March 2, 2017
by Ashley
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Light Hollandaise Sauce

This last weekend, I wanted to make Eggs Benedict for Paul and I for breakfast. So I used my homemade english muffins, two slices of sliced chicken, poached eggs and the hollandaise sauce below. It turned out really well and I will repeat this again once I make more english muffins.

Light Hollandaise Sauce

1/2 cup nonfat greek yogurt
1 tbsp dijon mustard (or less to taste)
1 tbsp olive oil mayo
pinch cayenne and ground pepper
pinch Kosher salt
2 – 3 tsp lemon juice

Stir together and serve over Eggs Benedict.

February 28, 2017
by Ashley
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Powdered Donuts

I have been on a donut kick lately. Not really eating them, but making them. Paul had a beer brewing event he needed to go to for the whole day soon, so I thought I would make a treat for the 1 1/2 hour drive with a friend. These turned out a lot better than I had expected. The kids liked the taste I gave them and I needed to hide the rest so there we some left for the trip.

Powdered Donuts

2 tsp white vinegar
1 1/3 cup half & half
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
5 tbsp olive oil
2 cup all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup powdered sugar

Mix everything together (excluding the powdered sugar) and mix well. Put about a tablespoon of batter into a Babycake maker (or you could bake in the oven at about 375°F for 12 minutes or until golden brown). I gave them about 4 -5 minutes to cook in the Babycakes maker. Toss immediately in the powdered sugar. Now…hide them until you everyone is ready to eat them. Otherwise, you may not share.

The batch make 60 donut holes for 2 smartpoints each.

UPDATE – I just made these with almond milk and 3/4 cup sugar and they turned out well and 2 donuts for 3 point. I also skipped the powdered sugar coating and made a frosting on the side for the kids.

I also didn’t count the powdered sugar in the recipe. This recipe was originally from Chocolate Covered Katie.

February 24, 2017
by Ashley
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Baked Doughnuts

I love looking for new recipes to try. My follow a couple of different blogs but really find myself skimming more over Pinterest. I love all to look at new recipes and then I never actually make them as they say. I think how I can change them to make them a little healthier or if I don’t have the ingredients, what I could use instead. So here are two doughnut recipes based off of Chocolate Covered Katie’s blog.

Blueberry Doughnuts

1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tbsp applesauce
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
pinch cardamom or cinnamon
1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen-thawed

Mix all wet ingredients together. In a larger bowl, mix flour, salt and baking powder. Add wet ingredients and mix. Add in blueberries and mix carefully. Put into a prepared doughnut sheet or muffin tin and bake at 350°F for 16 minutes.

Turn out and let cool.

Serves 6 for 4 smartpoints each

I also made the same doughnuts with a slight variation. I used chocolate almond milk instead of the regular and I added a tablespoon of mini chocolate chips instead of blueberries. Next time I will add in a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa to give it more color. My kids are tricked by colors.

February 22, 2017
by Ashley
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Chocolate Cake Mix

My daughter received an Easy Bake Oven for her birthday last year, and was incredibily excited about it. She got a couple of packages of premade cakes that she went though quickly and we had some that were complete flops. Not only flops, but they were pretty disgusting with fake ingredients and fake colors. So I went on a mission to find a few recipes I could help her create with ingredients from home. Since we like to compare things, we made one cake in the Easy Bake Oven and one in my oven. My oven won the test, and my daughter is ok with the possibility of saying goodbye to the Easy Bake Oven.

We came out of the experiment with a usable cake mix that is easy for the kids to make and all you need to add is water.

Chocolate Cake Mix

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 tbsp unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1/3 cup coconut oil

In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients together until blended. Cut in coconut oil and mix until finely cut in. Done!

I save mine in a large glass ball jar with a reusable lid.

I usually make two cakes at a time, so measure out 2/3 cup of your cake mix and stir in 2 1/2 tablespoons of water (could use milk or almond milk). Mix well and pour into two buttered ramekins. Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes.

You could top these with frosting or add into the batter chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, candies or be creative.

February 20, 2017
by Ashley
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Boule vs. Miche

My husband got me a very fun present for Christmas this year. Flour. I know, not really that fun for most people, but I do love to bake bread (and eat it) and this gift was very unexpected. So he purchased First Clear flour, Italian flour, French flour and Irish Style flour. I usually make a boule from bread flour in the No-Knead Bread style. See the recipe I use below.

No-Knead Boule

3 cups bread flour
1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp yeast
1 1/2 cup warm water (120°F)

It is called no knead, but I put it all into my kitchen aid mixer with the hook attachment and mix it until it comes together to look like a loose dough. Then I pull all the sides together to form a small ball. Cover and let rest on the counter or in the oven. If it is really cold in my house, I will start to preheat the oven and turn it off quick so it is like a proofing box, but not hot, about 90°F. Let it sit all day. When you are an hour and a half away from dinner, turn the dough out onto a couche (floured towel would work too) and carefully form a small ball. I cover with the couche and leave until the oven is ready. Put a dutch oven (7 inch tall round dutch oven with cover) into the cold oven, and let that preheat as well. When the oven has reached 450°F put the timer on for 30 minutes to make sure the dutch oven is also ready and preheated.

When the oven is ready, transfer the bread using a floured board or sheet into the hot dutch oven. Cover and put dutch oven back into the oven for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake another 15 minutes.

