Zucchini Parmesan Crisps

This is a great way to serve up zucchini and a nice change of pace from the usual roasting that I tend to do. I prepared this for my Chef Spotlight Dinner where we featured recipes of health concious chefs, including Ellie Krieger.

Zucchini Parmesan Crisps
recipe from Ellie Krieger

Cooking spray
2 medium zucchini (about 1 pound total)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (3/4-ounce)
1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1/8 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Slice the zucchini into 1/4-inch thick rounds. In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini with the oil. In a small bowl, combine the Parmesan, bread crumbs, salt, and a few turns of pepper. Dip each round into the Parmesan mixture, coating it evenly on both sides, pressing the coating on to stick, and place in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake the zucchini rounds until browned and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove with spatula. Serve immediately.

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Chicken Veggie Alfredo Lasagna

Quite a few fellow bloggers have been making lasagnas recently and having a hodge podge of random ingredients on hand, I figured I'd jump the bandwagon and use up the miscellaneous amounts of items in my fridge. I didn't have any tomato/pasta sauce on hand (which is a reminder for me to make a big batch soon!) so I searched online for a quick alfredo sauce to use up the cream I had. I came across This Recipe from AllRecipes.com to use as a guide and made my adaptations outlined below (and this is not a figure friendly dish as written!):

Quick & Easy Alfredo Sauce
adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 stick butter
10 oz cream cheese (1 brick + 2 oz cream cheese)
1 tablespoon garlic salt (I used The Spice house brand)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1-2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
1-2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil

In a saucepan, melt butter.
Add cream cheese and whisk to melt until smooth.
Add garlic salt and stir in heavy cream.
Allow to boil for 1-2 minutes until heated through.
Stir in fresh herbs and toss with pasta.... or use in a lasagna as I did below:

Chicken Veggie Alfredo Lasagna
original Joelen recipe
(to use up random ingredients on hand)

1 cooked chicken breast, sliced
1 small yellow squash, halved lengthwise and sliced into half moons
1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced into half moons
1 cup sliced white button mushrooms
1 cup shredded colby jack cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
9 lasagna pasta sheets (dry)

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a baking dish, spread 1-2 tablespoons of prepared alfredo sauce.
- Place a layer of 3 dry lasagna pasta sheets.
- Top with half of the chicken, squash, zucchini and mushrooms.
- Sprinkle with half of the cheeses.
- Place another layer of 3 dry lasagna pasta sheets.
- Spread enough prepared alfredo sauce over pasta sheets to cover.
- Top with remaining chicken, squash, zucchini and mushrooms.
- Sprinkle with half of the remaining cheeses.
- Place top layer of 3 dry lasagna pasta sheets.
- Spread enough prepared alfredo sauce over pasta sheets to cover.
- Sprinkle with remaining cheeses.
- Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes until pasta is cooked and cheese is golden brown & bubbly.

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Stuffing It... In a Healthy Way!

Today was a dreary, cold, wet and cloudy day... a typical fall night in Chicago. It definitely called for a warm and comforting dinner, but I wanted it to also be healthy. (Often times, warm and comforting means starch heavy and sauce laden meals in our house!)

It's been a few nights since we had some seafood so I baked some flounder fillets, seasoned with rosemary, garlic and lemon slices. To go along with our flounder, I roasted some asparagus spears and served up these stuffed tomatoes:

Couscous Stuffed Tomatoes

courtesy of Weight Watchers Best Eats Cookbook

1/2 cup water
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup whole wheat couscous
6 (7 oz) beefsteak tomatoes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small zucchini, diced
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 small red bell pepper, diced (I omitted)
1 teaspoon dried basil (I used fresh)
1 (15.5 oz) can great northern beans, rinsed & drained
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1/3 cup crumbled fat free feta (I used regular feta)

Bring the water, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the couscous, cover, and remove from the heat. Let stand 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

Meanwhile, cut a thin slice from the top of each tomato and reserve (I accidentally threw it out when I prepared it!). With a spoon, carefully scoop out the seeds and pulp, leaving a tomato shell. Reserve the pulp for a soup or sauce.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the succhini, onion, bell pepper, and basil; cook, stirring frequently, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add the beans and tomato sauce; cook until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the couscous, cheese, and remaining salt & pepper. Spooon about 3/4 cup of the filling into each tomato shell and cover with the reserved tomato tops.

* I baked these stuffed tomatoes in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes to roast them as well. This can be made in advance and frozen too!

