I’ve had a strawberry-rhubarb pie once before in my life. We were visiting my aunt’s parents in Maine and the only two things I remember from the trip are the lake water in Maine is WAY too cold for swimming and strawberry-rhubarb might be my favorite combination in the world. AND YET, until last week, I never tried to make anything with rhubarb. It’s hard to find in the grocery store around here and a little intimidating. I suppose I could grow it myself, but the leaves are toxic and I’d be worried about the kids or pets accidentally gnawing on them.

But when I saw fresh rhubarb in the grocery store last Wednesday I decided it was time to give it a shot. I knew there was a recipe for strawberry-rhubarb crumble in my Weight Watchers Cookbook so I grabbed some strawberries too (I love buy one get one free!). It would have been better if I remembered to grab all the other ingredients that recipe called for, but I made it work.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble
adapted from the Weight Watchers PointsPlus Cookbook (but I promise no one will know!)
Serves 8

Topping:
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
3 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons butter

Filling:
2 stalks rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (about a cup)
2 – 2 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a 7 x 11 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray (you can use a slightly larger or smaller dish but be sure to watch your bake time)

Combine all the topping ingredients in a medium bowl. Using the back of a fork, break up the butter and stir it into the dry ingredients until it looks like crumbs.

Combine the filling ingredients in a large bowl and stir well until the sugar coats all the strawberries and rhubarb. Spread it out evenly into the baking dish. Repeat with the topping. Bake on the center rack for 50-60 minutes until filling bubbles and topping is golden brown.

I think it’s the perfect combination of sweet and not too sweet, especially with the crunchy topping. And the best part about a crumble is it’s not REAL baking, so if you need to substitute or switch ingredients it’s easily done without risking a huge disaster (ask me about the time I tried to make a pie from memory and forgot to put shortening in the crust. BLECH.)

Enjoy!

1. When E says “What’s for dinner?” and I have no idea, I can throw together a pizza in 30 minutes.

2. Everyone in my family eats it.

3. Cheeeeeeeeese.

4. It’s easy to keep the ingredients on hand so I can make it any time I get a craving.

5. I never have to deal with leftovers.

Super Easy BBQ Chicken Pizza

1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast

1 Pillsbury thin crust refrigerated pizza crust

2 cups shredded mozzarella (2% or fat free is ok, but not as delicious as the real stuff)

1/2 bottle Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Toss the chicken in a baking dish, top with some of the BBQ sauce. Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Spread out the pizza crust evenly. Pop the crust in the oven for 5 minutes (you can put it in with the chicken). Once the crust is pre-baked, take it out and spread the rest of BBQ sauce over it. Top with the red onions, then the cheese. When the chicken is cooked, shred it up into bit sized pieces and add it to the pizza. Put the whole thing back in the oven for 8-12 minutes until the cheese is melted and the crust starts to brown. Try to wait a couple minutes before you eat it, or you’ll burn your mouth.

If you or your kids aren’t fans of spicy stuff, substitute your favorite BBQ sauce for the Sweet Baby Ray’s. It’s not exactly HOT but it is tangy. And if you don’t like onions (Mom) just skip ’em.

Dinners have been my downfall when it comes to Weight Watchers – I can eat healthy, reasonable portions all day but by 6 pm I’m incapable of eating less than my body weight in pasta and cheese. It doesn’t help that my husband thinks ketchup is a vegetable and would rather starve to death than eat a nice spinach and goat cheese salad. But between my Weight Watchers cookbook (see What’s For Dinner? Volume 8) and healthy recipes I’ve found online, I’m doing pretty well so far in 2012.

This week’s recipes are almost all from Skinny Taste, my newest obsession. Luckily she’s got years of archives plus new posts every week so I don’t think I’ll get tired of the recipes any time soon.

1. Spicy Shrimp Fried Rice – Skinny Taste
2. Chicken with Leeks Sun-Dried Tomatoes in White Wine Sauce – Skinny Taste
3. Carne Bistec – Skinny Taste
4. Chicken Panini with Arugula, Provolone and Chipotle Mayonnaise – Skinny Taste

I also made Pollo in Potacchio, which was so delicious I forgot to take a picture before shoving it in my face.

1. Spinach Lasagna Rolls – Skinny Taste
2. Skinny Baked Macaroni and Cheese – Skinny Taste (I chopped up the broccoli really tiny and even the most veggie-adverse members of my family ate it.)
3. Dr. Weil’s Broccoli (for those who think they don’t like broccoli) – Girl’s Gone Child (I hate broccoli, I LOVE this – I made it without the olive oil so it was only 1 Weight Watcher’s PointPlus for a huge bowl)
4. Chicken Pizza Quesadillas – I used the leftover chicken thighs and tomato sauce from the Pollo in Potacchio , threw in a little basil and some cheese and put my quesadilla maker to use. SUPER fast and I was so proud of myself for using up leftovers (We have a real leftover problem in my house – no one eats them).

