Buffalo Chicken Zucchini Boats

I was feeling uninspired yesterday by the contents of my fridge. I had leftover cubed chicken and some zucchini and I just wasn't excited about doing the usual casserole with rice or stir fry. Then I realized..what is more thrilling than cutting your zucchini into boats and stuffing them? Many things...but bear with me. 

I knew that if I was going to serve my husband anything in a boat of zucchini it better have an amazing flavor or bacon or lots of cheese. So, this is what I came up with.

Buffalo Chicken Zucchini Boats

4 medium zucchinis, cut in half lengthwise
4 strips of turkey bacon, diced
1/2 of a medium red onion
1/2 cup carrots, finely diced
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
1 1/2 cups cubed chicken
1/2 cup buffalo chicken sauce
Cheddar cheese to sprinkle on top

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, hollow out the zucchini, reserving and chopping the insides.

 Cook the bacon in a pan until crispy then add the carrots and cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add the reserved zucchini, onions, and garlic and cook until tender, about 3-5 minutes.

Mix in the chicken and hot sauce and remove from heat. Put the zucchini halves in the boiling water and boil for a minute. Remove from water and place in a 13x9 baking dish. Stuff the zucchini halves with the buffalo chicken mixture and sprinkle on as much or as little cheese as you like.

Bake in a preheated 350F oven until the zucchini is nice and tender and the cheese has melted, about 30-40 minutes.


 I'm happy to report that Nick loved these (so much that I didn't have time to take an "end product" picture) and said I should make them again very soon. I think they would be even more amazing with a homemade avocado ranch dressing.  So. next time your fridge is overflowing with zucchini and boring chicken, give this recipe a try! 

Flour-less Dark Chocolate Brownies

Apparently, when having our annual sister bake off, my brownies did not get any individual shots. So here is a group picture, with Sam's amazing Greek Yogurt Apple Caramel Cheesecake bars stealing front and center. 

The brownies still deserve some attention though! Of course, "healthy" when talking about brownies is somewhat relative, but these are decidedly better for you than traditional brownies, as well as being grain and gluten free. I made mine with peanut butter swirled into the top of the batter before cooking. 

Don't get thrown off by the secret ingredient! Many people, including some men who don't even like beans in chili, sampled them and thought they were quite tasty. Aforementioned men were totally floored when I told them afterwards that the brownies contained beans. Try them before you judge and I think you will be very pleasantly surprised....I was! 

*Disclaimer* I usually don't make exceptionally healthy desserts. My philosophy is that a dessert should taste like a dessert. If I want a salad, I know how to make that too but they should not be confused. However, when I can make something that is quite tasty and also a bit better for me, I call that a win-win. 

Flour-less Dark Chocolate Brownies 

 1 can black beans (15.5 oz), drained and rinsed. 

 1 egg (or 2 if you prefer a more cake like brownie)

 3 tablespoons butter, melted (coconut oil would probably be very yummy too) 

1/2-3/4 cup cocoa powder (if you prefer very dark, less sweet chocolate then use 3/4) 

 1/4 teaspoon salt

 1 teaspoon vanilla

 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Chocolate chips, peanut butter, walnuts, whatever sounds amazing to you(optional)

Rinse black beans thoroughly! Put all ingredients except optional toppings into blender and blend very well. You don't want any chunky pieces! Scrap batter into 9*9 glass pan and top according to your liking.
Bake at 350 F for about 25 minutes, being careful to not over bake. 

Stair Workout

Ok, ladies. This workout is harder than it looks. You will be breathing hard and your legs will be begging for a rest but you can do it! What I love about this workout is all you need is your body, a timer, and a set of stairs. No Excuses!
Grab your timer (I use Seconds free edition on my iPhone).

2 minutes Stair Runs
2 minutes One Leg Step Ups
2 minutes Jump Ups
2 minutes Side Stair Runs

Do at least 3 sets. If you can do more than 3, you deserve a medal!

If you need a visual of these exercises, visit Patience's Instagram page and watch the nifty little video demonstrating the moves.

Greek Yogurt Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Last year, the incredibly decadent apple caramel cheesecake bars I made won first place in our sister bake off. These bars had almost 3 sticks of butter in them and were drizzled with store bought melted caramels. Lets just say, the calories in those bars are out of control. Still, if you have never made them I suggest you try the original version once in your life. They're that amazing. 

My goal though, was to create a delicious though slightly less decadent version that I could make more than once in a lifetime! I've been curious about Greek yogurt cheesecake because I am a lover of both cheesecake and Greek yogurt. It just makes sense to combine these two great loves. 

