Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Muffins

Those raspberry cheesecake suckers hooked me! Cream cheese in muffin batter is a MUST TRY for everyone!! These guys were very similar but I changed up the flavours a little. I also remembered baking soda so they weren't as stubby as the first round of raspberry ones.

To be honest, I'm not even a huge fan of lemon or blueberry but I think that is changing because these were out-of-this-world good!!!

INGREDIENTS

5 oz low fat cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoon butter, softened
3 tablespoon unsweetened applesauce
1 ½ cups sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup low-fat buttermilk (keep reading for a substitute)
4 tablespopon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 cups blueberries

NOTE - My heart always sinks when I find a recipe that calls for buttermilk. Since it is only available in a larger container (and I don't bake THAT often) it means it always goes to waste. A quick and easy substitute is one cup of milk (whatever you have on hand) and one tablespoon of vinegar. Combine the two and let it sit for at least 5 minutes while the milk "sours", then use whatever you need from that for your recipe.

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line 24 muffin cups with cupcake liners.

2. In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, butter and applesauce and beat with an electric mixer until blended. Add sugar and beat until combined. Add vanilla, eggs and egg whites and beat until blended.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour (lightly spoon into measuring cups and then level with a knife), baking soda, baking powder and salt and stir together. In the bowl containing the wet ingredients, use the mixer on a low speed while pouring in the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Add the lemon juice, zest and buttermilk and beat until blended. Add the blueberries and fold in gently.

4. Spoon the batter evenly into the liners. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Here's a rather unflattering shot of the inside of one of these bad boys...look at all that blueberry goodness!!!

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serving Size - 1 muffin
WW Points - 3
Calories - 137
Carbs - 23g
Fat - 4g
Protein - 3g
Fibre - 1g

Chicken Parmigiana Casserole

This was another weekday lunch make-ahead meal. Although it has few ingredients and is really quite simple it was still really yummy and I enjoyed eating it five days in a row.

The major pro of this dish is that it is minimal on all fronts. Only some basic chopping and the oven does the rest of the work. No browning things ahead of time, adding ingredients in stages…just chop it up, throw it in the pan and bake away.

This would be a REALLY easy weeknight dish….as I’m typing this I’m trying to make a mental note to remember this fact!!

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ t crushed red pepper flakes (or more to taste if you want it hot)

¼ cup fresh basil, finely chopped

2 cups marinara/pasta sauce

1 ½ cups light shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

2 oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated divided

1 package garlic croutons, roughly crushed, leaving some larger pieces (I found a multigrain variety that worked quite well)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Spread the cubed pieces of chicken across the bottom of the baking dish in a single layer. Sprinkle the minced garlic, red pepper flakes and basil evenly over the chicken. Spread the sauce evenly across the top. On top of the sauce layer, sprinkle ¾ cup of the Mozzarella and one ounce of the Parmesan evenly across the dish. Sprinkle the crushed croutons across the top and follow with the remaining cheese.

3. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

NUTRITIONAL INFO

8 Servings
WW – 8
Calories – 303
Carbs – 15g
Fat – 11g
Fibre – 1g
Protein – 37g

Ham & Egg Cups

Who doesn’t love an edible bowl? These guys come together really quickly, can be adapted to a large crowd, or enjoyed at a breakfast party of one. Plus they are really filling.

Mom came home with “breakfast ham” the other day and after realizing that all that meant was ham sliced into strips to somewhat resemble bacon it seemed less exciting. Although, lets be honest, it wasn’t THAT exciting to begin with.

Anyway, I decided to make it more appealing by crisping it up in the oven and then baking some eggs and cheese in it. Very yummy and probably could even be made ahead of time and then re-heated…although fresh out of the oven was pretty damn good!!
INGREDIENTS (can be adapted to your own desired quantities)

Ham (breakfast ham, deli sliced ham…its all good)
Cheddar Cheese, grated
Eggs
Green Onions, chopped

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tin with oil.

Line muffin cups with ham (its ok for them to hang over or stick out) and place in the oven while it is preheating.

Once oven is hot, place a small amount of cheese in bottom of each ham cup, crack an egg into each cup and season with salt and pepper. Bake until desired doneness. I baked for about 15 minutes but we prefer our eggs hard.

Remove from oven, sprinkle with remaining cheese (if there is any) and green onions.

 

NUTRIONAL INFO

WW – 3 per cup

Calories - 128

Carbs – 1g

Fat – 7g

Fibre – 0g

Protein – 14g



Beef Bourguinon

Is this not the most beautiful thing you have ever seen??? My lovely cousin gave me this gorgeous Le Creuset pot for my 30th birthday last month (she knows me well). I have been so taken with it that it has been sitting unused in the dining room for the last 4 weeks. I would stare at it every day and marvel at its finish, colour and size, all the while being terrified of actually putting it to use.

I felt that it's maiden voyage needed to produce something special...something worthy of the gourmet cookware it was being prepared in.

So, Beef Bourguinon it was! A relatively simple dish, with minimal ingredients but anything that calls for a full bottle of red wine is DEFINITELY special.

INGREDIENTS

2-3 tbsp olive oil
50g butter
2 tbsp seasoned flour
1.2 kg chuck or shin steak, cut into large chunks (about 5cm)
18 small shallots or button onions
18 button mushrooms
1 large onion, sliced
100g bacon or pancetta, cubed
4 cloves garlic, crushed but left whole
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs thyme
750ml red burgundy wine

DIRECTIONS
Heat olive oil and butter in casserole, toss beef in seasoned flour then brown in batches over medium-high heat.

Remove and set aside. Add shallots and caramelise, set aside on separate plate, repeat with button mushrooms and add to shallots.

Add little more oil if necessary and fry sliced onion and bacon until onions softened and bacond browned.

Add garlic, bay and thyme then return beef and any juices to casserole and stir together.

Pour in the wine, season, bring to a simmer then lower heat and simmer gently on the stove, partly covered, for two hours (or cover and transfer to oven at 140C). 

Add the shallots and mushrooms and simmer for a further half an hour. Check for seasoning and serve. This gets better and better as leftovers also!!

Sadly, the picture of the finished product does not look as spectacular as it tasted. I guess I had tired myself out from playing badminton and volleyball all afternoon while it simmered.

 

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
An indulgence...just leave it at that.

Parmesan Zucchini Crisps

I made these for a family BBQ a few weeks ago and they were gobbled up immediately. I put out some Tzatziki in case people wanted to dip them in something but most seemed to prefer them on their own. A simple marinara sauce might be a good dip option as well.
INGREDIENTS

1 oz Parmesan, freshly grated
1/4 cup bread crumbs panko
black pepper, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
2 egg whites
2 ½ cups zucchini rounds, sliced about 1/4” thick (this was about 2 small zucchini)

DIRECTIONS

1.    Preheat oven to 425. Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil and place a wire baking rack on top (I used two metal cooling racks).Lightly mist the racks with cooking spray.
2.    Combine the Parmesan, bread crumbs, pepper and garlic powder in a shallow dish and mix together.
3.    In a small bowl, beat the two egg whites. Dip each zucchini round in the egg whites to coat both sides and then press each side of the round into the bread crumb/Parmesan mixture. Place the coated round on the wire rack on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining zucchini rounds.
4.    Bake for 30-35 minutes until the Parmesan and bread crumb coating is browned and crisp. Serve immediately.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 4

WW Points - 2

Calories - 71

Carbs - 7g

Fat - 2g

Protein - 6g

Fibre - 1g

(Lightened Up) Raspberry Cheesecake Muffins

First off, don't let the name fool you. These guys are WW friendly (I actually am eating them for breakfasts all week) but I had to give them such a decadent name because they taste like they should be a gourmet dessert!

INGREDIENTS

5 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp butter, softened
3 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)

NOTE: I couldn't find the baking soda when I was making these so I omitted it, but it really is necessary for a less dense/more airy texture (as you can see from the stubby muffin in the pic below). Clearly not necessary for taste though, since these were still out of this world!!

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350. Line 24 muffin cups with cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, butter and applesauce and beat with a mixer until blended. Add sugar and beat until combined. Add vanilla, eggs and egg whites and beat until blended.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour (lightly spoon into measuring cups and then level with a knife), baking soda, baking powder and salt and stir together. In the bowl containing the wet ingredients, use the mixer on a low speed while pouring in the flour mixture and the buttermilk. Beat until blended. Add raspberries and fold in gently.

Spoon the batter evenly into the liners. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serving Size - 1 Muffin
WW Points - 3

Mexican Ranchero Casserole

Every sunday I generally spend the day in the kitchen prepping and cooking a dish that I portion up for weekday lunches. I've been growing tired of all my regular rotation items (Baked Beef Ziti, Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Chili, etc) and was trying to come up with something a little bit different.

BINGO!

This is an incredibly simple dish with LOTS of flavour!! You could easily sub the ranchero sauce for enchilada sauce, salsa verde or anything else that has a strong flavour.

I just ate the first round of it a few minutes ago and it has an awesome creamy texture that balances well with the spicy sauce.

INGREDIENTS

1 lbs extra lean ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
10 oz can ranchero sauce
1 small can of chillies in adobo sauce, chopped (these can make it quite spicy so adjust to your own taste)
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can Pillsbury biscuits, cut into quarters
1 cup shredded cheese (I used mozzarella and cheddar)

DIRECTIONS
1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
2.    Brown turkey and onions in a large skillet or sauté pan.
3.    Add the ranchero sauce, tomato sauce, chillies and black beans and stir to combine. Stir the biscuit pieces into the meat mixture.
4.    Transfer the entire mixture to the prepared baking dish and spread out evenly. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake an additional 10 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Here's a pic before the cheese was added

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Serves 6-7
WW Points - 7
Calories - 307
Carbs - 34g
Fat - 6g
Protein - 32g
Fiber - 4g