White Bean Turkey Chili

Not only is there the momentum of the New Year, but I also have a serious desire to lose my remaining "baby weight." You know how there are those lucky b!$%*es women who seem to lose all of their baby weight without trying? Well, I am definitely not one of those women!

As a result, this mama is on a mission. I have been on the prowl for recipes that meet the following criteria: calorie conscious, WW-friendly, easily transportable and reheatable, and flavorful. This recipe for White Bean Turkey Chili is one of the healthy lunch recipes that I recently added to my repertoire.

I liked the list of ingredients and appreciated a chili that wasn't tomato-based. It also reheats nicely and tastes great with a spoonful of sour cream and a little fresh lime.

Almond Joy Bars

These sweet treats were the perfect end to a lovely lunch with my parents and in-laws. Not to mention, they were quick enough to whip up with a 1-month-old and overnight houseguests!

From bottom to top: First you have a rich, buttery almond shortbread; that's essentially topped with a macaroon-like coconut layer; and the cherry on top is a layer of bittersweet chocolate and toasted almonds.

They're called Almond Joy Bars, but they are even more delicious because of the rich shortbread layer. It's even just a little bit salty, and counters the sweetness of the other layers perfectly!

Chicken Tikka Masala

I absolutely love Indian food. I love fancy Indian restaurants. I love Philadelphia's self-serve Indian buffets. I loved when my college roommate used to come back from holiday breaks with homemade roti and curry from her Guyanese grandmother. I loved the Indian food from the hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Madras, India that our auto-rickshaw driver took us to for lunch.

I still love to look at my photos from that amazing trip — wish I blogged then so I would have thought to photograph the grub!

Back to the food! Indian food has such depth of flavor between all of the spices, chutneys, and sauces. And I also find the variety of vegetarian options quite appealing.

And naan. Oh, the naan!

Birthday Cake Rice Krispie Treats

It's pretty common these days to have sweets that are cake batter flavored. Ice cream, Italian ice, pancakes, fudge, etc. And because I like to be on the cutting edge of culinary trends...

...ahem...

...I recently whipped up some birthday cake rice krispie treats. And then whipped up another batch. And another. And then I made them for a birthday party to go alongside the cake.

It had been a while since I made these treats. Like maybe since high school? I forgot how easy, light, and pleasantly (but not overtly) sweet they are. And the addition of cake mix and sprinkles adds a variation on the flavor. I'm not claiming them to be anything gourmet. Just a nice switch from the typical sweet treats.

Baked French Toast Casserole

Happy New Year! It was a super busy end of 2012, and I intended to post this recipe pre-holidays because it's a great recipe for Christmas or New Year's Day. Oops. Holidays or not, if you're having company or just want something simple but tasty for breakfast, this is a delicious, easy option.

My aunt and uncle were coming to visit Katy, and I knew I wanted to make some sort of french toast casserole — that's because I wanted something that I could prep the evening before after Katy went to sleep. I found several recipes online, namely Ina Garten's and Paula Deen's. I took my favorite parts of both recipes and morphed them into the hybrid version posted below.

One modification included removing an entire stick of butter from Paula's recipe — I don't know what that woman is thinking sometimes!