Low-Fat Eggnog Pancakes with Creamy Eggnog Topping

A couple of days ago, I got a VERY tempting e-mail from my local iHop telling me about their new seasonal pancakes. Of all the pancakes to picture...their eggnog pancake was quite possibly the most tempting choice! I love eggnog... and thick creamy eggnog filling between two eggnog pancakes... how could I turn that down?! 

But, I'm on Weight Watchers, and I love to cook. So, of course I saw this as a challenge. Eggnog IN my pancake, that's easy enough... but thick, creamy, eggnogy filling that's low in points? That was going to be the challenge. And, moreover, this needed to taste real...and loaded with calories...without actually BEING terrible for me.

Well ladies and gentleman, here it is... quite possibly my favorite pancake ever. The Eggnog Pancake! Enjoy!

Eggnog Pancake

Yields: 9 servings

Serving Size: 1 pancake and 1/4 cup topping

PointsPlus per Serving: 1 pancake = 3P+, 1/4 cup topping = 2P+

Ingredients

 Filling

1.4oz box of sugar-free fat-free instant vanilla pudding mix

1 cup low-fat eggnog (I used Horizon Organic low-fat eggnog)

1 cup skim milk

1.5 cups Cool Whip Free

1/2 tsp. Nutmeg (or to taste)

Pancakes

2 cups Bisquick Heart Smart pancake mix

1 cup low-fat eggnog (I used Horizon Organic low-fat eggnog)

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp. Nutmeg (or to taste)

Directions

In a bowl, combine pudding mix, 1 cup eggnog, and skim milk.

Mix until smooth and well-combined.

Refrigerate for at least 5 minutes. (I refrigerated mine overnight for pancakes the next day!)

Fold Cool Whip into the pudding mixture.

Add 1/2 tsp nutmeg (or as much as you want depending on your tastes), and mix until smooth and pudding-like

Put pudding mixture in fridge until ready to serve.

In a separate bowl, combine pancake mix, 1 cup eggnog, water, and 1/2tsp nutmeg (or more if you prefer).

Mix Well - until all pockets of pancake mix are gone and the mixture is smooth and well-combined.

(NOTE: The filling in and of itself makes a GREAT eggnog pudding!)

Spray a non-stick pan or griddle. Place on stovetop on medium heat.

Ladle 1/4 cup of pancake mixture onto the non-stick pan or griddle. Allow to cook until small bubbles begin to form on top of the batter (NOTE: Batter MAY not bubble - I had about 50/50 occurrence of bubbling like with a normal pancake. When pancake begins to rise and bubble on the edges, flip!)

Allow pancake to cook on griddle for about 1 more minute or until the underside is golden brown when lifted off of the pan.

Remove pancake and repeat process. Should make about 9 pancakes using 1/4 cup of batter each time.

Top your pancake with 1/4 cup of the pudding topping. I put mine in a baggie, cut a tiny piece of the corner off, and drizzled that way. But it works just as well as a dipping sauce or non-fancily spread across the top :)

Enjoy!

P.S., A tablespoon of fat-free whipped cream doesn't add any PointsPlus, but somehow makes these pancakes taste even naughtier ;)

Smoked Salmon Pizza

If you've ever had the pleasure of visiting one of Wolfgang Puck's famous restaurants, you may have noticed a peculiar-sounding item on the menu - salmon pizza.

A couple of years ago, I had the salmon pizza at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant in Disney. It was, by far, my favorite pizza ever. Tonight, I decided to attempt to create a lower-point version of this amazing creation.

I apologize in advance for how bad some of the photos are - I don't currently have the budget for a nice camera, but I'll get one as soon as I can!

Side note: the pizza crust I made for this recipe was really good! Feel free to use it for your traditional pizzas as well ;)

Smoked Salmon Pizza on a Garlic Onion Crust
Yields: 4 servings
Serving Size: 2 slices
PointsPlus per serving: 5 PointsPlus

Ingredients

Crust
1 1/2 cups Bisquick HeartSmart Pancake and Biscuit Mix
1/3 cup hot water
1/3 cup minced onion
1/2 TBS minced garlic

Sauce
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
1 TBS reduced-fat cream cheese
1/2 TBS fresh or dried dill (I used fresh)
1/8 tsp (or a pinch) lemon zest
1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice

Toppings
3 oz smoked salmon
1 TBS capers
3 TBS green onion

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees

In bowl, combine bisquick, water, garlic, and onion.

Mix and knead dough with your hands until it forms a ball.

Roll dough out with rolling pin as flat as you can on top of a pizza sheet that has been prepared with spray olive oil.

Bake rolled-out crust at 450 until golden brown (about 12-15 minutes)

Meanwhile, combine sour cream, cream cheese, dill, lemon zest, and lemon juice in separate bowl.

Spread the sour cream mixture over the baked crust

Top  pizza with the smoked salmon, capers, and green onions.

Using a pizza cutter, slice into 8 wedges.

Enjoy!

P.S.,
Yes, I totally forgot to put green onions on the pizza before taking the picture.... but I did add the green onions before consuming it!

Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes with Whipped Chocolate Frosting

OK, I admit, I got the idea for these cupcakes from the  SkinnyTaste recipe for pumpkin-spiced cupcakes. It's a fantastic recipe, but last night, I was in the mood for chocolate.

I hit the grocery store with every intention of purchasing No-Pudge Brownie Mix to satiate my craving only to find that my grocery store doesn't carry the product. I was in too much of a hurry to go to another of the billion grocery stores in the D.C. metro region, so I pouted and contemplated buying a different type of brownie... like possibly those Ghirardelli ones with triple the chocolate, fudge topping, and a billion calories.

That's when I remembered the SkinnyTaste recipe and thought "I wonder if it'll work with chocolate." A quick comparison of the cake mix boxes showed that the nutrition information was the same so.... I gave it a shot.

All you need to make the cake portion of these cupcakes are three ingredients:
a 15-oz box of Betty Crocker Devil's Food Cake mix
1 cup of pumpkin (not pie mix - just pumpkin!)
and 1 cup of water

However, I am too lazy and too broke to make my own frosting. Plus, let's face it... I really wanted a finger-full of REAL frosting...straight from the jar. Fortunately, Betty Crocker also makes these whipped frostings (including chocolate!) that are only 100 calories (or 2 PointsPlus for those of us on Weight Watchers) for 2 whole tablespoons.

Ingredients in hand, I set out to test the recipe. (Note: I apologize for the crummy pictures; they'll have to suffice until I can get a better camera. I'm on a budget you know!)

Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes with Whipped Chocolate Frosting

Serving Size: 1 Cupcake and 1 TBS Frosting
WW Points Plus: 3 Points+ With Frosting, 2 P+ Without Frosting
Calories: 120

Ingredients
15oz package of Betty Crocker Super-Moist Devil's Food Cake mix
1 cup canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie mix - JUST pumpkin)
1 cup water
Betty Crocker Whipped Chocolate Frosting

Directions

Combine the cake mix, canned pumpkin, and water in a bowl

Mix the cake mix, water, and pumpkin together until ingredients are thoroughly combined and smooth.

Spoon the mix into a cupcake pan lined with paper cupcake liners

Bake  at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove cupcakes and allow to cool

Once the cupcakes are cooled, top each with 1 TBS of the whipped chocolate frosting.

ENJOY!!!