Grill Fresh

I just love experimenting with foods on the grill!  This one tops the list:  Grilled peaches. I love to grill veggies... and now I can add fruit to the list. So delicious!  When grilling my veggies, I like to keep the seasonings and preparation simple.  I only use sea salt, black pepper and olive oil.  For fruit, I only drizzle a touch of olive oil. 

Here are the vegetables I enjoy grilling.  You may want to experiment with your own favorites. Enjoy! 

-Trudy

Eggplant

Broccoli

Zucchini

Green Tomato

Poblano Peppers

Bell Peppers

Onions

Asparagus

Mushrooms

Squash

Stuffed Peppers

This is one of my favorites!  There are so many ways to make stuffed bell peppers, but I chose the simplest path.  I wanted to see if I could keep all of the flavor with a healthier version, and it worked! Yum!  Don't let the word "healthy" misinterpret this meal! -enjoy    Trudy

1 1/2 c cooked brown rice
1 lb ground venison (lean ground beef if you are not a fan of venison)
1/2 chopped med onion
4 bell peppers (slice off the top and chop, save the "cup" for baking)
3 T bread crumbs
salt/pepper to taste
1 t cajun seasoning (I use Tony Chachere's)
1/2 t garlic
1/2 t oregano
1/4 t cumin
2 T EVOO
parmesan cheese (to top peppers before baking)

Brown your meat in EVOO(extra virgin olive oil). Add onions and peppers.  Season with all spices.  Add bread crumbs and cooked rice.  Stuff pepper cups with mixture and top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 45 min or unitl peppers look wilted and wrinkly.

Zucchini Lasagna

                                             (Not pictured: eggs, flour and spaghetti sauce.)

           This recipe is pretty easy. It requires a good bit of prep work but it only takes about 60 minutes from start to finish. It's also low-carb and has much less calories than your traditional lasagna.


Ingredients:                                                         

• 3 medium sized zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch thick (This part is a bit difficult but save your "ugly" slices for the first layer of your lasagna.)
• 1 lb lean ground turkey (You can use lean ground beef if you aren't a fan of turkey.) 
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 2 small tomatoes, cut up
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 egg
• 15 oz low fat ricotta (I used part skim ricotta. You could also use cottage cheese instead.)
• 2 c mozzarella cheese, shredded (I use 8 oz. divided. You can use any shredded Italian cheese mix if you cant find mozzarella.)
• 1 tsp flour
• Italian seasoning (This is an easy/cheaper way to season your Italian dishes.)
• salt/pepper/garlic
• 1/2 a jar of spaghetti sauce (I use this because the original recipe doesn't call for it and you will not have enough sauce, However I will use it every time from now on for a little extra zing! You could JUST use this jar of sauce but I actually really enjoyed the fresh tomato verses soggy jarred ones. Ha!)

Directions:

Saute zucchini in olive oil until tender, season with salt, pepper and garlic and set aside. Fry meat and onions until meat is brown and onions are tender. Season with salt, pepper, garlic and italian seasoning. Add tomatoes, paste, water and 1/2 a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce. I like Bertolli's spicy italian.

Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered 10 minutes.

In small bowl slightly beat egg.

Add ricotta cheese, bag of shredded cheese and flour.

In a 9x13 casserole dish (sprayed with Pam) arrange half of the meat mixture. Top a 1/3 of all the cheese mixture, then a layer of 1/2 the zucchini. Repeat leaving the last 1/3 of the cheese mixture out.

Bake uncovered at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes.
Spread remaining cheese mixture. Bake 10 minutes longer.

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Tah- Dah!!

P.S. This was even MORE delicious the next day!

-Natalie

Catfish Court Bouillon

This is a good ole Cajun recipe from back home!  I love making it because it's so easy.  Bold flavors and hearty! Serve this dish with a side of rice! Enjoy! -Trudy

5 Catfish filets (tilapia can also be used)
1 reg can whole tomatoes
1 reg can diced tomatoes (no salt added)
1 med onion chopped
1 med bell pepper
sea salt to taste
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t garlic
1 T Worchestershire Sauce
1/3 can water

Sautee' onions and bell pepper in 1 T oil in a large skillet till lightly browned.  Add tomatoes, fish and seasonings along with water.  Let simmer on medium  for 15 min.  If mixture looks watery, continue to simmer until water reduces to half.  Serve over a nice scoop of rice! 

