Easter Cake Pops

Cake Pop Ideas and Instructions
Cake
1 box yellow cake mix
1/4 cup butter
3 eggs
1 cup water
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon butterscotch flavoring

Also need
1 container icing (I used vanilla)
Lollipop sticks
Treat Bags or plastic wrap
Vanilla Almond Bark
Wilton Gel to create different colors.

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.

Combine cake ingredients. Pour evenly into cake pan.

Bake 35 minutes or until done.

Cool cake completely.

Crumble cake into large bowl. Add half the can of frosting to the cake crumbs. Using a spatula or your hands mix it together. If the mixture sticks together easily you are ready to go. If it doesn't stick together well add a little more icing.

Roll mixture into desired shape. Place on a lined cookie sheet.

Melt one block of vanilla bark according to package directions.

Dip one end of lollipop stick into vanilla. Insert about halfway into cake balls.

Place in freezer until they are firm about 20-30 minutes.

Melt more of the vanilla bark in a deep ramekin or glass measuring cup. Color if desired.

Carefully insert the cake ball into the candy coating by holding the lollipop stick and rotating until covered. Once covered remove and gently tap and rotate until the excess vanilla falls off.

Place in a styrofoam block to dry.

My pour little cake pops need some help! Andrew says they still taste good. I need bakerella's sprinkle selection and decorator pens!

Black Bean Burgers

2 cups black beans
1 small package frozen spinach, thawed and water squeezed out
2 eggs worth of All Whites
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 tsp smoky seasoning salt
2 wedges laughing cow light cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.

Pulse black beans in a food processor until they are mostly mashed. Add in spinach and eggs, pulse. Add in remaining ingredients, pulse.

Using an ice cream scoop divide up black bean patties. Use the back of a spoon to shape it.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Made 8 patties: 1 point each

Breakfast Cookie

Original Recipe1/3 cup multi grain hot cereal (or oatmeal)
1 tablespoon nut butter
2-3 tablespoons of milk
2 tablespoons dried wild blueberries (can use whatever you want)
Few shakes of cinnamon

Combine cereal and nut butter in a bowl; stir until crumbly. Add milk. Mix until well combined. Add in blueberries. Stir in cinnamon Dump on an appetizer plate. Press into a cookie shape of equal thickness using the back of a spoon. Chill overnight. In the morning grab a spoon and enjoy!

4 points

Southwest Stuffed Bell Peppers

2 bell peppers
2 chicken breast
1 small jar salsa
1 cup black beans
1 slice reduced fat colby jack cheese, cut in half

Put chicken breast and salsa in a sauce pot. Boil until chicken is cooked. Shred chicken breasts. Stir together chicken and salsa. Set aside.

Bring a deep pot of water to a boil. Cut tops off of bell peppers. Remove seeds and white spines. Boil peppers for 3 minutes. Remove papers and dry upside down on paper towels.

Mix together chicken mixture and beans. Stuff bell peppers.

Stand peppers in a small baking dish. Put about a 1/2 inch of water in the bottom of the dish.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Top each bell pepper with 1/2 a cheese slice. Return to oven for 10 more minutes or until cheese is melted.

1 pepper = 4 points

3 Bean Salad

1 can corn, drained

1 can fire roasted green chiles, diced

2-1/2 cups black beans

2-1/2 cups pinto beans

2-1/2 cups black eyed peas

juice of one small lime

green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 to 3/4 cup fat free balsamic vinaigrette

1 tsp garlic powder

Combine above ingredients. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

1 cup = 2 points

Black & Blue Smoothie

1 Breyers Inspirations Vanilla Bean yogurt

1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup blackberries

Combine above ingredients in a blender.

3 points

Vanilla Pound Cake Muffins

Adapted from Cooking Light
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup Splenda
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs worth of All Whites
3/4 cup light butter, softened
2 vanilla beans, sliced and seeds scraped
1-1/3 cups fat free buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a muffin pan with liners

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and baking powder ; stir with a whisk. Place sugar, Splenda, butter, and vanilla bean seeds in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add All Whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and buttermilk to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Spoon batter in muffin pan. I use an ice cream scoop to make sure they are even.

Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Yield 20 Muffins: 2.75 points each

Baked Breakfast Goodness

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup Splenda
1 egg worth of All Whites
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 ½ cups Multi Grain Hot Cereal (Rye, Barley, Oats, and Wheat)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash of ginger
1/4 cup dried wild blueberries
1 banana, diced

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 6 x 8 pan with cooking spray.

Combine applesauce, Splenda, All Whites, and almond milk in a bowl. Add in cereal, baking powder, cinnamon, and ginger. Stir until well combines. Fold in blueberries and bananas.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Whole dish: 14 points
1/4 dish: 3.5 points

Slow Cooker Unfried Refried Beans #2

1 bag of pinto beans, soaked overnight
1 can green chiles, chopped
1 tsp chili salt
water

Drain water beans soaked in; add fresh water. (Fill water two inches over beans.) Stir in chiles and chili salt.

Cook 8 hours on high.

Drain off all but about 1/4 cup water. Use an immersion blender to blend.

1 cup = 2 points

Note: I like this way a lot better than the first time when I made it with the chicken stock.

Presto Chicken Tacos

Scaled down to two servings from Taste of Home February/March 2010 issue
2 chicken breast
cooking spray
1 tsp minced garlic
1 can diced tomatoes with chipotle, undrained
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
corn tortillas
toppings of choice

Spray a large pot with cooking spray. Brown chicken over medium high heat. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add the tomatoes, cumin and chili powder. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, stirring occasionally.

Serve chicken/tomato mixture on tortillas. Top as desired.

Makes 2 servings: Chicken mixture: 2 points, Tortillas: 2 points. 1/4 cup 75% reduced fat cabot cheese: 1 point TOTAL: 5 points

Check chicken package for points. The chicken I used was 2 points for a breast. All other ingredients in the chicken mixture were zero points.

Butterscotch Pumpkin Pie

Adapted from DWLZ1 reduced fat Keebler graham cracker crust
1 small package fat free/sugar free butterscotch pudding
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (I like Blue Diamond)
1 cup pumpkin
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Whisk together pudding and milk in a bowl. Stir in pumpkin cinnamon and nutmeg.

Spread evenly in pie crust.

Chill two hours.

Whole pie: 23 points
1/4 pie: 5.75 points
1/6 pie: 3.83 points
1/8 pie: 2.88 points

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

Slimmed down version of Taste of Home recipe from February/March 2010 issue
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon Promise fat free butter
3 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (Bought already cubed at Trader Joe's)
1 medium potato, peeled and cubed
1-1/2 cups water
1-1/2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
1/4 cup unsweetened Almond Milk

In a small saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender. Add squash and potato; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add the water, bouillon, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Cool slightly. In a blender, cover and process soup until smooth. Return to the pan; stir in milk and heat through.

2 servings: 3-1/8 points per serving

Vanilla Cake

Adapted from Swans Down Cake Flour 1-2-3-4 cake
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray cake pans with cooking spray.

Cream together butter and sugar. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed. Beat two minutes. Add eggs in one at a time; beating after each addition.

Combine the cake flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl.

In a liquid measuring cup combine buttermilk and vanilla extract.

Add the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk mixture to creamed mixture; beating after each addition. Start and end with the flour mixture.

Pour batter evenly into cake pans.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans and finish cooling on racks.

*Note*-Original recipe uses 3 nine inch cake pans. I used this for a character cake pan and a 6 inch round pan.

Broccoli & Cauliflower Mash

1 cup broccoli
1 cup cauliflower
1 wedge garlic & herb light laughing cow cheese
1/2 tsp promise butter

Steam broccoli and cauliflower 15-20 minutes. Drain and pulse in food processor. Add cheese wedge and butter; pulse.

Makes 1 serving: 1 point

Banana Cinnamon Toast Muffins

1 package yellow cake mix

1 box sugar free french vanilla pudding

1-1/4 cups fat free buttermilk

3/4 cup applesauce

3/4 cup All Whites

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray.

Combine cake mix, pudding, buttermilk, applesauce, all whites, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl.

Mix for two minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix another two minutes. Fold in bananas.

Divide evenly in muffin pan.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in pan five minutes. Then turn out on cooling rack.

