As we call it... "Yummy"

So my friends on Pinterest make me gain weight.  You have them too.  When you are just looking for crafty ideas or healthy meals, the ones who pin stuff like this:

• http://pinterest.com/pin/60657926201899565/ 
• http://pinterest.com/pin/137852438564787106/ 
• http://pinterest.com/pin/32862272251748638/ 
• http://pinterest.com/pin/2814818487966702/

I hate you all.

So of course when I view these pictures, I can't help but think, hmm, is that something I could make?  Do I have all of the ingredients right now at 12 AM to indulge my sweet tooth?  Can I alter the recipe at all to make it yummier/unhealthier/easier?

My latest creation is an alteration of this pin http://pinterest.com/pin/2814818487966702/.  The first time I made it, I left out the egg and added ice cream & chocolate syrup on top.  (Yes, I have made this more than once. More like half a dozen times).  Since then, my oh so willing hubby and I have created the perfect dessert.

Ingredients

Baby cereal, yellow squash, 
and tomatoes not used in this recipe.

1/2 tbsp butter (melted)
1/2 tbsp white sugar
1/2 tbsp brown sugar
some vanilla extract
some salt
1/2 tbsp (or more) peanut butter
1/8 cup white flour
some milk
some chocolate chips

Nice and precise, huh?

The way I create this masterpiece is by melting the butter in a small Corningware ramekin, then mixing in the sugars, vanilla, and salt.  

Then I add my peanut butter.  Depending on how the day went, this amount may increase significantly.  These cookies are MUCH better with the peanut butter - it improves the taste & consistency.  The cookies are OK without it, but heavenly with it!



Next I add the flour and *some* milk and mix it all together.  





Last are the chocolate chips.  I tend to add more chips in hubby's cookie, but again, that amount varies depending on the day.  


Pop that ramekin in the microwave for 30 seconds and add a few more chocolate chips on top!  Yummy.  Just like the name.  

FYI - Each cookie requires at least a cup and a half of milk to drink with it.  Seriously.

Cooking with Greek Yogurt

A couple weeks ago, Mike got a coupon from Meijer for 3 free Yoplait greek yogurts.  I have tried greek yogurt before and was not a fan, but you can't beat free!  Since I definitely knew I didn't like it by itself, I told him to get just plain yogurt and I would try to find some recipes to use it in, as to not be wasteful.  Smart plan!  I saw a recipe on Pinterest in the past for a smothered chicken using mayo, but also saw a similar one using greek yogurt ( http://pinterest.com/pin/142778250656712070/ ).  I decided to give this one a try.  

The recipe was so simple - 4 chicken breasts (I used 2 breast cut into 4 pieces), 5 oz plain greek yogurt (fat free), 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (recipe was for shredded, I used grated because that's what I have), seasoned salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. All you have to do is mix it all together and put it on top of the chicken in a baking dish, then it goes in the oven for about 45 minutes at 375 degrees!  So simple!  This was only 5 WW points plus for 1/4 of the whole dish!  To complete the healthy meal, I paired it with the WW quinoa & spinach recipe and broccoli.  Mike & I LOVED this meal.  The kids were somewhat picky, but they both ate all of the chicken.

After that recipe, we still had 2 containers of the greek yogurt.  Also on pinterest, I looked up "greek yogurt" and saw a cheesecake using a store-bought graham cracker crust and cherry greek yogurt.  Roughly using the recipe I found, in addition to a couple others, I decided to wing it and make my own individual blueberry cheesecakes.  

I mixed together 2 containers (5 oz each) plain fat free greek yogurt, 1 egg, 1/3 cup splenda (could also use sugar, but I still had some free boxes of splenda that I had never used), 2 tbsp cornstarch, 1 tsp (ish) vanilla extract, and 1 cup unsweetened frozen blueberries.  To make the crust I used 10 low-fat cinnamon graham crackers (definitely too many, could have used about 6 instead) with 3 tbsp melted country crock light margarine spread.

I put cupcake liners in my muffin tins, put some of the graham cracker mixture on the bottom (pressed down to make a crust) and then filled each cup with my "cheesecake" mixture.  Since I had way too much graham cracker mixture, I topped each cup to use the rest of it.  Then I baked it for 20 minutes and immediately put in the refrigerator to cool & finish setting up.  Mike and I each had 2 last night, but they were even better this morning once they had cooled overnight.  These were only 2 points plus per cheesecake!!!  (For 2 it was 5 points total).  I think by reducing the graham crackers, it would probably bring it down to 4 points for 2 of these.  These were so tasty & light - definitely will make again!!!  These would also be good with other fruits, or even plain!  What we need to try for next time is no cupcake liners (they stuck quite a bit) and doing just graham cracker on top and then flipping them out. We'll see!  Either way, they are delicious and really do taste like cheesecake, only no cheese!!!