Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip

I loved how easy and delicious this dip was.  Seriously.  It took me minutes to dump all of this together.  And I took the recipe and made it a little better for you.  Because we are all still trying to watch what we eat right?  Even though the super bowl is coming up and we all like to have delicious food while we watch the game.  This is such an easy and delicious appetizer to bring to any party!

Rating: 4 stars  Difficulty of Recipe: 1 star
Review: I decided to use bleu cheese dressing but I think I am more of a ranch kind of girl. I think that the next time that I make this I will use ranch but still put the bleu cheese crumbles throughout.

Ingredients:
8 fat free ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup reduced fat blue cheese or ranch dressing
1/2 cup Buffalo or Red Hot sauce
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese or shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cans (9.75 each) Premium Chunk chicken breast, drained, or 2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1. Place cream cheese first into the bowl.  Stir that until it is smooth.
2.  Add the rest of the ingredients.
3. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until heated through.  Or Warm in the microwave about 2-5 minutes until heated through.
Recipe Adapted From Home Cooking

Gingerbread Cider

I did a guest post for my friend over at Love, Pomegranate House a couple of weeks ago!  I shared this delicious Gingerbread Cider.  I got this recipe from a good friend of mine that is an amazing cook!  I knew that this would become an instant favorite at our house!  It has the perfect blend of spices that make it absolutely delicious and it is so perfect for a cold day!

Rating: 5 stars  Difficulty of Recipe: 1 star
Review:  This became an instant favorite in our house that we will be making again and again!  We made a fresh batch of gingerbread cookies and it was perfect!

Ingredients:
1/2 gallon 100% Apple Cider
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar
dash of cloves

1.  Pour the apple cider in a big pot.  Turn the stove on medium low, but don't allow it to get too hot.
2.  Add the sugar and spices.
3.  Heat up the cider to temperature that is desired.
4.  Let simmer for about 20 minutes and serve!

Slow Cooker Asian Lettuce Wraps

Yep another lettuce wrap recipe on the blog.  We are serious about getting healthy in our house especially before our cruise.  I love ordering lettuce wraps when we go to a chinese resturaunt.   And these lettuce wraps were so delicious that they reminded me of a nice restaurant.   I especially loved these because they had edamame, carrots, and water chestnuts in them.  Delicious and flavorful and only 258 calories for each one.  I will be making these weekly before the cruise!

Rating: 4 stars  Difficulty of Recipe: 3 stars
Review:  The only thing that I wished was different about these is that the teriyaki and soy sauce flavor would have pulled through more while cooking in the slow cooker.  Once I added the hoisen sauce at the end, I had to add about 4 Tbs of it because it just soaked into the meat.  I think next time I will make it, I will add some soy sauce and teriyaki sauce to the hoisen sauce at the end making the chicken a little bit more saucy.  The peanut sauce at the end poured on top made them absolutely delicious.  

Ingredients:
2 pounds uncooked ground chicken breast (You can use whole chicken, just shred at the end)
3 green onions
8 ounce can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 cup shredded carrots (2 Medium)
1 cup frozen sweet soybeans
4 teaspoons reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese style hot mustard
2 teaspoons reduced sodium teriyaki sauce
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 14 1/2 ounce can reduced sodium chicken broth
2 Tablespoons hoisen sauce
12 leaves butterhead or iceburg lettuce
Optional for topping
Asian Chili Sauce
Sesame seeds

Soy Peanut Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/2 T sweet chili sauce

1 T creamy peanut butter

1 T water

1.  In your slow cooker, add the chicken, white parts of the green onions, water chestnuts, carrots, frozen edamame, soy sauce, mustard, teriyaki sauce, vinegar, and pepper.  Pour broth over all.

