Healthier Pecan Pie Bread Pudding

Being on a diet is hard around the holidays, so I try to lighten up my recipes so that I can enjoy them as well.

This is a recipe based off of the original post by Just A Pinch Recipes. If you don't have to watch your weight during the holidays, I suggest trying the original recipe.  If this lightened up version is good, I know the full blown version has to be excellent.

Healthier Pecan Pie Bread Pudding

INGREDIENTS:

8 cup bite-sized 40 calorie a slice bread pieces

2 Tbsp reduced calorie butter, melted

3/4 cup egg beaters (equivalent to 3 eggs)

1 cup light corn syrup 

1/4 cup fat free pancake syrup

1/3 cup Splenda brown sugar blend

1/4 cup Splenda

1 tsp maple or vanilla extract (I used maple)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 cup pecans, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 9 dish with butter flavored cooking spray.

Place the bread pieces into the dish.  Pour the melted butter over the bread.  If there are any areas that did not get covered by the butter, I sprayed that area with the butter flavored cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together the egg beaters, corn syrup, pancake syrup, Splenda brown sugar, Splenda white sugar, maple or vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt.  Stir in pecans.

Pour mixture evenly over bread pieces.  Use a spoon or spatula to push bread pieces into the syrup mixture so that all pieces are coated.  If some areas are not coated, feel free to add additional fat free pancake syrup to those spots.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes.  Preferably serve warm.  However, it was still good the next day - for me anyway. :)

Enjoy!

Christmas Owl

This is a last minute owl ornament I made for a family member that lives out of state.  

The inspiration for this ornament came from the Cream Felt Owl from Felt Decorations of the UK.

Merry Christmas Ms. Fredine and I hope you like the owl ornament.

Made with love.

Craft War Suggestions #1

I know we have some smart, innovative crafters out there that can help with this stumper.

I've been saving the inside plastic cover on deodorant products to hopefully come up with some craft to use them on.  Needless to say, the pile keeps adding up, but no thoughts are flowing.

I know some of you are probably saying "Why is she collecting those things?".  Well, I'm sorry, but I don't throw anything away.  I'm a craft hoarder and I can't help it.

As shown in the image below, some are clear plastic, while others are opaque.

Any thoughts on what I can do with these????

Please leave me a comment below and I'll post an update with my creation(s).

Thanks!

Triple Layer 8 Petal Ribbon Flower Tutorial

For a brief time, I was making hair bows for little girls. While cleaning up some files on my desktop computer, I came across this tutorial I listed in my Etsy shop that I'll pass along to you FREE of charge.

You are more than welcome to make and sell anything you produce from this tutorial.  I just ask that you don't reproduce or sell the tutorial; please refer people to this site.

Let me know if you have any questions.  It's been awhile since I've made these, but I'll answer any questions the best I can.

Sauteed Summer Vegetable Quesadillas

This is a recipe I threw together for my vegetarian son.  During the summer, I'm always trying to find new ways to use the garden vegetables, and this recipe is a keeper.   If you like this recipe, subscribe via email to be notified when new posts are available.  

 
INGREDIENTS:
1 small yellow squash, chopped 1 small zucchini, chopped 1 medium onion, diced 4-5 mushrooms, sliced 1/3 c shredded carrots 1/3 c bell pepper 1 Tbsp garlic powder 1 tsp steak seasoning 1-2 tsp Ms. Dash Spicy Blend (to taste) salt and ground black pepper to taste (I normally add a lot of black pepper) 6-8 (6") corn or flour tortillas (I used corn tortillas) 1 c grated cheddar cheese, divided (I used fat-free) 1 c grated mozzarella cheese, divided (I used fat-free)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat non-stick skillet with cooking spray or oil.  Add your vegetables - yellow squash, zucchini, onion, mushrooms, carrots, and bell pepper.  

 

Saute for about 10-15 minutes or until desired tenderness.  If needed, add a little bit of water to steam the vegetables.  When vegetables are near desired tenderness, add the spices (garlic powder, steak seasoning, Ms. Dash, salt and pepper) and mix well to incorporate.

On a baking sheet lined with foil, arrange 3-4 tortillas in a single layer.  Add a little of both cheeses down the center of each tortilla.  Next add some of the sauteed vegetables on top of the cheeses.  Cook open faced in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the cheese melts.

Enjoy and eat up!

Servings: 6-8

Healthy Chicken & Canadian Bacon with Potatoes {Crock pot}

These hot days of summer are crazy hot, and I don't like heating my entire kitchen to cook supper.  Slow cooker or crock pot meals are the way to go.  They give you time to do things outside or cook while at work. The onions, bell pepper, and cumin give this dish a nice Mexican taste. Pair this low-fat meal with a no bake dessert, and you are set!  Your main meal all in one place.  That's my kind of cooking!!!  Only messing up one pot. (I hate washing dishes.)

Healthy Chicken & Canadian Bacon with Potatoes {Crock Pot}
INGREDIENTS:   4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1 (28-32 oz.) pkg. frozen potatoes (I used steak fries) 7 slices of Canadian bacon, diced 1 small onion, chopped 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped 2 c. shredded fat-free cheddar cheese 2 slices fat-free pepper jack cheese, torn into small pieces 1 c skim milk 1 c chicken broth (Swanson 100% fat-free, low sodium) salt & pepper to taste 1-2 tsp. cumin 1-2 tsp. Ms. Dash Garlic & Herb seasoning 1-2 Tbsp. poultry seasoning garlic powder to taste sliced mushrooms (optional) Spray your crock pot with vegetable oil.  Place chicken in single layer on bottom of pot.  Add seasonings (salt, pepper, cumin, Ms. Dash, garlic powder, and poultry seasoning) on top of chicken. In this order, layer 1/3 of ingredients on chicken - potatoes, onions, bell peppers, diced bacon, and both cheeses.  Repeat the layers of vegetables, bacon and cheeses two more times.  Top with mushrooms if desired. Cook on HIGH for 4-5 hours or on LOW for 6-7 hours.

