Reicpe O The Day: Grilled Mole Chicken

A friend of mine found a recipe from Jillian Michaels for Mole Pork Chops and recommended it to me. Now, Mole is a sauce with about 5,326 ingredients in it, including chile spice and cocoa powder, but I am happy to report, this is just a Mole rub used to make the pork chops nice and spicy. And it does not have 5,326 ingrendients in it, therefore, I was inclined to give it a try.

Of course, I had to tweak it--I used it on boneless chicken, pan grilled it, used smoked paprkia instead of paprika, and switched fresh garlic for garlic powder. The result? Delicious, spicy chicken that was ready in 45 minutes. (If you put the rub on in the morning and refrigerate the chicken, you can pull it out, grill it, and have the chicken done in 15 minutes.) Sweet!

I served this with black beans, tortillas, and sauteed plantains with maple syrup. A trip to Latin America in 15 minutes, what is not to love?

Grilled Mole Chicken (adapted from Jillian Michales)

*two boneless chicken breasts (this will make four servings)
*1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
*2 teaspoons onion powder
*1/4 tsp garlic powder
*1 1/2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
*1/4 tsp chipotle chile powder
*1 dash cinnamon
*1 tbsp brown sugar

Put a piece of waxed paper down on the counter. Put down a chicken breast, cover with another piece of waxed paper and pound until thin.

Combine all the spices in a small bowl. Rub spices on both sides of chicken, let sit overnight or 30 minutes.

Heat grill pan over medium-high heat. Spray each side of the chicken with cooking spray. Grill until cooked through (depending on thickness of chicken, usually 4-7 minutes each side.) Cut chicken in half for serving.

Mango Salsa

1 mango, diced
Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced
1/4 tsp salt
1 avocado, diced

Combine all of the above and serve with chicken.

To complete the meal: serve with rice, black beans, tortillas, plantains...and enjoy your Latin American diner!

Recipe O' The Day: Healthy Chocolate Pancakes

So I have been on the hunt for a healthy pancake recipe. You know, one that doesn't create pancakes that taste like utter crap. I have tried many, none of them tasted any better than if I had ripped apart a cardboard box, cut out circles, and poured syrup over the top...until I found this recipe by Joy Bauer.

These pancakes are FREAKING AWESOME. They taste delicious, whether you use the strawberry topping or indulge a bit with a dab of Smart Balance and drizzle of real maple syrup. I could eat these every weekend. So enjoy!



Chocolate Pancakes

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp ground flaxseed
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 egg
1 egg white
1 cup skim milk
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa, sugar, flaxseed, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the whole egg and the egg white. Then add the milk, oil and vanilla and whisk until combined.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir until batter is just blended. Do not overmix. Let batter rest for 10 minutes.

Spray a large skillet or griddle with cooking spray. Heat over medium heat. After two minutes, ladle 1/4 cup batter per pancake on to surface. Cook until bubbles form on surface, about 1-2 minutes. Flip and cook about a minute longer.

Strawberry Sauce: 1 16 ounce frozen unsweetened whole strawberries and 1 TBSP maple syrup.

In large saucepan, combine frozen strawberries, maply syrup and 2 tbsp water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer for 15 minutes.

Nutrition info for 2 pancakes: 242 calories; 7 g protein; 9 g fat; 35 mg cholesterol; 4 g fiber; 260 mg sodium. Strawberry Sauce (1/4 cup) is 35 calories, 2 g fiber.

I just bought these boots

And two things to note here: I paid CASH and they were marked down from $219 to $139! Yes! Will go awesome with my jeggings, ruffled white shirt, cardigan, etc. LOVE! Ali on the Bachelorette had a pair of Miz Mooz boots I *loved* (remember, Bachelorette fans? The ones with the buttons on the side?) but alas, they are no longer available.

But these ARE. And I have them. Of course, now I have no money for anything else but I have a sweet pair of boots if all else fails...LOVE!