Homemade spaghetti sauce

It's been a CRAZY couple of weeks. School has started with fall practices for my husband, I have a couple big projects I'm working on at work, I've been crafting like a crazy lady for my etsy shop and for a local kid's boutique and I'm preparing to teach a night course at a local college on wellness. Needless to say, something had to go by the wayside. The blog drew the short straw.

I've still been cooking healthfully, just not venturing out and trying a bunch of new recipes. Instead, I've been sticking with the old standby's which I've probably already featured on the blog.

One staple in our household is pasta. Since our little vegetable garden gave us a few tomatoes (supplemented with fresh local tomatoes from the farm stand around the corner), I decided to try canning spaghetti sauce for the first time this year. Fresh canned spaghetti sauce is great because I control the seasoning as well as the salt and sugar. Jarred sauce can be pretty high in salt and sugar so I was able to keep them to a minimum. I didn't try any fancy recipes, just this basic one from pickyourown.org.


What are you canning this year?

Fried Brown Rice

Lately I've been someone a fan of Mel's Kitchen Cafe. Every recipe on her site looks super tasty to me. And they are generally healthy as well so I don't usually have much alteration to do - BONUS!

A few weeks ago she posted some AWESOME meal planning menus which I glanced at a last week while making my own meal plan. I noticed the baked brown rice recipe and was intrigued - I have never made brown rice that way. So I thought, why not?

I was making an Asian inspired recipe (more tomorrow) and thought that I could try the baked brown rice, spice it up a bit and turn it into fried rice. Now I know that fried rice isn't the healthiest creation ever BUT I tried to add extra vegetables to the rice. In my mind, the more the vegetables take up space on my plate, the less rice I actually put on my plate. It works in theory!

Fried Brown Rice

1 1/2 cups brown rice
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup lite soy sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8x8 inch baking pan. Place the rice in the prepared pan and pour in chicken broth. Stir to equally distribute the rice. Cover tightly with a double layer of aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for five minutes before removing the aluminum foil and fluffing with a fork. Adjust the baking time if there is still left over cooking liquid or if it is too dried out. Set aside.

Preheat olive oil in wok or large skillet. Over medium heat, cook onions and carrots 2-3 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook one more minute. Add rice and turn up the heat to medium-high. Stir regularly to slightly brown the rice and coat in the olive oil and vegetables. Add frozen peas and soy sauce. Cook 2 - 3 minutes longer or until peas are hot.

Makes 8 servings (1/2 cup).

Per serving:

87.9 calories 3.9 g fat 12.0 g carbohydrate 1.5 g fiber 1.9 g protein

Lunch Wraps

A few weeks ago we had a Kids Health Day at work. Instead of having Take Your Child to Work Day back in the spring, my company held out until the beginning of August for a big Kids Work Day event. The kids could choose a bunch of different classes that they could take. We had Smoothies 101, Healthy Snacking, Kids Kickboxing, Fun Fitness Testing, Yoga, Scavenger Hunts, Chemistry experiments, etc. I taught Kids In The Kitchen. I talked about the basics of the 5 food groups and had the kids make veggie wraps and home made trail mix.

Well... we had a bunch of leftover veggie wrap ingredients and my coworker and I went to town on that food for the following week. They hit the spot so much so that I made sure to have the ingredients on hand for future wraps for lunch. They have been my go-to lunch for over two weeks now.

Here's what my wrap had:

Whole wheat tortilla (La Tortilla Factory would be awesome here)
1 Tbsp cream cheese or hummus
Protein: Black beans or turkey lunch meat
Veggies: carrots, peppers, cucumbers, spinach

Here are some other options to include:
salsa
shredded cheese
diced grilled chicken
sunflower seeds
tomatoes
broccoli
What would you put in your wrap?

