Healthy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pin It So these cookies are grain free, oil free, egg free and white sugar free.   I was leery of trying them and thinking they might not satisfy my sweet tooth.  I was pleasantly surprised.  You would never guess that these are healthy by looking at them.  I also had several friends and family members try them without telling them they were healthy and tricked all of them.

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Healthy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Original recipe from Texanerin
1 can chickpeas, drained (also called garbanzo beans)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place all ingredients, except chocolate chips, in a food processor.  Pulse until well blended and smooth.  Stop several times to scrape down the sides so you don't have chunks of chickpeas in your cookies.
3. Stir in chocolate chips.  Dough will be sticky.
4. Scoop tablespoons of dough on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
5. Bake 12-15 minutes or until they are no longer glossy looking and slightly brown.

**Be careful when removing from cookie sheet, they can be fragile

Avocado Tuna Salad

Pin It There have been a lot of commercials on the radio about fresh avocados lately and one commercial suggests putting avocado with your tuna salad.  For some reason I always hear that one when I am starving so today I decided to try it out.  The verdict: delicious!  I don't know why I never thought of this before.  This was also a perfect lunch due to the record breaking heat wave we are having right now.  I made a sandwich today, but this would be just as delicious with crackers.   Enjoy!

Avocado Tuna Salad
1 can tuna, drained
1/2 ripe avocado, diced
3 Tbso Miracle Whip (or to taste)
3 Tbsp chopped walnuts, optional

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix.  Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
2. If making a sandwich like mine, toast your bread and spread a light coating of Miracle Whip on each piece.  Top with tuna salad.

Salmon with Mango Salsa

Pin It This is the perfect summer dinner!  It is light, healthy and refreshing.  The salsa pairs perfectly with any type of seafood so cook your favorite kind.  I grilled my salmon because it was nice outside, but f you don't have a grill you can always cook inside on the stove.

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Salmon with Mango Salsa
Salsa:
1 mango, diced
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
3 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced
1/2 tsp ancho chile powder**optional
salt and pepper

Salmon
4 salmon fillets
1 lime, juiced
ground corriander
ancho chile powder, or to taste
salt and pepper

To make the salsa
1. Cut up all fruits and veggies.
2. Place in a bowl and toss with lime juice and cilantro.
3. Season with salt and pepper and chile powder.
4. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.
5. Spoon over salmon for a delicious summer meal.

Salmon
1. Preheat your grill and coat grates with non stick cooking spray.
2. Lay salmon in a dish and squeeze lime juice on top.  Sprinkle fish with spices on both sides.  Don't let salmon marinate for more than 15 minutes or it will get mushy.
3. Cook salmon over medium high heat for about 3 minutes on each side.  Fish will turn opaque and flaky when done.

Oreo Poke Cake (Dirt Cake)

Pin It My husband LOVES dirt cups.  He really is a little kid at heart.  However, I was in charge of dessert for my family and didn't have the time or supplies to make real dirt cups.  This has all of the components of dirt cups, but in a prettier, more grown-up presentation.  Because this cake is served cold it is great for these super hot summer days!

Oreo Poke Cake
inspired by The Country Cook
1 chocolate cake mix (and ingredients to make cake)
1 box Oreo pudding
2 cups milk
1 cup chocolate syrup (like Hershey's)
1 container Cool Whip
1 cup crushed Oreo cookies

1. Bake cake according to box directions.
2. When cake has about 5 minutes left, mix pudding and milk in a bowl.  Allow to sit so it starts to thicken.
3. When cake comes out of the oven, take the handle of a wooden spoon and poke holes about 1 inch apart over the whole cake.
4. Pour chocolate syrup over the cake, pushing it down into the holes.  Pour pudding on next and spread over the top, pushing into the holes.
5. Cover cake and place in the fridge to cool for at least an hour.
6. Take cake out and cover with Cool Whip.  Sprinkle with crushed Oreos just before serving.  If you put the Oreos on too soon they will get soggy.

