Monday Meals-Paula Deen Style

It's that time of the week again, it's Monday Meals over on "A Love Worth Waiting For". I have 3 recipes to post today. Last week I watched an episode of Paula's Home Cooking and every recipe looked so delicious, so on Sunday, I woke up early and went the grocery store while Greg watched the boys. I made "Crabbies" for lunch and Taco Soup for supper and Peanut Butter Cheese Cake Minis for dessert, all from Paula Deen. I thought everything was absolutely delicious and will definitely be making all these recipes again.

Crabbies
Ingredients
8 ounces good white crabmeat, picked free of all shells
1 (5-ounce) jar Cheddar-horseradish spread (recommended: Kraft Old English)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
Dash hot sauce or cayenne pepper
8 large toasted bread rounds
Chopped parsley leaves, for garnish
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine crab, cheese spread, mayonnaise, garlic powder, butter and hot sauce. Divide mixture evenly over bread rounds and spread. Score each round into quarters and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake until topping is heated through and golden brown on top, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Sprinkle with parsley. Serve hot. These freeze and store well for drop-in company.





Taco Soup
Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
2 cups diced onions
2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans pinto beans
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans
1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles
2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chiles
1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced, optional
1/2 cup green olives, sliced, optional
1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (1-ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
Corn chips, for serving
Sour cream, for garnish
Grated cheese, for garnish
Chopped green onions, for garnish
Pickled jalapenos, for garnish



Directions
Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, black olives, green olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove. To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos.





Peanut Butter Cheese Cake Minis
Ingredients
Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
4 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
12 bite-size peanut butter cups



Filling:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or almond extract
2 eggs

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place a paper cupcake liner in each cup of a standard muffin pan.
To make crust, in a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter until crumbs are moistened. Press crust into bottom of each muffin cup. Put 1 peanut butter cup into the center of each crust. Beat cream cheese with a handheld electric mixer until fluffy. Add sugar, flour, and vanilla, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Spoon cream cheese mixture over peanut butter cups and graham cracker crusts. Bake until just set, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Mexican Bean Dip

This is a healthy, weight watcher version of 7 layer dip and only has 1 point per serving. I didn't think I would like this because I didn't think it would compare to regular, fattening 7-layer dip. But, I was pleasantly surprised, it was really good. Of course it's not as good as 7-layer dip, but it's pretty good and much better for you.

Mexican Bean Dip
Points: 1
Servings: 17

* 1 can fat-free refried beans
* 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
* 1/2 cup light sour cream
* 3/4 cup reduced fat mexican blend cheese
* 1 cup of refrigerated fresh salsa
* 1 can sliced ripe olives (I omitted these because I hate olives)
* 2 tablespoons chopped green onions
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro



1. Combine refried beans, garlic powder, and chili powder in a small bowl, stirring until blended. Spread mixture into bottom of a 9-inch pie plate.
2. Combine sour cream and 1/4 cup cheese, spread sour cream mixture over bean mixture.
3. Combine salsa, olives, green onions, and cilantro; spread salsa mixture over sour cream mixture. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.
**I read the directions wrong and added all the cheese to the sour cream layer, so my dip will look different**

WW Mexican Bean Dip

WW Mexican Bean Dip. 2 points

Ingredients

* 2 cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained

* 1 can diced tomatoes and greene chiles, undrained

* 1 teaspoon olive oil

* 2/3 cup chopped onion

* 1 garlic clove, minced

* 1/4 tsp. sald

* 1/4 tsp. ground cumin

* 1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream

* 1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

* 6 ounces baked tortilla chips

1. Place half of beans in a bowl; mash with a fork or potato masher. Stir in remaining whole beans. Drain tomatoes, reserving 1/4 cup liquid.

2. Heat oil in a medium cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, saute 2 minutes or until tender. Add beans tomatoes, 1/4 cup reserved tomato liquid, salt, and cumin; cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated, sitrring constantly. Remove from heat, and let stand 2 minutes. Stir in sour cream. Spoon bean mixture into a serving bowl.

3. Sprinkle cheese over dip; cover and let stand 3 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with chips. Makes 24 servings, serving size: 2 tablespoons dip and 5 chips.