Lazy Cucumber Salad

This has been my go-to dish of the summer 2011. I made it for a pool party a few weeks ago and then again when my parents were staying with Finley while the husband and I went camping with friends. I originally got the recipe from Real Mom Kitchen. But I made it even simpler. Instead of using fresh dill, I use bottled dressing - my favorite Kraft's Greek Vinaigrette. I figured it has dill in it so, close enough :)

Lazy Cucumber Salad

3 medium sized cucumbers, sliced into half moons
1 large tomato, diced
1/2 large red onion, diced
3/4 cup Kraft Greek Vinaigrette

Mix together all ingredients. Cover and let sit in refrigerator a few hours before serving. Keeps well for several days and great for leftovers!!!

Makes about 9 servings. Per serving: 80.5 calories 5.5 g fat 7.1 g carbohydrate 1.2 g fiber 1.0 g protein

Black Bean Corn Salsa

Apparently I'm on a Mexican kick lately. I think that's just how I roll in the summer time. Anyone else like that?

A few years ago my mom introduced me to this recipe. It was in their church cookbook, submitted by some lady I've never met. BUT I have gotten some good use out of this recipe. It's perfect to take to summer BBQ's or pot lucks. I love that I typically have most of the ingredients on hand and if I don't, it only takes about $3 to pick them up from the store.

We like foods pretty hot and spicy in our house. This recipe does include a jalapeno. I usually leave some of the ribs and seed intact so that some of the heat remains. If you don't like very much heat, make sure you remove all the ribs of the jalapeno before you dice it up. I also like to cover my hand in the plastic produce bag while chopping a jalapeno. You can also keep rubber gloves on hand. I must have had a REALLY potent pepper one time that I made this recipe and ended up with a burning hand for 3 days. I haven't made that mistake again.

Black Bean Corn Salsa

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can shoepeg or white corn, drained and rinsed
3 Roma tomatoes, diced as tiny as you can get them
1/2 red onion, diced as tiny as you can get it
1 jalapeno, finely diced
1/4 cup Zesty Italian dressing

Mix together all ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Best if refrigerated for at least 4 hours or overnight. Serve with tortilla chips, put in quesadillas, or serve with rice as a vegetarian meal.

Makes 12 servings

60 calories 1.4 g fat 10.2 g carbohydrate 2.6 g fiber 2.6 g protein

Pico de Gallo

Four summers ago my husband and I enjoyed a wonderful week on the Mayan Riviera in Mexico for our honeymoon. We went all out and reserved a fancy-schmancy all inclusive which was above and beyond my expectations. One of my favorite parts about staying at an all inclusive is not having to worry about what to make for meals, where to go, etc. You have a HUGE selection of restaurants and buffets at your beck and call. Although this can be disastrous for your waistline, it doesn't have to be! There are many fresh, healthy options like fruits and vegetables available for you to try.

One of our favorite dishes at the resort we stayed at wasn't a dish at all, it was a condiment. PICO de GALLO!!! We loved it. It was so fresh and tasty and went with everything. I spent the whole week trying to remember exactly how it tasted so I could recreate it at home. When we returned, it took several tries but I think I perfected the pico de gallo. Now we have it all summer long. It would be great with oven baked tortilla chips or with Paco's Tacos (recipe to come!).


Pico de Gallo

1 large ripe tomato, diced into TINY pieces
1/2 red onion, small dice
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
juice of 4 limes
salt to taste

Serve with tortilla chips, on tacos, with eggs, on quesadillas - whatever your heart desires!!! Store in refrigerator. Tastes best when flavors have been allowed to blend for a few hours or overnight.

Makes 6 servings

16.6 calories
0.2 g fat
4.3 g carbohydrate
0.7 g fiber
0.5 g protein
Provides 20% DV Vitamin C

Sauteed Green Beans

I love fresh green beans and this time of year they always seem like the perfect pairing with any grilled food. A few weeks ago, we had them with these turkey burgers and they were the perfect pair!

The good thing about green beans, is that they're a pretty good people-pleaser. Even someone who is picky about what vegetables they'll eat (ahem.....my husband) will enjoy a good fresh green bean. Now I'm not going to say you can't use frozen in this recipe, but there's something about a good fresh green bean with a slight crunch to it that you just can't replicate.

I came up with this recipe on my own with ingredients that I had on hand, and you probably will have these ingredients to.

