Mint Chocolate - Or Chocolate - Cheesecake

I made this for my work party a couple of weeks ago & it was a HIT!! :) (In fact it was gone before I could have a piece.....)

Ingredients:

3 Packages (8 oz.) of Reduced Fat Cream Cheese

1/2 c. Sugar

1 Container (8 oz.) of Reduced-Fat Whipped Topping (Thawed)

1 1/2 c. Chopped 3 Musketeers or 3 Musketeers Mint

Graham Cracker Pie Crust (You can either make or buy)

Directions:

Beat cream cheese & sugar together until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Fold in whipped topping & 3 musketeers into the cream cheese mixture.

Spoon mixture over Graham Cracker Pie Crust (You can make your own or buy it.) Refrigerate until set (About 4 hours)

Serve & enjoy.

Cinnamon Sensation Cake

Now that the holidays are here you might all enjoy making this cake - I know I do!

Ingredients:

3 Tbs. Butter

1/4 c. Packed Brown Sugar

1/2 c. Pecan Halves (Optional)

1 Tube of Cinnamon Rolls (I use the Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls w/icing)

1 Hershey's Chocolate Bar

1 bag of Snicker's Mini's - or 3 King size Snicker's Bars (chopped)

Directions:

Melt butter & brown sugar together. Spread across bottom of a greased 8-inch round pan. Spread pecans across the bottom of the pan. Unroll cinnamon rolls place Snicker's evenly between the cinnamon roll & roll back up. (You can put as many or as little as you like here - I used the chopped snickers the first time but liked the Mini's better because there was less mess & less clean-up) Place the cinnamon rolls around the pan.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven until golden. (About 20 - 25 minutes). Let cool for 5 minutes then tranfer to serving plate. (I flip them upside down so all of the stuff on the bottom ends up on top. :) )

Place Hershey's chocolate bar (broken up) into a microwave safe cup/bowl - along with either the icing that came with the cinnamon rolls - or with 2 tbs. of powdered sugar & 2 tbs. of milk. Heat until chocolate is melted (about 35-40 seconds). Stir until all the ingredients are mixed well then take your spoon & drizzle the chocolate over the top.

Cut like you would a cake/pie & enjoy!!

(Serves about 12)

Rosemary Sweet-potato Steak Fries

For all of those who don't like sweet potatoes give these a try. My husband hates sweet potatoes and he couldn't get enough of these. We ate them with ranch dressing I made myself with light sour cream and the hidden valley ranch dry packet mix.

You will need

2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into steak fry sized pieces
1 1/2 TBSP freshly minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
2 tsp EVOO
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

Preheat oven to 450

Place sweet potatoes in a zip lock bag and add the garlic, rosemary, EVOO, and salt. Seal bag and toss until the potatoes are evenly coated. Arrange in a single layer, not touching, on a large nonstick baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the potato pieces and bake 10-15 minutes longer, or until tender inside.

Makes 6 servings

Again I got this from the Biggest Loser cookbook, I am loving it by the way :).

Per serving there are 120 cal, 2 g protein, 24 g carbs, 2 g fate (trace saturated) 0 mg cholesterol, 4 g fiber, 169 mg sodium.

Peppered Pot Roast

Ok so pot roast in the slow cooker is great but it takes forever! I discovered this new recipe in the biggest loser cookbook. It's super yummy and is HEALTHY :)

1 tsp EVOO
1 (1 3/4 lb) trimmed top round roast
2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
salt, to taste ( I didn't use and it was great)

Preheat oven to 350

Rub the olive oil evenly over the roast and season with the pepper and seasoned salt. Let stand for 15 minutes

Place a medium nonstick ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the roast and sear on all sides, including the ends, until just browned, 45-60 second per side. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast for about 15-20 minutes for medium rare.

Take out of oven and loosely place a piece of foil over the roast (not the whole pan just the roast) and let stand for 10 minutes.

Slice the roast against the grain into thin slices and serve immediately.

This makes about 6 4-oz servings.

137 cal, 28 g protein, trace carbs, 5 g fat (2 g saturated), 58 mg cholesterol, trace fiver, 123 mg sodium.

I paired this with Rosemary sweet-potato steak fries with ranch, and about a half cup of steamed zucchini with a touch of smart balance. The whole dinner was only 431 calories. Not to shabby and it was plenty filling. :)

Creamy Avocado & White Bean Wrap

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 teaspoons finely chopped canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, (see Note)

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups shredded red cabbage

1 medium carrot, shredded

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed

1 ripe avocado

1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons minced red onion

4 8- to 10-inch whole-wheat wraps, or tortillas

Preparation

1.Whisk vinegar, oil, chipotle chile and salt in a medium bowl. Add cabbage, carrot and cilantro; toss to combine.

2.Mash beans and avocado in another medium bowl with a potato masher or fork. Stir in cheese and onion.

3.To assemble the wraps, spread about 1/2 cup of the bean-avocado mixture onto a wrap (or tortilla) and top with about 2/3 cup of the cabbage-carrot slaw. Roll up. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Cut the wraps in half to serve, if desired.

Tips & Notes

Ingredient Note: Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce are smoked jalapeños packed in a flavorful sauce. Look for the small cans with the Mexican foods in large supermarkets. Once opened, they'll keep at least 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer.

Stuffed Jalepenos.

Ok so after the Auntious posted her recipe for stuffed jalepenos it made me think of one of our favorite appetizers called La Bomba's they are jalepenos stuffed with cheese bacon and a whole shrimp. I decided to look and see if I could find a recipe that was kind of like them to try and I found a recipe but I modified it a bit and this is what I came up with.

12 oz softened cream cheese
4 oz shredded pepper jack cheese
4 oz shredded cheddar cheese
3-4 pieces of bacon crisped and chopped
1-2 c flour
1-2 c milk
1-2 c bread crumbs
15-20 large jalepenos halved and seeded

Combine the first 4 ingredients. Stuff your jalepenos with this mixture. Dip the stuffed jalepenos in milk and then roll in flour covering them completely. Let them rest for 10 minutes. Dip them in the milk again and roll them in the bread crumbs. Let them rest for 10 minutes. Dip them again in milk and roll again in bread crumbs, making sure it is completely covered. Place on baking sheet and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. If you want to give them a crisp outer cover you can either spray them with Pam before putting them in the oven or you can deep fry them for a couple of minutes after taking them out of the oven.

These are great served with ranch! I didn't stick the shrimp in them but it would be so easy to do. They are a little spicy so you can always cut out the pepper jack and just use cheddar or whatever other type of cheese you would like.

The resting time in between the steps is crucial! Also please remember to wear gloves when handling the peppers!

Easy-Cheesy Stuffed Jalapenos

8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, cut into 2 x 1/2 x 1/4-inch strips
15 jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup real bacon bits

Be VERY careful when you handle jalapeno peppers.  Use gloves and be sure to NOT touch your eyes

Place a cheese strip in each pepper half; sprinkle with bread crumbs and bacon. Grill peppers, covered, over medium-hot heat for 4-6 minutes or until peppers are tender and cheese is melted.