Coconut French Toast with Tropical Fruit Topping

May 27, 2013 by

Coconut French Toast with Tropical Fruit Topping

The last real vacation I had was three years ago when we went to Alaska on our honeymoon. I’ve been dreaming of another cruise well…pretty much since we got off the boat for the last one. Some place tropical, where I actually won’t care that it’s ridiculously hot, fruity drink in hand.

But, alas, here I must stay!

Last week I asked you guys on Facebook whether you preferred pancakes, waffles, or French toast. The winner was most definitely French toast. I realized that I only had one French toast recipe on this blog. I love to give you peeps what you want so I have another French toast recipe for you today!

Coconut French Toast with Tropical Fruit Topping

And this French Toast recipe is certainly going to make you feel like you are on vacation. What makes this French toast special is that instead of regular milk, this French toast is soaked in coconut milk overnight and then topped with shredded coconut and baked until golden. And to top it off, a big scoop of tropical fruit! It’s sweet enough that you won’t need any syrup. And at least for breakfast, you’ll feel like you are on a tropical vacation!

Coconut French Toast with Tropical Fruit Topping

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Coconut French Toast with Tropical Fruit

Prep Time: 8 hours

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 8 hours, 30 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Serving Size: 2 slices

Ingredients

    French toast:
  • 8 slices French bread (cut diagonally and about 1-inch thick)
  • 1 cup light coconut milk
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/8 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
    • Tropical fruit topping (see note):
  • 1 cup diced pineapple
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped and peeled mango
  • 1 cup chopped and peeled papaya
  • 1 tbs. sugar (optional)
  • 1 tbs. fresh lime juice

Instructions

  1. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange the bread in a single layer.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract. Pour the mixture over the bread slices. Turn the slices over to get both sides of each piece coated in the coconut milk mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
  3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the bread from the fridge. Sprinkle the flaked coconut evenly over the slices of bread. Let sit for about 10 minutes.
  4. Bake for 25 minutes, uncovered, or until the flaked coconut is golden.
  5. While the French toast is baking, prepare the tropical fruit topping in a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Spoon on top of the French toast when it is done baking and serve.

Notes

I found a package of peeled and sliced tropical fruit from Trader Joe's and I just chopped the slices. You can really use however much and whichever types of tropical fruit you prefer. Kiwi would also be a great addition!

http://eat-drink-love.com/2013/05/coconut-french-toast-with-tropical-fruit-topping/

Coconut French Toast with Tropical Fruit Topping
Filed Under: Desserts · Tagged With: , , , , 19 Comments

Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

March 19, 2013 by

Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

You guys know me by now. I have told you time and time again that I love snack-type foods and I love anything southwestern/Mexican. So what happens when you combine the two?

Pure bliss. That’s what.

Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

I guess the inspiration behind these are those Southwestern Egg Rolls from Chili’s. It’s been years since I have been in a Chili’s. I stopped going after realizing that even their salads were over 1,000 calories. But oh man, those egg rolls are so dang good.

Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

This was my first time making egg rolls. I had this idea that making egg rolls was difficult. But you know what? It’s not. And now I want to make like 100 different types of egg rolls. Perhaps it is because I chose to bake them instead of frying, but these are pretty easy to put together and they are perfect to serve for a party or just a snack at home. They also freeze well if you need to do that. This recipe is vegetarian, but you could also toss in some shredded chicken if you wanted.

Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

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Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yield: 12 egg rolls

Serving Size: 1 egg roll

Calories per serving: 125

Fat per serving: 4.2

Ingredients

  • 1 cup corn (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 California avocado, diced
  • 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 tbs. freshly chopped cilantro
  • 1 green onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup finely diced tomato (can also use chunky salsa if desired)
  • 1/4 tsp. chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp. cumin
  • 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. black pepper
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 12 egg roll wrappers
  • cooking spray
  • sour cream, Greek yogurt, ranch dressing, guacamole, or avocado lime dressing

