gourmet food for mom: March 2014

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Diy jewlery board

Ok so we are gona do a craft tutorial today. Its not the norm but i love love love this jewlery board i made. I have several but this one is too cute. I had a mirror that got mysteriously broken so instead of throwing it out i removed the back and with gloves removed the glass. But if you don't have an old frame or mirror you can always pick one up at goodwill for a few dollars and paint it if you desire. I bought a yard of fabric for a little over $5 new on ebay and a $3 foam board so the project cost me $8.

Supplies:
Large frame
Screw driver
Spray adhesive
1/2 Yrd of fabric
Large foam board
Scissors
Thumb tacks

My mirror had a back that screwed on so i removed it with the screw driver but if yours is a paper back then cut it open and remove any glass carefully. Trace your frame from the inside onto your foam board. Then with exacto knife or a kitchen knife or box cutter or whatever you have cut out your foam board to fit in your frame. Check it and make sure it fits properly and trim it if necessary. Then place your fabric on the foam board and adjust your pattern if you have one to how you want it to appear in your frame and cut the fabric with sharp scissors leaving about a 2 inch extra allowance for easy gluing. Spray your foam board with the spray adhesive and place your fabric on it smoothing with your hands. Then turn it over and pull your extra fabric around the back which it easy if it is square but if you have a rounded odd shaped frame you may have to cut slits in the rounded areas to pull your fabric tight in the back. Then glue the fabric on the back as well. If you have a back that screws on just simply replace it and screw it on but if your frame had a paper back that you cut use a hot glue gun to glue around the inside rim of your frame and then place the covered foam in. You can then use push pins to put necklaces, bracelets or rings where you desire.

I had clear push pins i wanted to dress up so i used a hot glue gun and added rhinestones to the ends!

Friday, March 14, 2014

Mini turtle cheesecakes

This is a fairly simple but delicious recipe. Sometimes i make homemade carmel sauce but a jar from the ice cream aisle works just the same. The individual size is perfect for kids and portion control.

Mini turtle cheesecakes
8 oz room temperature cream cheese
1 Egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 C sugar
1/4 C chopped pecans
1/4 C mini chocolate chips
1/4 C carmel sauce
9-12 Oreos
Preheat oven to 325° F
Mix cream cheese, egg, and vanilla extract with hand mixer until well blended and no clumps remain then mix in sugar. Line your cupcake pan with liners and add one oreo to the bottom of each one. Then fill with as much cheesecake mixture as desired. It won't expand much when cooked so fill it as high as you want them. Then top with chocolate chips and nuts and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from oven let cool then heat carmel suace in microwave for 30 seconds and spoon over each cheesecake. Put in the fridge to chill until ready to eat.

I used mega stuffed oreos cus well i LOVE oreos but regular will give a less crunchy "crust".
Also you can make this with fat free cream cheese and sugar free carmel for a lighter version.

These are amazing they won't last through the day!

Fried squash

This recipe is delicious and easy but you have to watch closely so they don't burn.

Fried squash
1 Large yellow squash
1 C white cornmeal
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 Tbsp oil
Cold water

Wash your squash and leave skin on. Then cut off the ends and slice in 1/2 inch round slices. Heat your oil and pan on medium high heat. Fill a bowl with cold water and place in squash slices. In another bowl mix salt, pepper and cornmeal. Shake excess water off of the squash slices and coat them in cornmeal mixture then place them in the pan and watching closely cook them until browned on both sides. Only flip them once during cooking. Place them onto layered paper towels to absorb excess oil and enjoy!

Onion casserole

This is a yummy casserole that has a hint of french onion soup flavor. It goes well with the baked italian and parmesan chicken strips.

Onion casserole
3 large onions or 4 medium ones
3 Tbsp butter
14.5 Oz can cream of chicken soup
2/3 C milk
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 C shredded Italian 4 cheeses
8 Slices french bread*
Shallow 2 qt casserole dish

Preheat oven to 350°
Slice onions into strips and heat pan over medium high heat and melt butter. Saute onion until clear or a little brown then add them to the 2 qt casserole dish and top with 3/4 C cheese. In a medium sauce pan add undiluted soup, milk, and soy sauce. Whisk sauce until well blended and pour over onion and stir to coat. Then place the bread on top and place in oven for 15 minutes. Once the bread has crisped up and the 15 minutes has passed push the bread down into the onion mixture as much as you can and cover with the rest of the cheese (1 1/4 C) and bake for 15 more minutes. Remove from oven let cool slightly and enjoy!

* More or less bread as necessary. Use enough to cover the top of casserole in one layer.

Baked italian and parmesan chicken strips

Baked italian and parmesan chicken strips

1.5 Lb chicken tenderloin strips
1 1/2 C zesty Italian dressing
1 C Italian bread crumbs
1/2 Grated parmesan
Dash salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350°
Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with nonstick spray. Put chicken and dressing in large ziplock and shake to coat. In a seperate bag put bread crumbs, parmesan and salt and pepper and shake to combine. Then let chicken drip dry and place 2-3 pieces in bag at a time and zip it tight and shake until chicken is coated. Place on baking sheet spray with cooking spray and cook 30 minutes.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

EASY mini fair elephant ears!

This recipe couldn't be easier or more delicious! It taste just like the elephant ears at the fair if not better. I sometimes used homemade biscuts but ill give you guys the fast and easy version.

Easy mini fair elephant ears!
1 Can biscuits
2/3 C sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
6 Tbsp melted butter

Preheat your oven to 350°
Ok so first melt your butter then combine sugar and cinnamon in a bowl until mixed well. Open up your biscuits and dip each one in butter and roll until completely coated in the sugar mixture. Then place on a lined and sprayed cookie sheet. Bake 13 minutes or until done then pour the glaze over top (recipe below).

Glaze
2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 Tbsp warm water
2/3 C powder sugar

Mix all together in bowl until well combined. Mixture should be runny but not too watery. If necessary add more powdered sugar.

Sorry for bad pictures my youngest son had just fallen asleep on my lap and by the time i lay him down there won't be any left haha

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Tin can chocolate cake!

Ok so we are making tin can cakes as a tester for an upcoming birthday. They are cute and individually sized. We are making 2. You will need 2 14.5 oz cans for this like what green beans, corn, ect comes in washed and dried.

Tin Can Chocolate Cake

3/4 C all-purpose flour
1/8 C cocoa powder
1/2 C sugar
1/2 tsp instant coffee granuals(optional)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 Tbsp white vinegar
3 Tbsp oil
1/2 C water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°
Spray your cans with nonstick spray or crisco then coat with flour cut a piece of parchment or tin foil to fit in the bottom of the can. Then mix all ingredients in a bowl and fill each can about half way. Then place on a baking sheet and cook 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool then run a knife around the edge and pour the cake out. Take a bread knife and cut the rounded top off if desired. Then cut into 3 layers. Put icing between each layer and stack back together. You can throw away or eat the rounded part. Then ice as desired.

*Tip*
Make sure your can doesn't have an edge on the inside sticking out or the cake won't slide out. If it does take plyers and pinch the edge down around the entire can. Be careful not to cut yourself the edge is very sharp!

Chocolate Icing

2 C powder sugar
1/4 C cocoa powder
2 Tbsp melted butter
1/4 C milk (more or less depending on consistency you want)
Dash salt

Combine all and mix with a whisk or hand mixer if desired but really not necessary. Enjoy!

