Baked Broccoli Tots

I don't know about you, but Napoleon Dynamite really summed it up for me with Tater Tots.

They are just one of those things that plunge me right back into the joys of my high school days. Why wouldn't they? The crispy, greasy, salty goodness of those little potato clouds... so good. But so NOT good for my ever growing rear.. If only there were a healthy alternative... Ha, ok, you obviously know I'm going to throw my alternate choice at you so let's not prolong the build-up.. BROCCOLI TOTS!

If you're like my husband, you're looking at your screen right now with a look of half disgust, half intrigue and thinking that I must have lost my marbles. Don't be so skeptical! I promise, they're delicious.

Nick really loved these with hot sauce (ketchup and broccoli freaks him out), but I went for the good old traditional tot-sauce, Ketchup. You could even get fancy and make a nice little Alfredo sauce for these!

Anyway, here's what you're going to need to make these:
1 Bag frozen broccoli, thawed and drained
2 Large Eggs
1/2 small Sweet Onion, diced into small pieces (about 1/2 Cup)
1/4 cup Graded Parmesan Cheese
2/3 Cup Italian Style Breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1/2 Tsp Garlic salt (or to taste)
1/2 Tsp Ground Black Pepper

Here's how you make them:
1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.
2. Place broccoli in food processor and pulse* until chopped into small pieces (or chop by hand)
3. Transfer broccoli to a medium bowl, add all other ingredients and stir until combined.
4. Form into tots and place on a greased cookie sheet. It helps with forming the tots to make a tight little ball first, then roll it out into the tot shape.
5. Bake 25-35 minutes or until golden brown.

*Be sure when pulsing to do just short bursts and gently shake or stir to ensure bottom pieces do not get turned into puree.

Enjoy!

Easy Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Here in PA, we have had some crazy winter weather this year... by crazy I mean it has been below freezing like 2 days. I'm totally fine with that, but it has made my taste buds take come crazy leaps. One day I'm craving chili and hot cocoa, the next I'm all for watermelon and lemonade. Last night, I had a pumpkin craving, so I decided to whip up a SUPER easy pumpkin spice cake. 

This one is always a winner with my husband, who is one of those crazy "I don't like sweet desserts" people, and it's incredibly simple to throw together. 

Here's what you need for the cake:

1 Box yellow cake mix

1 (regular size, not the extra large cans) Easy Pumpkin

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 the amount of water called for on the cake mix box

Here's what you need for the frosting:

1 Brick Cream Cheese (at room temp works best- if not you'll need to microwave it to soften it a bit)

3/4 Cup Powdered Sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Here's how you make this delicious little treat:

1. Preheat the over to the temperature on the cake mix box.

2. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients for the cake with electric beaters, until smooth.

3. Bake according to the cake mix box. (* This cake may take a bit longer because of the extra moisture from the pumpkin)

4. Cool cake.

5. In a medium bowl, using electric beaters, mix together all frosting ingredients until a smooth, creamy frosting texture forms. 

6. I like to spread this frosting onto the cake while the cake is still a bit warm. It melts down a bit over the cake and works like a glaze. Plus, the cake tastes AWESOME while it's warm! 

7. To store, just cover and refrigerate! 

Enjoy!! :) 

Brownies- with no flour or refined sugar?!?! Yes.

I'm on week 3 of the 21 Day Fix! Yay!!!

I must admit, I feel so much better knowing that I'm building muscle and getting myself back on the stick. It's such an empowering feeling taking control of your health and making the decision to better yourself... most of the time.

There are, however, those times when you just want chocolate and there's not enough water, toothpaste or vinegar in the world to deter that sweet craving (yes, I brush my teeth with minty tooth paste or drink some vinegar water when I have a sweet craving to try to blow it off- try it, you'll be amazed).

So, last week I got this crazy intense chocolate fit.. that lasted for about 3 days and I just could NOT get it to go away. Luckily, I remembered my sister talking about Black Bean Brownies that she had made and LOVED. I decided I was desperate and had to try something, so I got my googler out and discovered my definition of a genius, Chocolate Covered Katie.

