#2,672: Lemon-Zucchini Cake

My friend Heather claims she doesn't like zucchini, but sent me the link to this recipe as a suggestion to try.  I had a HUGE zucchini on my counter from our back neighbor, and all of the ingredients except the lemon zest (so I just omitted) so I figured I'd make it for her and her family.  Thankfully, I was smart enough to save a little bit of the batter and cooked some in a ramekin so I could try it too, but not give her a cake with a piece missing.  HA!  The original recipe said this is a denser cake and it was definitely correct.  Like this is HEAVY.  I think cooking it with olive oil gave it a slightly different taste (have you ever tried olive oil cake?!  It's different), so next time I'd probably try making this with vegetable oil or coconut oil instead, but it was still pretty good.  Different...but good.  It certainly wasn't healthy with all that sugar...and the glaze didn't add to the healthiness factor either.  LOL.  Ask and you shall receive...or in my case, use it as an excuse to avoid doing homework and play in the kitchen instead!  

1¼ cup granulated sugar

6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 eggs, room temperature

⅓ cup vanilla almond milk

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla or almond extract

2 cups cake flour 

1¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp kosher salt

1½ cup shredded zucchini, drained and squeezed dry

2 tbsp lemon zest (I omitted because I didn't have any lemons on hand)

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1-2 tbsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk together. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar and olive oil. Whisk to combine.  Add eggs and almond milk and whisk together.  Add lemon juice and vanilla extract and stir to combine.  Add flour mixture and stir just until incorporated.  Fold in zucchini and lemon zest.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. The top of the cake should look dry.

Place the loaf on a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes. Use the parchment paper to carefully lift the cake from the pan and remove. Let cool completely on rack.

In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and lemon juice. Whisk until smooth.  Drizzle the glaze over the cake.

#2,671: Zucchini Meatballs (GF)

Stop right now and run out to your garden (or the neighbor's garden) or the grocery store and go get some zucchini.  I'll be honest, I had low expectations for these "zucchini meatballs" but I actually ate EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. of them and even kept eating them when I was full because there were only 2 left and I didn't want them to go to waste (I could have saved them for the next morning I suppose.  I loved these so much, I'm actually debating if I should make them again now so I can eat them tomorrow.

These were so good I didn't even eat it on a plate.  See that cutting board I took the picture on....that worked for me! 

Here's the trick though...get as much liquid out as you can!  I was sure these were going to be too wet in the middle, and I tried one half way through and was pretty sure that was going to be the case, but when they were done cooking they were wonderful!  

2 tsp. oil

1-1/2 lb. zucchini (about 3), shredded

1-1/4 cups dry Italian-style bread crumbs (I used plain GF breadcrumbs and then just added some Italian seasoning)

3 Tbsp. Grated Parmesan Cheese

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 egg, beaten

1/3 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves, chopped, divided

1 jar (24 oz.) Traditional Pasta Sauce for dipping

Heat oven to 400°F.

Heat oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add zucchini; cook 5 min. or until tender, stirring occasionally. Drain in colander. Use back of spoon to press zucchini into colander to remove as much liquid as possible. Cool zucchini 5 min.

Place zucchini in large bowl. Add bread crumbs, cheese, garlic, egg and 1/4 cup basil; mix well. Shape into 18 "meatballs," using about 2 Tbsp. zucchini mixture for each ball. Place on rimmed baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake 15 min. Flip over and bake another 10-15 minutes.  

Top with pasta sauce or just use it like a dipping sauce like I did.  

#2,670: Kung Pao Cauliflower (GF)

I eat a lot of cauliflower in this house, so I was excited to give this recipe a try.  Although I'll admit, when it said to cook it for less than 10 minutes (total), I knew this was going to be too crunchy for my liking.  So I cooked it a little longer and even then when it was done, I put a lid on it to let it keep steaming a little longer.  It's still got a bit of a crunch, but it's not as hard as I think it was supposed to be.  If you like crunchy cauliflower though, then follow the recipe exactly.

By the way, I loved this!  I think using a heartier nut (like cashews as the recipe suggests or walnuts like I had on hand) give this a nice crunch and texture.  I even really enjoyed the leftovers the next day (cold of course since that's how I eat a lot of my leftover food).  

1 large cauliflower head, cut into small floret pieces

1 red pepper, diced

1 yellow pepper, diced (I didn't have any so I just omitted...3 peppers seemed like a lot anyways!)

