Baked Mozzarella Sticks

I've seen the baked mozzarella sticks on pinterest as a huge fail.  I'm happy to report that I made them and they were not a huge fail! I actually did nail it!

The key to baked mozzarella sticks is to make sure your sticks are thoroughly frozen.  I had mine frozen overnight, plus all the next day and they were sufficiently frozen.  These were also pretty easy to make and I must say, I pretty much made up this version.  Easy squeasy and ready quickly (after they're frozen)

Baked Mozzarella Sticks
4 mozzarella sticks cut in half.  Freeze overnight
1 tbsp flour
1 egg beaten
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 tbsp parmesan
2 tbsp your favorite spice blend.  I used Emeril's Bayou Blast (homemade though!)

Preheat oven to 425F
Put the flour in one bowl.  Put the egg in another bowl.  Put the bread crumbs, parmesan and spices in another bowl and combine.  Dip one frozen stick in the flour, the egg and then the bread crumbs and place on a baking sheet.  Repeat with the remaining sticks.  Spray with Pam.  Bake for 5 minutes.  Turn carefully and bake for another 5 minutes, watching very carefully to make sure the cheese doesn't melt everywhere.

These are pretty good and could be very addicting.  PORTION CONTROL is key term here!

Terrible picture, but you get the idea!

Chili Con Turkey

In the quest to get healthy again; I made this healthy abs diet dinner.  This was very tasty and very filling! I used brown rice and frozen corn and hot salsa to season and it was very good.  It's not exactly chili, but a very nice ground turkey dish bursting with flavor and health!

Chil Con Turkey

from Abs Diet by way of Men's Health

Serves 4

1 pound of ground turkey

1 can (14 oz) Mexican Diced Tomatoes

1 can (15 oz) Reduced Sodium Black Beans; rinsed and drained

14 oz corn (I used frozen, but recipe uses canned)

1 package of chili mix (I used probably 1/4 cup hot salsa instead)

1 tbsp ground flaxseed

1/4 cup water (I'd leave this out next time I make it)

1 cup cooked rice (I used brown)

In a large skillet over medium high heat cook the turkey until it's done.   Add all of the ingredients, except the rice and cook until everything is warmed through (about 10 minutes). Serve over the brown rice and eat up!

I-Am-Not-Eating-Salad- Salad

In the quest to get back on track and start eating healthier, it was time for drastic measures.  What better way to get back on track than by eating salads! What I did was create salads for the entire week.  This is exactly the same salad from the Abs Diet Book already pre-portioned and ready to go.  One day of weekend work makes for an easy week!

I-Am-Not-Eating-Salad- Salad

From Abs Diet by way of Women's Health

2 ounces grilled chicken

1 cup of romaine lettuce

1 tomato, chopped

1 small green pepper, chopped

1 medium carrot chopped

3 tbsp of Italian Dressing (I used 2 tbsp)

1 tbsp parmesan cheese

1 tbsp ground flaxseed

Chop the chicken into small pieces. Mix all the ingredients together, and store in the fridge. Eat on multigrain bread or by itself.

What a nice sense of accomplishment to have lunches completed for the week! Some of these have tomatoes from my garden too!

Philadelphia Fryers

It's time to start eating healthy again and I decided to go with this tasty take on a philly cheesesteak.  This version comes from the Abs Diet Book and it's super easy to prepare and requires practically no cooking. I served the sandwich on my homemade buns and it was delicious.  I chose a hot salsa and it was quite hot! It's a good sandwich and quite filling.  I served it with leftover sweet potato fries.

Philadelphia Fryers

adapted from Men's Health

Serves 4

1 medium onion sliced

1 green pepper sliced

2/3 cup medium or hot salsa

4 buns

3/4 pound thinly sliced roast beef

1/2 cup grated cheese 

In a nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook the onion and peppers until tender.  Add the salsa and warm through.

Open a bun and add the roast beef, peppers and onion and top with cheese.  Microwave until the cheese is melted (if you wish).

Here's the roast beef version

Here's the steak and american cheese version

This is steak

Yogurt Pancakes

I was in the mood for pancakes, but wanted to try and keep it healthy.  I searched pinterest for some healthy pancake ideas and saw that using plain yogurt in the pancakes was very popular.  My grandma also uses yogurt so I knew that this would be good!  I followed a recipe found on chobani.com and made a few modifications because I was out of a few ingredients.  These pancakes were delicious and possibly better than Aunt Jemima's.

 These pancakes are light and fluffy, with a delicious taste to them.  If you want a light and fluffy pancake, packed with protein, give these a shot!

Yogurt Pancakes

Adapted from Chobani.com (this recipe is no longer on their website)

3/4 cup AP Flour (going to try coconut flour next time!)

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1 egg white

1/4 cup plain greek yogurt

1/2 cup milk, or a little more if you prefer thinner pancakes

3/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup melted butter

Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  Add the greek yogurt, egg white, milk, vanilla and melted butter and stir to combine.  Cook just as you would pancakes and eat up!

Banana Bread!