If you have never checked out her blog, it's definitely worth it. So many delicious, healthy versions of our guilty pleasures.

Anyway, I found her recipe for Black Bean Brownies and O.M.G... Let's just say I'm keeping black beans on hand from now on, just in case. They are SO good. I deviated from her recipe just ever so slightly and ended up with a deliciously, gooey, almost half-baked batter like center with the nice crispy edge that everyone loves on a brownie. I gave them to my husband and two teenage cousins without telling them what it was made of and they all commented that they were some of the best brownies they'd ever had. Imagine their shock when I told them they were eating Black Beans!

Ok, enough talking about it... Let's get down to business.

Here's what you need to make these delicious little treats:

1 can black beans

2 tbsp cocoa powder 

1/2 cup quick oats 

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup agave nectar or honey

1/4 cup vegetable oil 

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking powder

2/3 cup chocolate chips (I like dark chocolate best with this recipe)

optional: more chips for presentation, walnuts, white chocolate chips

Here's how you make them:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Drain and rinse your black beans so all the sauce they come canned in is washed off.
3. Put your oats in food processor (or I use my Ninja blender and it works great) and blend them until they form a powder
4. Add in all other ingredients except chocolate chips and optional ingredients. Blend until well mixed and a smooth, batter like consistency is formed. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Pour batter into a greased baking pan (I use a round 8" pan).
6. Top with more chocolate chips, nuts or other treats if desired.
7. Bake 15-18 minutes.
8. Let cool at least 15 minutes before eating.
9. Don't bother with a plate, just get a fork and chow down!!!!

If you have any left over (key word, if) just cover them and store them in your refrigerator. They may set up more overnight in your fridge, giving you a nice, brownie like consistency.

Enjoy!!

Tofu Croutons

Friends, family, people of the blogesphere, I have had a breakthrough: Tofu doesn't have to suck!

If you are anything like me, you bought tofu once upon your yesteryear, with no actual idea what you were doing with it or how to cook it. You attempted some half-baked recipe only to discover it was completely DISGUSTING and vowed you'd never put your taste buds through that torture again.

Well, years later, I have been re-inspired. My sister has been harping about how much she loved the sriracha-soy tofu she had made the other day. I am not at all a spicy person, so her recipe just wasn't floating my boat, but the more she talked about tofu, the more I got thinking. Finally, after visiting my friend and her new baby the other night (welcome to the world little Everly, love you so much already!) I decided to hit the grocery store.

What is it about new life that makes me want to try new foods?

Anyway, I decided tonight to dive in there and try to find a way to make myself like tofu. I had heard about people baking it until crispy, so I decided I'd attempt a tofu crouton for my chicken Caesar salad.

Surprisingly, I LOVED them! They were the perfect blend of a crispy outside with a soft, slightly chewy inside.

Here's what I used to make them:
1 Package firm or extra firm tofu (I used the kind that's refrigerated and stored in water, not the dry, shelf stable kind)
1/2 cup yellow corn meal (more if needed)
1 tsp Garlic Salt (more if desired)

Here's how I made them:
1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Pat the tofu dry and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3. Gently roll the cubes in corn meal.
4. Place corn meal covered cubes on a greased baking sheet.
5. Sprinkle garlic salt over the cubes. Add other seasonings if desired.
6. Bake until cubes have started to slightly brown and are crunchy to the touch (Approximately 30-45 minutes).

They're best if you eat them when they're still warm. I let them cool for about 5 minutes and then dove in!

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did! They were awesome on a nice chicken Caesar salad. I'd even strongly consider making the salad without the chicken!

I know it's hard to retry a food you've previously been not so fond of, but this is almost guaranteed to change your mind about tofu!

What are your favorite tofu recipes? I'd love to experiment some more!

