Chocolate Whipped Cream Cake

This my friends is Weight Watcher Friendly. And it's sooooooooooo good!!!! It tastes like a devil dog. My hubby even loved it. When I did my first turn at doing WW a few years ago I was told about making a cake with egg whites and diet pop. If you made cupcakes it was 1 point per cupcake. Now with the new points system it is 2 points per cupcake but that's not bad. Basically you take a box mix and mix it with three egg whites and a can of diet pop. Use light pop for light cakes and dark pop for dark cakes. I was going to make cupcakes but my pans were at the library. So I made a whole cake instead. Next time I will make cupcakes just because I can.

This is the cake frosted with fat free cool whip. It looks good like this but I can make it better.













That's what I'm talking about. Heated up chocolate frosting poured over it. Mmmm!!!

You hardly can tell it's WW.











Chocolate Whipped Cream Cake
a Lacey Original

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12 slices, 6 WW points per slice
If you make 24 cupcakes it would be 3 WW points a cupcake


Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

1 devil's food cake mix
3 egg whites
1 can diet coke or some other diet dark pop
1 container fat free cool whip, thawed
1/2 can chocolate frosting

In a bowl mix together the cake mix, eggs, and diet pop with a whisk or mixer. Split the batter between two greased 9 inch round cake pans. Or if making cupcakes split batter between 24 cupcake liners. Bake according to the package directions. Let cool.

Take the cakes out of the pans. Place one cake face first on a cake plate. Spread 1/4 of the cool whip over the cake. Place the second cake bottom down on top of the cool whip. Spread the remaining cool whip over the rest of the cake. In a bowl heat up the chocolate frosting for about 20 to 30 seconds. Heat just long enough to make it pourable. Let cool a minute and pour the frosting over the cake. Cut into 12 slices and enjoy. Refrigerate the leftovers.

If making cupcakes frost each with the cool whip and pour the chocolate frosting over each cupcake.

Chocolate Iced Graham Crackers

Lately everything is reminding me of my mom. Many of the memories are happy but many are sad. My hubby and I went to a spaghetti dinner last Saturday and we had to drive the exact route I used to take to see my mom in the nursing home. Driving somewhere shouldn't be so sad. Now I have been fighting off depression since then. When I'm depressed I like to eat, which isn't helpful when you are trying to lose weight. I need to figure out a better way to deal with my grief than stuffing my face with food. It makes me feel better for a few hours and then I'm more depressed because I ate things I shouldn't. It's a vicious cycle.

One thing I made last week that my mom loved was chocolate icing sandwiched between two graham crackers and dipped in milk. Vanilla or cream cheese icing is good to. She wasn't picky. My grandma used to make this for my mom and her siblings as a treat. My mom said that graham crackers were fairly cheap and the icing was made from mixing powdered sugar and milk together. To make chocolate icing you would add cocoa powder. A cheap yet delicious treat. So when I was little my mom used to make this for us but would use canned icing since it was convenient and inexpensive. If you spread some marshmallow fluff on it as well I won't tell anybody. Sometimes the simple pleasures in life are the tastiest.

Mexican Beef Stew

I got this really yummy recipe from my friend and co-worker Laurie. Thank you Laurie because I really enjoyed this stew. Unfortunately my hubby thought it was to spicy. I didn't think it was spicy at all so I'm a little confused by that but I did eat it with cheese, sour cream and crackers. If it was spicy maybe all my extras cooled it off. But even if it had been spicy I still would have loved it. This recipe is so easy and cooks in your crock pot which I love. Crock pots are your friends. At least I think so anyway.




Laurie's Mexican Beef Stew

8 one cup servings, 4 WW points per serving

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1-2 cups cubed leftover beef or pork
1 (14 oz) can pinto beans rinsed and drained, I used kidney beans
1 (14 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 little can mild chopped green chiles
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
1 cup chunky salsa
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin

I added a can of diced tomatoes.

Put all in your crock pot, stir to blend. Cook on low 4 to 8 hours. Serve with crackers, crushed tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream if desired.

