Friday night snacks

Looking for a fun Friday night treat? 

Low Carb Mozzarella Sticks - Yes please! 

Ingredients

• 6 Mozzarella Sticks
• 1/2 cup grated dry Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 cups pork rinds
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning blend - want to spice it up add a little Cheyenne pepper 
• 1 egg
• 2 tsps water

Directions:

• Cut Mozzarella sticks in half cross-wise and set aside
• Place egg and water in a small shallow dish or pan. Whisk to mix.
• Crush pork rinds with rolling pin or crush in blender. Should make about 1/2 cup pork rind crumbs.
• Place Parmesan, crushed pork rinds and Italian seasoning in a shallow baking pan
• Dip Mozzarella sticks, one at a time, first in egg wash, then crumbs, then repeat both egg wash and crumbs for second coating.
• Set mozzarella on dish or pan that will fit in the freezer.
• Freeze for two hours
• After two hours: heat oven or air fryer to 500 degrees.
• Working quickly cover a baking pan in parchment or grease it.
• Place frozen mozzarella sticks directly from freezer onto pan.
• Spray with a light coating of olive oil. (optional)
• Bake for 6-8 minutes, just till coating is brown and cheese is warm and soft.

Serve immediately with warm marinara sauce, if desired.

Fun low carb snack for all ages! 

Bon Appetite

Margaret

Live, laugh, love

Be Totallyawake4-life 

Doritos Inspired Zuchinni Chips

Doritos inspired Zucchini Chips 

 

The key to a good zucchini chip is getting that thinly sliced uniform 'chip'. Which is why I love having a good mandoline for making home cooking quick - back in 2000 I used to sell Pampered Chef and I LOVE their mandoline!  

I have this baby for 18 years and use it regularly for all sorts of vegetables and it is STILL going strong.

A good mandoline is well worth the investment of going with a company whose products stand the test of time and have amazing guarantees on them is defintiely key to return on that investment! This baby has more than paid for itself in saved time!

I sliced my zucchini x2 in the thinnest setting and than laid out and patted dry on paper-towel - it made a couple layers which I left  to dry for about an hour while I was prepping other stuff and doing some chores.

Making sure that you pull out as much water as possible helps to ensure a 'crispier' chip when you are done. Some recipes I have seen online suggest adding salt to help with this process however I eat a low sodium diet so do not like to add salt to my own cooking and had the time to let them do it at their own pace. 
 Once they’d had some of water pulled out in the towel than you place in bowl and mix with 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp creamy ranch dressing, 1 tbsp spicy oregano and chilies and salt and pepper to taste - I did 1 turn salt and 3 pepper with the grinder.

Now if you've read my blog before you know my go to spices are Epicure because as I mentioned I like to cook low sodium and their products are MSG free and low sodium which is ideal for our lifestyle! 

This flavor combo of spices truly gives a nice Spicy Doritos flare but in all honesty you can use ANY spice palette for your chips here - BBQ is tasty as Dill whatever your favorite chip is you can find a spice option to add here!
 
 Mix up well in bowl  to ensure that your chips are evenly seasoned than lay flat on the cookie tray. I love to bake with Epicure silicone baking insert because environmentally friendly as it is non stick and washable.

Parchment paper will also work if you don’t have the baking liner - but seriously I cannot recommend it enough for all your baking and cookie needs.  It is another investment that will save you money in the long run from buying parchment paper and since it is reusable it is better for environment!

Bake 20 minutes at 350 F and than turn down 200 F and continue to bake 45 minutes - flip each one over and put back in for 30 minutes than remove if desired crispiness or return and check every 10 minutes until they are.

Keep a really close eye on them at the end because one minute they can see too wiggly and the next they can move towards burning! 

This is my first batch I ever made and I made that mistake of just giving them one more minute and than got side tracked and they got a little over done - they still tasted awesome but they were like those 'dark chips' you find in your store bought bag that some people love and other people are like um NO! 

If you give the recipe a try I would love to hear your feedback in the comment section! 

Margaret

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much
Be Totallyawake4-life 



 

 

 

Louisiana Hot & Spicy Eggs

Delicious breakfast idea - my friend Shannon recently got me craving pickles!

What You Need

• 2 hard boiled eggs
• 1 tablespoon pickle relish
• 1 tsp Epicure Louisiana Hot & Spicy Dip

What You Do

• Slice hard boiled eggs and scoop out hard yellow and mix with relish and spices and than scoop back into eggs. 
• Marinate for 10-20 minutes serve with veggie sticks! 

Perfect breakfast or post work out snack! 

Have an amazing day! 

Margaret

Live well, Laugh Often, Love Much

Be Totallyawake4-life