1 orange pepper, diced

1 tbsp ginger, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

5 scallion, cut 2” in lengths

1/3 cup raw cashews (I used slivered almonds and some walnut pieces since that's what I had on hand)

1 tsp pepper flakes, optional

2 tbsp olive oil

1 lb rice noodles (any other type of noodles will work) (I omitted)

For the sauce

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp tomato ketchup

4 tbsp coconut aminos (that seemed like a lot so I used 3 tbsp) 

2 tbsp unrefined sugar (I used swerve sugar substitute and only used 1 tbsp)

1/4 cup water

3 tsp arrowroot powder, or cornstarch

Since I didn't serve over noodles, I omitted this step...obviously. Cook noodles according to package instructions. Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large non-stick skillet, over medium heat, place the olive oil over medium to high heat. Add the cauliflower, and cook stirring occasionally for 5 minutes until the cauliflower as cooked a bit. It will not be cooked fully through, as you will add it later on with the other veggies. Take the cauliflower out into a large plate and set aside. (I just kept mine in the pan and added the peppers to it)

Add the diced peppers to the skillet. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the cauliflower back to the skillet and cook with the peppers stirring occasionally for another 5 minutes until the veggies are almost cooked through but not mushy. 

Add the garlic, ginger and cashews and cook further for 2 minutes. At this point add the sauce to the skillet and cook for 1 minute over high heat or until thickened. Add the spring onions and serve over the noodles while still warm.

#2,669: Fried Zucchini (GF)

I like any veggie fried.  I mean, who doesn't?!?!  But I was not successful with this recipe!  Those big zucchini rounds look pretty good, and I'm all for coconut flavoring, but this tasted too coconutty for my liking and just got mushy, rather than crispy.  This wasn't worth making and I even had to get a second pan to try and finish frying these up because the breading kept falling off and just burning in the pan.  Maybe if you actually dropped these in a deep fryer it would work out better?!

3 medium zucchini or yellow squash

2 eggs

1 tablespoon water

1/3 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

vegetable oil, for frying

ranch dressing, for serving (optional)

Wash and slice the zucchini into thin rounds, about 1/8-1/4 inch thick.

Heat a 1/4 inch of oil in the bottom of a large skillet over medium heat.
In a shallow bowl, beat together the egg and water.  Set aside.  In a second bowl combine the coconut flour and parmesan cheese. 

Coat the zucchini in the egg and then dredge in the coconut mixture to coat.  Add a single layer of zucchini to the hot oil, being careful not to crowd the pan. 

Fry for 1-2 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Repeat with remaining zucchini.

Drain on a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle with salt, if desired.

Serve with ranch dressing for dipping.

#2,668: Chocolate Peanut Butter (Overnight) Chia Breakfast Pudding

Once before I tried making chia pudding and it didn't go very well, so I haven't really tried again since.  Well now was the time to try again, and I am SO glad I did.  I decided to make this "pudding" for breakfast and you know it's good when even your picky 6 year old likes it and asks that you make it for him for breakfast the next day!  YES!  I added a swirl of peanut butter and a few mini chocolate chips to the top right before I ate it...oh my goodness, so good!  

This recipe serves FOUR, so adjust accordingly if you want to make less! 

1/2 c chia seeds

1 1/2 c almond milk

1/4 cup chocolate protein powder (I personally used Young Living Pure Protein Complete)

1/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tbsp agave (I omitted)

2 tbsp all natural peanut butter
Mini chocolate chips (optional)

Place the chia seeds, cocoa powder and protein into a mason jar and give it a swirl just to combine the ingredients. Add in the almond milk and agave. Put the lid on tight and shake until completely mixed. (You might need to get a spoon and really mix the bottom...mine stuck in places and didn't mix all the way).

Place the jar into the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Remove from the fridge and separate chia pudding into 4 serving bowls and layer with peanut butter (and mini chocolate chips if using). 