Mama's Beef Stroganoff

When I think of beef stroganoff I think of my mom. She always made the best. Whenever she made roast I knew we would be having stroganoff with the leftovers and I always looked forward to it. Mom cooked roasts in her crock pot. She had an older crock pot that was rectangle and sat on a hot plate. It had a metal rack to put in it to keep the meat from touching the bottom. I think I still have that crock pot in one of my cabinets even though it's been retired for some time now. On roast day she would put the roast in the crock pot with a package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix and enough water to half cover the roast. That would cook all day and in the last few hours of cooking she would add peeled potatoes and carrots. We would eat roast with potatoes and carrots for a few days and then she would make stroganoff with the leftovers. She would take the crock pot out of the fridge and scrap off the hardened grease. She would then cut up the meat into smaller pieces and add more water if needed with beef bouillon cubes. Then she would put the crock pot right on the stove to heat up. She would bring it to a boil and then add a package of egg noodles. Once the egg noodles were cooked she would add a container of sour cream and that was that. It was always wonderful. Just saucy enough without being soupy and so flavorful. When I started making it, it just never tasted the same to me. Some things just taste better made by someone you love. I would either make it too dry or too soupy. But over the years I have gotten better but I miss the way mom would make it. I also have found over the years that I prefer making it with broken up spaghetti noodles but my hubby prefers the egg noodles. We are at a stand off. I usually make it the way I like it since I am the one cooking it. I don't make stroganoff very often because it's not really WW friendly. I suppose you could try making it lighter using fat free sour cream and wheat egg or spaghetti noodles but then it wouldn't be like mama's and I like the way mama made it. So I indulge from time to time. I know mama would approve.

Mama's Beef Stroganoff

from my mama

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1-2 cups leftover roast cut up

6 to 8 cups liquid, you can use the juice from the roast and if that's not enough add water with beef bouillon for flavor

1 package egg noodles or package of broken up spaghetti

1 16oz container sour cream, light works really well and if you like fat free have at it but I don't

In a dutch oven or stock pot bring the roast and liquid to a boil. Add the noodles and cook according to the package directions or to the doneness you like. I have learned over the years that if a lot of liquid is left after cooking the noodles don't be afraid to drain some of the liquid off. To much liquid makes it to runny. Runny stroganoff is bad, unless you want it as a soup. I like it thicker. Add the sour cream and heat until heated through and slightly thickened. About 5 minutes.

Disclaimer: I thought adding mushrooms would be a good thing and it really wasn't. I love mushrooms but it didn't add anything to this dish. I guess you shouldn't mess with mama's recipe.

Chocolate Cheesecake Covered Strawberries

I'm not sure I can describe how decadent and scrumptious these not so little babies are. You take a sweet strawberry wrap it in rich cheesecake and dip in milk chocolate goodness. Am I making you drool yet? I have been toying around with this concept for awhile. Strawberries are great dipped in chocolate so why not kick it up a notch and put cheesecake in the mix as well. Oh my my my were these great for Valentines day. My co-workers loved them and so did I. These beauties are fairly simple to make they just take about four steps.

1. Make the cheesecake.
2. Cover the strawberries in cheesecake.
3. Freeze the cheesecake covered strawberries.
4. Dip them in chocolate.

Not to difficult you just have to give yourself enough time. I recommend making the cheesecake the night before and doing the rest the next day.


Chocolate Cheesecake Covered Strawberries
a Lacey original

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For the cheesecake:

2 sleeves cinnamon graham crackers, finely crushed
1/2 stick of butter, melted
4 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
3 Tbsp. Flour
1 Tbsp. Vanilla
4 eggs

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix together the crushed graham crackers and the butter until moistened. Press into a 9X13 pan. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Beat the cream cheese and sugar until blended. Add the sour cream, vanilla, and flour; mix well. Add eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Pour over the graham cracker crust.

Bake for 45 minutes or until center is almost set. Let cool. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

This cheesecake recipe is my favorite. I found it on Kraftfoods.com a couple of years ago. It calls for you to bake it in a 9X 13 pan but I have used a springform pan and it always comes out beautifully.

