Oopsie Rolls

Back in 1972 Dr. Atkins put out a book called "Diet Revolution" and there was a recipe for Revolution rolls. These morphed over time into something called "Oopsie Rolls" when someone substituted cream cheese for the originally called for cottage cheese. I've recently learned that these are called "Cloud Bread".   There are many different ways to make them, but below is the recipe we use. It isn't bread but it does work better than lettuce leafs to hold burgers, fried eggs, BLTs, and anything else that needs a bit of a handle. Below are images of a BLT sandwich made with them.

Ingredients:

3 large eggs
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Directions:

1. Preheat Oven to 300 Degrees.
2. Separate egg yolks from whites.
3. Whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar until very stiff peaks form.
4. Add the mayonnaise to the egg yolks and beat until light yellow.
5. Fold in the yolks to the whites about 1/3 at a time, being careful not to break down the whites.
6. Spray a cookie sheet or baking pan (we like mini-cake pans) with on-stick spray and spoon the mixture on the sheet or pan. It should make 6 mounds.
7. Bake for 30 minutes or until they are a bit firm, but not crumbly.
8. Remove from oven and let cool then move to a cookie sheet to let cool completely.

There are a LOT of options and other recipes for these online. This is the version we use, but there is really no limit to how you can tweak them.

Substitutions - You can substitute 3 oz cream cheese, 3 tbsp sour cream, or even things like cottage cheese or thick yogurt for the mayonnaise. It gives it a bit of different texture and flavor. Experiment to see which ones you like.

Additional Ingredients - Many people add a pinch of salt for some savory flavors. Other people add in things like dry mustard or dill to enhance the flavor. Some people like to have them sweet so add things like Splenda or cinnamon for more of a sweet roll.

Storage - These should be eaten within the same day or stored in the fridge or freezer. If in the fridge, put into an unsealed ziplock bag. If putting in the freezer, seal the bag.  Let the rolls get to room temperature before eating.

The original Oopsie recipe that I found many years ago was from Cleochatra and her blog - www.yourlighterside.com

Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu

This recipe is a bit of work, but still pretty quick. About 45 minutes start to finish and it is very good. Our whole family likes these.

Ingredients:
1 Egg
1 tbsp water
3/4 cup almonds, finely ground
1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp dried parsley flakes
12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or 6 breasts cut in half
1/4 pound Swiss cheese, cut into 12 slices ( we used provolone and cheddar)
1/3 pound deli-style ham, cut into 12 slices
cooking oil spray

Directions.
1. Combine egg and water in a bowl large enough to dip the chicken in.
2. Combine almonds, seasoning salt, and parsley in another bowl about the same size.
3. Divide cheese and ham into 12 portions.
4. Place chicken thigh or breast on a plate cut side up and place a piece of cheese in the middle of the chicken.
5. Roll up ham and place on top of the cheese and roll up the chicken around the ham and cheese.
6. If needed, use toothpicks to hold the chicken together.
7. Dip chicken into egg mixture, then into almond mixture and place on a baking sheet that has been pre-sprayed with the cooking oil spray.
8. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until chicken is done.

That's all there is to it. You can play around with the cheese and ham insides or the almond coating to your liking. We like cheddar or provolone instead of Swiss. I like Parmesan cheese in my coating to give a bit more flavor.

This recipe is from the Extreme LC Meals on the Go cookbook.

Casual Chan's Special

This was an interesting take on sloppy joes, done Asian style. I was missing the bean sprouts, but it still tasted very good. Sorry for the fuzzy photo, but they didn't turn out very well.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 tbsp oil
4 scallions, sliced
2 cups bean sprouts
4 eggs
1 tsp Braggs Liquid Aminos (Soy Sauce) * Note, I used 1 tbsp instead of 1 tsp and it was good.
Salt - to taste
Pepper - to taste
Garlic Powder - to taste

Directions:
1. Brown the beef in the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. As it is browning, slice up scallions, measure out sprouts, and whisk together eggs and Braggs.
3. When the beef is browned, add in the scallions and sprouts and stir for about a minute. Not too long though as the sprouts need to stay firm.
4. Add eggs and soy sauce and scramble until set.
5. Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.

