Yummy-ness!!!

Here are some of my favorite recipes as of late.

Favorite discovery of the month – homemade hot chocolate!! I have always used the mix – you know heat up the water or milk and stir in the dry chocolate mix. Easy – still good – but compared to my new hot chocolate I will never buy mix again!!

So here it is – my recipe. I actually made this one up! Believe me you will never want hot chocolate mix again!

1/3 boiling water

1/3 coco powder

A little less that 1/3 sugar

3 ½ cups of milk

1 cup mini marshmallows

Boil the water in a pot. Once is it boiling turn down the heat and add the coco powder and sugar, continue to stir, and bring to a soft boil. Once you have a thick chocolate mixture add the milk, stirring continually. One the milk is very hot – try not to boil – add the marshmallows and stir till the marshmallows are melted into the hot chocolate.

Pour into your favorite coffee cup and enjoy! I like to add more marshmallows and whipped cream to the top. To make it extra yummy stick a peppermint stick in!

Another delicious recipe is Chicken and Broccoli Casserole! Amazingly yummy, filling, and just plain satisfying!! This is an easy to make dinner after work – I recommend it!

10 ounce bag of frozen broccoli

10 ounces of reduced fat cream of chicken soup

1 cup of water

2 tablespoon smart butter

6 ounce of chicken flavored stuffing

2 cups chopped chicken

1/3 milk

Parmesan cheese

Heat over to 400 degrees. In a large saucepan combine broccoli, half of the soup, the water, and butter. Bring to a boil - cover and simmer till broccoli is soft.

Add stuffing and stir to moisten. Spread the mix in a ungreased 2-quart pan. Scatter chicken over stuffing - stir milk and remaining soup together and pour over chicken. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 20 minutes or until heated through.

Finally I have been wanting to make homemade pizza lately but cannot bring myself to eat the calories… yes I’m that person! So I discovered a great recipe in my Fitness

Magazine – I tweaked it to make it a little healthier. Instead of using a whole wheat pizza crust I used pita bread – Michael of course had his own two personal pizza dough crusts! J

1 12-inch 100% whole wheat pizza crust (or pita bread)
1 cup prepared tomato salsa
1 1/4 cups shredded reduced-fat 2 percent mozzarella
1 1/3 cups canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small sweet red pepper, seeded and thinly sliced (about 2/3 cup)
2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves for garnish (optional)

Directions
1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place crust on sheet and top with salsa, 1 cup mozzarella, beans, sliced red pepper, and scallions. Top with remaining 1/4 cup cheese.
2. Place pizza in oven and bake 8 to 10 minutes or until mozzarella is melted. Remove from oven and garnish with cilantro if desired. Cut into six slices and serve.