Oven Baked BBQ Ribs

Ribs are not healthy and I'm okay with that. I love them. In the summer I will cook them in the slow cooker for a bit then put them on the BBQ and they are great. This time they were cooked only in the oven, but they were still delicious. Enjoy!

Oven Baked BBQ Ribs

Dry Rub:

1 tbsp each of the following:

Paprika

Mrs. Dash Original Seasoning

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Italian Seasoning

salt

pepper

1 tsp mustard powder

2 Racks of Pork Ribs

1 cup your choice of BBQ sauce, plus extra for serving

Combine all ingredients for the dry rub. There is more here than you need. Keep the rest of the dry rub for chicken or fish, it's yummy! Line a baking pan with foil. Rub down both sides of your ribs, you need about 1-2 tbsp of rub per side, depending on how big the racks are. Let the ribs sit with rub for up to 24 hours or just rub it on when your ready to cook them. Preheat the oven to 300F. Cover the ribs with foil. Bake for 2 hours. Take the ribs out and take the foil off the ribs, turn the oven up to 425F. Baste the ribs with 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce and place back in the oven, uncovered for 10-15 minutes. Baste with the rest off the BBQ sauce halfway through. Let the ribs rest for 10-15 minutes. Cut along the bones into individual pieces. Serve with extra BBQ sauce if you want.

These ribs are also great without the BBQ sauce.

Chocolate Protein Balls

When I decided in September of 2011 that I needed to start living a healthier life I signed up for a bootcamp class. I was 179lbs. I'm only 5'4, this was way too much weight for my body. I signed up for bootcamp through Target Personal Training, the bootcamp was 1 hour 1 per week. That first bootcamp kicked my butt. My legs felt like jello halfway through and I couldn't walk without hurting until the night before the next bootcamp. Krista was exactly what I needed at the time, she pushed me to work harder and offered so much encouragement. I have taken 2 more of her bootcamps since that time. She taught me so much. I still send her questions from time to time, she always answers. It wasn't just a bootcamp that I took, it was the start to a healthier life.This recipe is her's. These little protein balls are so good. I had 36 balls after rolling them. I have them in the freezer and they are still really good after defrosting. I only added 3/4 cup of honey, and I added the cinnamon too. You have to try them, they are so easy and quick to make.

Here is the video, enjoy!

What I Ate Wednesday #8

This week is March break for my kids and I decided to take the week off with them. I didn't prep any food for the week and it was awesome! I didn't have to spend the whole day cooking on Sunday and I get to eat fresh food every time!  I am still trying to stick to eating healthy most of the time and I am making sure to be at the gym even though I'm not working. This is what I ate on Monday, it was leg day! I love leg days and look forward to them then I hate them halfway through the workout every time! They take everything out of me. I know it's greens month and I don't have very much green in my meals. There is no way anything green (unless fruit) is going near my breakfast! I hate vegetables at breakfast time! I did have celery and broccoli though! So here it is!

Breakfast

1 whole egg and 1/4 cup of egg whites, pan fried with Pam, I keep the yolk soft! A coffee and a PC 0% strawberry Greek yogurt and vanilla activia yogurt mixed with 1/2 tbsp of chia and ground flax seeds

 

After my workout I had a protein shake with 1.5 scoops of protein and 6 oz unsweetened almond milk

Here's the protein I'm using right now. This is my first time using this protein. I don't care for it much and probably won't buy it again. I like to mix my protein with water only and when I tried that it tasted like watered down protein, it was not good. Milk makes it better but I want to eat the calories from the milk not drink them!

Lunch was 3.5 oz of rotisserie chicken breast, 1 serving of old cheddar,  raw veggies and some ranch dip. It was a good lunch. very simple but just what I was needing!

Then I had a coffee

For dinner I had 6oz of oven roasted Steel-head trout seasoned with a little salt, Mrs.Dash original and lemon pepper, 1/2 cup long grain brown rice and 1 cup of broccoli, roasted with lemon pepper and olive oil, oh and 2 tbsp of Horseradish Yogurt Dip!

 

Then I had more coffee

I also had a Casein protein shake mixed just with water before bed, I'm using Dymatize Chocolate Peanut Butter Casein protein

That's it! Thanks again to Jenn at Peas and Crayons for hosting again!

Lemon Chicken

So this week I made a lot of my food from recipes that I have in cookbooks. I like to follow the recipe to see if I like it. The lemon chicken comes from a book called "Bite Me'. I felt like there was just too much lemon flavor in the recipe for my liking. I did switch it up so the recipe you find here is the recipe I used. It was still very lemony, is that a word? I'm really happy that I didn't follow the recipe exactly.