How to cover the strawberries:

2 containers of strawberries, washed and dried

Take the cheesecake and put it in a bowl. Crumble it up. Using clean hands take some of the cheesecake and start molding it around the strawberry. Keep doing that until the strawberry is covered 3/4 of the way up. You want some of the strawberry to show and you don't want to cover the leaves. Repeat until all the strawberries are covered. Place them on a baking sheet covered with wax paper or a silicone mat and put them in the freezer for about an hour.

How to dip the strawberries:

2 packages milk chocolate chips
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Place one package of the chips and one Tbsp. oil in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals, mixing after each interval until chocolate is melted and smooth. Take the strawberries out of the freezer. Dip each strawberry in chocolate. It's okay to leave a little of the cheesecake showing at the top. Place back on pan. Repeat until half of the strawberries are covered. Place back in freezer and melt the remaining chips and oil using a different bowl if necessary. Dip the rest of the strawberries. Store in the refrigerator.

The Best Chicken Tortilla Soup I Have Ever Made

Okay, okay I realize the title is really long and yes I just posted a chicken tortilla soup recipe last month but I can't keep quiet about, The Best Chicken Tortilla Soup I Have Ever Made. I loved it this much! Just envision me with my arms spread wide open. You can't, well it doesn't matter I think you get my point. I have been craving this soup lately and before you ask no I'm not pregnant. I'm just having a craving so I indulged myself and this soup doesn't cost me a lot of WW points. This recipe isn't to different than what I posted last month but I modified it some and it turned out so good. This will be how I make chicken tortilla soup from this day forward. Did I mention how easy it is since you cook everything in your crock pot? I didn't, shame on me. So easy and so yummy. I think the only thing missing is a little heat but if you don't like any level of spicy than this is for you. My hubby and his boys even liked it.



The Best Chicken Tortilla Soup I Have Every Made
12 to 15 one cup servings, 2 WW points per serving w/o extra tortilla chips or cheese

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2 frozen chicken breasts
2 containers chicken broth
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, cut into big pieces
1 Tb. minced garlic
1/2 cup cilantro
1 ts. sugar
2-3 carrots
2-3 stalks of celery
11 tortilla chips crushed

Slice up the carrots and celery into medium size pieces, set aside. In a food processor or blender, blend together the tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, and sugar until almost smooth. You want to leave it a little chunky. Place the carrots, celery, tomato mixture, chicken breasts, and chicken broth into a large crock pot. Cook on low for 4 hours or until chicken is cooked through. Mine cooked for about 8 hours while I was at work. Take out the chicken and chop it up or shred it. Put the chicken back in the crock pot and add crushed chips. Cook for another 1/2 hour. Serve with more tortillas chips and shredded cheese. I think the cheese is a must but that could just be me. If you want your soup spicy blend as many chipotle peppers that you want to the tomato mixture. I think I would add one chipotle pepper without the seeds to this soup next time. With a little heat I think this would be the perfect chicken tortilla soup.

Chicken Parm Soup

I was looking up something the other day and came across a food blog called The Food in My Beard. I was like hmmm, what's this all about? I found out it is a really awesome blog done by gasp a man with a beard. Most of the blogs I stalk are done by women so finding one by a man is a welcome change. And he has a beard which I love. I'm definitely a beard loving woman. Just look at my handsome beard wearing husband. I told him the day he shaves off his beard I'll know he wants a divorce. If the beard goes, he goes. I kid I kid, not really. His beard just does it for me.

On this blog I found a soup called Chicken Parm. It looked really good and sounded easy enough. It was really good and was really easy since I cooked it in my beloved crock pot. I had to modify the recipe due to I didn't have everything I needed. That seems to happen to me a lot. Every week before I go grocery shopping I decide what recipes I would like to try. I check to see what I have and write down what I need. I forgot to buy diced tomatoes. I thought I had some at home but I'm out. I solved that dilemma by using a jar of marinara sauce. I think it worked out pretty well but since I haven't made it true to his recipe before I'm not sure how it compares.

