

My oldest got to taste them and said they were really good and begged and pleaded for us to keep a couple of them. So I did....but I still haven't had one..

Point for this is: 4 per square (this recipe yields 48 squares)

A new way of eating

I joined Weight Watchers today. There. It's out for the world to see now. So i'm now going to make sure every thing I make has a points value and any recipe I post, I will post the points just in case you are doing weight watchers or are even interested. Let's just say that now that we are done with having kids I have some much needed weight to lose and I thought the best way to do it was to join Weight Watchers*. I am excited about their new program and I think I'll be able to do well on it. I'm doing the online version because I just can't bring myself to go to meetings. Plus with the hubs being on the other side of the world, that's just not an option. I have to admit i've been playing with it all day. But that's not why you are here (all 3 of you that visit this blog). You want recipes....food......all things yummy for your tummy!!

Tonight's recipe is brought to you courtesy of Stephanie at Fun Foods on a Budget. She made this particular recipe a couple of years ago. I stumbled upon it and decided to give it a try. It was fabulous and I think you need to try it to. Click on the link to take you to her blog for the recipe!! Enjoy!!

RUNZAS

for those interested......points for this meal are 11 (for 1 of the runzas). Yeah that's a lot but if you bank up during the day, it doesn't seem like that many.

*Weight Watchers did not ask me to endorse their product and in no way gave me any incentive to do so.