Onion-Garlic Bubble Bread

This bread is delicious and very easy to make. It's also very inexpensive. Each loaf makes 24 servings, but it's very hard to eat just one or even just a couple pieces. The bread goes great with spaghetti or any other Italian dishes. We've made it without the sweet onion as well, and I like it better without the onions. It tastes almost like a very soft and moist garlic bread.

Cost: About $2 (about $0.08 per serving) - Bread dough ($4.49 for five loaves)

Prep: 10 minutes + 1 hour rising

Bake: 20 minutes

Yield: 24 servings

• 1 loaf (1 pound) frozen bread dough, thawed
• 1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Divide dough into 24 pieces.
2. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Dip each piece of dough into butter mixture; place in a 10-in. fluted tube pan coated with cooking spray.
3. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
4. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Nutrition: (1 piece) 79 calories, 4.0 g fat, 2.3 g saturated fat, 10.0 mg cholesterol, 149.5 mg sodium, 8.8 g carbohydrate, 0.4 g fiber, 0.0 g sugars, 1.7 g protein.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Prep/Total Time: 20 minutes prep, 15 minutes bake

Yield: 8 biscuits

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons cold butter
• 3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon fat-free milk

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in enough buttermilk just to moisten dough.
2. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead 3-4 times. Pat or roll to 3/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/2 in. biscuit cutter. Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Brush with milk. Bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Nutrition: (1 biscuit) 164 calories, 5 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 13 mg cholesterol, 382 mg sodium, 25 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 4 g protein.

Comments: Have just as much flavor as the regular biscuits. Nice as buttery, and you don’t feel guilty eating a few extra. We made the biscuits smaller so there was a 16 biscuit yield and allowed us to have two for a serving.

Buttermilk Pancakes

The key to these light and fluffy pancakes is whipping the egg whites well before folding them into the batter.

Makes 6 servings

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon sugar
1 3/4 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir well. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until well combined. Stir in the buttermilk and butter; stir into the flour mixture until well combined. In a clean medium bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer or wire whisk to stiff peaks. Gently fold the whites into the flour mixture.
2. Coat a nonstick griddle or skillet with non-stick spray and heat over medium heat. Spoon a scant 1/4 cup of batter for each of 18 pancakes onto the griddle and spread into a 3 1/2-inch circle. Cook until the tops are covered with bubbles, 3-4 minutes. Turn pancakes and cook until the edges are lightly golden, about 2-3 minutes longer.

Per Serving (3 pancakes): 204 Cal, 5 g Fat, 2 g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 114 mg Chol, 459 mg Sod, 30 g Carb, 1 g Fib, 9 g Prot, 101 mg Calc.

POINTS value: 4.

TIP: To have pancakes or waffles on hand for a weekday breakfast, make the recipe as directed and allow the pancakes or waffles to cool on a wire rack. Wrap them individually in plastic wrap and freeze. Then heat pancakes until warm in the microwave, 1 to 2 minutes, or toast waffles in the toaster oven.

Comments: The pancakes were good but for some reason they didn't turn out tasting as good as the waffles using the same ingredients. We used grape jelly on them since we had run out of syrup. We are freezing some of the pancakes to have on the weekend.

Buttermilk Waffles

The key to these light and fluffy waffles is whipping the egg whites well before folding them into the batter.

Makes 6 servings

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon sugar
1 3/4 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir well. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until well combined. Stir in the buttermilk and butter; stir into the flour mixture until well combined. In a clean medium bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer or wire whisk to stiff peaks. Gently fold the whites into the flour mixture.
2. Heat the waffle maker according to manufacturer's directions. For a double waffle maker, spoon 1/2 cup of batter into the waffle maker and spread quickly. Close the waffle maker and cook 3-4 minutes until puffed and golden or according to manufacturer's directions. Repeat for 12 waffles total.

Per Serving (2 waffles): 204 Cal, 5 g Fat, 2 g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 114 mg Chol, 459 mg Sod, 30 g Carb, 1 g Fib, 9 g Prot, 101 mg Calc.

POINTS value: 4

Comments: This recipe turned out a lot fluffier than the ones we've used with the pancake mix. It turned out really good. The kids always enjoy waffles and pancakes. The pancake recipe is the same just frying on a griddle instead of in a waffle maker.

Cheese Scones

These tangy scones make a deliciously different side dish. Or serve them with a tossed green salad for a light lunch.

Makes 16 servings

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons fat-free milk

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.


2. In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, mustard, and salt. With a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly.


3. Add 3/4 cup of the cheese and stir with a fork. Add the milk and stir with a fork until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Gather the mixture into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll lightly into a 7-8 inch circle. Cut into 16 circles with a 1 3/4 inch round cutter, dipped in flour between each cut.


4. Place the circles on the baking sheet; sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup cheese on the tops of the circles. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 12 minutes. Transfer the scones to a rack to cool, 2-3 minutes. Serve warm or cooled completely.

Per Serving (1 scone): 114 Cal, 5 g Fat, 3 g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 15 mg Chol, 196 mg Sod, 12 g Carb, 1 g Fib, 4 g Prot, 104 mg Calc.

Points value: 2.

Comments: These are very yummy. They taste more like a biscuit and are dry. They are a perfect side to eggs in the morning, which is what we tried. It was fairly easy to prepare considering it was my first time making bisquits. I would have made the roll to cut longer the next time so they would be smaller circles. Only got about 11 slices from the roll I made. Preparation time took about 30 minutes. It didn't have enough flavor for the kids to enjoy.