Sugar Cookie Bark

 Just saw this recipe. I wanted to save it to try with Christmas cookies this year. 

Ingredients:

8 oz butter

1 c. sugar

1 TBS vanilla extract

2 c. flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 bag (10 oz) bittersweet chocolate chips

Sprinkles or small candies 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 10x15 inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In large, microwave-safe bowl, heat butter in 20 second intervals until melted. Add sugar and vanilla, and whisk until lighter in color, about 1 minute. Add flour and salt, stir with spatula until completely incorporated. 

3. On prepared baking sheet, press dough into even layer. Bake until edges are golden brown and top is firm, 20 -22 minutes. Cool slightly, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

4. In sperate large, microwave-safe bowl, heat chocolate chips in 30 sec intervals, stirring until smooth. Spread evenly overtop of cookie. 

5. While chocolate is still warm, add sprinkles or small candies overtop. Allow chocolate to cool completely at room temperature or in fridge. 

6. Break into pieces for serving or gifting. Store in airtight container.

Creamy Tomato Gnocchi Soup

 Just saw this recipe. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks good. Adding it here so I can recycle the paper recipe.

Ingredients:

2 TBS Butter

2 TBS Olive Oil

4 Cloves garlic, minced

1 TBBS Italian Seasoning

1/2 C. Dry White Wine

1 (15-oz) can cannellini beans, drained

2 (28-oz) cans whole peeled tomatoes with basil

1 tsp salt

1 pkg gnocchi

Grated parmesan cheese (optional for serving)

Fresh basil, chopped (optional for serving)

Directions:

1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt butter with oil. Add garlic and Italian Seasoning. Stir and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine and boil about 1 minute. Stir in beans, tomatoes and salt. Remove from heat. 

2. Using blender, puree soup until smooth.

3. Return soup to pot over medium-high heat and stir in gnocchi. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook about 15-20 min. 

4. Serve topped with parmesan and basil. 

Creamy Cilantro Lime Chicken

 This one is SO delicious! It's gluten free and we make it dairy free by using coconut milk instead of cream. Everyone in my family enjoys this meal. I'm changing the directions from the original to show what we normally make for our family. 

originally from Sally's Baking Addiction

INGREDIENTS

3 lbs chicken breasts

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 TBS olive oil

3 c. chicken broth

6 TBS fresh lime juice

1 red onion (chopped)

4 TBS chopped fresh cilantro

1 tsp red pepper flakes (more or less depending on your preferences)

1/2 can of coconut milk (or 2/3 cup heavy cream)

Rice, cooked according to package directions, for serving

optional: lime wedges and cilantro for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 F or 190 C. 

2. If the chicken is uneven in thickness, pound them down to be even so that they cook simultaneously. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. 

3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook 6-7 minutes, turning once. You want the chicken to be nice and browned on the outside but it doesn't have to be cooked all the way through yet. Transfer the chicken to a 9x13 pan and cover with foil until step 5.

4. Add broth, lime juice, onion, cilantro and red pepper flakes to the skillet. Cook and stir to scrape the brown bits from the bottom. Allow to boil uncovered for 10-12 minutes. Add the coconut milk or cream, stir and remove from heat. 

5. Pour the sauce over the chicken and bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 F.

6. Serve the chicken over rice with sauce spooned on top. Garnish with lime wedges or extra cilantro, optional. 

Salted Caramel Apple Bars

 From Sally's Baking Addiction

Crust:

1/2 c (113g) butter, melted

1/4 c (50g) sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1 c (125g) flour

Filling:

2 large apples, peeled and thinly sliced 

2 Tbs flour

1 tsp cinnamon 

1/8 tsp nutmeg

Topping:

1/2 c (43g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats

1/3 c (70g) packed light or dark brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 c (31g) flour

1/4 c (56g) butter

homemade salted caramel or store-bought caramel sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300F/149C. Grease bottom of 8-in square pan.

Make the crust: stir melted butter, sugar, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl. Add flour and stir until everything is combined. Press into baking pan and bake 15 min. Them remove from oven.

Make the filling: While the crust bakes, combine apples, flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl and mix until evenly coated.

Make the topping: whisk oats, brown sugar, cinnamon  and flour together  in a medium bowl. Cut in the chilled butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

When the crust has baked for 15 min, turn the oven up to 350F/177C. Layer apples on the crust, then top cover with the topping. Bake for 30-35 min until the streusel topping is golden brown. Remove and cool 20 min., then chill in the fridge at least 2 hours or overnight if time allows. Cut into bars and serve drizzled with caramel sauce. These can be served warm, cold or room temperature.

High Protein Loaded Fries with Jalapeño Ranch Dressing

*original recipe from hunt4shredz instagram 

*I made a few adjustments which I noted below.

These were really, really good. Very filling. Pretty quick to make. The longest part is cooking the sweet potatoes.

(4 servings)

Ingredients

For the Fries:
• 600g (about 2 medium) russet potatoes, cut into fries ( I used sweet potatoes)
• Olive oil spray
• 2 tsp garlic powder 
• 1 tsp chili powder 
• Salt & pepper to taste

*Bake in an oven until tender, and then broil to crisp. Original recipe called for an air fryer, but we don't have one of those. 

