Pumpkin Trifle

Since the "Pumpkin Holidays" (you know, Halloween and Thanksgiving) are coming up I thought it would be fun to make a pumpkin dessert for a little Pampered Chef get together I had. I love making trifles because they are crazy easy and look pretty impressive.
The cake layer of this was inspired by the two ingredient pumpkin cookie recipe that has been all over Pinterest, the one where you mix a can of pumpkin into cake mix and bake it. Instead of using a cake mix I went with gingerbread cookie mix. Next time I might add a little extra spice into the mix. The pumpkin dip layer was from Pinterest as well, the original recipe can be found here. One person suggested maybe adding some more spice to that layer.
I went with sugar-free ingredients for most of this (except the gingerbread mix) to help keep the calories down, but you could use the regular version of this stuff.

Ingredients

1 batch of pumpkin dip (1 can of pumpkin, 1 container of sugar free cool whip, and 1 box of sugar free vanilla pudding mix all mixed together)
1 bag of gingerbread cookie mix, dry mix
1 15 oz can of pumpkin
1 container of sugar free cool whip
1/2 cup caramel topping

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Combine the gingerbread cookie mix with the can of pumpkin. Spread it in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan and bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Let it cool for at least a couple of hours. Cut it done into bite sized pieces.  Set aside a handful of cake pieces for topping.
In a trifle bowl or other clear bowl, layer the cake, pumpkin dip, and cool whip. Repeat so there are two layers of each ingredient. Top with the cake pieces that were set aside and a touch of cool whip. Drizzle the caramel on top.

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 12
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 290.5

• Total Fat: 16.7 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 269.3 mg
• Total Carbs: 60.0 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2.1 g
• Protein: 2.4 g

Mediterranean Pizza

Most of the time, what ingredients you chose to use in your recipes really makes a difference when it comes to the nutritional values.  When you buy canned foods try to makes sure that it's packed in water or juice, not oil or syrup.  It can really rack up the calories and fat.  It might take a little extra time when you're out shopping, but compare the labels and make sure that you are getting the most nutritional ingredients you can.

 

This is a simple little recipe, it doesn't really require much prep work.  It's a delicious twist on a regular pizza.  The trick to keeping it lower in calories and fat is to really pay attention to what you are using to make it.  I made notes in the ingredients so you know what I used, but of course you're welcomed to make it your own!

 

Ingredients

1 mini flat bread (I used Flat Out Mini with Whole Grains)
2 tablespoons hummus (I used my homemade hummus)
1/4 cup chopped red peppers
2 tablespoons sliced black olives
4 pieces of canned artichoke hearts packed in water
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Spread the hummus over the flat bread, then top with the peppers, olives, artichoke hearts and cheese. Bake for about ten minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

 

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 1
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 241.6

• Total Fat: 6.5 g
• Cholesterol: 5.0 mg
• Sodium: 889.1 mg
• Total Carbs: 19.2 g
• Dietary Fiber: 4.0 g
• Protein: 11.8 g

 

 

 

Easy Hummus

A friend of mine introduced me to hummus a few years ago and I loved it.  The store bought stuff is good, but it's easy to make your own and you can flavor it however you would like.  Besides, regular hummus has about 70 calories for two tablespoons.  A serving of this stuff is almost four tablespoons and only 53 calories per serving.  You can expand upon this recipe if you feel like experimenting, try blending in some red bell pepper, more chili powder or a little lemon juice, maybe even all three.  You can serve this with crackers, chips, or veggies.  I like it on a Mediterranean style pizza (more on that in a later post).

Ingredients

1 16 oz can of reduced sodium garbanzo beans, undrained
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Without draining it, pour the can of beans into a food processor. Sprinkle the onion, garlic and chili powder on top. Blend until smooth. Taste and depending on your preference, add the salt and blend again.

 

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 8
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 53.1

• Total Fat: 0.9 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 176.7 mg
• Total Carbs: 10.3 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2.4 g
• Protein: 2.9 g

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

I love this recipe!  You can really alter to your taste, use spicier barbecue sauce if you like more of a bite (like my husband) or you can use a sweeter sauce if you prefer (like me).  Plus you can use whatever marinade you like, or none at all.  You can even grill it if you'd like a smokier flavor.  This recipe makes two servings, you can share the pizza or save some for later.  It's a really quick recipe, so it would be good for those nights when you don't know what else to make.  If you forget to pull out the chicken ahead of time, just microwave it for a few minutes to defrost it and use some barbecue rub instead of marinade.

 

Ingredients

1 small pizza crust (I used Mama Mia's Thin and Crispy 8")
4 oz boneless skinless chicken breast, marinaded in your favorite flavor and diced
3 tablespoons barbecue sauce
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425.
Cook the diced chicken breasts until no longer pink.
Spread the barbecue sauce over the pizza crust, then layer on the chicken and cheese.
Bake or grill it over indirect medium heat for 15 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown. 

 

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 2
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 241.4

• Total Fat: 4.8 g
• Cholesterol: 29.4 mg
• Sodium: 856.1 mg
• Total Carbs: 31.5 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1.0 g
• Protein: 17.0 g

Stuffed Pepper Bowl

The husband and I both like stuffed peppers, I just don't like the fuss that comes with making them.  So I thought I'd try to find an easier way to have the flavors from a stuffed pepper in a easier to make form.  This is what I came up with.  I could see this being great when you have left over rice or you could make twice the amount of rice called for and use the leftovers the next day to make fried rice.  I like to add some garlic powder and onion powder to the rice while it's cooking.  It gives it just a little more flavor without extra calories or sodium.

 

Ingredients

2 cups cooked rice
1/2 pound extra lean ground beef
3 cloves of garlic
1 cup chopped onions
2 red peppers, diced
1 can no sodium diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon basil

 

Directions

In a large pan, cook the ground beef, onions and garlic. Add the red peppers and cook for three minutes or until slightly softened. Add the can of tomatoes, rice and basil. Cook for a few more minutes, until most of the liquid has been cooked off.

 

 

Nutritional Info

• Servings Per Recipe: 4
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 316.4

• Total Fat: 12.7 g
• Cholesterol: 40.1 mg
• Sodium: 657.9 mg
• Total Carbs: 35.9 g
• Dietary Fiber: 6.5 g
• Protein: 15.3 g