HomeMade Taco Seasoning

This is good for 1 lb of ground meat. 

1/2 TBS Chili Powder
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Paprika
1.5 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper

*Add 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes if your crazy like that.

Throw in a mason jar and shake shake shake.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMM

*Adapted from All Recipes Taco Seasoning I

Broccoli Bites "Green Biscuits"

Healthy Broccoli Bites

Found these gems! I need to get Veggies into Sam! He wrinkles his nose and says "No!" when we try.

A little protein and dairy and whole grains too. Not bad eh? Well Sammy got through one alright. Me too. But our little neighbor girl who's one and I hear can be super picky (who isn't at that age!) blasted through 3.5. Mission accomplished, I know what age to start 'em.

2 cups uncooked raw broccoli
1 cup oatmeal (uncooked)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
3 eggs
Half a can of diced, cooked chicken (optional)

In a food processor, mix/chop the oatmeal until it is fine, almost like flour. Add the broccoli, and continue to chop. Add in the eggs and chicken, and pulse. Pour the mixture into a medium-sized bowl, add the cheese and stir. Form into one inch balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (or sprayed with cooking spray).


Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until slightly browned on the bottom.



*Adapted from SEW Very Blessed

Peanut Butter Bars

Our go-to. Every time.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (very finely crushed)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 11 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions

1. Mix the crumbs and sugar (sifted is better).
2. Add the melted butter and peanut butter.
3. Mix well and press into a 9x13 inch pan.
4. Melt the chocolate chips in microwave on 70% (about a minute 15 seconds in mine.).
5. Spread chocolate over the bars.
6. Refrigerate till hard, then take out about 15 minutes before you want to cut them, so the frosting won't crack.

Grandma's Macaroni Salad

We've eaten this salad since we were kids and every few months I call Jen for the recipe. Now I won't have to anyMORE! :) Thanks Jen, thanks Grandma! This is the best go-to-lunch for three days straight. Ha!

Grandma's Macaroni Salad

Ingredients:

1 12 oz box of macaroni elbows
1 package of grapes
1 half block of cheddar cheese
1 or 2 1/2 thick slabs of ham from the deli
1/2 to 3/4 cups of Mayo
2 tbs of brown sugar

1. Cut the grapes in half
2. Boil the macaroni, drain and rinse with cool water
3. Cube the cheese
4. We like to pan cook the ham for a minute or two on each side and then cube it
5. Put all of the above in a large bowl.
6. Mix the mayo and brown sugar together and then mix all the ingredients together. Refrigerate and eat whenever you need to. Which I do. All the time.

 She at the whole thing. Well..... I helped. XOXO to Jen!

 PS We only had tiny grapes on hand so they didn't need slicing. :)

That Tortilla Chip Soup I Keep Making

I got this recipe from my best friend Jess. It's the yummiest soup. I thank her every time I eat it. Maybe not actually tooo her, but I sure think about it.

Cook up 2-3 chicken breasts beforehand unless you want to throw this all in the crockpot then you can cook all this together all day or on high for a few hours or whatever.

In a pot:

1-2 cans of black beans
1 24 oz can of crushed tomatoes
16 oz of tomato juice (you can use the little V8-ish sized tomato juice cans)
1 can of chopped green chilis
1 can of corn or an equivalent of frozen corn
2 cloves of minced garlic
8 oz of beef broth
1 cup of water
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp chili powder

When all is said and done add some chips and cheese, maybe some avocado, sour cream etc! YUM!

Cake-In-A-Mug

I haven't posted in a loooong time.

Without any fanfare, I present a MICROWAVED cake-in-a-mug. I have played with the recipe a lot, so I have eaten it a lot. I like this ratio the best:

Add ingredients as listed to a mug.

4 tbls of flour
4 tbls of sugar
3 tbls of oil
3 tbls of milk
2 tbls of beaten egg
1 tbls of cocoa powder
1/8 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of vanilla
10-15 chocolate chips if desired

Stir like crazy, get it all mixed good!
Pop in the microwave for 2 minutes and 10 seconds
 It may look like it will overflow, but it won't!

Turn the mug upside down and drop out the cake, slather on the ice cream, drizzle some *chocolate and caramel on top and enjoy your chocolate cake that you made in 5 ish minutes.

*sigh* this has really come in handy. :)

*Homemade QUICK chocolate icing. I seriously mix 1/2 cup powdered sugar with 1 tbls of milk and about a tsp of cocoa. It's really sweet. I like it.

PS No need to spray the mug, but if you do it might make clean-up faster. Bonus.

Butternut Squash Ravioli With Brown Butter Sage

This IS HEAVEN. Just ask France.

12 oz of pureed butternut squash
1/2 cup walnuts
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg
24 wonton wrappers (found in the Asian aisle or the refrigerator section)
1 tbs butter
2 tbs of EVOO
1 tbs fresh sage (I only had dried and it worked lovely)
1 tbs lemon juice

Prepare butternut squash to a warm and pureed state*.

Place walnuts in medium skillet and cook over medium high heat, shaking the pan often for 3-5 minutes or until lightly toasted. Transfer to a cutting board to cool, then finely chop. Transfer the nuts to the bowl with the pureed butternut squash and stir in the egg yolk, 1/4 c of cheese, 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/8 tsp of pepper and the nutmeg, mix well (I did this in a food processor).

Arrange 12 wonton wrappers on a work surface and drop 2 slightly rounded tsp of filling into the the center of each. Wet the edge of the wrapper with a finger dipped in water. Fold 1 corner of the wrapper diagonally over the filling to form a triangle. gently press out any air and squeeze the edges to seal. Repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers. This part may seem frustrating and you may just want to use 2 wrappers per ravioli.

Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium high heat. Cook shaking the pan occasionally until the butter begins to brown and smell nutty. Add the olive oil and sage and cook for about a minute. Turn the heat low and add the lemon juice and remaining salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil. Add the ravioli a few at a time and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl and immediately pour in the butter mixture. Toss well to coat and sprinkle remaining cheese and serve.

DI-VINE and SO WORTH A TRY!

*If you are new to butternut squash, this is what I do. I buy one. I peel it like a potatoe. I scrap out the seeds. I chop it up. I boil it for about 20 min. Then I blend it till smooth. You can also skip the boiling and put in it a plastic bag, cut off the corner and cook on high for 5 minutes then blend. Butternut squash is my favorite. The end.

+Adapted from the Flat Belly Diet