MY Truth About C-Sections

The thought of a Cesarean is pretty scary, right?  I mean, your stomach is being cut wide open, and a baby is being pulled out of it, all while you're awake, aware of what's happening and strapped down to an operating table. There's catheters (gross), blood loss, the inability to move, hardcore medicines, uncontrollable shaking, the possibility of complications requiring your supporter to have to leave the room (doesn't sound so bad now, but when you're strapped to a table and the doctor tells your husband that they're having some complications and he will have to leave- WORST FEELING EVER), no control over anything that's happening... seriously frightening.

Now let's add in to the mix the fact that you will most likely not be able to be the first one to hold your baby, in fact, your first interaction with your baby will not happen until after he or she has been cleaned and had the initial stats measured and recorded, and someone else has spent an hour or so with him or her. After you leave the hospital, you're going to be recovering from major abdominal surgery while learning to be a new mom.

Let's face it, Cesareans are NOT easy. Not physically. Not mentally. Not during. Not after. They are not easy. Period.

Oh and speaking of period, you thought you wouldn't bleed as much as someone who delivers naturally since there's no "action" down south? Guess again. You'll probably bleed way more because you didn't lose all the blood during delivery. YAY!

Ok, ok... you get the picture. It can down right suck. And yet, I LOVED it! Sure, there were moments of complete and utter terror. There was uncertainty. There was a serious struggle with not being in control of anything happening to or around me. But IT. WAS. AWESOME.  Let's talk about why...

1. PAIN MEDS. After 40 hours of labor, that epidural they gave me 22 hours into the gig was just not cutting it. As soon as they decided they needed to do an emergency C, in came my good friend Mr. Anesthesiologist and it was like a breath of fresh air. I went from writhing in pain to straight chillin'.  Let's put it this way.. mid way through the c-section, I asked my husband if he was going to be late for his high school reunion... He won't be having one of them again for 3 years... I was feeling seriously good.

2. Catheter. Now I know, you're thinking I'm either some kind of freak or I'm completely insane. There's no way a catheter can be a good thing, right? Well... let's think back to the last month. I was super pregnant, and I naturally have a teeny tiny bladder. Add a baby into my belly, pressing against my bladder all the time.. I was making at least 12-15 trips to the bathroom PER NIGHT. Not an exaggeration.. There were some nights I was up every half hour. Once they put the catheter in (which I didn't feel, thanks to pain meds discussed in love point #1), I didn't have to pee! For the first time in over a month, I felt no urge to run to the bathroom. After delivery, I got to sleep for 5 hours straight WITHOUT getting up to run to the bathroom! It was glorious. And for those of you who have heard how horribly painful they are to be removed- I barely felt it at all (probably thanks to the meds, and the distracting massive incision across my stomach preventing me from sitting up without double arm assistance).

3. It feels like the ocean in your stomach. I'm totally serious. It felt like there were just waves running across my stomach while they were doing the procedure. I have no idea why I was feeling what I was feeling, but it felt awesome. It's like a stomach massage delivered by water Gods. Ok, that's an exaggeration, but it felt really cool. Side note, I was super freaked out about being able to feel things prior to the operation, so it's not something I was anticipating enjoying.

4. Warm Towels. The medicines they give are known to cause some shaking in some patients. Add to that the pretty decent amount of blood loss I experienced and I was like a full body bobble head. It was pretty scary, especially after they told my husband he had to leave. Luckily, that wonderful Mr. Anesthesiologist I'm so fond of, was there by my side, holding my hands and wrapping warm towels over my shoulders. Seriously, there's not a whole lot that beats wrapping up in a soft towel fresh out of the dryer.

5. My husband got to be the first to hold our daughter. It's a tough thing to miss out on that fundamental "mom moment", but it was so beautiful to see him holding our little girl. It was an amazing experience to be able to sit back and just see them taking each other in and saying hi to her for the first time. It was a heart melter.

6. You have a perfectly legitimate excuse to not wear pants for at least 2 weeks after delivery. Seriously, who wants pants rubbing up on a fresh incision? Not this girl. Boycott your bottoms and live it up in your bathrobe!