Serves 6
Serving size: 1 stuffed tomato
WW Points value: 3 Points

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WW: Eggplant Rollatini with Tomato Basil Sauce

For dinner tonight, I had a special guest over... my 6 year old nephew. To keep things healthy yet kid friendly, I made something similar to a lasagna (a favorite of my nephew's) - Eggplant Rollatini. Little did he know that it was completely vegetarian! I served this with a baked bone-in chicken breast, seasoned with italian seasoning. Thankfully it was a hit and he enjoyed it... so did the rest of the family.

*Tip: You could make this in advance and is freezeable too, just like a traditional lasagna!

Eggplant Rollatini with Tomato Basil Sauce
courtesy of Weight Watchers Best Eats cookbook

1 medium eggplant, unpeeled, cut lengthwise into 8 (1/4 inch slices)
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cup canned crushed tomatoes
4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 small zucchini, diced
1/4 cup minced onion
1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 large egg
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450F degrees. Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Arrange the eggplant on the baking sheet in one layer and spray lightly with nonstick spray. Bake until browned, about 10 minutes on each side. Reduce the oven temperature to 400F degrees.

To make the sauce, heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium hat. Add 2 cloves of the garlic and cook, stirring occassionall, until fragrant. about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of the basil; bring to a simmer. Cook until thickened, 10 minutes.

To make the filling, spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and place over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, onion, and remaining 1 garlic clove; cook until the vegetables are softened, 5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl; allow to cool slightly. Stire in the ricotta, parsley, egg, remaining tablespoons basil, 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan, the salt and pepper.

To assemble the rollatini, spray a 1 1/2 quart baking dish with nonstick spray. Spread 3 tablespoons of sauce in the dish. Place 2 tablespoons of the filling at one end of each eggplant slice. Beginning at the filled end, roll up the eggplant slices and place, seam side down, ina single layer in the baking dish. Spoon the remaining sauce over the rollatinil sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon Parmesan. Bake until heated through completely, about 25 minutes.

Serves 4
Serving size: 2 rollatini
WW Points value: 3 Points

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Roasted Vegetables w/Balsamic Vinaigrette

The follow recipe was shared at my Balsamic Vinegar Tasting Event. You can read and view links to other recipes that were featured HERE.

Roasted Vegetables w/Balsamic Vinaigrette
shared at the event by Patty
original recipe

1 bunch asparagus, coarsely chopped
1-2 whole tomatoes, quartered
1 zucchini chunked
1 cup red seedless grapes
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350.
On a lightly greased baking sheet, place all vegetables (not grapes) on single layer.
Prepare vinaigrette by combining balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt & pepper. Drizzle vegetables with vinaigrette.
Bake vegetables for 15-20 minutes until slightly al dente (or preferred softness).
Add grapes and toss.

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A little bit of everything!

Nothing like lounging by the pool and watching your kids and dog swim for a whole day!!

Yesterday was just a really nice day. Usually we have a huge Memorial Day BBQ but this year we decided that T. needed a break. I don't think that I have mentioned this but a couple of weeks ago T. was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr Virus which is just horrible. It actually stays with you for up to 1 1/2 years. He doesn't always feel bad but when he does all he wants to do is sleep and I just couldn't risk him getting too run down by having a big party here! We made the most of it anyway and it was really nice just hanging out with the family. We are all usually running in so many directions that we very rarely take the time we need together just hanging out.

T. made margaritas using fresh key lime, lemon and orange juice

See how nicely he crushed to ice...do you think maybe he's done this before?

Our theme this weekend was zucchini and how many we could use up before I had to start freezing them. One thing about zucchini is a little goes a long way. I barely made a dent in the box and I made Zucchini Double Chocolate Cake and Grilled Zucchini Gratin. Needless to say I have started freezing them already.

See the chunks of zucchini? This was a very light and moist cake. Even if I didn't have a case of zucchini I would love to make this again!

Zucchini Double Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 medium zucchini, shredded (about 2 cups)
1 cup Ghirardelli semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

• Grease and flour a 13 X 9 baking pan.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add the oil, milk, butter and vanilla. Beat on low speed until combined.
  
• Add the eggs and zucchini and beat on medium high speed for 2 minutes
• Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes and cake tester comes out clean.
• Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack. When cool sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with fresh whipped cream.

Sticking closely with the theme...

Grilled Zucchini Gratin

I didn't follow a recipe for this but here goes...I sliced enough zucchini, lengthwise, to fill a 13 X 9 casserole dish with 2 layers. Approximately 6. I seasoned them and had T. grill them. I assembled them in the pan with one layer of zucchini which I sprinkled with seasoned bread crumbs. I topped that layer with some sliced tomatoes. I sprinkled all of this with goat cheese and topped it with mozzarella. For the final layer I covered all that with some more zucchini and mozzarella cheese and cooked for about 40 minutes or until hot and bubbling.

Save these recipes just in case you somehow end up with a case of zucchini or those plants that you plant now are huge producers!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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