Any chance I get to cook dinner in the crockpot, I’ll do it! Its easy and nearly foolproof and here is a very flavorful recipe for Korean Beef Tacos that are out of this world delicious!

Korean Beef Tacos

• 2 lbs beef short ribs
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp ginger, grated
• 4 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp dark sesame oil
• 1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable or olive oil
• 1 1/2 Tbsp sriracha

1. Mix everything except the beef in a bowl and whisk until blended.

2. Place the beef in the crockpot and pour the mixed together liquid over it. It should nearly cover the meat, add additional water if needed.

3. Cook on low for 6 hours.

4.  Serve on warm corn tortillas and top with cucumber slaw (recipe below) and other other desired topping (additional sriracha, sour cream, queso fresca, green onions, etc).

Cucumber Slaw

1 thinly sliced cucumber (seeds removed), chopped

1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced

2 tsp rice vinegar

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Toss all ingredients together and top the taco with about a tablespoon each.

These were really good, definitely something I’d make again.  They smelled so good that I nearly forgot to snap a picture (thus the crappy picture taken with my point and shoot camera-no time to get out the DSLR!).  Serve it with some jasmin rice and it makes the perfect meal.  Leftovers were great too!

I’ll let you in on a family recipe that always clears the plate. These bars are from my grandma’s sweet arsenal and are simple and deceiving at the same time. Easy to make, and a big crowd pleaser. You might as well make a double batch to ensure that you get some too!

Oh Henry Bars

• 2/3 cup margarine, melted
• 4 cups of quick oats
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup peanut butter

1. Combine the melted margarine with the oats, brown sugar, vanilla and corn syrup. Stir until everything is incorporated.

2. Put batter into an ungreased 9″x13″ glass Pyrex type pan and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 11-13 minutes, until bubbly. Be careful not to overcook, you don’t want them too “browned” because as they cool they will harden.

3. Once the bars are cool, melt the chocolate chips with the peanut butter and spread over the top. Place in refrigerator to set.

Yes, a pumpkin recipe in July. These bars at THAT good that I couldn’t hold out for much longer and had to share them with you all. Plus they are a fairly healthy (its a dessert—so its all relatively speaking) and good for those watching what they eat during swimsuit season. Plus, who says you can’t eat pumpkin year-round?

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 cups old fashion rolled oats
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 T pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup white chocolate chips

Combine all ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir by hand.  Spread batter into a foil-lined and sprayed 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 pan.  Bake at 350F for 22-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  The bars may still look underdone, but that’s fine because they will continue to set up as they cool.  Allow to cool very well before slicing. 

Source: Averie Cooks

If you are having a hard time finding canned pumpkin puree in your store during this time of year, I found a reasonably good deal on organic canned pumpkin on Amazon.com for about $2 a can.

So the whole going gluten-free has put me into a food depression.  I miss good-tasting baked goods. A lot. So when I stumbled across a recipe on Pinterest for Banana Muffins that don’t contain flour, I knew I found something good (for me).  Oatmeal is the main ingredient, which you can easily find a gluten-free version at many stores (I used Bob’s Red Mill brand which I found at Ocean State Job Lot).  I changed up a few things in the recipe and added strawberries and the results are delicious!

Strawberry Banana Muffins

• 2 1/2 cups Old-fashioned Oatmeal
• 6 oz strawberry Greek yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 2 bananas
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 375 and spray unlined muffin tins with non-stick spray.
2. Combine all the ingredients into a food processor or blender. Blend until oatmeal is smooth.
3. Divide batter into muffins tins (should make 12 muffins) and bake for 20 minutes.

Nutrition Info: 135 calories, 2 g fat, 2.2 g fiber, 4.4 g protein.

Makes 12 muffins.  You can add fruit to your muffins if you want, I had some strawberries that I tossed into half of the batch. They come moist and delicious and not too sweet either, perfect for breakfast on the go.

If you need a quick and to-die-for yummy dessert to bring to a BBQ this weekend, these bars are it.  They are super easy to make and even the baking challenged can pull them off without a problem. And best of all, you never have to turn your oven on!

Salted Peanut Bars

1 (10 oz) package of Reese’s peanut butter chips
2 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 stick of butter
1 (24 oz) jar of lightly salted dry roasted peanuts

Butter a 9″x13″ pan. Evenly put 1/2 of the jar of peanuts onto the bottom of the pan. In a sauce pot (or the microwave works too), melt peanut butter chips, sweetened condensed milk and butter over low heat until smooth. Fold in the marshmallows and spread the mixture onto the pan. Top with the other half of the peanuts and press down lightly. Refrigerate until set.

If you have a thing for peanut butter fudge, you will loves these bars.  They are the perfect combination of sweet and salty, kind of like a Payday candy bar.

Enjoy!

