5 Minute Healthy Ranch Dressing

5 Minute Healthy Ranch Dressing Nicole Modic
Prep 5 min, Total 5 min  

1 Cup Greek Yogurt I recommend using full fat greek yogurt!
2 Teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
½ Lemon juiced

1 Teaspoon Dried Dill

1 Teaspoon Onion Powder

1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 Teaspoon Dried Parsley

1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt

½ Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

¼ Cup Water this is optional but can help to thin out the dressing if it's too thick

Add all of the ingredients (minus the water) to a blender. If you don't want to use a blender, you can add all of the ingredients to a large bowl and whisk them together by hand. Blend until all of the ingredients are combined and the ranch dressing is smooth and creamy! If the dressing is too thick, add in the water and re-blend until your desire consistency is reached. Once the ranch dressing is done, serve and enjoy! Store any leftovers in an airtight container, in the fridge, for up to one week.

Good for you Snacks

Good for you snacks!

Apples

Bananas Grapes Oranges Mango Watermelon Mozzarella balls Cheese sticks Sliced cheese Fried cheese Salami Meat sticks Olives Fat balls -- (frozen, usually made from cream cheese, mascarpone, butter, cocoa powder, honey) Dark chocolate Frozen berries/blueberries with cream/milk and honey Peaches and cream Steak Hard-boiled eggs Fried zucchini with cheese Sliced cucumbers

Fun Healthy Yummy Snacks/Appetizers

From an adorable book called 'The Forest Feast for Kids'. All pictures from the book.

FUN HEALTHY YUMMY SNACKS/APPETIZERS Erin Gleeson

Apricot Bites

Top a dried apricot with 1 t goat cheese (rolled into a little ball), 1 dried cranberry, and a sprig of fresh thyme.

French Radishes

Trim ends off 10 radishes and slice in half. Top each with 1/2 t room-temperature butter, then sprinkle with salt.

Lemon Ricotta Crostini with Honey

Toast (broil) slices from 1 baguette. Top each slice with 1 T ricotta cheese, 1/2 t honey, 1/2 t lemon zest.

Strawberry Salsa

Finely chop: 1 tomato, 1/4 c fresh cilantro, 1 small carton/about 2 c strawberries, juice from 1/2 a lime, and 1/4 red onion. Combine all with a pinch of salt. Serve with crackers or chips.

Edamame Hummus

• 2 c shelled edamame beans
• 1/4 c lemon juice (1-2 lemons)
• 1/4 c water
• 1 T tahini
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/2 t cumin
• 1/3 c olive oil

Combine everything in a food processor until very creamy, then scoop into a bowl. Sprinkle with paprika and serve with raw sliced vegetables (cucumbers, bell peppers, etc).

Strawberry Jam - no sugar!

 No sugar or pectin - loved this! And so easy.

(picture from their site)

Strawberry Jam  Red & Honey

2 pounds of fresh strawberries washed and cut in half, tops removed

1/3 cup honey more if you like your jam to be quite sweet

2 T chia seeds

Add cleaned and cut berries to the instant pot with the honey. Set on manual mode for 2 minutes, and let pressure release naturally (NPR). If you like your jam on the smoother/blended side, then add mixture to your blender and blend on high for 10 seconds. If you don't want to blend, then use a potato masher to mash them up. (I prefer mine just mashed.) Add chia seeds (you can add them before blending, if you want the smoothest texture possible - either way works fine). Pour jam into small, clean wide-mouth mason jars, and let cool on the counter. Use jam up within a week, or freeze* for later

Prep time: 10 min, Total time: 7 min

Notes

ALTERNATE COOKING METHODS:

To cook in a slow cooker instead of the Instant Pot, cook on low for 6-8 hours, then proceed with the rest of the steps.

To cook on the stovetop, simmer the berries in a large stock pot on low heat with an inch of water (don't let the water reduce all the way or they'll burn) for 45 minutes, or until they're dark and fully cooked. Proceed with the rest of the steps.

FREEZING/CANNING:

Only freeze the wide-mouth jars - no shoulder - or else they are more at risk of spontaneous breakage in the freezer. Leave an inch of headroom below where the lid will go. Also, I recommend freezing without the lid on, and adding it 6+ hours later to allow for expansion.

No Bake Energy Bites

B brought this home from a youth activity and loves to make them!

No Bake Energy Bites

1 1/2 c oats

2/3 c toasted shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened, opt)

1/2 c creamy peanut butter

1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips (approx - too many makes them hard to stick together)

1/3 c honey

1 t vanilla

Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed. Cover and let chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Once chilled, roll into balls of whatever size you like (usually 1 inch in diameter). Store in airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Prep time: 10 min, Cook time: 0, Yield: 24 energy bites

Triscuit Goat Cheese Cranberry Appetizer

My good friend Alyssa introduced me to this recipe and I am a huge fan. It's a great appetizer for Christmas time - they look beautiful, taste amazing, are so simple and a nice break from all the sugary treats. I don't know the official name so I made one up. ;)

Triscuit Goat Cheese Cranberry Appetizer Alyssa Dobson

Triscuit crackers (rosemary and olive oil are the best)
Goat cheese (cheaper at Costco) [or whipped cream cheese]
Cranberry jam (recipe below)
Fresh rosemary sprigs

Spread about a teaspoon cheese on cracker, add a teaspoon of jam and top with a tiny sprig of rosemary.

