Tag Archives: cream cheese

Veggie Squares

May 20, 2011 admin Leave a comment

How come the ‘Veggie Tales’ song is stuck in my head now? LOL This one seems a little weird, but the final product is great. The ranch flavor comes through proud and strong and mixes so well with the veggies. Serve as a healthy appetizer or as a side next to a dinner portion of meat or fish.

12 servings
104 calories per serving (1 serving = 2 pieces)

8 oz. tube crescent rolls
3 oz. fat free cream cheese, softened
½ c low fat buttermilk ranch dressing
4 c raw veggies (cauliflower, bell peppers, carrots, broccoli)
Pam

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Unroll crescent rolls. Spray a cookie sheet with Pam and press crescent roll dough into pan to form a crust. Bake 10 minutes or until golden. Let cool 15 minutes. Combine cheese and dressing and spread over crust. Place the veggies over the top, cut into 24 squares and serve immediately.

Lunch, Sandwiches

Open Faced Warm Mozz Sandwiches

May 4, 2011 admin Leave a comment

Cheesy, quick and easy – and very different with some alfalfa sprouts thrown on for good measure !

4 servings
185 calories per serving

4 slices 45 calorie whole wheat bread, toasted
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 medium tomato, sliced
5 oz. alfalfa sprouts
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread toast with cream cheese and then layer on tomato and sprouts. Top with mozz and bake 8 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Breakfast

Grilled Banana French Toast

April 9, 2011 admin Leave a comment

Talk about decadent and delicious !! This breakfast dish will give you legendary ‘short order cook’ status ! The bananas and cream cheese make a perfect middle to the grilled raisin bread.

8 servings
206 calories per serving

8 slices 80 calories cinnamon raisin bread
2 medium bananas, in slices
1 c skim milk
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 c egg beaters
1/3 c Splenda
3 T flour
2 t vanilla
Powdered sugar (optional)
Pam

Spray skillet with Pam and heat well. Mix milk, cheese, eggs, sugar, flour and vanilla with a mixer until. Take 4 slices of bread and spread with cream cheese then add banana slices and top with the remaining bread. Gently dip into the egg mix and then place on pan and cook 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook another 2 minutes. Cut in half and sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Dessert, Kid Friendly

Chocolate Cheesecake

March 18, 2011 admin Leave a comment

Rich, decadent, creamy goodness – this has a great cream cheese / cheesecake flavor while screaming CHOCOLATE !! It makes a great special occasion dessert.

10 servings
265 calories per serving

1 Oreo crust
1 c nonfat cottage cheese
½ c Egg Beaters
12 oz. Nefchatel (low fat cream cheese) at room temperature
1 c sugar
½ c unsweetened cocoa
¼ c flour
1 t vanilla
¾ c powdered sugar
¾ c nonfat sour cream

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a blender or food processor, mix cottage cheese and eggs until smooth. In another beat cream cheese and sugar with a mixer until smooth and then add the cottage cheese mix, cocoa, flour and vanilla. When smooth pour into the prepared pan. Bake 60-65 minutes or until set. Cool 15 minutes and then cover and chill 4 hours. Just before serving, combine the sour cream and powdered sugar and spread over the top of the cake.

Kid Friendly, Snacks

Caramel Dip

January 26, 2011 admin Leave a comment

Light on the caramel, heavy on the yummy cream cheese – – and a great dip for any fruit. I serve with apples. (1 large apple = 116 calories)

12 servings
102 calories per serving (1 serving = 2 T)

8 oz. low fat cream cheese
½ c caramel ice cream topping
½ c marshmallow fluff

Mix cream cheese and caramel then add marshmallow. Microwave 1 minute at 50% power, mix, then microwave in 15 second intervals until warm throughout (usually takes another 30 seconds total).

Serve with apple slices or other fruit.

