Kale & Goat Cheese Stuffed Rollatinis

Ok! So this REALLY should have been my very first blog entry because this is the dish that truly motivated me to start my blog! ONE PROBLEM! I don't have the exact recipe because I was rushing & cooking dinner this night & basically using everything I already had in my refrigerator or pantry! This is the dish that a few of you saw on Instagram & urged me to get started on this here blog so although I hate to disappoint, all I can do for now is give you the basics of what I did on this night until I try this dinner a second time!

This dinner was higher in carbohydrates than the basic breaded chicken & meats I usually create because I did add panko to my breading which I will sometimes do If I am cooking a meal that is more for my husband than it is for myself. You can easily skip the panko if you want this dish to be lower in carbohydrates but even this version of it is much lower & healthier than your average breaded chicken!

What I Did! ( I won't label this "Ingredients because we already established this isn't the Exact recipe)...

Chicken Breasts! - Mine were thick so I sliced each of them to make thinner chicken breasts that I would later be able to roll. Every chicken breasts I had ended up giving me about 3 slender chicken fillets

Frozen boxed Kale! - I thawed & pressed my kale to extract any extra liquid & placed it in a large mixing bowl.

Soft Goat Cheese! - I probably used about a cup of goat cheese. I use goat cheese a lot because my husband unfortunately has an allergy to cow's milk, but you could easily substitute cream cheese in most of my recipes & I am sure the dishes would still be yummy! I used a fork and mashed my goat cheese all together with my kale in the large mixing bowl.

Grated Pecorino Romano Cheese - I added about 3/4 cup to my mixing bowl
1 Egg - added to mixing bowl

Seasonings for my stuffing - When it comes to kale & spinach I absolutely adore the flavor combinations of garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes & a touch of curry &/or ginger! These are the seasonings I added to my mixing bowl, but by all means adjust accordingly to your own preferences! the tastes of the stuffing in this dish truly permeated the chicken & made this something special! That being said, I do understand that curry isn't for everyone! So if you want to make this dish with more of an Italian flair, add the garlic, salt, pepper, oregano & basil! I'm sure either way will not disappoint!

Next, I mixed my stuffing mix together thoroughly & set aside. I then took a 2nd smaller mixing bowl & combined mayonnaise with a little bit of mustard. A 3rd mixing bowl contained my usual "meat breading ingredients" which are one part almond flour, one part coconut flour, 2 parts grated pecorino romano! I added about a cup of panko crumbs to the mix this time which probably left me with a total of 2 cups of "breading".  I brushed one side of my chicken breasts with the mayonnaise & mustard combination, scooped a spoonful of stuffing onto the end of a chicken breast fillet, rolled the fillet with the stuffing in the middle & then placed the round rolled up chicken into the breading bowl & thoroughly covered! This will get a little messy & some filling will definitely fall out but that is quite alright! I placed each of my chicken rollatinis into a casserole dish that already had a can of organic store brand tomato sauce layered in the bottom & then I surrounded my rollatinis with any extra kale stuffing I had!

Baked at 375 for 45 minutes uncovered & VOILA!!!

You will notice that I only really seasoned the kale stuffing in this recipe. I did not season the breading because it already contained delicious cheese & the glue that kept the breading on the chicken had mustard in it so I did not feel it was necessary to also season my breading as I will certainly do in future recipes! The seasoned stuffing ended up adding taste to the tomato sauce and the chicken & everything was delicious! This dish was served with a side of corn on the cob which I am hoping you already know how to prepare & a spaghetti squash/whole wheat pasta combo with fresh veggies that I will have to tell you about some other time!

Peanut Butter Banana Protein Bites!

OK! I refuse to waste anything in my kitchen! Today I had bananas that were going brown so something had to be done!

Ingredients
2 Ripe bananas
2 Eggs
4 tbsp peanut butter
3 tbsp whole wheat flour
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 scoop of your favorite protein powder
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp honey (or some of your favorite sweetener)
A dash of salt

TIP: If you would prefer dessert-like bites take into consideration that you are using unsweetened cocoa powder in this recipe & I also used no frills, unsweetened peanut butter! You may want to add some things to make this recipe a little sweeter. I did not make these extra sweet because these banana bites are meant to serve the purpose of staving off my hub's insatiable appetite between meals!

Mix all ingredients until you have a thick batter, drop a generous amount of coconut oil into a muffin pan & then a tbsp of batter into each "muffin cubby whole" (haha that's what my mother called them!) Bake at 375 for 8-11 minutes!

This made 24 banana bites!

Loaded Guacamole! Party Sized!

Party Sized Loaded Guacamole!

*please adjust recipe accordingly for smaller group!


Ingredients:
5 Ripe Avocados
2-3 Limes
1 Cup Cilantro
4 Large Garlic Cloves
1 Can Corn (drained)
1 Can black beans (drained & rinsed)
1 Medium Red Onion
1 Medium Tomato
1 Medium Red Bell Pepper
2 PreCooked Chicken Breasts Chopped
8 Strips of Cooked Bacon or Turkey Bacon Chopped
1 tsp ground Coriander
1 tsp red pepper flakes
*Aloe- Optional (I add a piece of fresh aloe about the size of my thumb to most guacamole that I make for large groups after reading about Aloe's ability to preserve fruits & vegetables. This in my opinion keeps my guacamole greener, longer!)
Salt

Add chopped cilantro, peeled garlic, coriander, red pepper flakes, 1tsp of salt to your mixing device of choice. I prefer using my Cuisinart smart stick mixing cup or my Molcajete which is basically a stone mortar and pestle.

Then add Lime juice (& Optional Aloe) to the paste you have created and mix. (mix very thoroughly if using aloe because it takes a bit of effort to make the aloe gel break down and disperse evenly)
Cut all of your ripened avocados in half, remove pits and scoop out the inside into a large mixing bowl.

The next step requires you smashing your avocados to your desired consistency. Traditionally this is done in a molcajete or a mortar & pestle but no one will judge you when you are at home alone smashing them up with a fork, a potato smasher or putting them in your blending device!

TIP: if using a blending device you may want to blend half of your avocados smooth and creamy and half of them chunky for a perfect consistency when mixed together!

Combine your Avocado mix & your seasoned lime juice thoroughly & then give it a taste!... I personally prefer my guacamole loaded with garlic & lime! I have found that when you make a guacamole for parties extra seasoned you will turn people who swore they hated guac or avocados into avid loaded guac lovers! If your guac is slightly too seasoned or slightly too salty at this stage, this is a good thing because you have a lot of ingredients to still add that will disperse that taste!

NOTE: I now add Coriander to my salsas & guacamole as my *secret ingredient* ever since my hubs and I fell in love with a store bought salsa that was called "Tequila Lime" Salsa... We wondered what earned this special salsa its name & the only ingredient it contained that was not typical of your average salsa was, You guessed it! CORIANDER!

Now for the final step, stir in all of your chopped veggies & meats & Voila!!! Remember to chop down your onions, peppers & tomatoes reasonably small so that they will not be too overwhelming for the party chip dippers who are headed at full speed towards your loaded guacamole because they heard the word "Bacon & Chicken!"

Depending on how quickly you expect this dish to disappear, you may want to put small portions of it out at a time so remainder of the dip may stay fresh, sealed tightly & green!

I like to leave a little bit of my mix-ins on the side to garnish my guacamole at the end, this way everyone can see for themselves what is mixed into this creamy, heaven in your mouth on a chip dish!

Check Out My Thoughts On Amazing Avocados

Banana Pancakes

The easy, healthy recipe you may have already seen online with some of my own tweaks...

Ingredients:
3 Large Ripe Bananas (Here I used 4 sm-med bananas)
3 Eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp peanut butter
4 tbs whole wheat flour ( can substitute almond, coconut or all purpose flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1 dash of salt

Mix all ingredients with a blender or hand mixer until batter forms.
Let batter sit for a few minutes.
Heat non stick frying pan with coconut oil (may use whatever oil/butter you prefer). I use coconut oil because I like to use quite a bit to cook these babies & it makes them easier to flip! I would suggest not making these pancakes any larger than the palm of your hand since they are primarily banana, the larger the pancake, the harder it will be to flip and the less likely it will hold up when you are moving it around! These "pancakes" are going to be much sweeter than typical pancakes due to the bananas so I would suggest just drizzling them with honey before serving or nothing at all!

One day soon I am going to make this recipe with a little extra flour and drop spoon fulls of batter into a greased muffin pan to make little doughnut snacks for the hubs!... Sounds delish to me!
(UPDATE: I did something like that!... Try my Peanut Butter Banana Protein Bites)

WARNING: I am not a professional chef! I only do what tastes and sounds right to me! Some of my measurements may be slightly off at times because I do use the "eyeball technique" in combination with common sense!... I mean most of us know what the consistency of pancake batter should be & hopefully would be able to adjust with a little more or less of an ingredient! LOL
    If you have never used a stove, an oven, a blender or typical kitchen appliances, this may not be the blog for you!

Bri's Keys: Daily Improvements with Ease

Everyone has to start somewhere!
Some people start with diet, some with exercise, some start with making small changes daily, weekly or monthly! Eventually the changes we make lead to our personal habits, our best practices & those little "keys" we advise others to do when they see our progress & want to know how they can do the same.

These are the keys to my success so far & little snippets of lessons I've learned in my war on fat & my journey towards my new healthy life!

I have hopes that this section will one day be filled with the "keys" some people may need to help open doors towards a new beginning!

A- Amazing Avocados 

B- Benefits of Building Muscle 

 

C- Coconut Oil 

 D- Dry Brushing

 E- Excuses

F- Fennel for a Flatter stomach??? 

G- Grazing... Good? or God-awful?

H- Have to Haves for your kitchen

I- Insight, Inspiration & Intrepidness