Skinny Chicken Parmesan Calzones

That's right ladies and gentleman, I'm back! It's been a crazy, hectic month and I can't even tell you how amazing it feels to FINALLY be on Christmas break. Every free minute I had was spent reading, writing, and researching for finals. Now that I have 3 weeks of freedom, I plan on cooking as many new things as possible. 

About a week ago I made Chicken Parmesan for dinner and was beyond pleased with the results. Typical chicken parm. recipes use a flour, egg, breadcrumb dredging process but I decided to make things a bit easier on myself and used just breadcrumbs and butter. The chicken turned out just as amazing and was a LOT less messy (something I'm sure Adam was very pleased about). I also baked the chicken instead of frying it. 

I was starving when I woke up this morning and didn't have the effort to make myself breakfast so I sat around and looked at food blogs (not a good idea when you're already hungry). I got an instant craving for breakfast burritos...then snickerdoodle cookies...then calzones. Breakfast burritos required too many ingredients so I got over that craving pretty quickly. Cookies were out of the question, especially at 9am. Calzones however, sounded pretty doable. I found a recipe for buffalo chicken calzones and got inspired to come up with a chicken Parmesan calzone. 

This recipe requires some waiting but not a lot of work and believe me, the waiting is worth it.

Skinny Chicken Parmesan Calzones

Yield: 2 generous servings

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tbsp light butter (I like Smart Balance light butter with flaxseed oil)
• 1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 can Pillsbury refrigerated classic pizza crust
• 6 slices Sargento ultra thin sliced provolone cheese
• 4 tbsp marinara sauce, plus more for dipping
• Egg wash (1 egg, 1/2 tsp water)
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp fresh grated Parmesan

For the chicken: 

Preheat oven to 450°. Combine 1tsp grated Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs in a bowl. In another bowl, melt butter. Brush melted butter on both sides of chicken breast and dip in breadcrumb mixture, evenly coating both sides. Place on greased baking sheet and lightly spray the top of chicken with cooking oil. 

Bake for 15 minutes, turn chicken and bake another 5 minutes. Let chicken cool while preparing pizza dough.

For the calzones:

Remove dough from packaging and roll into a ball. Divide dough in two and roll out. 

Place 3 slices of provolone, chicken breast, and 2 tbsp's marinara sauce in each calzone. 

Fold dough in half and pinch edges closed. Whisk together egg and water. Brush calzones with egg wash. Sprinkle Italian seasoning and fresh grated Parmesan over the top of the calzones. Bake 10-15 minutes (oven should still be set at 450°). 

(The egg wash helps to create a shiny exterior without burning the dough). 

Angry Orchard Cinnful Cider Bread

For those of you who haven't made my Cinnful Cidercakes yet, you need to! My cidercakes have been a hit and I decided I wanted to take the recipe to the next level and turn it into a bread. I love any and all kinds of bread - especially banana bread, pumpkin bread, and beer bread. After giving it some thought, I decided that I wanted a moist bread like banana bread, with the denseness of pumpkin bread, and that used hard cider instead of beer. I had a pretty solid recipe for my cupcakes and decided to somehow modify it to give it a bread-like texture. 

Now I've done my fair share of food research and I know that substitutions can be made for most things but not without a little modification first. Banana bread is moist because of the banana, pumpkin bread is super moist because of the pumpkin puree and beer bread obviously uses beer to keep the bread from drying out. When it comes to apple cider bread, equal substitutions cannot be made. Apples are a very, very wet fruit and adding applesauce instead of banana or pumpkin puree nearly doubles the moisture which could turn the bread to goo, especially since there is added liquid from the hard cider already. I wanted a strong apple flavor so I cut the amount of cider in half to account for the moisture in the applesauce. The result was a rich, moist, bread that fully embodied the flavor of Angry Orchard's Cinnful Cider.

Angry Orchard Cinnful Cider Bread

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup cinnamon applesauce
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup egg beaters
• 1/2 cup Angry Orchard Cinnful Cider
• 1/4 cup cinnamon chips
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon fat free half and half (or milk)
• Chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray 9x5in. loaf pan with cooking spray; set aside. 

In a small bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and apple pie spice. In a large bowl cream butter and brown sugar then add applesauce and mix. Add 1/4 cup egg beaters and mix. Once mixed add remaining 1/4 cup egg beaters and mix again. Slowly mix in hard cider until fully incorporated. Working in 3 batches, add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix. Pour into loaf pan and cook for 55 minutes; rotating after 30. 

