No-Bake Peanut Butter Energy Bites

This is a recipe I’ve seen floating around Pinterest for some time and I finally got around to trying out when I realized I had a plethora of peanut butter (always a good thing). These little bites may not look like much, but boy do they pack a punch – not to mention they are crazy addictive.

I found this recipe on Gimme Some Oven and is one of the most popular recipes on their blog. They are similar to a granola bar, but in a miniature and convenient form. They’re filled with oats, peanut butter, honey, coconut flakes and chocolate chips and are wonderfully chewy and full of flavor. The original recipe called for flax seeds and chia seeds, which I left out, but they would add extra protein and crunch if you choose to use them. I played around with the ingredients a bit to suit my tastes, but feel free to stick to the original recipe if you prefer.

These bites are the perfect size to bring with you on the go or if you need a quick snack. I like to pop in one or two before the gym for a little pick-me-up. It’s recommend that you keep them refrigerated (which is how I like my granola bars anyway) but if you choose to keep them at room temperature, just keep in mind that they’ll need to be eaten within a few days or a week.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Energy Bites
adapted from No Bake Energy Bites on Gimme Some Oven, originally seen on Smashed Peas and Carrots

Ingredients:
makes about 20 bites

• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (I recommend salted)
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup (1/3 cup if your peanut butter and/or coconut is unsweetened)
• 1-2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted (optional, but helps keep them together)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and stir well until combined. Using your hands, roll the mixture into balls that are about 1 Tbsp or 1 inch big. My recipe made about 18 balls. Place on a large plate and refrigerate for 1 hour or more until firm. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl

Stir until combined

Roll into balls that are roughly 1-inch big

And enjoy!

Chicken Caprese Salad

I realized recently I don’t have enough salad recipes on here. Mostly because I don’t eat enough salad, which I’ve been trying to change. I do love a good salad but I often find myself too lazy to get out all the ingredients and chop them up – which is silly because I usually spend 30 minutes preparing most of my meals anyway.

Whenever I see the word “Caprese” on a menu at a restaurant, I get excited. Caprese is the classic Italian combination of fresh mozzerella, fresh basil, and tomatoes. It’s one of my favorite flavor combinations and is always sure to satisfy. A traditional Insalata Caprese doesn’t involve lettuce or greens of any type, but I decided to throw some into this salad for extra heartiness and some crunch, and chicken for protein of course. This salad is so light and fresh tasting  – perfect for summer.

I also threw together a simple homemade creamy balsamic vinaigrette for this salad. You can find balsamic vinegar near the other vinegars or olive oil in your grocery store and it’s relatively inexpensive. I used Greek yogurt (my staple) for the “creamy” aspect of the dressing, but you could alternatively use mayonnaise or heavy cream for a more authentic version.

Chicken Caprese Salad
serves 1

Ingredients:

• For the dressing:
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tsp plain Greek yogurt or mayonnaise
  • 2-3 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 small clove garlic, minced
• one small stalk of romaine lettuce (about 3-4 cups), chopped and rinsed
• 1 small breast of chicken, grilled and sliced
• 1/4 cup of cubed fresh mozzerella
• 3-4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 8-10 cherry tomatoes, halved

Directions:

To prepare the dressing, simply whisk all of the ingredients for it together in a small bowl. Set aside. Place lettuce in a salad bowl, and layer remaining ingredients on top. Drizzle dressing over the salad and enjoy.

Red Velvet Cookies for Mother’s Day!

This post is dedicated to my wonderful mother, Debbie. My mom loves all things red velvet – especially the cake – and I thought these cookies were a fun spin-off of one of her favorite desserts.

I’ve always known how fortunate I am to have such an amazing mother. She’s the most caring, generous, and loving person I’ve ever known and I was lucky to realize this at a young age. While others were embarrassed to be seen with their moms in their preteen or teenage years, I always loved to spend time with her and would gladly accompany her to the grocery store or other errands. During my college years and now that I’ve moved away from home, I don’t get to see her as much as I’d like, but I make sure to visit home every few weeks to hang out with her.

Isn’t she so cute?!

