Crab Cakes

I love crab cakes. And I like them the way God intended with very little filling, no added vegetables and just a little flavoring to enhance the crab. No need for peppers, onions, tarragon, celery etc. Let the crab shine through.

Get the very best crab you can find -- since we live in Central VA we are partial to Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs -- and mix it up carefully to create restaurant quality deliciousness in your own kitchen. I made these the other night and I swear my husband -- who eats pretty good most days -- said it was one of the best things I ever made.

Crab Cakes, Green Beans Almondine, Fresh Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
and a piece of garlic toast. Perfection! 

Crab Cakes
serves 2

1/2 pound lump crab meat, picked over carefully to remove shell
2 tsp. + 2 tsp. butter
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1 egg
pinch Kosher salt

Mix all ingredients carefully together in a bowl -- leaving aside 2 tsp. of the butter for frying the crab cakes. Stir gently so as not to break up the crab meat too much. Shape them into cakes. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. When the pan gets hot, add the remaining 2 tsp. of butter and the crab cakes. Cook them for 5 minutes without moving them so they develop a crispy crust and then carefully turn them over and cook for another 5 minutes.

Crab Cakes

Turn the heat down to low and cover the pan. Cook for another 2 minutes to ensure the egg is cooked all the way through. Serve with your choice of fresh lemon juice, cocktail sauce or a little more butter. These crab cakes come in at 6 points each if you are a Weight Watcher like me. You can reduce the points by lowering the amount of butter used, but it truly gives them a rich buttery flavor that is hard to duplicate.

Adventures with The Two Ingredient Dough

Unless you've been living under a rock, or you are a social media hater, you've heard of the two ingredient dough. The lure of the dough is lower calories and no fat as well as it's versatility. I've seen folks make everything from bagels to rolls to pizza dough to doughnuts. Because I am addicted to pizza, that's what I started with.

Pizza made at home with the 2 Ingredient Dough

I made this on a recent Friday night and both the hubby and I agreed that it tasted great. Working with this dough takes a little getting used to. It was very stiff and pretty sticky on my first go round making it. This is kind of a long blog post, but I know that lots of people are intimidated when working with dough, so I want to be as helpful as I can. I hope this helps you!

2 Ingredient Dough

1 3/4 cup Self Rising Flour
1 Cup Plain Non Fat Greek Yogurt

Now what you do with it is up to you. Here is my experience with the dough. I learned a little and it got easier to work with as I did. I hope this helps you have a better first experience with it than I did. 

Because all I had on hand was a generic Greek yogurt, I drained mine in a sieve lined with a coffee filter to remove the excess liquid. If you have a high quality name brand you may be able to skip this step. I mixed the dough in a bowl, using a little more than 1 2/3 cups of the flour and saving the rest to work into the dough while kneading it. As I said it's a little stiff and a little sticky. Here's how mine looked during prep.

The crumbly, pre-kneaded dough. 

 After mixing the dough in a bowl, I turned it out onto a well floured mat, using the remaining flour in the measuring cup. I kneaded it about 20 times, until it pulled together in a cohesive lump of dough and most of the rest of the flour was incorporated. I think now that I kneaded it a bit too much. 

After kneading, very stiff. Let it rest before trying to stretch it. 

Be sure to spray the pan of your choice very well with a non-stick cooking spray or wipe well with olive oil. After resting a few minutes, I was able to spread the dough to about 10 inches round. I added my own pizza sauce.

My Pizza Sauce
makes 2 pizzas

1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. finely minced garlic
2 tsp. finely minced onions
1 cup canned tomato sauce
a pinch of Kosher Salt
a pinch of dried red pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano

In a small sauce pan, soften the garlic and onion over low to medium heat. Add the tomato sauce, turn up the heat and bring it to a bubble then add all the remaining ingredients. Lower the heat and let cook gently for about 5 minutes, stirring often.

Pizza prepped with sauce, don't over do the sauce. Ready for the toppings. Since I don't use a ton of cheese, I always add that first and put the other topping on top of the cheese. 

Next add one cup of your choice of cheese. I used part skim mozzarella. Top with your favorite toppings. Mine has banana peppers, roasted red peppers, turkey pepperoni, onion, mushrooms and black olives. Bake at 400 for about 20 -25 minutes. You may need to turn down the heat to 375 and let it bake a few more minutes until the dough is done in the center. You don't want to burn the crust. Lastly I added 1 T. of shredded Parmesan cheese. 


Next Up, Bagels! 

Hot out of the oven, Onion Bagels made with the 2 Ingredient Dough

After my experience with the stiff dough while making the pizza, I decided to begin with 1 1/2 cup self rising flour and 1 cup of plain non fat Greek Yogurt. I used the rest of the flour to dust the surface I used to shape the bagels. This time the dough was MUCH easier to work with, so from here on out, that is absolutely the way I will be making it. I added 2 tsp. granulated dried onion to the dough since I was making onion bagels. I shaped the dough into a round, divided it in half and then divided each half into 3 pieces. I rolled each piece into a 3 -4" rope and then shaped the rope into a circle. This is what I ended up with:

Bagels ready for the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. If you are topping your bagels brush them with an egg wash -- 1 egg whisked with 1  T. of water -- using a small pastry brush. I topped mine with a mixture I made from toasted sesame seeds, poppy seeds and the same dried onions I put into the dough, along with a pinch of kosher salt and garlic powder. Bake them for 30 -35 minutes and then run them under the broiler, if desired, for a browner and crustier top. 

