Beef Chili

Start by chopping the onion and celery.  The recipe calls for two ribs of celery, but I only had three so I decided to use them all.  I also prefer pre-chopped garlic in a glass container, but feel free to chop or press fresh garlic if you like.

Next, combine chopped vegetables and ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Break the beef apart and incorporate the veggies.  

Then sprinkle the seasonings into the mixture...

Brown the beef until it's no longer pink (the vegetables will be soft).  Drain off any excess fat.

Transfer the beef mixture to a crock pot, and add the canned ingredients (crushed tomatoes, kidney beans, green chilies, and tomato paste).  *Because I don't know what to do with leftover tomato paste, I add the whole can.*

Stir the ingredients together until they are incorporated.  Cook on high for 4 hours...

Serve with shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream.  :)

Beef Chili

1 lb. lean ground beef (90/10)
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 T. chili powder
1 t. ground cumin
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 (8 oz.) can diced green chilies
2 T. tomato paste


Brown beef, onion, celery, garlic, chili powder and cumin. Drain off any excess fat. Transfer mixture to a crock pot. Add tomatoes, beans, chilies, and tomato paste. Stir well. Cook on high for 4 hours. Garnish with sour cream and/or shredded cheddar cheese.

Mama Mattson's Marinara

Mama Mattson's Marinara

16 c. peeled and diced tomatoes

4 med. onions, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 c. olive oil

4 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste

1/4 c. sugar

2 T. parsley

2 T. oregano

2 T. basil

3/4 t. pepper

2 T. salt

2 bay leaves

Saute the onions and garlic in the oil for 10 minutes or so while peeling and dicing the tomatoes.

Combine all ingredients in large soup kettle; simmer on low for 2 hours.  (Stir occasionally to make sure it's not scorching.)  Pull bay leaves out before processing.

For chunky marinara, simply can as is.  For non-chunky marinara, puree sauce in blender.

Process jars in hot-water bath for 20 minutes.

Mug Brownie

I found this little gem while surfing Pinterest.  In fact, this is what I posted about it:  "Oh my... oh my... oh my. This is DELICIOUS! It's the perfect fix for a chocolate craving. Yum! I'm thinking about making up little containers of the dry ingredients so that I can just dump, add the liquid ingredients, and microwave myself to a little happiness. Someone with WW eTools should figure out the new Points Plus for these little darlin's. =)."


I did just that, by the way.  I found all those teeny-tiny little rubbermade containers that no one is ever sure what to do with, and I made up eight batches of dry ingredients.  Now, as the evening draws to an end, I can easily dump, stir, and nuke my way to a little guilt free indulgence.

Mug Brownie

1 mug (doesn't have to be too big)
nonstick spray

2 T. flour
1 1/2 T. granulated Splenda
2 t. cocoa powder
1/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. instant coffee granules, optional
sprinkle of salt

2 T. milk
1 t. oil
1 drop of vanilla

Spray the inside of the mug with nonstick spray.  Combine the dry ingredients in the mug; stir in the wet ingredients just until combined.  Microwave on HIGH for at least 35 but not more than 40 seconds.  Top with powdered sugar or a spray of aerosol whipped cream.  Enjoy!

Far East Celery

This is another of my mother-in-law's delicious recipes. I'm not a big celery fan, but this dish is very yummy. In fact, I could eat the leftovers as a meal in itself. She has served it as a side for a Thanksgiving spread. I made it with Rice-a-Roni meatballs and baked squash this week. Here's a topic for conversation... What do you call one piece of celery? What do you call the whole package?? (WITHOUT looking it up on the internet, or you're disqualified.)

Far East Celery

4 c. celery, cut into 1/2 to 1" pieces (I used a whole... er, package.)

1 (15 oz.) can sliced water chestnuts, drained and roughly chopped

1 (10 oz.) can cream of chicken soup (I used Healthy Request.)

1 small jar chopped pimento with juice

1 (2 oz.) package sliced almonds (I think I used slivered, or whatever was in the cupboard.)

1/2 c. croutons (Not the salad ones... the little squares that you would use to make stuffing.)