Sauteed Green Beans

2 cups fresh green beans, ends cut off
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tsp olive oil
2 Tbsp lite soy sauce
fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Heat olive oil over medium heat in saute pan. Add green beans and garlic. Stir in soy sauce.

Cook until garlic is translucent and green beans have softened slightly.

Makes 4 servings. Per serving

31 calories 1.3 g fat 4.8 g carbohydrate 2.0 g fiber 1.4 g protein

Garbanzo Bean Dip

I've been wanting to make homemade hummus for a REALLY long time. For some reason I don't like buying it premade but will eat it like it's someone's going to take it away from my when I'm at my parents house. So I had resolved to make it last week and decided to buy the necessary ingredients when I went to the store. Well, one of the key ingredients in hummus is tahini (sesame paste). I went down the ethnic aisle of my grocery store to find a giant 12 oz bottle of tahini.... for $8.99. Well I am a crazy couponer and there is no way I am paying $8.99 for something I need about 2 Tbsp of. So I gave up on hummus for a while.

Then, we were at our local microbrewery with friends and I saw a stack of this local magazine. Inside was a recipe for white bean dip. The original recipe called for Great Northern beans but I thought maybe I could substitute garbanzo beans and make almost a hummus (minus the expensive tahini).

I made this on Father's day and paired it with slice cucumbers, baby carrots and wheat crackers. It was awesome! I had it again today for lunch. Super easy and very full of flavor.

Garbanzo Bean Dip

1 can (15.5 oz) garbanzo beans, drained
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
juice of 1/2 of a lemon
1/2 tsp cumin
sprinkle of paprika

Combine beans, garlic, oil, lemon and cumin in a blender. Blend until smooth. Garnish with a sprinkle of paprika.

Makes 4 servings. Per serving:

140 calories
4.4 g fat
21.3 g carbohydrate
4.0 g fiber
4.5 g protein

Almond Butter

Almond butter on a cinnamon raisin English muffin - Yum!

I don't have a Costco membership but I lust after my mom's membership. There is a Costco in our town but its about 25 miles from where I live and I just don't think its worth it for the drive. BUT I do, however, make my mom buy me stuff when I know she's going to come out and visit me. This scenario resulted in me scoring a giant 3 pound bag of almonds. AWESOME.

So I've been looking at my giant almond bag and trying to come up with awesome recipes to try. I figured, why not try to make homemade almond butter?

I found a recipe for almond butter that I read the reviews and definitely tweaked it a little bit. First of all, I added honey to it for sweetness and to make it blend "better". Secondly, when I toasted the almonds I added a couple tablespoons of flaxseed to the pan. I figured if I'm already getting healthy fats from the almonds and olive oil, why not make it a triple threat and add flax seed?

Although the taste of this almond butter is good. I must warn you - if you do not have a food processor, a blender is NOT EQUAL to a food processor. I tried to make this with my blender and pretty much feared that I was going to burn out the motor. I would only make this again if I have a food processor. Otherwise, just buy yourself some almond butter ;)

Almond Butter

1 cup almonds
2 Tbsp flax seeds
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp honey

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread almonds and flaxseeds on a single layer in the bottom of a pan. Roast for 20 minutes.

Put almonds and flaxseeds in a food processor. Begin to process while drizzling in olive oil and honey until creamy texture is reached. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Product Review: Steamfresh Rigatoni with vegetables

I love making my food from scratch. I love homecooked breads, fresh vegetables and soft homemade cookies. But sometimes scratch cooking just doesn't work out into my schedule. Or maybe I'm only cooking for myself and balancing a fussy infant on my hip and therefore scratch cooking doesn't really fit in the cards. For nights like those, I try to keep a variety of healthy, quick alternatives available.

Last week I tried Birds Eye Steamfresh Rigatoni with vegetables with tomato Parmesan sauce. It's one of those high-tech steam bags that you pop in the microwave for 4 minutes and voila - it's done. It was so easy!

