Cooks Network: FINGER FOOD

These fun and easy stuffed mushrooms are full of easy barbecue pulled chicken, spicy pepperjack cheese, and fresh cilantro. This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to purchase something I’ll earn a small commission at no cost to you.

There are very few things in this world I love more than barbecue sauce. It’s just – ahhhh. So good. And a splash of BBQ can lend a quick smoky touch and immediate depth of flavor to even the easiest, simplest dishes.

They’re ready to bake in 15 minutes, and require just 5 main ingredients. But the amount of flavor you get from the pepper jack/BBQ/cilantro combination makes them seem much more complicated than they really are

Also, I have a real problem with soggy mushrooms, so here’s a nifty trick to help you keep your stuffed mushrooms roasted to perfection: place a cooling rack on top of a rimmed baking sheet, then place your stuffed mushrooms on top of the rack before baking them. I use an oven safe cooling rack like this one from Amazon!

The cooling rack keeps the mushroom caps elevated, which means they aren’t swimming around in whatever liquid they release as they cook.

The result is a perfectly roasted, much less messy mushroom. (I also use this trick for my Portobello Mushroom Pizzas!)

Just be careful moving the pan around – mushrooms like to roll around a bit on the cooling rack, so move slowly to avoid any flipped-over-stuffed-mushroom catastrophes.

Basically, this combo (awesome, easy, delicious stuffed mushrooms + a kitchen hack to keep them from getting soggy) is a winner. And it will help you look like a total pro in the kitchen even if all you have to work with is half an hour and no patience for actually cooking things. Plus, umm, vegetables + protein = HEALTHY, right?

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
Place a wire cooling rack on a baking sheet and place mushroom caps top-side down on top of the rack.
Salt and pepper mushroom caps to taste.
Place a cube of pepper jack cheese inside each mushroom cap. You may not use all of the cheese, and you may have to cut the cubes up a little smaller depending on the size of your mushroom caps. Just finagle it so that you have pepper jack cheese filling up as much of the mushroom cap as possible!

In a small bowl, mix together shredded chicken and BBQ sauce. Top each mushroom cap with a spoonful of shredded BBQ chicken.

Carefully place baking sheet with stuffed mushrooms into a 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until mushrooms are cooked through and cheese is melted.

Remove mushrooms from baking sheet and top with fresh chopped cilantro. Serve immediately.

NOTES

You could also use shredded pepper jack cheese in place of the cubes – I found the cubes to be a little quicker and easier.

Try to use a cooling rack that’s the same size as your baking sheet. I also recommend a rimmed baking sheet like this one (as opposed to a flat cookie sheet).

Move slowly when you’re picking up the baking sheet – mushrooms can roll around on the rack if you’re not careful, so keep an eye on them to avoid any spills!

INGREDIENTS

10 oz. baby portobello or white button mushrooms, cleaned and with the stems removed

salt and pepper to taste

3 oz. pepper jack cheese, cut into small (1/3″) cubes

1 cup cooked shredded chicken

1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Serving Size: 4 (72 g) Servings Per Recipe: 4

Calories 150.3 Calories from Fat 63 15% Total Fat 4.5 g 14% Saturated Fat 1.3 g 0,9% Cholesterol 52.2 mg 10% Sodium 199.2 mg 8% Total Carbohydrate 4 g 1% Dietary Fiber 1.4 g 5% Sugars 1.8 g 7% Protein 5.1 g 12%

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These sushi-inspired Cucumber Hummus Bites are scented with toasted sesame oil then topped with pickled ginger and roasted sesame seeds. The ultimate healthy snack recipe!

Two ingredients I always have in my refrigerator are Sabra hummus and English cucumbers. My boys will eat hummus with anything from a spoon to apple slices and the same goes for cucumbers. In fact, we frequently whip up a quick batch of my Japanese Quick Pickled Cucumbers to snack on while I’m cooking dinner.

Whether or not you have little ones at home, I think we can all agree: snacks are life. When my friends at Sabra asked me to create a healthy snack recipe, I decided to create a sushi-inspired Hummus Cucumber Bite with Pickled Ginger.

Made with just 5 simple ingredients, this healthy snack recipe takes just minutes to make. Hummus is mixed together in a bowl with soy sauce and sesame oil before before piped onto cucumber slices using a simple plastic bag.

For crunch and tanginess, I top each piece with pickled ginger and black roasted sesame seeds. Scallions would be great sprinkled on top as well. While we typically eat these as a snack either after the gym or after school, they are beautiful and tasty enough to serve at a party.

