Okra, Mango, Banana Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup cut frozen okra
• 2/3 cup frozen mango
• 1 medium banana (I used a frozen one but it doesn’t matter)
• 1 cup of water

Blend together until smooth and enjoy!

I love putting frozen okra in smoothies. I started using it to try to recreate a smoothie that I had from a restaurant. I haven’t been successful in recreating that smoothie but I’ve been loving the unique flavor that okra adds to all of my other smoothies.

Avocado Toast

Ingredients:

• 2 slices bread
• 1 Avocado
• 1 cup of diced tomatoes
• Turkey Kielbasa Sausages (about 3 oz.)
• 1 cup of chopped onion
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• salt
• pepper
• garlic

I start with the toast. You want them strong enough to carry the weight of all your toppings and you want it to have a good crunch. So if you put them in the toaster, toast it on high but don’t let it burn. I usually put some olive oil on the bread and put it in a frying pan over medium heat. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes on each side or until it’s golden brown.

While you’re waiting for your bread to become golden wonderfulness, you can get your avocado ready. Cut your avocado in half and remove the pit. Spoon all of the god stuff out of the shell and mash it in a bowl. Add salt, pepper, and garlic to taste. Spread your mashed avocado on your pieces of toast. You can eat it like that or top it with the sausage, sauteed onions and diced tomatoes.

For the tomato, onion, and sausage combo, heat a bit of your olive oil in a pan over medium heat. I add the onions first and let them cook by themselves for a minute or two and then I add everything else. This doesn’t take long at all. The turkey kielbasa sausages already come cooked so you only have to cook them long enough for everything to heat trough and caramelize. When that’s done you can put them right on top of your avocado toast and enjoy!

I love avocado toast. It’s easy and it’s filling! I hope you like it!

Baked Turkey Wings

Ingredients:
2 Turkey Wings
1/2 medium sized onion, sliced
1/2 cup sliced bell peppers
1 cup spinach
1 can of cream of mushroom
3 tbsp Olive Oil
2 cups of spinach

Seasonings I used:
cumin
salt
pepper
powdered garlic
oregano

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Place your two turkey wings in your baking dish and drizzle the oil on them and add the seasonings as you would like. I usually go crazy with the oregano, garlic, and cumin but I added about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper and a full teaspoon or more of the other seasonings. Use as much as you would like! After adding the seasonings and the olive oil, mix them together using your hands, cover them with foil and put into your heated oven for about 18-20 minutes. At this point, remove them from the oven and very carefully remove the foil and add the onion and bell pepper slices. Recover with the foil and put the pan back into your oven for 20 minutes then take them out and pour the cream of mushroom over the wings and add the spinach to the pan. Recover with foil and return them to the oven for 30 minutes. At this point my wings were about done so I took them out to remove the foil and the put them back in the oven uncovered for about 10 minutes. At that point they were cooked perfectly. I’d like to point out that the oven in my apartment is what my roommate and I refer to as a “super-oven.” It gets hotter than most ovens and cooks faster than most ovens as well.

This recipe was really easy. I learned that I’m not a big fan of turkey wings though. I don’t think there was enough meat on the bone which confused me because these wings were massive. However, the flavors came together quite nicely. I ate them with some leftover yellow rice that I had.

Sauteed Shrimp with turkey bacon

This one was easy and delicious!

Ingredients:
1 lb shrimp, unpeeled
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tomato, diced
1 small onion, diced
4 strips of turkey bacon, diced

Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions, turkey bacon, and tomatoes. Saute until the onions begin to soften and then add the shrimp. Saute the shrimp until it becomes pink and is cooked through. Make sure that everything is mixed together well and then you’re ready to serve!!

I served mine with roasted potatoes and broccoli.

Bacon Wrapped Avocado

Ingredients:
1 Avocado halved and pitted with skin/shell OFF
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
4 strips turkey bacon

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Divide your supply of cheese in half and put each half into the into one an avocado half. Wrap two slices of your turkey bacon around each of your avocado halves. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake them in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the turkey bacon cooked and crispy.

Enjoy!

Chicken Tacos

I made these chicken tacos based on a tutorial video from youtube by vlogger DearNaptural85. It was pretty quick and easy so I decided to try it. I made just a few changes to work with the ingredients that I had. They were delicious and pretty healthy too. Not 100% homemade but made with heart and good intentions.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground chicken
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 chopped yellow bell pepper
1 chopped onion
As much spinach as your heart desires
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon powdered garlic
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup chunky garden salsa
1/2 packet of low sodium taco seasoning
2 tablespoons taco sauce
1 tomato
shredded cheese
soft corn tortillas

In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil. Add 1/2 the chopped onion, 1/2 the chopped yellow pepper, and the minced garlic. Cook veggies until they soften up a bit and then add the ground chicken. Flattened it out in the pan like DearNaptural85 did in her video, wait for the chicken to begin sweating a bit then mix it with the vegetable. Then add the oregano, taco seasoning, cayenne pepper and powdered garlic and mix it all together. Break up the chicken with a wooden spoon while cooking. Make sure the chicken cooks thoroughly. When the chicken is cooked through, add the taco sauce and the salsa and as much spinach as you would like. Keep stirring and cooking until the spinach is cooked down and all of the ingredients are coexisting happily. Serve with toasted tortillas and any other toppings that you like. I saved the other halves of the onion and pepper for taco toppings. In addition to that, I had one chopped tomato, guacamole, shredded cheese, and fresh spinach. I recommended heating up the tortillas in a shallow pan on the stove.

