Air Fryer Keto Mozzarella Sticks

 Mozzarella sticks are a class appetizer or snack. They are so simple, yet so delicious! There is nothing quite like biting in to a hot, melty, stringy Mozzarella stick! Not only is the stringy mozzarella to die for, but the crunch of the breading is out of this world!

The bad news about traditional mozzarella sticks is that there are a ton of hidden carbs in the breading! While it may not seem like the breading that coats the hot melty cheese is very significant, the carbs contained in it can really begin to add up! Not only that, but in many varieties of mozzarella sticks there is even sugar! 

Ingredients

8 Mozzarella string cheese sticks

½ cup Almond flour

2 ½ oz Pork rinds, crushed into crumbs

1 Egg

1 tsp Garlic powder

1 tbsp Parsley flakes

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Place the almond flour, garlic powder, parsley flakes as well as salt and pepper to taste into a shallow bowl or plate and mix together well.

Add the beaten egg to a bowl.

Place the crushed pork rind crumbs into another shallow bowl or plate.

Cut the mozzarella string cheese sticks in half across the middle forming a total of 16 cheese sticks.

Roll the cheese sticks into the almond flour mixture, then dip into the egg before finally dredging in the pork rind crumbs.

Place the breaded cheese sticks onto a parchment lined tray, and place into the freezer for a minimum of 2 hours and up to overnight. The more frozen the cheese sticks are, the easier it will be to air fry them without them melting too quickly.

Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees if needed.

Place the frozen cheese sticks into the air fryer, and cook for 6-8 minutes until browned and softened, but not completely melted.

WHOLE WHEAT LEMON MUFFINS

 I absolutely adore lemon baked goods and its safe to say I don’t have enough of them on here. The handful that I do have, like these Creamy Creamy Lemon Crumble Bars, Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake, Lemon Layer Cake with Raspberry Filling, and Lemon Almond Pound Cake are pretty stellar, though!

This time, I wanted to create a healthier lemon baked good and these Whole Wheat Lemon Muffins are what I came up with!

White Whole Wheat Flour – I love using this whole grain flour because it keeps things light and not too heavy, as whole wheat flour sometimes does.

Ingredients

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp lemon zest from about 1 lemon

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup milk I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1/3 cup lemon juice from about 2 large lemons

1 large egg at room temperature

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

2 cups white whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

For the Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

1-2 tbsp milk

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a 12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, lemon zest, yogurt, milk, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and egg.

Whisk in the coconut oil until well combined.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring in with a rubber spatula until combined.

Evenly divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15-17 minutes, until the tops spring back

Once the muffins are cool, make the glaze.

In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and milk.

Drizzle over the muffins.

Enjoy!

SLOW COOKER SWEET AND SOUR MEATBALLS (FREEZER MEAL!)

 This was a new recipe that we made as part of our freezer meal prep day, and it was a big hit with our boys. They are big fans of meatballs and BBQ sauce, so I had a feeling they were going to love these sweet and sour meatballs.

Ingredients in Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Frozen Beef Meatballs – these are such a lifesaver when it comes to quick and easy meals! I love using them in my spaghetti and meatball casserole and my meatball tortellini soup, or use them in this recipe!

Ingredients

22-30 ounces frozen meatballs

1 white onion cut into 1" pieces

1 red bell pepper cut into 1" pieces

1 green bell pepper cut into 1" pieces

20 ounce can crushed pineapple

2 cups BBQ sauce

Instructions

Add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker and stir well to combine.

Cook on low for 7-8 hours, or high for 3-4 hours.

Serve with rice. Enjoy!

For Freezer Meal:

Add all ingredients to a large freezer ziploc bag.

Place in freezer.

Set in refrigerator the night before (optional, but it makes it easier to remove from the bag).

Place in slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.

Serve with rice. Enjoy!

