2 Point Cupcake

After my binge this week and enjoying a couple of full point regular cupcakes at a birthday luncheon, I thought I would post a better alternative (or what I should have eaten instead).


These are 2 pt cupcakes, 3 with frosting. I think that a lot of people at WW call them a 1 pt cupcake but when I plug them into the recipe builder, they come out 2 so I am trusting that. They are super duper easy and taste great. They are good enough to be served at a party. I did at my daughter Valentines party this year and everybody loved them.


2 Point Cupcake
Serves 24

1 cake mix
2 egg whites
1 can of diet soda

Combine all ingredients. Fill lined cupcake tins 2/3 full. Bake time and temperature according to cake mix package directions.

Frosting
1 point

16 oz Cool Whip Free, thawed
1 4 serving pack of sugar free pudding mix (not prepared)

Pour powder into thawed Cool Whip and mix. You can also tint with color. Store in fridge.

You can really do any flavor combo that you like. I did a chocolate mix with diet cherry coke for the cake and then vanilla pudding in the frosting because I was tinting the frosting pink.

I was thinking that carrot cake with diet cream soda and sugar free cheesecake pudding would be delicious. I also have some diet peach soda right now and think that it would be great with a white cake mix and pain cool whip and fresh peaches on top. My mom just found out that she has diabetes and they are going to be visiting around the time of my dad's birthday. I am planning on making a reduced sugar cake mix this way and using sugar free Cool Whip in the frosting.

I made 12 cupcakes. I realized that I didn't take any pictures of the cupcakes that didn't have the kids int hem until after they were gone. Too bad because they were adorable. I melted 2 mini candy canes together into the shape of a heart as a topper. They were perfect for the party.

With the other half of the batter, I made this mini cake for my daughters birthday. It turned out adorable and it was the perfect size for a small family. We cut it into 8 small slices.





I have to admit that I have a weakness for cake and could do some real damage with cake sitting around so this recipe is going to be saved for special occassions. It is wonderful to have an easy way to lighten up a celebration staple because I am usually consuming more than my share of points at the party with other things. It is nice to shave off a few on the cake.

Homemade Garlic Hummus

I have always bought hummus in the store, that is until today. It is quite expensice to buy in the store, $3 to $4 for 8 to 12 oz. I have been trying to cut back our grocery bill and store bought hummus was one of the first things to be chopped. I traded in the $4 tub for a $0.59 can of chickpeas. Everything else I had on hand. I looked up a bunch of different hummus recipes and realized that for basic hummus it is pretty simple: tahini, lemon juice and chickpeas. I usually buy roasted garlic flavor and love love love garlic. I am not found of the smell of sesame oil, so I substituted olive oil for the tahini and doubled the oil so that I could count a serving of hummus as a healthy oil for the day. I also put in LOTS of garlic. Mine is strong but you could use a smaller amount or roast the garlic if you like a milder flavor.

Here is how I made it. I thought it turned out great, although a little tweek here and there would probably not do any harm.

Homemade Garlic Hummus
2 pts
Serves 6 (About 3 T)

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 c lemon juice
2 T olive oil
1 t to 1 T garlic, minced (add to taste)



Puree beans with lemon juice in a food processor. Add olive oil and process until combined and smooth. Add garlic to taste, puree until very smooth.



Store in a airtight container in fridge. Use within a couple of days. Hummus is great with pita, tortillas, as a spread on sandwiches & with veggies or crackers. Most often, I do baby carrots. today, I cut up a flat out wrap into triangles to dip. These triangles could also be crisped in the oven to be eaten like a chip, but I prefer them soft.



Next time I am going to try making it from dry beans. I will probably cook up a whole bag of beans and freeze them in 2 c bags so that I can have them on hand for a quick snack.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Revisited and Almond Onion Rice

Since making this Chicken Cordon Bleu a few weeks ago, my husband has been begging (literally) me to make this again and to make several of them so he can take them to work for lunches. I finally picked up some more ham this past week so I set out to make a bunch of them on Monday night. We had them for dinner that night and I paired it with some almond onion rice (recipe below) and a green salad topped with craisins, dried apples and raspberry vinegrette. It turned out as good as the first try and the experimental rice turned out amazing! Last time I had a request for pictures so here is the recipe again with pictures. The rice recipe is posted too.

