Orb-bit

Late afternoon is my weakest time of day when I'm trying to stay away from sweet treats.  I'm usually hungry and tired, but dinner won't be ready for over an hour.  I need something to take the edge off while keeping me on course with my diet.

These little orb-bits are sweet, salty, crunchy, and packed with protein.  They use pantry ingredients, are quick and easy to make, and keep in the refrigerator for days.

Peanut Butter Protein Balls
(click here to print)

1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/3 cup instant nonfat dry milk powder
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup granola, very finely crushed (I use GoLean Crunch, for additional protein and fiber)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

Coating:  wheat germ, graham cracker crumbs, flax seeds, finely ground peanuts, and/or cocoa powder

Combine the first 5 ingredients and stir until well combined.

Use a small cookie scoop (1 inch diameter) to portion out the balls onto waxed paper.  Chill for about 20 minutes.

Roll each portion into a ball, then roll each ball in your desired coating.

Store in covered container in refrigerator.  Makes about 22 balls at 90 calories each.  Click here for full nutritional breakdown.

Mmmm, these are satisfying on so many levels.

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The Dark Side

When we had chicken for dinner when I was growing up, there was always a little tussle over who would get the coveted white meat.  Back then, chickens weren't bred to be as freakishly large as they are now, so there was less white meat to be had.  Drumsticks were always the last to go in my house.

Old habits die hard: I still favor the white meat.  But I've recently ventured to the dark side.  I've discovered that chicken thighs are pretty darn tasty, too.  They stay moist and don't have as gamey a taste as I remember from my childhood days.  Or maybe my tastebuds have changed.  Anyway, I have found boneless, skinless thighs for the same price as the breasts lately and decided to use them in this delicious, one-pot meal.  The original recipe is for a slow cooker, but I cooked it on the stove top.

Latin Chicken
From allrecipes.com
(click here to print)

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
• 2 large sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14 ounce) can yellow corn
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
• 1 cup salsa (heat level to your liking--I used medium)
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• lime wedges, for garnish
• 
  
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cilantro over the chicken thighs; brown the chicken in the frying pan, 3 to 5 minutes each side.
• 
  

Add the sweet potato chunks, red bell peppers, and garlic.

Combine the chicken stock, remaining cilantro, salsa, and spices and add to the chicken and vegetables, stirring gently.

Cover the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low.  Simmer for about 45 minutes or until the vegetables and chicken are tender.  Add the black beans and corn last and stir to incorporate.

I served this over quinoa for a healthy, colorful, and delightfully different meal.  A squeeze of fresh lime really adds brightness to the overall dish.

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Drink Your Vegetables!

I have been MIA lately, partly because I am struggling with my weight loss (it's not going as well as I would like).  I feel like I've been eating pretty healthy and doing the same things I did a few years ago when I lost 30 lbs., but it's just not coming off.  Ugh.  I also met with a Personal Trainer today at the gym, and let's just say that my body fat analysis was less than stellar.

Not my number, unfortunately

Just goes to show that the "charts" can have you as normal weight and BMI (body mass index), but you can still be unhealthy and technically fat.

My Man and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary this year, and I was really hoping to fit into my wedding dress again, just for kicks.  I could have done that 2 years ago!  Sometimes I wonder if posting about food thwarts my efforts.  I mean, I love to cook, and I admittedly like to eat!  Maybe if I just post healthy foods, but what fun is that?  I have tried to balance posts so that I don't always bake goodies and have them around where I can't resist them.

So the other day, I tried something new that was posted by Lady With the Red Rocker on a blog hop I frequent:

A green smoothie made with spinach! 

It might sound less than appetizing, but it really was quite good because the original recipe contains both banana and peanut butter, which helps to disguise the somewhat earthy taste of the spinach. It was healthy and surprisingly refreshing.   And the emerald green color is perfect for St. Patty's Day!

The one thing I would change next time is that I would add less milk.  It was a little thinner than I prefer.  Wow, I wish I could say the same about myself!

Gone Pecan

Weeknight dinners can be tough.  I'm tired from working all day and often don't feel like going all "gourmet" in order to put food on the table.  I know that many women can relate.