My mother has given me and taught me so much. She has always been 100% supportive of my hobbies and interests and has always encouraged me to pursue my dreams. She’s been especially supportive of my interest in cooking and blogging and even came up with the name for this blog! She is my best friend in many ways and I can only hope that someday I’ll be half the mother she is. I am so thankful to have the relationship that we do and I couldn’t ask for a better mom. Love you mom!

Anyway, onto the cookies. This recipe were inspired by these Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies on Cooking Classy. I found this recipe through foodgawker last year and saved it because it looked like something my mom would like. In fact, I have a whole folder of recipes to make for her someday. I decided to stick with my go-to cookie recipe, because I like that it uses just one stick of butter and the large proportion of brown sugar makes them extra chewy. These cookies are incredibly rich with a nice vanilla flavor, a hint of cocoa, and sweet white chocolate chips. They would also be perfect for Valentine’s Day or Christmas!

I read that you can adapt any cookie recipe to make red velvet cookies, so long as you remember to take away as much flour as cocoa powder that you add. For example, if you’re adding 3 Tbsp of cocoa powder, subtract 3 Tbsp of flour from the recipe. It’s also a good idea to cut back on the amount of sugar a bit because these cookies are very decadent.

Red Velvet Cookies
makes 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg, whisked
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 tsp red food coloring
• 1 3/4 cup minus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (also equivalent to 1 1/2 cups + 1 Tbsp)
• 3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• optional: 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2/3 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar together. Stir in egg, vanilla extract, and red food coloring until uniform.
2. In a separate medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and optional cinnamon. Whisk together and combine with butter/sugar mixture. Stir just until incorporated and fold in white chocolate chips.
3. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or up to 24.* Once your dough is cool, preheat your oven to 300ºF.
4. Roll the dough into roughly 1 inch balls (or a heaping tablespoon) and place on a very lightly greased or nonstick cookie sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until center looks firm. I found that mine were perfect after 12 minutes. Serve with a glass of milk and enjoy

*Refrigerating the dough isn’t necessary to the recipe, but I like to do this because baking dough that’s been firmed in the fridge yields thicker, chewier cookies.

♥

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

That’s right. Greek yogurt pancakes. Two awesome things combined into one.

I was excited when I found this recipe for Greek Yogurt Pancakes on Everyday Belle because I had been looking for a slightly healthier pancake that still tasted like the real thing. When it comes to breakfast, I’m normally more into savory food such as eggs, omelettes, hash browns, bagels, etc. This morning, however, I woke up with a strange craving for something sweet and decided it was time to put these pancakes to the test. This was actually my first time making pancakes on my own and from scratch, and while they came out tasty, I do admit my flipping skills need work…

These Greek Yogurt Pancakes are incredibly fluffy, chewy, and only 4 ingredients. The flavor of the yogurt isn’t as strong as you might think, but instead gives the pancakes extra moisture and a super thick texture. The protein in the yogurt will also help to keep you full, which is always a perk in my book.

The pancake batter is pretty thick, so after reading through the comments on the original recipe, I added about 2 Tbsp of milk. If you’re using unflavored Greek yogurt, I would recommend adding some honey or sugar to sweeten the batter as well. A few commenters said whole wheat flour didn’t work very well with the recipe as is, but feel free to play around with it and see what you come up with. Next time I think I’ll add some chocolate chips or fruit!

Greek Yogurt Pancakes
adapted from Everyday Belle

Ingredients:
makes 1 large or 2 small servings

• 6 oz. (or a little less than 3/4 cup) Greek yogurt – vanilla recommended!
• 1 egg
• scant 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• optional: 2-3 Tbsp milk to thin out the batter, dash of cinnamon, 2-3 Tbsp sugar or honey to sweeten the batter if unsweetened yogurt
• toppings of choice: maple syrup, fruit, honey, yogurt, etc.

