Pillsbury Biscuit Calzones

Is it just me, or does the end-of-the-year craziness have anyone else wishing for more hours in the day? I feel like I just posted my last recipe, when in reality it's been over 2 weeks! So I apologize again for the delay between posts. I'm hoping to be able to post more often in 2016!

Before I dive in to today's recipe, I just wanted to send a huge thank you to everyone who reads this blog and shares my recipes. This is still really new for me, and I appreciate any and all support. Lighter Bites has officially hit 250 likes on Facebook, and we are close to 100 followers on Instagram. In the grand scheme of things, that's not many people, but the support means the world to me. So thank you!

Now, the reason we're all here: FOOD. I mentioned in my last post that I love Pillsbury crescent rolls because they're so versatile - you can fill them with chocolate and make a dessert, or you can fill them with meat, cheese, etc and make a meal. I love filling them with ham and cheese or pepperoni and cheese and making mini healthy calzones.

I use Weight Watchers American cheese slices for the ham calzones and Weight Watchers mozzarella string cheese for the pepperoni calzones. Once these babies are baked and warm and gooey, you can't even notice that the cheese is low fat/low calorie.

These really are super easy to make. When I make these as a meal, I usually make four - I have two for dinner (one ham, one pepperoni) and put two in a tupperware for lunch the following day (they still taste good after being microwaved). The Pillsbury crescent rolls contains eight rolls, so if you don't think you'll use the remaining four soon, I suggest making eight calzones and refrigerating the ones you don't eat. Even in a Ziplock bag, the Pillsbury dough doesn't last very long in the fridge once it's been open. For this recipe, I made eight.

Anyway, on to this super easy, super fast recipe. All you have to do is separate the crescent rolls and lay them on a baking sheet sprayed with no-calorie cooking spray. Arrange the ham, pepperoni, and cheeses on the crescent rolls, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.

Carefully roll up the crescents so that all the meat and cheese is sealed inside. They don't have to look pretty - sealing everything in is the bigger priority here. If the filling sticks out a little bit, it's okay.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 9-12 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for a minute or two, then dig in!

INGREDIENTS

• 8 Pillsbury crescent rolls, reduced fat
• 4 slices reduced fat American cheese (I use Weight Watchers brand)
• 4 low-fat mozzarella string cheese sticks (I use Weight Watchers brand)
• 6 slices ham (I like to use honey ham)
• 20 slices turkey pepperoni
• Salt, pepper, and garlic powder (to taste)

Serving size: 2 calzones (1 pepperoni, 1 ham)

Weight Watchers SmartPoints value: 11

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray a baking dish with no-calorie cooking spray.
2. Separate the crescent rolls along the pre-cut edges and lay out on the baking sheet. Top 4 of the rolls with 1 slice of American cheese each and 4 of the rolls with 1 string cheese each (you'll need to break the cheeses apart to get them to fit on the roll).
3. On the rolls with American cheese, top each with 1 1/2 slices of ham (you'll need to fold or tear the ham to get it to fit). On the rolls with string cheese, top each with 5 slices of turkey pepperoni. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic powder across the tops of all the rolls.
4. Carefully fold the rolls so that the cheese and meat are sealed inside. Pinch edges together to seal. In some cases you may not be able to completely seal in the filling - this is okay. As long as it's mostly sealed you'll be fine.
5. Make for 9-12 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve warm.

Note: nutrition information is for one ham calzone and one pepperoni calzone.

Pumpkin S'mores Puffs

Hello there! I hope everyone has been enjoying fall! It's been unseasonably warm over here, and I've been pretty busy as well! Every year I say I'm going to start my Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving ... and this year I actually did it! Plus, my weekends have been filled with friends and family and car shopping - all fun things, but they've been preventing me from being able to post here as often as I'd like.

So let's take a minute and celebrate fall with these Pumpkin S'mores Puffs.

I used Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls to make these. I love the crescent rolls, because depending on what you stuff them with, they can be a delicious appetizer, dinner, or dessert. These S'mores Puffs make an excellent fall dessert, or could even be served at brunch.

