Oreo Truffles

Not a new recipe by any means. I cannot even attribute it to one person. The recipe is everywhere. So I thought I would join the bandwagon.

I think I had these the first time at school. One of the teachers brought them for a potluck. Except theirs were much prettier than mine. And I was in love.

Unfortunately I found out how very easy they were to make, so for a while, I made them. Often. I think my oldest had them at his birthday celebration even.

But then I hadn't made them for a couple of years. Probably in the best interest of my hips and waist.

Then last week, a parent made some for our parent/teacher conference night (food in the lounge). I ate part of one (after looking up the calories) and loved every little morsel.

Then this past week, it was Child 3's turn to cook with me in the kitchen. She got out her cookbook and told me she wanted to make Yum Balls. I glanced at the picture and the recipe and realized it was just another word for Oreo Balls or Oreo Truffles.

At some point (as I watch my calories), I want to yell, "Get thee behind me, Satan!"

Not at Child 3. Just the constant food temptation.

But since Child 3 was so very excited, I decided we would do it. We would make those Yum Balls/Oreo Truffles.

And we did.

And I calculated the calories.

Worse than I thought.

I have eaten one tiny one.

But the rest of the family has enjoyed them.

So just in case you have missed the recipe (and somehow made it through my long monologue), here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 block (8 oz) cream cheese...I used light. Softened. Don't forget that part. Trust me.
1 package Oreos (or other chocolate sandwich cookies, but we are partial to Oreos. And no, I am getting NO kickbacks for that, though that would be nice)
1 package Almond Bark

Directions:
Crush ALL the Oreos in a food processor or in a ziplock bag (with a lot of pounding). I would have been tempted to throw them in the blender. However, this was a "kid" project, so I gave her a mallett and the plastic bag of Oreos to crush away.

Add cream cheese to mixture and mix. You could use a food processor to do that or just stir by hand with a sturdy spoon. We did the spoon method.

Take a small amount of the mixture and roll into a ball. We used a cookie scoop to get the right amount of mixture. Then we rolled away. We then put the balls on a piece of parchment paper on a large cookie sheet. We rolled about 30 balls in all.

Put in the fridge for about an hour to chill.

Melt almond bark on stove or microwave (though I think it hardens/thickens too quickly that way). I melted mine in a double boiler.

Dip balls into the chocolate, coating all over.

Let the balls cool on the parchment paper.

Enjoy!

(We did refrigerate the leftovers.)

More soon,
Reba

Bubble Up Pizza

One night a friend of mine on Facebook mentioned "Bubble Up Pizza". I had just made Bubble Up Enchiladas and really liked them. So when I saw a recipe for the pizza on Pinterest, I was further inspired to make some. Especially since our eating out has slowed down recently. And I started counting calories.

The recipe sounded very familiar to the Pizza Snowballs I make, just in one pan. And with the sauce IN it rather than in a bowl for dipping.

And easy. Did I mention easy?

I followed the recipe (link above), but did make some changes to suit our family. Here is my version.

Ingredients:
1 can Grands biscuits (I used the reduced fat Golden Wheat just to cut down on calories), quartered

15 oz. pizza sauce (I used the Contadina Squeeze...it is my favorite)

shredded cheese (I shredded a small block of 2% sharp cheddar and a small block of mozzarella)

Italian seasoning

pepperoni (I made half with mini pepperonis and half with turkey pepperoni)

shredded Parmesan

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

In a bowl, place quartered biscuits, pizza sauce, about 3/4 of the shredded cheese, and pepperoni (or any other pizza ingredients you might want to include). I did NOT include the pepperoni at this point because I was making half and half with the two types of pepperoni.

Spoon (I just kind of dumped) the mixture into a greased 9 x 13 pan.

That is the point I added the pepperoni, kind of pressing it down into the mixture.

Then I sprinkled it with Italian seasoning. Just because I like that flavoring...

Bake for 25 minutes.

Take out and top with remaining cheese. I also added some shredded Parmesan to the top just because I really love Parmesan...and using my rotary shredder. :)

Return to oven for 5-10 more minutes, until cheese is melted.

Then enjoy!

