Sweet and Salty Cookies

I found this cookie recipe on Pinterest, my go to place for new recipes these days.  I've made these cookies a few times and they are always a hit!

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour (I use whole wheat pastry flour or oat flour)
1/2 tsp. of salt
1/4 tsp. of baking soda
1/2 cup of butter at room temperature
1/2 cup of tightly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1 egg (beaten)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk chocolate chip
1/2 cup peanut butter chips (I didn't have these on hand so I just left them out)
1/2 cup broken up pretzel pieces
Preztel Salt or Sea Salt

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a larger bowl, beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). On low speed, slowly add the beaten egg and vanilla extract. Beat to combine, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the flour mixture and beat just until there are no more streaks of flour. Stir in the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and preztels. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out well rounded tablespoonfuls of the dough and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Leave about 2 inches between each ball. Bake for 10 minutes. If you prefer crispier cookies increase the baking time by 1-2 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing.

Rainy Day Chili

I made this impromptu chili last night using what I had on hand in my kitchen.  It's cold and rainy here so I didn't want to venture out to the grocery store.  I was a bit nervous to see what the results would be but I'm happy to report it turned out DELICIOUS!  I'm so excited because I totally winged this recipe.  Yay me.

1 can 14.5 oz. diced tomatoes
1 can  10 oz. rotel
1 can 7 oz. diced green chile peppers
1 can 15 oz. pinto beans, drained
1 can 15 oz. black beans, drained
1 can 15 oz. corn, drained
1 bottle of beer
pinch of cumin
1/2 lb. chorizo, browned
1 lb. chicken sausage, browned
chili powder
crushed red pepper
whole grain tortilla chips & shredded sharp cheddar cheese

In large pot add first eight ingredients.  Brown chorizo in separate pan and add to pot.  Brown chicken sausage and season with chili powder and crushed red pepper, then add to pot.  I let the chili simmer on the stove for one hour.  Yumm-O.  I crushed up a few Kirkland organic tortilla chips (only has 5 ingredients!) and added some shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

Tortellini Soup

I found this tortellini soup recipe a couple years ago on All Recipes and we absolutely love it.  It's easy to make and really delicious.  I look forward to making this soup every year as soon as the weather turns cold!  The only modification I made to the original recipe is I add protein (for the hubs).

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small red onion, chopped

1 zucchini, chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1/4 cup red wine

1 dash hot pepper sauce

1 (11 ounce) can white corn, undrained

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

8 ounces cheese tortellini (I use whole wheat)

2 links chicken sausage (I typically use Hot Italian or Chicken Parmesan from the Sprouts meat counter)

In a large pot over medium heat, cook onion, zucchini and garlic in oil three minutes, until onion is translucent. Stir in crushed tomatoes, broth, sugar, Italian seasoning, wine and pepper sauce and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and stir in corn and Parmesan.  Separately brown sausage and add to large pot.  Simmer 30 minutes.               

Stir in tortellini and simmer 10 minutes more, until pasta is tender.               

OMG Roasted Broccoli

This recipe is courtesy of my friend Amy L.  I am obsessed with this broccoli recipe which is very odd because I don't like broccoli!  This is not only super easy but SO INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS and the broccoli is super crispy.  My husband is in love with this recipe as well.

Ingredients:
broccoli
olive oil
salt & pepper

Directions:
preheat oven to 400 degrees
wash your broccoli crown and cut up broccoli into very small pieces.  the smaller the pieces the crispier the broccoli.
put in a ziploc bag and pour approximately 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the bag...careful not to pour in too much.
seal bag and move broccoli around to ensure olive oil coats all broccoli.
pour broccoli onto cookie sheet and lightly sprinkle salt and pepper.
cook for 30 minutes.
i flip the broccoli around 1-2 times.

Chicken with Black Beans and Corn

This is a YUMM-O recipe I found on the Skinny Crock Pot page on Facebook.  It's under the Poultry section.  So easy and tasty.  Below is the recipe, however I cut the cream cheese in half.  I shredded the chicken when done and poured it all into a warm whole wheat tortilla--- delicious!  John ommitted the tortilla and just ate it out of a bowl (he's dieting now...lost 10 lbs so far)!  He actually had it two nights in a row and kept talking about how yummy this was!

4-5 boneless chicken breasts
1 (15.5 oz.) can black beans, drained
1 (15.5 oz.) can corn, drained
1 (15 oz.) jar salsa
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese (I used the light cream cheese and only used half the package).

Directions:
1) Take 4-5 frozen boneless chicken breasts put into crock pot.
2) Add 1 can of black beans, drained, 1 jar of salsa, 1 can of corn drained.
3) Keep in crock pot on high for about 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked.
4) Add 1 package of cream cheese (just throw it on top!) and let sit for about 1/2 hour.

TIP:  know your crock pot!  Mine is super charged so this meal cooked in half the time.