Mango Confetti Salsa

Source: Pampered Chef

Weight Watchers Points+ Values: I didn't calculate, but I would assume it would be zero, given the ingredients.

MANGO CONFETTI SALSA

1 large mango (we used 2)

½ small jicama (we used the whole thing)

1/3 orange bell pepper (again, the whole thing)

1/3 red bell pepper (who has time to measure? throw the whole thing in!)

1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed (I guess we used this too, all of it)

1/3 small red onion (I believe all of this went in as well)

1 tbs fresh lime juice (we used... 2? Maybe 3? Look, there wasn't a lot of measuring going on)

¼ tsp salt 

½ tsp Chili Lime Rub (This is recommended as it is the official P-Chef rub, but we found a Mango Lime Rub at the local grocery store and it was perfect)

Cut/core the mango. Don't peel it.

Peel the jicama. (Pronounced "hick-a-muh" for those of you who are unfamiliar with Spanish. I'd never heard of this before but it's popular on the Weight Watcher circuit. Just... look for a sign, you'll find it. It looks kind of odd. I wasn't the one gathering ingredients so I still have no idea where this is located, but it's somewhere in the produce section.) 

Chop everything into little pieces. 

Throw the little pieces into a food processor.

Process!

Dump back into a bowl, add the lime juice and salt, and stir. Then throw some rub on there. I honestly didn't measure any of it, I just went by taste and had it right on the first try.

Eat! (Don't forget to buy some tortilla chips, that is helpful to the process).

Verdict: Holy yum, Batman! This was Delicious. Capital D. It does make quite a bit, especially if you use the entirety of your fruits/veggies (and why wouldn't you?), but if you're having a gathering of sorts, it should be the right amount.

Leftover Quality: Undetermined, as it was all left at the party in question. I'm sure it would be good though.

WW Creamy Lemon Pie (Modified)

Source: A Weight Watchers weekly handout; this was modified in various ways, both intentional and not. As such, I recalculated the points to see where it landed.

Weight Watchers Points Plus value (if you go by the original recipe): 4 pts+ (10 servings)

Weight Watchers Points Plus value (if you go by my recipe): 5 pts+ (10 servings)

Yes, I somehow managed to make it more. I'm awesome like that.

As always, my comments in italics, below.

WW CREAMY LEMON PIE

6 whole reduced-fat cinnamon graham crackers (because I am a genius, and only wrote "graham crackers" on my list, I ended up with reduced-fat honey graham crackers. I also used 8 instead of 6.)

2 Tbsp butter (I used margarine instead)

11 oz fat-free sweetened condensed milk (I used the whole 14-oz can)

2 large eggs (I was going to try egg whites instead, but I only had 2 eggs in my fridge, and it's a 2:1 ratio if you just use whites - 2 eggs worth of egg whites = 1 egg with yolk. So I'll maybe try that next time.)

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (I didn't measure... I squeezed the juice out of two small lemons and called it good)

1 Tbsp lemon zest (again... didn't measure. Just zested one of the small lemons until I could zest no more)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grind graham crackers in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Or place crackers in a resealable plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. (or, you know, find some way to smash them into little bits. I chose to mash them with the flat side of a meat tenderizer. Your choice.) Place crumbs in a small bowl.

Melt butter (or margarine) on stovetop or in microwave and pour over graham cracker crumbs, mixing with a fork until completely moistened. Press crumbs evenly onto bottom of a 9" pie pan; place crust in refrigerator while preparing lemon filling.

In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk and eggs; mix until smooth. Add lemon juice and zest; stir until incorporated and pour into prepared crust. ("until incorporated" -? Who writes this?!)

Bake pie for 15 minutes. Cool completely and for best flavor, serve chilled. Yields 1 piece per serving.

Note: This pie can be baked and frozen for up to two weeks. Defrost and serve chilled.

Verdict: Omg, yummy! Also, I am apparently incapable of figuring out how to cut a pie into 10 pieces, so I ended up with 12 pieces, which actually brings my point total per piece back down to 4. I also put a dab of fat-free cool whip on top, which adds zero points. Delish!

