Thrifty Thursday: Up on the Roof

Tonight's Thrifty Thursday post is going to be a little different from my normal posts.  On Thrifty Thursdays I will be posting about meals for under $10.  This Thursday I am posting about a meal for FREE!

The last Thursday of every month in Blacksburg there is an event called Up on the Roof.  At these events there is free food and beer.  You can make a $5 donation to get 3 beer tickets.  If you would not like to make a donation, the entrance is free and so is the food.  Tonight the event was sponsored by Buffalo Wild Wings.  The food was delicious!  There is also live music and a fun atmosphere to meet fellow young adults.  It is truly a unique experience that everyone should check out.

Here is a picture of the beautiful view!

Here is a picture of my first plate of food. :)

So if you're looking for a free meal in a beautiful location with a great chance to network, I highly recommend up on the roof!

Weight Watchers Wednesday: Pizza

Happy hump day everyone!  My first Weight Watchers post is going to be one of my favorite things to eat...PIZZA.  I am not a girl who eats a lot of sweets, instead of I like the salty/greasy foods.  When I started WW I always craved pizza, but it was just too many points.  I decided to try making my own pizza at home with healthy ingredients to feed that craving.  Here is my favorite pizza that I make.

Here are all of my ingredients.

Get out a cookie sheet or a pizza stone and spray with PAM Olive Oil.  Most pizza places will use olive oil to coat their pans.  PAM Olive Oil gives you the same flavor for 0 points.

Spread out your dough on the greased stone.  I use Pillsbury Pizza Crust; tonight I used the standard thick crust.

Lightly spray another layer of PAM Olive Oil and spread minced garlic over the dough.  You can skip this step if you aren't a big garlic fan.  I on the other hand think garlic would be good on everything, so I try to include whenever I can.

Next spread the sauce evenly over your dough.  I use Boboli pizza sauce because it is convenient and has a really good flavor.  It comes with the correct amount of sauce for a large pizza divided into packets.

Now it's time to add your cheese.  I use 1/2 part skim mozarella cheese and 1/2 fat free mozarella cheese.  The reason that I don't use all fat free is because the cheese does not melt properly.  It will turn out rubbery if you don't mix it with the part skim cheese.

Now it's time for the toppings!  Add whatever vegetables you like on your pizza.  I added green bell pepper, red onion (on half since my hubby isn't a big fan of onions), and fresh jalapeno peppers.

Place your pizza in the oven and cook until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is turning to a golden brown.  

The points plus value for this pizza came out to 5 points per serving.  A slice of plain cheese pizza at a restaurant is anywhere from 8-13 points depending on how it's cooked.  Not only does this pizza have less points but it has a lot less fat per serving, approximately 3 grams of fat per serving.  It also has fresh vegetables which you are not likely to find on a pizza you order at your local pizza shop.  Nothing beats homemade!

Tuscan Tuesday: Spaghetti

First I want to apologize for the quality of the pictures tonight.  My camera had a mind of it's own and I could not get it to cooperate.

I figured there was no better way to start Tuscan Tuesday than by fixing an old family recipe.  I made my MeMaw's Spaghetti; one of my hubby's favorites.  Get all of your ingredients together, also have a pot of water on so that it is boiling by the time your sauce is complete.

The most important thing when making spaghetti is to make sure the meat is seasoned.  There is nothing I dislike more than eating spaghetti that has a ton of flavor in the sauce but the meat is bland.  I start by seasoning 2 pounds of lean ground beef with salt and pepper.

Next, add the chopped green bell pepper and red onion.

Finally, add minced garlic and cook the meat until browned.

If there is a lot of liquid in your pan once the beef has browned, drain and then return to the pan.  Next, add two cans of tomato sauce.

Add one small can of tomato paste.

Add basil, oregano, and more garlic if desired.  I add all of these ingredients to taste.

