BBQ Hot Dog & Potato Packs

Hey guys!

Oh blog readers this week's recipe has me on the sassy side. I am so not happy with the way this week's dish turned out. Let's have a storytime shall we? Wait before I continue let me stress this is truly our experience and Ma and I do not discourage you to try the recipe featured tonight. Everyone's experieces are different and sometimes recipes work for some people and not others. With that in mind let's get to the story. 

Ma came to me and showed me her pick. Which was the BBQ Hot Dog  & Potato Packs. It looked fun and it definitely seemed kid camping friendly so I thought why not? Also it gave us an excuse to break out the grill. The prep time was super easy. The cooking was not. The recipe specifies that it only cooks for 15-20 minutes on the grill. So of course the time was up and it wasn't done. We thought no biggie give it another 7 or so minutes. That time was up and the potatoes were completely cold and hard. Not good. 

So after letting it cook for another hour ( yep, an hour) it still wasn't done. So we moved the packs into the oven. Even then after letting it cook for another 20 minutes the potatoes were not fully cooked and most had burned on the bottom of the packs. At this point we were all starving and it was getting late. So we ate what wasn't burnt and soothed our sour faces with tonight's snack corner (more on that later).

Your blog mistress has been completely burned (no pun intended) on this recipe. Ma though had decided to redo this recipe and see if she can change it and possibly make it a winner in the future. I'm so angry at this recipe I didn't even want to feature it tonight but in all fairness maybe it'll work out better for you guys?

Here's what you'll need:

BBQ Hot Dog & Potato Packs

Prep/Total Time: 20 min. Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

*1 package (20 ounces) refrigerated red potato wedges

*4 hot dogs

*1 small onion, cut into wedges

*1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

*1/2 cup barbecue sauce

Directions:

1. Divide potato wedges among four pieces of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square). 

2. Top each with a hot dog, onion wedges and cheese. Drizzle with barbecue sauce. Fold foil around mixture, sealing tightly.

3. Grill, covered, over medium heat 10-15 minutes or until heated through. 

4.Open foil carefully to allow steam to escape.

                                                 (I accidentally deleted our pic, oops!)

WW points: *8 per pack

Tid Bits: 

*Not a fan of hot dogs? Try turkey, veggie, or soy dogs

Ma's Spot: I loved the concept of this. Let me warn you now it's not for a charcoal grill. I tried grilling these on our charcoal grill and they didn't turn out well. I had to finish them off in the oven. By then everything was overcooked. I think I'll redo these again but I'm going to only bake these in the oven. If you have a gas grill give these a try but if you don't I'd say try it out in the oven instead. Other than that I liked the taste but overall it just didn't turn out good on our grill.

SNACK CORNER:* It's time for snack corner! Where we take new snacks in the grocery store and break it down for you. We tell you which are hot and which are not.

WW points: *21 for a small

Dinah: Tonight we bring you the latest Blizzard from Dairy Queen. The smores blizzard combines vanilla soft serve with mini chocolate marshmallow filled bars and graham crackers swirled in. Ugh why DQ! Why do you have to make this awesome blizzard that costs so many points? This one takes the cake on giving you that smore fix without all the hassle of getting a campfire going then breaking out the sticks and graham crackers. Although I love this blizzard I don't think I'll be ordering it again. The amount of points it costs for the size you get it ridiciulous. I'll miss it's yumminess but I must say goodbye. Don't you wish blizzards were good for you? Gah!

Ma: I love smores in any form you can give me. If you add it to ice cream woot I am one happy woman! On the other hand though I'd rather pick something else due to the nutrition information I found out about this blizzard. If you're watching your sugar intake like me then you may want to skip this one too. I'd rather take the time and save on the amount of sugar and make my own smores. So if you want to try this as a little treat I say go for it but if you're watching your calories or sugar then I'd forget about it.

That's it for tonight. We'll see you here next Tuesday. Have a great week guys!

Spoons & Spatula's

~Dinah & Ma

Egg Cupcakes

Hey Guys!


On one of my blog recipe searches I came across this recipe on Pinterest (where else? lol) and a light bulb went off. We haven't done a quiche recipe or breakfast for dinner in a while. With this thought came the pickiness. I didn't want something we had done previously nor did I was just a run of the mill pancake/waffle or bacon and eggs. So when I saw the word cupcake and 1 point I knew this was this week's recipe. Besides a quiche cupcake can't be all that bad right?...right?!


Here's what you'll need:


Egg cupcakes
INGREDIENTS for 24 cupcakes:
* 1 red bell pepper
*2 roma tomatoes
*good handful of fresh basil leaves (cut these from my garden, LOVE the smell of freshly cut basil)
*3-4 scallions (green onion)
*6 whole eggs + 4 cups of egg whites

Directions:
 1. Chop up all of your veggies! Then mix them together in a large bowl. Next, whisk your whole eggs and egg whites together in another
bowl.
2. Line your muffin tins with cupcake holders and spray with PAM. If you don’t have liners, you can directly spray PAM onto the tin. Then fill your cups with about a tablespoon of egg mixture.
3. Next fill the rest of the cup up with veggies! Then fill to the top with the rest of your eggs. You can pretty much fill to the brim.
4. Pop them into the oven at 375F for about 20-30 min or until you see that they are firm on top.
These are on the bland side. The idea of them is great and there's definite room for improvement here but just on their own they lack spice and actual flavor.

