{ Healthy Chinese Food Endeavor }

A series by: Erin Gray
I could eat any form of Asian cuisine from sushi to Pad Thai any day of the week.  Unfortunately, my favorite Chinese delight, General Tso's is loaded with calories. I have found a healthier home made alternative that was greatly enjoyed at my house.

Baked General Tso's Chicken:
2 lb chicken breast tenderloins, chunked
2 eggs & 4 T milk (egg wash)
1 c flour
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne
6 T ground ginger
2 tsp salt
1 c sugar
1/4 c water
4 T soy sauce
4 T rice vinegar
2 T sesame oil
3 T chili paste
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp corn starch
3 tsp minced garlic

Preheat oven to 375.  Blend flour, pepper, cayenne, 3 T ground ginger, & salt. Coat chicken in egg wash then dredge in flour blend. Bake in a sprayed glass pan on for 30 minutes.  Use all ingredients except 1/4 c water  and sugar to mix sauce base. In a sauce pan boil sugar and water over medium heat stirring constantly until it develops a caramel color. Add remainder of sauce ingredients and simmer about 5 minutes. Take off heat and allow to thicken. Toss baked chicken in sauce and serve with steamed rice. **I also pre cooked some steamed broccoli and added to the mixture which was delicious.

{ Adventures in Baking: Sweet Potato Cupcakes }

A series by: Erin Gray
I typically make cupcakes for special occasions. Recently a good friend graduated high school and upon asking what kind she wanted she said "sweet potato". I thought she was joking, and am typically not a fan of anything but sweet potato fries, but due to the serious request I did some research and was very successful. This opportunity also gave me a chance to test run with icing tips for the first time before an upcoming birthday event.  Here is the recipe as I modified it from Better Homes and Gardens originally. Also, the frosting is a combination of my usual cream cheese recipe and one I found on yummly.com.:

Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Marshmallow Cream Cheese Frosting.
Cake:
2 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. clove
1 c butter, softened
1/4 c milk
3 eggs
1 1/2 c sugar
1 15 oz can sliced yams, mashed
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. In mixing bowl blend sugar and butter until whipped. Add eggs one at a time followed by mashed yams, and vanilla. In a separate bowl whisk all dry ingredients and add in flour mix and milk slowly mixing on medium until smooth.  Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full ( I use a heaping ice cream scoop of batter) and bake 20-30 minutes.

Icing:
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
3 T butter, softened
1 1/2 T shortening
1 7 oz jar of marshmallow cream
1 c powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon sugar blend

Blend all ingredients until smooth. scoop into icing bag and pipe onto completely cooled cupcakes. Icing will disperse and settle more like a glaze. * I also topped with clear sprinkles for a more fun effect.

{ An Adventure of Experiments through Food }

A series by: Erin Gray

I would like to preface my first entry by saying that as of late I have started using my usual sources (foodnetwork.com, most frequently) to find new and exciting recipes. If not already made as such, I have adjusted each recipe to make it more health conscious in an effort to stay within the parameters of my diet I have been on for the past year. For those interested I'll veer off my path just to say thanks to a discovery in the world of apps I have stuck to a plan much like Weight Watcher's, only without the stress of having to be a physicist just to figure out if I'm allowed that glass of wine at dinner or not. Let's face it .. I was an art major, math is not my strong suit! That said, I want everyone to share these recipes and not think of them as guidelines but the building blocks to tweak and use your own creativity to make them yours as I have already done for myself. Enjoy!

Dinner week 1: Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Mexican Lasagna

Mexican Lasagna:

12 wheat tortillas

12 oz shredded cheese (i used kroger hispanic blend)

30.5 oz sweet corn (2 cans of green giant corn)

7 oz diced green chiles

30 oz canned black beans

29 oz canned diced tomatoes

1 T ketchup

garlic salt (to taste, you can also do minced garlic and 1 tsp sea salt)

1 can sliced black olives

1 med. yellow onion

1 lb thin sliced chicken breast

1 jalepeno diced

4 sprigs cilantro, chopped

brown the chicken with just salt and pepper to season. in a sauce pan i cooked the tomatoes, oninon, chilis, garlic salt, ketchup, cilantro and onion for about 10-15 min on medium heat. In a separate bowl mix black beans, olives, corn, and browned chicken. layer as follows : 4 tortillas, half of corn/bean mix, 1/3 of cheese, 4 tortillas last of corn/bean mix, 1/3 of cheese, tomato sauce, rest of cheese. bake on 400 for 30-40 min.. also spray pan with cooking spray so bottom tortillas do not stick.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts:

1 package frozen brussels sprouts, thawed. (or use fresh if you prefer)

2 T olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

**for this meal I added chili lime powder to the brussels sprouts, I thought for something Italian adding parmesan cheese might also be a great addition.

drizzle the olive oil over sprouts. season as desired. back at 400 for 30-40 minutes.