Another way to use some zucchini up. Or in my case, last night I was trying to use up eggplant from my garden. Absolutely DELICIOUS! My BF also raved about it too. Admittedly he's not picky but will compliment a meal with more or less enthusiasm, revealing his true feelings, and he loved this. If you're really looking to reduce calories I think the oil could be reduced to 3-4 Tbsp instead of 5, but when you dress the salad it's not at all oily and the flavor was so good as written that I don't know if it wouldn't be so good.

Grilled Vegetable Salad with Feta and Mint
by Ellie Krieger, from Food Network

Prep time: 30 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Yield: 4 servings, serving size: 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

* 1 red bell pepper cored and cut into 4 pieces
* 1 eggplant (about 1 pound), cut across into 1/4-inch rounds
* 1 medium onion, cut into 1/4-inch slices
* 2 medium zucchini (about 8 ounces each), cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices
* Olive oil cooking spray
* 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
* 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions

Arrange the vegetables in a single layer on a tray or work surface. Lightly spray both sides with olive oil cooking spray. Preheat a grill or grill pan over a medium-high heat. Grill the vegetables in batches until both sides are nicely charred and the vegetables are just tender, about 10 minutes for the pepper, about 8 minutes for the eggplant and onion, and about 6 minutes for the zucchini. When the vegetables are cool enough to handle, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and transfer to a large bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar and oregano. Pour over the vegetables and toss. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Gently stir in the tomatoes and mint. Divide the salad between 4 plates and sprinkle with the feta.

Per Serving:

Calories 275; Total Fat 22 g; (Sat Fat 5 g, Mono Fat 13 g, Poly Fat 2 g) ; Protein 6 g; Carb 18 g; Fiber 7.5 g; Cholesterol 17 mg; Sodium 230 mg

Excellent source of: Fiber, Vitamin A, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Folate, Manganese, Potassium

Good source of: Protein, Thiamin, Vitamin K, Calcium, Copper, Magnesium, Phosphorus

This isn't much of a recipe, but it's a staple for me.

Lemon Pepper Salmon

Ingredients:
salmon
low sodium soy sauce
no salt lemon pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Cover a baking sheet with tin foil. (If your salmon has no skin or you want to eat the skin, spray the foil with cooking spray. If you don't want the skin, don't spray.) Place salmon skin side down on the tray. Sprinkle with a few drops of soy sauce (about 2 tsp or so) and rub it in. Sprinkle the entire piece of salmon with lemon pepper. Bake until fish flakes easily. Serve over rice.

YUM.

Megan, this sounds SO good. I will definitely be trying it. Maybe over the weekend.

I have found there to be ZERO difference in taste when I lower the oil content on dressings. ZERO. If I need more dressing for coverage, I just add water - it stretches it out just fine. So far on each and every salad I've done this with, I've never encountered a problem.

Okay, getting back to that salad, I'm drooling thinking about it. :drool::drool::drool:

I made the grilled vegetable salad again two nights ago (did I mention I love it?) using 3 tbsp. olive oil and 2 tbsp. water instead of the original 5 tbsp. It saved me 60 calories a serving! It did taste slightly different to me (still good), but I may have used more veggies, so I may try it with 4 tbsp. oil and not try to cram in more veggies the next time.

Let me know how you like it Robin!

Made this one last week and the steak is excellent. It's also good as a steak salad -- take some lettuce, then put the steak on it, and use the relish as "dressing".

Adobo Flank Steak with Summer Corn-and-Tomato Relish

From Cooking Light.

Yield

5 servings (serving size: 3 ounces steak and 1/2 cup relish)
Ingredients

* Steak:
* 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
* 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
* 2 whole cloves
* 1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
* 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
* 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
* 2 teaspoons brown sugar
* 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 garlic clove, peeled
* 1 (1 1/4-pound) flank steak, trimmed
* Cooking spray
*

Relish:
* 2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 4 ears)
* 1 cup chopped seeded tomato
* 1/4 cup chopped bottled roasted red bell peppers
* 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
* 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* Fresh thyme leaves (optional)

Preparation

To prepare steak, cook the first 3 ingredients in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat for 45 seconds or until toasted. Place the peppercorn mixture in a spice or coffee grinder; process until finely ground.

