Artisanal Crackers with Olive Oil & Rosemary

 

Every once in awhile you run into a recipe that makes all this blogging worth it!  And this my friends is it!

It is everything I want my recipes to be.    Simple, fresh, easy to make, versatile and yummy!  I can hardly wait to make them again! 

And where did I run across this piece of recipe perfection?  If you have read my blog at all, you will see my pal Rob's name throughout.  Rob is my Blog Muse.   But this recipe came from Rob's partner, David!  David is an uber talented decorator...their home is simply amazing...and apparently he is working on his culinary skills as well!   Thanks for sharing David!

 Couple notes:

•  Roll  out as thin as possible.  They transfer to a baking sheet easily, even though they are paper thin. 
• After topping with salt, use a rolling pin to gently press the salt into the dough before baking.
• Use good salt (I used Kosher). Use good Olive Oil (Extra Virgin) and fresh Rosemary.
• I made mine rustic, but you can cut into any shape you prefer.
• Vary this recipe easily with any herb or leave plain...good no matter what! 
• Oh and each large cracker only has 66 calories...munch on!

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups flour

2/3 cup water

1/4 cup good olive oil 

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat to 425

Mix all ingredients in your *Kitchen Aid using the bread hook.  Knead for 5 minutes or so until dough is silky smooth  

Let it rest for 20 minutes. 

 (*if you don't have a Kitchen Aid, your hands will work just fine! Just make sure you knead it well.) 

  



   

Cut dough into 8 small pieces. 

 

 

 Roll out each piece on well floured board until very thin. Each piece will make 2 long crackers. 

 

 

 

 

Place on silicone mat, parchment paper or spray cooking pan lightly with non stick spray.



Bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly brown.



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Jelly Donut Muffins

I've been making these for years.  The recipe is from my favorite cookbook of all time.  The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook.  They are called Raspberry Filled Cinnamon  Muffins in the book but they are so tender, like a donut, I changed the name and the filling!



I am not sure, but I think this was the first edition printed.  There have been several since, but none as good as this version from 2000.  I use this book more than all my cookbooks.... combined and I got a few books!  It's my moms favorite too.

These are tender, very delicate and super easy to make.  I use seedless strawberry jam to mimic the filling of a jelly donut but you could use whatever you have on hand.

When my daughter was little and had a bad day...we used to make muffins...because when the going gets tough, the tough make muffins!

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Watermelon Salad with Feta and Mint

If  you have ever flown Alaska Airlines then you know they have the nicest Flight Attendants ever!  Do these people ever have a bad day?  I can't possibly imagine serving 130 people stuffed into a tube and never getting a bit cranky! But these guys rock it...every day!  (okay I'm a bit prejudiced having worked at Alaska's sister company, Horizon Air for 14 years, but not as a Flight Attendant, I don't have what it takes... like the ability to not want to stuff screaming children in the overhead bin...)  These guys are truly amazing, every child remains in their seat for the entire flight, quite an accomplishment in my  book.

So on a recent trip to Tucson it is no surprise that I met one of their finest, Denise W.  Not only is Denise a sweet heart of a flight attendant, she knows how to cook!  She shared this recipe with me and it's been on my mind to blog it for a month now.

It's super easy, super healthy and so good you can't stop eating it!  If you are not a fan of mint, cilantro makes a nice alternative.

Hope you can enjoy it before summer ends!

Ingredients
1 small watermelon, cubed and seeded
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar (Denise says not to substitute this ingredient, especially with balsamic or you get a rather unattractive salad)
1/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese
2 tablespoons minced mint or cilantro
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper


Toss and serve...how easy is that ????  Love it!  Thank you Denise and happy travels!

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Crunchy Oven Baked Shrimp with Peachy Dipping Sauce

Crunchy Oven Fried Shrimp with Spicy Peachy sauce!  I can't get enough of them!  I will make the peach sauce over and over again, I can already taste it with salmon and turkey burgers and pork chops and chicken and fish and...well you get the point. It's yummy!

The sauce is so simple, it is made out of peach preserves, ground ginger, honey and hot sauce...nuke it a minute and instant dip!  You can even use sugar free preserves and get amazing results.

I tried the shrimp a couple different ways - soaked in buttermilk, dipped in egg, and just Panko and then dipped in regular bread crumbs and then again with a bread-Panko combo, and that was the best. These little wonder shrimp have been tested and re-tested.  (Thank you Mr. Kirk for your very valuable opinion...he has a very tough job, being my official taste tester.)
The shrimp are also very low in calorie, so make tons and double your batch of the peachy sauce to go with everything you are cooking this week!

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Oven Roasted Brussel Sprouts

So easy and so yummy!  You can apply this same technique to most veggies that you love. 
Brussel Sprouts are a trending food these days and I had not had them for years but they are just popping up everywhere! 

Come to find out the husband loves them...go figure. You think after 30 years you know someone, then wham!  Brussel Sprouts!...go figure?  It's a crazy world...

Ingredients

1 pound fresh Brussel Sprouts
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil for easy clean up.

Cut the ends off the sprouts off and let the leaves fall off where they may.

Toss with some olive oil (be a little generous), sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake for about 25 minutes until tender and serve! 

Had the leftovers for lunch the next day and they were yummy chilled!

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'Egg' Muffins

I started making these years ago during my South Beach diet phase....the diet didn't last but these tasty morsels did!  They are a regular staple for me...so easy to grab on the go and check out the numbers...very low cal, high protein, healthy little wonder nuggets!  You don't even need to dirty a bowl to make them either.  I am an egg head...I love eggs of all kinds and all preparation's.  I eat these cold for snacks. 2 of them for 140 calories and only 2 WW Points+...yahoo!
Choose your favorite veggie and 1 tablespoon of cheese or Canadian bacon and the numbers won't change much...if you go heavy on the cheese or add regular bacon (yum!) then you might want to add a few calories and a WW point. 
I'm fairly particular on what brand of egg product I use, there is a big difference in flavor.  My first choice is ReddiEgg (in photo) which you can get at Trader Joes, second would be Safeway brand, followed by Egg Beaters.  The Kirkland brand at Costco doesn't taste like anything...very bland...hard to tell if you are eating something or not...too bad too, 'cause they are about half the price.
These numbers are based on 1/3 cup egg product, 1/4 cup veggies and 1 tablespoon of light grated cheese or feta.

Servings: 12

Serving Size: 1 muffin

Calories: 69 (omit cheese and it reduces to 50!)

Fat: 2.5

Carbs: less than 1

Fiber: 1

Protein: 7

WW Points+: 1 (can I hear a oh yah!)

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