Heather's Protein Pancakes with Fresh Fruit "Syrup"

My friend, Heather, is a freakin' fit goddess. No joke. She is strong, tough, built, a bloody brickhouse, and on top of that she knows nutrition. I love when she shares recipes that we can all incorporate into our lives to eat like a normal person, but still be healthier.

Heather's Protein Pancakes

4 egg whites
1/3 c rolled oats
2 TBSP cottage cheese OR Plain Greek yogurt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla

In a blender add all ingredients and blend until smooth. Heat a griddle or non-stick skillet to medium heat and melt 1 tsp of coconut oil onto it. Pour about 2 TBSP of batter and cook until bubbles form ontop and then flip, about 2 minutes a side. Yields about 6 pancakes

TIP: Want chocolate pancakes? Add 1 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder.

Fresh Fruit Syrup

1 cup of berries of your choice (I used a mix of strawberries, raspberries and blackberries)
Juice of half a lemon

In a blender or  food processor, blend all ingredients together til a syrup consistency. If you want it thinner, add water a little at a time. Serve over pancakes.

Samoa Cupcakes

It's Girl Scout Cookie time again. IMO, there is nothing better than a Samoa cookie. And being in the cupcake mode, I've decided to pay homage to those classic flavors of coconut, chocolate and caramel in this cupcake.

Samoa Cupcake

Chocolate Cupcakes yield 15-18 cupcakes
1 stick butter, softened
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c sour cream
1 t vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
2/3 c water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line muffin tins with paper liners. In a stand mixer, or a mixing bowl with a hand mixer, cream together softened butter and sugar until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and beat together. Add sour cream, vanilla, baking powder and soda, and salt and mix until well incorporated. Add the cocoa powder and mix on low speed til totally mixed. Add 3/4 of the flour and mix well. Add ALL the water and mix. Add the last 3/4 c of the flour and mix well. Using a one ounce ice cream scoop, divide the batter into the liners. Bake at 325 degrees F for 20-25, or until done. When they come out of the oven, using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke a hole in the center of each cupcake. Let cool completely before frosting.

Caramel Filling

1/2 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp Kosher salt
1 T milk

In a 2 qt sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted completely, add the brown sugar and salt, stirring continually. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring to make sure it does not burn. Once it's thickened and the sugar is melted completely, add the milk and cook for another 5 minutes. Let cool before filling the cupcakes.


Frosting

6 oz cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla

Using a hand or stand mixer, Cream together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and cocoa powder and mix on low speed until well incorporated. Add vanilla and mix well.

Topping:

Place 3/4 c flake coconut onto a sheet tray and toast until golden brown in a 400 degree oven.

Assembly

Spoon caramel into a piping bag that is fitting with a filling tip. Fill each cupcake with caramel. Pipe extra caramel onto the top of the cupcakes. Using a 1 MM star tip, pipe chocolate frosting onto the filled cupcakes. Top with toasted coconut.

Quinoa and Chicken Bowl

Quinoa and Chicken Bowl serves 8

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups quinoa
2 avocados
2 ears fresh corn
2 large tomatoes
2 cans black beans
1 large onion
4 cloves garlics
1/4 c cilantro, chopped
2 limes
salt
pepper
cumin
garlic powder
onion powder
crushed red pepper flakes
chipotle chili powder
olive oil OR coconut oil

Cook 4 cups water and the 2 cups of quinoa with 2 cloves of crushed garlic and 1/2 of an onion and 1/2 tsp salt, over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, or until quinoa is cooked. The garlic and onion are there to flavor the quinoa and will not be eaten.  Remove them  before you serve the quinoa.

While the quinoa is cooking, heat  2 T oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Season chicken with salt, pepper, cumin, garlic and onion powders and a few red pepper flakes. Saute for about 7 minutes per side until cooked through. Chop the chicken into bite size pieces.

 Drain the black beans and cook in a 2 qt sauce pan over medium heat with 1/4 diced onion, 1 tsp cumin, and about 1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Dice two cloves of garlic and 1/4 of a onion and diced tomatoes. Add the chopped cilantro and mix together. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Cut the avocado into bite size pieces and mix with the juice of one lime.

Cut the corn of the cob and set aside.

Assemble the bowl with quinoa on the bottom, topped with black beans, pico de gallo, avocado, corn, chicken and a slice of lime.

Steak Salad with Roasted Tomatoes, Fried Onion Strings and Creamy Balsamic Dressing

Long title, delicious results. It's safe to say I've been eating a ton of salads lately trying to eat more veggies and eat cleaner. While this salad isn't the cleanest salad, it is one of the best. And with all things, all things in moderation.


