It's Nomi-licious time!

Lots of food and fun this weekend!

On the menu

• Oreo Fluff
• Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese (Hungry Girl inspiration)
• Lasagna Cupcakes (Hungry Girl inspiration)
• Cheese Chicken Enchilada Casserole (Hungry Girl inspiration)

Oreo Fluff

This stuff is amazingly good and amazingly easy to make. Unfortunately, it does not top the "healthy eats" list. But, we gotta indulge every once-in-a-while!!!

Ingredients

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 package cream cheese, softened at room temperature

1 package oreos

16oz tub of cool whip

Directions

1. Mix cream cheese and condensed milk with a hand mixer (or by had with a fork, whatever works...).

2. Fold in cool whip

3. Break oreos up.

4. Fold in oreos into mixture.

5. DEVOUR!

Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese

Ingredients

2 C Rotini pasta (or elbow macaroni), cooked al dente

8oz cooked & shredded chicken breast

1 t chopped garlic

1/4 C Hot Sauce (my favorite is Frank's RedHot original or thick)

1/2 C plain greek yogurt

2 wedges of Laughing Cow light cheese wedge

2 t yellow mustard

1 1/2 t grated parmesan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat. Add chicken, garlic, and 3 T of hot sauce. Mix thoroughly and set aside.

3. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine greek yogurt, cheese wedges, mustard, and 1 T of hot sauce. Mix well and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds.

4. Spray an 8x8in baking pan with nonstick spray. Evenly place half of the pasta into the pan. Evenly top with the chicken mixture followed by the remaining pasta.

5. Add the greek yogurt mixture to the pan in an even layer. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

6. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly.

7. DEVOUR!

Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional Info (1 servings): 288 calories, 25g carbs, 3g fat, 18g protein, 560mg sodium, 4g sugar

Lasagna Cupcakes

I've made these before and received so many questions on the recipe. So, here ya go!

Ingredients

1 package ground turkey (the leaner, the better)

1 package of sliced mushrooms

1 14.5 C of diced tomatoes (crushed will work as well)

1 1/2 t chopped garlic

1/2 t Italian seasoning

9-10oz package of fresh baby spinach

1 1/2 C fat-free ricotta

2 egg whites

24 small square wonton wrappers (find them in the tofu section at the grocery store)

1 1/2 C shredded park-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Bring a large skilled sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat. Add turkey and season with 1/8 t salt and pepper. Cook and crumble until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

3. Add mushrooms and stir often until mushrooms are soft and turkey is cooked through, about 6 minutes.

4. Reduce heat to low. Add crushed tomatoes, 1 t garlic, and Italian seasoning to the skillet. Stirring occasionally, simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside.

5. Wilt spinach in a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray on medium heat.

6. In a bowl, combine spinach, ricotta cheese, egg whites, 1/8 t salt, and 1/2 t garlic. Mix well & set aside.

7. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray, and press wonton wrapper into each cup of the pan. 

8. Evenly distribute about half of the spinach-ricotta mixture among the cups, smoothing the surfaces with the back of a spoon.

9. Evenly distribute about half of the turkey mixture among the cups, smoothing the surfaces with the back of a spoon.

10. Top each turkey layer with 1 T mozzarella cheese.

11. Place another wonton wrapper into each cup, lightly pressing it down on the cheese layer and along the sides of the cup, letting the edges fall over the pan.

12. Repeat layering by evenly distributing remaining spinach-ricotta mixture and turkey mixture among the cups. Top each cup with 1 T mozzarella cheese.

13. Bake for about 10 minutes, until cheese has melted and edges are browned

14. Allow to cool before you DEVOUR!

Makes 24 servings.

Nutritional Info (per cupcake): 78 cals, 6g carbs, 2g fat, 9g protein, 178mg sodium, 1g sugar

Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

6-8 oz cooked and shredded chicken breast

1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 C green enchilada sauce

1 1/2 - 2 C cooked brown rice OR quinoa (or both!!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Spray an 8x8 baking pan with nonstick spray and set aside.

