With a side of barbeque Pop Chips (love these..I could most definitely polish off an entire bag in about 5 minutes), lunch!

So, now a real recipe: Cornbread & Cheddar Jalapenos.  I had a bunch of jalapenos that I needed to use and some sort of stuffed jalapeno seemed like a great idea, and of course, it was!  I have really been digging the sweet taste of cornbread, with the slightly spicy taste of jalapenos recently, so these fit the bill perfectly!

Cornbread & Cheddar Jalapenos

Cornbread

2/3 c polenta (or cornmeal)
1/4 c whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk and it added a little more of a delicious sweetness to the corn bread, definitely recommend it)
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp natural apple sauce
1/2 c corn
a couple grinds of salt

Mix dry ingredients together, then add wet ingredients.  Stir until all ingredients are combined.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 mins.

While the cornbread is cooling, cut the tops off of the Jalapenos and cut in half lengthwise.  Remove seeds and de-rib (the white part inside the jalapeno) as much as you would like.  I left some ribs in mine because I wanted them to still be a little bit spicy. Lay out on a baking sheet.

1 large clove garlic
salt and pepper
Herbs of choice (I used 1/2 tsp fresh chopped lavender, 1/2 tsp fresh chopped thyme, and 1/4 tsp dried cilantro, but you can use whatever you have..I just wanted an excuse to use the lavender and thyme from my garden, and it really worked!)
Sharp cheddar cheese

When the cornbread is cool enough to touch with your hands, crumble it all up into small pieces.

Add one large minced garlic clove, salt and pepper and herbs and mix until it is all incorporated.

Take the cornbread mix and push it into the jalapeno halves.  Take a small slice of cheddar cheese and place it on top of the jalapenos.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until peppers are soft and cornbread is slightly browned.

Next week we’re going to the beach with Johns family, so this week is preparing for that (packing, making sure we have everything we need, grocery shopping, and baking) but I feel like I actually have time for all of that this week, which is such a great feeling!

A couple weeks ago it was my turn to bring dessert to Bible Study.  Sometimes certain recipes just come to mind and sometimes I search the internet for what feels like forever to find the perfect dessert.  Luckily, this time a dessert came to mind.  I was reminiscing about a dessert my mom used to make when I was a kid- layers of angel food cake, vanilla pudding, strawberries, and kiwi.  So I decided to make that! But I omitted the kiwi, just in case some people weren’t fans, so the result was more of a strawberry shortcake trifle.

I love angel food cake! Even if it comes from the grocery store..And I had heard that making angel food cake from scratch was a little difficult.  But I decided to try it anyway!  And I was pleasantly surprised.  With my Kitchen Aid stand mixer, this cake was whipped up (literally, 12 egg whites whipped!) in no time at all!

Angel Food Cake
From Food.com

1 c cake flour
3/4 c sugar
12 large egg whites (room temperature) (Save 1 egg yolk if you want to make pudding)
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 375 F and get out your angel food cake pan (I bought one specifically for this, don’t know if another pan would work..(maybe a bundt cake pan?) Do not grease it!

When separating egg whites from yolks, make sure no yolk gets in the mixture.  You may want to use a small bowl before adding each egg.  If any yolk gets in the egg whites it won’t work.

Beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt until peaks form.

Sift the cake flour and 3/4 c sugar together (I sifted by stirring rapidly for a minute with a whisk)

Add the other 3/4 c sugar to the egg mixture and beat until stiff peaks form.

Start beating on low, then gradually add the flour/sugar mixture.Make sure you get all of it off the bottom and sides of the bowl.

Pour into the angel food cake pan, then run a knife through to get rid of any air bubbles.

Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Let cool, then run a knife around the edges and remove from pan.  (If you have a two piece angel food cake pan, this should be fairly easy)

This angel food cake tastes absolutely delicious on its own! I could probably eat it all in one sitting….  But to make it into a trifle, you can add whatever pudding, or fruit that you want!

I made vanilla pudding to layer with my angel food cake:

Vanilla Pudding

1/2 c sugar
3 tbsp corn starch
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
1/2 vanilla bean
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine sugar, corn starch, and salt in saucepan.

Cut the vanilla bean open and scrape the vanilla beans into the mixture.  Then put the vanilla bean itself in.

Turn stove on medium, and whisk in milk, then egg yolk.

Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Boil for 1 minute.

Remove the vanilla bean.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.  Refrigerate for 2 hours or until thoroughly chilled.