BIG MAC SLIDERS

 While McDonald’s is definitely not a regular meal for our household, as I much prefer to cook from scratch, it has become an occasional occurence since we’ve had kids. I mean, a good ‘ol Happy Meal is a fun treat, right?! I haven’t had a Big Mac in years, but going through the drive-through a couple of times for the kids definitely stirred up a craving. My solution? Make them at home! These Big Mac Sliders are SPOT ON and totally satisfied that craving.

The hamburger portion of Big Mac Sliders is a simple combination of ground beef, finely diced white onion, salt, and pepper.

Ingredients

For the Burger:

1 lb ground beef

1/4 white onion, very finely diced

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

For the Big Mac Sauce:

3/4 cup mayonnaise

4 tbsp dill pickle relish

1 tbsp yellow mustard

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Remaining:

6 slider buns

1 tbsp butter

sesame seeds

Shredded lettuce

sliced pickles

American cheese slices

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 9x9" baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the ground beef and diced onion. Season with salt and pepper.

Press the ground beef mixture into the bottom of baking dish.

Bake or 10-15 minutes, until the beef is cooked through. It will shrink in the baking dish and there will also be a bit of grease around the large beef patty. Use a paper towel to soak up the grease.

To make the Big Mac sauce combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix well to combine.

Place slider buns on a baking sheet.

Spread ~2 tbsp of the Big Mac sauce onto each slider bottom.

Sprinkle lettuce over the sauce and then top with the burgers and pickles. You can do this two ways - you can either place the large burger patty over the buns as a whole, and then cut them into individual sliders after they are baked, or you can cut the burger patty into smaller patties and place them individually onto each slider bun bottom. Either way works!

Top the burgers with slices of American cheese and then each slider bun.

Brush the tops of the slider buns with butter and then sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes, until the cheese has slightly melted.

Cut into individual sliders, serve with additional sauce, and enjoy!

CARAMEL PRETZEL BLONDIES

 If there is ever a dessert with a sweet and salty combination, you can count me in.  I mean really, I’m not one to pass up any kind of dessert, but I’m especially a sucker for that duo. 

These Caramel Pretzel Blondies are for all my fellow salty-sweet lovers out there.  Not only could you use salted caramel to swirl on top, but these blondies are full of crunchy, salty pretzels. 

But first – are you familiar with blondies?  Blondies could be described as brownies without the chocolate. I also think they are basically like cookies in bar form, without all of the dough scooping and multiple baking sheets in and out of the oven. I’m all for cookies, but as a mom with a newborn and two little boys, I’m also a big fan of the recipes that don’t need a bunch of hands-on work right now! 

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter melted

2 cups light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup chopped pretzels

1/2 cup caramel sauce warmed

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 9x13" pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat melted butter and brown sugar until well combined, about 2 minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated.

Add the vanilla extract, mixing until combined.

Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, mixing with a spatula until combined.

Fold in the pretzels.

Spread the blondie dough into the prepared pan.

Drizzle the warm caramel over the dough and swirl with a knife.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown and no longer jiggly in the middle.

Cool completely.

Cut into squares. Enjoy!

DILL PICKLE DIP

 Are you a fan of pickles?  I feel like people either are or aren’t.  I am definitely a huge fan.  My favorite type is the mini dill pickle but I’d never pass up a dill spear or even a bread and butter pickle.  I love them all! 

Growing up, one of my favorite appetizers that was at pretty much every family gathering was the ham and pickle roll up. If you’re not familiar with this Midwestern gem, you basically take a whole dill pickle and wrap it in cream cheese and ham.  Then you slice it up and serve.  Seriously, you’re missing out if you’ve never had one!

Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature

1/2 cup chopped dill pickles

2 tbsp dill pickle juice

2 tbsp chopped green onions

1 tbsp chopped fresh dill

Additional chopped pickles and fresh dill for garnish

Instructions

In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, chopped pickles, pickle juice, green onions, and fresh dill.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Serve dip in a bowl, topped with additional chopped pickles and fresh dill.

Serve with pita chips, vegetables, crackers, potato chips, pretzels, etc.

Enjoy!