Single Serving Blueberry Cobbler

It's officially the weekend. I have a love hate relationship with weekends. I tend to splurge and make unhealthier choices on weekends. You know... watch an entire season of Pretty Little Liars in one day while I don't shower and stay in my pjs. Just me? This weekend I'm determined to make healthy and wise choices that mostly have nothing to do with eating. But, just in case you feel like splurging this weekend but don't want to eat an entire pan of brownies while watching an entire season of , I wanted to share this recipe with you! 

A. It's healthy. B. It's a single serving! You can eat the entire thing and not feel even a little bit bad. You can also make it your own with any kind of fruit you have on hand. It would be deliciously yummy with frozen or even canned peaches, strawberries, or blackberries. You know.. it would even be food with a 1/2 cup of pumpkin and some pecans. Done! I will be making a pumpkin version of this cobbler this weekend. Oh and sauteed apples! Okay. I'm glad I decided to share this recipe with you because I'm totally experimenting with new flavors this weekend.

Single Serving Blueberry Cobbler

Used the exact recipe from sparkrecipes.com just used blueberries - Cup O' Cobbler Recipe. 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon Brummel and Brown yogurt butter
• 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Splenda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons skim milk
• Dash of nutmeg
• Dash of cinnamon

Directions: 

Mix blueberries and sugar in a small bowl and set aside so the sugar can do it's juicy job. You can smash your berries a little to help this process along. Prehat oven to 350. Spray a small ramekin with butter flavored cooking spray and then add the butter. Heat the ramekin in the oven until the butter is bubbly. 

Note: Heating the dish with the butter in it makes the recipe great. It makes the cobbler more well... cobbler like! It adds the crispy and chewy components to the crust. 

Mix flour, Splenda, baking powder, milk, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a separate small bowl. Spread the mixture into the hot ramekin. Add the sugared fruit in the center of the batter, leaving a rim of batter around the edges. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the batter is golden brown around the edges and the center looks set. 

Remember those Frozen Yogurt Bites I made? Three of the vanilla ones on this was AMAZING! 

If you count the blueberries in the recipe, it's 5 points for the whole thing. If you don't (and sometimes I don't because fruit is free if you eat it plain!), then it's 4 points! Plus whatever topping you may or may not add. If you add just a dollop of fat free cool whip or a frozen yogurt bite or two, nothing extra! It's also perfectly fine with nothing extra at all. 

Pumpkiny Overnight Oats

According to the dictionary, pumpkiny is not a word. However, for the glorious return of the awaited Pumpkin Spice Latte, also know as PSL, Starbucks used this word to describe the glorious goodness of the beverage. It was right there on my local Starbucks door in cute sticker art form. I trust Starbucks and their ability to make something a trend. Therefore, I shall adopt pumpkiny as a legit word despite the red squiggly line that tells me it isn't (and dictionary.com). What does that red squiggly line know anyway?! It always underlines my name. (No offense red squiggly line, I do love and appreciate how you correct my typos.)

Moving on... I don't have to tell you again how much I love pumpkin things. I probably also don't have to tell you again how much I love Overnight Oats. We've definitely discussed the heck out of pumpkin, and I know I've discussed Overnight Oats a bit too. BUT... PUMPKIN OVERNIGHT OATS?! Yep. I'm even more in love. I went a little crazy and came up with four pumpkin versions of this easy make ahead breakfast.

I used my base recipe for each of these concoctions. 1/2 cup oats (non quick cooking), 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt (greek or regular). I bought the 32 ounce container of Dannon Light and Fit from Sam's this time. It was super cheap for the big container, and I think I liked it a little better than the vanilla greek non fat yogurt.

Base Recipe: 

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats (NOT the instant kind)
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1/2 cup non fat vanilla yogurt

Directions: 

Pour yogurt, oats and milk in a pint sized mason jar. Shake it until all ingredients are combined. At this point your jar will be about 3/4ths full.

Add pumpkin combo ingredients (listed below) of choice and stir until combined. Refrigerate overnight. They keep for 4 days.

Each base recipe is 7 points on Weight Watchers. Account for extra points for the different pumpkiny combinations. 

Pumpkin Pie Oats

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of Skinny Pumpkin Fluff (1 package sugar free vanilla pudding, 2 - 8 oz containters of fat free coolwhip, 1 can of pumpkin puree, 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice - I make this OFTEN to dip apples in. You won't regret making this to have on hand for healthy snacks.)

