Chicken and Biscuit Casserole

I spend too much time looking at food blogs. I'll admit I stalk a few. I came across Emily Bites a couple of weeks ago and have already made two of her recipes. Both were really good and she also posts the WW points. I look forward to trying many more of her recipes.

You can't see it in the picture very well but there is a biscuit in the middle of those vegetables. The biscuits did bake up very brown and after 35 minutes the biscuits weren't quite done. I flipped each biscuit over and put it back in the oven for 5 more minutes. That did the trick. This was yummy comfort food without all the fat. I will be making this again.

When I calculated the points this was a point higher a serving than Emily Bites calculation. But I did change a few things in the recipe.

Chicken and Biscuit Casserole
adapted from Emily Bites

6 servings, 7 WW points per serving

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1 can 98% fat free Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can (12.5 oz) chunk chicken, drained
3/4 cup fat free sour cream, divided
1 package (16 oz) frozen mixed vegetables
1 cup Weight Watchers Mexican Shredded Cheese
1 cup Heart Smart Bisquick
3 T skim milk

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees

In a 8X8 pan mix together the cream of chicken soup, chunk chicken, 1/2 cup sour cream, mixed vegetables, and cheese until combined. In a bowl mix together the Bisquick, milk, and remaining 1/4 cup sour cream until dough becomes stiff. Drop 6 even mounds of biscuit dough on top of the chicken mixture. Bake for 35 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown.

Basic Pancakes

I was very proud of myself yesterday for not going straight to the fridge and pounding down leftover pumpkin pie tarts because it was very tempting. I had decided to stop waiting for tomorrow so I said no to the tarts and I opened up my new WW cookbook and made the Basic Pancake recipe out of it. Gold star for me. I stayed within my points all day. I made Will and his brother finish up our Christmas leftovers and I made myself pita pizzas for dinner. I give myself a pat on the back.

Today I packed up those pumpkin pie tarts and mini cheesecakes and took them to work. Yes, I still had access to them but I didn't eat any of them and I left all the other goodies staring at me alone as well. I made healthy choices for day two I ate more than my daily points but I just used some of my weekly points so all is good. My first goal is to have weight off by March 25. I don't really care how much weight off I would just like to steadily lose each week. Will and I are going to Arizona and I would like to be lighter when we fly. If we fly. We may drive if we can't get decent plane tickets. Though I'm not sure if our car would make it or not so flying may be our only option. Or I may have to go alone and I don't really want to have to fly alone because I feel like I'm in someones space sitting on the plane. At least when Will is with me I'm in his space. It isn't fun flying when your heavy. But come hell or high water I'm going because I need my Jessica time and I need to see my Noah boy. I miss living only 10 minutes from each other.

Anyway on to the pancakes. They weren't as fluffy as normal pancakes and that could have been due to me using skim milk. The recipe called for 1% but I only had skim on hand. I'm really not sure how old my baking powder is so that could be part of the problem as well. But other than that they were very tasty. I added vanilla extract which I thought gave the pancakes a very nice flavor.

Basic Pancakes
from WW New Complete Cookbook

6 servings (4 pancakes per serving), 7 WW per serving w/o syrup

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2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 T baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups low fat (1%) milk
1/2 cup fat free egg substitute
1 T vegetable oil
1 T vanilla extract (optional)

In a bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl combine milk, egg substitute, oil, and vanilla if using. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until flour mixture is moistened (batter will be lumpy).

Spray a skillet with cooking spray and set over medium heat. Pour scant 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto skillet. Cook until bubbles appear and edges of pancakes look dry, about 3 minutes. Turn pancakes over and cook until golden brown on second side, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer to platter and keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter, making a total of 24 pancakes.

These reheated well.

Beef Roll Ups

A friend of the family's used to make this recipe. I remembered that it was really good. So I asked my Aunt if she had the recipe and she did. It's very easy. In the picture the roll ups are on the right hand side of the plate. To the left are the mash potatoes covered in gravy with extra stuffing.


Beef Roll Ups

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6 roll ups w/extra stuffing and gravy, 7 WW points per roll ups w/extra stuffing and gravy

6 Steak umms, thawed leave the parchment paper on
1 box stuffing
2 jars beef gravy
mash potatoes

Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees

Prepare the stuffing according to the box directions. In a 8 inch square baking dish pour one jar of gravy. Take a Steak umm leaving it on the parchment paper it came on. Spoon about two tablespoons of the stuffing onto the short end of the Steak umm and roll up. Use the paper to help you roll up the Steak umm. They are fragile. Place the roll up seam side down onto the gravy. Repeat with the remaining Steak umms. You will have stuffing left over. I spooned the rest of the stuffing over the roll ups and then topped with the other jar of gravy. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve with mash potatoes. The potatoes will add extra points.

Mini Cheeseburger Puff Pies

I found these babies on Paula Deen's website. This is her boys recipe. Will and I both liked them. I doubled the recipe because I was making them for dinner and didn't know how big they were going to be. It was something different for dinner. Very tasty.








