Grilled Potato "Skins"

For the Labor Day holiday, we had our friends over for a BBQ and decided we wanted to do something a little different than our normal BBQ fare of hamburgers, corn on the cob and potato salad. So, we marinated a tri-tip (recipe to come!) and made these Grilled Potato "Skins" which were so fun, and very yummy! I mean, everything tastes better with bacon, right?!

Grilled Potato "Skins"

4 Russet Potatoes, baked and skinned
8 slices of bacon
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt
pepper
olive oil
sour cream (opt.)

Cut the baked potatoes in half and cut the ends off so that your potato will sit flat on either side. Scoop out a half inch center section on the larger of the flat sides. Wrap 1 slice of bacon around each half of potato and secure with toothpicks (soaked in water for 10 min. first). Lightly brush olive oil on top and bottom of potato and season with salt and pepper. Place potatoes, flat side down, on the grill. When bacon is cooked, add cheddar cheese into open hole in the top of the potato and cover with a foil tent. Continue cooking until the cheese is melted.

To serve, place a small dollop of sour cream on plate and place the potato half on top. Enjoy!

Chickpea & Tuna Salad

I've made a goal for myself to pack a lunch at least 4 days during the work week, so this morning I had to throw something together because we had no left overs and I really didn't to eat a frozen meal today. So, here's what I came up with:

Chickpea & Tuna Salad

5 oz. can of tuna in water, drained
1 can of garbanzo beans
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
2 tbsp. tzatziki sauce
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp. Mrs. Dash (or Salt and Pepper to taste)

Mix all ingredients together. This makes about 2 servings. I plan on eating it in a wrap with spinach leaves.

Cheesy Eggs

Well, I was going to give you a post on Baked Dijon and Lime Chicken this morning, but well, I had a problem last night that didn't allow me to actually make the Baked Dijon and Lime Chicken...see, I forgot to put the chicken in the fridge when I took it out of the freezer yesterday and well, my cat attacked the bag and drug it out into the living room...needless to say, we ate out last night.

So, instead, I present you with an easy, but filling start to breakfast!

Cheesy Eggs

4 egg whites, beaten
1 wedge laughing cow light cheese (any flavor will do, but I used Garlic and Herb)
Cooking Spray

Spray pan with cooking spray, add beaten egg whites, crumble cheese wedge into little pieces and add to eggs. Stir eggs with plastic spatula, breaking up cheese pieces as much as possible. As the eggs cook, the cheese will melt into the eggs and make them nice and cheesy!

I serve alongside some toast and fruit, and it makes for a very low-fat, low-calorie, filling breakfast!

Creamy Lemon Pie

My roommate received a large bag of HUGE lemons right before she went on a mini vacation for the rest of the week, so her parting words to me were: "Feel free to make something with all of those lemons!".

So, i did! I felt like making a dessert, but needed it to be a little lighter in calories and fat, it has not been a great couple of weeks on the scale front...so, I whipped up a couple of these creamy lemon pies, one to eat and enjoy now, one for the freezer and to enjoy later!

Creamy Lemon Pie

11 oz. Fat-Free Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. lemon zest
6 low-fat cinnamon graham crackers
2 tbsp. butter

Preheat oven to 350 F. Crush graham crackers into fine crumbs, place into a small bowl. Melt butter and pour over graham cracker crumbs and mix with a fork until completely moistened. Press crumbs into a 9 inch pie pan and refrigerate while preparing filling.

In a medium bowl, combine condensed milk and eggs; mix until smooth. Add lemon juice and zest; stir until incorporated and pour into prepared crust. Bake pie for 15 minutes. Cool completely and for best flavor, serve chilled.

Stuffed Zucchini

When I went through my co-workers garden last week, she had a rather large zucchini that I grabbed up. I decided that the best thing to do with that much zucchini was to try out a stuffed zucchini recipe. Here's my first try at this recipe, I've decided that the only thing I might do differently next time is to add some chopped tomatoes. This turned out rather well, and in fact, my roommate said it's her second favorite meal!

Stuffed Zucchini

6-7 fresh zucchini (I used 1 really large one)
1/2 lb. Italian Sausage
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese

Crumble Italian sausage and cook over medium heat. Remove from pan and set aside. Slice zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out insides leaving about 1/4-in shell. Finely chop zucchini pulp; set aside. Saute onion in oil in large heavy skillet. Add mushrooms, garlic and reserved chopped zucchini; cook over medium heat until most of moisture evaporates. Add sausage, cream cheese, egg, Parmesan, parsley, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Mix well; cook for about 5-10 minutes. Cool filling slightly and fill zucchini shells. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese. Place on baking sheet; bake for 30-40 minutes at 350°F until bubbly and golden brown on top. The time in the oven will depend on the size of your zucchini.

You could easily make this a vegetarian dish by omitting the Italian Sausage.

Summer Vegetable Pizza

I managed to make it to the Farmer's Market for the first time this year yesterday afternoon. My roommates are out of town this weekend and so I decided that while I had the chance to experiment on my own, I'd pick up some fresh veggies to play with. One of the items I picked up was some eggplant. Now, I've cooked with eggplant before, but I've been pretty limited in preparation of them so far...in that I've only made them as eggplant parmesan. So, here's my first attempt at an alternative dish for eggplant!

Summer Vegetable Pizza

1 whole wheat pizza dough
1 small zucchini
1 small eggplant
3 small tomatoes
1/2 lemon
1 green onion
handful of basil
4 oz. goat cheese
olive oil
salt and pepper

Slice all of your veggies into thin rounds. Roll out pizza dough and put onto pan or pizza stone. Mix room temperature goat cheese with juice from the lemon, salt and pepper. Spread onto pizza dough. Sprinkle with slivers of basil. Spread rounds of vegetables in concentric circles. drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with green onions, salt and pepper. Bake in pre-heated oven at 450 for 10-15 minutes.

This is another of those pizza's where you could substitute whatever vegetables you have on hand and it will be great! The goat cheese, lemon and basil almost make it a little sweet, so the summer vegetables worked great with that combination!

Summer Squash Pasta Salad

A friend of mine recommended this recipe to me, so, after pilaging someone else's garden today (since mine isn't producing much, or at least not much is ripe yet...) I decided I needed to try this one out. However, me being who I am, I couldn't help but mess with the basic recipe. I think it turned out well, it's a recipe that could be used as a side dish, a vegetarian dinner, or a meat dinner depending on your mood, it can also be served warm or cold...see how versatile it is?! I added cooked chicken and some cheese to make mine a complete meal in one bowl.

Summer Squash Pasta Salad

13-16 oz. Whole wheat pasta, cooked and drained
1 small zucchini, cubed
1 yellow squash, cubed
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tbsp. garlic, separated
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
handful of fresh basil , chopped
handful of fresh parsley, chopped
3 stems of cherry tomatoes, halved
salt and pepper
1/2 lb. cooked chicken, chopped (opt.)
3 tbsp. feta cheese (opt. - could also use parmessan)

While pasta is cooking, saute garlic in 2 tbsp. olive oil, 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar and salt and pepper until garlic is golden. Add cubed zucchini and squash and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add chopped herbs and continuing cooking for 2-3 minutes. Add halved tomatoes and cook until skins start to peel away.

Toss cooked pasta with with 1 tbsp. olive oil, sauteed vegetables and cooked chicken. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.