Healthy German Chocolate Bites

Pin It I'm all about healthy desserts, but they need to taste delicious, not like cardboard.  These are little bites of heaven.  You would never guess that they only have 6 ingredients and NO SUGAR!  Sounds too good to be true, right?  Don't be fooled.  These taste just like a brownie with nuts and coconut... really!  I literally ate the first entire batch in a day.  I just kept nibbling and pretty soon they were all gone.  These turned out so well I'm going to experiment with some new flavors too. 

Healthy German Chocolate Bites
Original Recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie
3/4 cup pitted dates
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 Tbsp shredded coconut
1/2 cup pecans

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor.  Pulse until ground into fine bits.  It will be crumbly.
2. Roll into balls (or any other shape you want - would make a nice bar shape)
3. I store mine in the fridge so they are less sticky, but you can leave them at room temperature if you want.

Sweet Chili Mustard Glazed Salmon

Pin It So this is part 2 of my amazing anniversary dinner recreation.  The salmon that I had was coated with this delicious sweet chili and mustard glaze.  Even my husband who despises mustard kept stealing bites off my plate.  This is ridiculously easy, but sooo tasty.  I think this is my new favorite way to make salmon.  Serve with Lentil Stir Fry for a faboulous dinner!  Enjoy!

Sweet Chili Mustard Glazed Salmon
2 6oz. salmon fillets
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
1 tsp stone ground mustard

1. Mix chili sauce and mustard together in a small bowl.
2. Grill salmon over medium high heat 3-5 minutes per side until cooked through.
3. Brush glaze over salmon during the final minutes of cooking.  (If you do it at the beginning it will stick to your grill and burn).

Lentil Stir Fry

Pin It Lentils have always scared me.  They are ugly, flat beans.  I was just never tempted to cook them or eat them until my husband and I went out to dinner for our anniversary this year.  We went to a fancy restaurant with a fancy menu and extensive wine list.  It was absolutely amazing!  I really wanted to have the salmon as my dinner, but the side dish that it was served with was....lentils.  I probably could have substituted something else, but I decided that if this upscale place thought lentils were acceptable, I could at least try them.  I'm so glad I did!  They made them in a stir fry loaded with lots of fresh veggies and it was surprisingly delicious.  I liked it so much I actually went out and bought lentils so I could recreate it at home.  I'm looking for other ways to incorporate lentils into my meals, any suggestions would be appreciated.

Lentil Stir Fry
1 cup uncooked lentils
1/4 cup edamame
1/2 cup snow pea pods
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1/2 small onion, diced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2-3 Tbsp soy sauce or Island Soyaki sauce

1. Cook lentils according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile in a large skillet or wok heat oil.  Add garlic and stir until fragrant. (Don't let it burn)
3. Add edamame, carrots, peas and onion to the skillet.  Cook until starting to brown and get tender, about 3-5 minutes.
4. Carefully stir in cooked lentils.  Pour soy sauce/soyaki over veggies and toss to coat.

Biscoff Smores Brownies

Pin It I've been seeing a lot of recipes with Biscoff Spread in them lately and I've been intrigued.  I didn't find it in my local supermarket and to be honest I didn't put much effort into searching for it anywhere else.  Then last weekend I went to a little Italian grocery store and they had it.  As soon as I saw it I knew I had to buy it.  My sister-in-law was also equally amused.  The rest of my family thought we were crazy for buying a spread that tastes like cookies.
Well they quickly changed their tune when I brought these brownies to our Labor Day BBQ.  These are addicting.  While they are quite rich, gooey and sweet, you cannot eat just one.  In a word: AMAZING!  I can't wait to find new recipes to use with the remainder of my Biscoff Spread!

Shared at Weekend Potluck, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, and Sweet Confession Sunday.

