Mexican "Hot" Chocolate Protein Popsicles

Who wants a normal fudgesicle when you can have a Mexican "Hot" Chocolate one? I mean a regular one will do in a pinch but why settle when you can throw these together in no time at all. Sure it takes at least 4 hours to freeze but that doesn't count -- you can watch tv or read a book to distract yourself long enough for these pops to set up. And trust me, they're worth the wait.

I love Mexican Hot Chocolate -- the beverage -- with the cinnamon spice and a soft kick at the end. I don't like a lot of cayenne pepper but a little really wakes up the chocolate especially with the cinnamon. It's too hot in the summer for hot chocolate. I'm ridiculously OCD when it comes to when it's appropriate to drink hot chocolate. I know people, like 4ft, who would drink it all the time if they could but when it's 90+ degrees outside no one should be drinking hot drinks (not even coffee -- I switch to iced as soon as it's past 70 degrees out) even if they are chocolate. No one. Especially me. No matter how badly I want it. Which is what led me to create a hot chocolate popsicle.

All the flavor and fun of Mexican hot chocolate and the bonus of having it cool you down on a hot day or after working out or while you're sitting watching tv or just out of a shower, just waking up, before going to bed...you know...whenever.

Grilled Ham & Cheese Chicken Roll-ups

Every once in awhile I jones for a grilled ham & cheese sandwich. The problem with them is now they give me "bread belly" which I try to avoid when all possible. So I wondered if I could feed the craving with a substitute. I gotta say, this came pretty close. My new favorite thing is putting a filling inside chicken (I get on these kicks and every recipe includes them til I find the next thing to rev on). So, when the sandwich craving hit, I filled the chicken with ham and cheddar. It was surprisingly delicious with little fuss and a short list of ingredients.

Picky Eaters' Seal of Approval: turkey noises as they gobbled it up and went back for seconds!

Eggplant Parmesan

Yay! Excitement. My box came.

Once a month I get a Farm Fresh To You box delivered to my front door with locally grown fruit and vegetables. It's wonderous. And this month was a total winner -- they sent me a couple eggplants. I love eggplant. I forget how much I love eggplant, and never notice it in the usual produce areas I haunt so I never get any. Well, I have some now!

So, I had to make eggplant parmesan of course. You can't have eggplant in your house and not make eggplant parmesan. Well, okay, maybe you can, but this girl can't. It's one of my favorite dishes and I always get it when I go to Italian food. So, it being me, I had to healthy it up a little. No deep frying for this girl. And let me tell you, it turned out splendiferous.

The breading was crunchy and flavorful. (The trick is to put the seasonings in the dredging flour and egg wash. It also makes dredging in panko easier because you don't have to worry if you didn't measure enough, you have to make more than you need to match your spice ratios.)  I wished I had a full stomach so I could eat more than two eggplant steaks it was that good (so it's probably a good thing I don't). 4ft thought it was fabulous and inhaled his and tried to horn in on mine. I had to stab him with my fork. It was a vicious battle but I'm proud to say I won and the eggplant on MY plate went into MY stomach.

It makes quite a bit and since 4ft and I were the only ones eating it we had quite a bit left over. I let it cool completely to room temperature and then put it in a ziplock (without sauce -- just the oven-fried eggplant steaks). Let me tell you, it's just as good reheated, IF you bake them to reheat. I had the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit and baked them for about 10 minutes. They were just as crispy and wonderful. I'm totally stoked because it was so delicious for lunch. Especially cuz I have mine with meat sauce -- hooray for protein!

Coming soon... Sesame-Crusted Eggplant w/ sticky dipping sauce and eggplant pizzas (I have a whole other eggplant to use) 

Banana Split Protein Popsicles

I got new popsicle molds! It was totally going to happen as I completely have a popsicle addiction, it was just a matter of time. And that time is now. I got little ring pop molds for the Bear too (perfect kid-sized popsicles on a ring, how awesome is that? Sooooo awesome), I just haven't had a chance to photograph them yet because she has popsicle radar and starts climbing up my leg the second I get them out.

Edit: Derp. Just take a picture of me wearing one.

And what better way to celebrate the maiden voyage of new pop molds but to fill them with banana splits! Everything you love about a banana split down to the chocolate, strawberry, and pineapple topping in one splendiferous popsicle. I know, right? Genius idea. These popsicles are so splendiferously delicious I dare you to try and only eat one. The only way these could possibly be any better is dipped in chocolate. Mmm magic shell, anyone? 

These are a new favorite in our household. 4ft can't get enough of them and Bear growls at hers as she eats it (I'm pretty sure that's a good thing) The banana haters of the house make gross faces but we ignore them because there's something wrong with them anyway. How can you not like banana? 

Oven-Fried Onion Rings

This all started with having a craving. I wanted something fried, crunchy, and dippable in ketchup. French fries are high in starch which my body likes to gain weight just looking at. I rarely eat potatoes. I used to miss them like crazy but now I'm all, "Meh" about them so it's not so bad. I love oven-fried zucchini but I didn't want ranch, I wanted ketchup, and while 4ft has no problem dipping everything under the sun in ketchup, I can't. I had half an onion sitting all alone in the fridge looking for love in all the wrong places (that vanilla yogurt isn't interested, leave it alone for goodness sake).

Normally, I'd do onion rings because they'd be prettier and anyone who knows me, knows that food doesn't only have to taste good, it has to look good too. Say it with me, "We eat with our eyes before we ever eat with our mouths." I know some of you are rolling your eyes at me (my best friend hears this a lot when she's trying to tell me how crazy I am -- so I know her eyes are) but it doesn't make it any less true. However, I couldn't do rings because I had half an onion cut the opposite way so I did what I had to do and made peels instead. 

It actually worked out better that way because I made slider burgers to go with them (OMG best slider burgers ever -- recipe is coming) and the peels held more real estate on the burger so I got some onion-y goodness in every bite. They made better scoops for dip (which is totally my thing. I love dipping things) and they were easier to keep the breading on when making them.

4ft ate a couple, but the rest of the family are firm onion haters unless they're cooked in something and can't be seen (as they are with most things delicious), and they were missing out because these onion peels were delicious and tasted like regular onion rings without all the grease. Definitely worth the effort to make them!