Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 c. oatmeal
• 1/2 c. coconut (opt.)
• 6 oz. chocolate chips
• 1/2 c. nuts (opt.)
• 1/2 c. butter
• 1 c. zucchini (shredded)

Beat butter, sugar, egg and vanilla. Add all dry ingredients and oatmeal; mix until smooth. Add coconut chips, nuts, and zucchini; mix well. Drop by spoonfuls on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes ( I do less time, just watch them)

Pumpkin Pie Crunch

1 16 oz can of pumpkin
1 12 oz can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
1 pkg yellow cake mix
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup margarine or butter melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease bottom of a 9 x 13 pan.  Combine 1st six ingredients in a large bowl.  Beat well, pour into pan.  Sprinkle dry cake mix over the top, then the walnuts and margarine.  Bake for 50-55 minutes.  Cool and top with whipped cream.  ( I think this tastes better cold the next day if you want make ahead of time).  Fabulous, not so much on the healthy side, but hey it's Thanksgiving time.  Just throw in an extra workout that week :)!

Peach dream dessert

Hands down this is my all time favorite Peach dessert.  I have been making it for years, so good and easy.  With it being peach season I busted this one out the other day.  Serve with a scoop or two of ice cream and you have a hit.

1 Package white cake mix

1 1 /4 cup oats

1/2 cup margarine

1 egg

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup brown sugar

4-6 fresh peaches sliced

Combine cake mix, 6 tbs margarine and 1 cup oats. (reserve the rest of oats for topping). Add egg and mix, press into a 9 x 13 pan. Pour peaches over crust.  To reserved crumbs, add 1/4 cup oats, 2 tbs margarine, nuts and brown sugar. ( I actually make more of the topping because I like it so much)  Beat and sprinkle over peaches. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Strawberry-Lime Cream Cake

I made this cake for EJ and Jamies B day.  It was very good!

Strawberry-Lime Cream Cake

*Note: this recipe looks like it has a lot of steps, and it does, but each can be made in advance and the cake assembled later. Plus, none of the steps are very difficult. The end result is worth it, trust me!

*Serves 12

White Cake:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 egg whites

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add buttermilk, butter and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping the bowl as needed. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes. Add the egg whites and beat for 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Pour the batter into 2 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. (I lined the bottom of mine with a parchment circle and greased the top of the parchment circle.) Bake the cakes for 28-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs. Don’t overbake or the cakes will be dry. Cool the cakes on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Loosen the sides with a butter knife and remove the cakes from the pans to cool completely.

Strawberry Syrup/Puree:
1 pint fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

Lime Cream:
*Note: you can substitute 1 to 1 1/2 cups fresh strawberry jam for the strawberry puree
4 limes, for 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream

Zest and juice the limes into a medium bowl. You should have about 1/2 cup lime juice. Add the sweetened condensed milk and mix well. Add the whipping cream and beat until medium-stiff peaks form. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

Whipped Cream Frosting:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 envelope (about 2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
4 tablespoons water

In a small bowl, place the water and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Let the mixture stand for 3-4 minutes until the gelatin has thickened. Microwave for 20-30 seconds until the gelatin dissolves and the mixture is warm. Remove from the microwave and let the mixture cool to room temperature (don’t let it set up!). In a large bowl, whip the cream, sugar and vanilla until slightly thickened. While beating slowly, gradually add the cooled gelatin to the whipped cream mixture. Whip at high speed until stiff peaks form.

To assemble the cake, slice each cooled cake round in half horizontally to form 4 cake circles. Place one cake layer on a cake plate and spread an even layer of strawberry syrup over the top. Spread a thick layer of lime cream over the jam, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge as the top cake layers will press the cream out toward the edges. Repeat the same layering process with the next two layers. Top with the final cake layer and frost the entire cake with the whipped cream frosting. Garnish with fresh limes and strawberries, if desired. Chill for 1-2 hours before serving to let the cake set up.

Fruit Nachos

These are the heavenly fruit nachos we made for our girls night. Super yummy. This does make a lot, so unless your making for a big crowd you can half the recipe. Or you can just have leftovers!

Lemon Raspberry Fruit Nachos

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces fresh or frozen thawed raspberries (about 2 cups)


• 1/4 cup water


• 1/2 cup sugar


• 1 tablespoon lemon juice


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 10 medium sized (8 to 10 inch diameter) flour tortillas


• 1 cup sugar


• 1 teaspoon cinnamon


• 8 ounces Neufchatel or light cream cheese, softened


• 1/4 cup lemon curd


• 6 cups diced fresh fruit, such as raspberries, blueberries,


• Strawberries, peaches, kiwi fruit, etc.


• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Method:

Serves 4 to 6; Total time 60 minutes

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a small saucepan, bring raspberries, water and sugar to a boil. Stir and boil until sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and strain through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing firmly with a rubber spatula so as to leave only seeds in strainer. Stir in lemon juice and salt. Taste and add a little additional sugar if desired for sweetness. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 1 hour.

3. Meanwhile, cut each tortilla into eight triangles with a pizza cutter. Hold each triangle under running water, wetting each side. Place wet tortilla triangles on a sheet of wax paper. Mix together sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle tortilla triangles generously with sugar mixture. Turn tortilla triangles over and sprinkle other side generously. Place coated tortilla triangles in a single layer on a wire rack that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and placed on a baking sheet. (You will need to bake in two batches.) Bake 5 minutes, then turn triangles over. Cook another 5 to 8 minutes, until lightly browned and crispy, watching closely the last few minutes so as not to burn. Remove from oven and cool.

4. Remove raspberry syrup from refrigerator and stir, adding a little water if necessary to make a medium syrup. In a separate bowl, mix together cream cheese and lemon curd, adding a little water if necessary to make the consistency of sour cream.

5. Spread tortilla crisps on a large serving platter. Drizzle first with cream cheese mixture and then with raspberry syrup. Sprinkle diced fruit over top. Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar as a garnish. Serve immediately.

Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies

3 cups oats, uncooked

1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 coconut oil
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup water

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Stir oats, flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
- Beat shortening, brown and white sugar, egg, and water. Add dry ingredients.
- Drop by rounded teaspoon onto greased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

VARIATIONS: Add chopped nuts, raisins, chocolate chips, or coconut 

Chocolate Clouds

I tried these today. They were good, but I ate way too many! So much for saving my calories!


Chocolate Chip Clouds
This recipe was adapted from Hershey's KitchensGina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 30 • Serving Size: 1 cookie • Old Points: 1 pt • Points+: 1 pt
Calories: 53.7 • Fat: 2.2 g • Carb: 8.4 g • Fiber: 1.7 g • Protein: 1.1 g

• 9 tbsp egg whites (room temperature)


• 1/8 tsp cream of tartar


• 1/2 cup sugar


• 1 tsp vanilla extract


• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder


• 1 cup chocolate chips

Heat oven to 300°F. Cover cookie sheet with silpat or nonstick silicone pad.

Using a mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together in large bowl at high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar a little at a time, then vanilla,beating well after each addition until you get stiff peaks, the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is glossy.

Sift cocoa onto egg white mixture; gently fold until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.Drop mixture by tablespoons onto cookie sheet. Makes 30 cookies.

Bake 35 to 45 minutes or just until dry. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet. Coolcompletely on wire rack. Store covered, at room temperature.

I found this great website with lots of healthy recipes. I tried these crepes this weekend, they were fantastic. I will definitely be making these again.


http://www.skinnytaste.com/
Chocolate Crepes with Strawberries
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 12 • Serving Size: 1 crepe • Old Points: 2 pts • Points+: 3 pts
Calories: 139.3 • Fat: 1.5 g • Carbs: 24 g • Fiber: 0.9 g • Sugars: 13.5 g • Protein: 3.7 g

• 1 cup all purpose flour


• 2 tbsp unsweetened dutch cocoa powder


• 1 tbsp powdered sugar


• 1 1/2 cups 1% milk


• 2 large egg whites


• 1 whole egg


• 1 tsp oil


• butter flavored spray


• 24 medium strawberries, sliced (2 in each crepe)


• 1 1/2 cups fat free cool whip


• 3/4 cup chocolate syrup to serve

Blend flour, milk, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, eggs and oil until smooth in the blender. Heat a large nonstick pan on medium-low flame. When hot, spray with buttered flavored spray to coat bottom of pan. Pour 1/4 cup crepe mixture into pan,swirling pan slightly to make crepe thin and smooth. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until bottom of crepe is light golden brown. Flip; cook 30 seconds to 1 minute or until light golden brown. Repeat with remaining buttered flavored spray and crepe mixture.

To serve, spoon 2 tbsp whipped cream into center of each crepe. Top with strawberries and fold each edge of crepe over filling. Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar and top with 1 tbsp chocolate syrup on each. Serve warm.