And for dessert:

Phyllo Fruit Tart – Skinny Taste

So what have you been eating in 2012? Any really amazing new recipes? Found anything on Pinterest you’re dying to try (or want me to try first)?

(Sorry for the terrible, terrible pictures – it’s winter and my kitchen s a cave by 5 pm.)

Today I am thankful I have the time, freedom and budget to try new things in the kitchen. I am thankful my husband will at least taste my cooking and that my daughter loves all of it.

1. 44-clove garlic soup – Smitten Kitchen (you’ll smell like garlic for a week)
2. Barbecued Salmon With Corn Relish – Better Homes & Gardens (one of my favorites)
3. Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Pies – Give Me Flour (Really, really good. Caroline agreed.)
4. Butternut Squash & Mushroom Chicken Pot Pie – Bitchin Camero (actually a really beautiful food blog)

1. Shrimp Pil-Pil – Everyday with Rachael Ray (LOVE this recipe, especially served with a fresh loaf of artisan bread)
2. Chicken & Feta Orzo – PreventionGuide 30-Minute Chicken Dinners (meh)
3. Tilapia with Roasted Vegetables and Olives – Weight Watchers PointsPlus Cookbook, link is similar but not identical (It was really good, even without the olives because E hates them. I added lots of other zero point veggies.)
4. Butternut Squash Risotto – Live Love Pasta (I’d never made risotto before but it was amazing)

This is a little bit of a cheater What’s For Dinner post because these meals were spread out over the past 2 months. Since E is gone so much I’ve been eating a lot of salad and popcorn instead of making a real meal (and making a real mess). We aren’t hosting any of the holidays this year either, so I’m expecting we’ll be eating a lot of homemade pizza and sandwiches in between stuffing ourselves with turkey.

I was GOING to write a post about how potty training is going, but the Rule of the Internet* bit me in the ass BEFORE I EVEN WROTE IT so my update is this: GAH.

Wednesdays are my day off from Stroller Strides, but my day on for ALL THE OTHER THINGS. I clean and do laundry and meal plan and grocery shop and go to BJ’s for toothpaste because somehow we each have five unopened deodorants but zero tubes of toothpaste left. To round out my homemaker-y day I usually bake something. Baking (and cooking) is my love language, and even though no one in my family knows what that means they certainly appreciate pie.

But this week I made cupcakes.

Pumpkin cupcakes (based on a recipe I’ve seen on Pinterest and on Nicci’s blog this week and on the Weight Watchers message boards). Pumpkin cupcakes with mini-candy bars in the middle (an idea I will FULLY ADMIT I got from a rerun of 30 Rock last night – Liz makes them for the crew when she’s trying to be a Cool Boss and I jumped up off the couch and shouted “OH MY GOD WHY DIDN’T I KNOW THAT WAS A THING???”)

These might be the easiest cupcakes you ever eat way way too many of.

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Pumpkin Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes

1 box yellow cake mix
1 15 oz can pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
12 mini candy bars (I used Milky Ways and Snickers)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix first three ingredients in a bowl. Line a muffin tin with cupcake papers (or just spray the cups well with non-stick cooking spray). Use a measuring cup to fill each liner half way with the batter. Set a mini candy bar on top of batter, fill the cup the rest of the way. Bake for 23-27 minutes, until the tips of the top start to brown. Let them cool a little before you eat them, so you don’t burn your mouth on the melted caramel inside.

I made exactly 12 cupcakes and they puffed up pretty large. You could probably make 18 by filling each cup a little less, but I worked out the Weight Watchers points for 12 and each cupcake ends up being 7 points. Not too bad!

Review from my husband: Oh. These are interesting.

Review from the ladies at my knitting group: OMG THESE ARE THE BEST THING I’VE EATEN IN MONTHS I NEED TO MAKE SOME RIGHT NOW GET IN MY FACE.

Then I made mini pumpkin pies. Because, why the hell not? (Plus I had half a can of pumpkin left because I bought the big kind.)

p.s. Food photography is NOT my forte. I took approximately 500 shots to get these 5 pictures and they are STILL terrible. I need a class or a workshop or someone to just come do it for me so I can spend my time baking more things while they artfully scatter pumpkin seeds and half-folded napkins around a pure white plate.

*The Rule of the Internet: As soon as you write about how your baby sleeps through the night/eats tons of vegetables/never cries on your blog/never bites his sister, your baby will stop sleeping through the night/eating vegetables/start crying all the time/bite everything all the time.