Moroccan Grilled Chicken Kabobs

Wow, was this delicious! Spicy, but delicious. The 1/4 tsp cayenne was a little too much for me, but it sure was tasty over all.

I think it's amusing that for almost every instance I do marinated chicken I cube the chicken and make it a kebab. Then when I have a recipe that actually is a kebab I don't. 

I'd make this again for sure. For my taste I'd cut down on the cayenne but otherwise, so good. I marinated it for 3 hours and it seemed to be the right amount for this. 

I'm also addicted to this Roasted Frozen Broccoli now. It's so easy and so good. Tonight I drizzled with olive oil and then put lemon pepper and salt on it. So good. 

Moroccan Grilled Chicken Kabobs

Recipe from Closet Cooking

Serves 4

• 1 pound boneless-skinless chicken, cut into small pieces
• 2 T lemon juice (~1/2 lemon)
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin, toasted and ground
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

Marinate the chicken in the mixture of the remaining ingredients for at least 20 minutes to overnight.

Skewer the chicken and grill over medium-high heat until cooked, about 4-5 minutes per side.

Bistec Encebollado (Puerto Rican Steak and Onions)

I spent a semester in Mexico and the family I lived with made a recipe similar. The mom of the family, Ariana, was an amazing cook. I learned a lot from her and simple cooking of Mexican food. 

This was a good recipe. I didn't use sofrito because I'm not a fan. I think that was a mistake. It would have added more flavor to this. Without it, it was still good, but it might be better with it. 

I also didn't read the instructions thoroughly. I was sure it was fry in a shallow pan and voila. Apparently I was supposed to boil it for 30-40 minutes. That just seems odd. I fried up the onions a little at first. Took them out and then fried up the steaks. Tossed the onions back and and served it. 

Whether you follow the recipe instructions or not, this was a decent meal. 

Bistec Encebollado (Puerto Rican Steak and Onions)

Recipe from The Noshery

Serves 4

• 2 pounds cube steak, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• dash dried oregano leaves
• 2 large white onions, sliced in rings
• 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 cup sofrito
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tsp. salt

Combine all ingredients in a gallon-size plastic bag and turn so that all the ingredients mix together. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or a couple of days (or freeze for later use).

Place the contents of the bag in a heavy skillet and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 30-40 minutes or until the meat is tender.

Smoked Salmon Spread

Photo from Food.com

Last night was Sunday dinner. It was a Scottish Burns Supper. If you need to know what that is, check this out. 

My job was to bring a Scottish appetizer. Turns out Scotland is not the land of interesting appetizers. Soup. Soup seems to be the main starter. They also like Smoked Salmon! 

This was a great recipe. I accidentally didn't buy enough smoked salmon and frankly, I think it was better with only 4 oz of salmon. I'm not a huge fan of the smokey flavor in salmon so it worked for me. 

Burns Supper attendees enjoyed it and gave great praise.

Smoked Salmon Spread

Recipe from Food.com

Makes 2 cups

• 12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature 
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 6 dashes Tabasco sauce
• 3 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced 
• 3 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained 
• 8 ounces smoked salmon, coarsely chopped 
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or 1 tablespoon dried dill
• fresh ground black pepper
• fresh dill, for garnish 
• crackers or breadstick, for serving

Puree the cream cheese, sour cream, lemon juice and tabasco in a food processor.

Add the scallions, capers, salmon, chopped dill and pepper, and pulse to blend.

Garnish with the dill and serve chilled or at room temperature with crackers.

Salisbury Steak Meatballs

Photo from Skinny Taste

It was book club night. And as I try to do with the ladies is serve something that's different. I've had this recipe for some time and wasn't sure when I'd have a chance to make it. Tonight was the night.

I originally planned to put them in the crock pot, but forgot and so did the stove top method. 

I changed absolutely nothing with this recipe and y'all, one of the best recipes. Oh wait, I did change something. I dropped about 1/4 c heavy cream into the gravy at the end of cooking. Made it glorious. 

This will be the first recipe to the Favorites this year. It was that good. 

