Buffalo Wing Hummus

I may never buy store bought hummus again. This amazing hummus takes less than five minutes to make and is so much better than any kind I’ve bought in a store. This is also a great way to enjoy Buffalo wing flavor for very little calories. I served this with celery, carrots and toasted sandwich thin triangles and I was surprised to discover that my favorite dipper was the celery! Usually I think of celery as the most boring vegetable on the planet and only enjoy it smothered in blue cheese to cool my mouth off between eating real Buffalo wings. The combination of the cool, crunchy celery and the Buffalo wing flavoring in this hummus was a match made in Heaven. Usually the serving size on a container of store bought hummus is 2 tablespoons, but I always want more than that, so I doubled it. A quarter cup of this savory treat is only 72 calories or 2 P+! This is a great snack and it would make a fabulous appetizer to make for company of to bring to a potluck. I actually halved the original recipe (which made 4 cups of hummus), so you could easily re-double it for a larger crowd.

For those who are wondering, although this hummus has Buffalo wing flavor and a little tang to it, I wouldn’t consider it spicy. If you want it to be spicier you could use the “Xtra Hot” Frank’s or try using more. I thought it was perfect as is!

Spaghetti & Meatball Cups

I am so proud of this recipe. It started as a little twinkle of an idea in my head and I feel like I nurtured it and brought it up to full maturity. I came up with this idea a couple months ago when I was brainstorming ideas for new muffin tin meals and I’ve been mentally revising the recipe without actually making it ever since. Today was finally the day. I finally felt like I finally had all the ingredients and proportions perfected the way I wanted it in my head, so the only thing left to do was to see if it actually worked in reality. I am so pleased to say that these turned out exactly as I’d hoped! The spaghetti cups hold together wonderfully and form a perfect, thick pasta basket for the meatball. The cups are firm and sturdy but the pasta stays soft with the exception of a few crunchy little ends of pieces that stick out of the top of the muffin cups. I was a little nervous about the meatballs because I had never baked them before (I always slow cook my meatballs with sauce in my crock pot) but they turned out moist, meaty and delicious.


Spaghetti and meatballs is one of my all-time favorite things to eat. I really love meatballs. My mom usually calls me when she makes meatballs just in case I want to come over for dinner (and I usually do). It can be hard to control your portion size when eating your favorite foods, but I found two of these cups to be extremely filling and satisfying for dinner. Plus, the presentation of these is great. How much cuter are these than a sloppy pile of spaghetti? You can serve these for dinner or they’d also make great party food. Just don’t forget to invite me.

Slow Cooked Taco Chili (Salad)

This concoction is so versatile that I had no idea how to describe it in the recipe title. I found the recipe on Ezra Pound Cake and she referred to it as a soup, but since there was very little liquid the way I made it, that didn’t seem right to me. If you don’t drain and rinse the cans of beans it will be more like a soup, so feel free to make it that way. The consistency of mine was more like a hearty chili and the main ingredients are similar, but there’s no chili powder in it so I’m not sure that really describes it either. My favorite way to eat this turned out to be over a bed of crisp lettuce like a taco salad, so that’s how I photographed it. You could also portion it into single lettuce leaves and eat this as taco lettuce wraps or serve it over rice like a Chipotle bowl.

You also have an opportunity to get creative with the toppings. I included shredded cheddar in the recipe, but it was fun to experiment with other additions as well. My favorite to use (as always) was Wholly Guacamole. I used 2 tablespoons of their spicy variety and the cool creaminess was a fabulous contrast to the hot and hearty chili. I also tried it with half an ounce of Fritos sprinkled over the top, and that added a really nice crunchy texture and saltiness I enjoyed. Of course, I also tried the chili straight-up out of a bowl and that was great too.

Basically, I’m leaving it up to you to decide what this is and how you’ll serve it. Get creative and let me know your favorite way to eat it!

 Topped with Wholly Guacamole

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

Since Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, I’ll get right to the point. These strawberries are juicy, creamy, sweet little bites of perfection, ready to sweep your taste buds, your friends, or your special someone right off their feet.  Of course, these would be fabulous any time of year, but Valentine’s Day always seems like a time to indulge and be decadent. These Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries give you all the decadence you could want for only 1 P+ or 35 calories each! I can’t get over how naughty these taste.

Cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts, but one slice from the bakery at my local supermarket is around 500 calories. These strawberries change up the ratio of berry to cheesecake so that you’re eating more fruit, and the berries provide the perfect vessel for portion controlled deliciousness. The graham cracker “crust” on top is the perfect finishing touch. With only 5 ingredients and no cook time, these sweet little treats are easy to whip up, and they’re so light you can indulge completely guilt-free!

Spicy Sausage & Eggplant Spaghetti Bake

I have had quite a few recipe fails in the past week. Three fails, to be exact, which is a lot considering I only made four recipes total. I was starting to get pretty bummed about it because it’s frustrating to put a lot of work into something without any usable results. Obviously these weren’t my first kitchen failures, but it was definitely the first time I had so many back-to-back. Don’t worry, I only share the good stuff with you.

This is that good stuff. Actually, good doesn’t even begin to describe it. This dish wiped any negative cooking memories from the past week from my mind completely. They were all worth it if in some small way they contributed to me getting to make this pasta bake. The tomato sauce is cheesy to the point where you feel like you’re getting away with something. I’m the kind of girl that unscrews the cap of the Parmesan cheese shaker at Italian restaurants because that little sprinkle isn’t going to do it for me, so this was right up my alley. It’s also spicy, not in an overwhelming way, but enough that it has a nice kick to it. The pieces of spicy sausage and roasted eggplant throughout give the perfect amount of texture to contrast the spaghetti. I don’t post a recipe on here unless I really liked it, but this one is a must-make!

Chocolate Frosted Doughnuts

Doughnuts are usually one of those ‘calorie bombs’ that people trying to lose weight are encouraged to choose sparingly, if at all. Not surprising, I suppose, since they’re basically deep fried cake coated in frosting. Buying a doughnut pan last year totally changed my perspective on incorporating doughnuts into my diet. Baked doughnuts are delicious! So far I’ve made Peanut Butter & Jelly doughnuts, Lemon Poppyseed doughnuts, Strawberry doughnuts and Spice doughnuts, but I realized recently I’ve been totally neglecting chocolate doughnuts! I decided that situation needed to be remedied STAT, so here you go: a chocolate doughnut dipped in chocolate and finished off with a fun dose of sprinkles. These baked doughnuts are lighter and fluffier than their deep fried counterparts, but they are a great way to satisfy a chocolate craving. The doughnut part is good, but the melted chocolate chip frosting is what makes these great, at least for me. Now you can have your doughnuts and eat them too!