Frozen Hot Chocolate

Frozen Hot Chocolate

2 Proteins 0 Fats 2 Carbs
Prep Time: 5 min.
Cook Time: 1 hour freezing time
Servings: 2
Great idea if you're craving something sweet but don't want to ruin you eating habits.
Ingredients
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
Scant 1/16th tsp. salt (do not skip this)
1/2 tsp. Stevia
Enough milk to make blender work(about 1/2 cup)
1 cup milk
1 scoop BioTrust protein powder
Directions
Whisk 1 cup skim milk, cocoa powder, salt, and Stevia in microwave-save bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and then microwave for another 30 seconds. Let cool and pour into an ice cube tray. Put in freezer until frozen solid. Pop half of the frozen cubes into a blender, add about 1/2 cup milk (or whatever it takes to make your blender work well) and protein powder. I add a little bit more Stevia to make it a little sweeter while I'm mixing it, but that would be up to you. Blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Chicken Lime Fiesta Soup

Chicken Lime Fiesta Soup

 

Ingredients:...
-1 tbsp olive oil
-2 jalapeños, seeded/minced
-1 cup green onions, minced
-3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
-32 oz. organic chicken broth
-2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
-1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
-3 tbsp lime juice
-2 tbsp garlic, minced
-1 tsp cumin, ground
-1 tsp salt
-2 avocados, diced

Directions:
1. In a large pot heat olive oil over medium heat. Add green onion and jalapeños (add a few seeds if you want it spicy), sauté for 2 minutes.
2. Then add garlic and sauté for an additional minute.
3. Add shredded chicken, chicken broth, tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, cumin, and salt.
4. Simmer soup for 15 minutes.
5. Serve with diced avocado in each bowl.

Crockpot Apple Butter

Approx. 3 lb. apples
3 cups sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
Dash of salt
3/4 cup water or fresh apple cider

Fill Crock-pot 3/4 full with peeled, cored and sliced apples. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until evenly mixed. Cover and cook on low setting overnight or until the butter is of a thick, spreadable consistency. If apple butter has too much liquid, remove lid and cook on high until thickened. Stir often as butter thickens to prevent scorching. Store in refrigerator for up to 6 weeks. Freeze for longer storage. Variation: For a less sweet apple butter, substitute 1 cup honey for the sugar. To can the apple butter, pack into hot jars leaving 1/4-inch headspace and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

My changes:
- I reduced the sugar to 1 cup. Now that its done it tastes fine, but I decided to add some brown sugar to it, just to give it a little something more. I used a large spoon from the silverware drawer and put two heaping spoonfuls in. It tastes perfect to me now! 3 cups of sugar would have been way too much!
- I used apple juice instead of water
- Mine has been cooking on low for 16 hours! I put it in at 4:30pm yesterday. By 10pm it was just mushy chunks of apples, so I left it overnight. I woke up to nice dark brown chunky apple butter. I used a submerssion handheld blender to smooth it out. Its perfect! Now its on warm while I wait for the jars to sanitize in the dishwasher. I'm going to attempt canning!

Crumb Top Apple Pie

Delicious and easy, from Taste of Home!


Crumb Topped Apple Pie

Ingredients
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup cold water

FILLING:
5 large tart apples, peeled and thinly sliced
2/3 cup sugar
5 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1-1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

TOPPING:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cold butter

Directions
In a large bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in the shortening until crumbly. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until easy to handle.

Roll out pastry to fit a 9-in. pie plate. Transfer pastry to pie plate. Trim pastry to 1/2 in. beyond edge of plate; flute edges.

For filling, place apples in crust. Combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon; sprinkle over apples.

For topping, combine flour and sugar in a small bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over filling. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°; bake 50-60 minutes longer or until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 8 servings.

Nutritional Facts 1 piece equals 443 calories, 18 g fat (7 g saturated fat), 15 mg cholesterol, 189 mg sodium, 68 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 4 g protein.

Tuna Salad

Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps with Capers and Tomatoes(Makes about 4 servings or 8 individual wraps; recipe adapted from The Ultimate Low-Carb Cookbook by Mary B. Johnson.

Ingredients:
10-12 oz. canned tuna
1/4 cup mayo
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 T lemon juice
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 T capers, chopped
2 green onions, thinly sliced

Instructions

Drain tuna into a fine-mesh strainer and press down to drain out the oil (or water if you use water-packed tuna.)  While tuna drains stir together the mayo, Dijon, lemon juice and celery seed

Chop the celery and capers and thinly slice the green onions.

