Oven Baked Onion Rings

Joey and I are always looking for something that is naughty but at the same time figure-friendly. (Yes, our "naughty" factor pretty much applies just to food.) The other day Ellie Krieger had an episode entitled, "Day at the Diner" where she presented many of our favorite diner foods made in a healthier manner. While these are not as figure-friendly as carrot sticks, they do satisfy that craving for onion rings. The fact that they are oven baked makes you feel all the better about them. I want to say these are super easy to make, but I am having a bit of a challenge with the crumbs clumping together after dipping a few rings in them. I think the key is to grind up the chips very finely, but am not sure yet.

These are a great alternative to deep frying and work really well with burgers, hot dogs, or grilled cheese like we did. (All healthy alternatives, of course!) Check this out and if you master the dipping process please tell me your secret!!!!

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 4 cups baked potato chips
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (or milder spice of your choice - see notes)
  
• 1 cup lowfat buttermilk
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 large Vidalia onion, peeled

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450° F
   
2. Spray a baking sheet slightly with oil and set aside.
   
3. Place potato chips in the bowl of a food processor and process into crumbs, about 20 seconds.
   
4. Transfer to a shallow bowl, add cayenne (or spice of your choice), and set aside.
   
5. In another bowl, combine buttermilk, 2 tablespoons of flour, saltand pepper and set aside.
   
6. Slice onions into 1/2-inch circles and separate into rings, keeping only large, whole rings. (Save the rest of onions for other uses. I chopped mine up for the hot dogs.) You should come out with about 12 to 14 rings.
7. Place the remaining flour in a sealable plastic bag, then add onions, and shake to coat.
   
8. Dip onions 1 at a time into the buttermilk mixture, then dip into potato chip crumbs and place on baking sheet.
   
9. Spray cooking oil evenly over rings and bake for 20 minutes, or until coating is crisp.
10. Season with salt, to taste, and serve immediately.

Notes

I have made these twice and liked them both times. I will say though, the first time I followed the recipe and used cayenne and it was WAY spicy. If you have kids or don't like spicy it's a huge no-no. The second time I used smoked paprika and really liked it. I think with this recipe you might want to try it first with a very mild spice or none at all then experiment with spices you like. I kind of want to try Italian spices and serve them with a pasta sauce.

Creamy Broccoli Slaw

I have a new Food Network crush and it's on Ellie Krieger. Joey and I had watched her before, but rediscovered her while we were on our cleanse and were torturing ourselves by watching Food Network. We actually wanted to find some healthier ways of eating and her show seemed to fit the bill. Her show, Healthy Appetite, has become one of our favorites. Ellie not only gives you recipes that are easy and very tasty, but explains to you why they are healthy. This slaw was one of the first things we saw and we have been wanting to try it for several weeks. What I love about this is that it uses the broccoli stalks that one would usually throw away. Since it uses yogurt and very little mayonnaise it's very figure friendly. Combine that with the delicious crunch of sunflower seads and you have a hit! I followed the recipe fairly closely, but I couldn't find Greek yogurt so I strained mine. Please check the notes below if you have the same problem.

By the way, isn't Ellie just the cutest thing ever?! Just wait until you watch her show.

Ingredients

• 1 cup lowfat Greek yogurt, or strained yogurt
• 1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/4 pounds broccoli stalks (from about 2 1/2 pounds broccoli bunches)
• 1 large or 2 medium carrots

Instructions

1. If using regular yogurt, place it in a strainer lined with paper towel or coffee filter and set the strainer over a bowl. Let the yogurt drain and thicken for 20 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Place sunflower seeds and 1/4 teaspoon salt on a rimmed baking sheet and shake to combine. Toast seeds until aromatic, about 10 minutes. Cool and reserve.
3. Combine yogurt, buttermilk, lemon juice, mayonnaise, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Whisk to incorporate and reserve.
4. Peel tough outer layer of broccoli stalks and trim off 1/4 inch from bottoms of stalks (should be about 3/4 of a pound tender broccoli stalks remaining).
   
5. Shred stalks in food processor, then shred carrots. Combine shredded broccoli and carrots with dressing and toss to combine. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds and serve.

Notes

I didn't have cheese cloth to strain the yogurt so I used a coffee filter. It worked quite well. I honestly cannot find plain Greek yogurt near me, so this is the best method. I would give it more than 20 minutes, though.

When I first mixed the wet ingredients I thought, "Wow, that is too much" and quickly grated more carrots. I really didn't need to.

The sunflower seeds really add a nice, tasty crunch. Try to get unsalted and roast them. If you can't then don't roast them.