Chicken, Dinner, FiberGourmet, Kid Friendly, Pasta

Chicken and Pasta Bake

December 21, 2010 admin Leave a comment

This is a great ‘all in one’ dish – a casserole that is one part mac and cheese and one part chicken and broccoli – scrumptious !

4 servings
320 calories per serving

1 ½ c small FiberGourmet pasta (rotini, elbows, etc.)
3 c broccoli florets
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
½ c fat free chicken broth
2 oz. low fat cream cheese
1 c low fat shredded mozzarella cheese
2 T grated parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
Pam

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and cook in a skillet sprayed with Pam 3 -5minutes then stir in broth and simmer 5 minutes. Add cream cheese and reduce heat to low and cook 1 minute to melt cheese then stir in ½ c mozzarella. Cook pasta according to package instructions putting broccoli in the same pot during the last minute of cooking. Combine drained pasta with chicken mix and place in a medium baking dish and bake 15minutes then sprinkle with the rest of the mozzarella and the parmesan and bake another 3 minutes.

Breakfast, Kid Friendly

Toast with Nuts and Pears

November 16, 2010 admin Leave a comment

The cream cheese melts nicely on the toast and is a great base for the sweet pear and maple syrup. The nuts are just the icing. What a superb breakfast treat !

1 serving
190 calories per serving

1 slice whole wheat bread
1 T low fat cream cheese
1/4 of a pear
1 t maple syrup
1 T chopped walnut pieces

Slice pear very thin. Toast the bread and spread with cream cheese. Layer on the pear slices and then sprinkle with nuts and syrup.

Dessert, Kid Friendly, Summer

Strawberry Dream

August 28, 2010 admin Leave a comment

This is like a pudding pop with strawberries – very rich, very creamy and very delicious !

18 servings
254 calories per serving

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 c skim milk
1.5 oz. package sugar free vanilla instant pudding
1-1/2 c thawed cool whip
20 Nilla Wafers, coarsely broken
1 c sliced fresh strawberries (save some for tops of desserts)
1/2 c strawberry ice cream topping (or strawberry jam)

Beat cream cheese until creamy and gradually beat in milk. Add pudding and beat 2 minutes (it will be quite thick) then stir in cool whip and berries. Swirl in topping. Divide cookies among 18 cupcake liners (I use silicone ones) then spoon in the strawberry mix, garnish the tops with extra berries and freeze 4 hours. Let sit out 10 minutes before eating.

Dessert, Kid Friendly, Summer

Raspberry Lemonade Pops

August 18, 2010 admin 2 Comments

This tastes like a lemonade stand – utterly delicious ! The original recipe I had was for a pie, but the filling is just great in a homemade ice pop. How refreshing – tart and sweet at the same time just like a great lemonade !!

16 pops
110 calories per serving

1 ½ c boiling water
.3 oz. package lemon Jello
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
6 oz. frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
8 oz. cool whip, thawed
1 c raspberries

Add boiling water to jello and stir 2 minutes to dissolve completely. Cool a bit and then add in the lemonade. Beat cream cheese until creamy and then gradually add jello mix. Stir in cool whip and berries and pour into ice pop molds then freeze at least 4 hours.

Dessert, Kid Friendly, Summer

Raspberry Lemon Cream Pie

August 16, 2010 admin Leave a comment

This was a very sweet pie perfect for a hot summer day. I added lots of extra raspberries as a garnish and it really hit the spot !

8 servings
230 calories per serving

8 oz. low fat cream cheese, softened
1 small package instant lemon pudding
1 c skim milk
2 t grated lemon zest
2 c Cool Whip, thawed and divided
¼ c raspberry preserves
Low fat graham crust
1 c raspberries + extras for garnish

Beat cream cheese, pudding, milk and lemon with electric beater and then gently stir in 1 c Cool Whip. Spoon preserves on bottom of crust and cover with the pudding mix. Top with the rest of the Cool Whip and the raspberries. Refrigerate 4 hours. Garnish each slice with extra berries.