Paleo Zoodles & Meatballs

Paleo Zoodles & Meatballs
Makes 4 Servings
Idea from my friend Josie; Adapted from Nom Nom Paleo

6 Zucchini
8 oz. ground beef
8 oz. Hot Italian Sausage
1 egg
1 cup diced fresh basil, divided
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
2 cups organic/gluten-free spaghetti sauce

In a large mixing bowl, add beef, sausage, egg and half of the basil. Mix together, then roll into meatballs 1” in diameter. Heat large pan over medium heat. Add olive oil and garlic, then meatballs. Brown, turning often until all are browned and cooked through, 7 – 8 minutes. Top with spaghetti sauce and put lid on for 10 minutes over simmer. While simmering, use julienne peeler to make “zoodles.” Add all to a large, microwave-safe bowl and cover with wet paper towels. Microwave for two minutes and set aside. Remove meatballs from heat and add remaining fresh basil on top. Serve over zoodles.

Review: Love. We have made this for non-paleo guests too and you truly don't miss the pasta. Honestly! The meat has so much flavor and the zucchini is a great sub. Winning recipe and a weekly staple that helps us stay on the whole foods, gluten-free track around here!

Vegetable Tortellini Soup

Vegetable Tortellini Soup
Recipe Adapted from For the Love of Cooking
Makes 4 Servings

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup sweet yellow onion, diced
4 7” carrots, diced
2 10” celery stocks, diced
3 tsp minced garlic
6 cups of chicken broth
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
2 cups zucchini, diced
1 9-oz. package refrigerated cheese tortellini
3 cups sliced fresh spinach (about 3 ounces)
2 oz. Cabot cheese, shredded, divided
Salt and Pepper to taste

Place olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and celery and cook 4-5 minutes until softened. Add seasonings and garlic, then stir constantly for 60 seconds before adding tomatoes and broth. Let simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Increase heat to medium high, then add the tortellini, zucchini and squash. Cook for 10 minutes or until tortellini is cooked through. Stir in spinach and simmer until it’s wilted, about 1 minute. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with cheese.

Nutritional Information: 372 calories, 47 carbs, 12 fat grams and 19 protein grams.

Review: I liked it a lot! The tortellini bites were my favorites, and all of the veggies really meshed well - almost like vegetable soup but SO fresh with big bites. I'm not a huge carrot person, so my first thought was to reduce the amount, but Austin said leave as is - he loved it! So maybe i'll just scoop more carrots into his bowl next time. :) I'd also like to try vegetable broth instead of chicken broth - I had purchased for the recipe but accidentally used the wrong one. oops! Either way, a success, and you guys - the servings are HUGE and filling.

in the pan!

Summer Vegetable Enchiladas

Summer Vegetable Enchiladas
Adapted from a Dinners for a Year and Beyond Recipe
Makes 6 Servings

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup flour
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
1 14 – ounce can vegetable stock, reduced sodium
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp canola oil
1 yellow or red bell pepper, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
½ cup scallions, diced and divided
12 Mission small flour tortillas
2 oz. 75% reduced fat Cabot cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 400. In a small saucepan, combine cumin, chili powder, flour, tomato paste and ¾ cup water. Whisk to combine and cook for 1 minute. Add in stock and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes until sauce is slightly thickened. Remove from heat and set aside. Heat a pan to medium high heat and add oil. Add bell pepper and zucchini and sauté for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and place in a large bowl. Cool slightly. Add black beans, corn and half of the scallions and stir to combine. Spray a rectangular baking dish with cooking spray. Add enough sauce to cover the bottom (about ¼). Lay wax paper on the counter and top with 12 tortillas. Fill each with vegetable mixture. Then roll one at a time and place seam side down in baking dish. Pour remaining over the enchiladas, using the back of a spoon to spread, and top with cheese. Bake for 15 minutes until cheese is melted.

Nutritional Information (for 2 enchiladas): 396 calories, 67 carbs, 7 fat grams and 15 protein grams.

Review: Okay, so I’m going to make my own enchilada sauce from now on – AMAZING. Seriously. So flavorful and thick – it really made this dish. Especially combined with the flour tortillas. Normally I use corn tortillas for enchiladas, but the flour really made it thick, almost like a burrito, and the vegetables just popped. Talk about another meatless dish where I didn’t miss the meat at ALL. I didn’t even need any toppings like sour cream or salsa – perfect as is! This has now knocked off one of the lasagnas to be in the top two for meatless recipes – filling, flavorful and will be made again – very soon! Seriously, I don't even know that the pictures do it justice!

whole pan - YUM

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
Recipe adapted from a For the Love of Cooking recipe and a Self Magazine recipe
Makes 4 Servings

½ pound tomatoes, cut in ¼ inch slices
½ pound zucchini, cut in ¼ inch slices
½ pound yellow squash, cut in ¼ inch slices
½ red bell pepper, cut in 1-inch strips
½ yellow or green bell pepper, cut in 1 inch strips
¼ pound mushroom caps, cut in ¼ inch slices
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp olive oil
2 - 4 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 to 1 ½ cups spinach
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Salt and black pepper, to taste
400 grams fat-free ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
6 no-boil lasagna noodles
130 grams mozzarella cheese, shredded (divided)
3 cups low-calorie spaghetti sauce (1 28 oz. jar)

Preheat oven to 475. Toss tomatoes, zucchini, squash, peppers, mushrooms, salt, garlic and oil in a bowl. Place vegetables on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Spray cooking spray over top of vegetables. Roast for 22 minutes, until golden brown. In a medium-sized bowl, add ricotta, egg, 60 grams of mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Combine until mixed thoroughly. Layer an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with one cup spaghetti sauce. Lay two noodles on top. Spread half of ricotta mixture on the noodles. Then spoon half of vegetable mixture on top and finish by layering on spinach leaves. Repeat with one cup sauce, two noodles, remainder of ricotta mixture, remainder of vegetable mixture and remainder of spinach leaves. Top with last two noodles. Then top with remaining sauce and remaining 70 grams of cheese. Bake covered** in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes.

