Dorito Taco Salad

No picture for this, but too yummy to not post the recipe!

1lb ground beef (or bison or turkey)

1 envelope taco seasoning

15oz kidney beans, rinsed and drained

3 or 4 tomatoes, diced

1 head iceberg lettuce, shredded

2c shredded cheese (colby jack or cheddar)

Nacho Doritos, crushed

Kens Country Frech salad dressing

optional: sour cream

optional: avacado, black olives, onions, peppers

Cook beef and add taco seasoning while cooking. (Do NOT add water to the beef mix) Place in a lg bowl and refrigerate until cool.

Add beans, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, doritos, and any other ingredients. Mix well.

Cover with salad dressing. Mix well again. Serve immediately. Top with sour cream if desired.

*I like to use grape tomatoes and quarter them*

Goat Cheese with Chipotle and Roasted Red Pepper

This one was a hit with my bunco friends:)

1t cumin seeds

1 11-oz log soft fresh goat cheese

1c drained roasted red pepper strips from jar

1/4c extra-virgin olive oil

2t chipotle hot sauce

1 sm garlic clove, pressed

1/4c chopped fresh cilantro

2T toasted salted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

toasted bagyette slices or crackers

Toast cumin seeds in sm skillet over med heat until fragrant, stirring often, about 2 min. Cool.

Place goat cheese log on platter. Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap. Press into lg rectangle (approx 8x3 in) Sprinke with cumin, salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Mix roasted red peppers, olive oil, hot sauce, garlic, and chopped cilantro in a bowl. Spoon topping over goast cheese. Top with pumpkin seeds. Serve with toasted baguette slices or crackers

*I couldn't find the pumpkin seeds so I skipped them*

Sautéed Scallps with Sweet Chili-Lime Butter

Like always, sooooo good and sooooo easy!!!

2 lg limes

3T unsalted butter, room temp

1 1/2T Asian sweet chili sauce

1T minced green onion

salt

pepper

12 sea scallops, side muscles removed, patted dry

Using microplane, finely grate enough peel from limes to measure 2t. Cut one lime into wedges and reserve.

Mix butter, chili sauce, green onion, and lime peel in sm bowl. Season to tast with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper. Melt 1T butter mixture in lg nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Add scallops and cook just until opaque in center, about 2-3min per side.

Divide scallops onto plates and drop butter mix in sm dollops over scallops on each plate and squeeze lime wedges over.

* I used about 1T of chili sauce this time to make sure it wasn't too spicy:)

Cooked Pears with Greek Yogurt

This is a perfect afternoon or evening snack!

Cut two pears in half lengthwise leaving stems intact. Remove core and seeds with a melon baller or spoon.

Place the fruit in a small baking dish and brush with a mixture of 1T agave nectar (or maple syrup), 1/8t cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg.

Bake uncovered at 375° for 30min or until softened. Fill core with 1T plain Greek yogurt and top with cinnamon. YUM!

Basil Chicken Meatballs with Ponzu Sauce

The first time I made these I made the sauce also, but skipped it the second time. They are great plain or with a drizzle of soy sauce!

Meatballs

2/3c panko breadcrumbs

1/3c flaked sweetened coconut

1/4c chopped green onions

1/4c chopped fresh basil

2T sweet chili sauce

2t minced garlic

1 1/2t fish sauce

1 1/2lb ground chicken or turkey

2 lg egg whites, lightly beaten

cooking spray

Sauce

1/4c lower sodium soy sauce

2T small basil leaves

1T chopped green onions

2T fresh orange juice

1T fresh lemon juice

1 1/2t mirin (sweet rice wine)

Dash of crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 425°

To prepare meatballs, combine first 9 ingredients in lg bowl. Shape mix into 16 (1 1/2inch) meatballs

Heat a lg nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add 8 meatballs to pan, and cook for 6 min, browning on all sides. Remove meatballs from pan, and arrange on the rack of a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Repeat with remaining 8 meatballs.

Bake for 7 min or until done.

To prepare sauce: combine soy sauce, basil leaves, onions, juices, 1 1/2t water, mirin and red pepper in a small bowl. Serve sauce with meatballs.

Roasted Cauliflower

Another healthy, yummy vegetable:) Oh, and EASY!!

• 5 to 6 cups cauliflower florets, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter (from 1 medium cauliflower)
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sliced garlic
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

optional:

• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• Chopped chives, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 500°F.

Place the cauliflower florets in a large saute pan or a roasting pan. Drizzle the olive oil over the cauliflower, and season with the garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Place the saute/roasting pan in the oven and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure even roasting.

optional:

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately while still warm.

Afternoon Snack with My Picky Little Man!

