Buffalo Cauliflower

I've been looking for other ways to prepare our favorite veggies, since we have been eating so much of them. Will and I agreed this was interesting... and in a GOOD way! It's really easy to do too. If you're a fan of buffalo sauce, buffalo wings, whatever... I'm sure you'll love this! We dipped ours in some lite ranch dressing.

1 head of cauliflower

For the batter
1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c water
dash of Frank's Wing Sauce (or Frank's Original Hot Sauce)
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp dried onion

For the buffalo sauce
1/4 c Frank's Wing Sauce
3 tbsp salted butter, melted
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with non-stick spray (I always use olive oil spray) and set aside. Wash your head of cauliflower and cut into pieces. I made a variety of sizes.

In a medium bowl, mix together the batter ingredients. Dip each piece of cauliflower into the batter until fully and evenly coated. Place onto the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for about 15 minutes until the batter just hardens.

In a small bowl, mix together the buffalo sauce ingredients. Once the cauliflower are done, remove from the oven and brush with the buffalo sauce. Again, fully and evenly coat each piece.

Put back into the oven and bake for a few more minutes (I think 5-7 minutes was my range), until  the sauce has mostly dried and the cauliflower is crispy. Remove from the oven, let cool, then enjoy! 

Original recipe found here.

Eggplant Lasagna

This was seriously good and Will thought it tasted like Eggplant Parmesan. The top gets nice and crispy, even though the eggplant aren't pan-fried at all. YUM! I cut the original recipe in half and just made half, which is what I posted below.

1 large eggplant, sliced thinly & peeled (I sliced mine into circles instead of lengthwise)
1 c marinara sauce
3/4 c low-fat ricotta
3/4 c shredded part-skim mozzarella
1/2 c shredded Parmesan
1 c Panko breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 8x8" baking dish and lay out one layer of eggplant in the bottom of dish. Mix ricotta & mozzarella together. Layer half of mixture on top of eggplant. Cover with marinara sauce, and top with some Parmesan. Repeat: eggplant, ricotta/mozz mixture, sauce, Parmesan. Then I did one more layer of eggplant, a little bit more sauce, Parmesan cheese, and then the Panko. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the top is nice and brown. Enjoy!

Original recipe found here.

Easy Cheesy Zucchini & Squash Bake

Simple. Easy. Delicious!!

2 medium-sized zucchini, cut in slices or half-moon slices
2 medium-sized yellow squash, cut in slices or half-moon slices
2-4 tbsp chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp thinly sliced green onion
1/2 tsp dried thyme
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup + 1/2 cup low-fat white cheese (I used lowfat mozzarella)
1/2 cup coarsely grated Parmesan
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Spray an 8" x 8" baking dish with olive oil or non-stick spray. Combine the sliced squash, chopped basil, sliced green onions, dried thyme, garlic powder, and both kinds of cheese and stir together until the veggies are coated with cheese and the herbs are well-distributed. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Put the mixture in the baking dish and bake uncovered for about 25-30 minutes.

When the zucchini is nearly cooked through, take the casserole dish out of the oven and sprinkle over the remaining 1/2 cup of grated cheese. Put the dish back in the oven and bake 10-15 minutes longer, or until the cheese is melted and nicely browned and zucchini is fully cooked.  Serve hot.

Original recipe found here.

Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I never liked sweet potatoes. Even with all the marshmallows on top during Thanksgiving... I just couldn't do it. I recently found out that these days I LIKE sweet potatoes. Will's mom made some roasted sweet potatoes a couple months back that were delicious, then I tried sweet potato fries and they were amazing! So now my mom has a bounty of sweet potatoes from her garden. I made these baked sweet potato fries and they were SO delicious. Super tasty. I like to say my tastebuds have matured. ;) I should try fish again to see if I like that now too!

Another time I made these thinner:

2 lbs sweet potatoes (about 3 large ones)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp spice of your choice (I had no idea what to use so I just used some Cajun seasoning - one of the suggested spices...)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut up. I did flat sticks kind of, but you could also do rounds or wedges. Put sweet potatoes in a large bowl, and add the olive oil, sugar, salt, and spices. Toss and mix well.

Line a baking sheet with foil and place wire rack on top of it. Spray with olive oil. Lay potatoes on the rack and bake for a total of 25-30 min. After 15 min I flipped them over and continued cooking. I didn't need anything with them, they were so good!

Original recipe found here.

Baked Zucchini Fritters

I thought I'd use my extra time at home (I am sick) to catch up on a couple recipes I needed to post. So I have made 2 other kinds of fritters/cakes before: Zucchini Carrot Cakes with Basil Chive Cream, and regular Zucchini Cakes. Both are amazing. But these are BAKED! Really delicious.

2 large zucchini, grated
1 small red onion, grated
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
a splash of milk
1 egg

Heat oven to 425°F. With a grater, grate zucchini and onion. Place grated zucchini and onion in a colander, sprinkle with salt, and let sit about 20 min. Squeeze out as much water as you can. Add to a bowl and combine whole wheat flour, salt, pepper, milk and egg, mix well.
 
Drop small to medium-sized rounds on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 16-20 minutes, depending on the size of your fritters. Then flip and bake for another 10 minutes until golden brown on each side. Enjoy with whatever sauce you like.

Original recipe found here.