Chicken Cordon Bleu
5 pts
2 servings

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 large deli slices of ham
2 wedges of Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss
1 egg white (mixed with a splash of water)
1/4 c panko style bread crumbs
1/2 c Fiber One cereal, pulsed in food processor or blender until fine crumbs

Thaw chicken. Place between two pieces of plastic wrap. Pound to about 1/4 inch thick with meat mallet or rolling pin. Remove plastic.


Place a slice of deli ham over each piece of chicken. Spread a wedge of cheese on half of each piece of chicken/ham. Roll like a burrito starting with the cheese side first so that it is in the middle of the roll. Secure with toothpicks if necessary.



Put egg white in a bowl. Combine panko bread crumbs and fiber one crumbs in another bowl. Dip the chicken in egg white and then roll in bread crumbs, coating entire chicken roll. Place on a cooking sheet that has been spray with nonstick spray. Repeat with second piece of chicken. sprinkle remaining bread crumbs on top of chicken.



Bake 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Allow to cool a few minutes before serving because cheese inside will be very hot.



If freezing these, cook before freezing. Can be reheated in the oven or thawed in the fridge and them reheated in the microwave.



Brown rice takes forever to cook. I sometimes cheat and use instant brown rice on days that I forget to set the rice cooker early. I have heard that rice freezes well and have been meaning to try it so when I made fried rice on Sunday night, I cooke 2 extra cups of brown rice to freezer for quick meals during the week.

While the chicken cordon bleu is absolutely amazing, it is a little time consuming. I recommend making a bunch at one time like I did and freezing them for later meals. After preparing the chicken, I realized that I had forgot to throw on some rice. I had planned on making fresh rice because I wanted to season it with chicken stock and the rice I had cooked earlier in the week was plain. With only 25 minutes till dinner, I needed to figure out something fast. Rather than breaking out the instant rice, I pulled out the precooked rice from the night before and this is what I came up with. By the way, it was delicious!

Almond Onion Rice
1/2 c = 2 pts or 1 c = 5 pts
Serves 2-4

2 c cooked brown rice
1/4 c water
1 T chicken base
1/2 t mined garlic
1 green onion, sliced
canola oil spray
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray

If frozen, break rice into smaller chunks to fit in a microwave safe bowl. Ad water, minced garlic and chicken base. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave 3 minutes or until warmed through. Uncover and stir. If water still remains in the rice microwave at 30 second intervals until water is evaporated or absorbed.




In a dry nonstick skillet (I used cast iron.), toast almonds until golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside. Spray pan with canola oil spray and return to medium heat. (I have a oil sprayer from Pampered Chef that I love. Nonstick spray is not very good for your pans.) Add sliced onion and saute lightly.



Spray 10 sprays of butter spray to pan. Add rice and base mixture and mix until combined. Let rice cook 2-3 minutes without stirring. This will give the rice more of a "fried" flavor. Stir lightly and let cook another 1-2 minutes without stirring. Mix in toasted almonds. Serve and Enjoy!
(I think that 1/2 c of rice is the perfect serving but my husband always want at least 1 c.)

Egg Drop Soup - 2 pts

Try adding this as a starter for your next Chinese meal at home or as a warmer on a cold day. I find that when I use it as a starter I can skip most or all of the rice that I usually serve with the meal. The corn add a pop of sweetness while the egg gives the soup a nice texture.

Egg Drop Soup
2 pts
2 servings

3 c chicken broth
2 T corn starch
2 T cold water
1 egg
1/2 c corn

Bring broth to boil. Mix cornstarch and water in a separate bowl. Add cornstarch mixture while stirring broth. Let thicken a little. Break egg into a small bowl and combine yolk and white by stirring with a fork. Slowly pour into soup while stiring soup. This will produce long strands of egg in the soup. Let cook until broth is clear. Add corn and cook until warm. Serve hot.