Santa Fe Soup

Sometimes we just call it Taco Soup around here, easy for the kids to relate to that! It's yummy, and makes a lot, enough for a meal plus lunch leftovers PLUS enough to freeze for another meal or more. Please note ahead of time: you do not want to drain any of the canned items! You need to add the entire can along with the juices!

2 lb. ground beef or turkey (I use ground turkey)
1 large onion, chopped
2 pkg. taco seasoning mix
2 pkg. dry Ranch Dressing mix (or 0.8 oz from a jar if you happen to have a jar of it like I do :P)
1 can diced tomatoes (16 oz), undrained
1 can (16 oz) diced tomatoes and chiles (Rotel), undrained
1 can kidney beans (16 oz), undrained
1 can pinto beans (16 oz), undrained
1 can black beans (16 oz), undrained
2 cans white corn (16 oz each), undrained

Cook ground meat and onion in large soup pot until meat is brown and onion is transparent. Drain and return to pot. Sprinkle dry seasoning mixes over the meat and stir. Add all canned ingredient; do not drain any liquids! Reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 2 hours. Serve with any combination of: shredded cheese, a dollop of sour cream, diced tomato, or even diced avocado. And it's even better when you add some corn chips on the side for dipping. Cornbread is also good with this.

Weight Watchers Angel Hair Pasta with Prosciutto and Mushroom Cream Sauce

Makes 4 servings of 1 and 1/2 cups each. Per serving: 377 calories, 10.5g fat, 8 points, 20.9g protein, 51.4g carbs

1 package (9 oz) refrigerated angel hair pasta
olive oil cooking spray
1 package (8 oz) mushrooms, quartered
1/4 cup julienne-cut ready to eat sundried tomatoes
1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
2 oz very thinly sliced prosciutto (about 4 slices), sliced crosswise into 1/2 inch strips
1/2 cup dry white wine or fat free reduced sodium chicken broth (I used sauvignon blanc)
1/2 cup fat free reduced sodium chicken broth (if you use chicken broth instead of wine for the ingredient above this one, you will still also need this amount of chicken broth in addition to the broth used as the wine substitute)
1 cup frozen baby green peas, thawed
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 container (10 oz) refrigerated light alfredo sauce (such as Buitoni)
1/4 cup shredded fresh Parmesan cheese (I completely forgot to add this at the end! and it tasted just fine without that addition)

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat (keep in mind, fresh pasta only takes a couple of minuted to cook). While pasta cooks, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, coating pan with cooking spray. Add mushrooms, saute' 5 minutes or til tender. Add sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and prosciutto; saute' 2 minutes. Add wine and broth; bring to a boil. Boil 3 minutes or til liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup. Stir in peas, pepper, and alfredo sauce. Drain pasta, and return to pan. Add sauce and toss gently to coat (or if your skillet is big enough, just add the pasta directly to the skillet with the sauce in it). Spoon into individual bowls and sprinkle with 1 tbsp cheese each.

Weight Watchers Gnocchi with Pumpkin and Sage

This might sound a little weird or gross, but trust me, it is DELICIOUS. It does not taste like pumpkin, I promise! It's just nice and creamy and mushroomy and just good. Makes 4 servings, 1 cup is a serving. Per serving: 7 points, 324 calories, 8.9g fat, 9.3g protein, 53.6g carbs

1 package (16 oz) vacuum packaged potato gnocchi
1 tbsp olive oil
1 oz pancetta, finely diced
1 package (8 oz) sliced baby portabella mushrooms
1 1/2 cups chopped leek (about 1 medium)
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup refrigerated light alfredo sauce (such as Buitoni)
1/3 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 black pepper
1/2 cup fat free, reduced sodium chicken broth
1/4 tsp rubbed sage
Fresh sage leaves (optional)

Cook gnocchi according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. While gnocchi cooks, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pancetta, and cook 3 minutes or til crisp. Add mushrooms, leeks, and garlic; saute' 7 minutes or til tender. Reduce heat to low. Stir in alfredo sauce, pumpkin, salt, and pepper; cook 2 minutes or til thoroughly heated. Stir in broth and rubbed sage. Drain gnocchi. Add gnocchi to sauce in pan, and toss gently. Spoon into individual bowls, and garnish with fresh sage if desired.