WW Points: *1 per cupcake



Tid Bits:
*Honestly, where do I begin? You can truly flavor these any way you want. Try spicy or even adding some bacon.

Ma's Spot: I thought this was kinda bland, dull, and nothing really special about them. I'd rather make a quiche and add different things to it. Although the convience of this recipe is great for an on the go person. I would like to tweak it to add different flavors and more seasoning. Maybe some turkey sausage or turkey bacon? I do encourage you to try these and tweak them for your own way and taste. Because the portability of these are great.


SNACK CORNER:* It's time for snack corner! Where we take new snacks in the grocery store and break it down for you. We tell you which are hot and which are not.

WW Points: *3 per serving


Dinah: This week I've discovered the latest from Newton's Fruit Thins. Banana Drizzled with Dark Fudge. Gotta say these are definitely high on the addicting meter. It's my favorite from the Fruit Thin line. The cookie has this awesome banana flavoring and paired with the chocolate drizzle is amazing. Try this out asap, trust me you'll fall madly in love.

Ma: I have to say until I tried these the Lemon kind were my favorite. This though is just like eating a chocolate covered banana with a crunch. I didn't think I'd find a cookie to beat out their lemon but they did it. So as far as my taste and opinion goes these are the ones! So try them who doesn't love a chocolate covered banana?




That's it for tonight guys. We'll see you here next Tuesday with Ma's next recipe which involves a camping favorite and your kiddo's will love it. Have a great week guys!


Spoons & Spatula's
~Dinah & Ma

Good Chick Lollipops

Hey guys!


Here at Tuesday's with Dinah & Ma we try to bring you fun dishes (mostly) that will break you out of your food comfort zone. So this week's recipe is no exception. Usually I'm the one who breaks the food rules and comes up with these crazy recipe dishes but recently Ma has been dipping into the outrageous recipes. As with tonight's dish. One from our fave healthy chick Hungry Girl. She's whipped up a dish that has chicken, potato chips, Funyuns, and they are on a stick! Yes, I said they come on a stick. Not gonna lie my inner 8 year old self is kinda jazzed. Who doesn't love cute food that comes on a stick? Exactly, I'm not alone here on this.
Here's what you'll need:


Good Chick Lollipops
Ingredients:
*12 oz. raw skinless boneless lean chicken breast, evenly cut into six strips
*1 oz. (about 15 pieces) Funyuns Onion Flavored Rings
*1/2 oz. (about 7 crisps) Pringles Light Sour Cream & Onion fat-free potato crisps
*2 tbsp. fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
*1 tsp. onion powder, or more to taste
*1/8 tsp. black pepper
*2 dashes garlic powder, or more to taste
*2 dashes salt, or more to taste
*6 wooden skewers

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Carefully slide each chicken strip lengthwise onto a skewer. Set aside.
3. In a large sealable plastic bag, combine Funyuns, Pringles, and seasonings. If you like, add extra seasonings to taste. Seal the bag and crush the chips until they're mostly reduced to a breadcrumb-like consistency. Transfer the seasoned crumbs to a plate, and set aside. Fill a small bowl with egg substitute, and set that aside as well.
4. Prepare a large baking sheet by spraying with nonstick spray.
5. Take a chicken skewer and dunk it in the egg substitute -- use a spoon to distribute the egg substitute over all of the chicken. Gently shake the skewer to remove any excess liquid, and then lay the skewer in the seasoned crumbs. Rotate the skewer, pressing it into the crumbs, until it is evenly coated. Use your fingers or a spoon to add and pat crumbs onto any bare spots on the chicken. Transfer to the baking sheet, and repeat with all other chicken skewers.
Bake in the oven for 18 - 20 minutes, carefully flipping skewers about halfway through cooking, until chicken is cooked through and coating is crispy. Allow to cool for a few minutes, and then enjoy!
*MAKES 3 SERVINGS*

WW Points: *4 for 2 Skewers


These were pretty tasty. The coating is the obvious star but the chicken was definitely fun to eat off the stick.



Tid Bits: None tonight guys



Ma's Spot: These things are fantastic! I love the combinations of the chips and the funyuns. What a different taste, what and amazing taste. I could go on and on and on about how good they are but I'll simply say you have to make these. I will say the sticks were kind of useless and a waste of time. I think they make great chicken tenders, they don't need the stick. It was hard situating them in the pan to bake. They got really hot which made it hard to touch them so you had to wait until they cooled off. So bypass the stick and go for the good stuff.




SNACK CORNER:* It's time for snack corner! Where we take new snacks in the grocery store and break it down for you. We tell you which are hot and which are not.
 
Let's get to this week's pick:

WW Points: *3 per bar



Dinah: No doubt we've all seen the latest commercial for the Fruttare bars. They seem like the new "it" ice cream for the summer so that's what we're reviewing tonight. Gotta say I am quite impressed with these bars. Not only do they have bits of real fruit in them but they taste like a frozen milkshake and they're only 3 points each? Sign me up!  I'm going to skip all the other ice creams out there and stick with this one.

Ma: OMG these things are so creamy and delicious. I have tried most of the flavors and not one of them are disappointing. I have to say so far that the coconut ones are my favorite but I'm not done yet. I'm on a quest to try all the flavors. I'll give you further updates as my journey through Fruture continues.



That's all for tonight folks. See you here next Tuesday for more food goodness. Have a great week guys!



Spoons & Spatula's
~Dinah & Ma