3. In a bowl, add chicken, 1/4 C cheese, and 1/2 C enchilada sauce. Mix well and set aside.

4. Evenly distribute rice in the baking pan. Top the rice layer with the chicken mixture.

5. Sprinkle 1/4 C cheddar cheese on top of the chicken mixture.

6. Bake for about 10 minutes, until cheese has melted and starting to bubble.

7. DEVOUR!

Nutritional Info: 219 cals, 19g carbs, 7g fat, 15g protein, 316mg sodium, 0g sugar

It's been a wee-bit too long!

I truly apologize, from the bottom of my heart, for the extremely long lapse in posts. I was busy studying for a very important certification relating to my career. Good news though... I passed.

Well, I don't want to bore you all too much so here's what's on the menu this week...

• Butternut Squash & Chicken Foil Pack (adapted from Hungry Girl)
• Zucchini Foil Pack  (adapted from Hungry Girl)
• Taco Tilapia/Chicken Foil Pack  (adapted from Hungry Girl)
• EASY Homemade Strawberry Jam
• Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Muffins
• Pizza "loaf"

Butternut Squash & Chicken Foil Pack

Ingredients

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 C greek yogurt

1 t chopped garlic

2 C peeled and chopped butternut squash (about 1 squash)

1 C chopped onion (about 1 medium onion)

10-12oz chicken breast, diced

salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°

2. In a bowl, combine soup, greek yogurt, and garlic. Mix well. Then add squash and onion. Stir to coat.

3. Last a large piece of heavy-duty foil on a baking sheet and spray with nonstick spray. Lay veggie mixture on the foil.

4. Season chicken with salt & pepper and lay on top of the veggie mixture.

5. Place another large piece of foil on top. Fold together and seal all four edges of the 2 foil pieces, forming a well-sealed packet.

6. Bake for about 40 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

7. Mix well & serve. Season with additional salt & pepper if you would like.\

Makes 4 servings

Nutritional Stats: 340 cals; 32 carb; 6 fat; 42 Protein; 347 Sodium; 1 fiber

Zucchini Foil Pack

Ingredients

2 zucchini (one regular, one yellow)

1/2 C onion, diced

1 t light whipped butter (like Brummel & Brown... yum!)

1/8 t dried oregano

Dash of salt & pepper

1/2 t chopped garlic

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°

2. Thinly slice each zucchini lengthwise, forming wide flat strips. Cut strips in half width-wise and set aside.

3. Lay a large piece of heavy-duty foil on a baking sheet and spray with nonstick spray. Place sliced zucchini and onion int he center of the foil.

4. Top veggies with 2 evenly spaced dollops of butter. Sprinkle with oregano, salt, and pepper. Top with garlic.

5. Place another large piece of foil over the veggies. Fold together and seal all four edges of the 2 foil pieces, forming a well-sealed packet.

6. Bake for about 20 minutes, until veggies are soft.

Makes 4 servings

Nutritional Stats: 66 cals; 11 carb; 2 fat; 3 Protein; 50 Sodium; 3 fiber

Taco Tilapia/Chicken Foil Pack

Ingredients

2- 4oz tilapia fillets

2- 4oz chicken breasts

1 medium onion, chopped

2 t taco seasoning mix

4 t lime juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°

2. Place fish/chicken and veggies in a bowl (2 separate bowls), spray with a light mist of nonstick spray. Sprinkle with taco seasoning and lime juice. Toss to combine.

3. Lay a large piece of heavy-duty foil on a baking sheet and spray with nonstick spray. Transfer fish/chicken and veggie mix to the center of the foil pieces (you may wan to separate fish & chicken foil packs)

4. Fold together and seal the top and bottom edges of the foil, and then the side edges, to create a well-sealed packet.

5. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

Makes 2 servings of tilapia  & 2 servings of chicken

Nutritional Stats: 126 cals; 3 carb; 2 fat; 23 Protein; 135 Sodium; 0 fiber

EASY Homemade Strawberry Jam

Ingredients

2 cups of strawberries

2-3 packets of truvia

2 T chia seeds

(seriously, that's it!)