The Greek yogurt cheesecake was not quite as smooth and creamy as a cream cheese based cheesecake. However, it still had excellent flavor and decent texture considering it is entirely yogurt! 

One of the other major changes I made to the original recipe was making a homemade caramel sauce. This caramel sauce is not as thick as a store bought version but still has a rich flavor that complemented the tartness of the apple and yogurt. 

Give it a try, folks!

Greek Yogurt Apple Caramel Cheesecake

Shortbread Crust-
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt 

Cheesecake Layer-
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp flour
3 cups plain Greek yogurt
1 cup sugar

Streusel Layer-
3 apples (Macintosh or Granny Smith)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp coconut oil
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of nutmeg

Caramel Sauce-
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup almond milk
2 tsp arrowroot powder



First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a 9X13 with tin foil. Spray the tin foil with cooking spray.
Pulse the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until crumbly. Press into the foil lined pan and put in the oven for 15 minutes, or until set. 
For the cheesecake layer, beat together the eggs and sugar. Add the vanilla and flour and mix thoroughly. Gently fold in the yogurt.
Pour the cheesecake mixture evenly over the warm crust. 
Dice the apples and sprinkle over the cheesecake mixture. 
Mix together the rest of the streusel ingredients and sprinkle over the apples. Place in the oven for 25 minutes or until the cheesecake is just set and lightly browned. 
While your cheesecake is baking, make the caramel sauce by melting the butter in a saucepan. Add the brown sugar and maple syrup and bring to a boil, then simmer gently for 5 minutes. Add the almond milk and arrowroot powder and return to heat for several minutes and continue to stir while the mixture thickens. 
Let the cheesecake bars cool for an hour or so and then drizzle the caramel sauce onto the bars. Place in the fridge for 4-8 hrs (hardest part!) and serve chilled! 

2nd Annual Sister's Bake Off

Last year, we started a tradition that we hope will continue for many years to come. Once a year, on vacation, we have a bake off between the sisters who enjoy baking. Who wouldn't love having three amazing desserts to eat in one night? The first year, we had everyone write their vote on a piece of paper to determine a winner. This year, we had the four oldest men in the house be the official judges.

                                                       one of the esteemed judges 

Let me tell you; these men took their job as judges extremely seriously. I wish I had gotten a video of their heated discussion about the texture and balance of each dessert.

The theme of the bake off this year was healthy desserts. We had a peach crunch dessert,  Greek yogurt apple caramel cheesecake bars( a healthy take on last years winning dessert), and flourless peanut butter fudge brownies. All three were a huge hit but the cheesecake bars won again by a slight margin!

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we enjoyed coming up with them!

Muffin, Please!

The weather has officially taken a turn for fall in my hometown. The crispy, cool  breeze this morning just begged for a warm freshly-baked breakfast treat!
Oh, and my daughter begged for one too. Then ate three(!) of them.

In my experience, healthy muffins can be quite dry and tasteless. These were light and fluffy, yet moist, with just a touch of sweetness. I didn't feel like I was sacrificing deliciousness for health! These would make a great on the go snack as well. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did. 

Banana Oat Applesauce Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour*

1 cup oats (quick or rolled)

2 tsps baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 egg

3/4 milk

1/4 cup honey *

1/3 cup applesauce

1/2 tap vanilla extract

1 cup mashed bananas

1. Combine flour, oats, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon. 

2. In a large bowl, beat the egg lightly. Stir in the milk, applesauce, honey,and vanilla. Add the mashed banana and combine thoroughly. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper cups and put 1/4 cupful of batter into each cup. 

3. Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degree C) for 18-20 minutes. 

* (I would usually use whole wheat but was all out. If you use whole wheat add a bit extra applesauce and milk to combat the density.)

*(You could add a bit more honey if you prefer sweeter muffins, especially if you are using unsweetened applesauce.)

Nice to Meet You!

Hello Blogger World! Please read our "Sisters' Stories" page for more info about us. 

We have created this blog to share with each other healthy recipes, home based workouts, and encouragement as we learn and grow together. We plan on discussing healthy eating on a budget and balancing health and fitness with being busy wives, mothers, girlfriends, daughters, and friends. We will also be sharing stories from our daily lives, crafts we do with our children and more. We aren't professional photographers, trained bakers, or perfect parents by any means but we are learning to laugh at our failures and just enjoy the little things. 

We hope to keep the content of our blog encouraging and uplifting. Life is sometimes hard, parenting can be incredibly exhausting, and (maybe its just us) but reading the news usually just causes tears and anxiety. Let's combat all the negativity around us, while still being "real". We hope that anyone who reads this page will be encouraged, inspired, and maybe even have a good laugh...