Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

I've made these egg rolls several times, and I'm just now getting them onto my blog to share with my readers. These make a great-tasting and nutritious snack and/or appetizer.
The first time I made these was for my sister's lingerie shower last year. It was a "hot and spicy" themed shower, and we had lots of southwestern hors d'oeuvres for the guests to munch on. These egg rolls were quite a hit. I have to admit that I forgot to put the cheese in the mixture the first time I made these, but there are so many flavors in it that I didn't even miss it.  I would definitely add cheese if making these for a party because it helps to hold everything together in the inside. However, I leave out the cheese when making these for my household snacks so I can save calories.


Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

Ingredients:
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend (optional)
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles, drained
4 green onions, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 package egg roll wrappers (about 24 total)

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine everything but the egg roll wrappers. Mix well to blend. Lay an egg roll wrapper out on a work surface so that one of the corners is pointing toward you. Place 1/4 cup of the filling in the center of the egg roll. Fold the tip closest to you up over the filling, roll a bit, then take the points pointing outward and fold them in toward the center. Continue rolling into an egg roll shape until a small part of the remaining point is still free. Dip a finger in water or beaten egg and lightly brush on the edges of the free corner. Finish rolling and press to seal closed. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.

Preheat the oven to 425-degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the sealed egg rolls on the baking sheet seam side down and spray the tops of the egg rolls with cooking spray. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly brown, turning halfway through baking. Serve warm with salsa or soy dipping sauce.

Source: Annie's Eats

My notes***  I found that these freeze well after they are baked. I just wrapped them up in some plastic wrap once they cooled and then put them in a zip top plastic bag.
To re-heat, place the frozen egg roll(s) onto a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray and bake for about 20 minutes at 425-degrees. If the egg rolls start to get too brown, cover with aluminum foil.

Aubrey's Famous Dipping Sauce

My husband makes the best dipping sauce I've ever had, and it's only 2 ingredients. This will probably be the simplest recipe I'll ever have on this blog, but it has so much flavor. He makes 2 different variations of this sauce to go with egg rolls, avocados, steamed artichokes, raw veggies, and a variety of other things. It's even great on top of burgers.

Are you ready for the recipe???
Here it is:
It's only mayo plus a few shakes of soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce. That's it; I told you it was simple!
You use mayo as your base. I like to use the olive oil or canola oil mayo. Then you add a few shakes of soy sauce or the Worcestershire sauce until you get it to the desired flavor, and BAM (as Emeril would say)!

We recently discovered a new soy sauce made with Tabasco. This is our favorite thing to mix with the mayo.

Source: My Man

Onion-Smothered Italian Burgers

There are thousands of different ways to make a burger stand out, if you know what I mean. I love a plain hamburger, but sometimes I just want it to have a little bit of "umph." This burger is definitely packed with flavor, and the onions are absolutely amazing. I'll probably use this recipe for onions in the future. These were also just as good (if not better) re-heated the next night.

Onion-Smothered Italian Burgers
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced Vidalia or other sweet onion
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 Tablespoons preshredded fresh Parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1 pound ground beef, extra lean
Cooking spray
4 (1 1/2 ounce) hamburger buns

Directions:
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, sugar, salt, and pepper to pan. Cook 6 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add vinegar to the pan; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

Combine cheese and next 5 ingredients (through beef) in a medium bowl; shape meat mixture into 4 (3-inch) patties. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add patties to pan. Cook 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Place 1 patty on bottom half of each bun; top each patty with 1/4 cup onion mixture and top half of each bun.
Yields 4 burgers (4 servings)

Nutritional info (per serving): 330 calories; 8.9g fat; 4mg iron; 65mg cholesterol; 142mg calcium; 33.7g carbs; 541mg sodium; 28.9g protein; 2.9g fiber

Source: Cooking Light, August 2008

Low Fat Baked Onion Rings

I'm a sucker for fried foods. I love the crunch I get when taking a bite. Why do fried foods have to taste so good but be so bad for you?
Well, thank heavens for Panko bread crumbs and corn flakes! Now I can have my crunch and eat it, too (and my hips don't have to regret anything).
These onion rings have so much flavor, and they are so easy to make... Not to mention that one serving is only about 75 calories. You can't beat that! I'll definitely be making these again

                                     


