Easy, Tasty Powerballs

I've been browsing a lot of clean and healthy eating sites recently, probably like everyone else who is trying to start the new year off with a healthy bang, and have come across many variations of powerballs. I decided to try this recipe from Clean Eats and Treats for my first go and was really happy with how they came out. I've adjusted them a bit since and have put the changes below. They satisfy a sweet craving or when I need a little boost. The kids didn't love them unfortunately, but oh well :-).

Ingredients:
2 cups old fashioned oats (slightly broken down in the blender) (I used Gluten Free)
1 1/2 cups peanut butter (she suggests using Adams all natural no stir which our Walmart didn't have so I got a different natural no stir brand and it worked great)
1/2 cups honey
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (optional)
1/2-1 cup mix ins (mini chocolate chips, dried fruit or nuts)
2 scoops vanilla or chocolate protein powder
1/8 cup hemp seeds (I didn't have these so used all chia seeds)
1/8 cup chia seeds
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
dash of sea salt

Instructions:
Combine all dry ingredients in a kitchen-aid mixing bowl.
Using the paddle attachment, mix until well blended. (I just used a bowl and wood spoon)
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until a "dough" forms.
Scoop into balls with a 2-inch cookie scoop. (I used a Tablespoon to scoop ours and ended up with 28 balls)
Place onto a cookie sheet and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Kale Chips

I had heard good things about kale chips for quite awhile but never got around to trying them until now. I found this simple recipe on allrecipes.com but I have heard of sprinkling them with Parmesan cheese and all kinds of variations. I was surprised by how crunchy they were and tasty too! My kids even gave them a try and kind of like them :-).

Ingredients:
1 bunch kale
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Directions:
1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
3. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Valentine Chex Mix

My mom brought this tasty treat for one of our Super Bowl snacks on Sunday. It was so cute and SO delicious. I loved that it wasn't too sweet...so you could eat even more of it :-)! She had posted it on her blog earlier in the week and I had really been wanting to make it, so I was especially excited to see it when they showed up!

Ingredients:
9 cups Rice Chex cereal
1 cup white vanilla baking chips
½ cup peanut butter
¼ cup butter or margarine
¾ cup powdered sugar
½ cup red, white and pink candy-coated chocolate candies
¼ cup red or pink jimmies sprinkles

Directions:
♥Step 1: In large bowl, place cereal. In small microwavable bowl, microwave baking chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth. Pour peanut butter mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.
♥Step 2: Place 1/2 of the cereal mixture in 1-gallon food-storage plastic bag. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool, about 15 minutes.
♥Step 3: Meanwhile, stir candies and sprinkles into remaining cereal mixture. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool, about 15 minutes.
♥Step 4: In serving bowl, mix both cereal mixtures. Store in airtight container.

Chex Mix Peanut Butter & Chocolate Blast

We needed something sweet to snack on when I was preparing the line-up for our big family game day. I found this chex recipe and thought it looked perfect. It was a little more time consuming to make just because you have to lay out the chex to cool before breaking it up (the other recipes I've tried you just mix it all together and you're done), but it was really yummy and worth it in the end. I doubled the recipe, using half rice Chex and half corn Chex...it made a TON, but we managed to eat it at all our get togethers over the holiday weekend :-).

Ingredients:
6 cups Rice Chex cereal
1 cup white vanilla baking chips
1 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup red and green candy-coated chocolate candies (I wanted to use mini M&Ms, but I forgot them at the store and used the PB ones I had on hand instead)
1 cup dry-roasted peanuts

Directions:
1. Line 2 cookie sheets with foil or waxed paper. Place 3 cups cereal in large bowl. In small microwavable bowl, microwave white vanilla baking chips uncovered on High about 1 minute or until chips can be stirred smooth. Pour melted chips over cereal in bowl; stir to evenly coat. Spread mixture in single layer on one of the cookie sheets. Refrigerate 5 minutes or until set.
2. Repeat the above using the remaining cereal and the peanut butter chips; refrigerate 5 minutes or until set.
3. Gently break up coated cereal into large bowl. Add candy and peanuts; stir gently to combine. Store in airtight container.

Spicy Crunchy Chickpeas

This is another recipe I saw in All You magazine and wanted to try. I am definitely a snacker, so when I am trying to be healthy it is key for me to have healthy snacks available or I will go for my trusty chips (oh, how I love chips!). These little guys were easy to make and crunchy and flavorful. I'm hoping the leftovers taste good too because even Addie loved them and they'd be great to have on hand!

