January 30, 2014

Banana Oat Flax Muffins

These banana muffins are packed with nutrients and flavor! Win-Win!

I have challenged myself with incorporating more flaxseed into my diet and recipes. Research indicates that flax may reduce risks of certain cancers as well as cardiovascular disease and lung disease.

Although flaxseed contains all sorts of healthy components, it owes its primary healthy reputation to three of them:

Omega-3 essential fatty acids, “good” fats that have been shown to have heart-healthy effects. Each tablespoon of ground flaxseed contains about 1.8 grams of plant omega-3s.
Lignans, which have both plant estrogen and antioxidant qualities. Flaxseed contains 75 to 800 times more lignans than other plant foods.
Fiber. Flaxseed contains both the soluble and insoluble types.

Source

With all that information, why wouldn’t you want to incorporate it into your diet?

Banana Oat Flax Muffin Recipe

Step 1

Grind oatmeal into flour consistency. Add in remaining dry ingredients.

I used brown sugar blend to lessen the sugar content. Tastes just the same!

Step 2

Mix in all wet ingredients. I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

I sometimes like to mash the bananas separately to break them up and then incorporate into all ingredients. This time, I chose not to. Chunks of bananas are good too! 🙂

Side note: I am still using my old school mixer and not my Kitchen Aid Mixer. I KNOW! I just need some quality time with it. I am afraid to take it out of the box until I know I can spend a solid day making some yummy stuff. Don’t judge.

Step 3

Scoop into muffin tins around 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes.

Eat up!

January 7, 2014

Healthy Baked Chicken Enchiladas

If you are like me, when you hear the word enchilada you think red sauce and cheese. Extra cheese.

This recipe goes a whole new direction by using Greek Yogurt and minimal cheese and still tastes great. This recipe packs some extra protein power as well.

Sincere apologies for the less than appetizing coloring. iPhones not ideal for food. Clearly.

On a positive note, I received a call from Sony today saying they received my camera, and it goes in for repair tomorrow!

They also said they would call every three days to update me on the status.

A+ for customer service.

But, one has to ask what kind of surgery they are performing on the darn thing if it’s in for that long? Dang!

Moving on…

Healthy Chicken Enchiladas

1-2 cooked and shredded chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups Greek Yogurt
1 1/2 cups salsa
1 Can Diced Green Chile’s
2 Tbsp. Hot Sauce
2 Tbsp. Enchilada Seasoning
Corn tortillas
Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese
Black Olives

* All Ingredients are estimates. Add or subtract amounts as desired *

1) Mix together shredded chicken, yogurt, chile’s, salsa, hot sauce and seasoning.

2) Spread mixture in center of corn tortilla, roll, place seam side down in prepared 9×13 pan.

3) Repeat until pan is full.

4). Spray EVOO on the top of each corn tortilla, sprinkle with cheese and olives. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

5) Remove foil, add extra cheese if desired, serve, enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Baked Chicken Enchiladas

December 29, 2013

Christmas Recap, Money Giving Idea & A Rolo Cookie Recipe

Hi All! I hope you had a very Merry Christmas with family and friends. We had a whirlwind of Christmas Celebrations, but loved every single one of them.

Money Giving Idea!

Clint wanted to give his nephews cash for Christmas. What kid doesn’t enjoy receiving money, right?

We taped each bill together, placed them in a wrapped container, attached the last bill to a bow with directions to pull carefully.

I was so excited to see their faces as they pulled the string of money out!

Christmas Eve Celebrations

Our first celebration on Christmas Eve was with Clint’s mom, step-dad, siblings and nephews. Debbie always cooks SO MUCH FOOD and it is always so very good. Unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling real well that day, so I didn’t get to enjoy the yummies. 😦 However, it was still a great day being with family.

And, the boys faces, say it all with their gifts:

Good luck getting through that maze:

What a fun first Christmas Celebration!

Our Second Christmas Eve Celebration was with my dad’s side of the family. I enjoyed chatting with my grandpa, aunt and uncle and cousins. Always a good time with them. 🙂

My Gr’pa and I

My Cousin Megan and I

Totally wasn’t feeling very well and the pictures definitely show that. So much for thinking I was doing a good job of hiding it! Yeesh!

After our Christmas Eve celebrations we headed back to the city so that we could be home on Christmas morning with Kyle! We do a LOT of driving during the holidays. We racked up a total of three trips to Clarinda, IA and back in four days.

Oh hello crappy gas mileage!

Christmas Morning:

Kyle and his pile. It should be noted that some of those were also from his grandparents. He was unable to make the Christmas Eve dinner due to his work schedule.

Who remembers High School retail hours? Thank goodness those days are behind me!

Fake smiles anyone? At least they obliged. 🙂

The aftermath. Even Champ was exhausted!

Clint spoiled me ROTTEN! I mean, seriously. A Kitchen Aid Mixer and the Yamaha keyboard I had been wanting. This thing is legit! Super excited to play again. 🙂 I have a piano in Clarinda at my dad’s house, however, who wants to haul that thing around? No thanks. He can keep it as a clothes hanger.

After we finished our Christmas Day Celebrations at our house, we headed back to Clarinda to spend the afternoon with my mom, step-dad, Bro and Gr’ma.

Mom had a delicious spread of snack foods, lasagna soup, desserts and of course champagne and beer.

We snacked, sipped, opened gifts and shared a lot of laughs. It was a perfect Christmas Day afternoon.

Paige. My mom’s baby.

My Bro, Gabe and his lifeline.

Clint and Gabe

My mom and step-dad. They have the coolest back porch. My mom has a knack for decorating. It’s like a little cottage setting back there. So cute.

Yours Truly

I am going to leave you with a Rolo Cookie Recipe that I again, only make once a year (like my Caramel Chex Mix), but these cookies only go to my Uncle Craig. Well, they are made with the intent of just going to him, but my grandpa, aunt and cousins seem to always anticipate their arrival as well. 😉 I found this recipe originally on SixSisters.com. Those chicks are my recipe heroes.

Enjoy!

1. Unwrap Rolo’s and Mix together cake mix, oil and eggs.

2. Wrap dough around one Rolo

3. Bake for 7-8 minutes at 350

4. Sprinkle with powdered sugar

Enjoy!

December 23, 2013

Merry Christmas to You From Me: Caramel Chex Recipe!

Wishing you and yours a Very Merry Christmas!

My gift to you is the recipe for my most requested treat, Caramel Chex! I only make it one time a year for a very specific reason: It’s ridiculously addicting. Consider yourself warned.

Step 1: Preheat oven to 325*. In a saucepan, heat sugar, Karo Syrup and butter over medium heat until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. On a prepared (large) baking sheet spread out cereal, nuts and coconut.

*I have found 350 temp is perfect in an electric oven, but 325 works best in a gas oven.

Step 2: Pour caramel mixture over cereal mix. Coat cereal mixture well. Try not to drool.

Step 3: Stir well, place in oven for 24 minutes, stirring every eight minutes to assure every cereal bit gets equally coated.

Step 4: After the 24 minute baking time spread mixture out on lightly greased parchment paper making sure to create an even layer. Feel free to leave some small clumps for extra gooey pieces after it cools.

Step 5: Try to keep your significant other out of it. It’s dangerously good.

Step 6: Store as desired. I typically place mine in either snack size bags, decorated with cute ribbon, or in zip lock bags for ease of access. I always add M&M’s when bagging up. Note: as the Chex settles it will stick together, creating clumps, so keeping it stored in baggies allows you to gently massage the chex mix to break it up.