Died And Gone To Heaven Chocolate Cake

My FIL's birthday is tomorrow, and we got together to celebrate this evening. Since both my wife and I have had WLS, he suggested we did not need a cake. Excuse me! Birthday's demand that a cake be made available. If we did not have a cake, how could we sing Happy Birthday? so, a searching the world wide webz I went. This is the cake and frosting that I found. The frosting came from All-Recipes, while the cake came form Splenda. Was it a success? Yes, with a capital Y! FIL was happy, that's all I needed! So, if you are looking for a Sugar Free Cake and frosting, give this one a try! Hope you enjoy!

Died And Gone To Heaven Chocolate Cake
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated

1/2 cup SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk

1 small lunch size container sugar free applesauce

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup hot strong black coffee

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cake pan or bundt with non-stick cooking spray, set aside
2) Blend flour, SPLENDA® Granulated Sweetener, SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt in large mixing bowl.
3) Combine buttermilk, oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and coffee in a small bowl.
4) Add flour to mixture, using an electric mixer on medium speed, mix until Smooth (about 2 minutes).
5) Pour batter into cake pan or bundt pan. If traveling, I recommend a 13 x 9 pan
6) Bake for 35 minutes, until an inserted toothpick in center of cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes.

Nutrition Info (per serving) 12 servings
Calories 220 Calories from Fat 70 Protein 6g Fat 8g (sat 2g) Carbohydrate 32g Fiber 3g Cholesterol 45mg Sodium 390mg Sugar 12g

Sugar Free Frosting
I (1.4 ounce) package sugar-free instant pudding mix
1 1/2 cups milk

1 shot instant espresso
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 (8 ounce) container lite frozen whipped topping, thawed

DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix, milk and espresso. Mix well and let stand until thickened.
2. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pudding and mix well. Finally, fold in whipped topping.
3. I recommend you keep this cake refrigerated until serving. The frosting will sometimes puddle if it becomes to warm.

Presidential Cheese Ball/Ring

Presidential Cheese Ball/Ring (Paula D.-pdsmile)
4 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 cups Real Mayo (I used Light)
1 block cream cheese
1 cup chopped pecans
1 bunch finely chopped green onions
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
4 stips chopped bacon

Mix it all up real good and then sprinkle with pecans. If you make it as a ring, place warmed sf strawberry preserves in center to serve. It is yummy.This will make 1 ring or 2 good sized cheese balls.

Southwest Lasagna

My friend Eggface has done it again! She is phenomenal. If you have never visited her site, please do. You will walk away with a new understanding of WLS and still being able to eat successfully! This is her recipe, and of course my pics! Kudos to Eggface!



Shelly's Southwest Lasagna


1/2 lb. Ground Beef
1 yellow Onion, diced
2 green Onions, diced
1 (15 oz.) can Black Beans, drained
1 cup frozen Corn
1/4 cup Salsa
1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
Olive Oil


For the cheese sauce:
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons Flour
1 1/2 cups Milk
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 cup Shredded Cheese, Mexican blend
Salt & Pepper
1/2 cup Shredded Cheese, Mexican blend (divided use in layers)
4 Mission Whole Wheat Carb Balance Tortillas


Saute ground turkey. Drain and set aside. Saute onions till golden. Add black beans, corn, salsa, tomato paste, and seasonings. Add beef back to pan and stir to combine. Turn off heat. Set aside. Make cheese sauce: In a saute pan make a roux of butter and flour. Slowly add milk stirring constantly. When you see bubbles and sauce begins to thicken slightly add sour cream and cheese and season to taste. Remove from heat.


Assemble: Place two tortillas in a greased pyrex dish. Spoon 1/2 meat mixture on top. Spoon 1/2 cheese sauce on top. Sprinkle with 1/2 cheese. Place two more tortillas on top. Press down slightly. Repeat layers ending with a sprinkling of shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes until golden.