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients though the egg roll wrappers.
  3. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
  4. Take one of the egg roll wrappers and lay flat with one corner facing you, scoop about 2 tbs. of the mixture into the center of the wrapper. Roll the corner that is facing you over the mixture and lightly tuck the corner under. Then take the two sides that are facing outwards and fold over the first fold. Then roll the egg roll until the last corner is wrapped around the rest of the egg roll. As you roll, use your fingers to keep the mixture tight in the center. Finally, place some water on your finger and brush it on the tip of the wrapper, and then press down to seal. Place the egg roll seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining egg rolls.
  5. Spray the tops of the egg rolls with cooking spray and bake for about 10-15 minutes until the tops start to turn golden brown. Gently flip over and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove and let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
http://eat-drink-love.com/2013/03/baked-southwestern-egg-rolls/

Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

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Filed Under: Appetizers, Low-Fat, Snacks, Vegetarian/Vegan · Tagged With: , , , , , , 26 Comments

Baked Buffalo Chicken Taquitos

January 18, 2013 by

Buffalo Chicken

I’m tossing another Super Bowl dish at ya. Baked Buffalo Chicken Taquitos. Go long.

I’m so lame.

My darling husband isn’t much for appetizer or snack-type foods. Is he crazy?!! I know a few things that he can’t resist though and one of those things is buffalo chicken. The man loves all things buffalo chicken. Last year, I made these buffalo chicken bites. This year, it’s buffalo chicken taquitos. Because my man also loves taquitos. And well, so do I.

Buffalo Chicken

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Baked Buffalo Chicken Taquitos

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Yield: About 12 taquitos

Ingredients

  • 4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
  • 1/3 cup buffalo sauce (can add more if desired)
  • 1/2 tsp. onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 2 1/2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (colby and monterey jack cheese also works well)
  • 12 6-inch flour tortillas
  • cooking spray
  • ranch dressing, blue cheese dressing, sour cream (for dipping)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
  2. In a bowl, stir together the cream cheese and buffalo sauce. Then mix in the chicken, garlic and onion powders, and the cheese until everything is well-combined. If it seems dry, you can add in more buffalo sauce if desired.
  3. Place the tortillas on a microwavable plate. Place a damp paper towel on top and microwave for about 20 seconds.
  4. Spoon about 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture down the middle of each tortilla. Roll it up nice and tight and place the on the baking sheet seam-side down. Spray the tops with some cooking spray.
  5. Bake for about 15 minutes. Flip over and spray with a little more of the spray. Bake for another 5 minutes or until golden brown.
http://eat-drink-love.com/2013/01/baked-buffalo-chicken-taquitos/

Buffalo Chicken
Filed Under: Appetizers, Chicken, Kid-Friendly, Snacks · Tagged With: , , , , , , , 21 Comments

Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts

November 2, 2012 by

Some Friday things:

1. First, I just want to say that my thoughts and prayers are with all my friends up in the Northeast. I hope you all are safe and sound!

2. Who else is stuck with a gazillion tons of candy? Though we suspected there wouldn’t be much trick-or-treating going on in our new neighborhood, we still bought a bunch of candy. UGH, WHY?! And just as I thought, we did not get one trick-or-treater so now all that candy sits in the pantry, taunting me all day long. Damn you, candy, damn you!!

3. Every Halloween, my husband and I like to torture ourselves by carving fancy things on our pumpkins. Here is a picture of our work this year. Anybody want to guess who they are? The winner will get a virtual high five from me.

4. November 1st always depresses me. Two reasons. 1. It makes me realize that I need to start thinking about Christmas shopping (kill me now, please), and 2. Halloween month is over and I have to take down our decorations.

5. Speaking of decorations, I seriously want to put up our Christmas decorations. Like, today. I don’t want to wait until Thanksgiving. And for this, I blame Pier 1. Have you seen their Christmas decorations?!!

6. Just in case you want to keep your sugar high going, today I am sharing my apple cider doughnuts! I’ve actually never made doughnuts, but I hear apple cider doughnuts are a big thing and I am totally on an apple cider kick right now. Hubs got me a doughnut pan and it needed to be put to good use! So, these are not your traditional fried doughnut, but they are still pretty darn tasty! The apple cider isn’t too overpowering and they just taste like fall!

