STUFFED ROASTED TOMATOES

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You’ll need:
3 large ripe tomatoes
Lemon juice
Small onion
1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
Garlic pepper or garlic/zesty seasoning
1 cup milk
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 cup raw baby spinach
2 cans tuna
3 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into 1 inch cubes

Preheat oven to 350 deg. Slice tops off of tomatoes, core and hollow out. Sprinkle insides with lemon juice. Turn upside down, place on a paper towel and allow to drain for 10 minutes.

Sauce: Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan. Add chopped onions and mushrooms and cook until soft- about 5 minutes. Add peas and spinach and cook until spinach is wilted. Add flour and continuously stir mixture for 1 minute. Stir in milk and cook until thickened, stirring constantly for about three minutes. Remove from heat.

Into a separate bowl, flake drained tuna. Add about a teaspoon of zesty seasoning and about a fourth teaspoon of garlic pepper, to taste. Mix into sauce.

Fill tomatoes with mixture until overflowing. Top with chopped mozzarella. Cover with ‘cap’ of tomato and bake about 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and tomatoes are heated through. Serve over brown rice.

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CARROT RAISIN SALAD

You’ll need:
4 cups shredded carrots
1/4 cup-1/2 cup raisins
8 oz can of crushed pineapple in juice, drained with juice reserved
1 tbsp sugar
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

Drain pineapple (reserving juice) and mix with carrots in a medium bowl. Add raisins and combine.

In a small bowl, stir together 2 tbsp reserved pineapple juice, yogurt, sugar and salt until completely blended. Add to carrot mixture and mix well.

Refrigerate for a few hours to allow juices to meld!

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Creamy Piña Coladas

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2 cups unsweetened coconut-almond milk
2 cups chopped frozen pineapple
1/2 cup Malibu coconut rum, or to taste (I added about an eighth of a cup more to keep it more liquidy)
2 packets Splenda
1 tray ice

Combine ice, rum, milk, pineapple chunks and Splenda in blender and blend until smooth!

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Southern Spoonbread

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 8 oz. can whole kernel corn, drained

1 8 oz. can creamed corn

1 cup sour cream (I was about a half cup short so I used 1/2 cup sour cream and 1/4 cup fat-free Ranch dressing)

2 eggs

1 package Jiffy Corn Muffins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together the melted butter, all of the corn, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Add the beaten eggs to the corn mixture. Finally, add in the corn muffin mix and stir until completely blended. Spread mixture in a greased 9×9 casserole or baking dish. Bake 30-35 minutes until center is firm. 

Serve with chili or fresh salsa!

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English Muffin Pizzas

INGREDIENTS:

1 package 100% whole wheat English muffins or sandwich thins (about 12 halves)
1 can pizza sauce
1 small container cottage cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Fresh baby spinach
1 small can black olives
Turkey pepperoni
Raw broccoli or cauliflower
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
Olive oil
Dried oregano or Italian seasoning
salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On an ungreased cookie sheet, place bread halves face up. Brush each lightly with olive oil. Top each first with 1-2 tablespoons of pizza sauce, followed by about 1 tablespoon of cottage cheese (if desired).  Layer pepperoni, vegetables, and olives on top, followed by mozzarella cheese and spices. Bake at 350 deg for about ten minutes, or until bread is crisp and cheese is bubbling.

mini pizzas2

 

 

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Tomato and Spinach Dinner Strata

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Ingredients:

4 tsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

15 oz. container ricotta cheese

10 oz. package of chopped spinach, cooked and drained

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

2 cups marinara sauce

8-10 dinner rolls or day-old sliced bread, shredded into cubes

1 cup mozzarella cheese

3 eggs

1 cup milk

Directions:

Grease a 7×11 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Heat 2 tsp oil in a medium skillet over medium. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 6 minutes. Transfer onions to another bowl. Heat remaining oil and cook mushrooms on medium-high for about 4 minutes. Transfer to bowl with onions, and stir in 1/4 tsp. of pepper and salt each.

Stir together ricotta and spinach with nutmeg and remaining 1/4 tsp. pepper.

Spoon 1 cup of marinara sauce evenly into the bottom of the baking dish. Add half of the pieces of bread on top of the sauce. Spread ricotta/spinach mixture over bread, and top with other half of bread. Spread mushrooms and onions over bread. Top with mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce.

Whisk together eggs with milk and pour slowly over the pan, distributing evenly on top of all ingredients. Bread should be saturated.

Coat a piece of tin foil with cooking spray and cover pan. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 deg. Bake for 40 minutes, uncovered. Uncover and bake 10 minutes more. Let casserole cool for ten minutes before serving!

Recipe courtesy of Eatingwell.com

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