Cherry Coke Zero® Chocolate Cake

Yes... You read that correctly. Cherry Coke Zero® Chocolate Cake. 

Those of you who know me personally, are well aware that I am beyond obsessed with Cherry Coke Zero®.  Just so happens... I am a huge fan of Chocolate Cake, as well.

A few of my girlfriends have recently started using the Weight Watchers© Points plan and my friend, Robin, let me in on a little secret this morning via the facebook©.  Robin said she's tried the recipe and it's delicious! AND it's only a point or two on the Weight Watchers points plan!

Cherry Coke Zero® Chocolate Cake

Courtesy of my friend, Robin Lang

Ingredients:

• 1 box Chocolate Cake mix
• 1 can (12 oz) Cherry Coke Zero®

Directions:

• Beat together the dry cake mix and the Cherry Coke Zero®, using an electric mixer.
• Bake at 350 degrees, for approximately 20 minutes.

If you prefer your chocolate cake frosted, you can add a dollop of Fat Free Cool Whip®!

I intend to try these cupcakes out tonight! I am so excited! I'm going to make them into cupcakes and run them by my taste testers here in the office... I'll keep y'all posted.

"Healthy" Hot Wings

I know what you're thinking... Hot wings are NOT healthy! But, after about an hour of combing the aisles of the market, I think I may have come up with a way to make hot wings that really aren't all that bad for you!

I've been dieting since October, and have lost 15 lbs! I really thought my diet would tank with football season, a 2 week cruise, and the holidays... but I've done very well! My skinny-minnie boyfriend eats hot wings almost religiously every Sunday! Get it? Religious.. Sunday.. OK-- bad joke. Anyhow, he indulges in hot wings while watching the games every weekend.  I've been boycotting wings, even though they're pretty much my favorite food ever! Today, however, I had to give in. I just need a taste. So, I am on a quest to come up with a "Healthy" or semi-healthy hot wing recipe! Here goes...

"Healthy" Hot Wings

Courtesy of Moi! (My own experimental recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. fresh chicken wings, naked
• 1 tbsp. Mrs. Dash® Southwest Chipotle seasoning blend (0 calories)
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (5 calories)
• 1/2 tsp. salt (0 calories)
• 1/2 cup Franks Red Hot® Buffalo Wing Hot Sauce (40 calories)
• 1 tbsp. I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light® (50 calories)

Directions:

• Fill a pot with water and add to it the chicken wings, Mrs. Dash®, crushed red pepper flakes, and salt.
• Bring to a boil, then let boil 15 minutes.
• Set oven to Broil- High, and preheat.
• Prepare sauce by combining hot sauce and margarine in microwave safe dish and heating for 2 minutes.
• Drain wings and place in glass baking dish (coated with cooking spray).
• Brush sauce onto wings and place in oven, under broiler for 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes, flip wings to the opposite side and repeat.

They just came out of the oven, and I really hope they're as incredible as they smell!

If my calculations are correct, 2 wings (note: they're actual wings... butcher block style, not separated party style) should be roughly 400 calories-- which is totally enough to satisfy my craving! If I were using party style wings, I would've been able to have 4. Thennn JD can eat the rest and be all in his skinny man, hot wing glory! :)  

<20 minutes later>

These wings were beyond delicious! They were soooo good! I don't mean to toot my own horn, but 'TOOT, TOOT!!!' :):):)

I like my wings really crispy, so I was glad that I broiled them for 20 minutes on each side... but if you don't like yours "extra crispy" you may only want to broil them for about 15 minutes on each side.  I'm not big on salty foods, so when I make these next time I'm going to omit the salt entirely and see if I can taste a difference. I think I may also try spraying the wing with a spritz or two of the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter® Zero Calorie Spray, then dabbing on the hot sauce instead of using the tablespoon of margarine...? I'll just have to make them a few more times in order to perfect my recipe! ;-)

Honestly, these wings were amazing! Absolutely delicious! The meat was so tender, it just fell right off the bone and melted in my mouth. MmMmM they were SO good! 

I only ate 2, but if we're being honest... I was satisfyingly full. Not that I couldn't have eaten the entire batch (because they really were THAT good), but I was full. What a fantastic little meal! AND the best part is that I won't go over my calorie count for the day! Perfect!

Verdict: A MUST HAVE! LIKE NOW!

Easy Pumpkin Muffins

After work last night I plopped my butt on the couch and began flipping through the TV channels until Paula Deen's television show caught my attention.  She was making the most delicious looking carrot cake.  I was drooling, just watching.  When I caught myself, I thought "Nope, don't do it. Paula is the queen of butter!"  Well, she is! Her recipes are all delicious, but sometimes not so healthy... and I've been doing pretty good sticking to my new healthy eating guidelines! I couldn't blow it on a carrot cake! So, I whipped out my phone and googled 'healthy carrot cake recipe', when I fell upon this very easy, VERY healthy recipe...

Easy Pumpkin Muffins

Courtesy of allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan or line with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves until smooth. Spoon equal amounts of batter into the prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean.   