Salisbury Steak Meatballs

Recipe from Skinny Taste

Serves 4

• 2 tsp olive oil, divided
• 1/2 c minced onions
• 1/2 lb 93% lean ground beef
• 1/2 lb 93% lean ground turkey
• 1/3 c whole wheat seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 T tomato paste, divided
• kosher salt
• pinch black pepper
• 1 T all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, to taste
• 1/4 tsp mustard powder
• 5 oz sliced mushrooms
• 1 1/4 c reduced sodium beef broth
• chopped parsley for garnish, optional

Finely chop 1 oz of the mushrooms into small pieces and set aside. Heat the Instant Pot on sauté (or a large nonstick pot on medium-high) and add 1 tsp oil and onions and cook until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Divide onions in two.

In a large bowl, combine half of the sautéed onions with the ground beef, ground turkey, chopped mushroom, bread crumbs, egg, 1 tbsp tomato paste, 1/4 cup of the beef broth, 3/4 tsp salt and black pepper.

In a small bowl, blend flour and 1 cup broth until smooth. Mix in remaining onions, remaining 1 tbsp tomato paste, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and mustard powder.

Gently shape into 20 small meatballs.

Stove Top Method:

Heat a large deep skillet over medium heat, add the remaining teaspoon of oil and brown the meatballs, in batches as needed, about 2 minutes until no longer sticks (if it sticks, it's not ready to turn yet). Flip and brown an additional 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, 1/8 teaspoon salt and black pepper and pour the sauce over the meatballs, cover and cook low heat for 25 minutes. Garnish with parsley.

Slow Cooker Method:

Sauté meatballs in a skillet with the remaining teaspoon of oil, then transfer to slow cooker with mushrooms, salt and pepper and pour sauce over. Cover and cook low 6 to 8 hours, until tender.

Instant Pot Method (see note below)

Heat the Instant Pot on sauté, add remaining teaspoon of oil and brown the meatballs (in batches so you don't overcrowd the pot) about 2 minutes until no longer sticks (if it doesn't turn, it's not ready yet), turn and brown an additional 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, 1/8 teaspoon salt and black pepper and pour the sauce over the meatballs, cover and cook on high pressure 10 minutes. Quick or natural release. Garnish with parsley.

Chocolate Banana Muffins

So one day at the grocery store I bought some bananas. They were greenier than I like so I let them sit to ripen.

I blinked and then I had these bananas. 

I'm not a fan of bananas that are this ripe. Dad loved them this ripe. The browner the better. And as I'm watching my sugars these aren't the best to eat for that purpose. 

So naturally, I need to make banana bread. Which I know the logic is missing there, but what's a girl to do? I wasn't going to throw them out. And if I put them in the freezer I'd forget about them I'm sure. 

I didn't want to make my normal banana bread and thought this would be an opportunity to try a new recipe. 

I made three small changes to this recipe. 

1. I swapped the sugar out with allulose (low carb sugar)

2. I swapped the chocolate chips out for sugar free chocolate chips

3. I didn't have Greek yogurt so I used sour cream

All minor changes. These were good muffins. In all honesty, chocolate muffins are really chocolate cake to me. So they are more for after dinner treat than breakfast. 

I gave 4 away to Janet and Kathy and will freeze the rest and take them out as I want them.

Chocolate Banana Muffins

Recipe from Love From the Oven

Makes 12

• 1/4 c butter softened
• 1/2 c vanilla Greek yogurt
• 3/4 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 large ripe bananas
• 1 1/3 c  all purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour if desired
• 2/3 c dark cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/3 c milk
• 1/2 c chocolate chips semi-sweet recommended, but milk or dark chocolate also work well

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Puree, mix or blend bananas until smooth. Add in butter and yogurt and mix until well combined. Add in eggs and vanilla, mixing until well combined. Stir in sugar until well combined.

In a separate bowl, mix white whole wheat flour, dark cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Combine wet and dry ingredients, add in milk and stir until just combined, do not overmix.

Scoop into a muffin pan that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until tops spring back when touched. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Store loosely covered or in refrigerator.