As a stay at home mom, I have plenty of spare time to bake.  While I love sweets; cookies, cakes, etc…my waistline does not. And I’d like to fit into my pants.  So when I can find a recipe for a somewhat healthy goodie, I’m game to try it.  Here’s a recipe I adapted from Taste of Home’s English Muffin Bread.  The original recipe is just for plain ol’ English muffin bread, I’ve changed it up a bit to include cinnamon & raisins and whole wheat flour and flax. Trust me, it tastes delicious!

Raisin Cinnamon English Muffin Bread

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup milled flax seed
1 pkg active dry yeast (1/4 oz)
1/2 T sugar
1 tsp salt
  1 T cinnamon
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 cup warm milk
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup raisins
Cornmeal

1. In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, flax and 1/2 cup flour, year, sugar, salt, cinnamon and baking soda. Add warm milk and water. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl if needed. Then beat on high speed for 3 minutes.
2. Stir in the remaining flour and raisins. Grease a loaf pan and sprinkle with cornmeal. Spoon batter into the pan and sprinkle more cornmeal over the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
3. Baked at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire rack.

Yields about 12 slices.

Nutrition Info, per serving: 124 calories, 1.3 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of fiber

Toast it up and put a bit of butter and cinnamon sugar on it and its absolute heaven. YUM! If whole wheat flour and flax isn’t your thing or if you don’t have any, just use all regular white flour as an equal substitute.

The big game is coming up in less than a week and I’m starting to think about what kind of food to serve during the game.  Last year I made a Buffalo Chicken Pizza, which was delish and this year I’m going to do my BBQ Bacon Chicken Ranch Pizza. I love it because its easy to make and extra yummy. I usually use up leftover chicken and whip up pizza dough in my bread machine, so this meal is actually quite inexpensive. Here’s my version of the recipe:

BBQ Bacon Chicken Ranch Pizza

• pizza dough
  
• 1/3 cup ranch salad dressing
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella or pizza blend cheese
• 1 cup cooked chicken, shredded
• 1/4 cup barbecue sauce
• 4 slices of cooked bacon, chopped (pre-cooked works fine)
• 1 T corn meal
• 1 T olive oil
• 2-3 T barbecue sauce

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. If you are using a pizza stone, be sure to put your stone into the oven when you preheat the oven.

2. If you are using fresh pizza dough, be sure to rest it at room temperature before trying to form your pizza, it will make your life a lot easier and a quick job to shaping your pizza.  I usually use a rolling pin to get it thin enough. You can also use store bought pre-made crusts like Boboli.

3. Once your stone is preheated, sprinkle the corn meal onto the hot stone and place your shaped dough onto it.  Brush edges of dough with the olive oil.  Spread the ranch dressing and then sprinkle the cheese over it. 

4. Next top it with the chicken and chopped bacon.  Drizzle a couple tablespoons of barbecue sauce over the entire pizza.

5. Reduce the heat in the oven to 425 degrees F and place pizza on the middle rack and cook for about 15-20 minutes until pizza is golden.

You can also add red onions to the toppings if you like them (we I don’t).  You could “lighten” this recipe up by using fat-free or light salad dressing and cheeses and use turkey bacon.  Just be careful, this pizza is addictingly awesome.

Don’t be scared by the word “flax” in the recipe title.  Yes, flax is healthy for you; it provides Omega-3 oils and additional fiber.  But its not overpowering and I like to add it to a lot of my recipes especially muffins and breads. All I do is substitute a bit of the flour (usually 1/4 cup) for equal portion of milled flaxseed.  I just tried out this new recipe that I adapted from Hodgson Mill’s Apple Flax Muffins (recipe is on the side of the box).

Buttermilk Blueberry Flax Muffins

• 3/4 quick oats
• 1/4 cup milled flaxseed
• 1/2 cup white flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen is fine)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line the muffin pan or spray with nonstick spray.
2. In a small bowl, combine the oats with the buttermilk. (I did not have buttermilk on hand so I made “sour milk” by adding 1 T of white vinegar to a cup of regular low-fat milk, stir and let sit for a few minutes). Let the oats and milk mixture stand for 5 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl combine the flour, flax, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix together and set aside.
4. In a large bowl mix together the egg, applesauce and brown sugar. Next stir in the oats/milk mixture until its just combined.  Then add the flour mixture and fold in.  Do not over mix/stir as this will make the muffins tough and chewy. Then fold in the blueberries.
5. Place muffin mixture into the pans and baked at 375 degrees for about 18 minutes; you’ll know they are done when you insert a cake tester or toothpick and it comes out clean.

Each muffin has about 128 calories, 2.5 grams of fat and 3 grams of fiber.

I was pleasantly surprised on how good these were. I was thinking that the oatmeal would make it have a super grainy texture, but not so. I’ll definitely be making these again.