August 2010 Archives - Justice Fergie Lifestyle Media

Product Review & Giveaway: Weight Watchers Cheese

I love cheese. No, you don’t understand. I love cheese. From Cheddar to Mozzarella to Brie to Parmesan to Cheez Whiz (sorry), to my absolute favorite: Cambozola – I could eat cheese all day. In fact, I’ve been known to skip dessert and sit down with a crusty baguette and a creamy blue cheese to end my night. The thing about cheese though, is that it’s quite fattening and not necessarily a guilt-free pleasure for me.

Enter Weight Watchers Cheese!
{Trust me, I was skeptical too.}

I’m a fan of Weight Watchers foods – I like the cookies, cakes and breads (the yogurts are a way too “aspartame-y” for me though) – so I jumped at the chance to sample their new line of cheeses. I was sent an awesome picnic basket, full of healthy snacks like trail mix and nuts, along with a ton of cheeses. I decided to try the Reduced Fat Cream Cheese Spread to start.

First off, I liked the fact that the package is labeled by “points.”

Image Credit: VanderbiltWife.com

So I knew exactly how much 1 serving was and was able to cut the package accordingly. I toasted a thin bagel and spread my Weight Watchers Cream Cheese on. Yum! A low-fat breakfast.

Then I got adventurous.

One evening last week for dinner I decided I was tired of the usual dishes we always have for dinner and wanted to make something new. I opted for the Chicken Croissants that Jane raves about. Here is the recipe:

Chicken Croissants

Ingredients:
- Cream Cheese (1 package)
- Mushrooms (1 package, diced)
- Onion (as much as you like…I use about 1/4 of an onion)
- Cooked Chicken Breast (2 breasts?)
- Pillsbury Crescent Rolls OR Frozen Filo Dough
- Gravy topping – you can use cream of chicken soup or make chicken gravy with broth and thickening

Directions:
Cook the chicken breast however you want (boil, pressure cooker, microwave). Chop up and sautee the mushrooms and onions. Mix chicken, mushrooms and onions into the cream
cheese. This is your filling. Here are the directions for each type of “crescent”:

Pillsbury Crescent Rolls: Put a blob of filling on the triangle of dough and roll the dough around the filling – cook for as long as directed on the package for the rolls.

Phyllo: Follow the directions on the package for phyllo.

Phyllo is SUPER yummy, but the crescent rolls are yummy too – crescent rolls are MUCH easier.

Top with gravy and enjoy!

I used the Weight Watchers Reduced Fat Cream Cheese Spread and, let me tell you, it was sensational! The kids crushed the meal and even hubby who has an aversion to mushrooms AND onions, cleaned his plate. Must have been the cheese…

I still have the Original Swiss, Garlic & Herb, Parmesan Peppercorn and Jalepeno Pepper wedge cheeses to try. Each wedge is only 1 Weight Watchers Point, so this will be a great snack to toss into my purse and tote with me to work.

Do you love cheese? Please say that you do so we can stay friends. Better still:

(1) Leave me a comment about your favorite way to eat cheese; and

(2) Tweet this post using the #WeightWatchersCheese hashtag,

and I’ll randomly choose on on the comments to win a Weight Watchers Cheese Snack Kit! Easy. Cheesy.

Contest ends Wednesday, August 25 at midnight.

*Disclosure: Thanks to Weight Watchers for providing me with a selection of their cheeses to sample!

Countdown to BlogHer (with Chocolate!)

BlogHer ‘10 is just days away and it’s time for me to get my act together. This year the pre-BlogHer excitement reached an all new level for me, and I think it’s largely because I’m in a comfortable groove when it comes to my blogging self. I belong to several blog networks that I adore and so many exciting doors have opened as a result. Not to mention the energizing success of Blogalicious and all the opportunities that it has brought us Mamalaw gals. Finally, there’s the bizarre and sometimes uncomfortable colliding of my blogging self and my working self. No matter what aspect of my life I turn to, all roads lead to BlogHer ‘10! So it’s a good thing that I have a ride to New York City this Thursday morning…

On the Hershey Train!

The what?

The Hershey Train!! The fantastic, fantastic Lara of Chicken Nuggets of Wisdom, Amy L. of Resourceful Mommy, and Amy M. of Teach Mama hooked up us DC Metro Area bloggers with travel to and from The Big Apple, courtesy of Hershey’s Chocolate. Sweeeet! (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself)

To celebrate, last week, we each received a S’mores Kit from Hershey’s Chocolate complete with – of course – Hershey’s Chocolate, marshmallows, graham crackers, and fancy dancy marshmallow roasters:

It’s been so ridiculously hot here that we haven’t had the courage to even think about firing up the grill, so I’m thinking that I’ll save this fun activity for September, when the DC Weather gods decide to have some mercy on us. In the meantime, though, I did try a delicious recipe for S’mores Brownies for my Ladies Summer Luncheon last weekend. Take a look at these beauties:

Want the recipe? SO easy:

S’mores Brownies a la Fergie

Bake store-bought brownie cake mix according to package directions (I chose Betty Crocker chocolate – not fudge – brownie mix); let cool and cut into squares;

Halve 6 marshmallows and place a half on each brownie square; Broil for 1 minute or until the marshmallow is golden and a little melted;

Melt 2 bars of Hershey’s Milk Chocolate in a double boiler; add a splash of heavy whipping cream and dash of vanilla (if desired);

Drizzle melted chocolate over the brownies and top with crushed graham crackers.

Just one of the many wonderful uses for Hershey’s Chocolate. Another is to smuggle the candy bars onto the train on Thursday morning. I’m thinking I’ll need all the sugar I can get. BlogHer ‘10 is going to be HYPE!

If you’re going to be at BlogHer ‘10, make sure to get your piece of the sweetness: