The good, the bad, and the annoying.

Spring is coming and I have the bug to organize everything...even my recipes.

I've had my eye on a few recipe software's (is that a word?) for awhile. Over the weekend, while my kids were deliciously sick with pink eye, strep, and ear infections, I finally had enough laptop time to check a few of them out.

Even though I have a wild dream of one day being organized, it will probably never happen. I'm attempting though by putting all my recipes in one place.

Lets start with the annoying.
Big oven This is one of the top rated recipe software. It did have some really nice features, but it was annoying to attempt to enter any recipes. It took me over an hour and I still was not happy with the formatting. This one really just about put me over the edge.

The bad
Mastercook 9.0
I could not get a very good review of this software, because the trail only lasted 30 minutes! That 30 minutes did not even allow me any time to enter a recipe. Apparently the software is not very compatible with Windows Vista either (what is? hahah).


The good!
Living cookbook
Oh yes, there is some good in here :).
Living cookbook was beyond the easiest too use, and you can import tons of cookbooks from other websites. It only took me about five minutes to "capture" a recipe in this software. Another huge bonus, it calculates Weight watcher "my points" values for you. If your on weight watchers or another type of diet, this is a pretty good one to try in my opinion.

Broccoli and cheese TaterTot casserole

I would consider this as edible, but not great tasting. If I made this again I would put green beans instead of broccoli. The tatertots on top were crispy and good. Unfortunatley that is the only part I wanted to eat.

Broccoli Cheese Tater Tot Casserole

From: www.halfmysize.com
Submitted by: Marilyn S.
Serves - 10
Points - 6

Ingredients:
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1 med. onion, diced
1 med. green pepper, diced
1 lb. bag frozen chopped broccoli
2 (10 1/2 oz.) cans 98% fat free condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 lb. bag frozen tater tots
1 cup fat free shredded cheddar cheese
salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9"x13" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large skillet, brown ground beef. Season with salt & pepper, according to taste. Add onions and peppers; cook until tender. Meanwhile, microwave broccoli according to package directions. Add soup and broccoli to meat mixture in skillet. Stir well to combine.

Spread meat mixture evenly into prepared baking dish. Place frozen tater tots in a single layer on top of meat mixture. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow casserole to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting into servings.

(Note: Lightly spray top of casserole with non-stick cooking spray to help fat free cheese melt.)

Nutrition Information per serving:
306 cal., 11.7 g. fat, 4.1 g. fiber

Weekend confession

It is said that confession is good for the soul. Maybe it will turn out to be good for my butt size too.

Yesterday I indulged in Carl's Jr. I have not had Carl's in years. I must say it was delicious.

Guacamole Bacon burger (six dollar version)
Calories: 1140 (Oh my god)
Fat: 85 (double omg)
Fiber: 6 grams (not bad)
Points = 29 ::Sob::

Medium Fry
Calories: 710
Fat:33
Fiber: 5
Points = 16

Diet coke:
Calories: 0
Fat:0
Fiber:0
Points = 0

Total points (gulp) = 45

Luckily for me I only ate breakfast and this yesterday. It is pretty safe to say I won't be eating this for a long while. I should have followed the golden rule and checked the points BEFORE going.

I love using (Dotties weight loss zone). There is a huge area with restaurants and menu nutrition.

Here is the really bad news. Today I also had Chinese food, trail mix, and home made chicken noodle soup. I will not be surprised if this week is a scratch on the weight loss.

Speedy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

This is a pretty tasty, fairly quick dinner to make. I don't make it exactly as below, and I have not run my version through a recipe calculator. I doubt it is much different from the point value below though. I only eat one Enchilada usually, because I tend to build mine to big.

I add sliced, canned Olives over the top of the Sour cream, and I spoon refried beans onto the corn tortillas with the chicken and cheese mixture.

This is kid and husband approved :)

(I use left overs from another recipe for the roast chicken) Rotisserie chicken and prechopped vegetables make this a quick casserole.

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 2 enchiladas, 1 tablespoon sour cream, and 1 tablespoon cilantro)

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 cup prechopped white onion
1 cup prechopped bell pepper
1 (10-ounce) can enchilada sauce (such as Old El Paso)
2 cups chopped skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast (about 8 ounces)
1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded, reduced-fat Mexican blend cheese, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation
Preheat broiler.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and pepper; sauté 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add enchilada sauce; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.

Combine chicken, 3/4 cup of cheese, and cumin, tossing well.

Wrap tortillas in paper towels; microwave at high 30 seconds or until warm. Spoon 1/4 cup chicken mixture in center of each tortilla; roll up. Place tortillas, seam sides down, in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour sauce mixture over enchiladas; broil 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup cheese evenly over enchiladas, and broil for 1 minute or until cheese melts. Serve with sour cream and cilantro.

Nutritional Information
WW POINTS = 7 (for 2 enchiladas)
Calories: 364 (27% from fat)
Fat: 10.9g
(sat 4.9g,mono 2.9g,poly 1.4g
Protein: 29.7g
Carbohydrate: 37.2g
Fiber: 4.1g
Cholesterol: 70mg
Iron: 1.7mg
Sodium: 701mg
Calcium: 339mg

Ham and what?

What's for dinner?


I do not plan on making this again, as I personally did not like it. My husband ate it and said it was pretty good. Spencer would not eat it, and commented that it stunk. This would not be a fair assessment, because I sort of messed up the recipe (whoops). I grabbed a can of Artichokes instead of Asparagus.

I use Myrecipes.com a lot. The cooking light publication section is excellent for low point family friendly dinners. There is a recipe box section where you can create menus, shopping lists, etc.



ASPARAGUS - HAM CASSEROLE
source

Yield
6 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients
1 (1-ounce) slice white bread
3 3/4 cups uncooked extra-broad egg noodles
2 1/2 cups (1 1/2-inch) sliced asparagus
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup whole milk
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed ham (about 8 ounces)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation
Preheat oven to 450°.

Place bread in a food processor, and pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs form to measure 1/2 cup.

Cook pasta in boiling water 7 minutes, omitting salt and fat. Add asparagus; cook 1 minute. Drain.

Lightly spoon the flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Place flour, thyme, salt, and pepper in medium bowl; gradually add milk and broth, stirring with a whisk until well-blended. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion; saute 4 minutes. Add milk mixture; cook until thick (about 4 minutes), stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in juice. Combine the pasta mixture, milk mixture, ham, and parsley in large bowl; spoon into a 2-quart casserole. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and cheese.

Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is golden.

Nutritional Information
WW POINTS = 5

Calories: 250 (26% from fat)
Fat: 7.1g (sat 3.4g,mono 2.4g,poly 0.7g)
Protein: 16g
Carbohydrate: 30.9g
Fiber: 2.7g
Cholesterol: 52mg
Iron: 2.6mg
Sodium: 835mg
Calcium: 114mg