Elote Noodle Salad

From: Weight Watchers Cookbook

Hot Mama Grade: B

Hot Mama Notes: I really wanted to like this dish. I was super excited to make it! I thought that I would love it, and that my kids would love it. My youngest lives it, but my middle doesn't like it at all due to the mayo. I thought it was okay, but I wouldn't make it again. It is rather a lot of work for what you get as the end product. I love corn, noodles, and elote, but somehow the combination of all these things in one dish didn't do it for me. Maybe it's because I didn't use corn in the cob because I didn't have it and it's not in season. I used Chipotle chili powder and garlic chives from the garden. I should have used a non stick skillet but I did not. 

Fresh Pico de Gallo

From: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/203800/pico-de-gallo/

Ingredients:

6 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced

½ red onion, minced

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

½ jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced

½ lime, juiced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 pinch garlic powder

1 pinch ground cumin, or to taste

salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Chop all vegetables. 

Stir tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapeño pepper, lime juice, garlic, garlic powder, cumin, salt, and pepper together in a bowl.

Hot Mama Grade: A

Hot Mama Notes: This is a quick and easy recipe that is also very tasty! 😁 I made a half portion with 3 tomatoes, 2 garlic cloves, and some de-seeded jalapeño. I used lime juice from a bottle. 

Black Eyed Peas Tostadas

From Weight Watchers Cookbook

Hot Mama Grade: A

Hot Mama Notes: These are very tasty! Which is saying something since I initially forgot to add in the cumin and salt (oops!). I served the with avocado and fresh homemade pico de Gallo. Yum!! 😁❤️ They definitely taste better with the seasoning! The baked corn Tortillas are a nice touch, but I think I needed to cook them longer as they were hard to bite through. 

Smoky Black Eyed Peas

From Weight Watchers Cookbook

Hot Mama Grade: B+

Hot Mama Grade: These beans are good, but not spectacular. I need to add more seasoning. Still, I would make them again. I bet they would be better with regular bacon! 🤣

Cucumber Lentil Salad

From Weight Watchers Cookbook

Hot Mama Grade:A-

Hot Mama Notes: I made my own lentils instead of using pre-made. I made 1c dry Lentils in 3c of water with a single Veggie bullion cube. I put 1.25c strained cooked lentils into the oven to crisp up for 10 min. I used curly parsley and mint from the garden. I like the salad but the red onion is strong, and I prefer regular cucumbers to the minis.  I think I prefer the cucumber chick pea salad, but this is still very tasty! And it's nice to try something new!

Chicken White Chili

From Weight Watchers Cookbook

Hot Mama Grade: A-

Hot Mama Notes: This is a great recipe. All of it was gone in one day!! The kids liked it, but did have feedback that it could have a little more flavor. 

Mac & Cheese with Cauliflower

From Weight Watchers Cookbook

Hot Mama Grade: A

Hot Mama Notes: I really like this recipe, my kids not as much. They don't appreciate having veggies in their Mac & Cheese!! 🤣🤣 Also, I think they just prefer Kraft!!

Meatless Shepherds Pie

From Weight Watchers Cookbook

Hot Mama Grade: A

Hot Mama Notes: This is an excellent recipe. Very tasty! The entire pie was gone within a day!! It is not low maintenance to make the lentil stew and then the Shepherds pie all in one day, but it is delicious! I added probably another 1/3 to 1/2 cup of sour cream in addition to the ingredients listed here for the potatoes! The potatoes needed to be creamier and more spreadable! Also, I used almost 2.5 lbs of potatoes. I think next time I would do more, maybe 3 full lbs of potatoes. There was just barely enough to cover the pie even with more potatoes plus the increased volume due to the extra sour cream!  I made the pie in a cast iron skillet. 

Additionally, per my kids request, I added some meat in. I had some leftover slow cooker chicken Tikka masala, so I used that as my base and instead omitted the tomato sauce sauce. I also used a ton of garlic in the mashed potatoes, plus I added some seasoned salt. 

So delicious! I will definitely make this again! 😁❤️

Hearty Lentil Stew

From Weight Watchers Cookbook

Hot Mama Grade: A

Hot Mama Notes: Tasty stew, but not low maintenance. Lots of chopping, but well worth it! I substituted fresh spinach for kale. I used fire roasted tomatoes as they are so flavorful and make everything taste that much better!! 😁