Strawberry Margarita Jello Shots

I've never made jello shots until now, but since it was new years I decided it was time haha.. and these were DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mix:

2 boxes of strawberry jello
1 small bottle of clear tequila
Limes
Sugar

Add 1 c. boiling water to jello mix
Stir until dissolved, 1-2 min
Add 1 c. cold tequila
Add to small cups and/or hollowed out strawberries
Chill in fridge until set

Strawberries:

Hollow out strawberries VERY carefully with a tsp or a melon baller.. and then cut tip off bottom of berry, just enough so they will stand up. Trust me this take awhile.. and make sure you buy the biggest strawberries you can find because there is no way I could have done this with small berries haha.

Sprinkle sugar on top of cups & add lime slice















Dip tops of strawberries in water & then dip in sugar
Add slice of lime

HAPPY 2014!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blueberry Oatmeal

1/2 cup oats
1 c. water
1/4 c. frozen blueberries
1-2 tsp sugar or brown sugar
2 tbsp sliced almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Bring water to boil
Add blueberries to water
Once boiling, add oats & spices
Cook 5-10 min until water absorbed 
Top with sugar and almonds

:)
It comes out SO BLUE/PURPLE. 

Wild West Chicken with Avocado Ranch Dip

This recipe is a combo of a few different recipes put together and inspired from Longhorn Steak House. :) My mom works at Longhorn so any chance I can get I ask her to bring home the famous Wild West Shrimp they have. They serve this with ranch dip. Another appetizer they have there is the firecracker chicken wraps, which they serve with avocado ranch dip. So that's where I got the dip idea from. 

Soooo one night Kt gave me the idea of wild west chicken instead of the shrimp. I looked up a few different recipes and then put this together :) I wanted to bake the chicken instead of frying it, and I wanted to do almond crust instead of regular breadcrumb crust. I decided to make baked almond chicken bites... with side of avocado ranch dip. I used the spices from the Longhorn recipe, and the only other thing I changed was I used yogurt ranch recipe instead of using pre-made ranch :D

Chicken:

1lb+ chicken

1 c. almond meal

1/2 c. breadcrumbs

1 tbsp paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp seasoned salt 

1 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 375

Mix all dry ingredients from above in a bowl

Put 1 egg, beaten in a separate bowl

Cut chicken into small bite size pieces

Dip chicken in egg, then into dry mix

Place chicken on baking sheet or oiled dish

Bake 20-25min

Meanwhile, simmer the sauce on stovetop

Sauce: 

1/2 c. peppercinis

1/4 c. cherry peppers

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp seasoned salt (instead of longhorn's "prairie dust")

Once chicken in done, remove from oven and top with the sauce

Avocado Ranch Dip:

3/4 c. yogurt

2 tsp hidden valley ranch mix

1 avocado

3/4 tsp tabasco sauce

3/4 tsp cumin

S+P

Blend in food processor 

(Prepare dip ahead of time, before cooking chicken & refrigerate)

And enjoy! :)

Servings: about 4

Apple Pumpkin Oatmeal

 So I originally found a recipe on pinterest for pumpkin granola that I wanted to try. I didn't have some of the ingredients so I just changed a few things, and it came out really good :) I later found another recipe for apple-pie oatmeal.... and eventually sorta combined the two, creating this monster delicious breakfast. Mmmmmmmmmm oatmeal! 

Pumpkin Granola recipe:
Makes: 3 2/3 cups

(the orignial recipe called for cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and pecans, instead of the sunflowers, almonds, and raisins :P)

1/4 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed well and pat dry
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup ground flaxseeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup  honey
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp pumpkin spice (or more to taste)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Spread oats & quinoa on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes
3. Remove oats/quinoa from oven and place in medium bowl, mixing in the nuts and fruit
4. Decrease oven temp to 300 degrees
5. In a second bowl, mix together honey, pumpkin, oil, vanilla, and spices
6. Mix dry and wet ingredients together
7. Spread onto baking sheet and bake 20 min or until golden brown
8. Store in air-tight container 



Apple-Pie Oatmeal:
Servings: 1

1. Cook 1/3 c. oatmeal on the stove with 2/3 c. water
2. Add in 1 small apple, cut into bite sizes
3. Add in spices----> pumpkin spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger (1 tsp each)
4. Let simmer until water absorbs and apples are soft

I first tried oatmeal with pumpkin spices, with the pumpkin granola added last.... then I had tried the apple-pie oatmeal with pumpkin granola... and YUM! The cooked apples are really good :) 

Apple Pumpkin Oatmeal:
Servings: 1

1. Cook apple-pie oatmeal
2. Add 1/3 c. pumpkin granola
3. Add splash of unsweetened vanilla almond milk
4. If you like it sweeter, add 1-2 tsp brown sugar on top!

