3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 cup peanut butter (I used Adam's Natural crunchy)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, nuts (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the peanut butter and brown sugar. Add the egg and mix until well-combined. If using, stir in chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and/or nuts. Drop (heaping) tablespoonful-sized balls of dough onto the prepared cookie sheet and flatten slightly. (I rolled them into balls before flattening them.) If desired, create a cross-hatch design with a fork, for an authentic peanut butter cookie look. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before devouring. Makes a dozen normal-sized cookies.

Mexican Chocolate Breakfast Shake

INGREDIENTS

1/2 c. old-fashioned oats

1 c. almond or coconut milk (I just used regular - my coconut milk was frozen)

1 Tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp honey, maple syrup or other sweetener to taste

1 small banana, cut into pieces and frozen overnight in a freezer bag

Combine oats, milk, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and sweetener in a resealable bowl. Stir together and refrigerate overnight. Add banana and oat mixture to food processor or blender and process until smooth and well-combined. If shake is too thick, add more milk for a thinner consistency.

Notes: Making the oatmeal mixture ahead of time and refrigerating it overnight softens the oats and gives the shake a smoother texture. If you're feeling impatient (or don't mind little bits of oatmeal in your shake), you can make this without that step. Just put the oats in the food processor or blender first, process until it becomes a fine powder, and then add the rest of the ingredients.

Zesty Avocado Cilantro Buttermilk Dressing

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 small jalapeno, seeds removed, leave them in if you want it spicy

1/4 cup of fresh cilantro

1 medium avocado

1 clove garlic

2 tbsp chopped scallion

juice of 1 lime

1/8 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. For a thinner dressing add more buttermilk, for a thicker dip use less. Makes about 1 pint.

Spinach Cheddar Muffins

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

 2 teaspoons baking powder

 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

 1/2 teaspoon salt

 6 tablespoons butter, melted

 1 egg

 1 cup whole milk

 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach - thawed, drained and squeezed dry

 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 12 cup muffin cups. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a mixing bowl. Stir the melted butter, egg, milk, spinach, and cheese together in a large mixing bowl until evenly blended. Slowly stir in the flour mixture to form a batter. Spoon about 2 tablespoons into each muffin cup. Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 35 minutes.

Sundried Tomato Alfredo

INGREDIENTS

3 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup chopped sundried tomatoes (NOT packed in oil)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1/8 tsp grated nutmeg

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When it's ready to sizzle, stir in the tomatoes and garlic. Saute for about 2 minutes, or until garlic becomes fragrant and tomatoes soften. Remove the pan from the heat. Whisk in the cream. Return the pan to the heat. Heat just until the cream begins to bubble - do not boil - whisking often. Remove from heat. Stir in the Parmesan, parsley, and nutmeg until the cheese has melted. Season with salt and pepper. Makes 1 cup. Serve over hot pasta or as a dip with baguettes.  

Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta al Forno

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 14oz. cans diced Italian plum tomatoes

1 tsp. dried oregano

salt and pepper

1 lb. pasta (tubes)

8 oz. mozarrella cheese, cubed

2/3 c. parmesan cheese



Heat oil in skillet. Add garlic and cook over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and oregano, simmer rapidly, stirring occasionally until thickened, about 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.

Toss pasta with sauce. Place half the pasta in an oiled 9x13 dish. Cover with half the mozarrella and half the parmesan. Top with remaining pasta, mozarrella and parmesan. Bake at 400F for 15 minutes.

Pina Colada Smoothie

INGREDIENTS

1 cup fresh pineapple chunks

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1 banana

1/4 cup ice cubes

2 tsp honey, optional

In a blender, combine all ingredients. Puree until smooth. Pour into two large glasses.

Note: I added a 6oz container of vanilla yogurt to thicken it up some.