Thin Buns

I have loved the thin buns ever since they came out.  When you use them with a hamburger you can actually taste the good stuff between the bun.  I found a recipe for these on Pinterest from Food that I had to try.  Mine are not as pretty but they taste good and they are only 114 calories per bun.  A muffin top pan is supposed to work wonderfully for these, something new to add to my wish list.

1 1/3 cups warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon yeast
1 eggs
2 teaspoons canola oil
3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat fiber
2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
1 teaspoon salt

In a bowl sprinkle the sugar over the warm water, then do the same with the yeast. Add the egg and oil and combine. In a separate container, use a fork or a whisk to stir together the flour, oat fiber, wheat gluten, and salt. Add 1/2 of this mixture to the wet ingredients and blend. This is the sponge.
Let rise 30 - 45 minutes.

Add rest of flour mixture and knead for about 5 minutes. I use my stand mixer with the dough attachment. This dough will be sticky.

Spray 3 cookie sheets or muffin top pan with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. Divide dough into 16 equal portions. This is a wet dough so instead of adding any additional flour, weigh the dough on a food scale and divide it by 16. Then weigh out each portion and place on cookie sheet. Don't worry about how it looks now.

Take a 4" biscuit cutter and place it over one of the dough portions. If you wet the inside of the cutter as well as your fingers you can spread the dough into a perfect circle by using your fingers to flatten it to the inside edge of the biscuit cutter. (These will be very thin but they will rise). Remove the cutter, re-wet the inside and use it to do the same thing to the remaining 15 buns.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Let the buns rise for 30 minutes. After this time you can choose to "dock" the buns.  This means poking small holes into the dough.  A fork works well.  Docking prevents air bubbles from forming, keeping them nice and thin.  Let them rest another 10 to 15 minutes.  Bake 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Don't overbake. Cool the buns and then cut them in half for sandwich buns.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

I never have those little packets of seasoning in the house when I need them.  I found this recipe on Whole New Mom and we tried it last night when we had taco salad.  Steve asked about the seasoning on the turkey burger and said that he really liked it, so it is a keeper.

2 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp paprika
1 Tbsp cumin
2 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.  Mix well. Store in a tightly closed container.

Use approximately 2 tablespoons per 1 pound ground meat.  Adjust per your taste buds.  I did not add water but you can if you want it a little saucy.

Crustless Zucchini Pie

I keep reading about people that say they wake up in the morning with a load of zucchini on their porch.  That has never happened to me but my two zucchini plants keep me hopping.  I keep trying to find new recipes and here is the latest. I found this recipe on Skinnytaste and Gentry and I both liked it.  Steve ate it but he wasn't a huge fan.  He isn't a fan of quiche either, go figure.  The few changes I made were green onions for shallots, no chives and regular whole wheat flour.  1/6th of pie is 125 calories if fat free milk is used, I had 2% in the house so the calories increased to 129 for 1/6 of pie.

10 oz shredded zucchini, all liquid squeezed out
1/2 cup green onions, chopped - click on link for green onion tip
1/2 cup part skim mozzarella
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp olive oil
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp kosher salt
fresh cracked pepper to taste
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400°. Lightly spray a pie dish with cooking spray. Combine zucchini, onions, and mozzarella cheese in a bowl.
 
Mix flour and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add remaining ingredients, except Parmesan cheese, to the bowl and blend well. Combine with zucchini mixture and pour it into the pie dish.
 
Top with Parmesan cheese and bake 30-35 minutes or until knife comes out clean from the center. Let it stand at least 5 minutes before serving.