A Healthy Baked Penne

I recently tried a new recipe for baked penne! It is very yummy and I have made it a few times so I thought I would share the recipe!

Baked Penne

• 1/2 lb. extra-lean ground beef or Italian sausage or ground turkey
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 cup green peppers (I left this out b/c I don't like green peppers)
• 1 jar(24 oz.) spaghetti sauce (I used one can of Hunt's Traditional)
• 1 tub(10 oz.) Philadelphia Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Creme, divided (I used reduced fat)
• 1 cup Kraft Reduced Fat Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
•   4 cups cooked penne pasta (about 3/4 box dry penne)

1. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. Brown meat with vegetables in large nonstick skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce, 3/4 cup cooking creme and 1/2 cup mozzarella; cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or until mozzarella is melted. Add pasta; mix lightly. 
3. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole; top with remaining cooking creme and mozzarella. Cover. 
4.  Bake 20 min. or until heated through, uncovering after 15 min.

I used a small rectangular casserole dish since it is easier to split it into servings that way. When split into 8 servings it is only 6 WW+ points! Of course that is using 1/2 lb lean ground turkey, reduced fat cooking creme, reduced fat shredded cheese, and whole grain pasta.

Happy Cooking!

No Tricks, All Treats!!

So another Halloween has come and gone! We had a small celebration here to show off our costumes and have some fun! We had our own little parade around the house and the kids just liked being dressed up!

 Cash was a great helper when we made Halloween cookies for our afternoon snack! They love the sugar cookies with the pictures in the middle. This one actually had little Mickey Mouse Jack o' Lanterns on them!

We made Pumpkin Grilled Cheese for lunch. In the words of my husband, that's gross! HAHA, it actually doesn't have pumpkin in it. It is just regular grilled cheese! I gave them some oranges and carrots to keep with the orange theme!  The kids liked the grilled cheese so much that they have requested that I make it several times since then! Funny how just a little food coloring and a cookie cutter can help kids eat their lunch better!

Pumpkin Grilled Cheese

1. Melt 4 tbsp of butter and add 1 drop of red food coloring and 4 drops of yellow food coloring.
2. Have the children paint 2 pieces of bread with the orange butter.
3. Add cheese to middle of 2 slices butter side out and place in pan heated on Med.
4. Grill each side for 1 to 2 minutes until golden brown
5. Cool for a minute or 2 and use a pumpkin cookie cutter to cut out center of grilled cheese

ENJOY!

We also made some fun Halloween trail mix to enjoy with lunch. It included some monster scabs (Cinnamon Toast Crunch), Witch's Warts (Crasins), Ghost Poop (marshmallows), Jack o' Lantern Teeth (Candy Corn), Creepy Crawly (gummy worms), and Scary Bears (mini Teddy Grahams)! The kids had lots of fun mixing it up and eating it!

Somehow we had time to make some crafts too! We used some paint to paint our hands and fingers to make some spiders, add some google eyes for fun! But the fun just began with that. We made our own Mummies! Toilet paper roll, paper towel (cut into strips), and google eyes!

It was a very very fun day!

A new twist on an Italian favorite!

So, I recently started weight watchers, which means changing the way the whole family eats. I have found myself looking for healthy recipes to make for dinner. This has definitely been a challenge with a picky 4 year old and a husband who likes his junk food! I have been figuring out how many points each recipe is before hand so that I know how healthy it really is! Here is one of the family favorites that I found out is actually pretty healthy! I got the recipe off the Hunts website quite some time ago, they have great dinner ideas!

Chicken Bruschetta Skillet

• 1 can (14.5 oz each) Hunt's Diced Tomatoes, drained
• 3/4 cup shredded Italian blend cheese, Reduced Fat
• 1 pkg (0.75 oz each) fresh basil, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
• 4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1.10lbs)
• 1 can (8 oz each) Hunt's Tomato Sauce
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
• 2 cups small garlic- or Italian-flavored croutons, crushed slightly

1. Stir together drained tomatoes, cheese and basil in medium bowl; set aside.
2. Pound chicken to 1/2-inch thickness (I just buy the thin sliced chicken breasts when I make this recipe!) Top evenly with tomato mixture, pressing onto chicken. 
3. Combine tomato sauce and garlic in large skillet; add chicken. Bring sauce to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook 15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in centers (165°F). Top with croutons just before serving.

It is only 7 WW+pts when split into 4 Servings. I like to eat mine with a side salad or some steamed vegetables but my family goes for the pasta aspect! I usually get some Whole Wheat Pasta for them which is not that bad if you wanted to have some too! 

Getting Started!

So I finally did it! Started a Blog since I have been told by so many that I should! So here it is people! I am new to this whole blog thing so bare with me while I get used to it! 

This past weekend was trick or treat and the girls had a blast! 

Kenzi decided she really wanted Khloe to match her so I got out the crafty side and I made a costume!  I started with a  Wisconsin Badger themed Tutu and ironed a W on her black jacket! Then I took some yarn and made some pompoms and sewed them onto her wrist rattles! Cost was less than $10 and she matched her big sisters cheerleader costume! She didn't last long out there anyway with the weather being so cold!