Reduce heat to low and allow sauce to simmer while you cook the spaghetti.  I like to use Smart Taste pasta because it is high in fiber and a healthier alternative to white pasta.  I also like to switch things up when I serve my pasta.  Instead of the standard garlic bread, I serve Focaccia bread with dipping oil and seasoning.  It is a huge hit in my house; you can find the dipping oil and seasonings in the Italian section of most grocery stores.

Spaghetti

- 1 medium red onion

- 1/4 green bell pepper

- 2 Tablespoons minced garlic

- 2 pounds lean ground beef

- 2 cans tomato sauce

- 1 small can tomato paste

- basil to taste

- oregano to taste

In a medium saucepan add 2 pounds of lean ground beef and season with salt and pepper.  Add red onion, green bell pepper, and minced garlic.  Cook over medium-high heat until beef is cooked.  Add 2 cans tomato sauce, one small can tomato paste and stir until fully combined.  Add basil, oregano, and garlic to taste.  There really isn't a correct measurement for these last ingredients.  You can put as little or as much of each as you like.  Reduce the heat to low and let the sauce simmer while you cook the pasta.  Once your pasta is done, the sauce will be ready as well.  Remove from heat, plate, and enjoy!

Bon Appetit  

Manic Monday: Cafe de Bangkok

I am a huge fan of Cafe de Bangkok in downtown Blacksburg, Virginia.  I will be blogging about several different items on their menu for the next few Mondays.  If you have not had the pleasure to visit this restaurant, you are really missing out.  The atmosphere is very laid back, the wait staff are friendly, and the food is out of this world.  Monday nights at Cafe de Bangkok is $9 luck of the draw night.  The staff will pick out your bottle of wine and you only pay $9 (great deal).

Tonight my hubby and I started with a bottle of wine, as usual.

We started our meal with the Crunchy Roll which is a Thai spring roll.  It has vegetables, glass rice noodles, and is served with a sweet chili sauce; the perfect start to any meal.

For my main course I got the Savory Basil Chicken.  There is so much to choose from on their menu, but this is by far my favorite!  It has chicken, green peppers, and onions with a spicy Thai basil sauce, and is served with a side of jasmine rice.  You can order your meals to the spiciness that you desire as well, so don't be scared to try different things on the menu, even if you don't care for spicy food.

So the next time you are sitting at home and don't really feel like cooking, you should go check out Cafe de Bangkok.  You will not be disappointed!

Sunday Funday - Twix Cheesecake Cupcakes

Alright folks, it's time for my first recipe blog post!  Tonight I tried a recipe from www.gingerbreadbagles.com, but of course I put my spin on it.  I have not tried these yet because they have to chill overnight, but WOW do they smell and look delicious.  Now, on to the fun stuff.

First thing's first, get all of your ingredients together.  I like to have everything pre-measured and ready to go when I'm cooking.  It makes the process so much smoother and less stressful when you don't have to run around and find ingredients.

Now that all of the ingredients are together, it's time to make the crust.  Start by putting half a box of vanilla wafers in a food processor and grind.  Once the wafers are ground up, add 1 Tablespoon of sugar.

Once sugar is combined, add 1/4 cup of melted unsalted butter.  If the mixture is too dry once mixed, add more butter.  If it's too wet, add more wafers.

Now press the crust into the bottom of a lined cupcake sheet.

Now it's time to work on the filling.  Put 1lb of softened cream cheese into a mixer and mix until smooth.  Approximately 3 minutes.  It's very important that the cream cheese is softened, otherwise it will stick in the mixer and give you a headache.

Add 1/4 cup of sugar and continue to mix on medium low speed.

Add in 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and mix some more.

Whisk 2 large eggs and slowly add to mixture with the mixer on low speed.

Add in sour cream and mix, mix, mix some more until fully combined.

Add chopped up Twix and gently fold in.

Use an ice cream scooper and put batter into cupcake liners.

Place in preheated oven and bake at 275 degrees for 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and refrigerate overnight (I know you want to bite into one now, but you have to wait).

