Roast Zucchini and Tomatoes

Last summer I actually had a garden that actually produced food stuffs. This summer not so much, but one thing I did experiment with a ton was zucchini (which I always say in my head like the little Jawa's from Star Wars--Hootini! hootini!). This was one of Alex's favorite experiments. It would be a great lunch or appetizer.

Ingredients:

fresh zucchini

fresh tomatoes

fresh basil

fresh garlic

fresh grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

low fat mozzarella

olive oil

balsamic vinegar (optional)

salt and pepper

Heat your oven to 375 degrees.Cut the zucchini into rounds about 1/3 inch think. Quarter or eighth the tomatoes depending on how big they are. Spread the zucchini and tomatoes on baking sheets. Chop up the basil and garlic together--with a little salt if you want the resulting paste to be finer.

Spread a little of the basil-garlic paste on each tomato. Drizzle the tomatoes with the olive oil and also the balsamic vinegar if you so desire. Sprinkle the zucchini with the Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste. (You won't need much salt, if any at all). Drizzle the zucchini with olive oil.

Roast for about 45 minutes. The tomatoes should have crispy bits and the zucchini should be cooked completely. It smells divine when it is cooking.

Serve the tomatoes with a small slice of mozzarella. I like to put the cheese on right after it comes out of the oven so it has a chance to melt a little before serving. I think the cheese adds a nice creamy texture and cuts the bite of the vinegar, I don't consider it optional on the tomatoes.

I would say the serving size for a lunch is about half of a large tomato and a whole medium zucchini per person (if you like zucchini that is).

Rice Patties

I can't believe nobody has posted the recipe for Rice Patties yet. It's practically a staple in every Wilkinson, Carlson, Zenger, Shafer and Nelson household.

The Army Man made me rice patties first. IT WAS TERRIBLE. It was one egg, one pound of rice and three pieces of shredded cheese. Seriously. It was dry, it was tasteless and it was hard as a rock.

Lucky for me the My Marvelous Mother In Law saved the day and made Rice Patties for breakfast. It was a revelation. It was soft, it was egg, cheese and rice goodness. It was heaven with a little ketchup! Let it be known Mindy C. likes rice patties with salsa. I say ketchup or salsa is both equally tasty.

*Please note that this is how I make Rice Patties. This may or may not be how the rest of the Family makes it*

5 cups of cooked jasmine rice
3 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
6-7 eggs



Whip eggs in a bowl. Combine eggs with rice in a large bowl. Then gently fold in the shredded sharp cheese. Mixture should be soupy.



Cook on hot griddle on medium heat. Cook patties for three minutes on each side.



Serve immediately with ketchup or salsa.

Three Happy Guys

I'm beginning to think this is Rachelle and Victoria's food blog, come on Wilkinsons post some of your great recipes.

Yesterday the missionaries joined us for dinner offering me the opportunity to cook a hearty guy meal. You know ....meat, potatoes and calories. The menu I planned didn't disappoint the three guys at the table. Missionary Meatloaf (yep that's the name of the recipe), scalloped potatoes, green salad and 3 choices of ice cream. Two of the ingredients for this meal were cream and bacon which may be disgusting to some of you more healthy calorie counting blog followers but the magic ingredients that made the meatloaf and potatoes so tasty. When you walk and ride bikes everyday you can eat bacon and cream.

Missionary Meatloaf

2 pounds ground beef (93 %)

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup rated carrot

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup barbecue sauce

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried sage

10 strips of bacon, uncooked

Meatloaf Sauce

1 cup of ketchup

1 cup of brown sugar

In a large bowl combine all ingredients except bacon and sauce. Mix well. Place in a 9x13 inch pan lightly sprayed with Pam and form into a 9x6 inch loaf. Cut bacon strips in half and place on the top of formed meatloaf. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour. Remove from oven and drain off excess juices. Spoon on enough meatloaf sauce to cover top. Return to oven and bake for about 20 minutes longer or until done. Let stand for a few minuets before cutting.

Serve with the extra sauce, enjoy.

This recipe is from "The Essential Mormon Cookbook"

Drooling Over Food Vicariously

I posted this on Audrey's Blog Healthy Wife Happy Life but thought you all might enjoy it too...QV

As I attempt each day to eat within my meager 1250 calorie range I find myself enjoying and drooling over food vicariously through food blogs, the Food Network and magazines. I print out, mark, cutout and save recipes that I hope I can eat sometime in the future. Do any of you do this or is it just me?

This past week as I was perusing one of my favorite blogs this recipe caught my eye. I thought to myself, with a bit of tweaking I could eat these quesadillas right now and so tonight I am going to do just that.