7. You're like a superhero. You made a baby, you survived major surgery and now you're a mom! Your baby is not going to care how they came into this world, just as long as you are right there beside them, snuggling, loving and showing them the way through the crazy thing called life. You had a baby. You are awesome.

We all know the stigmas associated with Cesareans, but I'm here today to tell you to throw that out the window. You are a mom. You brought life into this world. You are a bad@$$.

For anyone reading this that is preparing to deliver- get ready. It's about to be the best experience of your life. I hope this eases some of your anxieties and gets you excited to meet your new little bundle of joy. And remember, regardless of how you bring your little one into the world, you are about to be a mom... and moms are just the best. Go you!!!

Fruit Pizza

Cookies + Icing + Fruit = Pizza. 

One heck of an equation, right?  So I'm no mathematician, but I can tell you that adding these ingredients together results in a seriously yummy dessert. BONUS *It has fruit on it, so it's almost healthy. YUM!

This makes a perfect treat to take to dinner parties or to have at home after a meal to sneak a few extra fruits into your kiddo's (or husband's) diet! It is such a nice summery dessert that it can really be a mood booster in the middle of winter if you can get your hands on some decent fruit!

Here's all you need:
- 1 Tube of refrigerated sugar cookie dough (or you can be fancy and make your own!)
- 1 8oz brick of cream cheese, ROOM TEMP
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Fruit (customize to fit what you like!)

Here's how to make it:
1. Slice cookie dough to thickness indicated in directions on package
2. Instead of spreading cookies on a sheet, arrange them all close together in a circle on a pizza pan. I gently pushed the edges of the cookies together to make one giant cookie crust.
3. Bake as indicated on cookie dough packaging.
4. Cool crust.
5. Using electric beaters, mix together cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract until well combined and a nice creamy frosting has formed.
6. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the cooled cookie crust.
7. Decorate with whatever fruit you choose!
8. Slice like a pizza and enjoy!

How I Lost 10 Pounds in 5 Days!

With the New Year comes the infamous resolution that so many of us make every year to lose weight/get in shape.

As a little jump start to my year, I decided to try a rendition of the Cabbage Soup diet, and guess what! 10 POUNDS IN 5 DAYS!!!

Yes, I am aware that most of that weight is water weight and that this is not a "long term" solution for weight loss.. but for someone who has been struggling with willpower and shedding the weight I put on while managing restaurants and during pregnancy, this was a perfect little kick in the pants!

If you're interested in the original cabbage soup diet, you can easily find hundreds of different versions and recipes with a quick google search. If you want to shorten it by two days and use the plan I did, here's what I did!

First, make a big batch of cabbage soup. I "cheated" a little bit and made my first batch of the week using the following recipe (*Please note that most of the veggies used in this can be omitted if you don't like them):
- 1/2 medium head of cabbage, chopped
- 1 bunch celery, chopped
- 1 cup baby carrots, chopped
- 1 Large Spanish onion, chopped
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 large zucchini, chopped
- 1 Cup chopped bell peppers
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 Can healthy choice Tomato Soup
- 1 Quart low- sodium Vegetable stock
- 2 Cups Water
- 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
-  Black Pepper to taste

To make this, I just combined everything in a crockpot and let it cook on high for 4-5 hours. **For my second batch, I replaced the tomato soup with low sodium V8, used two cans of diced tomatoes, and added a pint of home-canned tomato puree. I liked the first recipe better, but the tomato soup contains a lot of sugar that was eliminated by switching to V8.

Here's what I did on a daily basis:

Day 1. Cabbage Soup and Fruits. This sounds harder than it is and again, I "cheated" a little bit. For breakfast, I had sauteed spinach and a BIG glass of water. I snacked on an orange and some cinnamon stick tea, then had cabbage soup for lunch and of course, more water. In the afternoon I had an apple, cut up and sprinkled with apple pie spice. Dinner was a big salad with greens, mandarin oranges, blueberries, pineapple, bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes and a dash of raspberry vinegar.

