Smashed Sweet Potatoes (Instant Pot!)

I’m so excited to share my first Instant pot recipe!  I’ve been loving my new kitchen toy and it’s transformed the ease with which I meal prep and plan! I made these sweet potatoes the other night and they turned out so delicious, I knew I had to share! The spices are sweet and savory at the same time, and they make the perfect and nutritious accompaniment to any meal. I hope you enjoy!  

Makes 4 servings  

4 medium sized sweet potatoes  

1 T olive oil    

1/8 tsp cinnamon  

1/8 tsp paprika  

salt to taste  

1/2 cup water  

Wash, scrub, and dice up your sweet potatoes, then toss evenly with the olive oil and spices. Use the trivet at the bottom of your instant pot, then add the potatoes along with the 1/2 cup of water. 

Lock your instant pot lid and make sure the valve is set to steam. Manually set it to 6 minutes, then forget about it!

I did the quick release to release the pressure once the machine beeped and made sure the pressure had been completely released. Then open the pot and scoop out your sweet potatoes into a bowl. They should be soft enough to mash with a fork and viola! You’ve got delicious smashed sweet potatoes.   

Serve these with some chicken and veggies, or just eat as a snack because they are THAT good! I hope you enjoy!

Rosemary Garlic Chicken

I always dry out chicken. To the point where I don't even want to make it anymore and have been making ground turkey our meal staple for 5 months. But, I told myself to try one last attempt at a baked chicken recipe, and it was a hit! The secret is to put some broth in the casserole dish, and enough butter/oil to keep the chicken moist. Here is my recipe for Rosemary Garlic Chicken that is easy to make, could be doubled or tripled to always have on hand, and goes with practically anything! Enjoy!

Rosemary Garlic Chicken

1.5 lbs chicken tenders

2 T grass fed butter or ghee

1/2 T rosemary

2 T lemon juice

1-2 cloves garlic, crushed

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 - 1/3 cup chicken broth

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Make sure your butter is softened. Then, add the rosemary, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper to the butter and mix until it becomes a paste.

Rub the butter mixture onto the chicken tenders and place in a greased casserole dish. Pour the chicken broth into the dish.

Cover with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes or until there is no pink in the chicken.

I've had this chicken with potatoes, atop a fresh salad, and even with some marinara and steamed veggies! It is so versatile and tasty, I hope you enjoy!

Slow-Cooker Steak Taco Soup

It’s finally getting a bit cooler in Southern California, which means it is soup season!! I personally love chili but Vasken is not a big fan, so I decided to try a variation with steak meat instead of ground beef and no beans, and it was a hit! Plus, it took 10 mins to throw into the crock pot and dinner was ready 6 hours later...perfect! Here’s the recipe! 

Makes 6 servings  

2 lbs of tenderloin steak, cut into cubes

4 cup beef or vegetable broth

1/2 onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, cubed

1 yellow bell pepper, cubed

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes

2 T taco seasoning

Salt to taste

Preheat a skillet over medium heat and add your steak. Brown the meat for 5-7 minutes, drain half of the grease, then pour into crock pot.

Add beef broth diced onions, chopped bell peppers, fire roasted diced tomatoes, and seasonings.

Cook on low for 6-7 hours.

I served with a salad and some grain free cornbread (recipe from Danielle Walker’s cookbook “Celebrations.”

We loved this soup and I am sure it is going to be a winter time staple!

Copycat Panera Apple Cinnamon Muffins

If you know me, you know I LOVE Panera. Mostly because of their baked goods. One of my favorite items that they have is their Apple Crunch muffin. It's so delicious and fluffy and tastes like apple pie in a muffin form. I wanted to recreate the recipe in a healthier, gluten-free way, and I think this recipe is SPOT ON to how these muffins taste! My husband tried one this morning and immediately said that I have to blog this recipe because they are THAT good. So here we go! 

Makes 12-15 muffins

1 cup Pamela's Gluten-free all purpose flour

3/4 cup almond meal

1/2 cup oats

3/4 cup sweetener of choice (I used sugar but usually use stevia, but I'm all out!)

1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened

2 eggs

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 small apple, chopped 

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a muffin tin or use lining.

