Category: culinary fun

As I mentioned last month, I am a Recipe Reviewer for ReadySetEat.com, a new website from ConAgra Foods.  It’s a great spot where you can find all kinds of recipes, search for specific ingredients, and read reviews of these recipes.  It’ll help you decide “what’s for dinner”.  What’s even better is that these are all simple, easy, FAST recipes you can throw together quickly!  This month I reviewed four recipes, and I chose two of them simply based on what ingredients I already had in my pantry.  They all turned out great!

My favorite recipe I made this month was the Honey-Mustard Pork Chops. YUM!  I never thought that I could love Gulden’s Spicy Brown Mustard (I generally shy away from anything with the word “spicy” in the title), but it is GOOD in all these recipes! This is the third one I’ve used it in, and I am now a fan! Anyhoo, these pork chops were absolutely amazingly delicious.  And they were SO fast and easy to make.  I was rather impressed with myself!

The other recipe I reviewed this month that really surprised me was the Italian Chicken Packets.  I usually like my chicken dressed up a little fancier (read: heavily marinated or breaded) so I was afraid I wouldn’t like it.  But it was REALLY tasty and so simple.  The ingredients in this are Hunt’s diced tomatoes, broccoli, chicken, and lite italian dressing.   And you cook them in FOIL.  Seriously, it could not be any easier to make OR clean up.  And the mix of the veggies with the dressing was SO tasty! And healthy too!  I’ll definitely be making it again!

Also this month I discovered the “Recipe Box” feature of ReadySetEat.com.  I love, love being able to save my favorite recipes there so I don’t have to search for them each time I come to the site.  So convenient!

So tell me, have you checked out ReadySetEat.com yet?  And if so, what’s in YOUR recipe box?

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I am being compensated by ConAgra Foods for my role as a Recipe Reviewer.  My opinions and on the recipes are all my own.

I’ve been trying out a lot of new recipes lately, and I’ve found some that work well for me with Weight Watchers and also work well for my family. Because most of the time I don’t even want to make one meal, let alone two! Anyway, I thought I’d pass them along – here are my top ten WW-friendly recipes.

1. Slow Cooker Lasagna. I found this recipe on the Weight Watchers Kitchen Companion app. With no-cook noodles and my favorite kitchen appliance, my slow cooker, there was nothing to it. It turned out really well!

2. Chicken Enchiladas. I’ve mentioned SkinnyTaste.com before, but it is one of my favorite sites to find recipes. I was especially excited to see this one, because I loooooooooove enchiladas. I made two batches on Sunday, and while we haven’t actually eaten them yet, they smelled and looked amazing and I can’t wait to try them. After I made them, I said to Andy, “I just made enchilada sauce that didn’t even come from a can!” Quite remarkable, really. Also, this is a great recipe if you’re making meals for the freezer!

3. Baked Jalapeno Poppers. I’ve made these twice now and I am completely obsessed with them. The second time I doubled the amounts of bread crumbs and seasonings, and they were even better that time.

4. Applesauce Pancakes. I’ve tried out a few homemade pancake recipes lately and this was my family’s favorite by far. I doubled the amount of cinnamon, which was delicious.

5. Garlic Lime Marinated Pork Chops. Back to Skinny Taste! I pretty much love lime anything, which is why I thought this recipe sounded great. It was really good, and I think next time I’ll make the cilantro lime rice to go along with it. I am completely addicted to Chipotle, so having a cheaper and lower-calorie way to make it at home is great.

6. Chicken Tortilla Soup. This recipe isn’t marketed as a “diet” food, but it is really very light. And very easy – dump it all in the slow cooker and call it a day! Kate particularly loves this one.

7. Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins. I’ve been trying to eat better breakfasts lately (read: not just black coffee) but it’s difficult for me to find something easy, nutritious and something I can grab on the go. I’m going to attempt AmyinOHio’s steel cut oats, but until I get up the nerve to try oatmeal in a bowl (yes, you read that right – I have never had a bowl of oatmeal), this recipe fits the bill for breakfast. And they are muffins.

8. Ham and Potato Soup. I love to make ham in the slow cooker (two cups of brown sugar on the bottom, add the ham, one more cup of brown sugar on the top – voila) but unless you’re serving Easter brunch for your extended family, there will be leftovers. I found this recipe for soup when I was trying to use up the leftovers, and I love it. To make things even easier, I use a bag of frozen onions/celery/carrots, which saves a lot of time. Again, not diet per say, but quite reasonable as far as points go.

9. Mexican Stuffed Shells. I found this recipe on Once a Month Mom a while back, but I remembered it recently and made it again a couple weeks ago. It’s an easy recipe to lighten up – I used really lean ground beef and reduced fat cheese. YUM.

10. Baked Slow Cooker Chicken. This couldn’t be simpler but it is so good! You put foil at the bottom of the crock pot, and the fat drains right off. However, seeing me prepare the chicken made Kate realize for the first time where exactly chicken comes from. Then she asked how someone becomes a vegetarian.

So there you have it, 10 recipes I’ve tried and enjoyed. The thing I like best about Weight Watchers is that it fits into my life – I can cook recipes I love and recipes my family will eat without completely derailing my diet. The mobile tools are really helpful in this, too. The website offers suggestions for substitutes for higher-point items that can make a big difference in points without making a big difference in taste. Also, using the recipe builder, I can find out exactly how many points are in something I make, which makes tracking much easier and more accurate.

Do you have any recipes I should add to the list? I’d love to hear them!

This post is linked to Top Ten Tuesday at OhAmanda – check it out!

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As a Weight Watchers insider, I was provided with an iPad and a three-month online membership to facilitate my post.

I have exciting news to share: I recently signed on to be a contributing recipe reviewer to the new website from Con Agra Foods, ReadySetEat.  But I don’t just get to EAT the recipes, I also have to COOK them – so I’m reviewing the whole process from meal prep to clean-up.  Which means, ladies and gentleman, that someone is finally paying me to cook dinner.  HEY-OH! What could be more awesome? 🙂

So far I have cooked and reviewed six of the recipes on ReadySetEat, and it has been a great experience.  All of the recipes have been simple but delicious, and a couple of them have been especially out-of-this-world fantastic!  Like  the above-pictured Maple-Mustard Pork with Sweet Potatoes.  This recipe is amazing. So, so easy, and incredibly tasty. When Bobby and I sat down to eat it, he took a couple of bites and then said to me, “Congratulations, this is fantastic!”  And I had to agree!

What’s great about ReadySetEat is that it contains recipes of all different types that are all simple to make – it’s “a faster, smarter way to dinner”.  Also, it even tells you where the ingredients for said recipes are on SALE locally! You know I love that feature since I am always out to get a good deal at the grocery.  So in addition to the recipe, ingredient list, and cooking and prep times – you’ve also got a guide on where to go to get the best price on these meals. Woot!

Here’s a look at a couple of my other favorite recipes I’ve made so far:

I can honestly say that I have never had so much fun cooking dinner. I mean I still make a total mess out of myself and my kitchen (example: spilled half a can of beef broth in the bottom of my refrigerator yesterday! Whoopsie.), but I’m cranking out some great food.  It’s been fun to challenge myself to make new things when the recipes are so easy and delicious. ReadySetEat even has plenty of slow cooker recipes which of course I am thrilled about because slow cookin’ is my favorite way to cook!

You’ll be hearing more from me about ReadySetEat in the next few months, but until then, do yourself a favor, head on over and check out the site’s great recipes and features!

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I am a paid contributor to ReadySetEat.  All opinions I’ve expressed about the website and the recipes are honestly and completely my own.