For this recipe, I stuffed them with pureed pumpkin, cream cheese, cinnamon, chocolate chips, and marshmallows. 

Topping the crescents off with graham cracker crumbs before you bake them to gooey perfection really gives them the S'mores feel.

Once they're done, let them cool - just slightly though - these are definitely most delicious when served warm. If you're preparing them in advance, you can refrigerate them until ready to serve - just pop them in the oven or toaster oven for a few minutes (or the microwave for 15-20 seconds) before serving to make sure the center gets all warm and gooey.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 package Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent rolls
• 1/3 cup Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
• 2 tbsp fat free cream cheese (softened)
• 1 packet Sweet'N Low (or no-calorie sweetener of your choice)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp chocolate chips (I used Nestle semi-sweet minis)
• 1/3 cup mini marshmallows
• 2 tbsp graham cracker crumbs

Serving size: 1 puff (recipe yields 8)

Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 4

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray a baking sheet with no-calorie spray.
2. Unroll the crescent dough and separate the triangles. Lay them on the baking sheet.
3. In a small bowl, combine the pumpkin, cream cheese, sweetener, cinnamon, and chocolate chips. Distribute evenly among the 8 crescent rolls - be sure to spoon the mixture onto the center of the rolls, as this will make folding them easier.
4. Top the mixture with mini marshmallows (there should be enough to place about 3-5 in each crescent). Once this is done, fold the dough over so that the mixture is sealed inside. If necessary, pinch the dough together lightly at the seams.
5. Spray the tops of the rolls lightly with no-calorie cooking spray (this will help the graham cracker crumbs stick). Sprinkle the crumbs over the tops of the crescent rolls.
6. Bake for 9-12 minutes - you'll know they're done when the tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

BOO! Brownies

Hello everyone! I know, I know, I haven't been keeping up on my vow to try to post one new recipe a week. I'm sorry! My job has been absolutely crazy and the weekends fill up so fast, especially as the holiday season approaches! (I can't believe I just typed that ... I'm SO not ready for the holiday season yet!) BUT, I'm hoping you forgive me because these brownies are about to rock your world.

These brownies are everything brownies should be. Chocolatey. Chewy. Ooey gooey. Fudgy. Stuffed with leftover chopped up Halloween candy. And an added bonus? They're low calorie.

To eliminate a bunch of the calories and fat associated with brownies, simply swap out the oil and eggs the recipe calls for and use a can of pumpkin instead (pumpkin puree - NOT pumpkin pie filling). If you're not a fan of the pumpkin flavor, don't fear: you can barely taste it once the brownies are baked. Honestly, if you didn't know there was pumpkin puree in here you'd never guess it. The consistency is fudgy and the brownies are delicious.

Then, because it was Halloween and because I grossly overestimated the amount of candy we'd need for trick-or-treaters, I took these brownies to the next level by mixing in chopped up Halloween candy. I used my favorites (and the nutritional stats provided are for the candy I used) but you can use whatever you want.

Pop 'em in the oven and you're good to go!

I promise you, it doesn't get much easier than this!

Until next time!

Ingredients

• 1 box of brownie mix (I used Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies)
• 1 15-oz can Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
• Leftover Halloween candy (I used three snack size Kit Kat, three fun size Milky Way, and three bite size 3 Musketeers bars)

Serving size: 1/12 of recipe or 1/16 of recipe, depending on how big you cut the brownies

Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 6 (if making 12 brownies) or 4 (if making 16 brownies)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the brownie mix and canned pumpkin. Set aside.
3. Chop your chosen candy into small chunks. Add to the brownie mix and stir to combine.
4. Pour the mix into the pan. Spread evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 24-26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean.
5. Let cool slightly, then cut into squares and enjoy!

Lightened-Up Texas Toast

Happy Independence Day, everyone! Sorry for the long hiatus between my last post and this one - work has been busy, and I've taken on some freelance work as well, so things have been a bit crazy. I hope everyone has something fun planned for the holiday today! Me? I'll be relaxing at my in-laws' house, spending time with good people and eating good BBQ'd food (today will probably NOT be a diet-friendly day, but what can you do).