Chicken & Hummus Meal Prep

Meal prep is the name of the game. If I want to eat healthy successfully, prepping is the answer for me. These simple prep meals means my lunches become "Grab n Go". It means my choices are made ahead of time when I'm feeling "healthy" and not when I'm starving. 

My main change for this meal was the hummus. Really any hummus you like works. I'm not a fan of red peppers, thus not a fan of red pepper hummus. 

And my cherry tomatoes had seen better days, so I subbed in kalamata olives and a Cutie. I realize it's not a straight one for one, but it did the trick. 

Tomorrow I'm going to add another ounce of chicken. I only did 2 oz today and I don't think that was quite enough. I was worried I'd be hungry but I really wasn't. The meds I'm on help with that for sure. 

Chicken & Hummus Meal Prep

Recipe from Feel Good Foodie

Makes 4

4 boneless skinless chicken breast

¼ cup olive oil

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon oregano

½ cup red pepper hummus

12 slices mini naan breads

1 English cucumber sliced

1 cup cherry tomatoes

Prepare the marinade by whisking the olive oil, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano in a large bowl.

Add the chicken into the bowl and toss to combine and evenly coat the chicken with the marinade. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat grill or grill pan to medium heat. Place chicken on the grill for 5-7 minutes. Flip over and cook until golden brown and the juices run dry, approximately 5-7 more minutes.

Remove chicken from the grill and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Slice and divide in the meal prep containers

Divide the hummus, naan, cucumbers and tomatoes between the meal prep containers.

Easy Teriyaki Salmon Bowls

Salmon is on the list of things to eat more of this year.  I like salmon, but often don't think to cook it. So I have a little game I'm playing to try to remind myself to eat more salmon (and fish in general). 

I know this recipe says "bowl" but I didn't want (or care for) much of what's on the list to put in said bowl. In fact, as I look at the list, I used none of what's on the list. I had this zucchini to use up so I went ahead and baked it with the salmon. The salad had some carrots in it, so that counts. AND I had cucumbers for lunch. 

Ahem. 

At any rate, this was a good teriyaki sauce. If you're not a fan of sesame oil, don't use the full teaspoon. It was a little overwhelming for my liking. 

Easy Teriyaki Salmon Bowls

Recipe from Averie Cooks 

Serves 4

TERIYAKI SAUCE

• ½ cup soy sauce, lite or reduced sodium recommended
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, plus more to taste if desired
• 1 or 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger, or 1/2 teaspoon dried ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or taste (I prefer more for a bit more spiciness)
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water

SALMON

• 1 ½ pounds salmon, skin removed and cut into 1-inch cubes (read blog post FAQs for more salmon info)

BOWL INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups cooked jasmine rice, or your favorite rice
• 1 cup shelled edamame, cooked
• 1 cup English cucumber, sliced (peeled if desired if using regular cucumber)
• 1 cup carrots, julienned (use bagged shredded carrots to save time)
• 1 medium ripe Hass avocado, sliced or cubed
• 1 to 2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions, for garnishing and to taste
• 1 to 2 teaspoons sesame seeds, for garnishing and to taste

Teriyaki Sauce – Add all the ingredients to a medium bowl, and whisk to combine. Set aside momentarily.

Cube the salmon into 1-inch chunks, place them into a large bowl, and drizzle about 3 to 4 tablespoons of the teriyaki sauce, mix well with a spoon or clean hands, cover, and refrigerate to marinate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours. Reserve the rest of the teriyaki sauce for simmering. 

Preheat your oven to 400F while the salmon marinates (if marinating longer than 30 minutes, you don't need to preheat your oven until you're ready to bake the salmon of course).

Bake the salmon for about 9-12 minutes, or as needed (perhaps up to 15 minutes). Baking Tips – It depends on the exact size of the pieces of salmon, your oven's heat output, and how well done you like your salmon. These are small, bite-sized pieces of fish which cook quickly. It could take longer (even up to 15-ish minutes) but cook until done, whatever that means for you, in your oven. Allow salmon to rest on the baking sheet until it's ready to be placed in the bowls.

