Cutting back on eating out (and saving money) requires planning and creativity.  Duh!  Look who just caught up!  :)

I do love the food at Starbucks, and so I decided to try to develop a recipe at home that is similar to one of my favorites: the chicken sausage wrap.  It's not quite the same, as who has time to roast veggies in the morning?  But I think it came out great!  If you try this recipe, please let me know what you think!

  
Instructions:
Warm 1/2 tsp. olive oil in medium skillet over medium heat, and saute the mushrooms and peppers until soft and yummy-smelling.  Mix in the pesto and chicken sausage until warmed through.  Remove veggie/sausage mixture from skillet and set aside.

In same skillet, add second 1/2 tsp. of olive oil.  Pour in egg whites, cook 1 minute, turn,  cook 1 additional minute or until lightly browned.  

Warm tortilla, fold egg white omelet in center of tortilla, top with veggie/sausage mixture.  Fold in edges. Serve.  Smile.

Yield: 2 wraps
WW Points+: 7 pts per wrap

Light and healthy, these muffins are a breeze to make.  Who has time to whip egg whites?  The mix always works for me when it comes to angel food cake.

Ingredients:
1 box Betty Crocker Angel Food cake mix
1 pint blueberries
Muffin tin liners

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 and place rack in middle position.  Line 18 muffin pans with liners.  Mix cake mix according to directions, and then gently fold in blueberries.  Fill liners 1/4 the way, and bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden.  Cool 5 minutes, then remove from muffin tins to cool. 

Ingredients:

2 zucchini
1 cup white whole-wheat flour
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup dark chocolate morsels, divided
1/4 cup canola oiil
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar or Splenda
2 large egg whites (see leftover uses for egg whites/egg yolks)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

  
Yield: 12 brownies
WW Points+: 5 pts per brownie (4 when made with Splenda)

To celebrate my best friend's move into her summer digs, we decided to cook together and challenge ourselves to use whatever we found in the just-unpacked pantry and refrigerator.  We found:  eggs, chicken breasts, cashews, chicken stock, dried herbs, frozen vegetables, and rice.  We had fun collaborating on this
lighter version of cashew chicken, and it came out GREAT!  So light and fresh for summer!

Ingredients:
2 egg whites  (see ideas for the extra egg yolks here!)
1/4 cup chicken stock 
1 tsp celery powder
1 ½ tsp powdered ginger
1 skinless, boneless whole chicken breast (2 breast portions), cut into small strips for stir-frying 
1 c. cashews, chopped
Olive oil
1 bag frozen vegetables
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups cooked rice

Instructions:

Mix the egg whites and chicken stock together until well-combined, add the celery and ginger powders, and then marinate the chicken in the mixture while you cook the cashews.

Heat olive oil over medium heat, and gently toast the cashews.  They should not turn very brown– just enough to bring out the best of them.  Drain on paper towel.

Prepare vegetables as directed.

Heat wok over high heat with 1 T. olive oil.  When a drop of water sizzles and pops in the oil, you know you’re ready to stir-fry. Add the chicken and marinade to the wok, and stir-fry for about 2 minutes, just until the chicken is done, and then add in the vegetables and cashews.  Cook another 30 seconds or so, and salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with rice.  

I was quite fortunate to receive a beautiful butternut squash from my best friend, Kate the Great, this week.  I've always wanted to try butternut squash pie, and so I gave it a go.  Yummo -- it's like a lighter version of a pumpkin pie.  You'll love it, I promise. 

I took the best of several recipes to make it my own, and so my version is reflected below. 

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

FOR THE CRUST

Prepared pie crust -- I always use David Letterman's mother's recipe

FOR THE FILLING

1 butternut squash, about 1 1/2 pounds (will yield 6 cups of cubed squash after peeling and de-seeding)
3 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks  (see ideas for the extra egg whites here.)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I used light, but don't think it matters)
2 T applesauce (original recipe called for 2 T brandy, but I don't have that sitting around...)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper
Lightly sweetened freshly whipped cream, for serving

NOTE:  Most of the pumpkin pie recipes I looked at had the traditional combination of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves.  I just don't happen to enjoy the flavors of allspice and cloves, but feel free to remain traditional in your baking of this pie!


Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make the crust:  Roll out the pie crust to a 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate, and trim crust to a 1-inch overhang. Fold edges under, and crimp as desired. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.  Bake until edges of crust begin to turn golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

For the filling, peel and de-seed the butternut squash, and then cut into small cubes.  Cook the squash by your favorite method; I use my electric steamer, but you can boil, roast, microwave, etc.

Put cooked squash in your food processor or mixer, and process until smooth and light. 

Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Whisk squash puree, eggs, egg yolks, heavy cream, sugar, applesauce, cinnamon, nutmeg, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper in a bowl.

Pour filling into pie shell, and bake until just set but still slightly wobbly in the center, about 1   hour (filling will continue to set as it cools). Let cool on a wire rack. Serve slightly with whipped cream.