Low Fat Baked Onion Rings

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, sliced into 1/4-inch rings
2 1/4 cups low fat buttermilk
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup Italian seasoned whole wheat bread crumbs
1/4 cup crushed corn flake crumbs
Salt, to taste
Olive oil baking spray

Directions:
Place slices of onion in a shallow dish. Pour the buttermilk over the top and let them soak for about 1-2 hours, refrigerated.
Preheat oven to 450-degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or foil.
Combine Panko, bread crumbs, and corn flakes in a large dish, season with salt.
Dip each soaked onion ring into the crumb mixture; coat well. Place rings onto two cookie sheets. Lightly spray with olive oil baking spray.
Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately.
Yields 2 servings

Nurtritional Info (per serving): 74.7 calories; 0.6g fat; 14.7g carbs; 1.6g fiber; 1.7g sugar; 2.9g protein

Source: Gina's Skinny Recipes

Spicy Black Bean Hummus

I bought some hummus from the grocery store the other day. I'm not sure why I did that because store-bought hummus never tastes right to me. It's in the "store-bought-never-tastes-good" category along with cole slaw and potato salad as far as I'm concerned. Anywho, I decided to break out my food processor and make a batch since my husband has been wanting some (I've make a hummus-lover out of him since we've been married).
Hummus is so simple and quick to make (if you have a food processor), and it's always a great appetizer to bring to a party (I would double the recipe for parties). This particular recipe uses black beans in place of the chick peas, but it still incorporates the tahini like traditional hummus. Aubrey and I were amazed when we tasted the hummus. There are so many of our favorite flavors in each bite. Aubrey loves spicy foods, and I love black beans and cumin. We could have easily eaten the whole bowl in one sitting.

Spicy Black Bean Hummus
Ingredients:
1 garlic clove, peeled
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon tahini
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 small jalapeno pepper, chopped (about 2 Tablespoons)
Dash of crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Dash of ground red pepper
Pita bread and/or pita chips

Directions:
Place garlic in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Add lemon juice, tahini, cumin, salt, black beans, jalapeno pepper, and crushed red pepper; process until smooth. Spoon bean mixture into a medium bowl, and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with ground red pepper. Serve with pita chips.

Nutritional Info (per 2 1/2 Tablespoon serving): 148 calories; 6.2g fat; 1.7mg iron; 0mg Cholesterol; 16mg calcium; 20.6g carbs; 381mg sodium; 4.5g protein; 3.5g fiber.

Source: Cooking Light

Asparagus with Balsamic Tomatoes

This is probably at the top of my list right now for my favorite side dishes. Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables, and many times I'll just roast it in the oven with olive oil and a little salt and pepper. Even though roasted asparagus is delicious, this recipe knocks the roasted one right out of the water. The tang from the tomatoes and balsamic vinegar mixed with the creamy crumbles of goat cheese make this irresistible. I'll definitely be making this more in the future.

Ingredients:
1 pound asparagus, trimmed
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups halved grape tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
Cook asparagus in boiling water 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes and garlic; cook 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar; cook 3 minutes. Stir in salt. Arrange asparagus on a platter; top with tomato mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and pepper.
Yield: 4 servings

Nutritional Info (per serving): 69 calories; 3.9g fat; 3g protein; 6.5g carbs; 4mg cholesterol; 16mg iron; 181mg sodium; 45mg calcium

Source: Cooking Light

Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken

I've come to love my crockpot over the past few months. It's so nice to come home from a long day of work and have supper ready. It also makes a lot of food that we can eat on for a couple of days. This Tex-Mex chicken was delicious. The beans and chicken were perfectly tender, and it had a nice smokey flavor from the adobo sauce. I put this mixture on top of a baked potato for a complete meal. Normally I like my baked potatoes slathered with butter, bacon, and all the other unhealthy stuff, but this Tex-Mex Chicken had enough flavor on it's own. I only added a dab of light sour cream on top, and it was still figure friendly.

Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken

Ingredients:
1 cup dried pinto beans
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups mild or medium salsa
2-3 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Coarse salt and ground pepper, to taste
1 large yellow onion chopped
1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/4 cup low-fat sour cream, for serving
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, for serving
4 scallions, white and green parts chopped, for serving

Directions:
In a five to six-quart slow cooker, stir together beans, salsa, chilies, flour and water.
Season chicken with salt and pepper; arrange on top of bean mixture. Scatter onion, bell pepper, and garlic on top of chicken.

