Roasted Tomatoes

My husband found Ina Garten's Roasted Tomatoes recipe on the Food Network site and since we had so many garden tomatoes we made this as a side dish for dinner. It was an easy and delicious twist to sliced tomatoes and we all loved them.

Roasted Tomatoes

Recipe and Photo Courtesy of the Food Network

• • 12 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, cores and seeds removed
  • 4 tablespoons good olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  Directions

  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
  Arrange the tomatoes on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle the garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper over the tomatoes. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until the tomatoes are concentrated and beginning to caramelize. Serve warm or at room temperature.
  
  
  *Jayne's Notes: It looks like she garnished with maybe some fresh parsley. We didn't garnish our dish and it tasted just fine. I did serve these directly off the pan because they were too delicate to transfer to a serving dish.

Pasta with Zucchini and Toasted Almonds

Okay, so you may have your doubts about this recipe being bland but it is surprisingly flavorful! I even put Italian dressing on our dinner table with the plan of adding it to the kids' servings to spice it up but we all ate it plain. I don't know if it was the fresh grated pecorino Romano cheese on top or the mint and thyme from our garden or just the mix of all the fresh ingredients that gave this such a delicious flavor. I was also happy to find a good recipe that used cherry tomatoes. My six cherry tomato plants are all volunteers and they are regrettably my healthiest tomato plants in the entire garden. Unfortunately they are at this moment spoiling on the vine because I'm having a hard time eating them quick enough. If any of you have some yummy cherry tomato recipes (other than kabobs and green salads) let me know!

Pasta with Zucchini and Toasted Almonds
Recipe Courtesy of Cooking Light

• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 5 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 (9-ounce) package refrigerated linguine
• 1 1/2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
• 3 cups chopped zucchini (about 1 pound)
• 3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, divided
• 1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh pecorino Romano cheese
• 3 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted

1. Combine first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add 2 teaspoons oil, tossing to coat.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well.
3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add garlic to pan; sauté 30 seconds. Add zucchini; sauté 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add broth; bring to a simmer. Stir in pasta and 1 1/2 tablespoons mint; toss well. Remove from heat; stir in tomato mixture. Place 1 1/2 cups pasta mixture in each of 4 bowls; top evenly with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons mint. Sprinkle each serving with 4 teaspoons cheese and 2 teaspoons almonds.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 344

Fat: 12.7g (sat 3.1g,mono 6.6g,poly 2g)

Protein: 14g

Carbohydrate: 45.5g

Fiber: 5.3g

Cholesterol: 58mg

Iron: 3.4mg

Sodium: 601mg

Calcium: 163mg

Feta-Stuffed Turkey Burgers

If you haven't noticed already, I'm rather drawn to ground turkey and these meat patties have a flavor that just makes my mouth water. We made this burger recipe the other night and with the feta filling and the yogurt/cucumber sauce it almost felt like I was eating a Greek burger if such a thing exists. I'm really trying to be more careful about what I eat and this dinner was very satisfying yet low-calorie! I loaded mine with plenty of lettuce and fresh garden tomatoes and ate it on a yummy flat-bread bun I found at Costco that was low calorie as well.

Feta-Stuffed Turkey Burgers
Recipe Courtesy of Cooking Light

• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 6 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
• Cooking spray
• 1/4 cup grated English cucumber
• 1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
• 4 (1/4-inch-thick) slices tomato
• 4 green leaf lettuce leaves
• 4 (2-ounce) Kaiser rolls or hamburger buns

1. Combine first 6 ingredients. Divide mixture into four portions. Indent center of each portion; place 1 1/2 tablespoons feta into each. Fold turkey mixture around cheese; shape each portion into a 1/2-inch-thick patty.
2. Heat grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add patties; cook 5 minutes on each side.
3. Combine cucumber, yogurt, and mint in a small bowl. Arrange 1 turkey patty, 1 tomato slice, 1 lettuce leaf, and 2 tablespoons yogurt mixture on bottom half of each roll. Top with top halves of rolls.
Sautéed zucchini: Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 cups sliced zucchini and 2 minced garlic cloves; sauté 5 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 386

Fat: 13.7g (sat 4.5g,mono 4.3g,poly 3g)

Protein: 30.2g

Carbohydrate: 34g

Fiber: 2.3g

Cholesterol: 109mg

Iron: 3.9mg

Sodium: 897mg

Calcium: 198mg

Smothered Chicken with Lemon Mashed Potatoes

Southern Living recipes are so yummy! I had some leftover mashed potatoes the other night so I whipped this little piece of 'tater and gravy goodness together. I really enjoyed the lemony twist to the potatoes. I even served this dish with sliced tomatoes from my garden!

