Holy Yogurt Batman

I'm a big fan of Greek yogurt. It's creamy and lacks the sometimes tart flavor found in a typical plain yogurt. I used to eat it for breakfast only-- the way you would any yogurt: with honey stirred in or sliced berries and grapenuts sprinkled on top. Then I started stirring it into eggs which made them super fluffy and light. And I had an "ah-ha" moment. Yogurt is just as good in savory foods as sweet.

I love sour cream in mashed potatoes, but obviously high in fat and cholesterol, it's not ideal for an every occasion potato. So I started substituting 2% greek yogurt (or 0%, but you lose some of the texture) instead of sour cream, butter and cream or milk. You still get the creaminess without the high fat content. I tried the same with salsa-- mixing yogurt with my favorite spicy salsa for a dip and it was delicious. I've also added it to make a creamy tomato sauce (last night's experiment was sauteed onions, peppers, cremini mushrooms and garlic with plain jarred spaghetti sauce and two spoonfuls of yogurt stirred in), which makes the sauce rich and thick (and gives you the creamy goodness without any of the guilt-- and for the record, I hate creamy, cheesy sauces, so the fact that I liked this is a big deal in itself). I also added it to mashed beans which helped give it more of a creamy mashed potato consistency-- and MRN ate it without a second glance, thinking it WAS potatoes! Whoop-whoop.

A super versatile ingredient that can be used for sweet or savory? It's not just for breakfast anymore!