Banana Ice Cream

Did you know that you could make ice cream with only a banana. Seriously, that is the only ingredient. If you have a ripe banana and a food processor or blender, you are ready to make this!  It's sweet and yummy and surprisingly creamy!!

This is my new favorite healthy treat! Read the easy how-to instructions here.

Perfect Oatmeal

I don't do a traditional list of New Year Resolutions, but each year I choose a theme to work on  throughout the year. My theme for 2015 is Physical Health. It's kind of hard for me to say this to others, because if I fail everyone is going to know. But I have decided I can handle being a little vulnerable, so there it is! Since the beginning of the year I have been working on consistently changing life habits. No crazy crash diets, or anything extreme that I cannot see myself doing for the rest of my life. Just little, good healthy habits that I plan to maintain forever, not just for a short time.  And I've already lost 9 pounds, woot!

As part of my efforts, I have been discovering and trying out some new recipes that I will share on here. These recipes are healthier alternatives to what I was eating before. Not all are low calorie or gluten free or sugar free, but all are a better choice than what I was eating before. For me, it's all about balance and moderation in all things.

Here is an oatmeal recipe that I found that I can enjoy. I am not really a fan of cooked oatmeal, usually because of the texture, but this recipe comes out with a really perfect, soothing texture every time. A great, healthy, comforting breakfast!

• 1 1/2 cups milk 
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats 
• 2 tablespoons white sugar (I personally have left this out, as I am trying not to eat sugar right now. It wasn't sweet, but it was still good without the sugar!)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg 
• 1 pinch salt

Combine milk, oats, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.

Recipe found on allrecipes.com.  You can find the original recipe here.

Easy and Tasty Chili

I found this meaty chili recipe on allrecipes.com and altered it slightly to fit my preferences.  I thought it turned out delicious!  Not too spicy for the kiddos, but still had yummy flavor and SO easy.  It made a nice big pot, so we served it with this delicious cornbread the first night, over baked potatoes a couple nights later.  And tomorrow we'll finish it off when we make chili cheese dogs.  A nice meal for a busy day!

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds ground beef (or turkey or sausage, or mixed)
• 1/2 onion, chopped 
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 
• 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 8 oz. can tomato sauce 
• 8 oz. jar of salsa 
• 1 McCormick brand Chili Seasoning packet
• 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can dark red kidney beans, drained

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the ground beef and the onion and saute for 10 minutes, or until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain grease, if desired.

2. Add the ground black pepper, garlic salt, tomato sauce, salsa, chili seasoning mix and kidney beans. Mix well.

3. I prefer to throw it in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours at this point.  However, the original recipe says to reduce heat to low and simmer on the stovetop for at least an hour.

4. Eat and enjoy!

Cream Cheese Chicken and Vegetable Soup

One of my friends from my BYU days has a website where she tries popular recipes from pinterest or online and then rates and reviews them.  This soup received her highest rating, and so we tried it tonight.  We were not disappointed.  Oh, this one is really yummy! You should check out her website here. 

Original recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter 
• 1 yellow onion, finely diced 
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced 
• 2 stalks celery, diced 
• ½ cup diced carrots (about 2 regular carrots or a handful of baby carrots) 
• 3 cups chicken broth 
• 2-3 potatoes, peeled and finely diced (I like to leave the peels on red potatoes, if using them) 
• 1 cup milk (1% is my milk of choice) 
• 4 tablespoons flour 
• 1 (8 oz. package) regular or light cream cheese 
• 2-3 (about 1 pound) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and diced 

Instructions

Earlier: Cook the chicken.  I prefer to stick this in the crockpot earlier in the day and let cook with a little chicken broth until done.

About an hour before eating: In a large pot, melt the butter and saute the onion, garlic, celery and carrots in the butter until the vegetables are tender.

Add the chicken broth and potatoes. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook, until the potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes.

In a separate small bowl, whisk flour and milk until smooth. Quickly whisk the milk mixture into the soup and continue to cook over medium heat for about 4 minutes, until the soup begins to thicken. Be sure to stir the soup often so the soup doesn't burn on the bottom of the pot.

Microwave the cream cheese until it is soft. Add the cream cheese to the soup by the tablespoon. Let the cream cheese melt some more in the soup and then whisk the cream cheese into the soup until it is combine and leaves no lumps.

Add the cooked chicken and heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Bacon-Wrapped BBQ Apple Chicken

Oh. My. Yummy!  This is definitely one of those meals that ranks super high on the tastiness and crowd-pleasing scales, and super low on the amount of time and effort required.  Gotta love that!

