Northern Beans and Cornbread

I am a huge fan of quick meals that are super nutritious and easy to create. I got this recipe from Creative Kristi. It is beyond simple and wicked delicious !!!

In your crock pot add 1 lb of beans, 1 onion diced, and 1 pork chop or half a slab of salt pork. Cover it with vegetable broth and set it for 8-10 hours.

Cook up some quick cornbread in an 8x8 pan. I just bought a 40 cent box of jiffy cornbread.

This meal was surprisingly full of amazing flavor. Serve up a cup of beans, a slice of cornbread, and a couple of pieces of grilled turkey kielbasa.

Enjoy !!!

Mexican Chicken Skillet

Adapted from: Creative Kristi

In search of cheap a** meals I went searching around on several blogs that I visit regularly. I found this delicious recipe for Mexican Chicken Skillet on one of my favorites Creative Kristi. Kristi most of the time blogs about great craft projects and projects that her family and her undertake throughout their gorgeous house. She has recently taken on her own rendition of the topsy turvy tomato planter you are seeing all over the place now. Check it out here!!!

This recipe I think only ends up being about $8.00 or so for about 4-5 servings. It is perfect especially for just my husband and I as we both had lunch the next day from it as well.

Start off by cooking 1 onion chopped and 2 chicken breasts that have been chopped together in a large stock pot.

Then throw in 1 cup of salsa and some hot sauce if you like once the chicken has cooked up.

Then add in 1 can of black beans that have been rinsed and 1 cup of frozen corn.

Then add in 2 cups of cooked rice and mix through.

Mix it thoroughly and add a little more salsa if it looks like it isn't saucy enough.

Then grab some tortillas, spicy cheese, and sour cream. Top with some green onions and you will certainly be a happy camper.

Enjoy !!!

caper chicken

This a quick and easy go to meal for sure. It is beyond simple and can be paired with absolutely anything for an easy weeknight meal. Capers are one of those special little secrets in cooking that can give a meal an insane amount of flavor. Because I am struggling with what to specifically write about this meal because it was so darn simple I am just going to move on with the delicious recipe. I know you will forgive me......right?

Start off with 2 chicken breasts. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of each breast.

Melt 2 tbs of olive oil and 2 tbs of unsalted butter in a frypan.

Dredge the 2 chicken breasts in flour. Make sure they are evenly coated and be sure to shake off any of the excess flour.

Then once the pan is nice and hot lay down the chicken and cook it on each side for about 8 minutes per side.

Then add in about 3 tbs of capers. Cook the chicken completely through and add a squeeze of lemon as well.

The chicken will get nice and crispy all over. The capers will also begin to brown, but they will stay delicious and a bit crunchy. Serve it up with some rice and baked brussel sprouts and you can't go wrong.

Enjoy !!!

Banana Flats

One of my most favorite places in the whole wide world Trader Joes also has one of my most favorite snacks in the whole wide world. Banana flats!!! They are delicious, chewy, and everything I enjoy about a healthful snack. Being that I live in an area that Trader Joes is not I tried to figure out a way to make them on my own.

I started out by grabbing two perfectly ripe banana's.

Peel them and remove any of the stringy bits that are sometimes left on a banana.

Then slice them very thin and lay them on a non-stick sheet then place on a baking sheet or you can use parchment paper.

Bake them in 200 degree oven until they end up looking like this. It took me about 1 1/2 hours before they were dehydrated.

I think next time I am going to try using a rolling pin to roll them out flat and see how they turn out then.

Enjoy !!!

perfecting the omelet

I am wondering whether or not most cooks have one thing they have struggled with for what seems like forever. I have always had a hard time with omelets. The right kind of omelet that folds itself over in the pan all on its own. The kind of omelet that is airy, light, fluffy, and perfectly cooked. My husband and I do not have cable in an effort to streamline living expenses. But, what we do have is public television and all the digital channels the digital tuner and while I was watching a very old episode of Julia Child's cooking with Julia show and it was egg hour.

I knew this was my opportunity to finally handle an omelet properly. I knew this was my moment to shine.

So as I watched with every minute that passed I begin to realize the one wrong thing I had been doing all these years. I NEVER HAD THE PAN HOT ENOUGH. What a fool I was! I love a good omelet and toast for breakfast on the weekends and now it finally could be mine in the comfort of my own home.

Begin, with cranking the heat on a non-stick pan to about medium high. Then crack 2 large eggs into a bowl and add in 1/4 cup of milk. Now begin to whip it up in a frantic motion...

Pour it into the pan that has been sprayed with a liberal coating of pam. Because the pan is so hot you will begin to see it bubble up like you do in the picture below.

Begin to slide a flexible spatula around the edges of the omelet. Then begin to tip the omelet toward you until it begins to gain a curved U sort of shape like you see below.

Then once you realize the eggs are no longer runny and fully cooked tilt it onto your plate. If it was done right it will plop down on your plate in a perfect curve. Top it with some mozzarella cheese and parsley. You wont regret it !!!

Enjoy !!!

My favorite snack

This is my favorite snack of all time. It's only 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt and 2 tbs of orange marmalade. It's delicious. It's packed with protein and is a perfect snack in the middle of the afternoon when I am slipping away at work.

Do something nutritious and great for your body today and try out this perfect snack.

Enjoy !!!

insane granola bars

For years I have been working to fine the best granola recipe ever. I have finally found it. I have finally mastered the balance of healthy protein, sweetness, and saltiness that every good granola bar should have. Having wholesome snacks that you can feel good about eating makes having a balanced diet that much easier.

