Rosemary Sweet-potato Steak Fries

For all of those who don't like sweet potatoes give these a try. My husband hates sweet potatoes and he couldn't get enough of these. We ate them with ranch dressing I made myself with light sour cream and the hidden valley ranch dry packet mix.

You will need

2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into steak fry sized pieces
1 1/2 TBSP freshly minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
2 tsp EVOO
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

Preheat oven to 450

Place sweet potatoes in a zip lock bag and add the garlic, rosemary, EVOO, and salt. Seal bag and toss until the potatoes are evenly coated. Arrange in a single layer, not touching, on a large nonstick baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the potato pieces and bake 10-15 minutes longer, or until tender inside.

Makes 6 servings

Again I got this from the Biggest Loser cookbook, I am loving it by the way :).

Per serving there are 120 cal, 2 g protein, 24 g carbs, 2 g fate (trace saturated) 0 mg cholesterol, 4 g fiber, 169 mg sodium.

Peppered Pot Roast

Ok so pot roast in the slow cooker is great but it takes forever! I discovered this new recipe in the biggest loser cookbook. It's super yummy and is HEALTHY :)

1 tsp EVOO
1 (1 3/4 lb) trimmed top round roast
2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
salt, to taste ( I didn't use and it was great)

Preheat oven to 350

Rub the olive oil evenly over the roast and season with the pepper and seasoned salt. Let stand for 15 minutes

Place a medium nonstick ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the roast and sear on all sides, including the ends, until just browned, 45-60 second per side. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast for about 15-20 minutes for medium rare.

Take out of oven and loosely place a piece of foil over the roast (not the whole pan just the roast) and let stand for 10 minutes.

Slice the roast against the grain into thin slices and serve immediately.

This makes about 6 4-oz servings.

137 cal, 28 g protein, trace carbs, 5 g fat (2 g saturated), 58 mg cholesterol, trace fiver, 123 mg sodium.

I paired this with Rosemary sweet-potato steak fries with ranch, and about a half cup of steamed zucchini with a touch of smart balance. The whole dinner was only 431 calories. Not to shabby and it was plenty filling. :)

Creamy Avocado & White Bean Wrap

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 teaspoons finely chopped canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, (see Note)

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups shredded red cabbage

1 medium carrot, shredded

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed

1 ripe avocado

1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons minced red onion

4 8- to 10-inch whole-wheat wraps, or tortillas

Preparation

1.Whisk vinegar, oil, chipotle chile and salt in a medium bowl. Add cabbage, carrot and cilantro; toss to combine.

2.Mash beans and avocado in another medium bowl with a potato masher or fork. Stir in cheese and onion.

3.To assemble the wraps, spread about 1/2 cup of the bean-avocado mixture onto a wrap (or tortilla) and top with about 2/3 cup of the cabbage-carrot slaw. Roll up. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Cut the wraps in half to serve, if desired.

Tips & Notes

Ingredient Note: Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce are smoked jalapeños packed in a flavorful sauce. Look for the small cans with the Mexican foods in large supermarkets. Once opened, they'll keep at least 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer.

Stuffed Jalepenos.

Ok so after the Auntious posted her recipe for stuffed jalepenos it made me think of one of our favorite appetizers called La Bomba's they are jalepenos stuffed with cheese bacon and a whole shrimp. I decided to look and see if I could find a recipe that was kind of like them to try and I found a recipe but I modified it a bit and this is what I came up with.

12 oz softened cream cheese
4 oz shredded pepper jack cheese
4 oz shredded cheddar cheese
3-4 pieces of bacon crisped and chopped
1-2 c flour
1-2 c milk
1-2 c bread crumbs
15-20 large jalepenos halved and seeded

Combine the first 4 ingredients. Stuff your jalepenos with this mixture. Dip the stuffed jalepenos in milk and then roll in flour covering them completely. Let them rest for 10 minutes. Dip them in the milk again and roll them in the bread crumbs. Let them rest for 10 minutes. Dip them again in milk and roll again in bread crumbs, making sure it is completely covered. Place on baking sheet and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. If you want to give them a crisp outer cover you can either spray them with Pam before putting them in the oven or you can deep fry them for a couple of minutes after taking them out of the oven.

These are great served with ranch! I didn't stick the shrimp in them but it would be so easy to do. They are a little spicy so you can always cut out the pepper jack and just use cheddar or whatever other type of cheese you would like.

The resting time in between the steps is crucial! Also please remember to wear gloves when handling the peppers!

Easy-Cheesy Stuffed Jalapenos

8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, cut into 2 x 1/2 x 1/4-inch strips
15 jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup real bacon bits

Be VERY careful when you handle jalapeno peppers.  Use gloves and be sure to NOT touch your eyes

Place a cheese strip in each pepper half; sprinkle with bread crumbs and bacon. Grill peppers, covered, over medium-hot heat for 4-6 minutes or until peppers are tender and cheese is melted.

Hunny's Yummy Tri-Tip

Get a tri-tip roast poke holes all over in it with a big serving sized fork and set aside.
Mix (in a BIG bowl) 1 large bottle of Famous Dave's Original BBQ and a 1/2 bottle of the Zesty.
Add about 2/3 cup of no pulp orange juice, 1/3 cup honey, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon each of onion powder and garlic powder.
Put the roast in and cover completely then cover the bowl and let it marinate for at least 6 hrs but overnight is better. Grill it outside turning it often. The sugar in the sauce carmelizes and makes a REALLLLLLY yummy crust type outside and juicy tender inside. It's the BEST!!!!!!! Slice thick and ENJOY!! :)

Low Carb Cheesecake Cupcakes

These are soooo easy and really good!

For Cupcakes:
3-8oz packages of cream cheese
1 cup Splenda
5 eggs
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

For Filling:
6 oz Sour Cream
5 tsp Splenda
1/8 tsp vanilla

Brink cream cheese to room temperature. Place cream cheese in a bowl and add one egg at a time beating with a mixer. Slowly add the Splenda and vanilla. *The batter will be thin* Pour into cupcake liners about an 1/8 inch from the top. Bake in a 300F oven for 30-35 minutes or until large cracks appear on the top. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes.

Mix all ingredients for filling in a small bowl.

After the cupcakes have cooled for five minutes add 1 tsp to the top of each cupcake and stick back in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

I would put them in the fridge or freezer and keep them cold until you eat them. Mine were a bit soggy on the bottom but they were sitting on the counter and I used cream cheese that was previously frozen so that may have been a factor as well. They were still good.

This makes 15 cupcakes. I calculated the nutrition for each and they come out to be 200.9 Calories, 19.9 g of Fat, 125.8 mg of Cholesterol, 161.4 mg of Sodium, 91.4 mg of Potassium, 4.1 g Total Carbohydrates and 5.9 g of Protein.