Last night I roasted a whole eggplant:

I planned on packing it as some sort of casserole to bring to work today, but I ended up working from home, which meant I could do I bit of experimenting. The result? Roasted Eggplant and White Bean Dip:

Ingredients:

• 1 whole eggplant, cubed and baked at 375 for 25 minutes
• 1/4 cup white beans
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 Laughing Cow cheese wedge
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• salt and pepper

Begin by adding the eggplant, beans, salt and pepper into the food proccessor and blend for 20 seconds.

Then add the olive oil and dijon mustard, and blend for another 20-30 seconds. Finally add the Laughing Cow cheese wedge and blend until it’s combined.

I like my dip a tad on the chunky side, but you could always let it smooth out in the food processor some more.

This dip is to. die. I literally could have eaten it straight out of the bowl! I’d say it makes 3-4 servings….or *ahem* 1 serving in my case

I ate it with sliced red bell peppers and “homemade” tortilla chips:

To make the chips, cut one La Tortilla Factory wrap (or any wrap of your choice) into triangles. Sprinkle on some kosher salt and garlic powder, and toast in the toaster oven until crispy. These make the perfect accompaniment for the dip!

This meal was so incredibly delicious and filling. I must say that I’m pretty darn satisfied with my eats so far today. I don’t know why I don’t experiment with food/recipes more because 9 times out of 10 I’m happy with the results!

Bet I caught your attention with that title, huh? There was some fresh mozzarella on sale at the store the other day, and a craving/recipe popped into my head the minute I saw it. I can’t even remember the last time I had mozzarella sticks…probably the last time I went to the diner at 2 a.m. with my friends. Fried mozzarella is definitely one of my favorite not-so-healthy foods, so I was pretty excited when my version turned out even better than I thought it would. This version is quite a bit healthier than what you’ll find at the diner, but about 10 times more delicious. And yes, it is fried - not baked Here are the ingredients:

8oz fresh mozzarella cheese (I used whole milk, but you could use part-skim as well)
1/4 cup almond flour
1 tbsp ground flax
1 oz almonds
1 egg
olive oil

First I toasted the almonds in a (decent sized) pan on medium heat for about 5 minutes. After removing the almonds I left the pan on medium heat and added 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Then I prepped my dipping bowls - one bowl with the beaten egg, one with the almond flour and flax, and one with the crushed almonds (I used a pounder to crush the almonds, but a heavy-ish jar or can would do the trick).

I sliced the cheese into about 1 centimeter-thick discs. One at a time, dip the cheese into the egg, then coat with flour, followed by a coating of crushed almonds, and place in pan. Let it cook on each side for about 2 minutes, and voila! I only fried about 2 pieces at a time just to make sure the heat stayed level and the coating gets nice and crispy. Makes 6-7 pieces.

The finished product:

Do I even have to tell you that this was to die? The almond flour and crushed almonds made for a sweet and crispy outside layer, and the cheese inside was melty and divine. I was perfectly satisfied with two pieces for my entire dinner. Although I may or may not have gone back for a third…

What is your favorite fried food? Can you think of a way to make a healthier version of it?