Chicken Enchilada stuffed Zucchini Boats

This is a great low carb recipe or even just for those of you who are trying to lose a few pounds.  It does require a bit of work, but if you want to make it easier you could buy a can of enchilada sauce and some pre-cooked chicken.

Filling:
2 chicken breasts, poached and shredded
1/2 c. onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. bell pepper, diced
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. chili powder
Mix well.

Enchilada Sauce:
1 1/2 c. tomato sauce
1 or 2 T. chipolte chile in adobo sauce
1/2 t. chili powder
1/2 t. cumn
2/3 c. chicken broth
Put all ingredients into a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, simmer for 5-10 minutes.

4 medium zucchini
3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Cut zucchini in 1/2 lengthwise.  Using a spoon, scoop out the zucchini pulp, leaving a 1/2" border.

Put the zucchini in a 13 x 9 baking dish.  Fill with the chicken filling.  Top with 2-3 T. sauce and then cheddar cheese.  Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Mediterranean Pork Chops

Tonight I decide to make a nice Greek stuffed pork chop for dinner.  I served it with a Greek spinach salad and some zucchini and patty pan squash.  I just tucked the squash into the pan with the chops and baked them together.  This made a nice fall dinner. 

2 thick sliced pork chops
2 t. oregano
4 T. feta cheese
1/2 c. spinach (I used frozen chopped)
1 shallot, sliced

Take a meat mallot and pound the chops until thin.  Sprinkle each chop with 1 t. oregano.  On one end of each chop place 1/2 of the shallot, and spinach.  Sprinkle the other half of the chop with half of the feta.  They should look like this:

Then roll the chop up, secure with a toothpick, and place in a baking pan.  Put into a 375 oven and bake for 45 minutes.  Here are mine before baking:

After this I just tucked my sliced squash around the chops, and sprinkled it all with a little olive oil:)

Full of Meat Lasagna

Now I have seen and tried many of those no pasta lasagnas that use zucchini or eggplant or squash instead of pasta noodles.  This recipe doesn't even do that.  It's just your good old meat sauce layered with the usual ricotta filling and baked.  And believe it or not, it is quite tasty.  For some reason it seemed to go together really quickly too.  Give it a try and save a few calories.

1# ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can tomato puree
1 t. oregano
1 t. basil
pinch red pepper
Cook ground beef with garlic until browned.  Drain if needed.  Add remaining ingredients and take off heat.  Spread half of this mixture onto the bottom of a 8 x 8 baking pan.  Cover with filling:
1/2 c. cottage cheese
2 t. egg beaters
3/4 c. mozzarella cheese
2 t. parmesan cheese
1/4 c. chopped parsley

After spreading the filling over the meat mixture, top with the remaining meat mixture.  Now sprinkle the top with:
1/4 c. mozzarella cheese
Put into the oven at 350 for 30 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Salmon Burgers with Blue Cheese Veggie Slaw

Here is a nice tasty recipe from Whole Foods Market.  If you haven't checked out their website, it is a great place to find both tasty and healthy recipes.

1 1/2# salmon fillet, skin removed
1/2 t. sea salt
1/4 t. ground pepper
1/2  small red onion, diced
1/4 c. bread crumbs
2 t. canola oil
2 c. thinly sliced red cabbage
1 carrot, shredded
1 zucchini, shredded
1/3 c. blue cheese dressing

Cut salmon fillet in large chunks and place in a food processor along with salt and pepper and half of the onion.  Pulse until salmon is finely chopped.  Transfer salmon mixture to a bowl and gently stir in bread crumbs. Form mixture into 4 patties.  Heat oil in skillet over medium heat and cook burgers, turning once, until just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side.

Meanwhile combine cabbage, carrot, zucchini and remaining onion and dressing in a medium bowl and toss to coat.  Top burgers with slaw and serve with remaining slaw on the side.

Shrimp Scampi with Zucchini Ribbons

Tonight I made a great recipe that is not only super healthy, but low carb too.  I know is that possible?  YES it is.  You could make this sauce with the shrimp and serve it over pasta if you want the carbs.  I do happen to have lots of zucchini in the garden and so this has been a great way to use some up.

3-4 small to medium zucchini, cut in ribbons by hand or on a mandoline
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. minced parsley
2 t. lemon juice
dash of pepper
4 wedges of Laughing Cow Garlic and Herb Cheese
1# shrimp
2 T. Parmesan cheese
1 T. butter
Melt the butter in a large saucepan.  Add in the garlic, parsley, lemon and pepper.  Add the Laughing Cow cheese and whisk until smooth.  Add zucchini and shrimp.  Continue cooking on medium heat until the shrimp is cooked and the zucchini ribbons are limp.  Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on each serving.

Serves 2

Salsa chicken

This is a recipe my daughter makes frequently..it is easy, so good and cooks in the crockpot,  And all the ingredients are probably in your refrigerator or cupboard...doesn't get much better than that.

4-6 whole chicken breasts
1 jar salsa (I am lucky to use my daughter's homemade)
1/2 onion, slices
1 pepper, sliced
cilantro--a good handful

Put all ingredients in the crockpot and cook on low all day.  You can serve this in tortilla shells with any toppings:  beans, sour cream, cheese, tomatoes, jalapenos, guacamole.  OR you can scoop it over some lettuce and have it as a salad.  I like to garnish with some lime slices.  Since we are still eating low carb that is what we did here:

Either way this is delicioso!

Carribbean Jerk Chicken

It is Labor Day and a beautiful sunny one to boot!  So let's fire up the BBQ and cook up some jerk chicken.  This marinade is also great on fish or lamb.

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
3 green onion, chopped
2 T. allspice
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. ground pepper
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 t. grated fresh ginger
2 bay leaves, crumbled
2 T. oil

Combine all ingredients except oil in a food processor, and chop until it forms a paste.  Add in the oil.
Puree until smooth.

Rub this mixture on:  4 chicken breasts
Let stand 30 minutes.  Grill the chicken.