Cranberry Jam  Jen at A Magical Mess

PREP TIME 3 minutes
COOK TIME12 minutes
TOTAL TIME 15 minutes

12 oz bag fresh cranberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1 dash black pepper, to taste

Combine cranberries, white sugar, water, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, and pepper in a large pot over medium heat. Simmer, stirring frequently, until sugar dissolves and cranberries pop, 10 to 12 minutes. Optional: Process jam in blender until smooth. Pour into glass jar and serve. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Less Sugar Buttermilk Syrup

Cause you know, a little less sugar is great if it can still taste good.

Less Sugar Buttermilk Syrup

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the buttermilk and sugar and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and add the baking soda and vanilla. It will foam up a bit, so make sure your pot is large enough.

Best when served warm. Store the leftovers in the fridge and pop in the microwave to warm it up before the next use. Since it's mostly butter, it will separate and solidify a little. Warming it up and giving it a stir is the solution.

Source: Barefoot in the Kitchen

Mango Tango Salsa

Mango Tango Salsa

3 ripe mangos, pitted and cubed
1 T minced red onion
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 c chopped cilantro

Combine all ingredients. Let stand 10 minutes. Toss before serving. Serves 6.
*Wash hands thoroughly in hot soapy water after handling hot peppers!

Toasted Coconut Pecan Granola

Another easy and favorite granola! Love it.

Toasted Coconut Pecan Granola  Sisters Cafe

4 cups uncooked regular oats
1 cup dried coconut ribbons/ flakes
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
½ cup maple syrup
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
⅓ cup brown sugar (or up to half a cup if you prefer it sweeter)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
*1/2 cup raisins, optional

Preheat oven to 300. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Spread mixture on a cookie sheet that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring a couple of times to help it bake evenly. If using the raisins, add them the last 5-10 minutes of baking. Do not over bake! When it is done it should be golden brown and may seem a bit sticky, but it will firm up as it cools.

Source: The Sister's Cafe

Pesto

I love the idea of making a large batch, freezing the leftover in ice cube trays, then transferring to a freezer bag.

Pesto

¼ c. walnuts
¼ c. pignolis (pine nuts)
3 T. minced garlic (9 cloves)
5 c. fresh basil leaves, packed
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ c. good olive oil (I prefer using 1 1/4 c.)
1 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese
Place the walnuts, pignolis, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 30 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is finely pureed. Add the parmesan and puree for a minute. Serve, or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top. Makes 4 cups.
*I don't have a food processor, so I just mix it in the blender. Works great.

Source: TheSister'sCafe

This is my mom's pesto recipe, also delicious.

Pesto
2 c fresh basil leaves, chopped
3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
½ c parmesan cheese
¼ c olive oil
A few pine nuts (or other)
S&P

Mix together. Chop to a paste in blender, if desired. Stir into freshly cooked spaghetti or other pasta.

Buffalo Chicken Wings

We loved these. Jason says he may never go out for wings again. :) From the website it says: "This is the original spicy Buffalo chicken wings recipe from the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY. You can adjust the heat by adding more or less cayenne and Tabasco." We agree they're pretty darn close! Here's the link. Enjoy.

Buffalo Chicken Wings
Makes 6 Servings (6 per person)
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

36 chicken wing pieces (one wing makes 2 pieces - the "flat" and the "drum")
1 T vegetable oil
1 t salt
1 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 T white vinegar
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/8 t garlic powder
1/4 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t Tabasco sauce
1/4 t salt
6 T Louisiana hot sauce (Frank's is the brand used in Buffalo)
6 T unsalted butter or margarine
* celery sticks
* blue cheese dressing

Preheat oven to 425. If necessary, cut whole wings into two pieces. In a bowl toss the wings with the oil, and salt. Place into a large plastic shopping bag, and add the flour. Shake to coat evenly. Remove wings from the bag, shaking off excess flour, and spread out evenly on oiled foil-lined baking pan(s). Do not crowd. Bake for about 20 minutes, turn the wings over, and cook another 20 minutes, or until the wings are cooked through and browned. While the wings are baking, mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a pan, and over low heat bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and then turn off. After the wings are cooked, transfer to a large mixing bowl. Pour the sauce over the hot wings and toss with a spoon or spatula to completely coat. These are always served with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing on the side.

Frosting

Frosting mom
1/4 c butter
2-3 c powdered sugar
add a little milk (~1 t), as needed
1 t vanilla
pinch of salt

Mix and spread. Add 1/4 c cocoa for chocolate frosting.