Join me on my family blog! {Final Blog Post}

The time has come. I am no longer on Weight Watchers and don't have the time to keep up my cooking and food blog in a way I wish I could. While this makes me quite sad I'm happy to say that I'll continue posting recipes on my family blog, the Simmworks Family Blog. So if you follow me here please make sure to bookmark the Simmworks Family Blog to read more recipes, DIY crafts, tips for green living and more!

** This blog will still remain available to search for recipes that I've previously posted, I just won't have any new content from here on out. **

Meatloaf Muffins {6 WW+ Dinner}

I love cute food. And these meatloaf muffins are pretty darn cute. I mean, they're small, they're colorful and they taste amazing. I've noticed that when I make our meals in smaller portions my kids seem to enjoy them a lot more and eat more than they normally would. So anything that I can convert from a normal, larger size to muffin tin size is awesome.

A few years back I made some meatloaf muffins and blogged about them but they weren't anything special. And since I love meatloaf I wanted to play with one of my favorite recipes a bit and tweak it to make me happy. Well this recipe has done it! Not only do my kids love these meatloaf muffins, I love them too! And the smaller size isn't just great for the kids, it means portion control for me

Meatloaf Muffins

• 1 20 ounce package 93/7 lean ground turkey
• 3/4 cup Trader Joe's fire roasted onions & peppers
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup light shredded cheese

• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 and take out muffin pan. Saute onions, peppers, & garlic until tender. Add Italian seasoning & stir. Set aside to cool.

Place ground turkey, Worcestershire sauce, egg, panko & cheese in a large bowl and mix until combined. Add in the cooled veggies and mix in. Form 12 small balls of mixture and place each ball in muffin well (balls will be roughly 1-1 1/2" in diameter).

Bake meatloaf muffins for 18-20 minutes. While muffins are cooking mix together ketchup, mustard & sugar. Once the 18-20 minutes are up take the muffins out of the oven and top with ketchup mixture. Put the muffins back in the oven for another 5 minutes. Let rest 3-5 minutes before serving with your favorite sides and veggies.

Serves 6 | 3 WW+ Points per muffin

Nutritional Info: 115 calories, 7g carbs, 5g fat, 12g protein, 1g fiber, 171g sodium

Buffalo Chicken Dip {Tasty Appetizer}

When I think of dishes that can make or break a party the one dish that comes to mind is this amazing Crack Dip (or so it's called). You either love it or you hate it. And lucky for me, my friends love it! I first made it to bring to a girls night in at my friend Janelle's house. Within minutes of the dip coming out of the oven it was 1/2 way gone. And by the end of the night the pyrex baking dish was licked clean. No, seriously... every drop of dip was gone.

So I decided to make this dip for our Christmas dinner as an appetizer before the meal. It was a great hit with my husband's family so I've continued making it for other get togethers as well. This is definitely a great dish to bring when you need something hot and tasty. The next dip I'm eyeing is my friend Melissa's jalepeno popper dip. Yum!

Inspiration: Frank's Redhot

Buffalo Chicken Dip aka Crack Dip

• 8 ounce package low fat neufchatel cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup low fat ranch salad dressing
• 1/2 cup FRANK'S® REDHOT® Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce
• 1 cup lite shredded cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup reserved for topping
• 2 cups roasted chicken breast, shredded

Heat oven to 350°F. Place cream cheese into deep baking dish. Stir until smooth.

Mix in salad dressing, Frank's RedHot Sauce and 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Stir in chicken.

Bake 20 min. or until mixture is heated through; stir. Top with cheddar cheese and broil on high for 1-2 minutes or until top is golden brown. Garnish as desired. Serve with crackers or vegetables (we love celery with this dip!).

Serves 6-8, doubling is recommended ;)

Corn Dog Muffin Bites {Guiltless 1 WW+ Appetizer}

When I chose what to make for the big game last weekend I knew one thing had to be on the list... these Pinterest inspired corn dog bites that I found over at Iowa Girl Eats. I don't know who pinned them first but it was love at first site! And it was a treat I was sure the kids would enjoy. Sure my son would peel off all of the corn bread and give it to his sister but both of them would enjoy these awesome, simple treats.

And I was right! These babies were a hit. And most of them were gone by the end of the first quarter. Luckily I made these in two batches so while one was being devoured the other was baking. Not that eating these cold would be bad. I wouldn't know anything about that though... That lone little doggy laying on the plate calling out my name after the game... YUM!

Inspired by Iowa Girl Eats

Corn Dog Muffin Bites

• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup 1% low-fat buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 97% Fat Free Hebrew National hot dogs, cut into 1″ bites (6 pieces per dog)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine butter, applesauce and sugar in a bowl, and whisk to combine. Add eggs and whisk to incorporate. Add buttermilk and whisk to incorporate.

In a separate bowl, combine baking soda, cornmeal, flour, and salt, and stir to combine. Whisk into wet ingredients in two batches.

Spray a mini muffin tin with non-stick spray, and spoon 1 Tablespoon of batter into each mini muffin cup. Place one hot dog bite into the middle of each cup.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cornbread is golden brown. Cool in mini muffin tin for 5 minutes before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator, and re-heat for 20-30 seconds before serving.

Makes 48 | 1 WW+ each

NI per muffin:
46 cals | 7g carbs | 1g fat | 2g protein | 0g fiber | 118g sodium