Simmer the Reserved Teriyaki Sauce – To a small pan, add the remaining teriyaki sauce. Separately in a small bowl or cup, add the cornstarch + water and stir to dissolve and combine and now add the slurry to the pan with the teriyaki sauce, heat over medium or medium-high, whisking nearly constantly for about 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. 

Tips – Sauce will always appear more runny and thin when it's in a hot pan than when it's cooled. So even if it doesn't look particularly thick at 3 minutes, simmer for another couple minutes, and that should be plenty. You can keep the sauce in the pan, off the heat, while the salmon bakes and you get to work on the bowl ingredients.

Bowl Ingredients – Important Tip – While the salmon is marinating and then baking, you must work on preparing these ingredients or things won't finish at the same time.

If you're cooking rice from scratch, do it now. However…Tip – I am a huge fan of precooked rice in packets that require just 90 seconds in the microwave because they save so much time and energy. (see link above). Cook your rice how you like it best, and use whatever type of rice you'd like, of course.

Boil the edamame and drain it. Tip – I put frozen shelled edamame straight from the freezer into a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup, top with water, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave it for about 5 minutes on high, or until done, then drain or just fish out with a slotted spoon. You can boil it on the stovetop but I find the microwave method much faster and easier.

Bowl Assembly – Evenly divide the cooked rice, cooked and drained edamame, cucumbers, carrots, and avocado between 4 bowls (or meal prep containers).

Evenly divide the cooked salmon to each bowl, evenly garnish with green onions and sesame seeds to taste, and evenly drizzle the simmered teriyaki sauce, and serve.

Muffuletta Pizza

This is one of those recipes where I think I left out more than I left in. I'm still claiming it as a new recipe though. 

Let's start with Muffulettas. My favorite of all time. First tried one in New Orleans and I was hooked. It's hard to find them here in Seattle, and trust me I try. There was a food truck that used to visit the parking lot at work that served them. Oh man, were those good. 

I like pizza and I like muffulettas, so this recipe made sense to me. 

What I skipped:

1. artichoke hearts. Gross. I could not find any good reason to add those to the olive spread.

2. roasted red peppers. Gross. I used green olives with pimientos in them to get that briny "pepper" flavor without the peppers. 

3. Mortadella. Not a fan. It wasn't too missed with the other meats on this pizza. I didn't do prosciutto (too expensive) instead did capicola, ham and Italian dry salami

What I added:

Red sauce. I couldn't imagine a pizza without pizza sauce. I think it made the pizza better. 

I'd make this again for sure. I love the olive salad part of this. 

Muffuletta Pizza

Recipe from Spicy Southern Kitchen

Serves 4

OLIVE SALAD

• 1/2 cup mixed chopped olives
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers
• 1/4 cup chopped marinated artichoke hearts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

PIZZA

• 1 pound fresh pizza dough
• 2/3 cup shredded mozzarella
• 3 slices Provolone cheese, cut into strips
• 3 slices salami, cut into strips
• 3 slices Mortadella, cut into strips
• 3 slices Capicolla, Prosciutto, or smoked ham, cut into strips

Mix all ingredients for olive salad. Refrigerate until needed.

Spread about 1/4 cup of olive mixture on pizza dough, being sure to get as much of the liquid as possible. It will flavor the dough and take the place of a sauce.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella on top. Scatter sliced provolone cheese and meat on top.

Finish with about another 1/4 cup olive salad sprinkled on top.

Transfer to preheated oven and cook until cheese is melted and crust is brown, about 5 -10 minutes depending on how hot your oven is.

Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'll be forever on the search of a low carb cookie that actually tastes like a real carb cookie. I should give up this search I think. 

These are just ok. I was worried they'd be too eggy (which is gross to me) but they didn't. They aren't crisp and, in fact, the author of the recipe says that they are supposed to be cakey. I like a crisp cookie for the most part. 

I used Lily's Dark Chocolate Low Carb chips. These are my favorite. They're spendy, but worth it. 

If you're looking for something sweet and want to keep it low sugar / low carb, this might be a treat for you. 

Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe from The Big Man's World

Makes 12 cookies

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar I used a brown sugar substitute
• 1/3 cup butter salted and melted
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup chocolate chips of choice optional

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine your dry ingredients and mix until combined. Add the wet ingredients and mix until incorporated. Fold through the chocolate chips.

Using your hands, form 12 small balls of dough and place on the lined sheet. Press each ball into a cookie shape and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges looks slightly golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray for 15 minutes, or until the cookies can be moved easily. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Top 10 Favorites for 2024

Here we are at the end of 2024. Quite the year when it comes to trying new recipes. I hit my goal of 170 new recipes. That's a CRAP ton of new recipes. 

As I continue to try new recipes one thing becomes crystal clear to me, all the recipes I try are almost always close to one I tried in the past - only with slight variations. I have a "style" in my cooking and it's pretty clear. 

This years saw some amazing recipes and some not so amazing. Here's my list of my top 10 favorites this year. 

You can see the full list of my favorites here. 

Top 10 Favorites for 2024

#10 Korean Meatballs

#9 Creamed Broccoli

#8 Chili Lime Chicken Lettuce Wraps

#7 Spanish Garlic Green Beans

#6 Hamburger Macaroni Skillet

#5 Shish Tawook

#4 Cucumber Hummus Bites

#3 Marry Me Chicken Soup

#2 Wendy’s Chili Copycat

#1 Shepherd’s Pie

And if you're interested in stats like I am (or is it that I'm just a data nerd), here are the stats for this year. 

Month over month looks like I maintain a pretty good average. May was the month I traveled for a couple of weeks, so that explains the low number of recipes. December is clearly the most I've made, and that's primarily because I was focused on hitting my annual goal. 

Year over Year you can tell when I truly started tracking and cooking like a crazy person. Covid got me cooking and I never looked back. 

Ground Beef Vegetable Soup

I did it! I made my goal. Just in the nick of time too. Phew. Only 6 hours left in 2024. That's cutting it too close. 

This is your average, every day beef vegetable soup. It had too much tomato for me. I like a little more beef brothy than tomato-y. I'd make it again for sure, but I'd not add both cans of tomato items. Maybe just the tomato sauce.

I also didn't use canned corn or peas. That's what freezer veg is for. And I cleaned out the freezer. Win Win!

Now on to next year and more new recipes.

Ground Beef Vegetable Soup

Recipe from Insanely Good Recipes

Serves 6

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 4 carrot, diced
• 4 celery ribs, chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
• 1 can (15.25 ounce) whole kernel corn, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (15 ounce) green beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (15 ounce) peas, undrained
• 1 can (15 ounce) tomato sauce
• 1 can (14.5 ounce) crushed tomatoes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 bay leaf or more to taste
• 1/8 tsp ground thyme
• 1/4 cup water, as needed

In a large pot or Dutch oven, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat until cooked through, about 7-10 minutes. Drain any excess grease.

Add the diced carrots, chopped celery, and onion to the pot. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the potatoes, corn, green beans, peas, tomato sauce, and crushed tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, and add the bay leaf and thyme.

Pour in 1/4 cup of water, if needed. Bring the soup to a simmer and cover. Cook for about 1 hour, occasionally stirring until the potatoes are tender.

Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Remove the bay leaf before serving. Enjoy!

Parmesan Roasted Green Beans

I needed a quick veg tonight to go along with my chicken. I dug through the crisper and found some green beans that I forgot I bought, but were still good. 

Then I had to scramble and find a recipe to make them with ingredients I have. This recipe was top on my list. 

Parmesan Roasted Green Beans

Recipe from Lemon Tree Dwelling

Serves 4

• 1 lb. fresh green beans
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 T grated parmesan cheese
• 2 T panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl; toss to coat.

Spread green beans on a large rimmed baking sheet.

Roast for 15-20 minutes; stirring halfway through.

Creamy Boursin Chicken

Photo from Little
Sunny Kitchen

A very easy recipe to be sure. And a very delicious recipe! 

I chopped my chicken into chunks instead of cutlets. I like to have bite size chicken instead of having to cut it. Weird I know. 

The boursin really adds a nice flavor to this. It makes a creamy sauce without any effort. 

