Southwestern Zucchini Boats

These surprised Jason with their pack of delicious flavor and filling abilities! He was slightly concerned when I told him these were our main dish for the evening...he even tried to sneak a fast one by thinking he would scoop out the "Southwestern" and avoid the veggies! Yum!

4 Medium Zucchini
1 lb lean ground beef (I used 96/4)
3/4 cup salsa
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 minced fresh cilantro
1 t chili powder
1/2 t ground cumin
1/4 t salt
1/8 t pepper
1/2 cup fat free cheddar

1. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise; cut a thin slice from the bottom of each with a sharp knife to allow zucchini to sit flat, scoop out pulp leaving 1/4-in shells.

2. Place shells in an ungreased 3-qt microwave-safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 3 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Remove from heat; stir in the salsa, bread crumbs, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup cheese. Spoon into zucchini shells.

4. Microwave uncovered on high for 4 minutes. Sprinkle with a little more cheese if desired and replace in microwave for 3-4 minutes or until cheese has melted and zucchini are tender.

Crab Cake Stuffed Baked Potatoes

I love potatoes and have recently developed an addiction to crab cakes! I found this recipe and tweaked it to better suit what I like the best. The outcome - delicious!! This is going to be a definite dish to spruce up the baked potato and create a yummy side! Its basically a twice baked potato with a little extra.

Crab Cake Stuffed Baked Potatoes
**Serving size 4**

4 Small-Medium Sized Baking Potatoes
1 can crab meat, drained
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
2 T spicy brown mustard
2 dashes lemon juice
1/4 t garlic powder
1/2 t Old Bay Seasoning
dash salt & pepper
2 T Smart Balance Tub Style Butter
1/4 cup Panko Bread Crumbs

1. Scrub potatoes and bake in microwave until completely cooked. Remove and let cool for a moment
2. In the meanwhile mix sour cream, mustard, lemon juice, garlic, old bay, salt, pepper and crab together. Mixing well
3. Cut slit in top of potato and scoop out insides of potato combining well with the crab mixture. Try to leave around a 1/4th-inch next to skin to create a nice shell.
4. Combine potato/crab mixture well
5. Melt 2 T butter and stir into mixture
6. Spoon mixture into potato shells
7. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top
8. Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes

Beefy Mac

This is another recipe I took from the Lebanese cookbook. My only addition was adding meat to satisfy the man of the house. This was delicious!! I was super unmotivated tonight but this was simple and I had most of the ingredients available. What I didn't have I had an easy substitute. Yum!

Macaroni with Tomato Sauce and Beef

2 c. elbow macaroni
1 medium onion, chopped
2 T olive oil
2 large cloves garlic
1 t sweet basil (I didn't have...)
1 t. salt plus salt and pepper to taste
1 8-oz can tomato sauce (I happened to have tomato sauce flavored with oregano, basil and garlic...if using beef...use two cans of the sauce to get enough)
1/8 t. cinnamon
.5-1 lb ground beef

Boil the macaroni in salted water until done, about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water. In a sauce pan, saute the onion in oil until golden. Mash the garlic and sweet basil with 1 t salt. Add this mixture to the onion and continue sauteing for another minute. Add the tomato sauce, cinnamon and salt and pepper to taste. Bring the sauce to a boil, add the macaroni and heat through (Add the beef at this time if you choose).

Lebanese Potato Salad

I did this as somewhat of the recipe of Lebanese Potato Salad. DF's mom makes it a lot and I used a recipe from a cookbook that I got for Christmas. Its a great (and pretty!) side dish. The simplicity makes it a perfect accompaniment to basically any main dish. Yum!!

Lebanese Potato Salad

4 large potatoes (I used about 8-9 red potatoes)
1 small clove garlic (used a little more)
1 t. salt (Used a little less)
1 t. pepper
1/3 cup of lemon juice (used more on accident!)
1 small onion, chopped
1/3-1/2 c. coarsely chopped parsley
1/3 c. olive oil

Boil the potatoes, cool and cut into 1-inch cubes (I did quarters). Mash the garlic with the seasonings. Add the lemon juice and stir well. Add the rest of the ingredients and toss, mixing well

Spicy Turkey Wraps

This proved to be another quick, easy, weeknight favorite! I wanted to do these as lettuce wraps but didn't have lettuce so used whole wheat fajita sized tortillas. DF even discovered this was super delicious on tortilla chips! Yum!

1 lb ground turkey
1/3 cup matchstick carrot sticks
1 T minced peeled fresh ginger
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 T rice vinegar
1/4 t dark sesame oil
1/4 t crushed red pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (Had to go with dried today)


Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add turkey, carrots, and ginger; saute 6 minutes or until turkey is no longer pink, stirring to crumble. Stir in soy sauce and next 3 ingredients; cook 1 minute

Remove mixture from heat; stir in green onions and cilantro. Spoon into wraps and serve

Taco Turkey Skillet

I found this recipe on the back of an insert for a magazine and it is the ultimate weeknight favorite. It includes ingredients that we most often have in our house and can be put together quickly for an evening meal in a hurry.

Taco Turkey Skillet


1 can Tomato Soup, I use healthy request
1 lb ground turkey (99% lean)
1/2 cup salsa
2 whole wheat tortillas, cut into strips (I use fajita size)
1/2 cup shredded fat free cheddar cheese

Brown turkey in large nonstick skillet and crumble

Add tomato soup, salsa and tortilla strips to turkey

Allow to simmer for around 5 minutes, add cheese and continue to cook for about 2-3 more minutes

We serve ours in bowls almost like chili

Buffalo Chicken Dip

We've had several version of this dip...we have devoured all of them and I decided it was my turn to create my version! For entertaining, I would suggest doubling or tripling this recipe (or heck maybe even more)...its sure to please your crowd!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

8 oz. tub cream cheese (I used fat free), room temperature
1/4 cup ranch dressing (I used fat free sour cream/ranch seasoning mix)
1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Franks Red Hot, Buffalo Style


Place cream cheese in bowl and microwave just enough to smooth cream cheese to a creamier texture

Add remaining ingredients, stir well

Microwave for 2-3 minutes, stir and microwave more if necessary

Voila! Super easy and sure to please your crowd!