Super Easy Elvis Cookies

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Happy Super Bowl Sunday everyone! I hate to be a Debbie downer, but I am not even remotely thinking about the super bowl today. After spending the day at the golf tournament yesterday, today has been focused on catching up with cleaning, cooking, meal prep, and testing a few recipes! With Valentine’s Day coming up, I wanted to get a good dessert post up just incase you are planning to cook or bake for your special someone!

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Side note…. I love Valentines Day! I know it’s cheesy and there were probably times in my life where I wasn’t that excited about it, but there is something about spending a day talking about love, flowers, and chocolate that I can’t resist! I mean the day consists of things that I love — my hub, yummy chocolate or desserts, good food, the color red, and flowers! I’m sorry if you are someone who dreads this holiday… maybe just skip to the recipe?

I’m not sure what the hub and I are doing this year, but most likely I will be in charge of the dessert. Desserts are some of my favorite things to cook and experiment with. As much as Jeff likes a decadent dish, I always try to put a little healthy spin on it! The cookies I’m going to share with you today are super simple, easy and quick to make, and absolutely delicious! I love peanut butter, banana, and chocolate combinations, hens the name of the cookie! There is no added fat in these cookies; the peanut butter and egg provides plenty! I also don’t use any dairy and chose whole wheat flour as my base!

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Give these lovely little delights a try, and I hope your Valentine’s Day is filled with lots of love! Oh.. and enjoy the game tonight.

Super Easy Elvis Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 brown bananas, mashed
  • 2 Tbsp light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 egg
  • 2 Tbsp peanut butter (or nut butter of your choice)
  • 1/3 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/4-1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine your mashed banana with brown sugar, cinnamon, pinch of salt vanilla, peanut butter, and egg. Stir until sugar is well incorporated and peanut butter is smooth throughout the mixture.

Add the whole wheat flour and oats. Mix well until there aren’t any lumps. Fold in the dark chocolate chips. On a greased baking sheet, spoon out about 1 Tbsp of the cookie mixture about 1 1/2 inches apart. The cookies will not spread much! Bake at 375 degreed for about 10 minutes. Let cool on a cooling rack for 10-15 minutes and enjoy!

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Football Food is Back!

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Guess what time of year it is ya’ll! Football is back…now I’m just waiting for the AZ weather to get up to par with how I am feeling. You better believe my Ohio State Buckeye decorations are out and ready for Saturdays… not to forget the pumpkin candle as well!

While football season is my absolute favorite, I’ve heard many times before that tailgating and watching the games on Saturdays comes with a lot of extras calories. Yes, for the most part this is correct. Between the beer, chicken wings, pizza, and long list of dips, it is easy to pack in a few extra hundred calories during your game-filled weekends. While I love buffalo chicken dip and pizza just a much as the next person, this post is meant to give you a different look at your game day menu. My homemade baked hot chicken “wings” and garlic herb fries were a big hit with hub, so that means they must not be too shabby! I hope you try these 2 lighter game day recipes and let me know what you think! Go bucks!

The recipes serve 2-3

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Garlic Herb Fries: 

  • 2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, sliced into strips (you can make your fries whatever shape or thickness you like)
  • 2 Tbsp canola oil
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • herbs/seasonings: black pepper, dried thyme, dried Italian herb blend, dried basil, garlic powder, onion powder, salt

Baked Spicy Hot Wings:

  • 7-8 bonesless, skinless chicken tenders
  • 1/3 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
  • 3 Tbsp Light Ranch dressing
  • 3/4-1 cup plain bread crumbs
  • bread crumb seasonings: garlic powder, red pepper, black pepper, salt
  • canola oil spray

Fries: 

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Once you have sliced your potatoes, add them to a medium sized bowl with your canola oil and seasonings. I tend to not measure my seasonings. I will tell you I used quite a good amount of black pepper. I only added a sprinkle of salt at the very end when they came out of the oven.

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Finely mince your 2 garlic cloves and add them to the bowl as well. Toss your potatoes until they are evenly coated. Add them to a large baking sheet (I sprayed it will a little extra cooking spray just to make sure they didn’t stick. Let your fries cook for 30 minutes exactly. Be sure to use a spatula half way through to move them around a bit so both sides become golden brown.