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Apple Cider Baked Doughnuts

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yield: 18 doughnuts

Ingredients

    For the doughnuts:
  • 1 1/2 cups apple cider
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 1/2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
  • 4 tbs. butter, at room temperature
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk (I used non-fat)
    • For the cinnamon sugar coating:
  • 4 tbs. melted butter
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon (or more, if desired)

Instructions

    For the doughnuts:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a small saucepan, boil the apple cider until it is reduced to 1/4 cup (out 15-20 minutes).
  3. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and the sugar. Add in the eggs and mix well.
  4. Stir in the buttermilk and reduced cider.
  5. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and the nutmeg.
  6. Mix the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients, mix just enough to combine.
  7. Spray a donut pan with cooking spray. Either pipe or spoon the batter into the each mold until they are about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow doughnuts to cool before coating.
    8. For the cinnamon sugar coating:
  8. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
  9. Using a pastry brush, brush the melted butter on both sides and in the middle of each doughnut. Dip and roll the doughnut in the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat. Repeat with the remaining doughnuts.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Pumpkin Patches and More

http://eat-drink-love.com/2012/11/baked-apple-cider-doughnuts/
Filed Under: Desserts · Tagged With: , , , , , 34 Comments

Macadamia Crusted Tilapia with Mango Pineapple Salsa

March 26, 2012 by

Do you ever have one of those weekends where come Sunday night, you don’t really know what the heck you spent the entire weekend doing? Kind of like when you read a page in a book and when you get to the end, you have no idea what you just read? That was me this weekend. I don’t think I did anything. Aside from cooking, grocery shopping, and lunch with the hubs, I did a whole lot of nothing. I wasn’t feeling too hot on Friday night and ended up going to bed really early. I know, I’m so wild.

Oh, and how annoying is it when you have a recipe all planned out and when you get to the store, they don’t have one of the ingredients you need? I had that issue with this recipe. My original plan was to use mahi, but the store had none. Sigh. I called two other grocery stores and neither of them had mahi! What. The. Heck?! Since I already bought all of my other ingredients the previous day, this recipe WAS going to happen. So, I surveyed the fish they did have and decided on tilapia, which actually worked really well. This dish is nice and light and really refreshing with the mango pineapple salsa! I served it over some rice with a hint of lime and with some roasted plantains! Yum!

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Macadamia Crusted Tilapia with Mango Pineapple Salsa

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

    For the Fish
  • 4 tilapia fillets (about 6 ounces each)
  • 1 1/4 cups macadamia nuts
  • 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1 can light coconut milk (can also use regular milk)
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • salt
    • For the Salsa:
  • 1 1/2 cup mango, diced
  • 1 1/2 cup pineapple, diced
  • 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
  • 2 tbs. cilantro, chopped
  • 1 tbs. rice vinegar
  • 1 tbs. lemon juice
  • 1 tbs. chopped jalapeno pepper (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or cover a large baking sheet with foil. Add the nuts and bread crumbs into a food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely crushed. Pour the mixture into a shallow bowl.
  2. Pour the milk into a separate shallow bowl. Dip each fillet into the milk and then dip into the nut and bread crumb mixture. Place on the baking sheet. Sprinkle salt on top of each piece of fish. Drizzle some of the fresh lime juice over each fillet. Spray the top of each piece with cooking spray. Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until a light golden brown.
  3. While the fish is baking, prepare the salsa. Add all ingredients into a bowl and mix to combine. Serve over the fish.
http://eat-drink-love.com/2012/03/macadamia-crusted-tilapia-with-mango-pineapple-salsa/
Filed Under: Entrees, Fish, Low-Carb, Low-Fat · Tagged With: , , , , , 47 Comments

Low-Fat Buffalo Chicken Bites

January 30, 2012 by

With less than a week to go until the Super Bowl, I thought I would share a couple of recipes this week that you can make for your parties! Now, I have to admit that I could give two craps about the Super Bowl. Just not into it. But, any excuse to get together with friends and eat a bunch of food sounds good to me! And hey, at least the commercials are fun! You’ve heard me say before that my darling husband is a buffalo chicken fanatic. I have a few buffalo chicken recipes in my arsenal, but I wanted to make something new that was more of an appetizer. These buffalo chicken bites did the trick! They were tasty, easy to make, and low in fat! You should totally add these to your Super Bowl menu!!

