Tuscan Chicken Soup

Today is the last day of the SOUPER BOWL!  We hope you choose one recipes we posted this week to make for the real live Super Bowl on Sunday. There is nothing better than having a pot of soup simmering on the stove all day long (or in the crock). Click appetizer’s on the right sidebar for a few of foodlove’s favorites, to help really get the party started!

This is one of my favorite restaurant copies – Tuscan Chicken Soup.  Originally from D’Amico & Son’s in MN, this is one of their signature soups.  It is full of veggies and flavors, when I tried it for the first time I knew I had to try and recreate it.  But before I got all creative in the kitchen, I just Googled the recipe, and lo and behold there it was online!  The original person who posted this recipe claims to be the granddaughter of the women who originally started serving it at the restaurant.  I gave it a try and it is really close – and delish.  Half & half is optional in this recipe but I totally recommend it, as it gives your bowl a creamy boost in flavor (and half & half is low in pp in my opinion, when used in moderation.

Servings: 8

Serving Size: 1 cup

Points Plus: 4pp

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: About 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 T. olive oil

1 chicken breast, cut into small pieces

1 medium yellow onion, diced

4 medium carrots, diced

4 stalks of celery, diced

1 zucchini, diced

1 yellow squash, diced

3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped finely

1 t. dried oregano

1t. dried basil

28 oz can crushed tomatoes

4 cups low sodium chicken stock

Kosher salt + ground pepper to taste

1 cups small pasta, small shells, that ‘O’ shaped pasta, pearl couscous…as examples

16 T half & half

Instructions

Get out your large Dutch oven again (we hope after this week you invest in a large, cast iron Dutch oven, because they really do make life easier).  Warm your olive oil and then add the diced carrots to your pan.  Let cook about 4 minutes, and then add onion, celery, zucchini, squash and diced chicken.  Sauté the mixture about 4 more minutes.  Then add garlic and sauté about one minute more. Add chicken stock, tomatoes, basil and oregano. And bring to a boil.  Let soup simmer for 20-30 minutes, and then add pasta. Let soup simmer until pasta is cooked according to package directions.  Next, season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve this soup up, and add 2 T. half & half per bowl.  Enjoy with a glass of bottomless wine, just like you are at D’Amico & Sons!

Tip

We have made this in our household twice.  The first time, I followed the recipe and the second time I sort of added whatever was in the fridge.  Needless to say, the second time the proportions were off, so I recommend following this recipe with the recommended amounts of veggies. 

XOXO - Katie

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Chicken enchiladas meet the crockpot!  I love Mexican, especially enchiladas - here is a fun recipe that turns them into a soup which helps cut down on pp. The original recipe comes from Skinnytaste with just a few modifications.  This is a great recipe to throw in the crockpot and before you know it you have dinner on the table!

Servings:  6

Size:  1 ½ cups soup

Points Plus: 7pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 4-6 hours in the crockpot

Ingredient List:

2 tsp. olive oil

½ cup onion, chopped

3 cups chicken broth, low sodium, fat-free

8 oz. can tomato sauce

1-2 tsp. chipotle chili in adobo sauce

1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes

2 cups frozen corn

1 tsp. cumin

½ tsp. dried oregano

2 8 oz. chicken breasts, skinless, boneless

¼ cup scallions, chopped

¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese, reduced-fat

¼ cup cilantro, chopped

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and saute for 3-4 minutes or until tender.  Pour in the chicken broth, tomato sauce and chipotle adobo sauce and mix throughly.  Bring the mixture to a boil and then remove from heat.  Carefully pour or ladle this mixture into your crockpot. Add the drained can of beans, diced tomatoes, corn, cumin and oregano and stir until the enchilada sauce mixture is combined.  Finally add the chicken breasts and cover.  Set your crockpot to cook on high for 2 hours and then reduce the temperature to low for the remaining 2 1/2 - 3 hours.  Once the chicken is fully cooked, remove and shred with forks.  Put the shredded chicken back into the crockpot and cook on low an addtional 30 minutes.  Serve with a chopped scallions and cilantro on top and 2 Tbsp. of cheese per serving!

Tip:
Want to know a super fun tip on how to pour hot liquid without risking it splashing all over and making a huge mess???  When pouring, flip your soup ladle so back of the ladle is facing up and pour the liquid directly onto the back of the ladle.  The liquid will follow the curves of the ladle and will easily pour this way. This also works with a big spoon too!

