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Recipes

Crispy Cheesy Broccoli Bites

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INGREDIENTS

  • 1 head of broccoli (chopped into bite size pieces)

  • 1/4 cup almond flour

  • 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

  • Salt to taste

  • 2 eggs or an egg replacer (I used an egg replacer)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat airfryer to 300 degrees.

  2. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs.

  3. In a separate bowl, mix together almond flour, cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese and salt.

  4. Dip the top of each piece of broccoli in the egg and then dip them in the cheese mixture until completely covered. To get the mixture to stick, press firmly into mixture.

  5. Place in the airfryer gently and cook for 7-8 minutes. NOTE: airfryers can vary in cooking times, so I recommend checking on them after 5 minutes to be sure they don’t overcook.

  6. Enjoy! They are great with greek yogurt ranch dressing!

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Main Dish

Pizza Stuffed Peppers

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INGREDIENTS

  • 2 large bell peppers (halved with seeds removed)

  • 1 cup of mozzarella cheese

  • Turkey pepperoni

  • Canadian Bacon (diced)

  • Turkey Sausage (I used Jimmy Dean’s crumbled turkey sausage)

  • Pizza sauce

  • Italian Seasoning

  • Optional: olives, diced onions, mushrooms

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

  2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and place peppers in the boiling water for 5 minutes.

  3. Remove from water and place on a paper towel to dry off.

  4. Place the peppers on a nonstick baking sheet, cut side up.

  5. Sprinkle in 2 tbsp mozzarella in each pepper, followed by 2 tbsp of pizza sauce. Fill the peppers with pepperoni, canadian bacon and turkey sausage.

  6. Add 2 more tbsp of pizza sauce and 2 tbsp mozzarella on top and sprinkle with italian seasoning and salt to taste.

  7. Put peppers in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown.

  8. Enjoy!

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Main Dish

Chicken Bacon Ranch Zucchini Boats

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INGREDIENTS

  • 2 chicken breasts, shredded

  • 2 medium zucchini

  • 4 strips bacon, cooked and chopped

  • 1 clove garlic, minced

  • 1/2 cup ranch dressing (I love bolthouse farms greek yogurt ranch)

  • salt and pepper to taste

  • 1/2 cup Mexican blend cheese

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

  2. In a medium mixing bowl stir together the chicken, bacon, garlic, ranch, salt, and pepper.

  3. Cut your zucchini in half lengthwise. Using a spoon scoop the seeds out of the zucchini to create a well for your filling. Place the zucchini into a 13×9 baking pan.

  4. Fill the zucchini with your chicken mixture.

  5. Sprinkle the tops of the zucchini with cheese and cover the pan with aluminum foil.

  6. Bake for 25-30 minutes and remove the aluminum foil and continue to bake for another 5 minutes.

Adapted from here.

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Main Dish

Spicy Chicken Meatballs

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INGREDIENTS

  • 2 lbs ground chicken

  • 3 teaspoons minced garlic

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1 teaspoon pepper

  • 2 eggs

  • 1 cup breadbrumbs (I used gluten free)

  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika

  • 1/3 cup Franks hot sauce

  • 1 cup light brown sugar

  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

  • 1/4 cup lime juice (Add more if too spicy)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

  2. In a bowl, combine ground chicken, garlic, salt, pepper, eggs, breadcrumbs and paprika. Do not overmix.

  3. Roll chicken mixture into small meatballs and place on a nonstick baking sheet and bake for 11-14 minutes.

  4. Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium high heat, add franks hot sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar and lime juice. Stir and allow to come to a boil and then reduce and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

  5. Once meatballs are done, remove from the oven and spoon the sauce over each meatball and then return to the oven for 2 more minutes.

  6. Remove from oven and enjoy!

NOTE: these are great if you make them earlier in the day and reheat later on!

