Zucchini Lasagna

What do you do with a gigantic zucchini that you receive from friends (thanks, Ferraris!)?  You make a lasagna, of course.

I've seen this a number of times on Pinterest, and it sounded good, so I thought I'd give it a try.  It's more of an idea than a recipe.  You just take thin slices of zucchini (or eggplant) and layer them, in place of noodles, with typical lasagna ingredients like sauce, cheese, ground beef/sausage, etc.  It was absolutely delicious, and I didn't miss the noodles at all.

One note: zucchinis release a lot of liquid when cooked, so try to keep your sauce on the thicker/drier side, otherwise it will come out a little soupy.  Still tasty, though, but you might need a spoon instead of a fork.

Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients:

• zucchinis, cut thinly into 1/8" slices
• typical lasagna ingredients, minus the noodles

Directions:

• Layer ingredients into a baking dish like you would a typical lasagna, using the sliced zucchini in place of noodles.  Bake as usual. (I did mine at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, and the zucchini was perfectly "al dente".)

Steak Chili

A slightly fancier version of my Chilly Night Chili.  Perfect for rewarding your hubby on those days when he vacuums the floors without you asking.  :-)

Steak Chili

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs. roast or steak, trimmed of all visible fat and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 (15 oz.) cans of beans, drained (pinto, kidney, black, etc.)
• 2 cans (14.5 oz.) petite diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• a few generous dashes of Worcestershire sauce
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

• Place all the ingredients into a crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours, stirring occasionally.  Add more s&p at the end if necessary.

Baked Shrimp and Rice

I made this last week but forgot to take pictures.  It's based on this other recipe that bakes shrimp atop a bed of chickpeas.  I had some leftover rice and thought it might be good that way.  Thankfully it was yummy and hubby asked for it again, so here you go, second time in a week.  So quick and easy.

Note: make sure you cover the surface of the rice with the shrimp as much as possible to preserve moisture and keep the rice tender.  If you have large areas of uncovered rice, the tops will dry out and get hard and crunchy from baking.

Baked Shrimp and Rice


Ingredients:

• 1 lb. jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 3 tablespoons Smart Balance, divided
• 2-ish cups cooked brown rice

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a bowl, combine together the shrimp, olive oil, TSSS and TSGG, and lemon juice.  Set aside.
• Grease the bottom of a 9x9 (or equivalent) baking dish with half the Smart Balance.  Spread the rice loosely in the bottom of the dish and dot the top with the rest of the Smart Balance.  Sprinkle lightly with TSSS.
• Arrange the shrimp on top of the rice.  Again, make sure the rice is well covered by the shrimp or it will dry out from baking.  
• Bake for 15 minutes, until the shrimp is opaque and cooked through.

This goes great with a crisp green salad.

Vegetable Soup

I was drawn to the Farmer's Market and bought way too many veggies this weekend and don't have room to store them in the fridge. How fitting for Meatless Monday.

Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• salt & pepper
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 4 cups water 
• 1 cup dry whole wheat elbow pasta
• 1 large zucchini, chopped
• 1 large yellow squash, chopped
• 1 can red kidney beans, drained
• 1 can great northern beans, drained

Directions:

• In a large dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the onion and garlic for a few minutes until they soften.
•  Add the carrots, celery, diced tomatoes, thyme, salt & pepper (to taste), vegetable stock and water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, covered for 15 minutes until carrots begin to soften.
• Add the pasta, zucchini, yellow squash, and beans.  Bring to a boil again and reduce to simmer; continue cooking, covered, for another 15 minutes until the pasta is done.  Add more s&p as needed.

Simple Tomato Beef Stew

This recipe is for Todd's friend, Brett.  A long time ago (5+ years?) we had Brett and some friends over for lunch.  I'd made a beef stew, and Brett asked for the recipe.  At that time I was winging it (I still wing it most of the time nowadays) and didn't keep a recipe book.  So I honestly don't remember exactly how I made it.  I decided to make a beef stew for dinner tonight and thought I might try to make something similar and document it for Brett.

Since I'm trying to keep this South Beach Diet friendly, I did not add any potatoes.  (I don't think I'd added potatoes back then either.)

Simple Tomato Beef Stew


Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds rump round or chuck, trimmed of fat and cubed into 1" pieces
• salt and pepper
• 1/4-ish cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3 carrots, cut into large pieces
• 3 celery ribs, cut into large pieces
• 2 (15 oz.) cans diced tomatoes

Directions:

• Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Generously season the cubed meat with salt and pepper, add to the heated oil and brown on all sides.
• Add the rest of the ingredients in the order listed above and bring to a boil.  Reduce to medium-low heat to simmer.  Cook, covered, for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender.  Add more salt and pepper as needed.
• Serve with crusty bread.

If you like a thicker stew, you can mix a tablespoon of whole wheat flour with a little bit of water until it forms a loose paste, then add it to the pot about 10 minutes before the end of cooking time.