Spicy Sausage Salsa and Roasted Eggplant

This recipe is full of flavor... Sausage is the key... however, you may substitute it with your favorite meat.  A delicious addition to this would be a side of rice or potato hash.  Enjoy! -Trudy

1 large peeled eggplant
4 small breakfast Jimmy Dean sausage patties
1/2 chopped onion
1/3 jar Publix Medium Salsa
2 chopped medium tomatoes
1/2 cup (no salt added) tomato sauce
Sea salt & pepper
1/2 t onion powder
1 t paprika
1/4 t cayenne pepper
Dash of garlic powder

Slice your eggplant into 3/4 in. slices. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and place on baking sheet. Broil in oven till brown, then turn. Brown both sides and remove from oven.
In a pan on the stove, crumble and brown sausage patties. Add onions...brown till desired texture. Add the remaining ingredients.  Simmer for 7 min.  Spoon over each eggplant slice. (I even topped my husbands with a fried egg.) Serve with toasted ciabatta bread.

The Best Nana Puddin' You've Ever Had!

This is seriously the best recipe for banana pudding.

You will have everyone talking about your

dessert for YEARS.

It's also SO easy to make.

1 box of Nilla Wafers
2 bananas, sliced

2 cups milk

1 (5-ounce) box instant French vanilla pudding

 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

 1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping thawed, or equal amount sweetened whipped cream

Directions:

Line the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch dish with Nilla Wafers.

In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer OR a kitchen aid mixer if you do not have a handheld. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Next fold in your bananas. Pour the mixture over the cookies and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

-Natalie

(This recipe was inspired by Paula Deen's Banana Pudding- so you know you gotta try it!)

BBQ Chicken Po-Boy with Homemade Coleslaw

This is a great "leftovers" meal!  I used a rotisserie chicken and a leftover bag of shredded cabbage. So quick and your man will love it! ;) Enjoy! -Trudy

Meat Mixture:
1/2 lb cooked chicken chopped (large chunks)
3/4 cup favorite BBQ sauce (my favorite is Golden Rule)
1/4 t garlic powder
1/2 onion powder
2 t paprika
sea salt/pepper
Whole wheat hoagie bread

Slaw:
1/3 bag shredded cabbage
1 T white vinegar
sea salt/pepper
1/4 t garlic
1/2 t paprika
3 T mayo

Meat: mix all meat ingredients and heat in pan until bubbly. Serve over bread.
Slaw: mix cabbage and all other ingredients and place over meat mixture.

Creamy Caper & Shrimp Pasta

I make most of my recipes low salt.  You can add as much or as little salt as you desire. You can also omit the cheese in this recipe if you choose to cook low salt.  This meal is easy, but tastes and looks like its restaurant worthy! Enjoy! -Trudy 

1 lb jumbo shrimp

1/4 stick unsalted butter

1 small carton heavy cream

2 T parmesan cheese

1 T canola oil

1 T capers, drained

sea salt/pepper

1/4 t cayenne pepper

1 T "no salt" tomato sauce

1/4 t garlic powder

1/2 t onion powder

Pasta of your choice (I use linguini or fettucini)

Sautee' shrimp in a pan with the oil and butter for 3 min.  Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 10-12 min without boiling.  This will thicken and get creamy.  Serve over cooked pasta.

Low Calorie "Flat-Out" Supreme Pizza

This is one of my favorite things to make for lunch!

1 Flat-Out (I use the original flavor)

1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella

sliced bell pepper (use as much or as little as you want!)

5 turkey pepperonis

2 tbsp pizza sauce

cracked black pepper to taste

Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees. 

This one is pretty self explanatory!

Top your pizza with the ingredients above.

If you like olives- you could add a few sliced olives too!

Your pizza will only need to bake for 5 mins.

Once it is done I like to turn off the oven and leave it in there another 3 minutes or so to make sure the crust has a little time to get crispy!

 Top with a little cracked black pepper and enjoy!

-Natalie 

Low Calorie, Low Sodium Shrimp Stir-Fry

This recipe leaves a lot of room for customizing, so if you are not a fan of a certain veggie- leave it out or add some of YOUR favorites! 

1/2 a zuchini

1 small squash

1 handful of cut broccoli

1 handful of cut cauliflower 

(I like to use the pre-cut bagged broccoli and cauliflower mix found in the produce section.)

1 handful of carrot "chips"

1 cup of low sodium soy

1/2 lb of peeled shrimp

 1 tbsp of olive oil

pepper/garlic/onion powder

Use a large deep pan on medium heat.

Toss in all of your veggies and pour in your soy.

Cover.

Keep your eye on them and make sure to stir when needed.

Cook until everything is tender but not mushy!

About 10-12mins.

In a separate pan pour in a tablespoon of olive oil and toss in your shrimp. 

These will only need to be sauteed for about 3-4 mins.

Once everything is cooked-

pour your shrimp into the large pan with the veggies.

Season to taste with pepper, garlic and onion powder.

 Add salt sparingly.

Enjoy!


-Natalie