Baked Cheesy Zucchini and Squash

Last week I decided to re-work a Pinterest recipe that I had found. It sounded great and combined two of my favorite things, zucchini and cheese. How could it go wrong? Well, other than my biggest zucchini having a strange bug that had tunneled through the whole thing, it tasted great! (No, the bug zucchini wasn't used, so this recipe for me definitely had way more yellow squash then zucchini.)

Here's the recipe:

What you'll need:

Two Medium Zucchini

Two Medium Yellow Squash

A reduced fat bag of shredded cheese (I used a 4 cheese mexican blend)

Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Basil & Parsley

Non stick Spray

Baking Dish

Preheat oven to 350*. Then spray down baking dish with non stick spray. Then cut up the squash and zucchini and combine in baking dish.

Add in all spices to taste (extra garlic and basil for me!) and mix.

Fold in shredded cheese (I used about 1 cup of cheese). Use a little bit of extra cheese to cover the top off.

Place in oven uncovered for 15-20 minutes, or longer, depending on the crunch level you want on the squash and zucchini. Mine took about a half hour, and I also mixed it up one time in the middle to move the cheese around. Once the veggies are at the doneness you like, put the oven on broil to brown the top of the cheese.

Serve with a chopped up scallion on top, and you're done! 

At only 60 calories a serving (makes 6 servings) this is an awesome dish to curb your cheese craving, while getting a fair amount of veggies at the same time! 

Enjoy :)

Sauteed Asparagus with Feta Cheese

So I'm on a feta cheese kick this week, obviously. Like I've said in the past, I try to use up all foods before they go bad, and if that means eating somewhat of the same thing a few nights out of the week, so be it. 

I had a bundle of asparagus in the fridge, and a brand new bottle of Adobo spice mix in the pantry. Now let me start off by saying I have NEVER had Adobo before, but was dying to try it. So why not throw it on the asparagus?

Heres what you'll need:

Adobo Seasoning

Pepper (just pepper, adobo is salty enough)

One bundle of Asparagus

Feta Cheese (to sprinkle on top)

Olive Oil (1.5-2 tbs worth)

How to do it:

Wash off Asparagus and snap off bottom woody area, cut the remaining stalks into 3 pieces of about equal size. Throw into a mixing bowl with about One Tablespoon of olive oil and pepper and adobo mix, toss until pieces of aspargus are coated. 

I used a decent amount of Adobo on this, because while tossing in the skillet it is bound to have some come off.

Put whole bowl of asparagus into a skillet on medium-high, constantly mixing it around for the first minute or two. If you need to add more olive oil, now would be the time, the tablespoon I used on the asparagus was enough to sautee it up.

If you like your asaparagus to have a slightly "steamed" texture to it, you can cover it up while cooking with the top of a pot, or if you have a skillet with a cover use that. Only keep the top on for a minute or so at a time, and then move around the asparagus. Apparently, it tends to burn quickly.. yeah don't ask me how I know that.

Once its to the texture of your liking (I like mine slightly crunchy), remove from pan, and top with a bit of feta cheese crumble.

I'm estimating this to be just around 100 calories a serving (yeilds two servings as show above), but it can change depending on the amount of olive oil used, and amount of feta use to top it off. Best bet would be to calculate your own calories on this one just to be sure.

Enjoy!!

Low Calorie Quick Chickpea & Olive Salad

I mentioned a chick pea and olive salad in an earlier post. I've been eating this a lot just because of how quick and easy it is. Its a great little snack, and under 150 calories a serving! I made it again last night so I figured I would post up the recipe.

Quick & Easy Chick pea and Olive Salad

Makes 4 servings - 142 Calories per serving

What you will need:

One large can of chickpeas

One small can sliced black olives

One jar green olives with pimentos

2 Tbs Kens Oil and Vinegar Light Options Dressing (or an equivalent low calorie dressing)

Garlic Powder to taste

Next Combine all ingredients into a bowl:

 

Now Mix! Add whatever spices you like into it as well to taste. I prefer to use just a bit of garlic powder, because come on, everythings better with garlic.

It is too easy! and tastes great!

You can also vary this by adding other vegetables, such as scallions or onion. Fresh tomato would taste pretty good in this as well!

Enjoy!