I am constantly looking for recipes that are Weight Watcher friendly/healthy AND delicious.
{P}interestingly enough, I spotted this soup and it fit the bill.
Stuffed Pepper Soup
I am not a huge fan of bell peppers, but this soup looked amazing and once they’re cooked, their flavor becomes a little more pleasant, in my opinion.
{Next time I will use a mix of green, red and maybe yellow peppers}
This gorgeous weather we’ve had during these early January days has seemed to cool off plenty at night to warrant a nice bowl of soup, so that’s what was for dinner last night.
It is SUPER filling ~ a serving size is 1 1/3 cup soup with 1/2 cup rice ~ I went ahead and just used 1/3 cup brown jasmine rice and it was plenty!
This soup is so flavorful and guilt-free that I want to eat it for days….but I won’t because I don’t want to tire of it.
It will for sure be on the rotation from now on ~ maybe not in the summer, but most definitely in the cooler months.
This recipe also calls for a spice that I had never used before ~ marjoram. {It is likened to oregano} I always enjoy adding a new spice to my spice drawer.
TIP: Some spics can be expensive. Before you commit to a larger jar, check the international food aisles….sometimes they have small packets for under a dollar. Sprouts also has spices by the ounce so you can get just what you need and save some money until you know if you’ll utilize it.
*****
If you’re looking for a dinner that comes together quickly, is full of flavor and not calories, I highly suggest this satisfying soup.
The last 10 weekends of the year are already filled on our little calendar…I am already beginning to panic and wonder when I am going to fit in Christmas shopping, homemade gifts, sweet treats and wrapping.
I’ve picked up several little goodies for Christmas gifts here and there and have made a list of tasty little morsels that I want to deliver to the special people in our lives. I figure you can never start too early…..if I know myself, I know that I will wait until it’s too late and stress about it. So with that said, I am planning ahead this year, getting things done so that when December 1st rolls around all I need to think about is picking out our tree, decorating the house, Jay’s birthday, visiting Santa, touring the lights, holiday parties, dance recitals, gift wrapping party, baking and cooking for the family and enjoying the dazzle of the holidays.
{obviously the food items will be made closer to Christmas, but at least I can shop for some supplies now}
For the neighbors:
Yellow Pepper Relish jarred in quilted Mason jars with a little tag that reads something like, “Relish in the magic of the holidays ~ spread this on your favorite sandwich or burger and enjoy!”
For the doc’s office, hairdresser, dog sitter, school office staffs, etc.:
Gift tag: “Have a COLORFUL holiday! See you in 2012!”
{I have already experimented with making the crayons…when Popsi was here visiting in September, he and the kids unwrapped all our old, broken crayons. I picked up a dozen silicone cupcake liners {square & triangle shaped} and did a trial run the other night ~ 200* oven for about 20 minutes. When the crayons are all melted, turn off the oven AND LEAVE THEM IN THERE TO START TO COOL. If you attempt to remove when they are still too liquid, you will mess them up! Take them out after about 30 minutes and set on your counter for another hour or so…then they will be ready to pop out of the liners. This was such an easy process…going to pick up some brand new crayons and make another batch so each of his classmates gets 3 or 4 crayons. Will post a pic in about 2 months {ha!} before we go and deliver them. Here is the tutorial that I followed}
I see LOTS of little clear cello bags, ribbon and gift tags in my future, but I am excited to put my Pinterest finds to work instead of them just looking pretty on my virtual boards!
*****
What are you eyeing for your holiday goodies this year?
If you need an invitation to Pinterest for some inspiration, I can certainly help you with that ~ just say the word {insert evil laugh here}. However, I cannot be held responsible for all the time you will waste spend browsing and pinning.
The Albertson’s down the hill was having an Easter egg hunt ~ the “golden egg” being a pass to Disneyland along with some other goodies for the little ones hidden inside certain eggs. Mr. Easter Bunny made a brief appearance which I was thrilled with because that saved me a trip to the mall and $25 for a photo!