Cover and cook on low heat for eight hours. Do not open lid or stir... I promise it's working!
Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred into large pieces. Return chicken to slow cooker and top with sour cream, cilantro, and scallions.
Serves 6 as a main course. Serves about 8-10 if you serve on top of a baked potato.

Source: Apple A Day ... Originally from Martha Stewart

Baked Chicken Parmesan

I love finding recipes that lighten up a normally full-o-fat recipe. However, it's only considered a "win" if the taste isn't sacrificed. I consider this particular recipe a "win." I always beat my chicken to death between 2 layers of plastic wrap. Beating the chicken with a mallet helps me get my frustrations out makes the chicken really tender. If you do that, the cooking time may decrease a bit. Mine did, anyway... by about 5 minutes. The end result was a tender piece of chicken wrapped in a crispy coating with cheesy goodness on top.
Did I mention that I love beating chicken?

Baked Chicken Parmesan
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
3/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I accidently left this out, and it still turned out amazing)
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese
1 cup marinara sauce

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450-degrees. Spray a large baking sheet lightly with cooking spray.

Combine breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in a bowl. Melt the butter in another bowl. Lightly brush the butter onto the chicken, then dip into the breadcrumb mixture. Place chicken on the preparred baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining chicken.

Lightly spray a little more cooking oil on top and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Turn chicken over, bake another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, spoon sauce over chicken and top with shredded cheese. Bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted.
Yield: 4 servings

Nutritional Info (per serving): 224.5 calories; 8.6g fat; 14.2g carbs; 1.3g fiber

Source: Gina's Skinny Recipes

Moon Pie Ice Cream

Happy Mardi Gras! Mobile has been filled with moon pies, king cakes, beads, and parades over the past few weeks. I recently tried the mint moon pies for the first time, and I'm addicted. If you love Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies, you will love these. They are identical as far as taste is concerned.
I decided to make a vanilla ice cream and mix moon pie pieces throughout for this year's Mardi Gras recipe. I used the mint moon pie, but you could use any kind you like.

Moon Pie Ice Cream

Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
6 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 mini moon pies (or 1 large moon pie), chopped into small pieces




Directions:

Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup of the cream, and salt in a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the warm milk and add the bean as well. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Put the vanilla bean into the custard, add the vanilla extract, and stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean, rinsing and reserving it for another use, and then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add the chopped moon pies during the last 1 or 2 minutes of churning.

Source: Vanilla Ice Cream from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Baked Oven Fries

I made these oven fries last week, and I apologize for just now getting around to posting them. I was so happy with how these turned out. The only thing I would do differently is cut them a little thicker. Mine cooked a little faster than the directions called for. Next time I'll cut them at least 1/3 or 1/4-inch thick.
One of the reasons I love this recipe is because I don't have to deal with the frying pan. I always get nervous when I fry things because of all the oil that bubbles and pops; not to mention the stench it leaves in the house and in my hair and clothes. These baked up nicely in the oven without me having to worry about them. I'll definitely be making these again and again.

Baked Oven Fries
Ingredients:
3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut lengthwise into even sized wedges
5 Tablespoons vegetable, canola or peanut oil, divided
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 475-degrees. Place the potato wedges in a large mixing bowl. Cover with hot water; soak for 10-30 minutes. Put 4 tablespoons of the oil onto a heavy rimmed baking sheet. Tilt the sheet side to side to evenly coat the pan with oil. Sprinkle the pan evenly with the salt and pepper. Set aside.

Drain the potatoes. Spread the wedges out on layers of paper towels or on clean kitchen towels. Pat dry with additional towels. Wipe out the now empty bowl so it is dry. Return the potatoes to the bowl and toss with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Arrange the potato wedges on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 5 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the bottoms of the potatoes are spotty golden brown, 15-20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet after 10 minutes. Using a metal spatula and tongs, flip each potato wedge keeping them in a single layer. Continue baking until the fries are golden and crisp, 5-15 minutes. Rotate the pan as needed to ensure even browning.

When the fries are finished baking, transfer to a paper-towel lines plate to drain some of the grease. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Source: Annie's Eats