Mantu that turned into chips

I was frustrated yesterday and today by not being able to find ground lamb at any of my local markets.

I could find lamb shanks and other lamb bits but zero ground lamb.

I did buy most of the other ingredients. 

So, until I get the rest of the stuff and I am able to try making mantu - here is a look at the breakfast I made when I was craving potato chips.

I am perpetually confused with the whole sweet potato vs yam business. I will show you what the sweet potato/yam that I used looked like:

I used the whipped egg white technique that worked out well from the recipe I used for my eggplant parmesan and added in some other spices (recipe to follow).

So, here is the downside to disliking sweets and craving the savory: If you are a sweets person you could easily go to the store and buy a big bag of potato chips and eat a handful and be done with it. But I, for one, cannot do that. I would go to the store and buy a large bag of chips and proceed to eat them all in one sitting. 


And for all of you that wondered - I totally get the whole 'I could eat a whole bag of gummy bears' thing - only for me it would be potato chips. 


So, to make sure the 'eat an entire bag of chips, be covered in potato chip bits and have the dogs stare at me like they want to jump me and scavenge off the crumbs' scenario didn't happen, I made my own chips.


And I made a great dip of greek yogurt mixed with dried parsley and Frank's Red Hot sauce for dunking.

 Yes, this turned out incredibly delicious!

Yam or sweet potato oven chips

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1/2 of a yam or sweet potato, peeled and sliced 1/4" thick

1/2 cup of bread crumbs

2 Tbsp of nutritional yeast

1 tsp of paprika

1/2 tsp of garlic powder

1/2 tsp of onion powder

a pinch of salt

cracked black pepper to taste

2 egg whites whisked till they are frothy

2 tsp. of olive oil

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with tinfoil and brush with olive oil.

Peel and slice the yam or sweet potato. Whisk 2 egg whites until they are frothy (not too much - you don't want it so whipped it creates peaks).

Combine the bread crumbs with the nutritional yeast, paprika,  garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper and place on a plate.

Dip the slices in the egg whites and coat well with the bread crumb mixture.

Cook the slices in the oven for 8 minutes and then turn them over and cook another 4 minutes. Cooking times will vary according to the thickness of the slices but what you are aiming for is for the slices to be golden brown on each side.

When the chips are done, pull them out of the oven and let them cool a bit. Serve in a small bowl lined with paper towels and a second bowl filled with your dip of choice.

Optional: Combine 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt with 2 Tbsp of dried parsley and a sprinkle of Frank's Hot Sauce for your dipping sauce.

Enjoy!

Parmesan chicken tenders

Parmesan oven baked chicken tenders.

I picked up some chicken breasts at the store the other day. They were huge! I tried cooking one whole but I ended up completely drying it out because I kept worrying that it wasn't cooked through.

For the second chicken breast I decided to cut it into smaller pieces and make some chicken tenders. 

Parmesan chicken tenders are best enjoyed dunked in your favorite marinara sauce.

Parmesan chicken tenders
 Serves 1


Ingredients:

1 chicken breast cut into long pieces
1 cup of bread crumbs
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 tsp. of ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. of salt
2 Tbsp. of Miracle Whip
 
Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Wash the chicken breast and pat dry with paper towels. Set out two plates. Place the Miracle whip on one. Mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper and place on the second dish. 

Cut the chicken breast into long strips. Take each strip and coat with the Miracle Whip and then roll in the bread crumb mix, making sure it is well coated. Shake off any excess bread crumbs and lay the tender on a baking sheet. 

When you have finished coating all of the tenders, place the pan in the oven. After 8 minutes, carefully turn the tenders over being careful not to knock off the breading.  Cook for another 8 minutes or until they are cooked through.

Use your favorite marinara sauce for dipping. 

Enjoy! 

Stuffed shells with broccoli and gruyere

One of my favorite dinner dishes is lasagna. But, unfortunately, I have yet to find a lower fat recipe that was worth eating.


So, last night, I went with my second favorite dinner - stuffed shells.

Stuffed shells with broccoli and Gruyere.

I decided to try and make a version of stuffed shells that would reduce the fat content (the cheese) and would also increase the amount of vegetables.


I boiled some large shells for 6 minutes in salted water.

Unfortunately, my last piece of the 'striped hat' pasta did not survive the boiling.

For the filling I combined:


1 cup of steamed broccoli, chopped fine
2 Tbsp. of bread crumbs
1/4 cup of shredded Gruyere cheese
1/4 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. of dried basil
1/4 tsp. of dried oregano
1/4 tsp. of dried parsley
1 egg
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of ground black pepper
1 tsp. of roasted red bell pepper, chopped fine

1 1/2 Tbsp. of the filling went into each shell.

A small amount of spaghetti sauce went into the bottom of an oven safe dish.

I placed the stuffed shells seam side down into the sauce.

More sauce went on top.

I covered the dish with tinfoil and put it into a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.


After 30 minutes, I removed the foil and let it continue to cook for another 5 - 10 minutes.

These turned out amazing! The inside had just enough cheese to punch up the flavor and the egg and breadcrumbs added a croquette-like texture to the filling.


Anytime you are craving stuffed shells but you don't want all that cheese this is a great option.