Coconut Almond Butter

About a month ago I found a new food blogger that I totally have a blog crush on. Her blog name is Delighted Momma. I made her Flourless Zucchini Brownies. Twice. During the brownie party, stumbled upon her recipe for almond butter (with coconut!)

I have attempted nut butters before but always quit at the paste stage and figured homemade nut butters weren't possible. I read her instructions and realized I never ran my food processor long enough and maybe there was hope for me. You can see her recipe here.

I've made several batches of this stuff and will probably never buy store bought almond butter again. It's hard describe how delicious it is homemade.

Some have told me that soaking your almonds makes them even more nutritious. I used raw almonds for this last batch and unsweetened coconut shreds and it is delicious.

*Warning!! This is a loud and obnoxious process. Don't do it at midnight...or when your kids are napping. You'll regret it.

**WARNING!! This almond butter gets HOT. You'll see condensation on my food processor and it's for realsies hot.

Coconut Almond Butter from Delighted Momma

Ingredients:

•  2 Cups dry roasted almonds 
• 1/3 C unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor. I have also made this using a Ninja.
2. Turn your food processor to high and plug your ears and shut yourself in the closet while this processes for 10 minutes. If you watch, you'll noticed different stages- almond meal to almond chunks, to almond paste, and finally almond butter!
3. After 10 minutes, check your almond butter. If you like it chunky, stop processing it. If you let it run longer, you'll get smooth and creamy almond butter.
4. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the almond butter into an airtight container and store. 

Tilapia with Capers & Grilled Asparagus with Caper Vinaigrette

I stopped buying fish from grocery stores for awhile because it didn't taste like real fish to me. THEN. My good friend Beth who is one of the healthiest and creative people I know made me some of the most delicious Tilapia I had ever had. She brushed it with olive oil, sprinkled it with sea salt and a little no-salt Mrs. Dash (Garlic and herbs blend) and then wrapped it in tin foil and cooked it on the BBQ grill. I think the secret to this success was high quality Tilapia, and hers had come from Costco.

The next Day I went to Costco and bought a bag and have been SO happy with the quality of the Tilapia. The filets are really meaty and flaky.


Nothing goes better with fish than ASPARAGUS in my opinion and nothing compliments fish better than CAPERS so put on your happy pants because these two recipes combine all the forces of delcioso-ness!

Ingredients For Tilapia:

4 Tilapia filets

3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1 1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder

1/8 Tsp Salt

1/2 Tsp dried Oregano

1/8 Tsp Paprika

2 Tbsp capers, drained

Instructions:













1.Preheat oven to 425.

2. Place Tilapia filets in a shallow baking dish.

3. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, and salt. Brush the filets with this mixture so that the garlic powder can adhere to the filets.

4. Next, pour the remaining olive oil mixture over the fish, sprinkle with remaining seasonings and top with capers. Cover with tin foil. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the fish is tender and flaky.

Ingredients for Asparagus:

1 1/2 pounds asparagus spears, trimmed

3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

Cooking spray

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp freshly ground black peper

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 tsp capers

1/4 small basil leaves

Instructions:






1.Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray. Arrange the asparagus over the cookie sheet.

2. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients except basil. Brush the asparagus with vinaigrette until evenly coated. Top with basil leaves.

3. Bake for 10-15 minutes in a 425 degree oven, uncovered.

Drizzle everything with fresh lemon juice before serving.

Printable Version

WOWZER Wheat Pitas

Normal people probably just go to he store and buy pita bread but oh no, not me. I've had this recipe from Cooking Light in my "I'm gonna make this one day" section of recipes for a few years and I'm so glad I finally made it! To my surprise the dough was incredibly easy to work with and very forgiving. These pitas were easily turned into pita chips to go along with this basil parmesan dip and our dinner guests loved them.

These are not too time consuming and the final product is a tender, chewy pita that you could easily fill with some chicken souvlaki and Tzatziki sauce for a yummy lunch.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp sugar
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp)
1 C plus 2 Tbsp warm water
10 ounces bread flour (about 2 1/4 C)
4.75 white whole-wheat flour (about 1 C, divided)
2 Tbsp 2% Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
Cooking spray

Instructions:
Dissolve sugar and yeast in 1 C plus 2 Tbsp warm water in a large bowl and let stand 5 minutes until frothy. Add bread flour, and about 3/4 C whole-wheat flour, yogurt, oil, and salt to the yeast mixture and beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Knead dough until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). Add enough of the remaining whole-wheat flour, 1 Tbsp at a time to prevent dough from sticking to hands. *do not add too much flour or your dough will get tough.
Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), for about 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Divide dough into 8 portions. Working with one portion at a time, gently GENTLY GENTLY!!! roll each portion into a 5 1/2 inch circle. (Consider using a Tupperware or Cool Whip lid as a guide) Place 4 dough circles on each of 2 baking sheets coated with cooking spray.






5. Bake 1 sheet at a time at 500 degrees for 8 minutes or until puffed and browned. Cool on a wire rack. Brush each pita with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and a touch of cracked pepper.






Makes 8 pitas.




Printable Version

Basil Parmesan Dip with Pita Chips

It's hard to mess anything up that has basil as the star ingredient. This dip needs no introduction but here's one anyway. We had friends over for dinner and they loved it. So you will love it too. The basil and parmesan go perfect together and the creaminess of the dip is perfect for dipping or even as a sandwich spread. This comes from the fabulous Cooking Light magazine, my favorite source for healthy food that doesn't taste "diet".

Ingredients:

• 4 (6-inch) pitas
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 C lightly packed basil leaves
• 3/4 C finely grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
• 3/4 C reduced-fat sour cream
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Split pitas; cut each half into 8 wedges. Place wedges on a baking sheet. Coat with cooking spray; sprinkle with 1/4 tsp pepper and salt. Bake at 375 for 12 minutes or until crisp.
3. Combine remaining 1/4 tsp pepper, basil, and next 4 ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Scrape into a serving bowl using a rubber spatula and serve with pita chips.

Make 8 servings.

Printable Version

Cowboy Caviar

I saw this recipe on one of my absolute FAVORITE food blogs, called The Girl Who Ate Everything, and it's called Cowboy Caviar. I had been wanting an excuse to make this for a long time and finally had a party where I need a side dish. The flavors are incredible and it's perfect for a snack, a BBQ, or a party. I modified it a bit because I didn't have shoepeg corn or black eyed peas. I used white beans in place of the black eyed peas and used Kraft Light Zesty Italian Dressing for a little less calories. It was a HIT! If you have my favorite kitchen gadget, the Vidalia Onion Chop Wizard, you can have this ready in no time.

Cowboy Caviar

from Sheri Denney 

1 can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can shoepeg corn, drained and rinsed

4-5 Roma tomatoes, seeds removed and diced

2-3 diced avocados, ripe but still firm

4 green onions, sliced thin (I used 1/2 purple onion diced finely because that's all I had)

around 1/2  to 3/4 cup Zesty Italian dressing

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped finely

1-2 limes

ground pepper and salt to taste

Drain and rinse the black eyed peas, black beans, and corn. Add to a large bowl. Dice the tomatoes, making sure the seeds and insides are removed. You want to do this to make sure that there isn't too much liquid in the dip. Add the diced tomatoes and cilantro to the bowl. Slice the green onions finely (or purple onion) and add to the bowl. Dice the avocado and squeeze a little of the lime juice over the avocados so they don't brown as quickly. Squeeze the rest of the lime juice into the bowl. Add the Italian dressing and stir to coat all the ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chill in the refrigerator until cold and flavors have marinated together. This is best served the same day as prepared. Serve with tortilla chips