Chocolate Pancakes

I've been wanting to find some breakfast recipes for a while now so when I came across some pancake recipes I knew I had to make them. I knew I could easily freeze them. And chocolate pancakes...um yum! Lol. I found this recipe in a Better Homes & Garden magazine and it sounded simple enough. I froze the majority of the pancakes already in serving size portions-so 2 pancakes per zip-loc bag. It says to serve the pancakes with strawberries and a little powdered sugar but you could easily serve it with any kind of fruit. The pancakes had a slight bitter taste to them so I could easily see why you'd want to eat them with some kind of fruit but they were pretty good overall.

Chocolate Pancakes (Better Homes & Garden) (6 servings):

3/4 c flour
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 c buttermilk
2 tbsp refrigerated or frozen egg product, thawed, or 1 egg white, lightly beaten
2 tbsp canola oil
2 c cut-up fresh strawberries
2 tsp powdered sugar

In large bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl combine buttermilk, egg and oil. Stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture just until combined (batter will be lumpy).

Heat a lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet over med heat until a few drop of water dance across the surface. Reduce heat to med-low. For each pancake spoon 2 tbsp batter onto griddle. Cook until lightly browned; turn when tops are bubbly and edges are slightly dry (about 1 minute per side).

To serve, place two pancakes on each plate. Top with strawberries and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Enjoy!




Batter...






Enjoy!...

Steak Fajita Salad with Avocado-Ranch Dressing

I found this recipe in a Cuisine Fast & Fresh Summer Meals magazine and it sounded simple and easy and good. It was really good but kinda salty unfortunately. If I make this again, and I think I would, I'd leave the salt out of the fajita seasoning. There's really no need for it and I think the seasoning would taste just fine without it. I didn't need the lime wedges in the salad because the dressing had enough of a lime flavor in it. And I didn't use the romaine lettuce the salad called for-I had enough spinach in my fridge for my smoothies so I just used some of that. I ended up using the fajita meat and onions in my eggs a couple of times and they were really really good. With a little bit of cheese of course. I saved the dressing to use on other salads. So in a way, I've deconstructed this salad lol.

Steak Fajita Salad with Avocado-Ranch Dressing (Cuisine Fast & Fresh Summer Meals) (4 servings):

*Salad
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp granulated garlic
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 lb flat iron steak
1 yellow bell pepper, lobed
1 orange bell pepper, lobed
1 red onion, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
2 tbsp canola oil

*Dressing
3/4 c buttermilk
1 avocado, cubed
1/4 c plain Greek yogurt
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 c lime juice
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
1 tbsp chopped fresh jalapeno
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic
6 c chopped romaine lettuce
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 med tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Lime wedges

Preheat grill to med-high. Brush grill grates with oil. For salad, combine chili powder, garlic, 2 tsp salt, 2 tsp pepper, cumin, coriander and oregano. Brush steak, bell peppers and onions slices with oil. Rub spice mixture evenly over both sides of steak. (I marinated my steak, peppers and onion in fridge overnight. Then I cooked peppers, onion and steak in a grill pan on the stove until cooked through.) Grill steak, covered, 3-5 min per side for med-rare. Grill peppers and onions until veggies are soft, about 5 minutes, turning once. Transfer steak to a plate, tent with foil and let rest.

For dressing, pulse buttermilk, avocado, yogurt, cilantro, lime juice, dill, jalapeno, Worcestershire and garlic clove in food processor until smooth; season with salt and pepper. Toss romaine, beans, tomatoes and cheddar with 3/4 c dressing. Divide salad among four plates. Thinly slice steak against the grain. Slice bell peppers and onions. Top each salad with steak, peppers and onions. Serve salad with remaining dressing and lime wedges.




Fajita Seasoning...






Marinating...






Avocado-Ranch Dressing...






Fajitas...






Enjoy!...

Vegetarian Cauliflower Fried Rice

I found this recipe in a magazine called Low Sugar Living. I've seen other recipes similar to this and I've always wanted to try it. I mean who doesn't like fried rice?! And this would be even healthier since it's made with cauliflower 'rice'. I was a little hesitant to try it mainly because my mom said she tried making a large batch of cauliflower 'rice' and it tasted like mush the next day but I figured I might as well try it-live and learn right? I didn't take a whole lot of pictures for some reason and the one I did take...don't judge it too much lol. It tasted a lot better than it looked! I used my ninja blender to rice the cauliflower and man I love that blender! It only took 2-3 pulses for it to fully rice the cauliflower! So awesome!!! I didn't add the peas because I'm not a fan of peas at all. I added more soy sauce than it called for and in the end it did taste really good-I could taste the grated ginger and the soy sauce. And it was good 2 days and 3 days later. So I must not have cooked it for as long as my mom had cooked hers-I only cooked mine for a minute or two. I think I'd make it again, but in a smaller batch. I used the whole head of cauliflower. And I don't think I'd use the asparagus again-it didn't cook down as much as I'd like so it was still a little raw and hard to eat. And I would like to add a scrambled egg. I'll experiment a little more with the next batch I make!

