Avalanche Bars

I went to a luncheon recently and my friend brought these bars that we seriously couldn't stop eating. They are amazingly addictive, so make at your own risk! 

Recipe (and humorous directions) from my friend Ashlee Werner...

• 1 (12 ounce) bag white chocolate chips
• 1/4 C peanut butter 
• 3 C Rice Krispies Cereal
• 1 1/2 C mini marshmallows
• 1/2 C chocolate chips, divided

1. Toss one whole bag of white chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl. Melt the chips in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each heating period. Don't let the chocolate get too hot, or come into contact with any water. This will make it seize up and turn into a brick. I'm not joking here. This is not something to be happy about. Just heat it for 30 seconds at a time, okay? All will be well. 
2. Add 1/4 cup peanut butter to the melted white chocolate and stir it nicely so that the two become one.
3. Pour yourself 3 cups of  Rice Krispies Cereal into a large bowl and pour the white chocolate/peanut butter mixture over the top.  Stir it together with a wooden spoon, or rubber spatula. 
4. Add 1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows and 1/4 cup of the chocolate chips. Please note that you are going to be saving the other 1/4 cup of chocolate chips to melt and drizzle over the top. 
5. Spray a 9x9 inch pan with cooking spray and gently press the heavenly mixture into the pan. Don't press it down too firmly. 
6. Toss the remaining 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips into a small bowl and get that baby to the microwave. Heat it for 30 seconds, give it a stir and return it to the microwave for 30 more seconds. It should easily be melted after the second heating time. Stir until smooth. 
7. Place the melted chocolate in a sandwich sized ziploc bag. Cut a very small hole in the tip of the bag and drizzle the chocolate all over the bars. 
8. Allow about 15 minutes for the chocolate to set up, cut into bars and enjoy!

Makes about 15-18 bars.

Green Beans with Lime

I'm glad to say that my kids actually love vegetables and green beans are one of their favorite. I came across this simple way to make green beans a little more fun in the I Can't Believe It's Not Fattening cookbook by Devin Alexander. You can adjust the amount of lime flavor to your taste. Green beans are what we diabetics call a "free choice," because there aren't even enough calories or carbohydrates to count! This recipe says it makes two 1-cup servings, so you can adjust to suit your family.

1/2 pound fresh green beans, trimmed

2 teaspoons to 1 Tablespoon lime juice, or more, to taste

Sea salt, to taste

Steam green beans for 3-5 minutes, or until they are fork tender. Drain them well. Transfer beans to a serving bowl and toss with lime juice and season with salt. Serve immediately.

Each (1-cup) serving has: 29 calories, 1 g. protein, 7 g. carbohydrates, 1 g. fat, 0 mg. cholesterol, 4 g. fiber, trace sodium.

Mexican Lasagna

Mmmmm! I love this meal! I'm not sure where I originally got the recipe, but I submitted to our cousin's cookbook over 10 years ago. I hadn't made it in a while, but I'll definitely be making it again soon. It's easy and makes enough for 2 meals. 

Brown in a skillet:

• 1 to 1 and a half pounds lean ground beef

Add the following to the ground beef. Cook until boiling, then reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes:

• 1 pkg. taco seasoning (about 3-4 Tbs.)
• 1 cup diced tomatoes, fresh or canned (well-drained)
• 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies, drained

Mix ricotta and eggs until well combined in a small bowl:

• 8 ounces skim or part-skim ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs

• 9 flour tortillas, torn into large pieces
• 2 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. Spread half of the meat mixture on the bottom of the pan. Top with half of the tortillas. Spread half of the ricotta mixture over tortillas and top with half of the shredded cheese. Repeat once more. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees F. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. Serves 10-12. 

Slow-Cooker Sour Cream Salsa Chicken

I was trying to use up a huge jar of salsa that I had opened when making Cafe Rio Sweet Pork and I came across this recipe on Spark People. It's a FREE nutrition tracker/ diet plan/ healthy lifestyle website. I'd heard of Spark People, but I didn't realize the website has over 200,000 healthy recipes! Pretty cool, right? Well, besides spending over an hour adding healthy recipes to my Pinterest boards (SO addicting!), I found this super easy recipe that I've made 3 times now. I don't often make a recipe that often because there are so many new recipes I haven't tried, but this is perfect for Sundays. I can throw 3 ingredients in a slow-cooker before we go to church and when we come home, this meal is hot and on the table within 10 minutes! I never even thaw the frozen chicken first. My family all loves it too, which makes me happy:) Recipe adapted from spark people.com

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package 40% reduced sodium taco seasoning mix (or about 3-4 Tablespoons)
1 cup salsa
2 Tbs. cornstarch

2 Tbs. water
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Spray crock pot with cooking spray (or line with a Reynolds' Slow Cooker Liner) and add chicken breast. Sprinkle with taco seasoning and top with salsa. Cook on low for 6 hours. Remove chicken from pot and shred. Dissolve cornstarch in 2 Tbs. water and stir into sauce remaining in crock pot. Stir in sour cream and shredded chicken and warm through. Serve on top of rice, noodles or quinoa and sprinkle with a little cheese. Can also be served in a tortilla as a burrito.  Serves 6.

Nutritional info (without rice): Calories: 231.8, Total fat: 3.2 g., Cholesterol: 95.2 mg., Sodium: 689.7 mg., Total carbs: 12.2 gm., Dietary fiber: 1.3 gm., Protein: 36.6 gms. 

30 Minute Lemon Brown Sugar Chicken

Adapted from  Eat Live Run

We love Lemon Chicken at our house. This version is still my husband's favorite but this one has his stamp of approval too. The  brown sugar really compliments the lemon juice for the perfect combination of sweet and sour. Yum! Plus it's quick to prepare which is my favorite kind of meal. 

• 2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts (or tenderloins) 
• juice of 6 large lemons
• 1/2 c. chicken broth 
• 2-3 Tbs lemon zest
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1.5 Tbs canola oil
• 6 Tbs brown sugar

Very carefully cut your chicken breasts in half to make two thin pieces of chicken.  Lay the pieces between two pieces of wax paper and pound with a meat mallet to make them about the same thickness all the way across. *If using chicken tenderloins skip this step

Combine the flour, paprika and sea salt in a cake or pie pan. Drop each chicken breast in the mixture and toss to coat completely.

Heat the oil over medium high heat in a large oven proof skillet. Drop each chicken breast in the oil and brown on both sides (should take only about four minutes). Remove chicken breasts and keep warm on a plate.

Pour the lemon juice and chicken broth into the pan and stir to deglaze. Place the chicken back into the pan and sprinkle with the brown sugar and lemon zest. (If your pan isn't oven proof, use a casserole dish to finish baking the dish.)

Bake for thirty minutes at 350 degrees F.