Candied Pecans

Put 1/2 cup pecans in small saucepan. Add 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water. Bring to simmer, stirring constantly. Simmer about 7 minutes, or until sugar is thick and sticky. Use your nose to make sure you're not overcooking! Spread pecans on parchment paper to cool.

Pear Pecan Salad

Pear Pecan Salad

Ingredients:
Romaine Lettuce
Diced Pear
Craisins
Candied Pecans
Feta
Diced Red Onion

Dressing:
In blender combine:
4 Tbs Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
4 Tbs Sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
Splash of Tabasco

SOOOO GOOD!

Peanut Butter Split Smoothie

I've been making lots of smoothies in the last month and a half since I can't have most other types of sweets, and came across this fun little recipe from Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger.  I was thinking that Shelley may like this recipe when she wants something desserty without the sugar, and I think kids may even like it for a fun healthier alternative for a midday or afternoon snack! 

Ingredients:
1 frozen quartered banana
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup no fat plain yogurt
2-3 tbsp. peanut butter

Mix all of the above in a blender, and enjoy!

Spicy Grilled Eggplant

Jake and I like to try new veggies and I haven't cooked eggplant in a LOOOONG time, because of how well it went last time! ;) This recipe was great! It came from Kalyn's Kitchen. She always has awesome veggie ideas.

Spicy Grilled Eggplant with Red Pepper and Parsley

(Makes 2 servings, recipe can be doubled or tripled. Adapted from a recipe in Williams-Sonoma Complete Grilling Cookbook.)


1 medium globe eggplant or 2-3 long Asian eggplants
1-2 tsp. salt, to remove water from eggplant (not needed for Asian eggplant)
1-2 T olive oil, to brush eggplant for grilling
1 T chopped parsley
1 T chopped mint
(You can use 2 T of either mint or parsley if you don't have both.)

spicy sauce:
2 T olive oil
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. garlic puree (from a jar) or finely minced fresh garlic (or less if you don't love garlic)
1 tsp. Aleppo Pepper (or less, to taste. Use whatever kind of red pepper flakes you have.)
1 tsp. Spike Seasoning (optional, but highly recommended)

Remove stem end and wash eggplant, but do not peel. Cut eggplant into slices 1/2 -3/4 inch thick, being careful to make all slices the same thickness. (Cut Asian eggplant on the diagonal to get bigger slices.) Put eggplant in colander in single layer and sprinkle with salt. Let drain 20 minutes, then turn over and sprinkle other side with salt and let drain 20 minutes more. (If you're using Asian eggplant, they don't need to be salted.)

While eggplant drains, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic puree, Aleppo Pepper, and Spike.

Preheat gas or charcoal barbecue grill to medium high. (You can only hold your hand there for 3-4 seconds at that heat.) Remove eggplant from colander and put each piece between two papers towels and press with your hand to squeeze out water. Wipe eggplant dry and brush both sides with olive oil.

Place eggplant on grill and cook 4-5 minutes per side, rotating after a few minutes on each side if you want to get nice grill marks. Watch them carefully because they go from nicely browned to overly dark quite quickly.

When eggplant is done, remove from grill and place in large plastic bowl. Pour in spicy sauce, and gently stir eggplant to coat with sauce. Let sit 10-15 minutes so eggplant can absorb sauce flavors. Chop mint and parsley while eggplant is resting in sauce.

To serve, assemble eggplant on serving plate and sprinkle with mint and parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Honey Whole Wheat Pancakes (sugarless)

Easy, yummy, healthy pancakes! 

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup water
1 cup whole wheat kernels
1/4 cup dry milk
1 egg
2 tbsp. oil (or less)
1 tbsp. honey
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. baking powder

In a blender, mix water, wheat kernels, and dry milk.  Blend on smooth for three minutes.  Add egg, sugar, and salt.  Smooth for 20 seconds.  Add baking powder.  Pulse three times.  Cook immediately on a hot griddle.

Creamy Black Bean Salsa Chicken

I found this recipe on a crock pot website and decided to try it as we had some salsa we needed to use up.  This was super easy, and we loved it!  What's great as well is that you could easily do many variations of this (adding ingredients you like, not using those you don't have) and it would still be tasty.  For example, I thought about how you could make an easy crock pot chicken tortilla soup with this just by adding some chicken broth and keeping the sour cream and cheese out.  Enjoy!

2 to 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 8 chicken tenders)
1 cup salsa (what salsa you use can have a big impact on your meal. I love and used Jack's Special from Costco. Fresh and yummy cilantro flavor!)
1 can (15 oz) corn, drained
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained
1 package taco seasoning (1 tbsp.)
1/2 cup light or fat free sour cream
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Place the chicken in the slow cooker.  Pour the salsa, corn, beans, and taco seasoning over the chicken.  Cover and cook on low heat 6-8 hours or on high heat 3-4 hours (with tenders, check a little earlier just to make sure they're not cooking faster than the chicken breasts would).  Remove the chicken and shred.  Stir sour cream and cheese into sauce in slow cooker, then put chicken back in.  Serve with tortillas, rice, or tortilla chips.

p.s. I'm attaching "healthy" as with the no-fat sour cream and light on the cheese, it is. :)  But can be less healthy depending on how you make it.

Grilled Pork Chops Recipe with Soy Sauce, Cumin, Lime, and Oregano

This is another great pork recipe for grilling, also from Kalyn's Kitchen.

Grilled Pork Chops with Soy Sauce, Cumin, Lime, and Oregano
(Makes 4 thick pork chops, can easily be doubled. Recipe created by Kalyn.)

4 boneless pork loin chops (1 inch thick)

Marinade:
1/4 cup soy sauce (I used Tamari)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. dried oregano (I used Mexican Oregano)
pinch of Chipotle chile powder (or use a dash of hot sauce)
1/2 tsp. onion powder (or use 1-2 tsp. grated fresh onion)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (or use 1-2 tsp. freshly minced garlic)
(I rarely use onion powder or garlic powder, but a marinade like this is one place where I think they work well)

Trim all visible fat from pork chops, and pound with meat mallet (or anything heavy) until pork chops are about 3/4 inch thick. Combine marinade ingredients. Put pork chops in a heavy ziploc bag or plastic dish with a lid, then pour marinade over. Let pork chops marinate 4-6 hours in the refrigerator. (They can be marinated all day while you're at work too.)

When you're ready to cook, take pork chops out of the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature. Whether you're cooking on an outdoor grill or using a stove-top grill pan, spray with non-stick spray or olive oil, then preheat the grill or pan to medium-high before you start to cook. (You can only hold your hand there for a few seconds at that heat.) To get criss-cross grill marks, lay the meat at an angle for 2-3 minutes, then rotate 45 degrees after you have the first set of marks.

Grilling time can vary greatly depending on the temperature of the grill, temperature of the meat, and even air temperature when grilling outdoors. I cooked the pork chops in this photo not quite 5 minutes per side. I highly recommend using an instant-read meat thermometer to tell when they're done, but if you don't have one, the pork chops should feel firm to the touch (not hard). Remember that grilled meats continue to cook for a few minutes when you take them off the grill, and don't overcook.