Then I cut up strawberries, and continued to layer angel food cake, pudding, and strawberries until everything was gone.  I would recommend using a glass serving bowl for this if you have one so everyone can see the layers (I didn’t have one..) so this is what I ended up with:

So light and refreshing!  Perfect for a hot spring night!

This past weekend, we went to Huntingdon, PA to hang out with a few friends from college.  It is always great to see them, eat, and just spend time together.  This time we went on two hikes, one up a mountain over 1,000 steps (literal rock ledge steps) and my calves are most definitely feeling it.

It’s always great to be able to spend time with friends, so I’m so glad we were able too!

Now it’s back to a normal week, except it is getting to be more and more like summer everyday which makes me very happy.

There are so many recipes for Buffalo Chicken Dip, so I wanted to see what I could come up with that would be healthier, but still have that spicy/creamy taste. This is just the ticket!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

6 oz fat free plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp hot sauce (or more to taste)
2-4 chicken breasts
2 c cooked cauliflower (optional)
2 tsp ranch seasoning mix

Grill chicken breasts sprinkled 1 tsp ranch seasoning mix (recipe below).  I used my George Foreman.  Shred Chicken, or cut into small pieces.

You can use 4 chicken breasts, or for something a bit lighter use 2 chicken breasts and 2 c cooked cauliflower cut into small pieces.

In a medium saucepan, add Greek yogurt, hot sauce, ranch seasoning mix, and chicken (or chicken and cauliflower mix) and heat until hot and everything is mixed together.

Serve immediately, as a dip, in a Sandwich, or on top of salad.  The possibilities are endless.

Ranch Seasoning Mix

1 tsp dried parsley
3/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp dried thyme

Mix everything together.

I plan on enjoying today to its fullest!  I started off right with a delicious breakfast, that I called my Cinco De Mayo breakfast, though only for the eggs.

I scrambled 3 egg whites, with a little bit of spinach, added 1/4 of an avocado and my favorite salsa.  Then finished it off with a little bit of pepper.  Oh man, so good!

My favorite salsa by the way is most definitely Trader Joe’s Habanero and Lime:

It has in my opinion the perfect amount of spiciness, with a slight lime flavor.  And it has carrots in it!

John and I are going to ride our bikes all day, so I wanted a protein filled breakfast.  along with my Cinco De Mayo eggs, I also had a whole wheat, low carb tortilla with my Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter and fresh pineapple.

I’m looking forward to enjoying Mexican food, chips and salsa and of course margaritas tonight too!  Hope everyone has a great day!

Beer and Chocolate you know…what could be better than that? This was all in the morning/early afternoon before my friend Rachel’s wedding which was beautiful!

On Sunday after church we went to a Japanese Restaurant for lunch, then went hiking at Rocky Ridge followed by Rita’s Italian Ice before heading back to Pittsburgh!  A day filled with a lot of my favorite things, including spending time with my parents. The Exercise trail at Rocky Ridge is always a fun time!

I learned through all of this that I really need to work on taking pictures to make my blog more interesting.

This weekend was the beginning of lots of weekends to look forward to, then summer with even more to look forward too!  I love that feeling!

Last week I was so busy that I didn’t eat dinner at home once.  This week I was excited to plan out meals and start cooking and eating at home again. We’re getting into different types of foods for the spring/summer season and I’m excited to try several new recipes, including a lot of salad.  Last night however, I made a hearty meal of Broccoli, Chicken, and Pasta with Healthier Alfredo Sauce.  We went for a bike ride last night so I thought this would be a good, fulfilling meal to have. And it was!

Broccoli, Chicken, and Pasta with Healthier Alfredo Sauce

Prep

I had John grill a chicken breast on our George Foreman with a little bit of salt and pepper before I got home to save some time.

Then I boiled water on the stove, and added the pasta and broccoli.  Brought to a boil again, and boiled for about 8 minutes or until the pasta was al dente or however you like it.

Healthier Alfredo Sauce

1 tbsp butter or oil
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 c 0% Greek yogurt
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
2-4 tbsp water

Melt butter or oil, then add minced garlic. Saute for about 1 minute.

Stir in salt, pepper, basil, and oregano.  Cook for another 2 minutes.

Add Greek yogurt and stir until softened.

Add cheese.  Stir until combined and cheese starts to melt.

Add water to desired sauce consistency.  Stirring until sauce is heated through and cheese is melted.

