Mile-High Choco-Berry VitaTop Pie

Mile-High Choco-Berry VitaTop Pie (HG 200, pg. 318)

Dishes Used- 3
Fire Alarms- N/A
First Aid Incidents- 0
Matthew Annoyance Level- 0

This was a pain in the butt to make.  You do all this work to cut the VitaTops in half lengthwise, and then you're supposed to cut the whole thing in half vertically.  As I was stacking the VitaTop halves, they were starting to slide around on the Cool Whip.  Here's what I'm going to try next time.  Forget all the freakin' layers.  Just make two Whoopie Pie's and cover them both with the Cool Whip/Strawberry Preserves mix and top with mini chocolate chips.

Freezy-Cool Whoopie Pie

Freezy-Cool Whoopie Pie (HG 200, pg. 315)

Dishes Used- 1
Fire Alarms- N/A
First Aid Incidents- 0
Matthew Annoyance Level- 0

I've made this twice, and I want to make more!  What I like best about this recipe is that it tastes better if you make it at least a day ahead of time.  It is difficult to cut the Vitatops in half, but it works.  Very easy.  Make several and then you have something to look forward to for dessert tomorrow.

Cheesed-Up Pepperoni Pizza Scramble

Cheesed-Up Pepperoni Pizza Scramble (HG 200, pg.46)

Dishes Used- 3
Fire Alarms- 0
First Aid Incidents- 1
Matthew Annoyance Level- 0

I really like this one and have made it many times.  However, be careful when you are cutting the pepperoni.  It is easy and most of the ingredients I usually keep on hand.  It's more interesting than just making scrambled eggs.  Make sure not to add too much cheese, it gets too salty and then just tasted like cheese.

Slow-Cookin' BBQ Chicken

Slow-Cookin' BBQ Chicken (HG 1-2-3, pg.174)

Dishes Used- 3
Fire Alarms- 0
First Aid Incidents- 0
Matthew Annoyance Level- 0

I prepared the ingredients and chicken the night before.  In the morning before I left for work I dumped everything into the crock pot and set it to low.  When I got home at 3 my apartment smelled REALLY good and made me hungry.  I pulled out the chicken to shred.  Most of the BBQ sauce was toasty and caked on to the bottom with a thick layer on the chicken.  It looked sad, not like what I expected.  I made ANOTHER mixture of her BBQ sauce and poured it in with the shredded chicken.  I left it on low until Matt came home.  It looked better, but neither Matt nor I cared for the taste of the sauce.  If I did it again I would try it with the usual pre-made BBQ sauce we buy at costco and forget her sauce.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole or Chicken Pot Pie--You Decide!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole (Hungry Girl 1-2-3, Pg. 66, 260 calories per serving, makes 4 servings) - If you like tortillas in your chicken pot pie then this is the recipe for you.

Dishes Used - 2
Smoke Alarms - 0
Matthew Annoyance Level - 0
Babies played with - 1
First Aid Administered - 0

Tonight, we decided to try a recipe from the newest Hungry Girl cookbook.  This is a very easy recipe to make but it was rather disappointing in taste.  It didn't taste like an enchilada at all.  It tasted more like a chicken pot pie.

We both agree that this is not a recipe that we will do again.  But if you have ever wondered what it would taste like if you made your chicken pot pie crust out of tortillas then this is the recipe for you.

Gooey Cinnamon Rolls - Take Two

Gooey Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing (Hungry Girl 200 under 200, Pg. 36, 126 calories, 3 weight watchers points, recipe makes 8 servings) - Diana and I tried this recipe on our last Hungry Girl night and we just couldn't get it to work out.  According to the recipe directions, you are supposed to roll out the crescent roll dough.  Crescent roll dough is elastic so you could roll it out and then it would just bounce back to the original form.  We tried so hard to get it to work but we couldn't.  Then we put the rolls on a cookie sheet and during the baking process, they fell apart and most of the cinnamon mix fell out.

So I decided to try this recipe again.  This time, I decided to roll the cinnamon rolls like crescent rolls.  I wasn't going to waste my time trying to roll out an elastic dough.  Once I rolled them into crescent form, I put them into a muffin pan sprayed with non-stick spray.  I figured in the muffin pan they would hold shape and keep the cinnamon mixture inside the roll.  This worked perfectly.  The rolls maintained their shape, kept all of the cinnamon mixture and they tasted great.  I put the cream cheese mixture in the fridge while the rolls were baking so it would be nice and cool on the fresh cinnamon rolls.  I do recommend eating the rolls while they are still warm if you are looking for that Cinnabun taste.