Pumpkin Coconut Oats

• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 3 tablespoons Homemade Marshmallow Cream (I had homemade on hand that I used for S'mores Dip last week. I never have and probably wouldn't use normal jarred marshmallow fluff, but I just really liked the idea of marshmallow cream (egg whites, corn syrup, powdered sugar) and coconut, like a coconut cake! But you could also sub 2 tablespoons of sugar or Splenda.)
• 2 - 3 tablespoons sweetened coconut flakes 

Pumpkin Pecan Oats

• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Chocolate Pumpkin Oats

• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Nutella
• 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Overnight Oats

You know how I have all those weird seasonal food aversions? No soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, or hot coffee unless it's cold out. No watermelon, or any melons for that matter, unless it's hot out. I also kind of feel this way about oatmeal. I LOVE a bowl of warm cozy oatmeal in the fall and winter, but I'm not a huge fan in the summer. 

I kept seeing cold overnight oatmeal on Pinterest. I didn't buy into it at first because I thought the texture might be weird and most recipes called for chia seeds, which freaked me out a little. Chia pets. Chair seeds. They are the same things. I'm not a picky eater, but that made me hesitant. Since then I've discovered it's normal and okay to eat chia seeds. I'm not scared of them, but still haven't tried them. Apparently they are really good for pregnant women. One day when/if I get pregnant, I'll add chia seeds to my oats. For now I'll save my self a trip to a health food store. 

All that to say, try these! You don't have to have the fancy chia seeds. My pregnant friend made them first (with chia seeds) and highly recommended them to me. We have similar food likes, so I trusted her recommendation. I'm in love! I got obsessed and game up with EIGHT flavor combinations. I'm gonna work on a pumpkin version next week. This is one thing that will not be a seasonal food. I love them for summer to take the place of hot oatmeal, but I love them so much I will definitely eat them year round. 

Base Recipe:

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats (NOT the instant kind)
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1/2 cup non fat Greek vanilla yogurt

Directions: 

Pour yogurt, oats and milk in a pint sized mason jar. Shake it until all ingredients are combined. At this point your jar will be about 3/4ths full. 

Add your toppings of choice, and shake until mixed. You may have to shake a little extra for some toppings. If it's not combining well, stir in the toppings to combine all ingredients. 

Refrigerate overnight. I made four at once and they were good up to 4 days. I don't think I'd go more than 4 or 5 days because fruit and non-fat yogurt can produce excess water.

For pretty presentation you can save out tiny bits of your toppings to garnish the tops. 

Each base recipe is 7 points on Weight Watchers. Extra points for different topping combinations are listed below. 

Peach Melba

• 2 small nectarines (or peaches) diced
• 2 tablespoons raspberry jam

Add 2 points for jam.

Peaches and Cream

• 2 small nectarines (or peaches) diced
• dash of cinnamon
• drizzle of honey

Add 1 point for honey.

Strawberry Banana

• 1 medium banana, diced (I sliced it, halved the slices, then quartered the slices)
• 2 tablespoons strawberry jam

Add 2 points for jam.

Banana Nutella

• 1 medium banana, diced (I sliced it, halved the sliced, then quartered the slices)
• 1 tablespoon Nutella (one really is enough, Nutella is SWEET)

Add 3 points for Nutella.

Banana Peanut Butter

• 1 medium banana, diced  (I sliced it, halved the sliced, then quartered the slices)
• 1 tablespoon reduced calorie peanut butter (2 if you like more)
• drizzle of honey

Add 2 points for 1 tablespoon of peanut butter + 1/2 teaspoon of honey.

Banana Chocolate (for those who like chocolate, but not Nutella)

• 1 medium banana, diced  (I sliced it, halved the sliced, then quartered the slices)
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 packet of Splenda

No extra points! 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder is zero. According to recipe builder you'd count the points for bananas in recipes, but I say if they're free as a snack they are free as a topping!

Banana Nut

• 1 medium banana, diced  (I sliced it, halved the sliced, then quartered the slices)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts

Add 2 points for honey and how every many points for the nuts you choose. 

Apple and Cinnamon

• 1 apple, diced
• 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Parkay spray butter

Saute diced apple with a little Parkay spray butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar until they loose a tiny bit of their crispness. Add 1 point for brown sugar.

Stir into base recipe. Shake to combine completely. 

Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls

We all deal with stress differently. Some people sleep. Some exercise. Some avoid. You've heard of stress eating right? Well I stress bake. Stress baking is almost as bad for you as stress eating when no RAs are around to feed your baking projects to! Remember that time I ate four blueberry cinnamon rolls for dinner and just that? Oops. I'm gonna need to move back into my apartment soon and have access to my craft box for other means of stress relief!

But seriously, if anything stuck with me from counseling it was the bit about doing mastery and pleasure activities in times of overwhelming sadness or anxiety. Translation... doing things you know you can master, finish and accomplish well and things that bring your soul pleasure. Knowing this is going to help me make it through the difficult times that lie ahead with my dad's health. Baking definitely meets both of those needs for me. I wish you could have seen my face when I opened the oven to the beautiful creation above. On second thought... I'm kind of glad you couldn't see me. I'm certain I looked like a super dork. But I was ecstatic! I had been crying for hours, got up, baked, and pulled that out of the oven! I was so happy and proud of my creation. I think I may have even bounced on my heels a little.

I'm claiming this recipe as my own because it really was mostly me. The cinnamon roll recipe was from food.com, but I altered it to be a healthier version using egg beaters, heart healthy mix, and low calorie butter. The blueberry part was inspired by recipes I've seen but my combination of ingredients. The glaze was thrown together by me.

Ingredients

Blueberry Filling:

• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons water
• Additional 1/2 cup of blueberries

Cinnamon Rolls: 

• 2 1/2 cups Heart Healthy Bisquick
• 1/3 cup of skim milk
• 1/4 cup Egg Beaters (or 1 large egg)
• 2 tablespoons Brummel and Brown yogurt butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze:

• 3 tablespoons reduced calorie whipped cream cheese
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• splash of milk

Directions 

Dough: 

Preheat oven to 375. Mix baking mix, milk, and egg until a soft dough forms, I used my stand mixer dough hook for the first time! Place dough ball onto lightly floured parchment paper or a lightly floured clean surface. I'm OCD about germs so I always use parchment or wax paper to do dough work. Gently kneed the dough until mostly smooth. Roll dough into a 8 x 10 (ish) rectangle. If your dough is looking more round and not square enough, fold in the ends and keep rolling. Combine cinnamon and the 1/4 cup of sugar. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture over buttered dough.

Filling: 

Combine 1 cup blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and water in a small saucepan. Cook on medium low heat until blueberries start to burst. I used a potato smasher to break mine down a bit more and thicken the sauce. When the sauce is a good consistency remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Spread the blueberry sauce on top of the cinnamon and butter topped dough. Sprinkle additional 1/2 cup of blueberries.

Baking:  

Roll up tightly starting with the long side. Pinch the edges of the dough closed. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cut 3/4 to 1 inch slits going almost through the bottom using a sharp knife. Don't go all the way to the bottom! It should make 8 rolls, 10 smaller ones. Bake for about 20 minutes or until light golden brown. 

Glaze: 

Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and a splash of milk in a small bowl or a large measuring cup and stir! I used my immersion blender and it made it a quick and easy job.

Just look at it! They are so very good and just pretty! In the words of a coworker I shared one of these cinnamon rolls with, "These things are gourmet!" Easy and impressive. You can never have enough recipes like that. 

I'm not suggesting that these as "healthy" BUT they are a much healthier version of most cinnamon desserts and cinnamon rolls. According to the Weight Watcher's Recipe Builder they are 7 points with the glaze. For comparison, a Starbucks Morning Bun (their cinnamon roll) is 10 points with no icing or glaze. A Corner Bakery Cinnamon Roll is 17 points! A Pillsbury Supreme Cinnamon Rolls is 10 points. 7 doesn't seem bad at all in comparison!

Pumpkin French Toast Casserole with Coffee Whipped Topping

I know what you're thinking. Pumpkin? You? In May? I know, right? I totally broke my pumpkin belongs in the Fall and Winter months rule to make this recipe. And guess what? I loved it. It gave me the same warm and cozy feeling I get when I watch Gilmore Girls and see the red and orange leaved trees. 

Just like my Gilmore Girls, I'll still save pumpkin for special moments out of season and bask in it like crazy in season, but I might occasionally break my rule now. I did break it for a good reason. We had one of our potluck breakfast meals at work. A coworker who started post fall, had heard about my Pumpkin French Toast Casserole and then I didn't have a choice! I like it when people request my food! I just can't say no. 