Remove 1 chile from can; reserve remaining chiles and sauce for another use. Place peppercorn mixture, chile, 2 tablespoons vinegar, and the next 4 ingredients (vinegar through garlic) in a blender; process until smooth, scraping sides occasionally. Combine vinegar mixture and steak in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal and marinate in refrigerator 24 hours. Remove from bag; discard marinade.

Prepare grill or broiler.

Place steak on grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray; cook 6 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Cut steak diagonally across the grain into thin slices.

To prepare the relish, heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add corn; saute 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from heat; stir in tomato and remaining ingredients except thyme leaves. Garnish with thyme, if desired.
Nutritional Information

Calories:
303 (44% from fat)
Fat:
14.9g (sat 5.2g,mono 6.7g,poly 1.3g)
Protein:
25.2g
Carbohydrate:
16.5g
Fiber:
2.7g
Cholesterol:
57mg
Iron:
3.2mg
Sodium:
634mg
Calcium:
20mg

I mentioned in the thread this week that I just made Layered Mexican Chicken, and Iris asked me to post the recipe so I thought I'd stick it up here. It's actually a Weight Watchers recipe. It makes quite a few servings. I will eat one piece and sometimes my BF will eat 1 1/2-2 pieces, or I will freeze half individually in plastic wrap and just defrost in the microwave when I need a quick dinner. Just add a veggie on the side (or lots and lots of salsa, lol).

Layered Mexican Chicken

POINTS® Value: 6
Servings: 12
Preparation Time: 20 min
Cooking Time: 45 min
Level of Difficulty: Moderate

This Mexican lasagna will last up to five days in the refrigerator. It's a terrific make-ahead meal from our Cook Once, Eat All Week Series.

Ingredients
1 spray(s) olive oil cooking spray
2 pound(s) uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
30 oz canned black beans, rinsed and drained
3 cup(s) fat-free sour cream
2 cup(s) shredded reduced-fat Mexican-style cheese, divided
8 oz chopped green chilies, two 4-oz cans
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
12 medium corn tortilla(s), cut into 2-inch strips
1 cup(s) salsa, mild, medium or hot
Instructions

* Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a lasagna pan with cooking spray.

* Place chicken in medium saucepan and fill with enough cold water just to cover chicken. Set pan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10 to 15 minutes; drain. When chicken is cool enough to handle, cut into 1-inch pieces.

* Transfer chicken to a large bowl and add beans, sour cream, 1 cup of shredded cheese, chilies, cumin, and pepper; mix well and set aside.

* Arrange half of tortillas in bottom of prepared lasagna pan, overlapping pieces to cover surface. Top tortillas with half of chicken mixture, layer with remaining tortillas and then top with remaining chicken mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese.

* Bake until filling is bubbly and cheese is melted, about 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing into 12 pieces. Serve with salsa on the side.

Here's a link to it on the WW website.

Editing to add the nutrition information, which I realized I had totally forgotten about posting as I served myself some leftovers for dinner last night. If the recipe makes 12 pieces, per piece:
Cal: 300
Fat: 5.7 g
Sat. fat: 3 g
Sodium: 600 mg
Potassium: 500 mg
Carbs: 27.5 g
Fiber: 4.7 g
Protein: 31 g
Vitamin A: 16% DV
Vit C: 10%
Calcium: 40%
Iron: 15%

Squash Season!
 

It's squash season and this weekend at the grocery I bought a nice big buttercup squash, which is my favorite variety. It's shaped kind of like a squat green pumpkin with a turban on top, and the flesh is orange and a bit sweeter than acorn squash.

So I had this squash, what did I do with it? Invented my own recipes of course! My plan was to cut it in half and fill one half with dinner and one half with dessert, but I overcooked it and ended up layering the squash on the bottom of a casserole dish and the fillings on top. Tasted just as good, though maybe not as pretty! Anyway, here are the two recipes I invented.