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Low-Fat Buffalo Chicken Bites

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Yield: Serves 4-6

Ingredients

  • 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded (I used rotisserie chicken)
  • 3 ounces fat-free or reduced fat cream cheese, softened
  • 3/4 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce (depending on how much buffalo flavor you want)
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 4 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 3 cups panko bread crumbs
  • Optional: 1/4 cup green onion, sliced

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a large baking sheet with a baking mat or parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and the buffalo sauce (and onion, if using).
  2. Add the flour, eggs, and panko to three shallow bowls. Take the chicken mixture and roll into 1 1/2-2 inch balls (I made mine way too big, they were more like 3 bites!). Roll each ball in the flour, then the egg, and then the panko. Place on a baking sheet and spray around each ball with olive oil spray (this helps brown the panko crumbs) and bake for about 15 minutes, then turn the balls over and bake for another 5 or 10 minutes until they are golden brown. Serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing for dipping!!

Notes

http://eat-drink-love.com/2012/01/low-fat-buffalo-chicken-bites/
Filed Under: Appetizers, Chicken, Low-Fat · Tagged With: , , , , , , , , 33 Comments

Lemon Oregano Chicken

January 2, 2012 by

Happy New Year!! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Though I am back in Florida, I have been at my Mom’s house the past few days. We celebrated New Year’s Eve by having fake Christmas since we were all apart on Christmas day. I was planning on heading back up to my place today (4 hour drive), but I woke up this morning with a nice fever! My little brother, Nick, is sick too so I’m not sure if he gave me this lovely gift or if I got it while traveling. Either way, it really stinks! I spent most of the day sleeping.

Due to having the plague, I am going to share another wonderful recipe from my friend, Amanda. This recipe is light and perfect for those of you who made a resolution to eat healthier in 2012! Hopefully by the end of this week, I will be back in my own place and back to normal cooking and blogging!!

Lemon Oregano Chicken

From The Sopranos Family Cookbook

Serves 4

Ingredients:

– 2 lemons

– 1 3 1/2 pound chicken, quartered (or if you would prefer, you can just use chicken breasts)

– 3 potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges

– 1 tbs. olive oil

– 1 tsp. dried oregano

– 2 garlic cloves, chopped

– salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Squeeze the juice from one lemon and slice the other one. Put the chicken and potatoes in a baking pan in a single layer. Sprinkle with the lemon juice, oil, oregano, garlic and salt and pepper. Turn the pieces to coat evenly, then turn the chicken skin side up. Tuck the lemon slices and potatoes in between the chicken pieces.

2 .Bake the chicken for about 45 minutes. Baste with the pan juices. Continue to bake, basting occasionally for 15 to 30 minutes longer or until the chicken is browned and the potatoes are tender. Transfer the chicken, potatoes and lemon slices to a serving platter. Tip the pan and skim off the fat. Pour the juices over the chicken and serve.

Filed Under: Chicken, Entrees, Low-Fat · Tagged With: , , , , 20 Comments

Buffalo Chicken Tenders

September 1, 2011 by


Well folks, labor day weekend is upon us and this means that the fall season is almost here! I’m not sure where the summer went, but I’m SO looking forward to my favorite time of the year and hopefully some cooler weather! This dry, Florida heat is killing me! I am already counting down the days until October 1st so I can start decorating for Halloween (one more month to go!!). One of the other great things about fall is football season! And what better way to celebrate football season than with a bunch of junk food?! Pizza, wings, chips and dip, you name it! But, of course, none of those things are very healthy so I am all about finding healthier substitutes for my favorite game-time foods.

