HG's 2-Cheese Sausage 'n Portabella Skillet

I really love this because not only is is completely lightened up, Hungry Girl also has revamped the recipe to use meatless or turkey patties..yum!

HG's 2-Cheese Sausage 'n Portabella Skillet

Serving Size: 1 skillet (entire recipe)
Calories: 323
Fat: 6g
Sodium: 918mg
Carbs: 28g
Fiber: 3.5g
Sugars: 6.5g
Protein: 33g

PointsPlus® value 7*

A restaurant with both "steak" and "shake" in its name probably isn't going to be your number-one destination for a light breakfast. But boy do those morning skillet meals sound good! Luckily, we're bringing the flavor of this Steak 'n Shake dish to you and leaving the extra fat and calories by the fryolator...

Ingredients:
1 frozen meatless or turkey sausage patty with about 80 calories (like the kind by Morningstar Farms or Jimmy Dean)
1/2 cup sliced onion
1 large portabella mushroom, roughly chopped
2/3 cup frozen shredded hash browns
2/3 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
1/2 tsp. chopped garlic
1 wedge The Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss cheese
2 tbsp. shredded fat-free cheddar cheese
Optional: salt, black pepper, chopped scallions

Directions:
Prepare sausage patty on the stove in a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray or on a microwave-safe plate in the microwave. (Refer to package instructions for exact temperature and cook time.) Once cool enough to handle, crumble or chop and set aside. 


Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat on the stove. Add onion and, stirring often, cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium low. Add chopped mushroom and hash browns to the skillet with the onion. Stirring occasionally, cook until mushroom pieces have softened and hash browns are hot, 5 - 6 minutes.

Raise heat to medium. Add cooked sausage pieces to the skillet with the veggie-hash mixture. Add egg substitute, garlic, and cheese wedge, breaking cheese wedge into pieces as you add it. Scramble until egg substitute is just cooked, about 3 minutes.

Transfer mixture to a microwave-safe plate. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

Microwave for 30 seconds, until cheese has just melted. If you like, season to taste with salt and pepper and top with scallions. Dig in!

MAKES 1 SERVING

Cowboy Spaghetti

I am a huge spaghetti fan! My problem is that I'm also a carboholic, so when I'm going for spaghetti, I usually just cook plain pasta with sauce or olive oil and garlic..easy, simple, and easy to OD on. Check out this recipe from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures for Cowboy Spaghetti; it's kind of like a spaghetti bake that could pass as the meaty and cheesy main course. Because it's so filling, it is not as easy to OD on carbs as eating plain pasta and sauce is. Check out the recipe here.

Blueberry Granola Breakfast Bake

Blueberries are one of my favorite fruits; I love them because they are super versatile and great to add to recipes or just snack on on their own. Lynn from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures has shared some great blueberry recipes. Here is one for a Blueberry Breakfast Bake that would be an awesome breakfast or snack. Check it out here.

Chipotle Pepper Salad Dressing

If you're looking for a new homemade salad dressing to make, check out the Chipotle Pepper Salad Dressing from Lynne's Kitchen Adventures. I'm pretty much an olive oil and vinegar girl when it comes to salad dressings (thanks to living in Florence for a semester, salad dressings kind of fell off of my menu)... BUT when I do want a good dressing, I look for interesting, homemade ones like this one to add flavor and kick without a bunch of calories.

Boston Cream Cupcakes

Cupcakes are a huge weakness of mine...and I can tell you confidently that at least once a month, designer or homemade cupcakes are brought to work for everyone. I have the hardest time saying no, and more often than not, I have one anyway. Cupcakes are deliciously amazing, but extremely decadent and full of calories. Here is a designer flavored cupcake recipe from Hungry Girl which also combines the cute trend of mini cupcakes to give us a delicious and guilt free desert option.

Boston Cream Cupcakes


PER SERVING (1 cupcake): 114 calories, 2.5g fat, 193mg sodium, 21.5g carbs, 0g fiber, 12g sugars, 2g protein -- PointsPlus® value 3*

There's something awesome about injecting cupcakes with pudding... and something MORE awesome about eating 'em!




Ingredients:
Half of an 18.25-oz. box (about 1 3/4 cups) moist-style yellow cake mix
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
3 tbsp. chocolate frosting, room temperature
2 tbsp. light chocolate syrup
One 60-calorie sugar-free or no-sugar-added vanilla pudding snack (like the kind by Jell-O)
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 no-calorie sweetener packet (like Splenda or Truvia)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups and/or spray with nonstick spray; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, egg substitute, and 1/2 cup water. Whisk thoroughly. Evenly distribute mixture among the cups of the muffin pan.

Bake in the oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 - 22 minutes.

Allow cupcakes to completely cool. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine chocolate frosting with chocolate syrup and mix well. Cover and refrigerate.

Once cupcakes have cooled, use a knife or narrow spoon handle to create a small centered hole through the top of each cupcake, stopping about midway through the cupcakes. Set aside.

Open pudding cup and stir in vanilla extract and sweetener. Place pudding in one of the bottom corners of a sealable plastic bag. Remove air and seal. Snip off a small part of that corner with scissors.

Gently squeeze the bag and evenly pipe pudding through the hole in the bag's corner and into the holes in the cupcakes.

Evenly spread frosting-syrup mixture over the cupcakes. (Don't worry if some of the pudding filling gets mixed in!)