 

Lemon Chicken

Adapted from the book "Bite Me"

Marinade

3/4 cup of fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup dry white wine

5 boneless skinless chicken breast

For the Chicken

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 tsp brown sugar for each chicken breast

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup dry white wine

Combine all marinade ingredients in  bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours. Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a baking pan with cooking spray. In a bowl mix the flour, salt and pepper. Remove chicken from marinade and shake some off the liquid off. Coat the chicken in flour. Shake off the excess, you want a light coating. Heat the oil in  a pan. Brown the chicken, about 3 min each side. Place in the baking pan in  a single layer. Sprinkle the brown sugar over top of each chicken breast. Mix the broth and wine in  a cup. Pour it in the baking pan but don't pour it over the chicken. Bake it for 30 min or until done.

Sauteed Green and Yellow Beans

1 bag of frozen green and yellow beans

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp lemon pepper

1 tsp light soy sauce

Heat a large pan over medium heat. Melt the butter, pour the bag of beans in the pan. Sprinkle over the lemon pepper. Mix the beans until defrosted. Add the soy sauce and mix. Cook for 3-5 more minutes.

This is my favourite way to eat beans..YUM!

What I ate Wednesday #7

I haven't done What I Ate Wednesday in a while, and I kinda missed it. I was lazy for a bit, then I got sick and now I'm better. I didn't capture what I ate in a day but I'm gonna let you in on my meal plan for a week. This week I decided that I would pick some recipes from cookbooks that I have and some Pinterested recipes. The theme for March is green, and you will see below I have green foods in each picture!

Saturday: Steak, Lemon Roasted Potato with Horseradish Yogurt sauce and salad

Sunday: Salt beef dinner (Jigg's Dinner)

Monday: Veal Scallop with sauteed vegetables

Tuesday: Mom's Lemon Chicken, sauteed green and yellow beans, mashed potato

Wednesday: Spicy chipotle bean & rice burritos (I'm going to add beef)

Thursday: Fries, dressing and gravy (Its a Newfie thing!)

Friday: Chicken Skewers, Amazing Satay Sauce, Fiery Noodle Salad

So the first book I cooked from is called Bite Me

I enjoy all the pictures in this book, it is so creative. The recipes on the other hand are okay. I have tried other recipes in this book but I don't remember what they are. This week I made Restorative Roasted Vegetable Soup (without the noodles), it's on Page 38 and Super Saucy Peanut Butter Noodles, Page 125. This is what I made for my lunch. They are both okay, but I probably won't make them again.

 I also made Mom's Lemon Chicken which is on Page 133. It was good, very very lemony! I changed up the recipe a little and didn't use all of the lemon juice that they called for. I wouldn't want the chicken to have anymore lemon. I will post my version in a few days. 

I still have hope for this book, there are still more recipes that I want to try. Maybe I just need to pick something better. Even if the recipes are the greatest, the pictures are amazing!

I also made Veal Scallop with Sauteed Vegetables from Gordon Ramsay's Fast Food. 

For me it lacked flavour. I didn't add the balsamic vinegar that it called for and maybe that's why. I don't like balsamic vinegar so I'd rather it be bland than taste like that. I have tried tons of recipes from this book and have loved them all. 

Check out the other recipes that I am trying out this week as well!

Thanks again to Jenn at Peas and Crayons for hosting another What I Ate Wednesday! Head on over there to check out some other great foods that other bloggers have posted!

What are some of your favorite cookbooks?

Maple Pancake Muffins

I've made these muffins before for the kids and they have loved them. I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought they looked great. The last time I made only chocolate. This time I let the kids pick what they wanted. The oldest wanted just chocolate chip, the middle picked butterscotch and coconut and the youngest picked white chocolate, coconut and strawberry. The original recipe is for mini muffins. I don't have a mini muffin pan so I got 10 regular sized muffins out of it. I increased the baking time to 18 minutes. Head over to Bakerella for the yummy recipe.

Lemon Roasted Potato with Horseradish Yogurt Sauce

 

I haven't posted in a quite a while. Life has been busy and I was sick. Tonight's dinner was grilled strip loin, garden salad and these potatoes. They are roasted in chicken stock with garlic, lemon and pepper. They are so moist when the come out and have a bit of tart from the lemon. I love the sauce that I made with it. I usually use low fat sour cream but didn't have any so fat free plain Greek yogurt is what I used. I was just as delicious and nobody noticed the difference. I usually make this sauce when I make prime rib, I love it, and so does my youngest son and daughter. If you have never had food BBQ'd on a charcoal grill you are missing out. It is something that you just have to do.

Roasted Potato

6 medium to large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut in half

1 carton of low sodium chicken stock

1 lemon, washed and cut in quarters

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 425F

Place all the potatoes in a single layer in a baking dish. Put all the remaining ingredients. Cover with foil and bake for 30-45 minutes. Pork with a fork to check if they are done. If the fork doesn't go through, bake longer.

Horseradish Yogurt Sauce

5 tbsp of fat free plain Greek yogurt

1/2 tbsp lime juice

1/2 tsp prepared horseradish

a pinch of salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Let sit in the fridge at for about 10 minutes in the fridge.