No Bake Protein Bites

I'm not a fan of baking, I enjoy cooking. I think it's because I feel I can cook much faster and with less mess- no need to measure, just eyeball it and taste, then adjust. With baking you have to follow the instructions or you end up with an ugly, disgusting mess, and if you can't tell- I'm speaking from experience, lots of experience. :)

I like these because I was able to "eyeball it" and they are really tasty, and good for an on-the-go high protein, high fiber snack.

1 cup Oatmeal
3/4 cup peanut butter (or any nut butter)
1/2 cup honey
1 cup coconut flakes
(or almond slivers or other nut)
1/2 cup flaxseed
1/2 cup chocolate chips (or craisins or other sweet treat)
1 tsp vanilla
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
Combine all the ingredients.  Use your hands to combine.  Then roll into small balls.  Place on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes (or freeze for about 5 minutes).

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup

With the help of Pinterest, I've been exploring new dinner recipes. I typically try to stay around 5-7 ingredients (or ingrediences if you're a Real Housewives NJ fan), which is why I pinned this 4 months ago and just now made it.

 

According to the hubby, "this was my favorite dinner you've made in a long time". Umm...that sounded like a compliment, right?!? But, I have to agree, this was delicious, and not spicy with a few modifications I made. Instead of Rotel tomatoes and green chiles I added in 3/4 a cup of salsa and a can of enchilada sauce. And instead of the black beans I added in chili beans. You can top it off with some green onion too.

 

 

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large yellow onion, diced

1 small green or red bell pepper, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

coarse salt and fresh black pepper

1 can (11 ounce) Ro-tel diced tomatoes & green chiles OR   3/4 cup salsa and a can of enchilada sauce 

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 + 1/4 pounds boneless chicken breasts

2 cups corn

1 can black beans or chili beans,

1 tablespoon chili powder 

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1 + 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese or monterey jack, plus more for serving

1 cup sour cream, plus more for serving

tortilla chips, for serving

sliced avocado, for serving, optional

Instructions

1. In a medium skillet heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, peppers and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until softened, stirring often, about 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile to your crock-pot add the Ro-tel, chicken broth, chicken, corn, black beans (if using), chile powder, cumin, oregano and 1 teaspoon coarse salt or 1/2 teaspoon fine and about 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Mix in the cooked onions, peppers and garlic.
3. Cook on high 3 - 4 hour or low 5 - 6. Remove the chicken breasts to a cutting board. Stir the cheese and sour cream into the soup. Shred the chicken or cut into bite-sized pieces and add back to the pot. Taste and season as needed. Cook 1 more hour on low heat.
4. Serve garnished with more cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips and avocado.

3 Step Ribs

Beer and BBQ Ribs- longest recipe ever but they fall off the bone and are DELICIOUS!
Night before, I marinated the ribs with Montreal Steak seasoning and a little Lawry's Seasoning salt.
Grill ribs for 15-20 min on Med-Low heat.
Put them in large roasting pan, bone side down. Rub 1/2 cup brown sugar, and a little Salt and Pepper,
Drizzle 1/4cup honey on top,
Mix 1/4 cup cider vinegar and 1 bottle (12oz) dark beer and put around ribs and then spoon a few spoonfuls on top ribs,
Cover with foil and bake at 325 for 1 hour. Then, reduce heat to 250 and bake for 2 more hours until tender.
Then, pour 1/2 bottle BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's) all over ribs and grill again 10-15 minutes or until browned.
Serve.

If I were to make this again I would do more than 1 rack of ribs. For all the steps it's worth having the leftovers.