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Monday, September 16, 2013

Roasted Portobello Egg Cup

I picked up a couple of portobello mushrooms the other day, and decided to try them out as an egg bake. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked! It made the perfect breakfast, yum!

Ingredients
2 large portobello mushrooms with stems removed
1/4 cup olive oil (I used a garlic olive oil for extra flavor)
4 large eggs, beaten
Swiss cheese, feta cheese, goat cheese, or any cheese of your choosing (enough to sprinkle on top of 2 mushroom cups)
About 6 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 green onion sliced (include the green portion)
Kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush the mushrooms inside and out with olive oil. Season the mushrooms inside and out with salt and fresh ground pepper. Turn the mushrooms smooth side up and sprinkle with half the thyme leaves, then turn over and sprinkle the rest of the thyme into the cups of the mushrooms. Divide the sliced green onion between the 2 mushrooms. Pour beaten eggs into both mushroom cups, just to the top. You may have a little egg left, depending on the size of your mushrooms. Top with cheese and put into oven for 25 to 30 mins. until egg is cooked through.

I used Swiss cheese this time, but would love to try it with feta or goat cheese. I could also see chopped basil replacing the thyme for another time...pun intended.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Taco Stuffed Yellow Squash/ Zucchini Boats



One of my favorite bloggers for healthy lower calorie dishes is skinnytaste.com. She's very creative with her ingredients when coming up with great low cal. healthy recipes. I've made a few adjustments in the seasonings in this recipe because I thought it needed a bit more flavor. Seasonings don't cost you calories, but okay I added more cheese...  I'm using yellow squash instead of  zucchini, only because we have a bumper crop of yellow squash. 


Ingredients
  • 4 medium (32 oz.) zucchini or yellow squash, cut in half lengthwise
  • 1/2 cup mild salsa or salsa to your liking
  • 1 lb. 93% lean ground turkey
  • 1&1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1&1/2 tsp.cumin    
  • 1&1/2 tsp. kosher salt 
  • 1 tsp. chili powder 
  • 1 tsp. paparika
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1 small onion, minced
  • 2 tbsp bell pepper, minced
  • 4 oz. can tomato sauce (I used a med. *homemade salsa instead)
  • 1/4 cup water (I used *tomato juice instead)
  • 1/2 cup reduced fat Mexican blend shredded cheese or more if you're a cheese lover like me
*sliced whole scallions, chopped cilantro, diced tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole, or any of your favorite taco toppings

Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place 1/4 cup of salsa in the bottom of a large baking dish.


Using a small spoon, hollow out the center of the zucchini or yellow squash halves, leaving about a 1/4-inch thick shell on each half. Chop the scooped out flesh of the zucchini or squash in small pieces and set aside about 3/4 to 1 cup to add to the taco filling. Drop zucchini/squash halves in boiling water and cook 1 to 2 minutes and remove from water.

Brown turkey in a large skillet, breaking up while it cooks. When no longer pink, add the spices and mix well. Add onion, bell pepper, reserved zucchini/squash, *salsa, and *tomato juice. Saute for an additional three minutes and cover, simmer on low for about 20 minutes. After cooking, I add a little cheese to the mixture to make it thicker, yummier, and easier to put in the cavity of the squash.







Fill the hollowed zucchini/squash boats, dividing the taco meat equally, about 1/3 cup in each. Top each with cheese. Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes until cheese is melted and squash/zucchini is cooked through. *Top with toppings of your liking.



 Original recipe

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2013/07/taco-stuffed-zucchini-boats.html?_ziplist=disable