This was a very simple dinner I threw together on a day when I wasn't feeling well due to a sinus headache, but was in the mood to eat great things. As an added bonus, spicy food tends to clear out my sinuses. This sandwich definitely did the trick, and James, who loves spicy food more than anyone I've ever known, said "don't change a thing" about this recipe.
Ingredients:
1 cup barbeque sauce
¼ cup Frank’s Red Hot sauce
¼ cup water
1 lb. frozen chicken breasts or chicken tenders
1 package ranch dressing mix, or 2T homemade ranch mix (see below)
1T butter
Homemade ranch dressing spice mix:
Mix the following ingredients together and store in an airtight container.
5 T dried minced onions
7 teaspoons parsley flakes
4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Combine barbeque sauce, hot sauce, water and spices in a bowl and mix well. If you have picky eaters who aren't big on spicy food, you can omit the hot sauce from this step and just let each person add it to his or her own sandwich. Add this mixture and frozen chicken to a slow cooker. If you are having trouble getting the frozen chicken out of the container, run cold water over it until it is easy to separate from the packaging. Don’t forget to wash your hands after handling the raw chicken. Drop the tablespoon of butter on top; don't worry if it is frozen or cold.
Cover and cook on low heat for six hours. Remove lid and use two forks to shred chicken without removing it from the slow cooker. Replace lid and cook on low for one more hour. Serve on toasted buns for best results. Crunchy kettle chips went great with this spicy, soggy sandwich.
References:
http://www.food.com/recipe/crockpot-buffalo-chicken-sandwiches-470965
http://selfreliancebyjamie.blogspot.com/2011/08/tis-seasonings.html
I hit up a ridiculous sale on avocados earlier this week and have been enjoying the surplus. This recipe combines two of my favorite foods - avocados and hummus.
Ingredients:
1 15-oz can of garbanzo beans/chickpeas
1-2 ripe avocados, chopped
1 jalapeño
3T dried cilantro
2 garlic cloves (or 1t minced garlic)
3T olive oil
2T lemon juice
Drain and rinse chickpeas. Add chickpeas, avocados, cilantro, garlic and jalapeño to food processor. To easily “chop” the avocado, I score half an avocado with a knife before removing it from the skin with a large spoon. I used two avocados today because they were really small, but one medium-sized avocado would be fine. I also didn’t have a whole
jalapeño laying around the house, so I added about 6 pieces from a jar of sliced
jalapeños. Add a few more if you really like spicy food.
Chop these ingredients in the food processor until somewhat smooth. Add olive oil and lemon juice one tablespoon at a time, pureeing in between. Continue to puree until smooth. If your hummus is still too thick for your liking, add water one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency.
How I eat it: My favorite way to eat ANY hummus is with a fresh piece of Aladdin’s Nan (flatbread) torn up into little pieces for dipping. My second favorite way to eat hummus, which I did today, is to spread a thick layer on the same flatbread and fill it with ingredients for a sandwich. Today I added ham and baby spinach for what turned out to be a really tasty wrap.
Store any leftover hummus in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Remember that homemade hummus doesn’t have any preservatives, so eat it soon before the avocado starts to change scary colors.
References:
http://www.ahealthyjalapeno.com/2012/03/hot-guacamole-hummus.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AHealthyJalapeno+%28a+Healthy+Jalapeno%29
In order to share this recipe, I must admit that we're a little obsessed with protein in this house. James is always trying to eat it to put some weight on his thin frame, and I eat a large percentage of protein to fill me up so I don't pig out on things like chocolate chip cookies (drool) and gain all my weight back.
As usual, after my run today I threw random things in the blender for a quick post-workout meal. The thing that made today different than any other day is that this was the BEST smoothie I've ever made, both health-wise and taste-wise (I'm not counting some of the impressive alcoholic concoctions I've made). It was so good, I decided it had to be added to the blog, both so I can recreate it and so you can share in the healthy yumminess.
Note: My frozen fruit was leftover after I made a fruit salad for Easter. I froze it while still fairly fresh because I had way more than I could possibly eat before it would start rotting. I found this far more cost-effective than buying bags of fruit in the freezer section at the grocery store.
Ingredients:
1 cup frozen cantaloupe
10-15 frozen green grapes (a handful)
1 cup fresh baby spinach (you won't taste it, I promise)
1 cup orange juice
1-2 scoops protein powder*
1 T ground flax seeds
Throw all ingredients in the blender and blend until the desired consistency. Enjoy immediately. The end result is about 3 cups of smoothie, almost 30 grams of protein, less than 400 calories, and a heck of a lot of vitamins. All that, and it tastes like dessert.
*I used Isopure Zero Carb Mango Peach protein mix. This and the chocolate version are staples in our cupboard. They taste great, include lots of vitamins, and dissolve better than any protein powder I've found. You don't get that powdery, gritty feeling in your mouth like most protein powders. And they don't use aspartame, which is is HUGE plus for me since it does horrible things to my body.
It's been a few weeks since my last post - I've still been cooking and baking, I just haven't had time to post the recipes. I had an awful migraine this week, which often means I get to eat whatever I want in an attempt to kill the headache. That resulted in this masterpiece dessert that I found on Pinterest and just had to eat immediately. I adjusted the recipe a little, making it healthier by eliminating the chocolate frosting and using fat-free Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.
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| *Drool* |
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ t baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ t salt
½ stick (4 T) unsalted butter (salted is OK if that’s all you have)
3 oz. creamy peanut butter (a little less than ½ cup)
½ cup tightly packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
¼ cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
¼ cup hot water
½ t vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. I like to stir flour mixtures with a wire whisk or a fork to avoid the bad taste of chunks of baking soda in your baked goods.
In a separate bowl, cream butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar. Fun tip - if you are out of brown sugar (or if it’s solidified beyond saving like mine was), mix ½ cup white sugar plus 1 ½ tablespoons molasses in a food processor for an easy substitute.
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| Homemade brown sugar |
Add egg and egg yolk and mix for a minute or two. Add half of flour mixture and mix until combined, scraping sides as you mix. Add yogurt and mix at medium-high speed for two minutes. Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix until combined. Continue to scrape sides eventually to include all ingredients. Add hot water and vanilla extract, beating on medium-high for 2-3 minutes.
Abandon the mixer at this point, and mix in the chocolate chips using a large spoon or spatula. The original recipe only called for a ½ cup of chocolate chips, but who doesn’t want more chocolate? I used miniature chocolate chips because I had some left over from my last batch of biscotti.
Grease a 9x9 pan. I used coconut oil to grease the pan for a little extra flavor. Spread batter into pan using a spatula. Bake for at least 30 minutes, until center appears baked through. A knife inserted in the center won't help you know if it's done because the melted chocolate chips stick to the knife no matter what. Let cool for a few minutes in pan. Cut into 9 pieces and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on top.
*Note: After making this recipe once, I recommend baking it in a 13x9 pan for a shorter time - maybe 20-25 minutes. In a 9x9 pan, the center was too thick and not completely baked while the edges were starting to burn.
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| Yum! |
References:
http://www.culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com/2006/10/01/life-can-be-cruel/
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