Drain pasta and broccoli and put back in pot over low heat. Stir in chicken chopped into bite sized pieces.  Add Alfredo Sauce.  Stir until combined.

Serve with a little more Parmesan cheese on top, and you’ve got that delicious Alfredo Sauce you crave with a fraction of the calories.  Enjoy!

I should have bought more because they go so fast!  One of my favorite ways to eat these is with a few chocolate chips.

When I am at home, I periodically go to the kitchen to get a small handful just like this.

I also recently made Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter which I love!

I have a small break between nanny-ing jobs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, in which time I spend driving to the next location then either catching up on Scramble with Friends, Words with Friends, or Draw Something, or doing a little shopping.  However, yesterday I really just wanted to go home so I could have an apple with my almond butter.  So I went home for a mere 20 minutes just to enjoy this treat!  It was worth it!

Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter

1 c almonds
3 tsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp coconut oil (optional)

Spread almonds on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with 1 tsp maple syrup, and sprinkle with the salt.

Roast for 10 minutes at 325, stirring every 3 or 4 minutes (I was super nervous I was going to burn them so I probably checked them every 2 mins)

Let cool for 10-20 minutes.

Transfer to the food processor and process, adding the rest of the maple syrup and the cinnamon.

You will have to process for quite a long time.  First it will be dry, then grainy, then clumpy, and eventually turn creamy.  If yours doesn’t seem to be getting creamy and you’ve been processing for 15 minutes or so, adding the coconut oil will definitely help.  I had to do this as mine just wouldn’t get creamy.

So there you have it!  It also tastes wonderful on toast, but my absolute favorite way to eat it is with an apple.  I’m excited to try new almond butter flavors in the future!  I think my next one will be dark chocolate! Yum…

What is your favorite healthy (or not) snack?

We also went to The Taj Mahal, an Indian restaurant near us that I have been wanting to go to for a long time.  They have a dinner buffet on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays and luckily we were there for the buffet.  It was delicious!  Like a dream come true for me! All of the food there was veggie packed, spicy, savory, and just oh so good.  I couldn’t stop talking about how much I loved the restaurant and how good everything was.  John enjoyed it too, but he’s more of an American food/Brewery type of guy.  Which I like too, but this was a delicious (and healthier) change!

I have several recipes to share with you the next couple days (or weeks…).  I chose to share the recipe for Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers today because not only is it the perfect, easy dinner, for a weeknight, it also reminds me of the day we ate it (last Monday).  The weather on that day was wonderful!  Unlike the cold, rainy mess that is today..bleh.

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

2 whole bell peppers (seeded and de-ribbed)
1/2 c quinoa
1 c salsa of choice (I used plain ol’ medium and it worked out well)
1/4-1/2 c water
1 can drained and rinsed black beans
1 c frozen corn
1/2 c pepper jack cheese

Seed and de-rib bell peppers.

Put quinoa, 3/4 c salsa, and 1/4 c water in a pot over medium high heat until boils.  Reduce heat, and simmer with a lid on it for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, add black beans, corn, 1/4 c salsa, and 1/4 c water (if you think it is needed), simmer for another 10 minutes or until most liquid is absorbed.

Layer quinoa mixture and cheese in your peppers (using more or less cheese to your liking).

Place in a pan, cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes at 350.

It was so nice outside that while these were baking I was running around outside barefoot, and then convinced John to jump rope with me.  Then we ate outside on our small deck.

Looking forward to many more nights like this soon (after all, it is the end of April!)

Shoo Fly Cake, though, was always a favorite dessert of mine.  When it came to deciding what kind of cake I wanted for my birthday, it was always a struggle to decide if I wanted Shoo Fly Cake or Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Icing.  Two different tastes, but both super delicious!

When it comes to certain desserts, it’s hard to decide whether or not you should even try to make them healthier or not.  When the original recipe is so good, you sometimes just don’t want to mess with it.  I was scared that this recipe would be dry and not have the moist bottom that is needed for it to be true Shoo Fly, because the original recipe called for 1 cup of butter.  But I also wanted to make it into a muffin that was healthy enough to eat for the occasional breakfast but could also be served as a dessert, warmed up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  This recipe fits the bill!  And guess what?  It has NO butter at all!  Try it!

Shoo Fly Muffins
Makes 12

Crumb Topping

1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 c sugar (I used coconut sugar for the first time and it was perfect for this recipe)
A couple shakes of cinnamon

Melt coconut oil.