Allow bread to cool for 10 minutes in the loaf pan and then slowly remove from loaf pan and cool on a cooling rack. 

For the cinnamon drizzle: melt cinnamon chips, fat free half and half, and vanilla over a double boiler. As soon as ingredients are melted, drizzle over cooled cider bread and top with chopped walnuts.

Cinnful Cidercakes

Here's the thing, I love Angry Orchard cider and I love cinnamon. As a seasonal brew, Angry Orchard came out with a new cider called Cinnful Apple and it is so, so good—you can't really go wrong with cinnamon and hard cider. I got a friend of mine hooked on the stuff this past weekend and her mom shared one of Angry Orchard's photos on Facebook for us to check out. It was a picture of a cupcake made with Cinnful Apple. I clicked on the link and there was no recipe to be found. I was determined to make some sort of cupcake using the cider so I came up with a cupcake batter and was beyond pleased with the outcome. These babies turned out amazing! They're also way healthier than a traditional cupcake. 

Cinnful Cidercakes

Yield: 15 cupcakes

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 stick butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup cinnamon applesauce
• 1/2 cup egg beaters
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup Cinnful Apple cider
• Whipped cream cheese frosting (ready made or homemade)
• Cinnamon and chopped walnuts for garnish

Preheat oven to 325°F and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Lightly spray the liners with cooking spray. 

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl cream together sugar, butter, and applesauce until smooth. Add 1/4 cup egg beaters and mix. Once incorporated, add the remaining 1/4 cup egg beaters and vanilla; mix. 

Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just absorbed. Mix in 1/2 of the cider, then 1/2 of the remaining dry ingredients, the last of the cider, and finally the remaining flour (mixing in between each addition).

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before frosting. Frost with cream cheese frosting and garnish with chopped walnuts and cinnamon.

Chicken & Potato Florentine Soup

I had made plans with a friend a while ago to come over and help me cook dinner. We debated for days as to what to make then finally decided on soup. It was going to be a gloomy day, as usual, so we decided on a heartier soup: chicken and potato Florentine; something neither of us had ever made let alone tried. The soup turned out amazing and we ended up with enough leftovers to feed us for a few more days. 

Chicken & Potato Florentine Soup

• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 (14.5 oz.) cans low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 1/2 tbsp. onion powder
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Ground pepper to taste
• 2 (14.5 oz.) cans petite diced tomatoes
• 4 medium carrots, finely diced
• 6 red potatoes, diced (skins on)
• 2 cups water
• 3 cups fresh spinach, chopped
• 1 (8 oz.) package 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

In a large pot or Dutch oven, add all ingredients except spinach, cream cheese, and mozzarella cheese. Simmer over medium heat until chicken breasts are cooked through (about 20 minutes). Remove chicken from pot and shred using two forks. Once shredded, add the chicken back into the pot. Continue to simmer for another 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through. Once potatoes are cooked through, add chopped spinach and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the cream cheese until completely melted then add the mozzarella cheese and stir to combine. 

Recipe adapted from: Eat Cake for Dinner

Crock•Pot Korean Pork Ribs

These past two weeks have been crazy. Between constantly doing homework, working nonstop, my birthday, and Adam's birthday, I've barely had time to breathe let alone cook. The chaos is finally over and now I can start to get my much needed rest and relaxation. I've been beyond worn out lately which means my Crock•Pot has found a permanent spot on our counter. 

I've been wanting to cook a lot of new foods lately and ribs has been on the list for a while, so I found a way to cook them in my Crock•Pot with an Asian twist. Luckily for me, country style ribs were on sale so I bought a hefty 4lbs for only $5! I put together the sauce, threw it all in the Crock•Pot and thought about/drooled over these ribs all day at work. As soon as I got home, I could smell the ribs from the front door. I don't think these could have turned out any better; they literally fell off the bone as I tried to put them on my plate (believe me, if the Crock•Pot weren't so hot I would have picked it up and ate them right out of there). 

These ribs were so good that after just one bite, I decided I was going back to the grocery store to stock up on more ribs to make them again next week...and probably again the next week. 

