Baked Zucchini Fries

I love that these are baked and not deep fried.  A great side dish or just as a snack dipped in ranch dip or marinara sauce.  Recipe comes from Our Best Bites, check out the site for more great recipes.   Panko bread crumbs are a must as they make these perfectly crunchy. 

About 1 lb. zucchini
1/2 c. Italian-seasoned panko bread crumbs
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese (the crumbly stuff, not shreds)
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

Whisk 2 eggs together in a shallow pie plate and set aside.

Cut the ends off the zucchini and then cut the zucchini into strips. Thicker strips will yield "meatier" fries with more zucchini flavor while thin strips will be crispy and taste virtually nothing like zucchini. When all the fries are cut, lightly coat with flour. 

Working with a small handful at a time, dip the zucchini sticks in the egg, shake them to remove any excess, and then roll them in about 2-3 tablespoons of bread crumbs at a time, adding more as needed; you just don't want to work with all the bread crumbs at once because they'll soak up moisture from the egg and won't stick to the zucchini. Place the coated strips on the prepared baking sheet and repeat until all the zucchini strips have been coated.

Bake for 10-12 minutes in the prepared oven then remove from oven, flip the fries, and bake for another 10-12 minutes or until the zucchini is not soggy and the coating is crisp and golden brown. Serve immediately.

Serves 6-8 as a side dish.

Chewy M&M Cookies

This is my son Michael's favorite cookie. I got the original recipe (Monster Cookies) from Paula Deen. I made a change and added flour as I like the texture better, chewy center and crunchy outside layer.





1 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar


1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 cup flour

4 cups uncooked regular oats (not instant)

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

3/4 cup M&M



Beat sugars and butter at low speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, peanut butter and vanilla; beating until combined. Stir in baking solda, flour, oats, chocolate chips and M&M's.


Roll into ball and flatten slightly onto ungreased baking sheets.


Bake, in batches, at 350° for 10-14 minutes (depending on the size) or until light golden brown. Do not over bake, they should look a little under done. Let set on cookie sheet to set up about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool.

Yield: Makes 2 1/2 dozen (if you make them smaller you can get 3 dozen)

Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini

Not a great picture but it's a great soup!!!

It's crazy cold here in Wisconsin and tonight I just wanted something warm and comforting for dinner. Made this recipe for the first time but it won't be the last, it's a keeper. This soup is full of Italian flavor. I made a few changes that I think made it even better but you can find the original recipe at allrecipes.com.





INGREDIENTS:

1 pound sweet mild Italian sausage

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

5 cups beef broth

1/2 cup red wine

2-14.5 oz cans Petite tomatoes, not drained

1 cup thinly sliced carrots

1 tablespoon fresh basil (but if you don't have fresh use 1 teaspoon dried basil)

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups sliced zucchini

8 ounces fresh tortellini pasta

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (only if you have it on hand)

1/2 cup half and half or whipping cream (I know adding cream adds more calories but so worth it!)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a 5 quart Dutch oven, brown sausage. Remove sausage and drain, reserving 1 tablespoon of the drippings.

2. Saute onions in drippings until soft then add garlic and saute a few minutes more. Stir in beef broth, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano, tomato sauce, zucchini and sausage. Bring to a boil. Turn down heat to medium high and slow boil uncovered for 30 minutes.

3. Add tortellini during the last 8 minutes. Add parsley and cream and heat though. Serves 6

Puppy Chow (for people)

This is a great snack to make when you need something sweet and crunchy.

1 (6 oz) pkg. semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter
8 cups rice Chex cereal or Crispix cereal
1 cup sifted powdered sugar



1. Combine chocolate, peanut butter and butter in saucepan; cook over low heat until melted, stirring occasionally. (Or melt in the microwave)
2. Remove from heat, and stir until smooth.
3. Pour chocolate mixture over cereal, stirring to coat evenly.
4. Spread cereal mixture on 2 wax paper lined 15x10x1 inch jelly roll pans; let cool.
5. Put coated cereal into large bowl sprinkle with powdered sugar; stir to coat evenly or if your bowl has a lid, cover and shake until coated.
Makes 8 cups

Pork Chops Stuffed with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach

Here is a very tasty way to prepare pork chops.  This dish looks like it would take a long time to make but comes together quite quickly.   The chicken broth – lemon – mustard sauce adds a very nice touch to the dish. The pork chops were very moist and the stuffing is excellent.  This is a definite keeper and next time I'd like to try the filling with boneless chicken breast.  I found the original recipe on Food Network from Giada.  I made a change and used feta instead of goat cheese.  I also cooked the pork chops longer than original recipe called for.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil), diced
• 1 (10-ounce) box of frozen spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) feta cheese
• 3 oz.  cream cheese, softened
• 4-5 (4-ounce) center-cut pork chops
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 lemon, zested
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Warm the 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook until combined, about 2 more minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Add the feta and the cream cheese. Stir to combine and set aside.  

Use a sharp knife to cut a pocket into the thickest portion of the pork chop. Stuff each pocket with 1/4 of the spinach and sun-dried tomato mixture and close the pork around the stuffing. Season the outside of the pork with salt and pepper. 

In a small bowl combine the chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, and mustard.


Warm the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot add the pork. Cook until golden and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the pork to a pan and place in preheated  oven to finish cooking while you make sauce.  Add the chicken broth mixture to the skillet over medium-high heat. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan as the chicken broth boils. Reduce the broth by half to make a light sauce, about 8 minutes. Spoon sauce over the pork in oven and cook until pork chops are completely cooked.  May take a few more minutes.  Don't overcook but cook until no longer pink.