Directions

1. Cut stems off of strawberries & pulse to break them up (but not puree them)

2. Place in container. Stir in truvia & chia seeds.

3. Allow to sit in fridge for at least an hour before digging in (overnight for best results)

4. Enjoy it over the mini protein muffins. mmmm.

Makes ? servings (i'll work on that this week)

Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Muffins

Ingredients

3 egg whites

1/2 C canned pumpkin

8 Truvia packets

2 Scoops protein powder (preferable chocolate, but anything you have will work as well)

2 t coco powder

10 T PB2

1/2 t baking soda

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°

2. Mix eggs, canned pumpkin, and truvia together.

3. Add protein powder, coco powder, PB2, and baking soda.

4. Spoon into mini cupcake pan (you can use a regular cupcake pan as well, but the nutritional stats will be doubled)

4. Bake for 13-15 minutes.

Makes 24 mini servings

Nutritional Stats: 25 cals; 3 carb; 0 fat; 3 protein; 64 Sodium; 0 fiber

Pizza "Loaf"

Ingredients

1 can pillbury pizza crust

1/2 C pizza sauce (or more to taste)

1/2 C shredded pizza cheese (or more to taste)

2oz of mini turkey pepperoni (or toppings of choice)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to temperature stated on the can of dough.

2. Roll out dough into a rectangular shape

3. Spread pizza sauce into the middle of the dough

4. Sprinkle cheese on top of the sauce.

5. Sprinkle pepperonis (or topping of choice) on top of the cheese

6. Cut slits on the long sides of the dough (like ribbon), equal amounts on each side

7. Braid the slits down the pizza to close it at the top

8. Bake for the recommended time on the can (usually 12-15 minutes).

9. Allow 5-6 minutes to cool.

10. Cut into 6 pieces and devour!

Makes 6 servings

Nutritional Stats: 185 cals; 19 carb; 9 fat; 8 Protein; 706 Sodium; 2 fiber

The Perfect Fluffy Scrambled Eggs

Ok, well this particular blog post isn't so much a recipe as it is a cooking method. But I promise you, these will be the fluffiest, creamiest and best tasting scrambled eggs you've ever had!

Ingredients: 

3-4 Eggs

1 Heaping Spoon of Butter

1 Tablespoon of Crème fraîche (can sub sour creme)

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

This is where it gets different than your typical scrambled eggs that you are used to making. Its all about on again and off again heat.  

First thing you do is add the butter to a saucepan. Thats right, no skillets here!

Next you are going to add your eggs right into the saucepan, don't premix them either. 

Then over a medium high heat we will put it on and start stirring for about 30 seconds.

Then we are going to take them off the heat for about 30 seconds, never stopping stirring.

Now we are going to repeat this a few times until the eggs start to ribbon up and solidify.

On heat...

Off again.....and repeat. The eggs will continue cooking due to the heat in the pan so pull them off before they are what you could consider fully cooked but close to it. 

Now once they are off the heat for good they will still be cooking in that hot pan, this is when you add your spoonful of Crème fraîche. This obviously adds to the flavor and helps the creaminess but the coolness will stop the cooking process of the eggs as well. 

At this point you can go ahead and add your salt, pepper, maybe some chives or bacon bits. Whatever strikes your fancy!

And there you have it, one hell of a scrambled egg dish! Serve it with some toast, eat by itself, however ya like it, but I promise, you'll love em! 

Roasted Garlic Pods with a KC Strip

So keeping with my style I decided to try my luck at a dish I had at my favorite restaurant out in St Louis called Prime 1000. This is a simple, inexpensive and yet amazingly tasty way to really fancy up a plain old steak!

Now for those of you who are not huge garlic lovers let me just tell ya....try this and you may change your mind! Roasting the garlic really changes the flavor versus the fresh chopped and minced garlic you are used to eating! Its very subtle without any harsh bit or crunch that is typically associated with garlic.

Ingredients:

1-2 pods of garlic per steak (dependant on how big the pods are and how much you want)

However many steaks you want. I used a nice KC Strip but it will work on any.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Thyme

Preperation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut about 1/2" off the pointed side of the garlic pod to expose the garlic cloves underneath. They should look like this....