When the tuna has drained, put it in a bowl (with a snap-tight lid if you won't be eating it all at once.)  Stir in the dressing until it's well-distributed in the tuna, then mix in the celery, capers, and green onions.

This kept well in the fridge for several days.

Smoked Brisket

Oklahoma Joe's Smoked Brisket Flat

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Total Time:

7 hr 30 min

Prep:

30 min

Inactive:

1 hr

Cook:

6 hr

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Ingredients

• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons onion powder
• 2 tablespoons Spanish paprika
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon celery salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon pepper
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 (5 to 8 pound) beef brisket (flat cut)
• 4 cups oak or hickory wood chips, soaked in water for 30 minutes, drained
• 1 cup apple juice
• 1 1/2 cups your favorite BBQ sauce, for serving

Directions

Special equipment: spray bottle for apple juice
Combine all the spices in a bowl, mix well. Pat the spice rub onto the meat, making sure to heavily season the entire surface area of the brisket. Cover or wrap the brisket and let it sit at room temperature while getting the smoker or charcoal grill fired up. Do not leave at room temperature for longer than 1 hour.
The grill is ready when the charcoal has burned to a white ash. If using a grill instead of a smoker, arrange the coals on 1 side of the grill, leaving an area large enough for the brisket to cook indirectly with no coals directly underneath the meat.
When the grill has reached 200 to 225 degrees F, scatter 1/4 of the wood chips over the coals, close the grate, put the brisket on the grill and close the lid.
Maintain a 200 to 225 degree F cooking temperature inside the grill, adding coals every 2 hours or as necessary. Add wood chips and spray the brisket with apple juice every time you add new coals. Try not to lift the lid of the grill at any other time.
When the brisket reaches an internal temperature of 165 to 170 degrees F on an instant read meat thermometer (after about 4 to 5 hours), remove it from the grill and double wrap in aluminum foil to keep the juices from leaking out. Return the brisket to the grill (or smoker) The brisket is finished cooking when it is very tender and reaches an internal temperature of 190 degrees F, about another 1 to 2 hours. Let rest for 45 minutes, then unwrap and slice. Serve with BBQ sauce on the side.

Professional Recipe: This recipe was provided by a chef, restaurant or culinary professional and makes a large quantity. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe in the proportions indicated and therefore cannot make any representation as to the results.

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Barbecue

Pampered Chef Bread

5-6 cups all-purpose flour (you can substitute whole wheat flour for 1 or 2 cups)
2 teaspoons dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups hot water (120° to 130°)

*Mix 4 cups of the flour with the yeast, sugar, and salt. Pour in hot water and beat 100 strokes, or three minutes with a mixer. Stir in the remaining flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Knead 8 minutes. (I use the dough hook on my kitchen aid mixer).

Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel. Let rise 15 minutes.
Punch down and shape into a large loaf. Place the dough in a deep baker that has been oiled.

Cut a slit about 1/2 inch deep along the top and several small slits on either side of the first slit. It will look a little like a branch with leaves when you are done.

Put the lid on the baker and place in a COLD oven. Turn oven to 400° and bake for 40 minutes. Don’t peek at it. You just have to trust that it is doing what it is supposed to.

Remove the lid and bake an additional 10-15 minutes to brown the top.

Chicken Tetrazzin

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 8 servings                    

Makes servings USMetricAdjust Recipe (Help)

 

1 pound cooked and drained spaghetti

5 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup

2 1/4 cups water

1/4 cup butter

2 cubes chicken bouillon
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Directions

1. Put cooked spaghetti into 9x13-inch baking dish. Place chicken on top of spaghetti.
2. In medium saucepan heat together soup, water, butter, and bouillon. Bring to a boil and then pour over the pasta and chicken. Put shredded cheese (to taste) on top and press down a bit.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 minutes.

Spatezel & Potatos

2 c Flour 1/2 c. Milk 1 egg 2 c. Water 1/2 stick butter Mix together flour, milk and egg until it forms a dough. Then flatten it and cut it into strips and then into small pieces. Put water and butter into large sauté pan and bring to a boil, then drop noodles into the water, put onions and potatoes on top. Add salt and pepper. Put lid on and keep cooking without stirring until all the water is cooked out. Then flip over with a spatula and let cook until golden brown.