XOXO Megan

French Onion Soup

Did you know that French Onion soup is an easy soup that is low in pp??  When the base is broth and the main ingredients are onions, how can you not expect a low in points soup?  Try out this recipe for a delicious French Onion.  This recipe is a family favorite for holidays!

Servings:  6

Size:  1 cup + baguette slice and cheese

Points Plus: 5pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 65 minutes

Ingredient List:

2 lbs. yellow onions, sliced (about 3 large onions)

2 (10.5 oz) cans beef broth

2 (10.5 oz) cans beef consommé

21 oz. water (use the empty soup cans)

Bay leaf

6 slices of a baguette

6 Tbsp. shredded Swiss or Provolone cheese, reduced-fat

6 Tbsp. shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Peel and thinly slice the onions into rings instead of chopping or dicing; these will hold up better in the soup.  In a large Dutch oven or stock pot (again a piece from Le Creuset would work great!), sauté the onions for 45 minutes until they are caramelized.  Add a total of 6 cups of beef stock consisting of: 2 cans of beef consommé, 2 cans of beef broth and 2 cans of water.  Add a bay leaf and simmer for 20 minutes.  Slice and toast the baguette until crisp and crusty.  Ladle out 6 servings of soup and place a slice of baguette in each bowl. Cover the top of the baguette 1 Tbsp. of shredded Swiss or Provolone depending on your preference (I personally dislike the taste of Swiss) and 1 Tbsp. of shredded Parmesan cheese.  Place the plated portions of soup into your broiler for a few minutes to melt and brown the cheese on top before serving.

Tip:

Shredded cheese is a great use of pp because it covers much more surface area in a meal than a slice of cheese will, but for less volume and consequently less pp! 

XOXO Megan

Thai Chicken (Curry) Soup

I.L.O.V.E.C.U.R.R.Y. This recipe is for an easy and healthy curry flavored soup.  This soup is perfect on its own, but I ate it over brown rice to make it a bit more authentic and filling.  My recipe is adapted from this one, the main difference being that I cooked it on my stovetop and not in my slow cooker (although I am sure the slow cooker would have been tasty)! Enjoy!

Servings: 6

Serving Size: 1 cup of curry + ½ cup brown rice

Points Plus: 10pp (7pp if just eating the soup)

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons red curry paste

2 12 ounce cans of coconut milk (one light and one regular)

2 cups chicken stock

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons peanut butter

1 pound chicken breast, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into 1/4 inch slices

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 heaping tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 cup carrots, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon lime juice

Cilantro for garnish

3 cups cooked brown rice

Cooking spray

Directions:

Spray the bottom of a large pot and add your red pepper, onion and carrots. Cook for about 4 minutes and then add your chicken. Sautee until chicken is cooked through. Add your ginger and garlic and cook about 2 more minutes. Mix the curry paste, coconut milk, chicken stock, brown sugar and peanut butter and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down and let it simmer on low for about 45 minutes.  Add in the peas and cook for about three minutes longer. Serve 1 cup soup over ½ cup brown rice with a squirt of lime and fresh cilantro.

Tip:
Instead of red curry paste, try green or yellow paste for a different flavor profile for this soup. If you do try out a different type of curry paste make sure to comment and let us know how it turned out!

XOXO Katie

Butternut Squash & Potato Soup

Next weekend is the Super Bowl and in order to get ready for the big game, Katie and I bring you the SOUPER BOWL of soups!  We have 5 new soup recipes for you to test out to see who you think should be the ultimate champion. :)  Okay, enough with the football references... but we do hope you are excited for a week full of new soups though!

First up... Butternut Squash & Potato!

I LOVE butternut squash and this soup is a creamy, delicious blend of squash, potato and onion flavors.  You will be surprised at how easily this comes together! And it makes a lot so you'll be set with leftovers for days!  Here is a link to the orignal recipe, I omited a few ingredients to lighten it up.  Enjoy!

Servings:  8

Size: 1 1/4 cups

Points Plus: 3pp

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredient List:

2 Tbsp. butter

5 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed (about 1 ½ lbs.)

