Mexican chops

I'm on a spicy Mexican kick lately. So much flavor with a kick and not a lot of sodium. I first made these last week and Chris kept asking for them. He said "put this in your next book". I guess he really likes them. Lol

4 boneless pork chops
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup salsa
Sour cream
Salsa
Pepper jack cheese

Mix all the spices together. Put butter in sauté pan over medium heat. Pat the chops dry. Then equally season both sides of each chop and place in pan. After each chop has some color to each side then add the 1/2 cup of salsa to the pan. Continue to cook until done. While still in pan add the cheese on top so it can melt and once they are plated up then you can add sour cream and more salsa.

Enjoy!

CHICKEN AND PEPPERJACK CHEESE SOUP

So it's suppose to be spring here in Michigan, hmmm. It's 39 degrees out but feels like 25. My poor husband has to work outside in this cold weather and I feel for him. So I came up with this soup tonight. I have to say...it's good and heats you up from the inside out.

1 can of chicken broth
1 cup cooked shredded chicken
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 garlic clove-minced
2 cups of heavy cream
8oz of shredded pepper jack cheese
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
salt and pepper

In a medium saucepan combine the broth, tomatoes, garlic and chicken.  Bring this to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 min. Remove it from the heat.
In a second sauce pan pour 1 1/2 cups of the heavy cream (leave 1/2 cup out) and simmer then add the cheese. Stir until melted and then add this mixture to the broth/tomatoes. Heat on a low simmer and add the Xanthan gum and 1/2 cup heavy cream. Let simmer for about 10 min.
Serves 4

Enjoy!!!!!

LOW CARB TOM COLLINS

So I like to experiment with "adult" drinks from time to time. One of these days I will have a cocktail party and try some of my low carb drinks. But until then...I just am taste testing tthem myself and sometimes my husband gets a drink or two. Awhile back I was determined to find TOM COLLINS drink glasses...I'm somewhat old fashioned and love to recreate and play with old recipes and drinks from the 40's-60's. LOVE IT! I swear I should have been raised back then. Anyway, so I collect old cookbooks and old cocktail books. Love them!!!! Well, I finally found the Tom Collins glasses at TJ Max. I was so excited...so then I had to make the drink..right? YES! So here we are. They are very good, refreshing and crisp. Little did I know that my husband use to order them years ago before I met him...which put a smile on my face. I've had a couple tonight...hopefully you can't tell in my writing. lol

2 oz Gin
1 oz or a really good squeeze of fresh lemon juice
1 tsp of Splenda
4 oz of club soda-or you can replace it with diet Ginger Ale


So, in a Tom Collins glass (tall and skinny) pour the Gin in. Then add the lemon juice, Splenda and ice until it reaches the top. Then add the Club Soda. Mix well with a stir.
Enjoy!

WAFFLES ANYONE????

So I have been dying to use this super cute heart shaped waffle maker I bought at Goodwill. I love but it has been trying at times to come up with a stable recipe for the maker. I remember a few years ago I had to throw away a maker (it was used from Goodwill) because the batter just stuck to well and I could NOT get it out. lol...oh well.  But now--I think I came up with one that's pretty good. I'm still going to work on it but my husband gave them the 2 thumbs up.
*Plus make extra and freeze for easy breakfast...oh yeah baby!

6 eggs, separated
6 ounces of cream cheese
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg

Preheat waffle iron.
Spray with non-stick coating
In one bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.  In a separate bowl, mix yolks(I scramble them up first) with cream cheese and protein powder, cinnamon and nutmeg until smooth. Add whites mixture to the yolk and FOLD in...no stirring and mixing.
Once the waffle iron is ready, add about 2 heaping tablespoons to each section. Mine were hearts so you might need a little more for the squares or Belgum ones. Let them cook about 4 min..my waffle maker beeps when done..now I did let them sit about a min longer so they browned more but it's not needed. Serve immediately with warm butter and warm sugar free syrup or you can freeze and toast later -maybe on a lower setting.

Enjoy!!! ♥...Happy Valentine's day!

RASPBERRY ALMOND SCONES

So I thought I would start the NEW YEAR off with some scones. I need something yummy while sitting around all day doing nothing on my day off.

2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup almond flour
1/3 cup bulk sugar substitute -I use Splenda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
 1/2 cup fresh raspberries

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper or use a silpat.
In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients, except for the raspberries, and mix well to create a batter.
Gently fold the raspberries into the batter and use a tablespoon to drop 6 evenly spaced scones on the  pan (about 2 heaping tablespoons for each one). You can shape them if you want to in kind of triangular shapes.

Bake for about 15 minutes until scones begin to lightly brown. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from the parchment paper and serving warm.


Enjoy!

SWEET AND SALTY PECANS

Alrighty, it's fall time and I love me some pecans. This is simple, tasty and is nice for us that have that sweet tooth issue. Bonus... while they are baking...you don't need to burn those fall candles.

4 cups roasted and salted pecans
3 egg whites-beaten
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup Splenda
1 tsp salt
1 stick of butter-melted

Pour the melted butter on a pan(one with a lip-line the pan first with tin foil for easy cleanup). Mix all the ingredients together and then add the pecans. Stir up and pour over top of the butter lathered pan. Bake in oven for about 30 min. in a 350 degree oven. Stir a couple of times during the baking. Then let them cool and break them up. SOOOOO GOOOD!
Enjoy!

Hi Everybody,
I just wanted to announce that I have my first book signing Wednesday. I'm soooo excited. We will see if anybody shows up. lol I'm so nervous and excited all at the same time. If your in town-stop by. Love to meet you!

Meet and Greet Author Book Signing

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM Oct 10, 2012
(General)

---

Meet author Rachael Connelly at Max and Patsy's in Olivet! Rachael will be featuring her delicious samples from her new cookbook. Stop by and try one and get your very own signed copy!

Location: Max and Patsy's 4506 Butterfield Rd Olivet, Mi

Save to:

EASY FREEZER SALSA

 

Well a friend of ours gave us a good amount of Roma tomatoes. So I thought lets cook up some salsa. I thought I would try a sweet/hot version. Normally Chris and I don't like sweeter salsas-ever. But we both had this one tonight and we were both very happy with it. So much so I'm getting some more tomatoes from my friend tomorrow and I'm going to whip another batch. Now this is a nice easy batch that you can store in freezer bags and toss in the freezer. Gotta love that.

 

10-12 ripe Roma tomatoes (or any average size tomato really)

2 medium onions-finally chopped

8 garlic cloves -minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 (6oz) cans of tomato paste

1/2 can of jalapeno peppers-hot(or what ever you want to fit your taste)

2 bell peppers-chopped..I used orange and yellow

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1 tablespoon paprika

2 teaspoons splenda

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

 

Heat oil in a large skillet-over medium heat then add onions and garlic-stirring often. While they are cooking up dice the tomatoes. When onions are soft add tomato paste, tomatoes, jalapeno, bell peppers, vinegar, splenda, paprika, salt and water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally -about 30 minutes.

Cool to room temperature before packing into zip top freezer bags.

Makes 8-10 cups-gently press bags flat then you can stack them in the freezer.

Enjoy!