Chicken Cheese Balls

 

Presenting.... CHICKEN BALLS...

I'll admit, I take pretty crappy food pictures. Well, deal with it. I also fucked up this recipe of sorts. I was trying to adapt a non-Keto recipe to a Keto and was so concentrated on that that POOF, I forgot an important component. Getting down to business...

Ingredients

Balls:

(4) oz cream cheese

(2) tbsp blue cheese crumbles

(1/4) cup of shredded cheese

(8) oz shredded rotisserie chicken

Breading:

(2) Egg

(1) oz pork rinds

---

Dip:

(1/4) cup sour cream

(2) tbsp ranch dip mix

(2) tbsp favorite wing sauce

Stuff: Mixing bowl, mini-muffin pan (I prefer silicone base, easier to get out), two dishes for breading balls

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. 

Mix in dish cream cheese, blue cheese, cheddar cheese, and chicken. 

Form (1) oz balls - or balls that will fit in a mini muffin pan! 

Smash (or grind, preference decided by stress level) pork rinds and put aside for the breading. In another bowl mix eggs thoroughly for the breading. 

Take balls, dredge in eggs and then roll in pork rind grinds...step and repeat. This made a bakes dozen for me, depends on your ball size (teehee).

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

While the balls are baking, mix ranch dressing powder, sour cream, and buffalo wing sauce together to make a dipping sauce or "aioli" of sorts to top them with. Fridge until baking is complete.

After 15 minutes I took the balls out, let them cool down for a bit and then removed them to parchment paper (some were a bit oily from the rinds and I didn't want to deal with that. Below is the finished product garnished with air fried rotisserie chicken skin (OMG SO GOOD), the "aioli", and some chives - just because. 

YUM-O

*The crazy part that I left out was that the buffalo sauce was supposed to go into the mixture. I'm actually kind of glad I did because now they can be dressed up with different stuff to make them more versatile (think cheese sauce with bacon or ham)

The original recipe called for it to be dredge in flour and bread crumbs; going keto - the egg dredge and pork rinds were just fine and very crispy. 

I have left overs and am going to try to attempt to put them in the air fryer to see if it will keep their crunch or crunch them up a bit more so they are more "pop-able" then fork using. 

Basil Pesto Chicken Che-iche

A keto diet makes you get REAL creative. And of course these creative light bulbs go off late at night. 🤦‍♀️ Sooooooo I give you...

Basil Pesto Chicken Che-iche

1 - parmesan folio 

.5 cup - shredded cheddar

.5 cup - shredded mozz

.25 cup - parmesan powder

1 - egg

2 tsp - garlic powder

.5 cup - ricotta

4 oz - basil pesto boneless chicken thigh (chopped)

Preheat Oven 350

Line spring 8" spring foam pan with parchment paper and place parmesan folio on top.

Mix cheddar, mozz, parmesan, egg, and garlic. Layer cheese mixture on top of folio, making. Layer on ricotta cheese, top with chicken. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until there is a crisp around the edge. Release spring form but do not remove, let cool until cheese sets a bit. (5-7 mins)

6 servings, and according to my recipe maker - 3g net carbs, 15g fat, 17g protein, per serving... but that's on you to confirm!

The cheese quiche base gives it some substantial base for the ricotta and chicken, so its important to let it set before taking off the spring form. Chicken thighs were leftovers from 2 nights prior, but it was still moist. 

This recipe was inspired by Keto Cheesy Garlic Bread - Lilly from Intrupix (thank you!) @instrupix

CORE, STEM, CTE = EDUCATION

Because education is near and dear to my heart (or my philosophical way of life) I feel the need to drop this on my blog for future reference... 

  

http://icte.us/ctec/career-technical-education-in-new-york-city/ 

 In addition to traditional academic high school programs, New York City offers Career & Technical Education (CTE) programs that focus on specific industries that drive the New York economy. CTE programs are specially certified by the New York State Education Department and feature four important elements. A CTE program is not just a shop class or a one-term elective, it’s a multi-year program of study that results in a Technical Endorsement recognized by industry and post-secondary educational institutions.  

A CTE graduate receives a regular NY State Regents diploma plus a Technical Endorsement signifying industry-related skills. CTE graduates go on to four-year and two-year colleges, technical schools, apprenticeships and job-related training programs. 

 

Nationwide, research studies show that participation in CTE minimizes the risk of students dropping out of high school, and students attending CTE high schools have higher rates of on-time graduation and a greater likelihood of successfully completing a college prep sequence.  

