Baked Mini Corndogs

My kids absolutely love corn dogs and could eat them daily if I let them. In the past I bought store brand corn dogs as an easy lunch "treat" for them, but always felt guilt for how unhealthy they are. So, I decided to start making my own! These are so easy and the kids don't seem to mind that they aren't fried or full of fat. Each corn dog (using the ingredients I list below) are about 50 calories and 1.5 grams of fat. Granted, a corn dog is a corn dog so I still feed these to them in moderation.

Ingredients:

Box of corn bread mix - I use Krusteez brand Fat Free Honey Cornbread

6 Hot dogs, sliced into 5 pieces - I use Oscar Myer Fat Free Turkey Hot dogs

Directions: Make cornbread according to directions on the package.

Spray a mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Fill each muffin tin, about half way, with muffin mixture. Press a piece of the hot dog into each tin and then top with a bit more cornbread mix.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 to 12 minutes. Makes 30 to 32 corndogs

**These freeze really well!**

Dreamsicle Fruit Dip

Fruit salad stands alone just fine by itself, but sometimes it's fun to jazz it up a bit. I made this dip over the weekend to take to a cook-out at Carmen's. The fruit and the dip disappeared in an instant! It's light, refreshing, sweet but not sugary, sick to your stomach sweet and it compliments pretty much all fruit!

(sorry I forgot to take a pic)

Ingredients:
12 ounces fat free cream cheese, softened
 1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow crème (Fluff)
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 tablespoons, fresh orange juice

Directions:
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to blend all ingredients until well combined. Refrigerate Dreamsicle Fruit Dip for at least 3 hours before serving. Serve with a variety of fresh fruit.


- This dip can be made up to two days in advance, simply store in covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Recipe comes from http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/dreamsicle-fruit-dip-recipe/ 

Ginger Lemon Mojito

There are no words to describe this drink.... so light & refreshing. From personal experience, I recommend sipping slowly, lol. They are stronger than they look! Very light tasting but packs a powerful punch! :)

We used Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueor. Its expensive but one bottle lasts a very long time, considering how strong they are. Perfect spring/summer sipping cocktail.

2 parts Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueor
1/2 part light rum (we used bacardi)

Muddle with fresh mint and 2 lemon wedges. Shake and serve in a tall glass with ice. Top with club soda.

Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel Sauce

We love bread pudding so I was all about trying this recipe. Very velvety and rich. Loved it. Easy to make too. One slice is 300 calories and 4g of fat.

Bread Pudding Ingredients:
5 cups (1/2") cubed French bread
1 cup evaporated fat free milk
3/4 cup 1% low fat milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 TBS bourbon
1 TBS vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs

Sauce Ingredients:
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 TBS bourbon
1 TBS unsalted butter
6 TBS half and half, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350. Arrange the cubed bread pieces on a baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until slightly toasted. Combine evaporated milk and next 7 ingredients (through eggs) in a large bowl, stir with a whisk. Add bread cubes. Let stand 20 minutes, occasionally pressing on the bread to soak up the liquid.

To prepare the sauce, combine brown sugar, 3 TBS bourbon and butter in a small saucepan over medium high heat, bring to a boil. Simmer 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Stir in 5 TBS half and half, simmer 10 minutes or until its reduced to about 1 cup. Remove pan from heat. Stir in remaining 1 TBS half and half, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Keep warm.

Spoon half of the bread mixture into a 9x5 loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Drizzle 3 TBS sauce over the bread mixture. Spoon remaining half of bread mixture over the sauce. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Pour the remaining warm sauce over each slice before serving.

Slow Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup

This soup is only 300 calories and 7 grams of fat per serving (2 cups!) It has all of the flavor of stuffed peppers but it takes half the time to prep! Also, it's great comfort food without being unhealthy. We all really enjoyed it (even the kids ate it without complaint!)

1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 cup diced onion
1 - 2 tsp minced garlic
28 oz can diced tomatoes w/ the juice
6 oz can tomato paste
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
3 cups chopped green pepper (i used 1 green pepper, 1 orange, 1 yellow
and 1 red)
2/3 cup uncooked brown rice
2 TBSP brown sugar, packed
1 tsp dried basil
ground black pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese (optional)

(it calls for 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon but i didn't add it)

In a large skillet, cook turkey, onion and garlic over medium heat
until browned / drain any juices and transfer mixture to a slow
cooker

Add remaining ingredients and stir gently to mix. Cook on low for 8-9
hours / add water to thin if necessary. The soup will really thicken up over the cooking period.

Serve over additional brown rice* and sprinkle with Parm cheese

Makes 6 cups.

I made additional brown rice to place in the bottom of our bowls to make it more hearty.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

This recipe blew my mind! I'm a huge fan of lettuce wraps when we go out to eat but I swear these were better than anything I've had at restaurants. The recipe calls for you to use lean ground turkey (which I did) but a friend of mine made it with diced chicken and said it was just as good. 2 filled lettuce wraps = 275 calories!

Ingredients:
1.25 lb extra lean ground turkey
1 pkg (16oz) frozen stir fry vegetable blend, thawed & coarsely chopped
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
1/4 cup hoisan sauce
3 TBS creamy peanut butter (we used reduced fat)
2 TBS minced fresh gingerroot
1 TBS rice vinegar
1 TBS sesame oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 green onions, chopped
10 crisp lettuce leaves

Cook turkey in a large nonstick skillet until no longer pink. Add the chopped stirfry veggies to the pan. Stir in the teriyaki sauce, hoisan sauce, peanut butter, ginger, vinegar & sesame oil. Stirfry over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add garlic, cook 1 minute longer.

Remove from heat, stir in the green onion. Fill the lettuce leaves with about 1/2 cup mixture each. Serve with additional hoisan sauce for dipping if desired.


*recipe courtesy of Simple & Delicious

Maple Jalapenos

Sweet & spicy! Easy to make too. These disappeared off the plate faster than any other appetizer I had out. Everyone loved them. You can cook them longer to make them milder if you aren't a big fan of spice. This recipe makes 50 but you can cut it in half. You really can't go wrong with these ingredients.

Ingredients:
25 jalapenos (look for thicker ones that will hold a filling)
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened (we used low fat)
1 cup (4oz) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 lb bacon strips, cooked & crumbled (we used real bacon bits to save time)
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Cut jalapenos in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Beat the cream cheese, feta cheese and syrup in a small bowl until smooth. Spoon into the pepper halves.

Place the pepper halves on 2 greased baking pans. Top with the bacon and then sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for 20 minutes for spicy, 30 minutes for medium and 40 minutes for mild.


*recipe courtesy of Simple & Delicious