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Healthy Lemon Herb Chicken

Healthy lemon herb chicken

1.25 Lb skinless boneless chicken tenderloin strips*
1 Lemon sliced thin
1 C white wine
1 Tbsp thyme
1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
3 Tbsp canola oil

Put a large pan with canola oil on stove at medium high heat. Mix flour with salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a large ziplock bag and shake to combine. Rinse chicken under cold water and drip dry then place in bag and shake until well coated. Once oil is hot remove chicken from bag shaking excess flour off each piece then place in pan. Cook 4 minutes on each side or until cooked through and browned on both sides. Then if you have burned flour in the pan remove chicken and pour out oil and wipe pan out with a paper towel then replace chicken and add the wine. If your oil still looks pretty clean you can leave it and add the wine. Once your wine has come to a boil turn the burner on low and cover chicken and wine and let cook 8 minutes. Then add lemon and cook 2 more minutes. Remove chicken from pan add thyme and simmer 5 minutes until thickened. Put chicken back in pan and toss to coat. Top with shredded parmesan. Then you can serve from pan or on top of angel hair pasta.

*You can also use chicken breasts pounded thinly.

1/6 of chicken has 7.6g fat and 198 calories.

Serving suggestion toss angel hair pasta with some butter, salt, pepper and grated parmesan. Mix in a can of drained peas that you have warmed and top with chicken.

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Friday, March 7, 2014

Power is out!

Our power is out from winter weather so there will be no food made today :( check back tomorrow hopefully we will have our power back! Fingers x. 2 Lines are down so who knows

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Healthy crescent roll hot dogs

Ok so this is certainly not a new revolutionary recipe but it is one of my kids favorites and iv managed to make it a little healthier.

Crescent wrapped hot dogs

1 Can reduced fat crescent rolls
4 Reduce fat hot dogs (i use 97% fat free hebrew national)
4 Slices fat free american cheese
Fresh fruit as the side

Preheat your oven to 475°
I line my pan with tin foil and spray with nonstick spray so i don't have to scrub melted cheese off my pan later but that up to you. Open your can of crescents and seperate all 8. Break all your cheese slices in half and place on wide end of the crescent. Then cut your hot dogs in half and place horizontally on the wide part of your crescent and roll. Then place on pan and bake 12 minutes.
Serve with fresh fruit if you like. My kids love any fruit you can use a melon baller on so cantaloupe, honeydew, and bananas are favorites.

113 Cal and 4.5 g of fat in one Crescent roll.

Best Ever Ranch Dressing Recipe

I am very picky about my salad dressings but this recipe is my very favorite dressing. It is so so so so did i say so good! My 2nd favorite is my ceasar found here.

Best Ever Ranch Dressing
1 C mayo
1/2 C buttermilk
1 tsp hidden valley buttermilk ranch mix*
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp garlic powder

*the regular ranch mix will be fine but the buttermilk version will give you the best results.

You also can use light mayo if you want to but i don't personally care for it. I use fat free buttermilk because it tastes just as good and removes unnecessary fat.

You can use a bowl or if your lazy like me just whisk all ingredients together in the tupperware and save having to wash a bowl. Chill for a few hours or stick in the freezer about 15 minutes to get cold and enjoy!
I usually make double this since its so amazing but this makes enough for several salads.

40 Cal 3.3 g fat in 2 Tbsp when made with fat free buttermilk.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Cheddar broccoli and ranch rice cups

For perfectly cooked rice check out these instruction found here

Cheddar broccoli and ranch rice cups

3 C cooked rice (1.5 c uncooked)
1 1/3 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 19 oz Bag frozen broccoli
1/2 C best ever ranch recipe
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350°
Steam your broccoli in microwave for 5 minutes. While broccoli is steaming mix all other ingredients in a bowl using only half your cheese and stir then mix in broccoli. Spray cupcake pans well with nonstick cooking spray then fill all 12 with the mixture. Use remaining cheese to top them and put in the oven. Cook them for 25 minutes. Let them cool and run a knife around the edges and they should lift right out.

Pan fried pork roast "chops" with compound butter

Ok guys so if your looking for health food or a light meal my post today is not for you but please check out some of my others. HOWEVER if you are looking for the most delicious thing you have ever tasted this is where you want to be!
So can you tell i really like this recipe?? Lol. The last time i made it i ate 2 of them and almost cried that there weren't anymore! So who's ready?

