Great Guacamole with Bacon

Great Guacamole with Bacon (OH MY OH MY!)

Serves 6; unless I am making it and then it is all mine!

Start by preheating your oven to 425 degrees.

Line a sheet pan with foil. 

In a bowl add:

8 jalapenos, sliced lengthwise (clean out the ribs and seeds if you don’t want it too hot)

1 red onion sliced into rings

5 slices of bacon cut into fourths

Squeeze one lime over the peppers, onions and bacon. Toss all and put on the foil lined pan. Add fresh ground black pepper.  (you won’t need salt or oil because of the bacon)

1 bulb of garlic sliced in half place on a piece of foil and drizzle with olive oil then fold up sides and place on the sheet with the peppers.  Bake everything for 30 minutes, giving everything a flip ½ way through.

Drain bacon grease from the pan and let veggies cool. 

In a food processor or blender add:

1 bock 1/3 less fat cream cheese

1 avocado

1 lime, juiced

Add cooled roasted veggies and bacon

1 c. fresh cilantro (save some out to top when serving). 

Blend until smooth and creamy! I am letting mine sit in the refrigerator until tomorrow (what is left from when I tried it and had to make myself stop eating. My plan for tomorrow is to add one can of black refried beans in a greased casserole dish, top with Mexican cheese and broil for 3 minutes then top with guacamole above and fresh cilantro then serve with warmed tortilla chips and pulled pork tacos.

Moist and Nutritious Bran Muffins

Super Moist and Nutritious Bran Muffins

Makes 24 muffins (I made 8 large muffins with 2 cups batter leftover for pancakes)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a muffin tin.

Blend:

¼ c. butter

½ c. sugar

½ c. brown sugar

When the butter and sugar mixture is fluffy add:

2 egg yolks

1 tsp. almond extract

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. plain Greek yogurt or light sour cream

1 c. unsweetened applesauce

¼ c. honey

In a separate bowl mix and then add to wet mixture just until combined:

1 ½ c. whole wheat flour

¼ c. wheat germ

¼ c. ground flax seed

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

In a separate bowl:

2 egg whites, whipped to form peaks

Carefully fold egg whites into batter. 

In a small bowl mix:

¼ c. whole wheat flour

¼ c. brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon 

Directions:

Pour ¼ c. batter into each muffin tin. Sprinkle with cinnamon mixture, top with batter and then sprinkle mixture on top of the second scoop of batter. *If you like nuts top with nuts before putting in the oven to bake for 30 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes and then serve warm.

Peanut Butter Balls with Marshmallows

Peanut Butter Balls with Marshmallows

Makes 100 balls

2 jars natural peanut butter (chunky)

 3 c. Rice Krispies Cereal

1 package of powdered sugar

4 Tbs. melted butter

2 packages of miniature marshmallows

1 package semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

In a large microwave safe bowl add marshmallows and butter cook

 on high for 1 ½ minutes. Stir quickly when removing from the microwave. Add peanut butter, powdered sugar and cereal. Stir until well combined. With greased hands roll dough into one inch balls and place on a parchment or foil lined rimmed cookie sheets. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave 30 sec. at a time stir till creamy. Dip balls in the chocolate and return to lined sheet. Place sheets in the freezer for 5 minutes. Store in air tight container for up to a week.