Recipe #242: Spiced Apple Cookies

Yay for the Super Bowl that made me have to try out some new recipes!
Here was the spread...my part at least, my mother in law added the burgers and fixings!

It included:
the chocolate rice crispy football
brownies
apple cookies
baked avocado fries
























But back to the Spiced Apple Cookies. I found this apple cookie recipe here. It is pretty delicious...mostly the dough, I could have eaten this cookie dough all day!
You need:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
1 egg
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup apple, peeled and chopped

• beat together butter and brown sugar until well combined
• add eggs and milk and mix well
• in a separate bowl combine flour, soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt.
• slowly add to wet mixture until everything is well combined.
• stir in apples
• drop by teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet
• press tops of cookies down so they are a little flattened
• bake for 12-14 minutes at 350, until they hold their shape and are light brown on the edges

Recipe #241: Peppermint Hot Chocolate

In my books, peppermint should not be a christmas only flavor!  I finally had a chance to make some peppermint hot chocolate my sister made over christmas. You can find a post about it here on her blog!

You need:
2 cups powdered milk
2 cups powdered coffee creamer
2 cups cocoa powder
1 1/2 chocolate chips
24 crushed candy canes
(her recipe also called for 1 tsp salt which I completely forgot to add!)

• crush candy canes
• mix powders together
• add chocolate chips and candy canes
• use about 1/4 cup with a mug of hot water!

the chocolate chips and peppermint chunks melted right away with the hot water! delicious!

Recipe #240 and 241:Spicy Grilled Chicken with Garlicly Sweet potatoes

I love the fact that we are grilling in February because the weather is so nice! 

I found the recipe for the chicken rub here and OH MY. It definitely has a kick to it! Delicious, but my mouth was burning. Will loved it though so if you are a spicy, spicy food person, I think you will like it!

you need:
1 1/5 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp salt
1/2 Tbsp thyme
1/2 Tbsp cayenne pepper
1/2 Tbsp rosemary
1/4ish Tbsp pepper
2 chicken breast, cut in half.

• mix spices together.
• use about 3 Tbsp to rub on top of chicken
• grill until both sides are done!

Alex LOVED the grilled sweet potatoes! He couldn't get enough of them!

You need:

2 sweet potatoes

olive oil

garlic powder

sea salt

• cut sweet potatoes into rounds and put into a ziploc bag
• pour in a little olive oil, garlic powder, and sea salt
• grill until well done!

Recipe #239: The Healthier Pancake...

So pancakes have become a regular Saturday morning breakfast in the Plunkett Household! Alex of course always helps me out! In light of my new goal, I decided to try and make our normal pancake recipe a little healthier!
Of course I am sure some people could find more substitutions for stuff, but this was a good start. I am also kind of new to the world of Flax Seed. I know if it a good source of fiber, but I need to keep playing around and learning more about it!

You need:
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp milled Flax seed
2 cups milk
2 eggs
3 Tbsp apple sauce (instead of oil)

• Mix dry ingredients together, then add wet ingredients and mix well.
• heat fry pan to about 325 and make your pancakes.

I ate two medium sized pancakes and had an egg for some protein. Of course coffee too! :)

A new goal...

As I was walking/running yesterday afternoon, I decided that I needed a goal to actually start getting rid of this extra weight that was hanging around. January hadn't really been a very consistent month for me. I wanted to start something, but then there were some stresses that never really helped me to keep on track, but that will not get me down!
 Then I realized it.
                   I am really wanting to to lose 30 pounds. Why not do it by the time I turn 30?


So before the big 30 I will get rid of the extra pounds and celebrate my 30th birthday feeling FIT!

Here are the plans:

• eat less--portion control is a HUGE issue for me! 
• I am using My Fitness Pal to help track my calories
• eat more greens...starting the meal with a salad would help me to eat less carbs and meat.
• water and coffee. only. The only other thing I really drink is diet coke, but that is not great. I will never give up coffee!
• exercise 3 times a week (at least). Right now the best thing I can do is walk/run because it is something I can do with Alex. I am doing a program called couch to 5K to help me get started running. I like the abs/core portion of P90X too. I can't commit to that whole program, but the abs part will be great!

Challenges I foresee:

• tight food budget 
• cold/bad weather
• stress snacking
• boredom snacking

But, they don't really seem so bad when you list them out! I will overcome.

Hopefully I will have some good news to report before too long! :)

Recipe #238: Baked Tacos

I found the recipe here but did some tweaking!

You need:
ground turkey
1 can pinto beans
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 cup spaghetti sauce
10 hard tacos
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
other toppings you like!

• brown meat
• drain pinto beans
• add beans, taco seasoning, and sauce to the meat and mix on low heat.
• arrange tacos in a 9x13 pan
• add meat and cheese to taco shells
• bake at 400 for 10 minutes
• add your favorite toppings!

Recipe #237: Seaweed Burger

It may sound weird, but it was delicious. I even made a cute little pile of rice like they do at restaurants in Japan! My rice is topped with curry furikake, absolutely the most amazing stuff ever!

You need:
ground beef
teriyaki sauce
square of seaweed
rice

• make the hamburger into a small patty
• start frying it, add a little bit of teriyaki sauce while cooking.
• cook until juices run clear, put on plate
• cover with a square of seaweed
• put some rice in a little bowl to make it come out in a cute shape! 
• enjoy! :)