Mix in flour, sugar, and cinnamon with fingers until crumbly.  Set aside.

Muffin

1 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour*
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 c molasses
1 c natural applesauce
2 tbsp melted coconut oil
dash salt
dash cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients together.

Mix wet ingredients together.

Stir both together until mixed well.

Dump half of the crumb mixture into the muffin mix. Stir slightly until just incorporated.  Make sure not to stir to much.

Spoon Mixture into sprayed muffin tin.

Top muffins with the rest of the crumb mixture.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

*If you don’t have whole wheat pastry flour, you can substitute equal parts regular whole wheat flour and white cake flour.

Someone else wanted a taste…for good reason!

There was also an abundance of Jackson 5 songs which I was very excited about!  Although his other songs are great, I will always love Jackson 5 the most.  I worked at the farm stand at an orchard in high school, and when I was the only one working I would tune the radio to a 60′s and 70′s station.  Then I would call in and request Jackson 5 songs, mostly “I’ll Be There”…what a great song!

So now it’s Monday and it’s back to the normal everyday stuff.  It started off really well though!  This morning I went on a brisk 3 mile walk with the baby (not so much a baby anymore) that I watch, and we had a great time!  It was such a nice day and it was so great to be able to go out and enjoy it!

I don’t know about you, but I love snacks and dessert especially mid-afternoon.  Instead of finding and eating whatever I can, I like to have healthy options.  Recently I have been enjoying two delicious, healthy, and guilt free desserts quite a bit as an afternoon pick me up:  A Dark Chocolate Milk Shake and Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding.

Dark Chocolate Milk Shake

1 frozen banana (I keep a stock of these in my freezer as frozen bananas are good for so many things)
1-2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (depending on how chocolatey you want it to be)
1/4 c milk of your choice (I use unsweetened Almond milk, water works too)

Blend everything together and enjoy!  No sugar needed as the banana provides enough sweetness!  So delicious!

For an extra treat (and more protein), add a tablespoon of peanut butter.

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
a dash of stevia powder
3-4 tbsp milk of choice (or water)

Mix ingredients together.  Stir.  Keep stirring occasionally for 15-20 minutes until Chia Seeds “gel” and turn into a pudding consistency.

I actually carry a baggie that has the above dry ingredients already mixed together so I when I want the pudding, I can just scoop up 2 tbsp out of the bag, add water and I’m good to go.

It tastes good plain but it is also really good with fruit added.

I bought Chia seeds a couple months ago because I had been hearing a lot of good things about them.  I thought they would be a good thing to add to my smoothies.  However, that turned out to not work out to well as my smoothie turned into an abundance of super fluff:

It was pretty cool, but I’d rather drink my smoothie and not have to eat it with a spoon.

But Chia seeds are good for so much more, for Chocolate Chia Pudding obviously, but also for adding to baked goods, as an egg substitute, sprinkling on salads, etc.

So those are my two favorite treats at the moment.

What healthy treats do you enjoy in the afternoon?

I mixed together the ingredients for vanilla bean ice cream that is currently chilling in the fridge waiting to be made into the creamy stuff.  I also, prepared the batter for my Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake.  For my dinner, I made Roasted Red Pepper Hummus. And for our breakfast tomorrow I made healthified Shoe Fly Muffins which I am SO excited about!  I can’t wait to share the recipe with you!  I say they are for breakfast, but I actually ate one tonight, so I already know just how good they are..mm mm…I’ve been wanting to try to make something like this for awhile now and tonight was a good a time as ever.

Back to the hummus,  I love the stuff.  I used to make it all the time but haven’t in awhile and it sounded great for dinner tonight with some veggies to dip in it.  I didn’t have any Tahini and normally would just use natural peanut butter, but decided to just try it without any of those and it worked out great!  If you prefer the taste of Tahini in your hummus though you can easily add it to this recipe.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

1 can garbanzo beans (rinsed and drained)
1 tbsp plus 1/2 tsp lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1 roasted red pepper (i used jarred but feel free to roast up your own)
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1-2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp water
1 1/2 tbsp Tahini (optional)
salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.

My Food spread before I started the movie:  Veggies, Hummus, Salsa (I dip veggies in it sometimes…weird), my version of limeade (juice from half a lime, sprinkle of stevia, water, and a little bit of aloe vera juice), and of course a Shoe Fly Muffin.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!