Cranberry Mousse



The first recipe I posted in 2013 was a cranberry recipe. The last recipe I'm posting in 2013 is also a cranberry recipe. This was not planned!  This recipe has just the right amount of sweetness and the right about of tartness to tickle your palate. It's kind of high in P+, but so worth it!

 



CRANBERRY MOUSSE

Makes 4 Servings

1 Serving = 7 PointsPlus™

 

12 oz. fresh cranberries, rinsed

1 small (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained (OR pineapple bits, drained)

1 pkg (8 oz.) Neufchatel cream cheese

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 of an 8 oz. tub of fat-free whipped topping.

 

Grind berries in a blender or food processor. If you are using pineapple bits, put them in with the berries.

 

In a medium bowl, blend the cream cheese and powdered sugar using an electric mixer. Fold in the whipped topping by hand.

 

Add the berry/pineapple mixture to the whipped topping mixture.

 

 

Spoon into 4 dessert dishes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour until 'set'.

 

MY SPIN: One of these days I'm going to dig out my food processor and learn how to use it. Doing the berries and pineapple in a blender......I had to stop and use a spatula to mix them up a bit to be sure they all got 'smooshed'!

 

Enjoy!!

 

Now for the 'legal mumbo-jumbo' to keep me out of court!!   *** The PointsPlus™ value for this recipe was calculated by me (Jan Gomes) and is not an endorsement or approval of this recipe by Weight Watchers International, Inc., the owner of the PointsPlus™ registered trademark. ***

 

Later!

Loving Life!

Jan

Banana Custard

I don't know about you, but I get tired of making banana bread or banana muffins every time I have "funky" bananas that need to be used.  This is so easy to make and has a great flavor.  I think a cool thing would be to let the kids have this for breakfast......they'll think you've lost your marbles! hahaha

BANANA CUSTARD

Makes 4 Servings

1 Serving = 2 PointsPlus™

1 cup (@3 small) very ripe bananas, puree'd

3/4 cup fat-free egg substitute
1/4 cup Splenda granulated
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup fat-free milk

Preheat oven to 350º. Spray 4 (7 oz) ramekins. Set aside.

Puree the bananas in a blender or food processor.

Add remaining ingredients and blend/process until well combined.

Pour into the sprayed ramekins.

Place a baking dish on the oven rack. Place the ramekins on the baking dish. Pour HOT water into the baking dish until almost to the top of the ramekins.

Bake 35 – 40 minutes until custard is set on the sides and slightly jiggly in the center.

Carefully remove the ramekins from the water to a rack to cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until cold.

Enjoy!

Now for the 'legal mumbo-jumbo' to keep me out of court!!   *** The PointsPlus™ value for this recipe was calculated by me (Jan Gomes) and is not an endorsement or approval of this recipe by Weight Watchers International, Inc., the owner of the PointsPlus™ registered trademark. ***

Later!

Loving Life!
Jan

Chewy Choco Chunk Chip Cookies

I haven't posted anything in a while. I had my 40th High School Reunion in early December which was a blast. But then I got a phone call that my Dad had fallen and, unfortunately, he passed away on December 17th. Being Daddy's Little Girl, I miss him terribly. To try to get a little 'joy' during the Christmas season, I decided to bake these delicious cookies. It's a recipe I got in 2000 from a friend. There is so much yummy chocolate in these cookies that I decided not to figure up the P+ on them. If any of you do......I don't want to know!! 

CHEWY CHOCO CHUNK CHIP COOKIES

Makes @35 Cookies

I'm not even going to figure up the PointsPlus™ on these!

 

 

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cups instant oatmeal
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup Splenda granulated (or sugar)
1/2 cup fat-free egg substitute (or 2 large eggs)
2 tsp vanilla
1 pkg (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chunks
1/3 pkg regular size semi-sweet chocolate morsels
OPTIONAL: 2 cups chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350º.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, oatmeal, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and Splenda (or sugar). Add the egg substitute (or eggs) and vanilla.

Mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until well blended.

Mix in both chocolates (and nuts if you use them).

Place 'dollops' of cookie dough on a cookie sheet. Bake for 13 minutes. Cool on the cookie sheet for @5 minutes and then finish cooling on a wire rack.

This is my old Cookies Only homemade cookbook. There is not ONE recipe in here that is WW friendly!

Enjoy!!!