1 T. melted butter

In a medium saucepan, cook the celery in salted water for 5 minutes and drain. Return the celery to the pan and stir in the water chestnuts, cream soup, pimento, and almonds. Transfer the mixture to a buttered casserole dish. Sprinkle croutons on top and drizzle with melted butter. Bake for 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Yield: 6 servings

Banana-Raisin Muffins

I stumbled across this recipe as I was frantically searching for my sister-in-law's banana bread recipe tonight so that I could use up two over-ripe bananas. I figured I might as well try something new since the inexperienced bagger at Hugo's put my fresh bananas in a plastic bag with four pounds of pears and under three pounds of baby yukon gold potatoes (trust me... I've already shared my grievance with management). That means I have over-ripe and bruised bananas coming probably by tomorrow. Disgust for the sheer lack of respect towards food aside, these lovely muffins just came out of my oven. In fact, I might even sample one before I'm done writing this post.

Banana-Raisin Muffins

2 c. Cheerios cereal, coarsely crushed

1 1/4 c. flour

1/3 c. brown sugar, lightly packed

2 1/2 t. baking powder

1 c. (2 medium) bananas, mashed

1 c. raisins

2/3 c. skim milk

3 T. canola oil

1 egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line or spray 12 regular size muffin cups. In a large bowl, mix crushed Cheerios, flour, brown sugar, and baking powder. Add wet ingredients and stir just until moistened. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake 18-22 minutes.

Yield: 12 muffins (5P+)

PS: Yep... these are delish! Very moist, yet a little crunch from the cereal. This one's a keeper. And just because I was curious, you could substitute 3 3/4 oz. (roughly 2/3 c. ) mini chocolate chips for the raisins and it doesn't change the point value. =)

OH! This just in... I played with the recipe a bit online, and if you substitute 3 T. unsweetened applesauce for the oil it drops the points to 4P+. That even leaves room for a tablespoon of Smart Balance or light butter on your muffin. Yee haw!! =)

Fruit Salad

I served this fruit salad at a breakfast meeting this summer. I was able to make the salad ahead of time without the bananas, then all I had to do was fold them in before serving. Strawberries will bleed into the creamy yellow color of the salad, so use red-type fruits at your own risk. =)

Fruit Salad

1 (20 oz.) can pineapple chunks in juice, rinsed and drained

1 (16 oz.) can sliced peaches in juice, drained

1 (11 oz.) can mandarin oranges, drained

3 medium bananas, sliced

2 medium apples, diced

1 small box sugar free instant vanilla pudding

1 1/4 c. skim milk

3 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

3/4 c. fat free sour cream

In a large bowl, beat pudding, milk and orange juice concentrate until well blended. Mix in sour cream. Fold in fruit (except bananas). Chill. Fold in bananas just before serving.

Yield: 12 servings (3P+)

Zucchini Skillet

The gardens are in full harvest now, and if your kitchen is like mine, you've got fresh zucchini in your fridge about every three to four days. I used to think it was only good in baked goods (zucchini spice bars, zucchini bread, chocolate zucchini cake with mint frosting...). Turns out it's delicious in main dishes as well.

I can not take credit for this masterpiece. My good friend Kelly was kind enough to pass this one on to me. What made me want to try it the most was how animated her husband became when she mentioned the dish. Most men don't get easily excited about vegetables, so I knew this one was going to be good. The result? "Good" is an understatement! "Amazing" might be closer. Plus, the longer we talked about the dish the more versatile it became. The dish didn't really have a name or a specific recipe; you just use what you have on hand. The following recipe is how I made it... feel free to add or subtract as your produce drawer allows.

Zucchini Skillet

1/2 lb. bacon, chopped

1 medium onion, rough chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 medium zucchini, quartered and cut into chunks

2 packages whole mushrooms, quartered

1 can diced tomatoes, mostly drained

1 1/2 c. finely shredded mozzarella

In a large, deep skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove half of the grease. Add the onion and garlic to the pan until soft. Add the mushrooms and zucchini. Saute vegetables until crisp-tender (add back 1 T. of bacon grease if necessary). Stir in tomatoes and cook until vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with cheese and cook to melt just before serving.

Notes: Kelly mentioned that she uses the above preparation for a side dish. You could easily make it the main dish by omitting the bacon (and using olive or canola oil for the sauteing), adding a grilled, sliced chicken breast, and serving it over cooked pasta. You can substitute the canned tomatoes for fresh diced or cherry tomatoes. You could even use parmesan instead of mozzarella. Personally, the underlying smokiness from the bacon is what makes the dish.

Yield: 8 servings (5 P+)