Everything is better as a panini

A couple of days ago I got a panini maker as a free gift from a program through my work. Why does everything taste better as a panini? I think I am addicted and it's only been a few days. If you pay attention what you are putting in there you can pull off a panini for a measly 4 points. Last night I had a rye bread(1 pt a piece), tomatoes marinated in a smidgen of balsamic vinegar (0 points), a slice of mozzarella cheese(2 points) and some basil. Count it up....4 points total. So I had two! YUMMMMM! And I still stayed well within my points budgeted for the day. So well in fact I wanted to try a new recipe I found for lower fat pumpkin pie. I found the recipe on Snackgirl.com. It's a fabulous website and if you are looking for some creative, tasty alternatives you should check it out. Ok back to important stuff...the lower fat pumpkin pie. Well technically I guess you can't call it pie, it has no crust. It's basically for people who love the middle of pumpkin pie and don't care about the crust. That would be me! According to the website a regular piece of pumpkin pie packs around 320 calories per slice! I know, I know I was shocked too! This version still gives you that pumpkin pie feel but only for around 180 calories per serving. AWESOME! Here's the recipe if you don't have time to check out her site:

2 cups of pureed pumpkin
1 8 oz package of Neufchatel cheese (it's just like cream cheese with 1/3 less fat) you will find it right in the same section where the cream cheese is.
1/4 cup of sugar (start with that and add more to your desired sweetness) 1/4 cup was good for me
1 and 1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring Neufchatel cheese to room temp either by leaving it out on the counter or unwrap and microwave for 30 seconds. Use a mixer and blend cheese in a bowl till fluffy. Add pumpkin, sugar and spice and taste. Add more sugar at this point if you desire. Mix in eggs and spoons into ramekins. I used the 7oz size and was able to make 7 servings. Bake for 40 minutes or until the center of the pie is firm.

I tried this last night and it was fantastic. All the taste of pumpkin pie without all of the calories. The only thing I will add the next time is a little dollop of cool whip. It will definitely make an appearance on this years Thanksgiving menu.