Pan Roasted Pork Roast "Chops" with Compound Butter

1 3.5 Lb pork loin roast (or smaller)
1 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
Oil for frying
Compound butter (recipe below)

I get one big pork roast and it feeds 6 twice for $12 but if you want to use regular pork chops you can but they probably won't be as tender, juicy, and delicious. I recommend smithfield pork roast and also can say i highly DO NOT recommend jenie-o blah!
So first thing you wana do is cut open your pork roast package and rinse it off under some cold water and let it drip dry. Then transfer it to a pan and with a butchers knife remove some or all of the fat on the under side of the roast. You can leave the fat if you want to but i prefer to remove as much as possible. Then with your same knife slice the pork roast into 3/4 inch pieces. You will need a good sharp knife. I then put half the roast slices in a bag and freeze it for the next week when i will inevitably make this recipe again. The one i bought last time fed 4 adults and 2 children twice.

Ok now that we have the hard part down get a large suate pan and fill it with half an inch of oil, i use canola. Turn the stove to medium high heat and let the oil get hot while you start breading your chops. Put the flour, paprika, and garlic powder in a bowl or large ziplock bag and give it a little mix to combine. Thoroughly salt and pepper both sides of your meat and then lightly coat in flour and shake off excess. Make sure your oil is hot and check by putting a little flour in and see if it sizzles if your not sure if its hot enough. Then drop in the pork chops and try not to splash oil on the others and take the flour off. Then cook about 5 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan and plate then top with 1-2 slices of compound butter and allow it to melt. Then dig in!!

Compound Butter

I recommend making this as much in advance as possible even a couple of days if you can. The longer it sits the more flavor it will develope.

1 Stick salted butter, room temperature
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
Pinch/Dash of celery salt
Wax paper or parchment

Let your butter sit out until completely room temperature then whip with fork. You then add all your spices and mix very well. Get out your wax paper or parchment and put your butter near one of the long ends of the paper. Try to kind of make it log shaped for easier rolling. Then take the paper and roll it tightly around your butter to form a log and twist both ends tightly. Now you can either place it in the freezer or let it sit at room temperature 2 hours to develope the flavors. Once its in the freezer leave it for 15 minutes and then either use right away or put in the fridge until your ready. The longer its kept the more flavorful it will be so make as much in advance as possible. It will keep as long as your butter is good. I had some i made about 2 weeks ago it is so flavorful! You can use it to top steaks, pork, chops, chicken, in a baked potato in anything! You can also use it in your pan to suate in instead of plain butter. To serve slice in about 1/4 inch coin shaped pieces and place on top of your pork chops.

Sorry more recipes tomorrow!

Sorry i haven't posted any recipes today guys. We had a much needed day out with the kids. I usually have been trying to post several recipes daily but we ate lunch out and leftovers for dinner. The roasted red pepper and sausage rotini was still delicious warmed over tonight tho!

Come and check it out tomorrow tho because I'll be posting my very favorite meal. Its definitely not a light recipe tho lol. Ill be making Pan Fried Pork Roast "Chops" with Compound Butter.

Ill have a lunch post too tomorrow something a little lighter on the belt than dinner haha. Maybe even a dessert if we don't have any of the chocolate walnut brownies left.

And who knows i might get bored and whip something up tonight to post but either way guys come back tomorrow for some amazing food!