Copycat Cheesecake Factory Bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp

Pin It Whenever I go to The Cheesecake Factory I ALWAYS get bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp.  It is a Thai inspired dish with flavors of coconut, curry, peanuts and chiles.  It has veggies and rice covered in this amazing curry sauce.  You also get a massive portion so I have leftovers for at least 2 lunches.  I made this for my friends on "wine and dine" night and I have to say that this is pretty darn close to the real thing.  This recipe is a bit more complicated than my normal cooking, but it is definitely worth it!

Check out Weekend Potluck to see lots of awesome recipes!

Bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp
Adapted from Firehow.com
Curry Sauce:
olive oil
1 small white onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
2 Tbsp red curry paste (to taste)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
3 cups lite coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup zucchini, julienned
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup caulifour, chopped into small florets
2 chicken breasts
1 lb shrimp, peeled
green onions
toasted coconut
chopped peanuts

1. Drizzle olive oil in a large skillet.  Add onion, garlic and ginger.  Saute until starting to brown.
2. Add chicken broth, cumin, paprika, curry, red pepper, salt and pepper.  Stir well.  Simmer for 5 mintues.
3. Add coconut milk and bring to a boil.  Let simmer for 20 minutes until sauce begins to thicken.
4. Meanwhile, cook chicken and shrimp in a separate skillet.  Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.  Set aside when done.
**Make peanut sauce.  Directions below.
5. When sauce is starting to thicken add veggies.  Simmer for 10 minutes or until carrots are tender.
6. Add chicken and shrimp to sauce a few minutes before serving.
7.  Serve over rice.  Drizzle with peanut sauce and top with chopped green onions,toasted coconut and chopped peanuts.

Peanut Sauce
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp water
4 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp lime juice

1. In a small sauce pan combine all ingredients.  Whisk to combine.  Heat until mixture begins to bubble.
2. Cover pan and remove from heat until ready to serve.
3. Drizzle on top of meal before serving.

Pulled Pork Quesadillas

Pin It The pulled pork that I made yesterday made way too much for Albert and I to eat in a meal.  I love leftovers, but eating the exact same thing for 3 days in a row can get  very boring.  I made these quesadillas out of some of the leftovers and they were an amazing lunch.

Pulled Pork Quesadillas
I didn't include measurements because you can make these as big as you want
Pulled pork
flour tortillas
gruyere cheese (or cheese of your choice)

1. Heat up leftover pork.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray.
3. Lay out a tortilla and spread pork and cheese on one half.  Fold the other half on top and place in the skillet.
4. Cook 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown and cheese is melted.

Notes- I heat up my porkl first because I found that I don't cook the quesadilla long enough to heat the pork all the way through without the tortilla getting to brown.
I chose gruyere cheese because it melts very nicely and has a mild flavor that pairs well with the BBQ pork flavor.

3 Ingredient Pulled Pork

Pin It Happy Father's Day!  This would be a great meal to enjoy with a crowd.  I love pulled pork and I love the leftovers for the rest of the week too.  I usually use a seasoning packet that you mix with kethcup, vinegar and brown sugar and it is always quite tasty, but I hate all of the extra salt and preservatives in those packets.  I was trying to find a homemade version of the seasoning online, but I couldn't find one that seemed normal enough.  Then I saw that you could use root beer to make tender roasts.  With the success of the Dr. Pepper tacos I decided to give root beer a try.  The verdict: success!  3 ingredients and 2 minutes of prep time equal one amazing meal!

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3 Ingredient Pulled Pork
1 bottle BBQ sauce, any variety (I used Sticky Pig)
1 can root beer
1 4-5lb pork butt

1. Place pork in a lined slow cooker.  Pour BBQ sauce and soda over the roast.
2. Cook on low 6-8 hours or until pork falls apart when pulled with a fork.
3. Remove pork from crock pot and shred.  Return pork to liquid before serving.