Ginger Pumpkin Muffins

These were bound to make both Jim and myself happy- they combine our loves of ginger and pumpkin!

These were very good. Jim ate one and when I told him he could have another he was obviously very happy. He said they are "very, very good". So glad :)

I actually made these not for us but for James. At naptime he told me it was the Sun's birthday and we need cake and presents. I went with it because it was a good way to get him to actually take a nap- if there was something to look forward to afterwards. So the muffins will serve as the cake. I don't know what we're going to do about the presents :)

Yeah, that's my muffin in the front. Its half eaten and then I thought maybe you'd like to see the inside of these muffins.

The recipe called for 1/2 cup of crystallized ginger. I didn't think James would care for that so I substituted 1/2 cup of mini chips. I know he'll love those.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Ginger Pumpkin Muffins. This is a recipe from one of my favorite bloggers. She does some great recipe comparisons.

Giant Ginger Cookies

My big sis needs a little cheering up so I baked some cookies for her. Okay, for all of us. I ended up only having a half cookie (3.5 points) but Jim enjoyed a whole one. He is a sucka for ginger anything :)

I hope Ana likes these! They are HUGE and gingerlicious. Martha just doesn't fail me!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Giant Ginger Cookies.

Last CSA Farm Box

So the verdict? I don't think we'll get another farm share. I really, really enjoyed getting the boxes and the challenge of making the different vegetables. I certainly did try new ones but I think I wasted and gave away a lot too.

And I think I really don't like squash. Squash. I got lots of squash in these last few boxes. I don't know what to do with them. We'll see.

BUT I did get a pumpkin! Mmmmmmmm. Pumpkin pie. I'm saving lots of my points for a piece. Just one piece.



Did you know that brussel sprouts grow like this? and how many kinds of squash ARE THERE?!

Well, it was a great experience. I look forward to hitting farmers markets all over the metro next year, and not just for the safe and easy vegetables. We need to try new things too.

Pico de Gallo & Mexican Flatbread Pizza

I've never really paid attention when my Mom makes her Pico de gallo. DUMB.

Here's my train of thought of why I needed to make it all of a sudden. We went to a restaurant the other night and on the menu I figured the safest thing to eat was a veggie flatbread pizza. I only ate half and I had a side salad. It was SO GOOD. I figured it wouldn't be hard to make one at home so I looked up "flatbread pizza" in my good ol' Google Reader. Pioneer Woman had the first search result. Good ol' PW! Her version was a Mexican pizza, with beans, her pico de gallo, seasoned meat, cheese, etc. The only icky thing was that she used canned biscuits for her flatbread. I have been trying NOT to use processed food like that. I used Flatout flatbreads (1 WW point each!)






I didn't print the recipe, I just figured I had the idea. Well, Jim wanted to make the pizzas so they'd be ready when I got home. I told him how to make the pizzas. They were just okay. He did everything as I asked. I later found out that we should have used refried beans with salsa mixed in for the bottom "sauce". Our versions of the pizzas were too dry. I liked all of the flavors but I think it needed something else. I'll definitely try these again. Jim wasn't a fan, so maybe I'll make them when he's not home :)


We baked the flatout breads with a little olive oil for a few minutes in a 350 degree oven, this helped it get crispy first. The toppings went on and back in the oven for a few more minutes. Easy.

Click here for the stolen recipe for PW's Pico de gallo.

Click here for the stolen recipe for PW's Mexican flatbread pizzas.

Sesame Chicken with broccoli and snow peas

I wasn't organized about this recipe. I should have read through it at least once really well and then I would have caught the details, like using only 3T of the soy sauce for the marinade. I put in the entire 5T and then had to add additional ingredients to balance it out. I hate when I make mistakes. I hate when I'm flustered/crabby because of low blood sugar. I was a maniac in the kitchen and my poor husband had to wait patiently for me to calm down.

Good thing this was good! If this had been a crappy meal, I would have lost it completely. It was pretty simliar to sweet and sour, and pretty good for being a "light" meal. Who needs battered chicken?

I couldn't find chili paste at the grocery store so I substituted a bit of ketchup with red pepper flakes (I looked it up online). It worked but I could have been heavier with the red pepper.

