The Sneaky Chef

Recently, I rediscovered ( and now am obsessed with ) an old site I used a lot during my student teaching days. This site is all about a mom who actively tries to be “sneaky” and feed her children healthier foods without them realizing it. She takes old classics and our favorite day to day recipes and makes them healthier. This is done through a number of methods. For example: she will add unconventional ingredients that you wouldn’t expect to a recipe that not only make it taste delicious, but you never even know you are getting a full serving of fruits or vegetables! *this method will be showcased in the recipe I describe below. In other recipes, she will substitute the fat (butter and / or oil) content within a recipe with fruits and vegetables. GENIUS. I made the brownie recipe on this site for my students during student teaching and had them do a blind taste test along side “regular recipe” brownies, and 9 out of 10 students liked her recipe more. After they all agreed they liked this one better, I then announced the “secret ingredients”. Some were not as pleased as others as they do not normally like those ingredients. Its like that old saying, if you don’t know whats in it I’ll eat it. So, last night I dove head first into this site and began with someone that most people know is my favorite thing in the whole world: corn dogs. If you read to the bottom more, I had to start with the “Make-ahead- recipe #4” in order to make these corn dogs. The make-ahead recipe is where the sneakiness of this chef comes into play.


Top Dog Corn Dog Muffins


- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons sugar - 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/2 cup White Puree (See Make-Ahead Recipe #4, p. 260)
- 6 tablespoons low-fat milk
- 1/2 cup grated low-fat cheddar cheese
- 2 hot dogs, cut in half lengthwise, and chopped into small pieces
- 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 cup Flour Blend (See Make-Ahead Recipe #8, p. 265) ******
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda




********Instead of using the make-adhead recip #8, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and baking soda is just used 1 box of jiffy corn bread mix. it already has all those ingredients and takes about 2.5 seconds to open the box. no measuring out all those ingredients AND its about .19cents. --the budget...remember?! > Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a muffin tin with paper liners. Spray liners lightly with cooking spray oil. > In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until well combined, then whisk in the melted butter, White Puree, milk, cheese, and hot dog pieces. In another mixing bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, Flour Blend, baking powder, salt, and baking soda take jiffy corn bread mix out of the box. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until flour is just moistened (don't over-mix or the muffins will be dense). > Scoop the batter into muffin tins, filling just to the top. Bake for 22 to 24 minutes, until tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.



Make-Ahead Recipe #4: White Puree

 Makes about 2 cups of puree. Double recipe if you want to store even more, which can be done in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze 1/4 cup portions in sealed plastic bags or the small plastic containers.


- 2 cups cauliflower, cut into florets - 2 small to medium zucchini, peeled and rough chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1-2 tablespoons water, if necessary > Steam cauliflower in a vegetable steamer over 2 inches of water, using a tightly-covered pot, for about 10 to 12 minutes until very tender. Alternatively, place cauliflower in a microwave-safe bowl , cover with water, and microwave on high for 8 to 10 minutes until very tender. > While waiting for the cauliflower to finish steaming, start to pulse the raw peeled zucchini with the lemon juice only (no water at this point). Drain the cooked cauliflower. Working in batches if necessary, add it to the pulsed zucchini in the bowl of the food processor with one tablespoon of water. Puree on high until smooth. Stop occasionally and push contents from the top to the bottom. If necessary, use the second tablespoon of water to make a smooth (but not wet) puree.



So, for my first try, they turned out AMAZING!!!

Here is the white puree leftovers that I will be utilizing in some of her other recipes.









Would you ever have guessed there is zucchini and cauliflower in these?? NOPE!