Vegetarian Cauliflower Fried Rice (Low Sugar Living) (4 servings):

3 c grated raw cauliflower
1 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp butter, divided
1/2 c sweet onion, chopped
1/2 c carrots, chopped
10 asparagus spears, trimmed and cut in 1-inch spears
1/2 c frozen peas
1 c zucchini, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tbsp soy sauce, or to taste
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
Ground pepper, to taste
Chopped scallions and toasted sesame seeds, to serve

Preheat large skillet over med-high heat. Add sesame oil and 1 tbsp butter. Once butter has melted, add the onion, carrots and asparagus, stirring frequently. Add peas and zucchini and season with pepper. Cook for 2 minutes longer.

Add garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar and ginger to pan. Pour in grated cauliflower and add the remaining 2 tbsp of butter. Cook 2-3 minutes or until the cauliflower is cooked to desired doneness (don't cook more than 2 minutes!!!). Season with soy sauce and pepper, to taste.




Enjoy!...

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

I found this recipe in one of Paula Deen's recipe magazines. I love meatballs and this one seemed like an easy recipe. Not to mention it made a bunch so I knew I could easily freeze the majority of it and eat more of it at a later time. Even better! I didn't read the recipe all the way through initially but the list of ingredients was short enough. Once I read through it, I realized that I add everything together except the buffalo wing sauce, which is really different but I was game to try it! Everything smelled so good while mixing it together that I even texted my friend telling her that the raw ingredients smelled so good that I hoped the cooked meal tasted as good as it smelled! It definitely did! The meatballs had such a unique texture with the celery and the blue cheese and the panko all mixed together. The celery and panko gave the meatballs a crunchy texture and the blue cheese had a smooth flavor to it. It was a surprisingly good combination! I used Frank's Buffalo Hot Sauce as the sauce I used to pour over the meatballs and then of course I used a blue cheese sauce as a dipping sauce. So good! I'll definitely make these again and again! I have some in the freezer now I can eat when I crave them again, which will be soon!

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs (Paula Deen) (3 1/2 dozen):

2 lb ground chicken
2 c panko
1 c diced celery
4 oz blue cheese, crumbled
1/3 c minced green onion
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 tsp salt
2 c buffalo wing sauce

Preheat oven to 400. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place a wire rack on pan and spray rack with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir together ground chicken and next 7 ingredients until well combined. Shape mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on prepared rack.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165 (I had to cook mine close to 30 minutes for mine to read 165 but I think I made my meatballs quite large). Toss meatballs with wing sauce and serve. Enjoy!




Ready to be mixed together...






Ready to be baked...






Enjoy!...

Southern Pulled Chicken

I found this recipe in a magazine titled Freezer Meals. I ended up halving the recipe because I didn't have 6 lb of chicken and I wasn't sure I could fit 6 lb of chicken into my crock pot either and I wasn't sure if I'd like it. I think I can though so when I make this again, and I will, I'll make the entire recipe. This recipe was really good and really easy. And pretty healthy too. It called for cider vinegar and cider vinegar is supposed to have all these awesome health benefits so I figured it's a win win. And of course I added more garlic than called for because it's me and more garlic is always good. I used chicken breasts because it's what I always keep on hand. I used the low heat setting but I only cooked it for 6 hours because I don't like how chicken tastes after it cooks too long in any slow cooker. This recipe had a really good flavor-just a simple basic flavor. I like that you can add as much bbq sauce as you want or as little as you want. And I also like that you can put the chicken on pretty much anything. I put it on toast, in my eggs, on nachos and in a salad. It would really be good in a quesadilla too. When I make this again, I'll make the whole recipe and freeze it in serving sizes to use as necessary. Yum! I'll post the entire recipe.

