Good Friday Ranch Crusted Tilapia & Easter Candy points

Last night's Chicken Pot Pie was good. It wasn't as good as my "from scratch" Chicken pot pie....but I'm dieting, right? So, I probably need to skip the recipe that calls for milk and butter in the sauce and "real" pie crusts!  I may play with it and see if I can find a happy medium between the two, though.

Tonight for our Good Friday meal is Ranch Crusted Tilapia.  I think it looks yummy! I'm not entirely sure about the points value, but I'm guestimating 5 points per fish. I'm thinking I may pan "fry" in a littlte bit of olive oil, as baking it sometimes makes the breading a little too moist for me, but based on other recipes, if you choose to bake , do so at 425ºF for about 20 minutes or until they easily flake with a fork.

Ranch Crusted Tilapia

Breading:
3 cups Panko bread crumbs
1/4 Packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix (the powder)
1/4 tsp pepper

Wets:
1 egg white and water for dipping and wetting fish

Dip fish in wets, then coat in the breading mixture and bake

 or pan fry (with a little butter/oil to coat pan) until done.

 

Hope y'all have a great Easter Weekend!! And for those of you wanting to indulge in some yummy Easter candy - I found this great chart telling how many points your fave candies are. Its from a blog post in Feb. 2013. (for entire blog post, which has A LOT of candy listed- go here)

 

Easter Candy

Brach’s Robin Eggs (6 pieces) = 4.5 points
Cadbury Caramel Egg (1 egg) = 5 points
Cadbury Chocolate Egg (1 egg) = 4.5 points
Cadbury Creme Egg (1 egg) = 4 points
Cadbury Mini Eggs (12 eggs) = 4.5 points
Dove Solid Milk Chocolate Bunny (6 oz.) 1/4 of the bunny = 6 points
Hershey’s Candy-Coated Milk Chocolate Eggs (4 eggs) = 2.5 points

Hershey’s Kisses (10 Kisses) = 7 points
Jelly Belly Jelly Beans (35 pieces) = 3 points
Lindt Lindor Mini Eggs (3 eggs) = 2.5 points
Milky Way Egg (1 egg) = 5 points
Peeps (3 pieces) = 3 points
Snickers Egg (1 egg) = 4 points

Here are some other charts if you don't see your favorite above:

http://prosites-waynewatcher.homestead.com/index_eastercandy.html

http://burrridge.patch.com/articles/weight-watchers-points-for-easter-candy

 

And I have a question for those of you who have husbands on WW or are guys yourself....what is their/your points value per day??? My hubby is thinking of joining me and a 2012 Weight Watchers daily points calculator we found online says he should have 43 points per day!!!  That seems high to me, as my points per day is only 26, but then again, everytime he HAS done WW with me, his points per day HAS BEEN a lot higher than mine.  Does 43 sound right? YIKES!

1 point Chocolate mini-Cupcakes

Last week I said I'd post this recipe - here ya go! Its great for chocolate cravings and only "about" 1 point each. They are actually about 1.4 points each, but I rounded down. My oldest daughter loves them, too, and I've packed them as dessert in her lunch box several times. I froze 1/2 of them, so I wouldn't have the temptation of so many chocolate cupcakes readily at hand.

2-Ingredient Chocolate Pumpkin Mini-Muffins (cupcakes)

makes approximately 36 mini-muffins

Ingredients
1 box of chocolate cake mix
1 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree

Directions
1. Preheat the oven per box instructions. Spray the mini-muffin pan/s with a baker’s spray (baker’s secret or Pam)
2. Combine the cake mix and the pumpkin and beat on medium for 2-3 minutes until well blended and fluffy.
3. Spoon a heaping tablespoon into each well in the mini-muffin pan and bake for about 18-20 minutes.
4. Allow to cool.

You can garnish with powdered sugar or a pecan, but both of those add unneeded calories in my opinion. They are approximately 1 WW point each without any garnish. I believe you can make basically the same recipe with Diet Coke (instead of the pumpkin) if you desire. They are not as dense, if memory serves me.

Hot & Cold - Blackened Tilapia Tacos & Key Lime Pie Sandwiches

With hubby out of town this week and a busy activity week for the kiddos, I haven't cooked. I've been eating leftovers and last night I ate at Church. HOWEVER, tomorrow night, I plan to make Blackened Tilapia Tacos. While I will probably be the ONLY one to actually eat a TACO, I look forward to this. It looks yummy. I fully expect the kids to turn up their noses (but who knows) and hubby just to eat his Tilapia sans the taco.  Regardless, it looks good. I bought some "homemade" Pico de gallo to add to it and a few fresh avacados. I MAY leave out the cumin in the spice mix. I'm not a fan. I'm guessing it will be fine without it. Thoughts?

Blackened Tilapia Tacos (7 points plus)

Ingredients (Serves 2-4)

½ Teaspoon Paprika

¼ Teaspoon Salt

¼ Teaspoon Pepper

¼ Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

¼ Teaspoon Onion Powder

¼ Teaspoon Cumin

3 Tilapia Filets (3 pts per 5 oz)

1 ½ Tablespoons Olive Oil (I add 1 point for the olive oil)

1 Avocado (1/4 of an avacado is 2 pts)

4 Whole Wheat Tacos (I found some Tortillas at Kroger that are only 1 point each! If you cannot find these, most whole wheat tortillas are 3 pts each. Be sure to make the adjustment in the points total. I will try to take a picture of the brand I bought and post it later.)