Once they have finished cooking, let your fries cool on a few paper towels to soak up any extra oil. While they are still hot, top with a little salt. Enjoy!

Wings:

Start by cutting your tenders in half or thirds to make them about the size of a normal chicken wing. In a large bowl, mix your ranch dressing with the hot sauce. As you cut your tenders, add them to the bowl and toss. In a separate shallow dish, mix your bread crumbs with a little salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a PINCH (I cannot emphasize this more!!!) of red pepper. Red pepper is EXTREMELY hot, so unless you like things unbelievably hot, cool it with the pepper. Don’t forget, they are already sitting in hot sauce!

Once your chicken is coated in the hot sauce/dressing mixture, toss each piece in the bread crumbs, patting them down slightly to assure the bread crumbs stick. Place on a baking sheet with a little cooking spray.

Cook your wings at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes then lower your heat to 375 and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes. Once they are finished, place your oven on broil and broil for an additional minute or so to get the exposed side a little crispy. Don’t look away for too long; you don’t want them to burn! Let cool for 5-10 minutes before digging in! Enjoy!

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Peanut Butter Protein Cookies

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How about a recipe? I haven’t posted one in a while and this one is just too good not to share. We all know I love a good “mock cookie pie”. Well, how about just a mock cookie? These cookies are filled with protein and just sweet enough to give you that cookie feeling. I’m a lover of all things chocolate (except chocolate cake… is that weird?) so of course a few dark chocolate morsels are sprinkled in there as well! Bust out your food processor and give these little guys a try!


The base of these cookies is of course, chickpeas! Talk about something that is versatile in use. I love chickpeas for fresh summer salads, fillers for chicken salad, and as a great alternative for flour in decadent desserts. This is an easy way to bump up the protein content of your desserts and replace plain flour that doesn’t have much nutritive value.


Honey gives these cookies a little sweetness, and oats add as a binder so they cookie stays semi-firm. They are very moist, there is no way around it, so make sure you give them enough time to bake and form together!

Peanut Butter Protein Cookies 

Ingredients:

  • 1 can chickpeas, rinsed
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1/3-1/2 cup chunky peanut butter (so salt added)
  • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch of salt
  • dark chocolate chunks  (I used about 1/3 cup)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor, blend your chickpeas, honey, peanut butter, vanilla, baking power, cinnamon, and salt. Stop and scrape the sides as needed and blend until completely smooth. Once your batter is free of chunks or any remnants of chickpea skins, fold in your chocolate chunks. Don’ blend these or they will become too fine!

On a greased cookie sheet, place your cookies 1-2 in apart (they don’t really spread out much). My cookies were about the size of a ping pong ball.

Cooking time is a little rough with these, depending on how great your oven is or the type of cookie tray. Check after about 12-15 minutes. Cookies should be slightly golden brown on the bottom and able to be lifted off the sheet without completely breaking in half. If they still feel overly soft, bake for about 3-5 minutes for a total of about 18-20 minutes. Let cool for 15-20 minutes before eating! They will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week and a half! Personally, I think they taste best cold (tastes like raw cookie dough when cold!). Enjoy 🙂

 

Basic Blueberry Waffles

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Happy Sunday! I can’t even explain how nice it is to not be traveling at all this month! I’ve truly learned to appreciate my weekends and take full advantage of my days off.

What’s on this mornings menu? My Basic Blueberry Waffles! After 48 hours of intense leg exercise (7 miler Friday plus 2 hours of hiking yesterday) my legs are completely shot and my body is hungry for fuel….. And by fuel I mean carbs. I know, I know, protein is important for muscle repair, but with my appetite in full gear I need a little something extra special this morning (yes I got plenty of protein in last night!).


My Basic Blueberry Waffles are simple, sweet, and perfect for this chilly Arizona morning…. Yes IT’S COLD! Heat up your waffle maker and kick your appetite into high gear! I know you are going to want to try these!