Roasted Vegetable Quesadillas | WholeFoodsMarket

Ingredients
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 cups sliced red, green or yellow bell peppers
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (I will reduce this to 1 tablespoon)
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
6 flour tortillas (I will use reduced calorie tortillas. I'm also considering making it more like a tostada and using just one tortilla)
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
3 tablespoons butter (I'll skip this completely and either use a spray of Pam in the pan or lightly brush the tortilla with a bit of olive oil)
Chopped lettuce
1/2 to 1 cup salsa
1/3 cup sour cream (I'll use low calorie sour cream)
1/2 cup guacamole ( I'll use a small slice of avocado)

Try layering shredded roasted chicken, pulled pork, or sliced skirt steak with the onions and peppers in these quick and easy stovetop quesadillas. (No meat for now as I think the beans will provide enough protein) For vegetarians, sautéed mushrooms are a great addition, too.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Toss onions and peppers with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in oven, tossing occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes, or until golden brown. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons cheese on each of 3 tortillas. Top with roasted onions and peppers, beans and remaining cheese. Arrange remaining tortillas on top. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium high heat and, working in batches, brown both sides of each quesadilla until cheese is melted. Cut into quarters and transfer quesadillas to plates. Serve with lettuce, salsa, sour cream and guacamole on the side.
Serves 3 to 4.

I just finished my dinner and I thought this quesadilla was yummy although a bit messy to eat with just my hands. I used Fiesta Fajita Seasoning on the veggies during roasting with a sprinkle on the beans and La Tortilla Factory high fiber Smart & Delicious tortillas (50 calories each). I figure the calorie count with 1 tablespoon of sour cream and some salsa was around 380 to 400. I'm very full and will definitely be making these often.

Egg White Omelet

In March, I spent four days in Hawaii with my parents. My dad was there for business meetings, so we got to stay at the Hyatt. They had a fabulous breakfast buffet with made-to-order omelets every morning. Ever since then I have been addicted to omelets and I have one for breakfast 3-4 days a week. The Hyatt version was not-so-good for you---it used lots of butter, eggs, full-fat cheese, bacon, etc. I don't want to even think about how many calories were in them! At home, I have come up with my own low-cal, low-fat, high-protein version that I think tastes every bit as good as the original!

Egg White Omelet

2 medium white mushrooms
1/4 of a medium green pepper
1 stalk green onion (just the green part)
3 slices (about 1 ounce) thin sliced deli ham (I use Oscar Mayer Deli Selects)
4 egg whites
1/2 ounce shredded fat free cheddar cheese

1. Preheat small skillet over medium heat. Chop veggies and ham.
2. Spray pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add veggies and cook until tender--about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add ham to the skillet and cook 1-2 minutes more.
4. Shove veggie/ham mixture to one side of the pan, and spray more non-stick spray, then repeat with the other side.
5. Spread veggie/ham mixture around in the pan, then pour the four egg whites on top. Cover with a lid. Cook until egg whites are mostly set.
6. Use a rubber spatula to loosen the sides and bottom of the omelet from the pan.
7. Flip the omelet by tossing it into the air and catching it with the pan (really it is easier than it sounds. Riley and Kaiya love to watch this part)
8. Spread cheese over half the omelet, then fold the other half over the top.
9. Using the rubber spatula, scoop the omelet onto a serving plate. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Tip: For easier prep, use about 1/2 cup Egg Beaters Egg Whites (just egg whites, not the original egg beaters) instead of separating the eggs yourself.

Nutrition Information: 1 Serving (entire recipe) = 119 calories, 22 g protein, 5 g carb, 0.3 g fat

My mom and I with the Hyatt Omelet Chef

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

I got a little overly ambitious for Mother's Day this year and decided to make chocolate covered strawberries for all the mothers in the ward who have "adopted" our kids. Riley and Kaiya and I dipped them all before church. I thought they turned out really pretty. The HEB magazine (the one we are on the cover of :-) ) gave us some ideas for different things to try. We did toasted coconut on white chocolate, crushed Oreos on both white and milk chocolate, turtle (with caramel and pecans) and regular milk chocolate with a white chocolate drizzle. Yum!

White Chocolate with Toasted Coconut

Milk Chocolate with White Chocolate Drizzle

White Chocolate with Crushed Oreos

All four kinds

Orange Drop Cookies......Oh so good

I have a friend name Angie and she brought these cookies over to our house. Megan and I devoured them. Poor Kevin didn't stand a chance.

Orange Drop cookies

1 1/3 cup shortening

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

4 Tbsp grated orange peel

1 cup orange juice

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

4 cups flour (may need more)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Mix shortening, sugar, eggs. Stir in orange juice and grated orange peel. Stir dry ingredients together and blend in. Drop on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 F for 8-10 min. I added an extra 1/2 cup flour to the recipe and they turned out great. When the cookies are cool ice them with the following.

Icing

5 Tbsp soft butter

3 cups powdered sugar

3 Tbsp orange juice

4 tsp grated orange peel

Very yummy! Enjoy!