Sweet Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

This was my way of fighting off the ice cream craving on Friday night. Dan and I ate thee entire thing ourselves. The Salsa is good and low cal but the chips are gonna add up in calories, but they are not fat calories like ice cream and you can eat a WHOLE lot more than ice cream.

Simple, simple, simple.
SALSA
4 cups of whatever fruit you are craving or have in your fridge. I did mangoes, strawberries and kiwi's. But seriously whatever you want (I want pineapple next time!)
3 TBSP of honey
1/2 tsp of cinnamon (optional keen)
There is your salsa!

CHIPS
4 TBSP melted butter
mixture of cinnamon and sugar
6" tortillas

preheat the oven to 350

brush butter over tortillas and sprinkle with sugar mixture. Use a pizza cutter and cut each tortilla into 4th so they look like chips. Place in the oven 10-12 min or until lightly brown. Cool completely. Eat up.

Fresh Fruit Bruschetta with Orange-Honey Cream

So this is actually not bad for you! But SO good for your belly. Made these last night and loved them. Of course super easy, it just took a while to cut up the fruit.

Fresh Fruit Bruschetta with Orange-Honey Cream
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1 baguette or similar-sized French bread loaf
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1-1/2 C diced strawberries (about 10 medium strawberries)
1 C finely diced mango (about 1 medium mango)
1 C finely diced kiwi (about 3 kiwi)

1/2 C Breakstone’s Sour Cream
3 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp orange zest

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice bread into 1/2 inch slices. Place in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Use a pastry brush to brush each piece with melted butter. Combine cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle evenly over bread slices. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are toasted. Set aside to cool.

While bread is toasting, combine Sour Cream, honey, and orange zest. Stir to combine and place in the fridge.

Combine strawberries, mango, and kiwi and stir gently to combine. When bread is cooled, place about 1 Tbsp. of fruit mixture on top of each toasted bread slice and drizzle with sweet sour cream mixture. If needed, thin sour cream sauce with 1/2-1 tsp orange juice. Garnish with mint leaves if desired. Serve immediately.

Healthy No-Bake Chocolate PB Oatmeal Cookies

Healthy No-Bake Chocolate PB Oatmeal Cookies

The average chocolate peanut butter oatmeal cookie has 204 calories, 26 carbs, 10 grams of fat (EEK!), and 4 grams protein. This version has 82 calories, 11 carbs, 3 g fat, and 3 g protein per cookie. Obviously amazing stats, right?"

*makes 24 cookies
6 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk (I substituted skim milk)
1/3 cup Splenda or other sugar substitute
1/3 cup light agave syrup (I used honey because I didn't have any agave)
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup peanut butter (I use natural PB)
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 cups oatmeal
*optional - 3 tsp ground flax seeds

Heat milk, sugar, and cocoa powder over high heat until boiling, stirring constantly.
Take off heat and stir in vanilla and peanut butter. Stir until peanut butter is completely melted.
Stir in wheat germ and oatmeal (optional - stir in ground flax seeds).
Drop by large spoonfuls onto cookie sheet covered in wax paper. Place in refrigerator. OR eat with a spoon right out of the bowl :)
ENJOY!

Eclair Cake

So I made this for our family Priesthood Conference get together this weekend.  Everyone loved it.  Once again it is one that I found on someone else's blog.  It is super easy and oh so good!


Eclair Cake
1 c. water

1/2 c. butter
1 c. flour
4 large eggs
1 pkg cream cheese
1 large box vanilla instant pudding
3 c. milk
1 container cool whip
chocolate syrup

Preheat oven to 400. Lighly grease a 9"X13" glass baking pan.

Eclair Crust:
In a medium saucepan, melt butter in water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in flour. Mix in one egg at a time, mixing completely before adding another egg. Spread mixture into pan, covering the bottom and sides evenly. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. You may want to check it occasionally-you don't want to overcook the crust, it will ruin the cake!Remove from oven and let cool (don't touch or push bubbles down).

Filling:
Whip cream cheese in a medium bowl. In separate bowl make vanilla pudding. Make sure pudding is thick before mixing in with cream cheese. Slowly add pudding to cream cheese, mixing until there are no lumps. Let cool in fridge.

When the crust is completely cooled, pour filling in. Top with layer of cool whip and serve with chocolate syrup.