Ingredients:
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon cumin
* 1 teaspoon allspice (I didn't have so left out)
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper
* I added 1/2-3/4 t chili powder
* 2 15 1/2-oz. cans chickpeas, rinsed, drained, thoroughly patted dry


Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. In a large bowl, combine olive oil, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, salt and pepper. Add chickpeas and toss to coat thoroughly. Turn chickpeas out onto baking sheet and roast, stirring or shaking baking sheet often, until chickpeas are browned and crunchy, 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool before serving, stirring occasionally.

Blueberry Quick Jam

This is another recipe from the Xagave cookbook I won. Blueberries were on sale recently and I thought, why not give some jam a try :-)! It was super easy and I have been enjoying peanut butter and blueberry jam toast every morning for breakfast! The agave nectar is such a healthy sweetener that this jam is super good for you!

Ingredients:
3 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 Xagave (agave nectar)
juice from 1/2 lemon

Directions:
-Combine all ingredients and mash with a wire potato masher.
-Place in pressure cooker, bring to pressure, and cook for 4 minutes.
**If you don't have a pressure cooker (I don't), simmer in a covered sauce pan for 20 minutes.**
-Pour jam into an airtight container. Jam will store in your refrigerator for several months or follow standard canning or freezer jam procedures.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

I ate a dip like this at a work gathering a few months ago and couldn't stop eating it. I knew I wanted to make something similar for our Super Bowl party and went searching online for a recipe. I found this one on All Recipes and it turned out DELISH!!! LOVE it :-)!

Ingredients
* 2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained (I used 1 12.5 oz can)
* 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 fat)
* 1 cup Ranch dressing (I used Blue Cheese dressing)
* 3/4 cup pepper sauce (such as Frank's Red Hot®)
* 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
* celery, crackers or tortilla chips

Directions
1. Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm.
2. Mix in half of the shredded cheese, and transfer the mixture to a slow cooker.
3. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, cover, and cook on Low setting until hot and bubbly. Serve with celery sticks, crackers, and/or tortilla chips.
(I put mine in oven at 350 degrees until heated through and cheese on top melted)

Texas Trash Chex Mix

I am really excited about Kirsten's new recipe blog, Fabulously Delicious! I have book-marked quite a few recipes to try for dinner, but this one was calling my name last night...especially with our party coming up on Sunday. I made one gluten-free batch, replacing the pretzel sticks with Bugles, and one that followed the recipe exactly. Yum, yum, yummy!!!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter (I used 6 T)
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. seasoned salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 cups rice Chex
2 cups wheat Chex (I used corn to keep it gluten-free)
4 oz. shoestring potatoes
2 cups pretzel sticks (did a batch with bugles)
1 cup salted nuts (used peanuts)

Directions:
1. In a large skillet, melt the butter. Mix in Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt and garlic powder. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
2. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 250 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally (I stirred every 10 minutes).

Baked Chicken Nuggets (Freezer Meal)

These have been a big hit around here. The girls obviously love them and I have been slicing them and adding them to all kinds of things...salad, pasta, quesadillas, etc. My friend who made these for all 8 people in our freezer group did say they took her awhile, but we appreciate it :-)! (this recipe also comes from 30 Day Gourmet)

(1 recipe = 6 servings)
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken
- 1 box stuffing
- 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
- 2 eggs

Assembly Directions:
-Cut chicken into small bite-sized pieces.
-Blend stuffing mix (include spice packet if one is included) and Parmesan cheese in blender until fine.
-Beat eggs in shallow bowl.
-Dip chicken into egg and then into dry mix.
-Bake at 425 degrees on greased cookie sheet for approx. 15 min. Turn nuggets and cook an additional 5 min.

Freezing and Cooking Directions:-Label bags. Cool chicken and freeze in bags.
To serve: Thaw and heat in microwave or oven.

Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

I took the beginnings of this recipe from one I found on All Recipes and went from there. My pumpkin seeds always tend to get overdone. I only had them in about 40 minutes and some of them were still a little burned. I put them on a baking sheet though I just realized so maybe that was the problem. The flavors in this are great - just watch them closely while they bake!

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon seasoned sale
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds
(optional: 1/4 t. chili powder)

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
-Combine the butter, salts, garlic salt, Worcestershire sauce and pumpkin seeds. Mix thoroughly and place in shallow baking dish.
-Bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.