I usually have pork tenderloins in the freezer, and they're a quick and healthy dinner option.  A single pork tenderloin generally weighs about 1 pound, which means it's the perfect size for a family of four if you don't want leftovers.  I recently saw this idea in Better Homes & Gardens magazine, and it was well received by my brood.

Cut a pork tenderloin crosswise into medallions about 1 to 1 1/4 inches thick.

Pound each piece lightly with the flat side of a meat mallet to flatten.  Season as desired; I used Galena Street Rub for a little heat, but you could use cajun seasoning or whatever you like.

Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium heat.   Finely chop about a cup of pecans.  Dip the pork medallions into pure maple syrup (NOT pancake syrup!)

 and then the pecans.  Press the pecans in slightly so that they adhere.

Add about a tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet.  When it's shimmering, add 4 to 6 of the pork medallions.

Cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, no longer because you want it barely pink in the middle.  Continue cooking in batches, then remove medallions and add about 2 Tbsp. maple syrup, a dash of cayenne, maybe a little cumin, and 1/2 cup fresh orange juice to the skillet (or use a good not-from-concentrate OJ like my favorite):

Reduce until slightly thickened and pour over the pork medallions.  Garnish with fresh orange wedges.

We ate it all, or as they would say in New Orleans, it was Gone Pecan!

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Pucker Up!

Valentine's Day is traditionally all about chocolate, but this terrific Lemon Yogurt Cake will make you pucker up!

The original recipe is from the incomparable Ina Garten.  I have adapted it slightly because I rhink that the original recipe was a little confusing.

Lemon Yogurt Cake
Slightly adapted from Ina Garten
(click here to print)

Cake:
1 1/2 cups flour

• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup plain yogurt (fat-free is fine)
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tsp. grated lemon zest (3 small lemons)
• • 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (Ina doesn't put juice in the cake, but it increases the pucker power!)
  • 1//2 tsp. vanilla (or lemon oil, if you have it)
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• For the syrup:
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/3 cup sugar

For the glaze:

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a loaf pan (8 1/2 x 4 1/4 x 2 1/2 inch or similar).


Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon juice and zest, vanilla and oil.  Mix well.


Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until ingredients are combined.

Pour into loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  While the loaf is cooling, heat the syrup ingredients in the microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved.  Loosen the cake from the pan by running a knife around the edge.  Invert onto a wire rack set over a sheet pan or plate.  Slowly pour the syrup over the warm cake so that it is absorbed.

If you do this slowly, there is no need to poke holes in the cake.  Cool to room temperature.


Combine the glaze ingredients and drizzle over the top, allowing the excess to drip over the sides.  Slice and serve.

Leftovers can be wrapped in foil and kept at room temperature.  This stays moist and delicious for a few days, if it lasts that long! 


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Reincarnation

Around Christmas-time, I wanted to make a batch of dark brown sugar sea-salt caramels.  I bought this new Food Network brand candy thermometer at Kohls.

I have had the other type of candy thermometer that looks a little like a test tube for years, but I liked the idea of the flat thermometer which stays clipped on the pot better and is easier to read because the numbers aren't inside the glass like these are:

So I made my caramels which had to be cooked to the firm ball stage (245 degrees).  If you know anything about candymaking, getting the temperature right is crucial.  I figured that my new thermometer was trustworthy because, after all, it was from Food Network!

Wrong.  My caramels were somewhere between the hard ball and hard crack stages, in other words, the thermometer was probably between 25 and 35 degrees off!  Gah!

So I made another batch of caramels with my old faithful thermometer and they came out great.  But what to do with the first batch?  I mean, the taste was wonderful but the texture was a little scary: not hard enough to be broken into brittle chips (which was my initial inclination) and not soft enough to chew without seriously compromising your dental work.

I put it in the freezer and forgot about it until today.  I had a quart of heavy cream that a friend gave me because she knew she wasn't going to use it and decided to try an experiment.  I chopped up my frozen caramel brick as best I could and melted it with about a cup and a half of heavy cream over medium low heat.

It made the most exquisite caramel sauce EVER!

Don't you just love happy accidents?  It's probably good that I don't know the exact way to make this sauce again, because it is so decadently delicious that I could eat the whole jar by myself.  In fact, I kept sneaking spoonfuls at every opportunity.  And then I decided to make some mocha ice cream to go with it...

What about you?  Have you ever brought something back from the brink of failure?

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