Chewy Whole Wheat Spice Cookies (revised)

This was the first recipe I posted in my blog almost 2 years ago...crazy! I made a double batch of them this morning and made a couple little changes (mainly, I left off the glaze) and I thought they turned out much better so I thought they deserved to be re posted...plus the photo I took last time was AWFUL! If you want a yummy, simple, delicious fall cookie recipe, this one is great!



Chewy Whole Wheat Spice Cookies

Ingredients:
1 c. white sugar
1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. milk
1 egg
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. pumpkin spice
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 c. white sugar mixed with 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (for rolling the dough in)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 and grease a couple cookie sheets. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar, butter, vanilla, milk and egg until smooth. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin spice and nutmeg. Slowly add to the butter and sugar mixture until well combined. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and toss in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on the prepared cookie sheets and bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes. Do not over bake, cookies should be very soft and will get more firm (still chewy) as the cool. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Chicken Capri

This recipe is from the South Beach cookbook and I only made a couple little changes and it was really yummy. I love that it's getting cooler outside so I can finally (comfortably!) use my oven again :)



Chicken Capri

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to an even thickness
1-2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 c. low fat ricotta cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. italian seasoning
1 c. canned petite diced tomatoes
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese (I used sharp cheddar instead)
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium. Rub the chicken breasts with the garlic powder and place in the hot skillet. Cook for 5 minutes on each side. Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, salt, pepper and italian seasoning. Stir well and set aside.
After the chicken has cooked 5 minutes on each side (does not need to be fully cooked) place side by side in a baking dish. Top each breast with 1/4 cup of the ricotta cheese mixture. Spoon 1/4 cup of the diced tomatoes over the ricotta. Next, evenly sprinkle the shredded cheese on top follwed by the parmesan. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Makes 4 servings.

Chili Lime Pork Loin

I came across this recipe in Budget Bites (really cool blog!) and it looked simple and delicious. It was exactly that! I've always been intimidated by large pieces of meat, lol! That sounds really weird but it's true. They cost a lot of money and they seem like they'd be pretty easy to screw up...either under cook them or totally dry them out. But I went for it this time and it was so easy and MOIST! I was pleasantly surprised :)



Chili Lime Pork Loin

Ingredients:
2 lb. pork loin
1 tbsp. chili powder
2 medium limes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. soy sauce
4 tbsp. olive or vegetable oil, divided

Directions:
In a small bowl, squeeze the juice from both the limes and add the chili powder, garlic, soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of the oil (I used olive). Whisk until well combined. Place the pork loin in a large Ziploc bag and pour the marinade over the meat. Seal the bag well and squish the marinade around to fully coat the meat. Refrigerate for 1-24 hours (I did mine about 9 hours).
When ready to cook, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium/high. When the oil is really hot, add the pork loin (do not discard marinade!) and sear for 5 minutes on each side, until brown and crispy.
Transfer the meat onto a baking sheet and baste with the remaining marinade. Cook in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Allow to rest 5 minutes before slicing. Makes about 6 servings.



1 Year ago today: Double Chocolate Mini Meringues

Spicy Sichuan Style Green Beans

I have been loving Kayln's Kitchen! It's a wonderful blog filled with South Beach recipes. When I saw this one I knew we had to try it! Randy RAVED throughout the whole meal about how amazing these green beans were. I made a few slight alterations to Kayln's original recipe but they turned out awesome. We will definitely eat these again...and again...and again! They went great with my asian turkey lettuce wraps :)



Spicy Sichuan Style Green Beans

Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh green beans, washed, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 c. water
2-3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. Splenda (you could use sugar instead)
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. ground white or black pepper
1 tbsp. olive
2 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tbsp.  peeled and minced ginger root (I used a small cheese grater to "mince")


Directions:

Mix together the soy sauce, sweetener of your choice, red pepper flakes, and ground pepper and set aside. Heat a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid over high. When the pan is hot, add the beans and water. Cover and cook on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes or until the beans are bright green and starting to get tender. Remove the lid and continue to cook until all the water is evaporated.

Add the oil, minced garlic and ginger and cook about 2 minutes, stirring constantly so the garlic and ginger don't burn. Add the soy sauce mixture and cook an additional 2 minutes, until the sauce thickens and beans are tender-crisp. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.


1 Year ago today: The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies