Szechuan Chicken

I really enjoy Asian food. Heck, I really enjoy most food period. I found this recipe on a food blog I enjoy, Life as a Lofthouse. She recommends using Yoshidas Original Gourmet Marinade Sauce but I couldn't find any at Walmart so I used La Choys original stir fry sauce. Next time I would like to try the other sauce if I can find it and I would recommend doubling the amount that you use. The sauce really gives this dish it's flavor. It was good but could have been better with more sauce.


Szechaun Chicken
adapted from Life as a Lofthouse

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10 one cup servings, 4 WW points per serving

2 chicken breasts, cut up into 1 inch pieces
1 cup La Choy original stir fry sauce
1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 package frozen broccoli
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 lb spaghetti
olive oil

Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions. When it is almost cooked add the frozen broccoli to cook. Once cooked drain the pasta and broccoli.

Coat a skillet with olive oil. Saute the green pepper and onion until soft. When done remove from pan and set aside. In the same skillet cook the chicken until no longer pink. Once cooked through add the green peppers and onion, garlic, and sauce. Turn the heat down and let simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or until sauce is heated through. Add the sauce mixture to the pasta mixture and serve.

Cheater Biscuits and Gravy

When I say cheater I don't mean fattening because these are WW friendly. I say cheater because they are insanely easy to make. I'm not sure it can get any easier unless you used canned biscuits. I bought the Heart Smart Bisquick because it is low fat and better for you. The gravy is from a mix. I wasn't all that crazy about the McCormick mix because it was really peppery but if you like that then this mix is for you. I really like the country gravy mix from Wonder Bread Bakery. It's really good it's about the same amount of points. I love biscuits and gravy. It is my favorite thing to eat out for breakfast but as I'm sure you know country gravy is fattening and so are really good biscuits. This allows me to have my favorite without all the points.






Biscuits and Gravy

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2 WW points per biscuit, yielded 17 biscuits
1 WW point 1/4 cup gravy

3 cups Bisquick
1 cup water
1 package country gravy mix

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees

In a bowl mix together the Bisquick and water. Lightly dust your work surface with Bisquick and knead the dough 10 times. Roll out to 1/2 inch thick and cut with a round cookie cutter. Place on ungreased baking pan and bake for 11-14 minutes.

For the gravy follow the instructions on the package. Serve over the biscuits. Enjoy!

Crock Pot Asian Beef and Veggies

I made this last year for the first time and I loved it. Not only is it easy but it's pretty healthy to. When I made it this time I didn't have everything so I improvised, which I seem to have to do a lot. I substituted La Chow Original Stir Fry Sauce for soy sauce and I only had 1 pound of meat. The WW points are for these substitutions. I would imagine it would be a little higher if you used 2 pounds of beef.




Crock Pot Asian Beef and Veggies
adapted from Bluestar on The Tasty Kitchen

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8 one cup servings, 4 WW points per serving
Brown rice is 5 WW points per cup

1/2 cup water
1 cup soy sauce or La Choy Original sauce
2 pounds beef stew meat or 1 pound beef stir fry meat
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 cups packed brown sugar
6 cups chopped veggies of choice, make sure whatever you use can hold up to cooking in the crock pot for several hours. I used fresh stir fry veggies, fresh green beans, green peppers, and onions.

When I went to make this I discovered I was out of soy sauce so I used the La Choy and I think it turned out pretty good. I only had a pound of meat. If your not a huge fan of veggies like my hubby make sure you have two pounds of beef. It was fine for me but Will would have liked more meat.

In the crock pot place the meat, water, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and brown sugar. You want the meat covered so it will get tender. Place the veggies on top of the meat mixture. Cook on low for 6 hours. Serve with rice.

Very yummy dinner and the crock pot does all the work. You can't beat that.

Chinese Takeout Cupcakes

Part of my job duties as a librarian is to create programs for the community to come and enjoy. Most of my programs revolve around food. You're shocked I'm sure. I'm not a children's librarian anymore and I miss doing kids programs so I do a lot of family programs. Family programs are nice because it involves the whole family and I think that the the parents enjoy it as much as the kids. In February I started a four week Hello Cupcake series. If you are familiar with Hello Cupcake then you know how darn cute the cupcakes are that Karen Tack has created for her books. I picked out four creations that gradually get more difficult. The first week were the Sweet Talk cupcakes. I didn't get any pictures. The second week were these Chinese Takeout cupcakes. Unfortunately for me no one came to make these. I ended up making them myself since I had everything ready. On the left side of the picture above is Fried Rice and to the right is Pork Lo Mein. Once you get everything cut up and ready to go these are really easy and fun to put together. I really think the kids would have enjoyed this.