Day 2. Cabbage Soup and Vegetables + Baked Potato for Dinner! Again, I had sauteed spinach for breakfast, this time with some bell peppers added in. For a snack I had tea, celery sticks and some fresh broccoli florets with lots of water! For lunch, cabbage soup and in the afternoon I snacked on Italian spinach chips and for dinner I had a baked potato with a teaspoon of margarine and a salad loaded with veggies and topped with a bit of balsamic vinegar.

Day 3. Cabbage Soup, Fruits and Veggies. This day is essentially what I should be eating every day. Fresh, clean, colorful foods. I had my normal breakfast and snacked on a granny smith apple. Again, LOTS AND LOTS OF WATER. Lunch was cabbage soup and I had some steamed broccoli drizzled with lemon and cracked black pepper. For dinner, I had this AWESOME veggie saute loaded with green beans, zucchini, peppers, asparagus, broccoli, baby carrots, onion and tons of deliciousness. 

Day 4. Cabbage Soup, Bananas, Plain Yogurt and Skim Milk. This will probably not be the easiest day of your life, unless your spirit animal is a monkey and you LOVE bananas.  For breakfast, I had a BIG banana smoothie.
- 1 small fresh banana
- 1/2 frozen banana
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 cup skim milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 6-8 Ice cubes

Add it all in a blender and blend until smooth. Add more ice if it's too runny. Mid morning, I snacked on a banana. Lunch, I had cabbage soup and a big glass of skim milk. In the afternoon I snacked on a banana sprinkled with cinnamon and filled myself with water. For dinner, I had another banana smoothie and I was STUFFED!


Day 5. Cabbage Soup, Skinless boneless chicken breast & vegetables. This day was super easy. For breakfast, I returned to my normal sauteed spinach breakfast and added in some roasted chicken breast. I snacked on some roasted asparagus with Italian seasoning and a nice big cup of tea. My lunch, again, was cabbage soup and lots of water. I made some roasted ranch cauliflower to snack on  and had some roasted tomato, asparagus, green beans, bell peppers and zucchini with grilled chicken breast for dinner.

That's it! I was never hungry and finally felt like I was actually hydrating myself. The morning of day 6 I hopped on the scale and was down 10.2 pounds!!

It has been 2 weeks now, and I have eliminated processed flour and refined sugar. I'm continuing to eat fresh, clean ingredients while drinking a minimum of 100oz of water per day and I have lost another 2 pounds.

This 5 day diet gives some awesome perspective on clean eating and makes you really pay attention to what you're putting in your body. It stresses hydrating and not allowing yourself to binge eat when in reality, you are just thirsty!

The diet gave me a wonderful kick start for the new year and kicking my weight loss journey off with a bang!  Hopefully it'll do the same for you!

Roasted Beet Chips

Every family has that one food that never survives long enough to even be put on a plate, right? Well, for my family, roasted beets is that food.

I've always been a fan of beets in any form- pickled, plain, canned, cooked, cold.. you name it. Eating them like this, easily takes the cake as my favorite!

They're super easy too! 

Here's what you'll need:

- Fresh beets, peeled (I just use a traditional kitchen peeler, some people use a knife- do what's comfortable)

- Parchment Paper or Cookie Sheet with non-stick cooking spray

- Sea Salt (optional)

Here's how they're made:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Slice peeled beets to about 1/8" thick using *Mandoline (*Affiliate Link) or knife (try to get them as uniform as possible!) **Don't have time to peel and slice your own? Use canned and follow baking time for crispy chips below!

3. Spread beet slices on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. 

4. OPTIONAL: Sprinkle with sea salt to taste

5. Bake 15 minutes, rotate baking sheet, bake 15 minutes longer.

*We like ours to still be soft and chewy, but if you want yours to be more on the crispy side, extend baking time to 30 min, rotate and bake, checking after 15 minutes and continuing to bake until they have reached your desired crispness. 