Which picky little man......Logan, of course! Its hard to find things that Logan gets excited about helping with in the kitchen, but he thought this sounded pretty good!

Chocolate and Sprinkle Bananas

3 large bananas

1c chocolate chips

sprinkles

wax paper

popsicle sticks

Peel and cut bananas into halves. Insert popsicle sticks into the cut end. Melt chocolate chips int he microwave for 30 sec on High. Stir and repeat until chips are melted. Brush melted chocolate over bananas.

Add sprinkles!

YUM!! Logan picked the Jayhawk colored sprinkles:)

*I forgot to get popsicle sticks so we skipped them. A little messy, but it worked!

Making Vegetables Yummy!!

We struggle with vegetables. Most of the time if I do anything I put a steam in the bag package of vegetables in the microwave and call it good. So, I'm trying to find easy, healthy things to do with veggies:) These two recipes were both good and easy!!

• HONEY ROASTED CARROTS
• 
  
• 3 to 4 bunches (depending on size) fresh carrots, peeled
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Cut the carrots into thirds, crosswise on a sharp diagonal.

Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot fitted with a steamer basket. Let carrots steam until just tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and place in a bowl. Toss with the oil, agave nectar, salt and pepper.

Place the carrots on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 25 minutes. Loosen them from the baking sheet with a spatula. Adjust the seasonings and remove to a serving bowl.

Steamed Broccoli with Olive Oil, Garlic, and Lemon

1 small bunch broccoli (about 3/4 pound)

1 garlic clove

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Cut broccoli into 2-inch florets.

In a steamer set over boiling water steam broccoli, covered, until crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes.

While broccoli is steaming, finely chop garlic and in a small skillet combine with oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Heat garlic mixture over moderate heat until garlic is fragrant.

In a bowl toss broccoli with garlic mixture.

17 Day Diet

Any Dr Phil or The Doctors fans know what I'm talking about. They are having a 17 Day Diet challenge. Intrigued I of course bought the book:) It sounds like how I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be eating. So I suggested that Chris and I do this together as he isn't seeing the results from P90X that he did last time. Hopefully I'll be healthier and he'll see more of the results he wants. Check out his take on the situation at http://blossoming-apathy.blogspot.com/

It starts with mainly lean proteins and veggies with a little fruit and yogurt for the first 17 days. So, as we get creative with our veggies, tuna, eggs and chicken I'll post anything exciting we come up with. Chris started his diet today as he texted me a picutre of his hard-boiled egg (mostly whites) with a little tobasco, apple and water. I'll start tomorrow- for real! I had to eat some of the food in the fridge that isn't on the plan for the next 17 days:) Sooooooo goodbye cheese, milk, deli meat, potatoes, corn, etc............

Raspberry Pecan Blondies

Even more exciting than this delicious dessert is the pan! The "Edge Brownie Pan"!!!! Now we have less fights over the edges- and I don't mean the kids, I'm talking about Chris and I fighting over edges:)

If you don't have the pan, this recipe should work in a 9x13 pan.

2c whole wheat flour

1t baking powder

1/4t baking soda

1/2t salt

1/4t nutmeg

12T unsalted butter, room temperature

2c brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2t vanilla extract

1T lemon zest

1c pecans coarsely choppes

1c raspberries (I used blackberries because the grocery didn't have any raspberries)

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly spray pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in a bowl.

In a lg bowl beat the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add each of the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then add the vanilla and lemon zest. Add the dry ingredients and beat until just combined. Stir in the pecans.

Spread the dough in the prepared pan. Sprinkle the top of the dough with the berries.

Bake for 40-45min or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted into it comes out clean. Cool the blondies completely in the pan.

Pork Pozole

1 can (15oz) yellow or white hominy, drained

1 can (14.5oz) mexican style diced tomatoes

2 can (10oz) mild green enchilada sauce

1 lg onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2t cumin

1 1/2 lbs boneless pork loin

1/2c cilantro, chopped

1T lime juice

baked tortilla chips

diced avacado and lime wedges

Combine hominy, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, garlic and cumin in 4qt crock pot. Top with pork, spooning hominy mixture over the meat. Cover and cook on HIGH 2-2 1/2 hours.

Shred meat with two forks. Add cilantro and lime juice to the crock pot. Stir well. Serve with tortilla chips, avacado slices and lime wedges.

**My pork was no where near done after 3 hrs so I turned it down to LOW and cooked it for another 4 hrs.

**We love cilantro so I put in 1/4-1/2 c at the beginning of cooking also

Slim-Style Hummus

1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/2c nonfat Greek yogurt

juice of 1 lemon

1 clove garlic, minced

1T tahini

1/4t kosher salt

black pepper, to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth:)