#2,667: Cassava Flour Pumpkin muffins

Ok, so these might not be the cutest muffins I've ever made, but they are healthy, gluten free, and have a veggie in it (yeah for sneaking in veggies for my kids!).  Obviously if you choose to use applesauce instead of the pumpkin puree it won't have this cool orange hue to it.  I was also super excited that I could use up over-ripe bananas that wasn't a banana bread recipe too!  These are good!  My kids liked them too, so I have a bunch in the freezer for when school starts next week. (Sob).  I made some of these in muffin paper liners and a few in silicone muffins liners.  The ones in the silicone muffin liners cooked better and were so much easier to get out.  The paper ones wanted to stick to the muffins a bit and was a little bit annoying to get out.  So I'd suggest either not using liners at all (and grease your muffin tin well) or use silicone!   

1 1/2 cups cassava flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips

2 eggs

2 ripe bananas

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce or pumpkin puree

½ cup unsweetened almond milk

2 tablespooons coconut oil, melted

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.

Combine the cassava flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl. Use a spatula to stir together.

Next, place the eggs, bananas, applesauce or pumpkin puree, almond milk, coconut oil, and vanilla into the base of a food processor (I threw mine in the blender instead). Pulse on high until ingredients are combined, about 15-20 seconds total.

Pour the liquid mixture from the food processor into the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl and stir well.

Pour the batter into the muffin tin bake for 40 minutes (that seemed like a lot!  I did 30 minutes) or until the muffins are golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature, and refrigerator or freeze leftovers.

#2,666: Baked Broccoli Cheese Patties

So I made these easy broccoli cheese patties to eat for lunch one day (photo one), which I loved, but them decided to top them with taco meat, corn, bell pepper, tomatoes, and a little cheese for dinner (more like tacos, picture 2) and they were even better!!  I can see using these as a vehicle for a bunch of different meat toppings.  Shredded beef or pot roast definitely come to mind!  I cooked my broccoli in the Instant Pot until it was tender, then I just threw it into my food processor to chop up the broccoli into small pieces.  So easy!  

2 cups broccoli florets cooked until soft (fresh or frozen)

2 egg whites

1 cup shredded cheese (I used a shredded cheddar)

1/4 cup almond flour

Pinch of salt
I also added some black pepper and garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper if desired (I did not!) 

Use a potato masher (or your food processor!) to break up the broccoli into small pieces. Add the other ingredients and mix well. Drop about 20 scoops onto the prepared baking sheet and press into a nugget/roundish shape. (I just grabbed a handful and smushed it into a ball-ish shape.  Then I flattened with my palm a little).   Bake for 20 min until firm and golden around the edges. (I flipped mine over once, about half way through).

#2,665: Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

I needed a recipe to take to book club a few weeks ago, so I figured I'd give these guys a try.  Let me tell you, I put some leftover ones in my freezer, and these are good frozen.  Don't tell my kids or they might try to start sneaking one every now and then.  These are super easy to make and I love the texture of the almond meal because it gives it a little bit of a crunch.  Definitely on my "make-again" list! Ok, I don't really have a make again list because it gives me an excuse to keep trying new recipes, but I WOULD make this again.  HA! 

1/2 cup softened salted butter (I used unsalted...it was all I had)

1/3 cup sweetener of choice (I used swerve sugar substitute)

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups blanched almond flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2/3 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350º F and spray two baking sheets with coconut oil baking spray. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer, beat together butter and sweetener. Add eggs one at a time, beating for one minute and scraping the bowl after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.

Add almond flour and baking soda and mix until thoroughly combined. Fold in chocolate chips with a spatula.

Use a cookie scoop to portion out 18 cookies, dividing them between the two prepared pans. (My scoop must be smaller because I got more like 3 dozen cookies!) It's alright if they're fairly close together because they won't spread much.

Bake cookies for 12-14 minutes (mine needed a good 10!), cool on pans for five minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack and cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days or in the freezer.

#2,664: Instant Pot Popcorn

It's not too often that I post a recipe that I don't like.  And it's not that I didn't like this popcorn (I personally enjoyed it, although my family thought it was a bit of a chewier texture), I just don't think this is worth it!  I had A LOT of un-popped kernels in this and I even pulled out the popped pieces of popcorn and tried to let it keep going to get more of the kernels to pop.  Maybe I'm doing something wrong, so if you have great success making popcorn in the Instant Pot message me and give me some tips!!  This was the recipe I tried to follow.

1/2 cup unpopped popcorn kernels

2-3 TBS coconut oil

1-2 TBS butter

Push the sauté button, then push 'adjust' to move the temperature control to 'more.'

