Mini Chocolate Chip Cannoli Cups (WW 2 points)

A while back I made a Easy Canolli Cup's for my family reunion using wonton's that were a complete hit.  I have stepped in to host a woman's group at church. To get more members I went to an event a meet and greet event. Of course instead of just picking up cookies from a store I wanted to make something.  I saw on Emily Bites these Chocolate Chip Cannoli Cups and thought they would be perfect.  They were very tasty, sadly most did not got eaten so over to my bestie's house so I wouldn't be tempted to eat them all.

INGREDIENTS:

15 Frozen Mini Phyllo Shells
2 oz Marscapone cheese (I used BelGioso brand)
2/3 cup fat free Ricotta cheese
3 T powdered sugar
¼ t vanilla
A pinch of cinnamon (a little goes a long way!)
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips, divided

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place phyllo shells* on the counter to thaw for at least 10-15 minutes.
2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the marscapone, ricotta, powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon and stir together until thoroughly mixed. Reserve a small pile of the chocolate chips for topping and stir the remainder into the cheese mixture.
3. Spoon the filling evenly between all the phyllo shells. Sprinkle reserved chocolate chips over the tops and serve. *I recommend you only defrost/fill as many as you plan to eat at once so that the shells stay crispy.

WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PLUS:2 per cup (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

NUTRITION INFORMATION:
63 calories, 7 g carbs, 3 g fat, 2 g protein, 0 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)

Thanks for Stopping by!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE.  

Taco Tuesday ... Spicy Beef Taquitos

I thought I'd try out this Taco Tuesday thing for dinner, I usually don't do taco's since they are higher in calories and I'm trying hard to watch those.  I found a yummy recipe on my favorite weight watcher recipe site Emily Bites for Spicy Beef Taquitos.  It was actually pretty darn easy, it was a bit too spicy for me next time I think I'll tweak the recipe and use a regular taco seasoning.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ¼ teaspoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 lb 95% lean ground beef
• ½ cup salsa (I used pico de gallo)
• 3 oz 50% reduced fat Pepper Jack cheese, shredded (I used Mexican Blend)
• 16 6” corn tortillas (I used Mission Extra Thin Yellow Corn)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with foil and then lightly mist it with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Combine the chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper in a dish and stir together to make your own taco seasoning. Set aside.
3. Bring a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the ground beef. Cook while breaking up with a wooden spoon until beef is completely browned and broken into small pieces. Drain any grease from the pan. Add the taco seasoning from step 2 and the salsa and stir together until well combined. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and add the shredded cheese. Stir to combine.
4. Place about half the tortillas between two paper towels and microwave them for 30-60 seconds until they are warm and pliable. Place a tortilla on a clean, dry work surface and then scoop two rounded tablespoons of beef filling onto the bottom third of the tortilla. Roll the tortilla up from the bottom to surround the filling and once it’s rolled into a tube, place it on the prepared baking sheet, seam side down. Repeat steps with the remaining ingredients (including microwaving the other half of the tortillas when you get to them). When all the taquitos are rolled and on the baking sheet, mist the tops of the taquitos with cooking spray.
5. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes until tortillas start to get golden and crispy.

WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PLUS:2 PP per taquito, two taquitos are 5 PP (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

NUTRITION INFORMATION PER TAQUITO:
98 calories, 9 g carbs, 3 g fat, 9 g protein, 2 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)

Thanks for Stopping by!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Bite Size Meals ... Pizza Log

We had a houseful of Cole's friends this weekend! Friday during the day his buddie's house was broke into :( so we offered for him to stay the night so the parents could deal with police and clean up.  Sunday I picked up a girl from his class and her brother to go to breakfast, then church and even grocery shopping!

By the time I got home I needed to make a quick lunch before I lost it or they did not sure who was closer ... lol.  I found a FB post with these yummy Skinny Pizza Log's on Emily Bites. As many of you know I was on a HUGE kick of wonton wrappers last year, I think my new obsession may be egg roll wrappers. This was actually very easy to make, mine may not have been super pretty by my technique got better by the end!

  

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 egg roll wrappers (larger than wonton wrappers)
• 8 teaspoons store-bought pizza sauce
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 24 turkey pepperoni slice (I used Turkey pepperoni)
• 4 light Mozzarella string cheese sticks, each cut in half horizontally to make two shorter sticks

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 425. Lightly mist a large baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Pour some water into a small dish and set aside. On a flat surface, place an egg roll wrapper, corner facing toward you (like a diamond) and spread a teaspoon of pizza sauce horizontally across the center of the wrapper, leaving ½ inch or so of space on each side. Sprinkle a pinch of Italian seasoning across the sauce and add a row of 3 pepperoni slices over the sauce. Place half a cheese stick on top of the pepperoni. Fold the bottom corner closest to you up over the ingredients and give it a 90 degree roll. Fold the side corners in and tuck them as you give the filled section another 90 degree roll. Dip your finger in the dish or reserved water and lightly wet the edges of the remaining top corner of the wrapper. Finish rolling the filled pizza log over the wet corner so that it adheres. Place wrapped pizza log onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
3. When all of the pizza logs are wrapped and on the baking sheets, mist the tops with cooking spray. Bake for 10-14 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until the wrappers are golden brown.

WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PLUS:2 per pizza log (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

NUTRITION INFORMATION:
97 calories, 13 g carbs, 2 g fat, 7 g protein, 1 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)

Thanks for Stopping by!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Come Won Ton With me! (Ok it sounded funnier in my head)

Pin It Last week I told the PTF president that I would make something yummy for the meeting.  I found a great recipe of course on Pinterest a while back and have been dying to try.  It is I must say on the spicy side so most of the ladies only had one and I then was left with a crazy amount left over thankfully the principal loaded up and took most of them home with him.  Now these look harder then they really are, just a little time and you'll have a perfect party food!  

I made this Skinny Spanakopita from one of my favorite weight watcher sites Slender Kitchen.  I of course didn't have anything here so I had to send Rick on a run, which he did with big smiles and no groans .. hehe.

Weight Watchers Skinny Spanakopita 
Points: 2 Weight Watchers PointsPlus
Servings: 8
Serving Size: 3 Skinny Spanakopitas
Nutritional Info: 86.1 calories, 1.1 g of fat, 15.7 g of carbohydrates, 1.3 of fiber, 3.5 g of protein

Ingredients
24 wonton wrappers
10 oz of spinach (I used frozen but fresh would work)
1/2 cup reduced fat feta cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg white, for egg wash
1 tsp olive oil

Instructions
1.Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic, onion, and red pepper flakes.  Once it becomes fragrant, add the spinach.   Saute until just tender.

3. Place the spinach mixture in a bowl and mix in the feta cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4.  Lay out the 24 wonton wrappers on two large cookie sheets sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. Fill a small cup with warm water and place it near the cookie sheets.

5. Begin assembling the spanakopita by placing a spoonful of the spinach and feta mixture in the center of the wonton wrapper. Wet the edges of the wonton wrapper with the warm water and fold over and press down to close. Once you have stuffed and sealed all the wonton wrappers, brush lightly with the egg wash or spray with cooking spray.

6. Bake for 8-10 minutes until crispy. Serve on their own or with marinara sauce for dipping.

Since I had half a pack of wonton wrappers left over I found another great recipe for our dinner weekly guest.  I had all the fixing for this one so no sending Rick to the store.  I did learn a great lesson using an old cupcake pan vs a new non stick pan REALLY makes the difference with you're out of kitchen oil spray. 

Next on the list is one I tweaked to be kid friendly off Emily's Bites (another amazing weight watcher blog) for these Mini Taco Cupcakes. 

Ingredients:
1 ½ t chili oil (found near the Asian ingredients)
½ lb 95% lean ground beef
1 T taco seasoning
¾ c canned black beans, drained and rinsed
16 wonton wrappers (found in the produce section)
5 T + 1 t of queso dip or salsa con queso (I used Wholly Guacamole Queso Blanco)
1 c chunky salsa (I used Wholly Guacamole Medium Salsa)
1 c reduced fat shredded Mexican cheese (I used Weight Watchers brand)

*** I left out the chili oil, Black Beans and Salsa's - Due to not wanting to send Rick to the store again ... lol.  I did chop up some black olives since the boys love them ***

Directions:
1.    Pre-heat the oven to 375. Lightly mist 8 cups in a muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
2.    Heat chili oil in a sauté pan or large skillet over medium-high heat, add the ground beef and taco seasoning and brown beef, breaking it up with a spoon. Add black beans and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes until warm.
3.    Push a wonton wrapper into the bottom of each of the eight sprayed cups in the muffin tin. Spoon a teaspoon of queso dip into each wonton wrapper and spread across the bottom. Follow by spooning some of the meat/beans mixture into each cup (using about half the total mixture) and then splitting ½ cup of the salsa evenly into each cup. Sprinkle about half the shredded Mexican cheese evenly over the top of each cup. Press another wonton wrapper on top and repeat the layering steps with the remaining ingredients.
4.    Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin.

And this is what happens!

Either mush cupcakes or Nice cupcakes :)

Have a great week everyone!  I just know it's going to be a busy one here again!

Ringing in the New Year in Style!

Well Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012 and we can say we’re going to do a lot of things but right now I’ve decided to just do one day at a time and be better then I was before!  Well it’s what I’m going with right now, stop giggling and just let me live in a little bliss for today .. hehe!

My friend had us over to her house for a little get together for the count down and I made a few things to share.  I can never go to a party empty handed.

I took this Apple Pie Cucake and tweaked it a bit to include Sparkling Apple Cider.  I thought it was perfect for the new year!

Then I had to make some dips. The first dip was a Weight Watcher Feta & Spinach Dip.

And the hit of the party was the Weight Watcher Hot Artichoke Dip. 

Happy New Year!  Hope you all had a wonderful year and many more blessings to come this new year!  What did you do for the New Year?  Did you make anything yummy?

Small little Portions …

I made the best little meatloaf cupcakes and zucchini bread cupcakes both were hits here and the cupcakes again got rave reviews at the women’s group with request for the recipe!  Got to love that!!

First off are the Mini Cheesy Meatloaves were so amazing with a little cheesy surprise!

And for the Amazing zucchini bread I made bread and cupcakes.  And does it EVER live up to it’s name!!!  It was packed with flavor, now the dough isn’t the prettiest but man I will be making this from now on.  It was a perfect balance of zucchini, pumpkin and craisins.

Happy Tuesday everyone!!!  I’m starting to feel a bit better but my tummy is still revolting against me … ugh.  Thank you for all your prayers the Monday regular babysitter was back.  The boys did so MUCH better not a bunch of noise, the teacher was up playing with them.  I’m so glad I don’t have to hid under a rock again … Tomorrow I’ll explain what happened again with a babysitter .. lol.