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts 
• 1 cup BBQ sauce, I LOVE Sweet Baby Rays 
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ⅛ cup lemon juice, fresh or from a bottle 
• 5 small apples, peeled and chopped
• 8 slices bacon 

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, combine BBQ sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice and peeled/chopped apples.

2. Wrap each chicken breast with two slices of bacon and place in a greased slow cooker.

3. Pour BBQ-apple mixture over chicken and cook in a crock pot on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken is done. (I cooked mine on high for 4 hours and it turned out excellent as well!)

Easy and Creamy Corn Chowder

Creamy Corn Chowder Recipe by Our Best Bites 

• 2 Tbsp. butter 
• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour 
• 1 c. water 
• 2 1/2 c. milk (skim or 1% work just fine and lighten it up considerably) 
• 2 regular-sized chicken bouillon cubes, 1 Knorr chicken bouillon cube, or 2 tsp. chicken base 
• 1/2 lb. bacon (optional) 
• 1 small onion, minced 
• 2 red potatoes, diced into small cubes 
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 can corn, drained or about 1 1/2 C frozen fresh corn
• Salt and pepper to taste 
• A few dashes of hot sauce (like Tabasco or Cholula) 

Fry bacon until crisp. In the meantime, melt butter over low heat in a soup pot. When melted, add flour to make a roux and whisk until it comes together in a little ball. Add water and whisk until completely combined and there are no lumps. Add milk and chicken base or bouillon and bring to a simmer. Add potatoes, onions, and garlic, and simmer (but don’t boil!), stirring very frequently, for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add crumbled bacon and corn and heat through. Add a few drops of hot sauce and then salt to taste. The reason why I don’t have an exact measurement is that while the soup REALLY needs salt, bacon also really differs in its saltiness, so it can be super easy to make this soup waaaaay too salty. Start with about 1/4 tsp., give it a few minutes, and then add more if you need it. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with extra bacon and/or cheese if you want. Because, you know, if there’s anything a perfectly healthy bowl of soup (it’s only 3 Weight Watchers points!) needs, it’s some extra bacon and cheese! Serves 6-8.

Chocolate Waffles with Berry Sauce

We like to make special breakfasts on General Conference weekends, and we tried this new and delicious recipe today!  It was a hit as breakfast, but you could easily turn these waffles into a dessert by topping with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. 

This recipe comes from Our Best Bites.  Click here for full instructions, photos, tips, etc. 
 
Double Chocolate Waffles

• 2/3 C flour 
• 1/3 C corn starch 
• 1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 1/2 t baking powder 
• 1/2 t baking soda 
• 1/4 t salt 
• 1/8 t cinnamon 
• 6 T granulated sugar 
• 1 C milk 
• 1/3 C vegetable oil 
• 1 egg 
• 1 1/2 t vanilla 
• 1/2 C mini chocolate chips 

Berry Sauce & Topping

• 3 C berries, fresh or frozen, diced if large 
• 1/4 C raspberry or strawberry jam
• 2 T hot tap water 
• optional: powdered sugar to taste, sweetened whipped cream, or cocoa powder for dusting

Start by making the berry sauce since it can sit while you make the waffle batter. Combine jam and warm water and whisk until combined. Add in the berries and gently stir until combined. Gently smash with a fork to break up larger berries an leave as chunky as you like. Depending on the sweetness of the berries, you can add a little powdered sugar if you’d like. I don’t add any; I think the jam adds plenty and I prefer it on the tart side to balance the sweetness of the waffles. However my husband likes it sweeter, so go with what you like! You might want to try the sauce on the waffles first and then just sprinkle powdered sugar on top if you’d like it sweeter. Set berry sauce aside and make waffle batter.

Waffles: Preheat a waffle iron. Combine flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda, salt, and cinnamon. Use a whisk to combine. In a separate bowl whisk together sugar, milk, oil, egg, and vanilla. Whisk for a minute so it gets a little frothy. Slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry a little at a time, whisking to combine. Just stir until they’re combined and don’t overmix. Stir in the chocolate chips. This is a pretty thin batter, so don’t be expecting something that looks like a pancake batter. It’s supposed to be thin. Lightly butter waffle iron. I have one with non-stick finish and I actually don’t grease mine at all. You may not need to. Place batter in and cook according to your iron. A tip: Instead of pouring batter, use a ladle and spoon it in, making sure to stir the batter each time. Otherwise the chocolate chips won’t be distributed. It’s a little harder to tell when chocolate waffles are done because you can’t go so much on color. Go by smell and touch and realize that they will crisp up after they come off the iron.