Leftover quality: I can't imagine it would suck... after all, it's a PIE we're talking about.

WW Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

Source: a Weight Watchers weekly handout.

Weight Watchers Points Plus values: 5 pts+ (serving size = 1 cup)

WW SLOW COOKER CHICKEN CACCIATORE

1 lb skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces (I just used boneless/skinless chicken breasts instead, worked dandily)
1 cup fresh, frozen, or canned mushrooms, sliced (I don't like mushrooms so I didn't use these. I added a cut-up whole red pepper instead.)
1 cup fresh or frozen green peppers, sliced (I cut mine into fairly small pieces because I hate getting large chunks of anything; also, I didn't measure them, I just cut up the whole thing)
1 cup fresh or frozen onions, chopped (again, didn't measure... I used 1/2 an onion.)
1 medium garlic clove, minced (I prefer fresh ones. Also, for those of you that are unfamiliar, the PChef rep in me wants to remind you that a clove is 1 piece, not the entire bulb)
1 tbsp canned tomato paste (make sure you buy a tiny can. I thought I bought a little one and I had a ridiculous amount left so I put it in a little container and froze it. So if anyone around here needs some, holler at me. I don't know when I will use it again, probably the next time I make this.)
14.5 oz. can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes (yeah, good luck finding this, I tried 3 stores... I went ahead and bought the diced and it was just fine.)
1/4 cup dry red wine (after consulting my cooking guru friend Molly, I went ahead and used a Merlot. Add 4 pts if you drink a glass of it while you're cooking this) :)
3/4 tsp dried oregano, crushed (I thought I had this, but turns out I had ground oregano, seemed to work ok)
3/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp black pepper

Throw it all in the crock pot and stir it up a little bit. You're supposed to cook on high heat for 5-6 hours or low heat for 6-8 hours, but I got a later start on this than I wanted, so I actually only let mine go on high heat for 4 hours and it was done... it might vary on the size of your crockpot? I have kind of a smaller one.

This recipe makes about 4 servings but I would imagine you could double it easily enough if you wanted to.

Verdict: Not too shabby! I'll probably make this again.

Leftover quality: really good! I think the chicken actually managed to absorb more liquid while in the fridge, so that was a bonus.

Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

Source: Pampered Chef "It's Good For You" cookbook

Notes: This is probably my favorite recipe in the history of recipes. It is sooooo good and it's even good for you. It's also really easy to make, although there is a little bit of multitasking involved.

update: Weight Watchers Points Plus values: 6 pts+ (serving size: 1 1/3 cup)

My comments in italics.

GREEK LEMON CHICKEN SOUP

2 cups chopped cooked chicken (1 boneless, skinless breast should be enough. When cooking, I always use lemon-pepper seasoning - entirely optional)
2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion (I use sweet yellow onions, though I don't imagine it matters. I usually end up using about 1/2 the onion)
1-2 lemons (if you get a big enough/juicy enough lemon, you should be okay with 1. I like using 2 just to make it a little more lemony. Tip: heavier lemons = more juice)
2 tbsp snipped fresh parsley (I tried using parsley flakes this past time - in which case you will want to use 2 tsp - it wasn't a huge difference but I think I will definitely go back to fresh parsley again in the future. It's a little bit more work, but I think the subtle taste difference is definitely worth it. Besides, it's cheap.)
1 garlic clove, pressed (I always use 2 - no such thing as too much garlic!)
1 can 98% fat-free reduced-sodium condensed cream of chicken soup
3 cans 100% fat free chicken broth
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2/3 cup uncooked long grain white rice



1. Chop chicken, carrots, and onion using food chopper. (Seriously, if you don't have one of these, you need to get one. I would obviously recommend the Pampered Chef chopper but I think the infamous infomercial Slap Chop will get the job done as well. There is no other way to get this stuff chopped as finely as you need to, without probably losing a finger.)

