Baked Okra

Now, I'm from the South and one of my favorite foods was always fried okra.

In Washington, there ain't no meat and three's anywhere around here so that means Laura is making her own okra. I don't really like frying things because it's so unhealthy but mostly because I'm a whimp and I'm surprised I haven't burned the kitchen down yet.

SO tonight I decided to try it out. I bought a pork tenderloin at the store (my favorite is the Hormel Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin, which looks disgusting but IT IS SO GOOD!), grabbed some canned corn and then moved onto making the okra.

This obviously is not going to be as tasty as good ol' southern fried okra...or maybe it is, and I'm just biased... but It's a good healthier version of my favorite side dish. I figured I'd share it with you so that if you love Southern food like me, you can at least be a little healthier about it (and safer too!)

Baked Okra

1 bag of frozen cut okra (I used half of the bag)

Italian style bread crumbs

paprika

2 egg whites

salt & pepper

• In a bowl, toss together bread crumbs, a few healthy shakes of paprika, and salt & pepper.

• In a separate bowl, toss a handful of your cut okra in the egg whites until they are nicely coated.

• Take each piece of okra and cover with your bread crumb mixture. I usually push each side into the bread crumbs so they stick to the egg whites.

• Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the okra on the baking sheet and make sure they aren’t touching one another.

• Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes, turning your okra halfway.

• Crunch & enjoy!

*recipe via The Spotted Fox*

xo Laura