2 cups potato, peeled and cubed

2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 cup onion, chopped

4 cups chicken broth, fat-free and less sodium

Directions:

In a large Dutch oven (I used my 5.5 quart Le Creuset oval French Oven), melt the butter.  Add the cubed squash, potato, salt and pepper and sauté for about 3 minutes.  Next, add the onion and sauté for an additional minute or two.  Add the chicken broth and stir until well mixed.  Bring this to a boil; once the soup begins to boil reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the veggies are soft and tender.  You will want to stir occasionally throughout the cook time.  Once the veggies are done cooking, get out your immersion blender and puree until your desired level of consistency.  Optional: Serve with some fresh chives sprinkled on top. Or sprinkle on a few oyster crackers!

Tip:

If you don't own an immersion blender, go buy one immediately!  Just kidding, but you really should invest in one as they make blending soups SO easy.  And as an added bonus, clean-up is a breeze since you just have to clean the blade you use and you're done! 

XOXO Megan

Hazelnut Kahlua Fancy Desserts

Quick funny story - My husband just told me that The Pioneer Women was at the NE Library right now (library by our house).  I totally freaked with excitement, I didn't know what to do, I couldn't believe I could possibly meet her! After he watched me totally freak for a few seconds he informed me that the book by the Pioneer Women that I put on reserve at the library (Black Heels to Tractor Wheels) had finally arrived!  Either way I am excited but sheesh, that was really funny.

Anyways, as you are probably sick of hearing by now I hosted a dinner party last weekend for a birthday.  I served the easy home made pasta, easy crock pot red sauce and this easy dessert! Easy AND fancy I might add.  This dessert would work well served in the glass shooters I used for this soup recipe.  I used a wedding present we recieved of tiny dessert glasses with tiny dessert spoons.  It was just the right amount after a heavy pasty dinner!

Servings: 6

Serving Size: 2 T ice cream, 1 T Kuhlua and 1/2 hazelnut cookie

Points Plus: 3pp

Prep Time: 5 minutes (at the very longest)

Cook Time: NA

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups show churn vanilla ice cream

6 T. Kahlua, I used the hazelnut flavor

3 Chocolate Hazelnut Pirouline Rolled Wafers, cut in half

Instructions

Arrange your six little dessert cups/glasses in a neat little roll.  Scoop out 2 T of vanilla ice cream and place in each cup.  I used a T size cookie scoop and it worked great. Next pour 1 T of Kahlua into each cup.  Garnish with 1/2 Pirouline, which is the perfect size if you are using tiny glasses like these.  Enjoy!

Tip

You could experiment with different types of liquor and ice cream flavors, whatever is your fav!

Blueberry Lemon Mini Muffins

These are a fun add to any brunch menu!  The original recipe comes from Sweet Peas Kitchen blog and calls for it as a loaf of bread.  I decided to make it into mini muffins for bite-sized treats and I made some modifications to the original recipe by omitting the lemon syrup and glaze portions to save some pp!  I’m sure it’s delicious with these added in if you are interested in more of a splurge though!

 

Servings:  18 (recipe will make a total of 36 mini muffins)

Size:  2 mini muffins

Points Plus: 2pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time:  10-12 minutes per batch

Ingredient List:

1 ½ cups and 1 Tbsp. flour, divided

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

2 tsp. lemon zest, grated

½ tsp. vanilla

⅓ cup vegetable oil

1 ½ cups blueberries

Baking spray

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly grease a mini muffin tin with baking spray.  Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.  In a separate, larger bowl whisk together yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and vegetable oil. Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl and stir until well mixed.  Wash and pat dry the blueberries with paper towels.  Place in a small bowl and coat with the remaining 1 Tbsp. of flour – this will make sure to keep the blueberries more intact in the mini muffins.  Fold the blueberries into the muffin batter and mix well. Fill the muffin tin with bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Tip:

I love mini muffins because they are an easy way to satisfy a craving, but with a much smaller version and for less pp!  However, they are easy to find yourself eating more of given their size.  Make sure you practice portion control!

XOXO Megan

Crock Pot Bolognese Sauce

You might recognize this photo!  Remember on Monday when I posted about my amazing egg noodles? Well, here is the sauce I served with them. We made both for a dinner party and I am trying to get better at not over committing myself with too many menu items that leave no time to talk with guests. This crock pot sauce was perfect, and really tasty! The recipe is originally from Skinnytaste but I made a few modifications. Get this baby in the crock early, and it is one less thing you need to worry about for dinner. We are also having it tonight as leftovers!