INSTRUCTIONS

Place cucumber slices on a large platter and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together hummus, soy sauce and sesame oil. Carefully scrape entire mixture into a pastry bag or a resealable plastic bag. If using a plastic bag, cut off a small tip at one corner for piping.

Working one piece at a time, pipe about 1 tablespoon of the hummus mixture on to each cucumber piece. Top each with a piece of pickled ginger and sprinkle with black roasted sesame seeds to serve.

INGREDIENTS

1 English cucumber sliced in rounds
16 tablespoons Sabra Original Hummus
2 tablespoons soy sauce low sodium
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
6 tablespoons pickled ginger (about 16 pieces)
black roasted sesame seeds optional garnish

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Amount Per Serving (4 pieces) Calories 182 Calories from Fat 111 Total Fat 12.3g 19% Saturated Fat 2.3g 12% Monounsaturated Fat 10g Sodium 669mg 28% Total Carbohydrates 13g 4% Dietary Fiber 2.4g 10% Sugars 2g Protein 5g 10%

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Hi! Its Jen stopping by from Carlsbad Cravings and I am so happy be sharing my new Coconut Honey Lime Shrimp with Sriracha Mango Dip with you! Hello delicious!

I love cooking or grilling shrimp because while it is so simple and quick to throw together with a marinade or a simple saute, the results always taste gourmet especially this Coconut Honey Lime Shrimp. This shrimp makes the perfect dinner or appetizer, is easy enough for everyday but impressive enough for company OR my personal favorite.

This juicy shrimp is marinated in an intoxicating bath of honey, lime juice, coconut cream, soy sauce, garlic and ginger so every morsel is bursting with coconut honey lime flavor. After you whisk this marinade together, you separate out some of the coconut honey lime goodness and add it to your mango, vanilla yogurt and sriracha (no double measuring, no double work!) and blend to create a luscious, refreshing sweet heat dip that perfectly compliments the tender shrimp

PREPARATION

Add all the Blender Marinade ingredients to your blender and process until smooth. Measure out ½ cup of Blender Marinade and add to a large freezer bag along with ¼ cup olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Add shrimp to bag and massage to evenly coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 -6 hours.

Meanwhile, to your blender with the remaining Blender Marinade ingredients, add mangoes, apple cider vinegar, vanilla yogurt and Sriracha to taste. Blend until smooth and chill in the refrigerator.
When you’re ready to grill, drain and discard marinade. Thread shrimp onto skewers (if using wooden skewers, soak for at least 30 minutes in water) .

Heat grill to medium high heat and grease. Grill shrimp for 3-5 minutes on each side or until shrimp has become pink and firm being careful to not overcook.
Sprinkle with cilantro and freshly squeezed lime (optional). Serve with Mango dip.

NOTES

*Refrigerate coconut milk for 24 hours then it is easy to skim the coconut fat that rises to the top of the can.
*Total time does not include marinating shrimp as this will vary

I could eat this creamy Sriracha Mango Dip with a spoon but its even better enveloping Coconut Honey Lime shrimp! You know what to do…

INGREDIENTS

1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Blender Marinade

⅓ cup honey
¼ cup lime juice
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
¼ coconut cream from can of coconut milk*
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon sriracha/Asian hot red chili sauce

Sriracha Mango Dip

Reserved Blender Marinade
2 mangoes, peeled
1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (depending on desired “tang")
3 tablespoons vanilla yogurt
1-3 teaspoon sriracha, more or less to taste

Garnish (optional)

Cilantro
Fresh lime juice

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Serving Size: 1 (682 g) Servings Per Recipe: 4-6

Calories 447.5 Calories from Fat 10 2% Total Fat 1.2 g 1% Saturated Fat 0.3 g 1% Cholesterol 0 mg 0% Sodium 4.5 mg 0% Total Carbohydrate 114.4 g 38% Dietary Fiber 4 g 15% Sugars 9.1 g 24% Protein 22.7 g 5%

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It’s been a long long time since I’ve had fish fingers! Probably the last time was when I was a child :). Many kids love fish when it has a crisp coating and I guess these rectangle breaded fish pieces have made it onto every child’s plate. The freezers in the super markets are packed with different brands of processed frozen fish fingers with varying quality. If you want to make sure that the fish fingers your kids are eating are healthy, make them yourself! I tried it and I can tell you that these quinoa-crusted fish fingers are awesome! Maybe they aren’t the prettiest ones I’ve seen (they look quite homemade, I guess…), but I reassure you that they are super tasty!

I know, it’s so easy to grab frozen fish fingers from the supermarket, so why bother do them yourself? Well, if you make them yourself, you can decide on what kind of fish, how much salt, what kind of coating as well as how much and what kind of fat you use. You know exactly what you’re using and you can make sure that there are no nasties hiding inside – just clean wholesome ingredients.