Mexican Style Chicken Kiev

Mexican Style Chicken Kiev

(Beth & Scott)

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Mexican-Style-Chicken-Kiev

Ingredients:
2 large boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies, drained
2 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, cut into 4 strips
1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
3-1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Taco sauce optional

Directions: Flatten chicken to 1/4-in. thickness. Place about 2 tablespoons chilies and one strip of Monterey Jack cheese on long end of each chicken breast. Fold in sides and ends; secure with a toothpick. In a shallow bowl, combine the crumbs, Parmesan cheese, chili powder, salt and cumin. Spray chicken with Pam, then roll in crumb mixture. Place chicken rolls seam side down in an ungreased 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Drizzle with remaining butter. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is tender. Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts
One serving: 1/2 chicken breast
Calories: 123
Fat: 5 g
Saturated Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 44 mg
Sodium: 201 mg
Carbohydrate: 3 g
Fiber: 0 g
Protein: 14 g

Mini Cheesecake Tarts

Cheesecake Tarts

12 - Murray's Sugar Free Vanilla Wafers

2 - 8 oz packages of reduced fat cream cheese, room temp

2 - eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup Splenda

Take the vanilla wafers and place 1 in each cupcake liner in a muffin pan. Set aside.Take the cream cheese and beat until whipped. Add each egg seperately, mix thouroughly before adding the second egg. Add vanilla, mix, add splenda and mix well.Fill muffin liner 2/3 full with the batter.Bake at 350 degree oven for approx 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

This is a recipe that a good friend of mine posted over at Obesity Help Tennessee Board. April said her cheesecakes cracked, and cheesecake is a tempermental beast. So a suggesstion I have is to bake the mini cheesecake in a hot water bath.

Have fun!

Pepper Jack Stuffed Chicken Breast

Ingredients:
2 ounces pepper Jack cheese

2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1 teaspoon Mexican or taco seasoning

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions:

Cut cheese into two 2-1/4-n. x 1-in. x 3/4-in. strips. Flatten chicken to 1/4-in. thickness. Place a strip of cheese down the center of each chicken breast half; fold chicken over cheese and secure with toothpicks. Rub Mexican seasoning over chicken. In a large skillet, brown chicken in oil on all sides. Transfer to a greased 8-in. square baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. Discard toothpicks.

Yield: 4 servings / split chicken breast in half. Beth and I split 1 chicken breast, while RJ ate a whole one. At least it was better than a corn dog!

Nutrition Facts

One serving:

Calories: 146

Fat: 9 g

Saturated Fat: 3.5 g

Cholesterol: 47 mg

Sodium: 163 mg

Carbohydrate: .5 g

Fiber: 0 g

Protein: 15 g

Recipe from: Taste Of Home

Santa Fe Soup

2 lbs. lean ground beef

1 large yellow onion (diced)

1 1.25 oz packet Old El-Paso taco seasoning

2 1.0 oz packets ORIGINAL Ranch dressing mix (not the dips mix but the original dressing mix )

1 11 oz can Original Ro-Tel (tomatoes and green chilies, find near the canned tomatoes or the mexican foods)

1 to 2 16-oz can(s) or 1 28-oz can tomato wedges or whole tomatoes cut into wedges

1 14 oz can lima beans

1 14 oz can pinto beans

1 14 oz can red kidney beans

1 14 oz can black beans

2 14 oz cans whole kernel white corn (white shoepeg corn is perfect)

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Garnishes
shredded sharp cheddar cheese

sour cream

chopped green onions / scallions

chopped fresh cilantro

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Directions:
Brown ground beef with diced yellow onion
add dry ingredients (packets)
add all canned vegetables with all liquid from the cans except the corn, to preseve some "crunch" add the corn in the last 20 minutes
simmer 2 hours Garnish as desired.

Suggestion: In one bowl of soup place a single teaspoon of sour cream in the center, then sprinkle the bowl with scallions and cilantro, and top with a generous sprinkle of sharp cheddar cheese. This makes a nice presentation but you will want to stir just before eating.

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Nutrition Facts
24 Servings

Amount Per Serving
Calories 201.6
Total Fat 4.6 g
Saturated Fat 1.1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.3 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.6 g

Cholesterol 28.1 mg
Sodium 272.0 mg
Potassium 439.4 mg

Total Carbohydrate27.0 g
Dietary Fiber 5.5 g
Sugars 0.4 g
Protein 13.5 g