Creamy Boursin Chicken

Recipe from Little Sunny Kitchen

Serves 4

• 1 ½ pounds chicken breasts skinless, boneless, and sliced into thin cutlets
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 5.2 ounce package Boursin Cheese garlic and fine herb flavor, or any flavor, softened
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

Season the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat, and melt the butter.

Add the chicken to the skillet, and cook for 3-4 minutes per side or until cooked through (165°F/74°C Internal temp). Remove onto a plate, and cover with foil to keep warm.

Deglaze the skillet with a little chicken stock, then add the rest of the stock and let it simmer. When it starts simmering, add the boursin cheese and stir it with a spatula. As it’s warms up, it will melt into the stock and create a sauce. Stir in the Dijon mustard then simmer the sauce for a couple of minutes so it thickens (keep in mind that it will thicken even more as it cools down).

Add the chicken back in, spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve over mashed potatoes and broccoli or green beans.

Portuguese Chicken Steaks with Mushrooms

If you like Madeira Chicken or Chicken Marsala, you'll like this recipe too. Port adds a slightly brawny flavor over the sweeter Madeira or Marsala. Its amazing and delicious. 

This was an easy to throw together chicken. I didn't follow the instructions completely. I started with the mushrooms, then added the onions. I like my mushrooms a bit more caramelized. I took those out of the pan and then cooked the chicken. Threw it all together and then added the Port and cream. I think it turned out the same as if I followed the instructions. 

Solid 4 stars for this recipe. 

Portuguese Chicken Steaks with Mushrooms

Recipe from Portuguese Recipes

Serves 4

• 4 chicken breast steaks
• 1 lb fresh mushrooms; sliced
• 1 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 5 T olive oil
• 1/2 glass port wine
• 1 c heavy cream
• Flour (to taste)
• Parsley (to taste)
• Salt (to taste)
• Pepper (to taste)

Add the flour to a plate and pass the chicken steaks through the flour one at a time, making sure they are well coated.

Then, chop the onion and the garlic and sauté them in a pan with the olive oil.

Add the chicken breasts and let them brown on both sides.

Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, add the port wine and when it evaporates add 1/2 cup of the cream.

Let it cook for a few more minutes, gradually incorporating the rest of the cream and stirring occasionally.

Remove from the heat and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Place everything on a platter, drizzle with the remaining sauce and serve.

Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Donuts

Just about every recipe I've tried from the blog "All Day I Dream About Food" has been exceptional and delicious. These donuts are no different. Baking low carb is hard for me. I'm not a fan of the texture Almond Flour usually leaves behind. By adding some Whey Protein powder into the recipe, it changes up the texture perfectly. 

I linked the brands I used to the ingredients below. These have been tested by me and the ones I find the most tolerable when eating low carb. None of them leave any sort of chemical after taste - which I find common in many low carb sugars for some reason. 

The peanut butter glaze is what makes these donuts. I made mine thinner than she did according to the photos on her blog, but I also like a glaze to be loose and run down the sides. More glaze than frosting. If you prefer frosting, don't make it as thin. 

The hardest part of this recipe was determining when they were done. Her instructions say "when they are firm". I find that quite ambiguous. So do like me and give it your best guess. Letting them sit in the pan helps them continue baking too in case you bring them out sooner than "they are firm". 

The number of donuts you get will differ on how thick you make them. I got 12 and I filled the donut tray up to about 3/4 of the way to the top. I wasn't sure how much they'd puff up so I went a bit conservative. 

Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Donuts

Recipe from All Day I Dream About Food

Makes up to 12

Donuts

• 1 ¾ cups almond flour
• 6 tablespoon Swerve Granular
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoon unflavored whey protein powder (or egg white protein powder)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs room temperature
  
• 6 tablespoon butter melted
• ⅓ cup water
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze

• ¼ cup creamy natural peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons powdered Swerve Sweetener
• 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream room temperature
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 tablespoons warm water to thin as needed
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped peanuts for decorating

Preheat the oven to 325F and grease 10 wells of a 12 well donut pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, cocoa powder, protein powder, baking powder, and salt. Add the eggs, butter, water, and vanilla extract and stir until well combined. If your batter is overly thick, add a little more water, a few teaspoons at a time. It should be scoopable but not pourable.

Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan, filling the wells about three quarters full. Bake 18 to 23 minutes, or until set and firm to the touch.

Remove and let cool completely in the pan before flipping out onto a wire rack.

Glaze

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the peanut butter and butter on high in 30 second increments, stirring until smooth. Alternatively, you can melt them carefully in a small saucepan over very low heat.

Whisk in the sweetener, whipping cream, and vanilla. If the glaze is very thick, whisk in the water a few teaspoons at a time until a dippable consistency is achieved.

Working quickly, dip the tops of the cooled donuts into the glaze and place on a baking rack to set. If the glaze thickens up too quickly, you also spread it onto the donuts.

Sprinkle with the chopped peanuts and let set, about 20 minutes.

Teriyaki Salmon and Broccoli Bowls

Salmon is one of the few fish I like. I don't know why I don't make it more often. I may make that a goal next year. Or just focus on eating more salmon. 

I wasn't sure about teriyaki on salmon, but it turns out it was pretty good. I made this broccoli recipe to go along with it instead of the one in this recipe. Mostly because I needed another new recipe to have a chance of hitting my goal of 170. 

I'd make this again in a heart beat. The teriyaki sauce had a nice flavor. I didn't have honey so skipped that. It might have rounded out the flavor a bit, but I can't say I missed it. I also swapped the brown sugar for low carb brown sugar. 

Also for the rice, I used the Trader Joe's frozen rice. So easy to make and no mess to clean up. 

Teriyaki Salmon and Broccoli Bowls

Recipe from Damn Delicious

Serves 4

• 1 T cornstarch
• 1/4 c reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 c brown sugar, packed
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T freshly grated ginger
• 2 T honey
• 4 (5-ounce) salmon fillets 1
• 2 ounces broccoli florets, about 2-3 cups

Get your rice started. Whether on the stove or in a rice cooker.

In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1/4 cup water; set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, add soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, honey and 1 cup water; bring to a simmer. Stir in cornstarch mixture until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes; let cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly coat an 8×8 baking dish with nonstick spray.

Place salmon filets along with the soy sauce mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake until the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 14-15 minutes.

Place broccoli florets into a steamer or colander set over a pan of boiling water. Cover and steam for 5 mins, or until cooked through and vibrant green.

Serve salmon immediately with rice and broccoli.

Roasted Frozen Broccoli

All this time I've avoided frozen broccoli because it's boring. And we had it WAY too much growing up. Once I realized fresh broccoli was a thing, I never looked back. 

But in an attempt to not throw out as much food as I tend to do (broccoli goes bad faster than I think), I decided to give this recipe a try. And I gotta say, I'm a fan. I never would have thought to put frozen broccoli in the oven. 

I did do something the recipe doesn't say because a friend recommended it today. I put the cookie sheet in the oven while it was heating up and then tossed the frozen broccoli on the sheet. I cooked it for about 10 minutes, then pulled it out and put the oil and seasoning (minus the thyme because blech) on it. 

I'd do this again for sure. I made this as the broccoli that is in this recipe, which I also made tonight. 

Roasted Frozen Broccoli

Recipe from Healthy Recipes blogs

Serves 4

• 2 pounds frozen broccoli florets
• Olive oil spray
• ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or ¼ teaspoon of any other salt, including Morton
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with high-heat-resistant parchment paper.

Arrange the frozen broccoli florets in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.

Liberally spray the florets with olive oil, then sprinkle them with kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and dried thyme.

Bake the florets until they are browned and crispy, for about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Frothy Coffee

I'm late to the game....again. This coffee went viral earlier this year and I just got around to making it. I'm kinda bummed it took me so long because it's DELICIOUS!

I've made it twice now, once as the recipe says. And the second time, I added zero sugar chocolate sauce to the milk before I added it to the coffee. Made myself a mocha.

Frothy Coffee

Recipe From Instagram

Makes 1

1 T instant coffee

2 T sugar

2 T water

Ice

Enough milk to your liking

Add the instant coffee, sugar and water to a pint glass. Use a frother to froth these items until they are thick. 