That's it! 

Seriously, so easy and SO delicious! 

These can be used as an awesome replacement for crackers if you make them crispy (Or keep them soft and use them as "wraps" or just top them and eat with a fork!). Simply bake and top with crumbled goat cheese and some crushed walnut sprinkles or get creative with your own toppings! 

*This post contains affiliate links. Purchases made by clicking an affiliate link may result in me receiving a small reward from the supplying company. This will not affect your purchase price, return policy or product quality in any way. 

Buffalo Chicken- Two Dinners in One!

*This post contains affiliate links. By completing a purchase through clicking an affiliate link, I receive a small portion of the sale as an incentive. This will not affect your purchase price, return/exchange policy or item quality.

One of the perks of my resolution to get my butt in shape, is that I get to cook TWO different meals many nights because Nick is really not big into the idea of giving up processed/fatty/salty/just plain bad for you foods. While going through my fridge today, I found we had a left over grilled chicken breast from our dinner Sunday night. I pondered a few different options and finally landed on the idea of buffalo chicken.  Well, all that was fine and dandy, except there's no way Nick was going to eat a buffalo chicken salad with me, and I certainly wasn't going to be eating a sandwich.. so, we arrived at two dinners from one breast: for him, Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese and for me Buffalo Chicken Salad with Crispy Sweet Potato Curls


The common ingredient? Buffalo Chicken! Here's how I made that:
Dice 1 large chicken breast into small 1/4 inch cubes.
Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in microwave safe bowl
Add 1/2 cup hot sauce (Room temp works best!)
Stir until combined and toss chicken in the sauce.
**I like my chicken nice and warm so I microwaved the chicken for a minute and a half after I coated it with the sauce.



Now, let's start with Nick's buffalo chicken grilled cheese!

Here's all you'll need:

• Buffalo chicken (recipe above)
• 2 Slices American Cheese
• Ranch Dressing (Or bleu cheese!)
• 2 Slices Sandwich bread
• Butter

Here's how to make it:

1. Butter one side of the bread slices and place one piece butter side down in saute pan.

2. Top the bread in the pan with one slice american cheese.

3. Cover the cheese with buffalo chicken mixture.

4. Drizzle dressing over chicken

5. Top with remaining slice of cheese

6. Cover with remaining bread slice, butter side up. 

7. Cook over medium heat until bottom bread slice has toasted to golden brown and bottom slice of cheese has begun melting.

8. Flip and repeat step 7. 

And now for the Buffalo Chicken Salad with Crispy Sweet Potato Curls

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 Sweet Potato
• Remaining Buffalo Chicken
• Dressing (Bleu Cheese or ranch)
• Salad Fixings (I used spring mix lettuce, bell peppers, fresh string beans, baby carrots and celery)
• Salt (optional)

Here's how to make it:

1. Using a veggie Spiralizer , curl peeled sweet potato (follow directions on spiralizer).
2. Preheat oven to 300
3. Spread curls on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkle with salt if desired.
4. Bake 45 minutes - 1 hour or until curls have reached your desired crispiness.
5. Assemble salad
6. Top with buffalo chicken, dressing and sweet potato curls.

I hope you enjoy!!!

Healthy Pizza Bite Snacks

Pizza... a staple in so many households. I know when I was growing up I used to LOVE pizza night on Fridays. What is it about that cheese and sauce slathered dough that creates such a soft spot in so many of our hearts? Which of course leads to a whole lot of soft, jiggley, "can't quite button my pants" spots around our waist..

Alas, I've found a way to still indulge without worrying about being banished by my jeans for the next month!  Zucchini!

Fun right??

Here's what you need- I'm not including measurements, as everything is really "to taste", so feel free to pile them up or keep them simple! 

