CookingCategory Archives

Crash Hot Potatoes

I’ve never really been a fan of the Pioneer Woman. I know this will come as a huge shock to many of you who are major fans. It’s not that I disliked her or anything, I was more apathetic I suppose. I neither liked nor disliked her in general, I just didn’t think most of her recipes would fit very easily into my Weight Watchers food plan. Did I mention she seems to like butter just about as much as Paula Deen, ‘cuz she does. Anyway, that all changed on Sunday thanks to these little gems!

Crash Hot Potatoes

Recently, a couple of long-time WW friends (Hi Flo & Melissa!) posted about a recipe called Crash Hot Potatoes. They talked about how amazing they tasted and how easy they were to make, so I thought I would give them a try. Well, as it turns out, it’s a Pioneer Woman recipe. Holy crap, these things were awesome and so easy to make!

I will admit that I modified the original recipe a bit to make it more Weight Watchers friendly. You can see the original version at the link in the previous paragraph. The only modification I really had to make was skipping the “generous” drizzle of olive oil on the baking sheet. I just spritzed mine with my Misto which is filled with olive oil instead. (I have another Misto filled with canola oil, too.) Instead of brushing the potatoes with olive oil with a pastry brush, I also spritzed them with the Misto for that step, too. The main reason for that is because I realized I don’t actually own a pastry brush. Oops!

Here are my potatoes ready for the oven:

Here they were once they baked for about 20 minutes.

There are simply NO words to describe how good my kitchen smelled as these were baking. The combination of the rosemary and Yukon Gold potatoes was simply heavenly! I weighed out 3 PointsPlus of potatoes on my food scale after they were done. I added an extra PointsPlus value in my tracker to cover the olive oil I used from the Misto. I promise you, this recipe is TOTALLY worth the 4 PointsPlus! I paired it with 3 oz. of grilled chicken and some baby carrots and had an awesome 7 PointsPlus lunch.

So, whether you are already a fan of the Pioneer Woman, of if you’re a PW virgin like myself, this recipe is worth trying. If you like potatoes, I promise you won’t regret it. Perhaps I’ll try her Perfect Iced Coffee next. Mmmmmm….coffee!

Oh, I almost forgot, I was chatting with Mama Sass on Facebook as I was making these on Sunday. She had an awesome idea for a variation that I really want to try: sweet potatoes with a little brown sugar and rosemary. Uhmmm, yes please!

Until next time …

9 August 2011

Cooking

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Coffee, Pioneer Woman, Potatoes, Side Dish

Who's Ready for Rocco?!

Ok, so I freely admit that I may or may not have ~~an unholy~~ a slight obsession with celebrity chef and New York Times best selling author, Rocco DiSpirito. I was a faithful fan of his former TV show The Restaurant and I never missed an episode of The Biggest Loser when he would be on cooking for the contestants. I ~~stalk~~ follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. I’m also a major fan of his cookbooks, especially his latest books, Now Eat This and Now Eat This Diet which are awesome!

Given I’m such a fan, I’m definitely excited for the debut of his new TV show tomorrow night called Rocco’s Dinner Party which airs on the Bravo network. The premise of the show is three chefs will be given the chance to compete for a shot at preparing a dinner party for Rocco and his hand-picked celebrity guests. Sounds fun! I’ll definitely be tuning in, what about you?

In celebration of the success of his Now Eat This book series and the new show, Rocco has launched his “Win It! Cook It!” sweepstakes on his Facebook page. One lucky fan is going to enter a collection of some of Rocco’s favorite kitchen tools valued at over $2,600!! According to the contest rules (PDF link), the grand prize collection includes things like a Vita-Prep blender from Vita-Mix, cookware from the Mauviel M’cook line, a couple of pieces of Le Creuset cookware, and assorted kitchen tools like knives, a grater, etc. Wow, I would *love* to win!! In addition to the grand prize, ten other winners will receive a personalized signed copy of Now Eat This! Diet. How cool is that?!

