Cheesy Taco Corn on the Cob

6 ears corn, cooked

1/4 cup canola mayonnaise

1 lime, zested & juiced

1 tsp taco seasoning

1/2 block Mexican crumbling cheese, crumbled

Combine mayo, lime zest, and juice in a small bowl.

In a separate bowl (large enough to roll corn in) combine taco seasoning and cheese.

Brush cooked corn with mayo mix. Roll in cheese mix. Serve immediately.

Vegetable Barley Risotto

2 16 oz cans vegetable broth
1 cup white wine
1-1/2 cups pearled barley
1/2 bunch of asparagus, roasted and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 can peas, rinsed & drained
1 cup italian cheese mix

Bring both and wine to a boil in a large pot. Reduce heat to low. Stir in barley. Cover. Simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed; stirring occasionally.

Stir in aspragus, peas, and cheese. Cook 5 more minutes. Serve.

Smoked Artichokes

Artichokes. tips trimmed and fuzzy choke removed (here are good instructions on preparing the artichokes)
Water
Steamer pot with basket
Smoker

Place about an inch of water in the bottom of your steamer pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Stand artichokes in basket. Place in pot. Cover. Simmer for 25 minutes. Rinse off with cold water. Dry upside down on paper towels.

Prepare smoker. Smoke artichokes for two hours. Remove and enjoy!

Roasted Banana Squash

1 banana squash, sliced & seeds/pulp discarded

Preheat oven to 350.

Bake on a parchment lined jelly roll pan for 45 minutes or until done.

Broil for 3-5 minutes.

1 cup banana squash = 1 point

Taco Pinto Beans

1 bag pinto beans1 can diced green chiles

1 pint grape tomatoes, chopped in food processor

2 tablespoons Bold Taco Seasoning

1 can low sodium chicken broth

Water

Soak beans overnight or do a quick soak.

Combine beans, chiles, tomatoes, taco seasoning, and chicken broth in a large pot. Add enough water so it is about an inch over the beans.

Partially vent lid and cook 2 hours. Drain water if needed. Mash or serve as is.

3/4 cup = 0 points

Broccoli Pesto

1 small spaghetti squash, sliced in 1/2 and pulp/seeds scraped out
1 100 calorie pack almonds
1-1/2 cups broccoli florets, steamed
1/2 cup basil leaves
1 wedge light laughing cow

Wrap spaghetti squash halves in plastic wrap. Heat in microwave for 20 minutes. While squash is cooking combine remaining ingredients in food processor. Using a fork to pull apart the inside scrape the spaghetti squash into a bowl. Toss with pesto.

Makes 1 main dish serving: 3 points (Can split to use as a side dish too)

Smoked Asparagus

1 bunch of asparagus, ends trimmed
olive oil cooking spray
sea salt

Spread asparagus on nonstick foil. Spray with cooking spray. Lightly sprinkle with salt. Smoke on grill for 1 hour.

0 points

Grilled Onion Soup

This picture doesn't look very appetizing. But it is delicious!
Small Vidalia Onions
Chicken Bouillon Cubes
Fat Free Butter
Seasoning Salt

Cut tops and bottoms off on onions. Core out center almost all the way to the bottom of the onion. Place one bouillon cube in onion. Place a small dollop of butter on top. Sprinkle seasoning salt on onion. Wrap tightly in foil. Grill until done. (We were smoking meat. I cooked the onions about 3 hours at 200-225.) Dump into a bowl and enjoy!

1 small onion = 1 point

Creamy Spaghetti Squash

1 spaghetti squash (sliced in half, pulp and seeds scraped out)
2 wedges of Light Laughing Cow (1 per half)
Spray Butter
Seasoning Salt

Wrap spaghetti squash halves tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave on high 20-25 minutes. Use a fork to scrape out squash into spaghetti looking pieces onto a plate. Repeat with other half placing on another plate. Place one Laughing Cow Wedge on top of each plate. Spray with spray butter and sprinkle seasoning salt on top. Stir together and enjoy!

Makes 2 servings: 1 point

Grilled Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Adjust according to how many people you are serving.

10 pieces of asparagus, ends snapped off

1-1/2 pieces of center cut bacon (I prefer Gwaltney)

Seasoning Salt

Olive Oil Cooking Spray

Bundle asparagus, wrap with bacon. Spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle Seasoning Salt. Flip it over spray and season the other side. Grill for 20 minutes.

1 bundle = 1 point

Roasted Artichokes

The picture below is the first two artichokes from my garden. Woo-hoo!You need:
Artichokes
Lemon (1/2 per artichoke)
Seasoning (I use Sandwich Sprinkle)

I went to this website to figure out how to prep the artichokes for roasting.

After the artichokes are prepped follow the steps below.

Preheat oven to 425.

Place one artichoke on a large piece of foil. Squeeze 1/2 a lemon over the artichoke. Make sure you spread the leaves out so the lemon juice goes inside. Sprinkle with seasoning. Wrap foil around artichoke. Place in a dish. Repeat with remaining artichokes.

Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

I just ate these plain. They didn't not need any dips. The flavor was wonderful!

0 points

Spinach Quiche Cups

2 cups fresh spinach

1 cup fat free cottage cheese

1/4 cup shredded 2% cheddar cheese

2 eggs worth of All Whites

1 tablespoon ground flax

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon sandwich sprinkle

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray. (Only spray 8 cups)

Combine above ingredients in a good processor.

Divide into muffin ups using an ice cream scoop.

Bake 30-35minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Notes:

You can make these in a lined pan or read the tips below.

Run a toothpick around the edge of the muffin cups to loosen the quiche. If you are not going to eat all of these right away, let the pan cool about 10 minutes and pop them in the freezer. They will come out of the pan easier. Then you can wrap and freeze them individually. Heat it in the microwave when you want a quick and healthy snack or easy breakfast.

Whole recipe: 8 points

1 quiche cup: 1 point

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

Mixed Topping Sweet Potato Casserole

Original Recipe
4 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Splenda
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 cups graham crackers, crushed
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Bake sweet potatoes at 400° for about 1 hour or until tender. Let cool to touch; peel and mash sweet potatoes.

Beat mashed sweet potatoes and next 7 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Spoon potato mixture into a greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish.

Combine graham crackers, brown sugar, and butter in a small bowl. Sprinkle diagonally over casserole in rows 2 inches apart.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle alternate rows with marshmallows; bake 10 additional minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Cowboy Mashed Potatoes

Original Recipe
2 lbs butter gold potatoes
12 ounces baby carrots
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 (10 ounce) package frozen white corn, thawed
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste (I used a black & red pepper mix)

Place potatoes, carrots and garlic in a large pot. Cover with water, and bring to a boil over high heat.

Cook 15 to 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Drain water from pot.

Stir in corn and butter. Mash the mixture with a potato masher until butter is melted and potatoes have reached desired consistency.

Mix in cheese, salt, and pepper. Serve hot.

Oven-Fried Onion Rings

1/2 cup flour, divided
2 cups pretzel crumbs (70 small pretzels)
4 handfuls kettle chips, crushed
2 medium onions, sliced in 1/2 inch rings
3/4 tsp black & red pepper
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg

Preheat oven to 450.

Combine pretzel crumbs and kettle chips in a bowl. Set aside.

In another bowl whisk together 1/4 cup flour, pepper, buttermilk, and egg.

Place remaining 1/4 cup flour in another bowl.

Dip onion in flour. Tap off excess flour. Drop into buttermilk mixture. Use a fork to lift and allow excess batter to drip off. Drop in crumbs. Use fingers to cover entire onion with crumbs.

Spray a sheet pan with cooking spray. Bake 10 minutes; flip. Bake an additional 10 minutes.

Note: We made one white and one yellow onion to see what we liked better. We liked the white one better. It has a stronger flavor.

Banana Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Pecan and Marshmallow Struesel

Recipe combined from two recipes on Food Network website
2 large or 4 small sweet potatoes
1 banana, unpeeled
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup toasted pecan pieces
3/4 cup miniature marshmallows

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Wrap sweet potatoes in tin foil. Bake sweet potatoes 1 to 1-1/2 hours depending on size until knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Bake banana in peel for 15 minutes.

Slice sweet potatoes in half. Scoop out pulp leaving skin intact. Combine sweet potato pulp and banana in a food processor until smooth.

In a large bowl, mix the butter, brown sugar, and flour together until it's crumbly-looking. Add the cinnamon, pecans, and marshmallows; fold the streusel topping together to combine.

Put sweet potato/banana mixture back in skins. Stuff the sweet potatoes generously with the streusel topping and return to the oven. Bake for another 20 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and brown.

Grilled Italian Broccoli

1 head broccoli, cleaned and cut

1/2 cup fat free Italian dressing

Place broccoli on a large sheet of foil. Pour Italian dressing on broccoli. Wrap tightly in foil.

Grill on top rack for 30 minutes.

Foil Pack Sweet Potatoes

2 sweet potatoes, cubed (Can also sub butternut squash)

1/4 cup honey

1/8 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend

1 tsp cinnamon

Combine honey, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Toss with sweet potatoes.

Pour sweet potatoes on a double layer of foil. Wrap tightly.

Grill 25-30 minutes.

Zucchini Sticks

Adapted from Ashlee's Cooking

2 egg whites

1 cup Italian style panko bread crumbs

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

¼ tsp. Old Bay seasoning

1 large zucchini, julienned

Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Whip egg whites in a bowl until they foam.

Combine bread crumbs, salt, cayenne pepper, and Old Bay seasoning in a shallow dish.

Toss zucchini in the egg whites, then toss in the bread crumbs. Place on baking sheet. Sprinkle Parmesan on top. Spray tops lightly with cooking spray.

Bake 15-20 minutes, until crispy and brown.