Chocolate Covered Strawberries

For the show "The Bachelor", we had a finale party with a few friends. What a better way to celebrate the romantic show than by chocolate covered strawberries!



1. Wash 2 lbs of fresh strawberries. Dry thoroughly with paper towels. Leave stem on for easy eating. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and line up strawberries in rows.



2. In a double boiler, 5 squares (or however much you desire) melt chocolate almond bark. Almond bark is found in the baking section of the grocery store. In a second double boiler, melt a few squares of white chocolate almond bark.



3. Drizzle both chocolates over the strawberries. You can also dip the strawberries in the chocolate, but it can be very sweet so I like drizzling much better. Let the chocolate set until hard. You can put the strawberries into the fridge to speed up the process.



*Do not make too long beforehand and store in fridge. The strawberries juice a little and drip for some reason.

Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry with Coconut Rice

My friend Jamie made this meal for me right after I had my son. It was SO good and I just had to have the recipe. In the above picture, I didn't make the coconut rice; I used brown rice and topped the stir-fry with a sprinkle of coconut. The coconut rice is super yummy though too and a fun change to the regular old stir-fry and rice dish.

TERIYAKI CHICKEN STIR-FRY with COCONUT RICEJamie Turner


Makes 4 servings - Cooks in 10 minutes

1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast
1 T vegetable oil
1/2 cup Kikkoman teriyaki baste and glaze (found in Asian section of regular grocery)
3 T lemon juice
1 bag (16 oz) frozen broccoli, carrots and water chestnuts (or any bag
of frozen stir-fry mixture)
*I also added frozen snap-peas and fresh sliced green onions, fresh grated ginger and crushed garlic


Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Heat the skillet over high heat 1 to 2
minutes. Add the oil to the hot skillet. Add the chicken and stir-fry
until chicken is no longer pink in center. Stir in the teriyaki glaze,
lemon juice and frozen vegetables. Thawing the vegetables is not
necessary before-hand, but make sure to stir them into the chicken
mixture to allow them to cook uniformly. Heat the mixture to boiling
over high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat just enough so
mixture bubbles gently. Cover and cook about 6 minutes or until
vegetables are crisp-tender when pierced with a fork.
While chicken mixture is cooking, prepare rice (see recipe for coconut rice).



COCONUT RICE

1 (14oz can) coconut milk
1 1/4 c water
1- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/2 c uncooked rice (long grain or jasmine will work)
Sweetened coconut

Directions:

In a saucepan, combine coconut milk, water, sugar and salt. Stir until
sugar is dissolved. Stir in Rice. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
Cover, reduce heat and simmer 18-20 minutes. Serve with sprinkled
coconut on top.

-Note: I am looking for a good stir fry sauce from scratch recipe.

Photo Source: Solid Recipe

Creamy Fruit Smoothie

I do my best to avoid processed sugar. For a healthier treat, I opt for the more natural schtuff.... This recipe is super yummy and healthy so I don't feel as guilty eating it.

Creamy Fruit Smoothie

2 C frozen fruit (any variety, strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, or a mixture)

1 C milk

6 oz plain or vanilla yogurt (I use the brand Mountain High)

1 banana

1. Place all ingredients in a blender.

2. Cover and blend on high speed for about 2-3 minutes or until smooth.

3. Pour and serve immediately.

Makes four 9 oz servings.

Stuffed Peppers

I remember my mom making this recipe when I was little, but it only had meat and cheese as the filling.....tastes great, but what about the veggies??? I found this recipe that is much healthier. So I love this recipe because it is so healthy and filling. I saute the veggies really well and then my 11 month old will eat it too. I personally like making these with red peppers, but they can be pricey if you are feeding your whole family so I opted for 3 green, 1 red this time. I also leave out the meat occasionally and it still tastes great.

Stuffed PeppersSouthernfood.com

INGREDIENTS: Serves 4

4 bell peppers: red, yellow or green
2 tsp salt

Filling:
2 TBS olive oil
½ C chopped onion
½ C chopped celery
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
3 TBS tomato paste
1/3 C water (I leave this out and just do not drain the tomatoes)
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ tsp dried leaf basil
1 ½ tsp salt, divided
½ tsp ground black pepper, divided
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
1 C cooked long-grain rice
shredded mild cheddar cheese, about ½ C

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut tops off peppers; remove seeds and membranes. Chop edible part of tops and set aside. Rinse peppers under cold water. Place peppers in a large pot; cover with salted water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain peppers and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Sauté chopped green pepper (from tops), chopped onion, and chopped celery for about 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
3. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, water, crushed garlic, basil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine egg with remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and Worcestershire sauce.
5. Gently stir to blend; add ground beef, cooked rice, and 1 cup of the tomato mixture. Mix well.
6. Stuff peppers with meat mixture and place in a 3-quart baking dish. Pour remaining tomato mixture over the stuffed peppers.
7. Bake at 350° for 55 to 65 minutes. Top stuffed peppers with a little shredded Cheddar cheese just before peppers are done; bake until cheese is melted.

Photo Source: Cooking Creations

Chicken Salad

Sam’s Club Chicken SaladJana B.

Blend together:

½ C mayonnaise
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp dry mustard

Add:
2 TBS chopped green onion
½ C diced celery
1 13 oz can Member’s Mark Chicken, drained and flake with fork or hands.
red grapes cut in half (optional)
cashews (optional)

Mix well. Chill in fridge. Best if done day ahead. Serve on small croissants.

Photo Source: My Recipes

Lil' Smokies

Bake Time: 20 minutes
Temperature: 400 degrees

INGREDIENTS:

1 package Little Smokeys hot dog sausages
1 package bacon
brown sugar
toothpicks
tinfoil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut slices of bacon in half.
2. Wrap each half slice of bacon around a little smokey and pin it with a toothpick.
3. Thickly coat in brown sugar.
4. Place on a tinfoil-lined pan. If not, your pan will never be clean again!
5. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or longer if you like the bacon cooked more.

Photo Source: Tasty Kitchen

Oatmeal Banana Muffins

I found this recipe online somewhere and was really impressed with it. Have you ever heard the joke about how its not ok to eat cake for breakfast, but a muffin is just fine?? Well, I'm NOT a sweet muffin person because I AM eating this for breakfast and I don't want it to have as much sugar in it as a candy bar. There are 2 versions to this recipe. The first is the original....sweeter and really good, the second is not nearly as sweet but I actually like it better for that reason alone. So, think about what your family will eat when making these yummy muffins. Maybe half milk-half apple juice concentrate would be the best option.

Oatmeal Banana Muffins



Mix in a large bowl:
1 1/4 C whole wheat flour
3/4 C oats
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda



Mix in a small bowl:
3/4 C apple juice concentrate, thawed (for my version I substitute half milk half juice concentrate to reduce sweetness. You can even substitute all of the apple juice for milk, but it won't be sweet.)
1 egg, beaten
1 C ripe bananas (usually about 3), mashed
1/4 C raisins



Mix wet and dry ingredients and spoon into muffin cups. Muffins can be to the brim of the muffin tin. Bake 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Makes 12 muffins. If making "mini muffins" it makes 24.



*Optional: Sprinkle chopped walnuts on top of muffin batter before baking.

Photo Source: My Kitchen