Are you planning to watch the show? Will you be entering his giveaway? Actually, I kind of hope you don’t enter the giveaway because I really want to win. However, I do hope you watch the show though so we can chat about it on Twitter Thursday! The show premieres tomorrow night (June 15) and will air each Wednesday evening at 11pm ET/8pm PT on the Bravo network (channel 237 on DirecTV).

Until next time …

14 June 2011

Cooking, Misc.

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Bravo, Contest, Rocco Dispirito, TV

Now Eat This! Diet Winners

Now Eat This! Diet

Congratulations Marisol & Jules! You are the winners of my Now Eat This! Diet book giveaway courtesy of Rocco DiSpirito.

If you’ll email me your mailing information (there’s a mail link under my photo in the sidebar), I’ll pass it along to Rocco’s team so they can get the books out to you both. If I don’t hear from you within 48 hours, I will select an alternate winner.

If you weren’t one of the winners, don’t worry, you can still order a copy of Rocco’s book on Amazon. I forgot to mention this in my initial post, but if you are on Weight Watchers, you are in luck! The food points value for each recipe is included in the book.

Until next time …

1 May 2011

Cooking, Misc.

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Giveaway, Rocco Dispirito, Winner

Now Eat This! Diet (Giveaway)

As some of you may remember, I was thrilled last year to receive a signed copy of Rocco DiSpirito’s Now Eat This! cookbook. Since receiving it, I have made several of the recipes in it, a few of which have become regular staples in my menu. (Yeah, I’m talkin’ to you No Cream-No Cry Penne alla Vodka!)

In case you didn’t already know, Rocco has written another Now Eat This! book. This time, it’s his new Now Eat This! Diet. Rocco graciously sent me a signed copy of this book as well, and I’ve been drooling over it all weekend looking at the recipes! Ok, ok, there may or may not have been a little drooling over Rocco, too. Check out the cover and you’ll see why!

In his latest book, Rocco offers his plan for losing weight with little effort, no deprivation, while still eating six meals a day. The plan is filled with the comfort food dishes people crave, like mac & cheese, meatloaf, BBQ pork chops, and chocolate malted milk shakes. The secret: Rocco’s unique meal plans and his 75 recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and snack time, all with zero bad carbs, zero bad fats, zero sugar, and maximum flavor. You just mix and match the color-coded recipes to reach the proper calorie count for the day. Now readers can eat more and weigh less-it’s never been so easy!

You may be asking yourself, does the plan work? Well, Rocco changed his life and his health without giving up the foods he loves or the flavor. He has lost more than 20 pounds, participated in dozens of triathlons, and – after an inspirational role as a guest chef on The Biggest Loser – changed his own diet and the caloric content of classic dishes on a larger scale which was the bedrock for this plan.

Head over to Amazon to get your copy, but don’t worry about getting it messy in the kitchen cooking up his great recipes because you can WIN a pristine hand signed copy direct from Rocco himself! Rocco has hooked me up with TWO (2) signed copies of Now Eat This! Diet to give away to my readers!!

Here’s how you can win your own signed copy of Now Eat This! Diet, signed by Rocco DiSpirito himself:

Mandatory entry: Check out Rocco’s Now Eat This! Diet Recipe Facebook APP (http://bit.ly/NETDAPP) and leave a comment stating which recipe you would like to try and WHY? For example, perhaps you’d love to try the “Chicken & Cheese Poppers” because it uses whole wheat flour instead of regular flour.
For an additional entry: Follow Rocco on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway: “I’m entering to win an autographed copy of Now Eat This! Diet from @RoccoDiSpirito and @MelGetsFit. http://wp.me/pCTaZ-IG #NETDRecipes”

Please note that you MUST leave a separate comment for each of the two methods of entry or the second entry will not count. This contest will run through, 10pm PDT on Saturday, April 30, 2011. At the end of the contest, I’ll pick the two winners using Random.org to receive the book and announce them on Sunday, May 1, 2011. Winners will also be notified via email and will have 48 hours to contact me regarding their prize. If they don’t, an alternate winner will be selected.