Thats it! I make my normal boule at least once a week. It is crusty on the outside and has a nice soft crumb in the center.

My first attempt at a comparison was between my normal bread flour boule and the french boule. We liked both of them. The french flour was lighter and more delicate and I felt our normal boule was heartier.

Bread Flour vs. First Clear Flour

Here is what my breads turned out like. They were both great, made in the same way stated above and cooked in my dutch ovens as I directed.

The miche you can see is a little more dense and the regular bread flour boule turned out a little fluffier with larger holes in the crumb. They were both wonderful but I still prefer my original recipe with the bread flour I can buy in my local store.

February 17, 2017
by Ashley
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Socks for Paul

I started this post two years ago, when I was looking for a new knitting project. Not only did I finish these socks, but I have made a couple more pairs of socks for him as well. They are really warm and very comfy. I use sock yarn and four size 1 needles to knit these.

CO 68 (in a round with 3 small size 1 needles) Split the CO stitches evenly on the needles
k1,p1 for 15 rounds to make the cuff

Knit 60 rows

Heel

Row 1 – Sl, kl for 34 stitches
Row 2 – Sl, purl 33 stitches

Repeat for 16 times (for 32 rows)

Heel Turn

Row 1 – Sl, k17, ssk, k1 turn
Row 2 – Sl, p5, p2tog, p1, turn
Row 3 – Sl, k6, ssk, k1, turn
Row 4 – Sl, p7, p2tog, p1, turn
continue like this until you ssk and p2tog at the very end of heels

Gusset Decrease

Pick up 20 stitches and continue down the heel flap. Continue to knit around and pick up another 20 stitches on the instep. I split these stitches onto three needles. One for the bottom of the foot and the first 20 picked up stitches, all of the top of the foot stitches (34 stitches), and the last needle 20 instep stitches and the rest of the heel half.

Round 1 – Needle 1 – Knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog, k1. Needle 2 – knit all 34 stitches. Needle 3 – K1, ssl Knit the rest.
Round 2 – Knit

Continue these two rounds until there are 72 stitches.

Continue knitting around until foot measures desired length. For Paul’s foot which is a 9 1/2 to size 10 mens…I knitted 66 rounds.

Then start to decrease for the toe.

Round 1 – k1, ssk, k to 3 stitches from the end of the instep k2tog, k1. k1, ssk, k to 3 stitches of sole, k2tog, k1.
Round 2 – knit

Do this until you have 28 stitches left. Transfer stitches onto two needles and kitchener stitch the toe together and tie off.

Usually the sock is tight to begin with, but loosens up once it is worn and washed a few times.

February 16, 2017
by Ashley
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Carrot Soup

This is a wonderful soup for 0 smartpoints. Serves 4 – 6 people

Carrot Soup from French Women Don’t Get Fat
5 cups uncooked carrots
4 cups water
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp table salt
⅛ tsp ground black pepper

Chop up carrots and boil in 4 cups of water. Once tender, pureed in batched in a blender or with an immersion blender. Season with sugar, salt and pepper. Serve as is, or with a dollop of non-fat greek yogurt in the middle.

February 15, 2017
by Ashley
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Smashed Veggies

This is a wonderful side dish. Totally worth a try and easy to throw together on a busy night.

Smashed Veggies

2 large potatoes (16 oz)
10 oz uncooked cubed parsnips
2 medium uncooked carrots
2 tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp regular butter

Boil all vegetables together in a large saucepan in salted water. Drain once vegetables are tender. Use a potato smasher to mash the vegetables together. Add in oil and butter. Salt & pepper to taste.

Serve 6 people for 4 smartpoints a serving.

February 13, 2017
by Ashley
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Polenta

We like to have different startch options for dinner. Once in a while, I will make this instead of pasta or rice for a change of pace. The kids seem to like it as well. I have another recipe for polenta similar to this recipe on this blog as well. This recipe has been changed to have lower fat and be more inline with a weight watchers side dish.

Polenta

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 cups water
1 Tbsp regular butter
2 Tbsp low-fat cream cheese

In a saucepan, bring water and a pinch of salt to a boil. Once to a boil, vigorously whisk in cornmeal. Add butter and whisk. Turn heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add in cream cheese and whisk well.

Turn off heat. Stir again before serving. Serves 4 people for 4 points each serving.

February 10, 2017
by Ashley
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Hot Chocolate Fudge Cakes

I found this recipe years ago in my Cooking Light magazine and always return to it when I want a chocolatey treat. It is wonderful! Since starting weight watchers, it is also a lighter dessert that is “worth my points”. Meaning, I am willing to go over my point value for the day, if I get to have this. Many times I half this recipe and make only 6 desserts (baking only two at a time). If the kids are going to eat one of these, I usually skip the espresso/coffee powder.

Hot Fudge Chocolate

3/4 cup All Purpose Flour (3.4 ounces)
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
5 tsp regular instant coffee powder (I usually use instant espresso or it can be skipped)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2.6 ounce Dark chocolate
Measure and mix everything together except for the dark chocolate. Chop the chocolate. Carefully fold in chocolate chunks to the mixture and stir. Seperate out into 12 prepared ramekin. Refrigerate for 4 hours to 2 days. Arrange on a jelly roll pan to bake. Bake at 350°F for 18 minutes – until cakes are puffy and slightly crusty on top. Serve immediately.

Smartpoints 7