Cinnamon Rolls

I have never made cinnamon rolls until this weekend.  Conference weekends, what's better than to try something new.  These turned out so good, and they turned out looking exactly like the picture.  So yuuummy!  So easy!  I've got to stop making treats though,  when your trying to loose weight,  these aren't exactly part of the diet plan.

Cinnamon Rolls

Adapted by Our Best Bites from Allrecipes

Dough

1 cup milk

4 Tbs butter, cut into chunks

3 1/4 – 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

1 (.25 ounce) package instant or ‘rapid rise’ yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp)

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

Filling

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened

Icing
1 1/2 C powdered sugar
2 T melted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1-2 Tbs milk

Dough: Place milk and 4 Tbs butter in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on high for 1 minute 30 seconds. Butter should be at least partially melted. Stir and set aside. In a large mixing bowl whisk together 2 C flour, yeast, white sugar, and salt. When milk mixture has cooled to warm (not hot) add it to the flour mixture along with the egg while the beater (paddle attachment for those using a stand mixer) is running. Beat until well combined, about 1 minute. (Switch to the dough hook now) Add remaining flour only until dough barely leaves the sides of the bowl. It should be very soft and slightly sticky. Continue to let the dough knead for 5 minutes. If you are not using a stand mixer, turn dough out onto floured surface and knead for 5 minutes by hand. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and let rest for about 10 minutes while you make the filling.

Filling: make sure butter is softened well. Mix with brown sugar and cinnamon.

Assembly: Roll dough into a rectangle about 12 x 14 inches. Spread brown sugar mixture (it will be slightly thick, you might have to “crumble” it) over the surface and use your fingers or the back of a spoon to gently spread around. Roll up from the longer side of the rectangle and pinch edges closed. Score the roll into 12 equal pieces and then cut into rolls. Place in a 9 x 13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Cover pan with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. In the mean time, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

When rolls have finished rising bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown. If desired spread with icing while still warm. Makes 12 rolls

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

I tried this one last night. Oh my goodness it was soooo good. Served it with ice cream, this was a perfect Sunday dinner dessert. Super Easy!!!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie
Recipe from Nestle

1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust, homemade or store-bought.
2 large eggs
1/2 C flour
1/2 C white granulated sugar
1/2 C packed brown sugar
3/4 C real butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)
1 C chocolate chips (semi-sweet or dark works best, you might find milk too sweet)
1 C chopped pecans (you are welcome to make it without nuts)

Vanilla ice cream, or sweetened whipped cream for serving (a must! I prefer ice cream)

optional: chocolate sauce (honestly, doesn’t really need chocolate sauce, but it looks pretty!)

Preheat oven to 325° F.

Beat eggs in large mixer bowl on high speed until foamy. Beat in flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in butter. Stir in morsels and nuts. Spoon into pie shell.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack or serve slightly warmed. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Better than sex cake

This is not some healthy dessert like my sisters... But very tasty! :)

Ingredients
1-package devil's food cake mix
1/2-can sweetened condensed milk
6 ounces caramel ice cream topping
3 bars chocolate covered toffee, chopped (I used Heath bars)
1 tub cool whip

Directions

• Bake cake according to package directions for a 9x13 in pan; cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Make slits across top of the cake, making sure not to go through to the bottom.


• In a saucepan over low heat, combine sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping, stirring until smooth and blended. Slowly pour the warm topping mixture over th top of the warm cake, letting it sink into the slits; then sprinkle the crushed chocolate toffee bars liberally across the entire cake while still warm.


• Let cake cool completely then top with whipped topping. Decorate the top of the cake with some more chocolate toffee bar chunks and swirls of caramel topping. Refrigerate and serve right from pan.

Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread

So I stole this recipe off of a blog a while back and it is by far my most favorite low fat banana bread recipe. Throw some chocolate chips in to make it extra deli sh with a few extra calories, and it is Divine!!!

Low Fat Oatmeal Banana Bread

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tsp canola or walnut oil
1 large egg, beaten
2 medium egg whites, beaten
3 large bananas, ripe
1 cup uncooked old fashioned oats

Chocolate chips and butterscotch chips for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease and flour a loaf pan and set aside. In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients including the oats and cinnamon.

In a smaller bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher or fork. Add oil and whole egg and mix thoroughly.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Batter will be fairly thick. In another bowl, lightly beat the egg whites together then fold into the batter.

Pour batter into pan and bake until top of loaf is firm to touch, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Flip out and cool on a wire rack for another 10 minutes. Slice loaf into 10 equally sized slices.