Crock Pot Country Chicken and Dumplings

OMG people...this meal was awesome!!!  This dish is great for during the summer when you don't want to slave in the hot kitchen, and good in the winter to warm the soul.  Basically a dump and go meal, you can't get any easier than this.

I hope you and your family enjoy this recipe as much as mine.

I've made some additions and substitutions to this to make it lower in fat and healthier.  Please don't let the list of ingredients stop you from trying this recipe. You will have not regrets with this one....trust me!!

Crock Pot Country Chicken and Dumplings

INGREDIENTS:

buttered flavored cooking spray
4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (mine totaled about 3 lbs.)
2 (10 oz) cans of reduced sodium cream of chicken soup
1 small onion, chopped
1 (10 oz.) can peas and carrots, drained
2 Tbsp. reduced calorie butter
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. minced garlic OR 1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
Swanson 100% fat free/33% sodium free chicken broth
water
1 (5-8 count) jumbo refrigerated biscuits
flour
3/4 tsp. parsley flakes (optional)
boxed mashed potato flakes (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Spray the inside of your crock pot with buttered flavored oil spray.  Put all of the ingredients in your crock pot except for the last five required ingredients (chicken broth, water, biscuits, flour, and parsley).  Put the chicken first and then dump everything else on top.

Add a mixture of enough water and chicken broth to cover all the items in the pot.  The amount will vary depending on the size of your chicken breasts.

Cook on HIGH for 5-6 hours or LOW for 8 hours.

About 45 minutes before serving time, put flour in a small bowl or plate then pull or slice your biscuits into about 1" pieces.  My pieces were about the size of half the length of my thumb.  Roll your biscuit pieces into the flour to keep them from sticking to each other.

Add the biscuit pieces (and parsley flakes if desired) to the pot and cook for 30-40 minutes on HIGH.

NOTE:  If you want to thicken the "gravy", add boxed mashed potato flakes until you have the desired thickness.  No need to bother with cornstarch.  Nice little cooking trick!!

Enjoy!

Tuna Casserole for a Crowd

This is a new recipe I tried the other night with my family.  I found this recipe in the 1989 Tel-A-Cook cookbook, which I acquired at a yard sale or second-hand bookstore.  I did tweak the recipe a little to make substitutions as well as add-ins.  I will probably add bell peppers the next time I fix this dish.

Give this dish a try and let me know what you think.

Tuna Casserole for a Crowd

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. elbow macaroni

1 (8 oz.) pkg reduced fat cream cheese, softened

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 cans tuna, drained and flaked

1 can mushroom stems, drained

1 Tbsp. onion flakes

3 Tbsp. pimientos, chopped

ground black pepper to taste

1 tsp. prepared mustard

1/3 c. milk (reduced fat is fine)

1/2 c bread crumbs (I used plain Planko bread crumbs)

2 Tbsp. butter, melted (I used butter flavored spray Pam)

Cook macaroni using package directions and drain.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Beat cream cheese and soup in bowl until smooth.  Add next nine ingredients (everything except the bread crumbs and butter) and the macaroni; mix well.  

Pour mixture into 9 x 13 dish.  Combine bread crumbs and melted butter in bowl.  NOTE:  if you omit butter, spray bread crumbs with butter flavored Pam to reduce fat - some crumbs will fly out of dish due to the air coming from the aerosol can.  Sprinkle over tuna mixture.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.  Serves 6-8 people.

Welcome to my blog!

Hello everyone and Welcome to my blog, With All My ♥.

I’m Christy, a woman in her mid-40s who enjoys everything crafty and likes "experimenting" with new recipes.  I'm married to a wonderful ex-Marine, Adam (21 years now), who supports me in my endeavors to be creative in the kitchen and by having my crafts spread all over the house.  Bless his heart, I love him so much!  I am a mother to four beautiful children - Tony (20), Tiara (18), Stone (14 - autistic), and Chyna (13).  We currently reside in eastern NC with two outdoor cats and an indoor kitten.

I created this blog to share my projects and cooking experiments.  Some of the projects shown on this blog will be available for purchase in my online store.  As for the recipes, some of the recipes will be vegetarian/vegan.  If you know me, you know I'm definitely a "meat" person.  

Two reasons for the change.  The main reason for the change started back in 2011 when I was hospitalized for acute pancreatitis due to my extreme high cholesterol levels.  Needless to say, this was not fun.  Since then, they have put me on several medications to try to lower the bad cholesterol and raise the good.  Making healthier food choices and altering old recipes was my way of getting out of this situation.  

The second reason, in 2012 my eldest son decided to go vegetarian!  With him still living at home while going to college, I had to tweak old recipes and look for new ones to accommodate his new diet.

It has been difficult for me to resist all the southern cooking that I was raised on, especially red meat.  I get tired of chicken and I'm not much of a fish person unless it is fried, which of course is something I can't have.  Not to mention chicken skin - OMG...I could tear it UP!!! No joke.  Anyway, I will provide recipes for some of the best southern food that my Mama used to make, and I'll also include some healthy alternatives for the same recipe.

I'd love to hear from you if you'd like to send me a message with any comments or questions you might have. 

Also you can find me on Pinterest and Facebook sharing pins, recipes, and crafty ideas.