Pepperoni Pizza Bites!!

Tonight's post has nothing to do with health, whole grain, nutrition, or lean protein... it's all about what I could find in the house in the middle of another snow storm! So, tonight, I had enough stuff to make these tasty little muffins full of pepperoni and mozzarella! And they were GREAT! And super easy!! Here we go... In a big bowl, add the dry ingredients.... 3/4 cup of flour, 3/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (though I'd add more). Whisk together to combine. To that, I added 3/4 cup of milk and 1 beaten egg. Combine the wet and the dry ( I whisked together). Last, add 1 cup shredded mozzarella, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, and 1 cup chopped pepperoni (I used sliced pepperoni and chopped into tiny bite size pieces). I scooped about 2 tablespoons of this super savory batter into a mini-muffin tin coated with nonstick spray and cooked in a 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes! Serve warm with your favorite red sauce, and you have a super savory, tasty pepperoni pizza... in one crazy good bite! Now... all I need is a house full of kids to eat these cheesy little bites!

Spicy Noodle Craving with Sesame and Sriracha!!

Meatless Monday! And I'm having a spicy sesame noodle craving... and it couldn't happen on a better night!! Simple ingredients and tasty spicy heat!! These noodles could not be any easier! You can get all fancy, with special rice noodles, or what ev'... but I had plain old thin spaghetti... and it was just fine! The secret is in the sauce... and if you can "pour", then you can make this amazing power packed sauce for your noodles! I started with 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon agave, 1 heaping tablespoon sriracha, 3 tablespoons sesame oil, 2 tablespoons of chopped garlic and fresh ginger, and 1/4 cup of cider vinegar (you can use rice wine, but I love the flavor of cider vinegar). Mix all these power flavors in a little bowl and keep on the side until you're ready! Next, for nutrition and crunch, I added some veggies.... Tonight I used up half of a small red cabbage, sliced thin, and shredded carrots. I also added 2 small chopped baby zucchini, about 4 cups of veggies in all. You can use what ever veggies you like, red pepper, red onion, green beans... anything would be awesome!! While I cooked my pasta according to package directions, I added the cabbage and carrots to my "wok-ish" pan with 1 scant teaspoon canola oil, and cooked for about one minute. If color equals nutrition, then this is going to be a nutritional masterpiece! After a minute I added the zucchini and tossed for another minute. Next, I drained the pasta and added it to my veggie wok! Immediately after that... I added that super stoked up soy sauce and tossed it all together to coat! Now, we like to finish our noodles with a fresh tasty garnish, and tonight... it was chopped scallion, cilantro, and some roasted sesame seeds sprinkled on top!! If you don't have these noodle "movie star" ingredients, don't worry, these noodles are spectacular on their own! My last step was to sprinkle those scallions in those noodles and give it one last toss! Mouth is watering, and I can't stand it!! NOODLE TIME!! Meatless Monday couldn't be any better! Spicy sesame noodles courtesy of sriracha and garlic and ginger! Soooooo good! Make this heart healthy, meatless Monday, nutrition packed noodle dinner soon!!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies!

Oatmeal Cookies! What cookie could taste any better... loaded up with chocolate chips, pecans and raisins... and still seem "not so bad" with all those oats? Now, why would I be making cookies today? Right?? Today's the first day of Western Mass. and Frontier's Wrestler Team is IN!! I should be sitting on a bleacher... with these boys... ALL DAY... watching sweaty warriors twist and turn each other into human pretzels...in short 2 minute intervals of blood curdling, heart pounding intensity... but not today. Alas, the ever popular and uninvited puking bug decided to pop in on Stevie, on THIS, the day of his very first WMA Wrestling Tourney! HATE YOU puking bug... and I'm missing our Red Hawk Wrestlers compete. And it's KILLING US to not be there!! So, the ONLY thing a good self respecting Mommy-fan can do on a day like this (besides check my messages every 10 minutes for wrestling updates, courtesy of the official Federation of Frontier Wrestling Moms in attendance... thanks Moms)... is BAKE COOKIES! If I can't scream and yell for those boys from the bleachers, I'll bake those boys some supremely awesome oatmeal chocolate chip pecan cookies! It's ON... These cookies are pretty easy! Start by creaming one stick and 6 tablespoons of butter (14 T) together with 3/4 cups of brown sugar and 1/2 cup white sugar. Use hand mixer or upright mixer and blend until creamy. Add 2 eggs and 1 tablespoon vanilla and mix some more. Now add your dry... 1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and mix some more. To that, add 3 heaping cups of oats and mix to combine. Now this would be good on it's own, but these cookies are for the TEAM... so we boosted their deliciousness with raisins, chocolate chips, and chopped pecans, about a half cup of each! Now mix to combine and set your oven to 350 and get your handy dandy scooper ready! I sprayed my little ice cream scooper with non stick spray, and dropped those cookies onto a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Any old scooper or spoon will do, and you don't need the paper, I just always do. This dough was pretty dense, so I pushed the tops down a tiny bit. After 10 minutes check your cookies. Mine were pretty big (and clearly too close together), so they took 13 minutes. Smaller cookies may only take 8-10 minutes to cook. When golden brown and set, take them out to cool. Leave them on that cookie sheet at least a couple of minutes, or they will fall apart. Let them cool completely on rack while you cook off the rest of your cookies. I can't wait to deliver these cookies to my favorite, hard working bunch-o-boys! Stevie, on the other hand, will be enjoying some less than spectacular jello and ginger ale while he roots for his team from the couch...the day before his birthday!! Have I mentioned how much I HATE the puking bug!!! Make some cookies for your favorite athletes, teachers, coaches, neighbors, plow truck drivers, or friends! You KNOW they DESERVE IT!!

Power Packed Salads!! Keeping Resolutions!

