Chocolate PB Evening Smoothie

Chocolate PB Evening Smoothie

Steven & Kristen W.

Yield: 2 large glasses

1 c. milk

2 bananas

1 TB cocoa powder

2 TB honey

3 TB (heaping) creamy peanut butter (natural PB can be good in this if you’re going for healthier)

1 c. ice

Handful of blueberries

Optional: handful of spinach

Stick in a blender, and turn it on! Adapt amounts to your tastes. Can also add a different kind of berry.

Sweet and Tangy Cocktail Meatball Sauce

Sweet and Tangy Cocktail Meatball Sauce

Kristen W.

Yield: sauce for 14-16 meatballs

12 oz. jar chili sauce

10 oz. jar grape jelly

1 TB brown sugar

1 ½ tsp lemon juice

Mix and melt in a saucepan, add meatballs and cook as directed for meatballs (usually simmer at least 15 mins). Serve with toothpicks or over rice.

Cranberry Salsa Over Cream Cheese

Cranberry Salsa Over Cream Cheese

Kristen W.

Yield: enough for a crowd! Halve the recipe for one bar of cream cheese

12 oz. bag fresh cranberries

1 - 2 jalapenos, minced (two isn’t overly spicy in this recipe)

½ bunch green onions, roughly chopped (about half cup)

½ bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

½ TB lime juice (can use lemon juice if needed)

¼ tsp salt

½ c. sugar (you can add more if you want it sweeter)

2 – 8 oz. packages cream cheese, at room temperature

   *(I start with one, then refrigerate the leftovers and use the second half on a new block of cream cheese the next day, etc.)

Place cranberries, jalapenos, green onions and cilantro in a food processor or blender and process/pulse until fine but not pasty. Transfer to a bowl and stir in lime juice, salt, and sugar. Chill for about 2 hours or more if you have time to let the flavors meld. To serve, spread cream cheese evenly in a plate or shallow serving dish. Spread salsa on top and serve with crackers (and cheese spreading knife if desired).

Southern Banana Pudding

Southern Banana Pudding

Kristen W.

Yield: 6 servings

1 – 5 oz. pkg Cook and Serve vanilla pudding

 *milk to make pudding according to package directions

1 tsp vanilla

1 – 8 oz. container Cool Whip, or 8 oz. heavy cream, whipped

4 bananas, sliced

15 Shortbread Sandies cookies (I like the Keebler ones)

3 TB sweetened condensed milk

Prepare the pudding according to directions on package. Place in a bowl and cover with saran wrap. Place in Fridge for a few hours to cool and thicken. When ready to eat, crush cookies in a large bowl until they are in ½” chunks or so. Slice bananas into bowl. Pour in pudding, vanilla, whipped cream, and sweetened condensed milk, and stir until just barely mixed in. Serve immediately, top with cookie crumbs if desired.

Peanut Butter Gooey Bars, the “Almost Healthy” kind

Peanut Butter Gooey Bars, the “Almost Healthy” kind

**Originally called “healthy” bars…but let’s be real, it’s just some adapted ingredients to make them a bit less “unhealthy”!!

Adapted from LiveWellBakeOften

Yield: one 8x8 pan

½ c. creamy peanut butter

2-3 TB coconut sugar (or brown sugar)*

2-3 TB c. honey

1 large egg, room temperature*

2 TB melted coconut oil (or canola oil)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 c. old fashioned rolled oats

¾ c. white whole wheat flour

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

½ c. chocolate chips

1.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with foil or parchment paper and set aside.

2.   In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, coconut sugar, honey, egg, coconut oil, and vanilla until fully combined.

3.   Add in the oats, flour, salt, baking soda and mix until combined. Add the chocolate chips and fold them into the batter.

4.   Spread the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees or until the top is set and lightly golden brown.

5.   Allow to cool in the pan, then cut into bars.

It's best to use an egg that's room temperature in these bars, so the coconut oil does not solidify. If you need to do this quickly, just place your egg in a cup of warm water for about 5 minutes before adding it to the recipe.

Enchilada Butternut Soup

Enchilada Butternut Soup

Janelle W.

Yield: 15 servings

3 chicken breasts
2 quarts water
2 TB chicken bouillon
1 - 4oz can chopped green chilies
1 large onion, quartered
5 med potatoes, peeled and diced (or sweet potatoes if you're out of potatoes!)
1-2 sweet red peppers, seeded and quartered or chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
1 ½ tsp cumin
1 medium butternut squash- peeled, seeded chopped

Add:
1 c. sour cream
1 - 10 oz can red enchilada sauce
2 - 15 oz cans white beans
1/2 - 1 TB taco seasoning

1. Cook chicken in water with bouillon until tender and cooked through. Do not discard water. Remove chicken to cool and cut into small cubes.
2. Boil bouillon water, veggies, and spices until tender, approx 20 - 40 min (depending on how big you cut them up)
3. Blend soup mixture in blender or with immersion blender until smooth. You can transfer to crockpot if you wish. (sometimes I like pulling some of the diced potatoes out before blending then adding back in afterwards, if you want more of a chunky soup)
4. Add sour cream, enchilada sauce, beans, taco seasoning, and cut up chicken, stir together well.
5. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese and tortilla chips

*Freezes well!

Monster Cookies

Monster Cookies

Adapted from TheGirlWhoAteEverything.com

Yield: 2 ½ dozen

 

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

¾ c. (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened

1 c. brown sugar

½ c. granulated sugar

½ c. creamy peanut butter (I use creamy)

1 whole egg

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla

1 c old fashioned oats

½ c. quick oats

1 c. peanut butter chips

¾ c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

¾ c. M&Ms

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking sheet.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and peanut butter.

Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix well until creamy.

Slowly add the flour mixture until incorporated. Mix in the oats.

Stir in the peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, and M&Ms. You can use a mixer or stir in by hand. Stirring in by hand makes sure that the M&Ms don't break.

Place balls of dough using a cookie scoop on the pan. You can hand place extra M&Ms on top, pressing slightly in for a better presentation.

Bake for 9-11 minutes. Make sure not to overbake. The cookies will not be brown and will continue to cook as they cool on the pan.

Store in an airtight container.