Need some ideas for desserts that are delicious yet lower fat, lower cholesterol, or lower calories?  Here are four desserts that might work:

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• Frozen Pumpkin Mousse Pie  from Food Network  (might be better with graham cracker crust).    Calories 279; Total Fat 8.5 g (Sat Fat 2.7g, Mono Fat 1.7g, Poly Fat 1.7g) ; Protein 7g; Carb 44g; Fiber 1g; Cholesterol 43mg; Sodium 158mg
• Double Chocolate Pudding Pie  from Food Network.   Just a small dollop of real whipped cream on top will still give a taste of richness.
• Healthified Pumpkin Pie  from Eat Better America  (Cholesterol-free)
• Creamy Vanilla-Caramel Cheesecake  from Eat Better America.    Calories 180 (Calories from Fat 70); Total Fat 7g (Saturated Fat 4 1/2g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 25mg; Sodium 190mg; Total Carbohydrate 21g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 17g); Protein 5g, Exchanges: 1 1/2 Starch; 1 1/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices.

Who doesn’t like to come home from work or from a busy day running errands and have dinner waiting in a slow cooker. Just walking in the door and smelling the aroma of a delicious home-cooked meal is so inviting. Well, Food Network has eleven tips for slow cooker meals that are definitely worth checking out. I already see one tip I need to remember, the one that talks about how it’s better to fill a slow cooker halfway to two thirds full.  Also, here are eight simple slow cooker recipes from Food Network that sound so good!

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With the holidays coming up, a lot of us will be taking desserts, dips, snacks and appetizers to parties. What better way to keep them warm than in a slow cooker. If any of you have eaten at Qdoba’s and love their queso, here’s a recipe for a lower-fat version of Qdoba’s 3-Cheese Queso.

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Don’t have a slow cooker?  Check out these from Amazon.  I’ve started ordering from Amazon more and more the past couple of years after realizing how easy and convenient it is.  And I nearly always find the best price on something at Amazon plus a lot of items qualify for free shipping which saves money! A lot of you probably figured this out a long time ago.

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Can you believe holidays are getting close?  For those holiday get-togethers, I’d like to share a recipe.  This is a great recipe to fix in a Crock-Pot/Slow Cooker to take to a holiday party or pot-luck.  By the way, the Cook ‘N Carry Crock Pot is great for traveling in the car.  We gave one of these to my mother-in-law for Christmas one year.
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So many people love Qdoba’s 3-Cheese Queso, so much that you can even find the recipe on Food Network‘s site. We always order it when we go to Qdoba’s, but I would like a healthier version to fix at home.  So here’s a lower-fat version plus some substitutions in case you need them:
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Qdoba’s 3-Cheese Queso, Lower-Fat Version:

• 1 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese, reduced-fat
  
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, reduced-fat
• 1 cup American cheese  (Alpine Lace has 25% reduced fat)
  
• 1 cup Fat-Free Half & Half
• 3 roasted poblano peppers, finely chopped  (or canned chipotle peppers or green chilis, drained)
• 8 ounces tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground garlic  (or minced garlic from a jar)
• 1 teaspoon salt

Combine ingredients, cover, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 2 hours.   Stir occasionally.  Add just a little bit of milk if you need to thin it.
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Hope you enjoy this if you make it. At Qdobas, they serve it with tortilla chips flavored with a touch of lime. So good! Talking about all of this is making me hungry for Mexican food, so I think I’ll incorporate some into our menu this week!
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Monday:  Chicken tenders cooked in olive oil & fajita seasonings, refried beans, avocado slices, tortilla chips & salsa
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Tuesday: Homemade Chicken Enchilada Soup (This tasted so good last week and I think it helped me get over my cold a little faster because of the onion, garlic, and spices in it.)

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Wednesday:  Leftover Chicken Enchilada Soup

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Thursday:   Chicken Italian Pasta

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Friday: Pizza & salad (haven’t decided what kind of pizza  – have any ideas?)

Don’t have squares of baking chocolate for your recipe?  You can substitute 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder plus 1 tablespoon oil or melted butter for each  one ounce square of chocolate.

Here’s a recipe for those of you who like sweet cornbread but not the sugar!
 
INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup flour (Spelt Flour or whole wheat would be good, too)
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal (or 3/4 cup organic cornmeal & 1/4 cup organic coarse cornmeal)
• 1/3 teaspoon KAL Stevia Powder  (or sugar substitute to equal 1/3 cup sugar)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk (I used reduced fat milk)
• 1/3 cup EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)

 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Oil 9-inch pan with 1 teaspoon olive oil and place pan in oven to preheat.  After the pan is hot, take it out of the oven and add the mixture.  Bake until golden brown on top.

Here’s a recipe I would like to try:  Grilled Portobello and Arugula Burgers.  I haven’t tasted anything made from a Central Market recipe that I haven’t liked.  By the way, the best time to shop at CM is around noontime.  They have lots of samples, the best one being back in their meat market.  You can usually get a little plate with samples of some type of  beef, some type of fish, and a delicious salad.

We really do try to eat healthy the majority of the time, but there are special occasions when a special dessert is warranted. I try to make sure that it has at least one redeeming healthy ingredient in it. This recipe for Central Market’s “Fresh Cherry Pie Bars” is one such recipe since it does have fresh cherries in it. I haven’t made this particular recipe, but it sounds so yummy and like it would be a good Fourth of July recipe. And I haven’t tasted any of Central Market’s recipes that I didn’t like (well, except for one bakery item  four or five years ago, but that was partly my fault for not checking the ingredients more closely).
If you do happen to make these bars, let me know how you like them.

With Mother’s Day coming up soon, I thought it would be good to post one of our family’s favorite cakes for birthdays and special occasions.  (A dear family member would always request this for her birthday.)  So here’s the recipe again in an easier to read version:
INGREDIENTS:

• Angel Food Cake ( I buy a round cake, or to make a rectangular cake as pictured then I buy 3 Angel Food Bar Cakes.  If you can’t find the smaller rectangular angel food cakes, you can cut up a round cake and still make it look like a rectangular shaped cake when finished.)
• Cool Whip, largest size
• Fresh fruit such as strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, & kiwi

DIRECTIONS:

One thing about this cake is that if you leave the cake whole and don’t pre-cut it, it’s very hard to serve without making a mess of the piece you’re trying to cut.  That is why I started pre-cutting the cake into individual pieces, placing all the pieces side-by-side on the cake plate, and then “icing” the cake pieces with Cool Whip to make it look like one whole cake.

Once this is done, you can decorate the top of the cake with your favorite berries and kiwi once they have been well washed and dried.  (Note:  Bananas are not good to use because they turn brown.)  Here is another picture of the top of the cake:

One of the teachers where I teach just recently completed her master’s degree.  Congratulations, Melissa!  We celebrated at our monthly pot luck, and another teacher made these adorable cupcakes that were so delicious!  Great job, Holly!

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The graduation cap is made by placing a Reese’s Miniature Peanut Butter Cup upside down in the middle of the cupcake and then placing a chocolate square (high quality chocolate like Ghirardelli – yum!) on top. I think she used a little bit of icing to “glue” the chocolate on top of the Reese’s.  Then make the tassel with a small candy like M&M’s Minis and use the tube gel icing to complete it.  So cute!  Great for any age of graduate from kindergarten to college!
(PS Thanks Alan!)

* Also: Cute Graduation Cake