2.  Cook on low for 4-5 hours or high 2-2 1/2 hours.

3.  Strain the mixture and shred the chicken.  Stir in hoisen sauce and the green onion slivers.  

4.  Serve with lettuce.  Serve with asian chili sauce or soy peanut dipping sauce.  

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens

Soy Peanut Sauce from The Baker Upstairs

• Servings Per Recipe 6,
 
• cal. (kcal) 258,
 
• Fat, total (g) 4,
 
• chol. (mg) 88,
 
• sat. fat (g) 1,
 
• carb. (g) 13,
 
• Monosaturated fat (g) 1,
 
• Polyunsaturated fat (g) 1,
 
• fiber (g) 3,
 
• sugar (g) 6,
 
• pro. (g) 40,
• vit. A (IU) 3596,
 
• vit. C (mg) 11,
 
• Thiamin (mg) 0,
 
• Riboflavin (mg) 0,
 
• Niacin (mg) 18,
• Pyridoxine (Vit. B6) (mg) 1,
 
• Folate (µg) 28,
 
• Cobalamin (Vit. B12) (µg) 1,
 
• sodium (mg) 538,
• Potassium (mg) 514,
 
• calcium (mg) 81,
 
• iron (mg) 2,
 
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 

Skinny Mini Cheesecake

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It is the beginning of a New Year and most of you have made a commitment to eat better and lose weight.  But oh man what you wouldn't do to have a bite of your favorite dessert.  Well here is your solution.  These delicious heavenly creations.  My ultimate favorite dessert is cheesecake.  But we all know that they have at least one milllllion calories.  Consider this recipe your new best friend.  When I took my first bite of these I wanted to die.  And then I started feeling guilty thinking that I ruined my diet and I was doomed forever.  No my friends.  I wasn't.  These are only 100 calories.  100 calories!!  These are the absolute best no bake, guilt free, delicious dessert ever invented!  Run, don't walk to the store and eat one of these for dessert tonight.  You can thank me later.

Rating: 5 stars  Difficulty of Recipe: 2 stars
Review:  When I made the pumpkin swirled version of these back in the fall they came in at 106 calories.  I found at the store reduced fat graham crackers which made them that much better for you.  These are excellent and I will be making them again and again!

Ingredients:
Graham Cracker Crust:
7 graham cracker sheets (I used reduced fat)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake Mixture:
8 oz. fat free Cool Whip
1 (8 oz) package fat-free cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar (or 6 Splenda packets)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1.  In a food processor or blender, grind up the graham cracker sheets into fine crumbs.  If you don't have a food processor, simply place them into a bag and crush them with a rolling pin or cup.
2. Place the crumbs into a bowl and add ground cinnamon and sugar.  Melt the butter and add it to the graham cracker crumbs and mix well.
3.  Line a cupcake pan with liners and put one tablespoon of the crumbs into the bottom of each cupcake liner.  Press down the crumbs with your hand or spoon. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl or kitchenaid, whip the cream cheese, vanilla, sugar (or splenda) until fluffy.  Add the cool whip and whip until smooth.
4. Using a cookie dough scooper (or spoon), fill each cupcake liner with 1 1/2 scoop fulls of the cheesecake mixture. Each liner should be filled almost to the top.
5.  Place the cupcakes in the fridge for a few hours to set up and become firm.  Top with a slice of your favorite fruit and devour!!
Recipe adapted from here

Here are the calories from the recipe that I adapted from.  This includes the pumpkin swirl and isn't using reduced fat graham crackers so the calories for this recipe above are reduced.
Servings: 12  Serving Size: 1 mini cheesecake Calories: 106 Fat: 3.8 g Carbs: 12.1 g Fiber: 0.3 g Protein: 2.8 g Old Points: 2.4 pts Points+: 3 pts

Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes

I don't think I will ever go back to regular sloppy joes.  These were amazing!  I don't think that I was expecting these to be as good as they were.  Maybe because sloppy joes are so simple and well, sloppy.  My 9 year old ate them and loved them even with the onion and green pepper.  The flavor of these were so delicious and reminded me of a philly cheese steak.  They were especially amazing with the cheese all melty on top.  This is a great quick and easy meal that puts a fun twist on sloppy joes!

Rating: 4 stars  Difficulty of Recipe: 2 stars
Review: The only thing that I couldn't find at the store was shredded provolone cheese.  So I was not able to make the melty cheese mixture that you pour on the top.  I just used sliced provolone and they were still delicious!  I am going to keep my eye open for shredded provolone the next time I make this!  I also increased the steak sauce to 1/3 cup.

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion chopped 
1 green pepper chopped
1/4 cup steak sauce
1 cup beef broth
salt and pepper to taste
4 hamburger buns
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Tablespoon flour
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded provolone cheese

1.  In a large skillet heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the ground beef and brown while breaking up in chunks with a spatula or spoon.  
2.  Add the chopped green pepper and onion cooking for about 3-4 minutes until they start to become tender.  Drain all excess liquid.
3.  Add the beef broth and steak sauce and bring the mixture to a boil.  Continue cooking until sauce is thick and bubbly.
3.  While this is cooking, Split the hamburger buns and butter each side.   Place the buns side down onto a separate skillet until golden brown.
4.  To make the cheese topping, melt the butter in the skillet and add the flour.  Cook for one minute.  Whisk in milk and continue cooking until it starts to thicken.  Remove from heat and stir in the cheese until incorporated.
5.  To assemble, place the bun on the bottom.  Spoon the meat mixture on top and pour the cheese mixture on top topping with the bun.  Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Blog Chef