It did remind me of the pizza snowballs which we love. (I also like that I can "personalize" the ingredients in those more.) But this was a nice quick meal when I don't have time to make snowballs. :) And it works to fix my pizza cravings since we used to eat pizza on average once a week...

More soon.
Reba

Menu and Stuff

I did make a couple new things this week. But the thing is, I won't post the recipe unless I just really like them. And honestly, I didn't. They weren't horrible, but they didn't make my heart go aflutter either. So, nothing new to report. For now anyway.

Instead, I think I am going to plan out the week's menu. And hope that next week fares better in the food department. (I will say that I still like the chicken salad from my last post and have eaten it several times this week, so the week wasn't a total bust.)

Saturday: Breakfast- pumpkin muffins, dinner- Bubble Up Pizza (new recipe)
Sunday: Fall Pork Tenderloin, fingerling potatoes, rolls, and black eye peas. By the way, I looked up the calories for the pork tenderloin and the fingerling potatoes...one of the lower calorie meals I make! That might help since Child 3 and I are making Oreo Truffles for dessert.
Monday: Breakfast for dinner (pancakes, bacon, fruit)
Tuesday: Tacos, salsa, chips, refried beans (Child 4's meal choice for the week)
Wednesday: On Your Own night
Thursday: Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken (new recipe), wild rice, buttered rosemary rolls, veggies and Ranch dip
Friday: Lasagna Rolls (new recipe), garlic bread, salad
Saturday: Eat out (I am guessing)

Well, I have most of the week planned anyway.

And maybe I will have some good recipes to share...

So what is for dinner at your house this next week?
Reba

Chicken Salad

Not long ago, hubby and I had a date at our new local museum (Crystal Bridges). While there, we decided to have lunch because...well, it was lunchtime. There is a neat restaurant in the museum named "Eleven". I am not sure why it has that name. But that is beside the point (as so many of my points are:).

I am still watching my calories since I am recording them in "My Fitness Pal" daily. I knew I was having my "calories don't count" day for V-day when we ate our Chicago deep dish pizza. So that meant I had to be good.

I browsed the menu, unsure of what to do. Most of it looked good but high calorie.

One thing stuck out to me though. Chicken salad. I quickly looked it up on My Fitness Pal and found it to be fairly low calorie.

The funny thing is I didn't eat chicken salad as a child. I didn't eat it as a young adult. I basically didn't eat it until I was about age...40. About a week ago to be exact.

And I loved it.

I wondered, "Why haven't I eaten this before?"

Then of course, my next thought was, "How can I make it at home?"

I always need quick lunches for my school week.

I did a little search on Pinterest and found a couple of recipes. This recipe was my favorite. It reminded me most of what I had at the museum.

And it really is fairly low cal (or can be).

Ingredients:
2 cans (12.5 oz) chicken (You can use 3 cups of shredded cooked chicken but if you don't mind the taste of canned chicken, it is MUCH faster and easier :)

3/4 cup light mayonnaise (I really like the one with olive oil)

1 cup red grapes (the original recipe said to cut the grapes in half...I quartered them instead so they wouldn't be too big)

1 stalk celery diced

1 green onion diced

salt and pepper to taste

a spoonful of nuts. I have been using half a tablespoon of slivered almonds which were made for salad

The original recipe calls for a half a cup of diced apples, but I omitted that part.

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together. Top with the nuts (almonds, pecans, or cashews)

Keep leftovers refrigerated.

The first time I tried this recipe out, I put it on some "flat bread", a new product for me. I wasn't crazy about it.

Today I put it on top of a leaf of lettuce and just ate it with a fork.

I liked that much better! (And it was much lower calorie-wise)

More soon,
Reba

Menu for the Week. I Think.

Sorry I didn't post much last week. Life was a little busy with parent/teacher conferences and Valentine's Day, so I didn't try out a lot of new recipes. I don't know that I will this week either but I should have a recipe or two to share along the way.

Here is my proposed menu for the week. This really holds me accountable and helps me to have a plan...