I've had some bananas sitting out for awhile that were starting to turn overripe.  When that happens, it means banana bread is going to happen!

I've had my go-to banana bread recipe for awhile and it's delicious.  It's dense and packed full of bananas.  If you want a banana bread that tastes like bananas, give this one a try!

"In Your Face Banana Bread"
From Recipe Girl

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup butter, softened
¾ cup (packed) brown sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed over-ripe bananas (about 5 bananas)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 9×5-inch loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, soda and salt; set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended.

4. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten.

5. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake 60- 65 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean.

6. Allow bread to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: 1 loaf

Breakfast Naan

This breakfast meal is a delicious way to use up some leftover naan.  It's a filling breakfast with eggs, naan, avocado and yogurt sauce.

Breakfast Naan Pizza

Naan

1/2 smashed avocado

2 eggs over medium

Yogurt Sauce (1/4 cup plain greek yogurt, 3 tbsp sriracha sauce, splash of lemon juice, salt and pepper)

Cilantro (if desired)

Heat the Naan until it's warm. Top with smashed avocado.  Add eggs, yogurt sauce, sprinkle with cilantro and eat up!

Naan- Long Version

If you have extra time and wish to make a super fluffy naan, then go ahead and try this delicious version from the Food Network.  I started this dough in the morning before work in about 15 minutes and let it sit in the fridge all day.  This dough was very easy to work with after such a long rest and the naan were delicious.  Give it a try!

Naan- Long Version
Adapted from Food Network

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Melted butter for slathering on the naans (minced garlic added to the butter if you want garlic naan.

Directions
In a large glass, dissolve the dry yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar with 3/4 cup warm water (about 100 degrees F). Let it sit on your counter until it's frothy, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, sift the flour, salt, remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar and baking powder into a large, deep bowl.

Once the yeast is frothy, add the yogurt and the olive oil into the glass, and stir to combine. Pour the yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients and add the kalonji and fennel seeds, if using, and gently mix the ingredients together with a fork. When the dough is about to come together, use your hands to mix. It will feel like there isn't enough flour at first, but keep going until it transforms into a soft, slightly sticky and pliable dough. As soon as it comes together, stop kneading. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and let it sit in a warm, draft-free place for 2 to 4 hours (or in the fridge while you're at work all day)

When you're ready to roll, make sure you have two bowls on your counter: one with extra flour in it, and one with water. The dough will be extremely soft and sticky-this is good! Separate the dough into 6 equal portions and lightly roll each one in the bowl of extra flour to keep them from sticking to each other.

*I found that after a long fridge rest, the dough was not extremely sticky and I did not need the separate water bowl.

Shape the naan. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a teardrop shape, narrower at the top than at the bottom. It should be 8 to 9-inches long, 4-inches wide at its widest point and about 1/4-inch thick. Once you've formed the general shape, you can also pick it up by one end and wiggle it; the dough's own weight will stretch it out a little. Repeat this method with the rest of the dough.

*I just rolled them into circles.

Warm a large cast-iron skillet over high heat until it's nearly smoking. Make sure you have a lid large enough to fit the skillet and have a bowl of melted butter at the ready.

Dampen your hands in the bowl of water and pick up one of your naans, flip-flopping it from one hand to the other to lightly dampen it. Gently lay it in the skillet and set your timer for 1 minute. The dough should start to bubble.

*I brushed melted butter on them before placing in the skillet and then once in the skillet, I brushed butter on the other side.

After about 1 minute, flip the naan. It should be blistered and somewhat blackened, don't worry - that's typical of traditional naan! Cover the skillet with the lid and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute more.

Remove the naan from the skillet.  Place the naan in a tea towel-lined dish. Repeat with the rest of the naans and serve.

Sneaky Guacamole

If you're looking for a way to incorporate more vegetables into your diet, may I suggest this guacamole?  This guacamole is delicious and creamy but has a little secret; Peas! Yes, I included some peas into my guacamole and you can't even tell.  What a great way to sneak some vegetables into your diet!  I used this guacamole to top tuna tacos, but you can use it with chips too!

Sneaky Guacamole

1/4 cup thawed frozen peas

1 avocado

1/2 jalapeño

1/2 tomato.

Juice from 1/2 lime

Salt

Put all of the ingredients in a bowl or food processor and chop until the consistency you want.  Enjoy!

(not the best picture, but you get the idea)

Tomatoes and Lentils

Lentils are very healthy and good for you, but are a bit plain by themselves.  I used lentils as a side dish with my Yogurt Marinated Chicken.  These lentils have flavor and were really good with the tomatoes.  Let me know what you think!

Tomatoes and Lentils

1 tsp oil

1/2 onion finely chopped (I used a food processor)

2 cloves of garlic minced (you can use the food processor)

1/2 cup of lentils

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp paprika

1 can of diced tomatoes

1/2 cup chicken stock

Salt and Pepper

Heat the oil in a small pot over medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft.  Add the spices and lentils and cook for about a minute.  Add the tomatoes and chicken stock and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed and the lentils are tender.  About 15-20 minutes.  Yummy!