Combine the dry seasonings in a small mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Lightly dust each side of the tilapia filets with the seasoning blend. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the tilapia to the pan and cook the tilapia for five minutes on each side. Warm the tortillas. Smash a little bit of avocado on each tortilla. Place a half of a tilapia filet on to each taco. Break the filet apart a little bit. Serve with a little bit of fresh pico de gallo or salsa and some jalapeno slices.

Here is the link to the original recipe if you want to go take a peak at the pictures or step-by-step directions:
http://www.sarcasticcooking.com/2012/06/20/blackened-tilapia-tacos/

Any suggestions on side items to go with this?

And I'm thinking after the "heat" from the tacos, we may need something "cool." I'm considering this:

Too-Cool Key Lime Pie Sandwiches                         PER SERVING (1/2 of recipe, 1 sandwich): 128 calories, 1g fat, 105mg sodium, 24g carbs, 0.5g fiber, 16g sugars, 7g protein -- PointsPlus® value 3*                 Even if you're not a huge fan of key lime pie, you'll FLIP over these. SOOOO AMAZING!!!!!!! Ingredients: 1/2 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt (like the kind by Fage or Chobani) 1 1/2 tbsp. granulated sugar 1 tbsp. lime juice (key lime, if available) 2 sheets (8 crackers) low-fat cinnamon graham crackers, broken into 4 squares Directions: To make the filling, combine yogurt, sugar, and lime juice in a bowl. Mix thoroughly. Cover and place in the freezer for 25 - 30 minutes, until it reaches a soft-serve-like consistency (very thick but soft enough to stir). Place two graham cracker squares on a plate with the cinnamon-covered sides down. Give filling a stir and evenly distribute between the two graham cracker squares, about 1/4 cup each. Gently place another graham cracker square over each filling-topped square, cinnamon-covered sides up. Place in the freezer until filling is firm, at least 1 hour. Enjoy! MAKES 2 SERVINGS     Originial recipe: http://www.hungry-girl.com/weighin/show/2071   Looks good, right? I will probably double it to make sure I have one for every member of the family.   Can't wait!!!!

Valentine's Day and Dessert

Valentine's Day is tomorrow. Those you know me well, know that I am not a fan. I can't give you any good reason WHY I don't like Valentine's Day. I just don't. BUT, I go along with it for my kids' sake. They LOVE giving their friends valentines. This year we did Pixie Stick valenties and they each had to write all their classmates' names on the cards and assemble. My oldest daughter, a 4th grader, was totally annoyed that she had to give the BOYS cards that say Be My Valentine, upon which she crossed out those words on the cards to her male classmates. Geez.   In previous years, I've gotten them new heart PJ's or shirts (now of which they are "too old" for so I'm told). Last year I heart-bombed their bedroom doors, which they LOVED.

 

 

Each heart said something I loved about them. About 1/2 of the hearts are STILL on their bedroom doors a year later. This year, I'm going with a not-so-healthy plan, but they will be 100% excited. This box of Lucky Charms cereal will be a HUGE hit. Lucky Charms is their #1 "vacation food" - meaning they are ONLY allowed to have it on vacation. We leave for a mini-vacation on Friday, so I'm killing two birds with one stone! I'm sure they will want to have it for b'fast tomorrow, and on a day where they are going to be stuffed silly with other junk food and candy, its ok. Its one day- its definitely NOT something I'd allow ANY OTHER school morning. Ever. 

 

And another HUGE hit from last year at the Kindergarten Valentines party were these Strawberry roses:

I used the HUGE dipping strawberries and painted candy sticks green. The kids LOVED them. The only bad thing was I only made 1 per child. They all wanted more. I'm contemplating doing them again this year. Problem is...its tomorrow....I don't have the sticks or the strawberries. If I do them again, I may not paint the sticks. Regardless- they are a prefectly adorable and HEALTHY valentines idea. I think I got the idea off of Pinterest. Those "strawberry roses" had been drizzled with chocolate. The kids loved them without, and so did I!  Win-win!

We have several things working against us as a family for dinner tomorrow night, so I'm not sure what I'm cooking in the small time frame I have. My original plan was for hubby to grill some venison tenderloin, which taste JUST LIKE steak, but 1/2 the fat. I love it.  And I want some sort of fun dessert. I'm thinking about this:



 
OREO MOUSSE-WW (source- Weightwatchers.com)
PointsPlus Value: 2

	8 serving(s) fat-free sugar-free instant chocolate pudding mix
	16 oz Cool Whip Whipped Topping Free cool whip
	3 cup(s) fat-free skim milk
	3/4 oz Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs Oreo

Instructions

• Mix pudding mix and milk together either in a blender or with a whisk. Let sit in a mixing bowl til it slightly thickens. In the meantime spray a clear glass bowl with cooking spray. Open the bag of Oreo Crisps and roll them til they are crumbles. Sprinkle some around the sides and bottom of the bowl. Now fold the whipped topping into the pudding until thoroughly combined. Spoon 1/2 the mixture into the prepared bowl,top with some of the cookie crumbs and repeat. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

I may use the entire package of the Oreo "crisps" (gasp!) or just use some plain old mini-Oreos and calculate the new points. We'll see. Looks yummy, though! I have some fun parfait glasses I may serve it in - that sounds fun, right?