Dinner? I thought we were doing Dessert.

Ok I confess:
1) I hardly post like I should as I seem to have all the time in the world.
&
2) Sometimes having sweets for dinner just sounds so much better than actually cooking a meal.

So I started looking for ideas online for cookies since Nathan didn't want chocolate chip. Weird right? So I stumble upon an idea for almond-coconut oatmeal cookies. Now oatmeal cookie is my favorite so I got down to business realizing half way through that of course I had picked a "healthy" recipe. Oops. All the better for me to mess with it though since chances as better than not that it would have a funny texture anyway. I hampered the recipe so much though that even putting the original up here just seems silly.

So ingredients:

DRY
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour (pastry or otherwise)
3/4 tsp of baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup of UNSWEETENED shredded coconut
1/2 chopped almonds

MOIST
1/2 cup butter (yes real honest to goodness butter)
1 to 2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar free table syrup (if this freaks you out, just use all real maple syrup)
1/4 cup real maple syrup (for flavor mainly so if you can handle all sugar free, go for it)

TOPPING
cinnamon for sprinkling
stevia for sprinkling (i prefer Truvia)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
3. Place all dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well.
4. Brown butter and let cool slightly. (you can skip this step, but you'll lose a LOT of flavor. just saying)
5. Mix all wet ingredients together.
6. Mix wet and dry ingredients together.
7. Make small balls and place onto the cookie sheet.
8. Squash down for flat cookies and leave round for fat cookies (these don't spread).
9. Sprinkle with cinnamon and stevia.
10. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
11. Cool for as long as you can wait... about 30 seconds for us.

They go great with milk and tea. They have more of a muffin-y texture the fatter they are from the lessened amount of butter/oil in them. No matter the texture, cookie or muffin, they are tasty. :]

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