Death by Chocolate Brownies-Gluten FREE too!!!!

Found this great recipe in "Living Without" magazine-a magazine for people with gluten, egg, and dairy allergies, and they didn't even have the "Gluten-Free" dense texture!!!

6 oz semi-sweet chocolate squares, broken up

12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter or dairy-free buttery spread, cut into pieces

5 large eggs or 3/4 cup dairy-free yogurt

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend of choice

1/2 tsp xanthan gum (or powder gold as I like to call it-that stuff is PRICEY!!!)

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/3 cups coarsley chopped nuts (optional)

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I added a little more :)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 in pan with aluminum foil and coat with vegetable spray or omit foil and lightly oil pan (I used the foil and was able to lift the whole thing out once the brownies were cooled-I wasn't left chiseling brownie crust out of the corners of the pan-it was awesome!)

2. in a microwaveable dish, combine chocolate squares with butter. Heat on med-high setting until butter is melted, about 2 mins. Stir until mixture is smooth. Repeat, heating for 20 second intervals until the chocolate is melted. (make sure not to over heat-chocolate will become lumpy)

3. Beat eggs with sugar until light yellow and doubled in volume (5-7 minutes). Add vanilla and beat to combine

4. add melted chocolate to egg mixture, beating on low speed just to combine, about 1 min.

5. In a separate bowl, blend flour with xanthan gum and salt. Fold flour blend, nuts and chocolate chips in to egg-chocolate mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.

6. Set in middle of preheated oven. LOWER TEMPERATURE TO 350 degrees (I almost overlooked this part-that would have been BAD!) bake for 30 mins (35-40 mins if using yogurt instead of eggs). Cool in pan and freeze for 1 hour (I actually didn't do this part and they were just fine)

7. Lift brownies by edges of foil and set on cutting board. If not using foil, pry (That word sounds bad) contents out of pan in one piece and turn onto cutting board. Cut up (makes appx. 20 squares)

Enjoy!

lemon chicken with broccoli WW pointsplus=4

Number of Servings=4 Points per serving=4 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp table salt, divided 1/4 tsp black pepper 12 oz uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced 2 tsp olive oil 1 1/2 cup(s) fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided 2 tsp minced garlic 2 1/2 cup(s) broccoli, small florets 2 tsp lemon zest, or more to taste 2 Tbsp parsley, fresh, chopped 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

• On a plate, combine 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper; add chicken and turn to coat.
  
  
• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, turning as needed, until lightly browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes; remove to a plate.
  
  
• Put 1 cup of broth and garlic in same skillet; bring to a boil over high heat, scrapping up browned bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Add broccoli; cover and cook 1 minute.
  
  
• In a small cup, stir together remaining 1/2 cup of broth, 1/2 tablespoon of flour and 1/4 teaspoon of salt; add to skillet and bring to a simmer over low heat.
  
  
• Cover and cook until broccoli is crisp-tender and sauce is slightly thickened, about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in chicken and lemon zest; heat through.
  
  
• Remove skillet from heat and stir in parsley and lemon juice; toss to coat. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

Great with rice or angel hair pasta.

The Kitchen Boss

You know Buddy? The Cake Boss? Well, he now has a new show called the Kitchen Boss. The other day I was watching it and he made these two things and ever since then I've been dying to try them, they looked SO tasty! Roasted potatoes and Chicken Piccata. The chicken has capers on it-never tried them, but it looked good!

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/chicken-piccata.htm

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/buddys-favorite-roasted-potatoes.htm

Turkey chili

Here's what I'm going to try for dinner tonight since it's SOOOO frigid out. Haven't tried it yet, but I think it's gonna be tasty! I'll probably pair it with baked potatoes and have a perfect meal!

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/02/turkey-chili-taco-soup.html#more

Skinny Taste

I just saw this website, www.skinnytaste.com, posted in a comment on my sister's facebook page and decided to check it out. She has SOOO many recipes, I don't even know how many, and they are all healthy, low fat things. And they look tasty. I got through the first few pages and then realized there are just way too many to look through right now. So I copied a few links to a couple of the recipes that I really want to try out. I haven't tried any of them yet so I can't offer any opinion on them other than the look REALLY tasty. Check out the website for some that you might like or check out these below:

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/04/barbacoa-beef.html

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/07/spaghetti-squash-pesto-with-tomatoes.html#more

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/01/quick-and-deliciouso-cuban-style-black.html#more

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/12/pork-chops-with-mushrooms-and-shallots.html

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2008/03/white-bean-turkey-chili-4-pts.html

Weight Watchers Baked Ziti 7 pts

pointsplus value 7 makes 12 servings and is DELICIOUS!

Ingredients:

3 spray(s) cooking spray 1 pound(s) uncooked pasta, rigatoni or penne 3/4 pound(s) part-skim ricotta cheese 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste 1/4 cup(s) grated Parmesan cheese, divided 4 cup(s) marinara sauce, store-bought, divided 1/2 pound(s) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheeses 1/4 cup(s) basil, cut into ribbons, for garnish Instructions: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat bottom and sides of a lasagna pan with cooking spray. Cook pasta according to package directions; rinse with cool water and drain. While pasta is cooking, in a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, red pepper flakes, 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese and 1/3 cup marinara sauce. To assemble ziti, spoon 1/2 cup sauce on bottom of prepared pan; top with half of pasta in an even layer. Evenly spread pasta with ricotta mixture; cover with half of remaining sauce. Top with remaining pasta and spoon remaining sauce over top; sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining tablespoon Parmesan. Bake until cheese melts and is browned, about 20 to 30 minutes. Allow ziti to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing into 12 pieces. Yields 1 piece per serving.

Weight Watchers Fried Rice 4 pts

This recipe's weight watchers pointsplus value is 4 per serving, and yields 6 servings


Ingredients:

2 spray(s) cooking spray

2 large egg(s), lightly beaten
1 cup(s) carrot(s), shredded

1 cup(s) scallion(s), sliced, divided

3 cup(s) cooked white rice 1/2 cup(s) frozen green peas, thawed 1/4 cup(s) low-sodium soy sauce, or to taste Instructions: Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; warm pan over medium-high heat. Add eggs; tilt pan so that eggs cover bottom. When eggs start to set, break them up into pieces with a heat-proof spatula or wooden spoon. Cook until eggs are cooked through, about 1 minute more; remove eggs from skillet and set aside. Off heat, recoat same skillet with cooking spray; set over medium-high heat. Add carrots and all but 2 tablespoons scallions; sauté until carrots are crisp-tender, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in cooked rice, peas and soy sauce; cook until heated through, stirring once or twice, about 1 minute. Gently stir in cooked egg and remaining scallions; heat through. Yields about 3/4 cups per serving.