Creamy Potato Soup with Chicken Sausage

This is a soup I got from my husband's aunt. I was in the mood for potato soup, so I got the recipe. I changed it slightly, adding more veggies and using chicken sausage instead of pork sausage (much less fat than RF pork sausage and still tasty!). Give it a try!

Creamy Potato Soup with Chicken Sausage

1 can chicken broth
1/2 lb. smoked chicken sausage
16 oz pkg of simply potatoes diced potatoes with onion
1 large onion, diced.
1 1/2 cups water (+ 1 cup to thin if needed).
1 can 98% FF cream of celery soup
2 cans 98% FF cream of chicken soup
2 cups skim milk
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 can cannelini beans (I did not add this but I would next time, they would be amazing in this soup...and add lots of fiber!).
1 tsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

Dice up sausage, cook in 5 qt dutch oven with 1 tsp EVOO.
Add chicken broth, potatoes, onion, carrot, celery, and water. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer for 30 min. Add soups and milk. Serve when hot.
Serving size: About 2 cups. WW Points Plus:

What's Cookin'?

Tonight is "cook for the rest of the week + weekend night"! What's on the menu? Well....
1. Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo (I successfully tempered eggs for the first time in this recipe!!! Yea me!).
2. Potato Soup with Chicken Sausage
3. Cheesy Chicken and Spinach Jumbo Shells

Roasted Cinnamon Sugar Apples with Whipped Topping

Roasted Cinnamon Sugar Apples with Whipped Topping

Canola cooking spray
4-5 apples, sliced thin.
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 container of fat-free whipped topping

Instructions:

Place sugar and cinnamon in a medium sized bowl, coating each apple slice with mixture. Spray a sheet pan with canola oil (you may also use a sil-pat like I did), spread apples on sheet. Bake apples at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Let apples cool. Top with whipped topping and cinnamon, if desired.

Skinny Girl Salted Fudge

I LOVE fudge! Nothing is better. I adapted this recipe from Weight Watchers, adding some pure vanilla for flavor and using butter instead of margarine (I HATE MARGARINE). My version substitutes out the high fat cream for fat-free evaporated milk (I'm no longer afraid to use it!) and butter for light butter with canola oil. Marshmallows make it sweet and lighter. Try it, I promise you'll love it!

Skinny Girl Salted Fudge

1 spray canola oil cooking spray
1 2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup fat-free evaporated milk
2 Tbsp light butter (made with canola oil)
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
14 large marshmallows
2 tsp. PURE vanilla extract (not imitation)
kosher salt

**NOTE: May top with toasted, chopped pecans or toasted coconut prior to refrigeration (will affect PointsPlus values). Another great twist would be to add orange zest to the fudge prior to refrigerating,
orange and chocolate are a great combo,
I'll try this next time!

Instructions:
Coat an 8x8 inch pan with cooking spray. In a medium saucepan, stir sugar, evaporated milk, and light butter. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and stir constantly for approximately 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat, add in chocolate chips and marshmallows and stir until well-combined. Add vanila extract. Stir to combine. Pour mixture into pan and sprinkle with kosher salt. Refrigerate until firm, approximately 2 hours. Cut into 36 pieces (6x6 rows) and serve. Yields 1 piece of fudge per serving at 3 WW Points Plus. May freeze, too. Very tasty!

Cilantro Lime Rice

Cilantro Lime Rice

1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup chopped, fresh cilantro
1 cup white rice (long grain)
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
Juice of one lime

In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil over low heat. Add white rice and the juice from 1/2 of the fresh lime, stir for 1 minute. Add water and salt, bring mixture to a full boil. Once boiling, cover and turn heat down to low. Simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Add the chopped cilantro and the juice from the other half of the lime. Fluff rice with a fork and serve. 

Makes 4 servings, 5 WW Points Plus per serving.  

The Better-For-You Breakfast Sandwich

I love breakfast sandwiches, but they are usually loaded with fat and calories. This version is low in fat and calories, tastes great, and keeps you full for hours! It's 7 WW Points Plus per serving.




Egg, Cheese, and Turkey Bacon Breakfast Sandwich

1 spray olive oil cooking spray
3 egg whites
1 slice reduced-fat American Cheese
1 slice turkey bacon
1 bagel thin

Spray a medium-sized ramekin with cooking spray (this ensures that the egg forms into a circle to fit bagel), add egg whites. Microwave on high for one minute. Let egg whites rest for a few seconds and microwave another 30 seconds. Flip egg white with a fork to cook other side, microwave on high another 1 minute or until egg whites have cooked. Meanwhile, toast bagel and heat up turkey bacon for 30 seconds in microwave. Place bagel on a plate, top with egg white. Add cheese (the steam from the egg white will melt the cheese), top with turkey bacon and other half of bagel thin. Enjoy!

Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

I love enchiladas, and as it turned out, I had corn tortillas, chicken, and cheese in my fridge...and I was not in the mood to go to the grocery store. So, I improvised! I found this easy recipe for Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas on Weight Watchers online site (click for their version) and changed it up, swapping ingredients for what I had on hand and adding more spicey ingredients to give it more flavor. You will love this recipe, try it ASAP! It's easy and cheesy!!! Note: Serve alongside Cilantro Lime Rice! Yum!

Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

1 spray olive oil cooking spray  
8 oz Kraft Velveeta Light Reduced-Fat Cheese   
1/2 cup(s) fat-free sour cream  
1/4 cup(s) fat-free evaporated milk  
2/3 cup(s) scallion(s), green part only, minced  
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes  
3 cup(s) chopped chicken breast*  
10 small yellow corn tortilla(s)  
1/4 cup(s) low-fat shredded cheddar cheese, mild or sharp variety  
1 can (10 oz.) of rotel tomatoes, medium heat
¼ cup jalepenos from the jar, chopped + 1 tsp of the juice  
1/4 cup(s) salsa 
2 T. cilantro, chopped for garnish
¼ cup scallions for garnish

Instructions

* Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9x11 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.

* In a microwave-safe bowl, combine Velveeta cheese and sour cream; cover and microwave on high power until cheese melts, about 2 minutes, stirring after 1 min. Remove half of melted cheese to a small bowl and stir in evaporated milk; set aside. Add scallions, red pepper flakes, jalepenos, tomatoes, and chicken to remaining cheese mixture; stir to coat.

* Spoon about 2/3 cup of chicken mixture down center of each tortilla; fold in sides of tortilla to cover filling and place tortillas in a single layer in prepared dish; spoon remaining cheese sauce over top and then sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese.

* Bake until cheese topping is bubbly, about 20 to 25 minutes. Top with cilantro and green onion. Serve with salsa. Yields 1 enchilada per serving. You can split it up into 5 servings at 8 WW PointsPlus, but I find this gives very large portions (okay for hubby, but hard to eat at once for me). I split it up into 10 servings at 5 PointsPlus per serving.

Notes

***Use leftover cooked chicken in this recipe. I placed 2-3 chicken breasts in the slow cooker, along with 1 cup salsa, a packet of taco seasoning, and some chicken stock (to keep it moist), cooking it on low for 8 hours. It comes out full of flavor and so moist you can shred it easily with a fork.