On another note guys my children tried their best to drive me crazy today! My 3 yr old comes in my room this morning turning the lights on and off insisting i take him to the park. GET UP GET UP COME ON LETS GO TO THE PARK LETS GO!!!!!!! So i get up and attempt to get them dressed at which point i realize that one of their shirts i had laid out last night for them to wear today has *poof* vanished! No where to be found. So i have one dressed child and one in pjs searching the house for his shirt that by the way was never found. By the time i give up and go to the closet looking for an alternative outfit both my children have flip flops on insisting they are going to wear them. Ok y'all it is not THAT warm it was almost 60 today but we are expecting snow tomorrow (really?!?). So anyway i then had to convince them that we had "better" shoe options which eventually they agreed with. So i get them dressed and i even get me dressed! We go down stairs and they insist that they want eggs and can't just eat while we are out so 2 eggs and some sausage later we go to teeth brushing. So as of last night my youngest son has apparently decided that his toothbrush is his worst enemy and he had sooner die than brush his teeth. After the nightmare last night and his promise to brush his teeth without a fight the next time he completely freaks out again today when i go to brush his teeth! Well after much crying and a struggle he has semi clean teeth. So then i go to fix my oldest sons hair. He is in need of a hair cut and it was quite a mess so i wiped it with a rag and put some gel in the front. Well 1 1/2 hours later we finally leave the house and as i look in my rearview mirror i see he has smashed his hair all down and its glued to his face in brittle strands. So we get there finally and there are no other kids which apparently to my children means you can't play and must sit there and complain. So 5 minutes in my child who had had to go says i wana go home! Its not like the the park is 5 minutes away yall we live in the country it was a 30 minute drive people! So FINALLY some kids get there and they play a little bit. Until getting bored and wanting to go somewhere else haha. So basically i am completely exhausted!

Recipes posted daily keep coming back guys!

Ok everybody please please keep coming back and follow the blog!! I'm posting great healthy, family friendly and easy recipes daily! Id love to get your comments and feed back. Is there anything you'd like to see? How am i doing? Any suggestions?
Id love for you guys to share your recipes with me too!
Thank you all so much

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Ceasar Dressing EASY & QUICK

Amazing Ceasar Dressing- so easy!
1/2 c mayo
1/4 C olive oil
1/4 C grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1.5 Tsp Worcestershire
1 Tsp black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Store in air tight container and chill.
I usually just use the juice of half a lemon in this recipe. Also if I'm wanting to use it soon ill stick it in the freezer about 15 minutes then put it in the fridge once I'v used what I wanted.
Be sure to use grated parmesan and not shredded because the shredded will not dissolve and combine with the other ingredients.

This is my favorite dressing next to my homemade ranch recipe which is to die for!! Ill share it soon. I don't care for store bought dressings so I like to keep some homemade on hand of my favorites but I'm almost out of ranch so it'll be posted soon.

Do you guys have any good dressing recipes made with greek yogurt?? Iv been trying to make some greek yogurt dressings lately but they are all very bitter. :p
If you have any good ones please share!

Easy chocolate walnut brownies

Easy Chocolate Walnut Brownies

1 stick butter melted
2 C sugar
2 C All-purpose flour
1/4 C cocoa powder
4 Eggs
4 Tsp vanilla extract
1-2 Tbsp water
1 C chopped walnuts(optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, eggs, butter, vanilla and 1 tbsp water. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon and add 1 more tbsp water if too thick to stir. Fold in walnuts and reserve some to top with if desired. Mixture should be thick and you'll need to spread it evenly in a 13x9 pan sprayed with cooking spray. You may want to spray the spatula as well to keep the mix from sticking when spreading it out. Be sure its even because it won't even out when baking. Then cook 20-30 minutes checking at 20 by inserting a tooth pick and seeing if it comes out clean. Mine took 30 minutes to cook through. *If you want to leave out the nuts just skip those steps and do everything else the same you can also substitute for any other nuts (pecans ect).*

Basic chocolate icing

1/4 C canned condensed milk or regular milk works too
1/4 C melted butter
1/4 C cocoa
3 C powdered sugar
Dash salt

Put all in bowl and mix with hand mixer on medium low speed until all combined, scraping down the sides with a spatula as needed.While the brownies are still in the pan ice when still warm for a nice smooth icing and sprinkle with chopped walnuts if desired.
Enjoy!