Super Shake

Step 1: Start with ice • Use 1-4 cubes for a thin, chilled shake • Use 5-10 cubes for thicker, pudding-like consistency shake Step 2: Pick a fruit Don’t be afraid to experiment, since you’ve got lots of options here. If you like a thick shake, go with frozen over fresh. • apple, orange, banana, pineapple • strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, bilberry, cherry • mango, papaya, honeydew, grapefruit • peach, pear, plum, dragonfruit • cantaloupe, watermelon, kiwi, apricot • raisin, date, cranberry, kumquat Step 3: Throw in a veggie Yeah, we know it sounds gross to put veggies in a shake, but if you use the right ones, you’ll barely taste them. Plus you’ll get much-needed nutrients and minerals. • spinach, kale, celery • broccoli, pumpkin, squash, carrots • beets, Swiss chard, sweet potato • fresh herbs: mint, basil, ginger, chili (goes well with chocolate), etc. • powdered greens Step 4: Scoop some protein Choose from the list of protein powders above or grab something that looks tasty to you. Generally, each scoop of protein is one serving. Check the label to be sure; you want around 20-25 g of protein per scoop. Again, if you can tolerate dairy (see our lesson yesterday), you can also try cottage cheese or strained Greek yogurt for your protein. Step 5: Pick a healthy fat You can sneak your fish oil into here, or add 1 thumb (1 tbsp) of nuts or seeds per shake. • walnuts • flax, hemp, chia • cashews • almonds • nut/seed butter • unsweetened coconut You can also add 1/4 avocado instead of nuts/seeds, which gives a creamy texture. Step 6: Pour some liquid Remember our milk alternatives from yesterday? Well, this is a perfect time to test them out! Keep in mind the more liquid you add, the thinner your shake will be. Feel free to customize it however you want. • water • chilled green tea • unsweetened almond milk, hemp milk, or coconut milk Step 7: Choose your topper This step is optional, but it nicely finishes off any shake. • a little dark chocolate • ground coffee beans • coconut, oats, granola • cinnamon, vanilla extract Step 8: Blend and enjoy! For optimal mixing, we’ve found that a minute on “high” works best for most blenders and results and in a delicious, creamy shake.

Sirloin Skewers

Another great way to serve beef is on a skewer. These skewers taste great accompanied by Sweet Balsamic Cherry Tomatoes or Chunky Tomato Spelt. Instructions Carefully slide ingredients onto the skewer using lots of beef. (In sequence this might look like: beef-cherry tomato-beef -zucchini-beef-red onion-beef). Repeat until the beef is used up. Preheat a non-stick frying pan on medium heat, lightly coat with cooking spray and place the skewers into the pan. Sauté until lightly browned on all sides, season to taste with salt and pepper, and pair with a side. Serves 1 large or 2 small. Sirloin (1-inch cubed, 170 g) 6 oz Cherry tomatoes 4 Zucchini 4 pieces (cut to same size as sirloin) Red onion 4 pieces (large diced) Olive oil cooking spray Sea salt, to taste Pepper, to taste

Steamed Veggies

How long should you steam for? Well, it depends on the vegetable. • Broccoli: ~ 5 minutes • Brussels spouts: ~ 10 minutes • Carrots: ~ 8 minutes (if sliced into ¼" thick pieces) • Cauliflower: ~ 6-7 minutes • Green beans: ~ 5 minutes • Peas: ~ 3 minutes • Zucchini: ~ 7 minutes

Popeye Fruit Smoothie

Spinach is a super-food high in anti-inflammatory nutrients, vitamins, minerals and alkaline potential in the body. No wonder Popeye ate it to boost his strength. As a result, we try to include spinach in many of our meals, including our shakes. And while spinach doesn’t seem like it’d be a great smoothie ingredient, this shake tastes awesome as raspberries, goji berries and cashews lend their unique flavors to this drink. Ingredients Raspberries (frozen) 1 cup Spinach 1 cup Low-fat plain yogurt 1 cup Low-fat milk ½ cup Cashews ¼ cup Fruit-flavored whey protein (equal to 50 g protein) 2 scoops Fresh goji berries 2 tbsp Instructions Combine all ingredients in a countertop blender. Blend on high until mixture is a smooth consistency. Serves 1 large or 2 small.