When the pot display reads 'HOT,' add the butter and coconut oil. Stir for about one minute or until it begins to simmer.

Add popcorn kernels. Stir to ensure all pieces are coated in the butter-oil mixture.

Put the lid on the pot.  When the popping slows down, turn the pot to 'off.' Allow kernels to finish popping before removing lid.

#2,663: Flourless (GF) Pumpkin Cookies

Ignore the weird orange color these cookies give off.  Yes they really do look like that, but I'll be a tiny bit honest...that makes me happy because that means the kids are actually going to get a veggie in them when they eat these!  :)  My kids love helping make no-bake oatmeal balls and ask to make them often.  I love that this is even easier because there's less ingredients and they don't make as much of a mess on their hands trying to form them.  

We really like these!  And if you freeze them to eat later, make sure you let them thaw first or pop them into the microwave for a few seconds, otherwise you won't even be able to bite into them! 

2 cups gluten free quick oats (or whatever oats you have on hand!)

1 cup pumpkin puree 

1/4 cup granulated sweetener of choice (I used swerve sugar substitute)

Cinnamon (optional; I just sprinkled a little bit in)

Chocolate chips or nuts (optional, I threw in some mini chocolate chips)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a baking tray and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, pumpkin, cinnamon (if using), and granulated sweetener of choice and mix well. Add the chocolate chips or nuts if desired. 

I changed this step so my suggestion is next!  Using your hands, form into small balls and place on the baking tray and press each ball into a cookie shape. 

Forget that....that's too messy.  I used a cookie scoop and just portioned out mounds of dough.  Then I flattened with my hand at the end and just made sure each one was relatively compacted.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until lightly browned.

Remove and allow to cool completely.  You can store in a container up to a week (yeah right!), or just throw them in the freezer after they cool completely.  

#2,662: Super Simple Banana Bread (gf optional)

You already know our family eats a lot of banana bread in this house, so I decided to use some sugar substitute and gluten free flour with this version.  My kids loved it.  I had to cut it into pieces and portion it out for a few days worth of breakfasts so that I didn't come downstairs one morning and find the whole thing was gone!  Personally this was a tiny bit dry for my liking, but with some butter or ghee on top, it was delicious!  The kids didn't complain about it either, so maybe it was just me!

I also loved that this was a one-bowl recipe!  Less clean up = less times my kids have to empty the dishwasher = less complaining!  

3 ripe bananas (mashed)

1/3 cup melted butter

1/2- 1 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup of swerve sugar substitute)

1 egg, whisked with a fork

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups flour (I used gf flour)

Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl, mix all ingredients by hand until well incorporated

Pour into a greased bread pan.  Bake 50 minutes to 1 hour or until browned and toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean (check at about 50 minutes).

#2,661: Berry-Granola Smoothie

Man the blue background is really giving off a weird color for this picture!  Oops.  I probably should have noticed that sooner!  If you read my previous post, you'll know we have a whole lot of homemade yogurt in our fridge that we now need to use up.  Since the consistency is a little bit thin, I figured it would be a great addition to smoothies...which it is!  My oldest has made a lot of smoothies lately!

I had also bought some granola because the kids like to put it in their yogurt, and this recipe called for granola in it too.  That scared me a little.  But my kids loved this smoothie recipe and even my non-smoothie loving middle child has asked me to make this again!  

I found this recipe in a little pull-out book in a recent issue of Food Network Magazine "50 Berry Treats."

1 c frozen mixed berries
1/2 c vanilla Greek yogurt
1/2 c granola
1/2 c almond milk
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp honey

In a blender combine all of the ingredients and blend until smooth.  

#2,660: Instant Pot Homemade Yogurt

At the end of the school year my co-worker suggested I try making yogurt in my Instant Pot.  She swore it was easy.  I'll admit, I scared me, so I kept putting it off.  But I'm really tired of buying store bought yogurt which I know is just filled with so much sugar.  I will often buy Greek yogurt for my kids, but they don't like it plain.  I'll put some honey or granola in it for them, but they still would prefer the regular flavored high sugar kind.  So in an effort to make some changes (little changes gradually!), and for the sake of it being a whole heck of a lot cheaper, I decided to make my own!  

For the sake of running high, this huge batch cost me $2 to make!  TWO DOLLARS.  All you need is a gallon of milk (I could have used an organic kind but I figured I'd go with regular whole milk for now to see if was even successful, and 1/2 cup of plain yogurt (I used greek yogurt).  That's it.  Seriously...that's it! 