Chicken Parm Soup
adapted from The Food in My Beard

15 one cup servings, 3 WW Points per serving

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2 containers of chicken broth
2 frozen chicken breasts
1 jar marinara sauce
1 cup uncooked orzo
shredded Parmesan, for serving

In your crock pot pour in the broth and marinara sauce. Add the chicken breasts and cook on low for 4 hours. Take the chicken breasts out and chop them up. Place back in crock pot. Add one cup of uncooked orzo and cook for another 1/2 hour to an hour or until pasta is cooked. Serve with Parmesan cheese and cheese croutons, recipe below.


Cheese Croutons

6 servings, 3 WW Points per serving

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1 french baguette, cut into 32 slices
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Place cut bread on a baking sheet. Sprinkle each slice with cheese. Bake for about 10 minutes or until cheese has melted.

If the bread is hard, like mine was, before baking that's fine because you will be putting them in the soup. I think this would be really good made into cheese garlic croutons as well.

Mongolian Beef

This was oh so good! Definitely a keeper. Hubby even loved it said it tasted better than at a Chinese restaurant. High praise coming from him. This is a quick easy meal ready in less than a half hour on those busy weeknights. Enjoy!

Mongolian Beef
as seen on Tried and True Cooking with Heidi

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4 servings, 8 WW points per serving w/o rice
Brown rice 5 WW points per cup

1 lb top round steak or flank steak, cut thinly on the cross grain (I used pre-sliced stir fry meat)
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp grated or minced fresh garlic
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
3 green onions, sliced into 2-3" pieces

Dry off meat with a paper towel and slice into 1/4" thick slices against the grain. Or use the pre-sliced stir fry beef like I did. Add to a bowl with the cornstarch and coat thoroughly.

Add 1 1/2 tsp oil to a wok or large frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger, stir until fragrant. Add soy sauce, water, rice vinegar, and brown sugar. Cook for about 2 minutes and remove from pan.

Add remaining 1 1/2 tsp oil to the pan over high heat. Add the meat and cook until brown on all sides and slightly crispy. Pour sauce back into pan over meat. Add green onions, stir and remove from heat. Serve over rice and steamed veggies.

Mint Oreos and Peanut Butter Oreos

Superbowl has been the hot topic lately on the food blogs I read. If you are a fan of football you are probably watching the game right now. I'm not a fan of most sports and neither is my hubby so we have been watching CSI: Miami on DVD. Will wanted cookies so I made him homemade Oreos, which he loves, with a twist. Mint Oreos and Peanut Butter Oreos. I think they both turned out really good.

I apologize in advanced because when I cook I have a tendency to just throw in ingredients without measuring. That makes it hard for me to give measurements when I put recipes on here. The peanut butter frosting I made is a testament to that. I didn't measure anything but I'll try to put it in measurements.

Homemade Oreo Recipe

2 boxes of devils food cake
4 eggs
2/3 cup oil

Directions:

Pre-heat oven 350 degrees.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat. In a mixing bowl combine the cake mix, eggs, and oil with a mixer. I use my Kitchenaide. The batter will be stiff. Split the batter in half.


For the mint Oreos add 1/4 cup of Andes baking mints to the batter.

Pinch off pieces of the dough and roll into balls. If you have a small cookie scoop you can use that. Place 1 inch apart and flatten slightly with your fingertips. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack or plate.

For the filling use the icing recipe here and add 1/2 teaspoon mint extract or more depending on how minty you want it but start slow. A little goes a long way.

Frost the cookies. Store in a sealed container in the fridge.


Pinch off pieces of the dough and roll into balls. If you have a small cookie scoop you can use that. Place 1 inch apart and flatten slightly with your fingertips. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack or plate.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 stick of butter, softened

1/2 cup peanut butter

About 2 cups powdered sugar, I didn't measure I just started adding powdered sugar into the mixer until I got the consistency I wanted which was like a paste then I added about 2 tablespoons milk to thin it out a little.

Mix together the butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, mix until combined. Add milk until you get the consistency you want.

Frost the cookies. Store in a sealed container in the fridge.

Chicken Rice Wraps

This is a freezer recipe that is really yummy and so easy to make. Great for lunches.

