The B.L.A.T.

Yes, the B.L.A.T. It is quite possibly the most fantastic sandwich ever conjured up in our kitchen. it stands for Bacon Lettuce Avocado and Tomato. It's been a staple in the Holder household ever since I decided to slap some avocado on my BLT one night last spring. Even E, who isn't the biggest fan of avocado, LOVES these things. I used to make two or three a night. I couldn't help it. It's just so simple: toasted bread, avocado slices (I usually squirt on a little lemon or lime juice before slicing), some schmancy "lettuce" such as spinach or arugula, bacon, and tomato. 

Well, recently we took the B.L.A.T. to a whole different level of incredible. with just three words. FRIED. GREEN. TOMATOES. excuse me while i show my Mississippi roots, but there is little in this world that I love more than fried green tomatoes. They're just perfect. 

Also, for this fancified version of the B.L.A.T.,we tried to go a LITTLE healthier (to make up for the fried goodness) and used turkey bacon. Man, I love turkey bacon. Turkey sausage and ground turkey are also high on my list- and low in fat! yessir. unfortunately these amazing additions create sort of a predicament when it comes to the name of the sandwich......still haven't come up with an acceptable acronym..but here goes..

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~~ The T.B.A.F.G.T.L ~~

(it's actually quite amusing if you sound it out..)

Ingredients 

1 Avocado -peeled, pitted, and sliced 

Lettuce of your choosing 

{we stick with spinach or arugula. or both, whatever we have on hand}

Toasted Bread of your choosing 

{we typically skip the fancy breads like french or sourdough and go for sliced wheat. i dont know why, but its just better that way in our opinion}

Turkey Bacon

Green Tomatoes, sliced

1/2 cup corn meal

1 tbs Paprika

2{ish} TBS all-purpose flour

3-4 TBS vegetable oil 

{depending on the amount of tomatoes you want to fry}

Salt + Pepper

Instructions

Start by cooking the bacon - { cook until crispy }

while the bacon cooks, add corn meal, flour, paprika, salt and pepper into a bowl

heat oil in medium sized skillet on medium-high heat

coat slices of tomato with corn meal mixture and add to oil 

{if the oil doesn't start sizzling when you add the tomato, wait a bit longer to add more}

Fry tomatoes until golden brown on each side

{I always transfer my fried foods onto a plate with a couple of paper towels to soak up some of the oil}

Combine all ingredients into the best sandwich ever! 

{Side note: I ALWAYS add salt and pepper to my sandwich. and sometimes a little EVOO- not necessary, but definitely a good choice}

Avocado Fevah

We've been on a bit of an avocado kick as of late. Then again, I'm always on an avocado kick - but I was able to drag E along with me this time (yay!).  We seriously had avocado 2 nights in a row. this never happens, people.  Previously  the only way I could work avocado into a meal was to make BLATS (yes, you read that right - but thats another show) but now I have a new method of getting my husband to eat those healthy little mushy green things..Baked avocado fries.

I'm not kidding.

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~~ Baked Avocado Fries ~~

Ingredients

2 Avocados - peeled, pitted, and sliced into wedges {about 1/2 inch thick}

1/4 cup Flour

2 large eggs - beaten

1/14 cup panko bread crumbs {LOVE this stuff!} 

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cayenne pepper {optional - but so worth it}

salt + pepper

olive oil {in this case, I'd say regular is best}

grated parmesan

Instructions

preheat oven to 450

mix together panko and seasonings into a bowl - add egg and flour into separate bowls

dredge avocado first in flour, then egg, then panko

place each slice onto a cooling rack - place cooling rack onto a sheet pan

spray wedges with olive oil 

place in oven and cook for about 20 minutes, until they look a little somethin' like this..

sprinkle wedges with parmesan, and voila!

I promise, the quasi-smiley-face was unintentional.

These are addicting - and healthy! my favorite combo!

what a horrible picture :-/ one day i'll stop being lazy and use my real camera instead of my phone. 

one day 

tomorrow, i'll explain what a BLAT is. Let me just say- its AH-MAY-ZING. seriously.