Place pods into a muffin tin with cut side facing up and generously apply olive oil making sure it makes its way down into the pod itself. (if you don't have a muffin tin just make some "cups" out of foil.)

Sprinkle some Thyme over the top of them and then cover with foil.

Insert into oven for 35-45 minutes or until the garlic is starting to kinda caramelize and brown around the edges like it looks here.

At about the 30 minute mark take out your steak and cook it for about 6 minutes per side over a medium fire grill. (for med rare)

To serve just place the pod directly on the top of the steaks and there ya have it, a classy looking out of the ordinary steak dish with an amazing taste and gourmet presentation. Now I didn't take photo's of it but the other thing I really enjoy with this dish is to make some hollandaise sauce to drizzle over it as well. The creamy hint of lemon mixed with that roasted garlic sets it off to even a higher level!

Anyways, as I always I hope this helps you make something a little fancier than normal for yourself or your family and I hope you enjoy!

-Ryan

It's a Bean Kind of Sunday

Chickpea Curry

Ingredients
1 can chickpeas
1 C plain greek yogurt
1 T garlic powder
2 T curry paste

Directions
Combine all ingredients and allow to heat until soft. Serve on brown rice.

Nutrition (4 servings)
Cal: 181; Fat: 6.4g; Sodium: 434mg; Carbs: 21.3g; Fiber: 4.6g; Protein:  11.4g


Thai-style Chickpeas

Ingredients
1 can chickpeas
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 C peanut butter

Directions
Combine all ingredients and cook on low for 20 minutes. Serve on brown rice or tofu noodles.

Nutrition (4 servings)
Cal: 326; Fat: 17.8g; Sodium: 1,111mg; Carbs: 34.1; Fiber: 7.3; Protein:  14g


Southwest Style Beans and Corn

Ingredients
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 C BBQ sauce

Directions
Combine all ingredients and cook on low for 10 minutes. Allow to cool and serve on spinach leaves.

Nutrition (4 servings)
Cal: 245; Fat: 0.4; Sodium: 1,494mg (rinse beans, corn, and drain tomatoes to reduce); Carbs: 51g; Fiber: 6.1g; Protein: 10.6g

The BEST Turkey Meatballs Ever!

And they're Paleo safe!

Ingredients
1 container of ground turkey
3 egg whites
1/4 C coconut flour
1 red onion, chopped
2 T paprika
1 T dried basil
1 T oregano
1 T garlic
Salt to taste

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375°F
2. Spray a muffin pan with nonstick spray
3. Mix all ingredients together
4. Divide mixture into 24 large balls (or you can make small meatballs as well)
5. Cook for 35 minutes

Nutrition (24 servings)
Cals: 72.8; Fat: 3.4g; Sodium: 236.4mg; Carbs: 0.8g; Fiber: 0.4g; Protein: 9.8g

Some good, some bad, but always delicious!

Have a guest recipe from a friend of mine tonight, along with a few paleo-ish recipes as well. Enjoy. As always, appreciate the feedback!

• Greek yogurt & avocado dip
• Buffalo chicken dip
• Homemade enchilada sauce
• Brussels Sprouts & bacon
• Sun-Dried Tomato Marinade (or dressing)
• Shrimp Salad

Greek Yogurt & Avocado Dip

This was something that I came up with on the fly to bring over to a friend's house. DH & I were at Target and I saw this little container of what said "Avocado & Greek Yogurt Dip." I take a look on the back and amongst all of the processed crap, the ingredients listed were actually fairly simple so decided to recreate it with my own little twist.

Ingredients

1 C greek yogurt, plain

2 avocado's

1 C sun-dried tomatoes

1 T lemon juice

1 t garlic powder

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a food processor, pulse sun-dried tomatoes to cut them up into chunks. Remove from food processor and place into bowl.

