Spontaneous Moment #31: Zucchini Fritters

I just purchased a mandolin and I'll find any excuse to use it. So on my journey to eat healthier, why not whip up some zucchini fritters.

The sound of this recipe made John want to gag, but he was changing his tune by the end of the night.

They were so incredibly easy to make and the entire process took less than 20 minutes!

10 minutes prep time
6 minutes cooking time
Serves 2 (to serve four: double the zucchini, garlic, onion & egg, but keep the rest the same)

Ingredients:
1 medium zucchini
1 medium red onion
10 sprigs of parsley, stems removed (or if you want to mix it up 5 green onions)
Lemon Zest (I zested one lemon then cut lemon wedges with the rest of it)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper (to taste)
1 large egg
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup flour
Olive oil

Grate zucchini and onion into a medium bowl. Add chopped parsley, lemon zest, garlic, salt, pepper, parmesan and egg. Mix well. Slowly add flour, stirring the entire time so that you won't have any clumps.

How it should look after mixing in the first 9 ingredients

John helping me slowly mix in the flour

How it should look after the flour is added

Heat up olive oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Take a spoon full of the mixture and plop it into the pan. Repeat spacing the fritters evenly apart.

The size your fritter should be on the pan

Nom nom nom..cooking for about 2 1/2 minutes

Cook fritters until golden brown which is about 2-3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate.

Garnish with parsley or lemon wedges. Enjoy!

Spontaneous Moment #30: The Burger of all Burgers

Whenever I go to the counter at a burger joint and they ask what toppings I want... I tend to pick everything. Yes, I can't fit the burger in my mouth. No, I don't care. I call those kind of burgers SMASH BURGERS.

I love making turkey burgers at home and then cramming everything under the sun in between the buns. Tonight was no different.

Smash Burger ingredients:

Ground turkey
Lipton Onion Soup Mix
2 Garlic cloves
Potato bun
Sliced pickles
Sliced onions
Mushrooms
Lettuce
Tomato
Reduced fat Colby Jack cheese
Pepper
Sirarcha Sauce
Spicy Mustard

Preheat your onion to 350 degrees. Take out your ground turkey and put it in the bowl. Mince the garlic and then add it to your bowl. Pour one packet onion soup mix into the bowl and mix all three ingredients together. Make little turkey patties and cook on the stove top in a skillet.

Put your buns in the oven for 3 minutes. Take out the bun and finish toasting it a little bit on the stove top in the same pan you used to make your turkey burgers. Set aside.

On the same pan, toss in your mushrooms and sautee them until they're soft.  Set aside.

Put your spicy mustard and sirarcha sauce in a bowl and mix them together. Spread the mix on your bun.

Pop that burger on the bun and then slap on all of your ingredients. Once you've stacked everything up sky high, take your hand and just smash it all down!

Spontaneous Moment #29: Fall & Football

As that brisk weather comes in, those gorgeous yellow tomatoes are in full season. I'm sure you see yellow tomato gazpacho on every restaurant menu in town, but I'm going to mix it up.

To me, fall means football. When you watch football, you want to eat greasy food like chicken wings and pizza. So why not opt for a healthier option?

While checking my fantasy football stats (thank you Peyton Manning for all of those points), I decided to make a margarita pizza to munch on while watching Sunday football.

I purchased my fresh ingredients at the local farmer's market (Eastern Market) and cut basil from my herb garden.

Ingredients:
Pillsbury thin crust pizza dough
Grated 2% milk mozarrella cheese
1 yellow tomato
1 red tomato
mushrooms
a few leaves of basil
truffle oil
pepper (to taste)

 Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Slice your tomatoes, mushrooms, and basil. Spray the cooking sheet with some Pam and then spread your dough out on a cooking sheet. Put it in the oven for 5 minutes so your dough fluffs up a little bit.

Take out your dough after five minutes and brush on a small amount of truffle oil. Sprinkle with cheese, layer your tomatoes then plop on the mushrooms. Even disburse the basil and sprinkle on some pepper. I like to drizzle a little extra truffle oil on top. Sprinkle a little more cheese on top and put back into the oven for 8-12 minutes.

John and I scarfed down the pizza before the end of the game. I can't wait to make this dish again..and again... and again!