Ready for the oven! 

Aren't they cute? And they smelled so good while baking, like a fancy bakery you'd walk by in a big city. 

Fresh from the oven,
Onion Bagels! 

Here they are -all done and ready to eat. I like mine split and toasted with a little light cream cheese and glass of V8. 

Breakfast is served! 

White Bean Chicken Chili - Freestyle!

It's easy to make, it's delicious and it's ZERO points. Dump everything but the beans into a slow cooker and do what you need to do. 4 or 5 hours later, remove the chicken and shred it, and return to the pot along with the beans and one hour later dinner is ready... and lunch the next day and the next and the next....and that makes for easy meal planning.

To serve I like to add 2 crushed tortilla chips on top, a Tablespoon of low fat shredded cheddar, 2 black olives, a wedge of lime, a little cilantro and a big dollop of plain non-fat Greek yogurt. That makes my big bowl of chili 2 Freestyle Weight Watchers points. You do it the way you like it! Avocado would be good, if  you've got the points or some pickled jalapenos if you want it spicier.

Feel free to add a can of your favorite corn to the slow cooker if you like -- we just don't care for corn in chili.

And believe me when I say, it's hard to take a good picture of this chili, it's just not that pretty! This is the best I could do:

Zero Point White Bean Chicken Chili -
All Gussied Up for the photo op! 

Remember that zero points doesn't mean zero calories, but this is a pretty  healthy chili! Just don't over do it -- as in all things, moderation is the key. I'd say a portion is a cup to a cup and a half.

White Bean Chicken Chili
Serves 8

4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds, give or take)
1+ box Low Sodium Chicken Broth (I used Imagine Organic Free Range)
4 cans Progresso White Kidney Cannellini beans 
2 cans Old El Paso Chopped Mild Green Chilies
1 large jalapeno pepper, diced (leave in the seeds for more spice, I did0
1 T. minced garlic
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 T. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
1 T. dried oregano
1 tsp. coriander
2 tsp. Kosher Salt
1 T. white vinegar

Drain 3 cans of the beans and rinse them. Place the 4th can in the blender with it's liquid and puree until smooth.

Put all ingredients except beans into your slow cooker. Cook on high 4 to 6 hours until the chicken is starting to fall apart. Remove the chicken and shred it and put it back into the pot with the beans along with any accumulated drippings from it. You may need to add a little more chicken broth if it's too thick for your preference. Taste the chili for seasoning at this point. You can add more  spice or salt to your liking.

Cook another hour or 2. Serve with your choice of toppings, just be sure to count the points if you are a Weight Watcher, like me!

Bare Naked White Bean Chicken Chili = 0 Points

Freestyle Turkey Chili

Here's how to do some delicious FREESTYLE turkey chili. Whether you are watching your weight or not, this is one delicious chili. We like things a little spicy, so I used a variety of hotter style chili powders, but if you don't care for spicy, use mild chili powder and omit the chipotle in adobo from the recipe. (Chipotle en Adobo is a canned food product of dried and smoked jalapeno chilies in a smoky, tomato sauce. Great pantry staple.)

So here it is ONE POINT Freestyle Turkey Chili!


Freestyle Turkey Chili
serves 8

Extra Lean! 

1 lb. Jenni O Extra Lean Ground Turkey
1 link Al Fresco Chicken Sausage with Jalpenos and Red Peppers
1 tsp. olive oil
1 can original Rotel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies
3 cans Diced Tomatoes (15 oz.)
1 can tomato sauce (15 oz.)
2 T. tomato paste
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 T. minced garlic
1 T. Chilpotle en Adobo from a can**(chopped up)
3 T. chili powder, divided use
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1 T. apple cider vinegar

3 spicy chili powders I like

1 small can chopped green chilies (mild)
Cooking spray, such as PAM
3 cans kidney beans --I used 2 dark red and 1 light red                
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper

Heat a deep non-stick pot over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray. Slice the chicken sausage thinly and cut each circle in half. Cook the sausage until lightly brown on the edges. Remove and set aside. Add 1 tsp. olive oil to the pot and brown the turkey, breaking it up as you do.

Add the onions and green pepper to the skillet along with one T. of the chili powder and 1 tsp. cumin. Cook about 5 minutes until veggies begin to soften then add the garlic.

Chili Prep

Cook a few more minutes until you start to smell the garlic and then add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, canned chilies, vinegar, chipotle en adobo and the rest of the spices. Season with 2 tsp. Kosher salt and 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, turn it down low, cover and let simmer for 30 - 45 minutes.

While the chili is cooking, drain the beans and rinse them. Shake out all the water in a colander. After about 40 minutes, add the beans, chicken sausage and the tomato paste into the chili. Bring the chili to a boil, lower the heat and cover. Let the chili cook 30 - 45 minutes to allow all the flavors to come together and to cook the beans.

I like to serve it with a few crushed tortilla chips, 1 T. low fat Mexican Blend Cheese and a dollop of non-fat plain Greek yogurt. If you do also, be sure to count the extra points       

This chili freezes well and will keep several days in the refrigerator. It also makes a GREAT Taco salad --Put  a ladle full over a plate of mixed greens and top with a few crushed chips, a little plain Greek yogurt and some additional salsa and a few black olives, YUMMY! I have already had that for lunch and I highly recommend it!

Taco Salad for lunch? YES PLEASE!! 

**You can freeze the leftover Chipotle en Adobo from the can. It will keep a long time if you seal it up well in a freezer bag.