Serve and enjoy! (Refrigerate leftovers, if you've got 'em.)

MAKES 12 SERVINGS

Baked Blueberry Oatmeal

I found this recipe for Baked Blueberry Oatmeal from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures and I am dying to try it. It's the perfect fall and winter breakfast or snack. Check it out here

HG's Totally Nuts Creamy Chicken Salad Sandwich

Chicken salad can really tip the scale on calories with all the mayonnaise and an mixing of dark and white meat. Here is Hungry Girl's version of the standard chicken salad sandwich...try it out, you might be amazed!

HG's Totally Nuts Creamy Chicken Salad Sandwich

Serving Size: 1 sandwich (half of recipe)
Calories: 254
Fat: 7g
Sodium: 923mg
Carbs: 34g
Fiber: 6.5g
Sugars: 11g
Protein: 20g

PointsPlus® value 7*

HG Alternative! Not much of a sandwich lover? No worries! A serving of the chicken salad itself (half the total amount; about 3/4 cup) has 166 calories, 6g fat, 733mg sodium, 15g carbs, 1g fiber, 9g sugars, and 15g protein (PointsPlus® value 4*). Who loves you?

Creamy scoopable salads are SO GOOD, especially when they're packed with fruit. Add in delicious pecans, and they're even better. Put some in a sandwich? HOLY COW, you've got a handheld masterpiece. Just make sure you eat our version and not the one from Arby's. This recipe serves two, so call a friend or save some for another day!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. salt
4 oz. cooked and chopped skinless lean chicken breast
1/4 cup halved red seedless grapes
1/4 cup chopped apple
2 tbsp. chopped celery
1 1/2 tbsp. chopped pecans
4 slices light bread, honey-wheat flavor if available
2 large lettuce leaves

Directions:
Place mayo, garlic powder, and salt in a large bowl; mix well. Add chicken and stir to coat. Add grapes, apple, celery, and pecans; stir well and set aside.

To make each sandwich, lightly toast bread slices (if you like). Lay out 1 bread slice and top with a lettuce leaf. Evenly place half of the chicken salad (about 3/4 cup) over the lettuce. Top with the other bread slice.

Repeat with remaining bread, lettuce, and chicken salad to make the second sandwich. (Or cover and refrigerate the remaining chicken salad, and assemble that sandwich another day.)

Enjoy!

MAKES 2 SERVINGS

Crispy Pecan Pie Bites

I'm thinking about making this dessert for my family's huge Thanksgiving get together...I'm all for pecan pie, but these are just so cute that I kind of want to try them out.


Crispy Pecan Pie Bites

PER SERVING (1/5th of recipe, 3 pieces): 106 calories, 6g fat, 87mg sodium, 12g carbs, 0.5g fiber, 5.5g sugars, 3g protein -- PointsPlus® value 3*

We're starting with dessert. It's been a long week -- you deserve it. Bite, crunch, smile, repeat...

Ingredients:
One 15-piece box frozen Athens Mini Fillo Shells
1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
3 tbsp. brown sugar (not packed)
1/2 tbsp. light whipped butter or light buttery spread (like Brummel and Brown), room temperature
1 drop vanilla extract
Dash salt
1/4 cup roughly chopped pecans, divided
Optional topping: Fat Free Reddi-wip

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray, and arrange shells on the baking sheet. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine egg substitute, brown sugar, butter, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix well.

Stir in 2 tbsp. chopped pecans. Evenly distribute the mixture among the fillo shells.

Evenly top shells with remaining 2 tbsp. chopped pecans, a little less than 1/2 tsp. per shell.

Bake in the oven until edges are crisp, 15 - 18 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly before serving. If you like, top each piece with a squirt of Fat Free Reddi-wip. Enjoy!

MAKES 5 SERVINGS

Devil-icious Egg White Salad

I know that barbecue and picnic season has already come to a close, but here's a recipe for egg salad that you might want to pull out when that season comes back again. Hungry Girl has made a huge dent in lightening up egg salad, and the way she does it, your guests and family would never know unless you told them.

Devil-icious Egg White Salad

PER SERVING (1/6th of recipe, about 1 cup): 129 calories, 2.5g fat, 850mg sodium, 16.5g carbs, 3g fiber, 8g sugars, 10.5g protein -- PointsPlus® value 3*


Ingredients:
4 cups finely chopped cauliflower (about 1 head cauliflower)
1 cup fat-free mayonnaise
4 wedges The Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss cheese
2 tbsp. yellow mustard
1/2 tsp. paprika, or more for garnish
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
12 hard-boiled egg whites, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped cucumber
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1/4 cup sweet relish

Directions:
Place cauliflower in a large microwave-safe bowl with 1/3 cup water. Cover and microwave until soft, 6 - 8 minutes. Once the bowl is cool enough to handle, drain any excess water.

Transfer half of the cauliflower to a blender or food processor. (Set aside the bowl of remaining cauliflower.) To the blender, add mayo, cheese wedges, mustard, paprika, salt, and black pepper. Puree or pulse until blended. (Don't worry if it isn't completely smooth.) Set aside.

To the bowl of non-pureed cauliflower, add all remaining ingredients. Gently stir. Add puree from the blender and lightly stir to coat.

Cover and chill for at least 1 hour.

Serve it up and, if you like, garnish with additional paprika. Enjoy!

MAKES 6 SERVINGS