Zucchini Fritters

Spring is in the air, fresh veggies are becoming more abundant (and will be even more abundant once my freshly planted garden takes off!) And in general I'm craving fresher meals packed full of as many veggies as I can get. This week I bought a bunch of beautiful baby zucchini. After stir-frying, sauteing, and grilling, I decided to try something different. For some reason I was craving my dad's delicious and utterly unhealthy hashbrowns...so I thought to myself, "self, you can do something healthier to hit the spot, right?" and I set off to make zucchini/potato fritters. 

I added the potato because I wasn't sure how the zucchini would hold up both in the flavor and texture department. They turned out fantastic and I really enjoyed the little nuttiness the potato added, but they would be good straight zuch as well.  Here are the deets for a new spin on zucchini. 

The Deets
2 Zucchini Shredded
1 Potato Shredded
2 Eggs Beaten
1/2 Cup Panko Breadcrumbs
1 Shallot finely chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 TBS Olive Oil

The How To
Add Beaten Eggs into Shredded Zucchini, Potato and Shallot

Mix until coated well with egg
Add Panko Breadcrumbs and Salt and Pepper

Once fully incorporated form into small patties

Add Olive Oil to a pan over medium heat

Cook patties until brown {about 7 minutes}
Flip-over and cook on other side for another 7 minutes or so

Plate, Pray & Enjoy

White Chicken Lasagna

Lasagna. When you hear the word Lasagna I bet you imagine red sauce, ground beef and lots of tomatoes. Am I right? Well time for a switch up in your normal {delicious but normal} Lasagna. This recipe is actually lighter than it sounds, you can forgo the heavy cream and use all milk to make it even lighter. Either way, it's delicious! 

The Deets

1/4 Cup Butter

1 Shallot {or 1/2 small onion [I'm a shallot fan]} finely chopped

1 Clove Garlic minced

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 Cups Chicken Broth

1 Cup Milk
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream

2 1/2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

     1 TBS Chopped Fresh Basil

1 tsp Oregano

1 Cup Ricotta Cheese

2-3 Chicken Breasts, Cooked and Chopped/Cubed

1 Package Frozen Chopped Spinach {Thawed, Rinsed and Drained}

1 Jar Artichoke Hearts – Roughly Chopped

1 Box Lasagna Noodles

     1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese for Topping

The How To

Melt the Butter in a saucepan over medium heat

Cook the Shallot and Garlic in the butter until tender

Stir in Flour and Salt, and simmer until bubbly

Add Chicken Broth and Milk, 

Gently bring to a boil, stirring constantly

Once boiling add 1 1/2 Cups Mozzarella and 1/4 Cup Parmesan

Reduce heat and stir until smooth

Add Basil and Oregano mix until smooth and remove from heat.

Divide Sauce in half

Add Chicken, Spinach and Artichoke Hearts to 1/2 of Sauce Mixture

Cook Lasagna Noodles according to package directions

Time for Assembly! 

In 9x13 baking dish add 1/2 of the plain sauce mixture 

Add a layer of Lasagna Noodles 

Top with  1/2 Ricotta, and 1/2  Chicken/Spinach/Artichoke Sauce 

Add another layer of Lasagna Noodles 

Top with remaining  Ricotta and Chicken/Spinach/Artichoke Sauce  

Add 1/2 Cup of Mozzarella and 1/4 Cup Parmesan

Add another layer of Lasagna Noodles

Top with remaining plain sauce mixture and remaining Cheese

Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes

Plate Pray & Enjoy!

Veggi Up!

Here's a Quick and Delicious way to add an extra serving of vegetables to your plate. Flash Seared Veggies!


The Deets
1 Cup Baby Carrots (I cut mine in quarters)
1 Cup Snap Peas
1 Zucchini (Cut in Half & quartered)
1 Cup Mushrooms (Quartered)
1 TBS Olive Oil (I used Pesto Infused Olive Oil)


The How To
Cut and Clean Veggies

Heat Pan over Medium Heat
Add Olive Oil
Cook Mushrooms for about 4 minutes

Add Zucchini cook for another 4-5 minutes
I like to get a good sear on my Zucchini & Mushrooms

Add Carrots & Snap Peas

Cook for about 4 minutes


Plate, Pray & Enjoy!

Pineapple Grapefruit Juice

This week we got a new grocery store - this makes me happy - very happy - almost as happy as if a new Nordstrom opened... This grocery store has a great concept it's a combo of your traditional supermarket mixed with your whole foods style natural market grocer. Each isle has your traditional grocery staple brands right next to a section of your more natural or specialized items. It's really a great concept. And since it was the grand opening they had some fantastic produce bargains! They had pineapples on sale for $2.00 so I have to grab one. Here is a great pineapple trick - when you cut up your pineapple resist the urge to toss the core - it's great for juicing! I used the core & only the core for juicing this time, usually I'll toss in a few pieces of the good stuff, but my experiment was successful!

The Deets
1 Pineapple Core
2 Ruby Red Grapefruits

The How To
Cut Core into Quarters
Peal and halve Grapefruit
Juice Away!

Enjoy!