Crust
1/2 package Vanilla Wafers
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake Batter
1 pound reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
12 mini Twix bars, chopped into small pieces

In a food processor, grind up the Wafers into fine crumbs. Put the crumbs into a large bowl and add in the sugar. Mix to combine. Then pour in the melted butter and mix to coat all of the crumbs with butter.

Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Scoop wafer crumbs into each cupcake liner. Using your hand, press the crumbs down firmly. Set the cupcake pan aside until the cheesecake batter is ready.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, mix the cream cheese until smooth on medium low speed, about 3 minutes. With the mixer on medium low speed, add in the sugar and mix to combine. Then add in the vanilla extract and mix. Slowly pour in the lightly beaten eggs and mix until the eggs are incorporated. Add in the sour cream and combine.
Chop the mini Twix bars into small pieces. Add them into the cheesecake batter and gently fold them in.

Using an ice cream scooper, scoop the cheesecake batter into each cupcake liner. Bake the cheesecakes at 275 degrees for 30 minutes. Chill the cheesecakes overnight in the refrigerator.

UPDATE!
This morning I removed the cupcakes from the refrigerator to see how they turned out, and of course to give them a taste.  OMG are they delicious!  Can you guess what my breakfast ended up being today?  Here is a picture of the finished product.  I highly recommend trying out this recipe, it's worth it!

Enjoy!

Spice Advice!

Ok, so I said my first post would be on Sunday but I ran across this little gem during my lunch break.  It tells you what foods different spices pair well with.  Very cool, and I'm sure I'll be using it when I'm coming up with new recipes to cook for this blog.  If you know of any cool things like this please don't hesitate to share!  http://www.spiceadvice.com/newsa/usage/chart.html

Welcome!

Hey everyone!  Thanks so much for checking out my new blog.  I'm so excited to share some fun recipes with you as well as learn some new things myself.  I wanted to do something different and fun that would challenge me to learn new cooking techniques and recipes. I will be making a different recipe each day based on the daily theme. I'll be posting pictures, recipes, and my take on how they turn out.  Here is a little description of what you can look forward to.

Manic Monday

Mondays are always so hectic and I find that they are the hardest to get motivated to cook.  On Mondays I will be posting recipes for quick and painless meals.  I will also be posting delicious finds from some of my favorite restaurants.

Tuscan Tuesday

My love for Italian food is indescribable, so I decided to dedicate this day to everything Italian.  On Tuesdays I will be making different Italian foods; hopefully I'll work my way up to tackling homemade pasta as well (but we'll take this one day at a time).

Weight Watchers Wednesday

If you know me you know that I am a huge fan of Weight Watchers, but I'm also a huge fan of eating food that is definitely not WW friendly.  On Wednesdays I will be taking a meal that a WW member would normally avoid, due to it's high points value, and make that recipe WW friendly. I will also post the WW points plus value for the recipe that I'm making.

Thrifty Thursday

I know that in this economy people are trying to save money any way they can.  I will dedicate Thursdays to recipes for people with a tight budget.  I will also include my weekly coupon and Kroger plus savings.  I know that clipping coupons can be a hassle, but once you see how much money can be saved you may change your mind.  All meals on Thrifty Thursday will be under $10.

Feel Good Friday

Feel Good Friday is all about home cooking and food that makes you feel like you're at your grandmothers house.  I will be making soul food and also introducing some family recipes that have been passed down to me.

Sophisticated Saturday

Saturday is usually considered a date night, and what better way to impress your significant other than making them a gourmet meal.  However, you don't have to make a gourmet meal complicated.  I will be making recipes that will wow your date, but won't stress you out in the process.

Sunday Funday

To me Sunday is reserved for football and relaxing (and not thinking about my diet).  I will be making some sinfully delicious food on Sundays.  Based on the occasion I may be making tailgating food or delicious deserts that are sure to cure your cravings.

Look for my first post on Sunday, July 24th!