The Husband is on a business trip for the rest of the week, leaving Nicholas and I to our own devices. You know what that means… tortellini all week (The Husband hates the stuff)!! Although I didn’t make it tonight, I do plan on making it later in the week. Love tortellini with just a little bit of melted butter. Perfect comfort food.
For my ARF/5-A-Day contribution, I had help from a former co-worker. Her husband is in charge of their vegetable garden, and I was the lucky recipient of the largest zucchini I had ever seen. Quick work turned it into a Zucchini-Rice Casserole that was delish and super simple to make. Low fat to boot, what more could you want?
Navy beans in a Sweet Maple Pie? Sarah from What Smells So Good does it this week for her contribution:
Newcomer Sweet Tea and Sushi gives a unique twist to avocados with her Spicy Avocado Soup:
Sarah from Cucina Bella is back with a great weeknight pasta dish with roasted tomatoes and garlic:
Leave it to the Chocolate Lady to make the very unusual Nettle and Ricotta Frittata:
Claire from Cooking Is Medicine finishes us off on a sweet note this week with her Oatmeal Strawberry Cookies:
Squash-Rice Casserole
Recipe courtesy of Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2000
8 cups sliced zucchini (about 2 1/2 pounds)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 cups cooked rice
1 cup fat-free sour cream
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine first 3 ingredients in a Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until tender. Drain; partially mash with a potato masher. Combine zucchini mixture, rice, sour cream, cheddar cheese, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and eggs in a bowl; stir gently. Spoon zucchini mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Preheat broiler. Broil 1 minute or until lightly browned.
Yield
8 servings (serving size: 1 cup)
Nutritional Information
CALORIES 197(25% from fat); FAT 5.5g (sat 2.7g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 12.7g; CHOLESTEROL 65mg; CALCIUM 209mg; SODIUM 623mg; FIBER 1.4g; IRON 1.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 24g
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This looks really good! I’m actually not a big rice fan, but I’d like to try this!
Surprisingly you can barely taste/pick out the rice. I bet you wouldn’t even notice it was there. I think it’s because of the sour cream and cheese. :)
Wow! So many tasty choices. I’d be jealous if I was traveling on business, knowing all this yummy stuff was going on at home.
Made your shrimp salad tonight and put it on italian rolls. They loved it and even the girlfriend tried it. Fast easy and a very tasty dinner. Thanks for the idea.
The neighbor husband
Okay, let me see what I will have – the Zucchini-rice casserole and the strawberry cookies. Thank you :)