Smothered Chicken with Lemon Mashed Potatoes
Recipe and Photo Courtesy of Southern Living

4 skinned and boned chicken breasts
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper, divided
1/2 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
1 (8-ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms
1 teaspoon olive oil
18 to 20 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Lemon Mashed Potatoes
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
1 (14-ounce) can chicken broth
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water

Place chicken between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; flatten to 1/4-inch thickness, using
a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle both sides of chicken evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and
1/4 teaspoon pepper. Dredge in breadcrumbs. Set aside.

Sauté mushrooms in 1 teaspoon hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 8
minutes or until edges are browned. Remove from skillet. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4
teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; set aside.

Sauté garlic in 1 tablespoon hot oil over medium heat 5 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned
and soft. Remove from skillet, and mash lightly with a fork or potato masher; set aside.

Prepare Lemon Mashed Potatoes, and keep warm.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1/2 tablespoon oil in skillet over medium heat; add 2 chicken
breasts, and cook 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken to a wire rack in a
jellyroll pan. Keep chicken warm in oven at 225°. Repeat with remaining butter, oil, and
chicken.

Stir chicken broth and next 3 ingredients into skillet, and cook 2 minutes, stirring to loosen
particles from bottom of skillet. Stir in sautéed mushrooms and garlic. Stir together 3 tablespoons flour and 1/4 cup water; whisk into broth mixture over medium-
high heat. Cook 3 minutes, whisking constantly, or until thickened. Serve with chicken and Lemon Mashed Potatoes.

Lemon Mashed Potatoes
Prepare 1 (22-ounce) bag frozen mashed potatoes according to package directions. Stir in 1/4 cup butter or margarine, 1 teaspoon lemon rind, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
*Jayne's Notes: I prepared my mashed potatoes from scratch as I usually do with boiled potatoes, sour cream, butter, salt and pepper but added a couple squeezes (Tablespoons) of fresh lemon juice instead of the rind.

Zucchini Lasagna

Lately I have really enjoyed my subscription to Martha's Every Day Foods emails. This particular recipe comes from an email entitled "Cucumber and Zucchini Recipes" and that is exactly what I need! I picked 15 cucumbers the other night (that's slicing and does not include the bushel I picked of pickling cucumbers). Thankfully my squash plants are slowly dieing. Earlier in the summer I donated two wagon loads of zucchini to the local food kitchen because we just can't eat them fast enough.

This is a white lasagna and I really enjoyed the creamy texture the added cream cheese gave. Most ricotta dishes seem somewhat grainy in my opinion which isn't a bad thing but the added cream cheese really made this melt in your mouth. (Later in the week while making manicotti I added a little cream cheese again to my ricotta mix prior to stuffing the shells and it was delicious!)

Zucchini Lasagna
Recipe and Photo courtesy of Martha Stewart's Every Day Foods

8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, room temperature
1 container (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 medium zucchini, (8 ounces each) halved lengthwise, then sliced thinly crosswise
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
6 no-boil lasagna noodles (or 6 cooked noodles)
2 ounces shredded (1/2 cup) part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil an 8-inch square baking dish; set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together cream cheese and ricotta; season with salt and pepper. In another medium bowl, combine zucchini, garlic, and oregano; season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine.

Spread 1/3 zucchini mixture in prepared baking dish; top with two lasagna noodles, then 1/3 ricotta mixture. Repeat twice with remaining zucchini mixture, noodles, and ricotta mixture, finishing with the ricotta mixture. Sprinkle with mozzarella.

Cover baking dish with aluminum foil; bake until bubbly and noodles are tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove foil; bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes more. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

*Jayne's Notes: I grated extra mozzarella and added it to the ricotta mixture layers for some extra cheesyness.