Anyway, I wanted to share this SUPER SIMPLE recipe for Texas toast with you! I was trying to think of a clever line about Texas being American and that's why I decided to wait until July 4th to share this recipe, but the truth is, this recipe has nothing to do with Independence Day. It's just really easy and delicious and you should make it ASAP.

My husband found Texas toast in the supermarket a few years ago. It's basically thick garlic bread, toasted, and covered in melted cheese. It's amazing, but definitely not amazing for someone who is trying to count calories. So a few weeks ago, I was having grilled chicken for dinner, and I wanted something on the side. My husband, who for some reason (like most men I know) doesn't have to worry about his weight, was making the store-brand Texas toast with his dinner, and it looked REALLY good. So I opened my fridge and saw that I had some English muffins, and I decided to see what I could do.

I toasted an English muffin, then covered each part with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray. Zero-calorie butter spray can be your best friend in recipes. Personally, I don't think it's tasty enough on its own to have with nothing else (I'd never eat toast with butter spray and nothing else) but it's good when paired with something else. For example, toast with butter spray and jelly, toast with butter spray and cinnamon sugar, etc. And in this recipe, it works perfectly.

Next, I sprinkled (pretty generously) garlic powder on top of the spray. Then I took some part-skim mozzarella and spread it across the top of the garlic. Pop it in the oven at 375 for about 5 minutes until the cheese melts, and there you have it - easy, delicious, lightened-up Texas toast.

I made my husband try it - he approves! He'll probably continue to eat the "good stuff" from the supermarket because he can, but I'm happy he approves of my lighter version too.

That's it! Make this the next time you have chicken or pasta and let me know what you think!

Until next time!

Ingredients

• 2 Fiber One English muffins
• I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray (roughly 32 sprays)
• Garlic powder (to taste)
• 2 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese

Serving size: 2 pieces (half of recipe)
Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 5

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Toast each English muffin to desired crispiness.
3. Spray each muffin half with butter spray. The recipe calls for ~32 sprays, or 8 per piece of toast, because I like mine extra buttery. Feel free to use more or less as desired. Sprinkle garlic powder over the top of each piece.
4. Distribute the cheese evenly among the pieces of toast. I've been using the mozzarella blocks lately, so I measure out 2 oz on my food scale and then slice it into small pieces and distribute them among the pieces. If you use shredded cheese, this will probably be easier to measure. Either way, each piece of toast gets about half an ounce of cheese.
5. Put the toast on a baking sheet and pop it in the oven for 5 minutes, or until the cheese looks melted but not burnt. (TIP: I like to put a piece of tin foil on my baking sheet to eliminate mess).
6. Let cool slightly, and enjoy!

Nutritional Information

Watermelon Feta Salad with Balsamic Glaze

I think I've found my go-to summer salad.

It's crisp and fresh and the ingredients work together in such an amazing way. It's also really easy and can be thrown together really quickly if you need something to serve for company or to bring to a BBQ.

I heard someone mention a watermelon feta salad last summer, and even though I was curious, I never actually made or tried the combination. Recently, I decided I needed to start doing something new for lunch - my daily lunches at the office were getting STALE - and since it finally feels like summer - and what says "summer" more than juicy watermelon? - I decided to revisit the watermelon feta combo. 

I looked online for inspiration and then created this salad with my own twist. Some people make their watermelon feta with oil. Some use oil and vinegar. Some use balsamic. Some added other ingredients; others kept it simple.

You start with your greens.

I've made this salad three times this week (when I fall in love with a new food or meal, I eat it almost exclusively and obsessively until I move on to the next thing. I have a problem). The first two times, I used baby arugula. Pictured in this recipe is baby spinach, since I ran out of arugula. Both combinations work, but I think if I had to choose I'd choose the arugula.

Then it's just three additional ingredients (watermelon, red onion, and feta cheese) before the dressing, and you're done. Simple!

Next comes the dressing. I went back and forth a few times with this. I didn't think I'd like the oil or oil/vinegar combo with the watermelon. Balsamic vinegar is always a good choice, but I felt like this salad needed something sweeter. That's why the balsamic glaze is perfect. It has the flavor of balsamic but it's much thicker and sweeter than the vinegar. It goes perfectly with this salad.