• Zucchini, sliced into 1/4" coins
• Pizza Sauce (We used home canned tomato sauce with a bit of basil, garlic and oregano added)
• Turkey Pepperoni
• Reduced Fat Italian Cheese
• Italian Seasoning
• Salt and Pepper

And here's how you make them:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or just grease the baking sheet)

3. Lay zucchini slices on the sheet in a single layer, sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper and bake just until the middle of the coins begins to turn soft. DO NOT OVER BAKE- we want to be able to pick these up, so don't let your zucchini turn to mush (About 8-10 minutes)

4. Remove zucchini from oven and spoon pizza sauce over the coins. 

5. Top with a thin layer of cheese, a pepperoni slice and more cheese. (You'll want the little bit of cheese between the sauce and pepperoni to help hold everything together!)

6. Return to the oven until the cheese has completely melted.

7. Remove and sprinkle with a bit of Italian seasoning and Voila! 

These are so easy and so delicious! I hope you enjoy them as much as my family does! 

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are one of those things that everyone seems to have their own way of making them. Some like them soft, some like them crunchy, some like theirs to be the texture of cake... you get the point. For me, I like them denser than cake so they taste like a cookie, but soft and chewy with a little tiny bit of crunch around the edges.  Now don't judge too hard, I'm not a cookie snob that's going to reject everyone else's cookies.. I'll still chow down, but if I'm making my own, I want them to be made the way I like them.

Ok, enough talking right? Let's get down to business.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar
• 3/4 Cups Butter, melted
• 3/4 Cups Shortening (I use all vegetable shortening)
• 2 Teaspoons Vanilla
• 3 Eggs, Room Temp
• 4 Cups All purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups Chocolate Chips

And here's how you make them:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Using an electric mixer, cream together brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, shortening and vanilla in a large bowl. The key here is to actually cream them together. I always used to under beat this step. Keep beating for 3-4 minutes, until your mixture takes on a light tan color and appears smooth and frosting-like. Add in the eggs one at a time, but only beat until incorporated.

3. In a smaller bowl, sift flour, baking soda and salt together. 

4. Slowly beat the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture until combined.

5. Fold in chocolate chips gently. 

6. Drop Tablespoon sized balls onto ungreased cookie sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart.

7. Bake 8-10 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE! You only want your cookies to be slightly browned around the bottom edges and set nicely so they don't feel liquidy when touched. 

Pour yourself a nice glass of milk or cocoa and prepare to fall in love. Enjoy! 

Ground Floor Chili

Winter is brutal, there's no denying that. One of my favorite ways to battle the chilly temperatures is to warm up with a nice hot bowl of chili. This recipe is so quick and easy it can be easily thrown together after a long day on the job and enjoyed without much effort!

I call this Ground Floor Chili because it's such a simple base recipe and you can add on as many flavor layers as you wish or leave it exactly as is and it's still delicious!

Here's what you'll need:

1 lb. ground beef or venison (I used venison so it's a bit leaner)
1 Can tomato Puree (29oz)
1 Can diced tomatoes (14.5oz)
1 Can Red Kidney Beans  (16 oz)
1 Pack McCormick Chili Seasoning

Seasonings I used (Feel free to be creative here!)
Sea Salt
Pepper
Hot Sauce


Optional Toppings:
Sour Cream
Cheddar Cheese

So as you can see, lots of options here. The base ingredients are pretty simple and then you can doll it up however you'd like!

Here's how you make it:

1. Cook your meat (If you're into limiting dirty dishes as much as possible like I am, you can cook the meat right in your soup pot) then drain off excess grease.
2. Add tomato puree, diced tomatoes and red kidney beans. Heat all ingredients over medium heat, stirring often as it will bubble and spatter all over!
3. Once chili is warm, begin adding in seasonings as desired.
4.Top however you'd like and enjoy!

Baked Sweet Potato Chips

It's January 3, so all our New Year's resolutions to lose weight/get healthy are in full swing! Doesn't it always seem like as soon as you start a diet you only want sugar and carbs? Well.. I craved potato chips today. so I decided to try a healthier homemade version and they turned out delicious!

They weren't at all difficult, but they did take quite a bit of time to make.