The bag says that it makes 2 servings which actually would be very generous size servings as a side dish accompanied by a grilled chicken breast or salmon fillet. I, however, was making a whole meal out of this and ate the whole bag. (But even still was only about 440 calories - not bad for a whole meal!).

The pasta was surprisingly flavorful and the vegetables were generous and tasty. It was packed with tomatoes, peppers, onion and spinach. I topped mine off with a little part skim mozzarella and enjoyed my dinner. I would highly recommend!

Each bag provides 2 servings - here's the facts for 1 serving (1/2 bag):

220 calories 5 g fat 35 g carbohydrate 2 g fiber 7 g protein.

Thoughts of my product review are solely my own and
I was not compensated in any way to provide this review.

Impossibly Easy Vegetable Pie

I forgot to take a picture, this is from the original recipe

Every other Sunday night we have a small group Bible study at the home of one of the families in our church. It is supposed to be potluck style but I noticed more and more bags of chips, 2 liters of soda and packages of store bought cookies appearing and less and less main dish options or foods of any nutritional value. I don't know why, but I always get irritated when someone regularly brings one of these easy-way-out foods to a potluck. Is that just me?

Anyway, I try to make something a little more substantial and a little bit more healthy each time we go. This week I had a drawer full of produce begging to be used up and I had to come up with a recipe that used them all. I also had a bunch of eggs so I figured there had to be some kind of Bisquick recipe that would work for my needs.

I found this recipe on Bisquick's recipe site. It got pretty good reviews and looked like something I could easily cut into small portions for a crowd. As originally posted, this recipe provides:

170 calories
10 g fat
11 g carbohydrate
1 g fiber
10 g protein

I decided to used the Heart Smart version of Bisquick, skim milk, 2% cheese and substitute one of the eggs with 2 egg whites. I also added in a cup of chopped spinach and upped some of the veggie portions. It was delicious! There wasn't a big turn out at small group and we had plenty leftover for lunch the next day - Bonus for me!

Impossibly Easy Vegetable Pie - BETTER

2 cups chopped frozen broccoli
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup raw spinach, chopped
1 cup shredded 2% Cheddar
1/2 cup Heart Smart Bisquick
1 cup skim milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 whole egg
2 egg whites

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9 inch pie plate with nonstick spray. Eat frozen broccoli in the microwave until no longer frozen (it doesn't have to be pipping hot).

Layer broccoli, green onions, peppers, and spinach in pie plate. Sprinkle cheddar on top. In a separate bowl, mix together bisquick, milk, salt, pepper, egg and egg whites in a bowl with a wisk. Pour over veggies in pie plate.

Bake in preheated oven for 35-45 minutes. Allow to set for 5-10 minutes before slices.

Makes 6 servings

Per serving:
119 calories
3.1 g fat
13.4 g carbohydrate
1.5 g fiber
10.3 g protein

Lean Mean Green Spud

As a coach's wife, I am often left to defend for myself for dinner with late evening practices, weekend meets, etc. I don't like making big meals but I also don't want to just stick with pizza rolls either. Enter the loaded up baked potato....

Tonight I made this beauty....



That, my friends, is a baked potato loaded up with 1/4 cup 2% cheddar cheese, 1 cup fresh spinach, 3/4 cup steamed broccoli, 1 green onion chopped and 2 Tbsp reduced fat sour cream. I top it all off with a little black pepper and garlic powder.

Then I mash it all together and it looks like this....


But the beauty of it all is that this is like taking a multi-vitamin in a single meal. Here's the nutrition stats:

200 calories
4.3 g fat
30.1 g carbohydrate
5.0 g fiber
12.8 g protein

80% Vitamin A, 124% Vitamin C, 21% Calcium, 38% Folate

Not bad, huh?

What are your favorite baked potato toppings?

Tortellini Soup

Often times we get so focused on particular qualities of healthy eating that we neglect to see the importance of other aspects of a healthy diet. In the past I have found myself so focused on cutting the fat or adding in fiber that I neglect to think about other qualities of food like calcium content or other vitamins and minerals.

