Avocado Pesto Spaghetti Squash

This was only my second time making spaghetti squash but I love that it goes with everything. I must confess that I copped this recipe from Missy over at Melissa Explains it All.  As I was at the grocrey store I kept thinking of new ingredients to add.

Spaghetti Squash:
Split in half and remove seeds, place on baking sheet with water just covering the bottom. Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes. Once cool, take a fork and scrape out the spaghetti.

Avocado Pesto:
1 Avocado
8-10 Fresh Basil Leafs
2-3 Cloves of Garlic (I like a lot)
1/8 Cup Water
1 tsp of Olive Oil
1/2 tsp of Onion Powder
Juice of 1/2 a Lemon
1/4 Cayenne Pepper
Salt & Pepper to taste

Blend in food processor, blender, immersion blender or mash by hand (chop the basil leaves).

Mix 1/4 of the pesto with 1 cup of cooked spaghetti squash with 1/2  diced roma tomato, parmesan & feta cheese. All topping are optional, next time I'm going to try it with red pepper.

Chicken Blue Flatbread

Inspired by a trip to Vic's and my love of flatbread I tried to recreate the magic. What I love about flat bread it that it's so versatile!!

1 Tortola- spritz with olive oil and bake till crispy
Chicken Brest seasoned with salt, pepper, onion and garlic. Cook, cool then pull apart
Blue cheese dressing, blue cheese, white cheddar.

Once the tortilla is crisp top with blue cheese dressing, layer with shredded chicken and cheeses. Throw it back in he oven till melted.

This is is so simple and quick I are it 4 times last week!

Black Bean Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lately I've been hearing about healthy desserts so I thought I would give it a go.  Now that I have successfully tricked friends and co-workers into trying them before they knew they were black beans I can finally post this.  

Though they are not quite as sweet as regular cookies, there are really quite delicious and addictive not unlike their full calories counterparts.  I liked theses so much I'm going to try a blondie recipe with chickpeas.


Black Bean Chocolate Cookies 

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar (you can substitute honey or agave syrup if you prefer)
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons skim milk
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla 
1/4 cup chocolate chips (any variety)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a food processor, combine the beans, milk, peanut butter, olive oil and vanilla and process until smooth. Working in small batches, add the cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Process until fully incorporated (it will resemble mousse). Fold in the chocolate chips (do not process) or sprinkle them on top.

Drop heaping soup spoonfuls onto a prepared baking sheet (you should end up with 16 large mounds). If you like, sprinkle a couple of extra chips onto each cookie mound. Bake for about 12-15 minutes (the cookies will still be a bit soft). Cool the cookies on the pan for a few minutes and then move them to cool completely.


Note: It's a good idea to store these cookies in the fridge rather than at room temperature -- unless you eat them all at once! 

No-Bake Peanut Butter Energy Bites

So its been a while. Ok a long long while. Lately I've found myself making some delicious New recipes  I was kind of in the same old same old rut for a while. So without further adieu I bring you No-Bake Peanut Butter Energy Bites. I thought these would be great for in between gym and barre class but frankly they are good straight out of the bowl.


After a friend posted this I had to try (and modify) these for myself.  This recipe is not only incredibly simple it is also flexible to your own preferences. I chose to use chai seed, my new favorite super food and agave instead of honey out of personal preference. I do warn you that these tasty bites are rather high calorie (100-150 per bite depending on the size) so consume with restraint.

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup Dry Oatmeal
• 1/2 cup Peanut Butter (any nut butter)
• 1/2 cup Chai Seeds (flax or wheat germ)
• 1/2 cup Chocolate chips (any flavor or swap for dried fruits)
• 1/3 cup toasted coconut flakes
• 1/3 cup Agave (honey works great because of its stickiness)
• 1 tsp. Vanilla

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Then, form into balls whatever size you like. Things we will also add one day (but are not limited to) dried cranberries, almonds, agave nectar, other yet unnamed dried fruit. Keep them sealed tightly in a container in the fridge and take them out as needed! 

Roasted Red Pepper & Feta Hummus

Roasted Red Pepper & Feta Hummus is one of my favorite things to make because it is so good on everything.

First start by roasting 1 red pepper. Since I have a gas stove I do it over the open flame. I take a metal tongs and wedge it into the top of the pepper around the stem. Unlike roasting a marshmallow, hold the pepper right on the flame. It will pop as the skins begins to blacken. Continue rotating the pepper until it is entirely black.