By rolling the dough crecent shaped and using a muffin pan, all past issues have been corrected.  Now I can highly recommend this recipe

New Recipe from the New Hungry Girl Book

Hungry Girl just came out with a new cookbook--Hungry Girl 1-2-3.  While my mother was in town visiting for Spring Break, we decided to try one of the new recipes.  Since we are Italian and we love chicken, we made an appropriate selection.

Pan Fried Chicken Parm (Hungry Girl 1-2-3, Pg. 60, 258 calories, makes 2 servings) - This recipe is basically the Italian version of the Fiber-ific Chicken.  I did make this recipe pan fried as directed but the next time I make it, I'm going to bake the chicken.  I personally prefer baked chicken over the fried versions--I also prefer it as a cooking method, frying makes the stove top all messy.  I followed the recipe except I did substitute the tomato sauce with the no salt added tomato sauce that I added my own spices to.  Overall, it was an OK recipe.  We both liked it but it seemed to be missing something.

Next time, I think I will try adding my own spices to the fiberone mix and bake the chicken.  It is definitely a good recipe to try.

Shake and Bake Hungry Girl Style

Fiber-ific Fried Chicken Strips (Hungry Girl, Pg. 112, 277 calories) - If you like Shake and Bake Chicken, you'll love these.  I highly recommend this recipe to everyone.  This recipe is for a single serving--8 chicken strips.  The first time I made this recipe, it was a little bland.  Now I add seasonings to the fiberone mix and put some bbq sauce in the egg mix.  I also bake the recipe instead of frying it. 

Being a single person and a stressed out teacher, I tend to make this recipe on Sundays.  I make two chicken breasts and wind up getting three meals.  I have the rubbermaid take-alongs with the dividers so I can make up a few meals for during the week.  I like to combine the chicken with the butternut mashed potatoes or steamed vegetables.  (For those who live in the LA area, go to Super King in Altadena for a wide assortment of fresh veggies at extremely affordable prices--so much better than Ralphs. Vons or Albertsons pricewise).

Bye Bye Wienerschnitzel!

Hot Diggity Chili Dog - (Hungry Girl, Pg. 111, 109 calories) Going on a diet usually means you have to give up your favorite fast food places.  Last summer, as a broke teacher, I frequented Wienerschnitzel where they have their three for $3.00--two chili cheese dogs and chili cheese fries.  They also have $.79 corndogs and $.99 root beer floats.  It was a fast easy meal I could afford but when I discovered how many calories I was eating, I was shocked.  Let's just say it was more than one person should eat in a day let alone one meal.  Thankfully, Hungry Girl came up with a solution--the Hot Diggity Chili Dog (I add weight watchers shredded cheddar cheese as a topping).  It's just like putting together a regular chili cheese dog and satisfies the fast food craving.  I highly recommend this recipe if you like chili cheese anything.

More Fun with Butternut Squash

Yummy Butternut Home Fries - (Hungry Girl, Pg. 280, 58 calories per serving, makes 4 servings) This recipe smells amazing while it is cooking.  I highly recommend this recipe if you like home fries for breakfast--or as a comfort food.  It's very easy to make but make sure you have a large pan to cook in.  I only had skillets and I had to switch to a pot since I don't have the right sized pan.  It didn't exactly look like the picture but it was very tasty.  I wound up eating two servings the first night and saved the other two servings as leftovers.  Again, not a recipe for a single person unless you don't mind leftovers.

Sweet Potato Pie

I Can't Believe It's Not Sweet Potato Pie - (Hungry Girl, Pg. 164, 113 calories per serving, makes 4 servings) 

After a stressful week, I was craving my comfort foods but not wanting to break my diet prevented me from fulfilling my cravings.  I flipped through the originial Hungry Girl book looking for a good subsitute when I came across this recipe.  Since Butternut Squash is now a staple in my house, I had all the necessary ingredients on hand.  I pulled out my pyrex pie dish--since I was making pie--and proceeded to make the recipe.  It was a fairly easy to make recipe.

This recipe is not meant for a single person--the servings are big.  It is great to eat one night but not 4 nights in a row.  I would recommend making this when you know you are having company or you are going to a dinner party.