Salad

Anatomy of an Awesome Salad 1. Pick a “soft” leaf like butterhead lettuce, spinach, or mixed greens. 2. Pick a “crunchy” leaf like romaine lettuce or radicchio. 3. Pick a fresh herb like basil, arugula, or Italian parsley. 4. Pick a “topping” like sliced cucumber, tomato, carrots, celery, or bell pepper. 5. Pick a light dressing like olive oil (or lemon flavored fish oil) and balsamic vinaigrette. Chop it all up. Throw it together. Voilá!

Stuffed pepper soup

Ingredients: 1 lb. ground beef 1 small onion, diced 1 large bell pepper, diced 1 can (29 oz.) diced tomatoes 1 (10 oz) can tomato soup (or tomato sauce) 1 (14 0z) can chicken broth (or beef broth) 2 cups cooked rice 1 tbsp. sugar 1 tsp. garlic powder salt & pepper, to taste shredded cheddar cheese, for topping Directions: In a large pot, brown and crumble ground beef along with diced green peppers and onion over medium-high heat. When cooked, drain excess grease from beef mixture. Put beef back into pot. Add in diced tomatoes. Add in chicken broth (or beef broth, if using). Then add in can of tomato soup or tomato sauce (whichever you are using). Give it all a good stir. Then add in rice. Stir again. Then add seasonings; sugar, garlic powder, salt & pepper (to taste).

Meatball Stroganoff

Ingredients:

• Frozen Italian style meatballs (1/2 oz each) 
• Extra virgin olive oil  
• 2 cups beef broth 
• Seasoning
• kosher salt and black pepper to taste
• dried herbs (probably at least 1 - 1 1/2 tsp each) - parsley, oregano, basil
• 2/3 - 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• Wide egg noodles

Tuna Salad with Capers

Tuna Salad with Capers

Ingredients:
10-12 oz. canned tuna
1/4 cup mayo
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 T lemon juice
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 T capers, chopped
2 green onions, thinly sliced

Instructions

Drain tuna into a fine-mesh strainer and press down to drain.  While tuna drains stir together the mayo, Dijon, lemon juice and celery seed.

 

Chop the celery and capers and thinly slice the green onions. 

When the tuna has drained, put it in a bowl.  Stir in the dressing until it's well-distributed in the tuna, then mix in the celery, capers, and green onions.

 

Chicken Slop

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can of milk
1 cup rice
1 package dried onion soup mix
1-2 lbs of chicken (I usually put in 4-5 breasts)

spray pan
pour rice into pan
mix together soups and milk
pour soup mixture over rice
top with chicken pieces
sprinkle dried onion soup mix over chicken
Cover with foil
Bake on 350 for 2 hours

Tomato Basil Pasta

Blow your MIND" Tomato Basil Pasta! - No Straining, just Stirring

Throw it all in the pot, INCLUDING the uncooked Pasta, and cook! - Bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. The starch leaches out of the pasta and makes a rich, warm sauce for the noodles. The other ingredients cook right along with the pasta

Ingredients

...

12 ounces Linguine or Spaghetti
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes with liquid
1 large sweet onion, cut in julienne strips
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
2 large sprigs basil, chopped
4 1/2 cups vegetable broth (NOT low sodium)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Directions

Place pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, in a large stock pot. Pour in vegetable broth. Sprinkle on top the pepper flakes and oregano. Drizzle top with oil.

Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and keep covered and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or so. Cook until almost all liquid has evaporated – I left about an inch of liquid in the bottom of the pot – but you can reduce as desired .

Season to taste with salt and pepper , stirring pasta several times to distribute the liquid in the bottom of the pot. Serve garnished with Parmesan cheese.

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

2 lbs chicken tenders or 4 large chicken breasts
2 sleeves Ritz crackers
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup whole milk
3 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon dried parsley

Sauce:
1 10 ounce can cream of chicken soup
2 tablespoon sour cream
2 tablespoon butter

Crush crackers. If using chicken breasts and not tenders, cut each chicken breast into 3 large pieces. Pour the milk, cheese and cracker crumbs into 3 separate small pans. Toss the salt and pepper into the cracker crumbs and stir the mixture around to combine. Dip each piece of chicken into the milk and then the cheese. Press the cheese into the chicken with your fingers. Then press the cheesy coated chicken into the cracker crumbs and press it in.

Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken inside the pan. Sprinkle the dried parsley over the chicken. Cover the pan with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove the tin foil, bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the edges of the chicken are golden brown and crispy.

In a medium sized sauce pan combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream and butter with a whisk. Stir it over medium high heat until the sauce is nice and hot. Serve over the chicken.