Oreo Lasagna

I found this online recently and am interested to try it...Probably for the next church potluck I go to. ;o)

Courtney Luper

Lasagna for dessert...ABSOLUTELY!! This Oreo Lasagna is perfect for a pot luck dinner, family dinner or end of summer party!!

heart emoticon OREO LASAGNA heart emoticon

Serves 16
Prep Time - 10 min
Total Time - 4 hr

Ingredients
1 package oreo cookies
4 tbsp. butter, melted
8 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. skim milk
12 oz fat free cool whip
6 Snack Pack Fat Free Chocolate Pudding cups (or make 1 package of chocolate pudding)

Instructions
1.Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with nonstick spray
2.In a food processor, or in a zip closed bag, crush the Oreo Cookies (I used the bag version and it was super easy without all the clean up of the food processor)
3.Set aside 1 cup of crushed Oreos for topping
4.Combine remaining crushed Oreo's with melted butter
5.Press buttered Oreo's into the bottom of the prepared dish
6.In a small bowl whip the softened cream cheese using a handheld mixer until light and fluffy
7.Mix in sugar, milk and 1 1/4 cups of cool whip until well combined
8.Spread cream cheese layer over the Oreo crust until smooth and even
9.Layer chocolate pudding in an even layer over the cream cheese
10.Spoon remaining cool whip over pudding and gently smooth
11.Sprinkle on mini chocolate chips
12.Place in refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours but overnight is best
13.Serve & ENJOY!!

Notes
Each serving is 8 WW+ points
Nutritional Info
Calories 309 Calories from Fat 127 Total Fat 14.1g Saturated Fat 7.0g Cholesterol 20mg Sodium 265mg Potassium 46mg Carbohydrates 42.9g Dietary Fiber 1.0g Sugars 28.4g Protein 3.5g
Vitamin A 6% - Vitamin C 0% - Calcium 7% - Iron 6%
Nutrition Grade - D
By MJ

Lemon Cupcakes

Lemon Cupcakes (Recipe adapted from Our Best Bites)

1 1/2 c. (3 sticks) of REAL butter
3 c. cake flour (no substitutions here–you really need the lightness of cake flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 c. sugar
5 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 2 lemons (just zest the other lemons before you squeeze them)
1 c. buttermilk


Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners (I like foil liners best for this recipe). This recipe will make closer to 36 cupcakes.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes. Don’t go skimping here–you want the mixture to be almost white and super fluffy. This is absolutely essential to the outcome of the cake.

While butter and sugar are mixing, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside. (Don't worry about buying some fancy sifter, seriously. I bought these fine mesh sieves at Wal-Mart for super cheap!)

After butter and sugar have mixed sufficiently, With the mixer running, add eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition. Beat in vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

With mixer on low speed, alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating until fully incorporated.

Using a large cookie scoop, place about 1 scoop of batter into each muffin cup. Fill these almost to the top–due to the final texture (again, think super-moist and light pound cake), these cupcakes won’t have a nice, curvy crown, but that’s okay–no one will ever know or care.

Bake about 18-20 minutes or just until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean. You don’t want to over bake these even a bit, or they’ll start to lose their delicious moisture.

Remove from oven and cool for a couple of minutes before moving to cooling rack. Frost with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting and top with berries or your choice. My favorite are blackberries when they are in season!!!

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

10 oz. cream cheese, chilled
6 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/1/2 Cups confectioners' sugar
2 tsp. clear vanilla extract
Lemon Zest and Juice from 1/2 of a lemon

Combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add lemon zest and juice and mix to incorporate. Stop mixer at this point and scrape down the bowl. Add in the confectioner's sugar and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat 2-3 minutes more. Blend in vanilla.

Easy Pad Thai

(adapted from Everyday Food by browniesfordinner.com)
Serves 4
8 ounces dried, wide and flat rice noodles
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup fresh lime juice, plus wedges for serving
6 tablespoons soy sauce
2 squirts (about 1/8 teaspoon) Sriracha (optional)
2 teaspoons coconut oil
3 scallions (green onions), white and green parts, separated and thinly sliced
2 garlic clove, minced
2 large eggs, light beaten (optional)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped roasted, salted peanuts

1. Soak noodles according to package instructions. Drain.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, lime juice, soy sauce, and Sriracha.
3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
4. Add scallion whites and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add eggs and cook, scraping skillet with spatula until eggs are almost set (about 30 seconds). Transfer eggs to a plate.
5. Add noodles, scallion greens, and sauce to skillet. Cook, tossing constantly, until noodles are soft (about 1 minute). Add egg mixture and toss to coat, breaking eggs up gently.
6. Serve noodles with lime wedges, topped with cilantro and peanuts.

Notes and variations

• Per serving: 315 calories, 7g fat (0.9g saturated fat), 3.6g protein, 60.5g carb, 1.4g fiber
• Per serving: $1.50 or less.
• As long as you use a gluten-free soy sauce, this is a gluten-free recipe.
• Vegetarian, even. Skip the eggs for vegan.
• If you’re a carnivore try this: While the noodles are soaking, cut up 1 small chicken breast (or half of one of the colossal ones) into bite sized pieces. Marinate the chicken in a little bit of soy sauce and garlic (or make a little extra of the sauce for the noodles and marinate the chicken in that). OR: use shrimp (marinate same as chicken)… heck, use both. Cook them before you add the noodles to the pan.
• Leftovers: heat in the microwave or toss in a hot skillet for a minute to warm the noodles. Not as good as the first day but with a little extra lime juice, it makes a nice leftover-lunch.