Mini Cheeseburger Puff Pies
from Paula Deen

4, 4 puffs per serving, 7 WW points per serving

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1 lb. really lean ground beef
4 teaspoons ketchup
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
All purpose flour for dusting
2 sheet puff pastry (from a 17.5 ounce package)
4 ounces reduced fat Mexican shredded cheese
1 large egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the beef, ketchup, mustard, salt, and pepper. Form the mixture into 16 equal-size patties. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Brown the patties in oil about 1 minute per side.

On a lightly floured surface, unfold the pastry. Cut the pastry lengthwise into four equal strips, then cut strips in half crosswise. Place one patty on each strip and top with cheese. Fold the pastry up around the burgers and pinch the edges together to seal, molding to fit around the patties. Repeat with the other pastry and other burgers. Brush the tops of the pastries with the egg mixture.

Place the mini burgers on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until puffed and golden. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Chicken Shish Kabob

Shish Kabob is so good especially on the grill. My cousin Kim makes amazing shish kabob. While mine was great I think hers might be better. I'm so happy grilling season is under way. I think everything tastes better on the grill.

Chicken Shish Kabob
a Lacey creation

Each chicken breast with marinade and veggies was 7 WW points. Points can vary depending on the size of the breast.

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2 chicken breasts
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lime, juiced
1 tablespoon Roasted Garlic Seasoning, or any seasoning you want
Green Pepper, cut into chunks
Purple Onion, cut into chunks
Mushrooms would have been great if I would have remembered them or any other veggie that will hold up to the grill
Wooden Skewers, soaked in water for 15 to 30 minutes

The night before place the chicken breasts into a zip lock bag with the olive oil, lime juice, and seasoning. Mush around to get the seasoning all over the chicken.

Remove chicken from the marinade and discard remaining marinade. Cut up each chicken breast into medium size chunks. For Will's kabob I just did meat. I was able to fit his whole cut up chicken breast onto one skewer. He's not into veggies. For my kabobs I alternated chicken, green pepper, and onion. I was able to make two skewers with my chicken breast and veggies. I made a separate kabob with just veggies. Cook on the grill until the chicken is cooked through.


I made an easy side. I took a can of new potatoes and drained off the water. I took a can of corn and drained off the water. I took two pieces of foil and divided the potatoes and corn between the two foil pieces. I liberally sprayed them with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray or you can use real butter and sprinkled with garlic salt. I wrapped the foil packets up and threw them on the grill to cook while the kabobs did. Very good!

Breakfast Sandwiches

I love breakfast sandwiches. They are so easy to make at home and cheaper than buying them out. I discovered cooking the eggs in a ramekin in the microwave saves a lot of time.

Ham, Egg, and Cheese Bagels
7 WW points per sandwich

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1 Thomas's Plain Bagel Thins 110 calorie
1-2 tablespoons shredded Mexican cheese
3 slices thin sliced deli ham, I like Prima Della's Black Forest Ham
3 egg whites

Toast the bagel. Using a ramekin spray with cooking spray and add the 3 egg whites and cheese. Microwave in 1 minute intervals until egg has set. Egg should slide right out of ramekin. Put the bagel on a plate and place egg and ham on one half. Place other half on top. I like to put some strawberry jelly on it. You can also heat up the ham but I choose not to.















I made this sandwich for my hubby. So I used whole eggs and a slice of cheese and that makes the points higher.


Ham, Egg, and Cheese Muffin
10 WW points per sandwich

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1 Thomas's Triple Health English Muffins
1 slice cheese
3 thin slices of deli ham, I like Prima Della's Black Forest Ham
2 whole eggs, scrambled

Toast the English Muffin. Using a ramekin spray with cooking spray and pour in eggs. Microwave in 1 minute intervals until set. On a plate place the muffin. On one half place the eggs, cheese, and ham. Place the other half on top. I also like to put strawberry jelly on it.

Pumpkin Waffles

I got a waffle maker for Christmas. I already had a waffle maker but I like the round ones better than the square. I know I'm weird. This maker rotates too which I think is awesome. But I learned the hard way that the outside gets as hot as the inside when I brushed my arm against it and got burned. It hurt, lesson learned.

I decided to get creative today and make pumpkin waffles. I really liked the end product. My hubby thought they had to much pumpkin. Sometimes I'm sure he would like me to be less creative.


Pumpkin Waffles
7 WW points per waffle

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2 cups baking mix or Bisquick
1 1/3 cups milk
2 tablespoons oil
1 egg
1/2 cup pumpkin
sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon
dash of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon

In a bowl mix together the baking mix, milk, oil, egg, pumpkin, and spices. Pre-heat the waffle maker. Mine lights up when it is ready. Lightly grease the griddles with butter or cooking spray. Pour in 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the batter. I used more towards a 3/4 cup. Cook according to your waffle maker directions. I was able to make 5 waffles.

Using low fat Bisquick would probably lower the points.

This is what the batter looks like.













Yummy waffles.