Now the process took about all day, but most of that was just waiting for it to finish.  For my first batch, I was pretty happy.  It's a bit runny compared to store-bought Greek (or plain) yogurt, but I think that was user error!!  I don't think my milk got hot enough so next time I'll actually test it with a thermometer and not assume that the first time my Instant Pot told me it was ready that it actually was.

My kids are really like this.  I let them add a little spoonful of swerve sugar substitite or honey and a little bit of granola.  Some of my kids even like to add in fruit too.  PS...this yogurt is GREAT for making smoothies!!  

1 gallon of milk (I used whole milk)

1/2 cup store-bought or homemade yogurt (from a previous batch)

First you need to sterilize your Instant Pot. Add 1-2 cups of water to your Instant Pot. Turn the steam release handle to sealed, hit the steam button and set the time for 1 minute.

Your Instant Pot will take a few minutes to come to pressure and then will steam the water for one minute. Once it beeps at you that it's done, do a quick release to release the pressure. After the steam has stopped releasing, open the lid and dump out the water.

Add your gallon of milk to the Instant Pot. Turn the steam release handle back to the sealed position. Hit the yogurt button and push the adjust button until the displays says "boil." The Instant Pot will now boil your milk. This usually takes about 45 minutes, but may take a little longer or shorter for you.  This is where you need to check your milk with the thermometer.  It needs to be at least 180 degrees.  Supposedly the longer it's boiled, the thicker your yogurt will be.  

After the milk has boiled, your Instant Pot will beep and the display will read “yogt.”

You now need to cool your milk down to 110 degrees.  There are 2 ways to do this...
1. Take the lid off your Instant Pot and remove the pot to somewhere on your counter. Stick a liquid thermometer into the pot so you can keep an eye on the temperature. Wait a long time for it to cool. 
2. Fill your sink with some cold water and a bunch of ice cubes.  Place your instant pot into the water to give it a cold water bath.  Periodically stir the milk.  This took maybe 15 minutes for mine to cool down.  I was shocked when I checked on it that it was already done. 

Once your milk has cooled to about 110 degrees, you need to add your yogurt starter.  Grab a medium sized bowl or larger measuring cup (you know the glass kind!).  Add half a cup of the yogurt starter (this is where I just used store bought greek yogurt I already had in the fridge, and add some of the cooled milk from the instant pot.  Stir it together so the yogurt is fully incorporated).  Now, stirring continuously, slowly add your yogurt starter/milk mix to your Instant Pot and make stir gently to combine.  

Return your pot to the Instant Pot and put the lid back on. Hit the yogurt button again and then hit the adjust button until it displays a number. This is the number of hours that your yogurt will culture. You can use the “+” and “-” buttons to adjust how long you want your yogurt to culture. Supposedly the longer it cultures the tangier your yogurt will be.  They suggest 8-10 hours.  I did about 9. 

After you’ve selected the number of hours, your Instant Pot will beep and then display 0:00. It will then start counting UP as it cultures. When your yogurt is done culturing, the Instant Pot will beep a final time and then display “yogt.” 

That's it!  Now you can now transfer your yogurt to storage containers (like glass mason jars).  Get a lot, because you will have A LOT of yogurt to store! 

Store finished yogurt in the fridge. It should keep for several weeks.

#2,659: Instant Pot Chicken and Potatoes

So the original intent was to throw the chicken on the grill.  But I was not in the mood to go out there so I changed plans last minute and decided to try this recipe instead.  It was SUPER easy to make, but my only complaint was that the original recipe said to brown the chicken and the potatoes in the Instant Pot on sautee setting but mine never would brown.  I don't know what the deal was!  So I threw mine under the broiler for a few minutes but I'm still not sure it really made any difference.  Taste-wise though, we really enjoyed this.  The chicken and potatoes were done in the same amount of time as the roasted broccoli so it was perfect! 

2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used 1 lb)

2-3lbs. small golden potatoes (I used about 4 russet potatoes cut into cubes)

2 tbsp. butter (I used 1 tbsp)

Olive Oil

1/2 tsp. oregano (I just eye-balled a decent amount)

1/2 tsp. basil (I just eye-balled a decent amount)

1.4 tsp. rosemary (I just eye-balled a decent amount)

Salt and Pepper to Taste

3 cloves of minced garlic

1 c. chicken stock or broth (I used a little less than a cup)

Parmesan cheese

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and toss in a bowl with oregano, basil, rosemary, salt and pepper.