Southern Pulled Chicken (Freezer Meals):

2 med onions, quartered
6 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs
1/2 c cider vinegar
1/3 c Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c packed brown sugar
4 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp mild chili powder
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 c bbq sauce

Place onions in slow cooker. Top with chicken. Combine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, dry mustard, chili powder, garlic, salt and pepper; pour over chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Remove chicken and onions with a slotted spoon. Using two forks, shred chicken. In large bowl combine chicken and onions. Skim fat from cooking liquid in slow cooker. Stir enough cooking liquid (about 1/2 cup) into chicken mixture to moisten. Stir in bbq sauce.

Divide chicken mixture into serving portions. Cool and freeze. Enjoy!




Sauce whisked together...






Sauce poured over chicken in crock pot...






Shredded chicken...






BBQ added...






Loaded on toast...Enjoy!...

Lasagna Soup

I've been in the mood for soup a lot lately. I'd blame the weather but I live in Las Vegas now so that doesn't make sense lol. I've been eyeing this soup for a while now on Pinterest so I decided to finally make it. That and I had just bought a large Le Creuset stockpot specifically for soups so I could actually make a larger batch of soup and not worry about it not being able to fit in one of my pots. I was house sitting for my aunt the weekend I decided to make the soup, so I lugged everything over to her place to make it there and then ate it throughout the weekend. The recipe calls for ricotta, which I left out because my body cannot digest ricotta with good results. This was a simple recipe to make-there are a lot of ingredients, but don't let that fool you! I'd definitely make this again and try freezing half of it. I think I like this better than actual lasagna! I really like how you add the cheese as a topping so you can however much or less of it that you want. I didn't add the fennel seeds because I forgot to bring them and I couldn't find them at my aunt's. I sent a picture of this to my mom and she said it didn't look like soup since there wasn't much broth...I may have simmered it a little too long lol but it still had really good flavor. I wasn't paying attention when I bought the lasagna noodles. I bought precooked noodles so I had to guess how long to cook them in the boiling water-they seemed to turn out okay but I think that's why I simmered the soup a little longer than I was supposed to, to make sure the noodles were cooked enough.

Lasagna Soup (Pinterest) (5 servings):

2 tbsp EVOO, divided
1 lb lean ground beef
1 large yellow onion, diced
3-5 garlic cloves, to taste, minced (I of course added the 5, if not 6 cloves)
4 c chicken broth
1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes
2 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
1 3/4 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 lasagna noodles, broken into bite-size pieces
1 1/4 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c finely shredded parmesan cheese
8 oz ricotta cheese

Heat 1 tbsp oil in large pot over med-high heat. Once hot, crumble beef into pot, season with salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned. Drain off fat from beef and set aside. Heat remaining 1 tbsp oil in pot, add chopped onion and saute until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add in garlic and saute 30 seconds longer. Add in chicken broth, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, rosemary, fennel seeds, thyme, sugar, parsley, the cooked ground beef and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring just to boil, then reduce heat to med-low, cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare lasagna noodles according to pkg directions, reserving 1 c pasta water before draining pasta. Add cooked pasta to soup along with 1/2 to 1 cup pasta water as desired. In a mixing bowl, using a fork, stir together mozzarella, parmesan and ricotta.

Ladle soup into bowls, dollop with a large scoop of the cheese mixture and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Enjoy!




Broken up lasagna noodles...






Noodles are softened and ready to eat...






Topped with cheese...Enjoy!...

Baked Turkey Tenderloin

My mom convinced me to try turkey tenderloins-she said she and my dad eat them quite a lot. I had a lot of trouble finding them actually. My mom and aunt were in town one time and she took me grocery shopping and we happened to come across a package of two of them so we got them. They've been in my freezer just sitting there waiting for me to figure out how to cook them. I figured I could cook them similar to a pork tenderloin. I was looking around on Pinterest and found a simple recipe with a homemade spice rub so I decided to try that. I think I cooked my tenderloin a little too long since it was a little dry but the flavor was really good-the spice rub gave it so much flavor. I'd definitely try this again and cook the tenderloin a little less. The recipe called for 2 tenderloins but I wanted to cook one at a time to see how I liked them. I did half the recipe for the spice rub. I'll post the actual recipe.

Baked Turkey Tenderloin (Pinterest):

2 turkey tenderloins
Olive oil
4 tsp onion powder
4 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Mix together all the seasonings. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on both sides of the turkey tenderloins and then sprinkle some of the spice rub on both sides of the turkey (I also used a fork and forked both sides so the oil and spices would get into the meat more). Place tenderloins in a prepared baking dish. Bake in oven for about 30 minutes or until internal temp reads 165. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!




Homemade rub...






Turkey Tenderloin with spice rub....






Sliced and ready to eat...Enjoy!...