Sweet Potato Chicken Chili

I made this chili last week when Alabama was experiencing some strange below freezing weather. I went to the store and got ingredients for two different kinds of chili. I decided to make this one first and it was perfect after a long day of running, classes, and trying to stay warm!

Here's what you need:

1 medium red onion, chopped
1 TBSP chili powder
1 TBSP ground cumin
2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 28 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 15.5 oz can black beans, rinsed
1 15.5 oz can kidney beans, rinsed
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
2-3 chicken breasts

Here's what you do:
1. Combine the red onion, chili powder, ground cumin, cocoa powder, ground cinnamon, tomatoes, black beans, kidney beans, sweet potato, uncooked chicken, and 1 cup of water into a 4-6 oz slow cooker.
2. Cook on high heat for 4-5 hours or low heat for 7-8 hours. Cook until the sweet potatoes are tender. I cooked mine on low heat for around 7.5 hours and it was perfect!

Enjoy and stay warm!

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

I made these for a weekend I was spending with some of my guy friends. The recipe made about 25 meatballs and I didn't have any left over. Needless to say, it was a huge hit!

Here's what you need:
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 TBSP Italian seasoning
3 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 lb mozzarella (cut into small cubes)
Olive oil

Here's what you do:
1. Mix the beef, pork, breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, eggs, and pepper.
2. Form the mixture into 2" balls and press a cube of mozzarella into the center.
3. Simmer 1/2" olive oil in a large skilled and brown the meatballs.

I served it over pasta with some marinara sauce from the grocery store and it was perfect!

Pumpkin Ginger Bread

I found this festive recipe on Pinterest (of course). I was craving something sweet for breakfast and this was the perfect thing. It made my apartment smell amazing and the bread went great with a hot cup of coffee this morning!

Here's what you need:

1-1/2 C sugar

1/2 C vegetable oil

2 eggs

1/3 C water

1/2 15 oz can pumpkin puree

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

Here's what you do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. I used a smaller pan and had to make a few muffins with the excess batter. 

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, oil and eggs. Beat until smooth. Add water and beat until well blended. Stir in pumpkin, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, and clove.

3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and blend until all the ingredients are mixed. 

4. Bake in preheated oven until toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour.

My roommate even described this as the best thing I've ever made!

Original Recipe

Pumpkin Granola

HAPPY OCTOBER!! I love October. From the leaves turning colors to the pumpkin spice lattes, plus with the weather is finally cooling off... there's so much to love. If you're looking for some quick festive treats check out these goodies from Williams & Sonoma. The muffins and pumpkin butter are divine.

A good friend of mine made some pumpkin granola the other day. She sent me home with a bag and I finished it on the drive home from her house! Whoops. I had her send me the recipe so I could share it with all of you! It would be good on some yogurt, with some fruit, or even in a bowl with some milk poured on top.

Here's what you need:
1/4 C uncooked quinoa, rinsed well and pat dry with a paper towel
1.5 C rolled oats
1/4 C ground flaxseeds
1/4 C pepitas
1/4 C chopped pecans
1/2 C dried cranberries
1/4 C real maple syrup (or honey)
1/4 C pumpkin puree
1 tsp oil (coconut or canola)
1 tsp pumpkin spice (or more to taste)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Pinch kosher salt
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Here's what you do:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Spread oats and quinoa out on a parchment lined baking pan. Toast in the oven for 10 minutes and stir once.
3. Remove the oats from the oven, pour the toasted oats into the medium bowl and add the ground flaxseeds, pepitas, pecans, and dried fruit.
4. Reduce the oven to 300 degrees F.
5. In a second bowl, combine maple syrup, pumpkin puree, oil, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, salt and vanilla.
6. Pour over oats and stir together with a spatula.
7. Spread back onto baking sheet and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until golden.

Peanut Butter and Butterscotch Balls

I like keeping a batch of these treats in the fridge as much as possible. They're perfect before a morning run or on the way to class. They stay good for about a week, taste delicious, and you won't regret grabbing a second one. 

Here's what you need:

1/2 C whole wheat flour

1 1/4 C oatmeal

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 C peanut butter

1/3 C light maple syrup

1/4 C no-sugar-added applesauce

1 TBSP vanilla extract

1/4 C butterscotch chips

Here's what you do:

1. Combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, and salt. 

2. Mix the peanut butter, maple syrup, applesauce, and vanilla extract until well combined.

3. Combine the two mixtures and the butterscotch. 

4. Scoop into balls. Refrigerate or freeze. Enjoy!

Original Recipe

Mixed Berry Smoothie

I have been begging for a blender and I FINALLY GOT ONE!!! Thanks dad. I immediately went to target, bought a huge bag of frozen mixed berries, and got to work. This smoothie recipe only requires 3 ingredients, doesn't need any added sugar, and keeps you full from breakfast to lunch (you can thank the Greek yogurt for that)!

Here's what you need:
1/2 C frozen berries
1/2 C orange juice
1 large spoonful of strawberry Greek yogurt

Here's what you do:
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender.
2. Blend.

Pretty easy, right? My smoothies are more thick than ones I've gotten at a Smoothie King or a Tropical Smoothie. If you prefer them more slushy-like then just add more orange juice and subtract some yogurt. I have also used vanilla Greek yogurt and it tasted just as good! This recipe is easy to play around with and pretty difficult to mess up. It's perfect after a run or on the way to an early morning class.

Enjoy!

Smothered Bacon Chicken

Now that school has started, I have to start making my own dinner again (ugh where's my mom when I need her). This year I'm going to try, yet again, to cook more than I go out. It's going to be tough, but I've started out strong.

Tonight I used this super awesome website called Recipe Matcher. What is cool about Recipe Matcher is that you enter in which ingredients you have in your kitchen and it brings up a list of recipes you can make with them!! I decided on bacon wrapped chicken. I cooked it in a sour cream and cream of chicken and mushroom sauce.

Here's what you need:
1 can condensed cream of chicken and mushroom soup
4 oz sour cream
Bacon
Chicken breasts

Serves 4

Here's what you do:
1. I cut my chicken breasts in half and wrapped 1 piece of bacon around each half. I then placed them into a 9x13 inch baking dish.

2. Mix the sour cream and soup. Spread the cream over the chicken.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

I ate mine with rice and green beans and used the sauce from the chicken as a gravy. YUM! I made two different ones, one for more and one for my roommate. My roommate's used cream of mushroom and that was tasty too!

Original recipe

Make it healthier: I opted for reduced sodium bacon, light sour cream, and light cream of mushroom and chicken. You could also use brown rice instead of white rice.