How to Peel and Egg & Ham and Egg Breakfast Sandwiches

I follow a lot of "mom" blogs and one of favs is Design Mom. A white back, she had a post on "How to Peel an Egg" that really blew me away. Check it out! There is a video and it is pretty amazing. I decided to try it at home.

Boil the eggs at a slow boil for 12 minutes. Cool the eggs by throwing some ice in. In the video he says when you put the water in you put a 1/2 teaspoon on baking soda in and it raises the pH thus reducing the adhering of the egg to the shell. OK, I have to admit that I didn't really know if you boiled it with the baking soda (which is what I did) or if you add it after. I guess I could have done some more research. He cracks and peels a small hole in the top and bottom of the egg and blows it out of its shell. No, I couldn't blow the egg out when I tried it but the shell did come off easily without taking any of the while with it. To my skack and awe, the egg came out perfectly, no pocks where I had gouged the white. This was a first. (My husband makes fun of how bad eggs look after I usually peel them.) Its worth a try and a fun experiment.

So after experimenting, I had to put the eggs to work. I decided on a super easy breakfast sandwich. We make these sandwiches all the time with scrambled eggs but after trying them this way, I am converted to hard boiled.

Ham and Egg Breakfast Sandwich
4 pts
Serves 1

high fiber English muffin (1 pt)
1 slice of lean ham or canadian bacon
FF or 2% american cheese slice
1 boiled egg

Peel egg (per instructions above). Split and remove yolk. Disgard yolk. Slice egg white and lightly salt.


Split and toast Enlish muffin. Place slice ham, cheese and egg on the muffin.



Put two halves of muffin together and enjoy! You can boil a bunch of eggs at once for a fast breakfast. Just warm the egg white for a few seconds (under 10) for a quick morning meal.

Peach Pie Smoothie - 3 pts

A few weekends ago, I was watching Food Network while feeding the baby boy. Ellie Krieger was on. If you are not familiar with her, she has a healthy cooking show and is a nutritionist and registered dietician. She always has some good tips for getting maximum nutrition out of your food. In this episode, she made a delicious looking peach smoothie. I had the ingrediants for it so I thought I would try it out for breakfast with a few alterations to the recipe. I really was pleased with the results and so was the little girl. I had to talk her into sharing with me because she was determined to keep it to herself.

Peach Pie Smoothie
3 pts
1 serving

Here is the original recipe via FoodNetwork.com.

And here is mine.

1/2 c skim milk
6 oz Weight Watchers Amerretto Cheese Cake Yogurt
1 c frozen peaches
1 T Splenda
1/4 t vanilla
1/8 t cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
pinch ginger

Put all ingredient in blender and blend till smooth.







Low in points for a large shake and a great source of calcium and vitamin C. 1 1/2 milk credits and a fruit. And kid approved! What can get better than that!

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.

Chicken Enchiladas - 3 pts each

Like most people who are struggling with their weight, I have tried a million different things in the past to lose weight. One that I have done several times in the past is Body for Life. It is a program by Bill Phillips. I have to say that it really works and is a awesome combination of exercise, food and mind. I did it at my highest and lost A LOT of weight on it. You may wonder why I am not doing it now. Reason is that it is very restrictive and takes a lot of dedication. There is a list of foods you eat from & do certain exercises 6 days a week. Right now that is way too much structure with 2 small children and other commitments I have.

So instead I am doing WW. I know that it works and I feel like it fits with my lifestyle and allows me the flexibility I need. I can eat what is available if I count the points and if I miss exercising, no big deal. I also feel like long term it is a better choice for me.

The purpose of all of this is that this recipe I got from a Body for Life cookbook called Eating for Life. It is still one of my favorite cookbooks. All the recipes are very healthy. They all have full color pictures of the ingredients and the final dish. All the recipes are very easy. Here is one of my favorites. Again, I have changed it over the years. I don't really know they exact recipe anymore.



Chicken Enchildas
3 pts
Serves 4-6

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 green onions
12 corn tortillas
1 can green enchilada sauce (10-12 oz)
2 oz reduced fat cheddar cheese, finely shredded

Boil chicken breasts. Cool until easily handled and shred. Slice green onions and add to shredded chicken. Pour about 1/2 c of enchilada sauce into the chicken mixture and mix together.

Spray the botton of a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray. Warm tortillas one at a time in a dry skillet. After each tortilla is heated, add a scoop of chicken mixture and roll. Place seam side down in the pan. When all tortillas are rolled with chicken mixture, pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top of all the enchiladas. Top with cheese.

Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees or until heated through and cheese is melted.

Serve with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, olive and/or guacamole. (These are not included in the listed points.)

Breakfast Hash

I am always looking for something new and different from my usual breakfasts: cereal, oatmeal or a fried egg. The other night we had baked potatoes for dinner and there was a half of one left that I bound and determined to put to good use. I stuffed it in the fridge without a plan. The next morning I pulled it out and started thinking that it would be great as hashbrowns. I almost stredded it, but settled on peeling and cubing it instead. I wanted a breakfast hash like one of those that you get at a diner with a little bit of everything in it. This is what I found in my fridge:



I know, not much but enough to make do. I really wish I would have had some mushrooms at the time because I definately would have thrown those in.