Begin by roasting a cup of pecans and 1 cup of slivered almonds in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes until they become all toasty brown all over.

Then grab an 8x8 square baking pan and press foil into it. Then coat it with PAM. This will allow the granola bars to release from the pan without any resistance.

There is a key ingredient in these granola bars is brown rice syrup. Brown rice syrup is just another natural sweetener like agave nectar, honey, or maple syrup. It is nutritious for the most part and if you really want to get down to it it's a lot better than throwing some sugar, splenda, or corn syrup into your dish.

Another key ingredient is cardamon. Oh Cardamon how I love thee!!! It is such a delicious spice and can make anything delicious. Well, that's my theory at least. Below you can see Cardamon in its natural form. My mom was nice enough to give me a mortar and pestle this year for Christmas so I have started to grind my own spices and if you can it does make a difference.

Next, add 2 cups of oats, 1 cup of chopped dried banana chips, 2 tbs of ground cardamon, 2 tbs of Cinnamon, and a pinch of sea salt.

Now add your roasted pecans and almonds to the mix as well.

Now you are ready to get your sauce together. In a small saucepan add 1/2 cup of natural creamy peanut butter, 3/4 cup of brown rice syrup, 2 tsp of vanilla extract, and 1/2 cup of honey or agave nectar. Heat that through completely until it becomes a smooth sauce.

Then pour it all over your granola. Mix it up quickly and get ready to have some fun.

Pour it into your pan and add a piece of wax paper to the top and begin to press it down slowly and firmly. This will allow your granola bars to be crunchy, crispy, and perfect !!!

Let it sit overnight on your countertop so it can completely cool.

The next day turn it out on your countertop.

Slice them up then wrap them in saran wrap so they are easy to grab when you need a healthful snack. I like to keep mine in the fridge. I am not sure why really I just think they taste better cold.

Enjoy !!!

chicken breasts with segmented lemon butter sauce

This is such a simple recipe it is not even funny. Plus there is a lesson about segmenting fruit. How can you go wrong? You must read on.

I have always loved lemon chicken forever. My mom made it for us a lot when we were younger. Obviously, anything I ever make wont compare to childhood memories but this does take second place for sure. It is an amazingly delicious fairly light alternative to a previously rich meal. Lemon chicken can sometimes have a rich buttery sauce, which is why it totally rocks. As we grow older it is even more important to cut fat where we can and substitute while not sacrificing taste. That is the essence of this meal. Rich, lower in fat, and without taking away all the great things of the meal.

Segmenting fruit in 3 easy steps

Step 1 - Take your lemons and slice the top and bottom off of each one. This will allow it to stand up on one end without rolling around.

Step 2 - Begin to shimmy your pairing knife in between the white flesh of the lemon and the whole fruit of the lemon like you see in the picture below.

Step 3 - Then pick up the fruit in the palm of your hand. Begin to shimmy your pairing knife in between the white flesh segments of the lemon. This will allow the little lemon segments to pop right out of the lemon.

Next, melt 4 tbs of light butter into a frypan. Add in 6 sliced shallots into the pan as well. Once the shallots become translucent and fragrant add in your lemon segments. This is going to create the most divine lemon butter sauce that wont give you a coronary.

Then, take 2 chicken breasts and lightly dredge them in flour.

Remove the lemon butter sauce from your frypan and place it in a separate dish. Then add 1 tbs of olive oil to the pan. Let it get nice and hot probably at medium high and place your chicken down. Let it sear nice and brown on each side. If you leave it 5-7 minutes on each side it should cook all the way through. Don't fiddle with it....Don't turn in more than once. You wont regret it trust me !!!

Place a fresh bed of spinach down on your plate.

Add the lemon butter sauce back to your pan so it can get the chicken coated.

Serve it up with some brown rice and baked asparagus and you have yourself a perfect meal. The lemon butter sauce is also great on top of brown rice.

How good does this look???

Enjoy !!!

Singapore Noodles

Adapted from: Good Mood Food Blog

I cant remember the last time my husband and I had take away. I always love finding new recipes that will allow me to have the same tastes and meals that good take away can have. I love noodle dishes especially for this reason. Now there are so many options for noodles one cant go wrong. This recipe uses brown rice noodles. They are wonderful addition because they get nice and sticky and taste just the way good lo mein or Singapore noodles taste like in a restaurant.

Start off by chopping all your veggies into thin strips { 3 celery sticks, 5 green onions, 3 carrots, and 2 different colored peppers }

Then add in 1 1/2 tbs of curry powder.

Then cook up your brown rice noodles. Be sure to keep an eye on them as they can get very sticky the longer that they cook.

Then cut your steak into strips. Add in 3, 4, 5, or 10 cloves of garlic minced or however many you see fit. Then a thumb sized piece of ginger grated, 1 tbs of oyster sauce, 2 tbs of of soy sauce, and 1 tbs of sesame oil. Stir it all together until the meat is completely cooked through.

Then add in your veggies and cook them a bit. I didn't take long with this process as I like my veggies to be warmed, but still have a little crispiness. Then add your cooked noodles on top and mix the entire thing together. And I almost forgot the best part!!!! Add in a whole can of rinse bean sprouts. They add a wonderful crispy note to the meal!!!

Grab a plate and dish it up. Top with some sliced green onions and you have yourself a complete take away style meal that is 150 million times healthier for you.

Enjoy !!!