Red Roast Pepper Marinara Rotini with Sausage

Alright guys now tonight for dinner I'm gona recreate a dish i saw the other night while watching a show on demand for lack of anything else being on. I thought I'd just go back and watch the show and make it but nope! The shows gone from on demand and the recipe is nowhere to be found so we are just gona wing this. Ok guys? I know I have the basics anyway.

Roasted red pepper rotini with suasage

4-6 Italian suasages
4 Jarred roasted red peppers
1 Red onion
4 Fresh rosemary sprigs
1 Heaping tsp fennel seeds
2 Garlic cloves
Half a jar of tomato pasta suace
1 Box rotini pasta 2 Tsp balsamic viniagrette
1/4 C reserved water from cooked pasta

So first you want to butterfly your sausage so it will cook faster. Take a sharp knife and cut vertically down the sausage but not all the way through then open the sausage up (like butterfly wings) and take the back side of your knife and smooth the meat in the casing flat. Heat a grill pan to medium heat and rub the sausage with a little oil (olive,canola) and place on pan. Cook about 3 minutes on each side. Then fill a large pot with salted water (around a tsp) and bring to a boil. Cook pasta as directed. In a food processor or blender put peppers, fennel,red onion roughly chopped, 2 sprigs of rosemary (you only want the leaves not the hard stick) pinch salt and pepper blend till well chopped scraping down sides if necessary. Then heat a little oil in a large suate pan and add 2 cloves crushed garlic and suate a few seconds until color changes on medium heat. Then add the pepper paste you made and cook 3 minutes. Then add half jar pasta suace, cooked drained pasta and 1/4 cup reserved pasta water and 2 tsp balsamic if desired. Stir until well coated and top with chopped sausage and remaining rosemary and sprinkle with balsamic.
I used 5 sausage links.
*Tip*
Do not use sausage with cheese inside because when you butterfly it the cheese will burn during cooking. If your sausage curls on the side use a large pot lid to press them down and leave on them to finish cooking.

Ok so while dinners cooking let me tell you a little story. The other night while I was making dinner my oldest son who's just now really getting the hang of bein potty trained says he needs to go to the bathroom. I was in the middle of making ravioli from scratch with sausage and I'd been working on it most the day so I told him to go and bring me his pants when he was done and I'd help him get them back on. Now this isn't unusual for him to go to the bathroom alone if I'm in the middle of something and usually its no problem. But after a little bit I realized he was still gone and his brother was too. Soooo I go to the hall bathroom to check on them and ooohhh my god they had an inch or more of water covering our bathroom floor! :0 So your wondering where all this water came from?? The sink you may ask; oh no not the sink. They had gotten my little bucket that holds our craft pens I had left downstairs the week before when we were making Valentine cards and used the bottom of it to oh so perfectly clog the toilet and then my little angels flushed the toilet over and over and over until the entire bathroom was flooded They were soaked as well after yelling a few choice words and hanging up on my grandmother in a panick I pulled all their clothes off and sat them in time out while I cleaned this mess up where they sat laughing hysterically.
:|
So 2 mops and 3 towels later I had a semi-dry bathroom and 2 boys in need of a bath. Now by them time i had got them out of the tub dressed and back in the kitchen to my made from SCRATCH ravioli that i had already poured creamy suace all over it was unedible and thrown in the trash!! :'( So we had leftovers for dinner and I learned i should keep my kids in a cage while I'm cooking.

104 calories and 4.3 grams of fat in 1/8th of the recipe made with 5 sausage links.

Leftover crock pot turkey croissant

Leftover Crock Pot Turkey Croissant

We didn't have much of this yummy turkey left but we did have enough for a few sandwiches and they wer quite good.

Heres what we used..