I wish I could explain why all these ingredients work together so well. I wish I could tell you why the sweetness of the watermelon tastes so good with the crunchy red onion. I wish I could explain how the feta adds a subtle but amazing flavor to the salad and how the balsamic glaze ties it all together in the most delicious way. I wish I could tell you why, but I can't. I don't know why all these ingredients work together. They just do. And you need to try it ASAP.

Summer is coming - and it deserves to be celebrated with this salad.

Until next time!

Ingredients

• 12 cups baby arugula (2 bags of salad mix)
• 4 cups watermelon, cubed
• 6-8 oz fat free feta cheese, crumbled
• 3/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
• 6 tbsp balsamic glaze

Serving size: 1/4 salad
Serves: 4
Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 5

Instructions

1. Rinse the arugula and place it in a large bowl. Add the watermelon, feta cheese, and red onion, and toss to combine.
2. Drizzle the balsamic glaze over the salad. Toss again to combine. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving, or refrigerate overnight and serve the following day.

Nutritional information

BBQ Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Ranch Coleslaw

As soon as I posted this coleslaw recipe over the weekend, I started thinking about how yummy it would be on a shrimp taco. So as promised (okay, not "promised" - I just hinted at it), here's a shrimp taco recipe. With the avocado coleslaw. A perfect combination.

This recipe also screams "summer" to me. I made it for lunch on Sunday after my husband and I spent the day outside doing yardwork and assembling our new backyard swing. It was really hot on Sunday and the cool, crispy avocado paired with the sweet BBQ shrimp made for a refreshing lunch. 

By the way, this recipe got the "husband-approved" stamp, which I'm happy about. He's a somewhat picky eater (not too bad) and sometimes I just cook for me and he cooks for him. But he ate these and he liked them, which makes me more excited to post them.

When I cook with shrimp, I like to use cooked frozen shrimp. They're simple to defrost - just let them sit in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes.

Once the shrimp are defrosted (or mostly defrosted), it's time to cook them. I used the Foreman to cook mine, but these can definitely be cooked on a grill as well. We haven't used our grill yet this season, so onto the Foreman they went.

They only need to be on the Foreman for about 3 minutes. Technically, once they're defrosted they're good to eat, but for this recipe grilled/warm shrimp works better. If you're cooking on an outdoor grill, you may want to leave them on a little longer, and then just remove them when they're grilled to your liking.

Once the shrimp are done, put them into a bowl and toss with the BBQ sauce.

While you're doing this, you can warm your tortillas. This isn't necessary, but if you're like me (in the sense that you think a warm wrap is ALWAYS better than a cold one), throw your tortillas on the grill for 30 seconds to a minute to warm them up.

Then, assemble the tacos. Layer slaw, three shrimp, and a sprinkle of ground cayenne. That's it!

Of course, this recipe does require a little advanced prep - you'll need to make the coleslaw as well. But that's super easy too and the whole thing (coleslaw and tacos) can easily be done in less than 30 minutes.

As always, I'd love to know if you have questions, comments, or feedback! Enjoy!

Until next time!

Ingredients

• 9 medium-large frozen cooked shrimp
• 2 tbsp BBQ sauce (I prefer Honey BBQ)
• 3 extra thin corn tortillas
• 1 serving Avocado Ranch Coleslaw (prepare in advance)
• Pinch of ground cayenne pepper

Serving size: 3 tacos (entire recipe)

Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 9

Instructions

1. Defrost the shrimp by placing them in a bowl or hot water. Once the shrimp are soft enough, remove the tails.
2. Place the shrimp on the Foreman or grill. Cook for approximately 3 minutes, or until grilled to your preference.
3. Transfer the cooked shrimp to a bowl. Add the BBQ sauce and toss until the shrimp are fully coated. If you prefer, warm the tortillas on the grill while you're tossing the shrimp with sauce.
4. Distribute the slaw evenly among the tortillas. Add three shrimp to each taco, then sprinkle with ground cayenne. 

Nutritional Information