One mineral that should be focused on is sodium. (Did you know that sodium was a mineral?) Sodium, when eaten in excess, can impact cardiovascular disease, blood pressure and lead to water retension. Recommended intakes of sodium range from 1500-2400 mg per day but reports indicate that the average American can take in as much as 8000+ mg each day!

Many sources of sodium are fast foods and restaurant foods, so if you're making food homemade you're already ahead of the game! But other area that a lot of sodium can come from are canned goods like canned vegetables and soups.

I decided to revamp a tasty recipe for Tortellini Soup from The Well-fed Newlyweds with my focus being on cutting down the sodium. The original recipe already calls for low sodium chicken broth but if you didn't use low sodium chicken broth you're looking at 1469 mg of sodium in each serving.

I simply used low sodium chicken broth and canned tomatoes that had no added salt. I did not add salt to the pot and cut the sodium down by over 500 mg to 911 mg per serving.

Overall it was pretty awesome! I thought it was tasty and flavorful. I was bringing a meal to a family in our church so I made a big batch of the soup base and split it in two before adding the tortellini. I put the soup base in a ziploc and then gave the spinach and tortellini on the side before giving it to them.

Tortellini Soup - BETTER

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 qt (4 cups) low sodium chicken broth
14.5 oz can no added salt tomatoes (I used diced)
Freshly ground black pepper
9-10 oz package tortellini (I used cheese but I suppose you could try other variations!)
3 cups chopped fresh spinach

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until beginning to get translucent. Add garlic until softened and light golden. Add oregano, broth, tomatoes, and pepper to taste.

Bring soup to a boil and add tortellini. Cook according to time listed on package (mine was 2 minutes). One minute before tortellini are done, add spinach. Stir to combine.

When tortellini are cooked, remove the pot from the heat immediately so your tortellini do not overcook. Add additional pepper if necessary. Serve soup immediately.

Makes 4 servings. Each serving provides:
311 calories
9.5 g fat
42.9 g carbohydrate
2.8 g fiber
14.7 g protein
911 mg sodium

Vegetarian Crock Pot Black Bean Soup

stock photo

I love having soup. I frequently throw a can of Healthy Choice or Progresso soup into my lunch bag for lunch during the winter months. But when I can make my own soup that is hearty and stands up as a meal... I'm a happy camper.

Black Bean Soup is something that I've been making since I got out of college and was working and living on my own. I would make a big batch of it and have it for lunch and dinner every day for a week! Things haven't changed so much now that I have a family, I still try to make a big batch of foods so I can bring leftovers to work for lunch but now I resort to my crock pot much more often.

So I went in search of a black bean soup for the crock pot recipe. I found a recipe kind of what I wanted on food.com but it had a couple of ingredients I did not want. The original recipe had the following nutrition facts:

251 calories
1.3 g fat
49.1 g carbohydrate
11.3 g fiber
13.2 g protein

I omitted the lentils and rice. Maybe that is more of a Cuban flair, but I didn't really see the point in adding more starch to my starchy beans. I also substituted half of the chili powder with chipotle chili powder for a little extra heat. It turned out delicious! Give it a try!
Vegetarian Crock Pot Black Bean Soup - Better!

1 pound dried black beans (soaked overnight)
1 1/2 quart water
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 large red onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, crushed
2 green bell peppers, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
1 (28 oz) can peeled and diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp chili powder (sub in some chipotle chili powder if you wish)
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp pepper
3 Tsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp salt

Soak beans overnight in water to cover. Drain and rinse.

In a crockpot, combine soaked beans and 1 1/2 quart fresh water. Cook for 3-7 hours on high, depending on how hot your cooker gets. You want your beans to be soft once cooked.

Stir in carrot, celery, onion, garlic, bell peppers, jalapeno and tomatoes. Season with chili powder, cumin, oregano, black pepper, red wine vinegar and salt. Cook on low for 2 to 3 hours.

Puree half of the soup with a blender or food processor, then pour back into the pot before serving.

Serve with lime wedges, sour cream and cilantro.

