PB& Pumpkin Truffles

These were purely just something I created on the spur of the moment....I didn't want to be wasteful and throw out the powdered sugar, caned pumpkin or graham crackers from the Pumpkin Pie cookies soooo....I gave it some thought and came up with these, which were a hit, if I must say so!

This is what you'll need

1 cup of powdered sugar & 1/2cup in a separate bowl
2-3tlbs of caned pumpkin
1/2cup low fat peanut butter (or what ever you have on hand)
1 sleeve of graham crackers, crushed

In a large bowl put in your 1cup of powdered sugar and crushed graham crackers. Then add peanut butter and 2tlbs of pumpkin. Stir together and it should form a ball, if too dry then add another table spoon of pumpkin or if too moist add a little more sugar....

Pinch off small balls....I did mine less then half an inch and throw them into the other bowl with just powdered sugar in it and coat...

Nutritional Info

2 balls= 1pt 

3 balls= 2pts

• Servings Per Recipe: 85
• Amount Per Serving = 1
• Calories: 26.4

• Total Fat: 0.6 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 20.3 mg
• Total Carbs: 5.0 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.2 g
• Protein: 0.5 g

I was able to get 85 out of this batch...it just depends on how big you make the balls....Store in an air tight container. These lasted all of 10 seconds!

Something I plan to do with these for Christmas is to not coat them with powdered sugar afterwards but with either white or chocolate candy coating and then dip into different kinds of sprinkles....These will make wonderful gifts to give out to the neighbors....That is if the kids don't eat them all first!

Just in Time for Thanksgiving....Pumpkin Pie Cookies

These are gooey, sticky little boogers to work with, so beware!

I had to spray my hands with PAM every other cookie to keep them from sticking ...Also I alternated the coating using either the crushed graham cracker or the powdered sugar (because I had put too much of both in the dipping bowls, this is how I came up with the Pb&pumpkin truffles) I'll have to make more before putting them on my blog cause the kids in the neighborhood ate them all before I could get a picture of them.... 

This is what you'll need.....  

1 box of Betty Crocker spice cake mix
1 bag of mini marshmallows
1/4 cup of can pumpkin (not the pie mix...Also start with 1/4c and start mixing into the cake mix, if still crumbly, then add a tablespoon of more pumpkin at a time until it forms some what of a ball, should be kinda gooey)
1 sleeve of NABISCO, Graham Crackers, Cinnamon, Low Fat
1.5 cup of powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350
Put cake mix into a large bowl and add 1/4c of pumpkin...add more, 1 tablespoon at a time until it's forms a ball (I had put half the can and ended up having to add a 1/4 cup of flour to it, so start small) set aside...put graham crackers in a med size bowl and crush the graham cracker but keep it small and chunky, not powdery. Put the powered sugar in a med size bowl as well...
spray hands with PAM (will have to do this more then once) and take out enough dough to form a 1in ball...place 2 mini marshmallows inside and form the ball around them, then either drop the ball into the graham cracker and then the sugar or just the crushed cracker...place on a cookie sheet about 1in apart and bake for about 10-12 minutes. Let these cool for 1min on the cookie sheet, before putting on a wire cooling rack (these may break open, just remove from cookie sheet before cooling or they will stick to the sheet and become hard to get off)


If you have left over powdered sugar and crushed graham crackers then put them into a zip lock baggie and hold onto them....I will be posting the PB& Pumpkin truffles soon and you can use these for this yummy candy!

Nutritional Info

2 points for 1 cookie

• Servings Per Recipe: 48
• Amount Per Serving: 1 cookie
• Calories: 76.7

• Total Fat: 1.0 g
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 93.1 mg
• Total Carbs: 16.9 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.2 g
• Protein: 0.7 g

Quick & Easy, Cheesy Mac-N-Cheese

In my search of yummy low-fat Mac-n-cheese, this has got to be the easiest on the planet! I stumbled upon this little recipe while listening to, who else, but Martha Stewart....A caller had called in and was talking about this Mac-n-cheese that her Mom use to make from this old church cook book, where you don't boil the pasta....I thought to myself, "Well, how smart is that...you can do it with lasagna, why not Mac-n-cheese, right?" Well, since I got in on the conversation half way through, I missed some of what went into it. So I had to do some investigation with my dear friend Google and found the recipe. I also found out that it was an old Amish recipe at that...Well, to make this one lighter I had to cut half the cheese but if you're fixing it for Thanksgiving, just go for it and use the whole 16oz of cheese....I'm thinking next time I try it I might even try it with the 1/2 fat Velveeta cheese to see if it's creamier....