Pork Lo Mein Cupcakes
from Karen Tack's Hello Cupcake books

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12 vanilla cupcakes
12-14 green fruit chews (Jolly Rancher or Tootsie Roll)
3 pink fruit chews (Jolly Rancher, Laffy Taffy, or Starburst)
1 can vanilla frosting
green and yellow food coloring
1 teaspoon cocoa powder (Hershey's)
1/2 cup dark green sprinkles
1 strand green licorice twist (Twizzler's Rainbow Twists), thinly sliced diagonally

1. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. For the broccoli stems, make a lengthwise slit halfway down the center of each green fruit chew and open slightly. I used Laffy Taffy because I couldn't find Tootsie Rolls or Jolly Rancher but I think it would be cuter with Tootsie Rolls. Cut the pink Laffy Taffy into strips for the pork.

2. Tint 1/2 cup of the vanilla frosting bright green with the green food coloring, spoon the frosting into a ziplock bag, press out the excess air, and seal. Tint the remaining vanilla frosting light brown with 1 drop yellow food coloring and the cocoa powder. Put the frosting in a ziplock bag, press out the excess air and seal.

3. Place the green sprinkles in a small bowl. Snip a mall corner from the bag with the green frosting. For the broccoli florets, pipe mounds of frosting on the tips of the split ends of the green fruit chews on the cookie sheet. Holding the broccoli by the stem, press the frosted end lightly into the sprinkles to cover completely; return to the cookie sheet.

4. Snip a small corner from the bag with the brown frosting. To make the lo mein noodles, pipe the frosting in an irregular pattern all over the cupcakes, piling it high and letting it hang over edges. Arrange the pink fruit chew pork slivers randomly on top of the cupcakes. Add one or two pieces of broccoli on top. For scallions, scatter a few green licorice slices on top of the cupcakes.

Fried Rice Cupcakes

12 vanilla cupcakes baked in white paper liners
2 tablespoons small light green jelly beans (Jelly Belly)
4 orange fruit chews (Starburst)
3 yellow fruit chews (Starburst or Laffy Taffy)
1 1/4 cups puffed rice cereal (Rice Krispies)
1 can vanilla frosting
1/4 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 strands green licorice twists (Twizzlers Rainbow Twists), thinly sliced diagonally


1. For the peas, cut the green jelly beans half crosswise with a small knife or clean scissors. For the carrots, cut the orange fruit chews into 1/4 inch cubes. For the scrambled egg, cut the yellow fruit chews into small strips and pinch to soften the sharp edges. For the rice, place the rice cereal in a medium bowl.

2. Tint the vanilla frosting pale beige with the cocoa powder. Spread the tops of the cupcakes with a thin layer of frosting; use about 1/2 cup of the frosting. Heat the remaining 3/4 cup frosting in a small microwavable bowl in the microwave until it has the texture of lightly whipped cream, about 15 seconds. Pour the heated frosting over the cereal, tossing to coat evenly. Reserve a few of the cut jelly beans and fruit chews for finishing and toss the rest with the cereal mixture. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the cereal mixture on top of each frosted cupcake, pressing down to secure. Arrange the reserved candy pieces on top of the cupcakes. For the scallions, scatter a few licorice pieces on top.

Vanilla Caramel Fudge

I was naughty. I made a great WW cake and then had to make fudge. I gave most of it away. That's good right? My favorite fudge is vanilla caramel that has pecans in it. I didn't have any pecans or they would have been in this fudge. And it would have been even better. It was pretty good without.




Vanilla Caramel Fudge
a Lacey Original

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1 package caramel bits or squares
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 package white chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

In a heavy bottom sauce pan melt the caramel bits and heavy cream together until smooth. Pour the caramel into a greased round pie plate or 8X8 square pan. Put in the fridge to cool.

To make the fudge you want to do a double boiler. Heat water in a stock pot until barely simmering. Put the chocolate chips, condensed milk, and butter into a heat proof bowl. Place the bowl over the stock pot. Stir the mixture to help it melt together. Once all melted and incorporated pour over the caramel. Place in the fridge to chill.

I had no problem getting the fudge out of the pan because it slid right out in one piece but I had a hard time cutting it. I had to let it warm up a little and then cut it with kitchen scissors.