recipe

One of my favorite dips to make for a party or game day is spinach and artichoke dip!!! I love to serve them with Stacy Pita Chips or tortilla chips. Crackers work too! This recipe is super easy, and if you are impatient like me…you can start enjoying it right away and snack while it cooks more and more in the crock pot.

What You Need

1 ten ounce package of frozen spinach

1 and 1/2 10 ounce packages of froze artichokes

1 eight ounce package of cream cheese

(I like to add a few more ounces of cream cheese if I have more than one package on hand)

1/4 cup mayo

1/4 cup sour cream

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

What You Do

1. Bring spinach and artichokes to boil with one cup of water. I do this until everything is soft and falling apart. Drain in a strainer and make sure all the large pieces are cut up if they didn’t fall apart while you boiled them.
2. Heat cream cheese in the microwave for one minute to get it hot enough to be able to mix.
3. Mix all ingredients in a crock pot and keep on low. You can go ahead and have a few bites now, or serve it whenever you are ready!

Chris and I are trying to be “good” for the most part, but it is nice to have a little sweet treat every now and then. If I can find a little way to make them “healthier,” then why  not? As long as it doesn’t take away on flavor. These peanut butter cookies deliver!!!

Now, I made this recipe based on the amount of peanut butter I had left in the jar, which was 3/4 of a cup. You want to proportion your coconut sugar to your peanut butter.  Basically if you want to do a cup of peanut butter, do a cup of palm sugar. Got me?

What You Need

3/4 cup peanut butter

3/4 cup coconut sugar

splash of vanilla extract (maybe 1/2 teaspoon??)

1 egg

What You Do

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line cookie sheet with parchment paper

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.

Drop into balls on cookie sheet

Press down at least twice with a fork

Bake 10 minutes

Let them sit on cookie sheet after you pull them out for a few more minutes to finish cooking

These cookies come out so soft and perfect!!!!

I wanted to share the greek salad that I threw together this weekend!!! I love cucumber salad, but it isn’t quiet filling enough to call it lunch so the beans add in some extra fiber and protein to help out with that. This is a super easy dump and mix recipe.

What You Need

1 cucumber, diced

1 container feta cheese

Couple hand fulls of fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped into 1 inch pieces

1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 purple onion, diced

1/2 can of diced black olives (this is still good if you dont like olives, just omit)

Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons lemon juice (I used from a bottle since I always have it on hand)

1/2 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

salt and pepper to taste

What You Do

–Boil water and add in green beans, cook for 3-4 minutes

–While the beans are cooking, mix together your dressing and set aside.

–Add all ingredients to bowl and toss until well mixed. Refrigerate.

Enjoy!!!

Who doesn’t love a Dr Seuss themed breakfast??? So I have a confession to make. I have never made a frittata before. Can you believe it??? I actually hate eggs, but I don’t mind them so much when they are cooked in with other things. This was so easy and it turned out delicious!!! I plan to heat it up all week for Chris and I in the mornings as a grab and go breakfast.

What You Need

1 yellow onion, diced

4 green onions, diced

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter

10 large eggs

1 package of Colby and Monterey Jack Cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 to 1/2 tsp black pepper

6 ounce package (or 6 slices from deli) Applewood Smoked Ham

1 package of baby spinach

What You Do

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a large skillet, add yellow onion and green onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat.
3. Add baby spinach and cook another 5 minutes, until wilted.
4. Drain the onions and spinach in a colander and press out any addition water. (I used the spatula to do this.)
5. In a large bowl, whisk the 10 eggs. Add in the ham, cheeses and black pepper. Then stir in the onion/spinach mix.
6. Grease a baking dish with the remaining olive oil and melted butter. Pour mixture in and cook for 25-30 minutes. You want it to be slightly browned, puffed and set. I let it cool around 15 minutes on the counter before serving.
7. Enjoy!!!!