Before starting, you need to cook the squash. I preheated the oven to 400, cut the squash in half and removed the seeds, then placed the squash halves cut side down in a jellyroll pan with about 1/4 inch of water in the bottom and baked. If you bake just until tender, you can still stuff them. I baked mine for 40 minutes and all the flesh just fell out of the skin, so I layered the flesh in a casserole dish. I had a total of 1060g of cooked squash, so I used half for each recipe. That's what my nutritional info is based on, if your squash is a different size it would be different.

Buttercup Squash with Multigrain "Stuffing"

1/2 buttercup squash, cooked
1/2 C royal blend rice (from RiceSelect, it's a brown and jasmine rice mix)
1/4 C quinoa
1/4 C bulgur wheat
1/3 C instant wild rice
1 boullion cube/packed of broth flavoring
2 carrots, diced
2 small apples, chopped
1/4 C dried cherries
1/4 C reduced fat feta cheese
couple shakes of greek seasoning

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Spray a 9" square baking dish with cooking spray. Place the cooked squash in the dish (whether it's just the flesh or the whole squash if you're filling it) and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the royal blend rice, quinoa, and bulgur (these all take about 15 minutes to cook). Add 1 1/2 C water (or the equivalent amount of required water for whatever grains you are using) and the boullion cube/seasoning packet. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until water is absorbed.

Meanwhile (or afterwards), prepare wild rice according to package directions. Mine was to combine with 1/3 C water, bring to a boil, simmer 5 minutes uncovered, then cover and remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.

Combine the grain mixture, wild rice, carrots, apples, cherries, and greek seasoning. Spread over the squash or fill the squash with it. Sprinkle feta cheese over the top.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. I did 10 minutes uncovered, and 10 minutes covered with foil. It would probably be better to do the whole thing covered.

Nutritional Info: 353g is 308 calories, 2.3g fat, 66.8g carb (12.5 fiber), and 8.9g protein. That's about 2 1/2C, but I weighed instead of measuring.

Buttercup Squash with Apples and Cinnamon

1/2 buttercup squash, cooked
2 small apples, sliced
1 1/2 C unsweetened apple sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 C dried cherries
cinnamon to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9 inch square baking dish with cooking spray and place squash in the dish (whether it's just the flesh, or the whole squash to be filled).

Sprinkle the squash with 2 tsp brown sugar.

Combine the apples, apple sauce, cherries, cinnamon, and 1 Tbsp brown sugar in a bowl. Spread over the squash or fill the squash with it.

Sprinkle the remaining 1 tsp brown sugar over the top.

Cover and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until bubbly and the apples are tender.

Nutritional Info: 194g is 129 calories, 0.2g fat, 33.2g carb (7.2 fiber), and 1.4g protein. 194g is about 1 C, but I weighed instead of measuring.

Can I just say that I love this thread? It is such a lifesaver. I bought a cabbage last weekend and haven't cooked it yet because I couldn't for the life of me figure out what to do with it. Searching my usual spots for cabbage (like Cooking Light) left me with about 300 recipes, too many to sort through. Then I come here and out come multiple delicious-sounding cabbage recipes. Thanks, ladies!

While we're at it, here's a delicious way to make cauliflower (not sure if it's been posted here already):
- Preheat oven to 450
- Chop cauliflower into small pieces
- Spray a cooking pan with cooking spray
- Put cauliflower into pan
- Spray cauliflower with cooking spray
- Sprinkle with sea salt and fresh-ground pepper
- Roast in oven until it turns brown on the edges, stirring a couple times.

