THE BIG GAME!

So last night was a big night at our house…my husband is a die-hard WINGS fan!!

I started the day gathering all of my ingredients…I was unprepared for the last party and had no food, drinks, and had not swept! (gasp!) That was not going to happen again.

This time, I was going to be prepared.

My  Not-So-Clean Menu:

 Black Bean Soup

Rattlesnake Bites

Spinach Dip

Brownies

(Sorry there aren't alot of finished pictures! It was time for the game to start and everyone was already eating! I'm sure you know how that goes!!)

The Black Bean Soup has become a regular at our house! It’s very flavorful and just a little bit spicy! I always serve it up with tortilla chips, a little cheese on top and a dollop of organic sour cream!

1 T olive oil

4 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped

3/4 C diced carrots (about 2 med carrots)

3/4 C diced celery (about 2 ribs)

1 C diced onion (about 1 sm-med onion)

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 3.5oz can green chilies

2 cans low-sodium beef broth (or make your own)

1 t kosher salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/2 t chili powder

1/4 t cumin

1/2 t dry oregano leaves

My special bean washer

                    1 bay leaf

Optional Toppings: sour cream, tortilla chips, grated cheese, chopped cilantro, etc.

Place a large stock pot on the stove-top and set to medium-high heat. When pan is warm, add olive oil. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and saute 4-5 minutes.

Add in the black beans, chilies, and beef broth. Stir to combine and then add the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and bay leaf.

Simmer uncovered for about 20-25 minutes or until carrots are tender.

The recipe says to grind it up so it's somewhat smooth but I serve it with tortilla chips so I like it chunky....super yummy!

I was most excited about the Rattlesnake Bites  I got the recipe from the Texas Roadhouse website. They were fairly easy. The only change I made to the ingredients was I used Less Fat cheese and ended up only using 6 peppers.  I tried following the instrucions but found that I couldn't get the crumbs to stick to the pepper. I tried cutting the peppers a little smaller forming the cheese mixture around it...That Worked!  I also considered trying to bake them, instead of frying but since this was my first go-around, I didn’t want to mess up and have hungry guests! Maybe next time…

Ingredients:

12 large jalepenos (seeded and halved)

2 cups mont. jack shredded cheese

1 egg

2 tbs. milk

1 tbs. flour

1 tsp. parm

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 cup bread crumbs

oil for frying

Stuff each 1/2 pepper with cheese

Mix your flour, egg, parm, milk, salt and pepper

Ready for the freezer

Place breadcrumbs in a shallow dish

Dip your cheese-stuffed peppers into the mixture then the crumbs and freeze for 30 mins.

(or, as I did: make a ball of cheese mixture and stuff the pepper in it. Then gently roll your ball into the crumbs to coat)

heat your oil and fry peppers until golden brown!

Serve with your choice of dipping sauce.

We ate these plain and they were....YUM!!

Spinach Dip

Don’t make this unless you have others to help you eat it! I mean it! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!!

Ingredients:

½ pound bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 pkg. frozen spinach thawed

1 jar marinated artichokes, chopped

8 oz. !/3 Less Fat cream cheese

8 oz. Organic sour cream (or skim milk)

1/4 c. Parmesan cheese

6 oz. shredded Low Fat Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 onion finely chopped

Olive oil

red pepper flakes to taste

2 oz. shredded Low Fat Monterey Jack cheese

Sauté onions in olive oil, adding ingredients while mixing and blending well after each addition. Add ingredients in the order listed. Transfer to crock or serving dish. Top with Crushed Red Pepper Flakes and additional cheese.  (I know it’s a lot of cheese but mmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!! )          Serve with Sea Salt Natural Tortilla Chips. 

Now, the brownies are actually clean! You can find the original recipe here: http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-brownies/

These are so moist and delicious! I think my father-in-law had four!!

Brownies

1 (16 oz.) container almond butter

4 egg whites

1 cup honey

1 tbsp vanilla

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup grain sweetened chocolate chips (I used Dark Chocolate)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

 Add each ingredient, one at a time, to a large mixing bowl.

 Pour into an oiled baking pan and bake for 35-40 minutes.

There you go! Snack ideas for your next game night! 

Hope you all have an awesome weekend!

Hungry? A Post For Wheat Thin Addicts

Every week I try to make a few snacks or breakfast items to last the week. This week I decided to try (again) making my own wheat thins. Wheat thins are ,in my opinion, the world's best cracker! I was watching a talk show a few months ago and realized that there is alot of sugar in my precious wheat thins. Don't believe me...go check your box...I'll wait... Crazy, right!?

So...here is a recipe a friend posted on Facebook. These will satisfy your munchies. I promise!

1 1/2 cups flour (all-purpose)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar (I use Splenda)
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter (at room temperature)
2/3 cup milk
salt (or other dried herbs and seasoning) for sprinkling

In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar and salt. cut in the butter and mix until you have a coarse meal. Slowly blend in the milk just until you have a dough that will hold together. divide the dough into 2 pieces for rolling. Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about 1/8 inch thickness. sprinkle with salt and roll over lightly with the rolling pin again. cut the dough into 2×2 inch squares. poke each square several times with a fork.

Transfer squares to an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 325 F for 20-25 minutes, until crackers are golden brown.

I think the only thing I feel I should stress is, make sure they are rolled 1/8 thin! VERY THIN!

(Sorry, there aren't more pics but I really bake like this every week, so I forgot to take pics of every step...maybe my next post, I will remember!)

Here you go! Fresh, Crispy, Salty Wheat Thins!