This recipe said it makes 5 servings. I think because I added the broccoli (whole head) I think it probably stretches out to a very healthy sized 5 servings. It also includes the rice. A serving is 9 weight watcher points. This scared me at first but I it was do-able for my day today. I even have 2 points left for a snack tonight! Mmmm. Skinny cow ice cream sandwich!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Sesame Chicken with Snow Peas.

Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Torte

I was asked to bring a dessert to a friend's house, for a birthday celebration. I was told that she likes tortes. I actually considered just buying one from a fancy bakery in Anoka but I looked up some recipes and found this one. It didn't seem hard at all, and used very few ingredients. The blogger's picture looks absolutely HORRIBLE but the reviews were good.

So I made this...

It tastes a lot like the Chocolate Intensity Cake that Jim loves so much but with a sweet raspberry kick.

My friends really loved this cake. We are all dieting in some way so I watched them eat little bits at a time. A lot of little bits but who was counting?

Click here for the stolen recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Torte. Please look at my picture of this cake, don't look at hers. Hers is a hot mess.

This cake was made in a 8 inch springform pan. The cake was on the thin side, but a slice was still 8 Weight Watcher points. There were 8 servings. But really, you only needed half a slice. It's very rich and delicious.

Crab Cakes

Jim said these crab cakes are better than any he's had in a restaurant. Ooooh high praise!



I made these crab cakes last night, the mixture anyway. I made the cakes and put them on a baking tray and refrigerated them overnight. This was great. I pulled them out of the refrigerator, dredged them in a bit of flour, and then sauteed them for 3-4 minutes per side.

For dinner, a crab cake with a lemon herb sauce, leftover Tuscan vegetable soup, and a side salad. Plenty of food! (9 points total)

My sister has been telling me to buy the lump crabmeat at Sam's Club. Whenever I've made crab cakes in the past I've used canned crabmeat. Good, but not great. These were great! It was $16 for almost a pound of meat but well worth it. This recipe made four healthy sized crab cakes. We've decided that we need to make these again :)

Click here for the stolen recipe for Crab Cakes. I found the recipe in my The Best Light Recipe cookbook but found the basic recipe online. Try 'em, you'll like 'em.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

I don't think I'm a big fan of squash which is unfortunate because my farm boxes are arriving PACKED with it. I made this soup tonight for later in the week. (My recipe says it keeps for four days, covered in the fridge.)

I snuck a little taste of it and I think this will definitely be a small serving on the side of a meal. It isn't the star, in my eyes. It's really, really velvety smooth and I think it's probably a great soup. I just don't think I'm BFF's with squash. We're just civil to each other :)

I really wanted to love it too because it took up a whole hour of my life! Roasting in the oven, then cooking on the stovetop with garlic, broth, white wine, and then pureeing it in the blender, and finally adding a touch of half and half. I didn't even bother with the dishes. I was just too tired :) (Sorry Jimmy!)

Click here for the stolen recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash Soup.

Ooops! I can't find the recipe online. I lack the energy to type it out. Here are the ingredients though: 1 large butternut squash, 1 onion, 2 tsp vegetable oil, 3 garlic cloves, 1/4 cup dry wine, 1 bay leaf, 1 1/2 cups chicken broth (low sodium), 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth, 1/2 cup half and half, salt and pepper.

This soup has 4 servings. Each serving is 3 Weight Watcher points.

Another Chicken Pot Pie

I don't know how my other Chicken Pot Pie rates in the weight watcher world but I would guess with the processed pie crust (probably made with lard) that it isn't very healthy. Lovely tasting, but not good for my diet right now.

I found this recipe in my The Best Light Recipes by Cook's Illustrated. I am really appreciating that it breaks down the calories, fat, carbs, protein, and fiber at the end of each recipe. I was quickly able to figure out which recipes I could make for my diet. A serving of this Pot Pie is about 8 points. It's all I ate and I actually had 1 1/2 servings :) All within my diet!

The filling was on the thin side, like runny. I actually like the other recipe much better but I'll have to check the points on it before I make it again. I really liked the biscuit top to this pot pie. Yum. It was quite easy to make, just mixing wet and dry ingredients separately and then all together. The biscuits were dropped on top of the filling.

So we really enjoyed this dinner!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Chicken Pot Pie. I found the recipe in my cookbook. I love that book :)

This pie has 8 servings. Each serving is 8 Weight Watcher points.