Skinny Baked Mozzarella Stix

Ugh...I hate being behind on postings of our Girl's Nights menus and gossip. I apologize to all 32 followers (ok, a bit of sarcasm there). Do us girls a favor and follow the blog so we know you care. It's an amazing journey I share with these girls and I need a little motivation to keep the postings up to date :) We love that we have somewhere to go to and retrieve these great recipes...and that we can share them with you. How do we have 5400 page views and only 32 followers? Maybe a stalker or 2...wow, we're flattered, really. Be like Nike and "Just Do It" :)

Ok, my rant is over and I have some AMAZING news to share. Emily & Bea join Cassie on the preggo home front. Congrats girls...This will be both girls second child...the family is growing!! We love it!

While at Em's about...ahem...a month ago we had taco salads (go ahead and use your imagination for this recpie). She served some yummy bites as an appetizer though that I feel the need to share. Skinny Baked Mozzarella Sticks. What's the old Wheat Thins catch-phrase..."Baked, Not Fried"? Recipe and photos courtesy of www.skinnytaste.com Here it is...

Servings: 12 • Serving Size: 2 pieces • Old Points: 1 pts • Points+: 2 pts*
Calories: 86.8* • Fat: 4.8 g • Protein: 7.4 g • Carb: 3.5 g • Fiber: 0.2 g • Sugar: 0.2
Sodium: 168.6

Ingredients:

• 12 sticks part-skim, reduced sodium mozzarella string cheese
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp flour
• 5 tbsp Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• 5 tbsp panko crumbs
• 2 tsp parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• olive oil cooking spray

Directions:

Cut cheese in half to give you 24 pieces. Place cheese in the freezer until cheese is frozen. In small bowl, whisk the egg. Place the flour on another small dish. In separate bowl, combine bread crumbs, panko, parmesan cheese and dried parsley.

Dip the frozen sticks in flour, shaking off excess, then into the egg, then coat with the crumbs. Repeat this process with the remaining cheese placing them on a tray with wax paper. Place cheese back into the freezer until ready to bake (this is a must or they will melt before the crumbs get golden).

When ready to bake preheat oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly spray with oil. Place frozen cheese sticks on baking sheet. Spray the tops of the mozzarella sticks with a little more oil and bake in the bottom third of your oven until crisp, about 4 to 5 minutes. Turn and bake an additional 4 - 5 minutes watching them closely so they don't melt.