Chicken Rice Wraps
adapted from It's All Happening

6 WW Points per wrap

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2 cups dry rice, cooked as directed on package
1 lb. chicken, cooked and shredded
2 cups medium salsa
1 pkg. Taco seasoning mix
1 cup of shredded cheese
2 packages Azteca regular size flour tortillas or 8 large flour tortillas (points may differ)

I cooked the chicken in a crock pot with chicken broth for about four hours on low. Shred chicken. In a large bowl, combine chicken, salsa, seasonings, cooked rice and cheese.
Spoon mixture into center of tortillas and wrap. I only had a package of 10 smaller flour tortillas so I had about a cup and half of mixture left over. The original recipe calls for 8 large flour tortillas so if you want to use regular size buy two packages.

To FREEZE: Simply wrap each folded tortilla in tin foil and place in 1 gallon freezer bag. To reheat, unwrap and microwave for about 2 minutes, flipping once.

Chicken Fiesta Bake

When I was making my freezer meals last year one recipe I made was called Chicken Rice Wraps. I really enjoyed them and ate them for lunch until they were gone. I don't even think my hubby got any I liked them that much. I've been having a craving for them and decided to make something that was similar. What's nice is that you could add anything you wanted to and I think it would taste great. I think this would be great as a dip if you added cream cheese to it.



Chicken Fiesta Bake
5 one cup servings, 8 WW point per serving

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2 chicken breasts cooked and cut up
2 cups cooked brown rice
1/2 package taco seasoning
2 cups salsa
1 jar white queso dip

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

In a bowl mix together all the ingredients but the cheese. Place mixture into a greased 9X13 pan. Spread the cheese over the mixture. Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve with Doritos or tortillas and sour cream if desired.

Crazy Crust Pizza

I wanted to try my hand at making homemade pizza dough, but I was out of yeast. I looked online for a recipe that didn't include yeast and found a recipe on Allrecipes.com called crazy crust pizza dough. It was intriguing because it said it was like a batter instead of a firm piece of dough.

It was good but not worth the points. I ended up having to double the crust recipe because it didn't cover the whole pan I was using. It ends up being a thin crust but didn't get crispy. I think it would have been better crispier. Hubby said it was all right so that means you don't have to make this again. I would probably make this again if it didn't cost me 22 points to eat my half of the pizza. I just happened to have a lot of points left today but normally I don't so like I said it's not worth it.

Crazy Crust Pizza
adapted from Allrecipes

1/2 pizza equals 22 WW Points w/o pepperoni

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2 cups flour
2 eggs
1/2 ts. Italian seasoning
1/2 ts. garlic powder
pepper
1 1/3 cup milk
Pepperoni slices
1 small can mushrooms
1/2 cup pizza sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

Lightly grease a rimmed pizza pan or baking sheet. I suggest greasing it really good because mine stuck around the edges.

Mix together the flour, eggs, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, pepper, and milk. The original recipe said to pour batter into the pan and tilt to evenly coat. Mine wasn't thin enough to tilt to cover, I had to spread it with a spoon. The original recipe also said to put the ingredients on the batter and bake for 20-25 minutes. I baked the crust for 10 minutes before adding the toppings, sauce, and mozzarella. I put the mushrooms on one side of the pizza and the other half with pepperoni. Then I spooned on the sauce and topped with the cheese. Bake for 15 minutes more or until the cheese is melted.

Banana Sour Cream Cake

Okay so you are probably wondering what is that white thing. This white thing is a banana sour cream cake. I tried a slice but didn't get a picture of it. I love banana's and any dessert that features banana's. Banana bread, banana nut muffins, banana cake, pie, I think you get my point. But I think banana cake is my favorite. This cake only has five ingredients if you don't count the frosting. Next time I will up how many banana's I use. The recipe calls for 1 cup and two banana's made one cup but I think it needs three banana's. I'll also put the walnuts it calls for around the sides of the cake next time because I think that would make this cake over the top.

