Southern Comfort: fried chicken with mashed what?

Nathan had been having hankerings for some fried chicken.  I, on the other hand, could go the rest of my life without ever seeing fried chicken again.  So now the fun part comes.  How do I make Nathan a good old southern meal and still be able to eat too?  The oven and some veggies.  If you have never had mashed cauliflower as a replacement for mashed potatoes, you should.

Ingredients:

• "Fried Chicken"
• cleaned no hormone/antibiotic added chicken
• some whole wheat flour
• garlic powder
• chili powder
• paprika
• some bran cereal
• milk
• canola spray oil
• "Honey mustard"
• regular yellow mustard
• honey
• "Mashed not Potatoes"
• one head of cauliflower
• garlic
• smidgen of milk
• vegetable oil spread
• Sauteed zucchini spears
• zucchini
• favorite seasoning
• canola spray oil
• "Texas Toast"
• 100% whole wheat double fiber bread
• vegetable oil spread
• garlic powder

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400.
• Mix as much garlic powder, chili powder, and paprika with the wheat flour as you would like.

• Crush the bran cereal up pretty fine.

• Put the flour, bran cereal, and milk in separate containers that you can dip the chicken into.
• Dip all the chicken into the milk and then the flour.

• Dip all the chicken back into the milk and roll in the bran cereal.

• Spray the pan with cooking oil, and place chicken on the pan.
• Spray chicken just a little on top with the cooking spray.
• Place in the oven for 15 minutes.
• Remove and flip chicken oven.
• Place back in oven for about 15 more minutes or until the chicken is cooked all the way through.

While the chicken is cooking it's time for the veggies!

• Cut up the cauliflower head and place all little florets in a microwave safe bowl.

• Add a little bit of garlic powder and microwave the cauliflower for about 4 minutes.
• Place the cauliflower in a food processor with a smidgen of milk and run till smooth.

• Cut the zucchini into four spears.

• Pull a skillet down and spray in a little cooking spray and place on high heat.
• Place the zucchini in the skillet with favorite seasoning for a minute or two on all three sides or until cooked through (soft).

• Take the bread and put a little of the vegetable oil spread on each piece with a little bit of garlic.
• Toast until done.
• Place mustard in a little bowl and add honey until happy.

It takes a little bit of work not to buy some of this stuff, but it is totally worth it knowing what is really in your food.  And it tastes just as good if not better!! :D

Italian Fishy Veggie Grilled Sandwich

This is my twist on grilled cheese and tomato soup which is one of Nathan's favorites, but I absolutely detest. So this one was completely spur of the moment yesterday.  We haven't gone grocery shopping in awhile because we're lazy, so it's pretty much the dregs of our refrigerator and cabinet, and I didn't think it would end up tasting all that great so I didn't get any pictures because I didn't figure I would put it up. Sorry guys. : /

Ingredients:

• 4 pieces of 100% whole wheat double fiber bread (such as Nature's Own)
• butter of a sort (such as Smart Balance light)
• fresh parmesan reggiano
• 4 baby portobello mushrooms
• 1 slice of red onion
• 2 roma tomatoes
• one small can of tuna in water
• 1 cup prepackaged spaghetti sauce (such as Classico)

Here we go!

1. thinly slice the mushrooms and cook in a skillet until they start to leak
2. leave the onion in big pieces but cook in the skillet until it begins to soften
3. slice the tomatoes long ways into 4-6 slices
4. slice the parmesan reggiano with a cheese grater that has a slicer side (WARNING: I totally sliced my thumb completely open on the grater while doing this so be VERY CAREFUL!!!)
5. butter the outside sides of the bread for each sandwich
6. layer the tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, tuna, and cheese on the sandwich
7. place in the toaster oven at 350 for approximately 10-15 minutes (until they are crispy enough for you) (this can also be done in a skillet, george forman grill, oven, grill; you get the idea, but you will have to watch them more closely with some methods than with others)
8. while the sandwiches are cooking, place the spaghetti sauce in a microwave safe bowl and heat for two minutes (I jazz up my sauce with extra spices such as garlic powder, thyme, and rosemary... just a thought)
9. pull out the sandwiches and divide the sauce in half
10. Start dunking that sandwich in the sauce and EAT UP! :D

my tex-new mexican chicken whatsit

Well it looks like its about time I actually posted something. And it looks like I'm starting with dinner... weird.

This came from a supply of food in the refrigerator that needed to be eaten before it went bad. Serves 2.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts cubed
1/2 teaspoon chicken fajita seasoning
1 tablespoon of lime juice
1 tablespoon of fresh salsa
1/2 can of black beans

8 button portobello mushrooms chopped
1/2 cut chopped onion
1/2 small can of green chilies
garlic
chili powder
cumin
paprika
4 roma tomatoes
cheese (optional)

Start with marinating the cubed chicken in the seasoning, lime juice, and fresh salsa for about an hour and preheat a toaster oven or regular oven to 300.  You might want to cut back on the lime juice if you don't like your chicken citrus-y, but I personally love it that way.

I would wait about 20 to 30 minutes to do the next steps so the chicken has plenty of time to soak up all the goodness.

Next take your roma tomatoes and cut them lengthways and place them in the toaster oven or regular oven for 10 minutes.

Next take your mushrooms and onion pieces and place them in a skillet. Cook until the mushrooms start to loose their water.  Add in the green chilies then garlic, cumin, paprika, and chili to your own taste.

Take the tomatoes out of the oven, let them cool a little, and scoop out the insides.  You can do this before putting them in the oven, but I think its a little easier after.  Put some of the mushroom mix your just cooked up into eat tomato.  Add cheese if you would like.  Pop these in the oven for the remainder of the cooking time.

Take the chicken out and place it in the skillet you used previously and cook on high heat. When the chicken is white all over but not done, add the black beans.  Add any left over mushroom filling.

Take the tomatoes out of the oven.  Portion out the chicken and bean mixture on each plate (add cheese if you want) and place four tomato halves on each plate.  And voila:

Healthy Experimenting 101

What do I do anyway that warrants a blog?  Nothing...  At least that I can think of.  I just have nothing better to do with my time, and people seem to think I'm always on to something when it comes to food.  Am I?  I don't think so.


I experiment with food as a hobby to try to make it healthy.  People ask me how do I do it?  I sit around all day and think about food.  Yes seriously.  I mean come on, who doesn't love food that has a healthy relationship with themselves?  And what do you think about the most during your day?  The things you love.  And I love food.


I normally reference recipes to see the general ratio of things that go into the dish. If I reference websites, I will post them. If I reference a book, I'll give you the title. I will never post something as my own if I haven't modified, but I will post links to websites if I really like their recipe just the way it is.


Each post will be a different something.  Be forewarned, I'm a one pot girl when it comes to dinner, but breakfast is my favorite meal, and I never skimp out on dessert.


The way to make things healthy is... use healthy ingredients.  Yup that's all I do.  Now figuring out what ratio tastes most normal... that does take a little trial and error.


Anyone can do what I do.  Anyone.  That means you.


What is it that could be holding you back?  



Fear of failure perhaps?


Never be afraid to try something.  If it sucks, throw it out and start over.  Trust me, I've done that a lot.