Well, I'm already burned out on Thanksgiving. Usually I get this way when they play A Christmas Story for 24 hours when I'm 2 glasses of egg nog away from shooting my eye out.
This past weekend consisted of nothing of any sort. I'm usually traveling somewhere. So this weekend was somewhat spent on laundry, cooking, and a Scrubs marathon.
Everything you ever needed to know about the health care field can be learned on Scrubs.
Ok, not really, but laughter is good medicine.
I managed to come up with a few recipes that take all the great seasonal flavors of this time of year with out all the guilt.
Hungry Girl's Yum Yum Chocolate Cake
181 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 357 mg of sodium, 37 grams of carbs about 2 1/2 servings of carbs from the diabetic exchange, 2 grams of fiber/protein, 4 Points for the Weight Watchers
One 18 oz box of devil's food cake mix
One 15 oz can of pure pumpkin
Optional add ins:
2 Tbs orange zest
1 Tbs pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp each of nutmeg, allspice
1 TBS vanilla
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix everything in a bowl, mixture will be very thick, don't add any eggs, oil, water, etc. Spray a 9" cake pan with non-stick spray and add the cake batter. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pan to let cool.
Cut into 12 slices.
For instant portion control, make in a cupcake pan.
Turkey Stuffing
Serves 2
2 or 3-Thomas' 100 Calorie English Muffins
3/4 cup roasted egg plant
3/4 cup roasted cauliflower
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
8 oz mushrooms
1/2 lb ground turkey
1/4 cup craisins
2 TBS strawberry jam
1 orange
3 TBS smart balance light spread
Seasonings:
Salt, Pepper, Rosemary
In a large skillet, cook the mushrooms with nonstick spray and add the broth, simmer for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add the turkey and craisins. Season with the salt and pepper. Add orange juice, rosemary, balsamic vinegar, jam.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Cube the English muffins or just use 3 slices of 100% whole wheat bread.
In a 9 x 13" pan (or bigger if you want crunchier stuffing), add all of the ingredients in the pan and top with the smart balance spread.
Bake for 20-30 minutes, stirring the stuffing every 10-15 minutes.
Enjoy!!
