Coconut Flatbread

I saw coconut flour in the store the other day, and I had to have it. Partly because I have ADHD "impulsivity type" and partly because I love coconut. Unfortunately, because I also have ADHD "inattentive type" I forgot I owned it until today. Fortunately, I did remember today because I was eating Indian food for lunch and I needed some naan-type stuff to eat it with. (No, there will not be Indian recipes forthcoming. This is the Slap-Dash Chef, after all, and I get my Indian sauces from jars at Trader Joe's. Takes 5 minutes or less.)

But...but...naan has yeast in it. :( All the recipes I found were very, very yeasty and took too long. So I grabbed a tortilla recipe and modified it instead. :D The result was neither naan nor tortilla but something totally deliciously awesome that is its own thing. Something that with a dash of cinnamon and sugar could be a dessert, but was flavorful and nice on its own. I shall call it...

Coconut Flatbread

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup coconut flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
3/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup slightly soft butter
1 cup hot water

butter for cooking

Combine dry ingredients, then cut in shortening and butter until mixture is crumbly. Pour the water in and knead the mixture. Make sure to work in the dough clinging to the sides. Roll into a large ball. You can let the dough rest for an hour, or if you're impatient like me, just break it into 10 bits and  roll them into balls. Flatten them out with a rolling pin and place one at a time into a hot buttered skillet for a minute or so each side. Serve with dinner or dessert!

Fried Zucchini

I love fried zucchini, but for some reason it's not really an east coast thing. Like salad bars, it's something I mostly have to get when I visit family out west at holiday time.

But this year for Christmas, Jed gave me an Amazon.com giftcard, and I used it to buy a spiral vegetable slicer, which now I can't live without. It cuts zucchini into long, lovely ribbons. Unfortunately, the zucchini frying recipes I've tried in the past  don't really work with long ribbons of veggie, because you dunk them in an egg mixture and then coat with crumbs. So I turned to the cookbook I got for my new stand mixer for answers. It had a short, very fast zucchini frying recipe...involving a lot of beer. Strike two!

Since I don't have any beer on hand, I made up my own recipe. And dang, if it wasn't SO GOOD! So I shall share it with you, dear readers. Now you can make your arteries look like mine. If you don't have a cool spiral slicer like mine, get one! Or cut your zucchini into coins, they work fine too.

Fried Zucchini

3 zucchini or yellow squash

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp Mrs. Dash
1 tsp kosher salt


1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup buttermilk

vegetable oil for frying

Pre-heat oven to 200. Peel your zucchini or yellow squash and cut into ribbons or coins. Set aside. Meanwhile, mix dry ingredients together and then add the liquid. Blend together until smooth. You can add more chicken broth as needed to make a medium thick liquid batter (too thin and it won't stick, too thick and it won't coat the veggies).

Pour enough veggie oil into a 4 quart pot to make it about 2 inches deep. Heat oil to about 350. Dunk your zucchini ribbons into the batter until well coated (I used tongs) and place in the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, which takes about three minutes. Don't put too many in the pot at once, or they will stay soggy and too oily.

Transfer the finished fried veggies to a cookie sheet in the oven, to keep warm and crisp. Continue frying until all veggies are gone. Serve with ranch dressing and enjoy!

Best Party Ever! Buffalo Chicken Dip

 Every year Michelle Adams has the most amazing Christmas party. We do a gift exchange where we steal what we want from someone else and they have to trade in turn. We have yummy warm soups. We eat cookies and do crafts. We stand around and talk (cause we're girls). And this year Michelle had something new that added a special bite to the party: Buffalo Chicken Dip! I started out eating it with chips but I ended up eating it with a spoon, it was so yummy. And when Michelle gave out the recipe, I realized how fast and easy it was to make. So here it is for your own holiday pleasure. And sometime, instead of eating it with chips, fill a sandwich with it instead. To die for!

Michelle Adams' Buffalo Chicken Dip

4-6 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded (I personally used two cans of canned chicken and it was faster)
12 oz bottle of Frank's Buffalo Chicken Hot Sauce
2 - 8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese
16 oz bottle Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing
4 oz crumbled Bleu Cheese
8 oz shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

Mix hot sauce with chicken and spread in bottom of 9x13 baking pan.
In saucepan, combine cream cheese and salad dressing on medium heat until smooth. Add Bleu Cheese and stir for one minute, until blended well.
Pour cheese mixture over chicken and sprinkle with Monterey Jack.
Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes until sides are bubbling orange and cheese is melted. Do not brown top.