Tomato Cucumber Salad

I love this time of the year.....with the exception of the humidity! There are so many fresh fruits and vegetables available now. They're so pretty and colorful......and just begging to come home with you.  I bought the cucumbers and tomatoes with the intention of using them in an ordinary garden salad......until I opened the cabinet and saw the balsamic rice vinegar. This is what I came up with......and it's so refreshing!

TOMATO CUCUMBER SALAD

Makes 8 Servings

1 Serving = 2 PointsPlus™

3 medium or 4 small cucumbers, peeled & sliced @1/4” thick

1/2 of a red onion, sliced & separated
20 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup balsamic rice vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 cup Splenda granulated
1/2 cup water
salt & pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together. Cover and chill for 2 hours before serving.

 

 

 

That's it!

MY SPIN: I used the Nakano brand balsamic ride vinegar. I love it! You can use regular vinegar if you want to, but try the Nakano!

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

Blueberry Pudding

Oh yea!!! Another blueberry recipe! I can pretty much bet you've never had blueberry pudding......and neither had I, until today. I *HAD* to make this....I somehow couldn't envision blueberry pudding.....I was very skeptical. Guess what?!?!   This stuff is really good! It has just enough sweetness to go along with all those wonderful blueberries. You MUST try this!!!

BLUEBERRY PUDDING

Makes 8 Servings

1 Serving = 3 PointsPlus™

***OR***

Makes 6 Servings

1 Serving = 4 PointsPlus™

4 cups blueberries
1/2 cup Splenda granulated
1 TBSP lemon juice
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
4 TBSP light butter
3/4 cup oatmeal

Preheat oven to 350º.

Place berries in a deep 2-quart casserole/baking dish. Sprinkle the Splenda and lemon juice over the berries.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon and brown sugar. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or 2 knives until 'crumbly'. Mix in the oatmeal. Spread mixture carefully over the berries.

Bake 45 – 50 minutes or until the top is nicely browned and the juice of the berries is bubbling.

 

This can be eaten warm or cold. Spoon some of the pudding into a small, single serving bowl and mix together.

 

 

 

 

Yup.....it was that good!

 

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

EZ Blueberry Cake

Guess what time it is! Yup! It's blueberry season! And I couldn't be happier!!! I love blueberries......in my cereal....in pancakes.....frozen in Yonanas.....in pie....in cake....alone....every way you can think of to use blueberries!!! I already have a gallon of them neatly tucked away in 2 cup freezer bags.....and will be getting another gallon (or 2) before the season is over.  Yup.....I love blueberries!!!  This cake is so easy and so tasty.....and not a lot of ingredients. In fact, you probably have them all on hand....except for (maybe) the blueberries!

EZ BLUEBERRY CAKE

Makes 9 Servings

1 Serving = 3 PointsPlus™

 

 

CAKE:
1/4 cup light butter
1 cup Splenda granulated
1/4 cup fat-free egg substitute
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup blueberries

TOPPING:

1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 TBSP Splenda granulated
2 TBSP melted light butter

 

Preheat oven to 350º. Lightly spray an 8 x 8 inch baking pan; set aside.

Cream together the butter and Splenda in a large bowl; add egg substitute and mix well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Combine flour and baking powder in a medium bowl.

In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix together the milk and vanilla.

Add the flour mixture and then the milk mixture alternately into the creamed butter mixture. Fold in the blueberries.

Put the cake batter in the sprayed pan.

Mix together the topping ingredients and drizzle over the cake.

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

MY SPIN: I like cinnamon so mine was a heaping 1/2 tsp.

Even Jami, my yoga instructor, liked it!

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

Carrot Cake Cheesecake

This is a recipe that I found on a website......and then all of a sudden it's all over Facebook! I intended to make it last week.......went camping instead.  If you like Carrot Cake and Cheesecake, this is a marriage made in heaven!!  These are truly 2 of my favorite things. I just wish there was a way I could get the P+ lower <sigh>. But......it is SO worth every P+.  And please......don't be an 'ingredientaphobe'....don't be afraid of this recipe because it looks like a lot of ingredients!!!

CARROT CAKE CHEESECAKE

Makes 12 Servings @ 7 PointsPlus™

Makes 14 Servings @ 6 PointsPlus™

Makes 16 Servings @ 5 PointsPlus™

 

 

CHEESECAKE:

18 oz. Neufchatel cream cheese (at room temperature)
3/4 cup Splenda granulated
1 TBSP all-purpose flour
3/4 cup fat-free egg substitute
1 tsp vanilla

CARROT CAKE:
3/4 unsweetened applesauce
1 cup Splenda granulated
1/2 cup fat-free egg substitute
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 (8 oz.) can of crushed pineapple, well drained, reserve juice
1 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts – OPTIONAL

FROSTING:

4 oz. Neufchatel cream cheese, softened
1 TBSP light butter, softened
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 TBSP pineapple juice
dash of salt

Preheat oven to 350º. Spray a 9” springform pan; set aside.

CHEESECAKE:

In the large bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and Splenda until smooth. Beat in the flour, egg substitute and vanilla until smooth. Set aside.

 

CARROT CAKE:

In a large bowl, combine the applesauce, Splenda, egg substitute and vanilla; blend thoroughly. Stir in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Stir in the pineapple, carrots and coconut (and walnuts if you choose to use them).

 

 

TO 'ASSEMBLE' THE CAKE:

Spread 1 1/2 cups of the carrot cake batter over the bottom of the springform pan. Drop large spoonfuls of the cream cheese batter over this. Top with large spoonfuls of the remaining carrot cake batter. top with large spoonfuls of the cream cheese batter, spreading evenly with a knife, being careful that you do NOT marble the cream cheese.

Bake 50 – 60 minutes until the cake is 'set'. Cool on a rack to room temperature and then refrigerate.

When the cake is completely cooled, prepare the frosting: In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, mix all the frosting ingredients until smooth and of a spreading consistency. Frost the top of the cake. 

 

Refrigerate 3 – 4 hours before serving.

 

 

MY SPIN: I think the only thing I would change would be to use only 1 TBSP of the pineapple juice in the frosting to make it a thicker consistency.

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

Peach Berry 'Tart'

I just love this time of the year when peaches and other fruit are in season and plentiful!  Peaches and blueberries are probably one of my all-time favorite combinations.  I'm so glad it's low in P+ because I want some for breakfast in the morning.....sometimes it's just so much fun being an 'adult'!

PEACH BERRY 'TART'

Makes 12 Servings

1 Serving Without Brown Sugar = 2 PointsPlus™

1 Serving With Brown Sugar = 3 PointsPlus™

1/3 cup light butter

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup Splenda granulated
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
3 cups peaches, peeled and chopped
2 cups blueberries
1/3 cup brown sugar – OPTIONAL

Put the butter in a 9 x 13- inch baking pan. While the oven is preheating to 375º, put the baking pan in the oven to melt the butter.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, Splenda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add the milk. At first, the mixture will appear very 'watery'......continue stirring and a thin batter will form.

Pour batter over the melted butter. DO NOT STIR.

Evenly distribute the peaches and blueberries over the batter. If you choose to, sprinkle the brown sugar over the fruit.

Bake 45 – 50 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Cool on a wire rack.

MY SPIN: To know me is to know I love cinnamon, so I used a heaping 1/2 teaspoon.....probably closer to a full teaspoon. I think this would be good served 'as is' (which is what I did) or with a dollop of fat-free whipped topping (which wouldn't add a P+ value) or a scoop of really good vanilla ice cream (and you'd have to figure up the P+ for that).

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