Saturday (last night): dinner with extended family
Sunday: On Your Own (we ate out for lunch). I did make chicken salad for myself. I will probably share that recipe in a day or two.
Monday: Skillet Pork Chops with white rice, carrots/Ranch, and bread
Tuesday: probably fast food. I don't like doing that often but one of our kiddos has her last volleyball game and we are having an end of the season gathering at a local fast food joint.
Wednesday: On Your Own night
Thursday: Almond Chicken casserole (new recipe, pushed back from last week due to scheduling conflicts)
Friday: Popcorn and shakes (Hubby and the two girls will be at a Daddy/Daughter dance, so it will just be me and the boys)
Saturday: Crockpot tostadas, salsa, chips

I am also going to try a few new things. A gluten free meal (for a friend), some "light" Ranch (a version of it), and a new dessert. I will let you know how it goes.

So what is for dinner at your house?
Reba

Creamy White Chili

I have to admit, I am really self-conscious about food photos now after someone wrote something hurtful about one of my pictures that showed up on Pinterest. (The food was good but it really wasn't a good picture of it) I am just not a professional food photographer. I really am not. My kitchen doesn't have the greatest lighting for taking food photos. And honestly I don't have the time to try to stage it better. So I guess I either can go no pictures or just poorly taken pics.

Like this one.

This pic does NOT do this meal justice.

Last year my mom kept talking about this white chili recipe.

I was even going to make it once but then never did.

Then we went to my parents' house for the Super Bowl, and my mom made this creamy white chili she had talked about.

I calculated the calories and quickly figured out that with all of the other food there, I could only have a very small serving. More like a fourth of a serving.

And it was delicious.

Better than I ever imagined.

I may or may not have licked the bowl afterward.

By the way, the whole "chili" thing in the name really threw me because that is what I had in mind (chili beans), but honestly this is more like a creamy chicken soup with a little pizzazz.

Nothing like chili.

Anyway, tonight I decided I would make it and enjoy every bite. I had eaten very light all day, saving up the calories.

And I did. Enjoy every bite that is.

I had to use a lot of self-control not to finish up the little bit that was left.

I WILL be making this again.

Soon.

Oh, and my family was skeptical when I told them the name (the whole "chili" thing I think) but they enjoyed it too.

So this is the recipe my mom gave to me. I am not totally positive where she got it. :)

Oh, don't let the list of ingredients intimidate you. It really isn't as complex as it looks. More like "a little of this, a little of that..."

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (as usual, I used tenderloins, and mine was just cut into small pieces. No "cubes" for me :)

1 medium onion chopped (I never know what a "medium onion" is...I used a white onion and cut it in half then chopped that half. That was plenty for us)

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp canola oil (I just used my blend I always use)

2 cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained

2 cans chopped green chilies (I only used one...these are the little 4 oz cans)

1 can chicken broth (I do use the 99% fat free)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin (except I was out of cumin...it is now on my Grocery IQ app to get)

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 cup sour cream (we used light)

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:
In a large saucepan, saute the chicken, garlic powder, and chopped onion in the canola oil until the chicken is no longer pink.

Add the beans, broth, chilies, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer on the stove, uncovered for 30 minutes.

If you would rather make this with a crockpot, put the ingredients in the crockpot on high for an hour, then reduce heat to low for several hours. I am guessing you would go ahead and saute first. I didn't make this one in the crockpot this time, so I am not totally sure.

Remove from heat. Add sour cream and heavy whipping cream.

Stir.

Enjoy.

We just ate ours with French baguette on the side.

I really can't explain it but it has this taste.

I really think it is the heavy whipping cream that I like.

Maybe I should go finish off the leftovers...

Reba

The Weekly Menu (Yet Again)

Here is a proposed menu. Always subject to change due to the fact I have parent/teacher conferences AND the weather is a bit uncertain right now. :)

Saturday: Date out with hubby :)
Sunday: Creamy White Chili (recipe to come), French Bread
Monday: Mostaccioli, garlic bread, carrots/Ranch, peanut butter and chocolate fudge for dessert
Tuesday: Chicago Pizza (flown from Giordanos)...Happy V-Day to me. :)
Wednesday: On Your Own Night
Thursday: French Dip (crockpot) and chips
Friday: Cheesy Almond Chicken casserole (new recipe)

What is for dinner at your house this week?

Reba