Ingredients: makes 1 large waffle

  • 1/3 cup Trader Joe’s Multigrain Baking Mix
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/2 over-ripe banana, mashed
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • Pinch of cinnamon
  • Honey to taste
  • 1/4 cup frozen blueberries

  

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl except the honey and blueberries. Allow your waffle to cook until golden brown (don’t forget to add a little cooking spray to prevent sticking!). Heat your blueberries in the microwave until soft and warm, about 30 seconds. There should be a little juice in the bottom of your blueberry bowl! Once your waffle has finished, pour your blueberries over the top, add a drizzle of honey to sweeten it up, and finish with a little sprinkle of cinnamon on top.

These waffles are perfect to curb a sweet tooth, but not so sweet that you’ll be regretting your Sunday morning decision. Enjoy and have a fantastic Sunday!

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

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Another week, another Sunday. Little change up with this Sunday… instead of cooking food i’m dreaming of food. This morning I had the pleasure of getting my wisdom teeth out. For someone who loves to cook and loves to eat, this is definitely not fun. Protein shakes and yogurt just aren’t quite doing the trick.

Since my mouth still won’t open past an inch, I can’t help but think of everything I’d like to eat right now. While this stinks, it brought me back to a recipe that I meant to share a few weeks ago, but never quite got around to it. The recipe was for my Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas. 

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Perfectly cheesy, yet a little milder in heat, these enchiladas are simple, delicious, and so so satisfying. My husband was a big fan (he always looks forward to my Mexican-inspired dishes), and I was happy to have leftovers for lunch the next day. These enchiladas are a little lighter, made with a green enchilada sauce and filled with veggies, shredded chicken, and wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla.

I hope you try my yummy enchiladas!

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

  • 5 whole wheat tortillas
  • 1 can green enchilada sauce
  • 1 small can diced greed chiles (it is around 1/4 cup serving)
  • 3/4 cup frozen sweet corn
  • 3 medium-sized chicken breasts
  • 1/4 medium yellow onion
  • 4 handfuls fresh spinach (or ~4 cups)
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese (use what you prefer; I actually used a whole milk mozzarella cheese to give the dish a rich element, but if you are really looking to take it light you may sub for low-fat moz cheese)
  • 3/4 cup non-fat, plain Greek yogurt
  • Seasonings: paprika, ground red pepper, black pepper, garlic powder

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet, slice and sauté your chicken in a little cooking spray or olive oil. Season with paprika, ground red pepper, black pepper, and garlic powder. If you want your enchiladas to have some heat, you can be a little more generous with your red pepper; if not, use sparingly.

While your chicken is cooking, dice your onion and begin to sauté in a separate skillet on medium, also in a little cooking spray. As your onions begin to soften and turn slightly translucent, add your spinach and a splash of water (literally just a splash to add some moisture to the pan) Season with the same seasonings you use on your chicken. Let your spinach and onions sauté until the spinach begins to wilt. Add your frozen corn. Go ahead and add a little more water if you feel your veggies are starting to stick (this is how i typically avoid adding more oil or fat to a dish; the water doesn’t add flavor, but the moisture typically is enough to prevent your food from sticking!).

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After about 8-10 minutes, lower your heat to medium-low. Remove your chicken from the heat (it should be finished). Add your green chiles as well as a hefty dollop of plain Greek yogurt to your veggies (~1/2 cup) and stir until smooth. Don’t let the yogurt sit for too long or keep your heat too high; this can cause it to curdle.  Transfer your chicken to your veggie skillet and add another small spoonful (~1/4 cup). Stir until the yogurt is melted and well incorporated. You may also add a little extra seasoning, a small sprinkle of cheese, or a small spoonful of enchilada sauce to your filling mix at this time. Don’t forget, you will be adding cheese once you begin layering, so if you do choose to add a little more to the mix, don’t over-do it!

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In the bottom of a square baking dish, add a little cooking spray to prevent sticking, then a spoonful of your enchilada sauce. Place 2 tortillas onto the sauce, and add a spoonful of your filling as well as a handful of shredded cheese. Cover your filling with more tortillas (you will have to tear one tortilla to evenly cover the top) and complete the layering process again.

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Add a final layer tortillas and top with enchilada sauce and a final sprinkle of cheese. Place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to turn a golden-brown color on top. Let your enchiladas rest about 8-10 minutes before cutting and serving. Enjoy with a side of salsa, avocado, or any of your other favorite toppings! Enjoy 🙂

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