Mix all the ingredients together except for the apple. Then, chop the apple and fold it into the batter. Pour into muffin tins and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy warm! Store in the fridge for 4-5 days. These taste so good with a cup of coffee in the morning! I hope you all enjoy!

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

I have been craving baked goods lately, like WHOA. I'm 37 weeks pregnant today and until now sweets weren't really my thing (except for a small bout with brownies in my second trimester). But lately, I've been all about the sweets. I really like baking my own treats and sweets because it's fun for me and I get to control what goes in them. So I decided to whip up some banana chocolate chip bread over the weekend, and it turned out delicious! Super easy ingredients and ready in under an hour!

Makes 1 loaf

4 bananas (the browner the better!)

3/4 cup gluten free pancake and baking mix

3/4 cup almond flour

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

10-12 packets stevia

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2-3 T chocolate chip morsels 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Then, place the bananas in a mixer and blend them up until they are mashed and smooth. Then, add the rest of the ingredients except for the chocolate chips and mix thoroughly. Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips!

Spray or grease a standard loaf pan. Then pour the batter into the pan and bake for about 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean! 

Enjoy on its own or smeared with some peanut butter! So delicious! 

Mexican Lasagna

This dish used to be a staple in our home when I was growing up. We loved it and it made such a large amount of food for very little effort, which is always a win in my book! I made a few tweaks to it this time and it turns out delicious!

Here's my quick and easy Mexican Lasagna recipe!  

Ingredients:

1/2-3/4 lb ground turkey  

1 T olive oil  

2 T taco seasoning  

1/4 cup enchilada sauce  

1 can fire roasted tomatoes OR 1 cup salsa 

2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese  

6 tortillas of choice

1 can refried black beans  

Preheat  the oven to 425 degrees F. 

Gather the troops.  

Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the ground turkey and start breaking it up into small pieces.  

Then add the taco seasoning and mix thoroughly.  

Once the turkey is cooked, add the enchilada sauce and the fire roasted tomatoes. Turn off the heat. 

Grab a casserole dish and start assembling! Here's how my layers went! 

Tortillas  

Layer of refried beans  

Turkey mixture  

Cheese  

Tortillas  

Layer of refried beans  

Turkey mixture  

Cheese  

Tortillas  

Cheese  

I baked the Lasagna for 25-30 mins until the top got all melty and bubbly, like so!  

This was so easy to whip up and we are still living off the leftovers! We ate this with a southwest salad (courtesy of Trader Joe's) and it paired great together! 

If you are looking for a new dish to add to your routine, this one is definitely worth trying! Easy, delicious, and great as leftovers! 

Chocolate Chip Oat Bars!

I'm I have been craving chocolate and baked goods like no other. But I don't want to give in to all the cravings since I know how terrible commercially sold products can be! They are full of tons of sugar and sketchy trans fats! I'd much rather eat something more homemade and wholesome. So when I got home from work yesterday, I whipped up these delicious Chocolate Chip Oat Bars and they totally hit the spot! 

I ordered gluten free oat flour in bulk a while ago, but haven't gotten a chance to use some of it! I decided to use it in this recipe to make it gluten free and bulk up the fiber a bit! The bars were so cake-like and soft, they tasted just like the coffee cake at Starbucks!!

This recipe makes 16 long bars that I cut out in a 9x12 baking dish! Enjoy!

2 cups oat flour

1 cup plain greek yogurt

3 eggs

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

12 packets stevia (or equivalent of 1/2 cup sugar)

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x12 baking dish, then set aside.

Mix all the ingredients together except for the chocolate chips, then fold those in at the end!

Pour mixture into the baking dish.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean!

Cut into 16 bars, then enjoy!! These tasted so good as an afternoon snack, and as breakfast this morning too! Chocolate chips for breakfast? YES please!

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

I've always wanted to like Greek yogurt. I mean, with the probiotics and protein, why not right? I just can't seem to get myself to like it though! My husband swears by his yogurt, granola, and berry bowls, and I almost gagged when I tried a bite of his last week. And this isn't a pregnancy thing; I just have never seemed to like the tartiness of yogurt! Unless it's froyo...that's a whole different story...but I digress...