2. Zest one lemon using a lemon zester/scorer to measure 1 tsp zest (approximately - just zest until you can zest no more - the more you can get, the more it will enhance the flavor). Finely snip zest using kitchen shears. Juice lemons to measure 1/4 cup juice (if you get a good lemon, it will give you 1/4 cup exactly. If you want to use a second lemon, go for it. I do.) Snip parsley using kitchen shears; set aside.

3. Spray 4qt stockpot with nonstick cooking spray (I just use Pam - for cooking, nto for baking. The baking version is a little more buttery for, obviously, baking). Heat on stovetop; add carrots, onion, and garlic pressed with garlic press. Cook and stir 2 minutes. (Be careful not to scorch - because, um, ew.)

4. Stir in chicken, soup, broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, and black pepper. Bring to a boil. Stir in rice; reduce heat. Cover and simmer over low heat 15-20 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove from heat and stir parsley into soup just before serving.

Seriously, that's it! Prep time probably takes the longest, but it's totally worth it. I have gotten so many compliments on this soup I can't even tell you.

Leftover Quality: Fantastic! That's actually one of the reasons I make this, so I can have food for the next few days. It makes quite a bit, and it's really easy to double the recipe if you need more. Especially if, say, you're having friends over... otherwise, you might not have any left for yourself!

The soup does thicken up upon sitting, though, so that is (I assume) perfectly normal. The texture changes a little bit it still tastes amaaaazing.

Chicken Caesar Salad Pizza

Source: Pampered Chef "It's Good For You" cookbook

Notes: I have added some of my own commentary (it italics) below. This recipe is super easy and tasted soooo good. I used to love Perkins' Bread Bowl Chicken Caeser Salad (now it's just a salad in a dish, boo) and this reminds me a LOT of that, especially if you eat it warm!

The salad dressing mixture was awesome, too - I might keep a mental note of that just for mixing up my own salad dressing in the future (See Step 3 below). So good!

It's a little tricky to eat, but way delicious - you just kinda need a fork. :)


CHICKEN CAESAR SALAD PIZZA

1 pkg (10 oz) refrigerated pizza crust
3 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce (basically I chopped them into chunks/pieces in the 1-2-3" range, seemed to work okay - whatever seems reasonable for hunks of lettuce on an individual slice - you don't want them too big) (you're going to buy a bag, aren't you? LAME!)
2 cups diced cooked chicken (thereabouts - about 1, maybe 1 1/2 chicken breasts?) - (I seasoned mine with a parmesan-herb powder while cooking, but you probably don't have to)
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper (I used one pepper - didn't measure)
1/3 cup pitted black olives, drained/sliced (I used one little can of pre-sliced olives)
1/4 cup (1oz) grated/shredded Parmesan cheese, divided (just buy it. It's easier.)
1/2 cup creamy Caesar salad dressing
1 garlic clove, pressed (LOVE LOVE LOVE using fresh garlic! There is no other way!)

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Lightly sprinkle large round baking stone (prob a regular pizza pan would work too!) with flour and unroll pizza crust, shaping into an approximately 12" circle. Bake 12-14 minutes or until crust is light golden brown.

2. Meanwhile, slice lettuce; dice chicken and bell pepper. Slice olives (or just buy a can of pre-sliced ones, which is what I did. Works the same and is obviously way easier!). Place lettuce, chicken, pepper, and olives in a large bowl; set aside.

3. In a small bowl, combine salad dressing, half Parmesan cheese (1/8 cup), and garlic pressed w/ garlic press. Mix well.

4. Spread 1/2 of the dressing mixture evenly over crust. Add remaining salad dressing mixture to lettuce mixture; toss to coat. Top crust with salad mixture. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

(my cookbook touts this as being low fat, low cholesterol, and low calorie. Which would probably be true if I'd have used a light dressing, but, we all know those never taste quite as good, haha. Still, it's pretty good for you!)

Leftover Quality: Surprisingly good! I wasn't sure how it would hold up as leftovers because of the lettuce (leftover salads are usually full of fail), but when I ate it for lunch today, it was still really good. I would recommend heating up the leftovers a little bit - it doesn't need to be hot, but make it a little warm and it tastes exactly like it did when it was freshly made.