Baked Mozzarella Sticks and mass chaos!

First, let's set the mood! It has been a very busy day: lots of errands, a potty training 3 year old and a teething 9 month old... did I mention that my husband is out of town for work?!?

I set some pork chops out to thaw earlier and had every intention of finding some fabulous way of cooking them...as the migraine started to set in, I quickly changed my mind. Especially considering the fact that my kids aren't going to appreciate a great deal of effort.

The pork chops got put in a Sesame Ginger 30 Minute Marinade that I bought at the grocery store. While they were cooking I decided to make some homemade baked mozzarella sticks. I have no idea where I got the recipe - I have intended on making it several times, but never got around to it. It was about at this point that baby C lost her mind and started screaming. It was a long 30 minutes with her screaming in her jumper, p
but I was determined to make some cheesy goodness. About this same time, I told S & J to go take quick showers. As I am in the middle of breading the cheese sticks, I hear a thud from upstairs. J decided he needed to go to the bathroom and got out of the bath tub. He ran to the toilet and then was running back to the bath tub when he slid on my floor and hit his head... seriously?!? When I asked him why he was running, he said it was so that he didn't turn into a merman before he got back in the water. Yes, it is true - my children think they are mermaids! They have been watching a show called "H2O - Just Add Water", it is a show out of Australia and all 3 seasons are on HULU. Thank you dad for finding this show! They all think they have powers and are mermaids now. When I make L mad, she puts her hand out and starts turning it, thinking that she is going to use her powers to freeze me in place - it has yet to work on a mad mom!

After kissing his head better and helping him wash, I headed back downstairs to the screaming baby. Ahhh, the glamorous life of a mother :-) And now for the recipe (like I said, I have had it printed out forever and no URL printed on it, so I have no idea where I got it)

Baked Mozzarella Sticks


Ingredients:
 8 mozzarella string cheeses
2 T. Flour
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 C dry bread crumbs (I used Italian Seasoned)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Marinara or Ranch sauce for dipping

Instructions:
Place the string cheese in the freezer at least 1 hour before you plan to make these. These will lessen the oozing of the cheese. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place the flour, eggs, and crumbs in 3 separate dishes. Season the flour with salt and pepper. Cut the cheese strings in 1/2 widthwise. Dip one cheese stick at a time into the flour to coat, then into the egg whites, and then the crumbs. Dip it into the egg again and then the crumbs again, squeezing to help them adhere. It'll be messy, but try to cover the cheese completely. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or sprayed with cooking spray. Repeat with all of the cheese.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Serve immediately with warmed marinara sauce.



My experience:

Like I said, I had every intention of making these for awhile, so my string cheese has been in the freezer for 5 days :-) That being said, it may have impacted it. The flour didn't stick to the cheese at all, not quite sure the reason for that first. As far as the mess - they weren't kidding! It was pretty nasty and all over my hands.

Here is a picture of the mozzarella sticks prior to baking:

And after baking:

That's right, 5 days in the freezer did not prevent any cheese oozing! It was all over the pan!

The final dinner plate:

VERDICT - Mom

I may try again with Panko breadcrumbs, no flour, and only 1 hour in the freezer. They actually tasted pretty good, once you got past the appearance. The pork chops were yummy!

VERDICT - Kids

J - liked the crumbs, but not the cheese. Go figure! He actually picked the crumbs off and ate them alone. He did like the pork chops - hallelujah! 

S - liked the cheese, but not the crumbs. Of course! She let him pick off her crumbs and then ate the cheese. She did not like the pork chops, however, she didn't cry during the meal and I consider that a win.

L - said that everything just made her sad and asked if she could call her daddy *sigh*, you can't win them all.

C - just sat there looking pitiful and cried.

Time to go to bed and remind myself that tomorrow we are going out to dinner and I don't have to face the critics until Friday night with my next dinner of torture...