For the Beef:
• 1 lb (454g) lean ground beef (93/7)
• ½ white onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp beef bone broth
• ½ cup (56g) low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
•2 tsp garlic powder 
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• Salt & pepper to taste

Sautee onions until brown, then add garlic until fragrant. Add remaining ingredients, and sauté for 10 min to meld the flavors. Since Kev is dairy free, I saved the cheese for an optional topping, and it was really good even without the cheese.

Jalapeño Ranch Drizzle:
• ½ cup (120g) non-fat Greek yogurt
• ½ cup (113g) low-fat cottage cheese (blended smooth)
• 1 tbsp ranch seasoning
• 1–2 tbsp jalapeño juice (from the jar)
• 2–3 pickled jalapeño slices (blended in)
• Water to thin

*Serve the potatoes on the bottom, with meat layered on top. Optional cheese sprinkled on the top and drizzled the ranch dressing.

Macros per serving (1/4 recipe):
Calories: 475
Protein: 40g
Carbs: 42g
Fat: 15g

One Pan Honey Garlic Chicken and Veggies

INGREDIENTS

5 medium potatoes 2 Tbs olive for the potatoes salt and pepper to taste Sauce ingredients 2 Tbs olive oil 1/2 cup honey 6 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 cup soy sauce 4 Tbs brown sugar 2 Tbs dijon mustard 6 large bone in skin on chicken thighs 2 Tbs butter, sliced into six slices 2 cups cut up broccoli (I used up some frozen green beans instead, and defrosted them a little while the chicken was cooking) INSTRUCTIONS -preheat oven to 400F -cut potatoes into even bite size pieces, transfer to baking pan, drizzle olive oil over potatoes, season with salt and pepper then mix together. -Partially bake potatoes for 25 minutes. While it's cooking, you can clean the chicken and prep the sauce. -Mix together all the sauce ingredients and set aside -When potatoes come out of the oven, place chicken thighs over, then pour sauce mixture over chicken and potatoes -Bake for 30 minutes -Take chicken and potatoes out of oven then add broccoli, baste the broccoli with sauce then bake for extra 20 to 25 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and veggies are tender.

Thai Cucumber Salad

 *This was originally found in The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts program.

Ingredients:

2 cucumber, peeled and diced

2 red bell peppers, diced

6 green onions, sliced up to about halfway up the green part

3/4 c. cilantro, chopped

1/2 c. chopped peanuts (optional)

Sauce:

2 limes, juiced

2 T. soy sauce

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional - can add more for added spice)

2 tsp white sugar

1 tsp garlic powder

1. Mix cucumbers, peppers, green onions, cilantro and peanuts in a large bow. 

2. Add all of the sauce ingredients to a small bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar. Taste. Add a little more sugar if it's too sour for your taste.

3. Pour sauce over salad. Mix gently to combine.

4. Serve right away, or refrigerate for up to 5 hours and then serve.

Izmir Köftesi

 Preheat oven to 180.

For the Meatballs:

1 kilo ground beef

1-2 c. bread crumbs (can use gluten free)

2 onions, grated 

Fresh parsley

1 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

Grate the onions and squeeze the juice out of them. Chop the parsley finely. Mix all of the ingredients together and form into flat meatball shapes.

For the Vegetables/Potatoes:

4-5 potatoes (enough to cover the bottom of a glass baking pan), peeled and cut into 1-in wedges

2 green peppers, diced

Onions, diced

2 large, peeled, chopped tomatoes (or 1 1/2 -2 cans of diced tomatoes)

1 T. tomato paste

1/2 tsp sugar

Salt

Pepper

1 T. chopped fresh thyme (or you could use some dried if you don't have fresh)

Pan fry the potatoes with salt and pepper to begin until partly cooked and browned. Layer them in the bottom of a lightly oiled glass 9x13 pan. Sauté the green peppers and onions in the pan until tender and layer them on top of the potatoes. Next, brown the meatballs in the pan, and lay them in rows on top of the veggies/potatoes.

Meanwhile, add the tomatoes, paste, sugar, salt, pepper and thyme to a sauce pan and cook for about 5 minutes. Pour the sauce over the meatballs, and put it in the preheated oven until everything is cooked through. 

*If you are in a hurry, you don't have to fry the potatoes first, but wait and add the meatballs to the pan in the oven until the potatoes are mostly cooked to avoid burning the meatballs. 

Afiyet Olsun!

Ayse's Green Beans

 Ingredients:

2-3 c. green beans, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

2 tomatoes, diced

1 T. tomato paste

1 tsp. sugar

Salt, to taste

A drizzle of olive oil

Water

Cooked rice (optional for serving)

Put all of the beans in a sauce pan. Add the remaining ingredients on top of the beans. Put the water in the pot, filling it to no more than halfway. Cook a few minutes and then mix. Continue cooking with cover on, stirring occasionally, bringing the water to a boil. When it boils, turn off the stove. 

Can serve as a side dish as is or over rice.

Afiyet Olsun!