**This really fills the dish, so make sure you spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray and place spray-side down over the top so that it doesn't stick to the cheese.

Nutritional information: 423 calories, 48 carbs, 13 fat grams and 29 protein grams.

Review: Seriously? I've never made this before?! What?! Loved it. Austin said it was fantastic, and he didn't miss the meat. It was a perfect blend of veggies and cheeses - it was OOZING cheese - fantastic. I loved the roasted veggies, too. It really added so much to this dish (over sautéing them, I think!). Next time, I could see myself doubling the veggies, then using half over quinoa and then half for this lasagna - I would just hate to not roast more now that I now how awesome they come out! And while this does occupy your oven for a bit of time between the roasting and cooking, if you're pre-cooking other meals you could easily be cooking on the stove or in a slowcooker, or prepping for your other meals on the cutting board!

pic of whole pan

Zucchini and Parmesan Pasta

Zucchini and Parmesan Pasta
Makes 4 Servings

Recipe inspired by Cooking with My Kid

1 pound zucchini, grated
1 tbsp minced garlic, jarred
1 tbsp chopped basil
zest of 1 large lemon
1 ½ tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
11 oz. angel hair pasta
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
¼ tsp black pepper
2 tbsp + 2 tsp grated parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet on medium high. Add garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice and basil. Cook for 3 minutes. Put grated zucchini in a colander, squeeze out some of the moisture then add it to the skillet. Turn heat down to medium low and continue to sauté veggies. When water is boiling, cook pasta for 6 minutes. Do not drain. Instead, use tongs to transfer cooked pasta into the skillet with the zucchini. Use the tongs to toss the pasta with the zucchini and cook for another few minutes until it is all combined. Then add salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese and stir one more minute.

Nutritional Information: 374 calories, 57 carbs, 9 fat grams and 16 protein grams.

Review: Awesome. I can't get over what a great meat substitute zucchini is! Also, I've never grated zucchini. It couldn't be easier! The original recipe called for much more olive oil, no parmesan, more pasta, more servings, and no lemon juice. I didn't miss these items and liked the idea of 4 servings. And when I made it, I used a bit less zucchini - love the idea of a pound and think it would add a lot (so I changed it above). Also, I loved the garlic and red pepper flakes - great flavor. It tasted like a scampi - but with zucchini! I will make this again - loved the pasta and the lemony flavor - that zest goes such a long way!

Garden Summer Pasta

Recipe from Oh Livin (blog)
Garden Summer Pasta
Makes 4 Servings

10 oz. tomatoes, cored and finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh chopped basil
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp oregano
4 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil + 2 tsp for sautéing zucchini
2 tsp Sherry vinegar
8 ounces linguine
2 baby zucchini, diced
4 tbsp reduced fat parmesan, plus more for serving

12 oz. chicken, diced and cooked in salt and pepper

In a large bowl, toss the tomatoes with the parsley, garlic, salt, flakes, sherry and olive oil. In a sauté pan over medium heat, add 1 tsp olive oil and the diced zucchini. Cook for 2 minutes until BARELY tender. Remove from heat. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the linguine until al dente; drain well. Add chicken to the zucchini pan; cook in nonstick spray with salt until no longer pink. Add the linguine to the bowl along with the zucchini and chicken and toss. Add cheese, toss again and serve in bowls.

Nutritional Information: 426 calories, 49 carbs, 13 fat grams and 29 protein grams.

Review: Um.. FABULOUS! I loved how light it was but the olive oil/parm made a yummy mixture – it was great. Austin loved it too. Yay!

Creamy Dijon Chicken

Adapted from Cooking Light

Creamy Dijon Chicken

Makes 2 Servings

8 oz. chicken
Cooking spray
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
¼ tsp paprika
1/8 cup fat-free mayonnaise
½ tbsp lemon juice
¼ tsp Dijon mustard
½ garlic clove OR ½ tsp minced garlic
1/8 tsp dried rosemary

Preheat broiler. Coat chicken with cooking spray; sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Place chicken on broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until done. Combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard garlic and rosemary. Remove chicken from oven and add to pan over medium heat. Mix with dressing and stir for 1-2 minutes. Serve with 1.5 cups rice; and ½ cup mushrooms and 1 ½ cup zucchini heated in 1 tsp olive oil and sprinkled salt).

Nutritional Information (including sides): 424 calories, 64 carbs, 4 fat grams and 28 protein grams. Next time, I’m cutting the rice down to 1 cup total, which would take the nutrients down to 344 calories, 46 carbs, 4 fat grams and 28 protein grams and, I think, still be JUST as filling!!

Review: Awesomely flavorful, and loved the veggie sides. It tasted pretty sinful but the variety is what made this recipe rock!