Jan

Cranberry Shortbread Bars

Cranberries are in season! Yay!!!!!  I bought 2 bags the other day.....I just knew I'd find something to do with one of them besides my cranberry sauce. I found this recipe and, again, it's simple and delicious! The cranberries are just tart/sweet enough! Thinking this would be a nice addition to your 'Dessert Table' for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas.

CRANBERRY SHORTBREAD BARS

Makes 12 Bars

1 Bar = 5 PointsPlus™

Cranberry Filling:

8 oz. (2 1/4 cups) fresh cranberries
2/3 cup Splenda granulated
3 TBSP water

Shortbread Batter:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 TBSP cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup light butter, room temp
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375º.

Cranberry Filling:

In a medium saucepan, place all the ingredients and stir. Cook over medium-high heat until it boils. Continue at a low boil until the cranberries 'pop' and the filling becomes thick and syrupy, @5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool while you make the shortbread.

Shortbread Batter:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch and salt. Set aside.

(Don't know what happened to this picture, but it's just a bowl of white stuff!)

In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in the vanilla.

Gently stir the butter mixture into the flour mixture with a fork until just combined.

Evenly press 2/3 of the shortbread batter into the bottom of a 9 x 9 pan that has been lightly sprayed. Evenly spread the cranberry filling over the batter, leaving @1/4” border.

With the remaining batter, use your fingers and crumble over the filling; lightly press the crumbles into the filling.

Bake for @30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove to a wire rack. Allow to cool completely in pan.

YUMMMMMM!!!!!!

 

Now for the 'legal mumbo-jumbo' to keep me out of court!!   *** The PointsPlus™ value for this recipe was calculated by me (Jan Gomes) and is not an endorsement or approval of this recipe by Weight Watchers International, Inc., the owner of the PointsPlus™ registered trademark. ***
 

Later!

Loving Life!
Jan

Lemony Cheesey Ramekins

I was in dire need of some Kitchen Therapy yesterday and I actually made 3 different things. I spent most of my day in the kitchen which, for me, is great! And I only used ingredients I had on-hand.  This is really easy to make.

LEMONY CHEESEY RAMEKINS

Makes 8 (5 oz) Ramekins

1 Ramekin = 6 PointsPlus™

1 can (14 oz.) fat-free unsweetened condensed milk

1 (8 oz.) tub fat-free whipped topping
1 (8 oz.) package Neufchatel cream cheese (room temp)
1/3 cup lemon juice

In a mixing bowl, mix together the first 3 ingredients until well combined and smooth.

Add the lemon juice until well combined.

Pour into the ramekins and refrigerate for at least an hour.

MY SPIN: I would add the zest of a lemon to give this more color and a little more flavor. This can also be made using orange or lime juice (and don't forget the zest). If you don't want to put these in ramekins, you can put into a graham cracker pie crust but you'll have to figure out the PointsPlus™ value for that. If I was going to make this into a pie, I think I'd toast some flaked coconut for the top....more PointsPlus™!!!

Now for the 'legal mumbo-jumbo' to keep me out of court!!   *** The PointsPlus™ value for this recipe was calculated by me (Jan Gomes) and is not an endorsement or approval of this recipe by Weight Watchers International, Inc., the owner of the PointsPlus™ registered trademark. ***

Later!

Loving Life!
Jan

Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I thought I would look for something different that 'we' can serve for dessert. This is it! I'm telling you!!! This tastes like pumpkin pie only on a cheesecake-y level and with no crust! And how simple -- everything gets dumped in the mixing bowl at once. Anything pumpkin is good in my book!

PUMPKIN PIE CHEESECAKE

Makes 8 Servings

1 Serving = 3 PointsPlus™

1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

1 (8 oz) package Neufchatel cream cheese
1/4 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup fat-free egg substitute
3/4 cup Splenda granulated
1/2 cup original Bisquick mix
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350º. Spray a 9” glass pie plate; set aside.

Don't forget to spray it in your dishwasher so you don't have to clean up any over-spray!

Place all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix using an electric mixer until well combined and smooth.

Pour into pie plate.

Bake 45 minutes or until just puffed and center is dry (do NOT overbake).

Cool completely, @1 hour. Refrigerate at least 3 hours until chilled.

This can be served 'as is' or with a dollop of fat-free whipped topping.

Now for the 'legal mumbo-jumbo' to keep me out of court!!   *** The PointsPlus™ value for this recipe was calculated by me (Jan Gomes) and is not an endorsement or approval of this recipe by Weight Watchers International, Inc., the owner of the PointsPlus™ registered trademark. ***

Later!

Loving Life!
Jan