Crab Salad

 Ingredients:

1 lbs imitation crab

1/2 cup diced celery

1/4 cup green onion

1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning

4 tsp Lemon Juice

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 cup Mayonnaise

1 1/2 TBSP Dried Dill Weed

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a bowl and stir to combine. Serve immediately or chill for up to 2 days

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Snack Balls

This is the ultimate after school snack! I've been making these snack balls from a recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, which I love so much, but I wanted to create a healthier version (see notes below for nutritional information). This recipe makes 32 snack balls, because with a family of 8, these only last us 1-2 days depending on if friends come to play and snack too.

Ingredients:

2 cups instant oats

2/3 cup ground flaxseed meal

1 cup and 2 TBSP PBfit Peanut Butter Powder

1/2 cup and 1 TBSP water

1/4 cup honey

1/2 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

3 TBSP semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In a large food processor (I use a Hamilton Beach 10 cup), combine the oats and the ground flaxseed meal. Process them until they are finely ground. 

2. In a separate small bowl or container combine the PBfit Peanut Butter Powder and the water. Stir until they reach a smooth peanut butter consistency.

3. Add the PBfit Peanut Butter Powder, honey, vanilla, and salt to the food processor. Blend until it is well combined and the right consistency to mold into balls. With a spoon or by hand, gently mix in the chocolate chips.

4. Form the mixture into small balls, rolling them into shape. 

5. Eat right away or refrigerate for 30 minutes for a more firm snack ball. These can be saved in the refrigerator for about a week, but mine usually get eaten in at least one day. They can also be frozen and served at a later time. 

A note about the nutritional recipe adjustments. When I made Mel's version the calories came to 145 per ball (Yikes!). My version is 65 calories per ball and the fat content dropped from 9.2 g to 2.1 g per ball and I cut the sugar in half. I love using PBfit Peanut Butter Powder in my smoothies so I tried subbing it for the peanut butter in her recipe. I found that I didn't need nearly as much peanut butter or honey as she used. This cut down on calories, fat, and sugar. Plus when you compare PBfit to regular Peanut butter the nutritional content is quite striking (see picture below).

I randomly found this PBfit on the shelf at our local Smith's Grocery Store over a year ago, but have since found it better priced at Costco. I don't gain anything from posting about this product, just that it's become a staple at our house and I love it!

Nutritional Information:

Serving size: 1 snack ball
Calories: 65
Total Fat: 2.1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 40.8 mg
Total Carbohydrates: 8.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.1 g
Sugar: 3.9 g
Protein: 3.4 g
Calcium: 1.2 %
Iron: 2.1 %
Potassium 36.3 g

Cowboy Caviar

This is great as a topping for tacos, but we also love it as a dip with chips!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup red onion, diced

1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 15 oz can black eyed peas, rinsed and drained3 Roma tomatoes

1 1/2 cups frozen sweet corn

1 bell pepper (any color), diced

3 Roma tomatoes, diced

2 ripe avocados, diced

1/3 cup cilantro, finely chopped

optional - 1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and diced

1/3 cup olive oil

2 TBSP fresh lime juice

2 TBSP red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

1. Combine red onion, black beans, black eyed peas, sweet corn, bell pepper, Roma tomatoes, avocados, cilantro, and jalapeno in a large bowl. Stir until well combined.
2. In a separate bowl whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, red wine vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
3. Pour the liquid ingredients over the other ingredients in the big bowl and stir until well combined.
4. Serve over tacos or with chips.
5. Keep refrigerated.

Crunchy Taco Cups

I had this as an appetizer at a get-together and decided to make it into a main dish. I really don't like pre-packaged taco seasoning, but if you want to speed things up go ahead and use it. But, you'll be missing out on the delicious fresh flavor of mixing in your own taco seasoning. Plus, it only takes about 1-2 extra minutes to make your own and it's so much tastier and healthier. We've had these divine little taco cups several times. I love the double layered wonton with the meat and cheese all nicely squished inside together. It's so much easier to eat than the classic taco too, way less mess! We also really enjoy how quick this is to make and how tasty it is to eat! This recipe makes 12 taco cups, but when we make this for our family of 8 we double the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey
1 10 ounce can diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
1/4 tsp chili powder (add 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp for a hotter flavor)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

1 TBSP flour
24 Wonton wrappers
1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheddar cheese
optional: sour cream, avocado, and chopped green onion

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Generously coat a standard size muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

2. Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat and add the ground turkey, breaking it up as you brown it. Drain off any extra liquid and then add the drained tomatoes, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, ground cumin, salt, and black pepper. Heat and stir until all heated through, add the 1 TBSP flour and stir until no more liquid remains and it thickens up. Remove from the heat.

3. Line each prepared muffin tin with a wonton wrapper and press down into each muffin cup. Add 1 TBSP taco mixture to each wonton filled muffin cup, then add 1 TBSP cheese. Fill each 12 muffin cups this way. Then to make a second layer, place another wonton wrapper on top of the cheese and press down into the sides of each cup. Top with another 1 TBSP taco mixture and 1 TBSP cheese for the final layer.

4. Bake for 11-13 minutes until the cups are heated through and the edges are golden.

5. Remove each baked wonton taco cup from the muffin tin and set on a cooling rack so the bottoms can air a bit before being placed on a plate.

6. Top each taco cup with a dollop of sour cream, an avocado slice, and a few chopped green onions.