Made 17 muffins: 3.5 points per muffin

Lemon Cake with Lemon Buttercream Icing

For the Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon rind
1/2 cup light butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

For the Icing:
6 cups powdered sugar (Add more for a thicker icing)
1/2 cup light butter, melted
2 tablespoon lemon rind
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350. Spray three round cake pans with Baker's Joy.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl rub sugar and lemon rind. Combine lemon sugar and butter in mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed about five minutes.

Add in eggs one at a time; mixing between each addition.

Alternate adding in flour mixture and buttermilk starting and ending with four mixture.

Beat in lemon juice.

Divide evenly in prepared pans. Tap pans on counter to remove air bubbles.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Rotate pans after ten minutes.

While the cake is baking mix up the icing. Combine the butter, lemon rind, and lemon juice in a mixing bowl. Slowly add in powdered sugar until well mixed and you have reached desired consistency.

Decorate cakes when they are completely cooled.

16 servings, 1 slice = 10 points

Peanut Butter Playdough

Recipe from Busy Little Monkey1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup honey
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/4 cup powdered milk

Give kids a placemat or wax paper.

Combine ingredients in mixing bowl.

Divide up between kids.

The playdough is a great snack and fun to play with!

Store in airtight container to use again.

*Note - The playdough was a little hard on day 2. I put it in the microwave for 30 seconds at 75% power and it was back to the same consistency as when I made it.

Spicy Black Bean & Veggie Chili

1 tsp minced garlic
2/3 cup Morning Star Meal Starters Griller Recipe Crumbles
1 can tomatoes with zesty green chilies
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup spinach, chopped
1 bell pepper, diced
1/2 tsp chili pepper
1/4 tsp ground chipotle pepper

Combine above ingredients in small slow cooker.

Cook 2 hours on high or 4 hours on low.

Whole Recipe: 8 points

Blueberry-Peach Meringue Pie

*Note - I used a large Mason jar of blueberry peach I had canned1 frozen pie shell
1 can peach pie filling
1 can blueberry pie filling
2 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 400.

Combine peach and blueberry pie filling together in a bowl.

Spread evenly in crust.

Bake for 30 minutes.

About 15 minutes into the baking time beat the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks forms. Slowly add in the sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form.

Spread meringue topping over hot pie.

Bake an additional 10 minutes.

Cool completely before storing in fridge or serving.

1 slice = 6 points

Lemon Banana Cake Balls

Original Recipe from Good Things Catered
*I grabbed the wrong box of cake mix when I started this recipe. I didn't intend for these to have the lemon flavor. But it turned out to be a good combination of flavors. So I went with it!

1 package lemon cake mix
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup fat free buttermilk
1/2 cup apple sauce
3/4 cup All Whites (3 eggs)
1 container of lemon store bought icing
1 block of vanilla bark

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.

Combine above ingredients.

Spread evenly in pan.

Bake 32-35 minutes or until done.

Cool completely.

Add cooled cake to large mixer bowl and add the frosting and stir to combine completely.

Using a cookie scoop make rounded cake balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

When all cake balls are rolled, place baking sheet into freezer.

Once first tray of balls are frozen hard (I left them in overnight), melt vanilla bark according to package directions.

Stir with spoon until completely smooth.

Taking one ball at a time, dip into candy melts, lightly tap to form an evenly-covered front and place onto wax paper.

Repeat with all cake pieces and let dry completely.

Decorate as desired and serve.

Shoney's Strawberry Pie

1 Frozen Pie Shell
1 cup Sugar
4 tablespoons Cornstarch
1 teaspoon red food coloring
1 can (12 oz) Sprite
1 pint Strawberries
Whipped cream

Cook and cool pie shell according to package directions.

Combine sugar, cornstarch, food coloring, and Sprite in a saucepan over medium high heat until it becomes thick. Cool 2 hours.

Clean and slice strawberries. Combine strawberries and Sprite mixture in a bowl. Pour into pie shell; spread evenly.

Cool in fridge at least 2 hours before serving.

Top slices with whipped cream and serve.

1 slice = 8 points

Spinach Pesto

1 cup spinach
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp olive oil (I used Rosemary flavored)
1 babybel light
1/4 cup Parmesean cheese

Points: 5.5

Combine all ingredients in food processor. Pulse until spinach is chopped and all items are well combined.