The “hunt” took place in the produce section and it was hardly a hunt at all….just piles of candy filled plastic eggs under the apples, lettuce and potatoes! Super duper obvious and lasting a grand total of 3.5 minutes! My little chickens only walked away with mini Twix bars, Reese’s and mini Hershey’s bars…thank goodness the candy was good because I would’ve been real disappointed. But they had a great time and Albertson’s was nice enough to serve FREE hotdogs and sodas so this Mama didn’t even have to fix lunch ~ gotta love that. Here are some photos from the eggstravaganza…
Elliott gathering eggs:
The find:
Holden post hunt searching for the rabbit:
Emilie & Elliott with Mr. Easter Bunny:
Holdy with his new BFF:
Enjoying lunch:
Then, we organized a last minute redneck block party where a few neighbors parked their lawn chairs in the guest parking across the street, prepared some appetizers and enjoyed wine and chit chat while the kids ran amok, chalked the you know what out of the street and rode various modes of transportation including scooters, tricycles, bikes and the ever popular Disney Princess ride.
Here is the spread (yes, complete with boxed wine!):
This is my new fave $3.99 TJ’s wine find (and it’s organic!):
Holden decided to don a plastic bowl helmet:
Checking out the stars:
This morning we were up bright and early to head to a Scooter’s Jungle (bounce house place) birthday party for a little friend in E’s dance class, ran some errands to finish up shopping for Easter outfits, pick up some hand weights for my boot camp which starts tomorrow and then enjoyed an al fresco dinner of homemade crispy chicken tenders and mac n cheese (NOT homemade!).
I discovered this recipe in Parents magazine years ago and it is so easy and delish. I feel like I feed my kids dino chickens from Costco on a daily basis, so it’s nice to make them from scratch once in awhile. The recipe calls for corn flakes, but I used my leftover rice crispies from the treats earlier this week and those worked just fine.
Here is what you need:
12 oz. skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I use frozen chicken tenderloins)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. prepared yellow mustard
1 cup packaged cornflake crumbs or 2 cups cornflakes, finely crused (or crushed rice crispies!)
1/4 tsp. salt
Dash ground black pepper
Dipping sauces: BBQ, Ranch or ketchup
1. Heat oven to 450F. Cut chicken into 3/4-inch strips. In a shallow dish, combine the egg, honey and mustard. In another shallow dish stir together cornflake crumbs, salt and pepper. Dip chicken strips into the egg mixture and then roll them in crumb mixture to coat evenly.
2. Arrange the strips on a baking sheet. Lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Makes 4 servings.
I sliced mine and put them into a salad…still desperately trying to recreate the CPK bbq chicken salad!
Finally, I will leave you with this cute image:
Future blogger?
Here’s to another busy week ahead…2 boot camps, mammogram, bro-in-law coming on Wednesday and then the in-laws coming on Good Friday to celebrate Easter with us. Egg coloring and frosted Easter sugar cookies to be made in between. Oh, and sloppy joes (not from a can!) on the menu for tomorrow.
Hope you have all sorts of good stuff on the agenda this week, too!
New Trader Joe’s discovery thanks to my friend, Janet!
Red Pepper Spread with Eggplant & Garlic….it’s great on all sorts of sandwiches, especially turkey and avocado! I have started using it in place of mayo. I love mayo on my sammies and prefer to use the full fat stuff rather than the light, but this new “wonder condiment” totally gives the old white goo favorite a run for it’s money.
According to TJ’s it’s a “seasonal” item, so if you try it and LOVE it like me, then be sure and grab an extra jar or two for when they don’t carry it. You will miss it on your ‘wiches once you introduce yourself to it!
Here’s the breakdown per Tablespoon:
Mayo 100 cal, 11 g fat
Spread 15 cal, 0.5 g fat
I’ll save the mayo calories for my tuna or egg salad!