Slow Cooker Tex Mex Lettuce Wraps

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It's a New Year!  Yay!  And with the New Year and a cruise next month, you know what that means.   Time to eat better and hit the gym regularly!  The fun of all the Christmas treats and parties is over and now the work begins.  The best part of this meal is that I feel like I was still having a delicious meal for dinner and it was healthy!  You save on so many calories by wrapping in lettuce.  And I loved being able to top with fresh ingredients.  The flavor of this chicken was so good and had a little kick to it.  My husband had four wraps.  He loved them!  We will probably be having these on a weekly basis until the cruise.  This recipe was so easy and the chicken just shredded perfectly and was so tender.  It was delish!

Rating: 4 stars  Difficulty of Recipe: 1 star
Review: I didn't add the jalepeno for fear that it may be to spicy for the kiddos.  It still had a kick to it because I used hot salsa. We will be making this again.  My hubby couldn't get enough!

Ingredients: 
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 package taco seasoning
1 jalepeno seeded and sliced
1 16 oz jar salsa
1 yellow onion, diced
salt, as needed
iceberg lettuce leaves for wrapping

1.  Sprinkle the taco seasoning on the chicken breasts.  Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray and place chicken breasts along the bottom.
2. Put diced onion and jalepeno over the top of the chicken breasts.  Pour salsa on top.
3. Cook Chicken on low for 4-5 hours.
4.  Take chicken out of slow cooker and shred.  Place back in slow cooker and stir to combine.  Salt to taste.
5. To serve place about 1/4 of the chicken mixture in the center of the lettuce wrap and roll up!  Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from eat live run

Top 12 Fan Favorites of 2012

This was such a great year for me!  It is so fun to look back at all of the events that have happened this year.  I got married, {woot woot} me and the hubby went to San Diego and Disneyworld, and we went on some fun family trips to Myrtle Beach, Washington DC, and lived in North Carolina for the summer.  This has been such a great adventure for us this year.  And just this summer, The Recipe Critic blog was born!   It is amazing to see the growth and changes that have happened for the blog in just six short months and I am so grateful everyday for the support from all of you and other blogging buddies!  I was so ecstatic to meet two bloggers that I look up to, Chef In Training, and High Heels and Grills this year.  I am excited for the coming year and I wish all of you the best for 2013.  I hope it is a great and prosperous New Year!

These are the most visited recipes of 2012!  I hope you take a look around and pin some of your favorites to make this year! {Click on recipe name or picture to go to Recipe Link}

1. Skinny Muddy Buddies coming in at #1.  I love me some muddy buddies.  These are one addictingly good snack!  I loved finding a recipe that cut some of the calories out!

2. Slow Cooker Cinnamon Almonds.  I loved being able to make these in my slow cooker without having to spend a lot at the mall to buy them.  They made such a great gift and made my house smell amazing!

3. Chicken Alfredo Roll Ups.  These are a fun twist to your regular lasagna and I loved the Alfredo sauce!  The best part of these is that the family all LOVED them!

4. Caramel Apple Cupcakes.  I had so much fun making these and they tasted just like I was biting into a caramel apple!

5. Pumpkin Roll Bars.  I was a little nervous about going to all of the work to make a pumpkin roll so these bars made it so easy!  A perfect pumpkin taste and swirled with cream cheese, I instantly fell in love!

6.  Cherry Pie Bars.  I have always been a cherry pie lover so these cherry pie bars became a favorite!  Topped with a scoop of ice cream, this was a perfect treat!

7. Reese's Pieces Peanut Butter Bars.  These were so easy to make and they were a fun twist on rice krispies.  We love Reese's puff's cereal at our house!

8. Italian Cream Cheese Chicken.  Ok this is a definite recipe that everyone needs in their house.  It has been a favorite for YEARS.  So easy to throw into the crockpot and absolutely delicious!

9. Ranch Chicken Enchiladas.  Since our family is {obsessed} with ranch I made this delicious recipe creation.  My hubby says it is one of the best things we have had yet!

10.  Cheeseburger Soup.  I just made this last week and it has already made it to the #10 spot.  It is so amazing!  And I loved being able to sneak veggies into it and still have my family love it!

11. Hershey's Cheesecake Brownies.  Does this even need a description.  {Drool}

12.  Cinnamon French Toast Bake.  I made this for my 9 year olds birthday and he absolutely loved it!  He even wanted some more after school!  Delicious!