The other factor that pushed me over the edge to saying yes to making a pumpkin dish? Coffee whipped cream. Let's just start things off right and talk about this! 

Coffee Whipped Cream 

Ingredients:

• 1 package Starbucks Via
• 1 container fat free cool whip

Directions: 

Combine. Stir. Seriously, that's it. It's the simplest thing every but oh man is it good. I mean how can you say not to anything topped with Coffee Whipped Cream? My coworkers love to put it in their coffee too. It compliments anything pumpkin flavored magically and also just spoon. It's the perfect topping for a good old spoon.

Did I mention it's also guilt-free? 0 points for 2 tbsp or 1 point for 1/4 cup.

Pumpkin French Toast Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Brummel and Brown Yogurt Butter
• 12 slices Sara Lee Delightful 45 Calorie Bread (I've used Multigrain and Whole Wheat)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup - 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups Egg Beaters
• 1 1/2 cups skim milk

Directions: 

Melt Brummel and Brown butter and pour into a 9 x 13 pan. Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl. In a separate bowl whisk eggs, milk, and vanilla together. I like to shake in a little extra cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice into the liquid mixture.

Time to layer. Layer 6 pieces of bread in the pan. Spread a thin layer of pumpkin across the bread. Sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture over the bread. Layer the other 6 pieces of bread on top and spread with pumpkin. Pour the liquid mixture over the bread. Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar mixture over everything.

Cover and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, cover the dish with tinfoil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes. It should be golden brown and set.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar to make it pretty. Serve with syrup, butter, whipped cream OR COFFEE WHIPPED CREAM.

Yields 12 medium sized servings at 4 points each or 6 large servings at 8 points each.


























If the summer heat is getting to you and you're missing fall as much as me, I highly recommend this dish now!

Chicken Florentine Pasta

I gave you a salad recipe and I just must give you a companion recipe to go with it! I'm nice and OCD like that. Salad is probably my favorite thing to eat with pasta. Probably because pasta is so high in points and it needs a super low point side. And there is something about the combination of something heavy and something so light and fresh. 

Chicken Florentine Pasta 

(adapted from Pioneer Woman's recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of whole wheat penne
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• salt, pepper and Tony's to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Brummel and Brown butter
• 3 teaspoons refrigerated minced garlic (or 4 cloves minced)
• 1 1/2 fat free chicken broth
• 1 bag baby spinach (6-8 ounces)
• 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved length wise
• 4 ounces Parmesan, shaved with vegetable peeler

How can you go wrong with grape tomatoes and fresh Parmesan? Go fresh! It's the best way.

Directions: 

Cut up chicken into bite sized chunks and season with salt, pepper and Tony's. Heat olive oil over high heat and add chicken chunks.

While chicken is cooking start your pasta.  Cook pasta according to package directions in salted water. Drain and set aside. You can also salt and pepper your tomatoes at this time and shave your Parmesan. Multitasking!

Let the chicken brown on one side and then turn it to brown on the other. About 5-7 minutes on each side. Once done, remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

Increase heat to medium, add butter and garlic, and stir quickly so it doesn't burn. After a few sizzling seconds, pour in the chicken broth and stir to deglaze the pan. Allow the mixture to bubble and reduce heat to medium low. Allow the mixture to reduce by half, it should still be bubbling, just not heavy boiling.

Turn off the heat, add spinach, salted tomatoes, chicken, and pasta to the pan. Toss to combine. Add the Parmesan and toss more. Tomatoes will get warm and cozy. Spinach will get wilty and perfect. Serve with extra Parmesan shavings if desired.

Yields about 7 cups of pasta. Each 1 cup serving is 10 points for a filling hearty pasta. A good BIG meal to serve to other people. It makes much.

Pineapple Right Side Up Cupcakes

Did you know that April 20th is National Pineapple Upside Down Cake Day? I totally didn't! The moment I found out (via a tweet or blog or something), I became mildly obsessed with the notion that I MUST make something involving pineapple, cherries, cake and brown sugar. And so I do! I find a healthy pineapple cupcake recipe on my favorite healthy eating blog, skinnytaste.com, and adapted it to be a pineapple upside down cake-esque dessert. I fed these to a bunch of college girls and they all loved them.

Pineapple Right Side Up Cupcakes

Original recipe by Skinny Taste (I made mine to be more Pineapple Upside Down Cake-ish).

