Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Roasted Stuffed Zucchini

Looking for something to do with those huge zucchini from the garden? This is a great healthy recipe, and makes a great side dish with anything that you toss on the grill!

Roasted Stuffed Zucchini


Ingredients

2 large or 4 small zucchini
Olive oil, for drizzling
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 small yellow onion, chopped
4 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 slices fresh bread (I used sourdough)
Butter for spreading on bread (~3 tsp)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1 egg, beaten

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Cut Zucchini in half, lengthwise. Use spoon to remove seeds and soft flesh in center.

3. Place zucchini, skin side down, in baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

4. Toast bread slices and then liberally spread with butter. Tear into pieces and place in food processor with onion, tomatoes, garlic, parsley and basil. Pulse until makes a course bread crumb mixture. Place mixture in bowl and fold in 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and egg.

5. Fill zucchini with bread crumb mixture and place in oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle remaining parmesan on top and roast for additional 3 minutes.

What are the nutritional benefits of this dish?  Zucchini is a good source of vitamin C and also provides fiber, manganese, lutein and zeaxanthin (phytonutrients that are good for eyesight). Onions are rich in quercetin, a type of antioxidant, as well as vitamins and minerals, including vitamins C, K, folate, thiamin, and minerals calcium, magnesium, potassium and manganese. Tomatoes are high in lycopene and vitamin C.

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Watermelon Salad

This watermelon salad was inspired by our awesome next door neighbors. They came over for a Mexican-style cookout a couple of weeks ago, and brought a watermelon salad that was so good, I had to try to recreate it. This is a definite winner and go-to side for any summer cookout.  Our neighbors used feta cheese in their salad, but I used queso fresco in this one because that was what we had. Either cheese works really well.  I also used fresh mint and parsley from our garden. The mint, in particular, was really great in this salad.

Watermelon Salad




Ingredients

Half of one large watermelon, cubed and seeded
1 small red onion, sliced thin and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/3 cup fresh mint and parsley, chopped
4 oz queso fresco, crumbled
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in large bowl and gently mix until evenly combined

What are the nutrition benefits of this salad? Watermelon is a very good source of vitamin C and a good source of pantothenic acid, copper, biotin, potassium, vitamin A, vitamins B1 and B6, and magnesium. Onions are rich in quercetin, a type of antioxidant, as well as vitamins and minerals, including vitamins C, K, folate, thiamin, and minerals calcium, magnesium, potassium and manganese.  Fresh herbs are packed with lots of phytochemicals/antioxidants.