Simple things in life make me happy.  On Saturday night, we decided to have homemade pub food for viewing of Modern Family season 2.  Just as an aside, I find that show super funny.  I cannot figure out if I like Cameron or Phil the most.  Too funny.  OK back to the eats.  The line of snacks included some homemade baked chicken wings, some perfect nachos and I started the evening off with some of these.

OMG, I love good onion rings.  Nothing rots me more than getting an onion ring at a diner and you feel you can ring them out before eating them.  So I started backing them and avoiding that problem and well partly because we don’t own a fryer.

Taking a few onions, slicing them thick, seasoning with salt and pepper and dredging them in a little buttermilk mixture.  Then you toss them in some panko bread crumbs and roast them in your oven for 10-15 minutes.  Talk about a killer snack that your “peeps” will be fighting for.  The crunch and flavor are really a hit with this little rings.  I am a bit lame as I like to dip mine in ketchup, but feel free to dip these in whatever your heart desires.

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Panko Breadcrumbs ( dried)
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 Cup Low Fat Buttermilk
• 1 Medium Onion ( Vidalia, Spanish)  Sliced and broken into rings
• 1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 1/8 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper
• Coarse Salt and Pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 450 Degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, flour, cayenne, and pepper
3. Dip onion rings into egg mixture ( letting excess drop off ) and dredge into panko mixture; place on a large platter
4. Pour oil into rimmed baking sheet and heat in oven for 2 minutes
5. Remove sheet from oven and tilt to coat evenly.
6. Arrange rings onto sheet.  Bake for about 15 minutes turning once or until rings are golden brown.
7. Season with salt.
8. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: get them crunchy!  Keep rotating and turning the pan in the oven to ensure they are done evenly throughout.  The wait is worth it.

Have yourself a super Monday and I don’t know about your locale but it has been raining here for days.  I will keep my spirits up and see you all on Wednesday.  Maybe share a sweet treat with you for the mid week visit…. good idea?

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty

Happy Monday to you! I hope you had a great weekend. I was busy all weekend but still had time for some family fun, multiple visits to the house and some floor shopping (yet again). In addition to the fun, I put some time in the kitchen and was able to try a fun simple recipe that included ” Baked Onion Rings“.

Who likes Onion Rings? I am a big fan of the onion rings and with this twist – I think you will fall in love too.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups Cornflakes
• 1/2 Cup Plain Breadcrumbs ( dried)
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 Cup Low Fat Buttermilk
• 1 Medium Onion ( Vidalia, Spanish)  Sliced and broken into rings
• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 1/8 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper
• Coarse Salt and Pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 450 Degrees
2. In a food processor, pulse breadcrumbs and cornflakes until fine crumbs form, then transfer to a medium bowl
3. In another medium bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, flour, cayenne, and pepper
4. Dip onion rings into egg mixture ( letting excess drop off ) and dredge into cornflake mixture; place on a large platter
5. Pour oil into rimmed baking sheet and heat in oven for 2 minutes
6. Remove sheet from oven and tilt to coat evenly.
7. Arrange rings onto sheet.  Bake for about 15 minutes turning once or until rings are golden brown.
8. Season with salt.
9. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: By oiling the pan and preheating it before placing the rings on the pan – you are eliminating the chance of the rings getting soggy and ensuring a nice crisp exterior.

Quick House Update

It had been raining quite a bit on Sunday when I was planning on getting some updated pictures to share with you.  So I apologize, the pictures are limited for now.  All I can say though is that we have a roof!

Have a great start to the week and I look forward to hearing your comments.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty