Frozen Gramwiches

I know...seriously two posts in a day? It is a new year, my friends.

So I have decided that this crap about a diet needs to go out the window and I just need to eat better and exercise more. As much as I contemplated staying in bed for another hour today, I ended up running for three miles instead. And it felt good.

One thing I have noticed is just my love for sweets. I cannot not have them. So I ended up finding this recipe from The Biggest Loser cookbook. Oh I am in love with Frozen Gramwiches...

Frozen Grahmwiches

2 whole low-fat graham crackers1/4 cup light or fat-free frozen whipped topping (any flavor)

Break each graham cracker in half to get four halves. Spread two of the halves evenly with the whipped topping. Top with the remaining cracker halves to make sandwiches. Transfer to an airtight plastic container. Cover tightly and place in the freezer. Freeze for at least 2 hours or up to 1 month. Serve frozen.

Makes 1 serving

Per serving: 150 calories, 2 g protein, 28 g carbohydrates, 4 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 polyunsaturated fat, 0 monounsaturated fat, 0 cholesterol.

Recipe No. 2 - Three Cheese Chicken

This is another Weightwatchers recipe, and it is delicious. A little time consuming, so it went against my easy prep recipes only, but well worth. I wish I had taken some pictures, but unfortunately did not (I guess a rookie mistake).

Three-Cheese Chicken
Ingredients
- Two cans of Fat Free Cream of Mushroom (or you can do cream of chicken)
- 1 pound of Chicken (cooked and cubed)
- 2 cups of cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup of Reduced Fat Parmesan cheese
- One tub of Fat Free Cottage Cheese
- Lasagna noodles
- 2 Tablespoons of Basil
- One Onion (chopped)
- two cans (12 oz) of mushrooms

1. In saucepan combine: 2 cans of soup, onion, chicken, cooked mushrooms, basil, and cottage cheese and cook.
2. cook the noodles (will need about six total)
3. spray and line the bottom of casserole dish with noodles
4. put a layer of the saucepan mixture (1/2 the mixture) over the noodles and then put anothe layer of noodles.
5. add most of your parmesan cheese and chedder cheese into saucepan mixture
6. pour remainder over noodles.
7. bake for 45 minutes at 375 covered. uncover when almost done and put remainder of parm and cheese on top and cook uncovered.

The Beginner Cook

I look back and realize that as a child I was very lucky. Very lucky that my mother was always willing to cook and clean for us (and never really heard her complain)...all of this while she also had a full-time job. Seriously?

Times have changed a bit and especially in my household. Yes, there is still newlywed bliss, but I also just don't believe that it should be only my job to cook and clean. Not when I am sitting in nice rush hour traffic for five days a week. I at least have a husband who is willing to go 50-50 on household cleaning duties. We actually talked about this early on - I hate washing dishes, so he does the dishes. He hates doing laundry, so I do the laundry. All of this works, except for the cooking. In my single days, I kept it pretty simple, because I was only eating for myself. When I registered, my friends giggled at the thought of buying me a blender (until I explained the need for magaritas) or a mixer (well, this one was more for looks - the red Kitchenaid mixer). However, over the last year, I have become more and more of a fan of cooking. I love trying out new recipes - but they have to be easy...like beginner easy.

So hopefully, I will post a couple recipes here a week and tell you how they went. Please keep in mind - the majority of them are Weight Watchers or low fat. And please, feel free to pass along any of your recipes as well!

First up - Again beginner here and the key here is that it is quick.

Mexican Chicken

1 pkg Taco seasoning (Taco Bell is best)

4 (4 oz) chicken breasts
1 cup salsa

1/4 cup non-fat sour cream

Put chicken & taco seasoning in plastic bag; shake and coat well. Place in sprayed (nonstick cooking spray) casserole dish. Bake 30 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Top with salsa about 5 minutes before done, then top with sour cream.

This is a weightwatchers recipe - so it is four points for one chicken breast.