Weight Watchers Hamburger Mushroom Pizza

The recipe says to crumble the ground beef onto the bread without cooking first, however, I'm not down with that, so I cook it a few minutes in a skillet first. It is so so so good! It's supposed to make 6 servings, 1 slice each, but we normally eat 2, so sue us :P Per serving: 6 points, 301 calories, 15.1g protein, 9.7g fat, 35.4g carbs, 2g fiber, 542mg sodium.

1 loaf (16 oz) unsliced Italian bread
1/2 cup bottled traditional pizza sauce (our favorite "pizza sauce" is actually a spaghetti sauce, it's either Bertolli or Barilla, I can never remember til I see it, Marinara with Burgundy Wine)
8 (1/8 inch thick) slices onion, separated into rings
1 cup presliced fresh mushrooms
6 oz ultra lean ground beef
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) preshedded pizza double cheese (a blend of part skim mozzarella and cheddar)...I just use shredded mozzarella or some type of Italian or pizza blend

Preheat oven to 500. Yes, 500. Cut Italian loaf in half horizontally. Place both halves, cut side up, on a large baking sheet. Spread 1/4 cup pizza sauce over each half of bread. Divide onion rings and sliced mushrooms evenly over bread halves. Crumble ground beef and divide evenly over bread halves. Sprinkle Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper evenly over bread halves. Top each with 3/4 cup cheese. Bake at 500 for 9 minutes or til ground beef is done and cheese is melted. Cut each pizza half into 3 pieces. Makes 6 servings, 1 piece per serving.

Weight Watchers Peach Cobbler

You would never know this was light just by tasting it! Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 244 calories, 5.2g fat. 2.5g protein, 50g carbs.

Cooking Spray
1/4 cup light butter or reduced calorie stick margarine, melted
2 (16 oz each) cans sliced peaches in light syrup, undrained
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup fat free milk

Preheat oven to 375. Coat a 9 inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Add melted butter, and set aside. Drain peaches, reserving 1/2 cup syrup; set aside. Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add the reserved peach syrup and fat free milk to the flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Pour batter into prepared dish, and top with peaches (do NOT stir). Bake at 375 for 35 minutes or til golden.
I like to top each serving with a scoop or 2 of some type of vanilla ice cream: regular, light, sugar free, frozen yogurt....whatever. It's all good.

Creamy Chicken Manicotti

This is a family favorite, but I don't make it too often, coz it's not the best for you lol! This was something my mom used to make when I was a teen, and it has always been a favorite of mine. It has manicotti in the title, but we have always used jumbo shells. Much easier than stuffing manicotti.

About 15 jumbo pasta shells
1/2 cup sour cream (I use reduced fat)
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) creamy chicken mushroom soup, undiluted
2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I bake 2 chicken breasts, and dice them, small pieces, when they've cooled)
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tbsp butter or margarine (I use light stick butter)
1 can (4 oz) sliced mushrooms, DO NOT DRAIN!
1 cup (4 oz) shredded sharp cheddar (can use reduced fat, but it doesn't melt quite as well)

Cook shells according to package directions, omitting salt; drain and set aside. In the meantime, combine the soup and sour cream; mix well. Put half the soup mixture in a separate bowl, and add in the cooked chopped chicken; mix well. Set aside remaining soup mixture. Stuff shells with the chicken mixture; place in a greased 13x9 baking dish. Melt butter in large skillet, add onion and saute' until tender but not browned. Add mushrooms WITH the juices in the can. Stir in the reserved soup mixture and mix well. Spoon over the stuffed shells. Bake uncovered at 350 for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake another 5 minutes or til cheese is melted.
I like to serve with warm buttered bread to soak up all the sauce!

Best. Fucking. Pancakes. EVER.

These were so good that after dinner, I made another batch to heat up for breakfast tomorrow. So good that my children each ate 4, and proclaimed them to be the best pancakes they had ever eaten, better than IHOP even. They're like a bowl of warm, soft, oatmeal wrapped up in a pancake. Make these. Trust me. Hell, make a double batch. Now, I'll warn you, these cook a little differently than most pancakes. They don't cook as fast, and the consistency can make them tricky to flip but if you let them cook long enough before flipping, it isn't too bad. They need to go a few minutes per side. Probably takes about twice as long as regular pancakes.

Oatmeal Buttermilk Pancakes
2 cups quick oats (I ran them through the food processor for about 10 seconds)
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1/3 cup veg oil
2 eggs, beaten
Combine oats, soda, and buttermilk. Let stand 5 min. In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, & sugar. Combine oat mixture, oil, & eggs. Add dry ingredients & stir till blended. Cook on lightly greased griddle or skillet. Yield 14-16 Pancakes.