I have to admit, mine came out looking nothing like the pretty picture posted on the webpage... but, they were still very good! They were very moist, and very dense. I used a carrot cake mix, instead of yellow cake mix.  I also added raisins and walnuts.  I was quite surprised that I didn't need to use butter, oil, or eggs! The best part?! Each muffin is only 160 calories, and very low fat. I definitely recommend trying this recipe. I plan to try it again using other variations.

Verdict: Recommended

Nigella Lawson's Mexican Lasagne

So, it's Christmas time and everyone is all in the Holiday spirit... Lately everyone had been asking what I wanted for Christmas. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have just about everything a girl could want! And, so, my response was "a cookbook!" :) 

Ask, and you shall receive! My friend (& co-worker) Noelle gave me a baking book, my Mom gave me a cookbook, JD gave me a cookbook, my cousin Alysha gave me a cookbook, JD's Mom gave me 2 cookbooks... Needless to say, I AM IN ALL MY COOKBOOK GLORY! 

I do believe having all these new cookbooks means that I should be cooking!

(Drum roll, please!) The first recipe I'm going to try is:

Mexican Lasagne

Courtesy of NIGELLA KITCHEN by Nigella Lawson. Copyright 2010 Nigella Lawson. Published by Hyperion. Available wherever books are sold. All Rights Reserved.

You will need 1 round ovenproof dish, approximately 10 inches diameter and 2 1/4 inches deep.

Ingredients:

Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon garlic flavoured oil
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 green chiles, chopped, with seeds
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro stalks
• 2 (14-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, plus 1 2/3 cups water to rinse out empty cans
• 1 tablespoon ketchup

Filling:

• 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 1/4 cups drained canned corn, from about 1 1/2 (15-ounce cans)
• 2 1/2 cups grated mature goats Cheddar, or cheese of your choice
• 8 soft flour tortillas (approximately 10-inch diameter)
• Avocado Salsa, for serving, recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, slipping in a cookie sheet at the same time. 


Directions:

For the sauce: 
Heat the oil in a saucepan on the stove and fry the onion, bell pepper and chiles. Add the salt and cook gently for 15 minutes, and once soft, add the chopped cilantro stalks.

Add the canned tomatoes then rinse the cans out with water and add this too. Spoon in the ketchup and let things come to a simmer, leaving the sauce (or salsa in keeping with the Mexican mojo) to cook while you get on with preparing the filling- about 10 minutes. 

For the filling: 
Mix the drained beans and canned corn in a bowl. Add most of the grated cheese, reserving some to sprinkle on the top at the end, and mix together. 

Start to assemble the lasagne by spooning about a third of the salsa into the bottom of your ovenproof dish and smear it about, then layer on 2 tortillas so that they cover the sauce overlapping slightly, like a Venn diagram. 


Add a third of the beans and cheese mixture covering the tortillas, and then about a quarter of the remaining salsa and another 2 tortillas. 

Repeat with another third of beans and cheese, and more salsa before layering on another 2 tortillas. 

Finally, add the last layer of beans and cheese, nearly all of the remaining salsa and cover with the last 2 tortillas. Spread the very last bit of salsa over the tortillas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. 

Bake for 30 minutes, and let it rest for a good 10 to 15 minutes before slicing like a pizza, and eat with the avocado salsa. 

Make Ahead Note: 
The lasagne can be assembled 1 day ahead. Cool the tomato salsa before assembling. Cover dish tightly with plastic and refrigerate until needed. Bake as directed in recipe, allowing an extra 5 to 10 minutes baking time and checking the lasagne is piping hot in centre before removing from oven. 

Freeze Note: The assembled but uncooked lasagne can be frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap dish tightly in double layer of plastic and a layer of aluminium foil. Thaw overnight in fridge and cook as above. 

Further Note: Leftovers should be covered and refrigerated as soon as possible. To reheat, put individual slices in ovenproof dish, cover with foil and reheat in oven preheated to 350 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes. Check the lasagne is piping hot before serving. Wedges of leftover lasagne can be frozen for up to 2 months, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and then either in foil or in resealable bag. Thaw overnight in refrigerator and reheat as above. 

Avocado Salsa:

• 2 avocados
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons chopped green jalepenos from a jar or can
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro

Halve the avocados, remove the pits, and then, using the tip of a sharp knife, cut lines down the flesh of each half, about a 1/4-inch apart and then the same across. Turn the avocado halves inside out, or otherwise release the pale green cubes into a bowl, then tumble in the scallion, chopped jalepenos, salt to taste, lime juice and most of the cilantro and toss gently to mix. Taste to see if any more salt is needed before scattering with the remaining cilantro and taking to the table.

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Honestly, this was like the best thing I have ever put into my pie hole! I was loving every single bite.  And, the recipe was really very easy! It took a bit longer than I had expected to prep, but it was well worth the wait!

Though, this meal was SO hearty, that I was full after only a few bites!

JD liked it too, which really surprised me because he does not like beans. I'll have you know he ate every single bean.  His rating? A "6-- no, a 7-- though it would've been a 9 if I liked beans".  :):):)

Verdict: A MUST HAVE!