Banana Sour Cream Cake
adapted from Food & Family's Winter 2008 magazine

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1 pkg. yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup oil
2 cans cream cheese frosting or *1 recipe homemade cream cheese frosting
1 cup walnuts finely chopped

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Beat cake mix, eggs, bananas, sour cream, and oil with mixer on low until moistened, scraping the bottom of the bowl often. Pour batter into greased and floured 9X13 pan. Bake 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake completely in pan. Remove cake from pan. Carefully cut cake crosswise in half using serrated knife. Place one cake half, top-side down, on plate. Spread top with frosting. Top with remaining cake half, top side up. Frost top and sides. Press nuts onto sides.

Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
1 pkg. (16 oz.) powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter with mixer on medium until blended. Gradually add sugar, beating well after each addition.

Mini Reese's Cheesecakes

I checked out a cookbook from the library by Pillsbury called Easy As Pie. The one recipe I flipped to right away was called Candy Bar Pie and oh did it look good. I had most of the ingredients I needed except the candy bars and with the big storm that hit running to the grocery store was out of the question. So I improvised. And I made them mini. I really like the hold in your hand small bite desserts. I can have one or two without feeling totally guilty.

These have a mild peanut butter flavor and I really liked the crust. The crust needed to be thinned out a bit but other than that I thought they were tasty. I want to make this using the Snickers candy bars instead because I think they would be really good.

Mini Reese's Cheesecakes
adapted from Pillsbury's Easy As Pie Cookbook

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1 package of 2 refrigerated pie crusts
2 8 0z. packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 creamy peanut butter
12 mini Reese's cups, the new ones sold in a bag
1/4 cup Reese's peanut butter chips

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees

Spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray.

Lightly flour your work surface and place the pie crusts on top. Using a rolling pin thin out each pie crust. I left my rolling pin at the library so I used a cup but it didn't work so well and my crusts were a little to thick. Using a round cookie cutter cut out as many rounds as you can. Re-roll the scraps and cut some more until you have 24. Shape the rounds into the mini muffin pans. Place a mini peanut butter cup in 12 of the holes and in the other 12 place a few of the peanut butter chips. You can use all peanut butter cups but I wanted to make some without chocolate.

In a mixing bowl cream together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add each egg one at at time until well blended. Add sour cream and peanut butter beating until mixture is smooth. Using a small scoop or spoon fill each muffin cup with the batter.

Bake for 20 minutes.


I had left over batter so I took two ramekins and sprayed them with cooking spray. I filled each 1/2 full with the batter. I added some peanut butter cups and filled them up the rest of the way with the rest of the batter. I baked them for 30 minutes.

Cheese Tortellini Soup

Oh the weather outside is frightful but the fire is so delightful and since there's no place to go let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. I'm fine with it snowing since the library was closed today and I didn't have to get out. We couldn't even get out our front door this morning the snow had drifted so high against the screen door. Will tried going out the back door and it was iced up so he had to take out the window and screen so he could climb out that way. I'm pretty sure it's still snowing. UPS even closed last night the weather was so bad. Lake County declared a state of emergency and we were told to only go out if it was an emergency. To stay inside and off the roads. Fine by me. I'm rather cozy sitting here in my bed watching CSI Miami. What's a girl to do when it's cold and snowy out? Make soup of course.

I found this recipe on the Tasty Kitchen site. It looked really good and seemed really easy to make. Both were true. The cheese tortellini is the star. Very delicious. My hubby gave me a gold star so that means he really liked it. Most of the time I only get a "It was good." It is also low in points which I love. If you get a cupful of tortellini without the broth it won't be low in points so make sure the tortellini gets distributed when you serve it.

Cheese Tortellini Soup
adapted from The Well-Fed Newlyweds at Tasty Kitchen

14 one cup servings, 3 WW points per serving

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1 TB. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 TB. minced garlic
15 ounce can of crushed tomatoes with basil
1/2 ts. oregano
salt and pepper
10 cups chicken broth
3 cups cheese tortellini, fresh or frozen, I used fresh
3 cups fresh spinach chopped
Parmesan cheese, to serve

In a stock pot heat up oil and cook onion and garlic until soft. Add the tomatoes, oregano, chicken broth, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook according to package directions, 7-9 minutes. During the last minute of cooking add the spinach. Remove from heat immediately when tortellini is done cooking so it won't overcook. Serve the soup with Parmesan cheese. I made garlic breadsticks to go with.