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Main Dish

Parmesan Chicken Meatloaf

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INGREDIENTS

  • 2 lbs ground chicken

  • 1 tbsp + 2 tsp minced garlic, divided

  • 2/3 cup Italian breadcrumbs (I used gluten free)

  • 2 eggs

  • 2/3 cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated and divided

  • 3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped and divided

  • Salt

  • 1 tsp olive oil

  • 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

  • 2 ounces low fat cream cheese

  • Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

  2. In a bowl, combine chicken, breadcrumbs, 1 tbsp garlic, eggs, 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, 3 tbsp parsley and salt. Mix together.

  3. Spray a muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Fill each muffin to the top with the chicken mixture. Mine made 13 muffins.

  4. Place in the oven for 20-23 minutes.

  5. Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium heat, add olive oil and 2 tsp of garlic. Cook for 1 minute and then add heavy whipping cream, cream cheese and salt to taste. Whisk ingredients for about 3-4 minutes. Sauce should thicken a bit and cream cheese should be completely melted. Once melted, add in the rest of the parmesan cheese and stir until melted.

  6. Remove from heat and stir in 1 tbsp parsley and set aside.

  7. Once meatloaves are done, remove from the oven and top with a drizzle of parmesan sauce and enjoy.

TIP: If your sauce gets too thick, you can thin it out with chicken broth or a little water. If sauce doesn’t thicken enough, you can add extra parmesan or cream cheese.

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Main Dish

Creamy Broccoli Stuffed Chicken

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INGREDIENTS

  • 2 chicken breasts

  • 1 tsp italian seasoning

  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder

  • 1/2 tsp onion powder

  • 1/4 tsp garlic salt

  • 1 cup broccoli, steamed and chopped

  • 1/4 cup red pepper, chopped

  • 3 ounces of low fat cream cheese

  • 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

  • 1/8 cup of parmesan cheese, grated

  • 1 tsp garlic, minced

  • 1 tbsp olive oil

  • Toothpicks

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

  2. With a sharp knife, cut the chicken breasts horizontally to make a pocket. Be sure not to cut too far through, leaving about a 1/2 inch at the end. Sprinkle the outside of the chicken with italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder and garlic salt.

  3. In a mixing bowl, combine broccoli pieces, chopped red pepper, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese and garlic. Sprinkle with a little salt and mix together.

  4. Spoon mixture into the chicken breast pockets. Use toothpicks to close the edges so the mixture doesn’t spill out.

  5. Place a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Once it is hot, add olive oil and then the chicken breasts. Cook 3 minutes per side and then remove from the stove top and put in the oven.

  6. Cook for 16-18 minutes, or until chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.

  7. Remove chicken breasts from skillet and place on a plate to cool for a few minutes before cutting into them.

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Lifestyle

Don’t Know Who Else Needs This Today…

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I don’t know who else needs to hear this today…

“Don’t ever set yourself on fire to keep other people warm.”

I saw this quote the other night while I was scrolling Pinterest in bed and it stopped me in my tracks. Wow. I am a people pleaser to my core and I can’t tell you how many times I figuratively have “set myself on fire” trying to please and keep other people “warm”.

Working hard to listen to my own needs, trust my gut and follow my heart…learning that I have to take care of myself and speak up for myself too! 

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Drinks

Copycat sugar free Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew

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INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream

  • 4 tbsp canned pumpkin puree

  • 2 tbsp sugar free vanilla syrup

  • 1.5 tsp cinnamon

  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg

  • Cold brew coffee

  • Stevia

  • Optional: pumpkin spice to sprinkle on top

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a bowl, combine whipping cream, pumpkin, vanilla syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix together with a hand mixer for 5 minutes, or until thick and frothy.

  2. Add cold brew coffee over ice, sweeten with stevia (I used 1 packet) and then add pumpkin cream over top. 1-2 tablespoons of the pumpkin cream goes a long way flavor wise!

  3. TIP: This recipe makes a LOT, plenty for leftovers to use another day!


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Main Dish

BBQ Bacon Chicken

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INGREDIENTS

  • 4 chicken breasts

  • 1 cup barbecue sauce, divided

  • 8 slices of bacon, cooked

  • 4 slices of provolone cheese

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a bowl, combine 1/2 cup of barbecue sauce and the chicken breasts. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes or more.