Serve and enjoy!

The best part of making tacos is that everyone gets to build their own and add whatever they live. Next time I make these, I would add the mushrooms like in the video and probably use herbs and spices rather than the taco seasoning packet but I wasn’t in my own kitchen so I had to work with what I had. I was pretty upset about not having any cumin. Either way, these were delicious!

Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:
24 Fresh Mushrooms Caps
1/2 Cup Soft Bread Crumbs
1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
1 Cup diced crab meat
2 tablespoons minced green onions
2 teaspoon Dried Oregano
1/2 cup Monterey Jack Cheese (shredded)
1/2 cup Mozzerella cheese (shredded)
1 Stick of butter/margarine
1 teaspoon parsley

1.Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter/margarine and then cook the green onions for about 3 minutes or until soft.
2.Remove from heat and stir in crab meat, oregano, parsley, bread crumbs and lemon juice. Add the monterey jack cheese and blend the mixture together well. Set aside.
3.In a 10 inch skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of butter/margarine and place the mushrooms in topside down and cook until light brown.
4.Remove the mushrooms with a slotted spoon and place in a baking dish.
5. Use your hands to make balls (any size you would like) with the stuffing and cover them with the mozzerella cheese.
6.Broil them in the oven for 3-4 minutes.

For some reason, I thought I could recreate Olive Garden’s stuffed mushrooms. I did not. I didn’t have their recipe. I used crab and they use clam which I knew but completely forgot when I was looking for recipes. I combined my favorite parts of two recipes from my recipes app on my phone.

Although my stuffed mushrooms weren’t as delicious as the ones I get at Olive Garden, they were pretty good. I added more cheese than both of the recipes called for because…I really like cheese. I was really happy with how they turned out. They were surprisingly easy to make . I am going to try Olive Garden’s recipe though!

Cupcake Heaven

I decided I wanted to make healthy cupcakes as a part of my project. It was really messy but the cupcakes were delicious. I made my own frosting also, it was disgusting. I didn’t realize how much I disliked the frosting until they were on all of the cupcakes so now the cupcakes taste weird. I found the recipe on EatingWell.com and the recipe was pretty easy to follow. I just wish my cupcakes looked like the ones in the picture.

Here is the recipe:

Cupcakes

• 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (see Note)
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 whole vanilla bean, split lengthwise (see Tip)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 12-ounce can low-fat evaporated milk, divided

Frosting

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• Pinch of salt
• 2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup packed confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Sprinkles for decoration

Preparation

1. To prepare cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups with paper liners.
2. Whisk whole-wheat flour, cake flour, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl.
3. Beat granulated sugar and oil in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Scrape the black paste out of the vanilla bean into the sugar mixture. Add applesauce, egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat until well combined. With the mixer on low, alternately mix in the dry ingredients and 1/2 cup evaporated milk, starting and ending with dry ingredients and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed, until just combined. Divide the batter among the prepared cups (they will be full).
4. Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
5. To prepare frosting: Meanwhile, whisk 2/3 cup of the remaining evaporated milk, all-purpose flour and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan until no flour lumps remain. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it looks like a thick, stiff paste, 2 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and continue whisking for about 30 seconds to cool slightly. Whisk in chocolate until completely melted. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add confectioners’ sugar, cocoa and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate the frosting until thickened and cold, about 2 hours. Spread the frosting on the cooled cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles, if desired.

I didn’t have whole-wheat pastry flour so I just used whole-wheat flour and extra cake flour. I don’t think it changed my cupcakes at all. They had the texture of regular cupcakes from a box mix. I really enjoyed the mixture of vanilla and applesauce. Overall, my cupcakes came out surprisingly well. They just didn’t look too great because of the failed frosting.

I’m not really sure what went wrong with my frosting. I followed the directions and the measurements correctly but I didn’t end up with frosting. It was more like putting lumpy chocolate soup on cupcakes. It also smelled incredibly sweet. The cupcakes had an overwhelming sweet chocolate smell that makes you want to back away from the cupcakes. However, if you just take the top of the cupcake off, it’s delicious!

I think my first experience with homemade cupcakes was not a complete failure although you wouldn’t be able to tell from the pictures. Love your body. Love your food.

Well that’s almost like baking.

I like to make things out of the box. My favorite foods usually come from restaurants. I don’t think I’ve even seen anyone bake a cake from scratch. Everything is so fast paced and even though nothing is wrong with that, I’m challenging myself to try a few things from scratch and attempt to make some of the delicious things that I order off of menus at my favorite restaurants.

I remember the episode of Everybody Loves Raymond when Marie was helping Debra put away groceries. Marie held up a a tube of cookie dough and said, “well that’s almost like baking.” I’ve made cookies from scratch before and I think that cookie dough is a life-saver. Maybe during this project though, I’ll make cookies that don’t look like rocks.

I’m sure I’ll make mistakes and messes and maybe an upset stomach here or there but I really want to try this. So, challenge excepted.