Leftover turkey breast
Croissant
Light provolone cheese
Mayo
Onion
Lettuce
Tomato
Bacon
Or any sandwich topping you like

I cut my croissant down the middle horizontally and then microwaved it a few seconds just to get the croissant buttery and a little moist. Its easier to cut it open before warming since its slightly stiffer. Then i put just a small amount of mayo on the bottom part of the croissant but you can use as much or as little if you like. You can mix some garlic powder and chilli powder into the mayo too for a more complex taste... just a dash of each. Place your cheese on top of the mayo. Then chop your turkey, pull it apart with your hands or thinly slice it. We only had some bits and pieces of our turkey left so i just pulled it apart with my hands.
Then just top with whatever you may like red onion, lettuce, tomato, bacon, anything you like. Cut down the middle and serve! We had some peaches and pita crackers on the side.

Here's one of the boys sandwiches so it doesn't have any toppings.

Do you like our finest china??? Yes, its Styrofoam plates today for us haha.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Orange Julius Protein Smoothie

Orange Julius Protein Smoothie

Very tasty and an excellent meal replacement or snack.

1/2 C orange juice or orange juice concentrate
1/2 C skim milk
1/4 C fat free plain greek yogurt
1 Scoop french vanilla protein powder
1 Packet sweet and low
10 Ice cubes or more or less depending on how thick you would like your shake

Combine all the ingredients in the blender and blend on high until ice is all chopped. Enjoy!

249 Calories and 0.4g fat and 36.5g protein in the entire shake if made with orange juice. If made with concentrate it has 248 cals, 0.3g fat, and 36.6g protein.

3 Ingredient peanut butter cookies

Three Ingredient Peanut butter Cookies

These cookies could not be easier! They are delicious and a great recipes to have kids help with.

1 C granulated sugar
1 C peanut butter
1 Egg

Preheat oven to 350°
Put all 3 ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until combined.
Spoon into 8 mounds on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or aluminum foil sprayed with nonstick spray.
Cook 6-8 minutes watching closely.
The top should be paler when done and bottom browned slightly.
Let cool and enjoy.

*Tip*
Spray nonstick spray in your measuring cup before putting in the peanutbutter so it slides out easily with no mess.

One cookie has 8.8 g of protein, 16.8 g fat, and 291 calories.
If you get reduced fat peanutbutter it would be less but i didn't have any on hand.

Garlic sugar snap peas

Garlic Sugar Snap Peas

These cook up in about 5 minutes and are crunchy and delicious! They go well with about any meat or to add into some asain dishes. They are quick easy and yummy!

2 lb sugar snap peas
1/2 Tsp salt
dash pepper
2 Tsp canola oil

Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add oil. Once the oil is heated up you can add the peas if they came prewashed and ready to go otherwise you will need to wash them cut the ends and remove the strings from them. Add the salt and pepper then you want to cook them 3-5 minutes until they get some black spots on them. Its best if you use a large skillet that they all fit in without overlapping but if they do its fine just stir more often. In the last 10 seconds of cooking add in the garlic and stir it around then quickly remove from heat. The garlic will get bitter if over cooked or burned. If your a salt lover like me top with more salt.
They will be crispy but tender.

Light sweet potato casserole!

Light Sweet Potato Casserole

This is a pretty quick and easy but delicious recipe! Goes great with the crock pot turkey.

2lb sweet potato
3/4 C packed brown sugar
1 1/2 Tsp salt
1/4 C Regular I can't believe its not butter
1/2 Tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C finely chopped pecans
2 C mini marshmallows

Preheat your oven to 375° and peel and cut sweet potatoes into chunks (i used 3 medium sweet potatoes) and put them in a pot with cold water. Bring them to a simmer and let them simmer for 15 minutes. Then drain the water and place them in a large bowl or back in the pot. Let them cool slightly but make sure they are still warm so the butter melts.
Add in sugar, butter, salt and vanilla then mash it all up with a potato masher. After its all good and mashed up fold in 1/4 c pecans you have chopped finely. You can use a chopper or food processor but you don't wana turn your nuts to dust. Then you want to put them in a 7x11 pan or casserole dish sprayed with nonstick spray and top with remaining nuts and all the marshmallows. Cook for 25 minutes or until good and browned.
3/4 C has 115 calories and 2.1 g of fat!!