2. In the same food processor, place greek yogurt, avocados, lemon juice, and garlic powder and process until smooth.

3. Stir in greek yogurt mixture with sun-dried tomatoes.

4. Enjoy with some pita bites.

Nutrition (8 servings)

Cal: 195; Fat: 14.1g; Sodium: 29.5mg; Carbs: 14.2g; Fiber: 4.5g; Protein: 5.3g

Buffalo Chicken Dip

A friend made this dip for all of us on Saturday night. HUGE hit. Credit goes to Frank Redhot!

Ingredients

8oz softened cream cheese

1/2 C blue cheese or ranch dressing

1/2 C hot sauce (Franks RedHot or Buffalo)

1/2 C crumbled blue cheese or shredded mozzarella

2-12.5oz cans of shredded chicken

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°C

2. Please cream cheese into deep baking dish and stir until smooth

3. Mix in salad dressing, Frank's hot sauce, and cheese. Then, stir in chicken.

4. Bake for 20 minutes.

Nutrition (1/16 of recipe)

Cal: 144; Fat: 11.2g; Protein: 7.8g

Homemade Enchilada Sauce

This was adapted from the Everyday Paleo cookbook. I highly recommend this cookbook. Easy recipes & tons of pictures!!

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped

2 T oil (coconut oil)

4 large tomatoes, pureed in food processor

2 T minced garlic

1/2 t cumin

1/2 t dried oregano

1/2 t salt

Directions

1. Saute the onion in the oil until limp.

2. Add the tomato puree, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and salt. Mix well and allow to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often.

3. Pour the sauce intot he food processor and process until smooth.

[I poured this over tilapia filets and baked it int he oven at 375° for 12 minutes]

Nutrition (3 tilapia filet's worth)

Cal: 137; Fat: 9.8g; Sodium: 405mg; Carb: 12.9g; Fiber: 2.7g; Protein: 2.3g

Brussels Sprouts & Bacon

(that's also chicken marinated in the sun-dried tomato marinade)

Another one adapted from the Everyday Paleo cookbook. This one is YUMMMMO!

Ingredients

4 bacon strips

1 lb brussels sprouts

1 t garlic powder

1 T dried basil

1 t ghee

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°

2. Dice bacon and cook in a skillet until crispy

3. Steam* the brussels sprouts for 4 minutes, cut off stem, and quarter

4. Toss the brussels sprouts with bacon, bacon grease, garlic powder, basil, ghee, and salt & pepper

5. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring half way through the cooking time

*To steam in microwave: place brussels sprouts into a bowl and cover sprouts with approx. 1/4C water. Cover with plastic wrap with one corner open. Microwave on high for 4 minutes.

Nutrition (2 servings)

Cals: 184; Fat: 9.7g; Sodium: 263mg; Carbs: 17.2g; Fiber: 6.1g; Protein: 10.1g

Sun-Dried Tomato Marinade

And yet another one from Everyday Paleo

Ingredients

1 C sun-dried tomatoes

1/4 C extra-virgin olive oil

1 T capers

1 t lemon juice

1 T garlic

1 T dried rosemary

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a food process until smooth.

**Can be used as a salad dressing or marinade**

Nutrition (4 servings-- if you were to eat this and not use it as a marinade)

Cals: 336; Fat: 29.1g; Sodium: 94.6mg; Carbs: 19.3; Fiber: 3.5g; Protein: 3.2g

Shrimp Salad

Sorry that I don't have any pictures of this one, but trust me when I say it's delicious & worth it! And yet, another one from Everyday Paleo!

Ingredients

8oz cooked shrimp

1 small cucumber, diced

1/2 medium red onion

1 T dried dill

1 t garlic powder

1 T spicy brown mustard

3 T EVOO

2 T lemon juice

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine cucumbers and onion.

2. Cut the shrimp into halves or thirds and add to bowl.

3. Add the dill, garlic, mustard, EVOO, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and mix well

4. Serve with diced tomatoe & diced avocado.

Nutrition (4 servings... does not include tomato & avocado)

Cals: 169; Fat: 11.3g; Sodium: 176mg; Carb: 4.3g; Fiber: 0.9g; Protein: 12.7g

Until next week!!!