This is all you need!

 1 package of macaroni pasta
8oz Cabot 75% reduce fat sharp, shredded
16oz fat free cottage cheese (or 24oz if you want it creamier but remember it adds more calories so plug it into sparksrecipes.com)
20oz hot water
Salt and Pepper to taste ( I used kosher salt)

Put every thing into a large bowl and mix together well. Spray a 13x9 pan with PAM and spread Mac-n-cheese into the pan. Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minuets. Uncover and stir and continue to bake for another 10 minutes. Stir again and check to see if it's done...I didn't need to continue  baking, but keep an eye on it and use your own judgment if you feel it needs more or not.

Nutritional Info

6 servings (about 1 cup) =9pts

12 servings (1/2 cup) = 4pts

• Servings Per Recipe: 12
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 168.3

• Total Fat: 2.2 g
• Cholesterol: 8.3 mg
• Sodium: 276.1 mg
• Total Carbs: 26.7 g
• Dietary Fiber: 3.5 g
• Protein: 13.8 g

3 Cheese Spaghetti Squash Bake

Okay, I'm giving this vegetable a second chance and I'm so glad that I did. I'm not quit sure what I was thinking last time I fixed this unusual gourd but I didn't season it or do much of anything to it at all. I think I went by what someone else said, which was to just add olive oil, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese...I was highly disappointed. So when I saw this recipe I thought okay, how can I make this better and add a little "umph" to it...So I added the Parmesan cheese, cottage cheese, egg white, salt, & garlic powder and made it like I would have made any other type of baked spaghetti...minus the spaghetti.
Why spaghetti squash and not just plain ole' noodles....I've been wanting to get away from the pasta. Seems every time I eat it...it seems to lay on my tummy like a brick and I'm not satisfied with the amount of pasta I get either...Plus it went towards my veggies/ fiber I needed to eat for the day :)
Now I used the smallest squash I could get cause it would be only me eating it (just couldn't get the hubby to try any, although he did say it smelled really good) So I got 3 cups out of mine, which was perfect for 1.5 cups each for 2 servings sizes and I served mine with a nice piece of lemon pepper tilapia....

So here's how to cook a spaghetti squash for those that haven't cooked one before. I cut mine in half, length wise, and lay it flat on a plate, then pierced the out side of it with a fork a couple of times. Then I micro-waved it on high for about 5-6 minutes until it is soft. Let it cool for about 10minutes and then scrape out the seeds. After that you take a fork and just drag the fork, with the grain of the squash, length wise and it will start to pull away from the skin. Put squash in a medium size bowl and set a side and let cool more, if still warm...

scrape out seeds

Shred with a fork...

Here's what you'll need (forgot to put egg whites & cottage cheese in pic...)

Remember I made enough for 2...you can always double the recipe depending on the size of your squash and go to

http://www.sparkrecipes.com/ to figure out calories....

3 cups Spaghetti Squash, cooked & shredded
1 cup low-fat spaghetti sauce
2 egg whites (equals 1 egg)
2oz Cabot's 75% fat free cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup fat free Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fat free cottage cheese
garlic powder~ to taste
Kosher salt~ to taste

Once squash has cooled add egg whites, garlic powder and kosher salt. (Sorry, I'd tell you the exact measurements, but I guesstimated) Toss together, then add the 3 cheeses and mix together. Put mixture into a glass dish. (I used a 9x7 glass dish sprayed with PAM) Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Check to see if casserole has set in the middle, if not then bake an additional 10min.

My verdict....although it's not pasta, it's still pretty tasty and I got a very healthy portion size for the points value...Differently a do-over!

Nutritional Info:

6pts for 1.5 cups

• Servings Per Recipe: 2
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 257.3

• Total Fat: 4.2 g
• Cholesterol: 11.3 mg
• Sodium: 1,281.9 mg
• Total Carbs: 34.5 g
• Dietary Fiber: 5.3 g
• Protein: 22.8 g