Low Fat Whipped Potatoes (Easy Easter Dinner)

This Easter (this is also a great easy 30 minute meal for any day of the week...not just Easter, or holidays) we went for easy...our family is small and really not worth the effort of a BIG  ham . So I bought some ham slices from the refrigerator section of our local Wal-Mart (we like Farmland Best one pound ham in slices). I warmed them in a skillet with a little bit of water for about 15 minutes on medium-low. I also steamed some asparagus and made my low fat whipped potatoes. TADA! An Easter meal in just 30 minutes! Here is the recipe for the delicious whipped potatoes.
Low Fat Whipped Potatoes
3 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into roughly 2 inch pieces
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1/3 cup fat free milk (depending on the creaminess...you can add more)
3 tablespoons of Brummel and Brown Spread 
Salt


Put a big pot of water to boil. While the water is heating up, peel your potatoes and cut into pieces. When water is boiling, add the potatoes and cook for 15 minutes or until a fork goes into a potato piece smoothly. Drain the potatoes and place into a mixing bowl (I use my Kitchenaid). Using a hard whip attachment, whip the potatoes for a minute. Add the sour cream and milk. Continue to whip adding more milk as desired for the perfect whipped consistency. Add the spread and a little salt for taste (sometimes we add flavors like shallot salt, garlic or onion powder). Serve immediately!


 

Chocolate Chip Challah Bread

I hosted a book club meeting (we read Ladies Auxiliary, by Tova Mirvis...I recommend this good read!) and I made this amazing Chocolate Chip Challah to celebrate the Jewish culture in the book. I got the Recipe from the Food Network Magazine a while ago and kept it for a special day. Well, the day arrived. It is quite an easy bread recipe. It made a rather HUGE challah, but maybe next time I will make it into individual challahs, or rolls, or even 2 loaves. Here is the recipe! ENJOY!

Brownie Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

These are so delicious! They look like they took a long time to make, but they are actually quite simple!
Brownie Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
What you need:
1 box of brownie mix (my favorite are the Ghiradelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix...if I am going to go all out, I might as well go out with style!)
All the ingredients for the mix (I think  it is 1/3 cup of vegetable oil, one egg and some water...follow the back of the box)
Cupcake liners (if you want...not needed)
1 vanilla or cream cheese frosting tub (my favorite...Duncan Hines)
3-5 Tablespoons of Peanut Butter (my favorite...Jif)
Reese's Mini Peanut Butter Cups (about 18, unwrapped)

Preheat oven to 325*. Mix brownie mix with ingredients in a bowl. Prepare a cupcake pan with liners, if desired. Spoon brownie mix into cupcake tin, about 2/3 full. Bake in the oven for about 18 minutes or until brownies are not gooey in the middle (a toothpick test should come out with gooey crumbs...do not overbake!). Pull out of the oven and let the brownies cool for 30 minutes. While the brownies are cooling, pour frosting tub into a bowl. Add at least 3 tablespoons of peanut butter to the frosting tub, if you want more of a peanut butter taste, simply add more peanut butter! When brownies are cooled, frost each brownie and place one Reese's cup on each cupcake.

Pizza!

I lived in Italy for a while, so I know pizza and I know good pizza crust! Here is a Recipe that I found in The Food Network Magazine. I found it here on their website (Basic Pizza Dough)! This recipe makes two large regular crust pizzas or 4 thin crust pizzas. (Our family prefers the crunchy thin crust.) It is great because you can freeze the extra pound of dough for up to a month! So you do all the work once and get two meals out of it!

Baking the Dough
Preheat oven to 500* with the baking tray. (This just means place the pan in the cool oven while it is heating up). Place a rolled out pizza dough on the now HOT baking tray. Brush olive oil over the pizza crust (don't drench it, just light brush). Bake for 5 minutes. Add your sauce (see below if you want to know what I use) and ingredients. Bake for an additional 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned.

As for Sauce, I just use crushed tomatoes from a can. It is the closest that I have found to what real pizza in Italy tastes like. I add a little bit of sea salt and a sprinkling of basil and oregano.

ENJOY! It is quite simple...you just need a little time and planning.

Here are some ideas for toppings:
Margherita:
Fresh mozzarella with fresh Basil
Kendra Supreme (as seen above in the picture):
Pepperoni (this is a family favorite...I cut the pepperoni into quarters and sprinkle it over the top...you will be amazed at how far just 7 slices will go!), red onions, sliced Crimini mushrooms, olives, diced green (or red) peppers, sausage (I save sausage from recipes that I have previously made and freeze it or store it in the refrigerator if I know that we will be eating pizza soon), and shredded Mozzarella
Zucchini:
Heat a tablespoon of Olive Oil. Fry zucchini (either shredded with a cheese grater, or thin sliced into circles) in a frying pan. Cook until browned. Place on plain pizza or pizza with red sauce. Sprinkle with basil, salt and oregano.
Onion:
Caramelize one sliced onion with Olive Oil. Place onion on plain pizza. Sprinkle with salt, Oregano and Basil. Optional: After it is fully cooked, sprinkle with balsamic vinegar.
Jason's Favorite Combo 
 Grilled chicken (just make an extra during another meal!), pepperoni and green peppers

Creamy Dreamy Potato Soup

Oh dear! This recipe is YUMMY! and not that good for you, but I did use low-fat creme cheese! The leftovers were fabulous! My husband thought it was too cheesey (that is not really in my vocabulary because I think all things should be topped with cheese!), so maybe next time I won't add as much cream cheese, or add more chicken broth...BUT I thought it was perfect!
Creamy Dreamy Potato Soup
4 pounds of red potatoes, chopped into chunks
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
8 cups low sodium chicken broth
16 oz low-fat (or regular) cream cheese (don't use no fat!!!)
optional toppings (as shown above):
crumbled bacon
shredded cheddar cheese
chopped green onion or chives

You can either make this soup on the stove-top or in your crock pot...it just depends on your day!

Stove-Top Directions: Place chopped potatoes, garlic, salt, pepper and broth in a large pot. Boil until you can stick a fork in the potatoes and they are soft (NOT mushy), about 15 minutes. Then slice the cream cheese into chunks and add to the broth. Mix into the soup and let melt, takes about 5 minutes. (These 5 minutes are a good time to get all of the rest of your toppings finished!)

Crock Pot Directions: Place chopped potatoes, garlic, salt, pepper and broth in your slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8. About 30 minutes before it is finished add the sliced cream cheese chunks. Replace the lid and let cook for another 20 minutes. Stir the soup frequently to allow the cream cheese to melt and blend completely.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is one of my favorite go to cookies...it has just about everything in it! Mmmmm...the recipe is from Kraft (click for the recipe)! These sound so good that I want one now!