Chia seed pudding

If you've never tried chia seeds they are definitely something to check out. Chia seeds are the number one plant source of amino acids and have a great amount of fiber in the small amount you get in a serving. They hydrate with whatever you add them to, so they're awesome in smoothies and juice. You can actually find them in a juice product at Costco.
  I purchased my seeds at Trader Joe's and on the back of the packet there was a recipe for pudding. Texturewise it goes down like tapioca. If you chew it there's a bit of a crunch. I've included pictures of the seeds after they hydrate, as soon as I mixed the pudding, and again when it was ready.

1/4cu chia seeds
1cu chocolate almond milk

1. Mix and let refrigerate for 2-3 hours until all liquid has absorbed.

 

 

Crunchy Chicken Wrap

This is a fast food homemade kinda post and one of those recipes where I can't really tell you what to use cause it's so customizable. The technique is what you have to get down. You layer the ingredients starting with cheese and ending with cheese. I put the greek yogurt side of the tostada down and put the cheese (which acts as glue) on top. You can substitute sour cream for greek yogurt if you have it. I just had greek yogurt leftover from making some greek pitas a few nights before. You want to make sure that this is completely wrapped in tortilla, so if when you're done folding you have a whole just trim a little of the excess tortilla off one side to cover it up. You want to keep all the goodness wrapped inside! If you don't have a George Foreman or panini press you can make these in the skillet seam side down then flip when browned. My mom had the idea of using Doritos as the crunch instead of the tostada and I think I will try that for lunch!

Cornbread Chicken Casserole

Tonight I threw together a pretty delicious dinner from what I had on hand. I made a chicken and veggie filling (like a pot pie filling), topped it with cornbread batter, sprinkled on Parmesan cheese, and baked on 425* for 20-30min. I wanted the cornbread batter cooked all the way through and browned on top, so I cooked it covered for 20min and another 10min uncovered.

3 cooked chicken breast, chopped or shredded
1lb veggies
1 1/2cu sauce
2 boxes Jiffy cornbread

1. Preheat oven to 425*. Mix chicken, veggies, and sauce together and place into 9x13 baking pan.

2. Prepare cornbread as directed on back of box and spread over top.

3. Cover with foil and begin to bake.

Peach Pineapple Cobbler

You can thank a late night craving for this one, haha. I wanted a peach cobbler with a little tang and thought of pineapples. I easily had all the ingredients on hand in my cupboard/fridge. The bonus is it taste great AND makes your house smell like peaches. Have I mentioned how I love the Blogger iPad app? It lets me do all my editing and pictures right in the app. I wish I could adjust the hue of the pictures here since some appear kinda bluish, but you get he idea. To was definitely delicious. The edges were buttery and slightly sweet. I preferred it sprinkled with brown sugar and cinnamon for that caramel effect. You can easily adapt this with different fruits. You need about 4-6cu of fruit when it goes into the oven. The peaches cooked down some during baking. I'm already thinking of maybe a mango pineapple and substitute coconut milk for the plain milk in the baking mix!!

29oz can peaches packed in juice (1cu juice reserved)
20oz can pineapple chunks packed in juice, drained
8 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1cu sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
Ground cinnamon and brown sugar, optional

1. In a saucepan heat the peaches with juice and drained pineapple to boiling. Let cook uncovered for about 10 minutes until syrupy.

2. Meanwhile, place the butter into a 9x13 baking pan and place into the oven. Preheat the oven on 350*.

3. Mix the self rising flour, sugar, and milk. Carefully pour over butter in dish, but DO NOT stir. Spoon fruit over and then slowly drizzle remaining drizzle. Sprinkle with cinnamon and a little brown sugar if desired.

4. Place into oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the batter comes out clean.

5. Serve topped with your favorite creamy topper and enjoy! Can be served warm or cold.

Skillet Lasagna

You know those boxes of helper for ground meat that shall remain nameless?? Well, I wanted something quick for dinner without resorting to that and came up with the idea of using those quick cook lasagna noodles in an untraditional way. This is what I came up with. It was done in less than 20 minutes and that includes the time it takes to brown the meat. Definitely awesome for those times when you want a pasta dish and don't want the extra steps of boiling the noodles...

2tbsp evoo
8oz chopped mushroom
2tbsp minced garlic
1-lb ground meat
Seasonings of choice (I used italian herbs, pepper, and salt)
24oz jar tomato sauce
1 box oven ready lasagna noodles, broken into 1in pieces

1. Heat the evoo in a large skillet then add mushrooms and garlic. Sautee until fragrant and the garlic starts to brown.

2. Add in meat, season, and cook until brown. Add in pasta sauce plus 2cu water and noodles. Cover and stir every five minutes for about 15 minutes until the pasta is as tender as you like.

3. Serve and enjoy!

Pecan Studded Pumpkin Cupcakes

As I mentioned in my pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese filling recipe one of my coworkers suggested adding pecans to the cream cheese filling. I also added a sprinkle of brown sugar and pecans on top before baking for even more flavor. Delicious!

Healthy Brownies

One of my co-workers is a fitness and nutrition buff. I am always bringing baked goods in to work with me and as he's eating my brownies he talks about how he's going to get fat with me working there. His birthday is tomorrow so I figured I would be nice and bake a lowfat brownie. I wasn't sure how to substitute the 1 1/2 sticks of butter from my usual brownie recipe so after searching the web for a lowfat brownie recipe I decided to give these a try. Some reviews said they're very cakey and they did seem to rise more than my usual brownie recipe does. I put sprinkles on top for some birthday festiveness. I modified the recipe some and this is what I did. I can tell you they came out super moist, but I didn't taste them. I will let you know tomorrow how he likes them!

1/2 cup applesauce
2 small or medium bananas mashed
1 1/2 cup sugar substitute
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups finely shredded zucchini
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks

1. Preheat oven to 350* and lightly grease a 9x13 pan.

2. Blend applesauce, banana, and sugar substitute together. Slowly add in vanilla and zucchini.

3. Stir together all dry ingredients an add into wet ingredients. Fold in chocolate chunks and spread into prepared pan. Bake for 25min until they lightly spring back when touched.