This recipe was based off one from Dana Carpenders 15 Minute LC Recipe book.

Parmesan Chicken Breasts

I'm going through a new cookbook (another of Dana Carpenders) which are all 15 minute recipes. Here's a nice quick idea with very few ingredients, yet it was very yummy.

Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese (the cheap stuff in the green can)
4 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp pepper
2 eggs
2 oz heavy whipping cream
4 tbsp butter

Directions:
1. Flatten the chicken breasts to about 1/4" thick and cut into about 6 portions.
2. Combine cheese with oregano, garlic powder, paprika, and pepper and put on a plate.
3. Combine the eggs and heavy whipping cream and mix well in a bowl.
4. Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat.
5. Dip the chicken in the egg wash, fully coat the chicken with the cheese mixture, then saute for 3-5 minutes per side in the butter.

If you like, you can also make a simple gravy to pour over the top. Making sure the burner is on low, pour some heavy whipping cream into the pan used for sauteing the chicken breasts and stir together with the butter, leftover cheese crumbles, and bits of chicken in the pan. Makes a very tasty gravy.

This recipe was from Dana Carpenders 15 Minute LC Recipe books.

Pizza and Poppers

Pizza and Poppers??? Yep, Pizza and Poppers. It's the best Pizza I have ever made and some of the best I've had (outside of my moms and Teds, of course). My jalapeños were too big and I didn't get all the seeds out, but the poppers were good too.

Pizza Ingredients:
3 eggs
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp basil
1 tbsp tomato sauce
+ whatever you want for toppings (We used more mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, and Canadian bacon.)

Directions:
1. Combine mozzarella cheese, eggs, garlic powder, and basil in a bowl and mix very well.
2. Press evenly onto a non-stick (or Pam sprayed) pizza pan or cookie sheet.
3. Bake at 450 until golden brown (about 10 to 15 minutes).
4. Remove the crust from the oven.
5. Spread on the tomato sauce.
6. Add the rest of your toppings.
7. Put pizza under the broiler and broil until cheese is melted and toppings are cooked to your desired done-ness.

Jalapeño Popper Ingredients:
Jalapeño peppers
cream cheese
bacon

Directions:
1. Cut the peppers open and take out the seeds.
2. Fill the peppers with cream cheese (I found some Roka Blue Cream Cheese that was amazing).
3. Wrap the peppers with bacon.
4. Cook the poppers either on the grill or broil them until the bacon is done and the peppers are a bit soft.

The peppers I used were too big, but they didn't have any smaller ones when I was shopping for them.

Both of these recipes were ones I had found online posted by people who pulled them from other people. Not sure who originally came up with the recipe.

Chorizo Omelets

So, what's for breakfast? That's what our family often asks on a Saturday Morning. This breakfast isn't quite so quick, but very tasty. I don't have exact quantities as it will all depend on how you like your omelets.

Ingredients:
Eggs, beaten and mixed with heavy whipping cream or some milk (HWC preferred)
Chorizo, fried up in a separate pan
Red and Green Peppers, chopped and sauteed in butter
Onion, chopped and sauteed in butter
Cheese, whatever kind you want to sprinkle on
Sour Cream
Hot Sauce

Directions:
1. If you can, get the red and green peppers and onions sauteing at the same time. We use our big electric griddle smothered in butter to get them nice and browned.
2. Fry up the chorizo
3. As those are cooking, mix the eggs and HWC (or milk). I usually do about 3 eggs to 1/2 oz to 1 oz of HWC. Too much and it will get runny and not hold the omelet together (that's what happened this morning).
4. Put the eggs on a big flat electric griddle so that the omelet has room to spread out. It makes it nice and thin and you can work with it easily.
5. After the egg sets up a bit, put on the veggies, chorizo, and cheese if you want it in.
6. Wait about a minute and fold over the sides of the eggs and put on more cheese.
7. Scoop off the griddle and plate up. Then top with whatever you want. I put on more veggies and chorizo and some sour cream, cheese, and hot sauce.