Cooking spray – Sweet Heat Chefs

With my new-found mission to a better healthier lifestyle, that rules out my love of frying and eating fried foods. After all , that is what got me where I was. Moderation is key, but having a good defense is the best offense! Meaning, I need a ton of good go to recipes that feel indulgent but aren’t. That way I can trick my body (and mind) into thinking I am eating things I shouldn’t be but am able to without regret and guilt. I initially founded this recipe with my daughter Jasmine as we were in final competition mode on the Rachael Ray vs. Guy Fieri cooking show. Our mission, was to cook the best chicken cutlet, which we did cuz we WON! Any who, that version was pan-fried and this one is low-calorie baked chicken tenders. Same great taste, without that pesky guilt I was talking about earlier 😀 Click here for the original version of the deliciousness!

This version was obviously thought up since I am now eating healthier, but also was inspired by a secret ingredient swap. Some blogger pals got paired up and had to send the other one something that represented their state. I received this jar of golden deliciousness! Sweet & Spicy Stone Ground Mustard. As soon as I saw the jar I opened it, smelled it tasted it, smelled it tasted it and fell in ~love~

This jar came from Mishmawshandotherthings.

INGREDIENTS

8 chicken tenderloin breasts
1/4 cup golden deliciousness aka Raye’s Sweet & Spicy Stone Ground Mustard
2 cups pretzels, ground semi fine (salted or non salted per your preference) I use the matchstick kind and pulse them in the food processor until I get the consistency I like.
1/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
salt/pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS – Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Using a sheet pan, line the bottom with foil, and top with a bakers wire cooling rack. Spray rack with non stick cooking spray and set aside.
In a small bowl add mustard and chicken. Mix together so chicken is well coated. Set aside.
In a food processor pulse the pretzels and Parmesan cheese until desired consistency. I like mine chunkier to be able to taste the pretzels. Add pepper to taste (and salt if using unsalted pretzels)
Add the pretzel coating to a bowl and take 1 chicken strip at a time and coat with it.
Place the pretzel crusted chicken tender on the baking rack and repeat until all chicken is coated. Be sure to discard leftover mustard and pretzel mixture as you can’t re-use it do to be contaminated with raw chicken.
Drizzle olive oil over the tops of the chicken strips. You can use non stick spray for this too.
Bake chicken for 15 – 20 minutes or until cooked through. You will want to turn chicken over 1/2 way through and drizzle with olive oil to crisp both sides.
Serve with Honey Mustard Dipper Sauce and sliced scallions!

INGREDIENTS

2 medium-sized sweet potatoes
1/2 cup liquid egg whites
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon rosemary, fresh and chopped
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

If you are looking for a way t build muscle in your arm, try this recipe. NO JOKE grating these sweet potatoes with a grated is a great work out! I am always look for new ways to get my kiddos to eat veggies, if you follow my blog then you know this already, and if not then you probably are the same with your own kids unless you have UBER awesome kids that eat their veggies. I was blessed with 5 kids, but 5 kids that DON’T eat or like veggies! So….I came across this recipe that looked and sounded good. How can one go wrong with cheese anyway. Not just any cheese Parmesan cheese at that. Only 1 oz of this cheese and you are at 11 grams of protein and contain the bone building nutrients calcium and phosphorus. Combine that with the sweet potatoes Vitamin C content and I’ll take it! Now you aren’t going to tell the little kiddos how awesome this snack is, you just indulge them with the fact it is “cool” looking with the brightly orange color and tell them it is full of cheese. You can also talk them off the ledge by telling them this is a new Halloween recipe you are trying! That’s it, nothing more and they will be happy to try it and continue asking for more.

This baked sweet potato cake when you bite into it has a nice savory crisp to it, you immediately taste the nutty Parmesan cheese and then the rosemary hits your taste buds like a final explosion of flavor. I found this recipe from a sweet blog called Carrots and ‘N’ Cake. I didn’t really change the recipe too much it is that good! Here is all you need to know to get started!

Preheat oven to 425. Set a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. Spray rack with non-stick spray. Make sure you don’t skip this step or you will have this…

…and you will be trying to gnaw off the little bits of deliciousness while trying not to burn your mouth…wait what? No I didn’t do that! Ok, so back to our regularly scheduled programming, where was I…?

Peel sweet potatoes and shred them using a cheese grater.

Squeeze the moisture from the sweet potatoes. I used a kitchen towel and put 1 handful in the towel at a tie and gave it a twist until all potatoes were free of moisture. The moisture keeps the crisps from getting crispy in the oven, so make sure you don’t skip this step.

Add Parmesan cheese

add egg whites

add rosemary, salt and pepper

Take a foil lined cookie sheet and spray with non stick cooking spray. Place 2 cooling racks on top (make sure they are sprayed unless you don’t mind gnawing). Take a scoop of the sweet potato mixture and create a pancake in the palm of your hand. Press firmly to create as flat of a pancake you can and place on rack. Repeat until rack is full.

Top with a little pinch of shredded parmesan cheese and pop in the oven for 30 minutes or until crispy.

When you bite into the warm sweet potato crisp you immediately taste the rosemary and then the nutty flavor of the Parmesan hits you. It is a low-fat no guilt treat that is baked and you can feel good about eating more than one!