Whether you’re chosen as a lucky winner or not, Rocco shares exclusive healthy tips from his latest cookbook and recipes from his Twitter account. Be sure to keep following him at @RoccoDiSpirito. You can also find him here on Facebook.

Ready to enter and win? Comment away!

*Please note this contest is open to US residents only.

Until next time …

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book as part of this giveaway. I was not monetarily compensated for this post. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

25 April 2011

Cooking

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Cooking, Giveaway, Rocco Dispirito

Chobani Goodness — A Giveaway

Anyone who has been reading my blog, following me on Twitter, or checking out my Facebook page for any length of time knows I LOVE Chobani yogurt. It’s pretty much the only yogurt I eat these days.

I have some friends that I’ve introduced to Chobani who have initially balked about the cost, but they shut up pretty quickly after they try it. Yes, it’s THAT good! Not only is it tasty to eat on its own, it’s also an awesome ingredient for cooking! Here are just a few things I’ve made lately using Greek yogurt:

Artichoke Hummus

Healthified Spinach Dip

Mixed with Fresh Raspberries

Chobani FroYo

My Version of Cold Stone's Black Forest

Ok, so that last photo isn’t the prettiest presentation in the world, but the food was tasty! That’s really the most important part anyway, right?!

In case you haven’t already heard, Chobani released three new flavors a few weeks ago — Lemon, Mango, and Black Cherry (shown in the photo at the top of this post). The good folks over at Chobani sent me a sampler pack of the new flavors. Let me tell you, they are GOOD! I think my favorite is the lemon, but I wouldn’t turn any of them down.

Not only did Chobani send me a complimentary sampler case of the new flavors, but they are also letting me give one away to one of my readers! How cool is that?! Here are the details on what you’ll need to do to enter:

Mandatory entry: Leave a comment letting me know which of the new flavors you are most excited to try.
Optional entry: “Like” my Facebook page and the Chobani Facebook page, then post a message on Chobani’s wall letting them know you are entering my giveaway. If you already “like” both pages, just post a message letting them know you are entering my giveaway.
Optional entry: Follow @Chobani and @MelGetsFit on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway using the following message: “Enter to win a sampler pack of the new flavors of @Chobani Greek yogurt from @MelGetsFit! Details here: http://is.gd/chobani #giveaway”

That’s a total of three chances to win! You MUST leave a separate comment for each form of entry. If you do all three entry methods, then you need to leave three separate comments. This giveaway will run through 5pm PDT on Sunday, March 27 with the winner announced on my blog Monday, March 28. The winner will also be notified via email. If I do not hear back from the winner by Wednesday, March 30, an alternate winner will be selected and notified.

Good luck and happy CHO’ing! Until next time …

Disclosure: I received a complimentary case of yogurt from Chobani for myself and one reader. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post or giveaway. As always, opinions expressed are entirely my own.

23 March 2011

Cooking

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Chobani, Food, Giveaway

A New Week, A New Opportunity

I’ve been off track for a week. It started innocently with just one meal, but then it snowballed into a week of emotional eating. The worst part, I knew I was doing it and I didn’t care. I even skipped going to my Weight Watchers meeting yesterday because I didn’t want to face the scale. Yes, I know I could have used a No Weigh In pass, but I just didn’t even feel like facing the reality of the meeting knowing how off track I’ve been.

So, where do I go from here? Well, it’s a new week and that means I have a new opportunity to get myself back on track. In an effort to do that, I’ve decided to post my food here for the next 7 days as part of the #7daychip project to hold myself accountable.

I appreciate all of your support and encouragement as I try to get myself back on the right path to health & wellness. Thanks!

BTW, if you haven’t already tried the Banana Nutella Won Tons recipe from Danica over at Danica’s Daily, yeah, you really need to try them NOW. They are awesome!! I made a batch tonight and couldn’t get over how wonderful they were. The best part, they are only 2 PointsPlus value each on Weight Watchers.