Spicy Taco Soup

This is my spiced up version of Taco Soup.  I found a basic recipe and altered it to my taste buds.  It must have been pretty good, because my guys loved it.  I hope you will too!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 small Vidalia onion, chopped
• 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cans Rotel
• 1 can condensed tomato soup
• 2 cans Spicy V8 Juice (5.5 oz. each)
• 1 - 12 oz. bag of frozen sweet corn
• 1 packet of taco seasoning
• 1 packet ranch seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Brown ground beef with chopped onion and drain.
• Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. 
• Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for at least 30 minutes.

This was super easy and really yummy.  I served it with tortilla chips and shredded cheese.

I wish I could tell you the exact nutrition facts on this recipe, but I just threw it together.  I did find a similar soup on My Fitness Pal which was 238 calories for 1 cup. 

Yielded approximately four generous servings.  

Tuna Melt

You'll probably want to melt your cheese
a little better than I did.

If you're not a fan of tuna fish, you should probably stop reading now.

I love tuna.  In the past I would have made tuna salad and added a lot of mayo, eggs, and olives. You could probably still do it that way and par it down a bit to make it lighter/healthier.  I chose to do it this way to keep the points as low as possible. I guess you could call this my version of a tuna melt.



What you will need:

• 1 Slice Toasted Whole Grain White Wonder Bread (2 points)
• 1 Single Serve Pouch Kroger Brand Chunk White Albacore Tuna in Water (1 point)
• Season with Dean Jacob's Habanero Seasoning (0 points)
• 1 Slice Borden's 2% American Cheese (1 point)
• Approximately 4 Trappey's Sweet & Hot Jalapeno Pepper Slices (0 points) 
• Spicy Hot V8 Juice (1 point)

Directions:

• Toast the bread and lay on the plate.
• Place the tuna in a bowl and season to taste.
• Spread tuna on to toast.
• Place Jalapenos over tuna.
• You can place in the microwave to melt cheese.
• Serve with V8 Juice.

This meal came to a total of 5 points.  It was quick and satisfying.

The Best Caesar Salad Dressing Ever

My husband and I absolutely love Caesar salad. I have tried several different dressing recipes over the years, but I always come back to this one. I have been making it for years. It's simple, using few ingredients, and it's delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbls lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 tbls mayo 

Simply whisk together the above ingredients.

(Yields about 4 servings.)

Toss with romaine lettuce, croutons, and Parmesan cheese, fresh is best. You can also add grilled chicken breast for a simple meal.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Tomato Bisque Casserole

Please pardon my well used casserole dish.

I love playing around with food and trying out new combinations of some of my favorites. This recipe was born out of one of those experiments.  It's really simple and in my opinion very tasty.  It also received the seal of approval from my son, who is a very picky critic.

I'm following Weight Watchers and this dish has a little bit higher point count than I normally eat. But, I'm willing to use a few extra points now and then to have a creamy, cheesy, comfort food.

Ingredients:

• 1 - 12.5 oz. can of chicken breast meat, drained
• 1 - can of condensed Campbell's Tomato Bisque Soup
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 oz. of cream cheese
• 3 cups of egg noodles, cooked and drained
• 1/2 cup colby jack cheese, shredded 
• cyan pepper, to taste
• Morton's Nature's Season Seasoning Blend, to taste

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Cook and drain egg noodles.
• Drain chicken and place in a bowl, breaking it up with a fork.
• Season the chicken with cyan pepper and season salt to taste.
• Add the soup mix, water, chicken, and cream cheese to the noodles.
• Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until cream cheese is completely melted and everything is blended.
• Pour mixture into a medium casserole dish and cover with shredded cheese.
• Place in preheated oven and cook about 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and starting to brown.

This will yield 4 generous size servings, 12 points per serving.  Pair this with some fresh steamed vegetables and this makes a great meal.  (If you steam those vegetables with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray and some season salt or Cajun seasoning, they will be 0 points.)  YUMMY! 

Zero Point Ice Cream

This is one of my favorite treats at the moment.  You can make it in a lot of different variations. There is a version that adds cocoa powder and peanut butter, which sounds really yummy.  But, I prefer to use frozen fruit (no sugar added) to keep it point free.

You will need:

• food processor
• frozen banana (You will need to prepare this beforehand.  Peel and slice a banana into circles, place it on a small plate in a single layer and freeze; overnight is best.)
• about 1/2 cup of your favorite frozen fruit (no sugar added)
• about 1 tablespoon milk

I made this batch using frozen peaches.  I think
this has been my favorite flavor so far.

Directions:

• Place banana in the food processor and blend until finely chopped.
• Add your favorite frozen fruit, cutting up larger pieces.
• Blend until fruit is chopped and blended with banana.
• Add about 1 tablespoon of milk.
• Blend until creamy.

Play with it!  I keep several bananas frozen and ready, along with two to three different kinds of frozen fruit. This insures that I have a quick easy treat available whenever I get a craving.

I made this batch with frozen blueberries!  YUMMY!

Veggie Stir Fry - My Zero Point Lunch

Currently, my favorite thing to fix for an easy, zero point lunch or even dinner is what I call a Veggie Stir Fry.  I can't give you exact measurements on this; I just use whatever I have on hand and throw it together.

I keep fresh or frozen (mostly frozen) vegetables on hand at all times.  The best thing about buying frozen, is that they will keep longer.  If you are going to buy frozen, just be sure there are no sauces added to them.

Now, all you need are some seasonings and a saute pan.

These are some of the seasonings I like to use: seasoned pepper, hot sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, sea salt, garlic, and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray.  I change it up sometimes and use a Cajun seasoning. You could use whatever seasonings are your favorite and any kind of cooking spray (most non-stick cooking sprays do not add any points).  In my opinion, the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter has the best flavor.

Coat a saute pan with cooking spray and start adding your veggies.  If I'm using onions and garlic, I like to add them first.  For this particular meal I used a mixture of garlic, onions, bell peppers, broccoli, and cauliflower.  As it starts to cook, add seasonings to taste and more cooking spray as needed.  Cook until veggies are as tender as you like.  I generally cook mine for about five minutes on medium heat.

This is a super easy meal and it is so delicious, for 0 points!  

Zero Point Cabbage Soup

I have to be honest with you, the first time I heard about the Weight Watchers zero point Cabbage Soup I was skeptical about whether I would like it or not.  So, I did some research and found a recipe that sounded pretty good. Of course, I had to tweak it a bit, but I have to say, it turned out very tasty.

So, here's is my version of the recipe.

Zero Point Cabbage Soup

Ingredients

• 3 cups nonfat beef broth
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 small sweet onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 2 cups chopped cabbage
• 1/2 cup green beans
• 1/2 cup chopped zucchini 
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• salt & pepper
• non-stick cooking spray (I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray)

Directions:

1. Spray pot with non-stick cooking spray.  Add onions, carrots and garlic and saute for 5 minutes.
2. Add broth, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, cabbage, green beans, zucchini, oregano, salt and pepper.
3. Simmer for about 15 minutes.  

Makes about 6-8 servings.  (1 Cup)