snack Archives | Page 8 of 8 | Winstead Wandering

parmesan and panko crusted baked vegetables

June 17, 2015 by Abby

Green beans and asparagus are coated in crispy bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese and baked until tender for a healthy side dish with a satisfying crunch.

If you’re in the “a vegetable with a few added calories is better than no vegetable at all” camp, you’ve come to the right place. I make my home in that camp. I’m Head Counselor of that camp. I fly that camp flag with pride.

Today, I’m showing my camp spirit by sharing with you how to take ordinary asparagus or green beans, dust them with flour and soak them in egg, and then crust them with crispy panko bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. It’s a dish our whole camp can get behind.

When I made this dish, I used a combination of green beans and asparagus, because that’s what I had. The two work well together because they’re of similar thickness, but you could choose to use both or one or the other.

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150 calorie dark chocolate almond bites

June 10, 2015 by Abby

Dark chocolate chips are melted and drizzled over whole almonds, and then sprinkled with sea salt, to make this indulgent yet healthy low calorie chocolate snack.

Dark chocolate chips are melted and drizzled over whole almonds, and then sprinkled with sea salt, to make these indulgent yet healthy low calorie chocolate snack.

Y’all, this blogging thing is hard. Sometimes you make a to-die-for new recipe. You make it a few times before it dawns on you to share the recipe with your blog readers. So you make it again- oh, the hardship- in order to photograph the delectable little morsels.

But there’s a problem. In your haste, you melt the chocolate too fast. It gets lumpy and not super appealing looking (but don’t worry, it still tastes amazing).

I know that my readers expect- nay, they demand– only the very best from winstead wandering, and because I aim to please, I was forced to make these dark chocolate almond bites yet again.

The things I do for my readers.

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better for you triple chocolate banana bread

June 8, 2015 by Abby

Better for you triple chocolate banana bread has no butter, oil, or added sugar- except for the chocolate, of course- while still delivering big on flavor. With sweet, moist bananas and three kinds of chocolate, this bread tastes decadently indulgent.

Several years ago, when we were still living in Oregon, I had a favorite better for you banana bread recipe. When we came back from the beach a couple weeks ago with several overripe bananas, I went in search of that recipe, only to discover that the website had been removed.

Removed.

The author of my absolute favorite all-time best ever better for your banana bread deleted her blog without consulting me. The nerve.

Not to be deterred, I decided I was up to the challenge of re-creating the recipe. After all, I’ve made my share of quick breads– a lot of quick breads– and I remembered the basics of the original recipe.

It took two tries to get things just right, but I had no shortage of willing recipe testers. My sources tell me that this one is a keeper.

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pan-fried romaine lettuce {a frugal side dish}

June 3, 2015 by Abby

Pan-fried lettuce…that sounds crazy, right? The idea that you’d take a vegetable traditionally served chilled, a vegetable that’s typically consumed along with an assortment of garnishments designed mostly to hide the flavor, and intentionally heat it, wilt it, and season it only with ingredients intended to enhance it’s natural flavor.

Well, call me crazy, because I love this stuff. It’s such a unique, quick, and inexpensive side dish. The romaine is seasoned only with the garlic-infused olive oil, salt, and pepper. It’s pan-fried at high heat, so the romaine gets hot and wilted without losing it’s natural crunch.

You could throw in any spices you like, but I prefer to keep it simple. I tend to crave crunchy, salty foods and, while I won’t try to pretend this lettuce is a substitute for potato chips, it does fill a little of that void.

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blueberry lemon pound cake with lemon glaze

June 1, 2015 by Abby

I don’t remember fully appreciating the culinary combination that is lemon and blueberries when I was younger. Sure, I loved a good glass of lemonade, and I never turned down a blueberry muffin. But neither flavor was my favorite, and I certainly didn’t willingly pair the two together.

That’s all changed. Now, I actively seek out foods that marry the lovely sweet-tart flavor of berries and the refreshing citrus zest of lemons. And if that food is also topped with a rich glaze flecked with ribbons of lemon zest? Well, then I have to make a pan. Or two.

The original version of this recipe called for more sugar and butter than I felt was necessary. I’ve been known to bring the butter when the recipe really calls for it, but in this case, I felt certain that the whole thing could be lightened up without sacrificing moistness or flavor.

Don’t get me wrong; this recipe is in no way light and healthy. It’s just lighter and healthier than the original version.To make it that way, I took out a stick of butter and used Greek yogurt instead. I also reduced the sugar by a half cup.

The pound cake, on it’s own, is buttery and moist and studded with juicy blueberries. It can hold it’s own as a stand alone treat. But when adding a glaze is an option, I always choose it. Which is why these little guys were finished off with a glaze of powdering sugar, lemon zest and juice, vanilla, and milk. The glaze is just rich enough to stand out against the moist cake, but not so decadent as to overpower it. They play well together.

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how to make homemade tortilla chips

May 25, 2015 by Abby

I try not to buy a lot of snack foods, specifically chips. When there’s a bag of tortilla chips in the house, I tend to make nachos. A lot of nachos.

When I want to satisfy my craving for something crunchy and salty, I whip up a batch of homemade tortilla chips.

One of my favorite things about these chips is how they can be customized to suit any mood or meal. You can switch out the savory spices for sweet ones to make dessert nachos. You can skip the spice and use Italian seasonings for a fun twist.

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seasoned oven fries

February 5, 2015 by Abby

I mentioned in a recent what i’m loving wednesday post that I am so in love with my new French fry cutter.

We don’t have fries too often, but I do make them occasionally because they’re a great crowd-pleasing side. And now, with this new French fry cutter, they’re also super easy. It perfectly cuts a potato into fries in a matter of seconds, so you can get these babies in the oven and move on to the main dish.

This seasoned oven fries recipe bakes up in about as long as it takes to throw a few turkey burgers on the grill. With minimal effort, you have a side dish that’s hands down better than anything you’d pull out of the freezer section at the grocery store.

I used several of our favorite spices and seasonings in this recipe, but it’s completely adaptable to what you prefer and what you have on hand. And if you’re feeling naughty, go ahead and take the baked fries, sprinkle them with cheese and jalapenos and bacon, and toss them back in the oven for a few more minutes.

seasoned oven fries

3 large baking potatoes, scrubbed and patted dry
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
dash of red pepper flakes (optional)

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brown sugar balsamic strawberries

January 24, 2015 by Abby

Strawberries. Balsamic vinegar. Sugar. These are a few of my favorite things. They’re also three things I never would have imagined combining into one dish, let along enjoying. But a few years ago, I stumbled across a recipe- if you could even call it that; it basically just listed the three ingredients- on a blog I don’t recall. I was intrigued, and I happened to have everything I needed, so I threw it together.

The berries get tossed in the rich brown sugar and the acidic balsamic vinegar. Everyone rests in the fridge for a few minutes, getting chilled and cozy. When you pull it out to eat, the sugar and vinegar have come together to form a sweet and tangy sauce. The vinegar has begun to break down the berries, making them soft and delicate. It’s all a pretty lovely process.

It’s important to note that I’ve never followed a recipe when making this dish. I measured the last time I made it so that I’d be able to provide a recipe here, but keep in mind that there’s not really a wrong way to combine these three ingredients, so feel free to play around with it.

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