Skinny Orange Creamsicle Cake

I came across a recipe for Skinny Funfetti Cupcakes on the Six Sisters' Stuff website a while back and I've been thinking about them for a while. I'm not too crazy about the Funfetti type, but I still wanted to make a skinny dessert with the same sort of recipe.

I am crazy about anything creamsicle flavor, so I decided to come up with my own skinny cake creation, the Skinny Orange Creamsicle Cake. I took a box of white cake mix, a can of diet Sunkist, and a tub of fat-free Cool Whip and I had a pretty tasty "diet" cake. I know this may not sound very appealing to everyone, but it wasn't bad at all; it was actually pretty good! In fact, my dad ate some not knowing it was "diet cake" and said he thought it was really tasty! Ha! By leaving out the oil and eggs, and decadent icing, you're cutting a lot of fat, sugar, and calories.

Ingredients:

1 package white cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)
1 12-oz. can of diet orange soda (I used diet Sunkist)
1 8-oz. tub of fat-free cool whip

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl, beat cake mix and diet soda until well combined. Pour into a greased 13x9 pan and cook according to the directions on the box of the cake mix or until a toothpick comes out clean. Mine cooked for about 25 minutes.

Let the cake sit on a wire rack until cool.

Top with fat-free cool whip. I thought the cool-whip tasted great on its own, but you can add a packed of sugar-free orange Jello to the cool whip. However, I want to warn you that I thought this tasted nasty, so I scraped it off. (The artificial sugar-free flavor was too much for me.) It is all a matter of personal preference!


I forgot to snap a picture before it was all gone,
but here's one I found on Google Images,
just so you can get an idea of what it looks like!
 

A can of diet soda and a box of cake mix? Who would have thought it would be so good?! The Six Sisters say that you can do this with any sort of boxed cake mix and recommend that if you use a dark mix (like chocolate, devils food, etc.) that you should use a dark soda (coke zero, diet coke, etc.) and that if you use a light mix (white, yellow, etc.) that you should use a light soda (sprite zero, 7-up, etc.). I've also read that this works really good with brownie mix too!

Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

My sweetie was sick last week, so I nursed him back to health with a big pot of Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. You couldn't make me touch chicken noodle soup as a kid [or any soup for that matter], but it's now my go-to recipe when we're feeling sick or need an extra dose of some comforting and nourishing food! It's so easy to make and you can even freeze the leftovers!
 

Ingredients:

 

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced (you can use a bag of pre-cut carrots)

3 stalks celery, sliced

1 medium onion, diced

3 cups whole wheat egg noodles, uncooked

3 cups chicken breast, boiled and chopped into bite size bits(save the broth)

Handful parsley, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste
 

Directions:
 

Boil the whole wheat egg noodles according to the directions on the package. Drain the noodles and return them to the same pot. Add the boiled and chopped chicken. Add about 2 quarts of the chicken broth to the pot.

 

While the noodles cook, saute the onion, carrots, and celery in a tablespoon of olive oil until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add the vegetables to the soup mixture.

 

Add the chopped parsley, the salt, and the pepper. Simmer for about an hour for a great flavor.

Easy Grilled Chicken

I love grilled food, but to be honest, I have never actually grilled any myself. That job belongs to my sweet boyfriend, who gladly takes on the task. I've loved everything that he has ever grilled [burgers, steak, chicken, pork chops, etc.] and he always does a great job [except for the day that we thought we'd grill bacon...don't try that at home, folks!].

 

I'm pretty sure that I love his grilled chicken the best. He tries to always use chicken tenderloins, or he cuts breasts into smaller strips, because it takes little time to cook and it always seems to be more tender.

 

He first marinades the chicken with Teriyaki sauce for a few hours and then dips the strips in a bowl of chicken rub- yum!

We recently tried out this Sauer's Chicken Rub for the first time,
but our all-time favorite rub is Grill Mates from McCormick Chicken Rub.

It's ready for the grill!

These tenderloins took no time to cook! Just a few minutes
on each side; until the internal temperature is a safe 165*.

 

Grilled to perfection; such an easy dinner!
Serve with black beans, brown rice, and yummy salsa.

Easy Baked [Turkey] Ziti

I know that almost everyone has their favorite go-to comfort food recipes, but I wanted to share my recipe for Easy Baked Ziti. It's the perfect recipe when you're craving some cheesy and saucy goodness.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 lb. ground turkey
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup fresh sliced button mushrooms
1 1/2 jars of your favorite spaghetti/marinara sauce
3-4 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
1 box whole wheat/ whole grain ziti (my grocery store only has penne)
1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning

Directions:

Boil a large pot of salted water and cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high and brown the ground turkey. Add the onion, garlic, and mushrooms, and saute for about 5 more minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine pasta, turkey mixture, sauce, 3/4 of the cheese, and the seasoning.

Now, you have two options: you can pour the mixture into a crock-pot sprayed with cooking spray and cook on low for 2-3 hours (sprinkle the remaining cheese over the pasta at the last 20 minutes of cook time), or you can pour the mixture into a casserole dish and cook at 350* for 25-30 minutes (sprinkle the remaining cheese over the casserole for the last 10 minutes of cook time).