Here's what you'll need:

1-2 small sweet potatoes (try to find potatoes that are mostly uniform in diameter so you'll have even chips)

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

And here's how to do it:

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.

2. Wash your sweet potatoes and slice them to about 1/8" thick using a mandolin (or knife if you don't have a mandolin)

3. Combine the sweet potatoes and olive oil in a bowl and toss them to coat the potatoes.

4. Spread the slices in a single layer on a cookie sheet. 

5. Sprinkle the sea salt over the potato slices.

6. Bake 40 minutes, flip each slice and bake for 30-40 minutes longer, until potatoes are crisp, but not burned.

7. Allow the chips to cool 5-10 minutes and enjoy! 

Mexican Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Ok, so I've been chomping at the bit to share the recipe we made for dinner last night with all of you. We (along with about 60% of people) made a resolution to get in shape and get healthy this year. I have really let myself go since college and I've reached the point of just feeling gross all the time so, it's about to change.

The hard part about shedding the extra pounds for me, is that I am through and through a foodie. So, in true foodie fashion, I've accepted my own challenge to lose weight, get healthy and do so all without giving up my love of food. The good news for y'all is that this means I'll be trying out TONS of new healthy recipes to find low cal, low carb, low fat options that please both me AND my "I'll just have beef and beer for dinner while maintaining my 6-pack from high school" husband!

So last night, we headed up to my parents for dinner and made a Mexican Spaghetti Squash casserole. I had seen a picture somewhere of a spaghetti squash that someone had filled with ground beer and spaghetti squash and it inspired me.

Here's what you'll need:
 1 Medium Spaghetti Squash
 1 lb Ground beef or venison
 1 Small Spanish onion, chopped
 1 Medium Bell Pepper (Any color), chopped
 1 Package McCormick Taco Seasoning
 1 Can Whole Kernal Corn, drained
 1 Can Black Beans or Pinto Beans (drained and rinsed)
 1 Medium Tomato, diced
 1 Small Zucchini, diced
 1 Jar Chunky Salsa (choose if you want mild, medium or hot)- room temp is best
 1 Bag shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese
 1 Container Sour Cream
 1 Hot Sauce (optional)

*You can completely modify the veggie ingredients to suit your liking. If you're not a bean person, simply leave them out. If you're feeding "Anti-Veggie" people, you can mix some rice and corn and use that in place of the beans, tomato and zucchini. If you like your food extra spicy, you can add a chopped jalapeno or other hot pepper.

 Here's what we did:
1. Preheat Oven to 400 degrees
2. Clean your spaghetti squash, cut it in half lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and discard.
3. Place squash halves in a cake pan, fleshy side up and bake 30 minutes (or until spaghetti squash easily pulls apart when a fork is inserted and twisted in the flesh)
4. While the squash is baking, cook your onion and ground meat together in a large skillet. When the meat is about half done, add in your chopped bell pepper.
5. Drain grease off of meat, add taco seasoning according to directions on the package (many brands will have you add a bit of water with the seasoning).
6. When Squash is done, remove from oven.  Spray a casserole dish (or 9x13 cake pan) with non-stick cooking spray. Carefully scrape the fleshy inside from the squash shells and layer on the bottom of your casserole dish.
7. Pour your meat mixture over the squash and top the meat with the corn, beans, tomato and zucchini. (You can layer these individually or mix all the veggies in a large bowl and just pour them over as a single layer).
8. Top the veggie layer with salsa.
9. Top the salsa with shredded cheddar cheese.
10. Place the casserole in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted over the top of the casserole.
11. Serve and top with hot sauce, sour cream, additional salsa or any other desired toppings!

Enjoy!!!

As a little extra flavor, you can prepare a simple lime crema to use as a topping instead of sour cream. Simply mix 1 cup sour cream, 1/2 tsp cumin and lime juice to taste! The mixture will be slightly thinned and will have a wonderful tangy flavor to top off your meal!

Getting Healthy Day 1!