Zuchinni boats!

Boy am I loving being a vegetarian again! And I'm crossing my fingers it makes me lose weight! ;-) Tomorrow will be day 4. I love it. For real. I seriously don't miss meat at all. I'm excited to go to Taco Bell & order a Crunchwrap supreme without beef & a side of nachos or something. Or a 5 layer burrito without beef. Or a bean & cheese burrito! But that won't be for a while since my fridge is now stocked full of organic fruits & veggies!

This what I'll be making tomorrow. :)

Ingredients:
4 zucchini, halved lengthwise
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 red onion, chopped
5 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper
6 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Get ahead
Prepare and stuff the zucchini a day before.
Directions:
1.Preheat the oven to 375°. Using a small spoon, scoop out the zucchini flesh, leaving a 1/4- to 1/2-inch-thick shell. Wrap the zucchini flesh in a paper towel and squeeze out any excess liquid; discard the liquid and set aside the flesh. Place the zucchini shells cut side down on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

2.Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over high heat. Add the zucchini flesh and onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Push the vegetables to the side of the pan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the bread crumbs, and toast the bread crumbs for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the nuts and oregano, then combine with the vegetables; season with salt and pepper.

3.Flip over the zucchini shells and line the bottoms with the mozzarella. Pack in the filling. Sprinkle the parmesan on top. Bake until the zucchini is tender when pierced with a fork, 20 to 25 minutes.

Courtesy of: (http://www.rachaelraymag.com/Recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-index/side-dish-recipes/Cheesy-Zucchini-Boats)

Vegetarian super healthy pasta!

I'll be the first to admit that this picture of the pasta doesn't do it justice. It's delish! I made up the recipe myself :)

*Why I love this recipe: It makes tuna taste delicious! And it packs protein! about 25-30 g. in this meal alone. Great for vegetarians. You can skip the aflredo sauce or find a lowfat option to reduce fat & calories. It tastes good with just the red wine vinegar as well. It's creamier with it though. :)

1 can drained tuna

1 tomato

2 cups chopped fresh spinach

2 tablespoons chopped red onion

red wine vinegar

2 tbsp lowfat alfredo sauce

1/4 cup dry whole wheat macaroni

salt & pepper to taste

2 tablespoons chipotle pepper powder

italian cheese (optional)

Get water boiling & boil pasta until al dente.

While pasta is boiling start cooking your tuna on the stovetop on medium heat. Add spinach, red onion, & tomatoes. Season generously & cook for about 8-10 minutes. Add alfredo sauce & red wine vinegar (to taste; I used about 1 tbsp). Pasta should be cooked now! Drain & add to sauce. Put in bowl & top with cheese. I used 1 tbsp. to keep it lowfat. :]

Serves one.

Homemade Chipotle!

So last night I made homemade Chipotle for my whole family including Randy. :)

It took me two days to make! But soo worth it. This long post made of many different recipes might take me a while to post since I customized everything haha. :)

Tortillas-

I bought 10" standard large tortillas from a Mexican supermarket but any tortillas will suffice. If you can get your hands on some huge 12"-13" tortillas I'd suggest doing it! The tortilla's texture threw off the burrito but it was still great!

Cheese-

One part shredded white cheddar cheese, two parts shredded monterey jack cheese. Mix well.

Sour cream-

12 oz. Daisy sour cream plus 1 tablespoon water. Combine with a whisk over very low heat on a stove top. Keeping whisking until you get a thin, creamy texture. Then take off heat & serve.

Rice-

I tried combining a couple methods of rice & it was good, but it definitely could have been better. The rice got mushy. This is what I'd do next time:

2 tbsp oil (canola/vegetable/olive)

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 tbsp - 1/4 cup lime juice

1 tsp- 1 tbsp salt (kosher)

2 cups long grain white rice

4 cups water

As you can see I keep the amount of lime juice & salt a broad range because that's completely preferance. I like a lot of lime. Just add both to taste. Same could go with the cilantro. :)

Bring the rice & water to a boil then bring it down to low & let it simmer covered for 15-20 minutes. Turn off the heat & let the rice steam & fluff for 5-10 minutes. Remove the rice from the pot & put it in the mixing bowl. Add the oil & everything else to the rice & mix fully.

Enjoy :)

Chicken-

Beans-

Guac-

2 Hass Avocados

1/3 of a Jalapeno pepper, seeded, and minced

1/4 of a red onion, finely chopped

2+ heaping Tablespoons of Cilantro, finely chopped

1/4 of a lime, juiced

1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all of the ingredients into a bowl, and mash together until smooth. Add additional lime juice, cilantro or salt to taste.

Corn salsa-

6 Ears Sweet Yellow Corn

2 Poblano Chilies

1/2 Red Onion

2 Red (or Green) Jalapenos

1/3 Cup Chopped Cilantro

1 Tablespoon Lime Juice

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Roast the corn and Poblano chilies on a grill or BBQ and let cool. Cut the corn off the cob. Dice the Poblano chilies, onion, and red jalapenos. Combine all the ingredients and season to taste.

*I used frozen corn, boiled it for like 2 minutes then roasted it in the oven along with the Poblano Chiles.

Hot Salsa-

BBQed Burritos!

Recipe can be found here!

Chimi Chili Dog!

Recipe can be found here!

Taco Ring!

Find the recipe here!

Chili Mac Casserole!

What I thought would be the easiest recipe to find, turned out to be my hardest yet! I wanted something super simple, but still delicious! This sounds wonderful! I'm considering substituting the polish sausage for regular ground sausage when I make it. :)

1 (12 oz.) pkg. elbow macaroni, cooked

1 can chili

1 pkg. Polish sausage

(I'm using cooked ground sausage)

1 lb. Velveeta or Cheddar cheese

(Shredded sharp cheddar for me!)

Cut Polish sausage into bite-size pieces. Place on bottom of pan. Then place macaroni over sausage. Put chili over macaroni. Then put cheese over chili and bake at 350 degrees until cheese melts and dish is warm.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,178,145179-227193,00.html