  2. Preheat grill to medium high.

  3. Add chicken and grill for 4-5 minutes and then flip over. Grill for 3 more minutes and then top with a spoonful of barbecue sauce to each chicken breast, then 2 slices of bacon and 1 slice of provolone cheese. Grill for 2 more minutes, or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 and cheese is melted.

  4. Remove from grill and enjoy!

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Main Dish

How To Cook Steak

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Kitchen Gadgets For The Perfect Steak

  • Cast Iron Skillet

  • Thermometer (I use a ThermoWorks Themapen)

INGREDIENTS

  • Steak of choice (I love this method with filet mignon and kobe skirt steaks)

  • Salt and pepper

  • Steak Seasoning of choice (optional)

  • 1 tbsp grassfed butter

  • 1 tsp minced garlic

  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder

  • 1.4 tsp onion powder

  • Garlic salt

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.

  2. Place a cast iron skillet over high heat. While the cast iron is heating up, sprinkle the pan with sea salt and a tsp of oil.

  3. Sprinkle the steak with sea salt, pepper and any steak seasonings of choice.

  4. Once the cast iron is done preheating, place the steaks on the pan for 2 1/2 minutes per side, then grab the cast iron (don’t forget the pot holder!!!) and place in the oven.

  5. Depending on the thickness of your steak, cook for 4-7 minutes. This is where the Therapen comes in handy! Based on the temperatures below, you want to bake in the oven at 450° until the steak reaches your desired doneness.

    • RARE: 120°

    • MEDIUM RARE: 130°

    • MEDIUM: 140°

    • MEDIUM WELL: 150°

    • WELL DONE: 160°+

  6. I personally prefer a Rare/medium rare steak so I check my steak around 4-5 minutes and remove from the oven when it reaches 120. A thicker steak will require longer cooking times.

  7. Remove the steak from the oven and set on plate to rest for 5 minutes before cutting into it. If you are using garlic butter, add 1 tsp to the top of each steak while they are resting.

  8. Enjoy!

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Recipes

Cheesy Garlic Roasted Broccoli

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INGREDIENTS

  • 2 crowns of broccoli, about 4 cups

  • 1/2 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

  • 2 tsp of garlic, minced

  • Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

  2. In a ceramic baking dish, coat with non-stick cooking spray and add broccoli florets, then sprinkle with salt.

  3. Bake for 20 minutes, covered.

  4. Meanwhile, combine cheddar cheese and garlic.

  5. Remove broccoli from the oven and top with cheese mixture. Return to oven for another 10 minutes, uncovered. Broccoli should be starting to get tender and cheese should be melted completely. Depending on how large your broccoli florets are, you may need to cook another 3-5 minutes to get the broccoli more tender.

  6. Remove from oven and enjoy!

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Lifestyle

Hello September!

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September is a special month for me. It marks the anniversary of when I made the decision to start taking care of myself – inside and out. I was 215 pounds, incredibly out of shape, unhappy and very insecure in myself. I had told myself a million times that I would start on Monday. Monday would come and go and I kept giving myself excuses of why I couldn’t. But one day it hit me that whatever I wasn’t changing – I was CHOOSING.

I didn’t want to choose a life of being insecure, unhappy and frankly unhealthy. I was done putting it off, I was done accepting mediocrity and I was done treating my body like crap.

So, I started. And 8 years later, I haven’t looked back.

Girl, if you know you can do better – DO BETTER. It is never too late to change and ditch the excuses. We only have ONE life and ONE body!

Celebrating my 8 year fitness anniversary a little early with a Pink Lily haul of new fall items! Nothing better than buying clothes, not worrying if they will fit and feeling good in ANY style you love! Hard work pays off!

If you check out Pink Lily, use my code, JESSDUKES20 for an extra 20% off! They have SO many new fall sweaters in! CLICK HERE to shop my outfits!

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