Black Bean Burgers

1 can black beans - drained and rinsed (important)
1 cup grated zucchini
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 medium onion finely diced
2 T flax seed meal
1 T of you favorite steak seasoning

1. In a medium sized bowl mash black beans.
2. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Let sit for about 10 minutes so the flax seeds can bind the ingredients together.
3. Form into patties and cook on large skillet over medium heat. Each side needs about 3-4 minutes.
4. Serve on whole wheat buns with your favorite condiments. Lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, BBQ sauce etc.

Makes about 5-6 patties depending on size. Enjoy!

Pistachio-Parsley Pesto

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons shelled, roasted pistachios
• 1 clove garlic
• 1½ cups packed parsley
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. In a food processor, pulse pistachios until resembling course meal. Add garlic and parsley, run processor until minced. Drizzle in lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. Run food processor until pesto comes together, adding more olive/lemon juice as needed.

I also got this recipe from Naturally Ella, but I made a grilled sandwich using: sprouted wheat bread, mozzarella, tomatoes, avocado, baby kale leaves, and fresh basil. Easily the best sandwich I've ever eaten. 

Roasted Butternut Squash, Quinoa, and Jalapeño Chimichurri Tacos

Hey sisters! These were amazing. Get the recipe at Naturally Ella

Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken

Wish I took a picture of this one, but I for got too.  It was very tasty.

Ingredients:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package dry onion soup mix
10 oz jam of apricot preserves
1 T ketchup
2 T sugar
2 T red wine vinegar
1/2 t salt
3 T olive oil
1 cup grape juice

Combine all ingredient in crockpot and cook on high for 3-4 hours. Shred chicken with 2 forks and serve over rice.

Pistachio Cinnamon Chicken Salad

I love skinnytaste.com. It is one of my favorite cooking blog and this is so far my favorite recipe from her blog. Sooo Goood!!! Give it a try. 

Ingredients:

• 16 oz cooked shredded boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 1/2 cups Fat-Free Greek plain yogurt
• ½ cup pistachios, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp fresh lime juice
• 4 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 2 scallions, finely chopped

Directions:

Shred cooked chicken breast using a fork; place in a large mixing bowl.

Add remaining ingredients; gently toss to combine. Transfer to serving bowls. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Sprinkle with additional scallions.

By: Skinnytaste.com

Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon cumin

Cilantro Lime Pesto (recipe follows)

Torillas

Preferred garnishes

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste. Place in crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Add garlic powder and cumin to chicken and shred. Combine Chicken with Cilantro Lime Pesto and cook an additional 10-15 minutes until heated through.

Serve in tortillas with preferred garnishes (sautéed bell peppers, avocado, tomatoes, lettuce, salsa, cheese, etc.)

For the Cilantro Lime Pesto:

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves (do not include stems)
2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoons sliced, toasted almonds
1-2 fresh garlic cloves
1+ tablespoon lime juice
1/2 cup shredded asiago (I used parmesan)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup chicken broth

Using a blender, mix all ingredients on low speed for 1 minute. 

This recipe was adapted using: What's Cooking Chicago?

Dark Chocolate Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

ingredients

1 cup butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup shredded cocnut

1 1/2 cups extra dark chocolate chips (or just dark)

2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

directions

Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Melt butter and let cool for several minutes (to room temp)

In a stand mixer, beat sugar and butter for several minutes until creamy. Mix in eggs and vanilla and beat for another minute.

In a separate bowl comine flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, and coconut. Slow mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients and beat until combined.

Stir in extra dark chocolate chips and oats.

Place one inch balls of dough on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool for several minutes then move cookies to cooling rack

Baked Oatmeal

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup pecan pieces

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

1 large egg

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 ripe bananas, cut into 1/2-inch/1 cm pieces

1 1/2 cups blueberries 

Preheat the oven to 375°F Generously butter the inside of an 8-inch square baking dish.

In a bowl, mix together the oats, pecans, the sugar, the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, butter, and the vanilla.

Arrange the bananas in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle two-thirds of the berries over the top. Drizzle honey over bananas and honey. Cover the fruit with the oat mixture. Slowly drizzle the milk mixture over the oats. Gently give the baking dish a couple thwacks on the counter top to make sure the milk moves through the oats. Scatter the remaining berries across the top.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is nicely golden and the oat mixture has set. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. 

This recipe I altered slightly from the recipe found at http://www.epicurious.com

avocado chicken parmigiana

2 chicken beast
1/2 c flour
2 T milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
2T olive oil cooking spray
1/2c pasta sauce
2 avocados sliced
1/2 c mozzerella cheese

heat oven to 450 spray pan and put chicken on pan bake for 25-30 min turning chicken every 10 min.  once chicken is cooked take out put spoonfill of pasta sauce on it and then layer avocados and cheese bake for another 5 min.

Soft Onion Sandwich Rolls

The only change I made to this recipe is I used 1/2 whole wheat flour and 1/2 all purpose. Great recipe.

• 3/4 cup lukewarm milk
• 5 tablespoons lukewarm water
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 3 tablespoons dried minced onion

• 1/4 cup instant potato flakes
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 (.25 ounce) envelope active dry yeast
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/4 cup dried minced onion

Directions

1. Place the milk, water, butter, salt, sugar, onion powder, 3 tablespoons of dried onion, potato flakes, flour and yeast into the pan of a bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select the Dough cycle, and press Start.
2. When the cycle has completed, remove the dough from the machine, and knead on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 8 equal pieces, and form into balls. Gently flatten the balls until they are 4 inches in diameter. If they keep shrinking back, just let them relax for a minute before flattening. Place on a baking sheet, and cover loosely with a towel. Set in a draft-free place to rise until doubled in size, about 40 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Whisk together the egg white and water in a cup. Brush over the tops of the risen rolls, and sprinkle with remaining minced onion.
4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Cool completely, then slice in half horizontally before using.

Crispy Coconut Chicken Fingers

this recipe and picture is by ourbestbites.com. So good! We made my peanut sauce to dip them in.

12 chicken tenders 
1-2 eggs (start with one and crack another if it runs out)
1/2 C flour
1 C sweetened coconut flakes
1 C panko bread crumbs
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp table salt
3/4 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Give coconut a rough chop so it’s about the same size as the panko pieces.  Combine it with Panko and spices in a shallow dish. Mix well to distribute all of the spices. Place the flour in another shallow dish, and the egg in another. Give the egg a quick beating. Working with one chicken tender at a time, dredge in flour and then dip in egg, and then finally coat in the coconut Panko mixture. Press in with your fingers to make sure the entire thing is well coated.

Place chicken tenders on a foil-lined baking sheet (for easy clean up!) that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. I give mine a teeny drizzle of olive oil on top to help them crisp nicely, but it’s optional.

Bake in your 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until juices run clear. Try not to overcook them because chicken tenders go from perfect to overcooked really fast! If your tenders are on the small side, they could even be done in about 15 minutes so keep an eye on them. If they’re big they can take more like 25. The coconut will be nice and golden and the panko crisp, but light in color still.

Freezer Instructions: Prepare chicken fingers through coating them in the panko/coconut mixture. Place in a single layer on a lined baking sheet and freeze for several hours. Remove from freezer and transfer to a gallon-sized Ziploc bag or a freezer safe container. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 450. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until juices run clear.

Banana Bread

Best banana bread I've ever had. Simple ingredients. I loved this stuff. The more bananas the better! Got in off simplyrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

METHOD

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.