Olive Garden Salad

I love the salad at Olive Garden. I tried this recipe and although it's still not the same, it's close! Give a try and let me know if you have ideas to make it better!

SALAD RECIPE:
1 bag American Blend Salad (Dole works well)
4-5 slices Red Onion
4-6 Black Olives
2-4 Pickled Pepperoncini
1/2 cup Croutons
1 small Tomato sliced
Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

DRESSING RECIPE:
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1/3 cup White Vinegar
1 tsp. Vegetable Oil
2 Tbsp. Corn Syrup
2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbsp. Romano Cheese
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp. Parsley Flakes
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
Sugar (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Dressing:
Mix all ingredients in a blender until well mixed (approximately 30 seconds).
If this is a little to tart for your own personal tastes please add a little extra sugar.
Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Salad:
Chill a glass salad bowl in freezer for at least 30 minutes.
Place the bag of salad in bowl.
Place on top of the lettuce – red onion, black olives, banana peppers, tomatoes, and croutons.
Add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese if you like.
Add plenty of Olive Garden™ Salad Dressing on top.




Tracker

I am keeping track of what I am eating and using weight watchers points to do so. I created my own spreadsheet that tracks my points. (so I don't have to pay the extra monthly fee to track what I eat) I will be adding the point value to the meals that I calculate, mainly for my reference so I don't have to go back and figure out the points. So that is why you will see the point value on the recipes. Thanks

Whole Wheat Pancakes

This tastes great, you wouldn't be able to tell they are whole wheat. This is a great starter recipe that can be played around with.



Ingredients:1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon oil

 

Directions:

Preheat griddle.

In medium bowl, stir or sift dry ingredients together; beat egg, buttermilk, brown sugar and oil together. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened; batter should be slightly lumpy.

Pour ¼ cup batter for each cake onto a well-seasoned hot griddle. Flip the pancake when bubbles appear on surface; turn only once.

Weight Watchers Points= 3 points per pancake 1/4 cup sugar free syrup = 1 point

Italian Chex Mix

Ingredients:

3 cups Wheat Chex cereal

3 cups Rice Chex cereal

1 cup pretzel nuggets

2 cups cheese flavor crackers

1 /2 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

3 teaspoons Italian seasoning

2 teaspoons garlic salt

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Heat oven to 300 degrees.

In large bowl mix cereals, pretzels, and crackers

In small bowl mix oil, vinegar, garlic salt and Italian seasoning.

Pour over cereal mixture, stirring to coat.

Spread in ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake about 30 minutes, stirring twice, until toasted.

Sprinkle with cheese, toss to coat.

Cool about 45 minutes.

My Grandma’s Banana Bread

Ingredients:

5 large bananas

4 well beaten eggs

1 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:

Beat bananas until liquid. Add eggs and mix thoroughly; set aside. Cream together shortening and sugar, then add banana and egg mixture and beat thoroughly. Add flour that has been sifted with baking soda and salt, and then fold in nuts. Bake in well greased loaf pans at 300 degrees for 2 hours, or until done.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Cake

Ingredients:2 squares Semi-sweet baking chocolate
2 packages Cream Cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups thawed chocolate whipped topping
1 Oreo Pie Crust
1 ½ cups strawberries, or other desired berry
Directions:
Microwave chocolate in small bowl on high for 1 minute. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Set aside.
Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add chocolate; mix well. Gently stir in whipped topping. Spoon into crust.
Refrigerate 3 hours until set. Top with strawberries just before serving.



Almost Thin Mint Cookies

Ingredients:

1 package of Ritz crackers

Semi-sweet baking chocolate

¼ teaspoon peppermint extract

Directions:

Melt chocolate according to package. Mix the peppermint extract until well incorporated.

Dip the Ritz crackers into the chocolate mix until entire cracker is covered. Place on baking sheet with wax paper. Top with crushed candy cane for decoration. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Oreo Balls

Ingredients:

1 package of Oreos

1 bar (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

Baking chocolate, milk and white chocolate

Toppings: crushed candy canes, crushed nuts, coconut

Directions:

Crush entire package of oreos into fine crumbs. Mix with softened cream cheese until well blended. Cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Roll mix into small balls. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Melt chocolate according to package. Dip rolled balls into chocolate mixture. Place on baking sheet with wax paper. Quickly top with desired topping. Drizzle white and milk chocolate over balls to desired look.

My Grandma’s Brownies

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

1 square butter or margarine softened

4 eggs

½ cup cocoa

¼ teaspoon salt

1 ¾ cups flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well. Add dry ingredients and combine thoroughly. Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. No longer. Cool and frost.



Fajitas

Ingredients:

Flour tortillas

1 cooked chicken breast

Olive Oil

Sliced green and red peppers

Sliced Onions

Olives

Chopped tomatoes

Cheddar cheese

Ranch Dressing

Hot sauce

Directions:

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat

Add onions and peppers and heat for 5 minutes

Add chicken

Heat flour tortillas in microwave for 30 seconds.

Add cheese, tomatoes, peppers, onions, chicken and olives to tortilla.

Top with ranch dressing, and hot sauce.

Weight Watchers Points= 13 per fajita
 *could be less if whole wheat flour was used, and no chicken, just veggies