Happy Healthy New Year

Yes, I know this blog is called jilliebeenBAKER.  But I also like to cook.  I don't cook very often (at least anything that is interesting enough to put on here) simply because it's just me and it's hard to cook for just one person.  When I do cook, it's usually something that I can freeze some of the leftovers since I get sick of eating the same thing for a week.  Usually when I get home from work, I'm too tired to do any cooking, so I will either eat a Lean Cuisine (I know, I know, not the healthiest thing in the world but it's quick and easy portion control), make some eggs (LOVE eggs), or pull out some of those leftovers I've frozen. 

Lately I've had the urge to cook more.  Probably because I've come across some great looking recipes.  And since it's the New Year, I thought I would lighten up some of the recipes a bit and see how they turned out.  I actually have been doing this sporadically the past few months, but haven't really posted much on here.  So I decided I'm going to start posting some good dinner recipes too. 

I made this recipe the other night for dinner.  I was checking my Google reader at work (bad, I know...but we were reeeeeallllly slow and I had nothing to do) and this just popped out at me and looked amazing.  Jessica told me to make this for New Year's, but I couldn't wait.  I was actually awake enough after work to go to the store, get the ingredients, and make it for dinner.  Plus it was a Friday night, so I could stay up past my bedtime. :) 

The recipe is already pretty light, but I made a few substitutions to make it just a bit more low-fat.  I replaced the oil in the crust with fat-free greek yogurt (sounds weird, but it is a great substitute!).  I also like spicy foods, so I used a whole jalapeno and a whole onion instead of the 1/2 of each called for.  I replaced the shredded cheeses with fat-free cheese and the gorgonzola with the reduced-fat version.  I know all of this reduced and low fat crap sounds bad, but when fat-free cheese melts you can't tell the difference.  I promise.  But I'll include the link to the original recipe, in case you want to try the full-fat version. 

I also couldn't find whole wheat pastry flour.  It's different than regular whole wheat flour, apparently.  I Googled substitutions and there were many.  I replaced whole wheat pastry flour with 1/2 all purpose flour and 1/2 cake flour with no issues.  I think you could probably just use all purpose flour too.  I've reflected those changes below, as well.

This turned out great, and I think I may use this crust again, but experiment with different toppings.  It came together quickly and oh my, was it good.  I felt like I was eating something really unhealthy.  This didn't last long enough for me to freeze any leftovers. 



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Whole Wheat BBQ Shrimp Flatbread

adapted from How Sweet It Is

makes 4-8 servings

Ingredients:



1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt

olive oil for brushing

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup BBQ sauce

2 oz shredded fat-free cheddar cheese

2 oz shredded fat-free mozzarella cheese

1/2 lb raw deveined and peeled shrimp

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 small red onion, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped

2 oz reduced fat Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

cilantro and scallions for topping (I omitted cilantro because I'm not a fan)

1.  Preheat oven to 450.  In a bowl, mix shrimp and paprika.  Set aside. 

2.  In another bowl, combine flours, salt, pepper, and baking powder and mix until combined.  Add water and yogurt, then mix until a dough forms.  You can do this with your hands.  Place dough on a floured surface (or between two pieces of parchment paper) and roll out into a thin rectangle.  Place on non-stick baking sheet and bake 5-7 minutes.

3.  Remove crust from oven and brush lightly with olive oil.  Spread 2-3 Tbsp BBQ sauce on crust, then top with garlic, mozzarella, and cheddar.  Add shrimp, onion, peppers, and top with Gorgonzola and remaining BBQ sauce. 

4.  Bake for 10 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and outside edges of crust are golden.  Remove and let cool for 5 minutes, then top with cilantro and scallions.

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This recipe made 8 nice-sized pieces for me.  I ate two at a time and was satisfied.  Delicious!!! :) 

I did some baking yesterday and I have something yummy (and healthy!) bubbling on the stove right now, so I will post those recipes soon!