Crock•Pot Korean Pork Ribs

• 3.5-4lbs country style ribs
• 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp sweet chili sauce
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 in. piece of ginger, grated
• 3 cloves garlic, grated
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• Green onions for garnish

In a bowl whisk together soy sauce, molasses, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, lemon juice, sweet chili sauce, red pepper flakes, chili powder, and black pepper. Using a microplane, grate the ginger and garlic and add to the sauce; whisk to combine.

Place the ribs in the slow cooker and pour in the sauce. Cook on low 8-9 hours. Once ribs are done, remove from Crock•Pot. There will be a lot of sauce in the bottom of the Crock•Pot so mix cornstarch with a little bit of cold water and mix it into the sauce. Let it cook for a few minutes to thicken. Pour extra over ribs or serve on the side. Serve ribs with steamed rice or rice noodles and garnish with green onions.

Recipe adapted from: Kayotic Kitchen

Pumpkin Cake Roll with Toffee Cream Cheese Filling

Just because it was my birthday yesterday did not mean I was going to give myself a break from cooking. I had no intention of making something awesome for dinner - I planned on being taken out for that. I decided instead to make myself a cake. I know, I know, I hate cake. This is pumpkin we're talking about though. Pumpkin...toffee...cream cheese. Even the most cake-hating people can't resist those four words. I found this recipe and decided that my birthday was the perfect day to test it out.

Pumpkin Cake Roll with Toffee Cream Cheese Filling

• 1 cup plus 3 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp molasses
• 6 oz. Neufchatel cream cheese, softened
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup Heath bits
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Heat oven to 375°. Cut parchment paper to fit on bottom of a 10 x 15 jelly roll pan and lightly grease with cooking spray. Set aside. Whisk together 1 cup flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice and salt; set aside.

Using a mixer, beat eggs and sugar on high speed for roughly 4 minutes or until fluffy. Stir in pumpkin puree and lemon juice then slowly add the flour mixture.

Place 1/4 cup of the batter in a small bowl with 3 tbsp flour and molasses. Mix then transfer to a ziploc bag. Cut one of the corners and pipe designs onto the parchment paper in the pan (I did swirls). Place in freezer for 15-20 minutes. Once frozen, spread remaining batter over designs then quickly smooth.

Bake 16-17 minutes. Run a knife around the edges and turn cake onto a wire rack. Gently remove parchment paper and turn cake over onto a tea towel, design side down. Dust top of cake with flour then roll the cake to form a log, wrapping with the towel as you roll (start at the short end). Allow to cool in towel.

In a bowl, mix together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla and powdered sugar and mix. Stir in toffee and pecans. In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until firm peaks form. Fold cream cheese mixture into whipped cream until completely mixed.

Gently unroll cooled cake and remove towel. Spread the filling on the cake and reroll. Place seam side down on serving platter. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour or until ready to serve. 

Adapted from: Ladies' Home Journal, November 2013

Lasagna Soup

With fall finally getting its grasp on us, I want nothing more than to relax on gloomy days and warm up with a bowl of soup. When I'm not too exhausted, I like to make my own soups from scratch. I found a recipe a while ago for lasagna soup but never got around to making it. It actually ended up in a pile in my closet of old recipes I wanted to test out but never did. While at the store the other day I found these:

Most people would look at these noodles and wonder what to do with them. My mind went straight to lasagna soup! These noodles could not be more perfect or easier to use. Lasagna soup recipes call for, well, lasagna noodles. You can't cook the entire noodle though, it needs to be broken up and then put in the soup. These noodles on the other hand are already broken and require no work other than tossing them in the pot.

My plan was to make this soup for dinner but I got anxious and made it for lunch instead...then ate more again for dinner. I'm sure you will understand my impatience just by looking at the ingredients. 

Lasagna Soup

Yield: 6-8 servings

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 lb Italian pork and chicken sausage, casings removed
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (32-ounce) container reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can no salt added petite diced tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 8 ounces Pantacce pasta
• 3 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan
• Reduced-fat shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick Dutch oven. Add sausage (breaking it up into small pieces with your hands), onion, pepper, and garlic. Cook until sausage is browned and onions are translucent (8 minutes). 

Add chicken broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salt, and basil. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Add noodles and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until noodles are cooked through (10-12 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese. Top with mozzarella cheese and serve with toasted French bread. 