However, these pancakes, I can get behind! We were out of whole eggs yesterday morning, so I whipped up some pancakes with multigrain pancake mix, Greek yogurt, and liquid egg whites and they turned out delicious! Here's the recipe for the easiest pancakes ever! 

Makes 4 medium sized pancakes  (2 pancakes = 1 serving!) 

1/2 cup multigrain or gluten free pancake mix 

1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt  

1/2 cup liquid egg whites 

optional dash of cinnamon!  

Mix all the ingredients together, then heat up a medium skillet, grease it, and pour 1/4 cup of the batter for each pancake. Flip when it starts bubbling! 

I topped our pancakes with frozen berries that I microwaved to make a nice syrup, without the syrup! So delicious! 

Hope you all get to enjoy this recipe soon!  

Stuffed Peppers

This recipe turned out delicious and was so easy to whip up! There is so much flavor in these ingredients, so when you put them all together, magic happens! Plus it took under an hour to put together from start to finish, AND produced a ton of leftovers...win-win!

Here are the ingredients for my stuffed peppers recipe! 

Makes 8, 1/2 peppers, serving size is 2 halves

4 bell peppers (I did 1 each of yellow, orange, red, and green)

1.5 cups white rice

3 cups chicken broth

1 lb ground turkey

2 T taco seasoning

1 can black beans

1 can fire roasted tomatoes

1/4 cup enchilada sauce

1/2 cup shredded Mexican-blend cheese

First things first, wash the bell peppers and cut them in half. Take out the pits and place them face down on a greased or foiled baking pan. Brush the tops with olive oil and salt, then bake on 350 for about 10 minutes.

At the same time, start cooking the rice in the chicken broth. In a separate pan, cook up the ground turkey with the taco seasoning. Once the rice and meat are done cooking, mix them together in a large pot. Then mix in the black beans, fire roasted tomatoes, and enchilada sauce. 

** Don't forget to take out the peppers from the oven! We are just partially cooking them at this point ;) 

Once the peppers are done and the filling is made, it's time to assemble the peppers! Flip over the half peppers and stuff them with the filling. Sprinkle on some shredded cheese...just enough to cover the top!

Once they are all covered in cheese, pop the peppers back into the oven for another 20 minutes, until the cheese gets melty on top!

How delicious do these look!? And even better, they TASTE amazing! I had 2-halves with a side salad and the meal completely hit the spot! Healthy eating doesn't have to be complicated. Plus, this meal is jam packed with vitamin C from the peppers, protein from the turkey, fiber from the beans, and lots of flavor from the cheese and enchilada sauce! 

I hope you all get to try this recipe soon! Let me know how you like it! 

Cilantro Thai Garlic Chicken

I have been wanting to share this recipe for so long and finally got a chance to sit down and do it! I love cooking different kinds of chicken because just plain chicken can get rather boring...and fast! The key to making healthy choices on a long-term basis is to change up your recipes and NOT get bored of your repetitive meals! And let's face it, long lasting and consistent changes are the only ones that make a true, positive impact on our health and overall well-being. Which is why I created this Cilantro Thai Garlic Chicken recipe that is so easy to make and helps your chicken stay flavorful, moist, and most importantly, healthy! This is a sure way to get all the nutrients you need while not getting bored of eating plain grilled chicken day in and day out. Enjoy!

Here is what you need:

Serves 2:

4-5 chicken tenders

1 tsp coconut aminos (great soy-free, gluten-free alternative to soy sauce! I found mine at Whole Foods)

1 T olive oil

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

2 cloves garlic

Optional: sugar snap peas, broccoli, toasted cashews

Place the olive oil, coconut aminos, garlic, and cilantro in the food processor and pulse until it forms a paste. Marinate the chicken in the cilantro mixture for about 20-30 minutes! Then cook on the grill, and enjoy! How easy is that!  I love adding some sugar snap peas or broccoli for some extra veggie goodness! As a fun, crunchy option, I toast a few cashews and mix it with the cooked chicken to add a little healthy fat and crunch to this dish! This meal goes great with some sweet potatoes or even a side salad.