Sunday, April 27, 2014

Orange Spice and Cream Cheese Coffee Cake



Ingredients:
Dry Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cloves

Wet Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons butter, softened (I used Brummel & Brown Yogurt Butter Spread)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon molasses
2 Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
2 eggs
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon fresh orange juice
Zest of one orange

Cream Cheese Layer:
8 ounces light whipped cream cheese
1 egg
1 Tablespoon fresh orange juice
Zest of one orange
2 Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Topping:
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sliced almonds (or other chopped nut)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon butter, softened (I used Brummel & Brown Yogurt Butter Spread)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Whisk all dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. In a large bowl mix butter, brown sugar, molasses and applesauce together until fully combined. Add eggs, one at a time. Add the remaining wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fully combine. Pour into a lightly greased 9" x 13" baking dish. 

Combine all cream cheese layer ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour on top of cake layer.

Combine topping ingredients together in a small bowl. Cut the cold butter into the flour mixture. Crumble on top of the cake.

Bake for 35 minutes or until knife comes out clean and top in golden brown. 

When cut into 20 pieces, each piece contains 134 calories. (This is if you used light whipped cream cheese and the yogurt butter).

Friday, April 25, 2014

Chinese Lettuce Wraps



Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey or chicken
1 head of romaine
3-5 gloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup cashews, chopped
1/4 cup hoisen sauce
1-2 Tablespoons sweet chili sauce
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 chopped vegetables of choice

Instructions:
Chop all vegetables and cashews into small pieces.  Bring pan to medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and add ground meat. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until fully cooked. Add garlic, cashews and vegetables and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Stir in hoisen sauce, sweet chili sauce and soy sauce. Serve in romaine leaves and enjoy.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Featured On...

I am super pleased and excited to announce that I have been featured on Upwave. They did an article on pasta alternatives and were kind enough to ask to use my Broccoli "Pasta" recipe. Check out their website which contains everything from recipes to exercises to anything health and wellness related. Thank you again Alia Hoyt.


Friday, April 11, 2014

Cilantro Lime Chicken



Ingredients:
1 large chicken breast, chopped
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
2 limes
2-3 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions:
Chop chicken breast into bite size pieces. Finely chop cilantro. Mix chicken, coconut oil, cilantro and the juice from the 2 limes together in a zip-loc bag. Let sit in the fridge for 2-4 hours. 

The coconut oil will solidify in the fridge. This is perfectly fine, but looks a little weird when you take the chicken out. You may use any other oil of choice if you prefer. 

Saute the chicken over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes, until fully cooked. Serve over a bed of jasmine rice.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Beef & Vegetable Noodle Bowl



Ingredients:
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 package rice noodles (enough for 2 servings, depending on package of noodles)
6-8 ounces thinly sliced beef (petite sirloin, flank steak or skirt steak)
1 cup frozen or fresh vegetables of choice
sesame seeds for garnish

Instructions:
Thinly slice beef and mix with chopped garlic and teriyaki sauce. Let marinade in the fridge for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight. 

Cook beef over medium-high heat for just a few minutes or until desired doneness. 

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Remove from heat and soak rice noodles for just a few minutes. You want to remove them just before they're done. Strain and rinse under cold water. 

Add noodles and cooked vegetables of choice to pan with beef. Toss and add more teriyaki sauce if desired. Top with sesame seeds and enjoy!

Biscuits and Gravy



Ingredients:
1 can pre-made buttermilk biscuit dough 
1/2 package of Jimmy Dean's turkey sausage crumbles
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups milk (I used unsweetened almond milk, cow milk works too)
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:
Bake biscuits according to package instructions. Lightly brown sausage over medium-high heat with oil. Add flour. Add milk and reduce to medium-low. Stir frequently for 10 minutes or until desired thickness is reached. Add salt & pepper to taste. Pour gravy over biscuits and enjoy.

Can refrigerate gravy and re-heat for quick weekday breakfasts.