Recipe adapted from: Deen Bros

Cashew Chicken

Ever since high school, every single Friday I get crazy Chinese food cravings. I'm not sure what it is about Fridays but for some reason my body craves sushi, steamed rice, and any type of gluttonous, gooey, MSG filled entree. The old me would order take-out on Friday nights and call it a day but the new me is a little more cautious about what goes into my body. 

Typical Chinese takeout is loaded with fat, calories, carbohydrates and most likely 50 other things I can't even pronounce. Now every once in a while it's okay to indulge but I prefer to indulge in foods that don't put me into a food coma or make me feel like a slug for the rest of the day. 

This past Friday I got my sushi fix but I wasn't able to get my Chinese food fix because we ended up going grocery shopping after work. It's now Sunday and I am STILL craving Chinese so I decided to make one of my favorite dishes for dinner: cashew chicken. It's one of the few Chinese dishes that I do not feel guilty about eating so there are typically no leftovers...you will understand why when you make this dish!

Cashew Chicken

Yield: 2 servings

• 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 10 ounces), cut into small cubes
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon corn starch
• 1/2 teaspoon rice wine
• 1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 3/4 teaspoon reduced sodium soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons water
• 3 dashes white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 small green bell pepper, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 inch grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil (canola or vegetable)
• 1/2 cup cashews
• Salt to taste

Marinate the chicken in the baking soda for 15-20 minutes. Rinse chicken thoroughly, making sure that the chicken is rinsed clean of the baking soda. Pat chicken dry and marinate in corn starch and rice wine for 15 minutes.

While chicken is marinating, combine oyster sauce, soy sauce, water, white pepper, sugar, and sesame oil in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.

Heat wok with 1 tablespoon cooking oil and stir-fry the chicken meat until edges turn white (or until half-cooked). Remove chicken from wok and set aside. Add another tablespoon of cooking oil to wok then add green pepper and grated ginger. Stir-fry until you begin to smell the green pepper (about 2 minutes). Return the chicken to the wok. Add the sauce and continuously stir until the chicken is cook through and coated with sauce. Once chicken is cooked, add cashews and stir only a few times to mix. Serve over steamed rice. 

Note: if you do not have a wok, feel free to use a large skillet

Recipe adapted from Rasa Malaysia

Shrimp Ravioli with Rosa Vodka Sauce

There is almost nothing I love more than seafood, specifically shrimp. Adam and I finally had time to grocery shop and luckily for us, gulf shrimp was on sale. I bought a pound and thought about what to do with it, going back and forth between ideas - Italian eventually trumped Asian. I didn't want just normal pasta though, we practically live off of it when we have no other groceries. Then it hit me: ravioli. The last batch I made was just ok. I was not crazy about the spinach filling so I figured this time I would make a shrimp filling. It turned out great, so great that I only have 6 leftover...

Shrimp Ravioli with Vodka Sauce

• 1 lb raw shrimp (peeled, deveined, and tails removed)
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (15 ounce) container light ricotta cheese
• 2 egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon garlic and onion spice blend (I prefer The Gourmet Collection)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• Fresh chopped parsley
• 44 wonton wrappers
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2/3 cup vodka
• 3/4 cup fat free half and half
• 1 (28 ounce) can pureed tomatoes (no salt added)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Cook shrimp in 3 tablespoons butter with 2 cloves garlic until pink. Drain and place shrimp in food processor to roughly chop (do NOT puree). Once chopped, pour in medium bowl. Add ricotta cheese, egg yolks, Parmesan cheese, garlic and onion spice blend, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley. Mix and set aside.

Place 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of a wonton wrapper. Lightly brush water along the edges of wonton wrapper and place a second wonton wrapper on top, enclosing the filling completely. Using a fork, crimp the edges of the ravioli and set on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining wonton wrappers (you will end up with 22 ravioli total). Ravioli can be refrigerated for up to 2 hours.

As ravioli sets, melt 5 tablespoons unsalted butter in a saucepan. Add red pepper flakes and 2 cloves garlic - cook for one minute. Add vodka and simmer for 4 minutes or until alcohol has mostly cooked out. Add pureed tomatoes, half and half, chopped parsley (I used about 1/4 cup), and garlic salt. Simmer for 10 minutes and add salt to taste.

While sauce is cooking, work in batches and cook ravioli in a large pot of salted and oiled boiling water for 4 minutes per batch (the oil will keep the ravioli from sticking to each other). Transfer ravioli to a large shallow bowl or plate and top with vodka sauce and grated Parmesan cheese. 

Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

I'm finally in my final week of classes for the first fall session which means I haven't fully grocery shopped in about 2 weeks (it's slowly killing me). Adam and I have been living off soup and crackers so the other day, I was determined to scavenge up whatever I could find in the condo and make an actual meal out of it. I found some ground chicken in the freezer and an abundance of pasta in the pantry. The obvious answer was to make meatballs. I didn't want just normal meatballs though so I decided to think outside of the box. 

Here is a little breakdown of my thought process: meatballs → Italian → pasta → chicken parm. and pasta → meatballs → chicken parm meatballs! I love chicken Parmesan and I love meatballs so why not make a meal out of both? These meatballs were a hit and beyond addicting. If I had not made pasta to go with it, I'm sure we would have devoured every single meatball.

Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

• 1 lb. 95% lean ground chicken
• 1 1/2 cups garlic and herb breadcrumbs
• 1 large egg
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 2 ounces fresh grated Parmesan cheese (do not use the grated cheese that comes in a plastic container; grate it fresh yourself)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• Mozzarella cheese for garnish

Preheat oven to 400°.

In a large bowl mix ground chicken, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, egg, salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, and cheese (do not over mix). Using your hands or a tablespoon measure, roll mixture into 20 meatballs. Place on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour.

After the meatballs have set, melt 3 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan. As soon as the butter is melted, remove from heat and saute 1 cup breadcrumbs. Once mixed, pour breadcrumbs into a shallow bowl. Roll meatballs in the breadcrumb mixture and place on a greased baking rack on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve over pasta and garnish with mozzarella cheese. 

Dark Chocolate and Cinnamon Chip Banana Bread

I am not a baker. I am not a baker because I don't like sweets. That's right, I said it. I don't like cupcakes, I don't like pie, I don't like donuts, and I especially don't like cake. I do however, have a weakness for banana bread. The first time I ever made banana bread I used Greek yogurt and it turned out horrible! It would not cook in the middle and I ended up chopping it up into pieces just to get it to bake in the oven. Definitely not worth it. My second time around, I decided to nix the Greek yogurt and add chocolate chips. It turned out so good that my boyfriend asks me to make more almost every week. 

We had a bunch of bananas that were starting to go old so lucky for Adam, I woke up early to make a loaf of banana bread. It's gloomy out, the leaves are changing colors and falling off the trees, and our condo smells like fresh baked banana bread. I am in heaven.

Dark Chocolate and Cinnamon Chip Banana Bread

• 3 overripe bananas
• 1-2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon skim milk
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons), room temperature, unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup cinnamon chips
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease 9x5x3 loaf pan.

In a small bowl mix bananas with milk and cinnamon (I love cinnamon so I use 2 tablespoons). In a large bowl cream butter and sugar. Add eggs to butter and sugar mixture and mix. Slowly fold in banana mixture. 

In another small bowl, mix flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, chocolate chips, and cinnamon chips. Adding the chocolate and cinnamon chips to the flour mixture allows the chips to stick to the flour so they do not sink to the bottom of the banana bread.  

Incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, working in 3 batches. Once mixed, pour into loaf pan and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. 

To make this bread extra special, you can make a chocolate glaze to pour over the top!

Chocolate Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons skim milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and pour over cooled banana bread. Allow glaze to set for 15-20 minutes. 

Better than IKEA Swedish Meatballs

I have a strong love for IKEA, especially their Swedish meatballs. If it were closer, I would probably go there just for the meatballs. Now, IKEA's meatballs aren't horrible for you but they're definitely dangerous. One serving of 6 meatballs is roughly 200 calories and 13 grams of fat but let's be honest, who stops at just 6 bite sized meatballs? Not me that's for sure. 

I have been going through IKEA withdrawals and was really craving their meatballs so I made a quick trip to the grocery store and picked up my brother and sister on the way (Kaylee and Kyle are the perfect little helpers...)

Just a warning, this is a time consuming recipe. 

Swedish Meatballs

Yield: 6-8 servings

• 1 1/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 3 cups low sodium beef stock
• 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 cup minced onion
• 1 lb. 80% lean ground pork
• 1 lb. 99% lean ground turkey
• 3 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup reduced fat sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon low sodium Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 450°F. Mix breadcrumbs and 1/2 cup beef stock in a small bowl and set aside.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft and translucent (about 10 minutes). Transfer onion to large bowl.