Biscoff Smores Brownies
Adapted from Bake at 350
For the Biscoff swirl:1/2 cup Biscoff Spread
4 ounces cream cheese
2 Tbsp sugar
1 egg
For the brownies:1 cup dutch-process cocoa
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup flour
3/4 cup marshmallow cream

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 
2. Beat together all of the ingredients for the Biscoff swirl with a hand mixer until fluffy and well combined.
3. In a medium saucepan melt the butter.  Turn off heat and stir in sugar then return to heat and heat until hot, but not bubbly.
4. Remove from heat and stir in cocoa, salt and baking powder.
5. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla until smooth.
6. Stir in flour.
7. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan.
8. Drop heaping tablespoons of Biscoff swirl and marshmallow cream evenly over top of brownies.  Use a knife to swirl making sure each bite will have a little taste of everything.
9. Bake 25-30 minutes or until swirl is set.  Brownies may be a bit jiggly.  Allow to cool completely for easy cutting.

7 up Biscuits

Pin It I found these biscuits on Pinterest a while ago, but never had a reason to make them.  This week I made a point to fit them into our weekly dinner menu and boy were they delicious.  I literally had them in the oven in less than 5 minutes.  My husband was also super impressed.  They are buttery, flaky, fluffy and not at all dry or crumbly.  These will definitely be making a repeat appearance at dinner.

7 up Biscuits
Original recipe from Plain Chicken
2 cups baking/biscuit mix (like Bisquick)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup 7 up

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Cut sour cream into biscuit mix.  Pour in 7 up and stir til moistened.
3. Sprinkle extra biscuit mix or flour on a flat surface and pat dough to about 3/4 inch thick.  Cut out biscuits. (I used a drinking glass because I don't own a biscuit cutter)
4. Pour melted butter in the bottom of a 9 x 9 pan.  Lay biscuits on top of butter.
5. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Oreo Pudding Pops

Pin It It has been so hot lately that I have been craving cold snacks, but I didn't want to have all of the calories of ice cream every day. (I could definitely eat it everyday, but my waist line would not thank me).  I remembered Jello Pudding Pops from when I was a kid.  Those things were amazing.  I decided to try to make my own.  I used sugar free pudding and fat free cool whip to cut down on calories and you would never know it.  These are perfect for satisfying your sweets craving without all of the guilt.

Oreo Pudding Pops
1 package sugar free chocolate pudding
2 cups skim milk
1 cup fat free whipped topping, like Cool Whip
1 cup crushed Oreos

1. Mix pudding and milk and whisk until well combined and smooth.
2. Carefully fold in whipped topping until mixture is uniform in color.
3. Stir in crushed Oreos.
4. Pour mixture into pudding molds or small cups.  Insert popsicle sticks.
5. Freeze over night or until firm.

**I had to run my popsicle mold under warm water to get my popsicles to release.

Chicken Party Nachos

Pin It I think nachos are a great party food.  They are a crowd pleaser and easy to make.  However, I hate that some chips have tons of toppings and other chips have barely anything on them.  By the end of the night all that is left is a pile of topping-less chips.  That's how these gems came to be. I call them Party Nachos because they are perfect for a party.  Every chip is perfectly topped and they are the perfect finger food.  No need to worry about toppings dripping on your clothes.I made these for my husband's fantasy football draft party and they were gobbled up.  I'm definitely keeping these in mind for the rest of football season!

This recipe was shared at Six Sisters' Link Party and Trick or Treat Tuesday .

Chicken Party Nachos
15 corn tortillas
1 can refried beans
2 Tbsp taco seasoning
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked/grilled and chopped into small pieces
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

For serving:
jalapenos
salsa
sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Lay tortillas on foil lined baking sheets.
2. Mix taco seasoning with refried beans.  Spread a thin layer of beans on each tortilla.
3. Place chicken on top of beans.
4. Sprinkle with cheese until toppings are well covered.
5. Place in oven and bake 5-8 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.
6. Allow nachos to cool slightly before cutting or all of the cheese will fall off.
7. Using a pizza cutter, cut each tortilla into 4 pieces.  Serve with sour cream, salsa and jalapenos.