OR

If you do not have the pleasure of the a gas stove, you can roast them in the oven. Place on a cookie sheet in an oven heated to 450 degrees. Turn after 15 minutes and let cook for another 15 minutes. If Pepper is black remove, otherwise turn and cook for 5 more minutes. Let cool.

After the pepper is black, place it on a plate with clear wrap covering it. Let the pepper s








Next remove all of the black skin from the pepper with either a knife like the picture or with your fingers.




Cut the stem out of the pepper and remove the seeds. Then cut into pieces that will fit in the food processor







Now that the pepper is ready, gather the following ingredients:

1/2 of the Roasted Red Pepper
1 Can of Chickpeas - drained & rinsed
3/4 C Feta
1/4 of Water
1 clove of garlic
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Sea Salt
3/4 tsp onion
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp black pepper

First and foremost, take the chickpeas and one by one remove the skins. To do this take them between your thumb and for finger and give it a slight squeeze and it should come right out. Discard the shell and toss the shell-less chickpea into the food processor. I know this seems like unnecessary work, but removing the shells makes the hummus super smooth!

Blend all ingredients together until mixture is completely uniform.
Taste it, let it sit for 10 minutes and try it again. If you think it could use more red pepper add 1/2 of the remaining roasted red pepper and re-blend.

This is great on sandwiches, with fresh veggies, on chicken and with pita, what's not to love!

Fall Days

At the sign of fall whether I start craving soup to warm me up. This year I thought I would make my own, turns out its pretty easy.
At our house we crock-pot a turkey fairly often leading to leftover turkey. So I used left over turkey, but chicken breasts would work equally as well.  The one benefit to the crock-pot turkey is the au jus.

Whatever you choose add the following:

6 Cups of water
    If you have au jus use 1-2 cups au jus and the remainder water
2 Cups of cooked- chopped up Turkey/Chicken
3/4 Carrot
3/4 Celery
3/4 Brown Rice (no quick- cooking or minute)
1/4 Onion
2 TB Butter
2 TB Chicken Base
2 tsp Pepper
2 tsp Oregano
2 tsp Basil
1 tsp Sea Salt

In a small bowl combine
1/2 C Milk
2 TB Flour

In a large sauce pan on medium- high heat add the butter and onions, let cook for 5-7 minutes till tender. To the pot add the turkey, veggies, water, rice, seasonings and chicken base. I strongly recommend using a base v. bullion cubes or broth. Bases are available at the grocery store and provide a much, much better flavor. Let the soup come to a soft boil and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Next add the milk and flour mixture, this will thicken the soup and give the illusion of a creamy soup without all the cream. If your not into the creamy soup,  mix the flour with water for the thickening effect.


Continue to let the soup cook for another 25-30 minutes. The soup will start to thicken and the rice will be fully cooked.

The perfect fall warm up!

All in a Days Work

There are times that you bake for yourself and there are times that bake for others and this, this is one of them. No matter what I bake: heart shaped mini cheese cakes for Valentines Day, dark chocolate bacon cupcakes, cookies, banana bread, etc. my boss just looks at it and asked when I'm going to being these delightful, tiny, "guilt free,"pop in your mouth, mini cupcakes of wonder. At least that how she sees them.

What kills me is that they seem so much less special. At last here is what you need to be your bosses favorite too.

1 Box of Cake Mix - I chose dark chocolate
1 Bag of White Chocolate chips - any flavor works
1 Container of Frosting- Yup store bought variety
Mini Cupcake Tins/ Mini Quiche Tins

A few things to note:
a). While you can use regular sized cupcake tins, it's the guilt free nature of something so small that really makes them feel good.

b). The real charm people seem to find in these is the "surprise" in the middle.

How to get the surprise in side.  Spray tins, fill half way, then add in several, 4-6, chocolate chips into the center of the tins. Keep them away from the edges.

You probably guessed it, next add batter to cover the chocolate chips  See picture off to the right ---------------->

Since I make mine in mini-cupcake tins I only bake them for 9 minutes. If you are choosing to ignore the magical guilt free powers of the mini cupcake just follow cooking directs on the box.

The picture below is in fact not how I serve them at work, but it is how I serve them at home. Mmmm Ice cream.

I prefer to frost at work since transporting frosted items can be well sticky. Then serve in the afternoon somewhere between 2-2:30 when post-lunch food coma is at its hight.

Hopefully these will serve you as well as that have served me in my short career so far.