Servings: 20
Serving Size: 1/2 cup
Points Plus: 4pp
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 5-6 hours
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

4 oz bacon, chopped

1 tbsp butter (or olive oil)

1 large white onion, minced

2 celery stalks (about 3/4 cup), minced

2 carrots (about 3/4 cup), minced

2 lb 95% lean ground beef

1/4 cup white wine

2 - 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes 

3 bay leaves

salt and fresh pepper (I used kosher)

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup half & half cream

Instructions

Saute the bacon in a large dutch oven for about 4 minutes. Add the butter, onion, celery and carrots and cook about 4 more minutes. Add the beef until cooked through. Add the white wine (or chicken stock) and allow to reduce until most of the moisture is gone. Transfer meat mixture into your crock and add the crushed tomatoes, bay leaves and about 1 t. each of salt and pepper. Put on high and cook for about 5 hours. After five hours add the cream and then taste.  I feel like I had to add a lot more salt to this to make the flavors really pop, but I don't know exactly how much. So salt it until it tastes great to you! (remember, I LOVE salt). Finally, add the fresh parsley and serve over your favorite noodles! 

Tip

This sauce is great frozen!  You could also use it as a pizza sauce or lasagna sauce if you are adventurous! 

XOXO Katie

Individual Wedge Salads

Wedge salads are a fun starter to serve with any pasta dish! If you've never made them before, try out this recipe for simple wedge salads.  They are a bit of a splurge, especially when you are already eating a points plus heavy pasta dish.  However, they are a delicious combo of ingredients!

Servings: 6
Size: 1 individual salad
Points Plus: 5pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: n/a

Ingredients:
1 head of iceburg lettuce
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, quartered
3 slices of bacon
Crumbled blue cheese (1 oz. per salad)
Light blue cheese dressing (1 1/2 Tbsp. per salad)

Directions:
Wash and prep the lettuce by cutting the head of lettuce into individual portions; plate onto small salad plates.  Wash and quarter the cherry tomatoes.  Dice the bacon slices and cook on your stovetop until crispy.  Blot with paper towels to remove extra grease from the bacon.  Assemble your salads by drizzling salad dressing on each serving of lettuce.  Sprinkle the bacon bites (divided evenly across all 6 salads), crumbled blue cheese (1 oz. per salad)  and cherry tomatoes on top of each salad and serve immediately.

Tip:
Before you cook the bacon, make sure you dice the slices into smaller pieces.  This will not only save time, but will be much easier than trying to dice up piping hot bacon!  Your fingers will be thankful they aren't burnt in an attempt to finish up the wedge salads. :)

XOXO Megan

Home Made (that's right) Egg Noodles

Hello Everyone!  We have one more little bitty change for you, and then we won't change anything else for a long time we promise!  Welcome to our new name - foodlove! Our new name encompasses all we believe about food.  We LOVE food. Everyone LOVES food. But even if we LOVE food, we can still eat healthy and in control.  So welcome to foodlove!

Home made pasta is SO easy.  Like, easier than I ever would have imagined.  And tasty! Once you try this egg noodle recipe you will never go back.  The Pioneer Women was my inspiration for this (and for a lot of things).  I LOVE HER!  Anyways, these noodles truly are a cinch, serve them next time you have company.  Watch the the blog tomorrow for a simple crock pot bolognese sauce that will really make your next dinner party a breeze (and super impressive).

Servings: 6
Serving Size: 1/6 of recipe, which I THINK comes out to about 2 cups, which is a large serving of pasta.
Points Plus: 8pp
Prep Time: 30 minutes (to be on the safe side)
Cook Time: 2-3 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Easy!

Ingredients:
6 eggs
3 cups of flour
Fresh parsley
Dried basil

Instructions:
Place flour in a bowl and make a little well in the center. Crack eggs and put them into the well. Mix the dough with your hand until combined. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and kneed it until the dough is smooth and not sticky. Divide dough into four pieces, using a pizza cutter.

Take one piece of dough and roll it as thin as you can, in a rectangle shape.  This is where your strong husband comes in.  This dough is a bit tricky to roll out because it doesn't want to stay stretched out.  So, ask your husband for some help.  Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into thin noodles, as thinly as possible. I used a flexible cutting board as a guide to make the noddles as similar in shape and size as possible. Cut noodles out of all four dough pieces.

Bring a large (large!) pot of salted water to a boil. Put noodles into boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes.