Your ingredients, plus optional milk and cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a bowl small, combine Greek yogurt and your egg. Whisk to combine, until smooth.
2. In a separate bowl, stir flour and baking soda together until well-incorporated. Add to yogurt-egg mixture and stir well. Also add the milk and/or cinnamon if using.
3. Lightly spray a large frying pan or griddle with cooking spray and heat to medium. Once your pan is hot, use a ladle or large spoon to drop the batter onto the pan. I got 3 medium-large pancakes out of the batter.
4. When pancakes start to bubble on the surface and the edges have firmed up a bit, flip onto the other side. Once they’re finished cooking, serve with desired toppings and enjoy

Begin by whisking together your yogurt and egg until smooth

Add your flour and baking soda to the yogurt mixture. The photo on the left is the batter without milk – very thick – and the photo on the right is after 2 Tbsp of milk is added.

Spoon the batter into a lightly greased hot griddle or pan. Once the surface bubbles and edges are firm, carefully flip your pancakes.

So… like I said, my flipping skills still need some work. But on the second try…

BOOM. Nailed it.

And voila! Fluffy and delicious Greek yogurt pancakes.

I served mine with maple syrup and sliced banana.

Beef Enchilada Casserole

I don’t usually post holiday-appropriate recipes on here, but I have to admit I’m excited for Cinco de Mayo. I love Mexican food (though I realize Cinco de Mayo is a bigger deal here in the U.S. than in actual Mexico, ha) and I haven’t posted any Latin-inspired recipes lately.

This recipe is inspired by a frozen meal that I used to buy all the time in college: Cedarlane Three-Layer Enchilada Pie. I used to find it in the organic/natural foods section of my grocery store and loved that it was quick and easy but still managed to be fairly healthy. My version of enchilada pie includes beef, which I somehow have never included on this blog, but you can easily make it with chicken, pork, or leave the meat out all together!

My Beef Enchilada Casserole includes layers of soft corn tortillas, juicy ground beef, enchilada sauce, Mexican spices, and plenty of veggies and cheese. This is a great meal to serve to friends or family, and heats up nicely, too. I really love meals where every bite is filled with flavor and variety, and all the protein/veggies/calcium you need – such as stir-fry, soup, casseroles, etc, rather than having your food groups separated. I thought this meal was the perfect way to celebrate one of my favorite cuisines

Beef Enchilada Casserole
makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 of a medium onion, diced
• 1/2 of a green bell pepper, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 lb. ground beef
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 10 oz. can Rotel, juices drained (or diced tomatoes if Rotel is not available)
• 1/3 cup enchilada sauce, reserving 2 Tbsp
• 3/4 cup pinto or black beans
• 6 8-inch corn (or flour) tortillas
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• optional: black olive and jalapeño slices to garnish

Your ingredients

Your spices (alternatively, you could use pre-made taco seasoning)

Directions:

1. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan. Add diced onions and diced green bell pepper and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until veggies are softened.
2. Add garlic and ground beef and turn heat up to medium. Sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is lightly browned. Stir in spices. (Beef does not have to be 100% cooked through, because it will continue cooking in the following steps.)
3. Stir in Rotel and enchilada sauce and cook until sauce has reduced and thickened, about 10 minutes. You should also preheat your oven to 400ºF at this time, too. Stir in pinto beans and remove from heat.
4. Lightly spray an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with cooking spray and layer tortillas as shown in the photo below. Layer half of enchilada mixture on top, along with 1/4 cup cheese. Repeat this step once more. Finish off with a third layer of tortillas and spoon remaining 2 Tbsp of enchilada sauce on top, along with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.
5. Bake for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melty and golden-brown. Let cool slightly before serving. Enjoy with a dollop of sour cream and scallions.

Saute up your onion, pepper, and garlic, and add ground beef and spices.

Mix in Rotel and enchilada sauce, and cook until sauce has thickened – about 10 minutes. You will also want to preheat your oven at this time.

Stir in beans and remove from heat.

Spray an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with cooking spray, and layer your tortillas as shown: 1 in the middle, and another torn in half on either side. (At this point I realized I was using 6 inch tortillas instead of 8 inch. Oh well.)

Pour half of the enchilada mixture on top of the tortillas, along with 1/4 cup of cheese. Repeat this process 1 more time.

On top of your second layer of enchilada mixture, add another layer of tortillas and spread the remaining 2 Tbsp enchilada sauce on top.

Top off with your remaining 1/2 cup of cheese, sliced olives and sliced jalapenos.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until cheese is nice and melty. Let cool slightly before serving.

Enjoy