Tag: food

A guest post by Jen!

Hey guys, I’m back! I’ve put together even more recipes to satisfy your daily cravings except instead these are guilty pleasures turned healthy.  Working at a medical and cosmetic practice is tough! We specialize in breast reconstructive surgery and breast augmentations in Kansas City so we always want to look our best even if I just want to devour an entire cheesecake. Everyone is always wondering how I stay healthy and (somewhat) slim but bring fries and mac and cheese to work! Well here is my secret: tweaking recipes and finding recipes that allow me to have what I want but a better form of it. Then I make a bunch so it’s accessible right at the tip of my fingers and even bring it into work for lunch. So that mac and cheese and delicious French fries can really be yours forever without worrying about chemicals and extra fat that your body just does not need!

FRENCH FRIES! 

–       The healthy way, which is even easier than the non-healthy way!

Ingredients:

• 5 Large Roasting Potatoes
• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper to Taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Then Peel and Wash the potatoes to prepare for slicing.
3. Begin slicing, I like to use a mandolin to get perfect sizes for even baking, if you don’t have one just use your knife and be sure to cut the french fries even in size. Your potatoes will cook best when even, thin and long.
4. (OPTIONAL) Once sliced, place the potatoes in a bowl and cover with salted water and soak for 30 minutes. I like to soak the potatoes to release some of the starch, it also helps crisp up the fries in the oven.
5. After the 30 minutes elapsed – it is time we dry the potatoes. This is a crucial because if the potatoes are not completely dry, they will not crisp up as nicely and the moisture will cause them to steam in the oven.
6. Lay the potatoes on a baking pan, season them with salt and pepper and brush some olive oil on the tops of them. Once in the oven, ensure that you turn them periodically to have even browning. Bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Mac and Cheese

–        Yes, I said mac and cheese! Just a tad healthier, of course.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of pasta, either bow tie, macaroni, etc. Any small noodle works
• 2 1/2 cups of fat free or 1% milk (plus extra if needed)
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 cup of shredded low-fat smoked mozzarella
• 1 cup of shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup extra smoked mozzarella cheese for topping, plus about 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons of Italian bread crumbs (or plain bread crumbs with Italian seasoning added)
• 1 head of broccoli, trimmed, washed, and chopped into bite size pieces
• 1 tomato, diced
• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite size pieces (left over chicken works great in this recipe)
• about 1/2 cup of roasted red peppers, diced
• Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large soup pot, bring water to a boil over medium high heat. Add pasta and cook for about 10 minutes until the pasta is al dente (soft, but still has texture to it).
2. While the pasta is boiling, heat another saucepan and heat a frying pan. In the saucepan at low heat, add milk but do not boil! Once the milk is warm, add butter and cheese and stir until smooth. If the sauce is really thick, add extra milk.
3. In the frying pan, sauté tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and broccoli in a little bit of olive oil. Add the precooked chicken and allow to warm up.
4. When the pasta is cooked, drain and place back into the large soup pot. Add cheese sauce, and chicken veggies. Stir to combine.
5. Grease a large baking dish with nonstick spray. Pour noodles and cheese into the baking dish.
6.  In a small bowl, combine the extra mozzarella and parmesan cheeses with the bread crumbs. Sprinkle evenly on top.
7. Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown on top.

Pizza!

–       Mmhmm you can have your mac and cheese and your pizza too!

Ingredients:

• Cornmeal for sprinkling
• 1tsp olive oil
• 2 large red onions, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 3 cloves garlic  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 whole grain pizza dough or gluten-free pizza dough (trader joe’s has a delicious variety)
• 20 pitted, oil-cured black olives, coarsely chopped
• 2 oz thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into small pieces
• 1 ¼ cups reduced-fat sour cream

Instructions:

1. Heat grill to medium. Alternately, place a pizza stone on middle oven rack, turn oven to 500°F, and heat stone for 20 minutes (or use a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal; preheat oven but not sheet to 500°F). If grilling or using a stone, generously sprinkle a wooden pizza peel or baking sheet with cornmeal.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and rosemary; sauté for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add garlic, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes, or until onions are soft and caramelized. Season with salt and pepper.
3. On a lightly floured clean surface, roll dough (read instructions on dough package first, some suggest letting the dough sit prior to handling)  to form a 14-inch circle. If grilling pizza, transfer to prepared peel or sheet, then gently lift and slide dough onto grill grates (don’t worry, dough won’t slide through the grates). Dough will immediately stiffen and begin to brown; cook 2 minutes. Turnover and cook until bottom side stiffens but doesn’t brown, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer crust back to peel or sheet (with the more-cooked side facing up) to add toppings. If baking pizza, slide dough onto heated pizza stone or onto baking sheet and cook 5 minutes. Remove stone or sheet from oven to add toppings.
4. Scatter onions and olives over pizza. If grilling, slide pizza back onto grill and cook 6 minutes more. If baking, cook pizza 10 minutes more, or until edges are golden.
5. Next, scatter prosciutto over onions and olives and grill or bake for 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer grilled pizza to peel or sheet, or remove pizza from oven. Dab small spoonfuls of sour cream all over pizza, spreading them slightly with the back of a spoon. When sour cream begins to melt, cut pizza into 8 slices and serve.

Nutella!

–       Who doesn’t love Nutella? Well now you can make your own without all that extra stuff your body seriously does not need.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon Coconut Oil
•  2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 2 cup, whole Hazelnuts or Filberts Nuts
• 3 tbsp Cocoa Powder (Unsweetened)
• 2 tbsp Honey
• 0.3 cup Almond Milk

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Roast your hazelnuts for 10 minutes on a baking sheet in the oven.
3. Take out and let cool down and rub the nuts together in a towel to remove the skins. Some skins will remain on the hazelnuts, but that’s no problem.
4. Put the nuts into a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and blend again. If your food processor/ high speed blender is very good, you may won’t need any milk (but can add for taste)
5. Fini! Feel free to add more of any ingredients to get that special taste just for you!

Hello, My name is Jen and I am a twenty-something blogger who loves to write about all things women, health, DIY, crafts, my cats and food! I have my own personal blog Little Furry Musings.