YUM. The only downside is when I do that recipe DH and I eat an entire head of cauliflower, which can cause a bit of gas and bloating. :o

this is a recipe I found at 3fc and it needs to be posted where anyone can find it easily. very delicious :)

Spicy and Sweet Eggplant

1 small to medium eggplant

Marinade:
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs. honey
1/2 tsp. chili powder
pinch of salt if desired if you have not salted the eggplant
1 clove garlic, crushed and minced

For serving; fresh chopped herbs (basil is nice), feta or chevre (optional)

1. Heat up your grill, and brush with oil if necessary.

2. Peel the eggplant, and slice it into rounds or the long way into ovals, about 1/3 inch thick. (If your eggplant is very fresh, no need to salt and drain. If you wish, lightly salt the slices, then use paper towels to wipe off the salt and any liquid after 20 minutes or so)

3. Mix the marinade in a small bowl. Brush the marinade on both sides of the eggplant slices. Let rest 15 minutes or so.

4. Grill the eggplant on both sides, until lightly charred and soft. Remove the slices from the grill, arrange on a plate and brush the remaining marinade on the slices.

5. Serve topped with feta or chevre, and some fresh choped herbs

I made it with 2 eggplants and 1 huge zucchini, doubled the marinade.-- really great!

Extra slow day at work today. So, I give you my cabbage recipe, created last night (influenced by several recipes in my cookbooks):

Sweet and Sour Cabbage Soup
Makes about 10-12 servings.

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 green cabbage, cored and shredded
1/2 onion, chopped
4 carrots, sliced (into circles)
1 parsley root, diced (since I happened to have it sitting in my fridge)
2 ribs of celery, diced
about 1C Morningstar Farms meal starters crumbles
4 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes with their juice
8C beef broth OR 8C water + bouillon cubes (I used 2 veggie and 2 beef bouillon)
3 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
pepper to taste
pinch paprika
pinch caraway seeds


Heat olive oil in a big soup pan. Saute veggies until onions are tender. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until all veggies are cooked through. Add remaining ingredients and cook an additional 5-10 minutes, then taste and adjust as necessary.

Nutritional information for one large bowl of soup (491 grams, about 2 1/2 C):
126 calories
3.6g fat
19.8g carb/5.6g fiber
6.3g protein
and massive amounts of vitamins A and C

I just made this for dinner tonight. It was fantastic!!

ORANGE MANDARIN CHICKEN


from cookinglight.com

2 teaspoons dark sesame oil (I used 1, 2 would have been too strong for my taste
4 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (11-ounce) can mandarin oranges in light syrup, undrained
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon finely chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic (I used 2 fresh garlic cloves, crushed)
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned.

While chicken cooks, drain oranges in a colander over a bowl, reserving 2 tablespoons liquid. Add oranges, 2 tablespoons liquid, onions, jalapeño, and garlic to pan. Reduce heat; simmer 2 minutes. Combine broth, soy sauce, and cornstarch; add to pan. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until slightly thickened.


Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half and 6 tablespoons sauce)

CALORIES 212 (16% from fat); FAT 3.8g (sat 0.7g,mono 1.3g,poly 1.3g); IRON 1.9mg; CHOLESTEROL 66mg; CALCIUM 27mg; CARBOHYDRATE 15.2g; SODIUM 562mg; PROTEIN 27.2g; FIBER 0.7g

This recipe for cabbage is good and simple, quick.

1/2 head of green cabbage
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup bacoes
2 TABs. light whipped butter
1 tsp. minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste. I also throw some red peppr flakes in here

preheat oven to 400. remove core from cabbage and slice into 4 pieces

cover baking sheet with heavy foil, lay cabbage in center and top with onion. Add butter in center and sprinkle with salt and pepper. top with bacon and garlic. top with another piece of foil and seal edges. bake for 30-40 min.

4 servings
88 calories each

Ragu
Makes at least 6-8 servings.

1 T olive oil (or a little oil from the sundried tomatoes, or both)
1 c onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms
1 c boiling water
4 sundried tomato halves (packed in oil or oil and balsamic vinegar)
2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, finely chopped (I chop them even though they come prechopped--I like the smaller chunks)
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme
fresh basil

Reconstitute mushrooms in boiling water. Allow to sit for 20-30 minutes. Drain, but keep the liquid.

While mushrooms reconstitute you can chop all the other stuff.

Chop mushrooms finely.

