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Sweet Potato Hash

Sweet Potato Hash

This dish works for breakfast or dinner.  The roasted sweet potatoes and vegetables under a sunny side up egg pair well together. I served this with breakfast sausage and toasted whole wheat English muffins with jam. Ingredients: 2 sweet potatoes cubed 1 bell pepper diced 

Caribbean Grilled Chicken

Caribbean Grilled Chicken

Whenever I make grilled chicken, I like to marinate it in advance so it can soak up the flavor.  This chicken was tender, moist, and bursting with flavor.  I served this chicken with mango coleslaw and roasted sweet potato. Ingredients: 2 chicken breasts cut into 

Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers

Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers

One of my favorite things about this dish is the ability to add or subtract spice depending on your preferences.  I prepared this rather mildly and then topped it with buffalo sauce and fat free ranch dressing when I was ready to eat.

Ingredients:

3 bell peppers

2 chicken breasts cubed

1 can Mexican corn

1-2 tablespoons ranch seasoning powder

1-2 tablespoons buffalo seasoning powder (or buffalo sauce)

1-2 cups shredded Monterrey jack cheese

Optional: Buffalo sauce and ranch dressing for topping

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Cut peppers in half lengthwise and clean out the ribbing. Place peppers in a 9×13 dish. Cover with aluminum foil.
  3. Bake the peppers for 30 minutes while you prepare the chicken.
  4. Sprinkle ranch and buffalo seasoning on chicken and mix to coat the chicken.
  5. Cook chicken on medium heat in a nonstick skillet until just done.
  6. Drain and add the Mexican corn.  Cook 2 more minutes.
  7. Remove peppers from the oven.
  8. Use a slotted spoon to add the chicken mixture to the peppers.  (I piled it on and stuffed it down gently to fill the peppers).
  9. Top with shredded cheese.
  10. Bake 10 more minutes to melt cheese.
  11. Optional top peppers with buffalo sauce and ranch dressing to serve.
  12. Enjoy!
  13. I served this with honey butter cornbread muffins and roasted green beans with ranch seasoning.
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Swirl Date Fudge

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Swirl Date Fudge

If you are craving something sweet with hints of peanut butter and chocolate, then this is a simple dessert to try.  This is lighter than traditional fudge since the dates provide a natural sweetener. Ingredients: 1 heaping cup of pitted dates 2 cups peanut butter 

Marshmallow Stuffed Funfetti Cupcakes with Vanilla Sprinkle Buttercream Frosting

Marshmallow Stuffed Funfetti Cupcakes with Vanilla Sprinkle Buttercream Frosting

For my son’s birthday I wanted to make a colorful cupcake with a yummy filling.  He loves sandwiches with marshmallow fluff, so I decided to try something new and stuff cupcakes with some marshmallow fluff before baking.  My kids said these were some of the 

Strawberry Filled Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Strawberry Filled Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

If you like strawberries, then these cupcakes will make you melt.  The strawberry filling and tasty strawberry buttercream are a delight.  I used strawberry ice cream topping as my filling, but you can use pie filling, jam, or preserves as well.  Freeze dried strawberry powder is amazing at adding strawberry flavors to icings without adding excess liquid if you have not tried it before.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes-

1 box funfetti cake mix

1 cup water

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon strawberry filling per cupcake

Frosting-

½ pound unsalted butter at room temperature

4 cups powdered sugar

4 tablespoons milk (more if needed to thin frosting)

2 tablespoons powdered freeze-dried strawberries

1 teaspoon strawberry extract

Directions:

  1. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners and pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. 
  2. Mix cake mix, water, applesauce, and eggs until combined.
  3. Use a medium cookie scooper to halfway fill muffin tins.
  4. Add a teaspoon/tablespoon of strawberry filling to each cupcake.
  5. Bake 20-25 minutes until cupcakes are set.
  6. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before removing.
  7. For frosting use a whisk attachment to mix butter, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla.  Add more milk if needed to get the desired consistency.
  8. Add freeze dried strawberry powder and mix to combine.
  9. I used a frosting tool with a large tip to frost my cupcakes.
  10. Enjoy!
Brown Sugar Jerk Pork Tenderloin

Brown Sugar Jerk Pork Tenderloin

This is a tasty and simple recipe good for any night of the week.  I simply mixed jerk seasoning with brown sugar and rubbed it all over the tenderloin.  Then once the oven was ready I baked until the meat reached 160 degrees. I served 

Mango and Red Cabbage Lime Coleslaw

Mango and Red Cabbage Lime Coleslaw

I love fruity and light coleslaws in the spring and summer.  Feel free to add/subtract ingredients depending on your personal preferences. Ingredients: ½ head red cabbage sliced ½ cup matchstick carrots 4 tablespoons lime juice 2-4 tablespoons honey or agave nectar 2 tablespoons mango balsamic 

Banana Blondies with Brown Butter Caramel Icing

Banana Blondies with Brown Butter Caramel Icing

Yum, yum, yummy!  These blondies are so delicious.  These taste like banana bread topped with the perfect frosting to complement the blondie and banana flavors.

Ingredients:

Banana Blondies-

½ cup unsalted butter melted

1 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup all purpose flour

¼ cup vanilla protein powder

½ cup mashed banana (I used 2 small bananas)

Brown Butter Caramel Frosting-

¼ cup unsalted butter

½ cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons of milk

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a 8×8 pan with nonstick spray.
  2. Cream butter and sugar together for several minutes until smooth and fluffy.
  3. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
  4. Mix in the mashed banana, and then the flour, protein powder, and salt. Mix just until everything is well blended, don’t over mix.
  5. Spread into your prepared pan.
  6. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the center is set and the edges are starting to brown.
  7. Let the cake cool most of the way before you make the frosting.
  8. To make the caramel frosting put the butter, brown sugar and milk or cream in a small saucepan and melt the butter, whisking all the time.
  9. Continue whisking until the mixture comes to a boil, then turn off the heat and add the sifted powdered sugar, whisking until completely smooth. You may need to add a little bit more powdered sugar if it seems very thin.
  10. Spread it immediately onto the cake, it will set up very quickly.
  11. Once the frosting is set cut into 9 large squares or 16 smaller squares.
  12. Enjoy!
Fiesta Pork Chops with Zachos

Fiesta Pork Chops with Zachos

On weeknights I am always looking for quick and simple meals.  This is a one pot dish that doesn’t take long to prepare. I served this with nachos and zachos (zucchini sliced nachos). Ingredients: 4-5 boneless pork chops 2 tablespoons salt 1 tablespoon chili powder