I first saw this recipe for Buffalo Chicken Tenders on one of my favorite blogs, How Sweet It Is. All I needed to see was the title to know that I had to make these for me and the hubster! These chicken tenders are healthier because they are baked, not fried. They also use whole wheat flour and panko bread crumbs. These tenders came out really good and the buffalo sauce gives them a nice little kick. We dipped ours in ranch, but blue cheese dressing or gorgonzola dressing would also be wonderful with these!

Buffalo Chicken Tenders

From Active Foodie

Serves 2

Ingredients:

– 1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken tenderloins

– 2 tsp. salt

– 2 tsp. chili garlic sauce

– 2 tbs. Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Sauce, plus about 1/4 cup for serving

– 1 cup low fat buttermilk

– 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

– 1 1/2 cups whole wheat panko crumbs (or use regular if you cannot find the whole wheat kind)

– 8 tbs. whole wheat flour

– 1 1/2 tsp. paprika

– 1 tsp. cayenne

– 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

– Cooking spray (olive or canola oil)

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine buttermilk, Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Sauce, apple cider vinegar, chili garlic sauce, and 2 tsp. of salt. Whisk together. Add the chicken and marinate over night.

2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray an oven-safe wire rack with cooking spray.

3. Combine panko, flour, cayenne, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, and paprika in a large bowl. Dredge chicken in the flour and breadcrumb mixture. Place chicken tenders on a wire rack. Spray each tender completely with more cooking spray. Bake for approximately 10 minutes. Turn over and spray other side with cooking spray and bake for another 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked completely. Using a pastry brush, brush more of the buffalo sauce on top of each tender and serve.

Notes:
- When I first made these, I used skim milk and I didn’t have a wire rack. This made the breading come off really easily and they were a little hard to eat with our hands. Make sure you use a wire rack to avoid getting the breading stuck to the pan. Jessica, from How Sweet It Is also told me that if you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can make your own! Just combine 1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice/vinegar to 1 cup milk, stir and let sit about 5-10 minutes!
Filed Under: Appetizers, Chicken, Entrees, Low-Fat · Tagged With: , , , 41 Comments

Baked Zucchini and Squash

June 7, 2011 by


I have been in a side dish rut lately. I feel like I always make the same side dishes and I have been wanting to try some different veggie side dishes aside from my typical steamed broccoli, asparagus, and salads. I saw a big display of zucchini and squash last weekend at my grocery store and decided to try to come up with a simple and yummy recipe for them! This recipe is super easy to make and the Parmesan cheese gives the zucchini and squash a nice crisp!

Baked Zucchini and Squash

Ingredients:

Serves 4

– 2 medium zucchini and 2 medium squash, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
– 1 1/2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
– 2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
– salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a bowl, combine zucchini, squash, cheese, olive oil and salt and pepper. Spread onto greased baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown*. Flip halfway through so that the veggies can brown on both sides.

*Notes: The Parmesan cheese can burn if you don’t keep an eye on the veggies, so be careful!
Filed Under: Sides · Tagged With: , , , , 2 Comments

Baked Shrimp Scampi

June 5, 2011 by


I’m typically not a big fan of shrimp, but this shrimp scampi recipe meets my approval! My grandma used to make this shrimp scampi all of the time when she used to be a cook in a restaurant with my great-grandmother. While many scampi recipes are cooked on the stove, I like to bake mine in the oven with some breadcrumbs! I recommend serving the shrimp with my pasta aglio e olio, roasted potatoes, or steamed veggies!

Shrimp Scampi

Ingredients:

Serves 4

– 1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (I also like to cut the tails off, but you can certainly leave them on if you want!)
– 1 tsp. salt
– 2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
– 2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
– 1 1/2 Tbs. white wine
– 2 Tbs. butter
– 1 1/2 Tbs. bread crumbs
– salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a pie dish or small baking dish, arrange shrimp in a single layer.

2. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, and white wine. Whisk together and drizzle evenly over the shrimp. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over the shrimp.

3. Cut butter into small cubes and place a cube of the butter over each piece of the shrimp.

4. Bake for approximately 10 minutes.
Filed Under: Entrees, Fish · Tagged With: , , , , , One Comment