When noodles are cooked strain them and then rinse them with hot water.  Toss them with parsley and basil and serve!

Tip:
You could easily serve these with no sauce because they are amazing. Just add a touch of EVOO, salt, pepper and perhaps a little parm! Also, I encourage you to follow the link to the Pioneer Women's recipe and read her version, because it is HIIIIIILlarious.

Corn & Jalapeno Mini Muffins

The combination of flavors in each one of these mini muffins really packs a punch!  It’s a delightful combo of sweetness from the honey, a bit of heat from the jalapeños and hearty cornmeal.  These are perfect side to serve with tacos or any Mexican dish.  Try pairing them with the Crockpot Chicken Tacos we featured on the blog last week!

Servings:  16 (recipe will make a total of 32 mini muffins)

Size:  2 mini corn muffins

Points Plus: 2pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time:  10-12 minutes

Rating: 5 stars – Excellent!

Ingredient List:
2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
¼ cup flour
¾ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. sugar
⅛ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ cup milk
¼ cup honey
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
2 large jalapeños, seeded and diced
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, reduced-fat

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375°. Lightly grease a mini muffin tin with cooking spray.  Combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a medium bowl.  In a separate, larger bowl combine the egg, milk, honey and melted butter with a whisk.  Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl and stir until well mixed.  Fold in the jalapeños and cheddar cheese with a spatula.  Fill each muffin tin about 2/3 full.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Tip:
Serving these warm are a MUST!  Although you can save time and make these ahead of time, they really are best when they are just out of the oven.  Of course you can pop them back in oven to warm them up just before you are ready to sit down too!

XOXO Megan

Mock Tuna

What is Mock Tuna you may ask?  Easy, it is a meat tuna salad that doesn't include tuna, but still tastes like tuna salad.  Don't believe me?  Give it a try!  This dish is full of nuts, seeds and fresh herbs and is really quite remarkable.  It is a tad bit high in pp, but since it is full of so much protein you don't need much to fill you up!  It is also to fun and healthy not to share. It is adapted from this Whole Foods favorite.

Servings: About 8
Serving Size: 1/2 cup
Points Plus: 11pp
Prep Time: 8 hours + (seeds and nuts must soak overnight)
Cook Time: n/a
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredients
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup raw (unsalted) almonds
1/3 cup celery, finely chopped
1/3 cup dill pickles, finely chopped
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
2 T fresh dill, finely chopped
2 T maple syrup
2 T lemon juice
1 t. ground pepper
1/2 t. kosher salt

Instructions
Put sunflower seeds and almonds in a large bowl, cover with water, cover dish and let it set at room temperature overnight.

When seeds and nuts have soaked for adequate time, pulse them in a food processor until finely chopped. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and add celery, pickles, onions.  In a small bowl mix maple syrup, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Pour dressing mixture over over nut and seed mixture.  Stir to combine.  Serve with veggies for a healthy and filling lunch!

Tip
Cut the portion in half and eat this on a piece of whole wheat bread for a tasty 'tuna' sandwich!

XOXO Katie

Pancetta & Asparagus Pizza

I love to take my standard homemade pizza recipe and come up with a new variation!  As we were trying to use up things from our fridge a few weeks ago, I came up with the idea of pairing asparagus and pancetta for a non-traditional pizza.  The possibilities really are endless, see what you can come up with to use up ingredients from your own fridge!

Servings:  8

Size:  1 slice of pizza

Points Plus: 6pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time:  15-20 minutes

Rating: 4 stars – Very good

Ingredient List:

1 can of Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough, classic style crust

1 can pizza sauce (4 oz)

1 Tbsp. dried oregano

5 slices of pancetta

½ lb. asparagus, cut into ½ inch pieces

1 ½ cup shredded mozzarella, park-skim

½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Open the can of pizza dough and shape into a pizza shape, gently working the dough outward on a lightly greased pizza pan.  Cook the crust according to the directions on the package, which suggests you pre-bake the crust for 5-7 minutes first before you add sauce and toppings.  While the crust is baking, bring a saucepan of water to a boil and add the prepared asparagus pieces.  Boil for 3 minutes; then drain and rinse with cold water.  Take the pizza out and evenly spread the can of pizza sauce on top of the crust, spread almost to the edges of the dough.  Sprinkle oregano over the pizza sauce.  Next, add the cheese, then add the cooked asparagus and slices of pancetta on top.  Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the crust is a light golden brown.

