Dump Cakes

I have a bit of a sweet tooth, and an incredible lack of willpower...which often leads to giving into the ultimate temptation: dessert.

I love anything chocolatey.

So when I heard about this WW-friendly CHOCOLATE CAKE, I knew I had to give it a try.  This recipe is a "dump cake" and one of the easiest recipes anyone has ever attempted.  Dump cakes are exactly like what they sound: you mix the ingredients together, and dump it all into a pan and bake it.  They're usually made with a cake mix and fruit.

Cake mixes can be kind of fattening, and thanks to the sugar, not conducive to my daily points intake on WW.  But this recipe uses a sugar free cake mix (3 points per serving), frozen fruit (0 points), and diet soda.  Seriously.  And NOTHING else.  No eggs, no butter, no oil.

The most surprising part about this recipe was how moist the cake is when it's done.  So, here you go...the recipe.

Ingredients
1 box, sugar free cake mix
2 bags (about 24 oz), frozen fruit
12 oz. diet soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spread fruit on the bottom of a baking pan (Note: size and type of pan depend on the type of cake you want to make...I used an 8x12 glass dish this last time).

3. Mix cake mix and soda together, then pour over fruit.

4. Bake according to the back of the box, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

The best part: You can create an endless combination of flavors.  I recommend using a dark soda (diet cola or diet root bear, for example) with a chocolate cake.  Use a light colored soda (diet lemon-lime, ginger ale) with a yellow cake mix.  Choose whatever kind of frozen fruit you'd like.

I first made the cake with sugar free devil's food cake mix, diet cola, and dark cherries.  With the chocolate cake mix, it was almost a fudge-like consistency.

I recently made the dump cake with sugar free yellow cake mix, diet lemon-lime, and blueberries.
That combination was light and fluffy.

Makes 12 servings.  Each serving is 3 points!

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Hands down, the best (and most useful) present I got for Christmas was a new slow cooker.  For years, I had a small (knock-off, no-name brand) one, but the few times I tried to use it, it did not work.  I mostly used it for making fondue.

This new one, however, is amazing.  I've used it a few times so far and everything has been wonderful.  I got an 8 quart Crock Pot slow cooker.  It even came with a little bonus: a 16 oz. "Little Dipper Warmer."  The digital display allows you to custom set the cook time, which is incredibly helpful.

I've decided that, despite my Italian heritage and love of my native ethnic food, I would eat Mexican, Spanish, or Cuban food on a daily basis.  So, my first culinary experiment with the new slow cooker was some chicken tortilla soup.  There's something magical about the smell of soup simmering all day long, while you're curled up on the couch on a "snow day" (which really turned out to be a rainy, slight dusting of snow, but bitterly cold kind of day).

Ingredients
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast
5 cups, low sodium chicken broth
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomato
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
1 can (14.5 oz) black beans, drained
1 can (14.5 oz) corn, drained (no salt added)
1/4 cup lime juice
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
To taste: Salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, paprika
To garnish: cilantro, avocado, tortilla strips, lime...or anything else, really (cheese, sour cream, etc)

1. Add the chicken, broth, diced tomatoes, garlic, chopped onion, and all spices (salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and paprika) to the slow cooker.  Cook on low for about 6 hours (until chicken is thoroughly cooked through and onions are soft).

2. After the chicken is cooked, remove it from the mixture and shred it.  Then, put the chicken back in the slow cooker.

3. Add the black beans, corn, cilantro, and lime choice.  Cook for an additional hour on low setting.

Yields about 8 servings
Weight Watchers Smart Points: 3 (add additional points for toppings/garnishes)