Friday Foodday

Happy Friday lovebugs! Here are some of my favorite recipes for the week.


Bacon Ranch Chili
c/o Cassie Craves

Ingredients

1/2 pound bacon, cut into small pieces

1 pound chicken breasts, cut into small chunks

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 jalapenos, seeded and minced

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 tablespoon cumin

1 packet dry ranch dressing mix

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups chicken stock

1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 can white beans (Great Northern or cannelini), drained and rinsed

Ranch dressing

Shredded cheddar cheese

Flour tortillas

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven, cook bacon until crispy; set aside on paper towels to drain. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of bacon grease from the skillet and reserve.

2. To Dutch oven, add chicken and cook over medium-high heat until browned and nearly cooked through. Stir in onion, garlic, and jalapeno; cook until vegetables are slightly softened. Season with chili powder, cumin, ranch dressing mix, and salt and pepper. 

3. Add chicken stock and, with a wooden spoon, release the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in tomatoes, beans and reserved bacon and simmer over medium-low heat until heated through, bubbly, and slightly thickened.

4. While chili is cooking, heat reserved bacon grease in a shallow skillet over moderate heat. Add flour tortillas, one at a time, and cook until browned and crispy. Set aside on paper towels to drain. Cut tortillas into strips.

5. To assemble chili, ladle into bowls. Top with a sprinkling of shredded cheese, a pile of tortilla strips, and a generous drizzle of ranch dressing.


Pasta Pancetta & Vodka Sauce
c/o Table for Two Blog

Ingredients
16 oz. penne pasta

2 tbsp. unsalted butter

4 oz. pancetta, diced 

1/3 cup of vodka

1/2 cup of heavy cream

1 1/2 cup of homemade marinara sauce or jarred

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for your pasta.

Using a nonstick skillet and brown your pancetta on medium heat.

Once your pancetta is browned, add in the vodka and let it cook with the pancetta until it’s reduced by half. Takes about 2-3 minutes.

Add in the marinara sauce and whisk in the heavy cream.

Let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, add in your pasta to the boiling salted water.

When pasta is done, drain it, and add it to the vodka sauce. Toss to coat well.

Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Brownie Batter Pancakes

c/o Skinny Taste

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Bob's spelt flour (or all-purpose or for gluten free use Bob’s gluten-free ap flour)
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp Hershey’s Special Dark unsweetened cocoa powder (or dutch cocoa)
• 1 1/2 packets nunaturals stevia or 1 tbsp + 1 tsp sugar (you can use less if you’re planning to top with syrup and don’t want the actual pancakes to taste sweet)
• pinch of salt (optional)
• 1 1/2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 5 1/2 tbsp nondairy milk of your choice

Directions

Mix dry ingredients very well, then add wet. Make pancakes! There are only 130 calories in this entire recipe. If you want a more substantial breakfast, feel free to make a bigger serving and/or go crazy with the toppings!!