Making your own fish fingers literally takes only minutes. You just cut the fish into strips, season with salt and pepper, coat with flour, dip into beaten eggs, coat with quinoa pops (or flakes) and then fry in the pan. 6 steps and less than 30 minutes is all that it takes! It couldn’t be easier and there is no comparison in both nutrition and taste between a processed, frozen fish finger to a homemade one. You can also do a batch of these quinoa-crusted fish fingers and freeze them, which makes it just as quick as a regular fish finger to prepare.

PREPARATION

Cut the fish into strips and season with salt and pepper.
Coat the strips with spelt flour.
Dip the strips into lightly beaten eggs and then coat with the quinoa pops or quinoa flakes.
Heat some oil in a frying pan and cook the fish for 3-4 minutes or until golden and cooked through, turning half way through. Serve immediately.
To make the yogurt tartare sauce, simply mix together all the sauce ingredients. Serve with the fish fingers.

INGREDIENTS

Fish fingers:

400 g/ 14 oz white fish fillet
ca 30 g/ 1 oz quinoa pops or quinoa flakes
ca 40 g/ 1.4 oz spelt flour
2 eggs
salt & pepper
cooking oil

Yogurt tartare sauce:

1 dl/ 0,4 cups Greek style yogurt
1 tsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped cornichons
1 tbsp chopped parsley and/ or chives
salt & pepper

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Serving Size: 1 (146 g) Servings Per Recipe: 4

Calories 329.8 Calories from Fat 44 23% Total Fat 6.9 g 7% Saturated Fat 2.2 g 11% Cholesterol 117.2 mg 39% Sodium 382.8 mg 15% Total Carbohydrate 4 g 1% Dietary Fiber 0.2 g 0% Sugars 0.2 g 0% Protein 31.4 g 62%

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For our evening meal last night we made a rotisserie chicken purchased from our local meat store – free range, no antibiotics, and no hormones. It tasted like the chickens we had growing up – delicious! As long time “empty-nesters,” we faced the usual next day leftover problem. Joanie’s solution was to make a classic chicken salad. To kick it up a notch she decided to prepare the salad in a “Caprese style.” We were off to search for tomatoes. Chicken salad stuffed tomatoes are low carb and tasty!

Serving the salad stuffed inside the tomato is what makes it a salad. We found home-grown large tomatoes grown from farms in the White Mountains. That is a treat for us in the hot summer heat of Arizona. The temperature is cooler in the mountains and the tomatoes are firm and delicious. You can also use smaller tomatoes and serve the chicken salad as an appetizer. Filling a lettuce wrap or an endive spear with the chicken salad would also make a perfect salad.

Chicken Salad Ingredients

Our rotisserie chicken is the base for this salad, but the avocado mayonnaise is the “glue” that holds it all together. Regular quality mayonnaise would work, as well. But, avocado mayonnaise has similar properties found in olive oil. It is high in fat, loaded with potassium, and also helps with weight loss. Studies also suggest it provides cardiovascular benefits and even benefits for our eyes.

One unique feature of Joanie’s recipe is that it is loaded with vegetables. Celery is the usual ingredient for chicken salad. Her chicken salad recipe also adds red onion and green onion. She also added basil. After all, it is a Caprese-style recipe. It is also lighter on the mayonnaise than most chicken salad recipes. Joanie used sour cream to provide a different flavor than just mayonnaise.

Adding to the creaminess is fresh mozzarella. Often called “buffalo mozzarella,” it is readily available and combined with the tomato provides the classic “Caprese-style.” All it needs is a garnish of fresh basil and you have perfection.

Bacon – bacon – bacon! Look closely and you will see bacon crumbles in the salad. Bacon makes everything better!

Chicken Salad Preparation Tips

After removing the tomato tops, use a pairing knife to cut a 1/4 inch circle around the edge of each tomato. Then use a spoon or melon scooper to remove the pulp or flesh of the tomato. It will then form a hollow shell. Make sure to save the inside of the tomato to make another dish. Marinara sauce is always our “go-to” for over ripened tomatoes or leftover tomato pulp.

It is a good idea to place the tomato cups upside down on a paper towel for a few minutes to drain any excess liquid from the inside. This will give you time to prepare the rest of the chicken salad.

Taste your chicken salad when mixed for saltiness. Bacon does vary in terms of its saltiness so we suggest mixing and tasting before adding your salt. You do not want the chicken salad to have an overwhelming amount of salt. Joanie also likes to add celery salt in addition to the chopped celery. It really does add to the taste! Stuff the tomatoes – garnish with basil and enjoy!

