Skinny Salted Chocolate Brownies

I just had the best. brownie. EVER.


No joke.


Trying to lose weight with a sweet tooth is hard. OK - so it's REALLY hard. I found this recipe while browsing around and it looked simple enough. And more importantly, I had all the ingredients I needed on hand. (Super important!) Check out the The Realistic Nutritionist -- loads of nice recipes there!


Anyway - here it is for you, with pictures I took while making them.


Again - these are the BEST ever.

Recommend using only 1/2 the amount of sea salt.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour


• 1/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa


• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 1/3 cup of semisweet chocolate chips


• 2 tablespoons of butter


• 1 cup of sugar


• 2 tablespoons condensed milk


• 1 egg


• 1 egg white


• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


• 1 tablespoon of sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease an 8 inch x 8 inch glass pan with cooking spray.


2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt and cocoa. Make a well with a spoon and set aside.


3. In another medium bowl, add chocolate and butter. Microwave on high
   for one minute, stir, and microwave for another 30 -60 seconds. Add
   sugar and mix until creamed. Add in condensed milk, egg, egg white and
   vanilla, stirring until fully combined. Pour the chocolate mixture into
   the well of the flour mixture and stir until there are no flour streaks.


4. Pour batter into the greased pan. Sprinkle additional salt over the
   batter and bake for at least 22 minutes. Chill brownies for at least an
   hour so they firm up. Enjoy!

Nutritional information per brownie: 125 calories, 2 grams of fat,
31 grams of carbohydrates, >1 gram of fiber and 1.8 grams or
protein.   (about 4 Weight Watchers Points Plus points)

Snow Day

We had snow the other day... Yes, in March! Crazy weather in Virginia at times, but I wouldn't live anywhere else!

Slow Cooker Pork Chops & Potatoes

Made this for dinner tonight. So easy and very yummy. Something different to do with pork chops!

Ingredients:
Boneless pork chops (4-5)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup ketchup
Salt and Pepper
4-5 small/medium potatoes

Directions:
Peel and slice potatoes.
Spray inside of slow cooker.
Place potatoes in bottom of slow cooker.
Season pork chops.
Place pork chops on top of potatoes.
Mix soup and ketchup.
Pour over pork chops.
Cook on high 2-3 hrs or low 4-6 hrs.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Beth's Spaghetti & Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef/chuck


• 1 15oz. can Tomato Sauce


• 3 6 oz. cans Tomato Paste


• approx. 2 cups water (depending on how thick you want the sauce)


• Spaghetti Noodles (or other pasta you prefer)

Up to a teaspoon of the following (less if you prefer)

• Garlic Powder


• Oregano


• Red Pepper Flakes


• Basil


• Parsley 

 Directions:

• Add tomato sauce and paste in mid-size sauce pot on medium heat.


• Stir til smooth and add spices


• Slowly add water and stir until desired consistency


• Bring sauce to boil


• Form ground beef into balls, add to boiling sauce


• Boil a couple minutes


• Reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours


• Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions


• ENJOY!

Foto Friday

Nicole on National Pancake Day this week

Guinevere sleeping

Stella Grace sleeping... oh to sleep like this!

Chandler Dog -- cute as a button.

Do Something With The Chicken

I asked Richard what he wanted me to make for dinner. I said there were chicken breasts and some pork chops in the fridge that had finished thawing. He said, "Well, do something with the chicken."

Ok.

What does one do with chicken breasts without a plan? Hmmmm.

Grab a zip lock bag.

Cut up the chicken into pieces.

Get some flour and dump it in the bag.

Add some Season-All (I LOVE this... LOVE.) Add some cayenne pepper. Add some garlic powder.

Throw that chicken in the bag.

ZIP! SHAKE! SHAKE!

Throw it onto the hot electric skillet and cook cook cook! (you know, brown each side of the little nuggets and then cook about 20 minutes)


Add some frozen veggies if you wish... well, thank you, I will! (make some rice or noodles as a side dish and voila!)