breadcrumbs — Blog — Fit Foodie Le

my mom is a pre-K teacher and still on her holiday break, so she and my aunt (her sis-in-law) came over to hang out, sleepover, and keep Chiso company with us. which means, i get ta' COOKIN'! whipping up healthy, tasty food for my family gives me life (add that to the phrases we should stop using in 2014 :roll: ) but it best describes how i feel while i'm doing my thing in my kitchen. now can i do all this again tomorrow? you bet! playing hostess is FUN. what we chowed down on today:

lean turkey burgaaaaaas for lunch! super easy recipe can be found on my instagram post from earlier today (look for this same photo).

i topped the patties with cheddar style rice cheese,

and i found those sprouted grain buns at Sprouts Farmer's Market recently. i was looking for the Ezekiel ones but these were cheaper and by Alvarado Street Bakery. heard a lot about them and was not disappointed.

no lettuce or avocado in the house, womp. but i did have condiments, tomatoes, and plenty of pickles. stuff your burgers with your fave toppings and toast your buns (makes a big difference in taste and texture). everyone enjoyed their burger except for you-know-who.

he touched it like he was going to pick it up and then faked everybody out. i'll try again tomorrow.

i've been playing around with a squash casserole type recipe for the past few days and finally just went for it today since i was all up in the kitchen anyway. turned out better than i imagined, whoa. Sonny says it tastes just like Boston Market's squash casserole side and well, i won't argue with him!

cheesy spinach & squash au gratin

the stuff:

2 large zucchini, raw, coined & halved (see pic above)
2 large yellow squash, raw, coined & halved
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp parsley
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 eggs
Earth Balance Organic Whipped Buttery Spread
2 tbsp liquid aminos
1 cup frozen, thawed spinach
1/2 cup cheddar style rice cheese
1/2 cup skim mozzarella (you may use mozzarella almond cheese as well)
1/8 cup light parmesan cheese

breadcrumbs:

3 slices Sara Lee 45 Calories & Delightful bread, toasted until crispy
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 cup light parmesan cheese

do this:

spray your casserole dish with no-stick cooking spray and pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
make breadcrumbs by combining listed ingredients in your food processor and pulsing until you achieve a breadcrumb-like consistency.
in a large skillet over medium heat, saute the garlic, onion, zucchini, and squash together for 4-5 minutes or until translucent.
add spinach, garlic powder, onion powder, liquid aminos, parsley, and cracked black pepper to pan; mix.
cover pan and let cook down for 10 more minutes before shutting off the heat and pouring your squash mixture into your prepared casserole dish. set aside.
in a separate bowl, whisk eggs.
to the egg mixture, add 1/8 cup of parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup of breadcrumb mixture, 1/2 cup of cheese, and the 1/2 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
if your squash mixture has completely cooled by now, go ahead and add the egg mixture to it in the casserole dish and mix WELL. if it's still warm, temper the eggs by adding a little bit of squash mixture to the egg mixture (in that order, please!) at a time to prevent making scrambled eggs. the cold almond milk should help cool the squash mixture down faster too. once all combined, set aside.
add the last 1/2 cup of cheese to 1/4 cup of the breadcrumb mixture and sprinkle it on top of your casserole evenly.
bake for 40-45 minutes or until the casserole no longer jiggles when you shake the dish.
let it cool then dive in.

i divided my dish into 8 nice size servings and here are the stats for 1 serving: 162 cals, 6g fat, 14g carbs, 15g protein, 4 g sugar.

have a seat, Boston Market :lol:

lastly, for dinner, i heated up some leftover chicken & veggie stir fry and mixed it with some marinara sauce to revive the flavors. very yummy! i also baked two pans of swai for tonight and for Sonny's lunches tomorrow. i don't add ANY salt to the swai cause it doesn't need it at all like tilapia.

i topped these with onion powder, garlic powder, and salt free Southwest seasoning from Mc Cormick (found at Walmart and HEB) and cooked them for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. that's it! roasted brussels sprouts on the side.

thinking about all the crazy business ideas in my head and on my heart for 2014 and it overwhelms me. i'm determined to make 2014 NOTHING like 2013 though. one day at a time. ok, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

the kitchen is usually my solo domain, but i never pass up the chance to share what i love with the one i love. however, these snacks are so easy to make, i let Sonny do all the work this time.

he tore 1 big bunch of kale from its stems. they shrink after baking, so it's cool to keep them kinda large.

washed and dried.

he then showed the kale some love and gave it an olive oil massage. no dirty talk needed though.

i went ahead and lined the baking pan with wax paper since his hands were oily.

last thing; he sprinkled the kale with sea salt and popped them in a 350 deg oven for 12-15 min. you gotta watch them cause they burn EASILY.

again, they'll shrink, but don't overcrowd the pan.

done.

light, crispy, easy-peasy.

next, baked cheese sticks. i LOVE cheese; i was extremely anxious to make and eat these.

the stuff:

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
tony c's and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
1 beaten egg white
5 sticks of light mozzarella string cheese

do this:

we halved 5 light string cheese sticks for a total of 10. no deep-frying or high fat cheese needed and they still came out tasting like a restaurant appetizer.

flour first, then egg wash, then panko. i sprayed some no-stick cooking spray on them so the flour would stick though.

sonny got restless real quick and dumped them all in at once. men. lol

if you have left over ingredients, make more and minimize waste.

bake for 10 min in the oven or just until the cheese starts to melt. you gotta watch these too, but i wanted mine to burn a little cause burnt cheese tastes darn good. each stick is only 40 calories!

the marinara sauce was perfect- made it feel like we were eating pizza! you have to eat them quick else they will be a melty mess. that wasn't a problem though.