Add splash of milk and ice. Stir and enjoy.

The second day I did this, I added a squirt of zero sugar chocolate sauce to the milk and then to froth. So good.

Arroz Con Pollo (Puerto Rican Rice with Chicken)

Arroz con Pollo used to be my "go-to" whenever we went out for Mexican food. Dad got me hooked on it. I've made arroz con pollo a thousand times. Each recipe has a slight variation and yet somehow they all come out tasting the same.

This was a good recipe. It had enough flavor and seasoning to make it not bland. Sometimes my arroz con pollo turns out mushy and a little gross. Not tonight.

What I didn't do: 

1. It calls for homemade sofrito. I skipped that ingredient somehow, so I just sautéed an onion. I bet this would taste completely different with sofrito.
2. I did not add the optional cilantro. I didn't want to buy an entire bunch of cilantro for 1/4 cup

What made the flavor for this is the Sazon flavor packet. It made it a nice pretty yellow/orange color. I also tossed in a handful of green olives. I like those in my arroz con pollo.

Arroz Con Pollo (Puerto Rican Rice with Chicken)

Recipe from Latin Mom Meals

Serves 4

• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 6 drumsticks mix and match with thighs, wings if desired
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon of dried oregano

Rice Ingredients

• ⅓ cup of homemade sofrito
• 2 garlic cloves minced (optional)
• ¼ cup of cilantro chopped (optional)
• 4 oz of tomato sauce
• 1-2 packets of Goya Sazon packet
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ tablespoon of dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon of adobo optional
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups of long grain rice
• 2 ½ cups of chicken broth 

In a large bowl, season your chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano. Let sit for ten minutes.

Into a large heavy bottom Dutch oven pan, heat your oil over medium high heat. Then add in your chicken. Brown both sides of chicken, about 3-4 minutes per side. Next, add in everything except for the rice and broth. Mix it all together, and allow to cook for about three minutes.

After three minutes, stir in the rice, allow the rice to absorb all of the sauce for about 1-2 minutes before adding in the broth. Stir rice and broth together, allow it to come to a light boil, for about 5-7 minutes.

Once you're able to see the grains of rice just at the surface, you will lower your heat to medium low, COVER your pot, and let it cook for 20-30 minutes.

After 20 minutes, check on your rice, if there is still any liquid or your rice isn't as soft as desired, let it cook an additional 5-10 minutes. Once liquid is absorbed and rice is soft, remove from heat, let it sit for 5 minutes before giving it a GENTLE fluff with a fork, then serve immediately.

Old-Fashioned Vegetable Beef Soup

Photo from Insanely Good 
Recipes

Soup is the word this time of year. Cold and blustery equal soup or stews to me. Comfort food. 

This was a standard beef soup. All the components are what you'd expect in a beef vegetable soup. I made some modifications, of course. 

1. No canned veggies for me. I used frozen peas and frozen corn
2. I put in just a splash of Worcestershire sauce. The tomato sauce made it a little too sweet for me.

I'd make this again for sure. I've made a dozen vegetable beef soups. The concept is the same for each one. The ingredients vary slightly.

Old-Fashioned Vegetable Beef Soup

Recipe from Insanely Good Recipes

Serves 6

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat, cubed
• 1 large onion
• 2-3 celery ribs, diced
• 3 (14-ounce) cans beef broth
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cups water
• 2-3 large carrots, diced or sliced
• 2 large potatoes, cubed (or baby potatoes, halved)
• 1-2 teaspoons garlic powder, or to taste
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 (15-ounce) can green beans, drained
• 1 (15.25-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (8.5 ounce) can peas, drained

In a large pot over medium heat, brown the beef in the olive oil on all sides. Remove to a plate.

Add the onion and celery to the pot and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the browned beef back to the pot, along with the beef broth, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for about an hour.

Add the carrots and potatoes and cook for another hour. Then, stir in the garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste, followed by the green beans, corn, and peas. Cook for another 30-45 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Serve with crusty bread, and enjoy!