Add beef, pork, eggs, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, black pepper, sugar, allspice, and nutmeg to the bowl with the onion and mix to combine - use your hands! Add the breadcrumb mixture and mix. Do not over mix! Over mixing the ingredients will result in tough meatballs. Using either your hands or a tablespoon measure, roll mixture into meatballs and place on a greased baking sheet (you will end up with roughly 80 tablespoon meatballs or 40 large ones if you measure by hand). 

Bake meatballs for 15 minutes until just cooked through. Transfer meatballs to a plate and allow to slightly cool. While meatballs are cooling, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over low heat. Whisk in flour until smooth and lightly browned. Add remaining beef stock and bring to a simmer, whisking often over medium heat. Add sour cream, Worcestershire sauce, and remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce; whisk to combine.

Return meatballs to pan; cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until meatballs are heated through and sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and serve meatballs over mashed potatoes or egg noodles. 

Heavily adapted from: A Farmgirl's Dabbles

Crockpot Jambalaya

It's officially October and even better, it's a Tuesday which means New Girl and The Mindy Project. Unfortunately for me, I tend to work both jobs on Tuesdays and after a long 11 hour day of work, the last thing I want to do is slave over dinner. Come 9pm when I finally get off work, the only thing on my mind is sitting and warm food. 

For those of you who know me, you know I love soup. Making my own soup is something I love to do because I am able to control what I put into it. It's also a lot cheaper! ($5.89 for one bowl of Panera soup or $9.28 for 6-8 servings of this homemade soup - I think the better deal is obvious). 

Making soup can be a long, tedious process which is why I prefer to make it in my Crockpot (courtesy of my mama for my birthday last year). All you have to do is dump all of the ingredients in the Crockpot, go about your day, and come back to a hearty, home cooked meal. Slow cooker meals are meant to be easy and that's exactly what this recipe is!

Crockpot Jambalaya

Yield: 6-8 servings

• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans no salt added petite diced tomatoes
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 14 ounces smoked turkey sausage (andouille would work too), sliced
• 1 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp, tails removed
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can reduced sodium chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons reduced sodium Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons Cajun seasonings
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, for garnish
• salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients, except shrimp and parsley, to slow-cooker. Stir ingredients well and cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. Before serving, add shrimp to the slow cooker and cook an additional 10 minutes until shrimp are pink and cooked through (if using cooked shrimp, add to slow cooker to warm for 2 minutes). Serve over rice and garnish with fresh parsley. 

Adapted from: Alaska From Scratch

Salsa, salsa, salsa!

Even though it is technically fall, summer decided to peak its head up for a few more days. I'm not going to lie, fall is my absolute favorite time of the year, but I do not mind a few more days of warmth before I have to bust out the ol' winter coat.

With that said, these past few 80 degree days have me craving fresh salsa. Summer is not summer without homemade salsa! I'm a bit of a salsa snob; if it comes from a jar, I won't eat it. If it even looks like it came from a jar I won't eat it. Salsa should be fresh and vibrant not dark red and soupy. 

Making fresh salsa is a tedious process and takes a lot of patience but I promise you, it is so worth it (just ask my coworkers and boyfriend who devour it before I even have the time to get the bag of tortilla chips open). I'm going to warn you, this stuff is addicting.

Fresh Salsa

• 6 large red round tomatoes - do not use Roma tomatoes (secret: make sure they're extra firm, no one likes a mushy tomato)
• 1 red onion
• 2 jalapeños
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Juice of half a lime
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste

First start by dicing the tomatoes. I've found it's easiest to slice them, cut out and toss the gooey middles, then dice the outer ring. Dice the red onion into small pieces - the smaller the dice, the better. Gut the jalapeños and finely chop (if you like a spicy salsa then feel free to leave the seeds in). Add all ingredients to a large bowl and stir to mix.

Do not forget to taste test your salsa! A great chef, or in my case: a little condo cook, always tastes their own food. If it needs a little extra salt, toss some in (secret: this is usually where I sneak in a little garlic salt). The best part about this salsa is that it is perfectly fine to eat right away but I highly recommend putting this little bowl of heaven in the fridge for a few hours to cool. 

I'm telling you, make this stuff for your Super Bowl party and everyone will forget they came for the football!