Ellie Krieger’s Oven Baked Onion Rings

We made burgers on the grill last night, and we needed a yummy side for them. I immediately think chips, french fries, or onion rings...anything crunchy and greasy, right? This wasn't what I really wanted; let's cut fat and calories where we can right? Especially when it comes to fried foods....there had to be a healthier option. I make baked sweet potato fries and chips all the time, but I already have that down to eat with our grilled Kobe beefs hot dogs later this week, so potatoes wouldn't work. Then it dawned on me! If you can bake potato fries, you can bake onion rings, right? OF COURSE! I launched my search online for baked onion rings...and I found this recipe from Elly Krieger.

It was perfect. So crunchy, the best flavor...I really think you should make these and see for yourself. They turned out so much better than I anticipated. I didn't think they would be that crunchy, and the hint of cayenne pepper was just right (it seemed to offset the saltiness of the chips). Brett said these were better than the burgers, and highlight of the meal...that's something coming from Brett who is typically into the meat portion of the meal and doesn't really say alot about what's on the table-unless I ask!

Ingredients (4 servings)

Cooking spray
4 cups baked potato chips (I used Baked Lays-original flavor)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 cup low fat buttermilk
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 to 2 large Vidalia onions, peeled (I used regular yellow onions)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet slightly with oil and set aside. Place potato chips in the bowl of a food processor and process into crumbs, about 20 seconds. Transfer to a shallow bowl, add cayenne, and set aside. In another bowl, combine buttermilk, 2 tablespoons of flour, salt and pepper and set aside. Slice onions into 1/2-inch circles and separate into rings, keeping only large, whole rings (reserve rest of onions for other uses). You should come out with about 12 to 14 rings.

Place the remaining flour in a sealable plastic bag, then add onions, and shake to coat. Dip onions 1 at a time into the buttermilk mixture, then dip into potato chip crumbs and place on baking sheet. Spray canola oil evenly over rings and bake for 20 minutes, or until coating is crisp. Season with salt, to taste, and serve immediately.

**My notes...I don't have a large food processor, so I simple made a tiny hole in the bag of chips and crushed them with my hands; just make sure you get them as fine as possible or they won't stick well. Also, I skipped putting the onions and flour in a bag. I had my onion slices in a bowl already so I just added the flour in the bowl and hand tossed them until they were covered.

Stir Fry Asparagus with Cashews

My first and only regret/apology...no photos of this yummy veggie side dish. Had I known it was this impressive, I would have. It was a long day and this was such a quick dinner to make; I just didn't think to grab a camera.

I had to post this recipe and I'm just asking you to trust me. Just make it. Soon. Its delicious, and so easy but looks so fancy. DH raved about it, and he is not a veggie eater, much less something that was as out of the ordinary for our meals. We usually stick to frozen/steamed broccoli, canned green beans, etc. I bet you could even add some chicken or tofu and make this more of a main dish.

I served this as a side with salmon (very lightly seasoned with seafood rub and baked in foil packets), and brown rice.

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root (I omitted this, I DO NOT like ginger related anything-seeing as I love the recipe so much, I guess it didn't hurt to leave it out.)
1 bunch asparagus stalks, ends cut
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup chopped cashews

DIRECTIONS
Heat olive oil and sesame oil in a wok over low to medium heat. Add ginger, and stir-fry until slightly brown. Add asparagus, and stir-fry for a few minutes before adding soy sauce and cashews. Cook until asparagus is tender but still crisp and bright green, stirring frequently.

Catalina Bean Salad

This is really me trying to do two things: 1) find new snacks and 2) get more veggies in. Well, its pretty healthy. I did use Kraft FREE dressing, and low fat cheese so that helps, other than that its all veggies...oh, yes, those are Fritos, but come on...me depriving myself completely only leads to things much much worse. Think of them as a garnish or a condiment, not a side like you would have fries with a burger or chips with a sandwich!

Keep in mind you can really do whatever you want with this recipe. You can use any variation of beans...kidney, navy, ranch style, black, or any combination of those. The same goes for the cheese...cheddar, mexican, sharp, mozzarella, colby jack, etc. I used a white onion, if you like red, use red! Or leave them out all together. I know I've seen this recipe with jalapenos, red or green bell peppers, even hamburger meat, or shredded lettuce. My only comment on the lettuce. Add this over lettuce, or stirred into lettuce when this is served, or else it gets mushy. Same with the fritos. I stir my fritos in last minute! My mom, just has everything chopped and on hand and when everyone is ready to eat she throws all the ingredients in a giant storage bag, shakes it up and dumps it in a bowl. Everything is fresh, the lettuce is crisp and the Fritos are crunchy! YUM!

All that being said, I guess this isn't really a recipe, you can toss things together and make it your own...the keys things are, Catalina dressing, beans, cheese, and a few other chopped veggies, and some crunchy chips on top (Fritos seem best, but tortilla chips would work). So here is my version and my snack for the next couple of days...play with it and enjoy.

Toss/Mix the following together in a bowl and serve chilled:

1 can Ranch style beans (half way drained)

1 small can sliced black olives

1/4 finely chopped white onion

1/2 diced tomato

1-1 1/2 cups of low fat shredded cheddar cheese

1 clove minced garlic

8 oz. Kraft Free Catalina Salad Dressing

Use Fritos crushed atop this as a salad (or you can use the scoops and even eat as a dip!)