Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Whole Garlic

These were great for dinner--my father in law liked eating the whole garlic cloves at the end. The fingerling potatoes were hard to find--only found them at Whole Foods, but I've heard you can get them at Shop Rite too.

WW Points = 4

2 pound fingerling potatoes, washed of any dirt
10 cloves garlic, skin on
3 tablespoons olive oil
Leaves from 5 thyme sprigs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large bowl combine all the ingredients and toss. Transfer to a baking sheet and roast for 15 to 20 minutes or until nice and tender.

Serves 6

Watermelon and Cantaloupe with Mint Vinagrette

This was AMAZING! Very fresh tasting and surprising. I served it before Easter dinner, but it would be great for a summer barbecue or after dinner. It was so good. Would definitely make it again!

1 bunch fresh mint, chopped
1/4 cup lemon juice, from about 1 lemon
1/4 cup simple syrup, recipe follows
1/8 teaspoon amaretto
2 cups watermelon balls, from about half a watermelon
2 cups cantaloupe balls, from about 1 cantaloupe
In a blender, combine mint, lemon juice, simple syrup, and amaretto. Blend until smooth.
In a large bowl, combine the watermelon and the cantaloupe. Add the vinaigrette and toss. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve.

Simple Syrup:
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
In a saucepan, combine water and sugar over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved. Take pan off heat and cool the syrup. Any extra cooled syrup can be saved in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Yield: 1 cup

Hungry-Girl.com Onion Rings

Okay, so any onion ring that says that it's 2 points for 15 (yes, that's right, I said 15!!) rings is okay in my book. So, here's the skinny on the hungry-girl.com onion rings. They're pretty good, but I must say that I might like breadcrumbs a little better. They say that you can use the same technique for chicken too, so I'll try that next and let you know how it goes.

WW Points = 2

Fiber One Cereal
Large Onion
Egg Beaters

Preheat oven to 375
Cut the ends off the onion and peel. Then cut the onion into 1/2 inch slices and separate into rings
Put the egg beaters and fiber one cereal in separate bowl.
Dredge each ring in the egg beaters (shake off excess), then cover each in Fiber One crumbs
Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and put the rings on the cookie sheet
Spray the rings before putting them in the oven again for added crispyness
Cook for 20-25 minutes, flipping the rings over half way through.

New England Clam Chowder

This soup ROCKS!! It's from Cooking Light and the only thing I changed was that I used dried spices instead of the "real ones".

WW Points - 4

Ingredients
4 (6 1/2-ounce) cans chopped clams, undrained
2 (8-ounce) bottles clam juice
4 bacon slices
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 garlic clove, minced
3 cups cubed red potato
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 parsley sprigs
1 bay leaf
2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup half-and-half
Thyme sprigs (optional)

Preparation
Drain clams through a colander into a bowl, reserving liquid and clams. Combine clam liquid and clam juice.
Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside. Add onion, celery, and garlic to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until tender. Add clam juice mixture, potato, and next 4 ingredients (through bay leaf); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until potato is tender.

Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until smooth; add to pan. Stir in clams and half-and-half. Cook 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Serve with bacon. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired.

Yield
8 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups chowder and 1 1/2 teaspoons bacon)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 194(25% from fat); FAT 5.4g (sat 2.7g,mono 1.9g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 12.3g; CHOLESTEROL 32mg; CALCIUM 111mg; SODIUM 639mg; FIBER 1.4g; IRON 2.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 23.7g

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins

I made these today and I am so NOT a baker. They were great! I was able to pare down the points by using the Splenda Brown Sugar and Reduced Fat Skippy. They will be great for breakfast--I think next time I might use more whole wheat flour instead of the white flour.

WW Points - 4 (as published), 3.5 (how I made them)


Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour (about 3 1/2 ounces)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups fat-free milk
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup egg substitute
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray
1/4 cup strawberry jam

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°.
Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, sugars, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine milk and next 4 ingredients (through vanilla); add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Fill each cup half full with batter. Spoon 1 teaspoon jam into each cup. Spoon remaining batter on top to cover jam. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Let cool in pan 5 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool on a wire rack.

Yield
1 dozen (serving size: 1 muffin)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 185(28% from fat); FAT 5.8g (sat 2g,mono 2.3g,poly 1.2g); PROTEIN 5.2g; CHOLESTEROL 5.6mg; CALCIUM 113mg; SODIUM 288mg; FIBER 1.6g; IRON 1.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 29.4g

Mushrooms Stuffed with Crabmeat

This is my Mother In Law's Recipe--not exactly WW friendly, but still awesome tasting. I made these last year as an appetizer for New Years Eve...they were a big hit!

1c. shredded crabmeat
1 tbsp. fine dry breadcrumbs
1 tbsp. each chopped onion, parsley & chives (or 1 tsp. of dry)
1 tsp. salt
1 egg slightly beaten
24 lg. mushrooms, cleaned with stems removed
2 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. butter, melted

Combine crabmeat, onion, parsley, chives, and salt and mix well. Add egg and mix again. Spoon into mushroom cavities, mounding slightly. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and drizzle with butter. Sprinkle lightly with more bread crumbs, if desired.

Place on baking sheet and bake aat 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until hot.

Spicy Shrimp Fettuccine

This recipe was awesome--I was hesitant to put sour cream in my pasta dish because I thought the flavor would overwhelm the dish, but it was great. I pulled this out of Cooking Light and I didn't add the parmesean to take away the point for it.

WW Points: 9

Ingredients
8 ounces uncooked fettuccine
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups chopped plum tomato (about 5) OR 2 Cans of diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation
Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain.
Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add red pepper and garlic to pan; sauté 1 minute. Add shrimp; sauté 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and next 4 ingredients (through salt); bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in pasta; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Place 1 1/2 cups pasta mixture on each of 4 plates; top each serving with 1 tablespoon cheese. Serve immediately.

Yield
4 servings

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 414(19% from fat); FAT 8.7g (sat 2.5g,mono 3.5g,poly 1.3g); PROTEIN 34.1g; CHOLESTEROL 180mg; CALCIUM 153mg; SODIUM 494mg; FIBER 3.3g; IRON 5.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 49.4g