In a saucepan, combine oil, onions and garlic. Saute over medium heat until transluscent, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and sundried tomatoes. Saute for another minute. Using a coffee filter, filter the mushroom water into the pan, using at least 3/4 of a cup of the water (you have to filter it to get rid of any sediment). Bring to a simmer and simmer about 10 minutes. Add both cans of tomatoes. Return to a simmer and allow to simmer until desired consistency. Add seasonings and cook a few minutes longer.

Can be made one day ahead. Return to a simmer and serve over pasta. I used this for my gnocchi and it was superb!

I apologize I have no calorie count for this--I can't find the site where you plug in the ingredients to get the count.

I just read another recipe for a sweet potato bake and thought of this one I got from my sister. I thought I'd posted it but don't see it, so forgive me if I'm wrong and it's a repeat! I bring it to every Thanksgiving meal I'm invited to so that I can take the leftovers home! If I'm making it for me, I omit or reduce the butter and reduce the brown sugar. Sprinkling chopped pecans or walnuts throughout would also be tasty.

Sweet Potato Apple Bake

4 microwaved sweet potatoes
1 cup sliced tart apples (Granny Smith work well)
1/4 cup tightly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Original recipe calls for 1 teaspoon salt - I tried this once and it was gross, but add some if you want.

Peel and slice potatoes. Place layer in greased baking dish,
cover with 1/2 the other ingredients, continue layers and finish with
potato slices and few dots butter or margarine.
Bake, covered, in 375 F oven 30 minutes; uncover, and continue cooking
until apples are perfectly tender and top potatoes nicely browned.
Serves 4.
Note: with apples that have little juice it may be advisable to add 2
tablespoons water before baking.

ETA: I made this last night and skipped the butter entirely, and it was still delicious. I'm not used to putting butter on veggies anyway, so I didn't "miss" anything. I also left the peel on the potatoes, b/c I was making it just for me and I always eat the peel. I thought it was delicious, but the texture was more like apple slices and potato slices baked together than a casserole feel - the pot & apple were still very separate entities. Peeling & slicing very thinly so you can layer a lot give it more of the casserole feel I bet a lot of "normal" people would prefer. Yum!

OK, I have to share a couple easy and quick recipes I found recently. I'll start with an easy, but not quick one, which is a recipe for Scalloped Potatoes from the American Heart Association. Scalloped potatoes are usually made with cream and lots of cheese, but this is a low-cal recipe that tastes just as good!

Scalloped Potatoes
From the American Heart Association Low Salt Cookbook

Makes 8 servings, serving size is 1/2 cup.

Ingredients:
Vegetable oil spray
1 cup fat-free milk
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons shredded or grated Parmesan cheese
4 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup low-fat shredded Cheddar cheese
1/8 teaspoon paprika

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish with vegetable oil spray.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the milk and flour. Whisk in the broth, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Cook over medium-high heat for 5 to 6 minutes, or until thickened, whisking occasionally.

Whisk in the Parmesan. Remove from the heat.

To assemble, put the potatoes in the casserole dish. Top with the onion. Gently stir in the sauce.

Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Gently stir in the Cheddar. Sprinkle with the paprika.

Bake, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and lightly browned.

105 Calories
1g Total fat
0.5g Sat fat
3mg cholesterol
96mg sodium
18g carb
2g fiber
3g sugar
6g protein
104mg calcium

Up next is a recipe from my favorite magazine ever, Cooking Light. This one is a puttanesca sauce for pasta and it is super fast!

Puttanesca Sauce
from Cooking Light

Makes 8 servings.

Ingredients:
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
3 canned anchovy fillets, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/3 c vodka
1/2 c chopped kalamata olives
28 oz can crushed tomatoes, undrained
14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 c shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add anchovies to pan; cook 1 minute. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds. Add vodka; cook 1 minute. Add olives, crushed tomatoes, and diced tomatoes; bring toa boil. Reduce heat and stir in Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Serve with pasta.

Calories: 104
Total Fat: 2.6g
Sat Fat: 0.8g
Cholesterol: 4mg
Sodium: 517mg
Carb: 11.3g
Fiber: 4.2g
Sugars: 7.0g
Protein: 4.7g