Peanut Butter Brownie Puppy Chow

 

Be warned - this is super addicting! 

Ingredients

·         6 C. rice Chex cereal (I found peanut butter Chex and used that)

·         1 C. milk chocolate chips or melts

·         1/2 C. peanut butter creamy

·         1 tsp. vanilla extract

·         1 to 2 C. brownie mix from the box (dry) 

·         Optional: Brownies, Reese's Pieces, or Peanut butter cups (chopped)

Instructions:

Place cereal in a large bowl and set aside.

In a microwave proof bowl, melt chocolate, peanut butter and vanilla extract and stir until smooth. Pour over cereal and fold until covered.

Dump into a large plastic bag and add brownie mix, seal and shake until coated. (If you don't have a large plastic bag, pour brownie mix over cereal and stir well. Or you can use a pot with a lid to shake it in.)

Toss in whatever chocolate or peanut butter candy pieces you want. I did peanut butter M&Ms, fudge brownie M&Ms and Reese’s pieces.  Shake again.

The original recipe called for 1 cup of boxed brownie mix. I found that didn’t coat the cereal mixture very well, so I added more. Then I made an 8x8 pan of brownies with the remaining mix. You could crumble those into the puppy chow too.

Garlic Butter Steak Bites with Lemon Zucchini Noodles

I was pretty on the fence when trying this recipe. I had never had zucchini noodles before. I know that probably sounds crazy, but I’ve always been a “give me all the pasta” kind of girl. But this recipe was better than I could’ve imagined! Easy to make and filled me up fast with barely any carbs. Can’t beat that!

Ingredient

1 - 1.5 lbs sirloin steak cut into small cubes

4 medium zucchini, spiraled (or a 24 oz bag of store-bought zucchini noodles)

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 tablespoons butter, divided

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/4 cup beef, chicken or vegetable broth

1 tablespoon minced parsley

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes, optional

Juice of 1/2 lemon (or ¼ cup)

Marinade:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon hot sauce (I used Sriracha)

Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

Juice of 1/2 lemon 

Instructions

In a ziploc baggie, combine the ingredients for the steak marinade (soy sauce, olive oil, hot sauce, pepper, and lemon juice) and add the steak bites. Mix well and marinate for 15 to 20 minutes minimum, while preparing the other ingredients. I let this marinade for an hour, flipping halfway through.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Drain steak bites from the marinade. Keep the remaining marinade for later.  Place the steak bites in the skillet in a single layer.  Do not overcrowd the skillet or meat will steam, so you may have to work in batches depending on the size of your skillet. Cook steak bites for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally until steak bites are golden brown. Repeat with remaining steak bites if needed.

Once all the steak bites are golden brown, add 2 tablespoons butter and garlic to the skillet; cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring to coat the meat in the sauce. Remove the steak bites to a shallow plate and set aside, leaving the juice in the pan.

Add 1 tbsp butter, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, beef broth, and remaining marinade juices. Bring to a simmer and allow to reduce for 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly.

If you spiral your own zucchini: add the noodles and toss for two to three minutes to cook it up. Stir in the fresh parsley and thyme, then allow the cooking juices to reduce for one minute if the zucchini noodles render too much water. If you use a steam and serve bag like I did, cook the zucchini as directed then drain. Add zucchini and coat in the sauce. Push the zucchini noodles on the side, add the steak bites back to the pan and reheat for another minute while mixing. Serve immediately your garlic butter steak bites and zucchini noodles. Enjoy!

Note: I didn’t have any parsley. And my thyme was the dried kind in a shaker, not fresh. I did add a couple extra shakes of red pepper flakes.

Egg roll in a bowl

Love egg rolls but trying to cut carbs? This is the perfect dish for a healthified Asian fix. Quick, easy and makes a big batch.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground pork sausage (you could use chicken, turkey or beef also)

1 bag (6-7 cups) coleslaw mix or shredded cabbage

4 cloves garlic minced

1 tablespoon ginger minced

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 cup chopped green onions

1 tablespoon sesame oil

Instructions:

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and sausage. Cook, stirring often to crumble, until cooked through. Do not drain.  Add the coleslaw mix, ginger, and soy sauce to the skillet with the sausage. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until cabbage has softened a bit. Remove from the heat and top with the green onions and drizzle with sesame oil. Serve immediately.

Optional: I also fried an egg, chopped it up and added it.

Drizzle with sriracha, sweet chili or sweet and sour sauce before serving, if desired.