Tip:

A good tip to make sure the asparagus stays crisp is to immediately rinse your cooked asparagus with cold water to stop the cooking process.  I thought this really helped to keep the asparagus from getting too mushy before they finished cooking with the pizza.  It’s kind of a variation of the blanching technique with vegetables!

XOXO Megan

Home Made Potato Chips

Chips!  Who doesn't love 'em?? They are my junk food.  Any of them - well, any except sun chips because I consider those too healthy - HA! Anyways, everyone knows that they are deep fried potatos, and obviously unhealthy.  Let me ask you this...what if you lived in a world where you could eat about 100 potato chips for just 2pp? Well guess what?? That world exists!  My husband received the Pampered Chef potato chip maker for Christmas, and this past week we tried it out.  After a few batches I would say we perfected the recipe.  They seriously taste like kettle chips, but not as greasy.  They are delish and guilt free! Now, I know that not everyone has this amazing potato chip maker, so I tried to make them without it.  Well guess what?? They were almost as good.  I would still recommend buying his amazing kitchen tool, but if you don't have it, you can still make your own chips at home. Potato chips for everyone!!

Servings: 1 (heck, I could eat 100 potato chips)

Serving Size: 1 potato, I used a 4 oz potato which I would classify as 'small' and got about 100 chips out of it!

Points Plus: 2pp

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: About 5 minutes per batch, time varies depending on thickness

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Rating: 5 stars - Excellent

Ingredients

1 potato, I used a 4 oz potato which came out to 2pp

Kosher Salt

Fresh cracked black pepper

Tools

Mandolin

Paper towel

Pampered Chef potato chip maker, linked above

OR

Parchment paper and a microwave safe plate

Instructions

Scrub your potato clean. Using a mandolin slice your potato into thin circles.  I used the second from the smallest thickness.  Dry the potatoes with your paper towel.

If using the chip maker, lay the chips on a single layer. The chip maker includes two levels.  So, fill each tray, stack them, and then put them in the microwave.

If you do not have a chip maker, lay a piece of parchment paper on a microwave safe plate. Again, be sure the slices are not overlapped.  Fill the plate and put it in the microwave.

In either instance, cook in the microwave for 3 minutes.  After three minutes flip the chips and sprinkle a desired amount of kosher salt on them.  Cook again for about 2 minutes. As you are cooking them feel free to check and remove any that you think are crispy enough. Continue cooking until all the chips are crispy. When chips are done, eat them all!

Tip

You could top these with any verity of seasonings.  Cayenne pepper, vinegar and salt, cinnamon! Next time, I would love to try to create sour cream and onion flavoring.  Check back for that one SOON! (or let me know if you have ideas of how to create this flavor)

Fun Fact

Did you know that 100 regular kettle chips could cost you around 31pp??

XOXO - Katie

Champagne Orange Bundt Cake

I came across this recipe on Pinterest as I was searching for a fun, festive dessert to serve on New Year's Eve.  The original recipe (found here) comes from the Muffin Tin mom's blog.  I wasn't able to find the orange mimosa flavored sparkling wine that her recipe calls for so I improvised and used a combination of champagne and orange juice instead - two ingredients you already need for the frosting!  I also chose to omit the sliced almonds to cut down on pp.  Enjoy this bubbly cake!

Servings: 10

Size: One slice of 1/10 of the cake

Points Plus: 8pp

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time: 25-30 minutes

Rating: 4 stars - Very good

Ingredient List:

Cake Batter

1 box white cake mix

2/3 cup champagne

1/3 cup orange juice

3 eggs

Baking spray

Frosting

¼ cup champagne

¼ cup orange juice

1 ½ cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, mix together the cake mix, champagne, orange juice and eggs until well combined.  Pour batter into a lightly greased bundt pan.  Bake according to the directions on the box, about 25-30 minutes.  Allow the cake to cool completely before you frost it.  To make the frosting, first combine the champagne and orange juice in a large bowl.  Add the powdered sugar a ½ cup at a time until the frosting reaches the consistency you are looking for.  It will be more of a glaze than a thick frosting.

Tip:
I don't know about you, but I REALLY struggle when it comes to making frostings!  I think the key is to not have too much liquid so you don't have to add as much powdered sugar to even out the consistency.  That said, you could use slightly less champagne and orange juice in the frosting to make for a thicker frosting if you prefer. 

XOXO Megan