Baked Breaded Shrimp and Sweet Potato Fries with Honey Mustard BBQ Sauce

Today I was craving Chick-fil-A nuggets SOOO BAD but I overcame it and went for a healthier substitute instead. Spoiler Alert: it wasn't anything like Chick-fil-A... but it did turn out pretty tasty. *small wins*

Sweet Potato Fries

- 1 sweet potato, cut ~2 in. long slices
- Olive oil for tossing
- Kosher salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika to taste

1. Set oven to 425 degrees and then start slicing sweet potato into slices that are about 2 inches long and about 1/4 inch wide. 

2. Place sweet potato slices in bowl and pour just enough olive oil on top to make sure all slices are coated. Sprinkle some salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder and toss all together. 

3. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil, spray with non-stick cooking spray, and place sweet potato slices on top. Make sure that none are overlapping and place into oven. Cook for about 20 minutes, flipping the fries once or twice to make sure they are cooked evenly. 

Baked Breaded Shrimp

- 1/2 lb shrimp
- 1/3 cup coconut flour

- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 egg whites
- 1/2 cup milk (or coconut/almond milk)
- 1/3 cup panko
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs

1. Since I was already cooking the sweet potato fries, my oven was already set at 425 degrees. If not, set it now. 

2. Pull three bowls out. In the first mix your flour and salt and pepper (I added a bit of Tony Chachere's as well). In the second bowl add the egg whites and milk. In the third, mix together the panko and breadcrumbs. 

3. First coat the shrimp in the flour, then dip in the egg white mixture and then toss and coat shrimp with panko and breadcrumbs. 

4. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and then place shrimp on top. Put baking sheet in oven and cook shrimp for about 15 minutes, flipping halfway through. 

Honey Roasted BBQ Sauce
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 1.5 tbsp mustard
- 1 tbsp BBQ sauce
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2-3 dashes Worcestershire sauce

1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and then let set in the refrigerator for a few minutes before serving.

Römertopf Chicken Drumsticks and Vegetables

Growing up, my family had "Chicken Römertopf" at least once a week and it usually ended with my dad and I fighting over who would get the most celery that had been cooking in the chicken's... hindquarters. Anyways, since I was cooking for one I decided to use drumsticks instead of the whole chicken (plus I didn't have my Dad to tear up the chicken and didn't feel like getting my hands all slimy). So back to Römertopf: this is a clay pot that's soaked before cooking and it allows for meat and vegetables to retain moisture and it also prevents nutrients from escaping. The end result is perfectly juicy chicken and savory, mouthwatering vegetables.

**One note is that you don't want to risk cracking the soaked clay pot in an already hot oven - so just make sure not to turn on your oven until the pot is inside.

Römertopf Chicken Drumsticks and Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients:
- 4 stalks celery, sliced

- 1 cup baby carrots

- 1 cup mushrooms 

- 1 onion, sliced 

- Chicken drumsticks (5-6)

- 1 tsp olive oil 

- 1-1.5 tsp mustard

- 2 cloves garlic 

- Italian seasoning

- Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

1. Soak Römertopf clay pot in water for at least 10 minutes. What I usually do is put it to soak before I go to work in the morning and let it soak all day, but all that is required is 10 minutes. 

2. Place vegetables in pot first and then top with the chicken drumsticks. Rub olive oil, mustard and garlic on chicken. 

3. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning (oregano, basil, parsley, etc.) on top of chicken and vegetables. 

4. Place clay pot in cold oven then set to 400 degrees. Cook chicken and vegetables for 1 to 1.5 hours. Be careful when opening clay pot after taking it out of the oven for steam will be very hot. 

Roasted Eggplant and Pepper Curry Soup

I have always had a serious love affair with eggplant, but this purple delicious vegetable has not always complied with me in past cooking attempts. I've cut it up, salted, put it on a strainer, etc. etc. and it always came out a little bitter and mostly soggy. Yum. Well - I've finally found a recipe that I successfully mastered the eggplant and I'm so excited. I had bought one from my grocery store and was thinking of ways to cook it, and decided that I wanted to cook a soup to bring with me to work the next day. From there I decided I was going to roast that mutha and then immersion blend the hell outta it. Thus we have...

Roasted Eggplant and Pepper Curry Soup

Ingredients:
- 1 eggplant
- 1 bell pepper (I used orange)
- 2 tbsp olive oil (more if needed)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp garlic, minced
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 tsp curry
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- Handful of chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- Kosher salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. After chopping bell pepper and eggplant, toss in bowl with olive oil and a little Kosher salt. Lay vegetables on covered baking sheet with aluminum foil that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Roast for 25-30 minutes.

2. While eggplant and bell pepper is roasting, sauté onions with olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds - 1 minute. Add broth, spices and parsley. Then add roasted vegetables. Can simmer for 5 minutes or however long you want (I let mine simmer for around 2 hours).

3. After soup has simmered, use either immersion blender, regular blender or food processor to puree soup until it reaches desired consistency. Return to pot and stir in coconut milk and lemon juice.

Roasted Cauliflower and Bacon Soup

This soup is perfectly hearty with warm bacon and roasted cauliflower. I've been putting coconut milk in everything I make recently and this was no exception - you could substitute with a little bit of heavy cream or even milk if you don't have any on hand. Enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower and Bacon Soup

Ingredients:

- 1/2 roasted cauliflower
- 1/2 shallot
- 3 slices bacon, diced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp rosemary
- Dash red pepper flakes
- 2 bay leaves

Recipe:
1. Roast cauliflower. I usually use this recipe as a basis to how I roast my cauliflower. If I don't have wine or any stock on hand, I usually just use water and it turns out just the same. You'll end with up a juicy cauliflower with a beautiful golden roasted finish.

2. Drizzle about 1 tsp of olive oil into pot and let it heat up. Once hot, add shallots and cook until they start browning. Add garlic and bacon then sauté until the meat starta becoming a little crispy.

3. Add honey and chives and sauté for a few seconds. Remove half of bacon mixture from pot and stir in coconut milk, bay leaves and spices.

4. Once boiling, add half of cauliflower florets to pot. Let the mixture simmer for about 15 minutes. Just make sure it's been long enough for the cauliflower to easily be passed through the mixer. After removing the bay leaves, I used a hand blender to blend mine, but it can also easily be done in a food processor.

5. Once the soup has become creamy, add back the other half of the bacon and cauliflower. You could also leave some out to garnish! Stir and let it simmer for a few minutes and then serve (I put a little cheddar cheese on top of mine).