A Skinnytaste Kind of Week

Do you know Skinnytaste? It's a blog, it's a cookbook, it's everywhere on social media ... it's Gina Homolka. She is known for slimmed down recipes which are generally easy to prepare and always made from natural, readily available ingredients. I've tried quite a few and they always  turn out well.

When she released a cookbook last year, I bought my daughter a copy for Christmas. And last spring I finally got a copy for myself, too. I've cooked from it sporadically since then, but this week turned out to be all Skinnytaste, all the time.

It began with Thai Coconut Mussels. Mussels are a relatively recent addition to my culinary repertoire, probably because I only began eating them a few years ago.  My husband and I got into the habit of splitting the mussels appetizer at our favorite (though, sadly, now closed) farm-to-table restaurant. I wanted to duplicate those dishes at home, so began experimenting with several recipes.

Mussels are generally steamed, and the cooking liquid seems to be the most important factor in flavoring the dish. I've tried various stocks/broths, beers, and wines. This recipe is unusual in that the liquid is light coconut milk. Adding diced tomatoes, scallions, red bell pepper, ginger, chiles, and cilantro imparted the Thai flavor.

We both thought it was a nice change of pace, but Ina Garten's (The Barefoot Contessa) Mussels in White Wine recipe remains my favorite.

Next up were the Make Ahead Western Omelet Muffins. That's right, omelet muffins. I've been skeptical of that whole concept for a long time, but finally got around to actually trying it and was pretty impressed. I used shredded taco cheese instead of swiss because that's what I had on hand and omitted the scallions.

These were amazing! The best part was having a delicious breakfast already made for the rest of the week. I learned from my friends on Instagram that they also freeze well. There will now be a batch of these "muffins" in my freezer at all times!

And finally,  Baked Chicken Parmesan... I can't even tell you how many recipes and methods I've tried over the years, but this is the best! Gina's lightened up version starts with baking breaded chicken cutlets at a very high temperature, then placing them in a pan with warmed marinara sauce, topping with mozzarella, and letting it melt. (Note: the linked recipe says to put it back in the oven, but that was changed for the cookbook) This is the only way I will prepare chicken parmesan from now on!


What is your favorite Skinnytaste recipe?

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