In New York City, a 2014 report from the Community Service Society found that students who attend the City’s CTE schools “are more likely to graduate compared to students who attend non-CTE schools, despite the fact that students who attend CTE schools have, on average, characteristics that are associated with a lower likelihood of graduating.” Further, “black and Latino males, and students with slightly below average 8th grade test scores, show the greatest graduation gains in CTE schools.” 

To keep up with the changing economy of New York City, CTE programs are always being updated and added in a wide range of disciplines divided into fifteen broad categories: 

• Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources 
• Architecture & Construction 
• Arts, A/V Technology & Communication 
• Business, Management & Administration 
• Health Science 
• Cosmetology 
• Marketing, Sales and Services 
• Hospitality & Tourism 
• Education & Training 
• Finance 
• Human Services 
• Information Technology 
• Law & Public Safety 
• Manufacturing & Production 
• Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics 
• Transportation, Distribution & Logistics 

New York’s 318 career and Technical education programs live in academic high schools as well as dedicated CTE high school. Of the 51 all-CTE schools, 32 have been added since 2003. These new CTE programs have been designed as small schools with a career theme and have been co-located on campuses around the five boroughs. The new schools align to labor market trends, preparing students for careers in growth fields like information technology, culinary arts, green careers, advertising and media. 

FM Influences City Codes?

Friday, it was very fitting that we were having a training session about how to react (what's the proper protocol) when the fire alarm system is activated - in any way. Our building is classified as a High Rise - Group B, so it's not just a 100% evac situation. Insert a bunch of FDNY mumbo jumbo here to get the meat of the story.

According to the Fire Safety Director, High Rise owners are having problems falling in alignment with the FDNY Code and creating solid emergency action plans. He continued to explain that because of the evolution of Facility Management / Managers, Building Operators, Facility Managers, etc, building owners couldn't keep up with the changes. 

He gave a great example: Back when the last overhaul of the code happened, in the 70's, facility managers, building operators, etc, were the men who basically lived in the building, they knew every nook and cranny. But now that facility managers and building operators control many buildings at one time, there are no longer fire wardens or searchers that truly know a building. He also made it a point to call out what the implications were of having outsourced maintenance teams. As a result FDNY has instituted listing of fire wardens and or searchers on every floor of buildings so when activations occur the FDNY knows who to go to and those appointed people are in charge of knowing the ins and outs of their floors and its occupants. 

This whole example conversation lasted about 5 minutes before we moved on to the material that we were really there to cover. I sat there partially dazed only because it was something so simple, yet so complex. That said... time to identify some Fire Wardens and Searchers! 

Millennials & Volunteering: Bridging the Generational Gap

Millennials & Volunteering: Bridging the Generational Gap

Generally, the writer [of articles] advises the reader on how to “manage” this group in the workplace and often seems to have a “these kids nowadays” tone.

What makes this article different then all the other articles that I have be researching is that volunteering, which has nothing to do with the workforce, is overflowing with millennials. With the amount of volunteers that are 'produced', calling millennials lazy, self-interested, selfish, disconnected with humans, this article is tangible evidence, that is far from the truth. 

Part of the package that comes with Millennials in the work force is that they want community oriented businesses, they want the time in their work schedule to pursue volunteerism, a lot of corporations are starting to see this and are starting to embrace the culture of social responsibility; the irony of this is that some of these corporations are service providers for Facility Management. Aramark, Deloitte, JLL, CBRE... But where does the facility manager fall into the volunteer base when they are generally an essential employee who doesn't necessarily have the time or luxury of leaving their offices? 

Is it too late??

To change the entire format of my entire thesis?

Finds of the day

Working in FM in Higher Ed has its downfalls.
1) scheduling vacations during the school year is rough
2) essential employee - on call ALL THE TIME, even during vacations, sick days, personal days.... :(

Working in Higher Ed has a lot of perks.
1) vacations - when the students go on long vacations generally admin goes on long vacations (10 days for the 'winter' break)
2) stability - students really don't go away so there's always servicing that has to happen
3) tons of publications are sent to the office
4) totally awesome libraries

This week's cool publication find?
Student Housing Business

Question of the Month: Are Millennials Green?

The resounding answer to this question was... YES. There is one contributor, Jason Seyler (author, Mastering Millennials), that even goes as far to say that "if you're going to make a 'green' claim make sure it's of substance, if it's not, don't make it. Millennials' smell B.S."  --- So true, so true!