Makes 10 servings. Each serving provides:
145 calories
1 g fat
27.3 g carbohydrate
9.4 g fiber
8.8 g protein

Don't forget to check out Hungry Runner Girl's Birthday Giveaway.... but feel free not to enter so my chances of winning are better ;) I really just want the coffee mug.

Crockpot Marinara

Last weekend, I had both my family and Paul's family over for Finley's dedication. We all went to church together then came back to our house for lunch. I wanted to have a hearty meal but I wanted it to be ready when we got back from church, so I knew I would use a crock pot. I kept brainstorming for what to serve but all I could think of were BBQ Pork sandwiches (which are kind of cliche) and a big roast (which I'm afraid of buying big cuts of beef, I'm scared). So I was at a loss.

After a week or two of brainstorming, I came up with an idea. I would have a pasta bar! I had marinara and bolognese sauce cooking in my crockpots while we were at church then when we got home, I quickly boiled some spaghetti, bowtie and cheese ravioli.

I got the original recipe for the marinara from food.com and didn't really make any nutritional alterations. I couldn't find my head of garlic (weird, I know) so I resorted to garlic powder.

Crockpot Marinara Sauce

2 (28 oz) cans Italian-style crushed tomatoes
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 large onion, chopped
2 tsp garlic powder (or 8 cloves of garlic)
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp Splenda
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients in a 3.5-6 qt crock pot.

Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours or high 4 to 5 hours.

Serve over pasta.

Makes 12 servings, per serving provides:
73 calories
1.6 g fat
14.4 g carbohydrate
3.4 g fiber
3.0 g protein

Quinoa Black Bean Salad

Image source

At work we had an open house that highlighted all the health benefits available to employees. Since I work in employee wellness, I had a booth at the open house promoting a weight management program we'll be offering this year. So for two days, I sat at my booth socializing with all the other booths during slow times. One of the booths at the open house was our chef from the employee cafeteria. He was doing cooking demonstrations and made a quinoa salad. Needless to say, I ate MANY samples of this awesome quinoa salad that he created and thought I would share it with you.

Quinoa is a whole grain that I hear of a lot lately, especially in healthy lifestyle blogs. I think its kind of the "in" thing right now. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is a whole grain that is high in fiber and protein and naturally gluten free. It comes in a variety of colors like red, black and white. You can buy it at natural food stores, Costco or even the baking aisle of many grocery stores. You cook it up just like you do pasta or rice. In fact it only takes 15-20 minutes to cook in boiling water, vs. brown rice which can take 45+ minutes!

Here is the recipe that was featured at the open house:

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

1 cup raw Quinoa
1 1/2 cupswater
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups black beans
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 large green onions, diced
1 red pepper diced

Dressing
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper, to taste

Rinse quinoa several times. Place quinoa, 1/2 tsp salt and water in a sauce pan and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and cool completely.

Add veggies to cooked quinoa. Mix together all dressing ingredients in a separate bowl and toss with quinoa and veggies.

Serve chilled and garnish with cilantro.

Makes 6 servings, each serving provides:
276 calories
9.3 g fat
40.1 g carbohydrate
8.5 g fiber
10.1 g protein

***Top with a grilled chicken breast or salmon fillet for a complete meal.

Zucchini Bake

Some people follow recipes to the tee. They carefully measure and level each ingredient. They make separate trips to the grocery store just to get some crazy ingredient that they probably won't use in any other recipe. Others kind of wing it. Oops... out of one ingredient? Guess we'll try it with another ingredient. They might follow the method of a recipe, but don't follow the ingredients to the letter of the law.

My mom is the latter type of cook and I think I learned it from her. This is where my original knowledge of tweaking recipes came from - long before my Experimental Food class in college.

My mom is also really good at making food for a crowd. When I was growing up, we often would joke around that we should open up a catering business when I got older since we were always putting on luncheons and other functions for our church. Our high school graduation open houses were a like a fun challenge for us.

About 6 months ago, my mom hosted a baby shower for me before my daughter's birth. She had quite the spread of 8-10 different items, all displayed beautifully on trays. Included in that spread were little squares she called Zucchini Bake. The original recipe was from the Bisquick website. But, of course, she tweaked it!

