Collecting My Coins

I do a lot of blog browsing, and with all the wonderful food blogs out there I'm constantly stumbling onto new ones. With all those food blogs comes the discovery of many new recipes and the reminder of quite a few others that I already know and love, but maybe sometimes let fall to the back of my mind. One of those new recipes I found recently was over at Janet Is Hungry. I can't recall how I found her blog, but Janet has a recipe for baked zucchini coins that immediately caught my eye. I love, capital L-O-V-E zucchini, and I thought this recipe would work perfectly with crookneck squash, another one of my favorites. For forever since I can remember fried squash has been one of my very favorite foods, but being that it's DEEP FRIED I try to refrain from eating it very often, so when I found this recipe it seemed like the perfect concept. I simplified the recipe a little, using storebought breadcrumbs and added a dash of Montreal seasoning. I've made the recipe twice and the first time around I loved it, but my Big, Bad Dad had a minor complaint and a few suggestions. He didn't care for the seasoning, saying the inclusion of sage in the spice blend made it taste like "Thanksgiving". "What's wrong with that???" I ask! Big, Bad Dad's suggestion? "Next time I think it would be better if you just breaded them in plain cornmeal." So that's what I did, but take my word for it, you should not, not, not use just cornmeal. Unless of course you want your zuccs and squash to taste like uncooked cornmeal. Yeah, not a good flavor, but at the last minute we stuck them under the broiler so they weren't a total loss. From here on out, it's breadcrumbs all the way in this recipe for me. Baked Squash and Zucchini Coins 1/2 plain breadcrumbs Montreal seasoning to taste 1 zucchini 1 yellow squash 1 egg olive oil 1. Mix breadcrumbs and seasoning on a plate. 2. Beat egg in a small bowl. 3. Slice zucchini and squash into 1/4" thick coins. 4. Dip zucchini and squash into egg and then into breadcrumb mixture. 5. Coat a parchment lined cookie sheet with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Arrange zucchini and squash coins on cookie sheet and back at 425 for about 10 minutes per side, until golden brown.

Happy Fall Y'all!

While the beautiful and vibrant foliage has given the appearance of fall, the chilly, blustery weather typical of the season has been an on-again off-again thing for us over the past several weeks. But it seems that we are finally settling into the season, with nighttime temperatures starting to fall into the 30's and the North Carolina mountains receiving a rather abrupt snowfall just a few days ago. Can I just say, thank goodness I don't live in the mountains right about now? You may remember, a few weeks back I tested out Beef and Beer Chili in anticipation of the forthcoming chilly weather, no pun intended. Well, earlier this week as I started to accept the fact that I must begin waving a sad goodbye to my cute tank tops, shortsleeve blouses, adorable capris and oh-so loved shorts of summer and start dragging out my sweaters, scarves, gloves and other cold weather clothes I developed a craving for something hearty and warm you straight to the bone. I could think of nothing better than soup, so I whipped up a batch of my easy Au Gratin Potato Soup. My inspiration comes from a very similar recipe I found on Allrecipes. My changes were pretty simple and fairly minor but changed the flavor a bit and took away some of the fat and calories, but left the soup lacking nothing in my opinion. I don't think I'm too far off in saying that either, as I got no complaints or criticism from my Big, Bad Dad, he even went back for seconds. Au Gratin Potato Soup 4 medium red skinned potatoes, cubed 1 (5.5 ounce) package au gratin instant potato mix 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed chicken broth 1 1/2 cups water 1 cup milk (2% is suitable) crumbled cooked bacon (2 strips per bowl) In a large saucepan or pot, combine potatoes, au gratin potato mix, chicken broth and water. Add more water to cover if necessary. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, about 40 minutes. Stir in cream and heat through. While soup is cooking, prepare bacon, drain grease and crumble. Serve with bacon crumbles on top.

MmMMmmMm Muffins!

What do you do when life gives you almost rotten bananas?? You make banana muffins! Yeah, I've been known to buy produce on more than one occassion, only to have it spoil before I finally decide on a use for it. Generally, I buy bananas in two's so that this doesn't happen, but last week I assured myself that a third banana would not go to waste - afterall I was craving them. Two bananas eaten, one left to rot, I found myself making Donna Hay's Banana and Cinnamon Muffins. The recipe is easy, relatively healthy and yummy! I used fat free sour cream, and a mixture of whole wheat and all-purpose flour. I also sprinkled some cinnamon sugar on top of the batter before baking for a delicious touch! Banana Cinnamon Muffins 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup whole wheat flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1/4 brown sugar, packed 1 cup fat free sour cream 2 eggs 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1 banana, mushed Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking powder and cinnamon together, then stir in sugars until combined. Place sour cream, eggs, and oil in seperate bowl and whisk until smooth. Stir the sour cream mixture through the flour mixture until just combined. Gently stir in mashed banana, careful not to overmix. Spray 12 medium muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray, fill 2/3 way full. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until tooth pick comes out clean. Optional: Sprinkle muffin tops with a bit of cinnamon sugar before baking.