Halve the small potatoes and place in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and toss until coated.

Turn your Instant Pot on and set to the saute setting. Saute garlic in 2 tbsp. of butter for a minute or two. Add in the chicken and saute to get some color on the chicken.  A few minutes later, add in the potatoes and saute a few more minutes to get some color on the potatoes as well. Pour in the chicken stock or broth.

Close the lid on your pressure cooker and set it to pressure cook manually for 10 minutes. When finished, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

#2,658: Gluten Free Baked Mozzarella Sticks

You could totally make this non-gluten free, but I have been trying to avoid gluten for a few weeks now to see what effects it's having on my body.  So I made this with gf breadcrumbs, gf panko, and eggs.  I tried dipping it in almond meal first instead of flour like the original recipe suggested, but it wouldn't stick to the cheese so I just gave up (and saved that almond flour from being wasted!).  

I made these and made Brian try them...he was sure I did something weird to them...but he ate one anyway and liked it!  These are really good.  Like, really good.  Especially dipped in sauce.  But I have never met a mozzarella stick I didn't like.  Ha!  Obviously these are best served right away so the cheese is melty and it doesn't sieze back up as it cools.  I don't know if I'll make these all the time (too much in and out of the freezer for my liking), but for an occasional snack/treat, I'm all for it!  

12 sticks mozzarella string cheese

1 large egg

1/4 cup flour (I omitted)

1/4 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (I used gluten free breadcrumbs)

1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs (I used gluten free panko)

2 teaspoons parmesan cheese

1 Tablespoon dried parsley

Remove string cheese from the wrappers and cut cheese in half to give you 24 pieces. Freeze cheese until hard and frozen, about 30 minutes.

In three separate shallow dishes, place egg, flour and breadcrumbs, each in their own dish. Whisk egg. To breadcrumbs dish, add panko, parmesan and parsley.

Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. 

Dip frozen cheese sticks in flour, shaking off excess, then into the egg, then coat with the crumbs. Repeat for each cheese stick, placing them on the lined baking sheet. Freeze on sheet at least 15 minutes, or until ready to bake (this is a must or they will melt before the crumbs get golden).

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange oven rack in the bottom third of your oven. (I just baked mine on the top rack and then turned the broiler on at the end). 

Bake 4 to 5 minutes, turn sticks over, and bake an additional 4-5 minutes, watching sticks closely so they don't melt. 

#2,657: Instant Pot Iced Tea

I have a whole lot of green tea bags in my pantry and I have got to start using them up.  I love unsweetened iced tea (okay maybe that's not true because I usually add some stevia into it too), so I figured there had to be a way to make some ice tea in my Instant Pot.  I was right...thank you Pinterest!  

The original recipe I found had basil in it too, but I wasn't in the mood for basil, even though I have a ton of it in my garden.  Oh, maybe I should try adding the chocolate mint next time.  Does chocolate mint and green tea go together?!  

This is a really mild tea...but I love that about it.  Sometimes ice tea is so bitter and strong, but this is not bitter and it is not too strong.  I also didn't have any lemons or limes on hand, but I did have my Young Living Vitality Essential oil, so I added 10 drops of each to the slightly cooled liquid, along with 2 tbsp of swerve sugar substitute.  DELISH!  

I've made this so many times now, I just keep trying different types of tea that are in my pantry (I have quite a few).  Today I made it with 5 bags of green tea and 5 bags of Detox tea from Oola!  LOVE!  This is such a versatile recipe so use whatever tea bags you have on hand!  

1 gallon water (16 cups)

1/4 c honey

10 bags of green tea

pinch of baking soda 

Lemon slices (I omitted, see my note above)

Lime slices (I omitted, see my note above)

Basil leaves (I omitted)

Remove the tags from the tea bags, tie all the strings together to make it easier to remove the tea bags later.

Add the water to the Instant Pot and turn on the saute function so it starts to warm up the water. Mix in the honey and baking soda until it is dissolved.  Once dissolved, hit cancel.  Place the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the valve is in the sealed position.  Switch the setting to pressure cook on high and set the timer to 4 minutes.  