In the original recipe, each square provides:
80 calories
6 g fat
4 g carbohydrate
0 g fiber
2 g protein

My mom cut the recipe's oil in half. I suppose you could also use 1 cup egg substitute instead of full eggs as well but I did not do that. My mom also doesn't put all of the same seasonings in it. Overall - this is a really tasty appetizer. I have also packed leftover squares in my lunch to go with a salad. They can be eaten hot or cold or even just warm like a quiche. I have a weird thing about my food being extra hot, so obviously I eat mine HOT. Give them a try!

Zucchini Bake - BETTER

4 eggs, slightly beaten
3 cups thinly sliced zucchini (use a mandolin if you have one)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup oil
1 onion, finely chopped
salt/pepper to taste
1 cup Heart Smart Bisquick

Beat the eggs and add remainder of ingredients. Spread in a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until inserted knife comes out clean. Cut into 24 squares (4x6).

Per square:
62 calories
4 g fat
4 g carbohydrate
0 g fiber
2 g protein

Minestrone

I forgot to take a picture of my minestrone. So I found a picture online of one that closely resembles my soup. Thanks kraftfoods.com!

I love soup in the winter time. I live in Michigan and it is pretty much cold and snowy from November to April so there are lots of opportunities for soup night. Soup is versatile because many soups can be made ahead of time and frozen or cooked low and slow in the slow cooker if you have a busy afternoon.

I have had this recipe for Minestrone from Allrecipes since November of 2004 (according to the date that I printed the original recipe). This was the first thing that I ever made for my now husband. He is not a huge vegetable eater but LOVES this minestrone. I have since passed on this recipe to my mom, who always gets requests for it from her friends. I have also put it in my work cookbook, etc. So needless to say - this is pretty much the best minestrone ever.

Last week, one of my friends had a baby and I wanted to bring her some meals. I knew we'd be eating minestrone later in the week so I made an extra large batch on Sunday afternoon. I froze a gallon ziplock for her and froze a big plastic container for my family so it would be ready to eat later in the week.

I did not make many nutrition changes to the recipe. I do not add Parmesan or extra olive oil on top of the soup (does anyone else find drizzling olive oil on top of soup weird?). This is the first time I have ever put the red wine in the recipe, and thats just because I happened to have an open bottle of wine. If you were watching your sodium intake, you may consider choosing reduced sodium chicken broth and tomato sauce.

Minestrone

3 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 cups chopped celery
5 carrots, sliced
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
4 cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup red wine (optional)
1 cup canned kidney beans, drained
1 (15 oz) can green beans
2 cups baby spinach, rinsed
3 zucchinis, quartered and sliced
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry seashell pasta

In a large stock pot, over medium-low heat, heat olive oil and saute garlic for 2 - 3 minutes. Add onion and saute for 4 to 5 minutes. Add celery and carrots, saute for 1 to 2 minutes. (You can also do this in your crockpot. Turn it to high with the oil in. Add the garlic. Let that cook while you are cutting your onion. Add the onion. Let that cook while you are chopping your celery and carrots. Add to crockpot and give a good stir. Allow to cook in crockpot for 10-15 minutes or until the veggies appear to cook a bit.)

Add chicken broth, water and tomato sauce, bring to a boil, stirring frequently (Or cook in crock pot on high for an hour). If desired, add red wine at this point. Reduce heat to low and add kidney beans, green beans, spinach, zucchini, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, the longer the better. (Turn crock pot to low, cook for at least 2 to 3 hours).

***If you are preparing this for the freezer. Transfer to freezer containers at this point and freeze***

When ready to eat. Cook seashell pasta according to package directions. Put 2 Tbsp pasta shells in the bottom of each bowl. Ladle soup over the pasta. Top with Parmesan if desired.

Makes 8 LARGE servings. Each serving provides:
195 calories
5.9 g fat
30.3 g carbohydrate
7.4 g fiber
6.2 g protein