Foody Friday #4

Hello, All!  With the holidays drawing near, I wanted to take a moment to share a couple of holiday-themed recipes with you.

This first recipe comes from Better Homes & Gardens via Pinterest.  

Peppermint-Eggnog Punch

 

Ingredients 

1 quart peppermint ice cream

1 quart dairy eggnog or canned eggnog

1 cup rum (optional)

1-2 10 ounce bottles (1-1/4 to 2-1/2 cups)ginger ale, chilled

Additional peppermint ice cream (optional)

Peppermint sticks (optional)

Directions

Place ice cream in a large chilled bowl.  Stir until softened.  Gradually stir in eggnog.  If desired, stir in rum.  Transfer to a punch bowl.  Add desired amount of ginger ale to reach desired consistency.  If desired, top each serving with additional peppermint ice cream and peppermint sticks.  Makes 18 (4-ounce) servings.

 

Nutrition Facts

Servings Per Recipe: 18

Calories: 148

Protein: 3 grams

Carbohydrate: 17 grams

Fat total: 7 grams

Cholesterol: 47 grams

Saturated fat: 5 grams

Monosaturated fat: 1 gram

Sodium: 63 mg

This next recipe comes from babycenter.com's blog via Pinterest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Candy Cane Cake Truffles

 

Ingredients

1 box devil’s food cake mix (cook as directed on box for 9x13 cake)

1 can chocolate frosting (16 oz.)
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 package almond bark
8 candy canes, crushed
Waxed paper

 

Directions

Bake cake according to directions on the box.  After the cake is cool, crumble into large bowl.  Mix the frosting with 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract.  Mix the cake thoroughly with about 3/4 of the frosting.  (Get your hands in there and get dirty.)  Add more frosting if you think the mixture is too dry.  When you can form it into a ball in your hands easily, you’re good.  Use a tablespoon-sized scoop and roll mixture into balls.  Place on a cookie sheet.  Chill or freeze cake balls for several hours.  They can also be placed in freezer bags and kept for later use.  Melt almond bark according to the directions on package.  Dip each ball about 3/4 way into the almond bark.  Tap off excess place on wax paper, cake side down, until firm.  Quickly sprinkle a little bit of crushed candy cane bits onto the top of the cake ball before the almond bark hardens.  Cover the truffles tightly and store where it is cool.

 

Be sure to stop by next week for some more yummy holiday ideas!

 

*hugs*

Michelle

Foody Friday #2

Hello, Everyone!  Welcome to another "Foody Friday!"  I hope that you've all had a fantastic week!  (Wow, that was a lot of exclamation points! ;)

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I ab-so-lutely {heart} fall!  Well...usually.  I have to admit that this week has turned into the exception.  It has been so incredibly rainy this week, and I would give just about anything for just a glimpse of a blue sky!  On the flip-side, the yucky weather has gotten me thinking about warm, yummy soups and chowders.  There's just nothing like a bowl (or mug) of warm soup on a wet, gloomy day!  With that in mind, I decided to share a Weight Watcher-friendly chowder recipe that I found on Pinterest.

Corn Chowder

Points Plus+ 5 per serving

 Ingredients:

 

1 1/2 tsp. canola oil
2 large onions, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
3 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 bay leaf
2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 potato, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 12-ounce can nonfat evaporated milk
salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper

 Directions:
 

Heat oil in a large, heavy saucepan over low heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add celery, bell pepper, garlic, and cumin and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 more minutes. Add broth, thyme, and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Add corn and potatoes, return to a simmer, and cook until all the vegetables are tender, for 5 to 10 minutes. Place cornstarch in a small bowl and slowly add the evaporated milk, stirring until smooth. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the soup and return to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne.

Makes 6 Servings (1 cup per serving)

Nutritional info per serving:  200 calories; 2 g fat; 5 mg cholesterol; 38 g carbs; 10 g protein;
4 g fiber; 208 mg sodium

 

Happy cooking!

*hugs*

Michelle