Sesame-Vegetable Lo Mein

 This recipe comes from a mix of a few different pinterest recipes, and whatever I had in the kitchen.

Serves 4-6 people

7 oz whole wheat spaghetti (or any pasta you like)
3 tbsp sesame oil
3 c. sugar snap peas
2 c. broccoli
1/3 medium red onion
15 baby carrots sliced up (or use big carrots)
1/2 red bell pepper
2 garlic gloves chopped up, or minced
1 tsp ginger (or fresh ginger grated)
1/4 tsp red pepper (use ground or flakes)
2-4 tbsp soy sauce (or more, I think I used 1/4 c. or more lol)
1 tbsp water
1-2 tbsp sesame seeds
And, if you are a mushroom fan, toss those in too

1. Cook pasta
2. Heat 2 tbsp sesame oil in skillet
3. Add vegetables, garlic & spices to skillet
4. Stir fry 10-15 min or longer if you need to/want to
5. Add soy sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil, & water to skillet. Then add cooked/drained pasta.
6. Cook 10-15 min, add sesame seeds, & serve! :)

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling

 This recipe is brought to by Hannaford... So Wayne's mom had this recipe kicking around and we have made it for a few years in a row now. SO GOOD! We usually make them mini-whoopies because 1. they are super cute 2. it cuts the 495834095834 calories per whoopie in half (unless you eat 4 or maybe 10 like me, which defeats the purpose) 3. SO CUTE!

Depending on how big you make them, this recipe will make 20-40 whoopie pies. :) And they are highly addictive, kinda like pumpkin crack, so beware. 

Pumpkin cakes:
1.5 c. light brown sugar
3/4 c. canola oil
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon (we usually use a lot more than this...)
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg

( waynes obviously crazy amount of filling...... it will just explode everywhere if you do this... lol ) 

Cream Cheese Filling:
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, room temp.
1/4 c. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 1/2 c. confectioners sugar, sifted

 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray, or line with parchment
2. Lg mixing bowl---> mix brown sugar, oil, & vanilla with electric mixer until well blended, then add eggs one at a time, then add pumpkin.
3. 2nd Lg mixing bowl---> Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, clove, ginger, and nutmeg. 
4. Add 1/2 dry mix to wet mix, blend until smooth, then add remaining dry mix, and blend
5. Drop 2 tbsp of batter onto cooking sheets, leaving 2in between each
6. Bake 11-13 min until "puffed" and set, but still soft to touch. Let cakes cool for few minutes before taking them off cooking sheets, then let cool 20 min
7. Prepare filling while cakes cool----> Lg mixing bowl, mix cream cheese and butter with electric mixer until creamy. Add vanilla and 1/2 confectioners sugar,  blend until smooth. Add remaining confectioners sugar. 
8. Put your whoopies together! :)

***Store at room temp x2 days or freeze for up to 2 months
(I'm pretty sure they will last more than 2 days......... BUT I thought I'd share what they recommend :P)

Zuppa Toscana

My mom used to work at Olive Garden in the kitchen so she remembers some of the recipes and makes similar versions of them at home. This one is a keeper ;)

Servings: a LOT

1 Package hot sausage
1/2 Package bacon
4-5 Potatoes (cut bite size, cook 1/2 way done, drain)
1 Onion3-4 Chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 Pint heavy cream or milk
1/2 Bundle of fresh kale (or more)
5 c. Water
Crushed red pepper to taste (and/or s&p)


Pre-cook all the meats and cook the potato 1/2 way, all separately, then mix everything together with the rest of the ingredients and let simmer for awhile ;D

Chocolate Peanut Butter Strawberry Protein Shake

So I have many protein shake recipes, most of which are just a ton of random stuff thrown in the blender... most turn out okay, some are kinda weird, and some I'd never make again lol

At my gym we have a "juice bar" where you can order really expensive protein shakes with any flavor protein etc

One day I was really lazy so I headed over to the Gym & Juice "juice bar" after exercising and ordered something with strawberries, peanut butter, and chocolate. SO FREAKING GOOD. So I tried to make one at home (being 394839 cheaper) and I also added a ton of other random stuff, and its SO GOOD :) They used fresh strawberries, chocolate protein, PB2, and water. I change mine a little each time, but basically this is sorta what happens:

Servings: 2 large glasses

3 Scoops Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
2 tbs PB2 (powdered peanut butter)
1 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 c. frozen strawberries
2-3 c. water and/or unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or regular milk)
1-2 tbs ground flaxseed

and MIX! :)