While, admittedly, this isn't really cooking... in our commitment to health and nutrition, we are keeping our promise of at least one salad meal per week! And tonight, we started with the usual suspects, fresh greens, shredded carrots, chopped salad cukes (the little ones...no waxy skin), fresh zucchini, some sweet red pepper, and our favorite fat free croutons for crunch! Next, for protein, we added sliced turkey and edamame, and we loved it! I also added a little tortellini for flavor and cooked them in boiling water for 5 minutes with the edamame... easy! Last, add all your chopped ingredients to a big, over-sized bowl, and here's why. You can add your favorite dressing, but in a super small amount. The dressing is the only "fatty" thing in this bowl of deliciousness. By using a super big bowl to toss that salad with the dressing, you can coat all the ingredients with tasty flavor, but use sparing amounts! Last, pour that delicious nutritious salad out on a beautiful serving plate, and enjoy!! We added a little sliced turkey too! Tonight... our wrestler is LOVING his salad for DINNER! GO Red Hawk Wrestlers!!

Roasted Potato Wedges... Our Dinner... Addictions!!

So... It's another Thursday, and 4 long days since I've been in a grocery store... so what do we have for dinner tonight? Answer: not much... But thanks to our latest addictions... we have plenty of clementines, peanut butter filled pretzels, and plain ol' humble potatoes.... so, while this is the LEAST traditional dinner you may EVER want to have, it was pretty good!!!! Don't JUDGE... just EAT! So first, let's talk about our latest cravings.... We could not POSSIBLY be any more addicted to clementines!! The are like heroin in this house, and I'll take it!! If 4-5 clementines a day is normal... we are living the dream! And at 30 calories and tons of vitamins, we'll keep going with this clementine habit! The next addiction may not be the poster child of health and nutrition.... BUT WE DON'T CARE.... WE ARE ADDICTED TO PEANUT BUTTER FILLED PRETZELS!! I haven't researched the nutritional value on these, but I don't care what it is.... We can't quit our PB-filled Pretzels!! Next, and last addiction for tonight... our wedges... simple tasty, warm, humble potato wedges! Super simple and crazy good! Here's what we did tonight! First, wash and dry your potatoes. We used red potatoes (but any will do)!! Cut the potato into wedges and drizzle with olive oil to coat. Now for some flavor... sprinkle the wedges with some garlic powder, salt, pepper, and tonight... I sprinkled on a little cayenne pepper...cause we're ready for flavor and living dangerously!!! But seriously, you can add any flavor to those wedges that you like, and they will be awesome! Next, and this may seem weird, but DO IT... Pop those wedges up onto their skins, like little sail boats. The starchy sides will roast and get crispy and delicious! Cook in a 400 degree oven for at least 30 -45 minutes or until golden brown! Enjoy your wedges as they are, on their own, or with some creamy ranch dip... Or maybe with... tasty clementines and peanut butter filled pretzels! Or, if your feeling slightly more traditional with your dinner choices, you can enjoy these savory tasty treats with any roasted meat (chicken, pork, roast beef) and a tasty veggie side. Tonight was an unusual, tasty dinner with all our favorites!!! Clementines, roasted crispy red potato wedges, and peanut butter pretzels for dessert. No apologies.... weird... but, wholesome tasty goodness!

Superbowl Sunday!! Chipotle Chicken Tacos!!!

It's superbowl Sunday, and the New England Patriots are watching... from their warm cozy living rooms... DANG!! But, it's still Superbowl Sunday, and time for some tasty football eats!! Now we LOVE football food, nachos, pizza, wings... but tonight, we're having some soft flour tortilla tacos filled with lean chipotle chicken and super-slaw!! Tons of flavor without any fried fatty regret later! Here we go!! I started with this super easy slaw. If color means nutrition.... this slaw is a home run... or game winning touch down tonight??? So, here's the slaw, super simple. I bought the smallest red cabbage I could find, and still only used half of it, and sliced it real thin. Then, I added some shredded carrots and 4 chopped scallions with a big handful of fresh cilantro. Now here's where I get lazy, and I don't care what anyone thinks!! I added this chipotle ranch dressing as the creamy tasty glue to the slaw... and it was delicious. Short cut... guilty!! After adding the dressing to the slaw, I tossed it all together and parked it in the fridge until I was ready. The longer this sits, the better!!! Slaw, done! Time for chicken! Tonight I butterflied (sliced in half the "wide" way) 3 big lean boneless chicken breasts and gave them some incredible chipotle flavor! This flavor weapon was introduced to me by my friend and colleague Lisa, and every time I use it I love her more and more!!! It's so good! Sprinkle your chicken with some salt, garlic powder, and the chipotle seasoning (liberally) and add to a pan over medium high heat with some olive oil. If you want to grill these, that's even better. Sadly, my grill is a casualty of New England's winter brutality, so I sauteed the chicken on the stove for about 4 minutes on the first side, and another 4 on the second side (mine were pretty big). If you poke your chicken, and it feels firm, it's probably done! Nothing worse than overcooked lean white meat chicken. Likewise, nothing BETTER than perfectly cooked, juicy, moist, flavorful white meat boneless chicken!!! Now the hard part, let the chicken rest for at least 10 minutes. And, time for tacos!! The big finish.... I used small soft flour tortillas, greens, fresh lime, and avocado... and it was spectacular! Slice that tender juicy chicken and lay a few slices on the tortilla. Add that creamy crunchy slaw, a few greens, and finish with fresh avocado!!! Now spritz some lime on that baby and you have some seriously good football eating, fit for Superbowl Sunday!!! Who says football food has to be fried and full of fat? These were super lean, packed with protein, and fresh crispy crunch with the slaw! The soft taco addiction continues.... soooooo good!! And... GO SEAHAWKS!