Peanut butter banana bites

These are a fun little snack when you need just a little sweet without breaking the calorie bank for the day. Super easy and at 50 calories each you cant go wrong.

• 2 bananas
• 2 Tbsp peanut butter
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 4 oz dark chocolate

1. Slice the bananas into 1/2 inch bites. Stir the next 4 ingredients together until smooth and pipe on top of the banana pieces.
2. Melt 1/2 of the chocolate on a low heat setting in the microwave or double broiler and stir in the rest of the chocolate. (Your just lowering the temp of the chocolate so it doesn't melt the other ingredients.)
3. I stuck a toothpick in each piece and used a spoon to pour chocolate over the top of each banana and it seemed to work well.  Put on wax paper and put in fridge until they set.

St. Pattys day feast

A little feast for St Patricks day and beyond, way beyond...I wanted to make corned beef but didn't want to have all the nitrates and added yuck that sometimes gets put in it.  At the organic grocer I found this great grass fed, nitrate free brisket and it worker perfectly for this recipe. Added bonus, there is a ton left over for Reuben's, yum yum.  Super easy supper.

• 1 corned beef roast(if its not nitrate free, rinse it really well or soak it changing the water several times)
• 1 large bottle of beer, I used apple cider beer.
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 onion
• 1 head of cabbage

Throw everything in a dutch oven and cook at 300 for abt 4 hours, it appears to take about an hour per pound of meat.  Alternately, you can put it all in the crock pot.  Its done when its tender. When the meat is done, take it out of the pan and put it on a foil lined cake pan.  Turn the oven to high broil.

In small sauce pot, boil

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup whiskey
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp spicy mustard
• 1/4 cup ketchup

Boil just till thickened and spread on roast.  Put back in oven on broil just until a little crust starts to form.  Remove and tent with foil for 15 minutes or so. Slice her up and enjoy, I'm pretty sure you will agree, it is absolutely delicious.

Quick, Creamy Chicken Lasagna (Adapted from Runner's World Magazine)

Creamy, Chicken Lasagna adapted from Runner's World Magazine

My brother and sister-in-law made this lasagna for us a couple weeks ago and we really enjoyed it. I had all the ingredients on hand so I decided to give it a try and added a few things of my own. 

Ingredients:

• 15 Oven-ready, lasagna noodles (Soaked in piping hot water for 10 minutes)
• 4 C. shredded cooked Chicken (I used Kirkland canned chicken)
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• Dried rosemary (Added for taste. I didn't measure)
• Red pepper flakes (Added for taste. I didn't measure)
• 12 Oz. Cream Cheese, softened (I used a 1/3 lower fat Nuefchatel cheese)
• 1/2 chicken or vegetable broth (Low-Sodium is fine)
• 3 C. marinara sauce (no sugar added or low-sugar)
• 2 C. shredded Mozzarella cheese (I used Kraft 2%)
• 3/4 C. Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions: Heat oven to 400˚F. Combine chicken, basil, 8 ounces of cream cheese, and 1/4 cup of broth. Mix remaining cream cheese and broth in a separate bowl. Spread 1/3 cup marinara on the bottom of a 13" x 9" baking dish. Assemble 4 layers as follows: 3 noodles, 2/3 cup sauce, 1 cup chicken mixture, 3/4 cup mozzarella, and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Top with last noodles, remaining broth mixture and remaining cheeses. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove foil and broil for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes. 

Nutrition: One serving has 443 Calories, 27g Carbs, Fiber 2g, Protein 33g, Fat 23g based on the original recipe. I used half the recommended shredded cheese (4 cups), 1/3 less fat Nuefchatel Cheese (instead of cream cheese), whole wheat noodles, and Italian Sausage Prego marinara sauce. 

Apple & Leek Pork Chops

Brian made this recipe and it was really good. this recipe comes from AllRecipes.com. We did not eat the pork chops over wild rice, rather we ate it with this brown rice and vegetable salad recipe. 

Ingredients:

• 4 (4 ounce) lean boneless pork loin chop
• 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 2 tart green apple, sliced
• 2 medium leek, white portion only, sliced
• 2 cups unsweetened apple juice
• 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 cups cooked wild rice or long grain rice

Directions:

In a nonstick skillet, brown pork chops in oil for 3-4 minutes. Turn chops; add apple and leek. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the apple juice, orange peel, rosemary, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 3 minutes. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; add to skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with rice.

Nutrition:

One serving (1 pork chop and 1 cup sauce with 1 cup rice) equals 508 calories, 10 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 71 mg cholesterol, 1,282 mg sodium, 74 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 31 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 3 starch, 3 lean meat, 1 fruit, 1 fat.

Brown Rice and Vegetable Salad

I actually made this with leftover veggies, so it could be easily altered to fit whatever is on hand.  I was pleasantly surprised with how good it turned out!

Ingredients:

• Brown Rice
• 1/2 Avocado, diced
• Bunch of Parsley, shredded
• 1/2 Red Pepper, diced
• 1 Carrot, grated
• 2 T Lemon Juice
• 1 T Olive oil
• Dash of salt and pepper

Cook brown rice and mix all ingredients. Finish with a sprinkle of Feta Cheese.