INSTRUCTION

Slice the tops off of the tomatoes and scoop out the fleshy inside pulp. Place tomato cups upside-down on a paper towel to drain the liquid from the inside.

Combine all remaining ingredients is a large bowl and mix well. Adjust the saltiness to taste based upon the salt content that is added by the bacon. Save some of the bacon crumbles and green onion for garnish.

Fill the tomato cups with the salad mixture.

Top with garnish of green onions and reserved bacon crumbles and basil leaves.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups Chicken chopped
1 cup Celery finely chopped
1/2 cup Red onion chopped
3 Green onions sliced
1 cup Fresh mozzarella diced
1 cup Crumbled bacon
1/2 cup Sour cream
1/2 cup Avocado mayonnaise or regular mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Celery seed
1/2 teaspoon Sea salt
6 Tomatoes large
6 Basil leaves

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Calories 375 Calories from Fat 279 Total Fat 31g 48% Saturated Fat 9g 45% Cholesterol 64mg 21% Sodium 801mg 33% Potassium 522mg 15% Total Carbohydrates 7g 2% Dietary Fiber 1g 4% Sugars 4g Protein 15g 30% Vitamin A 28.9% Vitamin C 23% Calcium 14.6% Iron 5.7%

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As innocent as they may look, bite-sized appetizers are often fried or loaded with over-processed and less-than-healthy ingredients. So pass up the puff pastry-covered goodies in favor of these finger food alternatives from healthy recipe bloggers around the web. You’ll be a dinner party hero in no time.

1. Chilled Soba in Cucumber Cups

These cucumber cuties are simple, stylish and easy to make. Paired with soba noodles, a thin, buckwheat-based specialty that hails from Japan, these bite-sized cups are a good source of fiber and manganese, and are also gluten-free. Just make sure to check that the soba noodles don’t have any added wheat flour

2. Creamy Avocado Yogurt Dip

Move over, guac. This creamy but guilt-free dip deserves to be front and center at your next fiesta. The rich texture comes from protein-packed Greek Yogurt and two ripe avocados, loaded with fiber and vitamin C. Serve with some whole-wheat pita chips or sliced raw veggies.

3. Watermelon Cups with Feta and Mint

The sweet and salty combo of watermelon and feta will hit the spot on a hot summer day. Plus, with only five ingredients (watermelon, feta, cucumber, mint and EVOO), this recipe is super easy to make and requires no baking (hooray!). Consider serving them as a party-pleasing appetizer or side dish.

4. Bora Bora Fireballs

Go cuckoo for coconut with these tropical-tasting pork meatballs. Ground pork has fewer calories and fat than ground beef, but with about the same amount of protein to keep you satisfied. The Paleo-friendly fireballs get their sweetness from crushed pineapple and shredded coconut., while cayenne pepper, dried ginger and jalapeño spice things up.

5. Beet Pesto Crostini

Liven up a sliced baguette or gluten-free crackers with this tasty beet pesto recipe, perfect for any summer soirée. Available all year long (but best from June through October), beets are chock-full of potassium, fiber and vitamin C. Top the pesto with a sprinkle of goat cheese and basil for a party-pleasing spread that’s ready in 20 minutes or less.

6. Crispy Baked Zucchini Fries

Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and no frying required! Panko breadcrumbs give these zucchini “fries” a crunch that has less than half the fat of normal French fries. Plus, this colorful summer favorite is a good source of fiber, vitamin C, magnesium and potassium. To dip, skip the ranch, and go for a healthier homemade dressing with Greek yogurt

7. Skinny Mini Lasagna Cups

Mamma mia! Making lasagna is usually a time-intensive process, but these bite-sized lasagna cups are a cinch to make. Using wonton wrappers instead of pasta (and don’t forget the spinach!), these hors d’oeuvres put a healthier twist on the Italian favorite.

8. Spicy Sweet Potato Hummus

Talk about a healthy snack attack! This hummus pairs sweet potatoes, a great source of fiber and vitamin A, and chickpeas, which are high in protein and fiber. Serve it with whole-wheat pita chips and cross your fingers there are leftovers for sandwiches and wraps.

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1. Chilled Soba in Cucumber Cups

2. Creamy Avocado Yogurt Dip

3. Watermelon Cups with Feta and Mint

4. Bora Bora Fireballs

5. Beet Pesto Crostini

6. Crispy Baked Zucchini Fries

7. Skinny Mini Lasagna Cups

8. Spicy Sweet Potato Hummus

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