When done release the pressure using a controlled quick release. Let tea cool to room temperature then pour into a pitcher to store in the refrigerator.  I let mine cool for about 30 minutes, then I added the vitality essential oils and the poured into a glass pitcher.  I drank a glass immediately served over ice (yum!), and then put the rest of the pitcher into the fridge to get cold overnight.  

If desired, you can serve this poured over ice with lemon slices, lime slices, and basil leaves. If you like a sweeter tea, you can add more honey to your glass.

#2,656: Cucumber Tomato Salad

With the abundance of cucumbers and early tomatoes that I currently have growing in my garden, I knew I wanted to find a recipe to use them in when we were heading over to my in-laws for dinner.  I know his family isn't the biggest veggie fans, so I figured I'd probably be the only one eating it, but that's ok!  This is really good the day you make it!  I tried eating leftovers the next day and I wasn't nearly as impressed because the veggies start to get a little soft (obviously).  I think this would be kind of good with tortilla chips too...if you dice the cucumbers small enough.  I omitted the cheese cubes because I knew that wouldn't last more than for just that meal (soggy cheese...yuck!).  

DRESSING:

1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar

2 Clove Garlic Minced

2 Teaspoon Dried Italian Seasoning

1 Teaspoon Sugar

1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper

SALAD

3 English Cucumbers Thinly Sliced

1 Teaspoon Salt

2 Cups Grape Tomatoes Cut in Half

2 Cups Mozzarella Cut Into Small Cubes

1 Cup Red Onions Thinly Sliced

In a small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss the sliced cucumbers with 1 teaspoon salt, then allow to sit 1 hour at room temperature to "sweat". Drain off liquid.

Add tomatoes, mozzarella, onions and dressing to drained cucumbers and toss until ingredients are evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour before serving. Adjust seasoning and serve. Store leftovers in the fridge.

#2,655: German Salt Sticks

We were sitting and chatting with Brian's grandpa (he's 92 I think!) and he mentioned that he used to walk to a bakery to get "salt sticks," and he was telling us that he hasn't had them in a long time and how much he used to love them.  That's all I needed to hear and I started searching for what "salt sticks" are when I got home.  I had no idea if I was making the right things, so I texted my mother-in-law half way though to get some guidance.  She suggested I make them thinner and add more toppings, and this is what I came up with.  I can't wait to take these to him and hope that they are even something close to what he remembers!

As I've mentioned before, I am not a fan of recipes that use yeast because I have such bad luck with yeast. I'm still not sure these are totally how they are supposed to be because my dough didn't rise nearly as much as I thought or hoped it would.  To us, these taste like regular homemade bread sticks with caraway on top.  My husband and kids scraped off the caraway seeds (shocker!) and ate these with butter.  My first batch of salt sticks were so large that I ended up giving them to the family to dip into pizza sauce with dinner.  

800 g flour, all purpose or bread flour (I used bread flour)

25 g fresh yeast or equivalent dry yeast amount (2 packages)

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

60 g lard or butter, softened.  You also can use 50 g sunflower oil (I used 60 grams (half a stick) of butter)

420 ml water milk mix, lukewarm (I combined 230 ml of milk and 190 ml of water and warmed it in the microwave for 1 minute)

1 egg, mixed with water

sesame, caraway seeds, coarse salt

Place flour in a bowl.  Add yeast, milk-water mix, very soft butter, salt and sugar.  Mix well. 
Knead until the dough is smooth and shows some bubbles.
Place in an oiled bowl and cover with a plastic bag.  You can also use a moist kitchen cloth. Let raise until dough amount has doubled.

On a smooth surface sprinkled with some flour, knead dough again and fold it twice (see the original video how this is done if you are interested).

Let it rest for 10 min covered with moist cloth. Fold again. Let rest for 5 min more.

Cut the dough into equally sized pieces, and roll into either balls (to make rolls) or sticks.  

Let the formed rolls raise on a baking tray. (Mine did not rise any more!!)

Brush each with the egg-water mix, sprinkle with sesame, caraway or poppy seeds on top and sprinkle with sea salt.  You can also put in little cut crosswise through the tops of the dough.

Place a fire proof bowl with water in the oven. Bake the salt sticks in preheated oven on 425 F for 10 min, then reduce heat to 375 F and bake for another 10 min.