Sloppy Joes With A Twist

Thanks to my friend, Jill, this is my new favorite Sloppy Joe recipe. It totally has a great twist to it.

Ingredients:
Splash of extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1.5 pounds of ground beef or turkey
Kosher Salt, just a little bit
Pepper to taste
2 cups of ketchup
1/4 cup of yellow mustard
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper - who would have thought?
1 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs tomato paste
1 tbs red wine vinegar - another surprise

Directions: THIS IS SO EASY
1. Add the oil to the pan and saute the onion
2. Add meat, salt, and pepper. Fully cook.
3. Add ketchup, mustard, cayenne pepper, sugar, and tomato paste. Stir well.
4. Add red wine vinegar at the end and stir.
5. Place on your hamburger bun. I like to add mayo and a slice of cheese to mine :)

Notes:
The onion isn't overly powering so I like it that way the recipe calls for it to be made. Also, the 1 tsp. of cayenne adds such a good kick. It's not too spicy at all. If you're like my husband and you love spicy food, kick it up a notch.

I hope you like these as much as I do!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Yikes, it's been a while since I've updated the good ole' recipe blog. Here is my "go to" dip recipe. 

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients:
1 cup of ranch dressing (I like Hidden Valley the best)
2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese (I use the light version)
1 whole cooked chicken (I just pick up the cooked chicken at Sams Club, original flavor)
3/4 of a cup of Franks Red Hot original sauce
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Leave the cream cheese out until it reaches room temperature
2. Pull apart chicken to make small pieces
3. In a bowl, combine the chicken pieces, ranch dressing, & Red Hot sauce. Make sure all ingredients are combined well
4. In an 8 by 8 square pan, layer the room temperature cream cheese on the bottom of the pan
5. Place chicken mixture on top
6. Cover with cheddar cheese
7. Heat in a 350 degree oven until the cheese is nice and bubbly, about 20 minutes

Notes:
This is best served hot with celery and thick crackers. Yum :)
Feel free to add tabasco for if you like things nice and spicy.

Strawberry Sprite Cake, LOW FAT

This cake is sooooo easy. I totally stole the idea from Angela's blog. She said it was a Weight Watchers recipe so it instantly caught my eye as I'm trying to lose 15 pounds.

Ingredients:

Strawberry Cake Mix

Sprite or Sprite Zero

Sugar Free or Fat Free Cool Whip, thawed

Strawberries

Directions:

1. Mix together 12 ounces of Sprite Zero and the cake mix. DO NOT add the eggs and oil. Literally just the mix and sprite zero. It will be slightly lumpy. And don't ya'll use that whole thing of Sprite Zero in the picture. I just measured out my 12 ounces :)

2. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until done. The cake will not rise and it will be a little sticky. It's okay because it's still delish!

3. Let cool

4. Enjoy with cool whip and strawberries on top. It's like a strawberry version of angel food cake. YUM!

Fresh Homemade Applesauce

I LOVE FALL!!! I bought a big bag of Empire apples at Fairmount Orchard on Signal Mountain this week and wanted to make Lauren some yummy applesauce :) Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Apples - I used around 12 small Empire apples

Water

Sugar - 1/4 cup

Cinnamon - Optional

1. Core apples. Cute into chunky pieces and place in a crock pot.
2. Cover 1/2 of the apples with water. It's important not to cover the apples or they will turn out super watery. You can always add water later if you need to.

3. Cover apples with 1/4 cup of sugar

4. Add as much cinnamon as you would like
5. Cover and cook on low heat 3-4 hours. Just check on them during the cooking process to see how soft they are getting.
6. When they get soft, just mash them up to the consistency that you like. Serve warm or cold....yummmm!

Easy Breakfast Tacos

So I bought some low fat tortillas and was thinking what I could make with them. Growing up in Texas, we always had breakfast tacos when we went out to restaurants or at home. I would just love it if we had some good places here to get them BUT we don't so I made my own!

Ingredients:

4 eggs (for 2 people)

Green pepper, sliced thin

Onion, sliced thin

Mushrooms, sliced

Tomato, sliced thin

Low fat or fat free shredded cheese

96% fat free tortillas

Directions:

1. Scramble eggs as you would normally. I always beat mine in a bowl and add a tiny bit of milk and then scramble

2. Add all veggies to the eggs while they are cooking

3. Add egg mixture to your tortillas

4. Add cheese on top

YUM YUM :)

Yummy Snack

So I love to snack - who doesn't, right?!?! This is one of my favorite, guilt free snacks, when I'm craving something crunchy!

1 serving tostitos baked chips

Salsa

Onions

Green Peppers

Cheese slice

• Place 1 serving of chips in a bowl
• Cut the cheese slice into little pieces and place over the chips
• Microwave 20 seconds
• Cover with salsa, onions, and peppers

YUM!!

Notes:

• You can always use a different kind of chip. I just choose the baked as I'm on weight watchers
• I use the 2% american cheese, the Wal-Mart brand. It's only 1 point per slice
• I like a chunky salsa because I feel like I'm getting "more" for my point value
• I love onions and peppers and they have 0 points so I load my bowl up. But you can always eliminate!

JCrew Flip Flops

JCrew flip flops are on sale right now for only $9.99. (Select Styles). My mom & I each got 2 pairs this weekend. They are FABULOUS, squishy yet so comfortable, some have a wedge which I love, and they are super nice and not cheap. Go get some!!!