This is what I came up with:

Breakfast Hash
Serves 1
4 Points

1 whole egg
2 egg whites
1/2 baked potato
1/2 oz reduced fat cheddar
1 green onion
1 slice canadian bacon
various 0 pt veggies, diced (optional)

For the eggs, I just crack 3 whole eggs into a bowl and pull out 2 of the yolks with my hands. I know that you can save points by just eating the whites, but in my opinnion, the yolk gives it too much flavor to leave it out. After all, it is only 1. Mix whites and yolks together with a fork and set aside.

Spray a pan with non-stick spray or an oil spritzer. Heat to medium heat. While pan is heating, peel and cube 1/2 potato. Add potatoes to the pan and brown. Add green onions once potatoes start to brown. If you are using veggies now is the time to add them to the mix. Like I said, I thnk that mushrooms would be awesome in this. Saute until tender. When veggies are almost done, add diced canadian bacon.



Push mixture to the side and add eggs to the empty side of the pan. If your pan is prone to sticking, give it a light spray. Scramble eggs. When about half cooked, incorporate the potato mixture.



Once eggs are cooked through, sprinkle with cheese while eggs are hot so that it starts to melt.



Serve it with a fruit and toast. Like you see from the first picture, I ate it with tangerines and a light english muffin with sugar free jam. Yum! Oh and don't forget a tall glass of water. The whole meal was only 6 pts.

Seasoned Popcorn

Sorry that the posts have slowed down the past few days. I have been under the weather and having a hard time getting into the kitchen and my camera was acting up and I had to exchange it. (Thank you Costco for having an awesome return policy.) I have a bunch of pictures for posts saved up that I have been meaning to post, but I just haven't gotten around to yet. Here is one of those posts.

While this is not necessarily an official recipe, I wanted to share it with you. I think that I first found our about the Kernel Season's Popcorn Seasoning from a WW magazine a few years ago. They often have a coupon for it in the magazine. I tried a few of the flavors and was very pleased with the outcome. They are very light on calories and really add a nice flavor. I think that I originally would put it over light microwave popcorn but I have since switched to air-popped. They also have their own spray to help the seasoning, stick but I use Pam or my oil-spritzer. These are the flavors that are in my cupboard right now. I love the ranch and my husband's favorite is the kettle corn. By the way, they are also great on steamed veggies and you can find them by the popcorn at the supermarket.



We have been making this more often since my husband started counting points. When he get home from work, he loves to snack but it not ready to have dinner yet. He used to eat a whole sleeve of ritz. Go figure the points on that and you will be sick. He eats about 5 points worth of the popcorn, but that is a huge bowl and it fills him up and keeps him from overeating at dinner.

Seasoned Popcorn
1 pts
Serving Size - 3 cups

Pop poporn with air popper. Lightly spray popcorn with non-stick spray, tossing so it is coated evenly. Shake seasoning over popcorn, tossing gently so that seasoning is distributed to all the popcorn. Serve.

I usually have a large cereal bowl (about 3 cups) for a serving and I have figured it at 1 pt.

Seasoned Baked Potato Wedges

Baked Potato Wedges is something that I have been trying to get right for a long time, proabably several years. For some reason or another they don't turn out quite right. Too thick so they don't cook all the way through, too thin so parts burn easily, slimey because too much water in the potato, etc. I have been in search of a potato wedge that is soft and fluffy in the center but has a little crisp on the outside.

I gave up for a while, feeling that the search was hopeless and started buying bagged french fries to bake. I know, not the best option for me or my family but I felt broken and I needed a replacement. After all, the husband really like fries with any sort of sandwich on a bun that I serve. Plus, they are so so easy.

This past month, I have really buckled down on our grocery bill and tried to make do with what we have and the staples that I regularly buy. Potatoes are one of those things. I decided to parboil the potatoes before baking them and they turned out fabulous! The best yet. I have made them a few times since, just to make sure that it wasn't a fluke that they turned out so delicious. They turned out just as good then too. So here is how I made them. Not an exact science when it comes to seasoning, depends what you like.

Seasoned Baked Potato Wedges
3 pts
Serving Size - 8 Wedges

1 potato for each person
Non-stick spray or oil spritzer
Adobo seasoning (or seasoning salt)
Paprika
Dried Parsley

Bring a salted pot of water to boiling. Clean potatoes and remove any parts that look less than savory Sometimes there are a few gnarley eyes that I dig out. These were in pretty good shape. Cut each potato into eighths. Carefully drop potatoes in boiling water and boil 4-5 minutes. The potatoes should not be easily pierced but not as firm as when raw. They should hold their shape and not easily be broken or heaven forbid fall apart on you. If they do, you are having mashed potatoes for dinner instead.




Once potatoes have been parboiled. Drain and set out on a clean kitchen towel. The towel will absorb extra water and the potatoes will have steam coing from them that will help dry the inside.

The seasonings listed are the ones that I use but the potatoes can be seasoned with anything. I think that thyme is nice when serving with chicken. I also use the oil sprizer instead of non-stick spray because it is easier on my pans and bakeware. I use a Pampered Chef Stoneware Large Bar Pan for these wedges. I think it does the job well but any baking sheet is fine. My stone is non-stick from years of use but if you are using a regualr baking sheet I would give it a spray. Lay the potato wedges skin side down and spaced evenly. Make sure they had enough room between them so they can crisp up. Spray the potato wedges and season to your liking. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 35-40 minutes. Remember this is the time it take on my stoneware so if you are using something different, I would start checking them at 30 minutes. Removed from oven and serve hot.



I usually eat mine with ketchup and sometimes a little mustard but I have some good ideas for some dipping sauces that I will have to try soon. Hope you like them as much as we do.