Pumpkin Pancakes

I was in the mood for pumpkin one day and loved these!

• 2 cups flour (I used oat flour)
• ¾ cup sugar or sugar substitute 
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon (I used pumpkin pie spice)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream (I used plain greek yogurt)
• 3/4 cup milk (I like buttermilk)
• 1 cup pumpkin
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda and spices. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, adding yogurt, milk and pumpkin puree. Mix well. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just blended. Spoon the batter onto a preheated, oiled griddle, using 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook pancakes slowly over a low-medium heat for approximately 4-6 minutes, flipping after 3 minutes.

Note: If you want a really sweet pancake, substitute the cup of sour cream for one cup of French vanilla yogurt and decrease the sugar to a ½ cup.

Skinny General Tso’s Chicken

LOVED this one!! Found on one of my favorite recipe blogs: http://healthifiedkitchen.blogspot.com/

1/3 cup light brown sugar (5 tbsp + 1 tsp)
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/3 cup water
2 tsp olive oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp sesame oil
6-8 green onions chopped, plus more for serving
3 tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped or grated
1/4 tsp each hot pepper flakes and sesame seeds (optional)
1 cup basmati rice, dry 

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, hoisin sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce and water. Set aside. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Dredge the chicken in the cornstarch and shake off any excess. Cook the chicken in the olive oil until browned. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside. Using a paper towel, wipe skillet clean. Add sesame oil, green onions and ginger. Cook for 30 seconds. Add sauce mixture and bring to a boil. Simmer mixture for 2 minutes, or until sauce thickens a bit. Add chicken back into the skillet, toss to coat with sauce, and continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes if desired. Serve over rice and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds (if desired). You could easily add your favorite Asain veggies - enough sauce to go around.

Baked Zucchini Fries

I saw this recipe on a local news show called Studio 5. 

Zucchini
Sour cream 
Parmesean cheese
garlic salt
Dip sauce (shrimp cocktail sauce, ranch dressing or catsup)

Cut the fairly young tender zucchini into strips (I used my french fry cutter)
· Place in a plastic bag, with about 2 T. sour cream (or I used greek yougurt)
· Massage the bag to coat the fries. 
· Transfer the fries to another plastic bag with the crumbs and parmesan cheese and garlic salt.
· Shake to coat.
· With tongs, transfer fries to a greased parchment paper on a cookie sheet
· Bake at 450 degrees for 30 min. until browned and crispy.
· Serve with shrimp cocktail sauce, ranch dressing or catsup.