Steak Salad enough for 8 people

1-2 lb flank steak
2 heads of Romaine lettuce
2 cups chopped kale
1 pint cherry OR grape tomatoes
1 yellow onion
1 c milk
1/4 c white vinegar
salt,pepper,chili powder
1 c flour
Canola oil to cook with

Peel and slice onions in very thin circles. Soak them in a mix of milk, vinegar, salt, pepper and chili powder. Set aside for later. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a cookie sheet, place your tomatoes and rub with a little bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast them at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, until wrinkled and bursting. Heat a cast iron skillet over med-high heat on your stove, adding a touch of canola or coconut oil. Salt and pepper your steak and sear in your cast iron skillet, about 4-5 minutes per side, or til desired doneness. When cooked, set it aside and cover it in foil.

Heat 2 inches of canola oil in a 2 qt sauce pan over med-high heat. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour and 1 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of pepper and 1/2 tsp chili powder. Mix well. Drain the onions from the milk mixture and dredge in the seasoned flour. Fry in the oil until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel.

Chop the romaine lettuce into bite size pieces and mix with the kale. Slice the steak and spread over the lettuce, sprinkle with the roasted tomatoes and onion strings. Serve with Creamy Balsamic Dressing or your fav dressing.

Creamy Balsamic Dressing

1 c mayo
1 c buttermilk
4 oz cream cheese
1/4 c Balsamic vinegar, reduced
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp Accent seasoning

In a small sauce pan, reduce the Balsamic vinegar over med-low heat until slightly thickened and reduced by about half. In a large mixing bowl, cream together mayo, buttermilk, cream cheese and seasonings. Add Balsamic after it has reduced and mix well. Refrigerate for an hour before you use it.

Avocado Lime Chicken Salad

I'm like most American women, constantly trying to lose a few pounds. I'm not a strict eater as I feel like life would be soooo boring and sad without some sugar and fried goodness.

But, I need to eat a cleaner variety of foods. Enter in this delightful wonder. Eating clean(er) never tasted so good.


Avocado Lime Chicken Salad

8 ounces of roasted skinless chicken breast, shredded
1 avocado
juice of one lime
dash of salt of pepper

Shred the chicken into a bowl. Using a spoon, scrape out all of the avocado from the skin. Using hands, mash the avocado into the chicken, until the chicken is coated. Squeeze lime onto the chicken mixture and sprinkle with a touch of salt of pepper. You can eat this by itself, on a bed of greens, or I like to eat it on thin whole wheat bread with tomatoes and lettuce. Makes enough for two sandwiches.

Schnitzel with Lemon

Schnitzel is not much more than thin pork cutlets, breaded in some seasoned bread crumbs and sauteed in some olive oil. But it sure it delicious and a fast dinner.


Schnitzel with Lemon

6 thin cut pork cutlets, with or without a bone
1 c flour
2 eggs
1 c plain bread crumbs
salt and pepper
1 lemon cut into wedges
Olive oil to cook with


In one large bowl, place the flour and spinkle with salt and pepper. In a different bowl, crack and whisk eggs till frothy and add about 1 TSP water and whisk again. In yet another bowl, add the bread crumbs and sprinkle with salt and pepper. This is called a dredging station. Take each pork chop and first dip in the flour, shaking off excess. Then dip in egg, shaking off excess. Lastly, dip in bread crumbs and set onto a clean plate.

Do this to all pork chops and let set up for about 10 minutes. Heat up about 2 TBSP of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook pork chops when heat is about 350 for 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels and serve with lemon wedges.

Baby Back Ribs with Dry Rub

It's safe to say that my husband LOVES ribs. Whenever I tell him that's what we're having for dinner, he gets an extra little pep and does a little happy dance. (Think Bill Cosby's dance. HAHA)  And since we don't have a smoker, I've had to come up with another way to make ribs.

Enter your oven. It does most of the work and then at the very end, you slap them on the grill for a few minutes to caramelize the sugar in the BBQ sauce and get that smoky barbeque taste that can only come from a grill.


Baby Back Ribs with Dry Rub

Slab of Baby Back Ribs, about 4-6 lbs

Dry Rub:
1 T Kosher salt
1 T chili powder
1 t ground black pepper
1 t ground paprika
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t ground cayenne pepper
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t ground mustard
1/2 t ground chipotle chili pepper

In a small bowl, mix all ingredients together and sprinkle over the baby back ribs, ONLY USING ABOUT 1/3 OF THE RUB. Save the rest for another day in an air tight container.

Place ribs on a cookie sheet with about 1/4 cup of water and cover with foil. Bake at 275 degrees F for 2-3 hours. When done, take ribs to the outside grill and cook for 5 minutes a side, slathering with your favorite BBQ Sauce. Serve immediately.