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

• 1 box of yellow cake mix
• 20 oz can crushed pineapple in juice (do not drain)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Frosting:

• 8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 20 oz can of pineapple in juice, drained (squeeze really well in your hands to get out all the juice)
• 1 1/2 cup marshmallow cream
• maraschino cherries for garnish (optional)

Directions

Mix cake mix and 1 can of pineapple WITH the juice. I used my KitchenAid stand mixer. Use an ice cream scoop to fill lined cupcake tins about 2/3 full. Bake according to cake mix directions or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Set aside to allow to cool completely on cooling racks.

Drain the other can of pineapple. Like super crazy drain! I drained it in a mesh strainer and then put it in my hands, freshly washed of course, and squeezed out the excess juice. Combine cream cheese, crushed pineapple and marshmallow cream and mix until combined well. Again, used my stand mixer. Spread on completely cooled cupcakes.

For a fun garnish and to get the Pineapple Upside Down Cake Day theme across, I added maraschino cherries. I took the stems off half of the cherries and stuffed one inside each cupcake for a little filling surprise. I garnished each with a stem on cherry. On a couple that I presented to others, I dusted a little brown sugar on top to set in the purpose of the cupcake even more.

Cupcakes with no icing are 3 points each according the Weight Watchers Recipe Builder. With just icing they are 4 points each. With icing and cherries they are 5 points each. Even at their highest, they are way better than any regular cupcake a far as points values go.

Yields 24 servings. 

Homemade Garlic Herb Croutons

Do you like salads? If you do, I bet you don't like them with just lettuce or only green things (and if you do, I'm impressed). How do you feel about croutons? I happen to love them. They add a nice crunch and flavor. Croutons are to salads as pearls are to a cute sundress. It's true. Salads need accessories too.

Now let's talk about bread. I bet you have it. I bet on occasion you end up tossing some pieces that get old or moldy. Allow me to share my collection of bread tips.

1. If you do end up with moldy bread on occasion, you can lengthen the life of your bread like whoa by keeping it in the fridge. I'm just me with no husbands or kids to eat bread and a loaf usually last me a month.

2. Don't care for the ends? Don't toss them! Keep a bag in a the freezer and collect any bread butts (that's what I call them), funky pieces or smooshed pieces. Things to also toss in that bread freezer bag: extra bread of any sort that will soon go bad - hotdog buns, hamburger buns, white bread, wheat bread. ALL THINGS BREAD.

3. Don't like the texture of your refrigerated longer shelf life bread? Two options. 1 - Toast it. I love a sandwich on toast. I also just love toast. Toast with Nutella, toast with peanut butter and bananas, toast with yogurt butter, cheese toast, cinnamon toast. 2. Microwave it for 5-10 seconds. It will be as fluffy and soft as new.

4. So you have a bag of frozen bread... Now what? My favorite choices are bread puddings, homemade bread crumbs (which I also keep in the freezer after I make them and have for the many recipes that call for them), and now... CROUTONS!

I am almost certain you have everything you need to make your own croutons which means... A. FREE, sorta. I mean you bought the stuff you have to make them at some point. But in comparison to buying croutons, FREE. B. You can make them healthier. C. They taste way better. 

Homemade Garlic Croutons

Recipe inspired by Savory Sweet Life

Ingredients: 

• 6 slice of bread (I used Sara Lee Delightful 45 Calorie Wheat Bread)
• 3 tablespoons melted Brummel and Brown yogurt butter
• 2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cube the six slices of bread. If you don't like crusts, you can removed them, but I like them and leave them on. I cut them in threes each way. Mix melted butter, garlic powder and parsley flakes together until garlic powder is dissolved. Toss the butter mixture and bread cubes in a large bowl together until the bread is evenly coated. 

Spread the coated bread cubes on a parchments or foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes and check to see if they are dry, crispy and golden brown. Stir the croutons around and bake for additional minutes according to your preference. I cooked mine for about 20 minutes total, but I like them with just a touch of softness. Store croutons in a ziplock bag (or any air tight container, I'm partial to mason jars) and they will keep fresh for a few days. 

I like making these because you can make as many as you need, less or more than this recipe even. I even like them as mouth popable little snacks. 

Yields 6 servings of 1/3 cup portions. Each serving is 2 points on Weight Watchers according to the recipe builder. 

I made Crock Pot Caesar Chicken on English muffin rolls with side Caesar salads complete with these yummy croutons. As a Round 2 recipe I did big Chicken Caesar salads with leftover shredded chicken and croutons of course.